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Marianus O'Gorman styles St. Endeus, " the virginal Saint of Aran Island," and there an angelical life did he lead, in the midst of his childr—en. Espe-
current re-
We are told, that the test and proof, which he
"
of August.
*7 His feast does not seem to be known.
'^
Colgan conjectures, that he may have been th—e St. Papan, venerated on the I3tli
ofJuly itseemsmostprobable,amistake for the 31st of that month.
*9 His feast occurs, at the 3rd of June,
Yet, the saint so called, although bearing a similar name, is said to have been liis brother, and to have been venerated, on the 1 2th of June.
3° He was venerated, it is thought, on the 6th of June.
3' He is said to have been venerated, at
the 3rd of May.
3^ See the "Irish Ecclesiastical Record,"
vol. vii. , pp. 109 to 112.
hewas—
remarkable for his exercises.
cially
monks, living under his rule.
*'
I and crossed the Again sailed,
I left these turned myriad isles, and
sound
That lies beneath Binn-Aite's rocky
height,
And there, upon the shore, the saint I
found
"Waiting my coming through the tardy
night.
He led me to his home beside the wave.
Where, with his monks, the pious father
;
And to my listening ear he freely gave
The sacred knowledge that his bosom held.
When I proclaimed the project that I nursed,
How 'twas for this that I his blessing sought,
An irrepressible cry of joy outburst
From his pure lips, that blessed me for
the thought.
He said, that he, too, had in visions
strayed
O'er the untrack'd ocean's billowing
foam
Bid me have hope, that God would give
me aid,
And bring me safe back to my native
length
Southward my bark, and sought my
native land,"
Isaias xxxv. 71.
°3 His feast is usually assigned, to the loth
of September.
^* See his Life, at the 12th of December,
dwelled
"S See his Life, at the 6th of June. **
;
home.
"Thus for and —
having sought knowledge for strength.
For the unheard-of voyage that I planned,
'
This was a boat or
penitential
Legends gardinghim confirmtheimpression,thatheexactedaverystrictdiscipline, which he imposed, not alone on himself, but which he required from the
stormy
at
"
His feast has been referred, to the II th
33 See
nias," xxi. Martii. Appendix ad Acta S. Endei, cap. ii. , p. 712.
Colgan's
* ' Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
Chapter hi,
canoe, of wicker work, co—vered with skins. It is still used in Ireland especially about
March 21. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 919
used every evening, to clear them from sins, was to put every man of them in turn into a curach,' without any hide upon it at all. Then was it floated outuponthesea. Thesaltwatercouldgetintothecurach,iftherehappened to be any crime or sin upon the man, who was in it. It could not get in, if he were free from sins. Enda, the abbot, was the last man that entered the curach. There was not found any man, of those one hundred and fifty monks, who did not escape a wetting from the curach, excepting only Gigniat, sometimes called Gigneus, the cook of Enda," who Uved at a place called Acadh-Draighnich. He seems to have joined the community of our
Killeany Old Church, Arranmore, County of Galway.
saint, after the latter had returned from his visit to Medraighe, said to have been a maritime district of Southern Connaught, and in the county of Galway. During this journey, St. Endeus asked certain fishermen to give him- self and his companions some fish, for their refection. One boy alone pre- sented a fish, he had taken. The holy man declared, that in that haven, fish should thenceforward be scarce, and this prediction was verified. Thence, he went to the harbour, where the outflowing waters of Lough Orbsen reach the sea, and where the hospitable young fisher was born. Endeus prayed the Almighty, that the bay should abound in fish, ever afterwards, and his prayer was graciously heard. On an island, Ehinis,3 of Lough Orbsen, our saint received a kindly greeting and welcome from a chief man, named Cruimther Coelan. * Here a miracle—but of the legendary class—was performed.
Aran—although now, generally, it is covered with tarred canvas.
' The legend continues this account, in the following conversation between him and the abbot :—" What hast thou done, O Gigniat ? " said Enda. The cook said, that he did nothing, but put a httle addition to his own portion from the share of Ciaran,
son of the artificer. Enda then ordered him to leave the island. And, he also said, " There is no room for a thief here ; I will not permit this at all. "
3 Or Horse Island, now Inis Gearain, or Garron Island, having the same sense.
4 His feast has been assigned, to the 25th of April, by O'Flaherty.
920 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 21.
