Kevin (; , ; Latinized ; 498 (reputedly)–3 June 618) is an Irish saint, known as the founder and first abbot of Glendalough in County Wicklow, Ireland. His feast day is 3 June.

Early life

Kevin's life is not well documented because no contemporaneous material survives.

There is a late-medieval Latin Vita, preserved among the records of the Franciscan Convent in Dublin, edited by John Colgan as part of the Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae. According to that account, Kevin (like Columba) was of noble birth, the son of Coemlog and Coemell of Leinster. It says he was born in 498 AD at the Fort of the White Fountain and baptized by Cronan of Roscrea. His given name Coemgen (anglicized Kevin) means "fair-begotten", or "of noble birth". A tradition cited in the 17th century makes Kevin the pupil of Petroc of Cornwall, who had come to Leinster about 492. That claim is not found in the extant late-medieval and early-modern hagiography of the saint, and appears to be based in a Vita breviora which the Bollandist editors obtained from Henry Fitzsimon, but which is no longer extant.

The Vita also contains a number of legends which, according to Colgan's co-editor Francis Baert, are of "doubtful veracity", but were kept in the 17th-century edition because they were assumed to date to the medieval period. For example, the text includes an infancy legend involving a white cow, said to have come to his parents' house every morning and evening, which supplied the milk for the baby.

Glendalough

Glendalough, or the Glen of Two Lakes, is one of the most important sites of monastic ruins in Ireland. Before the arrival of Kevin, this glen would have been lonely and remote and would have been ideal for a secluded retreat.

Hermitage

thumb|St. Kevin's bed

Bishop Lugidus ordained Kevin who, following his ordination, moved on to Glendalough in order to avoid the company of his followers. He lived as a hermit in a partially man-made cave (sometimes incorrectly described as a Bronze Age tomb) now known as St. Kevin's Bed, to which he was led, in the account of the Vita, by an angel. Michael Dwyer, the famous Wicklow rebel, is reputed to have taken shelter in the "bed" while he was on the run from British soldiers. The story goes that he escaped capturing one morning by diving into the lake and swimming to the opposite side. Today, it is perilous to try to approach the "bed" from the side of Lugduff Mountain. Visitors, in the interests of their own safety, should be content with a distant view of it.

Monastery

thumb|right|The chapel of St Kevin at [[Glendalough]]

Kevin lived the life of a hermit close to nature. His companions were the animals and birds around him. He lived as a hermit for seven years wearing only animal skins, sleeping on stones, and eating very sparingly.

He went barefoot and spent his time in prayer. Disciples were soon attracted to Kevin and a further settlement enclosed by a wall, called Kevin's Cell, was established nearer the lakeshore. By 540 Kevin's fame as a teacher and holy man had spread far and wide. Many people came to seek his help and guidance. Glendalough grew into a renowned seminary of saints and scholars and was the parent of several other monasteries.

In 544, Kevin went to the Hill of Uisneach in County Westmeath to visit the holy abbots, Columba, Comgall and Cannich. He then proceeded to Clonmacnoise, where Cieran had died three days before. Having firmly established his community, he retired into solitude for four years and only returned to Glendalough at the earnest request of his monks.

Kevin is one of the patron saints of the Diocese of Dublin.

He belonged to the second order of Irish saints. A series of paintings by the Welsh artist Clive Hicks-Jenkins around 2009 depicted the story of Kevin and the blackbird through Heaney's poem.

Kevin is remembered in popular culture as an ascetic. This is commemorated in a folk song about him, "The Glendalough Saint," which describes a legend claiming that he drowned a woman who attempted to seduce him. This was recorded and made popular by The Dubliners. The opening verse is as follows: "In Glendalough lived an auld saint, renowned for his learning and piety, his manners were curious and quaint, and he looked upon girls with disparity."

The independent film-maker Kevin Smith refers irreverently to his namesake "Saint Kevin" and the key events of his life in the introduction to Sold Out: A Threevening with Kevin Smith, his 2008 live Q & A show.

Kevin is referenced several times in Finnegans Wake by James Joyce. The longest episode is found in Pt IV, pgs 604–607 (Faber & Faber, Viking editions). It was one of the earliest-drafted "vignettes" and much revised before final publication.

References

Primary sources

  • Latin vita of St Kevin, ed. Charles Plummer, "Vita Sancti Coemgeni (Life of St. Kevin)." In Vitae Sanctorum Hiberniae. Vol. 1. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1910. 234–57.
  • Irish vita of St Kevin, ed. Charles Plummer, "Betha Caimgin (Life of St. Kevin)." In Bethada Nóem nÉrenn (Live of Irish Saints). Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1922. Vol. 1: 125–67 and vol. 2: 121–61. Edition available from CELT.
  • Gerald of Wales, Topographia Hibernica.

Secondary sources

  • Barrow, Lennox. Glendalough and Saint Kevin. Dundalk: Dundalgan Press, 1972.
  • MacShamhrain, A.S. "The 'unity' of Cóemgen and Ciarán. A convent between Glendalough and Clonmacnoise in the tenth to eleventh centuries." In Wicklow: history and society: interdisciplinary essays on the history of an Irish county, ed. by Ken Hannigan and William Nolan. Dublin: Geography Publications, 1994. 139–50.
  • Article on St. Kevin from OrthodoxWiki
  • Haggerty, Bridget, "St. Kevin – founder of Glendalough", Irish Culture and Customs
  • "Kevin of Glendalough", Dublin Diocese Jubilee
  • "Kevin's Bed", County Wicklow