He is
mentioned
in the list ofsaintsfoundintheMartyrologyofDonegal.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v2
^7 The period, at which this St.
Meldan flourished, does not allow us to conclude, that he was identical with him, mentioned in St.
Fursey's Acts.
In the account of St.
Fursey's vision, by Venerable Bede,^^ he alludes to the appearance among the angels of holy and just men.
These he does not specially name, but, we are told, they wereScots,andofSt.
Fursey'sownnation; thatataformerperiod,theywere celebrated, and that they had not unworthily enjoyed the grade of priests.
It is likely, they were named in the more ancient little book of St.
Fursey's Life, to which Bede alludes, and quotes as an authority, for a brief account of the vision.
In all the other Acts of St.
Fursey^^ published, Meldan is the name of that holy person,^^ who was at first—his spiritual father, and who was living—on the island, designated Esbren^' supposed to be incorrectly so called when Fursey visited his part of the country.
Loch Oirbsen*^ was the ancient name for the present Lough Corrib, in the county of Galway.
On an island of this lake.
Saint Meldan's religious establishment was situated.
^3 As we have already stated, this island seems to have been the one, now known as Inchiquin.
Here it is thought, that St.
Meldan lived, a disciple of St.
Brendan, who died on the i6th of May, a.
d.
576 or 577, as generally supposed.
^* If so, St.
Meldan was born, probably, about the middle of the sixth century.
It is conjectured, also, that he aided his pupil, St.
Fursey, in ministerialworks,especiallywhilepreaching.
^'s AlthoughSt.
Meldanisonly noticed, as a priest, by Venerable Bede ; yet, it has been urged,^^ that he probablyattainedepiscopalrank,^?
owingtohistalentsandrenown.
=^ He probably lived, too, as an anchoret.
It seems highly probable, that the St.
Meldan, who dwelt at Inchiquin, and who flourished about the year 58o,='9 died soon after he had formed the acquaintance of St. Fursey, and in the earlier part of the seventh century, before the commencement of those re- markable visions Fursey had while living in the province of Connaught. In St. Fursey's Acts, at the i6th of January, Saints Meldan and Beoan seem to be
'4 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " May—is said to have built the religious
Jocelyn's or Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xciii. , p. 86.
house, at this place,
^5 In the Second Book.
Hibhsean, in Western Connaught.
=3 Yxom him it seems to have taken the See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Feb- name of the Island of Mac-Hua-Coinn, or
'^ So is the place written by Henschen.
ruarii vii. De S. Medano, sive Meldano,
&c. , num. 6, p. 67,
^7 The name seems resolvable into Clon-
craff or Clooncrave. The place has not
Inisquin, now Inchaquin. See more re- garding it in the Life of St. Fursey, at the
i6th of January, chapter iii.
=4 See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical His-
tory of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, x. , sect, vii. , See Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis and n. 120, pp. 30, 38.
been identified.
^^ "
Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. 19, pp. 211, 212. '5> See what has been already stated, in
his Life at the 16th of January.
"^ He is called Mac-Hua-Coinn, because
=5 See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nite," vii. Februarii. De S. Meldano, cap. i. and n. 7, pp. 269, 271.
=^ By Colgan, ibid, and n. 8.
his origin had been derived from the cele-
brated Monarch of Ireland, Conn of the
Hundred Battles. See Colgan's "Acta
Sanctorum Hibernife," Februarii vii. De Meldans, who were bishops, in liber ordi-
S. Meldano, Episcopo et Confessore, n. i. ,
num, cap. i. Colgan thinks one or other of these must have been the present saint.
p. 271. —
='
St. Brendan venerated on the i6th of
='
In Colgan's opinion.