Afterwards, the holy abbot returned to Aran, and Enda remained there, until
he grew decrepit with years.
The virtues and fame of St. Endeus were long remembered, even after
his departure from life. Cuimin of Coindeire, in the poem which begins, " Patrick of the Fort of Macha loved," states, that St. Enda used to be in a stone prison praying for all persons -^ which shows, how the traditions of Aran commemorated his extraordinary devotion, and austerity of living. The date for St. Enda's death has not been fixed, by Colgan ; but, he conjectures, thatitmusthavetakenplace,abouttheyear540. ^ Traditionstillpreserves in popular affection that spot, where his grave is pointed out, beside the
The
white sands sweep over it, from the adjoining sea-shore, and lonely was the position chosen for his entombment. And, in the mortuary chapel of St. Enny, it is said, that 127 saints are buried in the same grave. ^ In his day,
we are told, by O'Flaherty,^ that north-east of this chapel, in the graveyard, St. Enna was buried in a grave, over which was visible a stone, and that 120 graves of saints, with divers other tombstones, were then extant. Many of these are now buried in the sands.
Besides the two places called Killeany, in the counties of Galway and of Clare, as already mentioned, and which were dedicated to our saint ; we find, among the Irish Ordnance Survey, similar names, viz. : Killeany,'® in the parish of Moyglare, and barony of Upper Deece, county of Meath ; Killeany," in the parish of Clonenagh and Clonagheen, barony of Mary- borough West, Queen's County ; as also, Killeany Beg and Killeany More,"
in the parish of Kilfergus, and barony of Shanid, county of Limerick. Whether our saint was venerated at these latter places, we are not able to determine ; however, we are told, that the church of Spidell,'3 west of Galway town, was dedicated to St. Enna, in O'Flaherty's time. It seems likely, moreover, that he was patron of other places, and especially, in the western parts of Ireland.
The festival of St. Endeus is commemorated, at the 21st of March, as we
ruined church of Killeany,' and, in the cemetery, which surrounds it.
find from St. iEngus the Culdee, in his s Thus the poem says : —
"
* Rev. Dr. "Eccle- See, also, Lanigan's
siastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap.
viii. , sect, vii. , p. 396, and n. 82, pp. 397,
398. 7
Fesiilogy. '* The published Martyrology
"It is described, on the "Ordnance
The
'^ Its Irish name is S^to^aI, "an hos-
pital,'' and it was an old English, as well as
" Rob not
Enda of the high piety loved In Ara, victory with sweetness A prison of hard narrow stone To bring all unto heaven. "
Survey Townland Maps for the County of Meath," Sheets 50, 53.
acconipan)ring illustration of this old church was sketched, originally, by an
accomplished
Esq. , Dangan Cottage, Galway, and pre- sented by him to the writer, in 1877. It has been transferred to the wood, by William F. Wakeman, having been en- graved by Mrs. Millard.
^
a term lor place.
artist, Howard Helmick,
'^ For the following extract, from the Leabhar Brcac copy, and its English trans- laiion, the—writer is indebted to Professor
Such is an account, I have received, from Rev. John A. Concanon, P. P. , in a letter, headed Arran Island, January I5ih, 1877.
9 See " A Chorographical Description of West or H-Iar Connaught, written a. d.
1684," p. 83.
"It is described, on the "Ordnance
Survey Townland Maps for the Queen's
County," Sheet 23.
"
Survey
Limerick," Sheet l8.
Ihese are described, on the "Ordnance
for the of County
Scotch the spital. "
— such a Jonsou.
Townland
Maps
O'Looney
c. xii. kL "Oon bich bA mo'^ mbuAme bem-oechc boiLcc Aije,
^o^ oen lich le^x fLuAgt)* enx)A <M|\'oei\c <Mpne.
