26
This was also in accordance with an
or schism is known to have occurred, between Emly and Cashel ; and that Cormac, while
bishop and King, had been on friendly terms with that prelate, governing the former see.
This was also in accordance with an
or schism is known to have occurred, between Emly and Cashel ; and that Cormac, while
bishop and King, had been on friendly terms with that prelate, governing the former see.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
However, exceptions were presented to this general state of distinct civil and ecclesias- tical rule, even in our country.
Broken into a number of small principalities, and ruled by several petty and virtually independent princes ; the objects, policy and ambition of those, rulers were frequently discordant, as their relations towards each other were often abnormal.
Provincial and family feuds were as frequently inherited as excited, by each successive recipient of the sword and the sceptre, and the firm grasp of this latter with clannish rule was a usual result of the vigorous use of the former appendage.
Circum- stances over which those rulers seem to have had little control often forced them into positions, irreconcilable with their social position, sound views of policy, and the dictates of their better judgment, as we shall here find exemplified.
Thus, it happened, that while the nation itself appeared verging towards a suicidal dismemberment, still owing to God's particular providence, the Church of Ireland interposed a barrier between continual assaults upon social order, and the maintenance of civilization.
It would seem, however, that the influence of ecclesiastics was all the more powerful and effectual, when unstained by the sword, or by the attainment of secular sway.
The case of Cormac Mac Cullman is an instance, but by no means a
solitary one, of regal and episcopal rule, even in the particular province, where he was recognised as King and Bishop. One of the first remarkable instances where such powers has been found united in the same person, was in the case of Olchobar, son to Cinaedh, King of Cashel or Munster, and Bishop of Emly. In conjunction with Lorcan, King of Leinster, this prince and prelate gained a signal victory over the Danes at Sciath-Neachtain, near Castledermot, in the year 846. In this battle, Tomhrair, Earl and Tanist to
1
2
Olchobar died in the year 849 . Coenfelad, at the same time King of Cashel
and Bishop over Emly, died in the year 872. 3 Eogan, son to Ceannfaeladh, and abbot ofEmly, died in the year 886, according to the Annals of the Four Masters f . but, as Sir James Ware states, this ecclesiastic, called Prince of Imleach-Ibair or Emly, was slain in the year 889. Tibraid Mac Maelfin, BishoporAbbot,andPrinceofImleach-Ibair,diedintheyear912. 5 Again, with the subject of this present memoir, and his successor on the throne of
O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," 3 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
vol. i. , p. 370, note (b), pp. 474 to 477, Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 480, 481. But,
nn. (a, b).
2
See Sir James Ware. According to the
" Chronicon Scotorum," however, his death
is placed at A. D. 851. See William M. pp. 538, 539.
Hennessy's edition, pp. 150, 151. s See ibid. , vol. ii. , pp. 578, 579.
the King of Lochlann, and twelve hundred of his followers, were slain.
the death of this prince and bishop is placed at a. d. 850, in the Annals of Ulster.
* See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. ,
330 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September14.
Cashel, named Flaithbheartach or Flaherty, and who died in the
we find a union of civil and ecclesiastical power vested in the hands of a single individual. —
In the Book of Lecan or of Sligo an Irish Manuscript to be
——— found in Trinity College Library we are told,? that Cormac's Life
8 doubtless the Life of St. Cormac Mac Cullinan is to be found. Several
modern Irish writers have- allusion to him in their works, such as Rev. Dr.
Jeoffry Keating,9 Rev. Dr. La*nigan,'° Thomas Moore,11 Rev. James Wills,12 EugeneO'Curry,^AlfredWebb/*andThomasD'ArcyMcGee. 's Thereis also an interesting account of him in the u Irish Penny Magazine. " 16
Although his public career is alluded to in nearly all the general Histories of Ireland; yet, little seems to have transpired, which tends to illustrate the period of Cormac's childhood and adolescence. That he was son to Cuileanan, the etymology of his name indicates. We are informed, that he was descended from the branch of the Munster 1 ?
Engenian Royal family, and that he was descended from Aengus, the first Christian King of Munster. 18
Again, it is stated, that Cormac was born, in the year 837. We are told/9
that he received tuition from Sneidhuis, a wise man, living at Disert-Diarmada,
or Castledermot, in the present County of Kildare. This tutor died in the
20
year 885.
ceded the latter event by many years. The acquisition of so much learning, as he is reported to have possessed, shows how the education of seculars, as well as clerics, had not been neglected in the ninth and tenth centuries ; but, whether or not he received his chief training at Castledermot is rather
doubtful, although sufficiently probable.
It has been stated—but on no very trustworthy evidence—that Gormlaith
or Gormflaith, the daughter of Flann Sinna,21 Monarch of Ireland, had been thrice married ; in the first instance, to Cormac Mac Cullenan, King of Munster ; afterwards to Niall Glandubh, Monarch of Ireland, and lastly to Cearbhall, King of Leinster. 22 To her are attributable certain Irish verses,
6
7 See " Lhuyd's
p. 435-
8
See ibid. , pp. 650, 651.
sect, iv. , p. 349, and ibid. , note 37, p.
11 See " History ^of chap, xvii. , pp. 44 to 52.
Ireland,"
vol. ii. ,
It is but reasonable to suppose, that Cormac's instruction pre-
Archaeologia Britannica,"
350.
l8 "
At p. 58.
