Finbarr’s enduring legacy

IT may be 1,400 years since his death but the popularity of Cork’s patron saint endures!

More than 2,500 people turned out at Gougane Barra for a special mass held by Bishop of Cork & Ross Fintan Gavin at the famed oratory. 

Gougane Barra has always been a place of prayer and peace – it’s surely what inspired Finbarr to go there in the first place – and these days it is also a place of celebration, as one of the most popular of Cork’s wedding churches. There was a celebratory feel last weekend too with the Ballingeary Pipe Band performing on the day.

Church of Ireland Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross, Dr Paul Colton, led a weekend of celebrations at St Fin Barre’s Cathedral in Cork to honour the saint. It’s comforting to know he’s still a part of our culture.