Commain's name, without any other description, is found in the
Martyrology
of Tallagh,' at the 28th of January.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
9 Thosestudentsfellontheirkneestoask the holy pontiff's blessing, while this he bestowed most courteously and affectionately on them, predicting at the same time that all should afterwards become bishops.
Noticing that the oldest of those students carried the
'° booksofalltheotherswithgreatinconveniencetohimself, St. Patrickgave
them a seal-skin, on which he was accustomed to stand while celebrating Mass,sothatitmightbeconvertedintoasatchelfortheiruse. " Indue
This lyric may well compare with that of
Horace, " Ad navem qua vehebatur Virgi-
lius Athenas proficiscens," Odse, lib. i. ,
ode iii. In almost every respect it equals
the pagan poet's, and more than surpasses it, in elevation and grandeur of sentiment.
Into English it has been nearly literally and mostcharminglyrendere—dbythegiftedMiss Brooke. Itthusopens:
" Bless my good ship, protecting Pow'r of grace!
And o'er the winds, the waves, the des-
present St. Meallan of Kilrush be identical with St. Meldan or Mellan of Cluain-
Creamha, it seems inferentially probable, he was bom towards the close of the fourth
century.
See "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Ap-
pendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 266.
tin'd coast,
—
Breathe, benign spirit host
!
Let the radiant
7
According to Jocelyn.
Spread their angelic shields !
Before us, the bright bulwark let them
place,
And fly beside us, through their azure
fields I"
^ tothe Life. Here According Tripartite
he is said, however, to be of Cluain-cremha, now Clooncraif, Anglicized, "wild garlic meadow. "
9 See ibid. Jocelyn's or Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xciii. , p. 86.
—See Reliques of Irish Poetry," p. 181. The Tripartite Life relates differently, '• — "
'
Article ii. The Right Rev. Bishop that each one of the clerics had a boy carry-
Vaughan's Sermon in the Church of the ing his books, which were tied together with
Sacred Heart, Accrington, on Sunday, straps
September 13th, 1874.
'
By Colgan.
3 According to Ussher's " Index Chrono-
logicus," the meeting of St. Patrick v/ith the six Irish clerics in Italy happened A. D.
"
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , pp. 413 and 513. If this chronology be allowed, and if the
" This seal-skin satchel was perfectly well preserved to the time of Jocelyn, and kept as a relic of St. Patrick. This writer states, also, that many miracles were wrought through it. In the Tripartite Life, we are told, that a question raised by the students regarding its absolute ownership, was solved by St. Patrick, who advised them to bring
402. See
Vol. I.
2 H
s ^
See ibid. Vita Tripartita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. ix. , p. 130. The students are said to have been travelling to Rome, whence they were to receive doctrine and religion at a true source.
Such is Jocelyn's statement.
466 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 28.
course their studies were finished, and they returned to Ireland. According
to the Irish Apostle's prediction, these holy men, Lugacius," Columban, or Columba,'3 Meldan, or Mellan,'+ Lugad or Lugadius,'^ Cassanus'^ and Ceranus,'7 when they had been promoted to the sacerdotal grade afterwards became bishops. Their respective places are to be found within the ancient
territory of Delbhna-Assuil or Magh-Assuil,^^ a part of the Royal Meathian province. '9 Jocelyn purposely omitted to give the names of their sees; for, as he remarks, he found it frequently very difficult to render the Irish names
ofpersonsandplacesafteramannersufficientlyeuphonicin Latin. ^° The
it to their several cells, and that it should be left in that church, where it remained immovable and undisturbed.
" He belonged to Kill-airthir, and his feast is thought to have been held on the 2nd of March or on the i6th of June.
'3 He belonged to Kill-Emain or Cluain- Ernain. His feast was held on the 4th of June. ' He is called of Cluain-Creamha, and Colgan assigns his feast to this day, thus ap- parently confounding him with St. Meallan of Kilrush. His feast is also noted at the
26th of October.
'5 He is called the son of Ere, and he is
said to have been of Fordhruim. His feast belongs to the 17th of April.
'* He belonged to Donoughmore in the territory of Mag-Echnach. His festival was kept on the 4th of June. The five foregoing saints are regarded as disciples of the great St. Patrick. To each of those saints, the holy Apostle presented a valuable patena, as his gift.
'7 Otherwise St. Kieran, of Saigir, whose festival is celebrated on the 5th of March. This saint asked the Irish Apostle, on this occasion of their meeting, where he should settle in Ireland, and build his cell. He was told to erect his monastery near the rivulet Huar, where after a lapse of thirty
years St. Patrick would visit him. See "
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. Sexta Vita S. Patricii, n. 104, p. 113, and Sep- tima Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. ix. , p. 130, and nn. 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, p. 174, It is much to be regretted, that in the Irish version of St. Patrick's Tripartite Life, so admirably translated by William M. Hen- nessy, M. R. I. A. , and published in Sister Mary Francis Cusack's elegantly illustrated and very valuable "Life of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," p. 397, we are told, that "a folio of the original MS. is missing here," and this if recoverable ought to give us an additional version of the portion of matter contained in our text, which is drawn solely from Colgan. The reader is further referred to the dates for their respective festivals in this work, when further notices will be found.
