The legend of An Gobán Saor
An Gobán Saor was a highly skilled smith or architect in Irish history and legend. Gobban the Builder is a figure regarded in Irish traditional lore as an architect of the seventh century employed by many Irish saints to build churches, oratories, and bell towers.
When he wanted to hammer nails into a high beam, he would fling them into the air and throw his hammer after them, catching it as it came down after driving the nails into the beam. In this way, he was able to get through the work of ten men in short order.
The legend of An Gobán Saor has been carried nationwide and many counties lay claim to either his birth, residence or burial place. Such was the myth of this man ‘who was highly skilled in every trade’ that legends abound around him in Kildare, Galway, Tipperary. We can lay claim to our own version in Quin thanks to Eugene O’Curry from West Clare.
“In the body of the church (Quin Abbey) is a green narrow flag without any inscription but with the outline of this figure [a hatchet] cut pretty deeply lengthways on it. It is the size of an ordinary hatchet. The stone is apparently very old and does not seem to occupy its original situation; the grave which it covers being too new for it. Quite close to the abbey on the south is a small ruin called Tíg na Saor [house of the masons], one of whom (na saoir) must have been under this flag. Some of the people will tell you that it covered the grave of the Gobán Saor, whose name was O’Daly and who lived at Cathair Gobáin between Newmarket and Bunratty. He built Quin Abbey, the stone pillars of the cloister being his own workmanship. These pillars are of different shapes, some round, some square, and others as if some of the square ones had been twisted round and my informant said that they were twisted by the Gobán, though he (the Gobán) asserted that he shaped them out with a celebrated tool called cor in aghaidh an chaim agus cam in aghaidh an choir [turn against the twist and twist against the turn].
Henry Pelham 1794 painting and John L. Worrall’s lithograph of Quin Abbey. In both we can see Tíg na Saor on the left-hand side of the abbey.
Two Connaught horse dealers, having strolled into the ruin some years ago, were much astonished at seeing the twisted pillars, one of them in admiration exclaimed Óra thanam aig an diabhal a Mhairtín, nár láidre an fear do chas na clochaidh sin. Óc’s thanam aig an diabhal a dhailtín (says the other) cár láidre é ná an fear do ghremaidhe dó iad. [By my soul Mairtín, but wasn’t the man strong who twisted those stones? And by my soul, says the other, how much stronger was he than the man who held them for him?]”
(Letters on the Antiquities of County Clare, 1835 by Eugene O’Curry – Letter VI: Quin Abbey; The Gobán Saor
Extract of a letter from E Curry to George Smith Esq. College Green, Dublin, dated Limerick,30 September 1835)
The remains of Tíg na Saor (the Masons House) can still be seen on the right hand side of the footpath as you approach the pedestrian entrance to Quin Abbey.
Reference websites
https://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4602747/4600673/4632878
