st kevin

St. Kevin: The Valley seems to have been deserted for centuries before Kevin arrived, initially as a hermit, in the sixth century. Born of Royal blood in 498 AD, his father Coemlug was a descendant of Cu-Corb, King of Leinster. His education commenced at an early age under St. Petroc of Cornwall and further studies followed under the guidance of St. Eugenius at Kilnamanagh, County Dublin. However, when it was suggested that Kevin should take charge of the monastery there, he fled, dreading the responsibility. A number of years as a hermit living in strict and severe isolation followed, before he founded his monastery in the glen, a place he was seldom to leave before his death in 617 AD at the reputed age of 120.