'9 Dr. O'Donovan has defined the extent of the various Dealbna territories, so far as it is kno^vn, in his notes to "The Topo- graphical Poems of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla na Naomh O'Huidhrin," p. vii. , nn. 26, 28, p. ix. , n. 34, p. xii. , n. 50. See likewise pp. 2 to 5 and 8 to 13. It would appear, that the Dealbna descended from Lughaidh Dealbhaedh, son to Cas, who was ancestor of the Dal-cais in Thomond. Be- yond the limits of Thomond, Lugaidh's de- scendants acquired seven contiguous terri- tories in Meath and Connaught : viz. , I. Dealbna Mor, or the Large. 2. Dealbna Beg, i. e. , the little. 3. Dealbna Eathra. 4. Dealbna Teannmaigh. These are all in Meath. 5. Dealbna Nuadhat. 6. Dealb- na Cuilefabhair. 7. Dealbna Feadha in Connaught. Dealbna Mor or the Great Delvin is now the barony of Delvin in the eastern part of Westmeath County. Dealb- na Beg or Little Delvin is thought to be the barony of Demi-Fore in East Meath. Dealb- na Eathra comprised the entire of the pre- sent Garrycastle barony, except the parish of Lusmagh, in the King's County. The boundaries of Dealbna Teannmaigh or Wes- tern Dealbna have not been fixed. Dealb- na Nuadhat lay between the rivers Suck and Shannon. Dealbna Cuile Fabhair, other- wise called Muintir Fathaidh was situated on the east side of Ix)ugh Corrib, and it comprised fourteen bailes or townlands, whichbelongedtotheO'Flahertys. Dealb- na Feadha comprised the present barony of Moycullen in the county of Galway ; it also bore the name of Tire-da-lough from its si- tuation between Loch Oirbsen or Corrib and LochLurgan,onthebayofGalway. See O'Flaherty's Ogygia, Pars, iii. , cap. Ixxxii. Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , A. D. 751, 816, vol. ii. , A. D. 1 142, and vol. iii. , A. n. 1174. The genealogical work of Duald Mac Firbisigh, PP- 75> 345 (Marquis of Drogheda's copy), with "The Tribes and Customs of Hy- Many," edited by Dr. O'Donovan, n. (v), p. 83, as also the " Leabhar na g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," edited by Dr. O'Donovan, n. (n), p. 105, and n. (k), pp. 182, 183. In this latter work there are further allusions to the Dealbna or Delvins, at pp. 97, 106,
107, III, 177.
*°
•"
Colgan does not define its situation more
particularly than to state it was in Meath.
See n. iii to Jocelyn's Life, cap. xcix. , pp. 88, 113.
See the translation of Jocelin by Ed-
January 28. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 467
pious men already named, both by word and example, greatly extended the Kingdom of Christ ; and all ended their lives in the odour of sanctity. "' In the Franciscan copy of the Martyrology of Tallagh, there is a notice, at the 28th of January', regarding Mellian, of Cill Rois. "^ In the published copy there is no notice whatever of this saint. Meallan, of Cill-Ruis, or Kilrush, is recorded in the Martyrology of Donegap3 as being venerated on this day. There are many parishes and townlands bearing the name of Kilrush, in
"
various parts of Ireland. ^'^ Kilreisk is Anglicized
the church of the morass ;"
""
and Kilrush is rendered, the church of the wood," or peninsula. ""^ it is
somewhat remarkable, that there is a Kilrush townland, divided into two
denominations, lower and upper, in the parish of Killua, in the barony of Delvin. "^ Now it lies within the bounds of ancient Dealbna ; but, I cannot traceanysignofanancientchurchorburialgroundwithinitsextent. How- ever some local tradition of one may exist. Perhaps the present saint had been connected with a Cloncraff or Cloon-craff or Clon-crave, not far distant fromKilrush. ThereisaparishofClooncraff,inthebaronyofRoscommon,^? while there is another Clooncraff townland,^^ in Kilteevan parish, barony of
Ballintober South ; both are in the county of Roscommon. But there is a Cloncraff townland^9 in the parish of Ardnurchar or Horseleap in the barony of Kilcoursey. There is also a Cloncraff or Bloom-hill townland,3° in the parish of Clonmacnoise, and barony of Garrycastle, in the same county. Again, there is a Cloncrave townland3' in the parish of Killucan, and barony of Farbill. So far as we can judge, these latter three may have been severally situated in one or other of the ancient Dealbnas.
Article III. —St. Commain or Comman Lobhar, Son of Laighne.
Commain's name, without any other description, is found in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 28th of January. From the compound name entered in a
"
later calendar, Lobhar or
*'
Leper," it may be assumed he had been afflicted
mund L. Swift.
The Life and Acts of St. Patrick, the Archbishop, Primate and Apostle of Ireland," chap, xciii. , pp. 131,
132.
^' See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
vicarage in the diocese of Ossory. See for a notice of all the foregoing places, Lewis'
"
Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," vol. ii. , pp. 204 to 206.
-= See Dr. Joyce's "Origin and History of the Irish Names of Places," part iv. , chap.
Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xciii. , p. 86.
^ It reads thus: meLLiAni . 1. 1 CiLL vi. , p. 417, and index p. 505.
|\oif.
^3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
28,29.
^* Among the parishes denominated Kil-
=* It is shown on the "Ordnance
Survey
rush, there is one in the barony of West-
Offaly, which is represented on the " Ord- mon. " Sheets 16, 17, 18, 23. The town-
nance Survey Townland Maps for the County
of Kildare," Sheets 27, 28, 31, 32 : ihere is one in the barony of Decies without Drum, shown on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Waterford," Sheets 30, 31 ; while there is one in the barony of Scarawalsh, which is noted down on the
'^
however represents St. Meldan or Mellan's
'" 3°
Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the See ibid. Sheet 6.
County of Wexford," . Sheets 4, 5, 9, 10, 3' This is depicted on the "Ordnance 15. There is another Kilrush, or Cloman- Survey Townland Maps for the County of
Westmeath," She—ets 27, 28.
tagh, a parish in the barony of Cranagh,
and shown on the " Ordnance
land Maps for the County of Kilkenny," Sheets 8, 9, 12, 13. This is a rectory and
Article
In the Franciscan copy it is likewise simply CotnniAin.
Survey
Town-
hi. ' Edited Rev. Dr. by
Townland Maps for the County of Westr
meath," Sheet 9.
^? It is shown on the "Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the County of Roscom- land is described on Sheet 17.
See ibid. . Sheet 40. Neither of these
place.
=9 It is to be seen on the
"
Ordnance Sur-
vey Townland Maps for the King's County,"
Sheet 2.
Kelly, p. xiv.
468 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 28.
with leprosy. On this day, Comman Lobhar, son of Laighne, is entered in the Martyrology of Donegal. ^^
ArticleIV. —St. AedhlughofAirdorEridh-Cassain. Wefind registered in the pubHshed' and in the unpubUshed^ Martyrology of Tallagh, as also in the Martyrology of Donegal,3 on this day, an Aedhlugh, of Aird or of Eridh Cassain.
ArticleV. —St. Eochaidh,BishopandAbbotofTallagh. Inthe
Martyrology of Donegal' we read of Eochaidh, Bishop of Tamlacht, as having been venerated on this day. It would seem he also united to the episcopal
officethechargeofpresidingoverareligiouscommunity. Wefindhimen-
tered in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ on the 28th of January, as Eochaidh,
bishopandabbot,Tamlaghtan. Therewasaholycompanionanddisciple of St. Columkille named Eochod ;3 but he seems different from the present
saint. There are two parishes bearing the name of Tallagh* and Tamlaght? in Ireland. We are unable to assign his exact locality. At this date, under
its proper topographical head, Duald Mac Firbis enters Eochaidh, bishop and abbot of Tamlacht, at this particular date. ^
Article VI. —Reputed Feast of St. Dunstan in Scotland.
bably in the Sixth Centuryi] This holy man may have been a native of Ireland. At the 28th of January, Dempster says, that Abbot Dunstan was aconfessortothegoodKingAidan. Thismonarchwastheforty-ninthin succession among the Scottish kings, and he received investiture at the hands of the great apostle, St. Columkille. He reigned thirty-four years, anddieda. d. 604. ^ Dunstan'issaidtohavebeenhonouredinLevinia. ' This romantic district lay immediately to the north of Glasgow, in Scotland.
"Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
28, 29. —
Article iv. ' Edited by Rev. Dr.
Kelly, p. xiv.
' In the Franciscan copy, after the entry
of eleven foreign saints at the 28th of Janu-
ary, the first insertion of a native saint is
'AeT)Ui5 A\'^x) cViAefAin.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
\Pro-
Dungannon, is represented on the "Ordnance
Survey Townland Maps for the County of
See Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. " Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. , part i. , pp. 128, 129. —'
28, 29. — See Menologium Scoticum," p. 191, ' "of
Article v. Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 28, 29.
'
Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiv. In the Franciscan copy is the following inser- tion, ©ocViAiT) ep]^ ocuf <\bb. CahiLac.
in Bishop Forbes Kalendars Scottish Saints. " Lennox, in Scotland, is called Le- vina, from the Leven river, so celebrated in the ode of Tobias Smollett : —
" from lake, Devolving thy parent
A charming maze thy waters make ; By bow'rs of birch and groves of pine, And hedges flower'd with eglantine. "
"
3 See " Trias Colgan's
Thaumaturga. " Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Columbas, cap.
X. , p. 489.
*The parish of Tallagh in the barony of "
Upper Cross is sho^vn on the Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of
The original name was Leven-ach, Dublin," Sheets 21, 22, 24, 25, 27. The field of the Leven," and it was very appro-
townland proper is on Sheets 22, 23.
s The parish of Tanilaght, situated partly in the barony of Loughinsholin, is shown on the " Ordnance Townland for
priately designated the basin, not only of
the River Leven, but also of Loch Lomond,
anciently called Loch Leven. See FuUar-
ton's " Gazetteer of Scotland, To- Imperial
pographical. Statistical, and Historical," vol. ii. , p. 319.
