Saint Balin of Tech-Saxon, September 3

September 3 is the feast of an English saint who came to Ireland with Saint Colman of Lindisfarne following the decision of the Synod of Whitby to adopt the Roman dating of Pascha. Saint Balin or Balloin is said to have been a brother of Saint Gerald of Mayo as Canon O'Hanlon explains:

St. Balin or Balloin, of Tech-Saxon.

The present holy man was a brother to St. Gerald, or Garalt, whose life has been given, at the 13th of March. The Martyrologies of Marianus O'Gorman, of Cathal Maguire, and of Donegal, record the festival of St. Balan or Balloin, at the 3rd of September. It is stated, that he came from England to Ireland, with his brothers, Gerald, Berikert and Hubritan, after the middle of the seventh century. He lived at a place, called Tech-Saxan, or the House of the Saxons, most probably because it had been founded or occupied by himself, or by his brothers, or by some of his countrymen, who accompanied him from England. This place is said to have been in Athenry Parish, in the Diocese of Tuam, and County of Galway. Castellan places this St. Balo in the province of Connaught, and his feast at the present day, as noted by the Bollandists.

Saint Colman, Son of Aingen, July 14

Another name to add to our list of Irish saints called Colman - Colman, Son of Aingen, commemorated on July 14. Canon O'Hanlon seems to have been aware only of the evidence from the Irish calendars, but Pádraig Ó Riain in his A Dictionary of Irish Saints has accessed genealogical sources to add some welcome extra details. These associate this Colmán, along with his two brothers Cúrnán and Mac Reithe, with Killeroran, County Galway. The trio were also remembered in the church of Ceall Mac nAinghin(e) in Ballymoe. But Canon O'Hanlon's account below, taken from Volume VII of his Lives of the Irish Saints, refers only to the Irish calendars:

St. Colman, Son of Aingen.

In the Martyrology of Tallagh, the name of Colman Mac Andgein appears, at the 14th of July. The patronymic furnishes little clue to his family or descent, much less to his locality. He probably lived in or before the eighth century. In the Martyrology of Donegal,we have entered, likewise, Colman, the son of Aingen. On the authority of Father O'Sheerin, the Bollandists have inserted his festival at the present date.

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Saint Riaghail of Muicinis, October 16

The Irish Calendars commemorate Saint Riaghail of Muicinis on October 16, a saint who may also have been honoured in Scotland. There he was later confounded with an eastern saint said to have brought the relics of the apostle Andrew to Scotland. The Monasticon Hibernicum has this to say of Saint Riaghail and his locality:

Mucinis, Regulus, who was living in the time of the great St. Columb, was abbot of Mucinis, in Lough-Derg, bordering the County of Galway; his festival is held here on 16th of October.

to which Bishop Moran has added:

The name of St. Regulus, in Irish Riaghail, is entered in the Martyrology of Donegal, on the 16th of October: — “Riaghail, Abbot of Muicinis, in Loch Deirgdheire." He is also commemorated in the Felire of Aengus with the strophe: — “Riaghail, gifted was his career." His Acts are inserted in the Breviary of Aberdeen and he is especially honoured in St Andrew's, in Scotland, on March 30th and October the 17th.

Rt. Rev. P.F. Moran, ed.,M.Archdall, Monasticon Hibernicum, Volume II, (Dublin, 1876), 223.

I was left unsure if our Irish saint is the same as the saint venerated in Scotland and turned to Bishop Forbes' work on the Scottish calendars to see what evidence he could muster:

REGULUS or RULE. March 30 and October 17.—The commemoration of the Scotch S. Regulus occurs in the Breviary of Aberdeen on March 30, the same day as that of "S. Regulus or Rieul, who, having converted the country of Senlis to the faith, about the same time that S. Dionysius preached in France, was made first bishop of Senlis, and died in peace in the midst of his flock."—(Alban Butler ad diem, on the authority of the Bollandists and Tillemont.) So Usuardus, "Apud castrum Silvanectensium, depositio Sancti Reguli episcopi et confessoris."—(Ed. Seller, p. 180.) Another day, the 17th of October, is also kept in his honour: Quoniam in quadragesima de eo non fuerit servitium, omnia sicut in alio festo, sed differtur in crastinum (Brev. Aberd. pars estiv. fol. cxxviii.); and it is remarkable that the 16th of October is the day of S. Riaghail, abbot of Muicinis, in Lough Derg on the Shannon (Mart. Donegal). He is commemorated in the Felire of Aengus at October 16th as

Riaguil raith arremsin.
[Riagail gifted was his career.]

which is glossed by
i. Riagail Muicindsi fa Loch derc.
[i.e. Riaghail of Muicinis in Loch Derg.]

The Breviary of Aberdeen says that he is specially honoured in S. Andrews and its diocese. The Martyrology of Aberdeen associates him with the church of Kylrewni...

Alexander Penrose Forbes, D.C.L. Bishop of Brechin, Kalendars of Scottish Saints, (1872), 436-437.

Thus it would appear that it is the close coincidence of the feast days of the Irish saint and of the Scot  which suggests they are the same person. The Irish Bishop Moran, however, presents a plausible case for the presence of our Saint Riaghail in Scotland in another of his works. After establishing that the original name for St Andrew's was Kilrigmond, he says:

The first mention which we find of Kilrigmond points it out as a monastery of Irish religious, and, among other saints, the patron of Kilkenny, St. Canice, pursued there a life of holy seclusion for some  time. Even St. Regulus himself is found to have been one of those Irish saints, and his name is none other than the Irish Riaghail. He was a contemporary of St. Canice, and famed in our early church as abbot of Muicinish, in Lough Derg, on the Shannon, and, like many of our saints, it is probable that he made North Britain the theatre of his missionary zeal, and closed his days at Kil-Rigmond. It was only in the year 736 that the Pictish monarch, in gratitude to God for a great victory which he had achieved, erected there a church in honour of his patron, St. Andrew, which he enriched with vast possessions, and which in the course of time became the royal and primatial church of the whole kingdom. At the time that St. Andrew's was thus founded, Kil-Rigmond had the Irishman, Tuathal, for its abbot, whose demise is recorded in the Annals of Tighernach under the year 747.

Right Rev. P.F. Moran, Irish Saints in Great Britain (Dublin, 1879), 200.

Note: For more on the legend of Saint Regulus see here.

Cruach Mac Dara - Saint MacDara's Island

September 28 is the feast of a saint of the west of Ireland, Sinach Mac Dara, whose traditional island pilgrimage is still celebrated, although this takes place on July 16. I have been reading a number of accounts written at different times about Saint Mac Dara's pilgrimage and below is the earliest of these, written in 1896, by the Belfast antiquary F.J. Bigger. His account is full of period charm and paints a picture of life for a Victorian gentleman with the means and the leisure to undertake this type of fieldwork. Bigger's account also reprises most of what is known about Saint Sinach MacDara, although last year's post from Canon O'Hanlon's Lives of the Irish Saints is also available here.

CRUACH MAC DARA, OFF THE COAST OF CONNAMARA: WITH A NOTICE OF ITS CHURCH, CROSSES, AND ANTIQUITIES.

BY FRANCIS JOSEPH BIGGER, M.R.I.A.

I am indebted to Charles Elcock, of Belfast for the advice given to me on the occasion of the visit of the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club to Galway last July, to try, if possible, and visit Cruach Mac Dara, a small island lying out in the western Atlantic Ocean, a few miles south from Roundstone, in the parish of Moyrus. I acted upon the advice, and was in nowise disappointed. My visit served a dual purpose it gave me an excellent holiday in the company of congenial friends, and afforded an antiquarian treat for which I was scarcely prepared.

