Saint Gaibhrein, June 24

Canon O'Hanlon, in Volume VI of his Lives of the Irish Saints, has an entry at June 24 for a Saint Gaibhrein. The seventeenth-century Donegal hagiologist, Friar Michael O'Clery, identified him with a  fellow-student of Saint Mochua of Balla, interestingly this Gabhrin was described as a 'Bishop of the Britons'. Whatever the accuracy of this identification Saint Gabrin's feast day was recorded on the Irish calendars at June 24. In his account below Canon O'Hanlon also speculates on a County Tipperary location for the city of 'Gael' mentioned as the site of Gabhrin's church in the Life of Saint Mochua:


St. Gabrin, or Gaibhrein.

We find the name, Gabrin, set down in the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 24th of June. According to the O'Clerys, the Life of Mochua of Balla states, that when Mochua left Bennchar, he proceeded to Gael, i.e., a city, which is in Fir Rois. A Bishop of the Britons was there named Gabhrin, and it is said, that he offered the church to Mochua, for they had been fellow-students together. The Calendarist O'Clery thinks this is the same Gaibhren, as that one to whom allusion has thus been made. Under the head of Gael, Duald Mac Firbis enters, Gaibhrinn, bishop, at June 24th. Where his See was situated, however, has not been discovered, nor when he flourished. There is a Geal or Gaile, a parish in the barony of Middlethird, and county of Tipperary. It lies south of Holycross, and east of the River Suir. Here are some ruins of an ancient church. A sketch of it is preserved among the drawings to illustrate County of Tipperary Records, for the Irish Ordnance Survey. The ruined church is surrounded by a cemetery. The west gable was surmounted with a belfry, while some of the walls and windows are still tolerably preserved; however, the east gable, down to the height of the side walls, was destroyed, in 1840. The church was 50 feet in length, by 10 feet, 10 inches, in breadth; the walls were over 3 feet in thickness, and about 13 feet in height. The doorway was on the south wall, about 13 feet, 10 inches, from the west gable; it was destroyed at top, on the inside, so that the original height is not now known; but, its width was 4 feet, 1 inch, and on the outside it had a semi- circular top, measuring 6 feet, 9 inches in height, and 3 feet, 6 inches, in width. This was finished off with chiselled limestone. The west gable contained a small window, which was quadrangular, on the inside, and round-headed, on the outside. There was a second doorway in the north wall, opposite that in the south wall. The parish of Geal was a rectory, and part of the benefice of Holy Cross, in the diocese of Cashel. According to John O'Donovan, the meaning of its denomination is not certain. In the Martyrology of Donegal, at the 24th of June, this saint is described, under the name of Gaibhrein.

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Saint Maolán of Tullaghmelan, December 25

Among the Irish saints who celebrate their feast days on the Feast of Christ's Nativity is Saint Maolán of Tullaghmelan. Not much is actually known of him save that he is remembered as the founder of the church of Tullaghmelan. Diocesan historian, Father Patrick Power, writes of this locality:

Tullaghmelan Parish. 

THE Parish, which is about average size, lies on the north bank of the Suir along the Co. Waterford boundary line. Its name Tulaigh Maoláin ("Maylon's Height") does not appear ecclesiastical, yet it is the tradition of the locality that Maolan was the founder of the church. In fact, an effigy of stone still preserved in the precincts of the ruin is said to be his.

Rev. P. Power, The Place Names of Decies, (London, 1907), 353.

The Irish calendars record the saint at December 25 with the Martyrology of Donegal listing:

25. B. OCTAVO KAL. JANUARII. 25.

MAELÁN, Bishop.

whilst the Martyrology of Gorman describes him as 'great Maelán, void of weakness'.

The earlier Martyrology of Tallaght lists 'Melani episcopi' on this date, along with three other native saints.

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Saint Columb of Terryglass, December 13

December 13 is the feast of a saint known for his ascetic life - Saint Columb of Terryglass, County Tipperary. Saint Columb (also known as Columba or Colman) was a disciple of Saint Finnian of Clonard, whose feast we celebrated yesterday, and features among that elite group known as the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He was chosen by the 'Tutor of the Saints of Ireland' as the man to give his master the Holy Communion on his deathbed, as the Irish Life of Saint Finnian explains:

2646. Once he sent his pupil, even bishop Senach, to find out what the folk of his school were doing. Different, in sooth, was that at which each of them was found, yet all were good. Colomb, son of Crimthann, was found with his hands stretched forth, and his mind contemplative in God, and birds resting on his hands and on his head. When that was told to Findian he said : ' The hands of that man,' saith he, 'shall give me communion and sacrifice at the ending days.'

And this prophecy was fulfilled in a miraculous fashion:

2769. Now, when it came to the ending days of this holy Findian, his guardian angel sent him to Inis Mac n-Eirc on Luimnech, and brought Colomb, son of Crimhthan [with his gillie], with his book-satchel, on two clouds to Clonard. And Findian received communion and sacrifice from his hand, and sent his spirit to heaven at the end of a hundred and forty years.

Whitley Stokes ed.and trans. Lives of Saints from the Book of Lismore, (Oxford, 1890).

The Irish Calendars agree in recording Saint Columb's feast on December 13. The entry for today in the early Martyrology of Oengus reads:

13. For the dear multitudinous day,
may they come with many thousands,
Baethan the pious of Cluain,
Colomb the abstinent of Tir (dá glais).

while the later Martyrology of Donegal gives some information on the translation of the saint's relics:

COLUM, of Tir-dá-glas, son of Ninnidh, of the race of Cathaoir Mór, king of Erin, who is of the race of Labhraidh Lorc, son of Ugaine Mór, etc. ; and Mincloth, sister of Caemell, daughter of Ceannfionnan, son of Ceis, son of Lughar, was his mother.
Him Aenghus calls Colum Mac Crimhthainn, and other authors call him Mac Ui Cremhthannain. It was he that gave the sacrifice to Finnen, of Cluain-Eraird ; and he was a disciple of Finnen.
Macaoimhe, of Tir-dá-ghlas, and Odhran brought his relics to Inis Cealtra, as Ciaran of Saighir had foretold in his own Life, chap. 6, and as Mochaemhog had foretold when he was baptizing Odhran.

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Four Tipperary Saints - Forthcoming Title from Four Courts Press

Four Tipperary Saints

The lives of Colum of Terryglass, Cronán of Roscrea, Mochaomhóg of Leigh and Ruadhán of Lorrha

Translated into English by Pádraig Ó Riain

When St Patrick was leaving Munster via the Little Brosna river, close to Tipperary’s northern boundary, he is said to have given a blessing to the province’s people, its men, women and children. Much of this blessing must have lingered over north Tipperary, because no fewer than four of its saints were made the subjects of written Lives, Ruadhán and Colum from the neighbouring parishes of Lorrha and Terryglass, Crónán of Roscrea, and Mochaomhóg of Leigh in Twomileborris. The Lives written for these saints in Latin, translated here for the first time into English, contain much that is of interest, not only to Tipperary people, but to all who wish to know more about the history of early Irish Christianity. Written many centuries after the golden age of the saints, these texts tell us a great deal about the fortunes of their churches, and about the aims and associations of the communities devoted to them. Pádraig Ó Riain, in this new translation, gives access to these four Lives to a brand new audience.

Pádraig Ó Riain is Professor Emeritus of Early and Medieval Irish at University College Cork, and the previous holder of Visiting Professorships at Bochum and Freiburg in Germany and at Aberystwyth in Wales. He is a former holder of the Parnell Fellowship at Magdalen College, Cambridge, and was the first Irish scholar to be awarded the Humboldt Prize. A former President of the Irish Texts Society and a former Member of Council of the Royal Irish Academy, Professor Ó Riain is the author of numerous publications on Irish hagiography, placenames, personal names, and textual transmission. He is the author of the best-selling A dictionary of Irish Saints (2011).