"To the world great were the
gifts
, Of Benedict the powerful chief,
:
March 21. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 921
of Tallagh'5 commemorates our saint, as Ennae, Airne, Mac Ainmire, mic
Ronain, i. do Creamthannaibh ; but, it would seem, this entry had been in-
correctly written, by the scribe, for in the Franciscan copy,^* we find a different notice, at the 21st of March. The Calendar of Cashel, Marianus
O'Gorman, and Maguire, notice his descent, while commemorating his festive day '7 In the anonymous Calendar, published by O'SuUevan Beare,*^ there is a St. Eudius—which we may suspect to have been an incorrect printing for Endeus—at the 21st of March. Again, the Martyrology of
Donegal'9 mentions, as having a festival on this day, Enda, Abbot, of Ara. Besides the foregoing, several foreign Martyrologists, such as Canisius,
Phihp Ferrarius, and the Carthusian Martyrology, note his feast, at the same
date, in Ireland. ^" At the 12th of the April Kalends, which corresponds
with the 2ist of March, we are told, that in Hibernia, the Holy Confessor
Enna this day went to Christ. Such is a notice in the Kalendar of Drum-
mond. ^' Inthe"MemorialofBritishPiety,""hisfestivalisnoticed,while
""
the Circle of the Seasons records him, likewise, at the 2Tst of March. '^s
As the spirit of Saul was proud, and as his impulsive zeal urged him to take
an active part in public affairs, it required a special grace from the Almighty, to make him sensible of his errors. Nothing less than a miracle was wrought, to change his heart and disposition. But, when his conversion had been thus effected, his vigorous intellect and impulsive nature led him to brave all trials and persecutions, to spread still more a knowledge of God's holy law. His humility and charity displaced his former pride and cruelty. So, like the Apostle St. Paul, the present young afilete of Christ was miraculously rescued from a career of crime, to become a spiritual leader, teacher and shepherd of his people. He feared not the violence of men, when he had combatedhisownstrongnaturalpassions; norhadhumanrespectanypower, to lead him away from the path of duty.
Article II. —St. Isenger, Bishop of Verden, Saxony.
Century,'] High-toned morality is rare, in this world of sin and selfishness ; but, that perfect love of God, which rejects all things for his sake, is still rarer. Hence, we must regard with great admiration those, who here made noble sacrifices, actuated by a true missionary spirit. The most probable supposition, at which we can arrive regarding St. Isenger, should leave him a native of our country. He is said to have come from Scotia, which must probably mean Scotia Major, or Ireland, unless the contrary be clearly indi- cated,whichwedonotfindtobethecase. Likelyenough,hisoriginalname underwent some alteration. The English Martyrology asserts, that he was a Benedictinemonk,andanAbbotofAmarbaric; andthat,havingruledthis monastery for some years, being moved with zeal for the conversion of people inhabiting the neighbouring regions, he set out towards Belgium and Germany. He was afterwards appointed Bishop of Verden,' in Saxony,
being the successor to Saint Cortilla.
On one festival, pious hosiful Enda the illustrious of Aran. "
He was also a Scot, and to show that
p. 50.
'^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiber- •® Here we read, en-oeuf feu ennnif nias," xxi. Martii. Appendix ad Acta S.
Endei, cap. i. , p. 711.
*' See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 8.
"
Supp. 54, 55.
'3 Sec p. 81.
Article ii. —' "Ad T. enum fluvium
'S Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xix.
A^nnenpi'.
"ActaSanctorumIliber- nise," xxi. Martii. Appendix ad Acta S.
Endei, cap. i. , p. 711.
'* See "Historise Catholicse Ibernise
'7 See
Colgan's
Compendium,"
tomus i. , lib. iv. , xi. , cap.
82, 83.
^° "
[Ninth
92: LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS [March 21.