9 See "General History of Ireland,"
part ii. , pp. 439 to 451. Duffy's edition. 10 "
See Archdeacon Henry Cotton's Fasti Ecclesiae Hibernicse," vol. i. Province of Munster, p. 4.
See Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. Hi. , chap, xxii. , sects, iv. , v. , vi. , pp. 348 to 361.
I9 See the "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 536, 537. Dr. O'Donovan's edition.
*•
See ibid. However, in William M. Hennessy's edition of the "Chronicum Scotorum," his death is placed at A. D. 883. See pp. 170, 171.
"See Wills' "Lives of Illustrious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part i. , second period, pp. 185 to 188.
3I
His reign commenced in 879, and ended
13 See "Lectures On the
Manuscript
A. D. 916, according to Roderick O'Flaherty :
" Flannus Sinna Malachise filius R. H. regis
triginata septem annos. Regnavit annos 36, menses 6, ac dies 5. Obiit 8 Calenda—s
Junii, anno 916, aetatis 68. War. " "
Ogygia," pars iii/, cap. xciii. , p. 434.
Materials of Ancient Irish History," Lect. i. ,
pp. 19, 20, et seq.
14
p. 96.
15 See Popular History of Ireland,"
vol. i. , book ii. , chap, iii. , pp. 75 to 77.
16
Published in Dublin, 1833. See vol. i. . No. 24, for June 15. Ancient Irish Bio-
See "Compendium of Irish Biography,"
graphy, No. xxiv.
pp. 187, 188.
17 See Rev. Dr.
Cormac Mac Cuillenan,
However, the order of those marriages must be incorrect, since Cormac Mac Culli- nan was slain in 908, Cearbhall in 909, and Niall Glandubh in 919. If we lake it for granted, that Niall Glandubh had been her second husband, he must have repudiated
her within or before the when year 909,
Cearbhall had been killed-
" 2'
" Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xxii. ,
Lanigan's
year
Q42,6
September 14. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 331
which profess to relate the deaths of her two latter husbands. 23 Notwith-
2
standing her three royal marriages, it is related, * that afterwards she begged
from door to door, forsaken by all her friends and allies, and glad to be relieved by her inferiors. Should we credit the foregoing statement, we may conjecture, from its being stated, that he was married to Gormlaith, the
daughterofFlann,sontoMaelsechlain,andsonofDomhnall,2* thatCormac's earlier training was not intended to prepare him for the ecclesiastical profession. However, such account does not accord with What is afterwards related, that he was always a virgin. Neither does it seem consistent with the general tenor of his life, as Flann and Cormac were declared enemies, and even hostile opponents, to the end of Cormac's career.
That the subject of this present memoir was made bishop over Cashel,
an account of his merits and 26 we can have no doubt. It is great virtues,
no easy matter to determine, at what time, under what circumstances, or in what place, Cormac had embraced the clerical profession, and had been
advanced to the episcopacy ; yet,. it seems quite certain, he became a bishop before his elevation to the throne of South Munster. 2? If Cormac had been married, either his wife had died previously, or by mutual consent both had agreed to embrace a religious state. His life is said to have passed in the practice of great austerities. The O'Clerys relate, that he used to
sleep
in a hair 28 which he wore at Matins. He was accustomed tunic,
to sing his psalms frequently immersed in water, according to the same
authority.
Before the time of Cormac, it is asserted, that Cashel h—ad not enjoyed its
subsequent pre-eminence of becoming an episcopal see this city having been comprised within the limits of the more ancient Emly diocese. This see continued to exist, for centuries before and after the time of Cormac Mac Cullenan. 29 Its also were for a distinct from those
bishops long period
of Cashel. It is thought to be probable,30 that Cormac was bishop over
Lismore, before he removed to Cashel j because a Cormac, son of Cuillenan, is said to have been bishop of Lismore, about those times. 31 He is related in the Annals of Clonmacnoise to have died in 915, or according to another account in 918,32 while the date for the death of Cormac, son of Cullinan, is
23 See "Three Fragments of Irish Annals," "The Irish Penny Magazine," vol. i. , No. copied by Dubhaltach Mac Firbisigh, and 24. Ancient Irish Biography, No. xxiv. , p.
edited by John O'Donovan, LL. D. , pp. 222, 223, and n. (6).
24 In
learned woman.
25 See "The Martyrology of Donegal," edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 248,
187. 28
William M. Hennessy substitutes "very
for " as a translation. hair,"
Translation of the Annals of Clonmacnoise, at a. d. 905. There she is said to have been a fair, virtuous and
249.
26
This was also in accordance with an
or schism is known to have occurred, between Emly and Cashel ; and that Cormac, while
bishop and King, had been on friendly terms with that prelate, governing the former see.
30 By Rev. Dr. Lanigan.
3I The "Annals of the Four Masters"
Mageoghegan's
thin,"
29 It has been remarked, that no quarrel
Irish custom of promoting distinguished
persons to the episcopal rank, in places place his death at A. D. 918 ; but their
where no bishop had previously been.
editor, Dr. O'Donovan, notes, that he is to be distinguished from Cormac, son of Cuilennan, King of Munster and Archbishop
s
?
