Saint Mael-Muire Ua Gormáin (Marianus O'Gorman), July 3

July 3 is the commemoration of a twelfth-century Augustinian abbot of the monastery of Cnoc na n-Apostol (Hill of the Apostles) in County Louth. Although this is the first post I have made in honour of his feast day, he is no stranger to the blog for Saint Mael-Muire ua Gormáin (Marianus O'Gorman) was himself a hagiologist whose lasting contribution to the study of the Irish saints is his calendar, known as the Martyrology of Gorman. His name appears quite simply on July 3 in the Martyrology of Donegal as 'MAELMUIRE UA GORMAIN, Abbot of Lughmhagh.' Below is an account of the man and his monastery from the nineteenth-century scholar, Whitley Stokes, who edited and translated Saint Mael-Muire's metrical calendar from a manuscript copy in the Royal Library, Brussels:

The Author of the Martyrology, and the Place in which it was composed.

The author of the Martyrology now published was Mael-Maire hua Gormain, otherwise called Marianus Gorman, abbot of Cnoc na n-Apstol ' the Hill of the Apostles,' a monastery of Canons Regular of St. Augustine at Knock close to the town of Louth. All that is really known of him is derived from the preface to his Martyrology, which uses the first person (rodherbsamar fuaramar, tuccsamar) when referring to the author,and may well have been written by Gorman himself, though Colgan ascribes it to an ancient scholiast.

Hence it appears that Gorman was abbot of Cnoc na n-Apstol (otherwise called Cnoc na Sengán, ' the Hill of the Pismires '), and that he composed his Martyrology while Ruaidre hua Conchobair was King of Ireland, while Gelasius or Gilla mac Liac was archbishop of Armagh, and while Aed hua Cáillaidhi was bishop of Oriel, i.e., the present counties of Louth, Armagh, and Monaghan. Ruaidre began to reign as monarch of Ireland about the year 1166 and retired in 1183 to the monastery of Cong, where he died in 1199. Gilla mac Liac was archbishop of Armagh from 1137 to 1173, when he died. Aed hua Cáillaidhi was bishop of Oriel from 1139 to 1182. The result is, if the statements in the preface are true, that Gorman must have composed his Martyrology at some time between 1166 and 1174, 'circa annum 1167,' says Colgan.

It must, however, be admitted that the Martyrology commemorates two saints—Gilla mac Liacc at March 27, and Gilla mo Chaidbeo at March 31, of whom the former died in 1 173, the latter in 1174. We are therefore driven to one of two hypotheses—either the statements in the preface are not true, and the Martyrology was composed after 1174, or the commemorations just mentioned were added after the completion of the poem. The latter hypothesis seems the more probable. The tradition of the Irish literati agrees with the preface, and the commemorations in question are at the ends of the stanzas in which they respectively occur, and may well have been inserted in accordance with the suggestion in the preface: 'If defects are found therein, let the erudite . . . add; but let them not spoil the course of the poem.' Who made these insertions does not appear. In 1181, according to the Four Masters, Maelmuire Hua Dunain, Abbot of Cnoc na Sengán in Louth, died. Of him Colgan, Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae, p. 737, says :

' Hic videtur esse B. Marianus Gormanus, author Martyrologii, a nobis laudatus, quem constat anno 1172 fuisse eiusdem monasterii Abbatem, ut praefatio eius Martyrologio prefixa, tradit' If Colgan's conjecture be right—and Lanigan agrees with him—the insertions may have been made by Gorman himself But I know of no sure instance of an Irishman being called at one time after his paternal, at another after his maternal, grandfather.

Gorman is commemorated in the Martyrology of Donegal at July 3. He was probably canonised, not by the Apostolic See, but by his metropolitan, the archbishop of Armagh, just as in 1153, St. Gaultier, Abbot of Pontoise, was canonised by the archbishop of Rouen.

The monastery of Cnoc na nApstol, or Cnoc na Sengán, in which Gorman probably wrote, was founded by Donnchad húa Cerbaill, King of Airgeill (Oriel), in honour of SS. Paul and Peter. The best evidence of these statements is an Irish entry, dated Jan. I, 1170, in an antiphonary formerly belonging to the cathedral church of Armagh, but now in the library of Trinity College, Dublin, Class B, Tab. I. No. i. This entry is printed in Petrie's work on the Round Towers, p. 391, with the following translation :

Kalend. Januar. V. feria bin. X. Anno Domini MCLXX. A prayer for Donnchadh O'Carrol, supreme King of Airgiall, by whom were made the book of Cnoc na nApstal at Louth and the chief books of the order of the year, and the chief books of the Mass. It was this great king who founded the entire monastery both [as to] stone and wood, and gave territory and land to it, for the prosperity of his soul in honour of [SS.] Paul and Peter. By him the church throughout the land of Oirghiall was reformed, and a regular bishopric was made, and the church was placed under the jurisdiction of the bishop. In his time tithes were received, and the marriage [ceremony] was assented to, and churches were founded, and temples and cloictheachs were made, and monasteries of monks and canons and nuns were re-edified, and nemheds were made. These are especially the works which he performed for the prosperity [of his soul] and reign, in the land of Airghiall, namely, the monastery of monks on the bank of the Boyne [both as to] stone and wooden furniture and book, and territory and land, in which [monastery] there are one hundred monks and three hundred conventuals, and the monastery of canons of Termann Feichin and the monastery of nuns, and the great church of Termann Feichin, and the church of Lepadh Feichin and the church of * * *.

So the Four Masters at the year 1148: ' The church of Cnoc na Sengán was finished by the bishop Ua Caellaidhe and Donnchadh ua Cearbhaill, and was consecrated by Ua Morgair, a successor of Patrick; and a neimeadh, i.e., ecclesiastical land, was assigned to it in Lughmadh....

Whitley Stokes, ed. and trans.,  Félire Húi Gormáin, The Martyrology of Gorman, (London, 1895), xix-xxi.

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Blessed Malchus of Mellifont, June 28

At June 28 Canon O'Hanlon has a brief notice marking the feast of a monk from the Cistercian foundation at Mellifont, County Louth. Mellifont Abbey was founded in 1142, the first Cistercian monastery to be established in Ireland. Its first abbot was said to be Saint Christian O'Connarchy, who died in 1186 and whose own feast day is March 18. Some sources say that the founder abbot was succeeded by his brother, Malchus, as the writer of an 1897 guide to the monastery explains:

About the same time [i.e. 1186], there died at Mellifont, a holy monk named Malchus, who is said to have been St. Christian's brother and successor in the abbatial office, as has been related above. Ussher, quoting St. Bernard, positively asserts that he was St. Christian's brother. And Sequin, who, in 1580, compiled a Catalogue of the Saints of the Cistercian Order, mentions Malchus in that honoured roll, and styles him "a true contemner of the world, a great lover of God, and a pattern and model of all virtues to the whole Order." He says, "he was one of St. Malachy's disciples in whose footsteps he faithfully followed, and that he was renowned for his sanctity and learning, as well as for the many miracles he wrought." His feast was kept on the 28th of June.

Mellifont Abbey, Co. Louth, its ruins and associations : a guide and popular history (Dublin, 1897), 64-65.

Canon O'Hanlon has only the briefest of notices for this holy monastic:

The Blessed Malchus, Monk of Mellifont, County of Louth.

[Twelfth Century]

At this date, the Bollandists have a feast for the Blessed Malchus, of the Cistercian Order in Ireland, on the authority of Henriquez and Chalemot.

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Saint Evin of Monasterevin, December 22

December 22 is the feast of Saint Evin, founder of Monasterevin, County Louth. Below is an excerpt from an early twentieth-century paper submitted to the Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society. The author was a member of the landed aristocratic class, for at this time it was commonplace for local antiquarian societies to enjoy the active patronage of the great and the good. In her article the Countess of Drogheda takes the story of Monasterevin up to the seventeenth century, but I have omitted the later history in order to focus on Saint Evin.  There is a link to the online source for the journal at the end of the post so if you wish to keep reading you can continue at the Internet Archive:

MONASTEREVIN.

By the COUNTESS OF DROGHEDA

THE town of Monasterevin derives its name from the monastery founded there by St. Evin or Emhin in the sixth century. It is said that St. Abban had preceded St. Evin in remote times, and had founded a monastic house; but it was St. Evin who brought a number of monks from his native province of Munster, and the place which had previously been called Bos-Glas, which means the Green Wood, now came to be called Bos-Glas-na-Muimneachy or Bos-Glas of the Munster men.