many predecessors of Isenger, in the See of Verden, were Scots or Irish, Colgan cites a passage from Crantzius, in which it is asserted, that almost all BishopWaltherus'antecessorswereofEnglishorScottishbirth. Atthe21st
*
ofMarch,Dempster introduces,asbeingveneratedatVerda,Isinger,the
seventh bishop, a confessor ; and, of course, it is assumed, that he was a native of Scotland. It is said, that after Isenger had enjoyed the dignity of bishop, for some time, he laid down his life for the Faith, in the year 824, according to some authorities ; Colgan remarks, however, that he had not seensuchstatementverified,bythetestimonyofanyancientwriter. Again, although placed seventh on the roll, Albert Crantzius says,3 that no certain
authority enabled him to form an opinion, demonstrating Isenger's origin, or the time and order of his succession in the episcopacy. He lived, about the
beginningoftheninthcentury; and,althoughweareleftinignoranceofhis Acts, yet his career must have been illustrious, for as a saint, he is venerated
and commemorated, at the 21st of March, by hagiographical wTiters, such as Ferrarius, Wion, the English Martyrology, Bruschius, Bucelinus,* Dempster,s
Camerarius,^ Colgan,' Henry Fitzsimon, an anonymous Calendar published by O'SuUevan Beare,^ by the Bollandists,9 and by others. His remains were interred, in the Cathedral church of Verden, where they were held in much honour by the citizens, for a long time after his death.
Article III. —St. Luicheall, son of Ciaran. On the 21st of March,
the —
published Martyrology
of
» enters the name of Lucill mac h.
Chiara,^
Forbes'
Kalendars of Scottish Saints,
p.
"
"
but, more properly,
Tallagh
it should be
written, the son of Hua-Kierain. Nothing more is given, to indicate his natal spot. The Martyrology of Donegal,3 on this day, also registers, Luicheall, son of Ciaran, as having veneration paid him.
The BoUandists note his festival, at this same date, as
** Lucellus filius Hua-Kierain. " <
Article IV. —St. Momhanna, Virgin. The name of St. Momhanna,
a Virgin, occurs in the Martyrologies of^arianus O'Gorman and of Donegal,'
^
as having a festival, on this day ; while the BoUandists notice her, as Mo-
manna Virgo.
sita," as Colgan remarks, and it is not to be confounded with a place, similarly named, in the Duchy of Cleeves.
'See "Menologium Scoticum," Bishop
9 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Martii xxi. Among the pretermitted Saints, P- 257.
Article hi. —' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xix.
195-
3 See " Rerum Germanicarum Historici
Clarissimi, Ecclesiastica Historia, sive Me- tropolis," lib. i. , cap. 29, p. 21. Editio Francofurti, mdlxxxx, fol.
* The two writers here named do not be- stow on Isenger the title of Saint or Blessed.
5 Lib. ix. , num. 710.
^ In " Menologium Scoticum. "
7 See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemioe," xxi.
Martii. Vita S. Isengeri, p. 716.
8 See O'SuUevan Beare's " Historic
Catholics Iberniae Compendium," tomus i. , lib, iv. , cap. xi. , p. 50, and cap. xii. , p. 55.
lucelluf feu lucilluf pi IIua Cia]\a feu CiAi\Ain, at this date.
'
In the Franciscan copy, the entry is
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 82, 83.
*• See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Martii xxi. Among the pretermitted Saints, p. 256.
Article iv. —' Edited by Drs. Todd
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Martii xxi. Among the pretermitted Saints, p. 256.
and Reeves, pp. 82, Zt,. '"
March 22. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 923
Cltietttp-'ssewttti I3ap of i^arrft*
ARTICLE I. —ST. FAILEEUS, OR FAILBHE, EIGHTH ABBOT OF lONA, SCOTLAND.
[SEVENTH CENTURY. ]
few particulars of this saintly superior's Acts, that are known, have
been recorded THE
at the 22nd of March. ^ tion, that Adamnan has no particular notice of his sanctity
With the reserva-
— that his festival has been
ting assigned
the Irish
day, by Martyrologists
Reeves' Adamnan's
"
Life of St. Columba,"
of St. Columba," Additional Notes, (O),
p. 376.
it is stated, at March 2. See lib. i. , cap. i. ,
®
Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xix. In
n. (d), p. 16.
the Franciscan copy, we find, frAitbeuj' Abb
hienfif.
^ See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of the
Scottish Saints," p. 8.
'° Edited
" Martii xxii.
3 See
Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Among the pretermitted saints,
p. 368.