Paperback
160pp; ills. November 2014
ISBN:
978-1-84682-550-7
Catalogue Price: €19.95
Web Price: €17.95

Four Courts Press

The Daughters of Cainnech, September 24

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

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

According to the manuscript and published Martyrology of Tallagh, the Daughters of Cainnech) had veneration paid them, at the 24th of September. The Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman commemorates the festival of Cainnech's chaste daughters, at this same day. The glossographer adds, that they belonged to Maigh Locha. Their parentage and locality have been fully identified. These holy women were the children of a chieftain who lived in the time of St. Declan, patron of Ardmore, and whose castle had been saved from fire by the latter. Their place was formerly called Magh Locha, now Molough, near the great bend of the River Suir, and not many miles from Clonmel, in the County of Tipperary. There they seem to have lived in religious retirement, most probably some time in the sixth century. Of their lives, however, we find no record.

Long after that time, their place is said to have been the site for a nunnery, dedicated to St. Brigid, in the former diocese of Lismore. It is mentioned by Archdall, as being in the County of Tipperary; but, he is wrong in placing it near Carrick-on-Suir. The ruins of the old nunnery of Moylough are situated on level ground, about one furlong north of the River Suir. In the year 1840, two parts of this building remained, viz., a chapel and a lateral house; but, from the fragments of walls about them, it appeared to have been a habitation of considerable extent. The church or chapel remaining was then in a tolerable state of preservation, extending from east to west, and measuring in length on the inside 60 feet, in breadth it was 27 feet, 6 inches. Two windows were in the east gable, constructed of chiselled and brownish sand-stone. There were three windows on the southwall, but these were much disfigured and built up with rough masonry. The door-way was on the south wall, and at a distance of fourteen feet from the west gable; it was constructed of chiselled and ornamental lime-stone on the outside, and of chiselled sand-stone on the inside. The west gable had been surmounted by a belfry, having two semi-circular arches, constructed of brownish and chiselled sand-stone. The lateral house extended to the northwest of the chapel, and touching it at the north-west corner. It was fifty-five feet in length on the outside, and twenty-seven in breadth. Its walls were three feet six inches in thickness, and about fourteen feet in height.

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

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Saint Cathaldus of Taranto, May 10

May 10 is one of the feastdays of an Irish saint whose memory is still very much cherished in Italy, Saint Cathal (Cathaldus) of Taranto. Patrick Montague, author of The Saints and Martyrs of Ireland, records in the preface to his book how he first encountered this Irish saint:

In early summer of 1944, I arrived in Taranto, Italy, as a Staff Officer of the Eighth Army. The next morning, I was urgently summoned to assist an American soldier who had driven his jeep into the path of a procession of Italians who were celebrating the Feast of their local saint. Since nobody was hurt, the situation was quickly adjusted. I was able to deal with it in Italian, aided by the presence of a local priest. Between us we calmed the excited people and rescued the soldier from his awkward predicament.

In conversation later, the priest informed me that the Saint was Cathaldo, and it was common knowledge that he was Irish. I wondered at the time whether this unusual fact was so so well-known in Ireland. In the years which followed, I have often pondered on the strange anomaly that the memory of Irish exiles like Cathal, or Cathaldo, of Taranto, can inspire public holidays and gatherings of the faithful all over Europe, and receive no more than a brief reference in works of scholarship in Ireland.

Below is an abridged version of a paper by Father J. F. Hogan from the Irish Ecclesiastical Record, which contains a useful summary of the main points from the mass of traditions surrounding Saint Cathaldus. The article begins with an account of the founding of the city of Taranto but I have omitted this and the concluding paragraphs on its later history in order to concentrate on the details of its patron's life. Saint Cathal's story is certainly not a dull one, he is associated with the monastery of Lismore but leaves the scholar's life for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land and ends up in Taranto following a shipwreck:

ST. CATHALDUS OF TARANTO

...A tradition of immemorial standing seems to ascribe the first conversion of Tarentum to St. Peter and his disciple and companion, St. Mark. Seeing that it is held by many writers that St. Peter paid two visits to Rome, during the second of which he suffered martyrdom, it is natural enough to suppose that, on his way to or from the East, he may have passed through Tarentum, and have preached the good tidings of Christianity to its people. However this may be, it is certain that the seeds of Christian life did not take deep root there on its first sowing, and that in the political turmoil which followed the transfer of the seat of Empire to Constantinople, its young shoots were almost completely smothered. In these disturbances Tarentum passed from Romans to Greeks, and from Greeks to Romans. It was handed about to all kinds of freebooters. For a time it was held by Belisarius for Justinian; then it was occupied by Totila and his Goths. These in their turn were expelled by the Imperial arms, and the citadel was held for the empire until the arrival of the Longobardi, whose commander, Romoald (Duke of Beneventum) got possession of the town and province.

It must be acknowledged that such stormy conditions of life were not very favourable to the spread of Christianity. No wonder, therefore, that little trace should have been found of the Christian settlement that had once been established at Tarentum when St. Cathaldus first appeared within its walls.

That St. Cathaldus was a native of Ireland, is a fact which cannot be seriously questioned. Indeed it is not denied by anybody worthy of a moment's notice. It has been the constant tradition of the Church of Tarentum; and in every history of the city or of its apostle that is of Italian origin, there is but one voice as to the country from which St. Cathaldus came. The most valuable biography of the saint which we possess was written in the seventeenth century by an Italian Franciscan named Bartolomeo Moroni. As this work professes to be based on very ancient codices and manuscripts of the Church of Taranto, we must conclude that it contains a good deal that is accurate and trustworthy, whilst a very cursory examination is sufficient to convince us that fable and fiction have entered not a little into its composition. It tells us, at all events, that Cathaldus was a native of Ireland; that he was born at a place called Rachau according to some, at Cathandum according to others; that as a happy augury of his future mission to the half Greek, half Italian city of Taranto, his father's name was Euchus, and his mother's Achlena or Athena.

A good deal of discussion has been indulged in as to the identity of his birthplace. The general opinion seems to be that Rachau was the place from which he took his title as bishop, and that Cathandum was the place of his birth. This Cathandum is supposed to be identified either with ''Ballycahill," in the Ormond district of North Tipperary, and in the diocese of Killaloe, or with a place of the same name not far from Thurles, in the diocese of Cashel. As for Rachau, it is believed to be intended either for Rahan in the King's Co., where St. Carthage had his famous monastery, and where he ruled as a bishop before his expulsion by the Hy Niall of Meath, or for one of the numerous places called Rath in the immediate neighbourhood of Lismore; or, finally, as Lanigan thinks probable, the place now called Shanraghan in Southern Tipperary and on the confines of Waterford. It is distinctly stated that the place was, at all events, in the province of Munster, and not far from Lismore. Nothing more precise can be laid down with certainty.

What does not, however, admit of the slightest doubt, is the fact that St. Cathaldus was surrounded by spiritual and religious influences of a very special kind from his infancy upwards. These influences found in his soul a most sympathetic response, and when they had lifted the thoughts and aspirations of this fair youth above earthly things, he was sent by his parents to the neighbouring school of Lismore. This school, although it had been established only for a very short time, had already acquired widespread fame, and had attracted students from all parts of England and Scotland, and from several continental countries besides.

