In Celebration of St Brendan the Navigator

There are some very interesting saints encountered when pursuing holy wells in the south west of Ireland and one of my favourites is St Brendan, usually known as the Navigator. His feast day is coming up on the 16th May so it seems timely to explore his life story which can be traced via holy wells in counties Cork and Kerry, with occasional sorties elsewhere.

St Brendan is said to have been born somewhere near Fenit in County Kerry in 484 CE, his parents named Finnlug and Cara. On the occasion of his birth, St Erc looked out across the bay from the spot below on Kerryhead and spotted mysterious lights in the sky, a sure sign that someone important had just been born.

Fenit remembers the saint with a remarkable bronze statue erected in 2002, the work of Tighe O’Donoghue. Placed on a commanding and windswept position on Samphire Rock, Brendan is depicted as powerful and chunky, standing astride a small boat, gazing out across Fenit harbour towards the sea and his destiny.

Well of the Wethers, Tobar na Molt, Ardfert, County Kerry

Mobhi, as the baby was originally called, was taken to Ardfert to be baptised by bishop Erc – yes, the same one who had seen the lights. The well remains and is a beautiful, tranquil spot. Erc bestowed the infant with the name Broen-finn, meaning fair-drop, now anglicised to Brendan.

St Brendan is widely believed to have been given into fosterage to St Ita when he was one year old. She was known as the Foster Mother of the Saints of Ireland and Brendan remained in her care until he was six. This beautiful and tender stained glass panel shows St Ita with St Brendan under her charge.

She is said to be buried here at Tobar na Molt, a mound and a ceramic angel marking the spot.

A little further away is a remarkable chest tomb, the figures said to represent the three saints associated with this site: Erc, Brendan and Ita. It is now much worn due to adoration by pilgrims.

This extract from Waterville National School in the Schools Folklore Collection sums up Brendan’s early childhood:

Saint Brendan, the Patron Saint of Kerry was born near Fenit in 484 A.D. He was baptised by Bishop Erc at Wether’s Well. St. Brendan had always been a favoured man. On the night of his birth in Fenit, Kerry, the Bishop had seen an extraordinary blade of light and Angels in gleaming robes flying with gifts to all the neighbouring houses. A white mist spread over the Cape of Fenit on the day after. A year after when his friends gave the baby to St Ita ( a holy Abbess in the County of Limerick) she saw Angels about his cot. the child was very clever from his early youth.’ Why are you always so happy’ said his foster mother to him. ‘There are so many holy women like you who pass me from hand to hand and nurse me,’ said St. Brendan. Saint Ita had no nurses in her house so she knew by that reply that the Angels were still with the miraculous boy. (SFC:162:0475)

Brendan later established a Monastery in Ardfert:

He built a monastery in Ardfert. It is said that when he was resting on a rock one day near Ardfert, he had a plant in his hand. A little bird came on and picked it out of his hand and flew away. He watched him flying off and saw him leaving it fall where the cathedral is now in Ardfert. (SFC:012:0439)

Although nothing remains from St Brendan’s time, the ruins of the twelfth century cathedral and two associated churches are impressive, and open to the public.

St Ita’s Holy Well, Killeedy, County Limerick

St Ita established a convent and training school for young boys in what is now Killeedy, County Limerick. It seems Brendan had huge respect for his teacher and mentor and continued to visit her throughout his life. He once asked her what were the three things which God most detested, and she replied: A scowling face, obstinacy in wrong-doing, and too great a confidence in the power of money. When Brendan asked her were the three things God especially loved she replied: True faith in God with a pure heart, a simple life with a religious spirit, and open-handedness inspired by charity.

St Ita’s convent has long since gone but a small well dedicated to the her remains in the graveyard at Killeedy, where she is still much revered.