Alluding to this union of the ecclesias-
tical and regal dignity in Ireland, a writer
of Corm—ac Mac Cuillenan's memoir of Cashel. See vol. ii. , and n. (w. ) pp. 598,
"
remarks : In no case, however, was the 599.
conferred
except when they succeeded by hereditary nice," Febuarii xvii. De S. Cormaco right, and thus far are the individuals fr—ee Episcopo Athtrumensi. Appendix, cap. i. , from all imputation of sinister ambition. " p. 360.
regal dignity
upon ecclesiastics,
32 See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
33* LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September14.
known to have been in 908. 33 The " Annals of the Four Masters,"34 assign it, however, to a. d. 903. If these dates were correct^ it should follow, that thereweretwodistinctpersons,eachnamedCormacMcCulinan. Notwith- standing, the Rev. Dr. Lanigan attempts to show, that there is no sufficient reason fo—r the admission of two distinct Cormacs, bishops and both sons of
6
Various derivations have been given for the denomination of Cashel :
some writers stating it to have the primitive designation of Sidh-druim,37 or
u afterwards to Caiseal, " a circular stone-fort,"38 and fairy ridge," changed
such probably it was called, before other less ancient buildings crowned the site. It is a simple word, and in Irish local nomenclature often applied where ancient stone-forts are known to have stood,39 while it is moreover very frequently compounded with other designations. To the present saint is attributed another derivation for it. *° Next, we are told, that the ancient name was Carsiol, or " the habitation on the rock," being compounded of
1
Again, place
it had been surrounded by extensive woods. «
In the midst of the rich champaign country of Tipperary, stretching away from the hills of Kilkenny to the Galtee mountains, and from Slievenaman to the Devil's Bit, crowned with its noble ruins, the Rock of Cashel stands
Cullenan theonebelongingtoCashel,theothertoLismore. 3
Moreover, Cashel has been called Cajshil-na-
Gar, or Carrick, and Siol. 4
clog, or " Cashel with the bells," and in other copies Cashel-na-Cnoc, or " Cashel-of-the-hill. "*2 this was known as Drum-feeva, because
33 See the " Three
copied from ancient sources, by Dubhaltach Mac Firbisigh, edited by Dr. John O'Dono- van, pp. 200, 201.
34 See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, pp. 564 to 571.
35 But, at least, argues Dr. Lanigan, the
Fragments
of Annals "
of Irish Names of
History Places," part iii. ,
chap, i. , pp. 276, 277.
39 The assertion of Ebel, followed by
others, cannot be admitted, that the word could have been derived from the Latin word castellum; rather it is probable that the latter term had been derived from the older
Celtic root.
40 In the "Sanas Chormaic," or ''Cormac's
Glossary," attributed to the authorship of St. Cormac Mac Cuoillionain, Translated
and Annotated by Dr. John O'Donovan,
and edited by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , we
find the derivation " following : Caisel,
'Cashel,' i. e. , a casula ; or cis-ail, i. e. , ail c/dsa, rock of tribute, which used to be brought by the men of Ireland to that place ; or ail chise . i. ro-cheis ? " See
for Cormac of Cashel died
former date is not
in 908, and as to 918 for the one of Lismore, it is perhaps a mistake for 908. The Four Masters, when searching in old Annals and documents, might have found Cormac Mac Cuilenan called in some bishop of Lismore,
;
and in others of
supposed, that they were different. Their calling Cormac of Lismore, prince of the
Desies, does not furnish any argument against his having been the same as Cormac of Cashel ; whereas, in conse- quence of being bishop of that great See, situated in the Desies country, while there, he might have got that title, in the same manner as some bishops of Emly, ex. gr. , Eugene Mac-Cenfoelad, who died A. D. 872
36
Cashel,
and thence have
Dr. Lanigan suspects, that the epithet Theasalescop, which had been applied to the
Cormac before he became King of Cashel, alludes to a see more southerly than Cashel, such as Lismore, by calling it the Southern place or establishment, much in the same way as Alcuin spoke of it, in his letter to
"
Colcu. See
Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xxii. , sect, iv. , n. 39, P- 350.
by corruption O'Donohoe. In latter ages,
it is stated, that they were distinguished by
the name of Cartheigh, or "Inhabitants of the rock," whence descended the Mac Carthys, hereditary chiefs of this district. These statements, however, are quite fanciful.
42 In the Poem known as " Terna Egis. "
43 See Richard Rolt Brash's " Ecclesias- tical Architecture of Ireland, to the Close
of the Twelfth
37 Pronounced shee drum.
38 See Dr. P. W.
"
and
Century," chap, vii. , p. 91-
Ecclesiastical History of
Joyce's
Origin
P- 33-
41 "
See Seward's Topographia Hibernica,"
at the word Cashel. There, we are told,
that there was a dun or royal fort of the
chieftains of Egonach Cashel, in which terri-
tory it is situate ; and, moreover, that from
their habitations on this insulated rock, its
possessors were called Ily-Dun-na-moi, or
"
Chiefs of the royal fori of the plain,"
September 14. ]
LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 333
out to the eye a most conspicuous and the grandest object in that vast plain. In addition to those elevated surroundings, from the Rock itself may be seen the Limerick and Waterford mountains with the distant Slieve Bloom, on the horizon'sverge. Itseemsprobable,thattheroyalresidenceontheRockof Cashel solely occupied that site, until the year 1 101, when Morough O'Brien convened a great assembly of the clergy and people, in which he made over
Burgo ;
s°
the ruins of
many
Athassel Abbey, near Cashel.
besijjes,
44 See the Annates IV. Magistrorum, at
a. d. 1101, in Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hiber-
nicarum Scriptores," tomus hi. , pp. 677, 678. 45 There is an interesting account of Cashel and its religious foundations by John
47 In the year 1272, David Mac-Carwill, Archbishop of Cashel, took the lands in possession of the Benedictines near the Cathedral Church of St. Patrick on the Rock, and bestowed them on the Cis- tercians. Moreover, he attached to this
Abbey a Hospital for Lepers, which one David le Latimer, Knight, had erected in Cashel. See Sir James Ware " De Hibernia et Antiquitatibus ejus," cap. xxvi. , p. 204.
