Saint Boden’s Boat
Culdaff | Stone Boat

Saint Boden’s boat

From the Folklore Collection

This is an extract from the Folklore Collection collected from National school, , Ballycharry, Inishowen, Co. Donegal.
The Schools’ Collection, Volume 1123, Page 492

Data © National Folklore Collection, UCD.

St. Boden lived in the same time as St. Colmcille and St. Ultan. St. Boden spent a good part of his time in Scotland. St. Colmcille and St. Boden were very friendly it seems and on one occasion Colmcille went with Boden to Scotland. A race of people called “picts” were living in Scotland at this time. Colmcille and Boden were chased by these people and they ran to the shore.

Colmcille reached the shore before Boden and he jumped into the boat and told the man who was rowing to start quickly. When they were a quarter of a mile from the land Colmcille looked back and saw Boden calling to them to come back. Colmcille called to him to have faith and they went on out to sea. St. Boden was standing on a spink, the spink cracked and he fell into the water but the stone he was standing on was still in under him. It started to float out to sea and it didn’t stop until it reached the stone steps at St. Ultan’s well. Funny to say it reached Ireland long before St. Colmcille’s boat.

The stone boat in which St. Bodan came from Scotland on still can be seen. It is in the Culdaff river near to the holy well.

Photograph from National Collection

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