* See the "
Drs. Todd and
by Colgan,'
—
to this theBollandistsnoticeFailbeus,AbbotofHy. 3 HisfatherwasPipan,son
of Amalgad, son to Duach ;* so that he belonged to the race of Conall Gulban, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages. Like all the first superiors of St. Columba's celebrated establishment, the present holy man was born iu Irelandj and,probably,atanearlyage,heleftittomakehisreligiouspro- fession. He was the eighth in succession, among the abbots of lona ; and, we are informed, that Failbe supplied Adamnan, with several traditions, re- lating to the great St. Columba. These have been inserted in his biography. 5 The holy subject of this notice ruled over lona monastery, from a. d. 669 to 679 ; and, he died, on this day, assigned for his festival. He departed, in the year 674, according to the Annals of Clonmacnoise ; or a. d. 677, according to the Annals of the Four Masters f or in 678, according to those of Ulster; orA. D. 679,accordingtotheAnnalsofTighernach. 7 Thename,Failbhe, lae, is the only record we meet with, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,* and con- cerning him, at this date. In Hibernia, states the Kalendar of Drummond, at the xi. April Kal. or 22nd of March, the Holy Confessor Falbe, Abbot of themonasteryatHy,wenttoChrist. 9 Likewise,theMartyrologyofDonegal'" enters on this day, Failbhe, son of Piopan, Abbot of la, and a successor to St. Colum Cille.
Article II. —St. Darerca, Sister of St. Patrick. [Etfth Century. ']
Enumerating Darerca, among St. Patrick's sisters,' Colgan also inserts a summaryofstatements,atthe22ndofMarch. " HederivesherLatinized
""" name, from the Irish Diar-shearc, signifying constant or
firm love," or
Article i. —'See "Acta Sanctorum ^ See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Hibernise," xxii. Martii. De S. Failbeo Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 284, 285, and n. Seniore, sive primo Abbate Hiensi, pp. (p. ) Ibid.
719, 720.
=* By a typographical error, in Rev. Dr.
by
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Quarta Article ll. 'See "Trias Thauma-
Sanctilogium Genealogicum," quoted as authority for his pedigree, in
Appendix ad Acta S. Columbas, cap. iii. , p. 480, and cap. x. , p. 490.
5 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba," lib. i,, cap. i. , p. 16, cap.
26.
Reeves, pp.
3. p.
Colgan's
Thaumaturga,
' See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life
84, 85.
turga," Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 269.
Martii. 3 See
Vita S. Darercne, pp. 716 to 719.
" Trias
'
—
* See " Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxii.
although admit-
924
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 22.
from Der-shearc, which means " love of tears "—attributable to her devotional feelings. St. Patrick, says Jocelyn,5 had three sisters of remarkable sanctity
and perfection, whose names were Tygridia, Darercha, and Lupita. The youngest of those sisters is said to have been Darerca. As a widow, and as the happy mother of a holy progeny of children, the BoUandists enter her feast. * If we are to credit some accounts, she had no less than seventeen sons; whiletheyareevensupposedtohaveallbecomebishops,andtohave been honoured as saints. Besides these, she is said to have had two holy daughters, who were virgins. But, as already stated, in our Life of St.
'•'^•^-^'a^
Teampul na Naomh, Lough Corrib, County of Galway.
Patrick,s considerable discrepancy exists among writers, in reference to those statements, nor can they be advocated with any degree of certainty. Besides these accounts, in the church of Innisghoill, or the Foreigner's Island, on Lough Corrib, county of Galway, it is believed, that the son of Darerca, otherwise called Limenuch, was interred, and that the inscription on his tombstone may still be seen, near the ancient church of Inchaguile. ^ A
wonderfully beautiful Irish Romanesque doorway? yet remains in the build- ing, known as Teampul na Naomh. or " church of the saint. " Another and an older structure is near it, called Teampul Phadruig,** which Petrie deemed to be probably a foundation of our national saint, and old as his time. In the Martyrology of Tallagh,9 at the 22nd of March, is entered the name ot Darerca. The few words which follow this record are misplaced. She is
Vita S. Patricii, cap. 1. , p. 76, and nn. 49 to 53, p. no.
* See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Martii xxii. Among the pretermitted saints, pp. 367, 368.
5 See chap, iii. , and n. 63.
* See an excellent woodcut of this church, in a little, work, called "A Week in the
West of Ireland," Illustrated by W. F.