==*
It is said to have been in the region of
=7 By Sacerdos was often meant Episco- pus, according to a usage of ancient writers. =^ St. yEngus the Culdee enumerates two
February 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, 393
considered as Irishmen, by birth. Even it is said there, St. Fursey, on look- ing, beheld these two venerable men of that province, in which the man of God was bom. 30 St. Meldan was the one most familiar, as the Sinedrus or spiritual director of Fursa, who afterwards went to Peronne, according to Cathal Maguire. 3'^ But, at the time of the vision, Meldan was already dead, and numbered among the blessed ; while, his remains were most probably interred, in the first instance, at Inisquin, on Lough Corrib,32 some time after the beginning of the seventh century. Probably, when St. Fursey left Ireland for England, and subsequently for France, he did not chose to dis- turb St. Meldan's remains, while not assured he could find a suitable place for their deposition. Unquestionably this was the St. Meldan that appeared in vision to his disciple and spiritual son, the future Abbot of Lagny, and whose relics the latter brought over to France when there established. Mention is made, regarding another apparition of this St. Meldan to a monk, namedColman. 33 Whetherthishappenedbefore,orafter,thedeathofSt. Comgall,34 has not been determined. Judging by the narrative in the Acts of St. Fursey, St. Meldan was not living, when the Irish missionary went to Gaul. 35 His relics were brought to France, however, by St. Fursey, who deposited them at Perrone, Picardy. Of this town, he is regarded as a
and there honoured. 3^ The translation of St. Meldan's from body
patron,
Ireland probably took place, after Erchinoald37 had founded the Church of
Saints Peter and Paul, on the top of the mount at Cignes, near Perrone.
This happened during the lifetime of St. Fursey, who deposited in this church, moreover, the bodies or relics of St. Bean or Beoan, of St. Patrick,38
and of many other saints,39 as sacred pledges, while through their merits many miracles were afterwards wrought. In this church, St. Fursey himself loved to pray. However, in the seventeenth century, local traditions had not preserved a recollection of the exact spot, where those saintly reHcs lay, at Perrone. The neglect of preceding generations, or the ravages of time, had caused this total oblivion. ^o It does not seem probable, that this St. Meldan, who was a priest, can be identified with the succeeding St. Meldan, called a bishop. '^^ According to Colgan,^^ St. ^ngus places the natal day of St. Meldanus with that of his companions, SS. Nassadius and Beodanus, at the26thofOctober. 43 Atthissamedate,theMartyrologyofTallaghtsays, that three saints from Britain lived at Tamlachta Umhail, in the region of
3° In Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," xvi, Januarii. Vita S. P'urssei, lib. i. , cap. xxi. , p. 79. Also, Desmay's Life of St. Fursey, chapter vii. , at the 9th of Feb-
^s gee Bishop Challoner's ''Britannia
Sancta," part i,, p. ill.
37 He was Major-domo to King Clevis II.
of France,
38 it is difficult to determine who these
saints were, as we find multiple names in our calendars.
39 Whether of Ireland or of the Continent cannot be known.
^o c^gg " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," Februarii vii. De S. Meldano, Epis- copo et Confessore, cap. iv,, v. , p. 270.
288.
31 When treating about St. Fursey, at the
1 6th of January.
32 See the highly interesting description of this fine expanse of water, in Sir William
ruary, ibid. , p.
R. Wilde's "
Lough
Corrib, its Shores and
Islands ; with some notices of Lough Mask,"
chap. ii. , pp. 18 to 38, with Appendix B.
4i See the BoUandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Februarii vii. De S. Medano, 34 His departure is usually assigned to sive Meldano. Commentarius prasvius,
33 This is related in the Life of St. Com- gall, chapter Iv.
the loth of May, a. d. 601. See his Life at
num. 5, p. 67. ''
that
35 Colgan supposes St. Meldan died before
the year 626. See "Acta Sanctorum Hi- bemias," vii. Februarii. De S. Meldano, Episcopo et Confessore, cap. v. , and n. ii, p. 271.
'^See ActaSanctorumHibemise,"Feb-
day.
ruariivii,, n. I, p. 271.