At an early hour of the day, in a specially chartered, roomy, but odoriferous twenty-five ton hooker, "The Lily," in charge of Martin Toole, a worthy old Iar Connacht fisherman, we hoisted sail in the pretty little harbour of Roundstone, and made out into the open waters of the Atlantic, with a pleasant wind upon our port, which soon bore us past the island of Inishnee, and the barren promontory of Tawnrawer Cartron. Our party consisted of the Rev. Canon M'Cormick, D. D., Rector of Moyrus (than whom there is no more worthy companion and excellent guide); his son Frank, a youth whose heroism has been rewarded by the Royal Humane Society's Medal; my comrade, R. L. Praeger, naturalist; two antiquarian friends, Dr. D'Evelyn, of Ballymena, and R. J. Welch, of Belfast, to whom I am much indebted for the excellent photographs illustrating this Paper; my brother Fred, and myself. A little over two hours tacking in a fair breeze brought us through the long Atlantic rollers to our destination. Arriving off Inis Mac Dara, we cast anchor near the shore, and rowed in our ship's boat to the rocks, landing close to the Saint's Church, and the adjoining antiquities.

The island comprises about sixty acres, mostly bare; the rock a reddish granite, with a coast strewn with huge blocks; there is a little grass land towards the centre affording food for a few sheep. There are no inhabitants on the island, and very few of the people of the district visit it unless on the Saint's two festivals, while strangers scarcely ever do so. The church is situated on the edge of the east shore of the island, in a gentle hollow sloping to the south, and close to the natural landing place, over-looking a low reef of rock called Illaunnamorlagh.

The island lies west of Ard Bay, with the small intervening islands of Fraghan, Wherroon, Librace, Avery, Carrickaher More and Beg, Carrick-agun, and Mason Island, on which are the ruins of a church and an ancient cross; and south of Roundstone Bay, Bertraghboy Bay, Inishlackan, and Freaghillaun, and, what may seem a curious coincidence, Inishbigger, a small island, shaped like a flint arrow-head, of whose existence I was not previously aware; to the west lie Croaghnakeela,now a deer park of 140 acres, with the ruins of St. Keelan's church and well, and the small islands of Illaunnacrogh More and Beg. Of all these islands, Cruach Mac Dara bears away the palm for antiquarian remains and general interest.

Of the Saint himself little is known, and that little is obscure. He is supposed to have flourishein the sixth century, and the ruins of his oratory have certainly a very early appearance. Sinach was his proper name; but he is always called after his father, Dara; his proper name, Sinach, being never used. Whether the meaning of that word (a fox) had anything to do with its non-application or notwe can only infer; anyhow the fact remains that this name was dropped, and the Saint was one of the first to have a surname, for reasons best known to those who applied it.

In O' Donovan's MS. Letters (p. 116), it is stated that there is a most extraordinary superstition still deep-rooted in the minds of all the fishermen in Galway, Aran, and Connemara: “They cannot bear to hear the name of a fox, hare, or rabbit pronounced, and should they chance to see either of those animals living or dead, or hear the name of either expressed before setting out to fish in the morning, they would not venture out that day. This is a most unaccountable superstition! and still the name of their great patron is Sionnach, a fox! They never, however, mention that name for they know it not, but always style the Saint by his patronym of Mac Dara.”

The Saint's festivals are celebrated on the 16th July and 28th September, on which occasions many of the inhabitants of the mainland pay their devotions to the Saint. A festival had been held two days previous to our visit last July, on which occasion, the day being stormy, only about 100 pilgrims had visited Chruach Mac Dara. The beaten tracks around the stations were traceable, whilst little piles of stones, evidently counters, were to be seen at the corners. The well was dry, and its basin contained a few odd personal trifles.

Hardiman's edition of O'Flaherty’s “H-Iar Connacht” gives the following description: - 'Over against Mason Head, southward in the same countrey, lies Craugh Mhic Dara, a small high island and harbour for ships. This island is an inviolable sanctuary, dedicated to Mac Dara the miraculous saint, whose chappell is within it, where his statue of wood for many ages stood, till Malachias Queleus, the Archbishop of Tuam caused it to be buryed under ground, for speciall weighty reasons. [I cannot find out exactly what these weighty reasons were; so can only surmise that they indicated abuses perhaps worse than those which still occur in other similar places.]

“On the shore of this island is the captive’s stone, where women, at low water, used to gather duleasg for a friend's sake in captivity, whereby they believe he will soon get succour by the intercession of the Saint.

“The boats that pass between Mason Head and this island have a custome to bow down their sailes three times in reverence to the Saint. A certain captain of the garrison of Galway, Anno 1672, passing this way and neglecting that custome, was so tossed with sea and storme, that he vowed he would never pass there again without paying his obeysance to the Saint; but he never returned home till he was cast away by shipwreck soon after. A few years after, one Gill, a fisherman of Galway, who would not strike saile, in contempt of the Saint, went not a mile beyond that road, when, sitting on the pup of the boat, the mast, by a contrary blast of wind, broke, and struck him on the pate dead, the day being fair weather both before and after.

“The parish church of Moyrus, by the seashore, just opposite to the island in the continent of Irrosainhagh, is dedicated to his name, where is kept his altar stone by the name of Leac Sinnch. His festival day is kept as patron of Moyrus parish, the 16th of July.”

Hardiman, in his notes, refers to the custom of children being called MacDara, after the Saint. The inhabitants also called their boats after him, and to sail in such was considered a guarantee of safety. At present the name is still a common one in the immediate district, and is also frequently met with on the Aran Islands.

The Saint's name does not appear in any of the Calendars or Martyrologies at present known, that I can discover, but he has found a place in the Rev. Canon O'Hanlon's Lives of The Saints.

In the Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 1868, p. 555, G. H. Kinahan refers to the crosses and holed stones on Illaun MacDara, and gives small drawings of two of the crosses. Petrie, in his Ecclesiastical Architecture (p. 199), makes a short reference to the church, and quotes a passage I have given from O'Flaherty; he also gives a drawing of the church, which is not quite correct in detail. So much for the references. I will now, as concisely as possible, detail the principal features of these remarkable ruins, as I found them.

The Oratory (see Plate) first attracts our attention, its beautiful shape affording an excellent example of a sixth or seventh century building not surpassed by any now remaining. It is one of the most typical of the ancient ecclesiastical structures we possess, and in some respects has no fellow. It is cyclopean; many of the stones being of immense bulk, some measuring 53, by 32, by 28 inches; others 54 and 60 inches long, by 32 inches thick; while others, from their irregular shapes are difficult to measure, but are equally massive. It has one chamber, one door, and two windows.

In one respect it surpasses all the ecclesiastical structures of Aran, in that a considerable portion of the original stone roof remains, which is not so with them. This want in the Aran churches leads some archaeologists to doubt that they ever had stone roofs at all.

The measurements of Saint MacDara's Oratory are given in the annexed plan (see Plan, fig.1). The building is duly orientated, and besides the east window possesses a small square window in the centre of the south wall. The doorway in the west gable has slightly inclined jambs, is square-headed, and is a fine example of its class, being 62 inches high, 28 wide at the sill, and 26 inches at the lintel (see detailed measurements, fig.2). The lintel on the inside immediately over the opening has a projecting band, the breadth of the door, about 4 inches deep, but it bears no socket holes. The north and south side walls project about a foot beyond the east and west gables, and bear the roof directly upon them, apparently using the gables (which have the appearance of being built independently of the walls) as supports, they not being bonded into each other.



