Under the Oak

Irish 'Beehive' Huts

2012-01-27T17:16:00.001Z

A blog reader contacted me recently to ask about the ‘beehive' huts associated with Irish monastic sites. In Irish the name clochán, (pl. clocháin) is given to these structures, derived from the word cloch, a stone, it reflects the fact that they are constructed exclusively from stone without the use of mortar. The building technique behind the clochán is an ancient one, which employs the principle of corbelling. Circles of flat stones of ever-decreasing size are successively laid down until a single stone can be used to seal the rooftop. It is a simple but effective method of construction and has been used for centuries, not only in Ireland but in other European countries too. In countries like Italy such huts were built as temporary shelter for nomadic shepherds as they moved around with their flocks. In Ireland they are a particular feature of County Kerry and archaeologist Peter Harbinson [1] relates a story of the scholar Myles Dillon who was an annual visitor to Kerry’s Dingle Peninsula. On one return visit he remarked to his host that he did not remember seeing a particular clochán in the backyard, only to be told that the farmer had built it as a henhouse the previous winter. So this simple structure has a long history in Ireland, one which continues to the present day.

The most famous of the Kerry clocháin associated with monastic sites have to be those of the island monastery of Skellig Michael, off the coast of the Iveragh Peninsula. An Encyclopedia of Architectural and Engineering Feats [2] gives this useful summary of the site:

Skellig Michael, only 44 acres (17 hectares) in area, is dominated by two crags, one of 712 feet (218 metres) and another of 597 feet (183 metres). On top of the latter, reached via steep, winding stairways cut from the rock, there is an artificial platform with a cluster of six circular drystone huts (clochans), two boat- shaped oratories, some stone crosses, and a cemetery – all that remains of a monastery established, possibly by St. Fionán, sometime in the sixth century A.D. and called “the most westerly of Christ’s fortresses in the Western world.” …

The platform was reached by any of three zigzagging stairways – one with 670 steps – from different points at the base of the island. The monks built them by carving the rock and by carrying and placing thousands of flat stones. The terracing at the top was achieved, probably over decades, by constructing, massive drystone retaining walls and filling behind them. On these level places the reclusive churchmen built their huts, using a flat-stone, corbelled technique already thousands of years old. The successive courses of the circular buildings, laid without mortar and with outward-sloping joints to drain the rainwater, gradually diminished in diameter, closing the building to form a pointed dome – a “beehive” dome. The 6-foot thick (almost 2 metre) walls and roof were thus integrated into a single entity, providing living quarters and storage.

Archaeologist Nancy Edwards [3] notes that the six Skellig Michael beehive huts, labelled A, B, C, D, E and F were built in two phases. B, C, D and F were built first and although they are circular on the outside, the inner living space is quadrangular. A and E are larger quadrangular cells which were built later. They are also different in that they have stone projections which may have functioned as support for layers of turf insulation.

The early Irish monastery did not resemble the later medieval monastery with its regular layout, organized around communal buildings, as a classic archaeological text [4] points out:

At a medieval monastery the visitor quickly becomes familiar with the orderly, almost stereotyped, arrangement of buildings round the cloister – the chapter-house, dormitory, refectory and so on. In early Irish monasteries we are in a different world … A second area of contrast is in the different provision of private and communal accommodation. Benedictine monasticism emphasized the discipline of communal life, in the shared dormitory, dining-room, warming-house and working-room. Early Irish monasteries had certain communal rooms but there was much more emphasis on individual practice and observance, and so we can look for a contrast between individually and communally used buildings.

Most important among the former were the living-cells, occupied by clerics singly or in twos and threes.. It is only in the stony west that cells survive at all commonly, and they are best seen on Skellig Michael, and on other island and coastal sites like Illauntannig, Inishkea, Inishmurray and Killabuonia. . When they survive intact they are dark but still dry and surprisingly spacious: at Skellig Michael cell A is about 16 feet across and 16 feet high, and cell C is 9 and half feet across and 12 feet high. Wall cupboards are provided…

A recent scholarly examination of the Life of Saint Darerca [Moninna] of Killeavy [5] seeks to provide a context for the idiosyncratic layout of early Irish monasteries:

The physical layout of Irish monasteries was also unorthodox and may give us a clue as to the way in which the Irish resolved the ideological contradiction between the devotion to both eremitism and coenobitism. Each foundation would have had a tiny wooden church, a scattering of beehive huts made of stone or wattle just big enough for one or two nuns, and a somewhat larger building for communal gatherings. This complex would then have been enclosed by a series of walls. The juxtaposition of individual cells and communal meeting-place within the womb of the monastic walls indicates that the Irish envisioned their monastic ideal as embracing the dichotomy of the solitary life of a hermit in her cell and the communal life of the monastery, a hybrid of the eremitic and coenobitic symbolized in the architecture…

It is worth remembering though that the beehive hut may have had uses other than as a monastic cell. Peter Harbinson [6] makes this interesting suggestion in a discussion of pilgrimage sites associated with Saint Brendan:

By far the greatest concentration of these clocháin in Ireland is on the Dingle Peninsula, and almost all are found west of Mount Brandon.. the fact that these huts are found in such great numbers to the west of Brandon, yet are very much rarer in other parts of Kerry and elsewhere throughout the country, strongly suggests that these clocháin were the temporary habitations of pilgrims waiting for sufficiently clement weather to climb Mount Brandon. In a similar vein, one can explain those in the Glenfahan area, between Ventry and Slea Head, as temporary shelters for those awaiting the right wind to waft them to the Skelligs. If this explanation is correct, then the clocháin could truly be described as Ireland’s first and oldest surviving bed and breakfast establishments.

So, that’s a selection of views of the Irish beehive hut, an iconic image of Irish monasticism but one which is neither unique to Ireland nor exclusively monastic.

Note

For further reading on Skellig Michael there is an official site which contains a good variety of photographs, reports and articles here. There is also an e-book from the University of California entitled The Forgotten Hermitage of Skellig Michael available to read here.

References

[1] P. Harbinson, Pilgrimage in Ireland – The Monuments and the People (London, 1991), 181.

[2] D. Langmead and C. Garnaut, Encyclopedia of Architectural and Engineering Feats (ABC- Clio 2001), 309-310.

[3] N. Edwards, The Archaeology of Early Medieval Ireland (London, 1990), 118.

[4] K. Hughes and A. Hamlin, The Modern Traveller to the Early Irish Church (London, 1977), 73-75.

[5] D. Peters Ausland, ‘Living With a Saint: Monastic Identity, Community and the Ideal of Asceticism in the Life of an Irish Saint’ in K.A. Smith and S. Wells (eds.), Negotiating Community and Difference in Medieval Europe: gender, power, patronage and the authority of religion in Latin Christendom (Brill, 2009), 22.

[6] Harbinson, op.cit., 182.

Old Irish Wisdom Attributed to Aldfrith of Northumbria

2011-12-31T11:56:00.000Z

Old Irish Wisdom Attributed to Aldfrith of Northumbria: an edition of Bríathra Flainn Fhína maic Ossu, edited and translated by Colin A. Ireland (Arizona Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies).

Although it was published only in 1999, this book is available in full on the Internet Archive here. The text comprises a series of maxims attributed to Aldfrith, King of Northumbria (c.685-705) under his Irish name Flann Fína. The editor provides a general introduction to wisdom literature as a genre and to the specifically Irish texts which survive. He also has a more technical discussion of the various surviving manuscripts of this particular collection, of the style of language used and of its implications for the dating of the work. The reputed author, King Aldfrith, had an Irish mother and Bede tells us that he was educated among the Irish. In this particular case however, King Aldfrith shares the authorship with a legendary figure, Fíthal, said to have been a third-century poet and judge in the time of King Cormac mac Airt. It is thus interesting to see one historical personage and one legendary connected with the same work.

Here's a sample of the sort of pithy maxims to be found in the text:

2.3 Be obliging so that you may be loved.

2.4 Be generous so that you may be renowned.
2.4a Be generous so that you may be charitable.

2.5 Be hospitable so that you may appear decorous.

2.6 Be grateful so that you may experience increase.

2.7 Be humble so that you may be exalted.

The author's love of learning, something which endeared him to the Irish, can also be seen:

7.1 Learning is a beneficial occupation.

7.2 It makes a king of a poor person.

7.3 It makes an accomplished person of a landless one.

7.4 It makes an exalted family of a lowly one.

7.5 It makes a wise person of a fool.

7.6 Its commencement is good.

7.7 Its end is better.

7.8 It is respected in this world.

7.9 It is precious in the next.

7.10 It is not despairing concerning the end,

7.11 i.e. bestowing heaven upon him.

However, as it also says 'The conversation of women is a catalyst for folly' (4.13), I shall say no more!

Saint Brigid and Saint Lucy

2011-12-26T08:00:00.005Z

December 13 is the feast of Saint Lucy of Syracuse, an early virgin martyr whose feastday is still celebrated in Lutheran Sweden. There is a good illustrated summary of the Swedish celebration of Saint Lucy here. According to a modern scholar of Irish folklore, the cult of Saint Lucy may have directly influenced the cult of our own Saint Brigid, both in the use of the hagiographical motif of the plucking out of the eyes and in some of the ways in which Saint Brigid's day was celebrated in popular culture. Dr Dáithí Ó hÓgain writes:

Narratives of Brighid were developed through medieval times by further additions from Continental hagiography. A ninth-century text describes how a man comes to woo the young, and as yet unprofessed, Brighid. Her stepbrothers try to compel her to accept the marriage, but she knocks out one of her eyes so as not to be attractive to the suitor. When the family allow her to remain a virgin she miraculously restores sight to herself. The story is repeated in later sources, and it survived in the recent folklore of north Leinster and south Ulster. The name of the suitor, Dubhthach mac Lughair, is borrowed from the early Patrician texts, and it is obvious that the story cannot be older than the eighth century. It was, in fact, taken from the lore of the continental saint Lucy and was suggested by the symbolism of light associated with both of these holy virgins. It is apparent that the cult of Lucy influenced that of Brighid in other ways also in medieval times. Lucy's feastday, December 13, coincided with the winter solstice in the old calendar and was thus seen to usher in the lengthening of daylight. In Irish the saying which refers to Brighid's feastday, February 1, is that 'from Brighid's feastday onwards the day gets longer and the night shorter', although in fact that change occurs from the winter solstice, and the presumption must be that this saying was in origin a rather inaccurate borrowing from the Lucy lore. It could well be, also, that some of the paraphernalia associated with the feast of Brighid in Irish folk life - such as processions of young girls with the leader dressed up as the saint - shows the influence of the Lucy cult, which was very popular in western European countries in the Middle Ages.

Dáithí Ó hÓgain, Myth, Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition (Ryan, 1990), 62-63.

Something else which struck me as I looked at the picture above of a celebration of Saint Lucy's Day in Sweden in 1943, was that the round headdress of candles worn by the young girl representing the saint has echoes of another tradition associated with Saint Brigid - her connection with the feast of Candlemas. I have previously recorded this version of the Brigid and Candlemas story here:

Ireland: Folklore

108. A Legend of St. Brigid

In further reference to the spring feature of Saint Brigid I am indebted to Miss Delap for a curious legend from Valentia Island which, with fine disregard of chronology, makes Saint Brigid a friend of the Virgin Mary. It is said that when the Virgin was shy about facing the congregation in the Temple, Saint Brigid procured a harrow, took out the spikes and putting a candle in every hole, placed it on her head, walked up before the Virgin and escorted her down again. According to another version, which it is believed came from the north of Ireland, it was a hoop with lighted candles which the Saint wore as she danced up the aisle before the Virgin and down again. For this service Saint Brigid’s Day is the eve of Candlemas or the Purification of the Virgin.

Elizabeth Andrews, Man, Vol. 22 (December 1922), 187.

I don't know if the 'hoop with lighted candles' is also borrowed from the Saint Lucy tradition, but in view of what Dr Ó hÓgain has said, it seems to me an interesting coincidence.

Irish Saints of December: Brecan of Ardbraccan

2011-12-19T08:00:00.002Z

Today, December 6 on the Julian calendar, is the commemoration of Saint Brecan of Ardbraccan. He has a second feastday on May 1 and below I reproduce the entry posted for his life on that day:

THE Abbey of Ardbraccan, "Breacan, or Brecan's height or hill", was founded by St. Brecan, in the sixth or very early in the seventh century. St. Brecan was the son of Eochaidh Balldearg, prince of Thomond, and grandson of Carthen Finn, first Christian ruler of that territory. After having governed Ardbraccan for some time, he proceeded to the west of Ireland, and founded, on the great island of Arran, in the bay of Galway, the Church of Templebraccan, where he fixed his residence. He is said to have written some prophecies regarding the future wars of Ireland and the coming of the English. The exact year of his death is unknown, but it was probably in the sixth century. He was interred in his own church of Templebraccan, where his festival was celebrated on the 1st of May. In the Martyrology of Donegal he is called Bishop of Ardbraccan, and his festival is marked at December the 6th. The Martyrology of Tallaght commemorates him at May 1st. His tomb on which was an Irish inscription was discovered some years ago:

"This monumental stone", says Dr. Petrie, " was discovered about forty years ago within a circular enclosure known as St. Brecan's tomb, at a depth of about six feet from the surface, on the occasion of its being first opened to receive the body of a distinguished and popular Roman Catholic ecclesiastic, of the County of Galway, who made a dying request to be buried in this grave. Under the stone within the sepulchre there was also found, on this occasion, a small water-worn stone of black calp or limestone. . . . On the upper side is carved a plain cross, and around this, in a circle, the following simple inscription (Anglicised) : 'A Prayer for Brecan the pilgrim'".

This venerable relic is at present in Dr. Petrie's possession. Ware makes St. Brecan flourish about 650. Dr. Petrie says he died early in the sixth century.

Rev. A. Cogan, The Diocese of Meath Ancient and Modern. Vol. I. (Dublin and London, 1862), 50-51.

Irish Saints of November: Fintan of Rheinau

2011-11-28T08:00:00.001Z

Today, 15 November on the Julian calendar, is the feastday of an Irish saint who laboured in continental Europe, Fintan of Rheinau. I regret that I was not able to access an online copy of the Irish Ecclesiastical Record for 1893 as its German specialist, Father Hogan, had written an article on Saint Fintan. I have, however, unearthed another nineteenth-century summary of Saint Fintan's life, written by a Professor A. J. Schem. There is a mention of the 'Normans' in this acount, but this is a reference to the Northmen or Vikings. From this starting point I hope to do much more research into the life of Saint Fintan, as his is certainly a most interesting one:

Fintanus or Fintan, the founder of the monastery of Rheinau (q.v.), in the canton of Zurich. He descended from a noble family in the province of Leinster, Ireland. In a war between two chieftains, one chieftain killed Fintan's brother, and, fearing that Fintan would avenge the brother's death, caused him insidiously to be carried off by the Normans. Having changed his master several times within a few days, Fintan was to be taken to Scotland, but escaped when the vessel landed at one of the Orkney Islands. He had to spend three days on this uninhabited island, after which he swam, miraculously supported, to Scotland. He remained for two years with a bishop who had studied in Ireland; then, in compliance with a vow he journeyed, through Gallia, Alemannia, and Lombardy, to Rome. After his return he first went to the monastery of Pfäffers, and from there to Rheinau, where he completed, conjointly with Wolfen, a scion of the house of the Welfs, the monastery which the grandfather and father of Wolfen had begun. After working at Rheinau for five years as a priest, he entered the monastery in 851, remained there five years, and thereupon became a hermit, leading for 22 years, from 856 to 878, the year of his death, a life of extreme asceticism. Thus he came to be venerated as a saint, even during his lifetime, throughout the whole region. When his friend Wolfen, who in the mean time had become abbot of Rheinau, returned from Rome with the relics of St. Blasius, Fintan took a portion of them to a cell in the Black Forest, which subsequently was called St. Blasien.—Herzog, Real-Encylop. xix, 491. (A. J. S.)

Rev. J McClintock and J. Strong (eds.), Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, Volume III (New York, 1882), 564.

Saint Brigid and Saint Erc

2011-11-15T08:00:00.000Z

Today, 2 November on the Julian calendar, is the feast of Saint Erc of Slane, a saint who features in the hagiography of Saint Patrick. He also features in the hagiography of Ireland's patroness and below is an account of some of the miracles worked by Saint Brigid which include Bishop Erc, taken from Volume II of The Lives of the Irish Saints by John, Canon O'Hanlon. The stories testify to the friendship of the two saints as well as to the mutual respect which existed between them:

One of the holy men, who had been distinguished owing to his virtues in St. Brigid's time, was Bishop Erc or Ercus of Slane. He was an early convert and a disciple of St. Patrick. This Bishop Erc's immediate progenitors and family lived in Munster; although, he descended from Fergus Rogius, and the royal line of Ulster kings. His hermitage was at Slane, on the banks of the Boyne, and it stood in a most charming locality. Here too, at the present time, may be seen some most interesting relics of our ancestors' piety. Beside that romantically situated cell of the holy man, yet visited by so many pilgrims of taste, who delight to wander along the winding waters of the Boyne, some towering and extensive abbey ruins crown a magnificent height, which presents a vast view over one of the most lovely landscapes in Ireland.

With blessed Erc, the great St. Brigid was specially intimate and bound by ties of holy friendship. This appears from her Acts, and it is supposed, that about the year 484, she was his travelling companion to his native province. Such tour of the holy abbess possibly preceded one she made to Connaught although, indeed, this matter has not been very clearly established. St. Brigid entertained a great inclination to see certain consecrated places and holy persons in Munster; but, according to another account, her visit there was induced, through a desire to accompany St. Erc on a visit towards that country, where his relatives lived. One day, while prosecuting their journey, St. Brigid said to the bishop, "O venerable father, point out to me the quarter of Munster, in which your family resides." When the bishop had complied with her request, the holy virgin exclaimed in continuation, "At present, a war is there waging, between your tribe and another clan." The bishop replied to her: "O holy mother, I believe what thou hast told me is true, for when I last left them to see you, they were in a state of discord." Then Brigid cried out, "O Father, your people are now routed." One of St. Erc's disciples, hereupon, thoughtlessly remarked to the holy abbess, "How are you able to see the fight at such a distance?" The bishop reproved this incredulity for his not recognising the Holy Spirit's illuminating gifts conferred on a virgin, who was blessed both in soul and body. Then said Erc to our saint: "O servant of God, sign our eyes that we may witness those things thou seest." The spouse of Christ immediately complied with this request, so that they clearly observed the battle's progress. Looking on, in great grief, his disciple cried out to Bishop Erc: "Alas! also, my Lord, at this moment, my eyes behold the decapitation of two brothers." The result of enquiry established the reality this vision detailed.

Afterwards, in a certain place, and near a mountain, the holy Bishop Erc and the sanctified virgin Brigid sat down, with their attendants. These were greatly fatigued after their journey, and they experienced great hunger. A youth in their company thereupon remarked, that whoever gave them food should confer a great charity on them. St. Brigid then said, "I predict, that if food and drink be required, you must wait awhile in expectation of assistance from on high; because, I behold a house, in which they are to-day preparing alms for a certain church. Within an hour it shall come here, and even now it is put up for us in packages." While our saint was speaking, refreshment carriers arrived, and when they had learned the illustrious Brigid and holy Bishop Erc, with their disciples, were there, those bearers greatly rejoiced to relieve their wants. Alms were presented to the famished travellers, with such words: "Receive those refreshments, which God Himself hath intended for you, as your wants and merits should be taken into consideration, before those of any other congregation." Giving God thanks, our travellers partook of this food presented; yet, as they only received edibles, some drink was required, likewise, to allay their thirst. Then Brigid told them to dig the earth near this spot. On obeying her order, a spring of clear water issued from the ground. Afterwards, it bore the name of St. Brigid's well, and it might be seen at the time our virgin's Third and Fourth Lives had been written.

The holy travellers subsequently visited Magh-Femyn, at a time when a great Synod of Saints was there assembled. They were obliged to remain at that synod. The holy Bishop Erc gave an account of those miracles wrought by our saint, while he was assisting at this council. The neighbouring inhabitants, hearing that Brigid was there, brought many infirm persons to her, that she might heal them. Among these were included some lame, leprous, and demented persons. Such fortunate patients were released from their several afflictions, through Divine assistance, and the prayers of our merciful saint.

Irish Saints of October: Abbán of Moyarney

2011-11-09T08:00:00.001Z

One of the saints, commemorated today, October 27 on the Julian calendar, in the Martyrology of Oengus as 'Abbán an abbot fair and train-having' presents us with something of a mystery as to his identity. The problem is, that as the scholiasts' notes make clear, the lifespan of this saint was said to have exceeded three hundred years:

27. Abbán, great-grandson of Cormac, i.e. from Cell Abbain in Hui Muiredaig and from Mag Ernaidi in Húi Cennselaig, i.e. in Húi Buidi; and a great-grandson of Cormac is he himself; and this is the feast of his nativity.

Abbán, son of Laignech, son of Cainnech, son of Imchad, son of Cormac, son of Cucorp.

Seventeen pure-shaped years, in addition to the number three-hundred, the age of Abbán, shapely lord, while he was in the body.

This, plus the extraordinary number of churches which claim Abbán as founder, has led many writers to speculate that there must have been more than one saint of this name, even though the sources try to present a single individual, Abban of Kilabban a nephew of the pre-Patrician Saint Ibar, whose feast is commemorated on March 16. Writer Eoin Neeson attempts to clarify the matter:

ABBAN of Moyarney, County Wexford. An abbot who has been confused with Abban of Killabbban in Laois and whose feast-day is on March 16. They may have been the same individual, but there is no certainty either way. Tradition would suggest that there were two Abbans, while holding that there was only one; but if so he must have been singularly long-lived for he died in 630, yet is reputed to have preached before the coming of Patrick (432). It is probable that there were two Abbans, to-day's being the latter. He was of royal blood and, indeed, was imprisoned by his father because he chose the Church rather than the local kingship. He is invoked against shipwreck.

Eoin Neeson, The Book of Irish Saints (Cork, 1967), 190.

Taking a Break

2011-10-30T10:27:00.000Z

I regret to say that due to health difficulties I will have to take a break from blogging for a while. There are some posts already scheduled to publish automatically next month but I hope, please God, to be able to return to the work very soon.

Irish Saints of October: Colman of Kilroot

2011-10-29T08:00:00.000+01:00

Today, October 16 on the Julian calendar is the feast of a northern saint, Colman of Kill-Ruaidh, now known as Kilroot, County Antrim. This place is now synonymous for natives of this part of the world with the power station which can be seen across Belfast Lough. The account below has been taken from the revised edition of Archdall's Monasticon Hibernicum, which was serialized in the Irish Ecclesiastical Record:

Kill-Ruaidh, called in mediaeval records, Kilroigh, Kilruaigh, Kilroe, and Kilrothe, gave name to the present parish of Kilroot. The “Felire of Oengus” mentions St. Colman in connection with this church on the 16th of October:

"Colman of Kill-Ruaidh," and the "Gloss" adds : "Colman, bishop, son of Cathbadh, of Kill-Ruaidh, on the bank of Loch-Laig, in Ulidia" and the "Martyrology of Donegal" also writes, on the same day: "Colman, bishop of Kill-Ruaidh, in Dal-Araidhe, on the brink of Loch Laoigh, in Uladh." Lough-Laoigh was not Lough-Neagh, as Archdall supposes, but the modern Belfast Lough. Close upon its Antrim coast, in the townland Kilroot) is a churchyard of the same name, which still retains some traces of the ancient church. From the "Life of St. Mac Nisse" we learn that St. Colman was still a boy whilst this saint was bishop of Connor. He is there called "Colmanus Episcopus, qui Ecclesiam nomine Kellruaid fundavit" (Ada SS. Bolland, Sept. I, 665); and the learned Franciscan, Ward, adds the note: "S. Colmanus fuit Episcopus Kill-Ruadhensis, quae nunc obsoleta sedes est in Aradeorum regione (i.f., Dalaradia) ad oram stagni Juvenci vulgo Loch-Laodh in Ultonia ubi ejus festum tamquam patroni colitur xvi. Octobris." The "Annals of the Four Masters" and the "Annals of Ulster" record, at 1122, that Connor Mac Lochlin, with an army from Tyrone, laid waste "Kill-Ruaidh, in Ulster," and carried away great spoil.

From the "Life of St. Ailbhe, of Emly" we glean a few interesting particulars regarding the first foundation of this ancient church. It is stated there that, "St. Ailbhe, like an industrious bee with its load of honey, returned from Rome, under the Divine guidance, to his native Ireland. And when he arrived at the sea he blessed it, and, with a breathless calm, he and his whole company crossed its waters in a frail ship uninjured, and landed on the north coast of Ireland. And there, at Ailbhe's order, one of his disciples called Colman, founded a church named Cill-ruaidh. And whereas the spot was unprovided with fresh water, St. Ailbhe blessed a stone, in the name of God omnipotent, and forthwith there gushed from it a stream of water. Then said St. Colman to Ailbhe, "The water is scanty;" to whom Ailbhe replied: "Though the water is scanty, it will never fail; but will be a running stream as long as the world lasts." Therefore the name of the stream is called Buanan Cylle Ruayd, i.e, the "Unfailing Stream of Kill-ruaidh." (Codex Kilken. Marsh's Libr. fol 136, b). The Irish Franciscan, Father MacCana, visited the spot about 1640, and closed his "Itinerary" with the following note regarding it: "Not far from Carrickfergus, on the east, is the church of Kill-ruaidh, which the English call Killread. In all times it was celebrated, and, even in my time, and that of my forefathers, it was always one of the residences of the bishops of Connor. The church was endowed in former ages with very ample possessions, and, even in my day, it was provided with no mean appurtenances. Of this place mention is made in the 'Life of St. Albeus."

MONASTICON HIBERNICUM; OR, A SHORT ACCOUNT OF THE ANCIENT MONASTERIES OF IRELAND,THE IRISH ECCLESIASTICAL RECORD. Vol.5, (1869), 304.

Irish Saints of October: Colman of Stockerau

2011-10-26T08:00:00.020+01:00

Today, October 13 on the Julian calendar, is the feastday of an 11th-century Irish martyr, Colman (Coloman) of Metz. I have previously published a paper on his life here, but below is the entry for the saint from Father John Lanigan's Ecclesiastical History of Ireland. Father Lanigan applies his customary sceptical approach to the sources and like many of the Irish writers on the saints doesn't disguise his irritation at the Scottish calendarist Thomas Dempster's clumsy attempt to claim this saint as a Scot, rather than an Irishman:

Various distinguished Irishmen still continued to visit foreign countries. Colman, or as usually called by continental writers, Coloman, who is styled patron of Austria, (1) left Ireland early in the eleventh century, (2) together with some other persons, for the purpose of a pious visit to Jerusalem. (3) He arrived A.D.1022 in the eastern part of Norica, now Lower Austria. Its inhabitants were then at variance with the neighbouring nations of Bohemians, Moravians, &etc. On Colman's stopping at the small town of Stockerau he was seized as a spy sent by the enemies of Austria, and thrown into prison. On the next day he was strictly examined, but although he told the plain truth, would not be believed. He was then most cruelly tortured, and at length, on his persisting in declaring his innocence, was hung from an old tree together with two robbers. While his body remained suspended from his gibbet, it continued sound and entire; and it is said that his hair and nails continued to grow. The hay or twig rope, by which his head was fastened, and even the old tree, are stated to have bloomed and revived. These extraordinary phenomena excited great attention, which was ranch enhanced by the circumstance of blood flowing from his body on occasion of a part of his flesh having been cut off for the purpose of being used in effecting a certain cure. It was now concluded, that Colman was a truly holy man, and that he had been unjustly put to death. Accordingly he was honored as a martyr, and his body was taken down and deposited with great pomp in the churchyard of Stockerau. Several miracles are said to have attested his sanctity, and Henry, marquis of Austria, was so moved by them, that he had the body removed to his residence Medlicum, alias Medlica, or Mellica, now Melck. (4) On its removal it was found entire, and was placed in St. Peter's church of that town on the 7th of October A. D, 1015, three years after Colman had been murdered. A Benedictine monastery was soon established there in honour of this saint, which has become very famous and still exists in great splendor. Erchinfrid, who has written the Acts of Colman, (5) was the third abbot of this monastery. He relates, in addition to what has been hitherto stated, several miracles wrought after his death, which it would be too tedious to repeat. He constantly calls him a Scotus, by which appellation, although he does not make mention of Ireland, or name the land of his birth, it may, considering that the Irish were then universally called Scoti, and that they were greatly in the habit of going abroad on pilgrimages, be fairly presumed that Colman was an Irishman. Erchinfrid has nothing about his having been of royal parentage, as some later writers have announced. (6) The name of this saint as a martyr is in the Roman martyrology at 13 October.

(1) Colgan (A.A. SS. p. 105.) calls him apostle of Austria; but there is no reason for giving this title; for, besides Austria having been a Christian country before the arrival of Colman it does not appear that he preached there, or that he had even time to do so. Nor do I find, that Colman was an ecclesiastic. The title given to him by German writers is that of patron of Austria. The most detailed account of him is that by the abbot Erchinfrid, who was contemporary with him, or very nearly so, and which has been published by Lambecius, Commentariorum de Bibliotheca Caesar. Vindohon. Lib, ii. cap. 8. Colman is treated of also by Ditmar and other chroniclers, by Baronius, Annal &c. at A, 1012, and other writers.

(2) According to Erchinfrid's account Colman's departure from his own country must have been only a short time before his death, which occured in 1012. Colgan says, (ib. p. 107.) that he had left Ireland before the close of the tenth century. I wish he had told us, where this information is to be found.

(3) Baronius was mistaken in saying that Colman had been often at Jerusalem. But he had not seen the narrative of Erchinfrid.

(4) Mabillon says (Annal, Ben. ad A, 1017.) that Colman’s body was buried at Melck, which he calls Mezelikim, by order of the then emperor. This is a mistake, grounded on authority inferior to that of Erchinfrid, who positively states, that Henry, marquis of Austria, was the prince, by whose order that was done. He was also wrong in assigning Colman's death to said year 1017.

(5) See above Not. I. The miraculous circumstances relative to Colman's remains are attested also by Ditmar, who was bishop of Mersburg and a contemporary of his, as he died in 1019.

(6) Surius has at 13 October an ode written in honour of St. Colman by John Stabius, historiographer of the emperor Maximilian I. It begins thus:

Austriae sanctus canitur patronus,
Fulgidum sidus radians ab Areto,
Scoticae gentis Colomannus acer
Regia proles.

Ille dum sanctam Solymorum urbem
Transiit dulcem patriam relinquens,
Regios fastus, trabeam, coronam,
Sceptraque tempsit.

Propter et Christum peregrinus exul
Factus in terris alienis ultro
Caelicam pura meditatus aulam
Mente fideque.

Then, comes an account of Colman's transactions much in the manner as related by Erchinfrid; for instance,

Austriae terras agitabat amens
Tunc furor: fortes Moravos, Bohemos,
Pannones bello simul implicabat
Inferus hostis.

Ergo dum sanctum hospitio recepit
Oppidum nostro Stockheran vocatum
Patrio ritu, &c.

It was, I dare say, on the authority of this ode that Baronius said that Colman was of a royal family. Dempster, wishing to make Colman, a Scotch prince, fabricated a story of his having been a son of Malcolm I. king of Scotland. To that shameless liar it is sufficient to oppose the silence of Buchanan, who, although he makes mention of more than one son of Malcolm, has nothing about this celebrated St. Colman. Harris, (Writers at Colman of Lindisfarne) remarking on Dempster's assumption, fell, as indeed some others had before him, into a strange mistake, confounding Colman of Austria with the one of Lindisfarne. He did not know that the former was killed in 1012, whereas the latter lived in the seventh century.

Rev. J. Lanigan, An ecclesiastical history of Ireland, from the first introduction of Christianity among the Irish, to the beginning of the thirteenth century, Volume III, (Dublin, 1829), 440-441.

Saint Fiacc of Sletty and Saint Patrick's Gift

2011-10-25T08:00:00.004+01:00

Saint Fiacc of Sletty had a bad leg. Saint Patrick heard of it, and sent him a chariot and a pair of horses, to enable him to get about. This aroused the jealousy of Sechnall (Secundinus), another of his missionaries, and he scolded Patrick soundly as giving way to partiality. But after he became cool, Sechnall repented; he had intercepted the present, and he sent it to Mancen, and begged him to forward it to Fiacc. This Mancen did, with an apology; but Fiacc, too charitable to receive a gift that had caused heart-burnings, restored chariot and horses to Patrick, and refused to use them.

Rev. S. Baring-Gould, 'Cornish Dedications of Saints, Part IV' in Journal of the Royal Institution of Cornwall, Volume 15 (1901-02), 51.

Irish Saints of October- Loman and Fortchern of Trim

2011-10-24T10:25:00.000+01:00

Today, October 11 on the Julian calendar, is the feast of two County Meath saints associated with the mission of Saint Patrick, Loman and Forthchern of Trim. Patrician hagiography records that Loman was a Briton, and his royal convert Fortchern son of an Irish king and a British mother. The monastery of Trim produced a number of Irish saints, a fact alluded to in the entry for the day in the Martyrology of Tallaght:

Lomman i nAth Truim cum suis omnibus et Fortchern.

The Martyrology of Oengus mentions Fortchern first and then adds an interesting epithet to the name of Lomman: Fortchern, Lommán lainnech, 'Fortchern, Lomman the scaly'.

The theme is continued in the entry of Marianus O'Gorman:

Fortchern,- Lomman lomda, 'Fortchern,- stript Lomman.'

The accompanying notes record of Fortchern:

epscop, deiscipul Patraic, 7 ó Ath truim il-Laeghaire dó, ocus ó Chill Fortceirn i n-Uibh Drónna i Laighnibh, 'a bishop, a disciple of Patrick, and from Áth Truim in Loeguire was he, and from Cell Fortcheirn in Huí Dróna in Leinster'.

and a note in the margins says of Loman:

in marg. Loman espoc, descipul oile do Phátraic, 7 ó Áth Truim dó beós.

The Martyrology of Donegal records the Patrician associations of both saints and the royal background of Forthchern:

FOIRTCHERN, son of Feidhlimidh, son of Laoghaire, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages. He was a bishop, and a disciple of Patrick, and he was of Ath-Truim in Laoghaire, and of Cill Foirtcheirn in Ui-Dróna, in Leinster.

LOMMAN, Bishop, another disciple of Patrick, and he was of Ath-Truim also; and Darerca, sister of Patrick, was his mother.

So, what does the hagiography of Saint Patrick record of our saints? Below is an account taken from the diocesan historian of County Meath, Father Anthony Cogan, which includes an extract from the writings of Tírechan:

ON the banks of the historic Boyne, in the heart of a rich and beautiful country, encompassed with ruins of churches, monasteries, and castles, whose gray mouldering walls speak of ages long past, and celebrities long forgotten, stands the capital of the once powerful palatinate of Meath the ancient and celebrated city of Ath-Truim, "the pass or ford of the elder trees". Many and varied were the scenes which this old town has witnessed from the days of St. Loman, its first bishop, to the last election of a representative to sit in a foreign parliament. In the early ages Trim was the seat of an episcopal see said to have been the most ancient in Ireland, and had a monastic school of the first class, which dispensed its blessings to the neighbourhood ...

