Gobnait
| Saint Gobnait | |
|---|---|
Saint Gobnait
|
|
| Born | fl 6th century |
| Venerated in |
Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church |
| Feast | 11 February |
| Patronage | bees |
Saint Gobnait (fl. 6th century?), also known as Gobnat or Mo Gobnat, is the name of a medieval, female Irish saint whose church was Móin Mór, later Bairnech, in the village of Ballyvourney (Irish: Baile Bhuirne), County Cork in Ireland. She was associated with the Múscraige and her church and nunnery lay on the borders between the Múscraige Mittine and Eóganacht Locha Léin. Her feast day is 11 February.
No hagiographical Life is known to have described her life and miracles, but she appears in the Life of her senior companion St Abbán moccu Corbmaic, written in the early 13th century but known only through later recensions. Saint Finbarr's Life implies that Gobnait's church belonged to Finbarr's foundation at Cork by alleging that it was not founded by her, but by one of his disciples. In spite of this, Gobnait's cult continued to thrive here and the ruins of a medieval church dedicated to her are still visible today.
The Félire Óengusso and the Martyrology of Donegal give her feast-day on 11 February.
Gobnait was born in County Clare in the 5th or 6th Century, and is said to have been the sister of Saint Abban. She fled a family feud, taking refuge in Inis Óir in the Aran Islands. Here an angel appeared and told her that this was "not the place of her resurrection" and that she should look for a place where she would find nine white deer grazing. She found the deer at the place now known as St. Gobnet's Wood. Saint Abban is said to have worked with her on the foundation of the convent and to have placed Saint Gobnait over it as abbess.
Celtic lore held bees in high esteem, believing the soul left the body as a bee or a butterfly. Gobnait is said to have added beekeeping to her life's work, developing a lifelong affinity with them. She started a religious order and dedicated her days to helping the sick. It has been speculated that she used honey as a healing aid. She is credited with saving the people at Ballyvourney from the plague.
...
Wikipedia