St Kevin of Glendalough (498?-618) Dates of his life
The year of Kevin’s birth is
generally given as 498 and the Annals of Ulster record the date of his
death as 618.
This would give him 120 years! More likely he was born in
the middle of the sixth century.
Early formation at Kilnamanagh
Sources
The sources for his story are the Codex Kilkenniensis in Marsh’s Library in Dublin which has three Latin Lives written probably in the 11th century and three Irish Lives transcribed by Michael O’Clery in 1629 from the old books that relied on oral traditions and pilgrims’ tales.
Baptised by Cronan
His father was named Coemlug
and his mother Coemella. According to legend, when the boy was being
brought to the priest Cronan for baptism, a person appeared and breathed
on the child, blessing him and calling him Coemgen. Cronan believed
this was an angel and said, “So shall he always be called Coemgenus
('beautiful born') for he will be most beautiful”.
Close to nature and love of animals
Like many
Celtic saints, Kevin was close to nature and had a great love of
animals. When he was a boy, every morning and evening a white cow would
come to his parents’ house with milk for him, perhaps symbolic of the
wisdom, poetry and brightness associated with the boy.
Early formation at Kilnamanagh
His parents
brought him to the monastery of Kilnamanagh in Tallaght near Dublin and
here he underwent instruction and spiritual formation by three holy men,
Eoghan, Lochan and Enna.
A place of solitude
But at an early age he
wandered off into the Wicklow Mountains and spent time in solitude at
first at Hollywood near Blessington and finally in Glendalough. Legend
says his place of solitude was revealed when the owner of a cow that
strayed into the area discovered that she began to produce great
quantities of milk. His three teachers came and took him back to the
monastery where he continued his studies.
More miracles
A story from his training time at
Kilnamanagh marks him out as extraordinary. One day Kevin was supposed
to bring a source of fire to light the candles for Mass, but forgot.
'Run quickly for the fire and bring it,' an older monk shouted. 'How
will I carry it?' Kevin asked. 'In your bosom,' came the reply. Kevin
went instantly and collected the fire in a cloth he had around him, but
neither his clothes nor his flesh were harmed in any way. The older
monk, full of remorse, said, 'O holy youth, I see that you are full of
the Holy Spirit.'
Celibacy
Another story about his choice of
celibacy relates to his time of training at Kilnamanagh. A young woman
saw him with his companions in the fields and fell passionately in love
with him and pursued him in many ways but he resisted her advances.
One
day she came on him alone and embraced him and asked him tenderly to lie
with him.
Kevin rushed away and finding a bed of nettles, stripped off
his clothes and rolled himself in them naked. When she further pursued
him, he quickly dressed, took up a bunch of nettles and beat her off.
She, realising the hopelessness of her quest, quickly repented and went
off herself to become a nun.
Probably the story shows that at the heart
of Kevin’s quest for holiness there was a real struggle.
Ordained priest
Kevin was ordained priest by Bishop Lugidius and founded a monastery at Cluainduaich, though the location of this is unknown.
Search for solitude and the ascetical life
He
soon went back again at Glendalough in search of solitude and the
ascetical life. He first settled near the upper lake, and lived in a
narrow cave in a rock above the lake still to be seen today and called
'St Kevin's Bed'. The cave is accessible by boat, but still involves a
steep upward climb.
Kevin wore only wild animal skins and ate what food he could gather
from the surrounding trees and plants. He slept on a stone slab with
another stone as a pillow. Sometimes he would stand in the cold waters
of the lake reciting the psalms - a common penitential practice for
Irish monks - and keeping vigil. Many miracles of nature are told of him
such as the one of his dropping his psalm book in the lake and it being
brought back to him undamaged by an otter.
Another is that during Lent,
as he was praying with his arm outstretched, a blackbird settled in his
palm, built herself a nest and laid an egg in it. Ever patient, kind
and gentle to all living creatures, Kevin waited until the tiny bird had
hatched and fledged before he moved, showing the harmony between him
and nature.
Community and hermitage
A community of monks
gathered round him, so he set up and ran a monastic settlement in the
lower valley.
After his death this became a monastic city. He also
established a hermitage near his cave at the upper lake at
Templenaskellig, dividing his time between his hermitage and the
community.
As an abbot who founded a monastic city, Kevin chose to remain as a
priest rather than become a bishop. He spent most of his life at
Glendalough, unlike some of his fellow saints who travelled widely on
missionary journeys.
Despite this remaining in one place, his influence
and fame spread far and wide.
Death in harmony with nature
Before his
death Kevin decided to remain permanently at his hermitage, asking his
monks not to visit, bring food or disturb him in any way. The wild
animals kept him company. A final story demonstrates the harmony with
creation that seems to have surrounded him.
A wild boar, which was being hunted, found its way into his oratory,
closely pursued by dogs and men.
The huntsmen, however, on seeing the
saint kneeling under a tree praying, with birds perched on his shoulders
and hands, were dumbfounded.
The hounds lay down and would not go after
the boar. For the sake of the hermit they all went quietly away and
allowed the boar to go free. And so Kevin died.
His spirit lives on
Kevin's spirit still lives on
in Glendalough.
Fr Michael Rodgers, who spent many years as a
missionary in Africa, has made his own tearmann or retreat house in the valley and welcomes those who want to follow in the footsteps of the saint.
See www.tearmann.ie .
There is also a hermitage run by the Catholic Archdiocese of Dublin.