Irish monks and scholars, many with Galway connections, gained fame throughout Europe in medieval times as they travelled near and far spreading Christianity. Their genius is being celebrated next weekend with a bus tour which is running as part of Heritage Week.  The Saints and Scholars of Corrib County will visit sites associated with these saints and participants will learn how bonds forged centuries ago remain relevant today. JUDY MURPHY goes on a voyage of discovery.

The ancient monasteries and churches that dot Ireland’s landscapes are so plentiful that it’s easy to forget their significance in our history – not to mention their role in the broader history of Europe.

But that role will be centre stage on Saturday, August  24, courtesy of a bus tour on the theme of The Saints and Scholars of Corrib County and their connections to Europe.

It will begin in Claregalway Friary, following tea and coffee in Claregalway Castle, and will then continue to Cong Abbey, Ross Errilly Friary, Killursa and Annaghdown Abbey, with expert speakers at each location.

Eugene Jordan who is leading the event, points out that Ireland’s monks were to the forefront of learning in Europe during the early days of Christianity, from the sixth century on, and that several of them, including St Brendan and St Fursey, had strong links with Lough Corrib.

This country’s influence on early medieval Europe earned it the name The Island of Saints and Scholars. And it’s the scholarship aspect that Eugene wants to focus on in this outing, because, as he points out, people aren’t really aware of it, apart from those who’ve studied medieval history in college.

Eugene wants to share with people how the German eagle ended up featuring on the Connacht flag, how local monk, St Fursey, inspired Dante’s Divina Comedia – The Divine Comedy – and how St Brendan was responsible for the medieval bestseller, Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis (The Voyage of Saint Brendan the Abbot).

These facts and many more will be imparted on the tour which is being organised by local groups, Moycullen Heritage and Corrib Beo, as part of Heritage Week. The first pick-up point for the bus will be in Moycullen at 8.30am, and the second is in Galway City, at 9am, before events formally kick off in Claregalway.

Eugene, a former Chairperson of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, is equally at home in the sixth century and the sixteenth, as he gives details of local saints, their travels and their influence.

His passion for this era developed later in life when he attended to “unfinished business” on the education front.

From Shantalla Road in the city and now living in Barna, Eugene left school at 16 and apprenticed as an electrician, working in that job for years and returning to in later life.

But in between, realising that he was spending too much time on the road and missing out on his young family, he took a different path and found a job with more regular hours. After a period with O’Connor TV, he began working with another city company, which expanded rapidly during the boom. But then came 9-11 in the US, followed by Foot and Mouth disease, both of which affected business, and the organisation downsized.

Several employees were made redundant including Eugene, who availed of the opportunity to attend NUIG – now the University of Galway. For someone who had left school without sitting the Leaving Cert, this had been a lifelong ambition and he did a BA in History and Psychology, followed by a Master’s in Information Technology.  Professor Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, a leading authority in medieval studies, was among  his teachers and Eugene loved those classes.

“It was there I discovered the geniuses of the medieval world that I had known nothing about,” he says, adding that this period of history is rarely studied outside of universities.

Pictured: Eugene Jordan, Vice Chairperson, Moycullen Heritage, Bernie Higgins, Secretary, Moycullen Heritage, Archdeacon Anthony Previté and Denis Goggin, Corrib Beo, in St Nicholas’ Collegiate Church. They will be sharing their knowledge of this period in history on August 24. PHOTO: JOE O’SHAUGHNESSY.