What a busy place this famous southern university must have been in the days of its prosperity! When we read the account of it that has come down to us, glorified though it may be, and exaggerated, as no doubt it is, by the imaginations of its admirers, writing, some of them, centuries after its decay, and seeing it chiefly through the scholars and apostles that it produced, we cannot help being struck by the features of resemblance, and yet the strong contrast, it presents with those Grecian cities that, in far-off times, gathered to their academies and their market-places the elite of the world orators, poets, artists, grammarians, philosophers, all who valued culture or knew the price of intellectual superiority. Lismore had no spacious halls, no classic colonnades, no statues, or fountains, or stately temples. Its houses of residence were of the simplest and most primitive description, and its halls were in keeping with these, mere wooden structures, intended only to shut off the elements, but without any claim or pretence to artistic design. And yet Lismore had something more valuable than the attractions of either architecture or luxury. It possessed that which has ever proved the magnet of the philosopher and the theologian truth, namely, and truth illumined by the halo of religion. It sheltered also in its humble halls whatever knowledge remained in a barbarous age of those rules of art that had already shed such lustre on Greece and Rome, or had been fostered in Ireland itself according to principles and a system of native conception. Hence it drew around it a crowd of foreigners Saxons and Britons, Franks and Teutons, Sicambrians and Helvetians, Arvernians and Bohemians:

"Undique conveniunt proceres quos dulce trahebat
Discendi studium, major num cognita virtus
An laudata foret. Celeres vastissima Rheni
Jam vada Teutonici, jam deseruere Sicambri.
Mittit ah extreme gelidos Aquilone Boemos
Albis, et Arverni coeunt, Batavique frequentes,
Et quicumque colunt alta sub rupe Gebennas.
Non omnes prospectat Arar, Rhodanique fluenta
Helvetios; multos desiderat ultima Thule.
Certatim hi properant, diverse tramite ad urbem
Lesmoriam, juvenis primes ubi transigit annos." 1

1 These lines are taken from a metrical Life of St. Cathaldus, entitled Cathaldiados, which was composed by Bonaventure Moroni, brother of Bartolomeo, the author of the prose Life. See Ussher's Antiquitates, page 895.

At Lismore Cathaldus edified his brethren by his extraordinary piety as well as by his great love of study. In due time he passed from the student's bench to the master's chair, and whilst he taught in the schools, he was not unmindful of the world's needs. He raised a church at Lismore to the glory of God and the perpetual memory of His Virgin Mother. Frequent miracles bore testimony at this period to the interior sanctity of the young professor. So great was the admiration of the people for him that one of the princes in the neighbourhood grew jealous of his influence, and denounced him to the King of Munster as a magician, who aimed at subverting established authority and setting up his own in its place. The King accordingly sent his fleet to Lismore, where Cathaldus was taken prisoner and confined in a dungeon until some favourable opportunity should offer to have him conveyed into perpetual exile. The King, however, soon found what a mistake he had committed, and, instead of banishing Cathaldus, he offered him the territory of Rachau, which belonged to Meltridis, the Prince who had denounced him, and who was now overtaken by death in the midst of his intrigues. Cathaldus refused the temporal honours which the King was anxious to confer upon him, and proclaimed that he vowed his life to religion, and sought no other honours. He was, therefore, raised to the episcopate, and constituted the chief spiritual ruler of the extensive territory of the deceased Meltridis, whose tanist rights were made over on the church.

After Cathaldus had ruled the see of Rachau for some years, he resolved to set out on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He committed the care of his diocese to his neighbouring bishops, and set sail, without any retinue, for the Holy Land. It is probable that he was accompanied by his brother, Donatus, who afterwards became Bishop of Lupiae, now Lecce, in Calabria. In due course he reached his destination, and had the supreme happiness of kneeling at the great sepulchre, or as Tasso expresses it: "D'adorar la Gran Tomba e sciorre il voto."

With all the love and reverence of a pilgrim he sought out the holy places that had been sanctified by the presence of his Heavenly Master ; and so great was his joy to live in these solitudes, and dwell on the mysteries of man's salvation, amidst the very scenes in which it had been accomplished, that he earnestly desired and prayed to be relieved of his episcopal burden, and allowed to live and die in the desert in which our Lord had fasted, or in some one of the retreats that had been made sacred for ever by His earthly presence. Whilst engaged in earnest prayer on these thoughts, his soul was invaded by a supernatural light, which made clear to him that Providence had other designs about him. He accordingly started on the journey that Heaven had marked out for him; and, having been shipwrecked in the Gulf of Taranto, he was cast ashore not far from the city of which he was to become the apostle and the bishop. The cave in which he first took refuge is still to be seen in the neighbourhood of Otranto, not far from the point of the Japygian promontory.

The shipwrecked pilgrim, henceforward an apostle, soon made his way to the eastern gate of Tarentum. At the entrance of the city a blind man was to be seen, asking for assistance from those who passed by. His condition was symbolical of the darkness that prevailed within. Cathaldus addressed him, spoke to him of Christ and of the Blessed Trinity, and, as he found him amenable to Christian teaching, he instructed him in the mysteries of salvation; and whilst he imparted to him the light of grace through the Sacrament of Baptism he restored to him the light of natural vision through that supernatural power that had been vouchsafed to him. This whole circumstance was regarded as a happy omen, and as a symbol of the change to be wrought by the apostle within the city.

A parallel has sometimes been drawn between the condition of Taranto, when St. Cathaldus first entered its gates, with that of Athens when it was first visited by St. Paul. The parallel holds good in some respects, but not in all. Taranto was, to all intents and purposes, as deeply plunged in paganism as Athens was. There was scarcely a vestige left of the early religious settlement that had been made there by St. Peter and St. Mark, or by whoever had preached the Gospel to its people in early times. Paganism reigned supreme; but, in so far as it constituted a religion at all, it was paganism in its most corrupt and repellent form. The days of Archytas and of Pythagoras were now left far behind. The artistic splendour which had never entirely disappeared from Athens, had long since vanished from Taranto. There was no culture now, but ignorance and barbarism, the result of centuries of war and strife. With minds thus steeped in ignorance, with hearts corrupted by licence and perverted by superstition, the people of this neglected city did not offer a very encouraging prospect to the new missionary who appeared amongst them. His success, nevertheless, was greater than that of St. Paul at the capital of Greece. He won his way to the hearts of the people by his eloquence, his zeal, his power of working miracles; and when the prejudice entertained against his person and speech was once removed, the divine origin of the Gospel that he preached was acknowledged readily enough. We have, unfortunately, but very meager details as to the methods of his apostolate; but we are assured, at all events, that they were so effective as to win over the whole city in a few years. Certain it is that Cathaldus was acknowledged without dispute, during his own lifetime, as Bishop of Tarentum, and that he has ever since been revered as the founder of the Tarentine Church and the patron saint of the converted city.

It is said that when the saint felt that his death was at hand, he called around him his priests and deacons and the chief men of the city, and earnestly exhorted them to remain faithful to his teaching.

"I know [he said], that when I am gone dreadful and relentless enemies shall rise up against you, and endeavour, by heretical sophistry, to tear asunder the members of the Catholic Church, and lead astray the flock which I brought together with such pains. Against these enemies of your faith and of the Christian religion, I entreat you to strengthen the minds of the people by your own firmness, ever mindful of my labours and vigils."

The remains of the holy Bishop were committed, at his own request, to their native earth in his Cathedral Church. They were enclosed in a marble tomb, portion of which is still preserved. For some time the exact position of this tomb was unknown, but when Archbishop Drogonus of Tarentum was restoring the cathedral, in the eleventh century, the tomb was discovered. It was opened by the Archbishop, and the body of the saint was found well preserved. A golden cross had been attached to the body of the saint at the time of his burial. This also was discovered, and found to bear upon it the name of Cathaldus. The relics of the saint were then encased and preserved in the high altar of the cathedral. During the pontificate of Eugenius III they were transferred to a beautiful silver shrine adorned with gems and precious stones. A silver statue of Cathaldus was also cast, and erected in the church. These and many other memorials of the saint are still to be seen, and are held in great veneration by the people of Taranto.

