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ST. FINBARR'S MONESTARY & GOUGANE BARRA FOREST
PARK
Gúgan Barra (Finbarr's Hollow)
Coomroe, near Ballingeary, County Cork
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St. Finbarr's Monestary
Gougane Barra isn't a town or village, as there's little
more than the chapel, small hotel and barely a handful
of homes here, but this small population in no way spoils
this special setting.
There are two areas of interested at this site - the
forest park and the monastery. It's the monastery visitors
will encounter first.
Finbarr was born near Crookstown in County Cork in the
sixth century. He was the son of a Connaught metal worker
called Amergin whose tribe was descended from Eochaidh
Muidmheadoin who was the brother of the king of Munster.
Amergin inherited land at a place called Achaidh Durbchon
near Gougane Lake and became the chief smith to Tighernach,
king of the Hy Eachach of Munster.
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Amergin eventually married a young slave woman in the
king's household, but the king was against the union, so
he summoned the couple before him and sentenced them to
be burned alive. When a heavy rain storm prevented the order
from being carried out, the king took this as divine intervention
and the couple were granted clemency and set free.
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Amergin and his bride soon had a son whom they baptized
as Luan, or Lochan, then returned to Gougane Lake to set
up their own household. Things were relatively peaceful
for the next seven years. At that time, three Munster
clerics visited Amergin's home They were so taken with
Luan and felt the Holy Spirit shone from the boy's face.
They appealed to Amergin to let them take Luan away for
religious schooling.
Luan studied at a place called Slieve Muinchill where he
was tonsured (received the traditional hair cut with the
bald patch in the back) and had his name changed. The cleric
who did the barbering commented on how fair Luan's hair
was, saying, "Fair (fionn) is the hair (barra, meaning
crop) of Luan." Another cleric replied, "Let this
be his name." Fionn Barra eventually became Finbarr.
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the tonsure
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This was a major turning point in the Christian history
of Ireland--a time when monasteries flourished and belief
in the "one god" was sweaping the country, as
pagans converted by the thousands. Finbarr's education
continued when he went to Scotland to study. When he returned
to Ireland he established several hermitages around the
country to educate his followers.
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hermitage courtyard
priest's cell |
Finbarr's two most prominant monasteries had a direct
connection--the River Lee. Finbarr founded one monastery
at the source of the River Lee on Gougane Lake, and
the second he founded in Corcaigh (meaning marshy place)
on the opposite end of the river where it meets the
harbor.
The monastery at Gougane Lake was Finbarr's most important
settlement and became known as Gougane Finbarra, eventually
becoming Gougane Barra. It's set on Holy Island, which
is just off the shores of Gougane Lake. Today, access
onto the island is via a foothpath that connects to
the mainland; original access was only by boat.
The settlement is situated at the back of the island.
High stone walls surround prayer cells. The kitchen
building, now in complete ruin, was situated just to
the right of the entrance into the settlement.
At the center of the courtyard within these protective
wall stands a wooden cross. Gougane Barra has been a popular
place of pilgrimage for centuries and it became tradition
for visitors to hammer coins into the cross. It was finally
removed when it fell over from the weight of the coins
in the mid-1990s and placed
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against a yew tree at the back of the settlement.
While visitors have respected the caretakers wish
not to hammer coins into the new cross, they still
do so in the old cross. There are so many coins in
the old cross that visitors have resorted to hammering
them into the yew tree as well!
Note: The old cross has since been removed,
as irrepairable damage was being done to the surrounding
foliage. Visitors are still reminded to respect the
wishes of the caretakers and cease hammering coins
into the foliage and to refrain from using the cross
in the courtyard.
Around the surrounding walls of the settlement,
visitors will see many stone cells. These are areas
where priests spent their days in prayer, when they
weren't working or studying. The wall at the back of
each cell is inscribed with a cross. It's unknown how
far back these inscriptions go, or if they were the
work of former members of the hermitage, or if they
were etched by thoughtless tourists, as this place has
long been a popular place of pilgrimage.
Finbarr died in 633 in the East Cork village
of Cloyne, another parrish in the Cork diocese. His
remains were taken to Cork and enshrined in silver.
Since that time, Finbarr was made a saint, and his saint's
day now falls on the 25th of September, and is celebrated
on the nearest Sunday with a special mass.
Since the time of Finbarr, Corcaigh has
become Ireland's second largest city and has been Anglicized
as Cork. Finbarr is the city's patron saint and the
cathedral bears his name--St Finbarr's Cathedral.
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original cross
coins
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There are some interesting stories about Finbarr. One
is associated with the forest park and tells how Finbarr
was led by an angel from the source of the River Lee,
which originates at the top of the mountain overlooking
Holy Island. Another story is a bit more legendary, as
it tells of a great chase and explusion of a lake serpent
from Gougane Lake, creating a channel that is now the
River Lee.
Click here to learn more about .
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Gougane Barra Forest Park
The park is located just outside the Gaeltacht village
of Ballingeary in an area called Coomroe, which means
Red Hollow--so named for the old red sandstone rocky mountains
which surround the valley.
In 1938, the valley was acquired for afforestation, the
conversion of bare or cultivated land into forest, by
the forestry service called .
Over the next four years, Sitka Spruce, Lodgepole Pin,
Japanese Larch and Scots Pines were planted. Once mature,
some areas have been harvested and replanted with an even
wider variety of species. One of the finest stands of
trees in the country is the Sitka Spruce, which stretch
as high as 38 meters (42 yards/nearly 500 feet) from the
valley floor. Sitka Spruce has long been an important
resource, with uses for not only timber and paper, but
also in the making of harps, violins, guitars and pionos,
as well as items like sailing boat spars, homebuilt aircraft
and the nosecones of Trident missiles.
The forest was officially opened in 1966 as a national
forest park and has a unique looped motor trail of almost
5km/about 3 miles with spectacular views deep into the
valley and high into mountains, which rise up like sheer
walls. For the energetic, there are several walking trails
with varying distances and degree of difficulty. Each
trail offers stunning views of the mountains and valley,
stream and lake, and small waterfalls. And of course,
this is the source of the River Lee.
Visitors will oftain see a few sheep wandering about.
And if lucky, one will also see deer, rabbit and other
forest wildlife. The park is also rich in the diversity
of plantlife. Ling Heather, Moor grasses, mosses and lichens
grow side-by-side with rarer plants such as Fox's Cabbage,
which grows on rock faces near mountain streams.
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Sitka Spruce
walking trails
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~ Free attraction (except on Sunday)
~ Free car parking available
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Easy access from car park along flat gravel paths, circular
road through park, hill walking on marked trails, access around
Holy Island on rough paths, easy access into chapel
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Gougane Barra Lake |
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