St. Senán and the Legacy of Scattery Island: Monastery, Monsters, and Maritime Pilots

St. Senán (pron: shay-nawn) was a resident of Munster and is important in Irish Christian tradition as the founder of Inis Cathaigh (Pron: in-ish cah-a-ree), or Scattery Island, monastery. He is listed among the Twelve Apostles of Ireland.

He was born to Christian parents in 488 in a place four miles east of the present-day town of Kilrush, in County Clare. The translation of his name, “Senán,” is from Old Irish and means “little old wise man.”

As a young boy, he promised his life to God following a miracle that caused the River Shannon to part for him as he was driving a herd of cattle across the river at high tide. He studied under an abbot named Cassidus, from whom he received the habit and tonsure of a monk. From him, he learned sacred scriptures and the practices of the religious life.

Abbot Cassidus sent him on to St. Natalis, at Kilmanagh, County Kilkenny, where, upon completion of his studies, he was ordained a priest. He began his missionary career by founding a church near Enniscorthy, in 510.

The Book of Lismore

The Book of Lismore states that Senán traveled to Rome and from there to Tours in France, which was the great monastic establishment in West Europe. Returning to Ireland, Senán established a church and monastery at Inniscarra, in Cork. He then moved back to his native district in Clare.

Inis Cathaigh, or Scattery Island, is an island of about 180 acres, located a mile off the coast from Kilrush, at the mouth of the River Shannon estuary. Senán, it was said, was directed to Scattery Island by the Archangel Raphael, about the year 534.

Up to this point, the Island was inhabited only by a monster known as the “Cathach,” (pron: ca-ack). The Cathach, often depicted as a sea-serpent, ate any man or beast daring to venture to Inis Cathaigh. The Archangel told Senán that God had sent the awful monster to keep the island sacred while awaiting Senán’s arrival.

The Archangel said that God wanted Senán to build a church on the island, that it would become a place of devotion and a well of wisdom to the rest of the world. On Senán’s arrival on the island, the Archangel led him to the highest hill, from which he was able to locate the Cathach. Senán faced the monster and ordered it, in the name of the Trinity, to depart from the island.

Legend has it that the monster fled to Doolough Lake in County Mayo without harming anyone again. From the year 534, Scattery Island was inhabited. There Senán built six churches and a round tower, which, at one hundred and twenty-one feet high, is one of the tallest in Ireland.

The rule of the monastery was extremely strict. While there are no accurate statistics for the number of monks that lived on the island, given the number of churches and oratories, we can assume that at least two hundred monks could have easily been supported on the island. Saints Ciarán and Brendan, and other holy men, who had heard of Senán’s sanctity and miracles, visited him for spiritual guidance.

Scattery Island became not only a famous abbey but the seat of a diocese, with St. Senán serving as its first bishop. St. Senán is reported to have died on March 8th, 544. His patron day on March 8th was an important day of pilgrimage to Inis Cathaigh. He is buried on Scattery Island, probably in the small oratory known as St. Senán’s Bed.

The grave is supposed to be the site of miraculous cures. Stones from his grave were regarded as relics and a protection against diseases and especially drowning.

The Vikings first raided Inis Cathaigh in 815, killing many of the monks. The monastery was plundered repeatedly until the Vikings came to settle there in the mid-tenth century. This, in turn, led to attacks by Irish kings. Inis Cathaigh was a part of the Norse Kingdom of Limerick, which included not only Limerick itself but also several other bases in western Ireland.

Given its strategic location at the mouth of the Shannon estuary, it controlled all maritime traffic up the Shannon to Limerick.

The Annals of Innisfallen

The Annals of Innisfallen record that during the 970s, Norse kings of Limerick were residents at Inis Cathaigh. Ivar of Limerick, the last Norse king of the city, along with two of his sons, was slain on Inis Cathaigh by Brian Boru in 977.

The Normans arrived in 1176, and this led to an attack on the monastery by Sir William Howell, who laid waste to the island. By 1189, the last Bishop of Scattery had died and the Diocese of Scattery was abolished. The English now took possession of the island.

The end of the monastery came following the 1537 passage of the Suppression of the Monasteries Act by Henry VIII.

The Scattery Island Pilots

While Scattery Island is well known as an important monastic site, not so well known is the story behind the last islanders to inhabit the island, the Scattery Island Pilots, who moved there in the 1840s. The pilots on the island were known (notably the women) for their exceptional boating skills on unique currachs, which they referred to as canoes.

Piloting was a way of life in the Scattery Island community, a way of life that was passed down from generation to generation. When a ship appeared in the estuary, they would race each other to get out to the boats first. They would then guide the boat safely to their destination up the river (most often to Limerick).

Although lucrative, this could be a treacherous occupation, and many pilots were drowned over the years. As electronic piloting technology and improved boats were invented, the pilots became unnecessary.

The island had a population of twenty-five inhabitants when the government decided to evacuate the island. A government-preserved order was placed on the island in 1978, which called for the removal of the final batch of inhabitants. In 1989, the Irish Government purchased almost all of the land on Scattery, and today the island is owned by the Irish state, which maintains the archaeological and historical monuments and is developing the island as a heritage site for the benefit of both local people and visitors to Ireland.

Today, you can visit the island by taking the Scattery Island ferry from Kilrush.