Clare Abbey, Clann Chraith and the coarb of St Breacán*

A poem on the life of St Breacán sheds light on the use of literary devices to advance proprietorial interests in the late medieval diocese of Killaloe. The poem enumerates land grants and dues that, taken together, represent a charter of rights owed to the saint and his coarb (comharba). Previous analysis of the poem indicates that it was produced at Clare Abbey under the auspices of Clann Chraith (the McGrath lineage), who were the hereditary abbots during the fifteenth century. An assessment of the available evidence not only adds weight to this proposal but also reveals the probable impetus behind the poem: a need to bolster allegiances and revenues owed to Clare Abbey by neighbouring ecclesiastical sites in the face of waning influence. A comparative analysis of a poem on the rights of St Molaise of Devenish, county Fermanagh, will show that the use of hagiographic poetry as a tool of policy was not unique to Thomond and was in use in other late medieval Gaelic Irish lordships.