Colgan thus writes of St. Evin —

"Saint Evin betook himself to Leinster, and at the bank of the River Barrow he raised a noble monastery, called in that age Ros-Glas, and which, from the number of monks who followed the man of God from his own country of Munster, was called Ros-Glas of the Munster men.

This holy man was famous for many and great miracles, and the monastery on account of the reverence paid to its first founder, stood in so great honour with posterity, that it was held a most safe sanctuary, and no one presumed to offer violence or injury to the holy place, who did not soon afterwards suffer the severity of the Divine vengeance."

It was also said that after his death there was a bell belonging to St. Evin '' which was held in so great veneration that posterity were accustomed to swear on it as a kind of inviolable oath, and to conclude controversies by the virtue of this oath.''

St. Molua of Clonfert (4th Aug.) speaks of '' having visited the Abbot of St. Evin in his monastery not far from the Barrow, which that most holy man, St. Abban, had originally founded."

The year of St. Evin's death is not recorded anywhere; but his festival was held on the 22nd of December, and his death probably occurred in the sixth century. St. Evin wrote a Life of  St Patrick, partly in Latin and partly in Irish ; and it is said to contain many more details of St. Patrick's life and mission than there are in any other Life of the Saint. In the Calendar of Angus he is called '' Pure Emhin from the brink of the dumb Barrow." The well that springs at a little distance from the present mansion was in all probability originally St. Evin's well.

The precise period at which the original Monastery of St. Evin fell into decay is not known; probably it was amongst the many religious houses that suffered from the depredations of the Danes in the ninth and tenth centuries. The "Annals of Clonmacnoise," at the paragraph chronicling the year 1002,
well describes the work of destrnction perpetrated by these infidel hordes in these words —

"The whole realme was overrunn by the Danes. The Churches, Abbeys, and other religious places were by them quite razed and destroyed, or otherwise turned to base and servile purposes.

"Almost all the gentlemen of any account were turned out of their Lands. Yea, some of the best sort were compelled to servitude and bounden slavery. Indeed it was strange how men of any fashion could use other men as the Danes did use the Irish men at that time. But King Bryan Borua was a Salve to cure such sores: all the physick in the world could not help it elsewhere: in a short time he banished the Danes; made up the Churches and Religious houses; restored the people to their antient possessions, and, in fine, brought all to a notable reformation."

Some years later the monastery having again become ruined, it was refounded towards the close of the twelfth century by Dermod O'Dempsey, Lord of Offaly, as a Cistercian Monastery, and called Ros-Glas or de Rosea alle.

The Charter of Foundation of the monastery was as follows : —

"Dermot O'Dempsey, King of Offaly, to all his nobles, clergy, and laity, both present and to come. Greeting, I make known to you all, that I, Dermot O'Dempsey, King of Offaly, by the consent of Murdoch O'Conor have given and confirmed to God and the Monks of the B.V.M. of Rosglas, land on which to build a Monastery in honour of the Blessed Mary ever Virgin, and of St. Benedict the Abbot, as a perpetual eleemosynary. These are the lands which I Dermot O'Dempsey have given and confirmed to the aforesaid Monks of Rosglas in remission of my Sins and of the Sins of my Parents, the site of the Monastery of Rosglas, and all the lands with their appurtenances, and with the men belonging to the same lands. All these I give and confirm to the aforesaid Monks, to be held as a free, pure, and perpetual eleemosynary for the health of my soul, and the souls of my predecessors. Wherefore I will and command that the aforesaid Church of Rosglas and the Monks and brethren serving God therein, may have and hold the aforesaid lands, with all their liberties, viz., in woods and plains, meadows and pastures, and morasses in waters and fisheries, in roads and paths, in ponds and mills, in turbaries, and all mountains and valleys, and in all other places and things appertaining to the same lands, free quit and solutias from any customs and exactions, and from all secular duty.

Witnesses.

"Nehemiah, Bishop of Kildare.
Donatus, Bishop of Leighlin.
Filan, the son of Filan.
Flan O'Demesi.
Hekinech O'Demesi.
Donchad O'Demesi.
Fin O'Demesi.
Aed O'Demesi.
Culballinuss O'Duin [O'Dunne].
Congal O'Kelly
Rocner Denoulla.
Kelach mac Aulaf."

et alliis multis.

"The Annals of the Font Masters" record the death of this Dernot O'Dempsey in the year 1193, and in 1199 it was mentioned that the Abbott of Ros-Glae "was at his request allowed by the General Chapter of the order to celebrate in his own house the Feast of St. Evin," which shows that the original founder was still held in high veneration....

The Countess of Drogheda, 'Monasterevin' in Journal of the County Kildare Archaeological Society, Vol. IV (1903-1905), 231-244.


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Saint Mainchein of Louth, December 2

December 2 is the feast of a County Louth saint described in the Martyrology of Donegal as:

2. G. QUARTO NONAS DECEMBRIS. 2.

MAINCHEIN, i.e., Mochta’s cook.

This would seem to associate him with the early Patrician saint Mochta of Louth and his monastery. Mochta, like Saint Patrick, was a Briton by birth and in the list of the 'Household of Saint Patrick' preserved in the Tripartite Life he is listed as 'his priest'.

Saint Mainchein is not the only saintly cook mentioned in the Irish calendars, last year I posted on another saint with a December feastday, Temnióc of Clonfert, cook to Molua and of course we have the more famous Saint Blath, cook to Saint Brigid of Kildare.

As I am currently rereading Father John Ryan's classic account of Irish monasticism, I noted his observation that the Latin term 'cellarius' - cellarer is used to translate the Irish ceallóir or coic, and it is this latter term which the Martyrology of Donegal uses to describe Saint Mainchen. Father Ryan describes the functions of this monastic office, which carries rather weightier responsibilities than the term 'cook' might suggest:

The cellarer (ceallóir or coic) had under his charge not only the kitchen, but the supplies upon which the kitchen depended. He had, therefore, to be a man in whom the fullest reliance could be placed. Over-generosity on his part might lead to unbecoming ease and laxity, whilst an all too rigorous regime might lead to murmuring, discouragement and discontent. Even Caesarius of Arles proved a failure when appointed to fill this office at Lérins, and had to be superseded by another. Hence much might be said in justification of a statement made in one of the later rules that the discipline of the community depends on the cellarer. [This statement is from the Rule of Ailbe, 32: 'as the food is, so will the order be'.]

John Ryan S.J., Irish Monasticism - Origins and Early Development, (2nd. edition, Dublin, 1972), 274 .

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Saint Sarbile of Faughart, September 4

September 4 sees the commemoration of Saint Sarbile from the Faughart district of County Louth, which some hagiographical traditions claim to be the birthplace of Saint Brigid of Kildare. The Faughart area is also hailed as the birthplace of Saint Monnina of Killeavy. The Irish sources agree that Monnina was not the original name of this holy woman and most record that she was originally called Dareca. This Irish comment on the Leabhar Breac copy of the Feilire of Oengus, however also notes "Moninne of Slieve Gullion, and Sarbile was her name previously. Or Darerca was her name at first..." So it seems there may be some confusion here. Canon O'Hanlon provides the few details on the life of Saint Sarbile:

St. Sarbile, Virgin of Fochart, County of Louth.

As Mary, mentioned in the Gospel, loved to sit at the feet of Jesus, so do holy virgins desire that calm and rest, in which His voice is best heard speaking to their hearts. We find set down in the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 4th of September, that veneration was given to Sarbile, Virgin of Fochairde, or Fochart, in the old district of Murtheimhne. This is now a level country in the present County of Louth. It extends from the River Boyne to the Mountains of Cuilgne, or Carlingford. The Martyrology of Donegal simply records the name Sarbile, of Fochard, at the same date. This may have been the St. Orbilia, Virgin, whose Acts Colgan had intended to produce at the present day, as we have gathered from the list of his unpublished manuscripts.

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Saint Molocca of Tullyallen, August 7

Among the saints commemorated on the Irish calendars at August 7 is one whom Canon O'Hanlon feels is associated with a locality in County Louth. All he can tell us of Saint Molocca is the recording of his name at this date:

St. Molocca or Molacca, of Tulach-h-Olainn, or Tullyallen, County of Louth.