The Well of Brendan’s Anointing, Tobar Olla Bréannain, Valentia Island, County Kerry

When he was six Brendan was sent to Saint Jarlath’s monastery school at Tuam to further his education where he was tutored by Finnian of Clonard. At the age of twenty-six, Brendan was ordained by Saint Erc, (yes, him again) and was later recognised as one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.  It seems he was an accomplished sailor, using his curragh to travel along the wild coast of Kerry carrying out his missionary work. One day he was sailing from the Blasket Islands to visit St Buonia in the Glen near Ballinskelligs. As he was sailing past Valentia Island, a man shouted out from the top of the cliffs, begging him for assistance:

… The saint came at once and set his boat into a little narrow creek where he found a landing place, like that he came to on the first island he reached in his ‘Great Voyage’, where the rocks stood on every side like a wall. He drew up his boat and ascended the frowning cliff by means of steps. He learned from the stranger that two people were on the point of death and had not received the Last Sacraments. He followed his guide, who lead him into the thick of a forest, which is now an extensive bog. Here he found two men dying who desired to become Christians. These men had not been baptized nor received any religious instruction for want of opportunity. Saint Brendan having instructed the dying man, he gave him the Sacraments of Baptism and Extreme Unction and after a short time they died, holy and happy. They were buried where they died … (SFDC:300:0467)

Another entry in the Schools Folklore Collection describes how a well sprung up so he could anoint the dying pagans. The well is still known as Tobar Olla Bréanainn, the Well of Brendan’s Anointing.

It was renovated in 1984, the 1500th anniversary of Brendan’s birth, and even though it is in a wild and lonely spot, is still revered. The path where he clambered up the frowning cliffs (his handprints till visible apparently) is called Staighre Breanndán and the rock on which he landed is called the Leac Bheannuighthe, the Blessed Flag.

St Brendan’s Well, Tobar Bréanainn, Mount Brandon, County Kerry

At some point Brendan found himself on top of Mount Brandon, or Sliabh nDaidche as it was originally known. He remained aloft for three days and nights, during which time he had a vision in which an angel told him to seek out the Isle of the Blessed, the Promised Land. He eventually built a church on the summit, Teampaillin Bréanainn, the mountain was renamed Cnoc Bréanainn and a well sprung up nearby known as Tobar Bréanainn. The well, said to be bottomless, is a small dip in the ground, still containing water when I visited.

The mountain remains a site of pilgrimage and is generally visited on the last Sunday in July, Reek Sunday, making it a Lunasa site. The original turas was made at dawn, which meant pilgrims had to spend the night on the mountain. There are strong connections with the ancient dark stooped one, Crom Dubh, the harvest god, who Brendan first had to defeat by taming a ferocious bull, sent to test him. I did the pilgrimage in 2019 when we were treated to a remarkable day, full of sunshine and warmth. It was a pretty formidable climb to the top but fortunately, unlike St Brendan, I didn’t lose anything:

… on one occasion Saint Brendan, officiating on the summit, found that his missal had been forgotten: this was passed up from the mountain foot by the throng of pilgrims from hand to hand.

Holy Wells of Corca Guiney, Caoimhin Ó Danachair

St Brendan’s Well, Tobar Bhreanainn, Cloghane, County Kerry

There is another holy well in the village of Cloghane, which lies at the bottom of the mountain and is the traditional starting place for the pilgrimage. It is also dedicated to St Brendan and was originally included in the rounds. There was no sign of it when I visited in 2019 but the well seems to have been revealed and signage put up in 2024 – thank you to Gail Tangney for sending me the photos.

An alternative route up the mountain is via another pilgrim path, Cosán na Naomh, the Saints’ Path, which wends its way up from Ventry strand originally to the summit of the mountain but the route now finishes at the foot of the mountain at Baile Breac and is a steep hike from thereon. This route is probably medieval and also has links with St Brendan, but it might replace a much more ancient procession.

St Brendan’s Well, Kilcoman, County Kerry

Just out of Ventry, on the Cosán na Naomh, is an ecclesiastical settlement in the townland of Kilcolman, Cill na gColmán, famous for a remarkable boulder engraved with a Maltese cross and an ogham inscription interpreted as ANM COL(OLṬḤ)ṂẠṆ ẠḶỊṬḤIR. This is usually considered to be a mistake on the part of the craftsman who may have been trying to carve ANM COLMAN AILITHIR: Name of Colman the Pilgrim.

