St Brecan Seven Churches

County Galway Aran Inishmore

St Brecan founded a monastery here but – in spite of the name — there are only 2 churches the other buildings are domestic. St Brecan was a missionary bishop who came to Aran in the 5/6thC. There is a 15C anonymous poem which may be taken from a lost Life. According to it he was the son of a king of Munster and destroyed a pagan idol and sanctuary here to replace it with a monastery.

Part of the Gravestone of St Brecan has been found and there is also a Grave known as that of the 7 Romans. Were they pilgrims who had been to Rome and returned? but then why should they be buried together? Or were they Romans who came to live here? Or how about ‘Romans’, people of Constantinople who called themselves by this name?

OS: 51 812 122 marked

see: C Jones The Burren and the Aran Islands p 204ff