The ecclesiastical origin of Trim is thus accounted for by Tirechan, a writer of the seventh century:

"A.D. 433. When Patrick, in his holy navigation, came to Ireland, he left St. Loman at the mouth of the Boyne to take care of his boat forty days and forty nights; and then he (St. Loman) waited another forty, out of obedience to Patrick. Then, according to the order of his master (the Lord being his pilot), he came in his boat, against the stream, as far as the ford of Trim, near the fort of Feidilmid, son of Loiguire. And when it was morning, Foirtchern, son of Feidilmid, found him reciting the Gospel, and admiring the Gospel and his doctrine, immediately believed; and a well being opened in that place, he was baptized by Loman in Christ, and remained with him until his mother came to look for him; and she was made glad at his sight, because she was a British woman. But she likewise believed, and again returned to her house, and told to her husband all that had happened to her and her son. And then Feidilmid was glad at the coming of the priest, because he had his mother from the Britons, the daughter of the king of the Britons, namely, Scothnoessa. And Feidilmid saluted Loman in the British tongue, asking him, in order, of his faith and kindred, and he answered: 'I am Loman, a Briton, a Christian, a disciple of Bishop Patrick, who is sent from the Lord to baptize the people of the Irish, and to convert them to the faith of Christ, who sent me here according to the will of God'. And immediately Feidilmid believed, with all his family, and dedicated (immolavit) to him and St. Patrick his country, with his possessions and with all his family; all these he dedicated to Patrick and Loman, with his son Fortchern, till the Day of Judgment. But Feidilmid crossed the Boyne, and Loman remained with Fortchern in Trim, until Patrick came to them, and built a church with them, twenty-two years before the foundation of the Church of Armagh".

In the Annals of the Four Masters, at 432, we read:

"Ath-Truim was founded by Patrick, it having been granted by Fedhlim, son of Laoghaire, son of Niall, to God and to him, Loman and Fortchern".

Rev. Anthony Cogan, The Diocese of Meath: Ancient and Modern, Volume 1 (Dublin, 1862), 44-48.

Father Cogan also summarizes the names of the saints of Trim recorded in the Irish calendars, noting that Fortchern has a second feastday at February 18, one day after a collective feast for the saints of Trim:

In the Martyrology of Tallaght, the festivals of the following saints of Trim are marked at the 17th of February: St. Aedha; St. Coelochtra; St. Cormac, Bishop; St Cuimaen, Bishop; St. Finnsegh, viz.: St. Lactan, Bishop; St. Lurech Mac Cuanach, 'hostiarius Patricii'; St. Ossan; and St. Saran.
The festival of St. Fortchern is marked at the 18th of February; and that of St. Loman "cum SS. omnibus", at the llth of October.

Brigid, the Daughter of Duffy

2011-10-22T15:09:00.000+01:00

A few days ago we looked at the feastday of Saint Dubhthach. I remarked then that this is a name borne by both Irish pagans and Christians, and suggested that perhaps the most famous of its pagan bearers was Dubhthach, the father of Saint Brigid of Kildare. It is also claimed that this name has been anglicized as the modern Irish surname Duffy, and it is in this form that Irish-American poet, Denis A. McCarthy (1870-1931), presents Saint Brigid as the champion of the poor and generous to a fault, something which provokes a culture clash with her pagan father. The episode on which the poem is based is known from the hagiography of our national patroness, this, for example, is the version recorded in the Middle Irish homily preserved in the Leabhar Breacc:

Then came Brigit, and her mother with her, to her father's house. Thereafter Dubthach and his consort were minded to sell the holy Brigit into bondage; for Dubthach liked not his cattle and his wealth to be dealt out to the poor, and that is what Brigit used to do. So Dubthach fared in his chariot, and Brigit along with him. Said Dubthach to Brigit: "Not for honour or reverence to thee art thou carried in a chariot, but to take thee to sell thee, and to grind the quern for Dunlang MacEnda, King of Leinster.” When they came to the King's fortress, Dubthach went in to the King and Brigit remained in her chariot at the fortress door. Dubthach had left his sword in the chariot near Brigit. A leper came to Brigit to ask an alms. She gave him Dubthach's sword. Dixit Dubthach to the King: "Wilt thou buy a bondmaid, namely, my daughter?" says he. Dixit Dunlang: "Why sellest thou thine own daughter?" Dixit Dubthach: "She stayeth not from selling my wealth and giving it to the poor." Dixit the King: "Let the maiden come into the fortress." Dubthach went for Brigit and was enraged against her, because she had given his sword to the poor man. When Brigit came into the King's presence, the King said to her: "Since it is thy father's wealth that thou takest, much more, if I buy thee, wilt thou take my wealth and my cattle and give them to the poor?" Dixit Brigit: "The Son of the Virgin knoweth if I had thy might with (all) Leinster, and with all thy wealth I would give (them) to the Lord of the Elements." Said the King to Dubthach: "Thou art not fit on either hand to bargain about this maiden, for her merit is higher before God than before men." And the King gave Dubthach for her an ivory-hilled sword, et sic liberata est sancta virgo Brigita captivitate.

ST. BRIGID

BY DENIS A. MCCARTHY

BRIGID, the daughter of Duffy, she wasn't like other
young things,
Dreaming of lads for her lovers, and twirling her bracelets and rings;
Combing and coiling and curling her hair that was black
as the sloes,
Painting her lips and her cheeks that were ruddy and
fresh as the rose.
Ah, 'twasn't Brigid would waste all her days in such
follies as these -
Christ was the Lover she worshipped for hour after hour
on her knees;
Christ and His Church and His poor, - and 'twas many
a mile that she trod
Serving the loathsomest lepers that ever were stricken
by God.

Brigid, the daughter of Duffy, she sold all her jewels and
gems,
Sold all her finely-spun robes that were braided with
gold to the hems;
Kept to her back but one garment, one dress that was
faded and old,
Gave all her goods to the poor who were famished with
hunger and cold.
Ah, 'twasn't Brigid would fling at the poor the hard word
like a stone -
Christ the Redeemer she saw in each wretch that was
ragged and lone;
Every wandering beggar who asked for a bite or a bed
Knocked at her heart like the Man who had nowhere to
shelter His head.

Brigid, the daughter of Duffy, she angered her father
at last.
"Where are your dresses, my daughter? Crom Cruach!
You wear them out fast!
Where are the chains that I bought you all wrought in
red gold from the mine?
Where the bright brooches of silver that once on your
bosom would shine?"
Ah, but 'twas he was the man that was proud of his
name and his race,
Proud of their prowess in battle and proud of their deeds
in the chase!
Knew not the Christ, the pale God Whom the priests
from afar had brought in,
Held to the old Gaelic gods that were known to Cuchullin
and Finn.

Brigid, the daughter of Duffy, made answer, "O father,"
said she,
"What is the richest of raiment, and what are bright
jewels to me?
Lepers of Christ must I care for, the hungry of Christ
must I feed;
How can I walk in rich robes when His people and mine
are in need ?"
Ah, but 'twas she didn't fear for herself when he blustered and swore,
Meekly she bowed when he ordered his chariot brought
to the door;
Meekly obeyed when he bade her get in at the point of
his sword,
Knowing whatever her fate she'd be safe with her Lover
and Lord.

Brigid, the daughter of Duffy, was brought to the court
of the King,
(Monarch of Leinster, MacEnda, whose praises the poets
would sing).
"Hither, O monarch," said Duffy, "I've come with a
maiden to sell;
Buy her and bind her to bondage - she's needing such
discipline well!"
Ah, but 'twas wise was the King. From the maid to the
chieftain he turned;
Mildness he saw in her face, in the other 'twas anger
that burned;
"This is no bondmaid, I'll swear it, O chief, but a girl
of your own.
Why sells the father the flesh of his flesh and the bone
of his bone?"

Brigid, the daughter of Duffy, was mute while her father
replied -
"Monarch, this maid has no place as the child of a
chieftain of pride.
Beggars and wretches whose wounds would the soul of
a soldier affright,
Sure, 'tis on these she is wasting my substance from
morning till night!"
Ah, but 'twas bitter was Duffy; he spoke like a man that
was vext.
Musing, the monarch was silent; he pondered the question perplexed.
"Maiden," said he, "if 'tis true, as I've just from your
father heard tell,
Might it not be, as my bondmaid, you'd waste all my
substance as well?"

Brigid, the daughter of Duffy, made answer. "O monarch," she said,
"Had I the wealth from your coffers, and had I the crown from your head
Yea, if the plentiful yield of the broad breasts of Erin
were mine,
All would I give to the people of Christ who in poverty
pine."
Ah, but 'twas then that the King felt the heart in his
bosom upleap,
"I am not worthy," he cried, "such a maiden in bondage
to keep!
Here's a king's sword for her ransom, and here's a
king's word to decree
Never to other than Christ and His poor let her servitude
be!"

DREAMS AND IMAGES AN ANTHOLOGY of CATHOLIC POETS
Edited by JOYCE KILMER, N.Y. 1917, 156-60.

Saints of October: 'Venerable, aged Simeon'

2011-10-21T22:47:00.002+01:00

I was surprised to see that the entries for the saints of today, October 8 on the Julian calendar, begin in the Martyrology of Gorman with this lovely verse in praise of Saint Simeon the God-receiver:

8. a.

Símeon sruith saeglac[h]
ro gab Ísu ollán,
ar gecaib a gellamh

'Venerable, aged Simeon
who received great ample Jesus
on the branches of his white arms'.

A commentator has added in Latin 'ipse accepit eum in ulnas suas, Luc. ii. 28'. I could not find Saint Simeon commemorated on this day in any of the other Irish calendars, and as he is commemorated in the East on February 3, I wondered where the 12th-century Irish calendarist, Marianus O'Gorman, sourced this October feastday. The translator of the Martyrology of Gorman, Whitley Stokes, does not comment on this particular feast in his discussion of the Biblical saints found on this calendar but notes that 'Gorman, as a rule, agrees with the western martyrologies'. And indeed the Roman Martyrology at October 8 records: 'The same day, the birthday of the blessed Simeon, an aged man, who, as we read in the Gospel, took our Lord Jesus in his arms'.

Devotion to Saint Simeon the God-receiver is very much alive in the Orthodox tradition and examples of prayers to the saint can be found here. Blogger John Sanidopoulos has a summary of Saint Symeon's feast here and a most interesting account of a recent translation of part of the saint's relics here.

Finally, I will close with the Song of Symeon in Irish, taken from the translation of the New Testament by Canon Coslett Quinn:

A Thiarna, is anois a cheadaíonn tú do do sheirbhíseach imeacht faoi shíocháin, de réir do bhriathair;
mar tá mo shúile d'eis do shlánú a fheiceáil,
an slánú a réamhullmhaigh tú os comhair na gciníocha uile,
an solas a tharbharfadh eolas ort do na Gintlithe,
agus an solas a bheadh ina ghlóir do do mhuintir Iosrael.

Lúcás II, 29-32.

Irish Saints of October: Dubhthach

2011-10-20T19:03:00.000+01:00

Today, October 7 on the Julian calendar, some of the later Irish calendars of the saints record the name Dubhthach. This name does not appear in either The Martyrology of Tallaght or that of Saint Oengus, but the 12th-century Martyrology of Gorman lists Dubhthach, along with three other saints not mentioned on the earlier calendars. The 17th-century Martyrology of Donegal repeats this information but speculates that Dubhthach may have been mentioned in the hagiography of Saint Moling, as one of those who accompanied the saint in his mission to relieve the Leinstermen of the payment of a tribute known as the Borumha:

7. G. NONIS OCTOBRIS. 7.

DUBHTHACH. I think this is he whom Moling mentions as having gone with himself to seek a remission of the Borumha from Finnachta, king of Erin. This is what he says in the work called the Borumha itself:

"Dear the three who met the difficulty,
Who went with me for my welfare,
Dubhthach, Dubhan, who concealed sorrow,
And Cuan of Cluain-mor."

The trouble is, of course, that different sources suggest different names for the companions of Saint Moling in this endeavour. We looked at one just recently, Aedh, son of Senach. The Martyrology of Donegal itself named Forannan and Colman of Cluain-Credhail as the other two companions in its entry for Saint Aedh and made no mention of Dubhthach. The same calendar also has an entry for Cuan of Cluain-mor, which I have previously posted here.

A further suggestion was made by writer Eoin Neeson in his entry for this day in The Book of Irish Saints. He records: 'Dubhthach, Duach or Duffy, abbot and alleged nephew, successor and coarb of Colmcille (June 9).' Neeson does not give references in his book so I am not sure what was the source of the alleged family link with Saint Colmcille. The only Dubhthach, coarb of Colmcille, whom I could find was a Dubthach, son of Duban, whose repose is recorded in the Annals of Ulster at the year 938. Given that Saint Colmcille reposed in the year 597 a contemporaneous family relationship with this Dubhthach can be ruled out, although they were kinsmen. In the introduction to his translation of Adamnan's Life of Columba, Bishop William Reeves identifies the 10th-century Dubhthach as the saint commemorated on this day:

XXVI.— DUBHTHACH. Coarb 927-938. Ob. Oct. 7.

Son of Duban, of the race of Conall Gulban, from whom, according to the pedigree in the Naemhseanchas, he was fourteenth in descent, and in the same line as his predecessor, Maelbrighde. He was abbot of Raphoe as well as of Hy, and is styled by the Four Masters "Coarb of Columcille both in Erin and Alba."

Rev. W. Reeves, The Life of Saint Columba: Founder of Hy (Edinburgh, 1874), clxxvi.

In her study of the monastic familia of Columba, Máire Herbert revises Bishop Reeves' view that Dubhthach was abbot of Raphoe and Iona and feels it more likely that he exercised his office from the monastery of Kells:

That Dubhthach was a kinsman of his predecessor, Máel Brigte, as well as of the saint himself, is likely to have been a key factor in his selection as head of the Columban federation. It is not possible to ascertain whether he was based in Kells at the time of his selection, or whether a conscious decision was made at that period to designate Kells in place of Iona as the seat of the comarba. The title of 'successor of Colum Cille and Adomnán' which the annals accord to Dubhthach and to his successor Robartach, has been interpreted by Reeves as meaning that the holders were abbots of Raphoe as well as of Iona. However, while the monastery of Raphoe may have been particularly associated with Adomnán, it is clear from a ninth-century annal that it belonged to the familia of Colum Cille. Adomnán was not a founder of a monastic paruchia, and his commemoration is seen alongside that of Colum Cille in various churches of the Columban federation. The title of 'successor of Colum Cille and Adomnán' certainly implies especial consideration accorded to the saint's biographer by the tenth-century leaders of Colum Cille's familia, and the possibility cannot be discounted that Dubhthach, first holder of the title, held the abbacy of Raphoe, or of another church associated with Adomnán, at some time previous to his appointment as comarba. However, it is not unlikely that Kells, founded from Iona, would also have commemorated the most famous holder of the Iona abbacy after Colum Cille himself...

Máire Herbert, Iona, Kells and Derry - The History and Hagiography of the Monastic Familia of Columba (Dublin, 1996), 80.

Professor Herbert makes no reference to a possible date for the feastday of Abbot Dubhthach and thus we cannot be entirely sure if this ninth-century leader of the Columban monastic federation is the saint commemorated today. If he is, then he cannot be the Dubhthach mentioned in the hagiography of the seventh-century Saint Moling. The name Dubhthach is borne by a number of Irish holy men but is also known from the pre-Christian era. The most famous pagan bearer of the name is perhaps the chieftain Dubhthach, father of Saint Brigid of Kildare.

Irish Saints of October: Colman Lucell of Clonkeen

2011-10-19T23:03:00.000+01:00

Today, October 6 on the Julian calendar, we commemorate one of the many Irish saints with the name of Colman who appears to have been an abbot at one of the many Irish places with the name of Clúain. This particular saint also seems to have been known as Lucell. The earliest of the calendars, the Martyrology of Tallaght, simply records the name of Colman. The Martyrology of Oengus leads with a notice of Abb Clúana in Lucell, 'Lucell the abbot of Clúain', and the scholiast notes record:

6. Lucell abbot of Clúain, i.e. abbot of Clonmacnois, i.e. a successor of Ciaran of Cluain, and he is at Ross Fothairbe on the shore of Lough Mask in the west of Connaught.

The commentator on the 12th-century Martyrology of Gorman's entry for Lucell subach sluagach, 'happy, hostful Lucell', however, identifies him with Colman: .i. Colmán ab Clúana Cáoin., 'i.e. Colman abbot of Clúain Cáin'.

The 17th-century Martyrology of Donegal reprises all of this information, identifying Colman, as Abbot of Clúain Cáin, describing him also as Lucell and allowing the possibility that he may have been at Clonmacnoise: 'COLMAN, Abbot of Cluain-caoin, i.e., Luicheall; or he was of Cluain-mic-Nois'.

There are a number of places in Ireland where the placename of Clúain Cáin, anglicized as Clonkeen, is found. One is not far from the monastery of Clonenagh, founded by Saint Fintan. A diocesan historian of Kildare and Leighlin writes of this place:

CLONKEEN

This name, which is derived, according to Colgan, from Cluain-Caein, i.e. secessus amaenus sive delectabilis, "the beautiful lawn or meadow,"-is the title of an ancient parochial district, the church of which still exists in ruins. It is of apparently great antiquity, and is divided into two portions that would represent nave and chancel, except that there is a solid wall separating them apparently as old as the rest of the buildings and only pierced by a window high up. Dimensions: nave 45 feet by 22 feet; chancel (if it may be called so), 25 feet by 18 feet. Colgan speaks of St. Fintan having been born in Clonkeen of Leix; if so, then this place may lay claim to the honour of having given birth to one of our greatest Irish Saints.

The following particulars are given by Archdall in Monast. Hib, in reference to Cluainchaoin (Clonkeen).
Cluainchaoin was an ancient monastery, not far from Clonenagh.
The following Saints are recorded as Bishops here:

St. Fintan, a holy Anchorite, who died A.D. 860. (In the Martyrology of Donegall at 7th Feb., "Fiontain, Priest, of Cluain-Caoin," is calendared.)

The Feilure of Aengus, at 6th Oct., mentions "The. Lucell, Abbot of Cluain;" to which the Gloss in Leabhar Brac adds:

"Lucell, the bright one (here used) for his name - Or Cluain Luicell, i.e. Cluain Cain, i.e. Abbot of Cluain-Luicell, i.e. Colman, son of Cull, &c" This entry refers perhaps to this place...

Rev M Comerford "Collections relating to the Dioceses of Kildare and Leighlin" Vol. 3 (1886)

Given however, that there are other potential candidates for 'Clonkeen' including the monastery of Clonkeen near Ardee in County Louth, which is known from Patrician hagiography, it doesn't seem absolutely certain that this was the monastery of our saint. I will leave the last word to Canon O'Hanlon, this time wearing his county historian's hat. In a footnote to a discussion of Clonkeen in Volume 1 of his History of the Queen's County, he remarks:

In the similar names of Irish Saints and their places, many inaccuracies of identification occur.

Yes, indeed, and never more so it seems than when dealing with any saint called Colman...

Irish Saints of October: Baethallach of Ath-Truim

2011-10-18T12:41:00.000+01:00

Today, October 5 on the Julian calendar is the commemoration of an eighth-century County Meath bishop, Baethallach (Baithalach, Baitellach) of Ath-Truim. The name Baethellaig is found on the Martyrology of Tallaght, but the Martyrology of Oengus devotes its entire entry to a female saint whose feast also occurs today, Sínech of Crohane. The 12th-century Martyrology of Gorman in its verse mentions 'Baithalach to whom I pray'. The 17th-century Martyrology of Donegal, however, has a much fuller entry and places Baethallach at Ath-Truim, modern Trim:

5. E. TERTIO NONAS OCTOBRIS. 5.

BAETHALLACH, brother of Corbmac, bishop of Ath-Truim, and successor of Patrick. Fuinnecht, daughter of Maelfithrigh, son of Dioma, son of Colman, was his mother; and he and Baeghlach, the pilgrim, are of the race of Colla Uais, monarch of Erin.

The foundation of Trim is ascribed to Saint Patrick in the Irish annals, with this entry in the Annals of the Four Masters at the year 432: "Ath-Truim was founded by Patrick, it having been granted by Fedhlim, son of Laoghaire, son of Niall, to God and to him, Loman and Fortchern". Loman and Fortchern are perhaps the most famous of the saints associated with Trim, but there is also a record of an eighth-century bishop called Cormac, who came from a family which contributed a great deal to the Irish church, as Father John Lanigan explains:

To A.D. 742 is assigned the death of St. Cormac bishop of Trim. He is said to have been of the royal house of the Nialls; and his name appears in various calendars at the 17th of February as the anniversary of his death. Three brothers of his are spoken of; Rumond, a very wise man and deeply skilled in history and antiquities, who died in 743; Baitellach, abbot of Trim, whose death is marked at A.D. 752; and Ossan a priest, the year of whose death is not known.

Rev. John Lanigan, An Ecclesiastical History of Ireland, Volume III, 2nd edn., Dublin, 1829, 176-177.

Thus if the Martyrology of Donegal is correct in identifying our saint of October 5 with the Abbot Baitellach of Trim it would allow us to place him in the eighth-century as a member of an aristocratic ecclesiastical family, who contributed to the service of the Irish church in this historic locality.

Saints of October: Baluíne - From Kilbixy to Rome

2011-10-17T12:22:00.000+01:00

Today, October 4 on the Julian calendar, our early Irish calendars present us with something of a mystery surrounding a female saint with the name of Baluíne. The Martyrology of Oengus begins:

D. iv. nonas Octobris.
Áil Marcellum nepscop
co nhaidbli a bríge,
la céssad na hóige
in ballgel Baluíne.

4. Beseech Marcellus the bishop,
with the vastness of his vigour,
at the suffering of the virgin,
the bright-limbed Balbina.

The phrase 'suffering of the virgin' would imply a female martyr, yet as we know, the vast majority of the early Irish saints who suffered martyrdom did so contending for the faith in other countries. It is clear from the scholiast notes on this entry that later commentators were perplexed and sought to find a local identity for the 'bright-limbed Balbina':

4. Baluina .i. tair ata, nó isi Bicsech ó Chill Bicsige i nHuaib macc Cuais Midhe. R1 . in marg. Baluina uirgo et martir. Nó commad hí Baluina .i. Bicsech o Chill Bicsechi i nHuib Maccuais Mide, sed non est uerum. R1

4. Balbine .i. in the east she is. Or it is Bicsech of Cell Bicsige in Hui mace Uais in Meath. in marg. Baluina virgin and martyr. Or maybe Baluina is Bicsech of Cell Bicseche in Hui Macc-uais of Meath; sed non est uerum.

Bigsech of Kilbixy is an Irish female saint whose feastday is commemorated on June 28. In Canon O'Hanlon's account of her, which I posted here, he remarked that 'this saint appears to have had another festival, at the 4th of October.' But did she? For Balbina was not an Irish woman at all, despite the attempted Gaelicization of her name, but one of the early Roman martyrs. There seem to be two saints of this name, the first, commemorated on March 31 is said to have been the daughter of a Roman official called Quirinus and is linked to the discovery of Saint Peter's chains. There is a second Balbina, however, whose name is attached to one of the Roman catacombs, and inevitably the identities of both have been the subject of some confusion over the centuries. In Volume 5 of his work The Sacramentary: Historical and Liturgical Notes on the Roman Missal, Ildefonso, Cardinal Schuster, records at October 4 'Saint Balbina, Martyr' and it would seem that this is the second Balbina, who gave her name to the Roman cemetery and who was commemorated on this day.

Irish Saints of October: Nuadu the Anchorite

2011-10-16T15:15:00.000+01:00

Today, October 3 on the Julian calendar, the Irish calendars record a holy man with one of the most ancient of Irish names, Nuadu the anchorite. The Martyrology of Tallaght, the earliest of the Irish calendars, records him simply as Nuadu anchorita, 'Nuadu, the anchorite'. He does not feature among the saints listed at this day in the Martyrology of Oengus but the 12th-century monastic, Marianus O'Gorman, describes him as Nuadu, nuagel, 'fresh-fair Nuadu', in his calendar. A note adds anchoiri, 'an anchorite'. The name is also recorded in the 17th-century Martyrology of Donegal in its more modern form of 'Nuada, anchorite'. Although no further information is given on the calendars, I have recently been reading a paper on 'The Officials of the Church of Armagh to A.D. 1200' in which I encountered Nuadu, an early ninth-century bishop of Armagh who is also described as an anchorite. He is number 33 on the Ancient List of the Coarbs of Patrick compiled by H.G. Lawlor and R.I. Best, where two notices from the Annals of Ulster, the first recording a visit to Connaught and the second recording his repose, are reproduced beside his name on page 323:

811. Nuadha abbas A. migrauit to Connaught cum lege Patricii et cum armario eius. AU.

Nuadu, abbot of Ard Macha, went to Connacht with Patrick's law and his casket.

812. Nuadha of Loch Uamha episcopus et anchorita, abbas A. dormiuit. AU.

Nuadu of Loch nUamac, bishop and anchorite, abbot of Armagh, fell asleep.

Loch nUamac has been identified as Loch Nahoo, in the parish of Drumlease, County Leitrim, by scholar T. M. Charles-Edwards, who also notes 'Drumlease was attached to the Patrician familia, as shown by two documents in the Book of Armagh...It belonged to the minor kingdom of Calraige in north-east Connaught. Nuadu's interest in the province of Connaught is shown by 811.1.. (The Chronicle of Ireland (Liverpool, 2006), note 1, p.271.)

I was hoping that the author of the paper on the officials at Armagh might be able to provide a definition of the term 'anchorite' in the context of early medieval Irish monasticism, but this is all he had to say:

13. Anchorite (Old and Middle Irish anchara, ancair, Latin anchorita.) Thirteen mentions of holders of this title are recorded in the chronicles. It first appears in 725 as a designation for Eochaid, the last being Abel and Gilla Muiredag in 1159. This role could be linked with other functions: Nuadu is called bishop and anchorite, Forannán was comarba, bishop and anchorite, Ioseph was bishop, abbot, comarba and anchorite.

Hérold Pettiau, 'The Officials of the Church of Armagh to A.D. 1200' in A. J. Hughes and W. Nolan, eds., Armagh History and Society: Interdisciplinary essays on the history of an Irish County (Dublin, 2001) 125.

The later medieval idea of an anchorite was of someone who withdrew from the world entirely and who was differentiated from a hermit by his strict enclosure, as R. M. Clay, author of a study of English anchorites explains:

THE anchorite differed from the hermit in that he lived in stricter seclusion, and was not free to wander at will. He was not merely, as the word αναχωρητης signifies, withdrawn from the world: he was inclusus, shut up in a strait prison, whether in church, chapel, convent, or castle... (Anchorites in Church and Cloister in Hermits and Anchorites of England Clay, Rotha Mary (London: Methuen, 1914).

This later notion of an anchorite, if it also applied in Ireland, would seem to preclude someone from carrying out the duties of a bishop as an inclusus would not be free to undertake a visitation of his ecclesiastical territory as our Bishop and anchorite Nuadu did of Connaught in the early ninth century. I'm thus still uncertain what the term anchorite meant in our context and will have to do some further research.

I remarked at the beginning of this post that the saint Nuadu commemorated today bears one of the oldest of Irish names. This point was made by the author of a book on Irish saints in the 1960s:

Nuada, an anchorite, whose name is found in one of the Three Tragedies of the Gael and one of the oldest legends in Ireland, the Children of Turenn. Nuada in that legend is Nuada of the Silver Hand, so called because he lost his arm at the First Battle of Moytura between the Tuatha de Danaan and the Fomorians, which is held by some authorities to have taken place anno mundi 3303, and was supplied with a silver one by his physician Dianecht instead. It is therefore a name, and a lovely one, of great antiquity.

(Eoin Neeson, The Book of Irish Saints, (Cork, 1967) 176.

Despite the pagan mythological origins of this name, our anchorite Bishop Nuadu is not alone in bearing it in ninth century Christian Ireland. Scholar Clare Downham has brought together the entries from the Irish annals relating to the Vikings and records this entry from the Annals of the Four Masters under the year 845:

AFM 843.10

Sloighedh la Gallaibh Atha Cliath a c-Cluanaibh Andobhair, 7 argain leiss Chille h-Achaidh, 7 martradh Nuadhat mic Seigeni leo.

[A military outing by the foreigners of Áth Cliath to Cluain an Dobor, and the enclosure of Cell Achid was raided; and Nuadu son of Ségíne, was martyred by them.]

There are also various other instances of this name to be found in the annals and calendars, the Martyrology of Donegal, for example, contains two other saints Nuada, one a bishop commemorated at February 2 and the other an abbot at December 2. Sadly, nothing more seems to be recorded of these individuals either. I cannot, of course, definitively identify the ninth-century bishop and anchorite Nuadu with the saint commemorated today, but find it of great interest that this very old name of Irish legend continued to be popular as a Christian name and was borne by men of various ecclesiastical ranks who feature in our native calendars of the saints.

Irish Saints of October: Maeldubh the Little of Fore

2011-10-15T17:46:00.002+01:00

[Photo credit: An Ancient Cross at Fore in James Woods, Annals of Westmeath, ancient and modern (Dublin, 1907), facing page 278).

Today, October 2 on the Julian calendar, the Irish calendars commemorate an abbot of the monastery of Fore, County Westmeath, Maeldubh, who has the epithet 'the little' attached to his name. Fore is the monastery founded by the seventh-century Saint Fechin. The Irish calendars and annals have preserved the names and feastdays of some of his successors, including Saint Maeldubh, but I was unable to find a date recorded in the annals for this particular Abbot's repose. Although I thus do not know the exact period in which he flourished, our small-statured saint is recorded in the earliest of the calendars, the ninth-century Martyrology of Tallaght, as Maelduib Bic, 'Maeldubh the little'. He is introduced in the 12th-century Martyrology of Gorman as Maeldub organ orda, 'Mael dub a golden instrument' to which the note Mael dubh Becc, ab Fobhair, 'Mael dub the Little, abbot of Fobar' has been added. The same information appears on this day in the 17th-century Martyrology of Donegal Maoldubh becc, abb Fobhair, 'Maeldubh Beg, Abbot of Fobhar'.

Irish Saints of October: Fidarle of Rahan

2011-10-14T16:16:00.001+01:00

Today is October 1 on the Julian calendar and the feastday of Saint Fidarle (Fidairle, Fiodhairle, Fidharleus), an eighth-century abbot of the County Offaly monastery of Rahan. Rahan is the modern spelling of this placename, past variants include Rathen and Raithin. The Irish Raithean translates as 'a ferny place' and the locality was also known in the Irish Annals as Raithin Uí Suanaigh meaning 'the Ferny Land of the O’Swanys'. The O’Swany family were the hereditary successors to St Carthage at the monastery of Rahan from the eighth century onwards. Our saint is a member of this family as the Martyrology of Tallaght, the earliest surviving Irish calendar, makes clear in its recording of his name at this day:

Fidairle húa Suanaig 'descendant of Súanach.'

The later Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman notes not only his family but also that of his monastery:

Fidarle descendant of Suanach, (and) abbot of Rathen.

The 17th-century Martyrology of Donegal adds the recording of the date of Saint Fidarle's repose in the Annals of Ulster:

1. A. KALENDIS OCTOBRIS. 1.

FIODHAIRLE, Ua Suanaigh, Abbot of Raithin. The age of Christ when he went to heaven was 762.

Although no further information on Saint Fidarle as an individual seems to have survived, if you are interested in learning more about the monastery he once governed there is a comprehensive report by the Heritage service of Offaly County Council available online here. It is richly illustrated with maps, drawings and photographs of the site and brings together the major historical sources in its appendices.

'Archangel of the Archangels' - For the Feast of Saint Michael

2011-10-12T08:00:00.002+01:00

Now the reason why the Archangel Michael is called the Chief is the following: When God made the world he appointed a determinate chief to all creatures separately; viz., Lucifer for the demons; the sun for the stars; Mount Sion for the mountains; the river Jordan among rivers; the vine among trees; the dove among birds; the lion among beasts; the leviathan among fishes; Christ over mankind. Thus at that time the Archangel Michael was appointed in the chief place and supremacy over the angels of heaven; it is he who announces in the presence of God the intercessions which the saints make with Him; he is the archangel of the archangels; the star above stars; the brilliant fire: it is he who weeps and laments over the souls that are in hell; for when the folk of hell see the countenance of St. Michael the Archangel, they say: "O Michael, thou art our chief; thou art our king; thou labourest ever in our behalf." Then Michael makes them this reply: "I beseech the Lord for ever for the souls of mankind."

Homily XXVII 'On the Archangel Michael' in R. Atkinson, ed. and trans., The Passions and Homilies from Leabhar Breac, (Dublin, 1887) 456-457.

Irish Saints of September: Dairi the Widow

2011-10-11T08:00:00.031+01:00

Today, September 28 on the Julian calendar is the feast of the interesting Saint Sinach Mac Dara, whose memory remains fresh among the people of the west coast of Ireland. He shares his feastday with a number of other Irish saints, among them a holy widow called Dairi. In the Irish language the word for a widow baintreach, means literally 'a woman who ploughs', presumably because in the absence of her husband a widow is forced to undertake this arduous work for herself. Not that the Irish female saints were any strangers to hard work on the land, Saint Brigid herded sheep and churned butter and Saint Moninne's community preserved her hoe as a sacred relic long after her death. What the circumstances of Saint Dairi's life were I do not know, Canon O'Hanlon is able to bring us only a notice of her at this date in the Martyrology of Donegal:

St. Dairi, a Holy Widow.

We read in the Martyrology of Donegal that veneration was given to Dairi, a holy Widow, at the 28th of September. In the table, postfixed to this Martyrology, her name and distinctive state is Latinized Daria, Vidua.

Irish Saints of September: Fintan

2011-10-10T08:00:00.004+01:00

Today, September 27 on the Julian calendar, is the commemoration of one of the many Irish saints who bear the name of Fintan (Fionntain). In his account of the saint below, Canon O'Hanlon makes the case for Saint Fintan of Howth and engages in an illustrated discourse on the remaining ruins at this County Dublin site, only to finish up by saying he doesn't have any evidence that this is the Saint Fintan commemorated today! I find this a charming feature of Canon O'Hanlon's work and even if we cannot conclude that the Fintan named on the Irish calendars at September 27 is Saint Fintan of Howth, I welcome the opportunity to learn of him.

St. Fionntain, or Fintan.

