The view across Dublin Bay from Sutton, to Begnet's Island
Now and again it is possible to come across places where
the well has not only been allowed to go dry through bad planning and much
ground disturbance, but also from what amounts to criminal destruction of
archaeological sites. This is one such instance, where a well having run dry,
dropped out of the consciousness of the local community, who were then so
unaware of its presence that they permitted developers to order its complete
destruction. On the face of it this might seem like a natural evolution of
sorts. In a land of over 3000 holy wells, there is always going to be the
strong possibility that a clash of worlds between those interested in
preserving religious and archaeological heritage and those interested in
development for an ever-increasing population end up clashing with the
destruction of a well site. However much can be lost in this process. In the
past silver and gold communion vessels, pilgrims crosses, travelling shrines
and rings and late medieval pater nosters have all been found at holy well
sites on the very few that have had archaeological exploration. In many cases
the well itself can be housed in early Irish Christian architecture or have
early medieval housing. In the boom years of the Celtic Tiger a number of wells
were deliberately destroyed and covered over with concrete and metal manholes. In
some instances early medieval structures were completely destroyed and all of
it was overseen by government appointed archaeologists! Here the old adage
rings true, “You don’t know what you’ve got ‘til it’s gone.”
The view from Saint Fintan's graveyard
Quite apart from the archaeological aspects, there is an
important religious aspect. The vast majority of holy wells are connected to a
particular saint who very often has had a strong association with the area and
sometimes there are monastic sites very nearby. Most of the holy wells in
Ireland come from the period of early Irish Christianity up until the early
medieval period. This is a very significant period of history for Ireland and
for the rest of Europe. While Europe went into a kind of cultural decay, it
was Ireland through its industrious saints and religious who went about the
work of preserving literacy and culture. The significance of this effect upon
the rest of Europe is becoming more and more clear and the importance of it for
European history is is beginning to be understood in a more significant way. The
writings that these saints have left behind and even later accounts of their
lives give us a totally unique insight into how early Christian Ireland
understood and read the scriptures, what was important to them theologically
and how they adapted Christianity to the local culture and to the inclusion of
lore and legend. Holy well sites contain much information locked in a local
consciousness. Ireland was an oral culture for a very long time and remnants of
this culture still survive. There is still a tendency to rely on the oral
transmission of information regarding the saints associated with holy well
sites, on lore about the area, on accounts of healing or miraculous events and
on legends and folk tales. In the past people like W B Yeats, Lady Gregory and
even Harry Clarke have known only too well what Ireland stood to loose in a
generation or two. Their work at collecting religious history and entangled
lore and their unabashed enjoyment of the spurious, recorded in books and
scribbles have left us in their debt - a debt we may not have fully realised
yet. When a well runs dry or is destroyed or covered over, it is not only the
well that ceases to exist. If a patern or procession was observed in the area
on a saints day then this too is often neglected and forgotten - and it is
amazing just how quickly it is forgotten. The local tales of the saint fall out
of memory. Poems and songs are no longer sung or recited. Prayers of the saint
and to the saint are no longer uttered - even though in some cases they may
have been uttered by the faithful for over a thousand years. The whole history of the area begins to
disintegrate and the texts of the saints life become the sole concern of the
academic celticist who dusts off that early Latin or Irish copy in a dark,
atmospherically controlled library.
Into this frame steps the idiotic, like myself. Those who
are considered as strange well hunters and superstitious by others who think
that society should really move on from all this dross. Maybe I am the product
of an age that has now gone and I’m trying to hold onto something that cannot
be grasped any longer, but something in me thinks it might be worth it yet.
Maybe one day people will begin to realise they have much to loose in the
criminal neglect of what they once considered to be a superstitious old puddle
that was considered a health and safety issue rather than a heritage site.
Maybe part of the reason why this apathy regarding sites like this exists is
because we simply have so many of them. In this instance, despite the fact that
the well is dry and absolutely nothing of its original structure remains, this
is a significant site because the presence of a graveyard has preserved the
burial site of the saint and some remains of a monastic settlement.
