Right: Harry Clarke’s St Gobnait

• With all the excitements of the hurricanes this week bringing down trees and taking out power and telephones, we almost forgot to celebrate Saint Gobnait’s Day.

• Saint who?

• Saint Gobnait – 11th February.

• But what sort of a name is Gobnait?

• It sounds like Gubbnet. Not an unusual girl’s name in Ireland: Finola went to school with one. She seemed happy enough with it.

• But imagine calling a little baby Gobnait… What does it mean, anyway?

• Er, not sure really: there’s a suggestion that it’s similar to Deborah. That means Honey Bee. Also there’s an Irish word Gabhan which means Blacksmith, and our Saint is supposed to be the patron of ironworkers.

• So what’s the story of Saint Gobnait?

• Um, there isn’t one. There’s no history or hagiography about her… But she is mentioned in the ‘Lives’ of St Abban…