The miracles attributed to the saints of the Church are often spoken of with derision by those who regard themselves as the children of light. These, whilst they minister to their own vanity, and fancy that nature has taken them specially into her confidence, revealing her inmost secrets to their ardent gaze, sometimes succeed in deceiving others: but they deceive themselves more than all. Indeed it is almost impossible to conceive how those early saints could have succeeded in winning over to Christianity, in the space of a few years, whole cities and districts that had hitherto been steeped in vice and superstition, without the power of working miracles. When that power is once granted, the explanation of wholesale conversion becomes easy and plain. Something is necessary to strike and astonish the multitude, and when wonder and alarm have become general, half the battle is already gained.

That St. Cathaldus possessed this power in a high degree, is testified not only in the records of his life, but still more authentically in the wholesale nature of the conversions that he wrought, and the unfading memory he left impressed on the city to which he ministered. The veneration for Cathaldus was not confined to Tarentum alone. It spread far and wide through Italy, Greece, and the Ionian islands. The village of Castello San Cataldo on the Ionian coast, midway between Brindisi and Otranto, perpetuates his name. Chapels dedicated to the saint, or statues erected in his honour, may be seen in many of the neighbouring towns of Calabria. The Cathedral of Taranto itself is, however, his greatest monument...

J. F. HOGAN

Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume XVII (1896), 403-416.

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Saint Culan of Killcuilawn, February 18

February 18 may be one of the feast days of a County Tipperary saint, Culan of Killcuilawn. Saint Culan is associated with a relic, the Barnane Cuilawn, about which I will make a separate post at a later date. It does not seem to be entirely clear how this Saint Culan is related to another of the same name commemorated on 12 March. Indeed overall, Canon O'Hanlon is unable to fully dispel the confusion surrounding this saint's identity and feast day. Professor Ó Riain's Dictionary of Irish Saints lists the saint at February 18 and gives literary sources for his cult. He confirms that Saint Culan's feast is not recorded in any of our native calendars, but is found in a copy of the Martyrology of Usard made in Cologne just before the year 1500:

St. Dacualenus or Culanus, Bishop of Killcuilawn, County of Tipperary.

[Possibly in the Seventh Century.]

At this date, Colgan has a few notices, regarding St. Culanus or Dacualenus, a bishop. He thinks, however, that the name of this holy man should be written Cuculanus. In the anonymous list of Irish saints, published by O'Sullevan Beare, as also in the Catalogue of Henry Fitzsimon, at this day, we have a St. Cuculanus. On the authority of Florarius, the latter writer styles him bishop.The Bollandists have short Acts of this Saint Culan, in their great compilation. Yet, what Godefrid Henschenn adds there, to Colgan's remarks, are not worthy of much consideration. Many foreign writers, amongst others Ferrarius,and Canisius, make mention of St. Culanus, as having been venerated in Ireland, on this day. By Florarius, he is called Cuculanus. But, Colgan tells us, he was unable to discover a saint, bearing either name, and whose festival had been kept on the 18th of February, according to our domestic Hagiographers. Yet, Usuard auctus, or the Carthusian Martyrology, and Hermann Greuan, have accounts of St. Culan, Bishop and Confessor, as having been venerated in Ireland, on this day. In one instance, Colgan has classed St. Culenus or Culan, Bishop, among the disciples of St. Patrick, following Tirechan's list. We know, that in the Irish Calendars, there are many saints, having the name Colan or Coelon. However, Culanus, Cuilen, or Cualen, was the same as Culen or Dachualen, whose commemoration occurs, at the 12th of March, in the Martyrologies of Marianus O'Gorman and of Cathald Maguire. If he be the same person, his descent is traced, in the Genealogy of the Saints of Ireland, by Cormac, Bishop of Cashel, from the Hy-Niall family. The father of this saint was Guaire, son to Columba, son to Crimthann, son of Eochad Binnigh, son to Eugene, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages. Notwithstanding his assertion, Colgan omits any mention of a saint, bearing this name, at the 12th of March. According to the foregoing pedigree, this holy man should naturally belong to about the beginning of the seventh century. In the parish of Borrisoleigh, also called Illeagh, in the county of Tipperary, there was formerly a church dedicated to a St. Coulane—identical with the present saint—and here was long preserved a singularly ancient and curiously wrought bronze shrine or bell, called the "Barnane Cuilawn," which was formerly in the possession of the Dwyer family, living at Ballinaruan, near Borrisoleigh, and afterwards it became the property of the late Thomas L. Cooke of Birr, who got it from the Dwyers. It passed from Mr. Cooke to a public institution, and it is said, that the "Barnaan Cuilawn" was found many years since, in the hollow of a tree, at a place named Killcuilawn, situate in the mountains, and about two miles distant from Borrisoleigh, in the parish of Glankeen and county of Tipperary. This curious relic, of a remote age, is likewise called in the Irish language "Obair na naoim;"—that is "the Saint's work." ...

...It is likely, St. Culan had his habitation, not far removed from Borrisoleigh, and Killcuilawn derived its name from a church he had there founded. His period is not well known, for, the accuracy of that information, furnished to the compilers of a modern topographical work,hardly falls within the range of probability. It is more likely he belonged to the seventh century. At Glankeen, it is said, an abbey had been founded, so early as the time of St. Patrick. In a Life of St. Cormach, it is stated, that he was descended from Oilum Olum. It relates, that he had five brothers, by the same father, and that Culanus was one of these. Again, it is asserted, that this St. Culan built a church in a valley of the region, known as Hi Luigdlicach, where he remained among his kindred and acquaintances. His pedigree is thus traced; he was the son of Eugene, son to Murchad, son of Muredac, son to Diermit, son of Eugene, son to Alild Flanbeg, son of Fianch Muillethain, son to Eugene the Great, son of Ailild Olum. His church was called Glean-chaoin, "the beautiful glen," and it lies at the foot of Knockanura mountain, and at the bounds of Killaloe See. In reality, two buildings raised at different periods present themselves in the ruins of Glean-choin or Gleankeen Church. There was an old building formerly at Killcuilawn; but, towards the close of the last century, its stones were removed for the purpose of building a house. The Church of Culan was benefited by the piety and generosity of his relatives, and these considered themselves as more than recompensed by the saint's prayers for their welfare. What particular reason there was for supposing, that Irish Apostolic men brought the relics of St. Culan to Germany, or even a veneration for him, Godefrid Henschenn has not explained. From what we have already seen, his relics appear always to have remained in Ireland; and probably, he belonged to that part of it, where the "Barnane Cuilawn" had been so long preserved.