43 The reader is referred to their Acts, at
that day, where further remarks, in reference to the Saints Meldan and Beoan, of St. Fursey's vision, will be found.
394 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIJ^TS. [February 7.
Ivechia, in Ultonia. They dwelt near Lake Bricreann. 44 These tliree are called Nasad; Beoan and Mellan. They lived in the same church. As tlieir province was Ultonia, however, this seems alone sufficient to make us doubt, if the Beoan and Meldan of St. Fursey's vision can be identified with two of thenumberhavingaccordantnames. ^s Thissaintmusthavebeenfamous atonetime,sincemanychurcheswerededicatedtohim. Sometimes,aswe aretold,heiscalledMedan. ^*^ Theremovalofhisremains,toafardistant land, does not appear to have occasioned forgetfulness of his merits and miracles in the province, which seems to have been the one that can best lay claim to his nativity. Around the beautiful shores and islands of Lough Corrib, his name was long a household word.
He is mentioned in the list ofsaintsfoundintheMartyrologyofDonegal. 47 Thereweread,asbeing venerated on this day, Meallan, Mac Ui Cuinn, of Inis Mac Ui Cuinn, in
LochOirbsen,inConnaught. TheRev. S. Baring-Gould,remarkingonthe loss of his Acts, refers his period to the end of the sixth century. ^^ At pre- sent, not even a trace of his former hermitage remains.
Article V. —St. Aid, Aedh, or Aidus, Bishop of Sleaty, Queen's County. \Seve71th Cefitury. '\ Beside the River Barrow, where St. Fiach^ founded his early religious establishment, in the fifth century, dwelt this venerable man, who is called an anchorite. He appears, further- more, to have attained a still higher distinction, in connexion with this place. The name. Aid, Bishop of Sleibthe, is the only mention made of him, in the Martyrology of Tallagh. ^ He was probably abbot, as well as bishop, over the religious community, that lived at Sleaty or Sletty. The situation of this house has been pointed out, by Ussher, as having been on the White Plain, neartheRiverBerbhaorBarrow. 3 Forthisstatement,hequotesthetesti-
mony of the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick ; and, yet, in that copy, published by Colgan, we look in vain for verification of this reference. * It has generally
been assumed, that Sleibthe,5 so written by all Irish autliorities,^ must have derived its name from its contiguity to the hills or mountain range of Slieve
Marigue. ^ Itshouldberemarked,however,thatSleatyorSlettyoldchurch^ was on a level site, surrounded by its enclosed graveyard, near the right bank of the River Barrow, and removed some miles from the Sliabh Mairge
^° It lies two miles northward of Carlow and it seems town,
range.
44 This account is confirmed by the Scho-
liast on ^ngus, and by the Martyrology of Cashel.
45 The time, moreover, does not
For the Mellan or Meldan of St. Fursey's acquaintance flourished long before Beoan and Mellan, here mentioned, who are called the uncles of St, Cuthbert. Their respec- tive pedigrees also differ.
4^ See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of
the Saints," vol. ii. , February vii. , p. J93. *^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
40>41-
4^ See "Lives of the Saints," vol. ii. ,
February vii. , p. 193.
Article v. —' See his Life at the 12th
of October.
=
Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xv.
3 See " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xvii. , p. 449.
See "Trias Thaumaturga. " Septima
pretty
agree.
^ See Dr. P. W. " and Joyce's Origin
History of Irish Names of Places," part iv. , chap, i. , p. 367.
^ It now gives name to a barony in the
Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap. xxi. , to xxv.
pp. 152, 153. s"
Pronounced Sleaty. "
Queen's County.
« **
See Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (c), p. 300.
9 The townland and small parish of Sleaty
are noted on the " Ordnance Survey Town-
landMapsfortheQueen'sCounty. " Sheet
32. ^o
Yet, the author of the Tripartite Life, who seems to have known the situation well, translates Slepte, by the Latin word
"montes. " See Colgan's "Trias Thau- maturga. " Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. m. , cap. xxiii. , p. 153.
