Early Christian Times
Ancient Monuments of Inishowen, North Donegal by Sean Beattie

We begin our circuit of the Inishowen peninsula in the town of Buncrana with a visit to the Cross of St. Mura at Fahan. Our journey takes us through seven centuries from the coming of Christianity in the fifth century. We visit the sites of great monasteries which are associated with some of Ireland's best known saints. By the time our journey is over, somewhere in the twelfth century, the end of a great monastic era in our history is in sight.

There are a total of six major Crosses and they are situated at important monastic sites. Our first stop is at the ancient monastery at Fahan which was founded by St. Mura who was a relative of St. Columba. It was closely linked to the ruling O'Neill dynasty which had a palace at Grianan Aileach. A signpost on the left-hand side of the main Buncrana-Derry road marks the site. The cross-slab is in the centre of an old graveyard. A cross is carved on both sides of the slab in the form of a Latin Cross, which has a long stem giving it the appearance of a Greek Cross. The Cross on each side consists of a broad interlaced ribbon. The West face of the Cross has a more elaborate design and two figures can be seen on either side. They are said to be ecclesiastics. Both have long hair and wear long garments on which inscriptions have been written. It has not been possible to decipher them. It has been suggested that the words are as follows: BENDECHT AR ARDEBSCOP MARGA UA RINAGAIN RAB IN-ABAIDECHT IN AIMSIR RIG TADGAIN, which may be translated as "a blessing upon the Archbishop Marga Ua Rinagain in the time of King Tadgan". The first name is thought to be a corruption of the name of the founder Mura but no trace of the second name can be found in the Annals. On the East face there are outlines of two birds at the top of the slab. Figures of birds and animals are regular features on High Crosses.

The symbol of the bird is a common feature in Early Christian Art. It has a symbolic value and is usually associated with the Resurrection, symbolising power and triumph over death. In Early Irish Art, the bird is often used to represent the soul of the departed. On the Cross at Carndonagh birds are interpreted as singing hymns of joy at the vision of Christ's Resurrection. The Birds on the Fahan cross-slab may have a Columban relevance as the Patron of the Abbey and kinsman of Mura was known as the Dove.

The edge of the Cross has a Greek inscription which is a version of the Gloria: Glory and Honour to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Ghost. This is the form of the Gloria that was sanctioned at the Council of Toledo in Spain in 633. It was subsequently adopted into the Mozarabic Liturgy in Spain. The fact that the prayer is written in Greek is taken as evidence that a monk who was familiar with the language was in residence in this monastery. It is also an indication of the close links that existed between the Irish Church and the wider world of Christianity. The monasteries in Inishowen were clearly not isolated from developments that were taking place in the world outside our shores.

A ruined church is situated in the centre of the graveyard. In 1622, it was reported that it was in good repair and it was in use until 1820 when a modern church was built. A memorial to the Hawkshaw family is set below the window, which has been dated to the seventeenth century.

Dr. John O'Donovan visited this site in 1835 as an employee of the Ordnance Survey. In a letter from Buncrana, dated August 25th, 1835, he wrote:

"Yesterday we travelled through the parish of Upper Fahan to get the Irish pronunciation of townlands, hamlets etc, and saw the site of the old church of Fathain-Mura. It is being a fertile district, the Albany have as usual settled in it, to the total exclusion of ancient traditions, and to the extinction of the fame of St. Mura. I could see nothing in the churchyard that belonged to the time of St. Mura but two old stones, exhibiting rude ornaments and representations of the Crucifixion. We learn from Colgan that this was a place of much celebrity in former ages and that some famous relics belonging to it were preserved in his own time."

O'Donovan adds:

"The natives know nothing about St. Mura now except that he first commenced to build a church on the summit of a hill at a short distance from the old graveyard at Fahan and that some blessed birds made signs unto him to erect it in the hallow beneath."

Writing in 1881, the Buncrana historian W.J. O'Doherty recorded that there was a mound of stones on the nearby Golan Hill at a height of 800 feet above sea-level which may have been the intended site for the church of St. Mura. The stones were later used by field officers of the Ordnance survey to construct a marker to be used in their survey.

John O'Donovan also noted: "I can get no account of Bachall Mura (the staff belonging to the saint). It is probable that it was destroyed during the disturbances of 1688 or carried to the continent." He later consulted a noted antiquarian of the period, Dr. Petrie and the result of their endeavours was that the crozier was traced: it is now in the National Museum, Dublin. It had originally been presented to the Royal Irish Academy with many of its gems and valuable stones missing. Following examination, it was decided that part of the ornamentation was amber, which was commonly used on brooches of the period. There is also a possibility that it was decorated with painted china, some specimens of which survive on the Cross of Cong. Many miracles were reported by those who touched the crozier. Among the nobility and the clergy, the staff was used for the taking of oaths in the same manner as the Bible is used today. It was held in special veneration by the O'Neills, because of their family links with the saint.

The chain of St. Mura was also preserved by Dr. Petrie; it is made of bronze and may have been used for attaching cloaks.

The bell of St. Mura was purchased in 1850 from a resident in the townland of Ludden, near Fahan by a John McClelland of Dungannon. It later became the possession of the Duke of Leinster who gave it to his sister-in-law Lady Fitzgerald to be placed in a museum. It was later purchased by the Wallace Collection in London. Many valuable manuscripts and artifacts were sold by families who took very good care of them in times of prosperity but who disposed of them when their fortunes changed.

The Holy Water or Baptismal font belonging to the Abbey was reserved by a local family as an heirloom, who donated it to the parish priest of Malin Head, Fr. Porter who later placed it in the catholic Church at Lagg, outside Malin where it is still in use. It is carved out of native granite and is unornamented.

One of the most significant treasures in the monastery was the Book of St. Mura, which contained an account of the life of St. Columcille written in Irish by the abbot himself. It was recorded by the Franciscan monk John Colgan in 1645 that some parts of the manuscript were still in existence together with several histories in manuscript form. There is now o trace of these documents.

The Feast day of St. Mura is March 12th and his death is recorded as A.D. 645.