Every second course of the gables has, however, a stone slightly inserted into the side walls. The roof-stones have been laid in regular courses, seventeen being counted on one side. In each case the higher row projects slightly over that beneath it, thus forming pleasing bead lines along the roof. Unfortunately much of the roof has fallen in, a large part having been pulled down by throwing a rope over a projecting stone, and a number of men then hauling at it until it fell; but it is still capable of restoration, all the stones still lying about inside. The removal of a large stone from the outside of the south wall, close to the window, has caused a very dangerous bulging of that side, which may at any time be followed by a collapse. A very stout buttress of some considerable age has been built against the east gable, thus preventing it from falling. A very little outlay would put the whole structure in a sound state, and doubtless, preserve it for another 1200 years.



Along the east gable, as shown on the plan, is a stone enclosure, heaped with stones, known as the Saint's Bed. Near the surface of this grave was found a fine stone celt, well shaped and polished; also a portion of a small circular slate-stone with rude ornament, the use of which is not known. It would be interesting to know if the Saint's wooden effigy was here interred by Malachias Queleus. No mortar is visible in the walls of the church; huge and well cut granite quoins are used, the joints being well filled with spawls, or small broken stones, as seen in the sketch of the door and the general view of the church (see Plate.) The east window has deeply splayed jambs and head, with a sloping sill, the head being cut circular, with one stone inside, and a second outside, also cut circular, with two stones in between them (see figs.3 and 4). Its dimensions are 55 inches high, by 26 inches wide inside, and 27 inches high and 11 inches wide outside. Near the outside edges, upon the insides, are cut bar sockets. The south window is square headed, with sides splayed inward and sill downwards, with a one stone lintel. It is 28 and a half inches high, by 27and a half inches wide inside (see fig.5), and 19 inches high, by 10 and a half inches outside. The different features of this church point strongly to a seventh-century erection; its site and cyclopean masonry, its stone roof, narrow door, its one chamber, and small windows, all point it out as one of the earliest and most perfect Christian oratories now remaining to us.








Figure 6 depicts one of the most remarkable stones I have ever seen, and it is one of undoubted interest to every archaeologist. This stone was found in two pieces lying face downwards, a little south of the church, by Charles Elcock, on his visit in 1884. At the time of its discovery by him, perhaps one hundred people were there collecting seaweed, and on his picking up the stone and showing it, they raised the cry, in Irish and English, 'He's found the Saint, he's found the Saint hisself', whereupon everyone rushed to see the Saint's head. They thought it a wonderful thing that he should go to the very spot, and find the Saint himself, at once, never having them had been coming and going “nigh fifty years”, and had never seen “him” before. I found the stone lying face downwards, just where Charles Elcock had left it eleven years before, as if it had never been disturbed, clearly proving that but little attention has ever been paid to these memorials of the very Saint whose festivals they are so careful to observe. Nor do I understand why there was so much interest manifested by those who where on the island when it was found, when any one of them might have found it for themselves, merely by observing its colour and shape, as distinct from the stones around. The natives consider the head in the centre of the stone as being that of Saint MacDara.

This stone, and all the crosses, except one of granite, are cut out of blue limestone, none of which is found on the island, and so must have been brought from the mainland. The size of the remarkable stone is 28 and a half inches wide at its head, and 16 and a half inches at its base, by about 20 inches in height; it is broken into two pieces. The Rev. James Graves, eleven years ago, in reply to a letter from Charles Elcock, enclosing a sketch and rubbing of this stone, wrote, “Similar stones have been found in or near, and in one case in situ, in very early churches, but I do not know of another instance of their being sculptured. I know of one with mouldings round it [probably referring to the one at Freshford, county Kilkenny]. That peculiar shaped stone originally surmounted one of the gables.” A similarly shaped stone is at Molaga's Bed, County Cork. As no socket stone now remains upon the corners of the roof, we have no evidence proving this stone ever stood there. Such a socket may be found amongst the stones lying about; indeed, one socket stone found may possibly have served such a purpose, although the dimensions would not now suit; but it will be observed that the finial stone has had a piece broken from its base, which might have tapered down so as to fit this socket. Could such a stone be used as a finial at the time of the erection of the Oratory, or is it likely that the Saint would have his own effigy erected on his own oratory during his lifetime? Tradition tells us the head on this stone is that of the Saint himself. Then again the stone is blue limestone, and the Oratory is built of a reddish granite. True, the erection of the stone may have taken place at a later date; but it could not, in my opinion, be contemporaneous with the Oratory, the style is so different, there being no carving on any portion of the building. But what may this remarkable stone have been, if not a finial? That I cannot answer. The reverse of the stone is plain, the base having the appearance of being broken. The details of the carvings I need not describe, as they are faithfully delineated in the accompanying sketch (see fig.6).



Several stone altars are in the vicinity of the church, all surmounted by crosses, or fragments of crosses, the most perfect being that to the north-east, standing out picturesquely against the Twelve Bens and the Maamturk mountains, in Connemara, some 12 or 15 miles away (see fig.7). On this altar are several spherical praying or 'cursing' stones; none of them are carved. I would like to know the meaning of the curious cut on the centre of the cross? It is not weathering. At the side of this altar is the small hollowed stone, previously referred to, that may have served as a socket; the hole in it measures 11 inches by 3 inches, its outside measurement being 16 inches by 7 inches.



To the south of the church, close to the shore and standing on the level ground, are two crosses near to each other facing the east, as do all the other crosses. One is plain limestone measuring 34 inches high by 22 and a half inches at the arms and 4 inches thick; the other is of granite, the only one of that rock, and is carved as delineated in the accompanying sketch (see fig.8). The peculiar feature of this cross, which is evidently very ancient, is the introduction of the serpent on the two lower quarters of the cross. The cross is 30 inches high, 17 inches wide at the arms, and 4 inches thick. Another sculptured cross bears the serpent ornament. Its height is 33 inches by 17 inches wide (see fig.9). There are no other whole crosses on the island, but the fragments of several could be gathered together, for even in the short time of my visit we collected several portions. The shaft of one cross is erected in a station whilst four portions of the head lie upon the altar, having been previously taken from the adjacent wall. These pieces when put together form a very fine cross, only one little piece being absent, and it doubtless is not far away.





The several portions of another cross, the highest we observed, were found upon the altar to the south of the church. These pieces were also picked from the same wall as that previously mentioned, the arms alone being missing, but I would not despair of finding them also if time allowed the search. Its height is 78 inches by 10 inches across the shaft (see fig 10). The head of another fine cross in two pieces we found in the fence close to the church; it has been a fine Celtic cross having a circle with openings and arms. Its greatest breadth is 28 and a half inches, and its height 21 inches; the breadth of the head is 12 inches, and the thickness 3 inches. The openings are 4 inches by 3 inches.



Fragments of other crosses we found, some of them beautifully carved with rich opus hibernicum (see fig. 11). No modern graves were observed, although the ground near the church was marked with large stones that may point to former interments.



Some distance from the church to the north, and overhanging the shore, are the remains of what may have been clochauns or circular stone dwelling houses. The walls of one stand 4 feet high on one side, and 2 feet on the other, the diameter being 19 feet. The stones are large and well cut, and carefully built. To the east of this are the remains of another circular stone structure, but the building is not so apparent. These may have been the residences of Sinach and his followers.

These are all the evidences observed by me of what must formerly have been an important religious settlement. The life of Illaun Mac Dara must have been, for at least six months of the year, rigorous in the extreme; a few sheep or goats could exist on the island, and a few herbs be grown, but the principal food must have been fish and seaweed, unless the inhabitants of the mainland systematically contributed food for the maintenance of the religious on this barren rock.

Charles Elcock, of Belfast, visited Cruach Mac Dara eleven years ago, and I have gone carefully through his notes and the beautiful drawings he then made, and the accurate measurements taken, and have verified them with my own. In all respects I found the different features described by me to have been observed and noted by him, no changes having taken place. To him I am much indebted for the illustrations to this Paper, carefully made from his drawings, and measurements, and my own, and from the very excellent photographs taken by Robert J. Welch, two of which also are here reproduced.