February 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 395
evident," that in former times the Barrow once formed a lough, in the inter-
mediate space. " We read in the Martyrology of Donega^s as being venerated
on this day, Aedh, Bishop of Slebte. The " Ciin Adamnain" states, that he
was one the saints whom Adamnan ^'> found as to free the among security,
women of Ireland from every slavery which was upon them. Both of these holy men were contemporaries ; and the year of Adamnan's death we know to have been 703. ^5 Colgan^° and the Bollandists^7 assign the festival of St. Aidus, to the 7th of February. Yet, Colgan has no special Acts at the present date. Under the head of Slebhte, Duald Mac Firbis enters Aedh, a disciple of Palrick,^^ Bishop of Slebhte, at February the 7th. '9 His death is set down at A. D. 696,=^° 698^' or 199. " His birth and death appear to have happened within the seventh century.
Article VI. —St. Ronan, Bishop and Confessor, Scotland. \Seventh Century? ^ In our collection, the names of many saints, connected with Scodand, are to be found, because especially during the sixth and seventh centuries, the Scottish missions were most generally served by natives of Ireland. When the nativities of such missionaries are undiscovered or doubtful—as in the present case—we feel inclined, most usually, to believe,
when the names are thoroughly Irish, when the time fell within the Albanian missionary period, and as Ireland was almost the sole recruiting soil—to furnish Scotia Minor with her ministers, that we may c-onditionally claim —at least untilpresumptionofthefactbedisturbedbyconclusiveevidence aplace in our national records, for several of the early Scottish saints. No doubt, many of the latter were natives of Scotland, and had no further connexion with Ireland, except in so far, as they received their religious training and instruction, from Irish ecclesiastics and teachers, at lona, and elsewhere, in Scotland. But, the investigations of Irish and Scottish searchers, in the domains of antiquity, are still further required, to determine the nativities of numberless individuals, noted in the old kalendars and breviaries of Scot- land. ^ The task, no doubt, is a discouraging one, owing to its inherent difficulties ; yet, with perseverance and discrimination, much may be done. In the Kalendars of Ferrarius and of Adam King, at this date, a festival is assigned to a St. Ronane, who is called a bishop and a confessor. ^ There arenolessons,however,norrubricaldirectionsconcerninghisservice; neither ishementionedintheArbuthnottKalendar. 3 HeflourishedinScotland,'^
" From an examination of the river's Academy. " Irish MSS. series, vol. i. , part
valley-conformation. i. , pp. 126, 127.
•^ ^^ **
Carlow is so called, from its ancient "cahir," where the old castle of the town now stands, and from the "loch," imme- diately north of it.
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
40, 41.
^* See his Life at the 23rd of September.
"
^s See Dr. O'Donovan's
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 304 to 307.
^^ See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise,"
xxxi. Januarii. Appendix ad Acta S . Mai- doci, cap. i. , p. 221.
^7 See "Acta Sanctorum," Februarii vii. ,
See William M. Hennessy's Chroni- con Scotorum. "
-^ See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 299 to 301.
^^ " — thisdate. The AnnalsofUlster"give
^ of Article vi. The circumstance
various missionaries and saints, in Scotland, being omitted from our Irish martyrologies and annals does not militate against our claim to their nativities; for, many of the most celebrated Irish saints, venerated in Great Britain, and on the Continent of Europe, are only known to us, through the study of foreign records,
^3
"
jecti," pp. 2, 3. Old edition.
tomus ii.
Prsetermissi et in alios dies re-
^^ We do not think this
to
19See"ProceedingsoftheRoyalIrish
title, however, be warranted on any good authority.
p. 144.
