St. Cathaldus’ Church, Corrandrum

By Joe McDermott

Exterior of the north wall of St. Cathaldus’ Church

At the eastern end of the parish of Annaghdown, in the townland of Corrandrum a short distance from the Tuam road, across from the school lies an unobtrusive little known monument. It is a poorly preserved rectangular church of approximately 11th or 12th century date, though it may be even older. Although it is extremely difficult to date with any accuracy, since most of its architectural characteristics have sadly disappeared, there are some features which help in its dating. It is typical of medieval churches rather than Early Christian. Cyclopean type architecture is present – massive blocks used in its construction especially in the lower sections of the walls. No evidence of antae remain – blocks that jut out at the external corners which would give it an even earlier date. Its orientation is east-west with the remnants of a window in its eastern gable where the altar would have been. Its internal measurements are 13.2 m by 6.3 m which is large for a church for this period. However, its measurements are roughly in harmony, that is, 2:1. There are traces of a window and possibly a doorway in its south wall and it would have had a trabeate doorway in its western gable. This was a simple doorway consisting of two upright pillars or cut blocks topped by a stone lintel, sloping inwards towards the top. See O’Flanagan, OS Letters, 1927 Vol. 1, 223. An example of this exists in St. MacDara’s church on MacDara’s Island in Connemara. The original height of the church is impossible to ascertain. There are burials both inside the church and around its perimeter and indeed these occur beneath the existing byroad. They are oriented east-west suggesting Christian burials. It was the practice to wish to be buried in proximity to the local church.

A number of prayer-stones also exist within the church – small sliotar sized sandstone balls which pilgrims brought to offer prayers in thanksgiving or to seek a petition. Spin them clockwise to bring luck or anticlockwise – the way of the devil – to bring misfortune on someone! Some burials were examined by archaeologists during recent road improvements. Hopefully, a report will be available sometime in the future.

To the south-west of the church lies a children’s burial ground (CBG), now much overgrown. It is an L-shaped area. The grave markers, which undoubtedly came from the church walls lie in semi-orderly north-south lines with an orientation east-west. See (O’Flanagan, 1927 Vol. 1, 224). Many relatives of families from the surrounding area lie buried here. A number of ancient house sites also exist at the south of the church and one is said to adjoin the south wall.

So what of our St. Cathaldus or Cathal, for whom the church is named? There is no indication as to why this church is named after him. He was born near Rachau close to the Tipperary-Waterford border sometime in the 7th century and came from a well-known affluent family as most of the saints and senior clergy of the time did. He was sent to the monastery of Lismore under the tutelage of St. Carthage. This monastic school, although it had been established for only a very short time, had already acquired widespread fame, and had attracted students from all parts of England, Scotland, and from several continental countries besides. Following a glorious period of study and teaching at Lismore, Cathaldus rose to become Ard Easpog of the area around Dungarvan. He succeeded St. Carthage and he established a settlement at Rahan.

In 666 AD according to the legend, he embarked on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. On his return he was shipwrecked off the southeast coast of Italy at a place called Taranto. He managed to make it ashore and began to preach to the native population who had relapsed into paganism. He is reputed to have restored the sight to a blind man on the outskirts of the town which no doubt helped him in his dealings with the local population. They had been previously converted to Christianity by St. Mark the Evangelist. He remained here, established a settlement and became their bishop. He also established a cathedral which exists there to this day. Taranto cathedral was sacked by the Saracens in 927. Indeed, the entire city of Taranto was razed to the ground. It was rebuilt by the Byzantines in 967. A new cathedral was built in 1071. During the course of rebuilding, workmen uncovered a marble tomb in which lay an incorrupt body in archbishop’s clothes. It had a gold cross on which was inscribed: ‘St. Cathaldus of Rahan’. The workmanship was clearly of Irish origin. The tomb also held a stick of Irish oak.

Depiction of Saint Cathaldus

The relics were encased in the high altar and later placed in a silver shrine which was encrusted with gems and precious stones. His feast day in Italy is celebrated on May 10th – in Ireland it is March 8th. Few Irishmen who carry the name Cathal realise that their patron saint is much better known and revered in Italy possibly more than St. Patrick is in Ireland.