Nothing particular appears to be known regarding this St. Fionntain, whose name occurs, in the Irish Calendars at this date. The entry of Fintan's feast at the present day is noticed, in a line of Marianus O'Gorman's Irish metrical Festilogy. [It is translated as follows by Dr. Whitley Stokes:" Fintan himself against plunderings."] Among the many holy men having the same name, and without any other designation, it seems difficult to know when and where he lived. On the peninsula of Howth, in the vicinity of Dublin, and at a considerable elevation on the Hill, may be seen the small church or oratory of a St. Fintan. It is supposed to have been formed out of the "survivals" of at least two churches—it may be of more—one of which was of much greater dimensions than the present church, and the other was about the same size as the structure now extant. The present "St. Fintan's" appears to stand partly on the site of that early oratory. An examination of the foundations shows, that they are laid at two levels. Evidence for such conclusions are seemingly afforded, by the peculiar stone dressings of the apertures, such as found in the door, small windows, and interior recesses. There is a gable over the western door, now covered with ivy, but having an ope for a bell in its upper part; while between it and the door-way, there is a recessed circular window. The whole of the interior had been plastered with mortar, and the exterior was dashed; but, both the mortar and the dashing have fallen off, leaving only an indication that the walls had been thus treated. At the western end are traces showing, that the ends of beams resting on the side walls supported a loft, while light was afforded only from the circular window already mentioned.

A short distance from the church is the holy well of St. Fintan, but any tradition of the day when pilgrims resorted to it has not been preserved in the locality to give a possible clue, which might serve for the patron's identification. An ancient cemetery surrounds the oratory, and there are still to be seen several tombs and graves. The scenery around St. Fintan's Oratory has been described and admirably versified in a local legend, which introduces Aideen as the heroine, and records her rest under a remarkable Cromlech, in the adjoining beautiful demesne of Lord Howth. From the simple entry of his name, at this date, we do not feel warranted in connecting the present Fintan with this locality; neither is it established, on any fair grounds, that any other so called had been venerated at Howth. We find Fionntain merely set down in the Martyrology of Donegal, at the 27th of September, and the same notice is in the Irish Calendar, belonging to the Ordnance Survey Records.

Irish Saints of September: Colman of Ros Branduibh

2011-10-09T08:00:00.009+01:00

Today, September 26 on the Julian calendar, is the commemoration of Saint Colman of Lann Elo, author of that wonderful collection of Irish monastic wisdom, The Alphabet of Devotion. This famous saint Colman shares his feast with another lesser-known saint of the same name, Colman of Ros Branduibh, as Canon O'Hanlon explains:

St. Colman, of Ros Branduibh.

We read in the published Martyrology of Tallagh that veneration was given, at the 26th of September, to Colman, of Ruis Branduib... A similar entry is found, at this date, in the Book of Leinster copy. Where Ruis or Ros Branduib was located we cannot ascertain. At the 26th of September, Marianus O'Gorman notices the festival of a second Colman of Ross. In a Manuscript Calendar of Professor Eugene O'Curry, Colman is named, likewise, for this day. There is a Rosbran, in the parish of St. John's, partly in the baronies of Narragh and Reban West, County of Kildare, and partly in the barony of Ballyadams, Queen's County. This is probably the nearest Irish denomination, approaching to Ros Branduibh, which can now be found; but, it is possible, some better identification may be imagined. At this same date, the Martyrology of Donegal records the name Colman, of Ros-Branduibh.

Irish Saints of September: Iomchaidh of Kill Drochoid

2011-10-08T11:45:00.001+01:00

Today, September 25 on the Julian calendar, we commemorate a northern saint of the Ards peninsula, Iomchaidh of Kill Drochoid. His name appears on the earliest of the Irish calendars, the Martyrology of Tallaght, at this date and the 12th-century Martyrology of Gorman adds 'of Cell droichit in Ard Ulad'. The Anglican scholar bishop, William Reeves, notes the feast of Saint Iomchaidh on the calendar of saints he appended to his work on the Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore, and comments:

Kill Droichid, - 'Church of the Bridge'. Now unknown. There is no river in the Ards deserving a bridge except the Blackstaff which divided the Great and Little Ards. Near this was the chapel of Gransha. (note d, p.380).

The Catholic diocesan historian, Father James O'Laverty, made another suggestion in Volume 1 of his Historical Account of the Diocese of Down and Connor:

In the townland of Lisban there are the remains of an extensive early Christian cemetery; its site is now in part occupied by the house and farmyard of Mr. Patrick M'Grath, into the wall of whose stable is built a stone, on which is inscribed a cross. The graves in that cemetery were lined and covered with flag-stones, and in many of them were found remains of the ferns, on which were cushioned the heads of the dead. This was probably the site of "the chapel of Moyndele," which, with the church of Ardkeen, was valued in the Taxation of Pope Nicholas at ten marks.

There was in the Ards a church called Kil-droichid (the Church of the Bridge), in which the festival of St. Iomchaidh was celebrated on the 25th of September —"Iomchaidh of Cill-droichit in Ard Uladh." There is no river in the Ards which in ancient times would have been spanned by a bridge except, perhaps the Blackstaff, but it is probable that a bridge may have been built over an inlet of Lough Strangford, immediately below the site of this ancient church, in the townland of Lisban, which therefore may, with probability, lay claim to be the Kill-droichid of St. Iomchaidh.

In the townland of Gransha (Grainseach—a grange) was an ancient church, which, as it stood not far from the BlackstafF River, may have been the Kill droichid already referred to... (p.424-425).

In his account in Volume 9 of the Lives of the Irish Saints, Canon O'Hanlon can do no more then reprise this information:

St. Iomchaidh, of Kill Drochoid, County or Down.

In the published Martyrology of Tallagh, as also in the Book of Leinster copy, we find the simple entry, Imchad, at the 25th of September. In the Feilire of Marianus O'Gorman, his name, place and feast are entered at the 25th of September. From the name of this Saint's locality, it must be Anglicised, "Church of the Bridge." Doubt exists as to the exact place where this Saint had been venerated, within that peninsula called the Ards of Ulster. There is no river in the Ards, deserving a bridge, except the Blackstaff, which divides the Great and Little Ards. The chapel of Grangia or Gransha, a townland at the south end of Inishargy parish, was situated near the Blackstaff river. The name of Iomchaidh is also entered in the Martyrology of Donegal, at this same date, as being of Cilldroichit, in Ard Uladh.

Irish Saints of September: The Daughters of Cainnech

2011-10-07T10:24:00.002+01:00

When I first saw the notice for The Daughters of Cainnech in the list of contents of saints commemorated today, September 24 on the Julian calendar, in Volume 9 of the Lives of the Irish Saints, I assumed that Canon O'Hanlon would be unable to bring us any details apart from the notices from the calendars. In this case, however, a County Waterford priest had written to the author with details of the lineage and locality of these holy women, whom he linked to Saint Declan. Cainnech's daughters are only one of a number of similar filial groupings recorded on the Irish calendars, the most famous of which is probably the Daughters of Leinin, whose name lives on in the County Dublin placename now Anglicized as Killiney. In some of these cases, like Leinin's daughters or the Daughters of Comgall who are commemorated on January 22, tradition records the names of the individuals who make up the group. That doesn't seem to be the case here, but the locality where the daughters of Cainnech flourished is firmly identified with Molough, near Clonmel, County Tipperary. In the 14th century the Butler family founded a nunnery dedicated to Saint Brigid of Kildare on the site, and I have reproduced the details and sketch of the ruins.

The Daughters of Cainnech, or Maghlocha, County of Tipperary. [Sixth Century.]

According to the manuscript and published Martyrology of Tallagh, the Daughters of Cainnech) had veneration paid them, at the 24th of September. The Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman commemorates the festival of Cainnech's chaste daughters, at this same day. The glossographer adds, that they belonged to Maigh Locha. Their parentage and locality have been fully identified. These holy women were the children of a chieftain who lived in the time of St. Declan, patron of Ardmore, and whose castle had been saved from fire by the latter. Their place was formerly called Magh Locha, now Molough, near the great bend of the River Suir, and not many miles from Clonmel, in the County of Tipperary. There they seem to have lived in religious retirement, most probably some time in the sixth century. Of their lives, however, we find no record. Long after that time, their place is said to have been the site for a nunnery, dedicated to St. Brigid, in the former diocese of Lismore. It is mentioned by Archdall, as being in the County of Tipperary; but, he is wrong in placing it near Carrick-on-Suir. The ruins of the old nunnery of Moylough are situated on level ground, about one furlong north of the River Suir. In the year 1840, two parts of this building remained, viz., a chapel and a lateral house; but, from the fragments of walls about them, it appeared to have been a habitation of considerable extent. The church or chapel remaining was then in a tolerable state of preservation, extending from east to west, and measuring in length on the inside 60 feet, in breadth it was 27 feet, 6 inches. Two windows were in the east gable, constructed of chiselled and brownish sand-stone. There were three windows on the southwall, but these were much disfigured and built up with rough masonry. The door-way was on the south wall, and at a distance of fourteen feet from the west gable; it was constructed of chiselled and ornamental lime-stone on the outside, and of chiselled sand-stone on the inside. The west gable had been surmounted by a belfry, having two semi-circular arches, constructed of brownish and chiselled sand-stone. The lateral house extended to the northwest of the chapel, and touching it at the north-west corner. It was fifty-five feet in length on the outside, and twenty-seven in breadth. Its walls were three feet six inches in thickness, and about fourteen feet in height.

In the Martyrology of Donegal, their festival is also inserted, at the 24th of September.

Irish Saints of September: Connich Mic Luachain

2011-10-06T10:34:00.000+01:00

Today, September 23 on the Julian calendar, is the feast of one of the most learned and gifted saints Ireland ever produced, Adamnan of Iona. He shares his feastday on the Irish calendars with two lesser-known male saints, one of whom is a Saint Connich or Conaing Mic Luachain. As Canon O'Hanlon's entry for this saint will make clear, his precise identity has not been established. The earliest of the calendars, the Martyrology of Tallaght, simply gives the name Connich and adds the patronymic 'mic Luachain', son of Luachan, without any further specifics. The great 17th-century hagiologist, Colgan, suggested that our saint may be the same individual as a Saint Conaing who features in the hagiography of Saint Mochoemoc, it was also suggested that he may have been a saint of this name who is mentioned in the Life of Saint Molagga. Canon O'Hanlon himself plumps for the notion that he is the Conaing Ua Daint, successor to Saint Ailbhe of Emly, whose repose is recorded in various Irish annals between 657 and 660. None of these sources, however, seem to include the use of the saint's distinguishing patronymic, and although Canon O'Hanlon does not come out and say so, it seems that we do not actually know who exactly the Connich or Conaing commemorated on September 23 was.

St. Conaing, or Connich Mic Luachain.

The manuscript and published Martyrologies of Tallagh register a festival, at the 23rd of September, in honour of Connich, son of Luachain. He is also entered at this date in the Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman, whose commentator calls him Mac Lucunain, or the Son of Lucunain. In Colgan's opinion, the present holy man appears to be identical with a certain Conagius, who is mentioned in the Acts of St. Mochoemoc, Abbot of Liathmor. He is also thought to have been the Conangius O'Daithil, who is mentioned in the Life of St. Molagga. At the year 660, we meet the death of Conaing Ua Daint, Abbot of Imleach Ibhair, or Emly, recorded. The Irish accords with the foregoing spelling of the name. St. Alveus was first Abbot and Bishop of Emly, as would appear from his Life. The successor of St. Alveus, the present Conangius, appears to be the Saint bearing such name, whose Natalis was observed on the 23rd of September, and who is called son to Luachan, by the Martyrology of Tallagh, by Marianus O'Gorman, and by the commentator on St. Aengus. There was a chapelry of a St. Cunning, in the parish of Carncastle, County of Antrim, supposed to have been Tulach or Killchonadhain, mentioned in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick. The present Saint's festival is found in the Martyrology of Donegal, at this day.

Irish Saints of September: Aedh, Son of Senach

2011-10-05T08:33:00.001+01:00

Today, September 22 on the Julian calendar is the feast of Saint Aedh (Aed, Aodh, Aid, Aidus), distinguished by his patronymic, son of Senach (mac Senaigh). The name Aedh, which is anglicized as Hugh, is a relatively common one, and in an attempt to specify the identity of today's saint, the compilers of the Martyrology of Donegal try to link him to an episode from the Life of Saint Moling Luachra. This reference is not helped by the fact that the calendarist starts by saying that Aedh, son of Senach, was one of the two saints who went with Moling to seek a remission in the tribute paid by the men of Leinster to King Fionnachta, but then goes on to name two other saints, Forannan and Colman of Cluain-Credhail, as the second man. Whatever the truth of this link to Saint Moling, the commmemoration of Aedh son of Senach at 22 September is laid down on all of the Irish calendars beginning with the earliest, the Martyrology of Tallaght. The 12th-century calendarist, Marianus O'Gorman, describes him as Aed minog mac Senaig, which the translator renders as 'gentle, virginal Aed, son of Senach'.

St. Aedh, or Aidus, Son of Senach.

In the Martyrology of Tallaght, at the 22nd of September, the name Aedh, mac Senaigh, is set down as having been venerated. In that copy found in the Book of Leinster, he is called Aed mac Senaigh, mac Ernin. With a eulogy he is entered, at this same date, in the Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman. Colgan alludes, likewise, to this Aidus, son of Senach. The O'Clerys state, that he was one of the two saints, who went with Moling of Luachair, to ask for a remission of the Borumha tribute on the Leinstermen from Fionuachta, King of Erin. Forannan was the second saint, and Colman, of Cluain Credhail, was another of the two. So runs the Calendarist's statement; yet, it must be acknowledged, there is much ambiguity in it.

He is described more fully than by the earlier Calendarists in the Martyrology of Donegal, at this same date, as Aedh, son of Senach. In the Manuscript copy of the Calendar which belonged to the Irish Ordnance Survey Office, the name of Aodh mac Seanaig occurs at the 22nd of September.

Irish Saints of September: Saran of Lesan

2011-10-04T08:00:00.050+01:00

Today, September 21 on the Julian calendar, is the feast of Saint Saran of Lesan. There are 12 saints of this name listed in the Martyrology of Donegal, our saint is distinguished by the use of his patronymic, son of Tighernach. He is associated in that calendar with the placename Lesan in Sliabh Callan, which a note appended to one of the manuscript copies of the Martyrology of Donegal identifies as Lessan, County Derry. He is also associated with a second locality, Cluainda-acra in Cechair. In a chapter dealing with the parish of Clooney, County Clare in his book The History and Topography of the County of Clare, James Frost writes of this place:

In the Martyrology of Donegal, under the date of the 21st of September, is found the following entry:—“Saran, son of Tighernach, son of Maenach of Lesan, in Sliabh Callann, and of Cluain-da-acra, in Cehair.” O’Curry was of opinion that this Cluain-da-acra might be the Clooney of Corcomroe.[44] The church is much ruined by time. At a little distance is a holy well dedicated to St. Flannan, where rounds are yet made. In a townland of the parish, called Killeighnagh is a small burial-ground, and in another place named Mooghna, is noticed a little grave-yard and well styled Tobar Mooghna, used by persons suffering from sore eyes.

[44] See his Letter in the Ordnance Survey Papers relating to Clare, in Royal Irish Academy Library, Vol. xiv., B. 23, p. 314.

Canon O'Hanlon has this short account of our saint:

St. Saran mac Tiagharnaigh of Lesan, on Mount Callan, and of Cluain da-acra in Cheachair.

The name, Saran mac Trenaich, is found in the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 19th of September; and this entry seems referable to the present date. The O'Clerys state, that the present holy man was the son of Tighernach, son of Maenach. At the end of those saints he commemorates at the 21st of September, Marianus O'Gorman celebrates with eulogy this holy man, invoking his intercession and that of others in the following manner: "Saran, the goodley gem, Tigernach's son, whom I choose: may they fly with me past tribulation to starry heaven as I ask!" The Irish comment on the text runs: Saran mac Tigernaigh meic Maenaigh ó Lesan i Sliabh Callann ocus o Cluain dá acra isin Cechair. Thus rendered into English: Saran, son of Tigernach, son of Maenach, from Lessan in Sliab Callann and Cluain da Acra in the Cechair.

At this date, we read in the Martyrology of Donegal, that Saran was of Lesan—said to be identical with Lessan, Londonderry County —in the Sliabh Callann, and of Cluainda-acra, in Cechair. There is a repetition, at this date, of his name, paternity and places, in the Irish Ordnance Survey Copy of the O'Clerys' Irish Calendar. A corresponding account is to be found in a manuscript copy of that Calendar, once in Mr. O'Curry's possession. The foregoing entry in the Martyrology has been extracted to furnish it.

Irish Saints of September: Doroma

2011-10-03T08:00:00.021+01:00

Today, September 20 on the Julian calendar, we have a notice of another of our enigmatic female saints, Doroma or Daroma. The Martyrology of Oengus describes her as a 'queen':

D. xii. cal. Octobris.
Attecham na hóga
doairset ar nhdala,
ind rígain Daroma
cona slóg ron-snáda!

20. Let us beseech the virgins,
may they visit our assemblies!
may the queen Daroma
with her host protect us!

although the notes added by a later anonymous commentator rather more prosaically describe her as a 'virgin' and reduce her 'host' to 'five companions':

20. Doroma .i. uirgo. L. cum .u. socis suis.

20. Doroma, i.e. a virgin with her five companions.

I find this notice intriguing and would love to have some further details of this holy lady, but alas, that was a task which defeated Canon O'Hanlon, as he admits below. Perhaps Professor Ó Ríain's new Dictionary of Irish Saints will be able to tell us something more?

Festival of Doroma.

The Feilire of St. Aengus has a festival at the 20th of September, for a queen named Doroma and a commentator in the Leabhar Breac copy has notes, which hardly give any additional intelligence regarding her. Nowhere can I find what might serve to throw light on her name, period or place.

Irish Saints of September: Comgell

2011-10-02T08:00:00.004+01:00

Today, September 19 on the Julian calendar, is the commemoration of an elusive Irish female saint, Comgell. Her name is recorded on the earliest surviving Irish calendar, the Martyrology of Tallaght, as Comgell, virgin, and her feast is also noted on the later Martyrologies of Marianus O'Gorman and of Donegal. Like so many of our holy women, however, we have no details of when and where she flourished, so Canon O'Hanlon can only bring us the details from the calendars:

St. Comgell or Caomhgheall, Virgin.

A festival in honour of Comgell or Caomhgheall, Virgin, is found registered in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 19th of September, although the 16th of October Kalends—corresponding with the 16th of September—is substituted. A similar error occurs in the Book of Leinster entry of her name. At this same date, Marianus O'Gorman commemorates Comgell, noticed by his commentator as having been a virgin. In the Martyrology of Donegal, she is commemorated at the 19th of September.

Irish Saints of September: Enna of Emlaghfad

2011-10-01T08:00:00.084+01:00

Today, September 18 on the Julian calendar, is the commemoration of Saint Enna (Endeus, Enda), abbot of the monastery of Emlaghfad, County Sligo. In the Life of Saint Colum Cille by the 16th-century Donegal chieftain Manus O'Donell, it was said that this monastery was a Columban foundation. Bishop William Reeves, in the introduction to his translation of the Life of Columba by Adamnan, records the following note of the locality:

22. EMLAGHFAD. Imleach fada, "the long marsh." Here, according to O' Donnell, St. Columba founded a church on the west side of a hill called Tulach-segra [now Tully in Toomour] in the district of Corann, appointing Enna, son of Nuadhan, its first minister. It is now a parish church in the diocese of Achonry, and county of Sligo.

Canon O'Hanlon in his account below of Saint Enna notes that his predecessor, Father John Lanigan, who was writing in the 1820s, believed that our saint was the same individual as Enda, son of Nuadan, who was listed as belonging to the second order of Irish saints. The translator of the Martyrology of Gorman, Whitley Stokes, accepted this identification in his listing of the three orders of saints as commemorated in O'Gorman's calendar. I have previously posted Stokes' list here. One thing that surprises me, in view of the claimed link between Saint Enna's monastery and Saint Colum Cille, is that Saint Enna does not appear on the Martyrology of Donegal for this day. The 12th-century Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman appears to be the only major calendar which records his feast.

ST. ENDEUS, ABBOT OF EMLAGHFAD, COUNTY OF SLIGO.

[SIXTH CENTURY.]

...St. Endeus or Enna was probably born about the middle of the sixth century, being son to Nuadan. We have few notices left regarding him. However, as Dr. Lanigan remarks, nothing occurs to prevent us from supposing him to have been that Endeus alluded to, in the Second Class of Irish Saints. He is thought to have been a disciple of St. Columkille, the great Apostle of Caledonia. St Columba founded a monastery at a place called Imleachfoda. Over this, he placed St. Enna, as its first minister. The former residence of Endeus is now called Emlaghfad, in Sligo County. This ancient town lies six miles south of Sligo, and one from Ballymote. It is now a parish church, in the diocese of Achonry; and Prince O'Donnell, the Biographer of St. Columkille, tells us, that the subject of his Memoir erected a Church there, on the west side of a hill, called Tulach-sugra. At present it is known as Tully, in Toomour, within the barony of Corann.

The year of St. Endeus' or Enna's death is unknown. The festival of this saint has been referred to the 18th of September, by Marianus O'Gorman. This was probably the Natalis, or day of his death. However, we do not find his festival in the Martyrologies of Tallagh or of Donegal at that date.

Irish Saints of September: Grellan of Hy-Many

2011-09-30T14:02:00.001+01:00

Today, September 17 on the Julian calendar, is one of the feastdays of Saint Grellan, patron of the district of Hy-Many. An account of his life forms the lead article for this day in Volume 9 of Canon O'Hanlon's Lives of the Irish Saints. Most of the account is taken up with a long discourse on the legendary founder of the tribes of Hy-Many and of battles with the Firbolgs etc. I have omitted all of this and also the closing account of the O'Kelly family who claim Saint Grellan as a particular patron. If you would like to read this material however, you can view Canon O'Hanlon's The Life of Saint Grellan, Patron of the O'Kellys and of the Tribes of Hy-Maine as a separate booklet here or the complete entry from The Lives of the Irish Saints in a nicely-formatted pdf version here. It seems clear that there is a degree of confusion around the time when Saint Grellan flourished, some of his hagiographers have sought to place him in the time of Saint Patrick, which would place him in the fifth century, the 17th-century hagiologist Father John Colgan, however, believed him to have been a disciple of Saint Finian of Clonard and a participant at the Columban Synod of Easdra which would place him a century later. The picture of Saint Grellan on the left was taken by Andreas F. Borchert at Saint Michael's parish church at Ballinasloe, County Galway.

Besides the universal reverence and love, with which Ireland regards the memory of her great Apostle, St. Patrick, most of our provincial districts and their families of distinction have patron saints, for whom a special veneration is entertained. Among the latter, St. Grellan's name is connected with his favoured locality. The extensive territory of Hy-Many is fairly defined, by describing the northern line as running from Ballymoe, County of Galway, to Lanesborough, at the head of Lough Ree, on the River Shannon, and in the County of Roscommon. It extended nearly due east and west, taking in all the southern part of this last-named county. The eastern boundary ran along the River Shannon's course, from Lanesborough to Scariff, in Clare County, and west of Lough Derg. Thence, the southern and western boundaries proceeded by Feacle, on Lough Graney, County of Clare, and passed some distance west of Loughrea to Athenry; thence, they continued through Killererin parish, near Tuam, and on to Ballymoe. All of these last-mentioned localities are situated within the County of Galway.

OF this holy man Lives have been written; while one of them is to be found in a Manuscript of the Royal Irish Academy, and another among the Irish Manuscripts, in the Royal Library of Bruxelles. Extracts containing biographical memoranda relating to him are given by Colgan, and in a much fuller form by Dr. John O'Donovan, as taken from the Book of Lecan. There is also a notice of him, in the "Dictionary of Christian Biography." Colgan promised to present his Life in full, at the 10th of November; but he did not live to fulfil such promise.

It is to be regretted, that so few biographical particulars have been given in the only brief accounts we can find, regarding the Patron of Hy-Many. A very ancient copy of St. Grellan's Life is quoted by Duald Mac Firbis in his Genealogical Book, as a proof of the existence of the Firbolgs in the province of Connaught, after the period of the introduction of Christianity; and, also, it is cited, by Gratianus Lucius, in his "Cambrensis Eversus," as a proof of the fact, which he thinks it establishes, namely, that the ancient Irish paid tithes. No vellum copy of this Life is now in Dublin. There is an Irish Life of St. Grellan in paper, and transcribed by Brother Michael O'Clery. It is kept in a thick quarto volume, among the Manuscripts of the Burgundian Library, at Bruxelles. Besides this, there is a paper copy of his Life —probably containing similar matter — and preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, among its manuscripts. The Life of St. Grellan is in a quarto Miscellany of 352 written pages, copied by James Maguire, a good and faithful scribe, according to Eugene O'Curry. This transcript was finished in the year 1721, and in some place called Dubhbhaile (Black-Town). The pages are written in double columns, and chiefly Lives of Saints are to be found in it. The Life of St. Greallan is contained there, from page 235 to 240.

The usual name given to this holy man is Grellan, or Greallain, in Irish, and this has been Latinized into Grellanus. Dr. Lynch writes of him as Grillan, when alluding to the Patron of Hy-Many, in his celebrated work. According to the accounts we have of the saint, he was a contemporary with St. Patrick, and he must have flourished about the close of the fifth century. He is classed among the Irish Apostle's disciples, and this too is stated, in the tenth chapter of his own Life. He also obtained the episcopal rank, being renowned for his sanctity and miracles.

His father's name was Cuillin son of Cairbre Cluaisderg, of the Lagenians, while Eithne was the name of his mother. He was born in the time of St. Patrick, as the first chapter of his Irish Life states, and a legend is there introduced, as serving to illustrate the prognostications of his subsequent distinguished career, and especially accompanying the event of his birth.

In the time of Lugaidh Mac Laoighaire Mac Neill, a great thunderstorm was heard by all the men of Erinn, and they were astonished at its unusual loudness. They asked Patrick, the son of Alpin, what it portended. He answered, that Greallan was then born, and that he had been only six months in his mother's womb, at the time. Hence, we should infer, that he came into the world towards the close of the fifth century. Wars and commotions are said to have prevailed in Ireland, at the advent of our saint's birth. We are told, likewise, that Greallan had been fostered by one named Cairbre, probably a relation among his family connexions.

Among the many other cares of his mission, St. Patrick took charge of Greallan's education, and made him a companion. He enrolled this young disciple amongst his brethren, taking him to Ath-Cliath, Dublinne when he went there. This must have been after the middle of the fifth century. Then is quoted a poem, in which St. Patrick said, that a noble person should be in the land of Leinster. This promise was an allusion to our saint, whose purity and virtues are there praised.

A kinsman to the celebrated Colla da Chrioch chieftain in Ulster possessed great influence in Hy-Many, a territory of the Firbolgs, in the time of St. Patrick, when he is said to have visited Echin, the son of Brian, son of Eachach, King of Connaught. Eachin refused to be converted, but all his brothers embraced the faith. Eoghan, who was son to Duach Gallach, one of Eachin's brothers, was afterwards baptised by St. Grellan. On this occasion a great miracle was wrought, at a place called Achadh Fionnabhrach. When only a child, Eoghan had died, to the inexpressible grief of his parents. However, when St. Grellan beheld this afflicting state of affairs, he raised his staff, and then applied it to the body of their child. This touch caused him to be resuscitated, and it impressed a mark on their son, which was afterwards visible. As a consequence, he bore the name, by which he was best known, namely, Eoghan Scriabh, or "Owen the Striped." The miraculous crozier was thenceforward held in great veneration. It is said, that Duach Gallach was a Christian, having been baptised by St. Patrick, while the wife of Echin, called Fortrui, was aunt to St. Benignus, a favourite disciple of the Irish Apostle. The latter proclaimed that he should be a king, and that from his race kings should proceed. In fine, Eachin was baptised at Kilbennin, near Tuam.

At Achadh Fionnabhrach, Duach Gallach bestowed a tract of land, and he gave possession of it to St. Grellan. The name was even changed — owing to this peculiarity of circumstance — from Achadh Fionnabhrach to that of Craobh Greallain, which signifies, the "Branch of Grellan." This name is said in his Irish Life to have been owing to a branch, which Duach and St. Patrick gave our saint in token of possession. Here, east of Magh-Luirg, this saint is said to have built a Church, before the arrival of Maine-Mor in Connaught. When alluding to Craobh Ghreallain, Mr. O'Curry remarks, that he believed its precise situation was not known. As a token of the veneration for our saint, Duach required that every chieftain's wife should give seven garments as a tribute to Grellan and, for payment of this ecclesiastical assessment, the guarantee of St. Patrick had been asked and obtained afterwards by the local Patron.

...Afterwards, St. Grellan selected at Kilcloony the site for a church. There he built on a rising ground, or Eiscir, a little distance to the north-west of Ballinasloe town. Some ruins are yet remaining there, but it would be altogether hazardous to assert the walls date back to the fifth century. The Irish were accustomed to impose voluntary assessments of the nature, already indicated by the record we iiave quoted, to mark their consideration and respect for those distinguished by their ministerial works. It is stated, in the Irish Life of St. Grellan, that he received the first offspring of any brood animal; such as hog, and lamb, and foal, in Hy-Many. These tributes were regularly paid to the successors of the holy man in the church honoured by his presence and labours during life.

Notwithstanding the statements in his own Irish Life, that St. Grellan flourished in the time of St. Patrick, it seems most likely he was not then born, and, moreover, it has been stated, his father's name was Natfraich, that Grellan had been a disciple to St. Finian of Clonard, and that he assisted at the great Council at Easdra, held by St. Columkille before he returned to Scotland; wherefore, Colgan was justified in placing his career at A.D. 590. Whether or not he lived in the seventh century cannot be ascertained from any known record.

St. Grellan was honoured with particular devotion in the Church of Killcluian, diocese of Clonfert, on the 17th of September. On this day his feast occurs, according to Marianus O'Gorman, our traditions and Calendars, while he seems to have had a second festival, at the 10th of November. It seems strange, that at neither day he is mentioned in the Feilire of St. Aengus the Culdee, nor is the date for his death recorded in our Annals. However, we may fairly assume, that he lived on, until near the close of the sixth century.

St. Grellan is the principal patron of those portions of Galway and Roscommon counties, formerly known by the designation of Hy-Many; and, for many centuries, even to the present age, the crozier of St. Grellan had been preserved in the territory. Dr. Lynch declares also, that in his time this pastoral staff of St. Grellan was held in great veneration. A relic of this kind, when used as a standard, was usually called cathach, i.e., proeliator, such as the celebrated cathach of St. Columkille. This crozier of St. Grellan was preserved for ages, in the family of O'Cronghaile, or Cronelly, who were the ancient Comharbas of the saint. This term of Comharba had moreover an ecclesiastical meaning, and according to the usages which prevailed in early times, and in our country, generally it signified successor in a see, church, or monastery; but, in due course, it had a wider signification, and the Comhorba was regarded as the vicar — a legal representative of the Patron Saint, or founder of the Church. But, the word Comhorba is not exclusively ecclesiastical; for in the ancient laws of Erin, it meant the heir and conservator of the inheritance; and, in the latter sense, it is always used, in our ecclesiastical writings. The crozier of St. Grellan was in existence, so late as the year 1836, it being then in the possession of a poor man, named John Cronelly, the senior representative of the Comharbas of the saint, who lived near Ahascra, in the east of the county of Galway; but, it is not to be found at present, in that county. It was probably sold to some collector of antiquities, and it is not now known to be in the possession of any person; yet it seems incredible, that such an interesting relic could have been lost, as we have been enabled to ascertain the fact of its preservation to a comparatively recent period.

A dictionary of Irish Saints

2011-09-29T19:50:00.000+01:00

This forthcoming title from Four Courts Press will go straight to the top of my wish list!

A dictionary of Irish Saints
Pádraig Ó Riain

Hardback
660pp. October 2011
ISBN:978-1-84682-318-3
Catalogue Price: €65.00
Web Price: €58.50

Scarcely a parish in Ireland is without one or more dedications to saints, in the form of churches in ruins, holy wells or other ecclesiastical monuments. Professor Pádraig Ó Riain’s Dictionary of Irish Saints is intended to serve as a guide to the (mainly documentary) sources of information on the saints named in these dedications, for those who have an interest in them, scholarly or otherwise. The need for a summary biographical dictionary of Irish saints, containing information on such matters as feastdays, localisations, chronology, and genealogies, although stressed over sixty years ago by the eminent Jesuit and Bollandist scholar, Paul Grosjean, has never before been satisfied. Professor Ó Riain has been working in the field of Irish hagiography for upwards of forty years, and the material for the over 1,000 entries in his Dictionary has come from a variety of sources, including Lives of the saints, martyrologies, genealogies of the saints, shorter tracts on the saints (some of them accessible only in manuscripts), annals, annates, collections of folklore, Ordnance Survey letters, and other documents. Running to almost 700 pages, the body of the Dictionary is preceded by a Preface, List of Sources and Introduction, and is followed by comprehensive Indices of Parishes, Other Places (mainly townlands), Alternate (mainly Anglicised) Names, Subjects, and Feastdays. Professor Ó Riain’s Dictionary has been described as ‘an astonishingly comprehensive, intelligent and well-organized work’; it is unlikely to be superseded for many decades to come.

Pádraig Ó Riain is Professor Emeritus of Early and Medieval Irish at University College Cork, and the previous holder of Visiting Professorships at Bochum and Freiburg in Germany and at Aberystwyth in Wales. He is a former holder of the Parnell Fellowship at Magdalen College, Cambridge, and was the first Irish scholar to be awarded the Humboldt Prize. A former President of the Irish Texts Society and a former Member of Council of the Royal Irish Academy, Professor Ó Riain is the author of numerous publications on Irish hagiography, placenames, personal names, and textual transmission.

Forthcoming
7 October 2011

Irish Saints of September: Mirren of Paisley

2011-09-28T09:37:00.000+01:00

Today, September 15 on the Julian calendar, we commemorate an Irish saint who began his career at the monastery of Bangor under the tutelage of its founder, Saint Comgall, but is today remembered as patron of Paisley in Scotland. Canon O'Hanlon, in the September volume of his Lives of the Irish Saints, begins the entries for this day with an account of Saint Mirren (Merinus, Meadhran, Mirin, Mirrin, Mirren), but below is the account from Bishop Forbes' work on the Scottish calendars which quotes from the lessons of Saint Merin's feast from The Breviary of Aberdeen:

The acts of S. Merinus, in the Breviary of Aberdeen, are very circumstantial. Bishop Merinus was given by his parents to S. Comgal, to be trained in the monastery of Bangor, where he eventually assumed the monastic habit and became prior. His rule was a gentle one. Once, when Finnian of Movilla came to the monastery in the absence of S. Comgal, and asked for milk, of which there was none, the cellarer, at the bidding of S. Merinus, was told to bring some from the cellar, which was accordingly done, and distributed among them that sat at meat. He laid the pains of childbirth on an Irish King who contemned him. He was seen by one of the community in his cell, on one occasion, to be surrounded by a heavenly light, and on another occasion he recalled to life one of the brethren who had fallen down overcome by thirst and fatigue in the valley of Colpdasch. At length, full of miracles and holiness, he slept in the Lord at Pasley, and in his honour the said church is dedicated to God.—(Brev. Aberd. pars estiv. fol. cvi.)

