‘So, Brendan, son of Findlug, sailed then over the wave-voice of the strong-maned sea, and over the storm of the green-sided waves and over the mouth of the marvellous, awful, bitter ocean, where they saw the multitude of the furious, red-mouthed monsters, with abundance of great sea-whales. And they found beautiful, strange islands, and yet they tarried not therein.’
Naomh Breandán, an Loingseoir: Brendan the Navigator was born about 484AD in Fenit, North Kerry. He founded monasteries in Ardfert and Clonfert, Galway. Following a huge tradition of adventurous voyaging (Immram) he undertook a sea voyage in an open currach to the “Promised Land of the Saints”, in this instance America. His voyage was recorded in the ninth century account Navigatio Sancti Brendani, Abbatis, which was something of a European bestseller. It prompted other voyagers to sail west into the Atlantic. He died in 577AD
About 1400 years after Brendan’s voyage, Cork man Tim Severin constructed a leather sailing naomhóg using the same design and technologies as the saint. His boat ‘The Brendan’ was built of Irish ash and oak, hand-lashed with leather thongs, and wrapped in ox hides sealed with wool grease. In May 1976, I joined hundreds of others on a blustery day at the tiny harbour of Brandon Creek/Cuas an Bhodaigh in west Kerry. From here Brendan and his monks had sailed in the sixth century. There was a tangible sense that day that we were present at a juncture where new and old worlds met. This was the first attempt of the Brendan boat to set sail to the Americas. Because the seas and winds were too rough on the day, the sailing was postponed, eventually leading to a successful launch a week later.
Severin and his crew followed the route described in the Navigatio account – finding and ticking off the various destinations reached by the monks as they sailed – the Hebrides, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland. Overwintering in Iceland because of the early arrival of pack-ice to the west, the Brendan resumed its journey the following year and reached Peckford Island, Newfoundland in June 1977. Using oars and sail, it had successfully completed a journey of 4,500 miles. The voyage unequivocally demonstrated that sixth century Irish monks could have reached the New World. Here in East Clare, we are fortunate to have Tim Severin’s iconic Brendan boat as a permanent exhibit at nearby Craggaunowen, Kilmurry.
As well as Severin’s book on his voyage, the journey also inspired Shaun Davy to compose his wonderful musical suite ‘The Brendan Voyage’. Master piper Liam O’ Flynn used the uileann pipes as the voice of the leather boat, while the marine world of the Atlantic is performed by the symphony orchestra.
In 2016 I had the good fortune to meet Tim Severin, Shaun Davey and Liam O’Flynn at the Brendan boat in Craggaunowen. It is my regret that I did not bring my copy of ‘The Brendan Voyage’ that day and have them sign it for me. Both Liam and Tim have since died.
Give yourself a treat. Get a copy of Severin’s book, listen to the Brendan Voyage Suite (it’s on Spotify) and visit the leather boat in its glass shed at Craggaunowen. There you will connect with the 6th century saint, the 1970’s adventurer and get a glimpse of a Celtic world we are fast forgetting.
MH.
16/06/2026.
References:
Carl Selmer (Editor) Navigatio Sancti Brendani Abbatis, from Early Latin Manuscripts, Four Courts Press, Dublin, 1959.
Tim Severin, The Brendan Voyage, Mcgraw-Hill Book Co. , New York, 1978