Survey Maps the County of Londonderiy," Sheets 47, 48, 49; and partly in the barony of Upper
Tyrone," Sheets 30, 39. *"
**
Article vi. See George Buchanan's
Rerum Scoticarum Historia," lib. v. , pp.
142, 144, '"
the
January 28. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 469 According to the Bollandists,3 Dunstanus, Abbas Scotus, is called a saint,
by Ferrarius, gium Anglicanum
"
has^noticed him, at the i8th of June. In the new he is
It is probable, the present holy man had been a disciple
and Camerarius after him at this The old "
by day. Mart)n:olo-
entirely omitted,*
of the illustrious Columkille.
Article VII,—St, Acobran of Kilrush, Probably in the County
OF Clare. Such devotional exercises, as bring all our feelings, emotions, and sentiments into accord with the Divine will, subduing passion, removing
hatred, malice, jealousy, revenge, and opening the portals of heaven to all those who seek rest, peace, and sweet repose, were practised by St. Acobran. Without any other distinction, he is mentioned in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ at the 28th of January, But we are not left in doubt regarding his locality, if we depend on the succeeding statement. According to the Martyrology of Donegal,' we find Accobhran, of Cill-Ruis, in the Termon of Inis-Cathaigh,3ashavingafestivalcelebratedonthisday. Inatablepostfixed to this Martyrology, his place is thought to have been Kilrush, in the county of Kildare. He is said to have been otherwise called Occobhran, whence Ocobrus, Ocoras [Desiderius). ^ The place usually designated for this saint is the present Kilrush, a parish in the barony of Moyarta and county of Clare. 5 The ruins of several ancient churches, forts, and raths exist in this parish. ^ Among these, at Mullagha are the remains of an old chapel or cell, traditionally supposed to have been built by St, Senan, who is said to have been a native of this place. Attached to it there is a burial ground still in use, and near it, also, there is a holy well,7 In fact, there are two old churches in this parish dedicated to St. Senan. The one is a small Damliag, andtheotherisanoratoryofinsignificantdimensions. ^ Thelargerchurch measures in length 32 feet 3 inches, and in breadth 13 feet. Its walls are less than 3 feet in thickness. AH the north wall was level with the ground, but about 14 feet of the south side wall, connected with the west gable, stood in 1839. 9 The eastern gable was in tolerable preservation. It was 3 feet in thickness, and it contained a window, measuring on the inside
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomusii. ,xxviii. the County of Clare," Sheets 56, 57, 58, Januarii, Prffitermissi et in alios dies re- 66, 67.
jecti, p, 807,
* Bishop Forbes omits him, in the biogra-
phical notices of his Scottish Saints.
'
Article vii,— Edited by the Rev. Dr.
Kelly, Ip. xiv. In the Franciscan copy is the inscription of -dccobpAin simply,
^
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 28, 29.
3 Neither St, Mellan nor St. Occobran, venerated on this day at Kilrush, are re- membered at Kilrush in the county of Clare, See Dr. O'Donovan's letter, dated Kildy- sart, 9th of November, 1839, in "Letters Containing Information relative to the An- tiquities of the County of Clare, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Sur- vey in 1839," vol, ii,, p, 2,
•We find added: "Three miles from
Cill-dara of the white bell in Ros Mucroise,"
PP- 354> 355> i^'^-
5 The situation of this parish is noted on
^"
See Lewis' Topographical Dictionary
of Ireland," vol, ii. , pp. 204 to 206.
? See Clare Townland Maps, Sheet 67, for
the townland of Molougha,
^SeeDr, O'Donovan's letter dated Kildy-
sart, 9th November, 1839, in " Letters Con- taining Information relative to the Antiqui- ties of the County of Clare, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1839," vol. ii. , pp. 4 to 6,
9 Then a considerable portion of the west
gable remained, but its only distinguishing feature was destroyed, that is, a little win- dow or belfry, which had been placed near the top. Over it was a small cross of an- tique form. This was broken to pieces and lying on the ground, outside the west gable. The pedestal was perfect, however, and it was the finishing stone of the gable, so that a pretty accurate idea might be formed re- garding its shape and size from this part,
the
"
Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for
and the otherfragments then remaining.
470
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 28.
the ruined oratory, called Seipeal Beag Sheanain,
the small chapel of St.
and
feet inches in width. '° On the outside it 3
inches in
was 5 feet 3 inches in height, and 5 inches in width, at the top ; but the south side at the bottom being destroyed, its breadth there could not be ascertained with sufficient accuracy. The west gable" is 3 feet 4 inches in thickness. ", Aboutninepacesfromthenorth-eastcornerofthischurch'3is
7
feet
5
height,
3
"
Scnanus. " Itmeasuresontheoutside11feet7inchesinlength,and9feet
Moylogha Church, Co. Clare.
8 inches in breadth. Its little walls are 2 feet 7 inches in thickness. The east gable contains a rectangular window at top inside and outside. It measures on the inside 3 feet 10 inches in height and i foot 10 inches in width ; on the outside it is 2 feet 1 1 inches in height, and 6 inches in width. It is covered on the top inside and outside with one stone. '* The present
'" The accompanying illustration of Moy- lougha old church was drawn by William F. Wakeman, and it is now numbered 8,
''
among the Clare, Cork, and Kerry
Sketches," for the I. O. S.