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Saint Cera of Kilkeary, January 5

January 5 is the feast of Saint Cera of Kilkeary. My previous posting on Saint Cera was the account from The Lives of the Irish Saints, now we have another, this time from Canon O'Hanlon's predecessor, Father John Lanigan. Father Lanigan wrote a four-volume ecclesiastical history of Ireland in the 1820s and often took quite a critical and sceptical tone regarding the work of earlier authorities such as Colgan and Archdall. Some of his instincts and insights were quite correct though and his work is still very readable. Lanigan's style was to write a paragraph and then provide copious notes to back up what he had said, as you will see from his account of Saint Cera:

The holy virgin St. Cera, alias Chier, died in 680. (155) She is said to have been the daughter of one Duibhre, and of an illustrious family of Muskerry in the now county of Cork. It is supposed that she was the St. Chier, who, together with five other virgins, applied to St. Fintan Munnu, when residing in Heli (Ely O'Carrol) for a situation to establish a nunnery, and to whom he is said to have assigned the place, where he had lived himself, afterwards called Tech-telle. (156) That St. Cera spent some time in this place I do not find any sufficient reason for denying; (157) but it is very doubtful whether she got it from Fintan Munnu, or whether he had ever resided there. (158) How long she remained in Heli we are not informed. Returning thence to her own country she founded a nunnery, called, from her name, Killchree, now Kilcrea, (159) a few miles S. W. from the city of Cork, which she governed until her death. The reputation of this saint was very great, and her festival was kept at Kilcrea not only on the 5th of January, the anniversary of her decease, but likewise on the 16th of October, as a day of commemoration.

(155) Colgan, treating of this saint at 5 January, has, from the Irish annals, A. 679. i. e. 680 for her death.

(156) Archdall places Tech-Telle or Teaghtelle in the county of Westmeath, because Colgan says that, from having been in Heli, it afterwards was comprized in the western Meath, But by western Meath Colgan, and the older writers whom he quotes, understood not only the present Westmeath, but likewise the King's county, in which Tech-Telle ought to be placed, whereas no part of Heli ever extended as far as what is now called Westmeath. Tech-Telle, or the house of Telle, got its name from St. Telle, son of Segen, who was contemporary with Fintan Munnu, and accordingly lived in the early part of the seventh century, and whose memory was revered on the 25th of June. (See AA. SS. p. 15. and 713.) Archdall has for this saint another Teach Telle at Teltown in the county of East Meath. And why? Because Colgan, speaking of him (at 713 ib.) places Teach-Telle in Midia, or Meath in general. But he had elsewhere (p. 15.) observed, that the part of Midia, in which Teach-Telle lay, was the western; and we have just seen that it was in the tract now called the King's county. It is plain, on comparing the passages of Colgan, that he knew of only one Teach-Telle. As to Teltown, a place not far from Kells to the East, there is no reason to think that it owes its name to any saint, and it is more than probable that it is the same, at least in part, as the ancient Tailten, celebrated for the sports held there in former times. (See Not. 6. to Chap, v.)

(157) She is stated to have been in that place before it was occupied by St. Telle. The only difficulty is that Telle flourished before the death, in 635, of Fintan Munnu. But St. Cera seems to have been young at the time she is said to have been there. Supposing that this was about 625, her having lived until 680 contains nothing contradictory or unchronological.

(158) See Not. 78. to Chap. xv.

(159) Colgan, in the Acts of this saint, which he has endeavoured to patch up, pretends that she had founded the nunnery of Kilcrea, before she went to Heli. The only reason, that appears for this position, is that he thought, and indeed very strangely, that she was the St. Ciara who is mentioned, in the Life of St. Brendan of Clonfert, as a holy virgin, contemporary with him, and living in Muscrighe Thire. He confounded Muscrighe Thire with the Muskerry of Cork, not recollecting, as he often does elsewhere, that the former was the tract now called Lower Ormond in Tipperary, whereas the latter was known by the name of Muscrighe Mitine. This is not the worst part of his hypothesis; for he knew that St. Brendan was dead since 577. And yet he would fain make us believe that a person, who lived until 680, was a distinguished saint in his days. To enable us to swallow this anachronism, he says she might have reached the age of 130. Harris was so led astray by this stuff, that he assigned the foundation of Kilcrea to the sixth century. Archdall says nothing (at Kilcrea) about the time of this foundation; but (at Teachtelle) he introduces St. Cera building an abbey, as he calls it at Teachtelle, before the year 576. Passing by these absurdities, I shall only add that, if there was a St. Ciara or Cera in Brendan's time, she was different from the one of Kilcrea, and that she belonged to Lower Ormond. Colgan observes that, besides the St. Cera of Kilcrea, three other holy virgins of the same name are mentioned in the Irish calendars.

Rev. J. Lanigan, An Ecclesiastical History of Ireland, Volume III (Dublin, 1829), 129-131.

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Saint Sínech of Crohane, October 5

The Martyrology of Oengus commemorates a holy woman of County Tipperary, Sínech daughter of Fergnae, on October 5:

E. iii. nonas Octobris.

Blog dond liic lógmair

la slóg martir namrae,

Sínech ingen Fergnae

Crúachan Maige Abnae.

5. A fragment of the precious stone,

with a host of marvellous martyrs,

Sínech Fergnae's daughter,

of Cruachu Maige Abnae.

Scholiast Notes

5. A fragment of the precious stone, i.e. Sínech daughter of Fergnae, or good (ergna) is she herself, in Cruachan Maige Abna in Eoganacht of Cashel. Sínech, i.e. Fergna is her father's name. Or she is ergna, i.e. good, from Cruachan Maige Abna, etc.

Saint Sínech is also remembered in the later Martyrology of Donegal:

5. E. TERTIO NONAS OCTOBRIS. 5.

SINEACH, daughter of Fergna, of Cruachan Magh-Abhna, in Caenraighe. She was of the race of Eoghan Mor, son of Oilioll Olum, according to the Naomh-Senchas.

According to this website Saint Sinech is the patroness of Crohane, County Tipperary and the writer helpfully provides information from Canon O'Hanlon:

St Sinech is given as the Patroness of Crohane. The Mart. of Donegal commemorates her on Oct. 5th. says she was the daughter of Fergna of Cruachan Magh Abhna and of the race of Eoghan More, son of O. Olum according to the genealogical history of the Irish saints. The book is wrong in placing Magh Abhna in Co. Limerick.

O’Hanlon says “she is mentioned also on Oct 5th by the Feilire of St Aengus, and as the daughter of Fergna of Cruachan Muige Abnae in Onacht Cashel”. Maurice Lenihan says “the virgin is likely the sister of St Senachus, Bishop, who was with St Ruadhan and St Columba of Terryglass among the pupils and disciples of St Finian of Clonard". Crohane must be identified with the Cruachan of St Sinech he says, and the denomination of Magh Abhna has been reformed into Mowney a neighbouring parish in the barony of Slieveardagh. Her acts are not known to exist. Up to 1810 says O’Hanlon, her festival was remembered in Ballingarry on Oct 5th.

Crohane-Cruachan Muighe Abhnae. Church ruins are in Drangan parish. In the Feilire Aenguis, Crohane is given as the round hill of Moy-Owney. This parish is bounded on the west by the parish of Killenaule, on the east by the parish of Mowney, on the north and north east by the parishes of Lickfinn and Ballingarry. The parish is in Slieveardagh Barony, and an amount of its land would be at present in Ballingany parish, though the old church ruin is in Drangan. This is the place called Cruachan Muighe Abhnae i.e. Croghane Mowney in the Festiology of Aengus, at Oct 5th for the glossographer places it in the territory of Eoghanacth Chaisil. This is rendered absolutely certain by the existence of the well of the Patron Saint and of other names of places in its vicinity, which the ancient authorities place in Eoghanacth Chaisil as Doire na bFlann etc. The name signifies the round hill in the plain of Abhna, which may be interpreted the plain of the river. Magh Abhnai, the name of the plain is still retained in that of the parish of Moy-Owney which bounds Crohane on the east.

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Saint Elair of Monahincha, September 7

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Saint Nazair of Liethmore, July 12

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

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

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

Mochoemog, situated in that parish. It is probable, we must place the present holy man subsequent to the time of St. Mochoemhog or Mochcemoc, who was first Abbot and founder of Liath-more. In the Martyrology of Donegal, at the 12th of July, is entered the feast of St. Nazair, Bishop of Liathmor, in Ebhlinn. The Bollandists, who derived their information from Father O'Sheerin, also record Nazarius de Lieth, at this date.