48 It is situated in the townlands of Athassel Abbey north, and of Athassel Abbey south, in the parish of Athassel, or
Relickmurry, barony of Clanwilliam, and described on the " Ordnance Survey Town-
"
Rambles in Ireland," written for the Irish
Literary Gazette, vol. ii. , pp. 228, 229. Woodcuts illustrating some of the scenes
accompany this paper.
46 It gives name to the parish of Hore
Abbey, in which it is situated, both town-
land and parish being in the barony of Middlethird, and shown on the " Ordnance
Survey Townland Maps for the County of Tipperary," sheets 60, 61.
S. Sloane, C. E. , among his
Antiquarian
that hitherto royal seat of the Munster kings to God and St. Patrick. 44 The buildings, civil, military, and ecclesiastical, towering from the summit are on a
position of surpassing gran- deur. The Cathedral, the
Teampul Cormaic, the Regal Palace, the Fortress, the Round Tower, all form
a group of ruins, which
must engage the eye of an
architect, antiquary and
man of taste, as having few
rivals of equal interest in
this, or perhaps any other, land. 45 Again, the rich
plain surrounding Cashel contains the ruins of many ancient religious edifices. Among these may be men-
8
Priory,* a foundation for
Canons Regular of the Order of St. Augustine,49 by William Fitz Adelm de
still more ancient Irish Churches. 5 '
Hore 6 Abbey,*
tioned,
situated near the city, and called St. Mary's of the Rock, originally a Bene- dictine, afterwards con- verted into a Cistercian, monastery;4^ Athassel
334 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 14.
On the Rock of Cashel the Eugenian kings s2 of Munster had their Royal
Palace,andonitssummittheyusedtobecrowned. Ontheascentofthe
hill, a large stone is pointed out, on which, according to tradition, the kings of Cashel had formerly been inaugurated with the customary ancient cere-
monies. Aboutthebeginningofthefifthcentury,Core,KingofMunster, took possession of this place, and it has been supposed, that he erected on the Rock a stone fort, which caused it to lose the original name. 53 The Irish Annalshavenoaccountofhisdeath. However,hisgrandson,AengusMac Nadfraich, who is regarded as the first Christian King of Munster, and who
6
held a council in Cashel,5* at which St. Patrick,55 St. Declan. s and St.
s
In subse- quent ages, Cashel of the Kings and of the Bishops was identified with the
AilbeS7 are stated to have been present, died in the year 487,5
glorious memories of the country, as also with the story of its misfortunes.
Those public transactions, relating to Cormac, have greater reference to the civil than to the ecclesiastical history of Ireland. The Four Masters tell
us, that in a. d. 897,59 Finguine, *. *. , Cenngeagain, King of Munster, was
slain his own tribe. 60 in the " Annals of the Four Masters," we by Again,
are informed, at a. d. 896, there was a change of Kings in Cashel, Cormac
Mac Cullenan succeeded to or 01 About the having Cemghegan Finguine.
year 900, has been assigned for the rule over Munster of Cormac, the Prince-
63 Bishop.
throne of
One account states, that who Finguine,
of the when Cormac was
Cashel,
63 a. d.
895,
had been dethroned in
got possession 901,
land Maps for the County of Tipperary," sheets 60, 68.
49 The ruins still remaining are of great interest, and several portions of them are still fairly well-preserved. The illustration given in the text represents the part in
which a beautifully-recessed Gothic door- way remains. The drawing from which the illustration was at first taken has been trans- ferred to the wood, and engraved by Gregor Grey.
50 About the year 1200. By charter King
John confirmed its possessions, April 20th, 1205. It was the burial place of the De
Burgo family. See Sir James Ware, " De Hibernia et Antiquitatibus ejus," cap. xxvi. , p. 205.
51 See Archdall s ** Monasticon Hiberni-
cum," County of Tipperary, pp. 639 to 677. s2 So called from their common eponymous Eoghan or Eugene Mor, who flourished as supreme King of Munster, in the earlier part
of the second century of the Chr—istian era.
Huachtar-lamhann dictum ad Dunandreas, et Borealem partem de Knockgrafann in
He
the first name he bore. It is strange, that
tores," tomus iv. Annales Ultonienses,
is also called Nuadhat
Mogh probably
p.
242.
61 The Annals of Ulster refer this occur-
which is said to
Thomas Moore should
style
him " the
heroic — ofthe of Mogh-Nuad, King province
rence to the
Leinster. " "History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , p. 129.
of the
Annals
11
Corcus Olilli Flannbeg ex Lugadio filio
554. 555. and note ( c >-
62 See Thomas D'Arcy McGee's " Popu-
lar History of Ireland," vol. i. , book ii. ,
chap, iii. , p. 76.