'° booksofalltheotherswithgreatinconveniencetohimself, St. Patrickgave
them a seal-skin, on which he was accustomed to stand while celebrating Mass,sothatitmightbeconvertedintoasatchelfortheiruse. " Indue
This lyric may well compare with that of
Horace, " Ad navem qua vehebatur Virgi-
lius Athenas proficiscens," Odse, lib. i. ,
ode iii. In almost every respect it equals
the pagan poet's, and more than surpasses it, in elevation and grandeur of sentiment.
Into English it has been nearly literally and mostcharminglyrendere—dbythegiftedMiss Brooke. Itthusopens:
" Bless my good ship, protecting Pow'r of grace!
And o'er the winds, the waves, the des-
present St. Meallan of Kilrush be identical with St. Meldan or Mellan of Cluain-
Creamha, it seems inferentially probable, he was bom towards the close of the fourth
century.
See "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Ap-
pendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 266.
tin'd coast,
—
Breathe, benign spirit host
!
Let the radiant
7
According to Jocelyn.
Spread their angelic shields !
Before us, the bright bulwark let them
place,
And fly beside us, through their azure
fields I"
^ tothe Life. Here According Tripartite
he is said, however, to be of Cluain-cremha, now Clooncraif, Anglicized, "wild garlic meadow. "
9 See ibid. Jocelyn's or Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xciii. , p. 86.
—See Reliques of Irish Poetry," p. 181. The Tripartite Life relates differently, '• — "
'
Article ii. The Right Rev. Bishop that each one of the clerics had a boy carry-
Vaughan's Sermon in the Church of the ing his books, which were tied together with
Sacred Heart, Accrington, on Sunday, straps
September 13th, 1874.
'
By Colgan.
3 According to Ussher's " Index Chrono-
logicus," the meeting of St. Patrick v/ith the six Irish clerics in Italy happened A. D.
"
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , pp. 413 and 513. If this chronology be allowed, and if the
" This seal-skin satchel was perfectly well preserved to the time of Jocelyn, and kept as a relic of St. Patrick. This writer states, also, that many miracles were wrought through it. In the Tripartite Life, we are told, that a question raised by the students regarding its absolute ownership, was solved by St. Patrick, who advised them to bring
402. See
Vol. I.
2 H
s ^
See ibid. Vita Tripartita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. ix. , p. 130. The students are said to have been travelling to Rome, whence they were to receive doctrine and religion at a true source.
Such is Jocelyn's statement.
466 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 28.
course their studies were finished, and they returned to Ireland. According
to the Irish Apostle's prediction, these holy men, Lugacius," Columban, or Columba,'3 Meldan, or Mellan,'+ Lugad or Lugadius,'^ Cassanus'^ and Ceranus,'7 when they had been promoted to the sacerdotal grade afterwards became bishops. Their respective places are to be found within the ancient
territory of Delbhna-Assuil or Magh-Assuil,^^ a part of the Royal Meathian province. '9 Jocelyn purposely omitted to give the names of their sees; for, as he remarks, he found it frequently very difficult to render the Irish names
ofpersonsandplacesafteramannersufficientlyeuphonicin Latin. ^° The
it to their several cells, and that it should be left in that church, where it remained immovable and undisturbed.
" He belonged to Kill-airthir, and his feast is thought to have been held on the 2nd of March or on the i6th of June.
'3 He belonged to Kill-Emain or Cluain- Ernain. His feast was held on the 4th of June. ' He is called of Cluain-Creamha, and Colgan assigns his feast to this day, thus ap- parently confounding him with St. Meallan of Kilrush. His feast is also noted at the
26th of October.
'5 He is called the son of Ere, and he is
said to have been of Fordhruim. His feast belongs to the 17th of April.
'* He belonged to Donoughmore in the territory of Mag-Echnach. His festival was kept on the 4th of June. The five foregoing saints are regarded as disciples of the great St. Patrick. To each of those saints, the holy Apostle presented a valuable patena, as his gift.
'7 Otherwise St. Kieran, of Saigir, whose festival is celebrated on the 5th of March. This saint asked the Irish Apostle, on this occasion of their meeting, where he should settle in Ireland, and build his cell. He was told to erect his monastery near the rivulet Huar, where after a lapse of thirty
years St. Patrick would visit him. See "
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. Sexta Vita S. Patricii, n. 104, p. 113, and Sep- tima Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. ix. , p. 130, and nn. 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, p. 174, It is much to be regretted, that in the Irish version of St. Patrick's Tripartite Life, so admirably translated by William M. Hen- nessy, M. R. I. A. , and published in Sister Mary Francis Cusack's elegantly illustrated and very valuable "Life of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," p. 397, we are told, that "a folio of the original MS. is missing here," and this if recoverable ought to give us an additional version of the portion of matter contained in our text, which is drawn solely from Colgan. The reader is further referred to the dates for their respective festivals in this work, when further notices will be found.
