Bréanainn or Brendan of Ardfert and Clonfert is the patron of the dioceses of Kerry and Clonfert. The Annals of Inisfallen give him a birthdate of 486 and a death date of 578 AD. Bréanainn’s main foundation was at Clonfert in Co.Galway. The Ciarraige Luachra adopted Bréanainn as their patron, carrying his cult with them along the northern shore of the Dingle peninsula as far as Mount Brandon. Bréanainn was baptised by Bishop Erc who had his base at Tearmonn Eirc in Kilmoyley. His baptism took place at Tobar na Molt or Wether’s Well near Tubrid, Ardfert, which is a popular place of pilgrimage to this very day. At a very young age Bréanainn was fostered by St Íde of Killeedy in Co.Limerick. He then came under the tutelage of Erc, who is said to have ordained Bréanainn as a priest.
In the ‘Lives of Bréanainn’, he is said to have gone on a voyage from his parents’ country, a voyage which did not bring him or his companions far. It was only when he built a wooden ship in Connacht that his voyage succeeded in bringing him to the Promised Land. This is one tradition; another is found in the voyage tale most associated with him, the “Voyage of St. Brendan the abbot”, a text which most scholars date to around 800 AD. Bréanainn and his companions have many adventures, and we can be fairly sure that Irish monks were voyaging well beyond Irish shores, and it is possible that they reached America. In the ‘Lives of Bréanainn’, we have him coming back from his voyaging after discovering the Land of Promise and founding other monasteries before he dies at Annaghdown and is brought to Clonfert for burial.
Bréanainn’s story continues to fascinate people to this day, and of course in the 1970’s, Tim Severin’s voyage to Newfoundland showed that a boat like Bréanainn was certainly capable of that length of journey. The statue which stands at Fenit sums up much of the rugged character of this sea-farer and great saint. It is for us to follow his gaze and look out to the Desert of the Ocean which still calls us to voyage in search of the Land of God’s promise.