63 Dr. Lanigan follows the Annals of
53 Roderick O'Flaherty thus writes
:
vol. van's edition of the latter work, i. ,
pp.
nepos rex Momoniae et regum Momoniae
stirps primus Casiliae regiam fixit in jam
Tiperarise comitatu, Corca-eathrac dicitur
regio, in qua sita est, quam Amergini filii Milesii posteri olim tenebant a Tipraid-
Innisfallen, as authority for the foregoing farmnn juxta Monasterium S. Crucis and subsequent accounts. See Dr.
longum protensam. " cap. lxxxi. , p. 382.
Ogygia," pars iii. ,
"
—
"
s4 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. Appendix III. ad Septima Vita S. Patricii, pp. 200, 201.
»5See his Life, at the 17th of March, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
56 See his Life, at the 24th of July, in the Seventh Volume of this work, Art. i.
The case of Cormac Mac Cullman is an instance, but by no means a
solitary one, of regal and episcopal rule, even in the particular province, where he was recognised as King and Bishop. One of the first remarkable instances where such powers has been found united in the same person, was in the case of Olchobar, son to Cinaedh, King of Cashel or Munster, and Bishop of Emly. In conjunction with Lorcan, King of Leinster, this prince and prelate gained a signal victory over the Danes at Sciath-Neachtain, near Castledermot, in the year 846. In this battle, Tomhrair, Earl and Tanist to
1
2
Olchobar died in the year 849 . Coenfelad, at the same time King of Cashel
and Bishop over Emly, died in the year 872. 3 Eogan, son to Ceannfaeladh, and abbot ofEmly, died in the year 886, according to the Annals of the Four Masters f . but, as Sir James Ware states, this ecclesiastic, called Prince of Imleach-Ibair or Emly, was slain in the year 889. Tibraid Mac Maelfin, BishoporAbbot,andPrinceofImleach-Ibair,diedintheyear912. 5 Again, with the subject of this present memoir, and his successor on the throne of
O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," 3 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
vol. i. , p. 370, note (b), pp. 474 to 477, Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 480, 481. But,
nn. (a, b).
2
See Sir James Ware. According to the
" Chronicon Scotorum," however, his death
is placed at A. D. 851. See William M. pp. 538, 539.
Hennessy's edition, pp. 150, 151. s See ibid. , vol. ii. , pp. 578, 579.
the King of Lochlann, and twelve hundred of his followers, were slain.
the death of this prince and bishop is placed at a. d. 850, in the Annals of Ulster.
* See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. ,
330 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September14.
Cashel, named Flaithbheartach or Flaherty, and who died in the
we find a union of civil and ecclesiastical power vested in the hands of a single individual. —
In the Book of Lecan or of Sligo an Irish Manuscript to be
——— found in Trinity College Library we are told,? that Cormac's Life
8 doubtless the Life of St. Cormac Mac Cullinan is to be found. Several
modern Irish writers have- allusion to him in their works, such as Rev. Dr.
Jeoffry Keating,9 Rev. Dr. La*nigan,'° Thomas Moore,11 Rev. James Wills,12 EugeneO'Curry,^AlfredWebb/*andThomasD'ArcyMcGee. 's Thereis also an interesting account of him in the u Irish Penny Magazine. " 16
Although his public career is alluded to in nearly all the general Histories of Ireland; yet, little seems to have transpired, which tends to illustrate the period of Cormac's childhood and adolescence. That he was son to Cuileanan, the etymology of his name indicates. We are informed, that he was descended from the branch of the Munster 1 ?
Engenian Royal family, and that he was descended from Aengus, the first Christian King of Munster. 18
Again, it is stated, that Cormac was born, in the year 837. We are told/9
that he received tuition from Sneidhuis, a wise man, living at Disert-Diarmada,
or Castledermot, in the present County of Kildare. This tutor died in the
20
year 885.
ceded the latter event by many years. The acquisition of so much learning, as he is reported to have possessed, shows how the education of seculars, as well as clerics, had not been neglected in the ninth and tenth centuries ; but, whether or not he received his chief training at Castledermot is rather
doubtful, although sufficiently probable.
It has been stated—but on no very trustworthy evidence—that Gormlaith
or Gormflaith, the daughter of Flann Sinna,21 Monarch of Ireland, had been thrice married ; in the first instance, to Cormac Mac Cullenan, King of Munster ; afterwards to Niall Glandubh, Monarch of Ireland, and lastly to Cearbhall, King of Leinster. 22 To her are attributable certain Irish verses,
6
7 See " Lhuyd's
p. 435-
8
See ibid. , pp. 650, 651.
sect, iv. , p. 349, and ibid. , note 37, p.
11 See " History ^of chap, xvii. , pp. 44 to 52.
Ireland,"
vol. ii. ,
It is but reasonable to suppose, that Cormac's instruction pre-
Archaeologia Britannica,"
350.
l8 "
At p. 58.
9 See "General History of Ireland,"
part ii. , pp. 439 to 451. Duffy's edition. 10 "
See Archdeacon Henry Cotton's Fasti Ecclesiae Hibernicse," vol. i. Province of Munster, p. 4.
See Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. Hi. , chap, xxii. , sects, iv. , v. , vi. , pp. 348 to 361.
I9 See the "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 536, 537. Dr. O'Donovan's edition.
*•
See ibid. However, in William M. Hennessy's edition of the "Chronicum Scotorum," his death is placed at A. D. 883. See pp. 170, 171.
"See Wills' "Lives of Illustrious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part i. , second period, pp. 185 to 188.