That a colony from Bangor should come to Paisley is not at all improbable. In the life of S. Kieran, at March 5, in Colgan's Acta SS. Hib. (p. 461), there is a notice of a S. Medranus, who is mentioned in the lost Kalendar of Cashel with a S. Tomanus:—"SS. Medranus et Tomanus in una ecclesia in Britannica Arcluidensi."—(Ibid. p. 465 a, note 31.) Paisley is within easy distance of Dumbarton. Colpdasch has not been identified.

Camerarius, who makes his day the 17th, states that he was Abbot of Newbattle, in the Lothians. This is impossible, but we find traces of him —

1. In the parish of Kelton, in Kirkcudbright. "There is in the south-east boundary of the parish the vestige of an ancient chapel and churchyard, called Kirk Mirren, now entirely neglected, and of which nothing is known but the locality and the name."—(N. S. A., Kirkcudbright, p. 170; O. S. A. viii. p. 297.)

2. In the parish of Kilmarouock, a chapel, still known as S. Mirren's Chapel (marking by the name of its patron saint some old connection with the abbey of Paisley), stands now in ruins upon Inch Murryn, the largest island of Lochlomond.—(Orig. Par. i. p. 35.)

3. At Kilsyth there is a remarkable spring, on the south of Woodend, called S. Mirrin's Well.—(Orig. Par. i. p. 43.)

4. In the parish of Coylton is a farm called Knock Murran.—(N. S. A., Ayr, p. 656.)

5. In the parish of Edzell, on the south side of the Korth Esk, is the burn of Murran, but there are no distinct traces of his memory anywhere on the east coast of Scotland.

Alexander Penrose Forbes, D.C.L. Bishop of Brechin, Kalendars of Scottish Saints, (1872), 397-398.

Where the Cross Passes the Evil in Anything is Powerless

2011-09-27T08:00:00.010+01:00

Today, September 14 on the Julian calendar, is the feast of the Universal Exaltation of the Precious and Life-creating Cross. Father John Ryan, in his classic work on Irish monasticism, has written of the use of the sign of the cross by the Irish monastic saints:

To invoke the divine aid against these evil powers the sign of the cross was in constant use. St. Columban, during his meditations in the woods near Luxeuil put that holy sign on his forehead frequently as a form of armour. His monks did the same whenever they left the monastery. Columban's successor at Luxeuil, the abbot Athala, had a cross erected outside his cell, so that when going out or returning he could lay his hand upon it before putting the sign of salvation upon his brow. A torch when lighted by a junior monk had to be handed to a senior to be thus blessed, and spoons when used at table had to be treated similarly by the brethern. In Iona the same custom prevailed; for it is recorded that St Columcille was displeased when the holy sign was not placed on a milk vessel (Adamnan ii, 16). The 'signum salutare' might be placed on tools and used for various pious purposes. When his uncle Ernan died suddenly on the way from the harbour to the monastery, a cross was raised on the spot where life failed him and another on the spot where Columcille stood awaiting his approach. Another cross, fixed securely in a large millstone, was erected in the place where the old white horse wept for the saint's approaching end just before his death. Caesarius of Arles shows that the practice of signing oneself with the sign of the cross was very common in Gaul. St. Patrick made the sign of the cross upon himself a hundred times during the day and night, and never passed a cross upon the wayside without alighting from his chariot and spending a while beside it in prayer. St. Jerome said it could not be made too frequently. The hermits in the Egyptian desert were wont to make the holy sign over their food and drink, before they took their repast, and one of them is credited with the statement that "where the cross passes the evil in anything is powerless."

Rev. John Ryan, S.J., Irish Monasticism - Origins and Early Development (2nd edn. 1972, reprinted Irish Academic Press, 1986), 234-235.

Irish Saints of September: Neman Mac Ua Duibh

2011-09-26T09:34:00.000+01:00

Today, September 13 on the Julian calendar, is the feast of Saint Neman or Naemhan distinguished in the Irish calendars by the patronymic Mac Ua Duibh. This may serve to differentiate him from Saint Neman of Cill Bia whose feast we noted on September 1. The 17th-century hagiologist, Father John Colgan, believed today's saint Neman to be the same individual as one mentioned in the Life of Saint Fechin of Fore. Canon O'Hanlon, however, is able only to bring us details of the feast of Saint Neman from the various Irish calendars:

St. Neman or Naemhan Mac Ua Duibh. [Probably in the Seventh Century]

We find entered in the Martyrology of Tallagh, the feast of Neman Mac h. Duibh, at the 13th of September. Marianus O'Gorman has a commemoration of this holy servant of God, at this same date, with the designation of his being prudent, while a commentator calls Noeman the great-grandson of Dub. According to Colgan, this holy man accompanied St. Fechin, Abbot of Fore, when the latter went to obtain the liberation of one Aid or Aedus from Blaithmaic and Diermit II., joint Sovereigns of Ireland. Hence his period must be assigned probably to the Seventh Century. We have recorded in the Martyrology of Donegal, the name Naemhan Mac Ua Duibh, as having a festival, at the 13th of September. In the Table appended to this latter record, we meet the Latin word sanctanus introduced, after the entry of his name.

Irish Saints of September: Ciarán of Clonmacnoise

2011-09-22T08:00:00.004+01:00

Today, September 9 on the Julian calendar, is the feast of Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise about whom links to previous posts can be found here. The account below of his life and virtues has been excerpted from a sermon delivered by a nineteenth-century Bishop of Ardagh, the Right Rev. George Conroy (1833-1878), on the dedication of a new church in honour of 'the sainted founder of Clonmacnois, whose heroic sanctity as monk, priest, and abbot, made him what Alcuin styles him: the glory of the Irish race.' The sermon illustrates the spirit of the 19th-century national and Catholic revival in Ireland very well indeed. It is filled with romantic imagery which contrasts the riches of Ireland's early Christian past with the degradation of the country at that time just as it contrasts the ruined churches of old with the new building arising on this occasion. The Bishop is particularly good at conveying the impact of the early training of Saint Ciarán (or Kyran as he has chosen to render the name) at the monastic school of Saint Enda of Aran. Aran exercised a particular fascination for this generation as the epitome of the harsh and lonely windswept island scenario which produced the ascetic Irish saints. We start at the point where the speaker begins to talk of 'Ireland's abiding reverence' for St. Ciarán's virtues:

That St. Kyran's virtues should never be without honour in Ireland was announced to himself thirteen centuries ago in Aran, when first he narrated to his beloved master, St. Enda, the vision that had been vouchsafed him of the future glories of Clonmacnois. He had seen the noble stream of Shannon flowing among these verdant plains, and on its banks a stately tree laden with leaves and fruits, and covering the land with its grateful shade. "That fruitful tree," explained St. Enda, "art thou thyself, for thou shalt be great before God and man, and shalt produce sweetest fruits of good works, and shalt be honoured throughout all Ireland." First fruits of these good works were the monastic virtues exercised by our saint in Aran. He entered that holy island in the bloom of his youth, and for the long years he sojourned there he was, as St. Enda described him, "the flower and strength of religious observance." His life was a pattern of humility. For seven years, well-born and scholarly as he was, he toiled with his hands at those labours which men commit to the least important of their servants. He would fain continue to the end in the practice of obedience ; and even when at length he was compelled to become the master of others, he prayed that he and his charge might still continue under the guidance of St. Enda. His austerity was marvellous. Lashed by the Atlantic waves, swept by the Atlantic blasts, the island of Aran was the home of penance and mortification. Hundreds of Ireland's saints fled to it, as the anchorets had fled to the desert solitudes of the Thebaid. "Aran", says a recent writer, "is no better than a wild rock. It is strewed over with the ruins, which may still be seen, of the old hermitages; and, at their best, they could have been but such places as sheep would huddle under in a storm, and shiver in the cold and wet which would pierce through the chinks of the walls. . . . Yes, there on that wet soil, with that dripping roof above them, was the chosen home of these poor men. Through winter frost, through rain and storm, through summer sunshine, generation after generation of them, there they lived and prayed, and at last laid down and died." Most fervent among these austere men was our St. Kyran, who made of his innocent body a martyr of penance. As day followed after day, and week after week, and month after month, for seven long years, he ceased not to sacrifice his will by minutest obedience, his body by severe labour, his repose by incessant prayer; and this with the flinty rock for his bed, with coarse and scanty food, in poor attire, exposed to frost and sun, buffeted by wind and snow. And as he was a miracle of humility and of penance, so also was he a miracle of sweetest charity. As his penitential life tells eloquently of his love for God, so the story of his parting from his brethren, when he was called away from Aran to Clonmacnois, as related in the ancient Life of St. Enda, is a proof of his loving heart towards men. As the boat that was to carry him to the banks of the Shannon was spreading its sails to the breeze, St. Kyran came slowly down from his beloved cell, weeping and surrounded by his weeping brethren. Tenderly his gaze lingered on each familiar sanctuary as he passed onwards to the beach, and there, kneeling down, he asked for the last time the blessing of the father of his soul. In sign of the charity that filled their hearts, and of the brotherhood they had contracted between themselves and those who were to come after them, a cross was erected on the spot, and the two saints said: "Whosoever in after times shall break the loving bond of this our brotherhood, shall not have share in our love on earth, nor in our company in heaven." Near to where that cross stood, a church was erected to commemorate the virtues of St. Kyran as the perfect Religious....

From Aran, St. Kyran came to this part of the valley of the Shannon, but not as yet to settle in Clonmacnois. He was now a priest, and on the island of Inis-Oenghin, in Lough Ree, he practised for eight or nine years the virtues of the perfect priest with as much fervour as he had practised on Aran those of the perfect monk. Surrounded now by disciples of his own, constituted a teacher of the faith and a dispenser of the sacraments, it was no longer permitted to him to shun altogether the concourse of men. But he did all that he could to guard from the world s tainted breath the gifts he had received and the souls that had been entrusted to his charge. St. Ambrose describes to us the attractions which islands such as those that stud the noble expanse of Lough Ree possessed for the religious men of that age. They loved, he says, those islands " which, as a necklace of pearls, God has set upon the bosom of the waters, and in which those who would shun the pleasures of the world may find a refuge wherein to practise austerity, and save themselves from the snares of life. The water that encompasses them becomes, as it were, a veil to hide from mortal eye their deeds of penance; it aids them to acquire perfect continence; it feeds grave and sober thought; it has the secret of peace; it repels the fierce passions of earth. In it these faithful and pious men find incentives to devotion. The mysterious sounds of the waves call for the answering sound of sacred psalmody; and the peaceful voices of holy men, mingled with the murmur of the waters against the shore, rise harmonious to the heavens. Here, then, did St. Kyran lead the life of the perfect priest. Here did he practise the rule of a priest's life that had been given to him at Aran, which his fellow-student, St. Carthage, has written for us, and which tells of "the patience, humility, prayer, fast, and cheerful abstinence; of the steadiness, modesty, calmness, that are due from a leader of religious men, whose office it is to teach, in all truth, unity, forgiveness, purity, rectitude in all that is moral; whose chief works are the constant preaching of the Gospel for the instruction of all persons, and the sacrifice of the Body of the great Lord upon the Holy Altar" (Rule of St. Carthage). Here did he reach the perfection to which, an ancient Irish treatise invites all priests: that "their hearts should be chaste and shining, and their minds like the foam of the wave, or the colour of the swan in the sunshine; that is, without any particle of sin, great or small, resting in his heart!" And here another church was raised to perpetuate the memory of his virtues. Alas! that church also is in ruins....

...At length the day came in which, about the year 544, he who was already the perfect monk and the perfect priest was to become also the perfect abbot, founder, and ruler of the glorious monastery of Clonmacnois. How splendid were the virtues that adorned St. Kyran as the perfect abbot, let Clonmacnois itself proclaim! It was long the most celebrated religious house in Ireland. It was the mother of countless saints. It was a treasure-house of graces. It became the chief seat of learning in Ireland. It was a school of art and literature. Kings esteemed it an honour to build its walls with their royal hands. The Emperor Charlemagne sent rich presents to it through Alcuin. The chieftains and princes of Erin bestowed their gifts upon it, until, in lands and treasures, in precious chalices and sparkling gems, in stately churches and rich crosses, it was the wonder of many lands. To be laid to rest beneath its earth, as near as might be to the relics of St. Kyran, was a privilege coveted by the noblest in the land. Bright with dew, and redrosed, as it is styled in an old Irish poem, it was not its sunny meads or its bright flowers that won for it such esteem: it was Ireland's faith in the power of its founder's intercession. And yet he to whose merits all this was due ruled over the monastery he had founded for the short space of less than a single year. After seven months of labour there, he passed to his reward, and there beyond he rests, awaiting his glorious resurrection...

Rt. Rev. George Conroy, Late Bishop of Ardagh, Occasional Sermons, Adresses and Essays (Dublin, 1888), 19-24.

Great Mary's Holy Nativity

2011-09-21T09:50:00.003+01:00

Today, September 8 on the Julian calendar, is the feast of The Nativity of Our Most Holy Lady Mother of God and Ever Virgin Mary. Like all of the major Marian feasts, this commemoration was introduced to the West from the Eastern church. The feast appears in the earliest Irish calendars with the Martyrology of Tallaght simply recording:

Natiuitas Mariae matris Iesu, the birthday of Mary the mother of Jesus.

The slightly later Martyrology of Oengus makes it clear that this is a feast rather than a fast day:

F. vi. idus Septembris.

Foraithmentar Maire,
nit marbclae for tercphit,
la Tiamdae iar sétaib
co trib cétaib martir.

8. Thou shalt commemorate
Mary: thou art not deadened on
a scanty meal: with Timothy
after (the world's) ways, and
three hundreds of martyrs.

The accompanying scholiast notes spell it out:

8. ...quassi dixisset ne ieiunes in feria Marie, thou shouldst not fast on Mary's feast.

The late 12th-century Martyrology of Gorman begins it's entries for September 8 with this notice:

8. f.
Noemghein Maire móre, Great Mary's holy nativity

Canon O'Hanlon, in Volume 9 of his Lives of the Irish Saints, has this short entry on the feast, noting that in some parts of the country popular devotion at holy wells was evident on this day:

Feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

In the ancient Irish Church, the Festival of the Birth of our Divine Lord's Mother was celebrated on the eighth day of September, as we learn from the Feilire of Aengus. On this there is a short comment. About the year 695, this feast was appointed by Pope Servius. In various parts of Ireland, this festival was celebrated formerly with very special devotion, as parishes, churches and chapels had been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and this was a favoured festival day. The patrons or patterns that until of late were yearly celebrated very conclusively attest it. In Kilnenor parish, County of Wexford, there is a holy well, at which a patron was formerly held on the 8th of September. According to a pious tradition, a concert of angels is said to have been heard in the air to solemnize the Nativity or Birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Irish Saints of September: Elair of Monahincha

2011-09-20T09:15:00.000+01:00

Today, September 7 on the Julian calendar, is the commemoration of an island-dwelling saint of County Tipperary, Elair of Monahincha. This site was one of those visited in person by Canon O'Hanlon who explored Monahincha in May 1870 as part of his research for the Lives of the Irish Saints. I have reproduced the sketch made of the church ruins for the book but for some more recent illustrations of Monahincha there is an online collection of photographs here. Saint Elair's island retreat has links with two other saints of the Irish church, Cronan of Roscrea and Canice of Kilkenny, as Canon O'Hanlon explains:

St Elarius or Helair, Patron, Anchoret and Scribe of Monahincha, near Roscrea, County of Tipperary. (Eighth and Ninth Centuries.)

The published Martyrology of Tallaght records a festival in honour of Elair of Locha Cre, at the 7th of September.

This, however, does not accord with the ii. of Nones for this month— although thus set down—and as found in the Book of Leinster copy. The situation of Lough Crea is said first to have attracted the notice of the celebrated St. Cronan before he commenced the erection of his chief religious establishment at Roscrea. In the midst of this "Stagnum Cree" there was an "insula modica," or moderately-sized Island—now known as Monahincha— and here St. Cronan,it is said, first built a cell. Monahincha lies towards the left, on the high road leading from Borris-in-Ossory to Roscrea; but, the old church is hidden from view, owing to ornamental plantations which surround it in various directions. The greater religious establishment, however, seems to have been fixed at Roscrea —even in the time of St. Cronan— when it is probable Monahincha became a dependent on it, about the beginning of the seventh century. Already have we referred to some remains of antiquity in this town, formerly a place of considerable historic importance, especially in our ecclesiastical annals. After St. Cronan, the earliest saint recorded as having connexion with Inis Loch-Cre, is Coluim or Colum—resolvable into Columba. His period, however, has not been determined; but, it is probable, he preceded the present holy superior in point of time.

St. Elarius or Helair is called the son of Fintan, sprung from the race of Kein, and his brothers are said to have been Saints Aidan and Conrach. His mother is called Sinacha, third sister to the great St. Columbkille. This latter statement of Colgan must be rejected, if we take into account the date assigned for the death of Elarius. While Sinacha must have been born in the earlier part of the sixth century, the birth of this present Elarius took place, it is probable, at least two hundred years later. The feast of St. Hilair is found in the Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman, at the 7th of September. In one place, Colgan notes a St. Hilarius Mocukein, a monk of Durrow, to whom he assigns a feast at the 7th of September. We cannot be assured, however, that he was identical with the present Elarius or Helair. On the contrary, he and his brothers, St. Aidan and St. Conry or Conrachus —stated to have been of Kevin's race —must have lived in the sixth century, if their mother was Sinecha, the sister of St. Columkille. The present saint was undoubtedly of a different family, and he was principally venerated at the place, now known as Monahincha, which the neighbouring people still call The Holy Island. It lies in the parish of Corbally, barony of Ikerrin, and County of Tipperary.

The lough is now for the most part dried up, but a bog occupies its former site. The old ruins of Monahincha are remarkably beautiful in their architectural peculiarities. Moory soil still extends around, notwithstanding that the waters of the lake have been completely drawn off; while the land is thoroughly drained and reclaimed into fine pasturage, and meadow. Rich grass grows over the soil. Its remarkable old church is covered with a luxuriant growth of ivy, around the whole exterior; but this has been removed from the interior, where all the wall surfaces may be seen. There are two most beautiful doors yet remaining, and almost entire; one of these enters the nave, and the other a small choir. They are semi-circularly headed and elegantly jointed along the jamb-stones, with zig-zag carving around the arches. The fluted columns are surmounted by curious old sculptured heads. Through the ivy on the exterior corners of the nave may be traced projecting columns of rounded and chiselled stones. The ruins stand in a tolerably well preserved state, in the centre of a grave-yard, overcrowded with human remains. The interior of the old church nave is occupied by a family tomb, and around it the floor has been levelled and gravelled; while the landed proprietor of the estate, on which the ruins are situated, seems to have taken special pains to preserve the existing remains. Beside the old Church of Monahincha are some ruins of an ancient monastery.

Not far from the ruins, some portion of the former extensive lake may be seen; but the inhabitants of the surrounding country have a tradition, that all the vast tract of bog, now extending for several miles towards a range of distant hills, was formerly covered with water, which circled the Holy Island.

The Church of Inis Lough Cre was dedicated to the St. Helair or Hilarius, whose festival is celebrated on this day, as we are informed. The terms by which he is distinguished in our records indicate, that while he led a life of strict observance and asceticism, he was also the writer of some works, which at present seem to be unknown. Perhaps, he belonged to that band of Coelicoli or Culdees, that lived on the smaller island —as distinguished from the greater —and of which no clear traces now remain; yet, it is recorded, that the passage from one island to the other, in the twelfth century, was made by means of a boat. Helair flourished after the middle of the eighth, and beginning of the ninth century. The death of this Elarius, Anchoret and Scribe, of Lough Crea, is entered in the Annals of the Four Masters, at 802; in those of Clonmacnoise, at 804; in those of Ulster, at 806; but, as we are told by Dr. O' Donovan, recte, it should be 807. His age at the time of his departure is not known. His name and festival are entered on this day, in the Martyrology of Donegal. In the table appended to this latter work, the name of our saint has been Latinised, Helarius.

Although Inis-Loch-Cre does not figure very prominently in our Irish Annals, the "Holy Island" appears to have obtained celebrity as a place of pilgrimage and to have had a resident superior in the twelfth century. After the death of St. Cronan, the religious institute he established at Roscrea appears to have flourished in piety and learning, for centuries succeeding his period. A copy of the Four Gospels, called Glass-Kennic, or the Chain of St. Canice, is said to have been there preserved to the time of Archbishop Ussher. Also at Roscrea was recovered the Book of Dimma, a scribe, the son of Aengus, the son of Carthin. Another work, known as the Annals of Roscrea, was probably composed in the monastery there established. A succession of Roscrea Abbots, sometimes styled Bishops, in our Annals, is recorded from A.D. 800 to 1174, when the parent institution seems to have gradually declined, and little account is had regarding it, when its ancient bishopric merged into that of Killaloe...

Irish Saints of September: Cummein of Drumsnat

2011-09-17T16:51:00.002+01:00

Today, September 4 on the Julian calendar is the commemoration of Saint Cummein, abbot of the County Monaghan monastery of Drumsnat. Drumsnat was one of the foundations of Saint Molua and seems to have been an important intellectual centre. The major Irish manuscript collections such as the Book of Leinster and the Book of the Dun Cow refer to a now-lost Book of Drumsnat, which was presumably composed at this monastery. It may be too that the Life of the founder, Molua, was also written there. I intend to look further into the history of this foundation as it seems to be one of the Irish monasteries whose early reputation later faded into complete obscurity. The place now anglicized as Drumsnat was in Irish called Druim Snechta, the 'snowy ridge'. There are some beautiful wintry photographs of the locality here and the artist mentions a local story which tells how saint Molua was led to select this particular site for his monastery. When today's saint Cummein succeeded as abbot seems to be unknown, Canon O'Hanlon in his entry from The Lives of the Irish Saints believes that he is the same individual as a Saint Cummein, with the patronymic 'son of Cuanna' commemorated on September 1. I will therefore begin with the entry from September 1 and then move to that of September 4:

St. Cuimmen, Son of Cuanna, or Cuanach, probably Abbot of Druim-Snechta, now Drumsnat, County of Monaghan.

To us it seems very probable, that the present holy man was not distinct from a saint bearing the same appellation, and said to have been venerated on the 4th of this month, at Drumsnat, County of Monaghan. The name of Cuimmen, son of Cuana, or Cuanach, occurs in the Martyrologies of Tallagh, of Marianus O'Gorman, and of Donegal, at the 1st of September.

St. Cummein, Abbot of Drumsnat, County of Monaghan.

From what has been already stated at the 1st of this month, it seems probable, that the present saint may be identified with St. Cuimmen, son of Cuanna or Cuanach. The published Martyrology of Tallagh inserts a festival at the the 4th of September, in honour of Comen, Abbot of Droma Sneachta. That copy of it in the Book of Leinster contains a nearly similar insertion. This place is probably identical with Drumsnat, in Farney. Fearnmhagh was the ancient name of this district. It is said to mean "the Alder Plain;" and, it was the old Irish denomination for the barony of Farney, in the County of Monaghan. The Martyrology of Donegal likewise registers Cummein, as Abbot of Druim Sneachta, and at this date.

Irish Saints of September: Colman of Kilclonfert

2011-09-16T10:57:00.000+01:00

Today, September 3 on the Julian calendar is the commemoration of a number of interesting Irish saints. There is Mac Nissi, first bishop of the northern diocese of Connor, the scholarly Lon-garadh of Magh Tuathat and Balin of Tech Saxon who came to Ireland following the Synod of Whitby. There is also a less well-known Saint Colman commemorated at this date on various Irish calendars, and a degree of confusion seems to have arisen over the name of his locality, with some sources calling it Druim ferta and others Cluain ferta. The translator of the later Martyrology of Donegal notes that at Druim 'The word Droma is written as a gloss over Cluain, meaning that we should read Drumfert, not Clonfert, here.' Canon O'Hanlon suggests that the place is now the parish of Kilclonfert, County Offaly, which was known as King's County prior to Irish independence. I note that the local Catholic parish church at Kilclonfert is dedicated to Saint Colman, and that there appears to have been a revival of interest in the maintenance of the holy well dedicated to the saint. There is a two-part video online showing the annual clean-up of the well by a local family who reckon this is their hereditary right, the soundtrack wasn't to my taste but at the end of the second part the people seem to fall quiet as they pray softly and then add some blessed water to the newly-cleaned well, which looks splendid after all their work. Below are the details from the calendars for the feast of Saint Colman, which seem to be the only information Canon O'Hanlon is able to bring:

St. Colman, of Cluain or Druim Ferta Mughaine, now Kilclonfert, King's County.

In the Feilire of St. Aengus, at the 3rd day of September, we have an entry for the feast of Colman of Druim Ferta. A commentator, on that copy contained in the Leabhar Breac, states, that the place is to be identified with Cluain Ferta Mugaine in Offaly. It is at present known as Kilclonfert, a parish in the Barony of Lower Philipstown, and King's County. Some ruins of the old Church are still visible. Near them may be found the well of St. Colman, but corruptly called St. Cloman's well...According to the Martyrology of Donegal, veneration was given at the 3rd of September to Colman, of Cluain-Ferta or Druim-Ferta. This place is also called Mughaine, in Ui Failghe, or Offaly, a district in Leinster.

Irish Saints of September: Neman of Cill Bia

2011-09-14T09:03:00.002+01:00

We begin the month of September and the beginning of the ecclesiastical year on the Julian calendar with the commemoration of Saint Neman. As Canon O'Hanlon points out, the name of this saint does not appear on the earliest of the Martyrologies and is not a common one. I have inserted two of the footnotes from the entry in the Lives of the Irish Saints into the main text as they seek to offer an explanation for both the saint's name and for the locality in which he may have flourished. The translator of the Martyrology of Donegal appended a note saying that the saint's name may derive from the Irish word for heaven nemh and thus his name is a Gaelic equivalent to the Latin Caelestinus. The name of his associated placename is not easy to pin down, Canon O'Hanlon cites the evidence for County Down below:

St. Neman, Bishop of Cill Bia.

There are no entries made in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, from 31st of August until the 4th of September; and therefore, the present saint's name, with that of other holy persons, is not there found recorded. However, in the copy contained in the Book of Leinster, although entries are given for the missing days, the name of Neman is not mentioned, at the present date. The Martyrology of Donegall registers a festival, at the 1st of September, in honour of Neman, Bishop, of Cill-Bia, which seems to have been one of the early small sees in Ireland. In the table which follows this record, a commentator observes, that if by him, Nemhan be understood, this name may fairly be interpreted Coelestinus. [Dr. Reeves appends the following marginal note to this passage: " As naomhan from naomh, holy is Latinized Sanctanus, so Nemhan, from nemh, 'heaven', is rendered Colestinus."] In the Introduction to the Martyrology, it is stated, that Cill Bhi is in Connaught; but, this is by no means certain. At present, it seems no easy matter to discover this place among the existing parish or townland denominations of Ireland. However, there is a reasonable conjecture, as Cill-Bia and Cill-mbian are not distinct denominations, and while the latter place is said to have been founded by St. Fearghus, Bishop of Druim-Leath-giaise, more commonly called Dun-da-leath-ghlas, or Down; an ancient graveyard called Killyman, in the townland of Barnamaghery and parish of Kilmore, in the Diocese of Down, may represent the site of the once important church of Cill-mbian, mentioned in several of our annals. [In his tract, De Quibusdam Episcopis, Duald MacFirbis—apparently referring to this Church—has it, "Cill-Sqanduil no Cill-bian. Fergus epscop Cille-Sganduil no bian; agus is nor sin." Translated: Kill Sgandail or Kill-Bian: Fergus, bishop of Kill-Sgandail or Kill-Bian, and that is true." These denominations may be anglicised into Kilscannel and Kilbean or Kilmean.] It might well be expected, that Cill-mBian —pronounced Killmian— as having been founded by one of the bishops of Down, should remain closely connected with the See; and, as Killyman was a chapel in the mensal parish of Kilmore, and probably one of seven mentioned as having belonged to it, not unreasonably it may be regarded as the ancient Cill m-Bian. If such identification be correct, as the founder, St. Fearghus, Bishop of Downpatrick, died A.D. 583, the present St. Neman flourished hardly at an earlier date than the seventh century. How long Cill m-Bian or Cill-Bia continued to be the see of a bishop does not seem to be known; for we cannot find farther allusion to it in our Irish Annals or Calendars. Neither is the name of Neman one often to be met with, and certainly not in a form, to furnish probable identity with the saint there venerated. Under the head of Cill-Bia, Duald Mac Ferbis enters Nemhan, bishop of Cill-Bia, at the 1st day of September.

Irish Saints of August: Senan of Ath-omna

2011-09-13T08:56:00.000+01:00

We bring the month of August on the Julian calendar to a close with the feast of a saint who Canon O'Hanlon seeks to place in Portumna, County Galway. Actual details of the life of Saint Senan are thin on the ground and the entry in the Lives of the Irish Saints instead concentrates on a later Dominican foundation at Portumna. I have omitted these details to concentrate on what Canon O'Hanlon can tell us of the saint:

St. Senan, Sessan, or Sessen, of Ath-omna, possibly Portumna, County of Galway.

A feast for St. Senan of Atha-omna occurs in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, on this day, as also in that copy to be found in the Book of Leinster. Ath-Omna means the "Ford of the Oak;" and it may have been the ancient denomination of Port-Omna, now Portumna, on the River Shannon, in the Barony of Longford and County of Galway. It is within the parish of Lickmolassy. The place is of great antiquity, and a town is said to have been there for many centuries before Ireland became subject to the control of the sister kingdom. It is probable there had been a religious establishment at Portumna previous to the arrival of the Anglo-Normans in Ireland. It was a place of no small importance in former times, as being the principal pass whereby the people of Minister and Connaught communicated with each other...The present Saint probably lived at an early period of the Christian Church in Ireland. He is classed among the disciples of holy Patrick, the Irish Apostle. Although called Seseneus, his right name is Sessenus. His feast is set down, at this date, and he is called Sesan by Marianus O'Gorman. It is thought, by Colgan, that he may not have been a different person from St. Sezin, Bishop and Abbot, as also Patron of the Church and Parish of Guic Sezni, Leon, in Brittany. We fail, however, to find the evidence, which might warrant such a supposition. The name Sessan, of Ath-omna, is registered in the Martyrology of Donegal, at the 31st of August. This is all known concerning him.

Irish Saints of August: Cronan of Cluain-an-dobhair

2011-09-12T16:42:00.001+01:00

Today, August 30 on the Julian calendar, the earliest of the surviving Irish calendars, the Martyrology of Tallaght, commemorates a County Offaly saint, Cronan of Cluain-an-dobhair. No other details of the saint or the locality where he flourished seem to have survived. Canon O'Hanlon, following the authority of the Ordnance Survey scholar John O'Donovan, believes that he should be located in County Offaly, or King's County as it was known before Irish independence:

St. Cronan of Cluain-an-dobhair, King's County.

It is recorded in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, that at the 30th of August, veneration was given to Cronan, of Cluain-an-dobhair, or as it is written, Cluana andobhair. In that copy contained in the Book of Leinster, the entry is nearly similar. Cluain-an-dobhair, or Cluain-in-dibhair, is situated somewhere in the present King's County, says that eminent Irish topographer, Dr. John O'Donovan; but, it has not yet been identified. It may be, that the topographical designation has now become obsolete; or, if not, it should probably be sought for in the neighbourhood of Birr. The festival of this saint is entered, likewise, in the Martyrology of Donegal, as that of Cronan, Cluana an dobair. His humble grave bears no monument, but he requires no memorials beyond those which exist in survival lessons he taught to bring many others to be wise unto salvation.

Irish Saints of August: Auxilius of Killashee

2011-09-09T11:07:00.000+01:00

Today, August 27 on the Julian calendar, is one of the feastdays ascribed to Auxilius, one of a trio of bishops who is said, along with Secundinus and Isserninus, to have assisted the mission of Saint Patrick to Ireland. Canon O'Hanlon's generation accepted the basic historicity of the various Lives of Saint Patrick and of the elaborate family tree which the hagiographers constructed for our national apostle. Modern scholars, however, cast a much more critical eye over the entire gamut of Patrician studies, some would argue that the memory of these three bishops was taken from the Acts of his predecessor, Palladius. In the later Patrician hagiography Auxilius is depicted as Patrick's nephew, son of his sister Liemania and her husband Restitutus the Lombard. He is associated with a church in County Kildare at Killashee but is also claimed to have a link with a County Donegal church. The 17th-century Martyrology of Donegal records his feast at August 27, but the earliest of the Irish calendars, the Martyrology of Tallaght records two separate feastdays of saint Auxilius, one at 19 March and one at 16 September. Although Canon O'Hanlon believes that today's date represents the true natalis of Saint Auxilius and has an account of him as his lead article for this day, I have chosen to reprint the account by one of his clerical contemporaries, the Rev. Francis Shearman, below. Father Shearman produced a detailed compendium of the places associated with Saint Patrick, the Loca Patriciana, and usefully summarizes the main details from the traditions associated with Auxilius of Killashee:

AUXILIUS, the son of Restitutus the Lombard and Liemania, the sister of St. Patrick, was with the future apostle of Ireland at Ebmoria, or Ivrea, in Lombardy, when Augustine and Benedict came there on their way to Rome, with intelligence of the decease of Palladius in North Britain, and of his unsuccessful essay in Ireland. When St. Patrick heard this unexpected turn of events, he and his companions went out of their way to a man of wondrous sanctity, a chief bishop named Amator, dwelling in a neighbouring place, and by him St. Patrick was consecrated a bishop, "Lib. Arm.", fol.2, a, b. Another account, "Tr. Th.", p.9, states that this consecration took place in the presence of the Emperor Theodosius and Pope Celestine; on that same occasion Auxilius was ordained a priest, and Isserninus, who was also in the company, received Holy Orders, and was subsequently raised to the the priesthood (Vita 4ta, "Tr. Th.," cap. 31, p.39). They did not come immediately with St. Patrick to Ireland; their arrival in 438 is recorded in the "Chronicon Scottorum". The Annals of Innisfallen record "Secundinus Auxilius et Esserninus mittuntur in auxilium Patricii; nec tamen tenuerunt apostolatum nisi solus Patricius." As Isserninus was sent to Ireland by St. Germanus, Auxilius came also, it may be supposed, through the same agency, both being probably inder his care and instruction. Some years after the arrival of Auxilius, on the occasion of the conversion of the family of Dunlang, king of North Leinster, and the baptism of his sons, Auxilius was consecrated a bishop, and placed over a church near Naas, called from him Cill Ausaille, "Ecclesia Auxilii" in Magh Liffé, and now corruptly Killosy, pronounced "Killóshee". The Scholiast on the "Martyrology of Tamlaght", at March 19, thus writes: "Decimo quarto Calendas Aprilis Auxilinus Episcopus et Coepiscopus, et frater Patricii Episcopi; vel Auxilius nomen ejus. Patricius dixit; Auxilium nomen tuum apud nos; ordinatus es meus Comorbanus et amicus, filius sororis et Episcopus et spiritualis Pter. Septem filii Restituti de Longobardis, Secundinus Nectanus Dabonna, Mogornanus Dariochus Auxilius et Lugnath." The address of St. Patrick to his suffragan on the occasion of his consecration is perhaps the most valuable part of this record, as it tallies with what has been said of him in the "Annals of Innisfallen"... St. Auxilius was also connected with a church in Tir Conail in Ulster; its name was Cill O-m-Bard, and the compilers of the "Martyrology of Donegal", p.447, identify this church with him. He died, according to the "Annals of Ulster", in 460. The "Four Masters" and the "Annals of Clonmacnoise" refer that event to 454. Archbishop Ussher adopts the former date.