Saint Fintan's Shrine Church (the 'bell tower' is a later addition)
Saint Fintan was born in Leinster of ‘good lineage’. Many
Irish saints appear to have important lineage, but it is generally regarded
that these dynastic lines are of later invention. It’s hard to say for sure,
but generally speaking most of them are attempts later on to justify diocesan
boundaries and other issues relating to ground and property. This Saint Fintan
is not to be confused with the Saint Fintan of Wexford (sometimes called Munnu)
who had hoped to be the successor of Saint Columba on Iona. This Saint Fintan
is more closely associated with the monastic site at Clonenagh. A number of
accounts of his life survive in the Codex-Kilkenniensis, in a Bollandist
collection (under the heading ‘Saint Fintan’s Prophecy and Life’) and the later
transcriptions of his life by various Bishops of the church. The lineage of
Saint Fintan hints that there may have been a family connection to Saint
Lugedius and Saint Brigid, so religious life was already a significant aspect
of the family history. The tale is told that his mother, Findath, while
pregnant, is visited by an angel and told to refrain from sexual intercourse.
The parallel with the annunciation is clear. This is a very common literary
tool in early Irish saintly hagiography. Although to our modern religious
mindset it might appear crude and maybe even verging on the heretical to place
oneself in the role of a great religious person, for the early Irish Christians
this was the norm. The desire to see yourself in the text you read and to
mirror the lives of the great religious and the saints in your own life was
seen as the very goal of Christian living. It is a very mystical understanding
of the text and they reference it in such an unembarrassed way. The very same
literary device can be seen at work in many other lives of the saints. To have
the life of Jesus mirrored closely in your own life was part of the very tenet
of Christian living.
Ancient grave markers interspersed with sparse remains of the monastic settlement.
After his birth Fintan was taken to Clonkeen in Clonenagh to
be baptised by a holy man who resided there. We are told that he remained there
throughout his childhood to take instruction under this same holy man. Later in
life Fintan made his way to a famous school that was established by Saint
Columba on the upper portion of the river Shannon near Lough Derg. Here Fintan
was greatly influenced by the severe practice of penitence, which was to become
a significant mark of belief for him and his future religious establishments. At
this school, Fintan banded together with two or three other disciples and set
out to Clonenagh to create a religious settlement consisting of seven churches
(today only the ruins of one remain). In this area it is said that the saint
and his companions found no peace from the local people and eventually had to
retire to the slopes of Slieve Bloom where they encountered the cowherd Sedna.
Sedna becomes a convert to Christianity through the miraculous regaining of his
speech when he is blessed by Saint Columba (who is passing through the area),
and he too becomes a local saint. It is at this point that Fintan is
essentially scolded by Saint Columba for a neglect of his duty to the area of
Clonenagh. He tells the young saint that he can see angels processing through
Clonenagh with downcast faces because the one who was to bring the good news to
the people has abandoned his duty. After this solemn scolding, Fintan resolves
to return to Clonenagh.
At Clonenagh Fintan set to work at gathering a large
collection of monks around him under a very strict rule which demanded very
long hours in prayer and an absolute minimum, vegan diet. As word of the
foundation spread other saints and abbots in the area became concerned that the
rule was too severe and that Fintan and his followers were veering dangerously
close to a religious fanaticism and therefore making the Christian faith a
subject of scorn to the local people. At the request of Saint Canice and a
number of other visitors, Fintan relaxed the rule and turned away from the
dangers of his increasing religious fundamentalism. This delegation didn’t
simply take Fintan’s word, they remained at the site until he changed the rule,
watching to see if the brothers would eat meat and if they would spend less
time in intense prayer and more time in compassion for their neighbours in the
community. From this point on Fintan is described as being more passionately
concerned for the welfare of all people. He is said to have been given a
prophetic gift and there are tales of him weeping over those who will die in
Irish wars and of the fate of those who do not show concern for their
neighbours. His acts of charity and compassion are recorded in great detail.
One tale tells of how a war broke out in a nearby area and how the fighting was
truly brutal and vicious. The local army brought back the heads of the defeated
and left them in a field near the monastery. Fintan, having compassion for
those who had died, collected all the heads and gave them a Christian burial
and continued to pray for those who had died such a violent death. When asked
by a local why he was praying for former enemies, Fintan is said to have
responded, “Because the Lord is full of mercy and so those who have been buried
here among the other saints of God might know the mercy in the hereafter that
they were not afforded here”. Such tales are told as a demonstration of how
great a conversion Fintan had from his early days of religious extremism.
A blocked up window on the Shrine Church
By the twelfth century all seven churches at Clonenagh had
essentially ceased to function. It is not clear exactly what happened, but the
area was subject to much warfare and raiding, so it is not beyond the realm of
possibility that the churches were sacked, destroyed and the monks all
slaughtered. Local lore in the area of Clonenagh tells of an important
religious school thriving under the auspices of Fintan in later life and
shortly after his death it produced a series of very fine scholars. The lost
book of Cluain Eidhneach is said to have been a product of this religious
school (only later copied fragments survive). A number of relics, books and the
crosier of Saint Fintan is said to have resided at Ballyfin house until it
burnt down during the reign of Elizabeth I and its contents were lost.