I have also to express my indebtedness to others who cheerfully assisted me, and more especially to the Rev. Canon M Cormick, D.D., of Roundstone, who arranged for our passage to this most interesting island in his semi-aquatic parish.

I shall not soon forget the coming home from Illaun Mac Dara. I cannot describe it as a sail, there being no wind whatever. For hours we lay there in the long Atlantic swell, our huge sail flapping with the roll of the ship, the island of the Saint behind us, and the great range of the Twelve Bens along the northern horizon, decked out in the most gorgeous colouring of a western sunset. Crimson, violet, and purple vied with each other amongst the peaks of the Connemara Alps, whilst all around the warm glow of a July evening impressed upon us the thought that we had indeed been amongst the Isles of the Blest, though not on Hy Brasil itself.

In conclusion, I would like to press upon the Members of this Society the desirability of taking some immediate action in order to put into safety the numerous and interesting relics of Inis Mac Dara. A little money, with some time and skill, would make this island a perfect gem, showing what an early Irish religious settlement really was. I would cheerfully assist in the work, and gladly co-operate with any who desire to see these relics of Saint Sinach Mac Dara gilded with the rays of the Atlantic sun in a state to recall to mind their early beauty and symmetry.


Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Volume VI, 5th series, (1896), 101-112.

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Brendan and Briga - The Benedict and Scholastica of Ireland

One of the best-known Irish saints whose feast day falls in the month of May must be Saint Brendan the Navigator.  I have already posted an exhaustive series of notes on his life from the Irish Ecclesiastical Record, which can be found here. Hagiographical tradition associates Saint Brendan with a sister called Briga. She is one of a number of saints who bear this name, most of whom are untraceable. The hagiographical tradition, however, associates Saint Briga with a foundation at Annaghdown, County Galway, established for her by her saintly brother. The Life of Saint Brendan records that when his end was approaching, Brendan retired to this monastery and died there in the year 577. The Life also records that as children, both Brendan and Briga were sent to be educated by Bishop Erc, where Brendan recognized the holiness of his sibling:

vi. (12) Brig, daughter of Findlug, his sister, was with him there, and great was his love for her, for he saw the attendance of angels above her.

C. Plummer, ed. and trans., Life of Brendan of Clonfert, Bethada Náem nÉrenn – Lives of Irish Saints, Vol. II (Oxford, 1922), 46.

It was the hint of this warm relationship between the two which led one Irish commentator to describe Brendan and Briga as 'the Benedict and Scholastica of Ireland'. In the following extract from a paper on the Diocese of Annaghdown, Father Jerome Fahey provides an introduction to the monastery of Annaghdown, which he charmingly suggests had 'the attractiveness of another Subiaco' at the time our saints were living there. The paper begins with a reference to the 1872 work of Sir William Wilde, Lough Corrib: its shores and islands with notices of Lough Mask, from which the illustration of the ruined abbey has been taken. I have extracted only the first couple of pages from Father Fahey's paper as most of the article is taken up with an account of the later medieval history of the diocese and its eventual suppression:

Diocese of Annaghdown

by the Very Rev. J. Fahey, D.D., V.G., P.P.

Our antiquarians are no doubt familiar with the series of graphic sketches, in which the gifted Sir William Wilde has illustrated with pen and pencil the islands and shores of the Corrib. To say that these sketches are worthy of their distinguished author is no small measure of praise. I may perhaps add that his chapter on Annaghdown, is one of the most interesting and valuable of the series. He tells us how the little headland which extends there into the waters of the Corrib derived its designation from its local characteristics, the "dun" or fort which existed there, and the Eanach or marsh with which it is surrounded. He tells us how St. Brendan and his Sister St. Briga, the Benedict and Scholastica of Ireland, came to reside there; and invested the place for a period at least, with the attractiveness of another Subiaco. His pencil gives us with the strictest fidelity, the Cathedral, the Episcopal residence, and the old monasteries, all hoary ruins. And the massive Norman Keep, he has also sketched, which lifts its battlements high above the Wells of St. Brendan and St. Cormack, and speaks to us of a feudalism long past which has no where in Ireland a larger number of monuments than on the plains of Moy Soela. But the subject of my paper does not permit me to do more than make a passing reference to many of those objects of historical interest, grouped together on the little promontory of Annaghdown.

My paper recalls the existence of a Diocese to which this headland has given its name; a Diocese which has ceased to exist for so long a period as to be now practically forgotten. We shall see that the period of its independent existence was connected with a troubled time in the history of our country, and reflects for us in a peculiar light, many of the strange events of that period. And though its brief period of independence secured for it a remarkable prominence, and a notoriety not always enviable, it is a curious fact that the exact dates of its foundation and suppression, seem to remain to our time enveloped in obscurity.

There is no doubt that long before a Bishop had fixed his See at Annaghdown, the place itself was invested with a special religious and historical interest. It was one of those Sanctuaries which gemmed the islands and shores of the Corrib, in the sixth and seventh centuries, when the "holy foreigner" lived alone at Inchigall; when St. Fechin and his monks laid the foundations of their historic monastery at Cong, when religion in its most austere form, attracted to Inchiquin, and Kilursa, many members of the royal houses both of Connaught and of Munster. It was then that St. Brendan one of the most remarkable of our early Saints, selected the little promontory of Enaghdun, to be for a brief period his chosen place of prayer and repose. His marvellous labours which won for him the well merited title of "Pater laboriosus, " were nearly accomplished. His memorable voyages supplied his contemporaries with themes more wonderful than were furnished by the energy of Columbus to the people of his age. On the neighbouring island of Inchiquin, he had founded a monastery which he had placed under the wise guidance of St. Meldan, and there he had the happiness of blessing the marvellous child St. Fursey, whose future greatness he forecast with prophetic accuracy. His great Church and Monastery at Clonfert, he had completed and placed under the charge of his friend and companion St. Moennean. And here at Enaghdun he had built a monastery for his holy Sister Briga and her nuns, whose privilege it should be to witness his last moments, and close his eyes in the last blissful sleep. His death at Annaghdown, A.D., 577, at the venerable age of 94, was regarded by his contemporaries as an event of national importance. The funeral procession from Annaghdown to Clonfert was made up of a vast multitude from every part of Ireland, and was the most imposing demonstration of reverential regard for holiness of life which the century had witnessed.

It was but natural that the character of St. Briga should lend a still more impressive interest to that remote spot. When, therefore, an independent Diocese was established in that territory, we cannot be surprised that St. Brendan should be selected as it patron; that the place so associated with his life and death, should be selected as the fitting site for the Cathedral, and that its name should be chosen to designate the Diocese…

Rev. J. Fahey, ‘Diocese of Annaghdown’ in Journal of the Galway Archaeological and Historical Society, Volume III, (1903-4), No. II, 102-113.

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Saint Foila of Killeely, March 3

A female saint of the west, Foila of Killeely, County Galway is commemorated on March 3. Canon O'Hanlon has this account of her:

St. Foila or Foilenna, Virgin, and Patroness of Kill-faile now Killeely Parish, County of Galway.

