Heroes of the Faith: Saint Muirgen

In honor of Subnautica 2 we are going to talk about an odd saint. We are going to talk about Saint Lí Ban who is also known by her Christian name Saint Muirgen. Her story is a fascinating blend of ancient pagan mythology and early Christian legend, preserved in medieval Irish texts like the Book of the Dun Cow. She is a saint like Saint George. She is someone with a lot of legend and not a lot of clarity of historical context.

Story

Lí Ban was originally a princess, the daughter of Eochaidh, the King of Ulster. In the 6th century. This was begore Lough Neagh (the largest lake in Ireland) was formed. The area was fertile and a beautiful valley ruled by Eochaidh. In the middle of the valley was a sacred and magical well. The well didn’t have normal water. The well was connected to a supernatural spring that was connected to the underworld. The water was volatile and powerful, so if was kept under lock and key.

Eochaidh knew his daughter was a trouble maker. So he appointed a guardian to watch over her. The golden rule of the valley was absolute: whenever anyone drew water from the well, they had to immediately replace the capstone. If the well was left uncovered for even a moment, the magic water would escape and destroy the kingdom.

The disaster is usually blamed on a woman named Mair, who went to the well one evening to fetch water. Some versions say she was just distracted, while others suggest she was startled by Eochaidh’s massive, semi-magical horse, which had been tied up nearby. Which we won’t get into right now. Either way in her haste or panic, Mair grabbed her water jar and walked away, completely forgetting to slide the heavy capstone back over the mouth of the well.

Since the lid was not put back on the well a geyser started to leak. Until it burst and caused a flooded her father's kingdom, drowning everyone and forming what is now Lough Neagh. Lí Ban was the only human survivor, but she was trapped underwater in her bedroom. God protected her, and she lived in that submerged chamber for a whole year with only her beloved lapdog for company.

Lí Ban looked out of her window and saw some fish swimming outside. She lonely and was getting cabin fever. She prayed that she could join the fish outside.

Her prayer was heard and answered. Lí Ban was turned into a mermaid and her dog was turned into a otter. Sadly, I could not find a picture of a mermaid with an otter.

With her newly agile body and her loyal companion by her side, she swam out of the lake and into the open ocean. She roamed the seas for 300 years, outliving generations of humans and singing beautiful, haunting songs to the waves. Life was less lonely and she enjoyed exploring. Then one day she got tangled in a net.

A monk named Béoán was sailing on a mission to Rome sent by Saint Comgall of Bangor. While out at sea, Béoán heard an angelic voice and hauled his fishing nets up to find Lí Ban. Instead of being terrified, they struck up a conversation. Lí Ban told the monks her extraordinary history and promised that she would return to Ireland in one year to meet them at a seaport. Béoán believed her and let her go.

True to her word, she appeared a year later and was caught in a net. A bit of a comedic dispute actually broke out among the local holy men over who "owned" her, which was eventually settled by letting two wild oxen pull her on a chariot to see where they would take her. I know that this sounds bad. But let’s look at the context. Once ashore, Saint Comgall offered her a choice: she could live on Earth as a mermaid for another 300 years, or she could be baptized, receive a human soul, and go straight to heaven.

The dispute over who "owned" Lí Ban is one of the most uniquely medieval, bureaucratic, and slightly comical parts of the whole legend. It plays out like a 6th-century legal drama, because catching a 300-year-old pagan mermaid who speaks fluent Irish and wants to become a Christian was a massive theological and political jackpot. The contest was also put in place to see who would get to baptize her.

Even though the oxen chose Béoán's church, Saint Comgall still got to perform the actual baptism, and the local people got to witness the miracle. So in the end, the saints shared the spiritual credit, the legal dispute was solved by divine intervention, and Lí Ban got exactly what she wanted: her baptism and her ticket to heaven.

Anyways, Lí Ban chose to a human soul. Comgall baptized her with the name Muirgen (which means "sea-born"), and she peacefully died right then and there, ascending to heaven.

Feast Day

Today, she is still recognized as a folk saint on her feast day, January 27th. If you ever visit the town of Bangor in County Down, Ireland, there is even a handmade quilt hanging in the abbey that features a square dedicated to the Mermaid Saint.

If you want to celebrate her feast day the best way is with a sea-inspired Irish Meal. For the main course you can make a classic Irish seafood dish, like a rich seafood chowder, smoked salmon, or traditional fish and chips. For drinks you can make an Irish moss (carrageenan). Which is a traditional tea that is a coastal drink made from seaweed. A good Irish stout or a glass of crisp, cold water from a natural spring or well pays perfect tribute to her origins.

You can also take a walk near a river or lake. If you live near the ocean you can also walk on the beach. Don’t forget your otter! I mean dog.

You can also listen to sea shanties or Celtic music. Saint Muirgen was famous for singing beautiful, haunting songs to the sailors and the waves during her 300 years at sea. Put on a playlist of traditional Irish folk music, Gaelic hymns, or maritime sea shanties to set the mood for the day.

If you want to make something you draw a mermaid with a halo and otter. You can also try to mirror the famous Bangor Abbey quilt by doing a little embroidery or knitting a sea-themed patch. If you collect metal art or posters, her feast day is a great excuse to look for beautiful, vintage-style prints of Irish folklore, mythical sea creatures, or Celtic knots to add to your walls.

You can also read the original story. Her story is officially preserved in a 12th-century text called the Lebor na hUidre (The Book of the Dun Cow) in a tale called Aided Echach maic Maireda (The Death of Eochaid, son of Mairid). Reading the translated medieval poetry about her is a fantastic way to keep her memory alive.