Just outside the enclosure was a well, dedicated to St Brendan, now vanished. This might be the site of it.

Continuing along the Cosán, the pilgrim passes through the extraordinarily site of Kilmalkeadar, Cill Maol Chéadarrich, rich in archaeological and sacred remains, many named after St Brendan.

St Brendan’s Well, Tobar Bréanainn, Kilmalkeadar, County Kerry

St Brendan’s House is on the outskirts of the main site, restored by the OPW but mystifyingly out of bounds. It once was once part of the monastic settlement and probably housed clergy.

Nestling at the foot of this building is a small well, dedicated to the saint, still revered. Originally this well would have been visited on St Brendan’s Day, 16th May, and on the last Sunday in July, Reek Sunday, the day of the pilgrimage up the mountain.

A second well lies forlorn and forgotten in a nearby field. Was this well also originally dedicated to St Brendan?

A short walk away is an attractive oratory also dedicated to saint, very similar to the better know Gallarus. This delightful drawing of St Brendan’s Oratory is by Victor du Noyes.

Back to the summit of Mt Brandon where Brendan received the vision from the angel who urged him to seek out the Promised Land. He pondered long and hard as to what he should do:

Shall I take my tiny boat across the wide, sparkling ocean?

O King of the glorious heaven, shall I go of my own choice upon the sea?

O Christ, will you help me on the wild waves?

He eventually decided to follow his fate. Having fasted for 40 days on top of Mt Brandon he set sail from Brandon Creek with 16 Companions and three non-believers who hopped on board at the last moment. They departed in an exceptionally small boat, two interpretations shown here: the one on the left is in Cahersiveen and the one on the right is in Bantry. The Kilnaruane stone just outside Bantry may also refer to his voyage, a boat seen on one of the sides, travelling sideways and becoming increasingly eroded.

This entry from the Schools’ Folklore Collection suggests that the first boat was too small. Nice to see that the bond between saint and foster mother was still strong:

Brendan dwelt for some time, on the slopes of Brandon mountain, where he spent most of his time in prayer. One day about twenty monks came to him in his hut, and they consulted with him, to spread the true faith in other lands. They built a boat made of beast skins and set sail for the Land of the Blessed. A big storm arose and it carried the back to Brandon Harbour again. Then St. Brendan went to St. Ita, his foster-mother at Killeedy. She advised him to have a great wooden boat built and it was. They set sail again for the Blessed Land and this time they found it. After some time preaching there, he came back to Ireland again. (SFC:012:0439)

The epic voyage, which lasted for seven years, is richly described in the 9th century manuscript  Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis, the Voyage of St. Brendan the Abbot which recounts the many adventures, trials and tribulations experience by the saint and his companions. Their route seems to have encompassed the Hebrides, Iceland and Greenland and they are now generally believed to have landed in Newfoundland. They encountered many marvels including: an island with a dog and Ethiopian devil but no people; an island of grapes (where they stayed for 40 days); a silver pillar wrapped in a net; Judas Iscariot sitting on a small rock in the sea; another island where monks the had magic loaves, never aged and maintained complete silence; and one island where they landed and celebrated Mass, only to find it was in fact a gigantic sea monster, called Jascon!  St Brendan clearly deserves his popular epithet of The Navigator.

The Navigatio is an immram – an epic poem style peculiar to Ireland that describes a hero’s series of adventures in a boat. This style of storytelling was very popular during the seventh and eighth centuries, and the Navigatio was admired and well known not just in Ireland but also further afield in Europe. At first the Navigatio was considered to be a Christian allegory and that such a voyage in such a small boat would have been impossible. However, this idea was challenged and finally put to the test in the 1970s when Tim Severin decided to see if was indeed possible. He built a a replica curragh, named it The Brendan, and set sail from Brandon Creek in Kerry on 17th May 1976.

