St Brendan International Conference, Friday May 17^th-Saturday May 18^th.

                Last weekend Tralee played host to an academic conference on the legend of Kerry’s patron saint. The Latin account of St Brendan’s travels, Navigatio Sancti Brendani, was a medieval bestseller, and it inspired a wide range of vernacular versions in whole of languages which included Irish, French and Dutch. The conference contributors sought to discuss the importance of the cult of Saint Brendan in European culture. The symposium came about through the cooperation of a number of different bodies which included the Gathering, Kerry County Council, Tralee Urban District Council, University College Cork and the Kerry Historical and Archaeological Society. The Kerry Council Tourist Officer, John Griffin provided the main impetus for organising the conference, and he was aided by Canon Tom Loony of the Historical and Archaeological Society and Dr John Sheehan from the School of Archaeology at UCC.

                The conference opened on Friday at the Siamsa Tíre Theatre with an opening speech by the Deputy Mayor of Tralee, Cllr Norma Folay. The keynote speech was given by Prof Joseph Nagey, a folklorist from the Department of English at the University of California, Los Angeles.  He spoke about the interesting parallels between the Latin Navagito and the famous classical epics, the Odyssey and the Aeneid.  

                Day two began at 9.30 in the Brandon Hotel Conference Centre. The first talk was a lecture by the UCC archaeologist Dr Tomás Ó Carragáin. The lecture was entitled The Saints of Corcu Duibne: archaeology, history and landscapes. In this lecture Ó Carrágain demonstrated the close relationship between certain noble families and particular saints’cults. For example the princes of Corcu Duibne seemed to have had a preference for St Maolcethair over that of St Brendan who was more associated with the rival tribe to the north. The close associations between tribes and saint’s cult can be seen at the church of Kilmalkedar which was located near Corcu Duibne’s northern border. The church was an impressive feat of architecture and can be interpreted as show of power by the Corcu Duibne. What makes the political aspect more salient is the belief that the church was designed by the same English architect who designed Cormac’s Chapel on the Rock of Cashel. It was in the interest of the McCarthy, the sept who built the Rock of Cashel and who were the overlord’s of the Corcu Duibne, to reinforce their supplicants territorial integrity as the tribes to Corcu Duibne’s north were commonly in league with rivals of the McCarthy’s.

                The second lecture by Prof Ó Rian, emeritus Professor of Old and Middle Irish, was called Kingdom Saints: Non-Kingdom churches. This lecture also focused on the complex relationship between saint’s cults and dynastic power. Ó Rian described how some Gaelic princes tried to change the geographic and genealogical origins of various saints in order to create an association between themselves and the saints. Princes tried to built such associations in order to win certain rights to popular cultic churches and in turn increase their prestige and poor. According to Ó Rian an attempt was once made by a powerful Connaught family to co-opt the origins of St Brendan.

                The third lecture focused on the importance of the Brendan cult in Europe. This talk was presented by Prof Jean-Michel Picard from the School of Languages and Literature at UCD. In this informative and interesting lecture Prof Picard discussed how St Brendan was particularly popular in Brittany where he was depicted as the mentor of one of Brittany’s favourite saints, St Malo, and as such he enjoyed a prominent place in Breton literature. As the patron saint of navigators the Brendan cult was strong in many coastal regions across the Continental.

                Prof Donnchadh Ó Corráin an emeritus Professor of Medieval History at UCC gave a lecture that many of the descriptions in the Navigatio could be interpreted a ‘scientific’ descriptions of various never before recorded natural phenomena such as icebergs and the island of Iceland.

                After a lunch the conference was treated to a fascinating lecture by Dr John Sheenan on The Navigatio in the context of the Faroe Islands. Here Dr Sheenan talked about the theory that an Irish monastic sight was located on one of the Faroe Islands prior to the Viking discovery and colonization. He highlighted the passages from the Navigatio and other Irish manuscripts which seem to be suggest that Irish monks knew of islands to the north of the Orkneys. He also suggested that the possible Irish etymology of the island Mykines might suggest a pre-Norse colonization. Mykines is possibly derived from the Irish muc-inis which means ‘pig island’. In Ireland such a name is usually associated with church sites and the remains of a medieval church are on the island but it is yet to be excavated in proper detail. He also discussed the possible Irish origin of a number of stone crosses found on the island.This was a thought provoked discussion and it would be interesting to see how the Faroe Islands debate is resolved.

                One of my favourite talks of the event was Dr Diarmuid Scully’s lecture Islands and Oceans: Contexts for the Brendan Voyage and Hereford Landscape in St Brendan voyage. In this presentation Dr Scully from the UCC School of History tried to place the Navagatio in  the theological context of the middle ages. During this period many believed that the Second Coming was near and it would come about once the Gospel reached the edges of the earth. In this context Brendan’s trip West could be seen as part of this mission to spread Christianity to the ends of the world. Another important context which Dr Scully highlighted was the medieval belief that the closer one comes to the edge of the world the more exotic and fantastical nature becomes. To reinforce this point he described in great detail the monsters located on the edges of the Hereford Map and Ebstorf Map. When this context is understood is becomes clear why the author of the Navagito choose to populate Brendan’s voyage with so many strange and wonderful creatures.

                The final lecture was given by Dr Jonathon Wooding from the School of Theology, Religious Studies and Islamic Studies at the University of Wales, Lampeter. Dr Wooding discussed how the Navagatio could be seen as metaphor for the monastic life. The seven years which St Brendan spend sailing in a circle could be seen as analogous to the monastic life which is ordered by the liturgical year and by the Divine Office.

                The conference was topped off with a conference overview delivered by Prof Nagy and a short speech by Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Jimmy Deenihan. In summary the Saint Brendan International Conference proved to be a great of success: each conference speaker brought an interesting and informative perspective to the St Brendan myth and I think everyone left much more appreciative of the artistry and complexity of  the Navagito.