Colgan could not procure any special Acts of this saint, who was venerated in the southern parts of Connaught, in his own time. However, he and the Bollandists have short notices of her, at this day. St. Foilenna, Failenna, or Fallenda, or as more commonly called, St. Foila or Faila, also denominated Foilend, or Faoileann, is thought to have been daughter to Aidan, surnaraed Draignech, son to Lugadius, son to Dathy, King of Ireland; and, her mother, Cuillenn, or Cullenda, was likewise descended from a distinguished family. She had three brothers, Colgeus, or Colga, Aldus and Sorarius, who are numbered amongst the saints of our country. At what particular time St. Foila was born, we are not informed ; but, it was thought, probably, in an early part or towards the middle of the sixth century. It seems probable, she lived in Kill-faile. This place is identical with the present parish of Killeely, in the barony of Dunkellin, county of Galway. The old church there is yet in good preservation, being, in the opinion of Dr. O'Donovan, modernized during the 14th or 15th century. Measured on the inside, it is 63 feet long by 21 broad. The pointed or Gothic style there prevails. It is remarkable, that this parish joins Kilcolgan, where St. Faile's brother, Colga or Colgan had been venerated. Both churches were near Ath cliath Medhruidhe, the ancient name for Clarinbridge. Both saints also belonged to the race of the Hy Fiachrach Aidhne. The church of Kill-faile derives its name from St. Foila, and it is situated within the diocese of Kilmacduagh. During her lifetime, St. Foila performed many miracles. The day and year of her death is not recorded ; but, the former probably fell on the 3rd of March, when her festival was kept, in the church of Kill-faile. It is commemorated on this day, according to the Martyrologies of Tamlacht, of Marianus O'Gorman, of Maguire and of Donegal. After her death, frequent pilgrimages were made to St. Foila's tomb, from distant parts of the country, by persons afflicted with various maladies. For the cure of these, they reposed great confidence, in her merits and intercession.

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Saint Iarlaithe of Tuam, December 26

Although his feast is now celebrated on June 6 in Ireland, the Irish calendars record the commemoration of Saint Iarlaithe (Iarlath, Jarlath) of Tuam at December 26. Below is an account of Tuam from the Moran edition of Archdall's Monasticon Hibernicum, which contains some interesting information on the rediscovery of the relics of Saint Iarlaithe in the seventeenth century:

St. Jarlath is said to have made it a cathedral in the beginning of the sixth century; and it is also said that a city was built here in honour of this exemplary bishop. His remains were preserved at Tuam, in a chapel called Temple-na-scrin, i.e. the church of the shrine. After the death of this saint, we meet with three persons who are expressly said to have been abbots of Tuam, viz.: Cellach, son of Eochad, who died in the year 808; Nuadat Hua Bolchain, abbot and anchorite, who died 3rd October, 877; and Cornac, son of Kieran, abbot of Tuam and prior of Clonfert, who died in 879.

The festival of St. Jarlathe, now kept on the 6th of June, is marked in our calendars on the 26th of December, on which day he is commemorated in the Martyrology of Donegal. He was born in the 5th century, and is said to have received in his childhood the blessing of St. Benignus, of Armagh. He established a religious house at Cluainfos. i.e., “the valley of retreat," about a mile from the present town of Tuam, and subsequently erected the church and monastery of Tuam. St. Jarlathe was remarkable for his austerities, and in the poem of St. Cuimin of Connor, on the characteristic virtues of the Irish saints, he is styled “one who practised not penury," and who made three hundred genuflections each day, and the same each night He died about the year 540. His relics were preserved in a rich shrine in a separate church, thence called Skreen, in the town of Tuam. Dr. John Lynch, writing in 1672, describes a portion of the old walls of this Skreen as still standing, though the place was then used as a barn. He adds that in the beginning of the century, while some men were engaged in threshing corn, they remarked something shining in the floor; removing the clay, they found a rich ornamental case enclosing the relics of St. Jarlathe — " Cupream thecam quinquangularem S. Hierathii Reliquias includentem:" this was brought to Dr. Daniel, the Protestant Archbishop, who privately handed it over to the Roman Catholic Vicar-General, Francis Kerevan, by whom it was consigned to a good Catholic family for safe keeping. Colgan speaks of these relics as still preserved in his time. During the episcopate of Aed O'Hoisin, the cathedral was built through the munificence of Turlogh O'Connor, Monarch of Ireland.

Rt. Rev. P.F. Moran, ed., M.Archdall, Monasticon Hibernicum, Volume II, (Dublin, 1876), 225-227.

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Saint Colman of Kilmacduagh, October 29

October 29 is the feastday of Saint Colman of Kilmacduagh, a saint of the west of Ireland, who was related to the ruling house of his district. In the account below, which has been distilled from various chapters of Father Jerome Fahey's diocesan history, the writer presents an engaging portrait of Saint Colman's devotion to the monastic life and includes the most famous episodes from his Life - the fly, the cock and the mouse which assisted him and the miracle of the Easter feast:

Amongst the Saints who made the reign of the pious King of Connaught memorable, there is none whose sanctity is so revered, and whose name is so enthusiastically honoured throughout the district of Aidhne, as is St. Colman, son of Duagh. The diocese of Kilmacduagh, of which he was founder, perpetuates his name; and through its various parishes he is still piously invoked as a powerful and holy patron.

His connection with the king was of the most intimate kind, being united to him by ties of intimate friendship as well as by those of kindred.

In the Martyrology of Donegal, we find him referred to as "Colman Bishop, i.e. Mac Duagh of Cill Mic Duach in Connachta; he was of the race of Fiachra, son of Eochaid Muidhmheadoin; great were his virtues and miracles."

This authoritative reference to him as Bishop of Kilmacduagh, and also to his parentage, helps effectually to remove all difficulties as to his identity. The name of Colman was indeed a favourite one with the holy men of the period. This will be abundantly evident from the fact that the Martyrology of Donegal commemorates as many as one hundred and thirteen Saints who bear the name of Colman. But from out of this multitude whose name he shares, the individuality of the holy son of Duagh, of the princely race of Fiachra, is clearly fixed.

...We can have no difficulty as to the particular period to which St Colman's public life may be referred. There is no doubt that it is to be referred to the close of the sixth and the opening of the seventh century. Our fuller knowledge of the history of his distinguished contemporaries, removes all difficulty on that head. But the exact or approximate date of his birth can be only a matter of conjecture. Neither have we any historical evidence of the particular place of his birth. We have, however, a well-defined tradition, always accepted in the diocese of Kilmacduagh, which fixes the village of Corker, in the present parish of Kiltartan, as the place of his birth. The same interesting tradition which tells us of the place of his birth, preserves also some interesting circumstances in connection with it.

Rhinagh, the Saint's mother, when in an advanced state of pregnancy, became the object of the king's jealous hatred. The reigning king was Colman, father of Guaire. He had heard that, according to a prophecy of authority, Rhinagh's son was destined to surpass in greatness, all others of his illustrious lineage. Dreading the jealous hostility of the king, which she thus unconsciously excited, she was obliged to fly. But the hostility of the king pursued her. She was seized by his minions, and cast, with a heavy stone tied around her neck, into the deepest portion of the Kiltartan river. She was miraculously preserved from drowning, however; and the stone lies still by the river margin, an object of interest to many.

It was in the adjoining solitude at Corker that the infant was born, who was indeed destined to bring upon the district "a thousand blessings which time has brought to ripeness."

The anxious mother laid her new-born babe under the friendly shelter of a spreading ash, and waited impatiently for some one who might at least pour on its head the waters of regeneration. And though the tradition here loses itself in one well known to be applied by poets and hagiographers to St. Patrick, it may be undesirable to destroy its continuity. It continues to tell us how two aged clerical pilgrims approached the anxious mother. One was blind and the other lame. Being unable to procure water to administer baptism, they invoked the Divine aid; and lo! a fountain gushed forth from under the shelter of the tree. After administering baptism, the pilgrims washed in the waters of the fountain and were healed. The grateful monks besought the mother to entrust them with the safety and education of the child — a permission which, under the circumstances, must have been gladly accorded to them by Rhinagh.

