All properly educated Irish children know that St. Brendan (Brendan of Clonfert, christened ‘Broen-finn‘, 484 – 577) discovered America on one of his legendary voyages almost one thousand years before Columbus.
His Curagh (a small frame boat wrapped in hide or canvas) was blown off course, landing him on the American shore – likely near the Chesapeake Bay. Seventeenth century maps show O’Wegy at the confluence of the Susquehanna and “O’Wegy” Creek, the furthest point of Bredan’s ascent of the Susquehanna River. Brendan would have spoken the Irish language and Latin.
O’wegy is a likely Irish language pronunciation of Onondaga place designation “Ahwaga.”
(This article is based on close reading of absolutely reliable Wiki sources and revelations found in the pints of Guinness poured at the Dugan Pub on Front Street in O’Wego.)
Image credit: Unknown mediaeval scribe – University of Applied Sciences, Augsburg, Germany, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1603556)
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