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Saint Becan of Cluain-Aird-Mobecog, May 26

May 26 is the commemoration of Saint Becan, a County Tipperary saint known not only from the record of his own Life, but also that of Saint Abban. In his account of the saint in Volume 5 of his Lives of the Irish Saints , Canon O'Hanlon attempts to identify the locality in which this holy monastic flourished and demonstrates the role which placename evidence plays in this process. As you will see in his account below he comes up with three distinct strands of tradition relating to Saint Becan, one connected with the Life of Saint Abban, another connected with Saint Colum Cille and a third relating to King Diarmaid. I wondered therefore if there may be more than one Saint Becan whose lives have been conflated here and a check with the new reference work A Dictionary of Irish Saints by Pádraig Ó Riain confirmed this suspicion. Becan of Toureen, County Tipperary shares his May 26 feast with the County Wicklow Becan, to whom the Columban association belongs. The Becan who restored the King's son to life is Becan of Emlagh, County Meath, whose feast is on April 5. So, today's saint is Becan of Toureen, County Tipperary, formerly Cluain-Aird-Mobecog who is a different individual both from Becan of Churchtown, formerly Stagonnell, County Wicklow and from Becan, son of Cúla, who performed the miracle associated with King Diarmaid. In Canon O'Hanlon's account below, however, we will meet all three:

ST BECAN OF CLUAIN-AIRD-MOBECOG, IN MUSCRAIGE BREOGHAIN, COUNTY OF TIPPERARY, OR OF TIGH-CHONAILL, NOW STAGONNELL, IN UI-BRIUN CUALANN, COUNTY OF WICKLOW.

[SIXTH CENTURY.]

IT is to be deplored, that so many literary memorials of the past have perished, and thus deprived us of information, it should now be so desirable to collect. Among these, seems to have been included the Life of this present holy man; for, we find it on record, that it had once existed. He flourished at an early period, since he is mentioned with eulogy, in the Metrical Calendar of St. Oengus the Culdee. The Acts of St. Becan were promised by Colgan for the 26th of May; but, he did not live to carry out such a purpose. The Bollandists notice Becanus of Cluain-aird, at this same date; however, they only give references to the Manuscript Martyrology of Tallagh, and to Colgan's allusions, in the Acts of St. Abban. In the "Felire" of Oengus, and in O'Clery's Irish Calendar, it is stated, that Beccan of Cluain-ard was otherwise called Mobecoc. Another form of his name was Dabhecog. We read of a Becan, son to Eoghan, son to Murchadh, of the race of Fiacha Muillethan, son to Eoghan Mor, son of Oilioll Olum. This genealogy agrees with Rev. Dr. Jeoffrey Keating's account of St. Beacan's stock; although we find, elsewhere, a different pedigree. The scholiast on St. Oengus tells us, that the present St. Becan was the son of Lugaid, son to Tuathan, son of Aed, son to Fergus, son of Eoghan, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages. Yet, a somewhat different genealogy is made out for him, at the 26th March, where he is called the brother of St. Corbmac. St. Becan, as we read, was the son of Eugene, son of Marchad, son of Muredach, son of Diermit, son of Eugene, son of Alild Flanbeg, son of Fiach Muillethain, son to Eugene the Great, who was son to Alild Olum.

Notwithstanding, what has been thus related of his pedigree, the "Sanctilogium Genealogicum" states, that this saint was a son, not of Eugene, but of Marchad; and, it then gives his genealogy, in the order related, as deduced from a Life of St. Corbmac, one of St. Becan's brothers. Our saint had four brothers, who were sons of the same father, and they are thus named—St. Culan, St. Enuines, or Euinus, St. Diermit, and St. Boedan, or Baitan. Two of these saints sought a happy retirement from worldly concerns, in the province of Connaught; one of them dwelt in Leinster; and the other in Ulster; while our saint, with his brother Culan, remained in their native province of Munster, where these became devoted to the practices of a religious life. This saint was brother of Cuimin a hermit, according to the title of an Epistle. He was a recluse in Hy, as we learn in the Table, postfixed to the Martyrology of Donegal. In the Life of St. Abban, it is stated, that on one occasion, he visited the northern part of that country, where the mountain called Crott was situated. It is now known too as Mount Grud, in the territory of Muscraighe, at present Anglicized Muskerry. A legendary story is told about Diarmaid, King of Ireland, who is said to have killed his son Breasal, in a fit of passion. The king afterwards lapsed into a settled melancholy; and, at last, he sought consolation from St. Columkille, who advised him to visit St. Beacan, then living in a poor cell, on the north side of Mount Grott. Kill-Beacain is also a name for the church of our saint, who is reverenced at this place. When King Diarmaid and St. Columkille arrived there, St. Beacan was engaged digging a ditch to surround the graveyard, and working in his wet clothes, for it was a rainy day. Perceiving that the King of Ireland approached, our saint cried out: "O murderer, down to the ground upon your knees." Instantly, the king dismounted from his horse, and prostrated himself before the saint. Then St. Columkille informed Becan about the object of their visit, and that the king was almost distracted with grief, reflecting on the barbarous deed he had perpetrated. No solace was left him but prayers to heaven, that God would be pleased to pardon the offence and restore his son to life. Then, St. Columkille presumed, that so religious a person would not refuse to intercede for the king, since his life and happiness were immediately concerned. Moved with compassion, St. Becan prayed with great fervour to heaven three different times. As the legend relates, Breasal was restored to life, and presented to his father, who received him with inexpressible joy. Afterwards, the king held our saint in great esteem and veneration, on account of this miracle he had wrought.

In the parish of Killardry, or Killaldriffe, Cluain-ard, meaning "the high lawn" or "meadow," was the ancient name of that place, on which Kilpeacan’s old church now stands… About ten yards west of the church, are the pedestal and lower part of what appears to have been a stone cross. A few perches south-east of the church is Tobar Peacaion, or Peacawn's well, having a circular ring of stone work surrounding it. Several scattered fragments of flags, evidently tombstones, are in the north-west corner of this church. A few yards from the south-east corner and towards the east, a few stones, fixed in the ground and having the western edge cut or hammered, are called by the people " the Altar. It has an associated legend. Before the year 1830, pilgrims used to visit Peacawn's church from places several miles distant. The patron day here was kept, on the 1st of August, as a strict holy day by the people, and devotions were performed, also, on Good Friday. From an entry, in one of our Irish Calendars, it would seem, that some doubt attaches to the exact habitation of our present saint. The ancient territory of Muscraighe Breoghain is comprised, however, in the present barony of Clanwilliam, in the south-west of Tipperary County. We learn, that St. Abban had consecrated the church, called Cill-Bhecain, in Muscraighe-Chuirc, on the north side of Siiabh gCrot, during the reign of Diarmada Mac Fearghusa Ceirbheoil. There, it is said, a great and most regular monastery was established, by St. Abban; and, it went by the name of Cluain-aird-Mobhegoc or Mobecoc, having been called after the present St. Becan, who was venerated, at that place, on the 26th of May. There St. Abban, also, as we are told, founded the monastery of Cluain Findglaise. However—according to another and probably a more reliable authority— Cluain-aird-Mobecoc was built by St. Becanus, and over it he ruled; while, it was called the monastery of Killbecain, after him. Even, the compiler of St. Abban's Life seems to have had some idea of this statement; since it is allowed, that St. Becan resided there until death. The Life of St. Abban states, that Abban himself blessed a church at Cluain-aird Mobecoc, and that he left Becan in it, and that he left the office of the holy Church, in every church which he blessed.