The name Molocca or Molacca, of Tulach-h-Olainn, is set down in the Martyrologies of Tallagh, and of Donegal, at this date. In the former of these Calendars, his place is less correctly spelled Thilaigh olaind. The place is now Tullyallen, in the County of Louth .

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Saint Ronan of Dromiskin, November 18

November 18 is the feast of a seventh-century County Louth abbot, Ronan of Dromiskin, a victim of the dreaded Buidhe Chonaill plague of the 660s. When I first began to look into the details of the saint's life I was confused by references to a Ronan of Drumshallon, who may have been the same person. In the extract below, however, from a 19th-century antiquarian paper on the monastic history of County Louth, this confusion is put down to the great 17th-century hagiologist, Colgan, having been somewhat imprecise in his terminology regarding the location of Dromiskin:

THE earliest mention of Dromiskin, or, as it would be more correctly spelt now, Drumiskin, is the establishment there of a church, or monastery, by St. Patrick

"Extruxit etiam ecclesiam, postea celebrem, quae Druim-Inisclainn, appellatur, in regione de Delbna; in qua etiam duo ex ejus discipulis, nempe DaLuanus de Croebheach et Lugadius Aenghusio, Natfraichi filio, Mumoniae Rege,natus.”

to which Colgan appends this note:

"Nobile Monasteriutu de Druim inis clinn (Canonicorum, ut puto, Regularium) est in ea Comitatus Luthensis parte quae hic Delbna appellatur, et est juxta civitatem Pontanam"

a remark which, evidently, misled Archdall, Lanigan, and others, as to its position, which they assigned to Drumshallon, within four miles of the municipal bounds of Drogheda.

The neighbouring abbey of Louth maintained its ecclesiastical position much longer than did that of Dromiskin. It may appear improbable that two churches, each intended to be a centre of missionary work in a country only dimly illuminated by a glimmer of Christianity, should have been established and built about the same time, at Dromiskin and at Louth, within six miles of each other, but it is really not so. The fertile plain of Muirtheimhne was a granary for the marsh and forest country on its west, which grew comparatively little corn, and for the mountainous districts to the north, which mostly reared cattle. The beauty of its gently undulating surface attracted the notice of the apostle as he travelled northwards from Munster, after his seven years' sojourn there.

Dromiskin lay close to the high road leading to Ulster, along the shore of Dundalk bay. It seems evident that the founding of a church at Dromiskin must be assigned to this time, for the first presiding bishop or abbot of the establishment was Lugaidh, son of Aenghus, King of Munster, who had been baptized by St. Patrick, at Cashel, while he was in the South of Ireland. Colgan mentions another disciple of the saint as being at Dromiskin at the same time, Dala, or Molua of Creevah, but of him we know nothing further here. Lugaidh is numbered among the saints of Ireland. He died a.d. 515 or 516, and his festival is November 2nd…

The next abbot at Dromiskin, of whom we have any account, though he was not the next in succession, was Ronan, son of Berach. Berach was a disciple of St. Dagoeus, bishop of Inis Chaoin (Iniskeen), about the middle of the sixth century. A miracle, performed by him, similar to Elisha's, in 2 Kings iv. 42-44, as we are told, caused his master to say he was unworthy of such a pupil; and on his leaving, Dagoeus gave him a short staff (Bacull gearr), and a bell, which, under the name of Clogberaigh, was preserved, as a relic, at Cluan da lochia. However this may be, after leaving Iniskeen, he entered into the monastic state at Glendalough, and died Abbot of Cluain-Cairpthe, in Roscommon.

St. Ronan was a more remarkable character than his predecessor, St. Lugaidh, of whom we have but little more than his name and royal pedigree. His name occurs in history; he was venerated for a long time after his death, and is still remembered by a holy well at Dromiskin bearing his name. He is said to have suffered an indignity at the hands of Suibhne, son of Colman Guar, prince of Dalaradia, whom he denounced; in consequence of which Suibhne went mad after the battle of Magh Rath (Moira). If, according to Tighernach, this battle was fought in A.D. 637, St. Ronan must have been abbot before that year, and the period of his rule must have been a long one.

In the year 664 a pestilence, which broke out first in England, made its appearance in Ireland. Irish writers call it Buidhe Chonail, or the Yellow Jaundice. Among its numerous victims, St. Ronan's name is recorded. He died, November 18th. His relics, which we may presume had been carefully preserved at Dromiskin, were, one hundred and thirty-two years afterwards, placed in a shrine of gold and silver. But the Danes were even then coming into Ireland; forty-three years after that they had begun plundering in Louth, and it must have fallen into their hands soon after.

F. W. Stubbs, 'Early Monastic History of Dromiskin, in the County of Louth' in The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Fifth Series, Vol. 7, No. 2 (Jun. 30, 1897), pp. 101-113.

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Saint Colman of Cammus Comghaill, October 30

October 30 presents us with the feast of yet another Saint Colman and of something of a mystery as to his precise identity, location and feastday. The Martyrology of Donegal records:

30. B. TERTIO KAL. NOVEMBRIS. 30.

COLMAN, Abbot, of Cammus Comghaill, on the brink of the Bann; or of Lann Mocholmog: and he was maternal brother to Mocholmog of the Lann.

Initially therefore I thought that I was dealing with a saint from one of the northern counties and turned to Bishop Reeves' account of the northern dioceses of Down, Connor and Dromore, where he identified the Lann as the parish of Magheralin, County Down:

Lan.—Now the parish of Magheralin. The church was founded by St. Colman or Mocholmoc, whose death Tigernach records at the year 700: "Colman Linduacaill obit". "Colman of Lin-duacall died". Or, as the Four Masters, a year earlier: "Colman Linne Uachaille decc. an XXX Marta". "Colman of Linn-uachaill died on the 30th of March". Hence it is sometimes called Lann-Da-Cholmoc, or Lann-Mocholmoc, which both signify ' the church of Colman'; for the syllables Da or Do, in the sense 'your', and Mo, in the sense 'my', were prefixed to saints' names, as Colgan observes, "honoris et singularis observantiae causa".

Rev. W. Reeves, Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore (Dublin, 1847), 110.

This identification was overturned, however, by another Anglican cleric who placed the location of Saint Colman's foundation at Annagassan, County Louth:

Monastery or Linn Duachaill.—It is in the townland of Linns, close to the village of Annagassan, that we find the first trace of an ecclesiastical establishment in the Parish of Gernonstown. St. Colman MacLuachan is said to have founded a church or monastery here in the seventh century. It was known by the name of Linn Duachaill (i.e.. Duachaill's pool), or Linn Uachaill from a demon named Duachaill, who is said to have infested the place and terrified the neighbourhood until destroyed by St. Colman. Duachaill's pool is still pointed out at the junction of the Clyde and Dee before they enter the sea at Annagassan. Dr. O' Donovan once thought that Linn Duachaill was Magheralin. Co. Down, and at first Bishop Reeves seems to have had the same opinion. But both those antiquaries found it necessary to correct their opinion on becoming acquainted with the topography and traditions of Annagassan. For Linn Duachaill was on the banks of the river called Casan Linne (Martyr. Doneg., Mar. 30, p. 91, cp Colgan Acta SS., pp. 792-703), and this river is mentioned in the "Circuit of Ireland " as lying between the Vale of Newry, or Glen Righe, and Ath Gabhla on the Boyne. The name " Casan''="paths" survives in Annagassan. According to Joyce (Names of Places, p. 373) "Casan " was originally joined with "Linne Duachaill" and became shortened to " Casan linne," which is preserved in Annagassan=Ath-na-gcasan, "the ford of the paths." Dr. Todd, who has an important note on the subject in " Wars of the Gaedhil with the Gall," p. lxii., says, Annagassan=Aonach g Casain, i.e., the " Fair of Casan." Joyce's interpretation is, I think, to be preferred, as the people still speak of the "Pass of Linns " and this pass, as pointed out, lay further up the River Glyde, about a quarter of a mile from Duachaill's pool, and near the spot where the monastery founded by St. Colman is believed to have stood.

Colgan has collected all the traces of this Saint Colman Mac Luachan (in his Acta SS., p. 792-3). From Colgan we learn that his mother's name was Lessara, and that he and another Colman were uterine brothers and living at the same time, but his father was of the Hi Gualla or Gaillfine, an Ulster race, while the father of the other Colman was of the royal family of Meath. It appears that he had two or three churches — Camus-juxta-Bann, Lann Mocholmoc, or Linn Duachaill, and perhaps Lann Abhaic and Lann Ronain in Down and Dromore. In his churches he was commemorated on March 30 and October 30, and he is held eminent for his sanctity. The other Colman was commemorated on June 17. There is in the Annals some confusion between these Colmans; but St. Colman of Linn Duachaill, called also Mocholmoc, died on March 30, 699.

