
David and Mercedes Rizzo describe their family's visit to a memorial of their son's patron saint during a recent trip to Ireland.
Last month, we shared our family's visit to the Shrine of Our Lady of Knock in Ireland. After we said goodbye to the shrine, we made our way south along narrow and winding roads in our rental car. Believe us, narrow is not an exaggeration! One thing to know about Ireland: It’s extremely stressful to drive there. Not only does traffic move in the left lane, but the driver sits on the right side of the car. This can be disorienting to foreign drivers.
It was hard to accurately judge how wide or narrow the lanes were, especially on the left of the car where we found ourselves inches away from shrubbery and other vegetation. Frequently, stone walls lined that side of the road too, creating even more concern. We made it through safely, but it was pretty dicey at times. Lucky for us we had Brendan the Navigator aboard.
Brendan the Navigator
Not that Brendan, not the ancient Irish saint who set sail from the mouth of the Shannon River, where we would arrive later that same day. No, we had our Brendan. Our firstborn. And he was a worthy navigator indeed. If you are looking for someone to help you with directions, he is certainly your guy. Our Brendan has always found maps, directions, and roads very interesting. His memory and sense of direction are second to none, and this came in handy as we charted our course.
We made our way, and the roads got narrower. Ireland has a unique road system. There are Motorways, “M” roads for short. Slightly smaller were the “N” roads (National roads), Then “R” roads (Regional roads) and narrower still the Local or “L” roads. A good part of our trip was spent on “L” roads. The last twenty or so miles felt like a roller coaster. The road was barely 15 feet wide and when a vehicle approached us, we had to pull as far left as we could and stop until the other car passed by only inches from our door. It was a nail-biter. On more than one occasion, it felt like our rental car was going to tip over. It didn’t, and we continued on.
At last, the River Shannon came into view. We drove the car onto the ferry so we could cross. Once aboard, our daughter Shannon was delighted to be standing on the deck looking out at the waters of “her river"! Before long, the ferry had come to the far bank of the Shannon. From there it was only a short drive to the Monument of Saint Brendan the Navigator.
About Saint Brendan
Saint Brendan was an Irish monk in the 6th century. He set sail in a sealskin boat with his brother monks into the Atlantic. It is believed that he made it all the way to America and met with Native Americans before returning to Ireland. Legend has it that he even celebrated Mass on the high seas while fish gathered to listen to his words. He is a saint in the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, and Anglican Church. Christopher Columbus is thought by many to have read Brendan’s notes before his own voyage to America 900 years later.
We climbed up the many steps that led to a larger-than-life size statue of this great saint. The wind was fierce, and the skies were beginning to darken. Our own Brendan stood at the base of the monument looking to us very much like the heroic saint and navigator, who was his namesake.
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Copyright 2024 David and Mercedes Rizzo
Images: Copyright 2024 David and Mercedes Rizzo, all rights reserved.
About the Author

David and Mercedes Rizzo
David and Mercedes write and speak from a faith perspective as parents of a child with autism. They are available to speak, and have appeared on radio and other media. Visit DavidAndMercedesRizzo.com to learn more. Follow them on Facebook at Autism With The Rizzos. Authors of Praying For Your Special Needs Child, (Word Among Us Press) and Spiritually Able and The Adaptive First Eucharist Preparation Kit (Loyola Press).
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