Global gathering of Gobnaits in Baile Mhúirne

Eibhlín Gobnait Ní Lionáird addresses a cultural walk at Glaoch Ghobnatan, the global Gobnait get together, on the feast day of St Gobnait at St Gobnait's Shrine, Baile Mhúirne, Co Cork. Picture: Denis Minihane

Frank Kelly, prior to playing Fr Jack Hackett in Father Ted, did much to make the name Gobnait famous, though perhaps not in the way fellow bearers of the name might have wished.

His comedy sketches featuring culchie character Gobnait Ó Lunacy, who later starred in his ‘Christmas Countdown’ record, did little to enhance the name’s appeal.

They were also the origin of the ribbing Eibhlín Ní Lionáird says she received when friends in Dublin discovered Gobnait was her middle name.

Eibhlín, now Irish language planning officer in her native Múscraí Gaeltacht, where the 6th-century saint Gobnait is revered as protector of the area and its people, says: “I used to hate my name because people used to be codding me.

“Frank Kelly had a Gobnait Ó Lunacy skit on ‘the Twelve Days of Christmas’ and my friends found out in Baile Átha Cliath and I used to be crucified over it.” 

However, having moved home and “returned to my roots in the last 20-odd years” she says she has come to appreciate being named after the saint, who is believed to have established her religious settlement in Baile Mhúirne in fulfilment of a prophesy that wherever she saw nine white deer grazing would be the place of her resurrection.

On Saturday, the village, for centuries a place of pilgrimage for those venerating Gobnait, became the centre of a new pilgrimage for dozens of women who share her name.

Eibhlín, in her language officer role, had decided to mark St Gobnait’s Day, February 11, by leading a guided tour of places associated with the saint, including holy wells and an agate ‘bulla’ or ball with which she is believed to have fended off enemies.

A group of women and girls with the name Gobnait at the global Gobnait get together, on the Feast Day of St. Gobnait at St. Gobnait's Shrine, Baile Mhúirne, Co. Cork. Picture Denis Minihane.

The idea then came to Eibhlín to invite as many Gobnaits as possible to mark the feast day together beside sculptor Séamus Murphy’s statue of the saint.

The idea, she says, “just grew legs and people went mad for it” as she began spreading the word.

“On Facebook alone there were 100 Gobnaits, but lots of people have it as a second name, like myself, and then there are different variations of it:  Abbies, Abigails, and Deborahs. I called it ‘Gobnait’s Call’ or ‘Glaoch ó Ghobnait’.

“I really didn’t like the name for a period of my life but eventually I became quite proud of it because of what St Gobnait was to our community and how people relied on her to protect them.

“To this day, whether you’re spiritual, agnostic, or an atheist, there is something special in Teampall Ghobnatan [churchyard]. I think it’s a positive energy and it’s testament to her that people are still coming here honouring her.” 

St Gobnait, venerated in areas bearing her name across Munster, also has a connective power for those living abroad. Such was the interest from Gobnaits internationally, including in America and Australia, that the Baile Mhúirne gathering was extended to include a Zoom call with those unable to attend in person.

Abby and Abimay O'Leary (Abby and Abimay are the english version of Gobnait) attending Glaoch Ghobnatan. Picture Denis Minihane.

The global gathering of Gobnaits, which may become an annual event, transcended the spiritual to include a social event held, appropriately, at Baile Mhúirne’s Abbey Hotel/Óstán Ghobnatan.