'9 Dr. O'Donovan has defined the extent of the various Dealbna territories, so far as it is kno^vn, in his notes to "The Topo- graphical Poems of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla na Naomh O'Huidhrin," p. vii. , nn. 26, 28, p. ix. , n. 34, p. xii. , n. 50. See likewise pp. 2 to 5 and 8 to 13. It would appear, that the Dealbna descended from Lughaidh Dealbhaedh, son to Cas, who was ancestor of the Dal-cais in Thomond. Be- yond the limits of Thomond, Lugaidh's de- scendants acquired seven contiguous terri- tories in Meath and Connaught : viz. , I. Dealbna Mor, or the Large. 2. Dealbna Beg, i. e. , the little. 3. Dealbna Eathra. 4. Dealbna Teannmaigh. These are all in Meath. 5. Dealbna Nuadhat. 6. Dealb- na Cuilefabhair. 7. Dealbna Feadha in Connaught. Dealbna Mor or the Great Delvin is now the barony of Delvin in the eastern part of Westmeath County. Dealb- na Beg or Little Delvin is thought to be the barony of Demi-Fore in East Meath. Dealb- na Eathra comprised the entire of the pre- sent Garrycastle barony, except the parish of Lusmagh, in the King's County. The boundaries of Dealbna Teannmaigh or Wes- tern Dealbna have not been fixed. Dealb- na Nuadhat lay between the rivers Suck and Shannon. Dealbna Cuile Fabhair, other- wise called Muintir Fathaidh was situated on the east side of Ix)ugh Corrib, and it comprised fourteen bailes or townlands, whichbelongedtotheO'Flahertys. Dealb- na Feadha comprised the present barony of Moycullen in the county of Galway ; it also bore the name of Tire-da-lough from its si- tuation between Loch Oirbsen or Corrib and LochLurgan,onthebayofGalway. See O'Flaherty's Ogygia, Pars, iii. , cap. Ixxxii. Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , A. D. 751, 816, vol. ii. , A. D. 1 142, and vol. iii. , A. n. 1174. The genealogical work of Duald Mac Firbisigh, PP- 75> 345 (Marquis of Drogheda's copy), with "The Tribes and Customs of Hy- Many," edited by Dr. O'Donovan, n. (v), p. 83, as also the " Leabhar na g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," edited by Dr. O'Donovan, n. (n), p. 105, and n. (k), pp. 182, 183. In this latter work there are further allusions to the Dealbna or Delvins, at pp. 97, 106,
107, III, 177.
*°
•"
Colgan does not define its situation more
particularly than to state it was in Meath.
See n. iii to Jocelyn's Life, cap. xcix. , pp. 88, 113.
See the translation of Jocelin by Ed-
January 28. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 467
pious men already named, both by word and example, greatly extended the Kingdom of Christ ; and all ended their lives in the odour of sanctity. "' In the Franciscan copy of the Martyrology of Tallagh, there is a notice, at the 28th of January', regarding Mellian, of Cill Rois. "^ In the published copy there is no notice whatever of this saint. Meallan, of Cill-Ruis, or Kilrush, is recorded in the Martyrology of Donegap3 as being venerated on this day. There are many parishes and townlands bearing the name of Kilrush, in
"
various parts of Ireland. ^'^ Kilreisk is Anglicized
the church of the morass ;"
""
and Kilrush is rendered, the church of the wood," or peninsula. ""^ it is
somewhat remarkable, that there is a Kilrush townland, divided into two
denominations, lower and upper, in the parish of Killua, in the barony of Delvin. "^ Now it lies within the bounds of ancient Dealbna ; but, I cannot traceanysignofanancientchurchorburialgroundwithinitsextent. How- ever some local tradition of one may exist. Perhaps the present saint had been connected with a Cloncraff or Cloon-craff or Clon-crave, not far distant fromKilrush. ThereisaparishofClooncraff,inthebaronyofRoscommon,^? while there is another Clooncraff townland,^^ in Kilteevan parish, barony of
Ballintober South ; both are in the county of Roscommon. But there is a Cloncraff townland^9 in the parish of Ardnurchar or Horseleap in the barony of Kilcoursey. There is also a Cloncraff or Bloom-hill townland,3° in the parish of Clonmacnoise, and barony of Garrycastle, in the same county. Again, there is a Cloncrave townland3' in the parish of Killucan, and barony of Farbill. So far as we can judge, these latter three may have been severally situated in one or other of the ancient Dealbnas.
Article III. —St. Commain or Comman Lobhar, Son of Laighne.
Commain's name, without any other description, is found in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 28th of January. From the compound name entered in a
"
later calendar, Lobhar or
*'
Leper," it may be assumed he had been afflicted
mund L. Swift.
The Life and Acts of St. Patrick, the Archbishop, Primate and Apostle of Ireland," chap, xciii. , pp. 131,
132.
^' See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
vicarage in the diocese of Ossory. See for a notice of all the foregoing places, Lewis'
"
Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," vol. ii. , pp. 204 to 206.
-= See Dr. Joyce's "Origin and History of the Irish Names of Places," part iv. , chap.
Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xciii. , p. 86.
^ It reads thus: meLLiAni . 1. 1 CiLL vi. , p. 417, and index p. 505.
|\oif.