In 603 on 17th February, Saint Fintan collapsed
while pronouncing the blessing at the end of communion. The brothers rushed to
his aid and with his last breath he had the presence of mind to announce his
successor and then he died. For some time after his death an office of Nine
Leesons of Saint Fintan, Bishop and Confessor, was observed in Christ Church
Cathedral in Dublin. This practice was again revived by Bishop de Burgo, who
decreed that all clergy, monks and nuns, should observe the office of Nine
Lessons in honour of Saint Fintan on 17th February each year.
Interior of the Shrine Church
Sutton in County Dublin comprises of one side of Dublin Bay
leading up to Howth Head. It is an area of beautiful views, a privately owned
Martello Tower (previous residence of the Jameson Whiskey family) and burial
place of Charles Haughey and Phil Lynott. Approaching Sutton on the coast road
from the city of Dublin is the relatively newly built parish of Saint Fintan,
completed in 1973 to a design by Andy Devane. The exterior is clad in concrete
with a curious effect intended to look like fishing ropes - an idea that
doubtless looked great on paper, but is perfectly dreadful in execution. The
interior of the building, accessed through a somewhat dull and shadowy atrium,
is somewhat impressive with its wooden fan shaped knave and open sanctuary. It
is a kind of 70’s modernism, reflective of an open-planned living space, but it
does convey a sense of peace in what is an otherwise busy area.
The concrete atrium at the entrance of St Fintan's parish church
Travelling up the hill on the Carrickbrack Road on the
right you will find Saint Fintan’s cemetery. Here various ‘important’ people
have been buried and an impressive memorial to Whitley Stokes - one of
Ireland’s greatest Celtic scholars – stands with its inscription and impressive
stone cross that reads, ‘The Truth lies with God; for us remains Research’. Up
from the cemetery is a waste ground area that has had much infill with a very
stony topsoil and gavel. It is now badly overgrown with much building rubble
and high grass with tangled briar's. The spot where the holy well used to be has
been much disturbed and covered with stony rubble and poor topsoil. Nothing of
the well remains.
Interior of Saint Fintan's parish church
Below the well, towards the top end of the graveyard is the
ninth century shrine church of Saint Fintain. It isn’t certain whether this is
the burial site of Saint Fintan, but local custom insists that it is and the
building is certainly small enough to be an Irish shrine church. Little is
known of any association of Saint Fintan with this area and so it leaves us with
a curious mystery. We know that by the end of the twelfth century the
establishment at Clonenagh had ceased to exist, but this church seems a little
too old to be a site for the relocation of his remains from a resultant
collapse of the religious foundation there. However, even the name of the area
gives us enticing glimpses into a lost past. The name ‘Sutton’ is derived from
the Irish, ‘Suí Fhiontáin’ which means the seat of Saint Fintan and there are
records that this name was used as far back as the ninth century, which
indicates that the saint was commemorated in some way in the area at around
that time and possibly even slightly before. Today there is a local parish church named after the saint,
an ancient graveyard that bears his name and a number of schools also dedicated
to his honour. Only up the road is Howth with its beautiful coastline walks and
Ireland’s Eye resting just off the coast, which is home to a bird sanctuary and
the remains of Saint Nessan’s eighth century church.
The land where the holy well used to be
Father, whose mind is beyond our comprehending, whose
merciful goodness towards humankind is limitless, grant that the humble mind of
Christ may be in all his followers; show us that religious controversy is the
offspring of our arrogance and folly; that true piety is most laudably
expressed in silent understanding and in the activity of showing mercy; that
human beings, ignorant of their own nature, should not presume to scrutinize
the mind God; and that it is sufficient for us to know that power and
benevolence are the perfect attributes of the Deity; through the same Jesus
Christ our Lord. Amen.
Adapted from Procopius of Caesarea
Ireland's Eye off Howth Head
How to find it:
From the city of Dublin travel out the Howth Road, connecting to the Dublin Road and follow the signs for Sutton up the Greenfield Road into Carrickbrack Road. On the right is a graveyard in which the shrine church of Saint Fintan sits, and up from this an area of waste ground, where the holy well used to be.
Part of the Walk around Howth coast