The holy well at which St. Colman is said to have been baptized, still remains at Corker, and bears his name. It is held by the people of the village and surrounding district in the highest veneration. " Rounds " are still performed there ; and it is confidently asserted in the locality that the supernatural efficacy of the water is still frequently proved. The venerable ash has disappeared, but its place is supplied by a cluster of venerable hawthorns, which will please the lovers of the picturesque, as well as those to whom the legendary history of our Saints is dear.

However much we regret that we are ignorant of the names of those good monks who undertook to guard Rhinagh's holy child in his infancy, and to educate him in his early years, we must at least admire the success with which they sheltered him from the jealousy of the king. Even now we are unable to glean even the smallest particulars regarding the history of his early years. It is only in his mature years, after he had already entered the sanctuary, that we can obtain even a shadowy glimpse of him as he is engaged in his missionary labours or personal austerities.

He reappears in the celebrated island of Aranmore, then widely known as Aran of the Saints. Its reputation as a sanctuary of piety rivalled that of Lerins and of Iona. In fact, Western Europe had not many more remarkable homes of piety than "Ara-na-Naomh."

St Colman's stay in Aranmore must have been considerable, as he built there two churches, which, according to Dr. Kelly, are attributed to St Colman, both by "history and tradition."...But the seclusion of Aranmore was not deep enough to satisfy the yearnings of St. Colman. He resolved to hide himself in some deeper solitude, that he might abandon himself more completely to the influence of that all absorbing spirit of prayer and mortification with which he was then so deeply imbued.

The closing years of the sixth century, which witnessed St. Colman's departure from Aranmore, are memorable for a new development in the religious life of the nation. The monastic life had attained in Ireland a development probably unparalleled. If not the golden age of Ireland's holiness, our early writers speak of the effulgence of its sanctity in comparison with subsequent times, as the brightness of the moon compared with that of the stars.

There were, before the close of the century, clear evidences that the hermit's life was preferred by many to the usual community life of the monk. It may be that our stern ascetics regarded the influx of native and foreign students to our monasteries, as obstacles to high and intimate union with God. It is certain that the desire to live in complete solitude became very general, and marks a new epoch in the religious life of Ireland. The hermits of the period are known as a distinct order of Irish Saints. This "Third Order" of Irish Saints, as they are called, numbered one hundred, and were nearly all priests. "They dwelt in deserts, and lived on herbs, water, and alms; they shunned possessing private property." There were amongst them also some few bishops, amongst whom we find the name of St. Colman. Dr. Lanigan assures us that this Bishop Colman of the Third Class was, "according to every appearance," St. Colman of Kilmacduagh.

Indeed, there can be no doubt that St. Colman Mac Duagh sought in the depths of the Burren forests, for perfect solitude and seclusion to commune alone with his Creator, like another Anthony or Hilarion. The career of austere and exalted sanctity on which we now see him entering even recalls the desert life of the Baptist, who fed on the locusts and honey of the desert. A spirit of profound humility, a love of retirement and mortification, where virtues which he had hitherto cultivated with assiduity, and which constituted leading traits in his character. But the solitudes of Aranmore, and the sacrifices and austerities practised there by the holy disciples of St Enda, seemed insufficient to the generous soul of St Colman Mac Duagh. He resolved to give himself to the practices of penance and contemplation with all the ardour of his soul in complete solitude and retirement.

Colgan informs us that St Colman retired to Burren accompanied by a solitary attendant, while his old enemy and namesake, Colman, father of Guaire, yet occupied the throne of Connaught. And it is not improbable that a knowledge of the cruel persecutions to which his mother had been subjected by her royal kinsman, made him regard it as a matter of grave importance to conceal as much as possible the place of his retirement. Though we cannot fix the date, we can form an accurate approximate judgment as to the time of his retirement into Burren. Guaire did not succeed to the throne of Connaught till A.D. 604. His brother Loigneun succeeded his father Colman, and reigned for seven years. As it was in Colman 's reign that our Saint retired to his hermitage, the period of his retirement could not be later than the last decade of the sixth century. We are informed by Colgan that St. Colman wrote from his retirement to St Columba, then in lona, seeking spiritual direction; and we know the death of St Columba occurred in A.D. 597.

Our Saint constructed his little oratory at the base of the frowning cliff of Ceanaille. Tradition points to a cave close to the oratory in which he sought shelter and repose. A crystal fountain supplied him with drink, the wild herbs of the forest were his only food, and the skins of the wild deer formed his coarse and scanty raiment either in summer heats or wintry snows. Here shut out from all human converse, and dead to all earthly things, he led a life of the highest spirituality. His fasts, like his prayers and vigils, were interrupted only by the necessities of failing nature. So absorbing did his sense of Divine love become, that he was frequently wrapped in ecstasy, and enjoyed the most abundant spiritual consolations. He had, however, his moments of aridity, when God seemed to withdraw Himself from His servant It was in one of those moments of spiritual trial that he wrote to St. Columba. Colgan's brief reference to the Apostle of Iona's reply, shows us that it was full of friendly sympathy and of respect for St. Colman's sanctity. He reminds St. Colman that the great losses complained of presupposed the existence of abundant spiritual treasures. Such friendly banter can be easily understood, when we remember they were kinsmen. And as St. Columba himself had traversed those Burren solitudes, and erected a church in one of its deepest valleys, — Glan
Columkille, — it is possible that they may have been personally acquainted.

Keating writes: "Mac Duagh was retired into the wilderness for the benefit of his devotion. He had no living creature about him except a cock, a mouse, and a fly. The use of the cock was to give him notice of the time of night by his crowing, that he might know when to apply himself to his prayers. The mouse, it seems, had his proper office, which was to prevent the Saint from sleeping above five hours within the space of twenty -four; for, when the business of his devotion, which he exercised with great reverence and regularity upon his knees, had so fatigued his spirits that they required a longer refreshment, the mouse would come to his ears and scratch him with his feet till he was perfectly awake. The fly always attended on him when he was reading. It had the sense, it seems, to walk along the lines of the book; and when the Saint had tired his eyes, and was willing to desist, the fly would stay upon the first letter of the next sentence, and by that means direct him where he was to begin."

For seven long years our Saint lived on in his Burren hermitage, completely hidden and unknown...Yet the time was fast approaching: when he should leave his beloved retreat, and stand before his kindred and the world, as a burning light and an ornament to the episcopacy.

The accession of Guaire to the throne of Connaught in the opening years of the seventh century was destined to mark a new and a bright era in the religious life of the clans of Hy Fiachtach Aidhne; and the son of St. Colman's inveterate enemy was raised up by God to become at once his friend and powerful patron.

The Hospitable King had his principal residence at Kinvara; and yet, though living at Kinvara, he seems to have had no knowledge of the presence of his holy kinsman in Barren. The king at length discovered the hermitage, and became so deeply impressed with the holy solitary's sanctity, that he urged him to accept the episcopal charge of the territory of Aidhne. Such a discovery was perhaps inevitable. But our annalists speak of it as brought about by supernatural agency, to which some of our mediaeval writers have added some incredible marvels of the usual legendary character. The narrative is given at length by Colgan, who takes it from the Menology of Aengus.

Our Saint had spent the Lent in the usual exercises of austerity. And on Easter morning, after reciting the divine office and offering the sacred mysteries, he inquired of his youthful attendant if he had procured anything special for their repast in that great and joyous feast. His attendant replied that he had only procured a little wild fowl in addition to the herbs which were their usual fasting fare, and began to repine at the severity of a life which even on so joyous a festival brought them no legitimate relaxation. He contrasted their position with that of those who had the good fortune of forming Guaire's household. The Saint, seeing with concern that his attendant's patience was nigh exhausted, commended the matter to God, and urged that the King of Heaven and Earth, whose servants they were, could easily supply a feast, and strengthen his attendant's failing confidence, if such were His Divine pleasure. And as to Guaire's royal banquet, to which reference was made, and of which his chieftains and retainers were then about to partake, it might, if it so pleased Providence, be transferred from the palace to the hermitage.