Rev. J. B. Leslie, History of Kilsaran Union of Parishes in the County of Louth, (Dundalk, 1908), 89-91.

Thus it seems, and not for the first time, that the problem of distinguishing homonymous saints named Colman has left us with a question mark over the relationship between the saint commemorated on October 30 and the saint commemorated on March 30.

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Saint Teca of Rooskey, October 18

At October 18 the Irish calendars record the name of a female saint, Teca and associate her with the locality of 'Ruscach, in Cuailgne'. The Martyrology of Donegal records:

18. D. QUINTO DECIMO KAL. OCTOBRIS. 18. 

TECA, Virgin, of Ruscach, in Cuailgne.

The earlier Martyrology of Tallaght, however, gives an affectionate twist on her name and records at the same date:

Mothecca Rúscaigi  (my Teca of Rúscach).

The index of places appended to the Martyrology identifies our saint's locality as Rooskey, County Louth. This place is mentioned in the Life of Saint Moninna, when that saint, originally named Darerca, was first involved with the religious life:

There were with her at first, as they tell, eight virgins, as well as one widow who had a small boy named Luger. Darerca adopted the child as her foster son and when she had thoroughly accustomed him to the ways of the church, she raised him to the high dignity of a bishop.  He crowned his good works as leader of the whole of his people - the Conaille - by building the church of  Rúscach [Rooskey, Cooley, County Louth] in honour of God.

Liam de Paor, ed and trans., 'The Life of Saint Darerca, or Moninna, the Abbess' in Saint Patrick's World (Dublin, 1993), 282.

I have no further information on Saint Teca or at what period she flourished.

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Saint Maonach of Dunleer, October 17

At October 17 the Martyrology of Donegal records:

17. C. SEXTO DECIMO KAL. NOVEMBRIS. 17.

MAENACH, son of Cláirin, Abbot of Lann Léire, A.D. 720.

A footnote adds that the year 720 is the date given for the repose of this saint in the Annals of Ulster. The place name associated with the saint, Lann Léire, is modern Dunleer, County Louth and a local researcher has made an interesting historical archive on the district available here. In the nineteenth-century Bishop Reeves sought to derive the name from the old Irish words lann, church and léire, austerity, but modern scholarship inclines to the view that it simply means 'the church in the district of Léire' rather than 'the church of austerity.' The name was in common use up until the twelfth century but after the coming of the Normans the lann element was replaced by dún, fort. The monastery of which Saint Maonach was abbot was originally founded by the saintly brothers Furadhran and Baithin. Our saint is the first abbot to be mentioned in the Annals after the founders. Thus Lann Léire must have been a foundation of some importance and various commentators have noted that no other County Louth monastery is referenced so frequently in the Irish Annals. Not only are its abbots recorded but so too are other events such as as attacks by the Vikings as well as by native marauders, culminating in the burning of the monastery in 1148.  One can only hope that Saint Maonach exercised his abbacy in less interesting times.

Pádraig Ó Riain in his Dictionary of Irish Saints records a number of later literary sources which take our saint out of his Ulster monastery and seek to place him in Munster. A poem, for example, listing those on whom Saint Seanán of Scattery could call on in a time of need include 'great Maonach, son of  Láirín'. It may be, however, that in some of these sources our saint has become confused with others of a similar name. Interestingly though, the name of Maonach, in its Latin guise of Monachus is to be found at October 17 in a fifteenth-century martyrology written in Cologne. It rather suggests that our saint, although today an obscure figure, was at one time much more well known.

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Saints Furadhran and Baithin of Dunleer, June 18

At June 18 Canon O'Hanlon brings us details of two saintly brothers who flourished in Lann-Leire, which he believes to be modern Dunleer, County Louth. We start with Abbot Furadhran and then move to the notice of his brother Baithin. I thought they were commemorated with a particularly beautiful verse in the Martyrology of Aengus, which remembers Furadhran 'with keenness' and 'fair, happy Baithin':

ARTICLE I.—ST. FURADHRAN OR FURODRAIN, ABBOT OF LANN-LEIRE, NOW DUNLEER, COUNTY OF LOUTH.

SIMPLY the name, Furodrain, occurs in the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 18th of June. According to the Calendar of the O'Clerys, he belonged to the race of Colla Dachrioch. In the Festilogy of St. Aengus, at the 18th of June, his feast is commemorated. On this notice, there is an Irish comment, which states, that Boethin and Furodran were two sons of Moenan of Lann Luachain, in Bregia. The place of this saint had been identified with the old church of Lynn, on the east side of the beautiful Lough Ennell, in the barony of Fartullagh, and county of Westmeath. So early as the beginning of the eighth century, an abbey seems to have been existing in this locality. It seems, however, that his place must be sought for, within the former territory of Feara-Arda-Cianachta, so called from the race of Cian. The Rev. Dr. Reeves has identified the ancient Lann-Leire with Dunleer, in the barony of Ferrard, and in the county of Louth. This seems to be the true conjecture. The Welch or old British term Lann is usually found, to be the equivalent for a church; and, according to a statement sent forth, Lann Leire has been interpreted the "Church of Austerity." We find bishops presiding at Lann Lere, from the middle to the close of the ninth century....In the year 921, the district of Feara Arda, and also Lann Leire, and Fearna Rois, were plundered by the foreigners. At this day, the Martyrology of Donegal registers our saint as Furadhran, Abbot of Lann-Leire. He is called likewise the son of Maonán.

Article II.—St. Baithin or Baothan, of Lann-Leire, now Dunleer, County of Louth.

A festival in honour of Baithin is set down in the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 18th of June. He is there properly joined with the previous saint, who was his brother. His habitation seems to have been likewise at Lann Leire. This place is identified with Dunleer, county of Louth, as we have noticed, in the preceding article. When both of these brothers—who no doubt lived contemporaneously—flourished does not seem to be on record. The Felire of Aenghuis calls him Baithin. In the Leabhar Breac copy, we have the following stanza. Its English translation is
furnished by Dr. Whitley Stokes :—

"With fair, happy Boethin,
Furodran with keenness,
Moenan's sons with virginity,
of beautiful Lann Lere."—

Father John Colgan alludes to St. Baithin, as having been venerated, at the 18th of June, according to our Irish Calendars. The Martyrology of Donegal records him, likewise, and at the same date, as Baothan, son of Maonan. To the foregoing notice, the word (Juvencus), within brackets and Italicised, occurs after his name, as found in the Table to this Martyrology. The Irish Calendar, preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, enters him, at the xiv. of the July Kalends.

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Saint Suairleach of Linn Duachaille, April 23

April 23 is the commemoration of an eighth-century abbot of the monastery of Linn Duachaille, Saint Suairleach. The locality of this monastery has been the subject of some dispute; in the mid-nineteenth century the Anglican Bishop William Reeves was confident that Linn Duachaille was to be identified with Magheralin in County Down but at the beginning of the twentieth century this thesis was challenged by another Anglican cleric in favour of Annagassan, County Louth. In his entry for today's saint, Canon O'Hanlon, writing in the 1870s, follows the thinking of Bishop Reeves and describes the saint as being from Magheralin, County Down. I will bring you that account first and then the evidence in favour of Annagassan. Whatever the truth of the location of this monastery, it was a sufficiently well-known foundation that the repose of some of its abbots were recorded in the Irish Annals. Saint Suairleach is among these. Sadly, Linn Duachaille monastery features even more heavily in the Annals thanks to the frequency of the Viking attacks upon it beginning in the ninth century.

St. Suairleach, Abbot of Magheralin, County of Down.

According to one account, this holy man is said to have belonged to the northern province, and to the parish of Magheralin. This lies, partly in the barony of Oneilland East, county of Armagh, but chiefly in that of Lower Iveagh, county of Down. However, the entry in the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 23rd of April, for the saint of this day, is Soardlech ind Edhnen. There he seems to be associated in locality, with the holy man, of whom a notice succeeds. One townland in the parish of Magheralin is yet called Linn Huachuille, where the old monastery stood. It was so called, from St. Colman, or Mocholmoc, the founder, who died in 699. On this day, the Martyrology of Donegal, registers a festival in honour of Suairleach, Abbot of Linn Duachaille. According to some accounts, this holy abbot died, A.D. 770; while A.D. 774 is set down for that event, in the Annals of Ulster. Subsequently to this date, that place was frequently ravaged by the Danish invaders, as recorded in our chronicles.