3I
His reign commenced in 879, and ended
13 See "Lectures On the
Manuscript
A. D. 916, according to Roderick O'Flaherty :
" Flannus Sinna Malachise filius R. H. regis
triginata septem annos. Regnavit annos 36, menses 6, ac dies 5. Obiit 8 Calenda—s
Junii, anno 916, aetatis 68. War. " "
Ogygia," pars iii/, cap. xciii. , p. 434.
Materials of Ancient Irish History," Lect. i. ,
pp. 19, 20, et seq.
14
p. 96.
15 See Popular History of Ireland,"
vol. i. , book ii. , chap, iii. , pp. 75 to 77.
16
Published in Dublin, 1833. See vol. i. . No. 24, for June 15. Ancient Irish Bio-
See "Compendium of Irish Biography,"
graphy, No. xxiv.
pp. 187, 188.
17 See Rev. Dr.
Cormac Mac Cuillenan,
However, the order of those marriages must be incorrect, since Cormac Mac Culli- nan was slain in 908, Cearbhall in 909, and Niall Glandubh in 919. If we lake it for granted, that Niall Glandubh had been her second husband, he must have repudiated
her within or before the when year 909,
Cearbhall had been killed-
" 2'
" Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xxii. ,
Lanigan's
year
Q42,6
September 14. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 331
which profess to relate the deaths of her two latter husbands. 23 Notwith-
2
standing her three royal marriages, it is related, * that afterwards she begged
from door to door, forsaken by all her friends and allies, and glad to be relieved by her inferiors. Should we credit the foregoing statement, we may conjecture, from its being stated, that he was married to Gormlaith, the
daughterofFlann,sontoMaelsechlain,andsonofDomhnall,2* thatCormac's earlier training was not intended to prepare him for the ecclesiastical profession. However, such account does not accord with What is afterwards related, that he was always a virgin. Neither does it seem consistent with the general tenor of his life, as Flann and Cormac were declared enemies, and even hostile opponents, to the end of Cormac's career.
That the subject of this present memoir was made bishop over Cashel,
an account of his merits and 26 we can have no doubt. It is great virtues,
no easy matter to determine, at what time, under what circumstances, or in what place, Cormac had embraced the clerical profession, and had been
advanced to the episcopacy ; yet,. it seems quite certain, he became a bishop before his elevation to the throne of South Munster. 2? If Cormac had been married, either his wife had died previously, or by mutual consent both had agreed to embrace a religious state. His life is said to have passed in the practice of great austerities. The O'Clerys relate, that he used to
sleep
in a hair 28 which he wore at Matins. He was accustomed tunic,
to sing his psalms frequently immersed in water, according to the same
authority.
Before the time of Cormac, it is asserted, that Cashel h—ad not enjoyed its
subsequent pre-eminence of becoming an episcopal see this city having been comprised within the limits of the more ancient Emly diocese. This see continued to exist, for centuries before and after the time of Cormac Mac Cullenan. 29 Its also were for a distinct from those
bishops long period
of Cashel. It is thought to be probable,30 that Cormac was bishop over
Lismore, before he removed to Cashel j because a Cormac, son of Cuillenan, is said to have been bishop of Lismore, about those times. 31 He is related in the Annals of Clonmacnoise to have died in 915, or according to another account in 918,32 while the date for the death of Cormac, son of Cullinan, is
23 See "Three Fragments of Irish Annals," "The Irish Penny Magazine," vol. i. , No. copied by Dubhaltach Mac Firbisigh, and 24. Ancient Irish Biography, No. xxiv. , p.
edited by John O'Donovan, LL. D. , pp. 222, 223, and n. (6).
24 In
learned woman.
25 See "The Martyrology of Donegal," edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 248,
187. 28
William M. Hennessy substitutes "very
for " as a translation. hair,"
Translation of the Annals of Clonmacnoise, at a. d. 905. There she is said to have been a fair, virtuous and
249.
26
This was also in accordance with an
or schism is known to have occurred, between Emly and Cashel ; and that Cormac, while
bishop and King, had been on friendly terms with that prelate, governing the former see.
30 By Rev. Dr. Lanigan.
3I The "Annals of the Four Masters"
Mageoghegan's
thin,"
29 It has been remarked, that no quarrel
Irish custom of promoting distinguished
persons to the episcopal rank, in places place his death at A. D. 918 ; but their
where no bishop had previously been.
editor, Dr. O'Donovan, notes, that he is to be distinguished from Cormac, son of Cuilennan, King of Munster and Archbishop
s
?
Alluding to this union of the ecclesias-
tical and regal dignity in Ireland, a writer
of Corm—ac Mac Cuillenan's memoir of Cashel. See vol. ii. , and n. (w. ) pp. 598,
"
remarks : In no case, however, was the 599.
conferred
except when they succeeded by hereditary nice," Febuarii xvii. De S. Cormaco right, and thus far are the individuals fr—ee Episcopo Athtrumensi. Appendix, cap. i. , from all imputation of sinister ambition. " p. 360.
regal dignity
upon ecclesiastics,
32 See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
33* LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September14.