Thirteen months later he arrived in Newfoundland on the 26th June 1977. He concluded:

… she was a true ocean-going vessel, and there was no longer any practical objection to the idea that Irish monks might have sailed their leather boats to North America before the Norsemen, and long before Columbus. (Tim Severin)

In 1980, Shaun Davey composed The Brendan Voyage: an orchestral suite integrating a traditional Irish uillean pipe solo with a full orchestra. Have a listen.

You might find these blogs from Roaringwater Journal interesting too as Finola examines Brendan’s journey through St Brandanus a fourteenth century graphic novel! Some gorgeous stained glass too.

St Brendan remains patron saint of County Kerry where there are numerous holy wells dedicated to him. A particularly interesting one is in Kildurrihy near Ventry which comes with a strange story of how the water turns into wine at Epiphany – a family who went to investigate were turned into stone and can still be seen!

At Caherpierce, Tobar na Croise, Well of the Cross, still on the Dingle Peninsula, water seeps under a rock in a magnificent wild setting, the well believed to be dedicated to St Brendan.

In County Cork the wells with St Brendan as their patron have tended to fare a little less well. This one, in a a magnificent setting at Castlepoint, West Cork, is forgotten and ignored but, like so many of the holy wells dedicated to him, very close to the sea.

Another tiny well, high up on a mountain but with sea views out towards the Atlantic, might have Brendan as its patron. Tiobroid Ulla, Well of the Penitential station, is really tough to get to but vibrating with presence.

And the well dedicated to St Brendan is in Ballyhooly is signed but was covered in foliage when I visited. This is traditionally visited at Easter as well as St Brendan’s Day and holds a blessed frog.

Wells connected with St Brendan tend to be coastal, unsurprisingly, and there are also examples in Counties Clare, Mayo and Dublin, as well as in Brittany. He is also revered in County Galway where he died in 577AD at the impressive age of 93. He is buried in Clonfert where he established a church, long since gone but the existing cathedral is renowned for its pediment with its astonishing carvings.

St Brendan’s grave is outside the cathedral and is plain and unassuming. Tradition dictates that he was buried secretly so that his remains could not be harvested as relics. A short walk away down the Nun’s Path is St Brendan’s tree, liberally covered in offerings,

There was also a holy well which, if I have understood correctly, is now part of the tree as Christy Cunliffe describes in the  South East Archaeological and Historical Society Newsletter, Spring 2012: 

Devotion at holy wells and sacred trees is still quite common throughout rural Ireland. This example in the woodland near the cathedral at Clonfert consists of a holy well dedicated to St Brendan. It manifests itself in the form of a horse chestnut tree with a small opening in its northern side. In its original form St Brendan’s Well consisted of an actual well in the ground located in the corner of afield some three hundred metres south east of here. According to tradition the well was desecrated when a dog drowned in it. It then dried up as is usual for wells that are interfered with in some way. It moved to a new location in the bough of a large ash tree growing on the ‘hill of the abbey about a hundred metres away. The folklore attached to this latter well relates that two young boys climbed the tree and that one of them ‘peed’ into the waters of the well causing it to fall in a subsequent storm . (Cunniffe 2012, 2).

Further on in the text, Cunniffe refers to a modern well which is now being revered but I can find no information or photos of it.

As well as being patron saint of County Kerry, St Brendan is also in charge of whales, sailors, elderly adventurers, fishermen and the US Navy! Brendan remains a very popular name in Ireland. His feast day, 16th May, continues to be celebrated in many places. This year (2026) there are three special events:

St Brendan the Navigator Festival is a five day event of celebrations in his birthplace, Fenit, County Kerry – 13-17 May.

An Open Air Mass will be held at Tobar na Molt, Ardfert, the site of St Brendan’s baptism on Friday 15th May at 7.30pm.

Sailing with St Brendan: a river pilgrimage in his honour will start at Athlone Lock on the River Shannon, County Westmeath at 9pm on 16th May, pilgrims travelling by boat via Clonmacnoise and then on foot to Clonfert Cathedral.

Happy Feast Day St Brendan.

The locations of all wells mentioned can be found in the Gazetteer.

Many thanks to Finola Finlay and Gail Tangney for permission to use their photographs.