The natale of Auxilius is also a matter of uncertainty. The "Martyrology of Donegal" gives it at August 27, that of Tamlaght at March 19, and again at July 30; the former has "Cobuir, son of Goll," and Marianus O'Gorman "Cobair Mac Guill german", which a marginal note in the Brussels MSS. of the "Martyrology of Donegal" thus explains: "Cobair, son of Goll, a German". Cobair, as there suggested, is the Celtic for Auxilium, help or aid; Goll or Guill may be an equivalent for Gaul, the country of Restitutus; and German evidently refers to Morgornan, or Gorman his son, who became the first bishop of the Isle of Man. There are extant "Acts" of a synod held by Patrick and his bishops Auxilius and Isserninus; but as to their being genuine documents of this period, there is much controversy. The church of St. Auxilius us now a parish church in the diocese of Kildare; it became a celebrated monastic institution in subsequent ages, and the native annals make frequent records of its abbots, and its devastation both by the Irish as well as by the Danes.

Rev. J. F. Shearman, Loca Patriciana - An Identification of Localities, Chiefly in Leinster, visited by Saint Patrick and his Assistant Missionaries (Dublin, 1879), 145-146.

Irish Saints of August: Comgall Ua Sarain

2011-09-08T09:10:00.001+01:00

Another saint shrouded in obscurity is commemorated today, August 26 on the Julian calendar. Canon O'Hanlon is able only to recount the recording of the name of Saint Comgall Ua Sarain at this date:

St. Comgall Ua Sarain.

The Book of Leinster and the published Martyrologies of Tallagh record a festival in honour of Comgall H. Sarain, at the 26th of August. His place and period are unknown. At the same date, in the Martyrology of Donegal, is the entry of Comhgall Ua Sarain.

Irish Saints of August: Broccan of Maighin

2011-09-07T08:58:00.001+01:00

Today, August 25 on the Julian calendar, is the feast of a saint Brocccan, commemorated in the earliest calendar, The Martyrology of Tallaght. He is one of the many saints of whom no other details can be found, although Canon O'Hanlon attempts to locate the placename associated with his calendar entry, which appears with two variants in different manuscripts of the Martyrology, with north County Mayo:

St. Broccan of Maighin, or Brogan of Iomdan.

St. Brocan of Maighin occurs in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, as having a festival on this day. Somewhat divergent is the entry of his festival, on the viii. of the September Kalends, in that copy contained in the Book of Leinster. The form of name Maighin or Moyne is very common in Irish topographical designations; and it is often compounded with other terms. The present Maighin is probably identical with Moyne, near the mouth of the River Moy, and in the northern part of Mayo County. The name Brogan of Iomdan is set down in the Martyrology of Donegal as having been venerated at the 25th of August.

Irish Saints of August: Abban

2011-09-06T10:05:00.000+01:00

Today, August 24 on the Julian calendar, the earliest of the Irish calendars, the Martyrology of Tallaght, records the commemoration of a Saint Abban. There are at least two other saints of this name, one with a feastday on March 16 is said to be the nephew of the pre-Patrician saint Ibar. Whether the entry in the Martyrology of Tallaght is a secondary feast of this Abban or refers to an entirely different individual is unknown. Canon O'Hanlon is unable to make much in the way of comment:

St. Abban.

A festival in honor of Abban, is met with in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 24th of August. The same entry is to be found in the Book of Leinster copy.

Irish Saints of August: The Seven Bishops of Aelmagh

2011-09-05T08:29:00.000+01:00

Today, August 23 on the Julian calendar, is the commemoration of a group of bishops on the earliest of the surviving Irish calendars, the Martyrology of Tallaght. It is one of a number of entries which group individuals in this way, in his account below Canon O'Hanlon believes it reflects the use of sacred numbers in a Christian context. We do not know much about these particular bishops, Canon O'Hanlon wonders if they are also mentioned in the Litany of Aengus which can be read on the blog here. One bishop we do know more about is Saint Eugene of Ardstraw, whose feast is also commemorated today. An account of his life can be found here and of some of his miracles here.

The Seven Bishops of Aelmhagh, i.e. at Donihnachmor, probably in the County of Leitrim.

The mystic number seven marked some of the most important events and regulations among the Jews. Thus, the seventh day was the Sabbath; the seventh year was the sabbath of the land, in which the people were commanded not to sow the land, nor to prune the vineyards. And again, when seven weeks of years—(i.e. forty-nine years)—were past, the people were ordered to hold the jubilee on the fiftieth year, when "remission was to be proclaimed to all the inhabitants of the land." But, it is needless to multiply examples from the Old Testament, where the word occurs nearly one hundred times, as a sacred and peculiar mode of enumeration. So are we struck with the use of the word seven, in our old Litanies and Calendars. It is entered in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, that veneration was given at the 23rd of August, to Sect— Septem—nesp. Domnaighmoir, Elmaighi. Somewhat differently is this entered in the Book of Leinster copy of the Martyrology, at the same date. This place, or its equivalent, Aelmhagh, signifying "Plain of the Lime," was in Calraighe; but, we are not told, in which of the many districts thus called in Ireland it had been situated. There were several tribes called Calraidhe or Calry, and so noticed as being descended from Lewy Cal. The names of the places so called serve to perpetuate the memory of those clans. Thus, one of them settled in the ancient Tenia, and the denomination is locally preserved in Slievegolry, near Ardagh, in the County of Longford. Moreover, Calry, in the County of Sligo, and it is thought Calary in Wicklow, still preserve the names of those tribes. Although in the notice of Aelmhagh, at A.M. 3790, Dr. O'Donovan does not attempt to identify Aelmhagh, in Calraighe; yet, when he meets an account of the Calraighe of Aelmhagh, at A.D. 781, he says, this Sept was probably one, otherwise called Calraighe-an-Chala, and seated in the barony of Clonlonan, in the County of Westmeath.

Under the heading of Domhnach-mor-Aolmaighe, Duald Mac Firbis records the seven bishops of Domhnach-mor-Aolmaighe, at August, 23rd. In that old Irish Litany, ascribed to St. Aengus, there is an invocation of the seven bishops of Domnach Calliraigi—most probably referring to those of Aelmaighe, although the latter denomination has not been introduced. The history of those bishops we are unable to unfold; nor is it possible for us to state when they lived, or if all had been contemporaries. It seems most probable, however, that they were commemorated, as having passed out of this world, in successive periods, and as having been buried subsequently in the place which has been mentioned. We are assured by Duald Mac Firbis, and by his learned Irish topographical commentator, that Domhnach-mor-Aelmhagh or Aolmaighe is in Breifne-O'Ruiarc; and consequently, that it is now known as Donaghmore, in the barony of Dromahire, and County of Leitrim. We find recorded, likewise, in the Martyrology of Donegal, at this same date, The Seven Bishops, of Aelmhagh, i.e., at Domhnach-mor.

Irish Saints of August: Beoghna of Bangor

2011-09-04T08:00:00.002+01:00

Today, August 22 on the Julian calendar, is the commemoration of two saints with a link to Italy, Andrew of Fiesole and Gunifort of Pavia. This year, however, we are staying put on Irish soil to commemorate an Abbot of Bangor, Beoghna, whose repose is recorded in the Irish annals in the early seventh century. The Annals allow us to reconstruct the list of succession of the abbots of Bangor, and they place Beoghna as the immediate successor to this County Down monastery's founder, the great Saint Comgall. This is further borne out by a hymn entitled "Commemoration of our Abbots" in the Bangor Antiphonary which lauds the first fifteen of Bangor's abbots, and here the name of Beogna immediately follows that of Saint Comgall:

The holy, valiant deeds
Of sacred Fathers,
Based on the matchless
Church of Benchor;
The noble deeds of abbots
Their number, times, and names,
Of never-ending lustre,
Hear, brothers; great their deserts,
Whom the Lord hath gathered
To the mansions of his heavenly kingdom.
Christ loved Comgill,
Well too did he, the Lord;
He held Beogna dear;

The evidence from the Annals, however, suggests that our saint did not enjoy a long rule as Saint Comgall's successor, as Canon O'Hanlon explains:

St. Beoghna, Abbot of Bangor, County of Down.
[Sixth and Seventh Centuries.]

Doubtless where he had so long, as student, priest, and high official, discharged his duties with honour to himself and with benefit to all who came within the sphere of his influence, the memory of this holy abbot must have been held in benediction. In a misplaced manner, the published Martyrology of Tallagh enters this saint, as Beogaes, Abb. Bennchoir. Another entry is evidently allowed to intervene, between the first and the last of these denominations. In that copy contained in the Book of Leinster, his name and that of his father are given. The name of the latter, according to that record was Daigre. His record and feast are set down by Marianus O'Gorman, at the 22nd of August. The present holy man was born, probably in the early half of the sixth century. It seems quite likely, that his religious profession must have been made under St. Comgall, the first founder of Bangor, and who was called away from this life, on the 10th of May, A.D. 601. Soon after his decease, it would appear, that St. Beoghna was elected to succeed him. However, he did not long survive his illustrious predecessor. The age of Christ, when the holy man resigned his spirit to heaven, was 605, according to the Annals of the Four
Masters. At this date of August 22nd, in the Martyrology of Donegal, we likewise find a festival recorded, in honour of Beoghna, Abbot of Bennchor, after Comhgall. In that carefully compiled Calendar, referring to the Diocese of Down, Connor, and Dromore, his feast has been registered for this day.

Irish Saints of August: Celba of Kilbeg

2011-09-03T09:48:00.001+01:00

Last year on this day, August 21 on the Julian calendar, we looked at the commemoration of Saint Senach, a bishop associated with the famous monastery of Clonard in County Meath. We are staying in the royal county to look at another saint also commemorated today on the Irish calendars, Celba or Caelbadh. Canon O'Hanlon summarizes the little that is known of him:

St. Celba, or Caelbadh,of Cill-Caelbadh, probably Kilbeg or Kilmainhambeg, County of Meath.

The published Martyrology of Tallagh, registers Celba, at the 21st of August. In that copy, contained in the Book of Leinster, this name is united with that of another saint, at the present date. From the following account of his locality, lying on the north side of Ceananus, now Kells, in the County of Meath, it may be possible to identify his church. The Martyrology of Donegal mentions Caelbadh, of Cill Caelbaidh, on the north side of Ceananus, as having been venerated, at this same date. Kilbeg or Kilmainham-beg,a parish in the barony of Lower Kells, and in the County of Meath, seems to be the most probable identification for the site of this saint's former church. It appears also to have given name to that place.

Irish Saints of August: Brigid of Fiesole

2011-09-02T22:08:00.000+01:00

Today, August 20 on the Julian calendar, I intend to examine another of the feasts noted by the Scottish hagiologist Thomas Dempster. In his Menologium Scotorum today he notes:

In montibus Faesulanis Brigidae virginis, quae ad fratrem suum Archidiaconum S. Andream e Scotia venit, & magna Christianae vitae continentia hic obiit.

As I explained yesterday when dealing with another of Dempster's calendar entries, the Irish were rather upset by this Scottish writer's tendency to ignore the historical reality that in the early medieval period, the Latin term Scotia was applied to Ireland as he sought to claim Irish saints and religious foundations on the continent for his own country. The virgin Brigid who came from Scotia with her brother the Archdeacon Andrew and was commemorated in the mountains of Fiesole on this day was an Irishwoman. I have been interested for some time now in the story of this Saint Brigid and her brother the Archdeacon Andrew who had come to Italy with fellow-Irishman Donatus, later appointed Bishop of Fiesole. As the story has come down to us, Andrew and his sister had been very close and she was heartbroken when he left Ireland to accompany Donatus on pilgrimage. Years later, as Andrew lay dying he wished for nothing more than to see his beloved sister again and she was miraculously transported from her home in Ireland to be with him. I have reproduced Margaret Stokes' lovely version of the story here. After her brother's death Brigid stayed on in the locality of Fiesole, and lived the hermit life within a cave in the mountains. The picture to the left shows the cave as photographed for Margaret Stokes' book Six Months in the Apennines or A Pilgrimage in Search of Vestiges of the Irish Saints in Italy. It is a very beautiful and touching story, but I have always wondered if this Italian Brigid was not a separate individual living in the 9th century, as the hagiography portrays, but rather a manifestation of the cult of Saint Brigid of Kildare as brought to Italy and enthusiastically promoted by Bishop Donatus? One clue might be that although Dempster has recorded August 20 as the feastday of the Italian Brigid, he also records that she is commemorated on February 1, the feastday of the patroness of Ireland. Although Canon O'Hanlon seems content to accept that there were two separate Saints Brigid, he nevertheless finds their sharing of the same feastday a coincidence too far. The Italian writer on the Irish saints in Italy, Fra Anselmo Tommasini, puts forward some other reasons why he believes Brigid of Italy is really just the cultus of Brigid of Kildare and so I will return to this subject in a future post. For now, I will bring first Canon O'Hanlon's account of this feastday from the August volume of the Lives of the Irish Saints and follow it with his account of the Italian Brigid from the entry on her life in the February volume.

Reputed Feast of St. Brigid, at Fesula, Italy.
[Ninth Century.]

The present St. Brigid is to be distinguished from the holy Patroness of Ireland, so named, and from another St. Brigid, venerated at the 14th of March. In Dempster's "Menologium Scotorum," at the 20th of August, there is a feast set down for St. Brigid, a noble Scottish virgin, who came to her brother St. Andrew, an Archdeacon, in a miraculous manner. He lived in the mountains at Fesula in Italy, with St. Donatus. We have already treated about the holy virgin St. Brigid, who lived in a hermitage near the source of the little river Sieci, where during her old age, she sought in a thick forest, among the higher Apennines, a place where she might lead a solitary life. There she desired to live, in penitence and prayer. She found a cave, at a lonely place called Opacum, near Lobaco, high among the mountains. There she passed a term of years, and died, during the latter half of the ninth century. The inhabitants of that country, venerating her as a saint, buried her remains, and built a church in her name, on the site of her hermitage. This was called S. Brigida. Her Natalis was celebrated there in after years with great solemnity. The Pieve or parochial district of Lobaco owns two filial parishes, St. Brigid at Lobaco, and St. Minatus at Pagnoli. Again, there is an ancient Church of San Martino, of Tours, beneath the shelter of the walls of Castel Lobaco; and here, also, the memory of our Irish St. Brigid was held in especial reverence. In his "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scotorum," Dempster asserts, that her festival was observed on the 1st of February, that she was renowned for sanctity in 802, that she was miraculously brought to Italy, that her writings have perished, and that he is unable to find when she died. It seems very probable, however, that our Irish St. Brigid's festival abroad may have been confounded with that of the great St. Brigid, Patroness of Ireland; otherwise it is difficult to conceive how such a coincidence could have occurred, as to cause both their feasts to fall on the same day.

Saint Brigid, Virgin, Patroness of the Church of Opacum, at Fiesole, Italy.
[Ninth Century.]

In a minor degree to the celebrated Abbess of Kildare, yet with great relative honour, another very distinguished St. Brigid, an Irish virgin, who belonged in course of time to Fesule, in Hetruria, is commemorated on this day. Her Acts are given in the Bollandist collection. There is a historic commentary, comprised in three sections, and in thirteen paragraphs. The Italic Life of this holy religious is given, likewise, in seven paragraphs. Our own Colgan has introduced notices of her, extracted from various sources, at the present date. Her life, however, is best drawn from that of her brother, St. Andrew, and which Filippo Villani compiled. We do not learn from it, notwithstanding, in what part of the Island of Hibernia, also called Scotia, either had been born. Nor has their pedigree been transmitted, by our native genealogists, to the foreign biographer. We are only told, their parents were people of great wealth and distinction.

Towards the beginning of the ninth century, in the reign of Aedh Oirdnidhe, King of Ireland, there lived in that country a noble virgin, called Brigid. This, too, was probably the period of her birth. The splendour of her virtues far outshone that of her illustrious descent. This maiden had a brother, named Andrew, for whom she entertained a most sisterly affection, and ties of blood were more than strengthened by that sympathy, which binds pious souls. She was younger than her brother, and she regarded him as a wise guide and counsellor. Both had early felt a desire to embrace a life of celibacy. Andrew placed himself, as a disciple, under the teaching and protection of a holy bishop, St. Donat, or Donatus, whom he accompanied on a pilgrimage to Rome. Having received the Pope's blessing, both settled at Fiesole, where Andrew became a deacon. Here he remained for several years. Fiesole was an ancient city, and situated on a mountain, about three miles from Florence. It was once famous for its power and extent; but, now it has nothing of a city, saving the name. Some remains of its Cyclopean walls, and ancient Christian memoirs, attest its remote antiquity, and the ardour with which its people early embraced the Christian religion.

The mountain slopes there were thickly covered with churches, monasteries, palaces and villas, while a luxuriant country around it has all the aspect of a vast garden. The Fiesole hills are the delight of Florentines, who resort thither to breathe their balmy air. The origin of Fiesole is lost in the darkness of ages. We can say with certainty, that it was among the first of towns, built in Italy, and probably it was one of the twelve Etruscan cities. By order of St. Donatus, who was elected bishop of this city, St. Andrew re-established the Church of St. Martin, near the River Mensola. There he founded a monastery at the base of the Fiesole hills. There, too, he spent the rest of a life, singularly illustrated by piety and renowned for miracles. St. Andrew had made a perfect sacrifice, by abandoning home and the society of his relations and friends. But, a greater privation than all other losses was parting companionship with his beloved sister. She devoted herself wholly to pious exercises in Ireland, living either with her parents, or, more likely, as a member of one among the many religious institutes there existing. Nor does she appear even to have known where or how her brother lived. He survived St. Donatus, however, and after a lapse of some time, age and infirmity growing upon himself, it was deemed well to bestow his earnest admonition on the monks, who stood around his bed in tears. Then, the thought of his dear sister Brigid came into his mind, and he most vehemently wished to see her, ere he should die. The Omnipotent was graciously pleased to regard this feeling, which the dying saint had concealed from the bystanders. The pious Brigid, at the time, had been seated at her frugal meal, consisting of some small fishes and a salad. She lived at a retired place in Ireland. Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared to her, and miraculously was she brought before St. Andrew and his brethren. All, who were engaged rendering kind offices to their dying superior, were struck with astonishment and admiration, at the unlooked-for arrival of St. Brigid. A greater number soon appeared to witness her presence. Meantime, the virgin herself trembled with fear and reverence; for, instead of a reality, she thought the sick man lying on the bed, with those men standing around in a strange costume, as also the place and objects near her, represented only a vision. St. Andrew had a clear intuition of the whole matter, and in a tender tone of voice, he thus spoke: "My dearly beloved sister Brigid, finding my end approaching, I conceived a most earnest desire to behold you before my death, and the immense fountain of charity and of mercy from on high hath yielded to my prayers, as you see, and hath indulged the wishes of a sinner. Therefore, fear not, for so it hath pleased God, that you should behold your own brother Andrew, during his last agony, and hoping through your present merits, that the Creator of all things will be propitious, although you had long since thought me removed from this earth. For, in this place, far apart from our natal soil, I, a feeble athlete and soldier, have spent my days, while you, in like manner, shall end your life, supplying the complement of my warfare, by great austerity and penance. Now, set aside all dread, leaning on Divine mercy, and set your mind at rest, being assured, that you see and feel only what is real; while for me, I entreat you to become, with the fear of God, and with fervour of soul, an intercessor before our Lord, as the hour of my dissolution now arrives." As if awaking from torpor and coming to herself, with great sensibility and devotion, Brigid wept then, tenderly clasping the hand of her brother, she kissed it, and deep sighs almost choked her power of utterance. Sorrow afflicted her for more than an hour, when on bended knees, she thus exclaimed: "O Almighty God, the sole worker of wonders, whom the powers of Heaven serve, whom the elements obey, and to whom every creature is subject, to thee be praise and benediction, honour and glory, who hath deigned this supernatural favour to thy handmaid, that she should behold her holy brother here present." Then addressing St. Andrew, she said: "Oh, most pious brother, the first faithful director and guardian of my youth, I rejoice with thee, and I am glad and shall be glad, during the short time it may be granted me to behold thee; although, I suffer pain with you, and all the more keenly, because I clearly foresee, when you depart, I shall be alone in this miserable life, and that I shall survive, afflicted, desolate and deprived of your holy conversation. Nevertheless, the deeply impressed traces of thy praiseworthy deeds and pious works, as also the memorials you shall have left, must increase my rejoicing before God, and again bring a festive day. Doubtless, intuitively knowing such matters, you shall happily sleep in Christ. Of this I feel assured, and especially in your case. So long as the usury of life be left to me, I shall not fail in this place, whither angels have brought me, to follow in thy footsteps with penitential exercises, so far as the infirmity of my feeble body will permit, and so far as Divine grace may assist me. Oh, my dearest brother, aid me by thy holy prayers, while you supply to a woman's weakness, that manly strength, which has supported you. But now, have courage, and be comforted, in Christ and in His holy cross; for, as hitherto you were accustomed to contend with great vigour of mind and indomitable fortitude, give still further proofs of resolution, during this your last agony." With such consoling words, she cheered the parting soul of her dear brother, and she soon saw his remains reverently consigned to the earth. Then Brigid sought a dense wood, near Fiesole, where she resolved to live a solitary life, and to spend it, in a rigorous course of penance.

This desert place, called Opacum or Opacus, was at the foot of certain high and steep mountains, where wild beasts alone had their lairs. Here, she subsisted on fruits and roots, which grew about, and thus almost removed from human associations and conversation, engaged in constant vigils, fasts and austerities, old age grew upon her. Yet, would rustics, when hunting, frequently come to her hermitage, which seems to have been a sort of cave. Sometimes, they offered the holy woman products of their chase, which she often refused to accept, as being too great a luxury for her manner of life. As her years wore on, many holy matrons and men visited St. Brigid, while they alleviated her infirmities. This charitable help the Almighty inspired. At length, spent with old age, after miracles and merits had crowned her life, this holy virgin was called to her heavenly nuptials, on the 1st day of February, about the year of Christ, 870. She died —it is incorrectly stated—towards the close of Charlemagne's reign. Then, after her death, all the country inhabitants, venerating her as a saint, interred her remains; and, on an elevated spot among the mountains, where she had lived, they built a church, which was dedicated to her memory. This was called, Piave St. Martin in Baco, and afterwards her natal day was celebrated there with great solemnity. The desert, which in her time, had been rugged, wild and uncultivated, subsequently assumed an almost miraculous change; for, settlers on the spot soon rendered it attractive and populous. Several writers have celebrated the praises of this holy virgin, while pious pilgrimages were made to her shrine, for ages long past after her death.

Irish Saints of August: Solon, companion of Palladius

2011-09-01T23:31:00.002+01:00

Today, August 19 on the Julian calendar, Canon O'Hanlon has an entry for a reputed feast of a saint Solon, said to have been associated with the mission of Saint Palladius to Ireland. The source for this feast is the Scottish hagiologist, Thomas Dempster (c.1579-1625), a man for whose work Canon O'Hanlon rarely has a good word to say. Irish writers were upset that Dempster deliberately ignored the fact that in the earlier medieval period the Latin word Scotia referred to Ireland and that the Scoti, missionaries and founders of monasteries in continental Europe, were Irishmen. Dempster appropriated the term exclusively for his own country, the land we now know as Scotland, and thus claimed an important part of the religious heritage of Ireland. Another writer who shared the poor opinion of Dempster and his work was the 20th-century Italian author of the classic work Irish Saints in Italy, Fra Anselmo Tommasini, who charged that Dempster 'perverted facts, invented quotations from non-existing books and documents, and attributed to existing authors passages they had never written'. In this case however, whilst Dempster may be the source for the feastday, he did not invent the character of Solon. The Irish sources themselves testify to two companions of Palladius named Solon and Sylvester who were left in charge of a County Wicklow church. What Dempster records in his calendar is: XIX. In Marria Solonii presbyteri, qui S. Palladium Apostolum sepelivit, 'In Mar, [the feast] of Solonius the priest, who buried Saint Palladius the Apostle.' So, let us begin first with Canon O'Hanlon's account of this reputed feastday and then move on to what the hagiography of Saint Patrick records of Saint Solon:

Reputed Feast of St. Solonius or Solon, an Early Companion of St. Palladius, in Wicklow. [Fifth Century.]

In Dempster's Menologium Scotorum, there is a festival at the 19th of August, at Mar, in Scotland. Ferrarius follows this account. The Bollandists have allusion to this Solonius, at the same date, with a remark, that they desired to have more certain and definite information regarding his cultus and acts. He must have flourished in the fifth century, if we are to accept the statement, that he buried St. Palladius, whose death has been assigned to a date somewhat later than A.D. 432. We are informed, however, that in one of the churches, founded by Palladius, and named Domnach-arda, in Hy Garrchon, on the eastern coast of Ireland, he left his disciples Sylvester and Salonius, who were there buried. Their remains were preserved in that church, until they were removed, at the close of the sixth century, to the Inch or Holm of Baethin,in the parish of Dunganstown, and County of Wicklow. In that locality, those saints were venerated until the year 770 or 774, when the church there experienced the fate of the Churches of Glendalough and of some other sanctuaries in that district of country.

In the 17th century, the Irish hagiologist Father John Colgan, compiled his work on the lives of the three wonderworking patron saints of Ireland, the Trias Thaumaturga. He drew on a number of existing Lives and in the second life of Saint Patrick there is an interesting summary of the Palladian mission. It includes a mention of Solon or Salonius as his name is Latinized here:

"The most blessed Pope Celestine ordained bishop the archdeacon of the Roman Church, named Palladius, and sent him into the island of Hibernia, giving to him relics of the blessed Peter and Paul, and other saints; and, moreover, the volumes of the Old and New Testaments. Palladius entering the land of the Scots, arrived at the territory of the men of Leinster, where Nathi Mac Garrchon was chief, who was opposed to him. Others, however, whom the divine mercy had disposed towards the worship of God, having been baptized in the name of the sacred Trinity, the blessed Palladius built three churches in the same district — one which is called Kill-fine (i.e., church of Finte: perhaps the present Dunlavin), in which, even to the present day, he left his books received from St. Celestine, and the box of the relics of SS. Peter and Paul, and other saints, and the tablets on which he used to write, which, in Irish, are called from his name, Pallere — that is, the burden of Palladius, and are held in veneration; another was called Teach-na- Roman, the house of the Romans; and the third, Domnach-ardech (Donard, near Dunlavin), in which repose the holy companions of Palladius, viz., Sylvester and Salonius, who are still honoured there. After a short time Palladius died at Fordun, but others say that he was crowned with martyrdom there."

This information is supported by the fourth life which adds the detail that the relics of our saint and his companion Sylvester, were later translated to an island not far from Arklow, County Wicklow, which owed its name to Saint Boethin:

...The third is the church which is called Domnach-arda, in which are the holy companions of Palladius, viz., Silvester and Solinus, whose relics, after some time, were carried to the island of Boethin, and are there held in due honour.

So, we appear to have an Irish tradition which records that:

1. The mission of Palladius included two saints, Solonius and Sylvester

2. They were placed in charge of one of the churches founded by Palladius in the area of Dunlavin, County Wicklow

3. Their relics remained at the church until they were subsequently translated to the island of Boethin, also in County Wicklow.

That being so, I seem to be left with the question, how did Solon also come to be linked with Mar in Scotland? I would thus be interested to see if I can discover the basis on which Dempster made his calendar entry but the answer will require some further research.

Irish Saints of August: Ernin Mac Creisin of Rathnoi

2011-08-31T11:09:00.000+01:00

Today, August 18 on the Julian calendar, is the commemoration of a County Wicklow saint, distinguished by his patronymic, Ernin Mac Creisin. It is a blessing that he is so distinguished as there are at least two dozen other saints of the same name, most of whom it is impossible to identify individually. Our saint, however, is known to us from the Life of Saint Columba by Adomnán of Iona. The author records that he heard of a prophecy about the future greatness of Saint Ernin Mac Creisin, whom he describes as 'famous through all the churches of Ireland and very highly regarded' (book I: 13) which was made by Saint Columba when he encountered the boy Ernin at the monastery of Clonmacnoise. Saint Adomnán further records that the account of the prophecy was given by Ernin himself to another abbot of Iona, Ségéne, whose feast we celebrated last week. Today's saint Ernin, however, is not the only saint of this name to be associated with the monastery of Iona, as the Life of Saint Columba records that an uncle of Saint Columba bore this name and various nephews have also been proposed. The founder's uncle and our saint, however, are two distinct individuals. Canon O'Hanlon's account below records some of the struggles that earlier hagiologists experienced in trying to sort out the individual careers of the various saints Ernin. He perhaps muddies the waters even further by introducing the evidence from the Scottish calendars that sought to identify our saint with their Saint Marnock, but until I can do some further research I would be reluctant to accept that identification at face value. As the Irish calendar entry from the Martyrology of Aengus (which I have transferred from the footnotes into Canon O'Hanlon's main text) makes clear, Ernin Mac Creisin is identified both with the locality of Rathnoi, modern Rathnew, County Wicklow, and with a hypocoristic or 'pet' form of his name which may have given rise to the idea that this Irish Ernin is also the Scottish Marnock. Finally, I could not resist reproducing the charming engraving of Rathnew from page 266 of volume 8 of The Lives of the Irish Saints, I'm sure it doesn't look like that today!

St. Ernin or Mernog, of Rathnoi, now Rathnew, County of Wicklow, and of Killdreenagh.

[Sixth and Seventh Centuries.]

The lesson of this holy man's Acts shows us, that in all times some of the greatest saints have been born with poor surroundings and prospects in life. Still the Almighty has providentially arranged to bring them to a superior station, and to perform their work well, while serving all the great requirements of religion. At the 18th day of August, St. Aengus enters the feast of St. Ernoc in his "Feilire," and to this a commentator adds an explanatory scholion. This is partly in Irish, and partly in Latin. The English translation is "My Ernóc, i.e., Ernin, i.e., a pious son (was) he. Or Cresin nomen patris ejus. Or Ernine son of Cresine of RathNoe in Hui Garrchon in Fotharta of Leinster and of Cell Draignech in Hui Dróna besides." On the lower margin is another brief note, thus translated into English: "Son of Cressine, my Ernoc, etc."

In the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 18th of August, a festival is also entered in honour of Ernin Mac Creisin, of Raithnui, in h-Garrchon. Hence, it would seem that Creisin is to be regarded as his father. At this date, the Bollandists observe, that their predecessors had found the name of a certain Irish Erenseus at the 14th of February, according to Thomas Dempster's arrangement; but, they deferred further notice of him, to the 26th of April, the date for his feast given by Camerarius, while waiting for some more certain evidences to establish better his veneration. Their notices were further deferred to this day, the 18th of August, as Colgan indicated his feast; and, as no better account of him could be furnished, at the latter date, they place him among those saints whose festivals are pretermitted. We find, that an Ernan, called the son of Degill and of Cumenia, was also a cousin to St. Columba, who, was brother of Cumenia. However, the patronymic of the present saint sufficiently distinguishes him from St. Columba's relative. The present Ernan must have been born, probably after the middle of the sixth century, judging from the recorded date for the arrival of St. Columkille on a visit to Clonmacnoise, while St. Alither was Abbot there, and while Ernen, son of Cressen, was then a poor boy. He was little esteemed by the community, although his dejected look and threadbare dress caused him to be well known to the monks. However, he eagerly desired to welcome the illustrious visitor, with the rest of those who came forth to meet him; while barriers had been erected to restrain the pressure of a crowd collected, as the ecclesiastics moved in procession singing hymns and psalms. But, such was Ernan's humility, that he sought to avoid the public gaze. Still, he desired much to steal unobserved, and to kiss the hem of St. Columkille's garment. Having approached from behind, the great Abbot had an inspiration which caused him to stop, and to place his hand on the neck of the boy, whom he brought before his eyes. The ecclesiastics and monks who were present, wondering at the interruption, asked Columba to send away the miserable and forlorn boy. However, the holy Abbot checked them, and then, turning to the youth, desired him to extend his tongue. Having done so, the saint blessed it, and prophesied thus: "Although this boy seems ungraceful and miserable, contemn him not; for he shall please and not displease you, in a time to come; he shall make daily progress in virtue and holy conversation; so that henceforward, his wisdom and prudence are destined to improve. He shall become a worthy member in this congregation, while the Almighty shall cause his tongue to speak words of eloquence and of sound doctrine." This authentic statement, Adamnan received from a predecessor in the monastery at Iona, namely, St. Failbe, who heard Ernan himself relate this prophecy, in the presence of St. Seghine, Abbot over Iona from 623 to 652. Notwithstanding, the foregoing circumstantial narrative, this saint is said to have been the maternal uncle of St. Columba, who is named Ernanus, and who was the companion of his migration to Scotland. Now this departure for Iona must have taken place, probably before the period of the present saint's birth. This identification, and family relationship, however, would appear to have been a mistake of Colgan.

We are at a loss to know the particulars of our saint's early life, or where he had studied. It may have been at Clonmacnois, and under the direction of his senior and contemporary, the Abbot St. Alither. However, he appears to have lived afterwards at Rath Noi, and most likely he built a church there. Through all the churches of Ireland, he was celebrated. The place here mentioned, in connection with him, is the present old village of Rathnew, in the County of Wicklow, while the district of Ui Garrchon, in which it is situated, extended through the barony of Newcastle, and along the sea-shore. It is one of the few ancient places, that has escaped the chicanery and land-grabbing greed in Ireland, and which have served to confiscate commonage tenures of so many villages and lands throughout the Island, especially during the last two centuries. The villagers are free of rent, and prize their small huts and gardens to that degree, that they are disinclined to part with them for almost any money consideration. The old church ruins and burial-ground, about two miles north-west of Wicklow town, are situated in the very midst of an irregularly built group of cabins, on the high road leading towards Dublin. Only a fragment of the east gable now appears standing; but, the church formerly consisted of a nave and choir. Since their decay those walls, now level with the ground, sufficiently reveal the dimensions and plan. Interiorly, the nave measured 58 feet in length, by 20 feet in width; while the choir was 19 feet in length, by 20 feet in breadth. The cross wall was about two and a-half feet in thickness; but, all the outer walls, on an average, were nearly three feet. The graveyard is enclosed with a modern wall, and the ground-surface is considerably elevated over the adjoining lanes. The burial-ground is still much used for interments. Some pieces of dressed stones, used for former doorways or windows, lie at the head of certain graves. The people of Rathnew village and neighbourhood have no more special or interesting traditions regarding the church, than its being of extreme antiquity, and as they state, almost as old as the time of St. Patrick. The scenery around Rathnew is exquisite, as any to be found in the picturesque and romantic County of Wicklow. The fine woods and beautiful demesne of Rosana are very near this village.