^3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
28,29.
^* Among the parishes denominated Kil-
=* It is shown on the "Ordnance
Survey
rush, there is one in the barony of West-
Offaly, which is represented on the " Ord- mon. " Sheets 16, 17, 18, 23. The town-
nance Survey Townland Maps for the County
of Kildare," Sheets 27, 28, 31, 32 : ihere is one in the barony of Decies without Drum, shown on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Waterford," Sheets 30, 31 ; while there is one in the barony of Scarawalsh, which is noted down on the
'^
however represents St. Meldan or Mellan's
'" 3°
Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the See ibid. Sheet 6.
County of Wexford," . Sheets 4, 5, 9, 10, 3' This is depicted on the "Ordnance 15. There is another Kilrush, or Cloman- Survey Townland Maps for the County of
Westmeath," She—ets 27, 28.
tagh, a parish in the barony of Cranagh,
and shown on the " Ordnance
land Maps for the County of Kilkenny," Sheets 8, 9, 12, 13. This is a rectory and
Article
In the Franciscan copy it is likewise simply CotnniAin.
Survey
Town-
hi. ' Edited Rev. Dr. by
Townland Maps for the County of Westr
meath," Sheet 9.
^? It is shown on the "Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the County of Roscom- land is described on Sheet 17.
See ibid. . Sheet 40. Neither of these
place.
=9 It is to be seen on the
"
Ordnance Sur-
vey Townland Maps for the King's County,"
Sheet 2.
Kelly, p. xiv.
468 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 28.
with leprosy. On this day, Comman Lobhar, son of Laighne, is entered in the Martyrology of Donegal. ^^
ArticleIV. —St. AedhlughofAirdorEridh-Cassain. Wefind registered in the pubHshed' and in the unpubUshed^ Martyrology of Tallagh, as also in the Martyrology of Donegal,3 on this day, an Aedhlugh, of Aird or of Eridh Cassain.
ArticleV. —St. Eochaidh,BishopandAbbotofTallagh. Inthe
Martyrology of Donegal' we read of Eochaidh, Bishop of Tamlacht, as having been venerated on this day. It would seem he also united to the episcopal
officethechargeofpresidingoverareligiouscommunity. Wefindhimen-
tered in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ on the 28th of January, as Eochaidh,
bishopandabbot,Tamlaghtan. Therewasaholycompanionanddisciple of St. Columkille named Eochod ;3 but he seems different from the present
saint. There are two parishes bearing the name of Tallagh* and Tamlaght? in Ireland. We are unable to assign his exact locality. At this date, under
its proper topographical head, Duald Mac Firbis enters Eochaidh, bishop and abbot of Tamlacht, at this particular date. ^
Article VI. —Reputed Feast of St. Dunstan in Scotland.
bably in the Sixth Centuryi] This holy man may have been a native of Ireland. At the 28th of January, Dempster says, that Abbot Dunstan was aconfessortothegoodKingAidan. Thismonarchwastheforty-ninthin succession among the Scottish kings, and he received investiture at the hands of the great apostle, St. Columkille. He reigned thirty-four years, anddieda. d. 604. ^ Dunstan'issaidtohavebeenhonouredinLevinia. ' This romantic district lay immediately to the north of Glasgow, in Scotland.
"Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
28, 29. —
Article iv. ' Edited by Rev. Dr.
Kelly, p. xiv.
' In the Franciscan copy, after the entry
of eleven foreign saints at the 28th of Janu-
ary, the first insertion of a native saint is
'AeT)Ui5 A\'^x) cViAefAin.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
\Pro-
Dungannon, is represented on the "Ordnance
Survey Townland Maps for the County of
See Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. " Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. , part i. , pp. 128, 129. —'
28, 29. — See Menologium Scoticum," p. 191, ' "of
Article v. Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 28, 29.
'
Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiv. In the Franciscan copy is the following inser- tion, ©ocViAiT) ep]^ ocuf <\bb. CahiLac.
in Bishop Forbes Kalendars Scottish Saints. " Lennox, in Scotland, is called Le- vina, from the Leven river, so celebrated in the ode of Tobias Smollett : —
" from lake, Devolving thy parent
A charming maze thy waters make ; By bow'rs of birch and groves of pine, And hedges flower'd with eglantine. "
"
3 See " Trias Colgan's
Thaumaturga. " Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Columbas, cap.
X. , p. 489.
*The parish of Tallagh in the barony of "
Upper Cross is sho^vn on the Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of
The original name was Leven-ach, Dublin," Sheets 21, 22, 24, 25, 27. The field of the Leven," and it was very appro-
townland proper is on Sheets 22, 23.
s The parish of Tanilaght, situated partly in the barony of Loughinsholin, is shown on the " Ordnance Townland for
priately designated the basin, not only of
the River Leven, but also of Loch Lomond,
anciently called Loch Leven. See FuUar-
ton's " Gazetteer of Scotland, To- Imperial
pographical. Statistical, and Historical," vol. ii. , p. 319.
Survey Maps the County of Londonderiy," Sheets 47, 48, 49; and partly in the barony of Upper
Tyrone," Sheets 30, 39. *"
**
Article vi. See George Buchanan's
Rerum Scoticarum Historia," lib. v. , pp.