Annals of the
^
Scottish Saints,"
3 See ibid. , p. 441. 4Ferrariusstates,about603. Dempster
See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
396 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February 7.
under King Malduine,s who is said to have reigned from a. d. 664 to 684. ^ St. Ronan lived in Kilmanora, or Kilmanoren, in the Scottish province of Lennocia,7orLevenax. ThisRonanusissaid^tohavebeenthesameashe who is mentioned by Venerable Bede. 9 The present saint is supposed to have been connected with the following places in Scotland. '" The Kil- maronen, in Levenax, is probably the parish of Kilmaronock," which name is formed from that of the saint ; thus, Ma-ron-og, with an honorary prefix and suffix, Kilmaronag, in Muckairn ;" Tempul Ronain,'3 the ancient name for the parish church of Hy ;'^ Eoroby, in the old parish of Ness ;'5 Island of Ronay, off Raasay ;'^ Rona Island,'7 sixty miles north-north-east of the Lewes j'^ St. Ronan's Isle, which is a peninsulated eminence at high tide, and lying off the west coast'9 of the mainland in Zetland,=° Port-Ronain, the principal landing-place in the Island of lona f^ all the foregoing places are thought to have been called after the present St. Ronan. He is not mentioned in our Irish Calendars, at this date, although he may have been anIrishmanbybirth; but,hemustcertainlybedistinguishedfromSt. Ronan Fionn,commemoratedatLannRonain. -^' However,PatherInnesconfounds both ;-3 and the present saint may or may not be the Scottish Ronan,=4 by
nation, who was St. Finan's polemical opponent. A singular mistake has been committed,^5 in identifying the latter with a patron of Insula Ronan. '^^ Bede's Ronan flourished about the year 652, and yet his death is placed at A. D. 778. At the year 736, the "Annals of Ulster" enter the death of Ronain, Abbot of Cinngaraid f^ but, as we are told, St. ^ngus^^ places this saint, at the 9th of February, we may doubt, if he may be identified with the
has a St. Ronan, Bishop of the Scots, at the Here, too, are some crosses,
sect,
"
^^
year; —
same but, his feast is assigned to the
Local legends relate, that St. Ronan came to Rona from Eorapiall where a chapel was dedicated to him—on the back of a whale. It is said, he found it inhabited by hairy creatures, who backed out into the sea before him, while leaving their marks in scratches on the rocks. See Muir's "Cha- racteristics of Architecture," p. 199, and Martin's "Western Islands of Scotland," pp. 19 to 25.
^9 In the bay of Scalloway. =° "
17th of February.
s He is noticed as the fifty-fifth King of
Scotland.
^ See the Chronology of George Buchanan,
in " Rerum Scoticarum Historia," lib. v. , pp. 146, 147.
^ According to the Breviary of Aberdeen. ^ By Camerarius, "De Scotorum Forti-
tudine," p. 96.
9 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis An-
glorum," lib. iii. , cap. 25, p. 233.
'° See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," pp.
Meldan, who dwelt at Inchiquin, and who flourished about the year 58o,='9 died soon after he had formed the acquaintance of St. Fursey, and in the earlier part of the seventh century, before the commencement of those re- markable visions Fursey had while living in the province of Connaught. In St. Fursey's Acts, at the i6th of January, Saints Meldan and Beoan seem to be
'4 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " May—is said to have built the religious
Jocelyn's or Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xciii. , p. 86.
house, at this place,
^5 In the Second Book.
Hibhsean, in Western Connaught.
=3 Yxom him it seems to have taken the See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Feb- name of the Island of Mac-Hua-Coinn, or
'^ So is the place written by Henschen.
ruarii vii. De S. Medano, sive Meldano,
&c. , num. 6, p. 67,
^7 The name seems resolvable into Clon-
craff or Clooncrave. The place has not
Inisquin, now Inchaquin. See more re- garding it in the Life of St. Fursey, at the
i6th of January, chapter iii.
=4 See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical His-
tory of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, x. , sect, vii. , See Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis and n. 120, pp. 30, 38.
been identified.
^^ "
Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. 19, pp. 211, 212. '5> See what has been already stated, in
his Life at the 16th of January.