It is said, that a saint named Ethernanus, or more properly Ernan, wrote St. Columba's Life, and, moreover, that he was nephew to the great archimandrite, on the side of his sister. This statement, however, seems to rest solely on the authority of Dempster. The spot known as Cilldraighnech, according to the O'Clerys, in Ui-Drona, is said to have been a place, having some connection with the present saint. It is now called Killdreenagh, a townland in Dunleckney parish, County of Carlow. The Ui Drona, or posterity of Drona, descended from Cathaeir Mar, and besides possessing the territory alluded to, they held part of the diocese of Kildare and Leighlin, lying near the western side of the River Barrow, and around the town of Graiguenamanagh. Ui-Drona is now represented by the baronies of Idrone in the County of Carlow. This is the identification of his place, as arrived at by the Calendarists of Cashel and by Marianus O'Gorman. However, we believe, the Cill-draighnech having more immediate reference to our saint was the Killadrina, or Killadrenan, not far from Rathnew, and in the County of Wicklow. Of this, a notice and an illustration have been already furnished, when treating about St. Coemgin or Kevin, Abbot of Glendalough, at the 3rd day of June.

The Annals of Ulster record the death of St. Ernin, at A.D. 634. Those of Tighernach have placed it at A.D. 635. The Four Masters have no record of this saint. St. Ernan, i.e., Mernog, is recorded also in the Martyrology of Donegal at this day, as having belonged to the locality of Rath Noi, in Ui Garrchon, i.e., in Fortharta, of Leinster. The Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman, and his scholiast, as also the Calendar of Cashel and Feilire of St. Aengus, accord his festival to the 18th of August. St. Marnan's, or Marnock's festival is referred by Bishop Forbes, to the 1st of March, or to the 18th August, where he is identified with St. Ernenus or Ernin, i.e., Mernog of Rathnoi in Ui Garchon, i.e., in Fotharta, Leinster, and of Cill-draighnech in Ui Drona. This saint is known in Scotland as Marnan, or with the diminutive termination as Marnoch or Marnock. However, although the Scottish saint Marnan or Marnock is praised for his episcopal virtues and his gift for preaching the word of God, and so far resembling the Irish St. Ernan, yet it is not probable they could have been one and the same person. It may be well to observe, that the word Mernoc is a contraction of Mo-Ernin-occ. Such a name is preserved in the two Kilmarnocks and also in Inchmarnoc, Scotland. The prefix mo, signifying "my," and the suffix occ, meaning "little," indicate the idea of affection and familiarity, as annexed to the original name. Of late years, a handsome Catholic Chapel has been built at Rathnew, by Rev. Canon William Dillon, P.P. of Wicklow, and it has been dedicated to St. Ernin.

Irish Saints of August: Iero of Egmond

2011-08-30T08:00:00.008+01:00

Last year I divided Canon O'Hanlon's substantial account of the life and martyrdom of Saint Iero commemorated today, 17 August on the Julian calendar, into two parts. This is the second and concluding part of the original entry from the Lives of the Irish Saints and in it Canon O"Hanlon presents the story of the discovery and translation of the Irish martyr's relics. The first part which describes the events leading to the saint's heroic death can be found here. The manner of the discovery, where the saint appears to a pious layman and instructs him where to find his remains, is a commonplace of medieval hagiography. Yet lest anyone should think that this is something confined to the pages of long-gone history, it is worth reflecting that in 1959 the graves of three Greek Orthodox saints martyred by the Turks in the 15th century on the island of Lesvos, were revealed in a series of dreams and visions, as was the existence of another martyr under the Turkish yoke, Ephraim of Nea-Makri, in 1950. Such saints are known as 'newly-revealed' for there is no other record of their existence, but in the case of St Iero, it was more of a rediscovery of someone whose historical existence had been known but the site of whose grave had, as Canon O'Hanlon suggests, been forgotten or neglected:

DISCOVERY OF HIS SACRED REMAINS—TRANSLATION OF HIS BODY TO EGMONT—DISCOVERY OF HIS HEAD AND ITS PRESERVATION

After these events [i.e. Saint Iero's martyrdom], one hundred years had elapsed, and the place of St. Iero's burial appears to have been forgotten or neglected, when in the year 955, a pious and an humble layman, named Nothbod, who lived near the spot, had a vision one night, during which a venerable man of large stature, and having a beautiful countenance, appeared to that agriculturalist. This apparition so unusual filled him with fear and astonishment. Nevertheless, the figure spoke and said: "Fear not, nor be under any apprehension, dear brother, for the labour of thy hands hath sanctified thee, and the charities thou hast bestowed have cleared thy soul from the stains of sin, so that thou art worthy to behold the face of thy fellow-servants, now reigning with the Almighty, and to hold communion with them. Wherefore, it has been granted me, one of these servants, to appear in a vision to thee, through God's grace; and, learn now, that thou art to raise my remains, so long neglected, and to manifest in a public manner my deserts in the kingdom of Heaven." Fearing this apparition and these words might be designed to ensnare him through some illusion of Satan, Nothbod first armed himself with a sign of the cross. Then comforted with the sweet tone of speech heard, he enquired who the spirit was, and he received for answer: "O good man, I congratulate you on the faith you have in that sign of the holy cross, as a shield against every diabolic effort. Not as you think am I a phantasm, I was conceived like you in sin, but, I was born, so that I should suffer the tribulations of humanity, and now justified through the grace of God, I enjoy the happiness of eternal life." He then related, how having loved and served God, he had been brought through the palm of martyrdom to the rewards of Heaven. He added moreover: “Now go to the village called Noortwyck, and there shall you find my tomb, composed of small stones, and formed in the barren sand. Bear my remains to the place called Egmond, which has been rescued from the foulness of idolatry, through the distinguished merits of St. Adalbert. Do not hesitate to deposit them, in the sanctuary of that place; for, He who enabled me to overcome earthly trials has also desired them to be preserved in such a tabernacle."

Having spoke these words, the apparition vanished. However, the pious countryman resolved to wait a further confirmation of this command, while he prayed to the Almighty most earnestly, with humility of spirit and contrition of heart, and with fasting, that the vision might be repeated a second and a third time. Again, St. Iero appeared, and Nothbod was warned, that he should not be so slow, in manifesting obedience to the will of God, and that he should not contemn the divine mandate, lest he might suffer punishment in the next life for such inexcusable neglect. Yet, was the admonition disregarded, until it happened, that thieves stole some horses from the pasture of a certain man while he was asleep. They were concealed in a recess the robbers had selected for that purpose. On missing those animals, the owner collected a band of friends and servants, to search for them. After great fatigue, towards the decline of day, that company reached a very intricate place, from which they saw no outlet, and they were wearied. There, the man told his friends to rest and to take some refreshment. Afterwards, they fell asleep. Meantime, St. Iero appeared to one of these men, who was just and holy, and he said: "Arise, and tell Nothbod, that no longer must he delay to fulfil the divine commands; for, in the eastern part of the plain, and to the right hand of it, from the place where he sleeps this night, he shall find my tomb. And, as unbelievers demand a sign, when morning dawns, go to the adjoining wood, where without doubt you shall find the horses that have been lost." On awaking, this man told his companions to arise, as the Almighty had even deigned to discover that place, where the horses should be found.

Having entered the wood a little distance from the highway, the horses were met with, and tied to stakes, as they had been left by the robbers. This fulfillment of the prediction caused the man to relate all he had learned in the vision to Nothbod, and those directions he had received. This was a source of great joy to Nothbod, because additional evidence had been procured, to corroborate what had been already manifested to him. When the others had left for home, both of these taking sacks with them began to dig in the spot shown to them. Soon they found a box, containing the precious remains of St. Iero, and to their great joy. At once, they conveyed a special message to St. Baldric the holy bishop of Utrecht, and to Theodric II., Count of Holland, that they should come to the spot, so soon as they possibly could, and that the relics might be brought to that destined place, where they were to be held in special veneration.

The Count was a man distinguished for his religious life, as had been the saintly prelate, and both were greatly rejoiced to hear about the discovery of St. Iero's relics; but, before proceeding further, a three days' fast was directed for observance in the whole diocese. Then they approached the tomb, whence proceeded a fragrant odour, and they gave praise to the Almighty, for thus manifesting his power and goodness. The remains of St. Iero were then raised, and at first placed in fine linen, while hymns and canticles of praise were sung, as a procession formed along the road which led by the sea. Great crowds of men and women assembled, at a grove, which was called Rynmeer. Then, another great miracle was witnessed. A coffin was wanting to enclose the relics, and to their great amazement, one was seen floating on the sea-waves, and it was suddenly cast on shore.

The body of this holy martyr was afterwards translated to Egmont, by Count Theodoric II., where in the Benedictine Abbey of St. Adalbert, it has been since preserved, with every mark of respect and religious veneration. There are three villages named Egmont, in the province of North Holland, and a few miles west of Alkmaer. That lying nearest to the sea is called Egmond-aan-Zee - further inland, and on the other side of a sand-hill ridge, is Egmond-opden-Hoef; and about one mile or more, south of it, stands Egmond-Binnen or Inner Egmont.

The saint's head had not been found, however, when the body had been taken from its tomb; but, many years afterwards, it pleased the Almighty to show his wonders to the people of Noortwyck, who resolved on building a church on that spot where St. Iero's relics had so long lain. When the workmen opened a foundation for the altar, to their great joy they found the skull of the holy martyr. Then, without any human agency, the bells of the village church began to ring. The people were in admiration, and said that angels were causing this joyous chime. They gave praise to Almighty God for his bounties to them. Taking the venerable head, it was deposited with becoming honour and ceremony within the sanctuary. In times subsequent, innumerable bands of pilgrims flocked to St. Iero's shrine, even from the most distant places, to pray and to ask many temporal and spiritual favours, through his intercession.

Nor were miracles wanting to confirm the fame of his sanctity. On the 15th of November, 1429, to encourage devotion towards our saint, Bishop Sueder of Utrecht issued a Decree or Pastoral, in which it was announced, that the festival of St. Iero should be observed each year, with like solemnity as that of St. Laurence, the martyr, throughout his diocese. Moreover, he granted an Indulgence of Forty Days to all, who should visit the parochial church of Noirtich (Noordwyck), on his Feast-day, or on any other occasion of a procession in it, or for the celebration of Mass there in his honour, or who should contribute means or ornaments for the decent maintenance of the church.

Throughout Holland, the festival and reverence for St. Iero have long been observed. Among the people, moreover, a belief grew up, that through his pious invocation objects lost were sure to be recovered. It seems to be in allusion to this belief, that St. Jeron has been represented in art, as a Priest, with hooded falcon on his hand and bearing a sword; also, in a Priest's cassock over a suit of armour, and a falcon on his left hand, not hooded, his right hand holding up the cassock, so as to display the armour on his right leg; likewise, in a Priest's cassock, with a falcon on his left hand. While the sword was emblematic of his martyrdom; the falcon—a bird said to have a peculiar instinct of searching for things buried—represents the other prevailing popular tradition.

Irish Saints of August: Lughan

2011-08-29T16:41:00.000+01:00

Today, August 16 on the Julian calendar, is one of those days on the Irish calendars when all we have are the records of the names of the saints to be commemorated but no further surviving information. Canon O'Hanlon leads off with a Saint Lughan or Lugain who presumably was one of the earlier saints, as his name appears in the earliest of the surviving Irish calendars, the Martyrology of Tallaght. His name is repeated first in the late 12th-century Martyrology of Gorman and subsequently in the 17th-century Martyrology of Donegal, again without any notes or further indications of when and where he may have flourished.

Irish Saints of August: The Daughters of Carpre

2011-08-28T08:00:00.003+01:00

Today, August 15 on the Julian calendar, the earliest of the Irish calendars commemorates a group of holy women known collectively as the daughters of Carpre. How many sisters this group comprised is not recorded, indeed apart from a notice in The Martyrology of Tallaght appended to the name of the male saint Saran, also commemorated on this day, nothing more is known of them as Canon O'Hanlon explains:

Feast of Carpre's Daughters.

In addition to the Festival and veneration observed at this date, as we read in the published Martyrology of Tallaght, for Firdacrioch et St. Saran, the Daughters of Carpre are likewise commemorated. In that copy, contained in the Book of Leinster, they are also noticed, at the 15th of August. Further light we cannot obtain, regarding these holy women, who are not mentioned at this date, in the Martyrology of Donegal.

Irish Saints of August: Echlech, Cuimmein and Coemhan

2011-08-27T08:00:00.100+01:00

Today, August 14 on the Julian calendar, is the feast of a trio of brothers, the three sons of Daighre - Echlech, Cuimmein and Coemhan. Canon O'Hanlon suggests that they should be located within the County Kerry parish of Kilcummin and in his account provides a glimpse into the traditional pious practices of the Irish countryside. Canon O'Hanlon's source here is the Ordnance survey scholar, John O'Donovan, who was writing in 1841. The letters of O'Donovan and his colleagues are an important source of information on the Irish saints as they record the existence of sites, devotional practices and traditions regarding the saints in the various places they visited. Often the dates they noted for pattern days can give a clue to the commemoration of the feastdays of the saints in the local areas. In this case, however, the people seemed to have gathered at the holy well not on August 14 but on the eve of May 1, which probably reflects the agricultural rather than the ecclesiastical calendar:

Saints Echlech, Cuimmein and Coemhan, three Sons of Daighre.

In the Martyrology of Tallagh, Cummine, Caeman and Aicclig, are the names set down in separate lines and in the preceding order, but without any further designation of their parentage. In that copy, contained in the Book of Leinster, they are placed in like order. In the Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman, these saints are commemorated at this date... There is a parish dedicated to a saint having the name of Cummein, and which is called Kilcummin. It is situated in the barony of Magunihy, County of Kerry. The old church belonging to this parish is situated on a ridge of fertile land, within the glebe of Kilcummin. In 1841, it measured on the inside 56 feet in length, and 19 feet 6 inches in breadth. Its side walls were 3 feet 5 inches in thickness, and 10 feet in height; being built of green unequally sized stones, cemented with lime and sand mortar. The west gable was destroyed nearly down to the ground; only 3 feet of its height then remaining, but the other walls were nearly perfect. The internal portion of the east window was disfigured, but its external part was in a state of excellent preservation. The window, measuring 5 feet 2 inches in height, and 11 inches in width, was pointed and formed of cut lime stone; the sill was 4 feet 8 inches, from the outside ground level. At the distance of 8 feet from an east gable, there was a window in the south wall. This had been destroyed on both sides, with the exception of one stone left on either external side, These were chiselled lime-stones, and the distance between them was only 7 inches. A rude representation of the head and face of St. Cummin—as is believed—was carved on brown sand stone, which projected from the wall, near the northern extremity of the east gable and on the outside. There was also a large graveyard attached to this church. In the townland of Gortnagowan, in the east division of this parish, there stood a caher or circular stone fort, called Caher-Crovderg, i.e., the Fort of the Red-handed. On the eastern side of it, a holy well lay, at which stations were performed by the peasantry, on May eve. They also drove their cattle into the fort, and made them drink the water of this holy well, which was believed to possess the efficacy of preserving their animals from all contagious distempers, during the ensuing year. Colgan thinks St. Coeman, a deacon, and a disciple of St. Patrick, to be identical with one of these saints. He was set over the church of Ard-lice, commonly called Sean Domhnach. In the O'Clerys' Calendar of Donegal, we find the three sons of Daighre, Echlech, Cuimmein and Caemhan, had veneration given them at the 14th of August.

Irish Saints of August: Molacca, Son of Cairthenn

2011-08-26T09:28:00.000+01:00

Today, August 13 on the Julian calendar, the Irish calendars record the commemoration of Molacca, the son of Cairthenn. Nothing else appears to be known of him, although Canon O'Hanlon does his best by supplying the suggestions of the scholiast from the Martyrology of Donegal and of the great 17th-century hagiologist, Father John Colgan. Two other saints commemorated today can also be found on the blog, the Anglo-Saxon missionary who studied in Ireland, Saint Wigbert and one of our enigmatic female saints, Brigid of Cluain-diolama.

St. Molacca, Son of Cairthenn.

Veneration was given, at the 13th of August to Moloca mac Cairthen, as we find entered in the published Martyrology of Tallagh. In the Martyrology of Donegal, this saint is set down as Molacca, son of Cairthenn. There is a Molaga, of Saingel, adds the Calendarist, and who tells us that he belonged to the race of Conall Eachluath, who was of the posterity of Corbmac Cas, son to Oilioli Olum. There are different holy men bearing the name of Molacus or Molagius, tantamount to Molacca. Colgan supposes the present may possibly be identified with a Molocus, surnamed the Devout, of Inis-tiprad, near Limerick, and who assisted at the obsequies of St. Senan, Abbot of Iniscathy, about the middle of the sixth century. He is recorded by Marianus O'Gorman, at the same date.

Irish Saints of August: Ségéne of Iona

2011-08-25T17:28:00.000+01:00

Today, August 12 on the Church calendar, is the commemoration of the fifth abbot of Iona, Saint Ségéne. This is the accepted version of the saint's name today, Canon O'Hanlon in his account brings us all of its variations as he does for the island of Iona which appears in its various forms as Hi, Hy, Ia and the genitive form Iae. If that weren't enough to contend with, we are also faced with the problem of identifying the island known as 'Rathlin' where our saint founded a church. To a northern woman like myself Rathlin island is that place off the County Antrim coast with many historic links to Scotland, but it seems that in this case it may be a place we recently encountered on the blog, Lambay island off the coast of County Dublin. Saint Ségéne had a long and interesting reign as a successor to Saint Columcille of Iona, he was one of those related by blood to the founder and he featured prominently in the Paschal Dating Controversy. Ségéne was one of those implacably opposed to accepting the Roman computation for the date of Easter. Why the Bollandists appear to have had reservations about including him I am not sure, the Abbot's feast is marked on the Irish calendars of the saints both early and late and his repose noted in the Irish annals. I have also been reading an account of this saint by a modern scholar, Professor Máire Herbert, who has some interesting observations to make on the contribution made by Saint Ségéne to the development of the hagiographical school on Iona. She argues that he directly encouraged his nephew and eventual successor Cuimine the Fair to compile a life of their kinsman and founder. The hagiographical endeavours at Iona of course flowered in the famous Life of Columba by the ninth abbot, Saint Adamnan, but Prof. Herbert argues that the foundations were laid under Ségéne. Perhaps next year I will bring a summary of her thoughts on this saint as he seems to have been a rather more important figure than perhaps Canon O'Hanlon's account below suggests:

St. Seighin, Abbot of Iona, and Founder of the Church on Rathlin Island, County of Antrim.

The festival of the celebrated Segene, is commemorated on this day, in the "Feilire" of St. Aengus. The commentator observes, that he was Abbot of Hi of Colomb Cille. The Martyrology of Tallagh mentions, that veneration was given at the 12th of August to Segene, Abbot, Iae. The Bollandists have a notice of Segenus or Segeneus, Abbot of Hy, at the 12th of August, while remarking, that Dempster and Camerarius noted it at the 7th of April; but, they express a doubt, regarding the propriety of numbering him in a Catalogue of the Saints. He is called Segineus, son of Fiachrius, son to Feradac, son of Ferguss, son of Conall Gulban. A commentator on the Donegal Martyrology makes Seghin the son of Fachtna while the Irish Saints' Genealogies state, he was son of Fiachra, or of Ronan. Segeni, Abbot of Ia, is commemorated on the same day, in the Festilogium of the Psalter of Cashel. He was nephew to Laisren, the third Abbot of Iona. He is said to have built a church on Rachrainn, Ragharee or Rathlinn Island, A.D. 630, 632, 634, or 635, according to various statements. Dr. O'Conor, however, considers him to be only the restorer of this church. This idea he appears to have entertained, because St. Columkille is said to have been the original erector of Rachrann church. But, it would appear from Prince O'Donnell's Life of St. Columkille, as also from various other authorities, that the Island of Rachrainn, on which this holy man built the church, belonged to the east of Bregia. It was, in fact, the ancient name of Lambay Island, off the coast of the County Dublin. Adamnan refers to Segene as being the informant of Failbeus, his own immediate predecessor, for certain particulars which are set down in the Life of St. Columba. The Venerable Bede mentions him as presbyter and abbot. He succeeded Fergna Brit, in the year 623; and thus, he was the fifth abbot, in order of time, who followed after St. Columba. He ceased to rule the community at Iona in 652. He was a zealous advocate for the old Irish Paschal observance. He was addressed in 634 by Cummian, in an Epistle on the Paschal observance. The clergy of Rome, in 640, wrote to him another epistle on that same subject. The death of this present saint took place in the year 642, according to the Annals of Inisfallen, or A.D. 651, according to Ussher; or A.D. 652, according to the Annals of Tighernach, and of Ulster. He is registered in the Martyrology of Donegal, at the same date, as Seighin, son of Fochtua, Abbot of Ia-Coluim-Cille. Also his feast is recorded, at this day, in the Kalendar of Drummond.

Irish Saints of August: Liadhain of Killyon

2011-08-24T11:05:00.002+01:00

Today, August 11 on the Julian calendar, we have an unusually large number of female saints commemorated on the Irish calendars. Among them are Saint Attracta and Saint Lelia and now we can meet another holy lady whose feast occurs on this day, Liadhain of Killyon. We have already been introduced to Saint Liadhain on the blog when discussing the feast of Saint Brunsecha. Tradition says that Liadhain was the mother of the man known as the 'firstborn of the saints of Ireland', Ciarán of Saighir, and that she was also a monastic foundress in her own right. Canon O'Hanlon tell us what else is known of this mother of saints and of the efforts of the 19th-century scholar John O'Donovan to identify the locality where she flourished:

St, Liadhain, Abbess, of Killyon, King's County.

[Fifth or Sixth Century.]

This holy woman, according to received traditions, must have flourished during the very infancy of Christianity in Ireland. According to the Martyrology of Donegal, a festival was celebrated, at the 11th of August, to honour Liadhain, daughter of Eochaidh. She descended from the race of Laighaire, the son of Niall. We are told, she was mother to Ciaran of Saigher, and the first Abbess among the virgins—i.e., female—saints of Ireland. There was a religious establishment at a place called Killiadhuin, supposed to have been founded by the present saint, and named after her. It is now identified with Killyon, near Seir-Kieran. Two acres of land are said to have been under the old buildings; but, only a small portion of the walls are now be seen. Already allusion is made to this place, on the banks of the small stream, called the Camcor River. At one time, John O'Donovan thought the parish of Killyon, in the barony of Upper Moyfenrath, in the County of Meath, had been that specially dedicated to St. Lidania. This parish of Killyon is bounded on the north by the parish of Killaconnican; on the east by the parishes of Castlerickard and Clonard; oh the south by the latter parish, and on the west by the County of Westmeath. There were detached portions of this parish within that of Clonard. However, this opinion of Mr. O'Donovan was afterwards retracted, although, as he supposes, and with a great possibility of conjecture, that the parish of Killian, in the County of Meath, had also been dedicated to the present saint. The remains of an ancient church are in a cemetery. There was a holy well in the churchyard, at the gable of the old church. This was said to have been dedicated to the Virgin Mary; but, as the traditions were just extinct in the district, when he visited that locality [in the 1830s], Mr. O'Donovan could place little reliance on them. Under the rule of St. Liadhain or Liadania, lived St. Brunsecha, a holy virgin. Both are supposed to have flourished in the fifth or sixth century.

The Arrival of Saint Maelruain with the Relics of the Saints at Tallaght

2011-08-23T09:59:00.000+01:00

Today, August 10 on the Julian calendar, Canon O'Hanlon has a notice of a wonderful feast of the translation of the relics of the saints by Saint Maelruain of Tallaght:

The Arrival or St. Maolruain, with the Relics of Virgins and of other Saints, at Tallagh, County of Dublin.

In the Martyrology of Tallagh, we find a festival for this day, as characterized at the head of this paragraph. We learn from the Life of St. Aengus, the Culdee, that he often travelled about, engaged on inquiries, which enabled him to illustrate the Saint-History of Ireland. Doubtless, he failed not to collect some relics of those holy persons, whenever he travelled abroad; and, it is likely, that his distinguished superior and local contemporary, St. Maelruan, who had kindred tastes, made special journeys for similar purposes. One of these returns must have been solemnly commemorated at Tallagh, in the eighth century, and before the death of St. Maelruan, on the 7th July, 792. That commemoration was probably continued annually, on this day, and at that particular place, in recognition of those treasures deposited by the holy founder in the house of his religious community.

This would have been a purely local commemoration specific to this County Dublin monastery, and scholar Westley Follett suggests that it may in fact commemorate the anniversary of its founding:

According to the Annals of the Four Masters Tallaght was founded in 774. The Martyrology of Tallaght appears to commemorate the occasion on 10 August with the notice 'Mael Ruain came to Tallaght with his relics of the saints, martyrs and virgins'. [1]

This feast thus gives us a glimpse into the development of the cult of the saints in eighth-century Ireland as well as the part played by this particular monastery. Tallaght is perhaps most famously associated with the Céile-Dé movement, but also left a lasting hagiological legacy. For this monastery was associated with the production of the earliest surviving Irish calendars of the saints, The Martyrology of Tallaght and the Martyrology of Aengus. The former is essentially a copy of the Hieronymian Martyrology which reached Ireland in the eighth century (possibly via Iona) to which the commemorations of native Irish saints was added. Follett comments:

It should not be overlooked that non-Irish saints were venerated at Tallaght. The Martyrology of Tallaght (edd. Best and Lawlor, 62) commemorates August 10 with the comment, 'Mael Ruain cum suis reliquiis sanctorum martirum et uirginum ad Tamlachtain uenit'. Given the paucity of native martyrs in Ireland, we may presume these were the relics of non-Irish martyrs. [2]

Various sources connected to the monastery of Tallaght give a further glimpse of devotion to the saints. The Preface to the Martyrology of Aengus, which scholars seem to agree used The Martyrology of Tallaght as a source and was written within a generation of the time of Maelruain, records a particular devotion to Saint Michael the Archangel on the part of Maelruain and claims that relics of the archangel were kept at Tallaght:

Now it is that Maelruain who decided that he would not take land in Tamlachtu until Michael (the Archangel), with whom he had a friendship, should take it; and because of that agreement there are in Tamlachtu relics consecrated to Michael. [3]

Follett also quotes two further Tallaght documents which show how devotion to the saints was practiced as part of the monastic day. The first is from The Teaching of Maelruain:

It was their practice that one man should read aloud the Gospel and the Rules and miracles of the saints while their brethern were at their rations or eating their supper, so that their attention should not be occupied with their dinner. [4]

and is confirmed in The Rule of the Céile-Dé:

It is the practice of the Céile-Dé that while they are at dinner one of them reads aloud the Gospel and the Rule and the miracles of the saints, to the end that their minds may be set on God, not on the meal. [5]

Finally, there is a post in the archive on an even earlier Irish saint with an interest in collecting the relics of Ireland's holy men and women, Saint Onchu of Clonmore. The scholiast notes on his feastday record the story of his over-enthusiasm when he insisted on collecting a finger from the still-living Saint Maedoc! As a result, Maedoc prophesied that the relic collector and his collection would never leave Clonmore. And thus the Connaght man Onchu, likened in the list of parallel saints to Saint Ambrose, came to be buried at the County Carlow monastery of Saint Maedoc.

References

[1] Céli Dé in Ireland: monastic writing and identity in the early Middle Ages (Boydell, 2006), 173.

[2] op.cit., 210, footnote 246.

[3] W. Stokes, ed. and trans., The Martyrology of Oengus the Culdee (London, 1905), 12-13.

[4] Follett, op.cit., 180.

[5] Ibid.

Irish Saints of August: Barrán

2011-08-22T08:00:00.003+01:00

Today, August 9 on the Julian calendar, is the feast of yet another of our enigmatic Irish female saints who has left only the record of her name and her feastday, as Canon O'Hanlon explains:

St. Barrán, Virgin.

The name of Barrán, Virgin, is found in the Martyrologies of Tallagh and of Donegal, at the 9th of August. Nothing more seems to be known regarding her.

Irish Saints of August: Daire

2011-08-21T08:00:00.056+01:00

Today, August 8 on the Julian calendar, the Irish calendars commemorate Saint Daire (Daria). In his account of this holy woman Canon O'Hanlon helpfully lists the three saints who bear this name and attempts to specify which of these might have been our saint of August. One clue is that two are classified as widows whereas today's Daire is a virgin saint. This leads Canon O'Hanlon to wonder if she might be the blind nun Daire mentioned in the hagiography of Saint Brigid, even though he had been somewhat more lukewarm about the possibility when discussing the miracle of Saint Daire in his February entry for Saint Brigid. We can look at the account of this miracle now from Volume 2 of the Lives of the Irish Saints, before proceeding to the entry for the day from Volume 8:

No matter how far we may dissent from the details of various legendary narratives, we must admit the spell of a charming treatment and a sublime moral lesson in the following story, related almost in the words of an accomplished writer [Baring-Gould], alluding to St. Brigid. One evening, she sat with Sister Dara, or Daria, a holy nun, who was blind, as the sun went down; and they talked of the love of Jesus Christ, and the joys of Paradise. Now, their hearts were so full, the night fled away whilst they spoke together, and neither knew that so many hours had sped. Then the sun came up from the Wicklow mountains, and the pure white light made the face of earth bright and gay. Bridget sighed, when she saw how lovely were earth and sky, and while she knew that Dara's eyes were closed to all this beauty. So she bowed her head and prayed. She extended her hand and signed the dark orbs of the gentle sister. Then the darkness passed away from them, and Dara saw the golden ball in the east, while all the trees and flowers glittered with dew in the morning Hght. She looked a little while, and then, turning to the abbess, said: "Close my eyes again, dear mother, for when the world is so visible to the eyes, God is seen less clearly to the soul." So Bridget prayed once more, and Dara's eyes grew dark again.

St. Daria, or Daire, Virgin.

At the 8th day of August, a festival for Daria, a holy Virgin, is entered in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, as also in the Book of Leinster copy. Marianus O'Gorman and Cathal Maguire have inserted the name of this holy Virgin in their respective Calendars. The Bollandists notice her, likewise, at the 8th of August.

There are three saints having this name to be found in the Irish Martyrologies. The first is St. Daria, Virgin, who died in the eighteenth year of her age, and on the 8th of August, as mentioned at this day. The second is St. Daria, Widow, named Bochana, who is venerated on the 2nd of November. The third St. Daria was a widow, likewise, and she was venerated on the 26th of October. It has been thought most probable, that the present holy virgin is more likely than any other bearing the same name and venerated in our Calendars, to have been that St. Daria mentioned in the Acts of St. Brigid, and who was one of her nuns. If so, she is said to have been blind from the time of her birth, and she must have flourished towards the close of the fifth or beginning of the sixth century. The Martyrology of Donegal registers a festival at the 8th of August, in honour of Daire, Virgin. It likewise adds, that from earlier records, her age was eighty years; and, in the Table thereto appended her name is Latinized, Daria, Virgo.

Irish Saints of August: Cronan of Moville

2011-08-20T08:00:00.003+01:00

Following on the heels of Saint Cronan of Clondalkin, whose feast we celebrated yesterday, we commemorate another Saint Cronan, today, August 7 on the Julian calendar, this one a seventh-century abbot associated with the County Down monastery of Moville. Whilst once again we do not have many details about our saint as an individual, it is thought that he was one of those mentioned in an exchange of letters between Irish clerics and the Pope during the Paschal dating controversy of the seventh century. Before moving to Canon O'Hanlon's account, we can start with a few details from one of his contemporaries, Father James O'Laverty, who writes on the monastery of Moville in the second volume of his diocesan history of Down and Connor:

The ruins of the Abbey Church of Moville stand about a mile to the N.E. of Newtownards. It was founded about the year 540 by St. Finnian, or, as he is sometimes called, Findbarr (Whitehead), from the whiteness of his hair...Moville, under Finnian, became one of the greatest schools in Ireland... The Church of Moville was ruled until about the middle of the eighth century by successors of St, Finnian, in whom were united the dignities of bishop and abbot; but after the year 731 Moville is noticed in the Annals only as governed by abbots. The Four Masters record:

A.D. 659. "St. Cronan of Moville died on the 7th day of the month of August." This is the "Cromanus Presbyter," whose name appears in the letter written from Rome about the year 640 to the Irish clergy.

Rev. J. O'Laverty, An Historical Account of the Diocese of Down and Connor, Vol. II (Dublin, 1880), 10-27.

ST CRONAN, OF MOVILLE, COUNTY OF DOWN.
[SEVENTH CENTURY]

ACCORDING to the Martyrologies of Tallagh and of Donegal, veneration was given, at the 7th day of August, to Cronan, of Magh-bile. This is said to have been the "Cromanus presbyter," whose name appears in the superscription of that letter written from Rome, A.D. 640. Further particulars relating to this Epistle have been already recorded, in the Life of Diman or Dima Dubh, Bishop of Connor. The holy man Cronan, of Maghbile, died in the year 647, according to the Annals of Clonmacnoise; but, in A.D. 649, according to those of Ulster, and of the Four Masters.

Irish Saints of August: Cronan Mochua of Clondalkin

2011-08-19T08:00:00.031+01:00

Today, August 6 on the Julian calendar, is the commemoration of a County Dublin holy man and monastic founder, Cronan Mochua of Clondalkin. In his account of the saint below, Canon O'Hanlon is unable to bring us many specific details of Saint Mochua as an individual, but compensates by supplying a later history of the monastery he founded. It is impossible for me to reproduce the many footnotes which cite the sources for this history, but if you are interested in following up on any of the references, Volume 8 of the Lives of the Irish Saints is available through the Internet Archive. The references to monastic foundations and their abbots in the various Irish annals is often a clue to the perceived relative importance of the monastery. Clondalkin seems to have suffered at the hands of the Vikings in the ninth century but nevertheless continues to feature in the sources well into the twelfth century, when the potted history given here ends. This would suggest that it recovered from the raids by the 'foreigners', not all Irish monasteries were so fortunate. A couple of final points - I have transferred the stanza in the Martyrology of Oengus for the feast from the footnotes into the main text, but note that Canon O'Hanlon says this entry occurs on August 12. I assume that this is an accidental misquoting, for in the text of the Martyrology cited by the author, the stanza is indeed found on August 6.