Rev John O'Hanlon, Lives of the Irish Saints , Volume IV, (Dublin, 1875), 465.

Monastery of Linn Duachaill.—It is in the townland of Linns, close to the village of Annagassan, that we find the first trace of an ecclesiastical establishment in the Parish of Gernonstown. St. Colman MacLuachan is said to have founded a church or monastery here in the seventh century. It was known by the name of Linn Duachaill (i.e.. Duachaill's pool), or Linn Uachaill from a demon named Duachaill, who is said to have infested the place and terrified the neighbourhood until destroyed by St. Colman. Duachaill's pool is still pointed out at the junction of the Clyde and Dee before they enter the sea at Annagassan. Dr. O' Donovan once thought that Linn Duachaill was Magheralin. Co. Down, and at first Bishop Reeves seems to have had the same opinion. But both those antiquaries found it necessary to correct their opinion on becoming acquainted with the topography and traditions of Annagassan. For Linn Duachaill was on the banks of the river called Casan Linne (Martyr. Doneg., Mar. 30, p. 91, cp Colgan Acta SS., pp. 792-703), and this river is mentioned in the "Circuit of Ireland " as lying between the Vale of Newry, or Glen Righe, and Ath Gabhla on the Boyne. The name " Casan''="paths" survives in Annagassan. According to Joyce (Names of Places, p. 373) "Casan " was originally joined with "Linne Duachaill" and became shortened to " Casan linne," which is preserved in Annagassan=Ath-na-gcasan, "the ford of the paths." Dr. Todd, who has an important note on the subject in " Wars of the Gaedhil with the Gall," p. lxii., says, Annagassan=Aonach g Casain, i.e., the " Fair of Casan." Joyce's interpretation is, I think, to be preferred, as the people still speak of the "Pass of Linns " and this pass, as pointed out, lay further up the River Glyde, about a quarter of a mile from Duachaill's pool, and near the spot where the monastery founded by St. Colman is believed to have stood.

The Four Masters and Annals of Ulster do not tell very much about the Monastery of Linn Duachaill. The following entries in the former refer to it : —

699. — Colman of Linn Duachaill died on 30 March.

752. — Siadhail, Abbot of Linn Duachaill, died.

758.— Anfadan, Abbot of Linn Duachaill, died.

770. — Suairlech, Abbot of Linn Duachaill, died.

803. — Thomas, Bishop, Scribe, and Abbot of Linn Duachaill, died.

826. — Clemens, Abbot of Linn Duachaill, died.

Rev. J. B. Leslie, History of Kilsaran Union of Parishes in the County of Louth, (Dundalk, 1908), 89-91.

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Saint Lughaidh Mac Garbain, April 17

April 17 is the commemoration of a saint with alleged Patrician links, Lughaidh Mac Garbain, as Canon O'Hanlon explains:

St. Lughaidh Mac Garbain, possibly of Teglaisreann, County of Louth.

At this date, a festival is set down, in the Martyrology of Tallagh in honour of Lughaidh Mac Garbain. He is thought, by Colgan, to have been brother to St. Bega, whose feast occurs at the 10th of February. The Bollandists have entered Lugadius filius Garvani, at the 17th of April. They notice, likewise, a particular Lugadius Praesbyter, who is mentioned in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, and who is thought, by Colgan, to have been one of those saints, so-called, in the Irish Calendars, at this date. In our account of St. Meallan, the name of that Lugadius occurs, as a companion. He was one of those six students, who, it has been stated, met St. Patrick on his going to Rome. To them, St. Patrick gave a hide, which he had under his side, for twelve years. Of it, they made a satchel, for their books. This custom of keeping books in cases or satchels seems to have been prevalent in the early times. Those circumstances, connected with the foregoing incident, are more fully detailed, in the First Volume of this work. [See the entry for Saint Meallan on January 28, pp. 465-467.]

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Saint Mocelloc of Telach Olainn, January 23

Last year on January 23 I posted on the life of Saint Maimbod, an Irish missionary to Europe who met a martyr's death. The other saints with whom he shares his feastday are all much more obscure figures. Among them is a saint commemorated in the Martyrology of Tallagh as 'Mocelloc o Thilaig Ualann.' O'Hanlon tells us that the name of this place occurs twice in the Annals of the Four Masters but that the editor, John O'Donovan of Ordnance Survey fame, was unable to identify this place with any modern location. The saint, of whom nothing more seems to be known was also commemorated in the Martyrology of Donegal as 'Mocheallog, of Tualach Ualann'. O'Hanlon himself felt that this location was probably Tullyallen in County Louth:

St. Mocelloc, or Mocheallog, of Telach Olainn, or Tualach Ualann. 

The Martyrology of Tallagh mentions Mocelloc o Thilaig Ualann as having been venerated on the 23rd ofJanuary. Although the name of this place occurs twice in Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," yet has it eluded identification with any modern locality, even after the learned editor's research.'' Mocheallog, ofTualach Ualann, is entered in the Martyrology of Donegal,s as having a festival at this date. To the writer, it would appear, that this saint's ancient place may now be found under the modern designation of Tullyallen, a parish chiefly in the barony of Ferrard, county of Louth, but partly in that of Upper Slane in the county of Meath. The old graveyard and ruined church are situated near a rivulet, which trickles down through King William's Glen, and joins the Boyne river, near the obelisk and newly-constructed bridge. The situation is a very elevated and beautiful one, while an ancient road leads from it down to the site of the famous battle. The graveyard is a favourite place for burial, and fine ash trees surround it. The old church measures 65 feet in length interiorly, and 18 feet in width, while the walls are about 2 feet 6 inches in thickness. Two gables, richly mantled over with ivy, still stand ; the side walls only peer a little over the ground level. The doorway in the west gable had been much broken, but it is repaired with modern masonry. In the other gable, the lower part of an eastern Gothic window is broken, but in the upper part some traces of fine mullions are seen.
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Saint Buite of Monasterboice, December 7

The monastic site at Monasterboice, County Louth is most famous today as the home of the Cross of Muiredach, one of the finest examples of a 'Celtic cross' to be found in Ireland. Less well-known perhaps is the founder of the monastery, Saint Buite, who flourished in the sixth century. His feast on December 7 is well attested in the Irish calendars. The Martyrology of Oengus records for this day:

7. With the passion of Polycarp
with his noble, streamy train,
the bright feast of victorious Buite,
from treasurous Monaster(boice).

 to which the later scholiast has added some notes attempting an etymology for the saint's name:

of Buite, from Manistir in Mag Breg. Buite, i.e. living. Or bute, i.e. fire as is said in the proverb bot fo Bregaib 'fire throughout Bregia,' whence is now said butelach, i.e. where there has been a great fire.- Or bute quasi bete, from beatus. Beatus autem dicitur quasi bene auctus, for fair was his aggrandizement, a star manifesting his conception, as happened at the manifestation of Christ. Or bute quasi beo De, for unto God (Dia) he was alive (beo), as hath been written' 'they which live shall not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose again,' doing in this world, not their own will, but His who suffered for them. 

Bute son of Bronach, son of Balar, son of Cass, son of Nia, son of Airmedach, son of Fergus, son of Isinchan, son of Fiacc.

The Martyrology of Donegal follows the attempts to explain the derivation of the saint's name, but adds that in the list of parallel saints Buite is likened to the Venerable Bede:

7. E. SEPTIMO IDUS DECEMBRIS. 7. 

BUITE, i.e., Boetius, Bishop of the Monastery. It was in the year of our Lord 520 that he died, i.e., the day on which Colum Cille was born, as stated in the Life of Buite himself. Buite, son of Bronach of Mainister-Buithe, was of the race of Connla, son of Tadhg, son of Cian, son of Oilioll Oluim. A very ancient old-vellum-book, mentioned at Brighit, 1st of February, states that Buite, son of Bronach, and Beda the Wise, had a resemblance to each other in habits and life. 

