St Finbarr of Cork, whose Feast Day is kept on the 25 September, belongs to the sixth century. The name Cork means "a marsh". Finbarr chose for his abode an island in that marsh and there he founded a monastic school. At least a dozen of the first alumni of the Cork school themselves also became the founders of monasteries and schools. Hence the fame of the place. Finbarr also established the episcopal See of Cork, of which he was the first Bishop.
He belonged to the Connacht clan, but his father, an iron-worker, had left the west and set himself up near Cork. Rightly interpreted this detail of family status means that Finbarr belonged to what would correspond today with the upper professional classes in Ireland.
Finbarr's life seems to have been one of those undeviating ones from the very beginning. He was dedicated; or, better, he had dedicated himself; he looked neither right nor to left but only to the priesthood. He understood asceticism and practiced it; he had an unusually clear grasp of ecclesiastical discipline and organisation which he used fully in founding at least twelve other minor churches and schools before leading up to the great work of his life in Cork.
He died in Cloyne, but his remains were brought home to Cork and buried in his own church on the site now occupied by the Protestant Cathedral of Saint Finbarr.
Our Parish and school are named in dedication to the works of this great man.
© Brisbane Catholic Education, St Finbarr’s, 2024