ST. MOCHUA OR CRONAN, BISHOP AND ABBOT OF CLONDALKIN, COUNTY OF DUBLIN.

That St. Mochua lived at an early period in our ecclesiastical annals is sufficiently manifest, from the fact of his being recorded in the "Feilire" of St. Oengus, and at a time when Clondalkin had already been celebrated for its religious establishment. In the "Leabhar Breac" copy, the following stanza is to be found at the 12th day of August, and it has been translated by Whitley Stokes, LL.D. — Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy, Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i., part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, p.cxxii.

"Sixtus a Roman bishop bore upwards a buoyant troop:
with Mo-Chua a victorious prince, from multitudinous Cluain- Dolcain."

To this is added a comment, that he was the son of Lugdach or Lugaid, and that he was previously called Cronan. Thus: "Mochua, .i. Mac lugdach qui prius Cronan dictus est."—Ibid., p. cxxix.

According to the O'Clerys, Cronan, or Mochua, belonged to the race of Cathoir Mór, and he was also of the Lagenians. Cainer, of Cluain-da-Saileach, was his mother, and the mother of the other six sons of Lughaidh, who were saints, viz., Lasrain, Baedan, Garbhan, Baothin, Senchan, and Ruadhan. In the Martyrology of Tallagh, we find a festival recorded, at the 6th of August, in honor of Cronan, son of Lugdach. He is the same, we are told, as Mochua, of Cluana Dolcain. This place is now known as Clondalkin, a parish in the barony of Upper-Cross, and County of Dublin.

The first Abbot of this place was St. Mochua, and, it seems probable, he was the founder of a religious establishment there, at a very early period. We are told that he was known, likewise, by the alias name of St. Machotus. It is evident, from the accounts contained in the Irish Annals, which record the deaths of many successors in the monastery of Clondalkin, that Mochua cannot have flourished later than the eighth century, while it is quite possible he may have lived in a still earlier age. According to one authority, St. Mochua was a Bishop and Confessor, so that an ancient tradition seems to have prevailed, that he was elected to discharge the episcopal office here; but, whether for his own early religious community, or on behalf of the people residing near Clondalkin, cannot be ascertained. Frequently, in our Irish Annals, we find the abbatial and episcopal offices united in the same person.

We have on record the decease of these following Clondalkin Abbots, who succeeded the founder, at the several years hereafter named, viz : Aelbran Ua Lagudon, A.D. 776 [recte 781]; Ferfuguil or Fearfughuil, Bishop or Abbot, A.D. 784 [recte 789]; Feidhlimidh Ua Lugadon, A.D. 796 [recte 801]; and Tibraide, son of Rechtabhar, A.D. 828. Lying about four miles south-west of Dublin city, Clondalkin has a Round Tower, still in a good state of preservation. Adjoining it, in a graveyard, are the ruins of an old Church, which is separated from the Round Tower, by the public road, which leads into the town. The etymology of this place has been rendered into English, as meaning, Dolcan's Meadow.

Having established themselves very securely in Dublin, and in other cities around the coast, the Scandinavians meditated the entire conquest of Ireland. Being so near to Dublin, and almost necessary for their preservation within its walls, Clondalkin was held as an outpost and fortified. However, having adopted Christianity, together with its accompanying civilization, at an early period, Clondalkin seems to have still preserved its Irish inmates, in the monastery which had been there founded. It would appear, that Amhlaibh, King of the Danes in Dublin, had a fort or palace here; but, at what period it had been erected does not seem to be known. From him, it was called Dun-Amhlaeibh, signifying Auliffe's, Aulaft's or Amlafi's Fort. In the year 832, Clondalkin was plundered; and, as we are told, by the foreigners. In 865 or 866, Dun Amhlaeibh was set on fire, and destroyed by the son of Gaithen and by Mael Ciaran, the son of Ronan; while the Scandinavian defenders were slain, and one hundred heads of the foreigners were exhibited —according to the war usage of that period—after their slaughter at Cluain-Dolcain.

That Clondalkin was an ancient episcopal see appears from various entries in the Irish Annals. Besides St. Ferfugil, we read about the death of Bishop Cathal, son to Cormac, who was Abbot of Clondalkin, likewise, and who died A.D. 876, according to Archdall, or 879, according to the Annals of the Four Masters. During the ninth and tenth centuries, the abbatial succession at Clondalkin was kept up by Ronan, son of Cathal, who was abbot here, and he departed this life, A.D. 885. Maelinmhair Ua Glascon, abbot of Cluain-Dolcain, died A.D. 920. Duibhinnreachr, the son of Ronan, was abbot here, and he died A.D. 938.

In the year 1071, Clondalkin was burned; while the Annals of the Four Masters record at the same date the burning of Kildare and of Glendalough. These fires were probably accidental. About this period, a son of Maeldalua appears to have been chosen as an Abbot in Cluain-Dolcain; but, one Ua Ronain had usurped the Abbacy, and this was the occasion of a great scandal. In the year 1076, Clondalkin was again invaded; for, at this date, an aimy was led by the clergy of Leath-Mhogha, with the son of Maeldalua, to Cluain-Dolcain, to expel Ua-Ronain from that place, after he had assumed the abbacy in violation of the right of the son of Maeldalua. On this occasion, a church, with its land, at Cluain-Dolcain, was granted to Culdees forever, together with twelve score cows. These were given' as a mulct to the son of Maeldalua. In 1086, the death of Fachna, Archdeacon of Clondalkin, is recorded. In the Annals of the Four Masters, at the same date, he is styled Fiachna Ua Ronain. In the year 1152, when the Synod of Kells assembled, the rural bishopric of Clondalkin was united to the See of Dublin. Afterwards, in 1179, Pope Alexander confirmed Clondalkin, with all its appurtenances, to the See of Dublin; while the old Danish or Irish occupants of a large portion of the land, Macgilleholmoc and Dervorgilla, his wife, surrendered to the use of its Church—expressly called the Church of St. Machotus—all their ancient inheritance. About the year 1184, Prince John, King of Ireland, confirmed by charter Clondalkin and its tithes to the see of Dublin, as did Pope Clement III., in 1187, Pope Celestine III., in 1191, and his successor, Pope Innocent III., in 1218. Clondalkin Church, the old ruins, the Round Tower, and a rude Celtic cross, are shown in Grose's "Antiquities of Ireland." This church was made prebendal by Archbishop John Comyn; and afterwards, Henry de Loundres, who succeeded in the see of Dublin, established the dignity of Dean for St. Patrick's Church, assigning for his support the Church of Clondalkin, with its appurtenances. Furthermore, this locality has an interesting medieval history.

No records, which might serve to elucidate the acts of St. Mochua, founder of Clondalkin, have been preserved. Neither has the year for his happy departure to a brighter and better world been ascertained. At the 6th of August, the Martyrology of Donegal registers the feast of St. Mochua of Cluain Dolcain. He was also venerated in Scotland, at this date, as we find his name in the Martyrology of Drummond, as having been a Bishop and Confessor. Local traditions have survived the lapse of time, and on that day, the people living in and near Clondalkin formerly held a patron at St. Mochua's well, near Celbridge, in the parish of Kildrought, and Donoghcumper, in the County of Kildare.

Saints of August: Oswald of Northumbria

2011-08-18T08:00:00.035+01:00

Last year on the feast of Saint Aidan of Lindisfarne, I reprinted an extract from a book on Irish saints in Britain by the then Bishop of Ossory, P.F. Moran. I omitted the account of the death of Saint Aidan's royal protégé, King Oswald of Northumbria, at that time as I felt it deserved a separate posting in its own right. Today, August 5 on the Julian calendar, is the feastday of Saint Oswald and so below is Bishop Moran's account of his heroic death and of his wonderworking relics. The author also provides some very good reasons why the memory of this holy king should be cherished by the Irish. An Orthodox liturgical service in honour of Saint Oswald can be found here, a card of the icon depicted to the left can be obtained from The Saint George Orthodox Information Service.

...From the outset of his episcopate, St. Aidan was not without anxieties and sorrows. Above all he was overwhelmed with affliction by the death of Oswald, on the field of battle, in 642. This dire calamity fell upon the Northumbrian church and kingdom at the hands of Penda, the pagan king of Mercia. For two years war had raged between Northumbria and Mercia, and Oswald had been so far successful that he added the district of Lindsey, with its chief town of Lincoln, to his dominions. It was on the 5th of August, 642, that the decisive battle was fought, at a place called Maserfield, near the Shropshire town, which still commemorates Oswald in the name of Oswestry. The brave prince fell fighting for his religion and his country, as Bede takes occasion to mention, and "seeing himself hemmed in by armed assailants, he ended his life with words of prayer for his own soldiers: whence arose the proverb, God, have mercy on their souls, as Oswald said when falling to the ground." Another proverbial saying is recorded by Henry of Huntingdon: "The plain of Mesafeld was whitened with the bones of the saints." Thus perished, at the age of thirty-eight, Oswald, marked by the Church among her martyrs, and by the Anglo-Saxon people among its saints and heroes of most enduring fame. Ireland may well be proud of having trained to piety this first royal saint and martyr whom the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms added to the Calendar of Holy Church. The ferocious Penda caused the head and hands of Oswald to be cut off, and exposed on wooden stakes, but after some months they were rescued, and the hands were placed in a silver box, at St. Peter's Church, on the summit of the rock of Barnborough, whilst the head was consigned to St. Aidan, and interred with due solemnity in the monastic chapel at Lindisfarne. Of his other relics, we learn from Bede, that thirty years after the battle of Maserfeld the niece of Oswald brought them with great state to the Lincolnshire monastery of Bardney, which was in the Mercian kingdom, but the monks received them with coldness, saying that he was an enemy of Mercia, and left the wain, which had arrived with them in the evening, to stand outside their doors with a pall thrown over them. All that night a pillar of light, reaching from earth to heaven, shone over the remains, and was seen throughout the whole surrounding district of Lindsey. At the dawn of morning eagerly were the doors thrown open, the remains were reverently encased, and over them was suspended the gold and purple royal banner which had been borne before Oswald on the field of battle.

The spot on which King Oswald fell long continued greener and fairer than the ground around, and pilgrims, even from remote parts, flocked thither to pay the tributes of their devotion to God. Both places were indeed honoured, where he first planted the standard of the Cross entering on his career of victory, and where he ended his course, pouring out his life-blood for the cause of God. The latter, howrever, seems to have borne away the palm: "The monks of the great and magnificent Church of Hexham (writes Montalembert), went in procession every year to celebrate the day consecrated to Oswald at the site of the cross, which he had planted on the eve of his first victory. But the love and gratitude of the Christian people gave a still greater glory to the place of his defeat and death. Pilgrims came thither in crowds to seek relief from their sufferings, and had each a miraculous cure to relate on their return. The dust which his noble blood had watered was collected with care and conveyed to great distances as a remedy for disease, or a preservative from the evils of life. By dint of carrying away this dust a hollow was scooped out, of a man's size, which seemed the ever-open tomb of this martyr of his country. On seeing the turf around this hollow clothed with an unwonted verdure, more delicate and beautiful than elsewhere, travellers said that the man who had perished there must needs have been more holy and more pleasing in God's sight than all the other warriors who rested beneath that sward. The veneration of which his remains were the object spread not only among all the Saxons and Britons of Great Britain, but even beyond the seas in Ireland and among the Greeks and the Germans. The very stake on which the head of the royal martyr had been fixed was cut up into relics, the fragments of which were regarded as of sovereign efficacy in the healing both of body and of mind."

One of the miracles narrated by Bede is given on the authority of St. Willibrord, Archbishop of the Frisians, and happened when that apostolic man, "being as yet only a Priest, led a pilgrim's life in Ireland, for love of the eternal country." A certain Irish scholar, "a man indeed learned in worldly literature, but in no way solicitous or studious of his own eternal salvation," was reduced to the last extremities, having caught the contagion which then prevailed. Willibrord coming to him, and finding that he cherished a great devotion to the holy Oswald, said to him that he had "a portion of the stake on which Oswald's head was set up by the pagans when he was killed: and if you believe, with a sincere heart, the Divine goodness may, through the merit of so great a man, both grant you a longer term of life here, and render you worthy of admittance into eternal life. He answered immediately that he had entire faith therein. Then I blessed some water (adds St. Willibrord) and put into it a chip of the aforesaid oak, and gave it to the sick man to drink. He presently found ease, and recovering of his sickness, lived a long time after, and being entirely converted to God in heart and actions, wherever he came he spoke of the goodness of his merciful Creator, and the honour of his faithful servant." St. Willibrord added, that even in his distant mission among the Frisians miracles were wrought through the relics of Oswald.

I have dwelt thus on the memory of this holy prince on account of his being trained to piety in the Irish schools, his zealous co-operation with St. Aidan in sanctifying his people, and the devoted affection which he ever displayed towards his Irish masters. He bequeathed a bright example of Christian heroism to the royal families of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms, and many were those who sought to emulate his perfect life. His festival was kept throughout England "with joyous and blessed gladness" on the 5th of August, and his name is entered in the Irish, Scottish, and Roman martyrologies on the same day. A foreign historian of England has well appreciated his true chararcter when he writes that "as his life was distinguished at once by activity and by a spirit of fervid Christian beneficence, so his Christian merits and his martyrdom rendered him a hero of the Christian world" and we may add with Montalembert, that, "crowned by the love and devotion of the people on whom he bestowed the blessings of peace and of divine truth, spending his life for its sake; gentle and strong, serious and sincere, pious and intelligent, humble and bold, active and gracious, a soldier and a missionary, a king and a martyr, slain in the flower of his age on the field of battle, fighting for his country and praying for his subjects. Where shall we find in all history a hero more nearly approaching the ideal, more richly gifted, more worthy of eternal remembrance, and, it must be added, more completely forgotten?"

Right Rev. P.F. Moran, Irish saints in Great Britain (Dublin, 1879), 236-240.

Irish Saints of August: Midnat of Killucan

2011-08-17T08:00:00.021+01:00

Today, August 4 on the Julian calendar, is the commemoration of an important Irish monastic founder, Saint Molua of Clonfert-Molua. An account of his life can be found on the blog here and a glimpse into his monastic rule here. Saint Molua shares his feastday with a rather less well-known saint, Midnat of Killucan. Canon O'Hanlon outlines some of the difficulties in identifying this saint and her (his?) locality below:

St. Midnat or Miodhnat, said to be of Killucan, County of Westmeath.

In Colgan's opinion Midgnat is the name of a woman. At the 4th of August, the Martyrologies of Tallagh and of Marianus O'Gorman register a festival in honour of Midnat, Cille Lucinne or Kill-liuchaine. This must be Anglicized Killucan. There is notice of a disciple belonging to St. Patrick, and called Midgna, whom he placed in a hermitage called Disert Phadrig, while near it was a fountain and a church, at a place called Cros Phadruig, in the western part of Ireland. A St. Midgna is found, also, among the sons of Darerca, the sister to St. Patrick. Colgan seemed to doubt if this saint might not be identical with the present, or another similarly named, at the 18th of November. There is a townland bearing the name of Killucan, in the parish of Kildress, barony of Upper Dungannon, and County of Tyrone; as also one in a parish of the same
name, barony of Farbill, and County of Westmeath. There are likewise two Killukin townlands, in two distinct parishes of the same name. Both lie in the barony of Roscommon; one Killukin within the barony of Boyle, and the other within that of Roscommon barony.

The Martyrology of Donegal has the simple entry of Miodhnat, at this same date. The local historian of the Diocese of Meath state, that the present saint belonged to Killucan of Killucquin, in the barony of Farrbill, a few miles east of Mullingar, and in the County of Westmeath. Although probable enough, this identification does not appear to be absolutely certain. It seems likely, that a second festival of this saint had been observed, on the 18th of November.

Irish Saints of August - Deirbhile of Erris

2011-08-16T08:00:00.095+01:00

Today, August 3 on the Julian Calendar, brings the commemoration of some interesting early Irish female saints. Last year I looked at the northern Saint Trea of Ardtrea and this year we can journey to the western county of Mayo for the commemoration of Saint Deirbhile (Derbile, Dairbhile, Derbilia, Derbhiledh). I was pleased to see that there are a number of online local history sites which illustrate a continuing interest in popular devotion to this holy woman. You can see a stained-glass window depicting the story of Saint Deirbhile at the Heritage Centre which bears her name here and a photograph of the ruins of the pre-Norman church here. There are also a couple of videos on youtube showing both the church ruins and Saint Deirbhile's Well. I noted that like Saint Brigid, Deirbhile too received the attentions of an unwanted suitor and plucked out her eyes to discourage him. The water from her holy well is thus particularly associated with the healing of the eyes. Unlike Saint Brigid, Deirbhile has not left a written Vita, but like Saint Bronagh of Kilbroney her memory is still very much alive in the locality where she once flourished. In his account, however, Canon O'Hanlon does not allude to the popular traditions surrounding our saint but concentrates on her genealogy and the possibility that she was present at the Synod of Easdara convened by Saint Columba in the year 585:

St. Dairbhile or Derbhiledh, descendant of Eochaidh Muighmedhoin. [Sixth Century.]

It is mentioned in the Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman, as likewise by the Commentator on Aengus, that the feast of a St. Derbile occurs on the 3rd of August. According to the Genealogies of the Irish Saints, Derbhilia was the daughter of Cormac, son to Breech, son of Eochad, son to David, son of Fiach, ancestor of the Hua Fiachrach. St. Derbilia seems to have flourished in the sixth century, and she lived a religious life, in Erris, a remote part of the County of Mayo. She was contemporaneous with the great St. Columkille; for, by allowing the usual number of thirty years to a generation, and taking her as the fourth in descent from King Dathi, she must have flourished about that period. She belonged, also, to the Second Class of Irish Saints. She appears to have sought out one of the most remote parts of Ireland for the site of her retreat; while she is supposed to have erected an oratory, within that double peninsula off the extreme north-west coast of the County of Mayo, and where connected by an isthmus with the mainland the town of Belmullet stands. This peninsula, known as the Mullet, extends from Erris Head on the north, to the entrance of Blacksod Bay on the south; it being washed on the west and north by the Atlantic Ocean, on the east by Broad Haven and Blacksod Bay, and on the south by the entrance to Blacksod Bay and the Sound of Achill. It is a region rarely visited by the tourist or general traveller. There, it is supposed St. Dairbhile established herself, about the middle of the sixth century; and, tradition has it, that she founded there a religious institution. Her antique church is yet to be seen within the Mullet, a district little explored, and in the extensive barony of Erris. It is remarkable for the Cyclopean character of its masonry; and it is of an oblong shape, about forty feet in length, by sixteen in breadth. It is lighted on the east end by a small, unadorned, and semicircular-headed window, splaying considerably on the inside. The walls are constructed wholly of gneiss or stratified granite, while they are two feet and seven inches in thickness. A doorway in the western wall measures about four feet ten inches in height; while it is only two feet in width, at the spring of the arch, and two feet four inches at the base. The lintel or arch-stone, now greatly time-worn, has a rude architrave in low relief, on either face. A very beautiful illustration of the circular-headed doorway of this church may be seen, in the celebrated work of Dr. Petrie. Interlaced tracery is to be found on one of the stones, within the doorway, but at present it is greatly worn.

[Illustration from George Petrie, The Ecclesiastical Architecture of Ireland, anterior to the Anglo-Norman Invasion, (2nd edn, Dublin 1845), 321.]

After the famous convention at Drumceat had been over, St. Columba travelled southwards, and at Easdara, now Ballysadare, he convened a synod, in 585, to which many of the Irish saints were drawn, as well from a sense of religious obligation, as to pay their respects to the great Apostle of the Picts and Scots. To this we have already alluded, in the notices given of St. Farannan; and, it seems to have been an event of great historic and ecclesiastical importance, at that time, when it had been convened. Ballysadare, or the Town of the Waterfall of the Oak, takes its name from the waterfall, or rather the series of waterfalls, over which the River Uncion discharges its waters into the sea, southwards from the town of Sligo. Before the rise of Ballysadare, the spot on which it stood was called simply Easdara, or the Cataract of the Oak, without the prefix Bal, meaning a town. There, a great number of bishops, abbots, priests and religious assembled, together with a vast concourse of lay persons. The names of many distinguished visitors have been recorded. Colgan seems to identify this saint with the Derbilia of Irras, who assisted at that great synod held at Easdra, towards the close of the sixth century. When she departed this life has not been ascertained, but it was probably towards the close of the sixth or the beginning of the seventh century. She seems to have died in the house of her foundation, and within the Mullet. In the cemetery attached to it, she was interred. We read in the Martyrology of Donegal that veneration was given at the 3rd of August to Derbhiledh, who sprung from the race of Fiachra, son of Eochaidh Muighmedhoin. According.to some, the present saint is not different from a St. Darbile, who is venerated on the 26th of October, and if such be the case, she had a double festival.

Irish Saints of August: Comgan the Culdee

2011-08-15T13:34:00.000+01:00

Today, August 2 on the Julian calendar, the earliest of the Irish calendars of the saints, the Martyrology of Tallaght, records the commemoration of a holy man, Comgan, to whose name the epithet 'céle Dé' is appended. Unfortunately, this is the only information we have on this saint and inevitably, he is not the only Irish holy man to bear this name. There was a ninth-century anchorite of Tallaght and daltae of the Céle Dé leader Maelruain called Comgán Fota, but whether he is to be identified with the saint commemorated today is unclear. In his entry for the day, Canon O'Hanlon, as he often does when there is not much to say on an individual saint, bamboozles us with all sorts of information on others of the same name only to tell us at the last minute that none of them are likely to be be our man:

ST. COMGAN, OR COMHDHAN, THE CULDEE.

We have often before alluded to that pious fraternity of men, who were so numerous in Ireland during the early ages of her Church, and who served God with such fidelity, as to deserve their distinguishing appellation. One of these occurs, at the present date, in our Irish Calendars. Veneration was given to Comgan the Culdee, at the 2nd of August, as we find entered in the Martyrology of Tallagh. As we have no indication regarding the place where he dwelt, and as the designation of Culdee is too general to afford a clue to his identity, so conjecture has been employed, but in vain, to discover anything appertaining to his place in our ecclesiastical history. The Bollandists have some remarks on St. Comgan, at this date; but, having some doubts, that he had been distinct from a Congan Abbot, venerated on the 13th October, they refer for further consideration of him to that date. They state what Colgan thought, regarding the saint of this name, venerated on the 27th of February and that he is not likely to have been that Comgan, to whom allusion must now be made. According to ancient accounts, one Degill had married Cumene, the sister of St. Columkille, and they had six holy sons; namely, Comgan, Mernoc or Ernan, Moelchuo, Mirilis, Moeldubh, and Teldubh. Other writers add to these Laisren and Bran; but, indeed, the old authorities are very confusing and contradictory, so far as can be judged from what Colgan has collected regarding them. In the Tract on the Mothers of the Irish Saints, Cuman, the sister of St. Columba, is mentioned as having been mother of the two sons of Degill, i.e. Mernoc and Caisene; while another ancient Tract calls her Cuimne, mother of the sons, Meic Decuil, and who are named respectively Mernoc, Cascene, Meldal and Bran, who was buried in Dairu Calchaich, and these were cousins to St. Columkille. About the Comgan, stated to have been the nephew of St. Columba, we do not meet with any further record regarding him. Neither can we be assured, that he is to be found classed among the Irish saints, although there are Comgans or Comdhans so enumerated. However, this may possibly be the St. Comgan, son of Degill and a nephew of Columkille, by his sister Cumenia. Nor do we even know on what authority, this Comgan has been placed among the disciples of his celebrated uncle. In the Martyrology of Donegal, at the 2nd day of August, there is a notice of St. Comhdhain's festival. More than this it should be useless for us to state.

Irish Saints in August

2011-08-14T10:33:00.002+01:00

As we begin the month of August on the Julian calendar, below is an article by Irish Catholic writer Magdalen Rock on some of the saints whose feasts we will be commemorating. Two other articles by the same author, on the saints of the months of March and July, are also reproduced on the blog. As with her other articles, the author includes an impressive range of saints, she begins with the two saints from the end of the month and works her way back. We meet saints who laboured not only in Ireland but in Britain and Europe, all I have added is the name of the patron saint of Derry city, Eugene also known as Eoghan, as it seems to have been omitted.

Irish Saints in August.
MAGDALEN ROCK.

THE little islet of Lindisfarne lies two miles off the coast of Northumberland, and some nine miles or more south-east of the border-town of Berwick. At low-water the island is joined to the mainland, and twice in the course of the twenty-four hours it is accessible by means of a track across the sands. The resemblance of the isle in the Northern Sea to the island from whence Saint Aidan went to re-evangelise the pagan people of old Northumbria has obtained for Lindisfarne the name of the Iona of England. Perhaps it was this resemblance, perhaps the instinctive love of the Irish monks for solitude, that induced Aidan to set up his bishop's stool at Lindisfarne in 635. The island became the centre of great missionary activity, and was the seat of sixteen successive bishops.

The erudite pen of the Venerable Bede tells much of Saint Aidan as a priest, a bishop, and an indefatigable missionary, but nothing of his lineage or place of birth, save that he was an Irish monk.

The saint whose memory is commemorated on the last day of August was of the race of Columba, and he probably entered the monastery of Iona at an early age. When Oswald of Northumbria was an exile from his native land he had received much kindness from the Irish monks, and he had imbibed the traditions of Iona. On the eve of the battle that was to decide the fate of the northern realm, Oswald, tradition says, had a vision of Columba, who informed him of his victory of the next day and of his restoration to the throne of his ancestors. Oswald set up on the battle ground a huge wooden cross to hearten his small army, and ere nightfall the forces of Cadwallon, the last of the British warriors, was defeated.

Safely established on the throne of his fathers, Oswald turned, not to Canterbury, but to Iona, for missionaries to re-Christianise his far-spreading kingdom. The first who came at his call found the task difficult, and went back to the island monastery to report his failure. "Was it their stubbornness or your severity?" Aidan asked. " Did you give them the milk first and then the meat?" In obedience to the command of his superior Aidan departed to become first bishop of Lindisfarne. Missionaries came to his help both from Iona and Ireland, and the work of instructing the people began.

Green tells how the bishop and the king worked at first side by side, Oswald translating the words of the missionary to his rude thanes. Soon the Irish monks learned the Northumbrian dialect,and Boisil led a little band of workers to the valley of the Tweed, while Aidan wandered on foot among the peasantry of Bernicia.

From the first the saint tried, and not ineffectually, to check the reckless manner of life of the Northumbrian nobles, and many of the gifts bestowed on him by his converts did Aidan pass on to the poor and afflicted. In barren Lindisfarne the saint and his monks observed the austerities practised by the founder of Iona. Slavery was as prevalent in Northumbria as in the other kingdoms of the Saxons, and not a few of the king's gifts went in procuring the freedom of some poor slaves.

Over and over again has the story been told of how the saint, much against his custom, sat one Easter day beside the king. A sumptuous repast had been prepared, but ere the viands were touched word came that a hungry multitude waited at the castle gates. Oswald at once ordered the untasted food to be carried to the crowd, and gave directions that the silver dishes should be broken up and divided among them. Aidan blessed the royal hand "May this hand never grow old" and when all else of the saintly monarch had perished the white hand of Oswald remained firm and incorrupt in the church of Bamborough.

All too soon Oswald died, praying with his last breath for his men, but Aidan exercised the same beneficent influence over his successor. Once when the pagan king of Mercia tried to burn Barnborough, Aidan raised his eyes to heaven: "Oh, God, see what ill Penda is doing” he cried, and instantly the wind shifted, and the royal residence was saved.

Aidan was overtaken by his last illness on one of his journeys, and at his own desire he was borne back to the monastery. A tent was erected for him on the west side of the church, and there he died. On the night of his decease a shepherd lad on the hills of Lammermoor saw his soul borne to Heaven by angels. This boy was Cuthbert, destined long after to be Bishop of Lindisfarne.

Saint Fiacre is honoured by the Church one day earlier than Aidan. In his own country little is known of him, but in France he is greatly venerated and esteemed, particularly by gardeners, whose patron he is. He was the son of an Irish prince, and born towards the end of the sixth century. He received his education from Saint Conan in the Isle of Man, and when ordained priest he retired to a little oratory on the banks of the River Nore, where the townland Kilfiachra still perpetuates his memory. Crowds of disciples flocked to his retreat, and at length, to find more complete solitude, he left his native land for France. He arrived at Meaux about the year 627, and was welcomed by Saint Faro, who ruled the diocese, and who recollected the graces which he and his kin had received through Saint Columbanus. The bishop gave the Irish exile a site for an oratory at Breuil out of his own patrimony, and this oratory Fiacre dedicated to the Mother of God.

In time the sanctity of the holy hermit became known, and many men sought out his place of abode. In the little garden, beside his cell the saint cultivated vegetables with which to feed his visitors, and simple blooms to decorate his church. In obedience to an order of the bishop, Fiacre erected a sort of hospice for the convenience of those visiting him, but in course of time the accommodation was not sufficient for those seeking the hermit's retreat, and the saint unwillingly asked the bishop for further ground in the forest and additional facilities for strangers. Saint Faro at once granted a further gift of land. Its extent was to be the ground round which the saint could erect an earthern rampart in the course of a single day. Fiacre went out with his staff, and as he walked he drew the staff along the ground. Instantly an earthen fortification rose. An evil-minded lady complained to the bishop that this had been done through magic, and an order was despatched to Fiacre to stop all work until the bishop could visit him. The saint obeyed, and sat down on a hard rock to wait Faro's coming, and the hard rock became soft and yielding, and was fashioned into a comfortable chair. In the new ground wondrous blossoms had miraculously appeared, and when the bishop arrived he implored Fiacre's pardon, and enabled him to erect a larger hospice.

The years passed tranquilly on till a pilgrim from Rome called at Fiacre's retreat. The pilgrim was a close relative to the saint, and through him the news spread to Ireland that Fiacre still lived. His father was dead, and his younger brother had been deposed for taking part in the Pelagian heresy. Ambassadors from Ireland sought the French king's intervention to induce Fiacre to take his place as head of the tribe. The poor anchorite prayed God that he might remain in the forests of Breuil, and his prayer was answered. When the ambassadors came they found Fiacre covered with leprosy, and he was not urged to visit his native land. Saint Fiacre died on the thirtieth of August, 670, and was interred in the forest church not far from his cell. Miracles took place at his tomb, and centuries after a beautiful basilica was erected in his honour.

To the shrine of the Irish hermit Anne of Austria came on foot to pray Heaven for a son, and that son later came with his wife on a pilgrimage. Two English royalties interfered to their own disaster with Saint Fiacre. The Black Prince when ravaging the district gave orders to have his shrine opened, and he, himself, extracted a portion of the holy relics with the intention of taking them to England. When passing through Normandy he left the relics temporarily on the altar of a church in Montloup, and not all the efforts of men could remove them. Shortly afterwards the Black Prince died.

The victor of Agincourt permitted his troops to pillage the district of Meaux. An ancient Scotch historian tells: "He invaded the lands of Sanct Fiacre, and by the vengeance of God he was stricken with sic infirmitex that na nigine of man micht cure him." Henry was attacked by a fistula called the malady of Saint Fiacre and died at the early age of thirty-four.

Among the modern saints who visited the tomb of the hermit were Saints Francis de Sales and Vincent de Paul.

Saint Andrew, whose feast occurs on the twenty-second day of the month, spent but a short, part of his life in his native country. He is supposed -to have been born about the beginning of the eighth century, but in what part of Ireland is not known. From early youth he and his sister Brigid honoured in Irish rnartyrologies on the same date as her namesake of Kildare were devoted to prayer and works of charity . A distinguished teacher of Divine philosophy came into the neighbourhood where Andrew lived. This teacher was Saint Donatus, afterwards bishop of the old-world diocese of Fiesole in Italy. Donatus had been educated in the monastery of Iniscaltra in an island of the Shannon, and it was his great desire to visit the Eternal City. When he set out on his journey Andrew accompanied him despite the opposition of his friends. After many adventures they reached Rome and, after visiting its tombs and churches, set out on the return journey. They halted at Fiesole and found the city distracted and without a bishop; Donatus was reluctantly obliged to take charge of the district, and in time appointed Andrew his archdeacon. The two friends laboured assiduously to reorganise the diocese, and with great success. Once as they walked outside the town they came upon a ruined church which had been dedicated to Saint Martin. Both lamented over the ruin, and Andrew humbly offered to make its restoration his business. The bishop accepted the offer, and Andrew founded a society for priests something like the Missionary Oblates of the Blessed Sacrament. He and his small band of helpers cleared the ground and procured new building material, and finally the church was restored. The people of the neighbourhood were generous with alms, which was used entirely for charitable purposes, the little community earning their scanty subsistence by the labour of their hands.

Even a brief enumeration of the many miracles attributed to Saint Andrew would cover many pages; the afflicted who only touched his garments were relieved. At length, after a holy and tranquil life, death came. The dying saint longed to see once more his beloved sister, Brigid. And Brigid came, some authorities say miraculously, to comfort his last hours. She never returned to Ireland. Close to the source of the River Liece she founded an oratory, and dedicated it to Saint Martin; it is yet a place of pilgrimage, and the peasants of the Appenines never forget to invoke the intercession of Saints Donatus, Andrew, and Brigid.

Saint Blane, whose memory survives in the town of Dunblane, was born of Irish parents in the Isle of Bute. His uncle was Saint Cathan, and this holy man attended to the early education of his nephew. Afterwards the youthful Blane studied at Bangor, in Ireland, under Saint Comgall. On his return to Bute, where his uncle still lived, he decided to become a priest, and soon after his ordination he was raised to episcopal dignity. He continued his former austere mode of life in this position, and many miracles are credited to him, and among them is the restoration to life of a dead youth. The pious bishop selected the site for his monastery at a place equidistant from the German and Atlantic oceans, and this monastery was later created an episcopal See.

After a laborious life Saint Blane died, but authorities differ as to the date of his death. Butler's date 446 is manifestly incorrect, and the most reliable writers say he died towards the end of the sixth century. His feast is kept on the tenth of August.

The patron of Derry city [Eugene] was born in Leinster towards the close of the fifth century, and he received part of his religious education at the monastery of Clones, from which school he was captured by British pirates. On his release he studied under Saint Ninnian. He founded the monastery of Kilnamanagh in Wicklow, and resided rhere till, following a Divine inspiration, he proceeded northward to preach the Faith. In Tyrone, at Ardstraw, he founded a monastery, and soon after was raised to a bishopric. Authorities differ as to the time of his death, but he passed to his reward at an advanced age fortified by the last rites of the Church. He is honoured on the twenty-third of the month. A beautiful cathedral in Derry bears his name.