The banquet was being set on the royal tables at Durlus while the Saint was yet speaking. And there can be no doubt that it was a sumptuous one, and worthy of His Majesty's characteristic love of hospitality. The old writers recount with evident satisfaction the important additions to the feast which had been procured specially for the occasion by the king's huntsmen. Before sitting down to the feast, the king exclaimed, with unusual impressiveness, "Oh, would it pleased Heaven that this banquet were set before some true servants of God who require it; as for us, we might easily be provided with another." He had no sooner spoken than the dishes were removed by invisible hands. All were struck with astonishment. The king, amazed at the marvel, summons his mounted guard, that they may follow, and discover, if possible, the destination of the dishes. All his retinue follow in hot haste, and are accompanied by a motley crowd of women and children from the district through which they pass. Meantime, the dishes had reached the Burren hermitage, and were set down in the open space in which the Saint and his disciple were wont to partake of their scanty meals. On seeing them, the disciple exclaimed, " O father, behold the reward of thy patience! Let us thankfully partake of the food sent us by our good God." Our Saint, however, would first know with certainty whence they had come, and is informed by an angel that the feast was sent in response to his prayers, and through the benevolence of the king. Meantime, the unexpected arrival of His Majesty with his retinue and followers filled them with alarm. Their astonishment at discovering the oratory and cell was increased by seeing the banquet spread before the holy hermit and his attendant, who, with thankful hearts, and, it may be assumed, with good appetites, were about to partake of the good things thus bountifully provided for them by Heaven. But our Saint, with a full confidence in the protection of Heaven, commanded that his unexpected visitors should not approach till he and his disciple should have partaken of the feast so providentially provided for them. And here another marvel occurs. Riders and pedestrians alike are unable to move. The level limestone ledges bear to the present day the footprints, as it is piously thought, of that motley gathering; Colgan, who gives the legend, must have thought so. No doubt this singular phenomenon of the footprints on the rocks must have been in the days of Colgan, and in the still more remote times of Aengus, much more striking than it is in our time. But the ascent or approach through the mountain gorge is in our time, as in Colgan's and centuries earlier, called " Bohir na Maes," i,e, the road of the Dishes. Thus did it please God to manifest in a most striking manner the singular sanctity of His servant to the king and the assembled multitude. The favour which he found with God was thus manifested to the world, despite his humble efforts to hide himself, as well from the admiration as from the hostility of men. At the king's entreaties, all were again set at liberty through the Saint's prayers; and they returned to publish throughout Aidhne the sanctity of the holy solitary, and the extraordinary things which it pleased Heaven to do through the efficacy of his prayers.

The character of the holy Solitary of Burren, thus providentially made public, won for him at once the esteem of his clansmen. His austerities and his miracles were on the lips of all, and the public joy was increased by the knowledge that he was a representative of one of the noblest of the tribes of Hy Fiachrach. Meantime, the king, his relative, was urgent in his request that St. Colman should found a monastery, and also assume episcopal charge of the territory of his kinsman. The office of abbot and bishop were frequently united. It did not always happen in those days that bishops exercised episcopal jurisdiction. They were more numerous in our early Irish Church than in modern times. As Montalembert puts it, "they were in many cases incorporated as a necessary but subordinate part of the ecclesiastical machinery with the great monastic bodies." But in most cases, as in the case of our Saint, the abbot who was invested with the dignity of bishop also exercised episcopal jurisdiction, and in such cases their jurisdiction was coextensive with the territory or tribe or clan to which they belonged. Thus it happened that the jurisdiction of St. Colman Mac Duagh extended over the entire territory of Aidhne, the patrimony of the southern Hy Fiachrach, and that the ancient boundaries of the territory continued in after times to mark the boundaries of the diocese of Kilmacduagh...

In earnest prayer St. Colman sought the Divine guidance, and it was soon revealed to him that the king's requests were in conformity with the will of Heaven. It was furthermore revealed to him, that the site of his monastery and cathedral would be miraculously pointed out to him. His girdle was to drop to the earth of itself, on the particular place on which the monastery was to be founded. When gazing from the elevated tablelands near his Burren hermitage, over the territory of Aidhne, he may perhaps have noted specially the solitudes towards the south-east, where the lakes and swamps spread out towards the undulating forest lands. At the north-western side of the diocese, the monastery of St. Colga, at Kilcolgan, was a centre of light and guidance for the surrounding districts. The example of St. Sourney, the teachings and example of St. Foila, were additional powerful incentives to sanctity in the same districts. The most remote districts of Aidhne, which were those on the south, appealed perhaps most strongly to the charity of Colman. And besides, those solitudes amongst which Colman was about to construct his monastery, while favourable to monastic quiet and holy contemplation, were dangerous to travellers. His monastery there would prove a refuge to many to whom the dangerous passes of those low-lying lands might otherwise prove fatal.

Certain it is that our Saint proceeded thither, and discovered, by the anticipated sign of the girdle falling, that it was the destined site of his monastery. "As he journeyed through the forest," says Colgan, " his cincture fell on a certain place, not far from his former cell, and there he built his monastery, which, from his name, is commonly called Kilmacduagh." This girdle continued to be long preserved with religious care by his kinsmen, the O'Shaughnessys. It was in their possession in the thirteenth century ; and even centuries later, in Colgan's time, they retained it still. It was studded with gems; and it possessed the marvellous property of fitting all who were chaste, though it could not be used by the unchaste, no matter how emaciated.St. Colman was now face to face with a great work. It was a holy work, the results of which were destined to endure. It was a work which would inscribe his name on the hearts of a grateful people, who would tmnsmit it, with the memory of his virtues, from generation to generation.

King Guaire, with characteristic generosity, not only granted the required site for the cathedral and monastery, but granted also large endowments for its future maintenance. This was not all. His Majesty sent several teams of oxen to procure the necessary materials. He sent numerous labourers and skilled artisans to carry out the work.There can be no doubt that the date of the foundations at Kilmacduagh was A.D. 610.

But while his diocese rejoiced in the blessings which his labours and presence brought them, he was himself filled with a consciousness of his own unworthiness, and he longed to be free from the lieavy burden of the episcopal charge. He was weary of the praises of men, and lie wished to hide himself in solitude once more, and there await his approaching dissolution. Even during the years of his public labours, his mind frequently went back to his beloved solitude in Burren. He treasured the memory of those happy days which he spent there, with no intenuption which might divert his thoughts from the contemplation of holy things. For him there was society in solitude; and in the "pathless woods," there was enduring attractiveness, for he could there commune without interruption with his Maker.

As he well knew, the Burren forests sheltered many a lonely glen; and he knew from experience their fitness for a life of austerity and prayer. They seemed to invite him once more ; and at length he resolved to retire thither, and hide himself from the praises and admiration of all.

The little valley of Oughtmama was the secluded spot in which he chose to spend the remaining days of his life. It stands within the valley of Corcomroe, and not far from his former hermitage. The rugged mountains rise steeply round it, forming a girdle which completely hides it.

Here, then, in his beloved retirement, our Saint awaited his approaching dissolution with the assured confidence of the just. Indeed, the hour was near, when he was to be summoned to exchange a life of unceasing austerity and labour for a life of unending bliss. He longed to be dissolved and be with his God. Bequeathing his body to his cathedral church at Kilmacduagh, and leaving to his diocese the rich inheritance of his example and the fruits of his labours, he is believed to have yielded up his soul to his Maker on the 29th of October A.D. 632, in the pontificate of Honorius I.