“The bright festival of Buite the Victorious” 

Buite that is, he is called Beo or Buite, which signifies 'fire' ut in proverbio dicitur, & etc. Bot fo breghaibh, (Fire under liars), unde dicitur hodie 'Butelach', i.e., ubi fit magnus ignis. Buite, however, is quasi Beti ab eo, quod est beatus. Beatus autem dicitur, quasi bene auctus vel aptus for it was a great increase of honour to him that a star manifested his birth, as it manifested the birth of Christ. Or Buite, quasi Beode, because God was life to him : sicut scriptum est, “Qui vivunt jam non sibi vivant sed ei qui pro ipsis mortuus est, et resurrexit; non suam seculi in hoc mundo voluntatem [facientes], sed ejus qui pro ipsis passus est.”

So there is much to discover about 'Buite the fair and vigorous' as the Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman calls him. He has thus joined the long list of saints about whom I need to undertake more research. In the meantime though, here is a short introduction to his life from an early guide book to the area:

MONASTERBOICE

 Home of Ireland's Crosses

The story of Monasterboice dates back to the sixth century, but like so many other settlements of that period, the facts available regarding its construction and inhabitants are few. It is known, however, that the monastery was founded by an ecclesiastic named Buite, a descendant of one of the chieftains of Munster.

He lived until the year 520 A.D. so it is considered more than likely that he, at some stage of his youth, came into direct contact with St. Patrick. He travelled extensively through Italy, Germany and England before beginning work on the Monasterboice monastery on his return to Ireland.

In the course of his travels throughout Ireland Buite is said to have cured many people, sometimes in the strangest ways. Once, a blind man, carrying a cripple, pleaded with Buite to cure them of their infirmities and were told to anoint themselves in the water through which his carriage had passed. They did so and were cured.

On another occasion while hastening to save the life of a captive of the High King he found the river Boyne, which he had to cross, swollen in flood. But when he struck the water with his staff a passage was cleared for him and, like another Moses, he crossed safely.

To his dismay he found the prisoner had already been beheaded. But, Buite proceeded to replace the head and restore the man to life. Legend has it that thereafter the restored man spent the remainder of his days tending the monastic garden at Monasterboice.

Many other stories are told of his works which resulted in cures for people and animals. But, perhaps the strangest of all was the manner in which Buite is reputed to have died. Walking one day in the monastery cemetery he was filled with a desire for death and he is said to have ascended a ladder provided by angels.

The other monks watched in amazement, but Buite returned with a disc of glass in front of his face which enabled him to see without being seen. He remained with his monks for several more months and before he died foretold of the coming of St. Colmcille, who it is thought, was born on the same day.

K. MacGowan, The Boyne Valley (Dublin, n.d.), 23-4.

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Saint Sillán of Imleach Cassain, September 11

One of the saints commemorated on September 11 on the Irish Calendars, has a strange legend attached to his name in the scholiast notes on the Martyrology of Oengus. I have appended this to Canon O'Hanlon's entry on the life and locality of Saint Sillán, whom the calendars associate with both counties Donegal and Louth:

St. Sillán or Siollan, of Imleach Cassain, in Cuailgne, or of Imleach-caoin, in Tir-Aedha.

This holy man lived at an early period. He is commemorated in the "Feilire" of St. Aengus, at the 11th of September, and with praise. However, the scholiast has added a foolish and incredible legend in reference to him. A festival is also recorded in the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 11th of September in honour of Sillán in Imlig Cassain, of Cuailgni. The district of Cuailge — now Cooley— was a mountainous tract in the north of Louth County. Although now in the Leinster province, it once formed a part of Uladh. Imleach Cassain's modern equivalent must be sought for in some townland denomination not far from Carlingford Lough or Dundalk Bay. By Marianus O'Gorman, the festival of Sillán has been set down at the 11th of September. At the same date, in the Martyrology of Donegal, his name also appears, as Siollan, of Imleach Cassain, in Cuailgni; or of Imlach-caoin,in Tir Aedha, and, he is said to have been interred or honoured, at Inis Cameda, in Loch Eirne. Tir Aedha is now commensurate with the barony of Tirhugh, in the southern part of Donegal County, and there Imleach-caoin was situated, state the O'Clerys. The ancient name of Inish Coimeda may not at present be easily discovered, among the many modern designations that are applied to the numerous islands, which dot the surface of the beautiful Lough Erne. Veneration for this saint prevailed in Scotland, and his name is registered in the Kalendarium Drummondiense, at the iii. of the September Ides, corresponding with the 11th of the month.

From the Martyrology of Oengus

B. iii. idus Septembris.

Paiss Prothi Iacinthi,

ba co nimbud galair,

Sillán salm cech lobair

i nImbliuch cain canair.

11. The passion of Protus and Hyacinthus:

it was with abundance of sorrow.

Sillán, the psalm of every sick man,

is sung in fair Imbliuch (Cassain).

Notes

Sillán, i.e. from Imbliuch Cassain in Cualnge. salm, i.e. oratio, of every feeble one, i.e. every one who used to be in sore sickness: for this was the wish of them all, to see the hair of Sillán's eyebrow so that they might die swiftly, for this was the peculiarity of that hair, every one who would see it in the morning died at once. Now Sillán happened (to come) to Lethglenn, and Molaisse comes early in the morning round the graveyard. Sillán of the Hair happens to meet him. "This hair," says Molaisse, "shall not be killing every one," plucking it out perforce. Then Molaisse, after seeing the hair, dies at once, and hence Sillán dictus est (Sillán of the Hair).

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Saint Mochta of Louth, August 19

Below is an account of Saint Mochta of Louth, whose feast is commemorated on August 19, by Patrick Francis, Cardinal Moran (1830-1911). There are many legends attached to the figure of Saint Mochta, as he is reputed to be a disciple of Saint Patrick, but his real historical importance lies in the confession of faith which he wrote to Pope Leo the Great to assure Rome of his orthodoxy. I have not been able to locate an English translation of this important text, but Cardinal Moran reprinted the Latin original as an appendix in his book 'Essays on the Origins, Doctrines and Discipline of the Early Irish Church', from which this account of its author has also been taken:

St. Mochta of Louth, whose name was anciently written Macteus,* was a disciple of St. Patrick, and his death is assigned to the year 534, by Tighernach, the Annals of the Four Masters, and the Annals of Ulster. His name is commemorated in our martyrologies on the 24th of March, and the 19th of August.

Oengus adds to his name the epithets of faithful and devout the great good leader; and Marianus O'Gorman styles him " the lamp of Louth the father of an illustrious family." The gloss on Oengus adds, that he was bishop of Louth, and cites the following curious poem:

"Poverty abode not

With the family of Mochta in his fort of Louth ;

Three hundred bishops and one hundred priests were there with him.

Eighty psalm-singing noble youths

Were his household: royal is the enumeration:

Without ploughing without reaping without drying of corn,

They laboured not, save at learning only."

Amongst our many ancient saints, he was remarkable for his longevity and abstinence, both which traits are thus alluded to by St. Cuimin of Connor, in his poem on the characteristic virtues of the Irish saints:

"Mochta of Lugh-magh (Louth), loved

By law and by rule,

That no dainty food should enter his body

For the space of one hundred years."

The life of this saint records that, guided by an angelic admonition, he proceeded to Rome, and there applied himself to the study of sacred literature ; and it further commemorates the offering of a ceraculum or writing-tablet, which he made to the then ruling pontiff. When he visited Rome, the memory of the heretic Celestius was still familiar to the faithful of that city, and the well-known words of St. Jerome were fresh in their ears: "Satan, though silent himself, barks through a huge and corpulent mountain dog, who can do more damage with his claws, than even with his teeth ; for he is by descent of the Scotic nation, which is adjoining Britain, and like another Cerberus, according to the fables of the poets, must be struck down with a spiritual club, that thus he may be silent for ever with his master Pluto."

Some seem to have feared that Mochta might, perhaps, be infected with a similar contagion, and for this reason he was compelled to vindicate the sincerity of his faith, by presenting, about the year 460, to the great St. Leo, a profession of his belief, of which a copy, written about the year 700, was discovered by Muratori amongst the precious manuscripts of the once famous Irish monastery of Bobbio, and was published in his Anecdota Ambrosiana.

