St. Carthage and Spike Island

The River Lee flows from Gougane Barra through the City of Cork, as a sort of perpetual re-enactment of the religious lift of the great Saint Finbar, whose monastery in Gougane was followed by his monastery and great school in Cork, where he spent the last seventeen years of his earthly life, until his holy death on 25th September, 623.

However, the Lee flows on past Cork into the ocean, just as Finbar's soul flowed on into eternal life - there is deep meaning in the flowing of rivers!  As the Lee passes into its estuary, the harbour of Cork, it passes Spike Island, where Little Nellie of Holy God lived and where her mother died.  Nellie had been born in Waterford, and it was another saint associated with Waterford who first sanctified Spike Island.

St. Carthage was born of a noble family of Kerry.  He founded a monastery at Rahan in Offaly but was forcibly expelled with all his monks on account of the jealousy of local clerics about the year 634.  Travelling south, he obtained a cure for the King of Munster, Cathal Mac Aodh, and was granted the islands in Cork harbour for a monastery.  He seems to have resided there only a year but to have left a small monastic community there, including the three sons of Nascann, Bishop Goban, Sraphan the Priest and Saint Laserian.  He then proceeded to Lismore, where he established his great monastery and school that was to form the basis of the present Diocese. 

For this reason, even at the time of the Synod of Rathbreasail in 1110, it appears that the Diocese of Lismore extended as far as the Diocese of Cork and encompassed the Diocese of Cloyne.  I cannot account for the 'disappearance' of the Diocese of St. Colman Mac Léine (522-604) for the period of four and a half centuries.  There is also some doubt as to whether Spike Island itself was included in the Diocese of Lismore or of Cork at the time.  Certainly, a decretal of Innocent III of 1199 includes Spike Island in the Diocese of Cork.  There was certainly a Bishop in Cloyne by 1148 and the Diocese is listed among the Dioceses of Ireland at the Synod of Kells in 1152.  Even as late as the 16th Century, the collection records include Kilworth in the Diocese of Lismore.

Returning to the Holy Island of Spike, the Martyrology of Tallaght recordes a St. Ruisen or Lappan in connection with Spike Island.  He seems to be one with the Bishop of Cork, second successor of St. Finbar, who died in 685 or 687.  The monastery was still extant in 821, when the death of Sealbhach, the abbot, is recorded.

The church and island of "Ynespic" was granted by Henry II to Milo de Cogan in 1177 and later fell to St. Thomas' Abbey in Dublin and at the time of the despoilation of the Religious Houses of Ireland in 1541, it was under the control of St. Catherine's, the Augustinian House in Waterford.

Birthday Mass for Little Nellie of Holy God

Following on from the Mass organised for the anniversary of her death, we return to the Church of the Resurrection, Farranree, Cork City, to celebrate the birthday of Little Nellie of Holy God, at 6 p.m. on Wednesday, 24th August, with a Traditional Latin Mass.  Both to conform with the judgment of the Church and to encourage you to greater devotion and zeal, we are praying for a friend on her birthday.  She is not (yet) 'raised to the Altars' so there is no intention of anticipating the decision of the Church on her holiness or virtue.  We do not intend to give her any public honour to which she is not (yet) entitled.  We pray for the soul of Little Nellie as we would and should any other holy soul not yet canonized.  However, we earnestly encourage you to come and pray for her and to deepen your devotion to her cause that she may be our intercessor with Holy God.  Subito Santo.

Candlemas and Little Nellie of Holy God

Little Nellie of Holy God is no stranger to the readers of this blog.  Last year we made a pilgrimage to the grave of Little Nellie. She featured in our journal in 2014, and in my travel journal along the old railways of Cork back in 2011.  She is not (yet) a recognised Saint.  The cause for her canonisation has yet to begin - so far as I know - but I know that many in Cork and elsewhere will agree with me in saying subito Santo.  May she soon be a canonised Saint.  May the cause of her canonisation soon be opened.

So far as I know, this was the first time in living memory that an Anniversary Mass was organised by her friends for the little mystic of Cork.  She deserves our prayers.  If she is with Holy God in Heaven she can shower those graces on her devout clients and upon little children like herself and all those who need help to increase their devotion to Holy God in the Blessed Sacrament.  On the beautiful feast of Candlemas the members and friends of Blessed Thaddeus Catholic Heritage Association, including some great apostles of Little Nellie, attended a Traditional Latin Mass in the Church of the Resurrection, Farrenree, Cork City, already discussed on this blog as one of the Rosary Churches of Cork.  Our deep thanks to the community of Farranree, especially Fr. Walsh and Martha, for making us so welcome.

Anniversary Mass for Little Nellie of Holy God

When we made our annual pilgrimage to Cork's lovely North Cathedral last year to honour our heavenly patron, Blessed Thaddeus McCarthy, the white martyr of Cork, some of us took a detour to visit the grave of Ellen Organ, known with great affection as Little Nellie of Holy God.  This mystic child was a shining example of faith in the True Presence of Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament up to her death at the age of 4.

Her impact upon the Universal Church was explored in our journal in 2014, and I made reference to her in the course of my travel journel along the old railways of Cork back in 2011.  This year we are blessed to mark the Anniversary of her death, on the beautiful feast of Candlemas, the feast of the presentation of the child Jesus in the Temple, with a Traditional Latin Mass at 6 p.m. on Tuesday, 2nd February, in the Church of the Resurrection, Farrenree, Cork City, which we have already discussed on this blog as one of the Rosary Churches of Cork.

So you are invited and most welcome to attend this Mass to pray for Little Nellie in the Church of the Resurrection, Farranree, on Tuesday evening.

Pilgrimage to the grave of Little Nellie of Holy God

To conclude our pilgrimage to Cork City we made a unique and precious pilgrimage to the grave of Little Nellie of Holy God.  This heroic young soul should be know to all but may not yet be known to you.  If you don't know of her, you can find accounts of her life here, here and here.

Fr. Willie Doyle, S.J., visited her grave in 1911.  His account can be found here.

Little Nellie should be better known, better loved, better honoured.  Her memory, like her earthly remains, seems to suffer the same fate as Holy God abandoned in the tabernacle.