known to have been in 908. 33 The " Annals of the Four Masters,"34 assign it, however, to a. d. 903. If these dates were correct^ it should follow, that thereweretwodistinctpersons,eachnamedCormacMcCulinan. Notwith- standing, the Rev. Dr. Lanigan attempts to show, that there is no sufficient reason fo—r the admission of two distinct Cormacs, bishops and both sons of
6
Various derivations have been given for the denomination of Cashel :
some writers stating it to have the primitive designation of Sidh-druim,37 or
u afterwards to Caiseal, " a circular stone-fort,"38 and fairy ridge," changed
such probably it was called, before other less ancient buildings crowned the site. It is a simple word, and in Irish local nomenclature often applied where ancient stone-forts are known to have stood,39 while it is moreover very frequently compounded with other designations. To the present saint is attributed another derivation for it. *° Next, we are told, that the ancient name was Carsiol, or " the habitation on the rock," being compounded of
1
Again, place
it had been surrounded by extensive woods. «
In the midst of the rich champaign country of Tipperary, stretching away from the hills of Kilkenny to the Galtee mountains, and from Slievenaman to the Devil's Bit, crowned with its noble ruins, the Rock of Cashel stands
Cullenan theonebelongingtoCashel,theothertoLismore. 3
Moreover, Cashel has been called Cajshil-na-
Gar, or Carrick, and Siol. 4
clog, or " Cashel with the bells," and in other copies Cashel-na-Cnoc, or " Cashel-of-the-hill. "*2 this was known as Drum-feeva, because
33 See the " Three
copied from ancient sources, by Dubhaltach Mac Firbisigh, edited by Dr. John O'Dono- van, pp. 200, 201.
34 See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, pp. 564 to 571.
35 But, at least, argues Dr. Lanigan, the
Fragments
of Annals "
of Irish Names of
History Places," part iii. ,
chap, i. , pp. 276, 277.
39 The assertion of Ebel, followed by
others, cannot be admitted, that the word could have been derived from the Latin word castellum; rather it is probable that the latter term had been derived from the older
Celtic root.
40 In the "Sanas Chormaic," or ''Cormac's
Glossary," attributed to the authorship of St. Cormac Mac Cuoillionain, Translated
and Annotated by Dr. John O'Donovan,
and edited by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , we
find the derivation " following : Caisel,
'Cashel,' i. e. , a casula ; or cis-ail, i. e. , ail c/dsa, rock of tribute, which used to be brought by the men of Ireland to that place ; or ail chise . i. ro-cheis ? " See
for Cormac of Cashel died
former date is not
in 908, and as to 918 for the one of Lismore, it is perhaps a mistake for 908. The Four Masters, when searching in old Annals and documents, might have found Cormac Mac Cuilenan called in some bishop of Lismore,
;
and in others of
supposed, that they were different. Their calling Cormac of Lismore, prince of the
Desies, does not furnish any argument against his having been the same as Cormac of Cashel ; whereas, in conse- quence of being bishop of that great See, situated in the Desies country, while there, he might have got that title, in the same manner as some bishops of Emly, ex. gr. , Eugene Mac-Cenfoelad, who died A. D. 872
36
Cashel,
and thence have
Dr. Lanigan suspects, that the epithet Theasalescop, which had been applied to the
Cormac before he became King of Cashel, alludes to a see more southerly than Cashel, such as Lismore, by calling it the Southern place or establishment, much in the same way as Alcuin spoke of it, in his letter to
"
Colcu. See
Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xxii. , sect, iv. , n. 39, P- 350.
by corruption O'Donohoe. In latter ages,
it is stated, that they were distinguished by
the name of Cartheigh, or "Inhabitants of the rock," whence descended the Mac Carthys, hereditary chiefs of this district. These statements, however, are quite fanciful.
42 In the Poem known as " Terna Egis. "
43 See Richard Rolt Brash's " Ecclesias- tical Architecture of Ireland, to the Close
of the Twelfth
37 Pronounced shee drum.
38 See Dr. P. W.
"
and
Century," chap, vii. , p. 91-
Ecclesiastical History of
Joyce's
Origin
P- 33-
41 "
See Seward's Topographia Hibernica,"
at the word Cashel. There, we are told,
that there was a dun or royal fort of the
chieftains of Egonach Cashel, in which terri-
tory it is situate ; and, moreover, that from
their habitations on this insulated rock, its
possessors were called Ily-Dun-na-moi, or
"
Chiefs of the royal fori of the plain,"
September 14. ]
LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 333
out to the eye a most conspicuous and the grandest object in that vast plain. In addition to those elevated surroundings, from the Rock itself may be seen the Limerick and Waterford mountains with the distant Slieve Bloom, on the horizon'sverge. Itseemsprobable,thattheroyalresidenceontheRockof Cashel solely occupied that site, until the year 1 101, when Morough O'Brien convened a great assembly of the clergy and people, in which he made over
Burgo ;
s°
the ruins of
many
Athassel Abbey, near Cashel.
besijjes,
44 See the Annates IV. Magistrorum, at
a. d. 1101, in Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hiber-
nicarum Scriptores," tomus hi. , pp. 677, 678. 45 There is an interesting account of Cashel and its religious foundations by John
47 In the year 1272, David Mac-Carwill, Archbishop of Cashel, took the lands in possession of the Benedictines near the Cathedral Church of St. Patrick on the Rock, and bestowed them on the Cis- tercians. Moreover, he attached to this
Abbey a Hospital for Lepers, which one David le Latimer, Knight, had erected in Cashel. See Sir James Ware " De Hibernia et Antiquitatibus ejus," cap. xxvi. , p. 204.