The following was written by a US army officer:
‘In early summer of 1944 I arrived in Taranto, Italy, as a Staff Officer of the Eighth Army. The next morning, I was urgently summoned to assist an American soldier who had driven his jeep into the path of a procession of Italians who were celebrating the feast of their local saint. Since nobody was hurt, the situation was quickly adjusted. I was able to deal with it in Italian, aided by the presence of a local priest. Between us we calmed the excited people and rescued the soldier from his awkward predicament. In conversation later, the priest informed me that the Saint was Cathaldo (Cathaldus) and it was common knowledge that he was Irish. I wondered at the time whether this unusual fact was so well-known in Ireland.’

The most valuable biography of the saint which we possess was written in the seventeenth century by an Italian Franciscan named Bartolomeo Moroni. As this work professes to be based on very ancient codices and manuscripts of the Church of Taranto, we must conclude that it contains a good deal that is accurate and trustworthy.

St. Cathaldo (Cathaldus) is invoked against plagues, drought and storms. Perhaps we should pay more attention to him here now! Many of his miracles were attributed to the city of Taranto.

Hibernia gave me birth, thence wafted over,
I sought the sacred Solymean shore.
To thee Taranto holy rites I gave,
Precepts divine; and thou to me a grave.

– St. Cathaldus

Note: This article originally appeared in our Winter 2019 Newsletter.

St. Cathaldus’ Church, Corrandrum

3 thoughts on “St. Cathaldus’ Church, Corrandrum

  • December 19, 2021 at 9:47 pm
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    Hello .
    Let introduce myself I am Liam Roche a member of Cahir Social & Historical Society.
    The Town of Cahir is located in South Tipperary just eight miles from Rathan which is just two km. from Clougheen.
    I had the pleasure of giving the Societies last public lecture in March of 2019.
    The lecture was on Saint Cathaldus of Rathan ( Shanrahan today ) which is just 2km. Outside Clougheen . the Title “ the shipwrecked Saint . This was the story of the Saint , lots of research plus a visit to Taranto Italy & also research on a window in the Clougheen Parish Church . This window is an artistic impression of his life , told in the panels of the window.
    We had a packed house on the night and so I was encouraged to print a little book on his story . This I completed that summer and we made a profit of 1380Euro for the local hospital which is located just two fields from the site of the Saint’s monastery.
    I wonder would you like me to sent you a copy ( a free gift )
    Liam Roche

    Reply
    • December 20, 2021 at 11:50 am
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      Hi Liam, many thanks for your interesting comment. Will contact you directly about the book. Kind regards, Paul.

      Reply
  • November 21, 2022 at 11:23 pm
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    Hi Liam and other contributors,
    My name is Tom Keith (fellow townsman of Liam, ) but I exiled to Dungarvan over fifty years ago. I worked with Waterford County Council and later, Dungarvan Town Council where, in addition to my usual work (Sports Centre Manager) I was also asked to handle public relations: Civic Receptions, visiting dignitories etc. That included a visit from an eleven member delegation from Taranto which included City Council members as well as other significant citizens. As well as all the formalities accorded to important visitors, we escorted the party to all the locations of Cathal that we knew about. His birthplace at Canty, six miles west of Dungarvan along a road which is parallel to the road to Cappoquin, Lismore The Vee. There is a Well there dedicated to him and it is also his accepted birthplace. We entertained a delegation from the City of Taranto in 2001 ? to whom we accorded full Civic Honours and took them to the various locations associated with Cathal and delivered them on their last day to Clogheen where they were met by a welcome party. It was in the middle of a lengthy period of heavy rain and, having delivered the party safely to Clogheen on the Sunday, I returned to Dungarvan over the Vee through constant torrential rain. You may remember that Liam. The following year, a delegation which consisted of Dungarvan & Clogheen members travelled to Taranto for the May celebrations of Cathal which was highly successful. No Rain!!! . Since then, we have had various visitors to Dungarvan and Carmel and I have travelled to Taranto on several occasions for the Festivities on 10th May. Our daughter filmed much of the celebrations which I hope we will finish sometime soon. One of the City Council Staff visited with us prior to Covid and we took her to all the usual places. As an Architect, she was very interested in all our ruins. I am hoping to gather all of these details together some time and maybe publish in due course. A detail! While Cathal is closely associated with Rachan or Shanrahan, his birthplace is accepted as Canty. Anyway, we must get together sometime soon to exchange notes and memories. In the meantime, Kind regards, Tom (Keith)

    Reply

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