Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Life of Saint Fintán, alias Munnu, abbot of Tech Munnu (Taghmon, Co. Wexford) (Author: [unknown])
Section 31
One day very early in the morning, Saint Fintán came to
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the house of a holy anchorite of the Britons, who used to live with Fintán on the edge of the ciuitas, making carts for the brethren. And there was a fire burning in his house for drying the wood of the carts. When he had seen Fintán unexpectedly coming towards the house, he bent his knee and said to him:
‘Sit a little while in the chair so that your feet will be warmed’.
When Fintán had sat by the fire, that man held his [sc. Fintán's] hairless shoes and saw on them wet sand, and removing it he wrapped it in his handkerchief and said:
‘O holy Fintán, I beg you to tell me what is this sand on your shoes’?
Fintán said to him: ‘Promise me that you would not tell this to anyone while I am alive’.
And, he having promised, Fintán said to him:
‘I have now arrived from the promised land, in which the four of us gathered [and] established our loca, to wit: Colum Cille and I, our two loca stand together beside a ford; and Cainnech and Brendan moccu Altai, their loca stand beside another ford. The name of Colum Cille's locus is Ath Cáin, and the name of my locus is Port Subai, the name of Cainnech's locus is Séd Bethad, and the name of Brendan's locus is Aur Phardus. If a temptation will come to you, which you are not able to contain, you shall go forth to that holy land. And it is lawful for you always to have in this locus twelve new carts and twelve bronze cauldrons for preparing for the journey. You shall therefore go forth to the Mount of Stones—Slíab Líac in Glenn Choluim Chille—in the province of the Cenél mBóguine to the assembly place that extends into the sea, and there you shall begin to sail, killing your oxen. And it is lawful for you to eat the flesh of the oxen—for perhaps, on account of the hasty departure, you could not prepare provisions—and in the skins of your oxen you shall successfully sail to the holy land of promise’.
That anchorite told this story after the death of Fintán, and he showed the sand that was on Fintán's shoes.