It is stated by Dr. Lanigan, I know not on what authority, that St. Colman died on the 3rd of February. Other writers have also attempted to fix his feast on the 3rd of February. It is so fixed by the Abbot of Knock, — Marianus O'Gorman, — and also by the Martyrology of Tamlaght. Nor can it be supposed that the Martyrology refers to any other of the many Saints who bore the name of Colman, as it refers to him expressly as Colman, "son of Duagh."

Ware and Harris, however, very properly remark that the 3rd of February is not the day on which his feast is observed in the diocese of Kilmacduagh. And though the Martyrology of Donegal gives the 3rd of February as the date of his festival, it is careful to add that "Ua Sechnasaigh says that the festival of Mac Duagh is on the 27th (recte 29th) of the month of October, for he was his own patron and his relative.' And the learned editors of the Martyrology — Todd and Reeves — add, in explanation of the text, that " this was probably 'The O'Shaughnessy,' or head of the family at the time when this work was compiled, and whose testimony our author intimates was the more worthy of credit, because St. Colman Mac Duagh was the patron Saint of his tribe, and of the same race."

As a matter of fact, the festival of St. Colman Mac Duagh has been observed in the diocese of Kilmacduagh from time immemorial on the 29th of October.

Rev. J. Fahey, The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Kilmacduagh (Dublin, 1893).

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Saint Grellan of Hy-Many, September 17

September 17 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 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. When time permits I shall try to see what more recent scholarship has to say. The picture of Saint Grellan on the left was taken by Andreas F. Borchert at Saint Michael's parish church at Ballinasloe, County Galway.


St. Grellan, Patron of Hy-Maine, Counties of Galway and Roscommon. [Fifth or Sixth Centuries.]

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 have 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.

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The Seven Daughters of Fergus, May 24

Canon O'Hanlon has as his fifth article for May 24 an account of a group of Irish holy women denominated by their patronymic, The Seven Daughters of Fergus. In the Martyrology of Tallaght the daughters are associated with the locality of Inis Cealtra, an island monastery in the west of Ireland which produced a couple of better-known saints, its founder Saint Caimin and the scholarly Saint Coelan, a reputed biographer of Saint Brigid. It is interesting to note that the Daughters of Fergus may have enjoyed a cultus in Scotland as the Seven Maidens of Inverey. Canon O'Hanlon's source, the work on the Scottish calendars by Bishop Forbes, doesn't seem conclusive and left me wondering if the Chapel of Inverey itself had an independent commemoration of the Seven Maidens at May 24, or if Forbes had simply tried to read across the feast from the Martyrology of Tallaght in an attempt to find an identification for these Scottish saints. His account says:

SEVEN MAIDENS.  May 24. - In Braemar is the chapel of the Seven Maidens, at Inverey, where the family of Farquharson bury their dead. - (V.D.A. p. 641.)
In the Martyrology of Tallaght, at this day, we have "Secht ningena Fergusa in Inis Cealtra." In that of Donegal, "The seven daughters of Fergus of Tigh-ingen-Ferghusa".

Alexander Penrose Forbes, D.C.L. Bishop of Brechin, Kalendars of Scottish Saints, (1872), 447. 

His source, V.D.A., View of the Diocese of Aberdeen , confirms only the dedication of the Braemar chapel to the Seven Maidens and its use as a family burying site by the Farquharson family.  The writer of a paper on the Traces of the Cultus of the Nine Maidens in Scotland, is not entirely convinced of the identification of the Inverey chapel with the Irish maidens commemorated on May 24, and states on page 260 that there is 'some doubt' surrounding this claim by Bishop Forbes.

Bishop Forbes was not the only commentator who attempted to identify these holy women, the 17th-century hagiologist, Father John Colgan, sought to equate them with a group of seven nuns who assisted at the sixth-century Synod of Drum Ceatt. I'm not sure though that his evidence is any more substantial, but at least it is interesting to note that a group of female monastics were recorded as participants at this Synod.

So, we seem to be faced with a number of conflicting theories about the identity of the Seven Daughters of Fergus:

1. They are, as the Martyrology of Tallaght claims, associated with the locality of Inis Cealtra, the holy island of County Clare.  I was under the impression though that this was a male foundation.

2. They are, as Colgan claims, associated with a location called Teach na ninghean, literally 'the house of the daughters' and are perhaps to be identified with the seven nuns of Tir-na-Fiachra Aine who took part in the Synod of Drum Ceatt.

3. They are, as Bishop Forbes claims, the Seven Maidens to whom a chapel in Inverey, Scotland, is dedicated.  This theory would stand up better if the Scottish calendars recorded a feast day for these Seven Maidens on May 24th independently from the Irish. This does not, however, seem to be the case.

Canon O'Hanlon records:

The Seven Daughters of Ferghus, of Tigninghin Ferghusa, or of Inis-Cealtra, County of Galway.

The Martyrology of Tallagh records Secht ningena Fergusa in Inis Cealtra, at the 24th of May. This is now known as Inis-crealtra, an island and parish in the counties of Clare and Galway. The Bollandists also record their festival, for this day. But Colgan seems to connect them with Teach na ninghean, in Connaught. He says, they were perhaps those seven nuns of Tir-na-Fiachra Aine, who assisted at the great Synod in Dromcheat, in the year 580. The extent of Ui Fiachrach Aidhne is shown on the Irish Maps, prefixed to the "Tribes and Customs of Hy-Many, commonly called O'Kelly's Country ". A festival in honour of the Seven Daughters of Fergus, of Tigh-inghen-Ferghusa, was celebrated on this day, as we read in the Martyrology of Donegal. Under the title of the Seven Maidens, they seem to have been venerated, likewise, in Scotland.

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Saint Sairnait of Aidhne, May 3

On May 3 we commemorate an Irish holy woman, Sairnait, anglicized as Sourney, who flourished in the County Galway area. Saint Sairnait was related to the family of Saint Colman mac Duagh, and so the account of her below comes from the diocesan history of Killmacduagh by Father Jerome Fahey:

St. Sairnait.

We are expressly told that St. Sairnait (St. Sourney) is of the race of Eoghan Aidhne. She was fourth in descent from Eochaid Breac, father of Eoghan Aidhne. She was

"Daughter of Aedh,

Son of Seanach,

Son of Eoghan Aidhne,

Son of Eochaid Breac,

Son of Dathy."

The date of her birth is not given; but by comparing her genealogy with that of St Colman Mac Duagh, which shall be hereafter given, it will be seen that she stands the same number of degrees from their common ancestor, Eochaid Breac, as does Cobhtach, whose son Conal was great-grand-father of St. Colman Mac Duagh. Hence it may be fairly assumed that Cobhtach and St. Sourney were contemporaries. And as Cobhtach's father fought in the battle of Claonloch, A.D. 531, we can justly assume that St. Sourney belonged to the middle of the sixth century. She was born of the same princely tribe of which St. Colman was bom later in the same century. She is identified by O'Donovan as the same female Saint who is now "corruptly called St. Sourney, to whom there are wells dedicated in the districts of Aidhne, and whose church still stands in ruins in the great island of Aran, in the Bay of Galway." And we are told by O'Flaherty's learned editor that "this church is held in the greatest veneration by the islanders."

But there is more to commemorate and honour the name of St. Sourney in Aidhne than the holy wells to which O'Donovan refers. St. Sourney's Church may still be seen in a fair state of preservation at Dromacoo, in the present parish of Ballindereen, at a distance of about three miles and a half from Kinvara.

Rev. J. Fahey, The History and Antiquities of the Diocese of Kilmacduagh (Dublin, 1893), 32-34.

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