"^ He is called Mac-Hua-Coinn, because
=5 See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nite," vii. Februarii. De S. Meldano, cap. i. and n. 7, pp. 269, 271.
=^ By Colgan, ibid, and n. 8.
his origin had been derived from the cele-
brated Monarch of Ireland, Conn of the
Hundred Battles. See Colgan's "Acta
Sanctorum Hibernife," Februarii vii. De Meldans, who were bishops, in liber ordi-
S. Meldano, Episcopo et Confessore, n. i. ,
num, cap. i. Colgan thinks one or other of these must have been the present saint.
p. 271. —
='
St. Brendan venerated on the i6th of
='
In Colgan's opinion.
==*
It is said to have been in the region of
=7 By Sacerdos was often meant Episco- pus, according to a usage of ancient writers. =^ St. yEngus the Culdee enumerates two
February 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, 393
considered as Irishmen, by birth. Even it is said there, St. Fursey, on look- ing, beheld these two venerable men of that province, in which the man of God was bom. 30 St. Meldan was the one most familiar, as the Sinedrus or spiritual director of Fursa, who afterwards went to Peronne, according to Cathal Maguire. 3'^ But, at the time of the vision, Meldan was already dead, and numbered among the blessed ; while, his remains were most probably interred, in the first instance, at Inisquin, on Lough Corrib,32 some time after the beginning of the seventh century. Probably, when St. Fursey left Ireland for England, and subsequently for France, he did not chose to dis- turb St. Meldan's remains, while not assured he could find a suitable place for their deposition. Unquestionably this was the St. Meldan that appeared in vision to his disciple and spiritual son, the future Abbot of Lagny, and whose relics the latter brought over to France when there established. Mention is made, regarding another apparition of this St. Meldan to a monk, namedColman. 33 Whetherthishappenedbefore,orafter,thedeathofSt. Comgall,34 has not been determined. Judging by the narrative in the Acts of St. Fursey, St. Meldan was not living, when the Irish missionary went to Gaul. 35 His relics were brought to France, however, by St. Fursey, who deposited them at Perrone, Picardy. Of this town, he is regarded as a
and there honoured. 3^ The translation of St. Meldan's from body
patron,
Ireland probably took place, after Erchinoald37 had founded the Church of
Saints Peter and Paul, on the top of the mount at Cignes, near Perrone.
This happened during the lifetime of St. Fursey, who deposited in this church, moreover, the bodies or relics of St. Bean or Beoan, of St. Patrick,38
and of many other saints,39 as sacred pledges, while through their merits many miracles were afterwards wrought. In this church, St. Fursey himself loved to pray. However, in the seventeenth century, local traditions had not preserved a recollection of the exact spot, where those saintly reHcs lay, at Perrone. The neglect of preceding generations, or the ravages of time, had caused this total oblivion. ^o It does not seem probable, that this St. Meldan, who was a priest, can be identified with the succeeding St. Meldan, called a bishop. '^^ According to Colgan,^^ St. ^ngus places the natal day of St. Meldanus with that of his companions, SS. Nassadius and Beodanus, at the26thofOctober. 43 Atthissamedate,theMartyrologyofTallaghtsays, that three saints from Britain lived at Tamlachta Umhail, in the region of
3° In Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," xvi, Januarii. Vita S. P'urssei, lib. i. , cap. xxi. , p. 79. Also, Desmay's Life of St. Fursey, chapter vii. , at the 9th of Feb-
^s gee Bishop Challoner's ''Britannia
Sancta," part i,, p. ill.
37 He was Major-domo to King Clevis II.
of France,
38 it is difficult to determine who these
saints were, as we find multiple names in our calendars.
39 Whether of Ireland or of the Continent cannot be known.
^o c^gg " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," Februarii vii. De S. Meldano, Epis- copo et Confessore, cap. iv,, v. , p. 270.
288.
31 When treating about St. Fursey, at the
1 6th of January.