St. Mochta, in this formula of faith, dwells almost exclusively on the doctrine of the blessed Trinity and on the Apostles' Creed ; indeed it presents a striking similarity with the creed recited by St. Patrick in his Confession, whilst scarcely a hint is given regarding any of those heresies which disturbed the Churches of Britain and the continent. Of his own Church, he says: "we are as yet only in the way to truth" (nos adhuc infenestra id est, in via lucis); and of himself he adds: "why do people interrogate me whence I come ? I am a pilgrim" (ut quid quaeritur patria mea ? Peregrinus ego sum) ; and subsequently he thus briefly but beautifully tells us what was his opinion as to the special prerogative of Rome :

" If, for the fault of one individual, the inhabitants of the whole country are to be deemed accursed, let that most blessed disciple, too, be condemned, I mean Rome itself, from which hitherto not only one but two, or three, or even more heresies have gone forth ; and, nevertheless, none of them could get hold of, or contaminate the Chair of Peter, that is to say the see of faith."

* The Irish a being pronounced like the diphthong au or o, was one of the chief causes of the discrepancy in registering the name of this saint. In some manuscripts of Adamnan, he is styled Mauctaneus, Afaveteus, and Mauctem. The Vita S. Dagei calls him Afoccheus, and subsequently Mochteus. Jocelyn, in his life of St. Patrick, gives his name as Moccheus ; and with continental writers, he is commonly known by the name Macceus. Tighernach thus records his death, in 534 : " Dormitatio Moctai discipuli Patricii, xvi. kalend. Septembr. Sic ipse scripsit in epistola sua ; Mocteus peccator presbiter Sancti Patricii discipulus in Domino salutem." This same entry is given in the Annals of Ulster ; but he is said to have signed his own name Macutenus. See Reeves' Adamnan, page 6, seqq. ; Colgan Acta SS. page 729, seqq. ; Martyr, of Christ Church, I. A. S., 1844, page Lxix.; Todd, St Patrick, page 39, seqq.; Ware, de Script Hib. lib ii. cap. 1.

Essays on the Origins, Doctrines and Discipline of the Early Irish Church by the Rev Dr Moran, (Dublin 1864), 92-4.

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Saint Daigh of Iniskeen, August 18

Canon O'Hanlon presents a very long account of an early saint commemorated on 18 August, Daigh of Iniskeen. The life of Saint Daigh is full of interest, not only does he pursue the monastic life in the company of exalted contemporaries such as Mochta of Louth and Ciaran of Clonmacnoise, but he is also famous as a skilled craftsman and scribe. Indeed, this saint is mentioned in the triads of Ireland as one of the 'three chief artisans of Ireland' who are listed as: 'Tassach with Patrick, Conlaed with Brigit, and Daig with Ciaran'. Canon O'Hanlon's account contains a number of the miracles recorded in the Life of Saint Daigh but I will look at these on another occasion. For now, here are the main details of his biography distilled from Volume 8 of the Lives of the Irish Saints:

ST. DAIGH OR DAGEUS, BISHOP, OF INIS-CAOIN-DEAGHA, NOW INISKEEN, IN THE COUNTY OF LOUTH.

[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES.]

That the present saint had been greatly venerated in Ireland, and also from the early times of Christian regeneration, may well be inferred, from those acquirements and miraculous powers attributed to him, in the old Acts of his Life, which still remain. In the most ancient of our Irish Calendars, his Feast has been inserted, while allusions to him are contained in the Lives of other Irish saints, who were his contemporaries. ..

The very fact of St. Daigh Mac Cairill having been inserted in the "Feilire" of St. Aengus, at the 18th day of August, with a distinguished eulogy, ‘A man of grace for our wheat was Daig, the good and great son of Cairell’ is proof sufficient of his having a legitimate claim on our veneration, and it gives, likewise, the correct date for his Festival. A scholiast has added further particulars, regarding his descent, place, and profession. The commentator notes in Irish, what is here rendered into English: "Daig, son of Coirell, a smith and an artist and a choice scribe was this Daig. He it is that made 300 bells and 300 croziers and 300 Gospels and chief artist to Ciaran of Saigir was he." It is evident, that the most ancient Acts of this holy man were not written by a synchronus, from certain allusions to matters, which took place long after the time of St. Daygaeus. It would seem to have been Colgan's intention, as we learn from his posthumous list of Manuscripts, to have issued the Acts of St. Dagous, the present saint, at the 18th of August. The Bollandists' writers have published, with a previous commentary in ten paragraphs, the Acts of St. Dega Maccayrill, Bishop and Confessor, in two chapters and seventeen paragraphs, at the 18th of August. These have been taken from a Salamancan Manuscript in their possession, and they are a production of some anonymous writer. The Acts of St. Dagaeus are contained, also, in a Manuscript, belonging to the Burgundian Library at Bruxelles and these have been lately edited by Fathers Carolus de Smedt and Joseph de Backer, at the expense of the Right Hon. John Patrick Marquis of Bute. Bishop Challoner merely observes, at this date, that the Life of St. Dega, written by one of his countrymen, is but modern, and full of nothing but prodigies. However, this description is not quite correct, as it contains some statements of historic interest and value. At this date, likewise, the Petits Bollandistes have some brief notices of St. Dagée Maccayrill.

The old Acts of our saint state, that his father's name was Cayrell, son of Dorona while his mother is called Dechidu, the daughter of Massan. The father is said to have been the fifth in descent from Niall of the Nine Hostages. According to the O'Clerys, he belonged to the race of Eoghan, son to Niall; while Dedi, daughter of Trian, son to Dubhtach Hui Lughair, was his mother. She had been married to four different husbands, and in the first instance, to Cayrell or Cairrell, as the name is indifferently written; and by him, she had two children, renowned for their sanctity, the present saint, and his sister Feme, Virgin and Martyr… This saint's name has been given variedly as Dega, Daigh, Dageus, Daygaeus and Daganus. He was born in the territory of Kiennacta Breagh, sometimes called Kiennacta Arda. This territory was situated in the eastern part of the kingdom of Meath, and a sub-section of this people was also seated in Fingal, northwards from the city of Dublin. It is also to be distinguished from the Kiennacta of Uladh, now the barony of Keenaght, in the County of Londonderry. Daigh had an uncle, named Lassrian, who ruled as Abbot over the monastery of Damhinis, now Devenish; but who happened to be there, in a little monastery, at the time of Dega's birth, and in that he was baptized.

While yet a boy, his parents placed their child under the care of his uncle Lasarian to be instructed in letters. It appears, that abbot had a brother, who was a deacon, and through whose training, likewise, Dega made great progress in his studies. One day, having occasion to visit St. Mochta, who lived in his monastery at Louth, the deacon brought Dega with him. When these visitors arrived at the guest-house, the boy was left there, and the deacon went to see the venerable senior Mochta, so that he might confer with that Abbot about some matters of business. Meantime, while they were thus engaged, it appeared to the monks, that the house in which the boy was left had been surrounded with flames, which they ran at once to extinguish. There Dega was found, but uninjured by that fire. Whereupon, they hastened to their holy Abbot with an account of such a remarkable occurrence. Then, in the spirit of prophecy, Mochta said: " That boy shall be inflamed with the fire of the Holy Spirit, and therefore not inaptly shall he be called Dayg," which in the Scottish language, means a great flame.' Then, the holy Abbot ordered the boy to be brought to him, and he was received with great joy. Taking him by the hand, Mochta said: "This is the physician, whom I have seen formerly in the spirit, and who is destined to heal my three infirmities." These were pains in the head, in the heart, and in the reins. Whereupon, placing the boy's hand on those parts affected, St. Mochta was immediately healed. Wherefore, blessing the hand, which had wrought those cures, the holy Abbot said: "Many a church vessel and ornament in gold, in silver, in brass, and in iron, shall proceed from that hand, and moreover, many an elegant volume shall it write. That hand also shall administer the Body and Blood of Christ to me in the Holy Communion, when I am about to be called out of this world. Moreover, that hand shall fashion the reliquary in which my mortal remains are to be enclosed, and whatever may be useful in such way, it shall likewise accomplish. This prediction was afterwards fulfilled.

Afterwards Daig became a celebrated artificer. This holy man is said to have fashioned no less than one hundred and fifty bells, and one hundred croziers. He likewise made cases or covers for sixty Gospels—i.e., books containing the writings of the four Evangelists. Such is the O'Clerys account, and in confirmation of it they quote an Irish quatrain, of which the following is an English translation :—

"Thrice fifty bells, victorious deed,

With one hundred strong-ringed croziers,

With sixty perfect gospels,

By the hand of Daigh alone."