However this may be explained, at Cluain-aird-Mobecoc St. Becan was known as a most holy and religious recluse. We are told, that he lived contemporaneously with St. Columkille and with King Diarmit, son of Cervail. Consequently, we may infer, that he flourished in the sixth century. His whole lifetime was spent in a most penitential manner. He frequently fasted for three whole days. His nights were spent in watching, and his days in constant prayer. With tears, and on bended knees, St. Beccan bewailed his supposed manifold imperfections. He erected a stone cross, in the open air, and outside of his monastery. Whether cold or warm, stormy or serene, each day he sang the entire Psalter, beside that cross; on which account, it was afterwards held in great popular veneration. This place was also called, Ceall na nder, or "the cell of tears," by many; on account of penitential tears shed by persons, seeking God's mercies, through the intercession of St. Becan. It would appear, also, from O'Clery's Irish Calendar, that this place had been situated, within the ancient territory of Muscraighe Breogain, which now forms part of Muskerry Barony, in Cork County. Among the landed denominations of the O'Donovan property, at Montpelier, which were furnished to the Irish Ordnance Survey Department, and all of which are in the East Division of West Carberry barony, and county of Cork, we see the names of Loughrott, Upper Loughrott, alias Crott, in the parish of Dromdalyege. The writer is unable to state, if these etymons formed any part of the Mountain Crott alluded to; nor, on the modern maps does it seem easy to identify that place, formerly called Cluain-aird-Mobhegoc, or Kilbeacan.

The author of St. Abban's Life appears to have visited the monastery of Becan; for, this writer says, he could confidently assert, he never heard of a more religious community than that of our saint, nor did he ever see a mere beautiful and regular monastery. In the Life of Abban published by Colgan, there is a glowing eulogy pronounced on this saint Becan, or Mobecoc. Twice do we find the entry of the death of Beccan of Cluain-Iraird or Ard, in the Annals of the Four Masters. The first entry, at A.D. 687, is evidently a mistake. The second entry, at 689, "Dabhecog, of Cluain-ard, died," agrees with that, in the Annals of Ulster. In the "Feilire" of St. Oengus, at the 26th of May, it is remarked of St. Beccan, that he loved vigils, and Cluain Ard was his house. However, the scholiast in the "Leabhar Breac " copy of this Metrical Martyrology states, that he was of Cluain Mobecoc in Muscraige Breogain in Munster, or at Tech hui Conaill in Hui-Briuin Chualann.

At this date, the published Martyrology of Tallagh simply enters the name, Becan of Cluana aird; but, his name has been associated with another place, and in quite a different province. In the Martyrology of Donegal, we read, that on the 26th of May was venerated, Becan of Cluain-aird Mobecog, in Muscraighe Breoghain, or of Tigh Chonaill, in Ui Brinin Cualann. This territory was called, likewise, Feara Cualann, or Fercuolen, in the reigns of Queen Elizabeth and of King James I. Then, it was considered to be coextensive with the manor of Powerscourt, near Bray, in the county of Wicklow; but, anciently, it was more extensive. Its old church is sometimes called Temple Becan, after the present saint. It was also denominated Teghgumnill, or Tigh-Chonaill, and it is now known as Stagonnell, or Stagonil…

In the Irish Martyrology of the Irish Ordnance Survey Office, now preserved in the Royal Irish Academy's Library, there is a notice of this saint, at the 26th of May. At this date, likewise, the Kalendar of Drummond records the veneration entertained for our St. Beccan, even in Scotland. Each day of this saint's life was marked by some miracle, which is found recorded in a very ancient Life, written, it has been supposed, by a contemporary. Most probably, this Life had been composed, at least some little time after his death. It may have abounded in legendary matter, like that found in the acts of many other native saints; but, as a learned French author observes, the traditions of Irish legends comprise within themselves an interest and a charm, which cannot entirely disappear, even when recorded by the least accomplished writer.

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Saint Ruadhán of Lothra, April 15

April 15 is the feast of Saint Ruadhán of Lothra, one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. Ruadhán is a saint about whom many stories are recorded, hagiography credits him with the cursing of the pagan stronghold of Tara and with many miracles. There is a scholarly paper on 'The Life of Saint Ruadán and the Cursing of Tara' which examines these traditions here.  Canon O'Hanlon has a long and densely-packed account of the saint and his miracles, but for the moment I will introduce him through a more concise entry, taken from a scholar of Irish folklore:

Ruadhán Saint who died c584 AD, founder of the monastery of Lothra (Lorrha, in north Co Tipperary). His name means ‘red-haired man’ and in modern form is rendered Ruán.

The several accounts given of him in Latin and Irish all derived from a lost biography, which was compiled in the 10th or 11th century. We read that he was son of one Fearghus Bearn on the royal Eoghanacht sept of Munster, and that he was educated by St Finnian of Cluain Ard (Clonard, Co Meath). When he went to Lorrha to found his monastery there, a fierce wild boar which had its lair in the hollow of a tree quitted the place so that he could have possession of it. He performed many miracles in different parts of Ireland, including finding their treasure for the people of Ros Éinne (in the Oriors area of south Armagh) who had forgotten where they had hidden it during a pestilence; healing the queen of Cualu (north Wicklow) who was afflicted by a dangerous blood-clot; and rescuing a ship caught in a whirlpool near Limerick. He had a wondrous tree at Lorrha, the sap of which provided full sustenance for all who tasted of it. The other saints of Ireland grew jealous of Ruadhán on account of this tree and of his holiness generally, but he reconciled them to him by entertaining them with a fine feast in Lorrha.

The most celebrated story of him concerned his conflict with the high-king Diarmaid mac Cearrbheoil, who seized a hostage from out of Ruadhán’s sanctuary and was elaborately cursed by the saint as a result. The two were eventually reconciled, and Diarmaid returned the hostage to Ruadhán in return for thirty beautiful dark-grey horses. These had come to the saint from a river, and they defeated the king’s own horses at racing. Soon after the king had acquired them, however, they raced away into the sea. Another legend has Ruadhán giving his own two chariot-horses as alms to lepers, and two stags coming from a wood to draw his chariot in their place. Several of the other miracles attributed to him involve healing the sick and raising from the dead people who were recently deceased.

The feastday of Ruadhán is April 15.

Dáithí Ó hÓgain , Myth, Legend and Romance: An Encyclopaedia of the Irish Folk Tradition (Ryan, 1990), 377-378.

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Saint Commaneth of Kilcomenty, March 18

On March 18 we commemorate the memory of a County Tipperary saint, Commaneth of Kilcomenty. As you will see below, Canon O'Hanlon in talking of the 'bed' associated with the saint believed that Commaneth was a male saint. This was the view of the Irish scholar John O'Donovan who had visited the site as part of his work for the Ordnance Survey. And what an interesting site it is too, not only do we have the saint's 'bed', a ruined church and graveyard but there is also a holy well. I have inserted a couple of the local traditions regarding the well which were in O'Hanlon's footnotes into the main text. In 1904, the year before Canon O'Halon's death, a paper was published on the antiquities of the parish of Kilcomenty which established that O'Donovan had been mistaken in attempting to associate the early Irish theologian, Saint Cuimín Fada with this site. The saint Commaneth or Comnaid commemorated on March 18 at Kilcomenty was actually a female saint, although a saint with the male form of the name was also listed on this day in the Martyrology of Donegal. I will start with Canon O'Hanlon's account of Saint Commaneth from Volume III of the Lives of the Irish Saints, before proceeding to the evidence presented in the 1904 paper by H. F. Berry:

St. Commaneth, of Kilcomenty Parish, County of Tipperary.