32 See the highly interesting description of this fine expanse of water, in Sir William
ruary, ibid. , p.
R. Wilde's "
Lough
Corrib, its Shores and
Islands ; with some notices of Lough Mask,"
chap. ii. , pp. 18 to 38, with Appendix B.
4i See the BoUandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Februarii vii. De S. Medano, 34 His departure is usually assigned to sive Meldano. Commentarius prasvius,
33 This is related in the Life of St. Com- gall, chapter Iv.
the loth of May, a. d. 601. See his Life at
num. 5, p. 67. ''
that
35 Colgan supposes St. Meldan died before
the year 626. See "Acta Sanctorum Hi- bemias," vii. Februarii. De S. Meldano, Episcopo et Confessore, cap. v. , and n. ii, p. 271.
'^See ActaSanctorumHibemise,"Feb-
day.
ruariivii,, n. I, p. 271.
43 The reader is referred to their Acts, at
that day, where further remarks, in reference to the Saints Meldan and Beoan, of St. Fursey's vision, will be found.
394 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIJ^TS. [February 7.
Ivechia, in Ultonia. They dwelt near Lake Bricreann. 44 These tliree are called Nasad; Beoan and Mellan. They lived in the same church. As tlieir province was Ultonia, however, this seems alone sufficient to make us doubt, if the Beoan and Meldan of St. Fursey's vision can be identified with two of thenumberhavingaccordantnames. ^s Thissaintmusthavebeenfamous atonetime,sincemanychurcheswerededicatedtohim. Sometimes,aswe aretold,heiscalledMedan. ^*^ Theremovalofhisremains,toafardistant land, does not appear to have occasioned forgetfulness of his merits and miracles in the province, which seems to have been the one that can best lay claim to his nativity. Around the beautiful shores and islands of Lough Corrib, his name was long a household word.
He is mentioned in the list ofsaintsfoundintheMartyrologyofDonegal. 47 Thereweread,asbeing venerated on this day, Meallan, Mac Ui Cuinn, of Inis Mac Ui Cuinn, in
LochOirbsen,inConnaught. TheRev. S. Baring-Gould,remarkingonthe loss of his Acts, refers his period to the end of the sixth century. ^^ At pre- sent, not even a trace of his former hermitage remains.
Article V. —St. Aid, Aedh, or Aidus, Bishop of Sleaty, Queen's County. \Seve71th Cefitury. '\ Beside the River Barrow, where St. Fiach^ founded his early religious establishment, in the fifth century, dwelt this venerable man, who is called an anchorite. He appears, further- more, to have attained a still higher distinction, in connexion with this place. The name. Aid, Bishop of Sleibthe, is the only mention made of him, in the Martyrology of Tallagh. ^ He was probably abbot, as well as bishop, over the religious community, that lived at Sleaty or Sletty. The situation of this house has been pointed out, by Ussher, as having been on the White Plain, neartheRiverBerbhaorBarrow. 3 Forthisstatement,hequotesthetesti-
mony of the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick ; and, yet, in that copy, published by Colgan, we look in vain for verification of this reference. * It has generally
been assumed, that Sleibthe,5 so written by all Irish autliorities,^ must have derived its name from its contiguity to the hills or mountain range of Slieve
Marigue. ^ Itshouldberemarked,however,thatSleatyorSlettyoldchurch^ was on a level site, surrounded by its enclosed graveyard, near the right bank of the River Barrow, and removed some miles from the Sliabh Mairge
^° It lies two miles northward of Carlow and it seems town,
range.
44 This account is confirmed by the Scho-
liast on ^ngus, and by the Martyrology of Cashel.
45 The time, moreover, does not
For the Mellan or Meldan of St. Fursey's acquaintance flourished long before Beoan and Mellan, here mentioned, who are called the uncles of St, Cuthbert. Their respec- tive pedigrees also differ.
