St Maughold's Kirk is built over the 6th Century 'Keeill' (cell) where tradition has it that the Saint lived and is buried. - Photo: Fr John Boles SSC
On a recent Columban promotional visit to the Isle of Man, I chanced upon a line of holy statues outside the Catholic Church in Ramsey. I recognized all the images apart from one, a small empty boat. “That’s the sign of St Maughold, co-patron of the parish and patron saint of the whole Isle of Man,” explained Fr Philip Gillespie. When not attending to his duties as Rector of the Beda College in Rome, Fr Philip helps serve the Catholic population on Man and is well versed in the island’s culture. He went on to relate the tradition of St Maughold (UK pronunciation Mak-eld).
When St Patrick arrived in Ireland, he came across a brigand and freebooter called Maughold, who eventually repented his evil ways and confessed his sins to the saint. Patrick pardoned him but, as a penance, pushed him out in a coracle with neither sail nor oars, saying, “Wherever you land will be your place of mission”. Eventually, he made landfall on the Isle of Man, just down the coast from Ramsey at what is now called St Maughold’s Head. The castaway drank from a spring (still known as Maughold’s Well) and then stumbled upon two Irish monks (earlier disciples of Patrick) who had founded a small monastery nearby. Maughold joined them, later becoming abbot and finally Bishop of the Isle of Man around AD 500.
Whatever the historical truth of the tale might be, the fact is that by this time, Irish missionaries had succeeded in converting the inhabitants of the island (thereafter known as the “Manx” people) to Christianity. Moreover, this venture was just a small part of the great missionary wave that would carry Irish monks to much of north-west Europe, be it Columba (“Columcille”) to Iona in Scotland or our own St Columban (“Columbanus”) to France, Switzerland, and Italy.
Fr Philip filled me in on a little more of the Isle of Man’s story. Incidentally, the name “Man” has nothing to do with gender! It probably comes from “mannin”, a corruption of the Celtic Manx word for “island”. Others say the word derives from Manannán, a Celtic sea god. Sitting as it does, more or less equidistant from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, the territory was considered fair game by any potential invader during the Middle Ages. It fell prey to the Irish in the fifth century (not all those visitors from Ireland were peace-loving missionaries, apparently), followed by the Anglo-Saxons in the seventh century, the Vikings in the eighth, the Scots in the thirteenth, and the Normans in the fourteenth, each successive invader leaving its mark on the local culture and landscape.
As a result, the Manx developed a distinct identity. In modern times, they’ve struggled to maintain the Manx language (akin to Celtic Irish), although the language enjoyed a post-War revival (encouraged by, among others, Irish President Eamon de Valera) and is now spoken by almost 2,000 of the island’s 84,000 inhabitants.
Fr John Boles beside the 'oar-less coracle', symbl of St. Maughold, outside the church in Ramsey. - Photo: Fr John Boles SSC
By early modern times, the Isle of Man was effectively part of Great Britain. However, in 1866, in recognition the island’s loyalty and individuality, Queen Victoria declared it a Crown Dependency, subject not to the British Parliament but directly to the monarch. Hence, the Isle of Man is not part of the United Kingdom. It does not send representatives to the Westminster Parliament, instead maintaining its own parliament - the “Tynwald”. Reputedly, the Vikings established the Tynwald in AD 979, and it is said to be the oldest continuous representative institution in the world. Man did not take part in the 2016 Referendum on European Union Membership. Consequently, some Manx legislators argue that Brexit does not apply to the Isle of Man!
Situated amidst the remains of another ancient keeill monastery a few miles south of St Maughold’s, the Lonan Wheelcross is the finest Celtic monument on the Isle of Man and one of the best preserved in-situ Celtic crosses anywhere in Europe. Dating from the fifth century, it is decorated with intricate interlacing and displays the characteristic Manx detail of four circular hollows at the junction of the shaft and arms.
Intrigued by all this, I decided to visit the site of St Maughold’s Monastery. It is a deeply evocative place. Fr Philip had already warned me that “when you hear the term ‘monastery’, you tend to think of some big, organized institution, but no, Celtic monasteries predate this; they are quite different.
They started as collections of huts - “keeills” in Manx, “cells” in English - with a monk alone in each little building, where he’d eat, sleep, pray and even be buried when he died”. At St Maughold’s, you find the remains of four such structures. One has had an ancient church built over it and dedicated to St Maughold, leading people to claim that the very remains of the saint lie within.
However, the real treasures are dotted around the site in the form of gravestones spanning some fifteen centuries. Their designs reflect Manx, Irish, Saxon, Viking, and Norman influences, with the inscriptions varying from Latin and Old English to Ogham Script and Norse Runes.
I refreshed myself at St Maughold’s Well. The local Anglican church still draws its baptismal waters from the spring, a moving example of Manx adherence to tradition.
Finally, I scaled the summit of St Maughold’s Head. Looking out to where the currents of the North Atlantic churn into those of the Irish Sea, I imagined I could spot Maughold, tossed about in his tiny oar-less craft, approaching the shore to evangelize a people and inspire an island.
Columban Fr John Boles is Regional Director of the Columbans in Britain.
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