Besides these, it is stated, that he manufactured shrines, cases, chalices, pyxes, dishes, altariola, baculi, crucifixes, and chrysmals. We are informed, moreover, that while some of these were plainly made, others were highly wrought with gold, silver and precious stones, which were added as ornaments to them. This holy man particularly distinguished himself by his assiduity in transcribing sacred books, as by his ingenuity in making elegant covers for them. Also, bells, cymbals, and utensils he fashioned, for the service of the Church, and many of these he distributed gratis in various parts of Ireland….

Having heard the prediction of St. Mochta already related, the Deacon asked him further questions, regarding the boy's future vocation. Then said Mochta: "Between me and the mountain northwards, he shall found a beautiful monastery." The Deacon then asked, if that should be under his jurisdiction. Mochta replied: "No, for during last night, in a vision, I saw the boy delivered by the Lord of Heaven into the hands of a certain young man, who shall be born after some years." That person of whom the holy Abbot spoke was thought to have been no other than St. Kieran, the renowned Abbot of Clonmacnoise.

Whereupon, that deacon, with the boy Dageus, returned to his brother St. Laserian, the Abbot and founder of a monastery at Daimhinis, now Devenish, in Lough Erne. We learn, that adjoining the great monastery at that place, there was a smaller one, apart from it, and which was a school. In this, Dageus fully learned the arts of writing, and of metal-working, as also the knowledge of literature...Afterwards, having obtained the requisite permission from St. Lassrian, the youth went to the monastery of St. Comgall, at Bangor. There he was initiated to the rule and discipline established by that holy Abbot. By day he studied and exercised his art of metallurgy; while his nights were spent in writing, with the exception of a few hours left for sleep. There, too, with his own hands, many utensils for the monastery were fashioned. Three cymbals or small sounding bells he wrought for St. Comgall and finally, he transcribed a most elegant Book of the Gospels, while he designed a truly artistic cover, or case, which he manufactured to enclose it.

Having spent several years in the Coenobium at Bangor, the blessed Daigh, knowing that he had been consigned by Divine Providence to the care of St. Kiaran of Clonmacnoise, and to his successors, left the former place with a prayer and benediction to seek the latter holy master... While at Clonmacnoise, our saint must have rendered himself useful to the community in various ways. Thus, Dageus is said to have been smith to St. Kieran, which only means, however, that he exercised the art of working in the precious metals, and chiefly for ecclesiastical purposes.

Not long afterwards, the holy Abbot of Clonmacnois directed him to return and to found a monastery of his own, in the territory where he was born. We find it called Inyscam, in the old copy of our saint's Acts.. The name is also written Inishkeen, Enniskeen, or Inniskeen… in after time, this saint's name is found associated with the place, called Inis-caoin-Deghadh, after him… That place selected for St. Daigh's foundation was in the ancient territory of Orgiel or Oriel; and, in Colgan's time, it had only a parish church.

A college or monastery is mentioned, as having been governed by him; and, according to the old Acts of our saint, he lived in a little monastery called Delenna. However, as this place cannot well be identified, we do not think it is different from Inish-caoin, which seems to have been his permanent place of residence.

It is not probable, that St. Daigh lived to the extreme old age of one hundred and forty years assigned in his Acts; and, it may be supposed, the compiler had formed this on some computation of his own, as other Irish accounts, not drawn from his record, hardly seem to warrant that conclusion. It may be allowed, however, that he lived to a good old age… The year of our Lord, when he resigned his spirit, is said to have been 586. This holy man was the same as Dagaeus or Daygeus, from whom St. Moctheus of Louth received the holy viaticum; and, therefore it must follow, that Daigh lived long after his ordination. According to our Annalists, he did not die until 586.

At the 19th of February, Colgan has a brief notice regarding a bishop Dagaeus, whose name was generally marked in the Irish Calendars, at that day. He thinks it very probable, that he could have been no other than the Dagaeus named at the 18th of August. It is not unusual to meet with more than one festival, and marked for one and the same saint. As we have already seen, the feast of this saint has been set down, and with eulogy, in the metrical Calendar of St. Aengus, at this day. At the 18th of August, likewise, the Martyrology of Tallagh mentions, that veneration was given to Daigh Mac Cairill, of Innse cain. In the Calendar of Cashel, he is noticed at this day. Also, Joannes Kirkestede, Martyr, alludes to his veneration, in the Tract "De Praecipuis Hiberniae Sanctis Praesulibus." In the English edition of Withford's English Martyrology, published at London in 1526, this holy man's feast is set down at the 18th of August, with a eulogy stating, that in his youth he wrought many miracles, afterwards that he raised from the dead thirteen persons, besides performing many other notable actions, and that he died in the one hundredth and fortieth year of his age, being distinguished for his sanctity and perfection. The Martyrology of Donegal, at the same date, records Daigh, son of Cairill, Bishop of Inis-cain-Degha, in Conaill Muirtheimne. This holy man was venerated, likewise, in Scotland, and his feast is entered at the 18th of August, in the Calendar of Drummond.

The old writer of this saint's Acts states, that human capacity or memory could not relate all the miracles he wrought, through the co-operation of Divine Grace. His great works were the foundation of monasteries in various parts of Ireland, healing the sick from divers diseases, liberating captives, and even raising the dead to life. Moreover, with his own hands forming many things for use in the churches, his days passed without reproach, until after a life greatly prolonged, he happily slept in Christ.

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Saint Neachtan of Cill-Uinche, May 2

On May 2 we commemorate Saint Neachtan (Neachtain, Nectan) of Cill-Uinche, said to have been a nephew of Saint Patrick. Although in his own writings Saint Patrick mentions only his father and grandfather, later hagiographers furnished our national apostle with an extended family. Our saint is said to have been the son of one of Saint Patrick's sisters, Liamain. Canon O'Hanlon brings us the details below:

ST. NEACHTAIN, OF CILL-UINCHE, COUNTY OF LOUTH, AND OF FENNOR, ON THE RIVER BOYNE, COUNTY OF MEATH.

[FIFTH CENTURY.]

THIS holy pupil and near relation of St. Patrick had an early commemoration; for, his festival has been assigned to the 2nd of May, in the Feilire of St. Aengus the Culdee. In the Leabhar Breac copy we read:

"Saturninus' departure, unto Christ nigh

whom he went, with (the) death,

after a long sigh,

of Nechtan Patrick's pupil."

In the Martyrology of Tallagh, at this date, is also recorded, Neachtan of Cill Unchi, or Cell Funchi, in Conailibh, or Conaill, sometimes called Fidh Conaille. This latter place must have been situated, within the county of Louth; over the greater part of which the territory of Conaille Muirtheimhne extended. The Bollandists notice this holy man, at the present date. St. Nechtain, or Nectan, was the son of Liamhain, or Liamain, sister to St. Patrick. For this reason, he was called Mac Leamhua, or Mac Lemnai. His father was probably Restitutus, the Lombard. He was consequently a nephew to the great Irish Apostle, on the mother's side. It would seem, that the latter had charge of his early education and ecclesiastical training; for, it has been very generally stated, that St. Nectan, the Bishop, was a disciple of St. Patrick. According to the accounts about St. Nectain, he belonged to a place, known as Cill-Uinche, in Conaille-Muirtheimlme. Also, Fioneabhair-Abba was a locality associated with his memory. Here, it seems probable, was the chief place of his residence, when he had embraced a religious life. According to a gloss on the Feilire-Aenguis, Fionuabhair-Abba, or Findabair, was on the margin of the River Boyne, in Bregia. It may be Anglicized "the bright field of the river." At present, it is known as Fennor, in a small parish, bearing the same name, in the barony of Lower Duleek. Here, there is an ancient church, surrounded by a cemetery, which is still greatly frequented...

How long Nechtain lived here is not known. The Irish Apostle is stated to have been present, however, while he was dying. Nechtain then made his testament, it is said. He called likewise for a drink. St. Patrick had a vision, manifesting his glory in Heaven, before he died. If this account is to be received, St. Nechtain could not have reached a very advanced age, and he must have departed this life, about the middle of the fifth century. When his demise took place, his remains were deposited in Fennor. During the ninth and tenth centuries, some references to it are found in our Annals. After the Anglo-Norman invasion, we find this place to have been converted into a parish church. The present saint is patron, where his festival had been kept, on the 2nd of May and here, too, we are told, his remains lie. On this day was venerated Neachtain, as we find set down, in the Martyrology of Donegal.

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