This almost unknown saint has a traditional fame among the people of Kilcomenty parish, county of Tipperary. Within two and a-half miles of Birdhill railway station, and two and a-half of the town of Newport- formerly called Tullagh—there is to be seen an old graveyard, containing several tombs and graves, the most curious of holy wells, and places of pilgrimage, with the remains of an ancient church. They well reward a visit from the tourist or antiquary. Old men remember the walls of the ancient church standing. A curiously-cut holy water font was taken at a former time, out of the ruins, and brought to Birdhill. In and about the churchyard, there are remains of well-carved mullions, and other work, which show how beautiful was the tracery, and mouldings, in the windows of the old church. It is said to have been dedicated to St. Cummaneth, whose festival is observed, in the parish of Kilcomenty, on the 18th of March. The district is called Kilcommenthy, or the country about the church of St. Commenath. The well is shaded over by an enormous ash tree, which near the base of the trunk divides itself into two great shafts. From these, a quantity of branches project, all covered with leaves in summer, and these shelter numerous pilgrims, who make their "rounds " of the well, and who pray for the intercession of the local saint, in order to be relieved from bodily and mental ailments. In this well are two of the mysterious trout, said to frequent nearly every holy well in Ireland. [The following is a local legend. A person of the neighbourhood, at one time, scorning to respect the well, took one of these trout home, and made an effort to roast it; nothing but blood appeared, and the rascal had to bring the trout back to the well; but from that day forward, the family have not had good luck.] The water, by which the well is supplied, comes in a rivulet or stream, from Ballinahinch, some two miles off. Various traditional stories are current, among the people about Birdhill. About two hundred yards north-east of the well, in the midst of hawthorn and alder trees, there is a great Druidic rock basin, of brown sandstone, quite unlike stone of the immediate place, which is limestone. The stone is about two and a-half feet in height from the ground, in breath at the top, it is two and a-half feet, and rounding off in form, it becomes broader, until at the extremity, it is about four and a-half feet in breadth. Within a few yards from the stone, the well runs under the ground, for about two hundred yards, and then it emerges from under the great shady ash tree, within a few yards of the churchyard. The stream thence continues to run a considerable distance, until it empties into the bog of Shower. On the top of the stone are two circular basins, about a foot in diameter, always full or half full of water; and, on the top of the stone, there are two perpendicular cuttings, like Ogam characters—the top one, containing six strokes, the lower one, or one about the middle of the stone, eight. This curious stone, according to a popular tradition, had been the bed of St. Cummaneth, and the perpendicular strokes, are regarded, as the marks of his hands, and of his ribs. The period of this saint is not discoverable to us. [There is a curious story told about the well. It is said, that at some distant period, it was situated near the stone, just described, but that the shepherds and herds of the place allowed sheep and cattle to sully the water, and, in one night, the well moved down to its existing site.]

Rev. John O'Hanlon, Lives of the Irish Saints, Volume III, (Dublin n.d.), 842.

This parish, which is situated in the barony of Owney and Arra, in the south-west comer of north Tipperary, is bounded on the north by the Shannon and the parish of Templeichally; south by the parish of Kilvellane; east by the parishes of Kilmastulla, Killoscully, and Kilnerath; and west by the county Limerick. It takes its name from cille= 'cell' or 'church,' and Commaneth, the name of the patron saint…

O'Donovan, in the course of one short letter, speaks of the patron saint of this parish as Cuimin fodha, Cumenad, and Cumenod, while in the Ordnance Survey the name takes the form of Cuminad. With all these variants before us, we must now consider what is most likely to have been the real name of the saint whose memory is still venerated in the district. In the letter indicated above— an Ordnance Survey letter— dated at Nenagh, 13th October, 1840, now in the Manuscript Room, Royal Irish Academy, O'Donovan names Cuimin fodha as the patron saint of Kilcomenty, adding, “The 18th March is still kept holy in the parish, in honor, as it is believed, of St. Comenad, but the 12th is his day, according to the Irish Calendars." As a matter of fact, 12th November is St. Cuimin fodha' s day, and the word “November" has been accidentally omitted in the original letter. O'Donovan thinks it probable that the parish was “transferred to some continental saint," as, he alleges, was frequently the case in different parts of Ireland. This seems straining a point overmuch, as 18th March has been observed from time immemorial in the parish. One wonders why, in two of his references, O'Donovan makes the name end in ad and od, unless it were to retain some abbreviation of fodha. The country people invariably speak of the patron as St. Cummenat; and so much is known concerning St. Cuimin fodha, and his history, that very little consideration will show how unlikely it is that he was ever connected with Kilcomenty. The holy person, who, in addition to a cell, had a "bed” and well at the latter place, was probably a recluse or anchorite. St. Cuimin was Bishop and Abbot of Clonfert, a man of distinguished learning, and one who led a busy, active life, crowds of students being attracted to his famous school at Clonfert, He was the writer of the celebrated letter to the Abbot of Iona, on the Paschal controversy, which about the year A.D. 630 had reached its culminating point in dividing Christendom on the question of the correct computation of Easter. With a view to a proper study of this subject, he is recorded to have gone into strict retirement for a year, and to have chosen "Disert Chuimin in regione Roscreensi " for his retreat. This place is near Roscrea, and the parish is called Kilcommin. Had St. Cuimin had any connexion with what is now known as Kilcomenty — an ideally lonely and isolated spot — he would naturally have resorted thither; but it seems clear that the cell, bed, and well were appropriated by quite another, one whom Canon O'Hanlon is compelled to speak of as “this almost unknown saint."

An additional and very strong reason for differing from O'Donovan is to be found in the fact that the Martyrology of Donegal, under the date of 18th March, commemorates a saint named Coman, son of Ernan. This saint was a bishop, and came of the race of Conall Gulban, son of Niall. Were he the true patron of Kilcomenty, however, one is at a loss to account for the parish name appearing in any other form than that of Kilcoman.

It seems more likely that the form of the word ‘Kilcomenty' indicates a female saint. The termination nat or net was anciently used as a diminutive in women's names, e.g. Killasnet and Kilbegnet. The former represents a saint named Osnat, which signifies little fawn (os = ‘a fawn'); the latter place was so called from St. Becnat (bec = ‘small: extremely little body'). Dr. Joyce gives some other instances; and analogy justifies us in supposing that our saint may have been ‘little Comma.' The Martyrology of Donegal mentions two saints named Comnat; but neither is commemorated on 18th March. St. Commaneth is not noted in the hagiologies.

St. Senan's mother is found to be named Cumaina and also Comgella; and Cum in the former is the same as Com in the latter. The Calendar of Aengus does not mention Comgella as a saint; but Coma, daughter of Comgall, appears on 22nd January, while Comgella is made to be daughter of Ernach. Coman, who is mentioned by O'Hanlon on 18th March, is said to be son of Eman; the accounts of him are rather complicated, but we cannot fail to be struck by the coincidence of this Coman being son of Ernan, while Comgella' s father was Ernach.

Some confusion appears to have occurred; but on a review of the apparently contradictory evidence, the truth seems to be that, while in some places a saint named Coman was revered on 18th March, a female saint Comanait was commemorated on the same day in the parish of Kilcomenty. Comanait is the ancient form of Commaneth, and the genitive of Comanait is Comnata; Kilcomenty in Irish, then, is Cill-Comnata....

H.F. Berry,’ The Antiquities of the Parish of Kilcomenty near Birdhill, County Tipperary ‘in The Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland, Volume XXXIV (1904), 99-110.

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