142, 144, '"
the
January 28. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 469 According to the Bollandists,3 Dunstanus, Abbas Scotus, is called a saint,
by Ferrarius, gium Anglicanum
"
has^noticed him, at the i8th of June. In the new he is
It is probable, the present holy man had been a disciple
and Camerarius after him at this The old "
by day. Mart)n:olo-
entirely omitted,*
of the illustrious Columkille.
Article VII,—St, Acobran of Kilrush, Probably in the County
OF Clare. Such devotional exercises, as bring all our feelings, emotions, and sentiments into accord with the Divine will, subduing passion, removing
hatred, malice, jealousy, revenge, and opening the portals of heaven to all those who seek rest, peace, and sweet repose, were practised by St. Acobran. Without any other distinction, he is mentioned in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ at the 28th of January, But we are not left in doubt regarding his locality, if we depend on the succeeding statement. According to the Martyrology of Donegal,' we find Accobhran, of Cill-Ruis, in the Termon of Inis-Cathaigh,3ashavingafestivalcelebratedonthisday. Inatablepostfixed to this Martyrology, his place is thought to have been Kilrush, in the county of Kildare. He is said to have been otherwise called Occobhran, whence Ocobrus, Ocoras [Desiderius). ^ The place usually designated for this saint is the present Kilrush, a parish in the barony of Moyarta and county of Clare. 5 The ruins of several ancient churches, forts, and raths exist in this parish. ^ Among these, at Mullagha are the remains of an old chapel or cell, traditionally supposed to have been built by St, Senan, who is said to have been a native of this place. Attached to it there is a burial ground still in use, and near it, also, there is a holy well,7 In fact, there are two old churches in this parish dedicated to St. Senan. The one is a small Damliag, andtheotherisanoratoryofinsignificantdimensions. ^ Thelargerchurch measures in length 32 feet 3 inches, and in breadth 13 feet. Its walls are less than 3 feet in thickness. AH the north wall was level with the ground, but about 14 feet of the south side wall, connected with the west gable, stood in 1839. 9 The eastern gable was in tolerable preservation. It was 3 feet in thickness, and it contained a window, measuring on the inside
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomusii. ,xxviii. the County of Clare," Sheets 56, 57, 58, Januarii, Prffitermissi et in alios dies re- 66, 67.
jecti, p, 807,
* Bishop Forbes omits him, in the biogra-
phical notices of his Scottish Saints.
'
Article vii,— Edited by the Rev. Dr.
Kelly, Ip. xiv. In the Franciscan copy is the inscription of -dccobpAin simply,
^
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 28, 29.
3 Neither St, Mellan nor St. Occobran, venerated on this day at Kilrush, are re- membered at Kilrush in the county of Clare, See Dr. O'Donovan's letter, dated Kildy- sart, 9th of November, 1839, in "Letters Containing Information relative to the An- tiquities of the County of Clare, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Sur- vey in 1839," vol, ii,, p, 2,
•We find added: "Three miles from
Cill-dara of the white bell in Ros Mucroise,"
PP- 354> 355> i^'^-
5 The situation of this parish is noted on
^"
See Lewis' Topographical Dictionary
of Ireland," vol, ii. , pp. 204 to 206.
? See Clare Townland Maps, Sheet 67, for
the townland of Molougha,
^SeeDr, O'Donovan's letter dated Kildy-
sart, 9th November, 1839, in " Letters Con- taining Information relative to the Antiqui- ties of the County of Clare, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1839," vol. ii. , pp. 4 to 6,
9 Then a considerable portion of the west
gable remained, but its only distinguishing feature was destroyed, that is, a little win- dow or belfry, which had been placed near the top. Over it was a small cross of an- tique form. This was broken to pieces and lying on the ground, outside the west gable. The pedestal was perfect, however, and it was the finishing stone of the gable, so that a pretty accurate idea might be formed re- garding its shape and size from this part,
the
"
Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for
and the otherfragments then remaining.
470
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 28.
the ruined oratory, called Seipeal Beag Sheanain,
the small chapel of St.
and
feet inches in width. '° On the outside it 3
inches in
was 5 feet 3 inches in height, and 5 inches in width, at the top ; but the south side at the bottom being destroyed, its breadth there could not be ascertained with sufficient accuracy. The west gable" is 3 feet 4 inches in thickness. ", Aboutninepacesfromthenorth-eastcornerofthischurch'3is
7
feet
5
height,
3
"
Scnanus. " Itmeasuresontheoutside11feet7inchesinlength,and9feet
Moylogha Church, Co. Clare.
8 inches in breadth. Its little walls are 2 feet 7 inches in thickness. The east gable contains a rectangular window at top inside and outside. It measures on the inside 3 feet 10 inches in height and i foot 10 inches in width ; on the outside it is 2 feet 1 1 inches in height, and 6 inches in width. It is covered on the top inside and outside with one stone. '* The present
'" The accompanying illustration of Moy- lougha old church was drawn by William F. Wakeman, and it is now numbered 8,
''
among the Clare, Cork, and Kerry
Sketches," for the I. O. S.
