THE WORLD'S DEBT TO THE IRISH 
now be called a retreat. This is by the way one of 
the earliest series of spiritual conferences on record. 
He is said to have been wonderfully impressed with 
what he saw at Kildare and to have declared that he 
hoped that each one of the nuns received half as 
much influence for good from what he had to say as 
he himself had received from what he had witnessed 
at Kildare. 
St. Kevin of Glendalough, another of the great 
scholars of the time, when a young man, visited St. 
Bridget in order to consult her with regard to his 
vocation in life. In accordance with her advice he 
became an anchorite at first and then later the 
founder of the famous monastery and schools of 
Glendalough. Another founder of a great school, 
that of Sletty, which was situated in Queens County 
not far from the Carlow boundary, was also a visi- 
tor who came to take counsel as a young man from 
the “Mary of the Gaels,” or “Mary of Erin” as the 
Irish came to call her in their love of the beauty of 
her character. This was St. Fiech who afterwards 
became a writer of great eminence in the Celtic 
tongue. His poem in the praise of St. Patrick is one 
of the classics in that dear old language. Another 
distinguished ecclesiastical visitor to Kildare was St. 
Ibar, the founder of a monastery for men on the 
plains of the river Liffey. He came frequently to 
ask advice from the abbess of Kildare, though it 
should also be noted that he was of great help to 
her in establishing her convent. Perhaps we of the 
modern times are even more grateful to him for the 
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