Anker’s Island, (the island of the Anchorite), is a narrow strip of land in the River Nore in Ballyconra. It is about 200 metres long and about 50 metres wide. Many years ago a hermit, whose name is forgotten, came here to spend his life in prayer to God and the island received its name from him. ‘Anchorite’ was an old word for a hermit.
He lived alone on the island, leading a life of prayer and fasting. He was so holy that, with God’s permission, a bird brought him every day in its beak, as much bread as he needed, to keep him alive. One winter’s night, however, while he was walking around his island praying, he felt the pain of the bitter cold. He allowed his thoughts to wander on the hardship and loneliness of his life. For a brief moment he felt unhappy with the life to which God had called him.
Next day the bird failed to bring his food as usual. The Anchorite knew that this was because of what had happened on the previous night. He begged God for forgiveness and asked him to show him how he could return to the holy state he had reached before his sin.
God told him to take his staff and to stand in the river Nore, until such time as the staff bloomed again into leaves and branches. Then, and only then, would he know that he had done full penance for his sin. Cheerfully, he did as God had asked him and stood in the river, leaning on his staff.
He had not been long there when a robber from the Urlingford direction came on the scene, with some cattle he had stolen from the area around Castlecomer. He was driving them over the ford, which crossed the Nore just above the island. Seeing the Anchorite standing in the water, the robber was surprised, and asked him what he was doing there.
The Anchorite explained what had happened and how he came to be
standing in the river, leaning on his staff. When he heard this story, the robber
was filled with a great fear, and he said:
“If God punishes you so severely here for just one sin, and that sin was so
small, what punishment must he have waiting in the next life for me. I have
hurt him so often and so seriously. Tell me, O Holy Man, what I must do to get
God’s forgiveness?”
The Anchorite replied,
“Come down into the river, with your staff, and stand beside me. If you have
true sorrow and if you do enough penance for your sins, God will certainly forgive
you, just as he has promised to forgive me.”
The robber did as he was asked and stood in the river beside the Anchorite, leaning on his staff. Both men remained there until their staffs bloomed again into leaves and branches. Then they knew that they were once again in friendship with God.
It is said that the robber was so sincere in his sorrow that his staff was the first to bloom. As this amazing story was told and retold over the years, the reputation of the Anchorite spread. The little island became a favourite burial ground. Many people wanted to be buried there in order to be close to God, just as the Anchorite had been.
There are no monuments on the island to mark these burial places and unfortunately, over many years, the river Nore has been wearing away the bank, and much of the graveyard has been swept away.
Inside the graveyard, were the remains of a little church approximately ten metres by five metres. Most of the stone which made up the church was removed and used in the building of Ballyconra Mill. When the mill was burned down in 1885, many local people thought that this was because the people who built the mill had knocked the Anchorite’s church and had showed no respect for the memory of the holy man.