48 It is situated in the townlands of Athassel Abbey north, and of Athassel Abbey south, in the parish of Athassel, or
Relickmurry, barony of Clanwilliam, and described on the " Ordnance Survey Town-
"
Rambles in Ireland," written for the Irish
Literary Gazette, vol. ii. , pp. 228, 229. Woodcuts illustrating some of the scenes
accompany this paper.
46 It gives name to the parish of Hore
Abbey, in which it is situated, both town-
land and parish being in the barony of Middlethird, and shown on the " Ordnance
Survey Townland Maps for the County of Tipperary," sheets 60, 61.
S. Sloane, C. E. , among his
Antiquarian
that hitherto royal seat of the Munster kings to God and St. Patrick. 44 The buildings, civil, military, and ecclesiastical, towering from the summit are on a
position of surpassing gran- deur. The Cathedral, the
Teampul Cormaic, the Regal Palace, the Fortress, the Round Tower, all form
a group of ruins, which
must engage the eye of an
architect, antiquary and
man of taste, as having few
rivals of equal interest in
this, or perhaps any other, land. 45 Again, the rich
plain surrounding Cashel contains the ruins of many ancient religious edifices. Among these may be men-
8
Priory,* a foundation for
Canons Regular of the Order of St. Augustine,49 by William Fitz Adelm de
still more ancient Irish Churches. 5 '
Hore 6 Abbey,*
tioned,
situated near the city, and called St. Mary's of the Rock, originally a Bene- dictine, afterwards con- verted into a Cistercian, monastery;4^ Athassel
334 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 14.
On the Rock of Cashel the Eugenian kings s2 of Munster had their Royal
Palace,andonitssummittheyusedtobecrowned. Ontheascentofthe
hill, a large stone is pointed out, on which, according to tradition, the kings of Cashel had formerly been inaugurated with the customary ancient cere-
monies. Aboutthebeginningofthefifthcentury,Core,KingofMunster, took possession of this place, and it has been supposed, that he erected on the Rock a stone fort, which caused it to lose the original name. 53 The Irish Annalshavenoaccountofhisdeath. However,hisgrandson,AengusMac Nadfraich, who is regarded as the first Christian King of Munster, and who
6
held a council in Cashel,5* at which St. Patrick,55 St. Declan. s and St.
s
In subse- quent ages, Cashel of the Kings and of the Bishops was identified with the
AilbeS7 are stated to have been present, died in the year 487,5
glorious memories of the country, as also with the story of its misfortunes.
Those public transactions, relating to Cormac, have greater reference to the civil than to the ecclesiastical history of Ireland. The Four Masters tell
us, that in a. d. 897,59 Finguine, *. *. , Cenngeagain, King of Munster, was
slain his own tribe. 60 in the " Annals of the Four Masters," we by Again,
are informed, at a. d. 896, there was a change of Kings in Cashel, Cormac
Mac Cullenan succeeded to or 01 About the having Cemghegan Finguine.
year 900, has been assigned for the rule over Munster of Cormac, the Prince-
63 Bishop.
throne of
One account states, that who Finguine,
of the when Cormac was
Cashel,
63 a. d.
895,
had been dethroned in
got possession 901,
land Maps for the County of Tipperary," sheets 60, 68.
49 The ruins still remaining are of great interest, and several portions of them are still fairly well-preserved. The illustration given in the text represents the part in
which a beautifully-recessed Gothic door- way remains. The drawing from which the illustration was at first taken has been trans- ferred to the wood, and engraved by Gregor Grey.
50 About the year 1200. By charter King
John confirmed its possessions, April 20th, 1205. It was the burial place of the De
Burgo family. See Sir James Ware, " De Hibernia et Antiquitatibus ejus," cap. xxvi. , p. 205.
51 See Archdall s ** Monasticon Hiberni-
cum," County of Tipperary, pp. 639 to 677. s2 So called from their common eponymous Eoghan or Eugene Mor, who flourished as supreme King of Munster, in the earlier part
of the second century of the Chr—istian era.
Huachtar-lamhann dictum ad Dunandreas, et Borealem partem de Knockgrafann in
He
the first name he bore. It is strange, that
tores," tomus iv. Annales Ultonienses,
is also called Nuadhat
Mogh probably
p.
242.
61 The Annals of Ulster refer this occur-
which is said to
Thomas Moore should
style
him " the
heroic — ofthe of Mogh-Nuad, King province
rence to the
Leinster. " "History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , p. 129.
of the
Annals
11
Corcus Olilli Flannbeg ex Lugadio filio
554. 555. and note ( c >-
62 See Thomas D'Arcy McGee's " Popu-
lar History of Ireland," vol. i. , book ii. ,
chap, iii. , p. 76.
63 Dr. Lanigan follows the Annals of
53 Roderick O'Flaherty thus writes
:
vol. van's edition of the latter work, i. ,
pp.
nepos rex Momoniae et regum Momoniae
stirps primus Casiliae regiam fixit in jam
Tiperarise comitatu, Corca-eathrac dicitur
regio, in qua sita est, quam Amergini filii Milesii posteri olim tenebant a Tipraid-
Innisfallen, as authority for the foregoing farmnn juxta Monasterium S. Crucis and subsequent accounts. See Dr.
longum protensam. " cap. lxxxi. , p. 382.
Ogygia," pars iii. ,
"
—
"
s4 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. Appendix III. ad Septima Vita S. Patricii, pp. 200, 201.
»5See his Life, at the 17th of March, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
56 See his Life, at the 24th of July, in the Seventh Volume of this work, Art. i.