Saint Bernard is the authority for saying that Saint Luanus founded no less than one hundred monasteries in his native land. He was educated at Bangor. The rule he gave his monks was very stringent and enjoined complete silence and recollection and hard manual labour. No women were permitted to approach the confines of the monasteries. When dying he received the Holy Viaticum from the hand of one of his monks, and his death is supposed to have occurred in the seventh century. Persons afflicted with ague were in the past accustomed to visit one or other of his holy wells in order to obtain relief.

Saints Nathy and Felimy are honoured on the ninth of August. The former was a priest to whom it is said Finian, Bishop of Clonard, gave the charge of a church at Achonry. By some writers the saint is said to have been a bishop. Saint Felimy lived in the sixth century, and was Bishop of Kilmore, where his festival is still kept with an octave and indulgence.

The patron and first bishop of Killala was Saint Muredach, a descendant of Leogaire, the high-king of Ireland at the time of Patrick's coming. Little is told regarding him; some writers assert that he was a contemporary of Saint Columba. His feast is observed on the twelfth of the month.

Saint Mac Cartan, titular saint of the diocese of Clogher, was appointed to that See by Saint Patrick, and governed it long. Tradition ascribes many miracles to him. He died in 506, and is honoured on the Feast of the Assumption.

Saint Crumin, whom Butler credits with writing a long and erudite letter to the fourth abbot of Iona urging him and his monks to conform to the Roman usage regarding Easter, is venerated on the nineteenth of August. He was consecrated bishop in some part of Ireland, but resigned his See to become a monk at Bobbio, where he died at an advanced age. The inscription on his tomb has been translated by Miss Stokes, and it begins: "Here the sacred members of Cunniam are dissolved."

Alban Butler does not mention, among the saints of the eighth of August, Saint Coleman, Bishop of Lindisfarne, who assisted at the famous Synod of Whitby. When the Assembly decided to adopt the Roman custom of the tonsure and the Roman method of observing Easter, Colman resigned his bishopric and retired to Mayo, where he founded a new monastery for the Irish and Saxon monks who had followed him across the sea. Later it became necessary to found a separate monastery for the Saxon monks.

Nor does the same ecclesiastical writer make mention of Attracta, on the eleventh day of the month. This holy virgin desired to become a nun, and though opposed by her family, she and a female attendant journeyed to Boyle where Saint Patrick was preaching. Patrick consented to receive her vows; and when he raised his hands to heaven to implore the Divine benediction for the young novice a veil of dazzling whiteness fell from the skies for Attracta. She founded her first convent near Lough Gara, and during her life often acted as peacemaker among the surrounding tribes.

Irish Rosary, Volume 25 (1921), 625-630.

Glendalough: City of God

2011-08-10T14:22:00.000+01:00

A new book from Four Courts Press:

Glendalough
City of God
Charles Doherty, Linda Doran & Mary Kelly, editors

Glendalough is one of the most enchanting archaeological and monastic sites in Ireland. Yet for all its familiarity the complex retains a serenity that signals a special place outside the concerns of this world – a City of God. This book breaks new ground by considering the site in this light. For the first time the entirety of the complex is explored – its archaeology, history, liturgy and intellectual concerns – and a clear picture emerges of the highly developed society which has left us a profoundly beautiful site.

This book is based on lectures given to the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, as well as the 'Lectures for the curious' series at Glendalough, and at the International Medieval Congress, Leeds. The volume is lavishly illustrated throughout. For those who do not know Glendalough, the superb photographs will enthral, and for those who do, they will reveal a Glendalough that few have observed.

Contributors: Sara G. Casey (U Pittsburgh); Charles Doherty (UCD); Colmán Etchingham (NUIM); Peter Harbison (RIA); Lorcan Harney (UCD); Aideen M. Ireland (National Archives); Brian Lacey (Discovery Programme); Ailbhe MacShamhráin (NUIM); Melanie C. Maddox (U St Andrews); Daniel P. Mc Carthy (TCD); Rachel Moss (TCD); Máirín Ní Cheallaigh (TCD); Tomás Ó Carragáin (UCC); Raghnall Ó Floinn (NMI); Dagmar Ó Riain-Raedel (UCC); Diarmuid Ó Riain (Ind.); Pádraig Ó Riain (UCC); Jean-Michel Picard (UCD); Martina Pozdechova.

Editors:
Charles Doherty is a senior lecturer in the School of History and Archives, UCD. Linda Doran lectures in medieval history at UCD. Mary Kelly is a guide for the Office of Public Works at Glendalough.

Hardback
448pp; large format, colour ills. June 2011
ISBN:
978-1-84682-170-7
Catalogue Price: €50.00
Web Price: €45.00

Below is an outline of the contents as originally planned, from the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 2009 newsletter:

Glendalough: City of God
2009 will be a busy year for the Society as it is hoped that two books will appear. First will be Glendalough: City of God, edited by Charles Doherty, Linda Doran and Mary Kelly and to be produced by Four Courts Press. The contents will be drawn from lectures delivered at the Society’s Seminar on Glendalough held in May 2008, from annual lectures delivered at Glendalough in July each year, and from a seminar held at the International Medieval Congress at Leeds in 2007. Papers will be published on :
“Templeteenaun and St. Kevin’s Way, the King’s River Project” Aidan O’Sullivan et al.
“The landscape archaeology of Glendalough” Lorcan Harney
“The City of God in medieval Ireland” Charles Doherty
“In platea monasterii : the layout of the ecclesiastical city in early medieval Ireland” Jean-Michel Picard
“The early medieval Civitas : urban city or sacred space ?” Melanie Maddox
“The Lives of Saint Kevin” Pádraig Ó Riain
“The monster in the Lives of Coemgen : an indicator of the expansion of Glendalough” Brian Lacey
“Rebuilding the City of Angels : Muirchertach Ua Briain and Glendalough, c. 1096 -1111” Tomás Ó Carragáin
“Viking impact on the City of God : Glendalough” Colmán Etchingham
“The Market Cross of Glendalough” (working title) Raghnall Ó Floinn
“Spreadsheets : the study and use of numbers in medieval Irish monasteries with reference to 12th c. fragment of mathematical text / De Abaco / associated with Glendalough” Daniel P. McCarthy
“Music from medieval Irish monasteries with reference to The Drummond Missal, a 12th c. manuscript associated with Glendalough” Sara Gibbs Casey
“The mark of the chisel : 12th c. sculptors at Glendalough” Rachel Moss
“The Latin Lives of Laurence O’Toole” Jean-Michel Picard
“The political landscape of medieval Glendalough” (working title) Ailbhe Mac Shamhráin
“Glendalough in 18th and 19th c. Art : a Renaissance” (working title) Peter Harbison
“The compelling presence : Glendalough in the popular imagination” Maírín Ní Cheallaigh
“Glendalough : Monastery, Diocese or Town ?” Colmán Etchingham
“Pattern Days” (working title) Kelly FitzGerald
“Glendalough : the RSAI contribution to its Preservation, Examination and Illustration” Aideen Ireland

Irish Saints of July: Id of Aghade

2011-07-27T08:00:00.021+01:00

A saint associated with Saint Patrick is commemorated today, July 14 on the Julian calendar. Canon O'Hanlon rounds up the legends and calendar entries concerning the feast of Saint Id (Idus) and the locality in which he flourished:

St. Id, Bishop of Ath-Fhadhat, now Ahade or Aghade, County of Carlow.

[Said to have lived in the Fifth Century.]

If what is generally accepted in relation to this holy man be correct, he must have flourished at a very early period in the Irish Church. The present saint, called Id or Idus, is said to have been one of St. Patrick's disciples, and to have been invoked in the old Irish metrical prayer, which bears the name of St. Moling. The reference to Colgan's Manuscripts is relied on for the foregoing statement. Unless the name can be resolved into Aed or Aedus, we do not find any such person in the published Acts of St. Patrick. The Martyrology of Donegal registers a festival to honour Id, Bishop of Ath Fhadhat, in Leinster, at the 14th of July. That place to which he belonged is said to be situated in the barony of Forth, and it gives name to the present parish of Aghade, in the county of Carlow. However, if the traditional accounts regarding it, as found in the romantic literature of ancient Erinn, be founded on anything approaching truth, the denomination of his place ought rather be called Ahade. There can hardly be a question, but that the original name of Ahade was Ath Fadat, or Fadat's Ford. There is a legendary Dindscanchas or nomenclature history of its situation, in the Book of Leinster, the substance of which is given by Professor Eugene O'Curry. [The story goes, that Etan Cend Derg or of the Red Head, with his household, fought Liath of Doire Leith, with his son Fadad and his two daughters Doe and Caichne, at Loch Lurcan, for the right of fishing in the Barrow. Liath was killed in this battle. Some time, afterwards, Fadad, the son of Liath, with his two sisters, Doe and Caichne, mustered their friends, and another battle was fought in the same place. There, on the banks of the Slaney, Fadad was killed. In commemoration of this event, the place was afterwards called Ath Fadad or the Fort of Fadad, a name which it retains to the present day, under the slightly Anglicized form of Ahade.]

The Protestant church of the union of Ballon and Aghade stands on the site of one much older, and the foundations have been utilized for the erection of the more modern building, which is said to have been so old, that the date and cost of its erection are unascertainable. The church is prettily situated, on a gently elevated ground, and in the midst of a highly cultivated district. A rivulet running close to the churchyard adds greatly to the beauty of this tranquil scene. Some interesting tombs and their inscriptions are to be found there. It has been stated, that about the middle of the twelfth century, by Dermod Mac Murchad, King of Leinster, a nunnery had been here founded, for nuns of the order of St. Augustine, but it was then attached to the nunnery of St. Mary de Hogges, in the city of Dublin. There is now no remembrance of the nunnery in this locality. A blessed well—but without a name—is there, while other antiquities exist, and numerous human remains have been turned up, between Ahade and the town of Tullow.

Under the head of Ath Fadat, Duald Mac Firbis enters the name Id, bishop of Ath-Fadat, in Leinster, for this day. At the 14th of July, St. Idus, Bishop of Ath-Fada, in Leinster, is set down by Rev. Alban Butler. In the "Circle of the Seasons," at this same date, he is simply called a bishop in Leinster. Little of a reliable character can be gleaned regarding him.

Irish Saints of July: Mosiloc of Cloonatten

2011-07-26T08:00:00.014+01:00

Today, July 13 on the Julian calendar, Canon O'Hanlon has a notice for a County Wexford saint whose name appears on all of the calendars, but of whose life we otherwise have very few details. In the account below of Saint Mosiloc, I have transferred some of the original footnotes citing the calendar entries plus remarks by the Irish Ordnance Survey scholars, John O'Donovan and W.M. Hennessy, on the locality associated with the saint, into the text. There is a website dealing with the study of Wexford placenames here. Finally, please note that the Martyrology of Aengus records the saint at the 13th of July and not June as printed on page 224 of Volume 7 of The Lives of the Irish Saints:

St. Mosiloc or Mothiolog, of Cloonatten, Parish of Kilmichael Oge, County of Wexford.

The name of this holy man, as Siloc, is entered in the "Feilire" of St. Aengus, at the 13th of June. There he receives a high encomium. In the "Leabhar Breac" copy we have the following stanza, translated into English by Whitley Stokes, LL.D. :—

"Sweet the name with splendour
of Evangelus the sainted,
with my Siloc of the kings,
he went into the noble realm of peace."

In a commentary added, he is styled and identified as "my Siloc, i.e., of Cell Mo-siloc in Ui-Degad, in Ui-Cennseliag." Hence, it should seem, that Siloc was simply his name, and it is entered Silog in the Calendar of Cashel. Veneration was given to Mosiloc Cluana Daethcain, at the 13th of July, as appears in the Martyrology of Tallagh. In Rev. Dr. Kelly's edition of the Martyrology of Tallagh, this place is identified with Clonkeen, Queen's County. His name and place are elsewhere differently entered. At this same date, we find in the Martyrology of Donegal, Mothiolog, of Cill Mothiolog, in Ui-Ceinnsealaigh, or Mothiolog, of Cluain Aithghin. This place is Cloonatten, in the parish of Kilmichael Oge, in the barony of Gorey, and county of Wexford. A note by O'Donovan says, "Mothiolog now corrupted to Kilmichaelog," I find another note appended by William M. Hennessy to this ancient denomination, "Kilmokiloge or Kilmichaeloge, near Gorey, County Waterford,"(? Wexford). There is a curious old church in that locality. In the Kalendar of Drummond the feast of this saint is inserted, at the present date. Thus: "13 iii. Idus. In Hibernia Sancti Confessoris Mosiloc."—Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints", p. 18. There is an entry of Mosilocus, at the 13th of July, in the work of the Bollandists. Father O'Sheerin supplied them with the notice inserted.

Irish Saints of July: Nazair of Liethmore

2011-07-25T08:00:00.013+01:00

Today, July 12 on the Julian calendar, is the commemoration of a Saint Nazair of Liethmore. Although Canon O'Hanlon makes no mention of it, I find the name of this saint a rather curious one for an Irishman, but he is recorded in virtually all of the surviving calendars:

St. Nazarus, Nazair, or Nasan, Bishop of Liethmore, County of Tipperary.

The festival of Nazarius is found in the "Feilire" of St. Aengus, at the 12th of July: "Unto the angels departed Nazarius the story of every synod". A commentary on it states, likewise, that he was bishop of Liath in Eblind, or bishop of Liath Mór Mochoemoic. In the published edition of the Martyrology, we find this entry: "Nazair o Liath," occurring at the iv. of the Ides, or 12th of July. The editor of this Martyrology has also correctly identified Leith-mór with Leamakevoge, near Thurles, county of Tipperary. Both names are also referable to the Liath mentioned in the Martyrology of Tallagh. Besides, Marianus O'Gorman has also given us the name of this saint, called also Nasan, with an eulogy, at this same date. According to the Martyrologies of Cashel and of Maguire, the Natal day of St. Nazarus, Bishop, was celebrated at Liethmore, on the 12th of July. There appears to have been a diversity of opinion, on the part of most Irish writers, regarding the exact location of Leithmore. By some writers, it has been placed exactly four miles distant from the monastery of Bishop Colman at Doire mor; and both of those places are thought to have been in the present King's County. Colgan placed Liathmor in the vicinity of Kinnetty, the very ancient Life of Pulcherius stating, that it was only four miles distant from St. Colman's church of Doire-mor, thought to have been identical with Kilcolman, near Birr, and which, it is curious to observe, lies exactly four miles north-east from that place called Leagh on the engraved Map of the Down Survey. However, in the Life of St. Mochcemhog or Mochcemoc, also called St. Pulcherius, it is said, St. Colman's monastery of Doire mor was situated on the confines of Munster and of Leinster, but within the boundary of the former province, and in the territory of Ely. This was supposed to have been Ely O'Carroll; but, there was a southern Ely, lying near Thurles, and while this was within Munster, it was also on the borders of ancient Leinster. However, the precise locality of Liathmore is now found to be identical with the townknd of Leigh, within the parish of Two Mile Borris, situated south-east in Elyogarty barony, and in the county of Tipperary. The ancient name is said to have been Buirgheis Leith, and it was denominated, Borris Leigh, from the celebrated old church of Liath
Mochoemog, situated in that parish. It is probable, we must place the present holy man subsequent to the time of St. Mochoemhog or Mochcemoc, who was first Abbot and founder of Liath-more. In the Martyrology of Donegal, at the 12th of July, is entered the feast of St. Nazair, Bishop of Liathmor, in Ebhlinn. The Bollandists, who derived their information from Father O'Sheerin, also record Nazarius de Lieth, at this date.

'Benedict, a strong pillar'

2011-07-24T08:00:00.065+01:00

Although there are a number of Irish saints about whose commemorations I could have written today, July 11 on the Julian calendar, I found myself interested in the noting on some of our native calendars of the feast of the Translation of the Relics of Saint Benedict. Although the major feastday of the father of western monasticism fell on the day of his natalis, March 21, at which date it was recorded in the Martyrology of Aengus, the Martyrology also commemorated the second feastday of Saint Benedict, that of the translation of his relics, on July 11. I was struck by how Saint Aengus the Martyrologist brings together the saints of the East, the West and of Ireland on this day, for the entry sandwiches 'Benedict, a strong pillar' between the names of the Great Martyr Euphemia and a local saint, Failbe, from Dísert maic Con-lócha in County Westmeath:

C. v. idus Iulii.
La martrai na rígnae
Eufemiae slógdae,
Benedicht, bale áge,
macc craíbdech Con-lógae.

11. With the martyrdom of the queen,
Euphemia the hostful,
Benedict, a strong pillar,
Cu-lógae's devout son.

The scholiast comment is simply this: Benedict, i.e. caput monachorum etc.

The later Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman, written in the 12th century, spells out the title of the feastday:

11. C.
Translait cuirp in clerigh
Benedict as mbage,

11. C.
The translation of the body of the cleric Benedict
whom thou proclaims.

Canon O'Hanlon has a short paragraph in Volume 7 of The Lives of the Irish Saints too:

Translation of St. Benedict's Relics.

In the "Leabhar Breac" copy of the "Feilire," by St. Aengus, there is a record of St. Benedict's festival, at the 11th of July. Furthermore, a scholion informs us, that he was Benedict, the Father of Monks. Usuard and other ancient Martyrologists have it as the festival for a Translation of his relics, as the Bollandists note at this day. They refer, however, to his chief feast, at the 21st of March for an exhaustive illustration of his Acts. Also, in Usuard is to be found, at this same date, a Translation of the relics of his sister Scholastica, whose chief festival and Acts are noticed, on the 10th of February.

Finally, let me close with a kontakion from the Akathist Hymn to Our Venerable Father Benedict, Wonderworker of Nursia, as translated by Reader Isaac Lambertsen:

Kontakion I

Chosen wast thou, O venerable father, for through thee hath Christ illumined the world as with an inextinguishable lamp and hath scattered myriads of the enemy. And, marvelling at His providence concerning thee, we praise thee as our defender against all tribulations, crying out with thanksgiving: Rejoice, O Benedict, wonderworker of Nursia!

Saint Benedict of Nursia: The Life of Saint Benedict from the Menology of St Dimitri of Rostov, The Orthodox Liturgical Service in His Honour, The Akathist in His Honour, St. Benedict's Rule for Monasteries (St. John of Kronstadt Press, 1989), 26.

Irish Saints of July: Etto of Dompierre

2011-07-23T08:00:00.102+01:00

Today, July 10 on the Julian calendar, is the commemoration of the seventh-century Saint Etto (Hetto, Zé), whom tradition links to the great Irish missionary Saint Fursey. Etto laboured in Belgium, where sources name him as an Irishman and where his memory is still very much cherished. John Montague, in his book The Saints and Martyrs of Ireland, notes this interesting historical tidbit:

In 1920, Cardinal Mercier of Belgium sent a famous letter to the Irish Bishops at the time of the Irish Troubles, and named Etto as one of the Irish missionaries to whom Belgium was especially indebted.

Canon O'Hanlon brings us a full account below of Saint Etto's life and labours, including a history of the translation of his relics. I was struck by the agricultural element of the saint's cult in Belgium, in particular how his intercession was sought for farm animals, especially cattle. This brings to mind how people here related to Saint Brigid, who, like Etto is often portrayed with a cow. The statue of Saint Etto photographed here portrays him flanked by a cow on either side.

ST. ETTO, HETTO, OR ETHON, BISHOP AND CONFESSOR.
[SEVENTH CENTURY.]

AFTER the Church of Christ had been founded, and when Christians were redeemed through his precious blood; then her illustrious children, whether as Martyrs, Apostles, Doctors, Virgins or Confessors, began to exhibit those virtues and labours, which served to extend her sway over the hearts of men. Several holy missionaries banded together for this purpose, and left the shores of Ireland for more distant countries. Among those was Etto, and he became a saint illustrious for his apostolic zeal and miracles. The particulars of his Acts are only to be gleaned from popular tradition, nor do we know that any very ancient written accounts regarding him are to be found. No doubt, there are several inaccuracies that have been incorporated with the more authentic accounts, yet even for those incorrect statements, reasons may be assigned, and allowances must be made.

A Life of this saint has come down to us, but it does not appear to be a very ancient one. The date of its composition is uncertain, and it is supposed to have been the composition of a monk at Liesse. It has a Prologue of the Author, and then follows a narrative of public events, connected with the period of Etto's arrival on the Continent, as also the subsequent traditional
accounts, regarding his mission and career. His offices and the Martyrologies hardly serve to throw any additional lights on his history. In French, this saint is called Zé; but, in the ancient Lives, his name is written Etto or Ethon. Sometimes, too, he is named Hetto. It was Colgan's purpose to have published his biography, at the 10th of July. In the "Natales Sanctorum
Belgii," there are some notices of St. Etto, as also in Miraeus. The Bollandists have special accounts of this holy man. A commentary precedes his Acts. These follow, with the author's prologue, in two chapters and seventeen paragraphs. His Acts have been published from a Manuscript, belonging to the Abbey of Marchiennes. This has been collated with two other Codices; one of these having been in the hands of D. Pruedhomme, a Canon of Cambrai, and another belonged to the collection at Alnensis. In the "Acta Sanctorum Belgii," Etto is particularly commemorated. Some notices of him are to be met with, in the work of Bishop Challoner. The Petits Bollandistes also have an account of St. Etton or Zé, at this date. There is a notice of St. Etto, likewise, in Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of the Saints."

St. Etto was a native of Ireland; but, regarding his family descent, and earlier years, we have no account. He was probably born in the early part of the seventh century. There he was instructed in a knowledge of the Scriptures, and trained in the principles of virtue. This holy person is said to have been in Britain, to confer with many saints, that then flourished in these Islands; but, whether he joined St. Fursey there or in Ireland is not known. As we have already seen, in the Life of St. Fursey, that a certain Count named Madelgarius, surnamed Vincent, and who had gone to Ireland, waited upon that celebrated missionary in England, and succeeded in persuading him to visit Gaul, where he afterwards founded the monastery of Lagny. At this period, that country was just beginning to recover from the devastations of the Huns and Vandals, with other barbarous invaders. With his brothers Foillan and Ultan, as also with Mimbolus, Eloquius, Bertuin, Fredegandus, Adalgisus and Gobban, disciples of St. Fursey, Etto was one of those apostolic preachers, who, in the seventh century, went forth to spread the Gospel on the Continent. They are said to have accompanied Madelgarius and his wife St. Waldetrude, when these returned to France. The great desire of the holy missionaries was to visit Rome, in the first instance; most probably to receive the necessary jurisdiction and approval, for the tasks which they had proposed to accomplish. About the middle of the seventh century, they arrived in France, and Etto thence made a pilgrimage to Rome, but whether in company with St. Fursey or not seems to be uncertain. While he was visiting the tombs of the Apostles, it is said, that he received episcopal consecration. By Molanus, he is styled "Hiberniensis Episcopus." Afterwards, he returned to France. With St. Fursey, it is stated, that Etto lived for a time at Lagny, and that he carried the word of God afterwards into the Low Countries. He passed into those parts with six other companions, and in the company of St. Waldetrude. Among the holy men, who went to preach in the Low Countries with St. Etto, or about the same time, was St. Bertuin, a Bishop. He built an oratory, at Maloigne, upon the Sambre. After his return from Rome, Etto chose for his abode a solitary place, near the little river Corbriol. Like many of the primitive saints, he had a Divine inspiration, that he was destined to evangelise the people, in that part of the diocese of Cambrai. St. Etto settled on a little stream at Thierache, near the town of Avesnes. There he cleared away the brambles, and built a cell for his occupation.

At first, he experienced some difficulties and opposition, owing to a man named Jovinus, who laid claim to the land, he being unwilling that a stranger should take possession of it. Jovinus railed at the holy man, nor would he enter upon any terms of compromise, until convinced by a miracle, that he should yield, and make an humble apology to Etto. There our saint erected a church, under the patronage of St. Peter, chief of the Apostles. He used to visit the Abbey of Hautmont, where under St. Ansbert, Madelgarius lived and there he met St. Amandus, St. Wasno, and St. Humbert. There, too, St. Ursmar and his assistant bishop Erminus met him; as also St. Wasnulph, St. Gissen, St. Aldegunde, and St. Gertrude. Besides these, St. Foillan and St. Ultan came to meet him from the monastery of Fosse, as likewise many other celebrated fathers of the Church, who were living in France during his time.

Throughout all that region, St. Etto zealously laboured to spread the Gospel seed. As a light placed on a pedestal cannot be hidden, so did theme of his virtues spread on all sides. To the place of his abode came numerous visitors, to ask his counsel in spiritual affairs, as also to obtain the succours of religion. But, Etto was exceedingly humble in his own estimation, nor could he bear that others should think highly concerning him. One of the miracles recorded of our saint is that one day, and while walking in a field, he saw a mute cow-herd sleeping. Touching him gently with a staff, the man arose, and immediately found the use of speech. Fiscau or Fescau, afterwards a priory, and depending on the Abbey of Liessy, near Avesnes, in Hainault, was the place noted in connexion with St. Etto's demise. Here he lived for a considerable time, constantly engaged in prayer, and crucified to the world. Daily did he offer the Holy Victim in Sacrifice to the Lord. He became a father of the poor, a protector of the widow, an aid of the orphan, a consoler of those in sorrow and tribulation, aransomer of captives, and an intercessor for all who were reduced in circumstances. Finding his last days on earth about to close, St. Etto called his disciples to him, and then gave them special instructions, to observe the precepts of charity and peace towards one another, as also to fulfil with great care the duties of a Christian and a religious life. Receiving from him an intimation, that he should soon leave this world, his monks were moved to tears, and they naturally gave way to sorrow. However, they felt consoled when Etto imparted a special blessing on them. For immediate preparation, to meet death, the holy man redoubled his prayers and vigils, fasting with still greater strictness and giving alms most bountifully. The night before his departure, Etto had a vision regarding the place of his sepulture; and, on waking, he desired one of his friends to meet another, who was then in an adjoining wood, preparing a coffin, although he knew not for whom it was destined. This coffin that man was engaged in bringing away on a cart, drawn by a bullock. The coffin was brought to Etto, who had desired to see it. Afterwards, he devoutly received the Body and Blood of our Lord in the Holy Sacrament. Then, in the presence of his disciples, who were standing round, his soul passed away to the company of the Holy Angels and Saints. He is said to have departed, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. His death has been assigned to about a.d. 670.

On the 10th of July, various ecclesiastical authors commemorate St. Etto. His feast has been noted, in the Belgian, Gallican and Benedictine Martyrologies. Thus, Saussay, Molanus, Miraeus, Ferrarius, Wion, Dorgan, Menard, Bucelin, Castellan,and Baldericus, have notices of him. In Convaeus' list, at the same date, we find Etto set down, as "Epis. Fasciaci et Laetiarum patronus." He is noticed, likewise, by Thomas Dempster. His festival was celebrated on this day, with a proper office, in the church of Buinvilliers. There is extant, likewise, an office with Eight Lessons, and these profess to give the Acts of St. Etto, but some of them are only foolish legends.

The forty-second Bishop of Cambrai, Nicholas, in 1162, issued a diploma, whereby certain possessions were confirmed to the abbacy of Leisse, with a provision for the maintenance of so many monks as might be required to serve the church of Dompierre, and a prohibition against removing the body of the saint from that place. Other donations to Dompierre are on record. The monastery of Fiscau, was in the village of Dompierre. There and in all the surrounding country, St. Etto's name was held in very special reverence. However, the disturbances occasioned by the new Reformation caused his body to be removed to a place of greater security. His relics were translated to Mons, with those of other saints, during the wars about the middle of the sixteenth century. They were temporarily placed in a house of refuge, belonging to that Abbey. Afterwards, when order had been restored, St. Etto's remains were removed to the Abbey of Liesse, or Liessies, a suitable receptacle having been prepared for their reception, while the coffin or shrine was newly decorated and restored, as time's effacing traces had begun to show marks of fading and decay. Other smaller reliquaries of the saint were repaired at the same time. To this resting-place, St. Etto's body was translated, by Louis de Blois, then its Abbot, and placed in the church of his monastery, on the 22nd day of June, a.d. 1559. This establishment was subsequently an abbey of Canons Regular. There the body was kept, with great veneration, and St. Etto's feast has become a great solemnity, on the anniversary of his death, 10th of July. In like manner is he commemorated, in the priory of Fiscau. On that day, the people assembled in great numbers, and assisted at Mass, while a vast procession on foot and on horseback accompanied a shrine containing the relics of our saint. On that day, too, the people abstained from servile works, regarding it as a superior feast. The office of his Natalis was recited in the parish, and it was sung in the monastery of Leisse, during the entire octave. However, in the church of Dompierre, the body of St. Etto is now preserved, and there is a tomb on which he is figured with a mitre, a cross in his hand, and clothed in episcopal vestments. At some distance from the church, there is a fountain, which bears the name of St. Zé. In the parish of Dompierre, for many ages past, as also in that of Buinvilliers, diocese of Arras, a confraternity has been established in honour of St. Zé. The latter was ordered to be erected, by
the bishop of Arras in a letter, written June 16th, 1630; but, its inauguration was deferred, owing to the fact of two churches being in the same town—the congregation of each contending for their respective church as being the parochial one. An arm-bone of St. Etto is preserved at Buinvilliers, near Arras. St. Etto is represented with oxen at his feet, as he is invoked by cow-herds and cattle-drivers. A copperplate engraving of this character has been inserted in his Acts, as furnished by the Bollandists.

Since the time St. Etto departed from this life to our Lord's happy inheritance, in the seventh century, the people who lived after him had great faith in his intercession. Those who had been afflicted with various diseases were taught to believe, that through a devout invocation of his patronage, the Almighty would be pleased to remove their ailments and to prolong their lives. Even he was supposed to hear the prayers of country people, who intreated him to avert distempers from their cattle and other animals.

Irish Saints of July: Condmac of Átha Silain

2011-07-22T08:00:00.004+01:00

Today, July 9 on the Julian calendar, we commemorate another of the many obscure Irish saints, Condmac of Atha Silain. The locality where he flourished is recorded somewhat differently in the 17th-century Martyrology of Donegal than in the 8th/9th-century Martyrology of Tallagh. Canon O'Hanlon can write only these few lines on our saint:

St. Condmac or Connmach, of Ath-Blair, or Átha-Silain.

In the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 9th of July, a festival is recorded in honour of Condmac, of Atha silain. The place of this saint is differently denominated in the later Calendar. The Martyrology of Donegal, at the same date, enters the name as Connmach, of Ath Blair. We have not been able to identify his place under either denomination.

Irish Saints of July: Killian of Würzburg

2011-07-21T08:00:00.073+01:00

Today, July 8 on the Julian calendar, is the feastday of Saint Killian (Kilian, Cillian, Chilianus), an Irish missionary saint martyred in continental Europe along with two companions on this day in the year 689. I have previously posted an account drawn from the work of two French writers here, and continue the French link with the account below from the history of Ireland by the 18th-century Irish exile, Abbé Mac Geoghegan. This was published in French around 1750, an English translation was issued in Ireland in the early 19th century and a second edition in New York in the 1840s. In the footnotes to his account of Saint Killian, the Abbé cites various continental chroniclers to prove the saint's Irish origins and I have reproduced those here. Finally, the picture below shows one of the special items issued jointly by the Irish and German post offices in 1989 to commemorate the 1300th anniversary of Saint Kilian's martyrdom.

St. Kilian, a native of Ireland, called the apostle of Franconia, left his country with two companions called Colonat and Totnan, the one a priest and the other a deacon; being desirous to visit the church of Rome, he took his route through Flanders and Germany on his arrival in Rome, having been presented to pope Conon, the holy father found him to be possessed of so much wisdom, and so perfect in his knowledge of the holy Scriptures, that he ordained and appointed him to preach the gospel to the infidels of Franconia, where having converted duke Gosbert, and a great number of his subjects, he fixed his see at Würtzburg, of which he was the first bishop, and was afterwards honoured as a martyr.

Gosbert, whilst he was a pagan, married Geilana, his brother's wife; but being converted to Christianity, St. Kilian, like another John the Baptist, reproached him with truly apostolical freedom, for this incestuous marriage, and advised him to separate from her; Gielana, exasperated at the holy prelate's reproof, caused him and his companions to be assassinated on the 8th of July, 689, the day on which they are honoured by the church as martyrs.

The removal of these holy bodies by St. Burchard, bishop of that see, gave rise to the Hexastich, as subjoined; it was written in the beginning of the sixteenth century, by Doctor Engilhard Funkius. Some works are attributed to St Kilian, namely a treatise against Arianism, and one against extraneous worship.

Selections from Continental Writers Quoted by Abbé Mac Geoghegan to Prove the Irish Origins of Saint Kilian:

"From a district of Austria, and a castle called Wirtzburg near the river Meuse, the birth-place of the martyr Chilianus and two of his companions, who after coming from the island of Scotia (Ireland) preached the gospel of Christ in the above places." —Martyrology of Rhabanus.

"The holy Kilianus born in the island of Hibernia (Ireland) is considered as a renowned bishop of Würtzburg."—Marianus Scotus

"Saint Kilianus an Irish monk, preached in these times the evangelical doctrine to the eastern Francs, and is called their apostle."—Chronicles of Cardinal Bellarmini.

"In a district of Austria, where stood a castle of New France, nay a city as in the Teutonic dialect, Wirtzburg, situate near the river Meuse, signifies, the martyrdom of St. Kilianus, the first bishop of that city, and that of his two disciples, Colonatus a presbyter, and Totnanus a deacon,took place. They came from Ireland, the island of the Scots, and after receiving the authority of the apostolical see, they preached the name of Christ to that city and district."—Martyrology of Notker.

"The martyrdom of Saint Kilianus, the first bishop of Wurtzburgh, and of his two disciples Colonatus a presbyter, and Totnatus a dean, who coming from Hibernia the island of the Scots, having received their authority from the apostolical see, preached the name of Christ in that place and the surrounding country."—Notker le Begue, monk of St Gall.

The History of Ireland Ancient and Modern taken from the most authentic records and dedicated to the Irish Brigade by the Abbé Mac Geoghegan (Dublin, 1844), 117, 194.

Irish Saints of July: Crone of Templecrone

2011-07-20T08:00:00.003+01:00

Another of our Irish holy women is commemorated today, July 7 on the Julian calendar, Saint Crone of Templecrone, County Donegal. The brief account below comes from an article on the locality which bears her name:

Templecrone takes its name from St. Crone, a contemporary of St. Columbkille, who built a monastery in the sixth century some three miles south-west of the present town of Dungloe, the metropolis of the Rosses. Her feast occurs on the 7th July, and the fair of Dungloe, held on the 4th July, is known as "Aonach na Féile Cróine", from association with the Saint. Michael O'Clery has the following entry in his "Martyrology of Donegal" concerning the Saint: "Little Cróine, Virgin, from Teampall Cróine in Tir Chonaill; she was of the race of Conall Gulban, son of Niall".

Eoin Ó Searcaigh, 'Templecrone - An Interesting Donegal Parish', in The Irish Monthly, Volume 58, no. 683 (May, 1930), 258.