4^ See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of
the Saints," vol. ii. , February vii. , p. J93. *^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
40>41-
4^ See "Lives of the Saints," vol. ii. ,
February vii. , p. 193.
Article v. —' See his Life at the 12th
of October.
=
Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xv.
3 See " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xvii. , p. 449.
See "Trias Thaumaturga. " Septima
pretty
agree.
^ See Dr. P. W. " and Joyce's Origin
History of Irish Names of Places," part iv. , chap, i. , p. 367.
^ It now gives name to a barony in the
Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap. xxi. , to xxv.
pp. 152, 153. s"
Pronounced Sleaty. "
Queen's County.
« **
See Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (c), p. 300.
9 The townland and small parish of Sleaty
are noted on the " Ordnance Survey Town-
landMapsfortheQueen'sCounty. " Sheet
32. ^o
Yet, the author of the Tripartite Life, who seems to have known the situation well, translates Slepte, by the Latin word
"montes. " See Colgan's "Trias Thau- maturga. " Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. m. , cap. xxiii. , p. 153.
February 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 395
evident," that in former times the Barrow once formed a lough, in the inter-
mediate space. " We read in the Martyrology of Donega^s as being venerated
on this day, Aedh, Bishop of Slebte. The " Ciin Adamnain" states, that he
was one the saints whom Adamnan ^'> found as to free the among security,
women of Ireland from every slavery which was upon them. Both of these holy men were contemporaries ; and the year of Adamnan's death we know to have been 703. ^5 Colgan^° and the Bollandists^7 assign the festival of St. Aidus, to the 7th of February. Yet, Colgan has no special Acts at the present date. Under the head of Slebhte, Duald Mac Firbis enters Aedh, a disciple of Palrick,^^ Bishop of Slebhte, at February the 7th. '9 His death is set down at A. D. 696,=^° 698^' or 199. " His birth and death appear to have happened within the seventh century.
Article VI. —St. Ronan, Bishop and Confessor, Scotland. \Seventh Century? ^ In our collection, the names of many saints, connected with Scodand, are to be found, because especially during the sixth and seventh centuries, the Scottish missions were most generally served by natives of Ireland. When the nativities of such missionaries are undiscovered or doubtful—as in the present case—we feel inclined, most usually, to believe,
when the names are thoroughly Irish, when the time fell within the Albanian missionary period, and as Ireland was almost the sole recruiting soil—to furnish Scotia Minor with her ministers, that we may c-onditionally claim —at least untilpresumptionofthefactbedisturbedbyconclusiveevidence aplace in our national records, for several of the early Scottish saints. No doubt, many of the latter were natives of Scotland, and had no further connexion with Ireland, except in so far, as they received their religious training and instruction, from Irish ecclesiastics and teachers, at lona, and elsewhere, in Scotland. But, the investigations of Irish and Scottish searchers, in the domains of antiquity, are still further required, to determine the nativities of numberless individuals, noted in the old kalendars and breviaries of Scot- land. ^ The task, no doubt, is a discouraging one, owing to its inherent difficulties ; yet, with perseverance and discrimination, much may be done. In the Kalendars of Ferrarius and of Adam King, at this date, a festival is assigned to a St. Ronane, who is called a bishop and a confessor. ^ There arenolessons,however,norrubricaldirectionsconcerninghisservice; neither ishementionedintheArbuthnottKalendar. 3 HeflourishedinScotland,'^
" From an examination of the river's Academy. " Irish MSS. series, vol. i. , part
valley-conformation. i. , pp. 126, 127.
•^ ^^ **
Carlow is so called, from its ancient "cahir," where the old castle of the town now stands, and from the "loch," imme- diately north of it.
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
40, 41.
^* See his Life at the 23rd of September.
"
^s See Dr. O'Donovan's
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 304 to 307.
^^ See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise,"
xxxi. Januarii. Appendix ad Acta S . Mai- doci, cap. i. , p. 221.
^7 See "Acta Sanctorum," Februarii vii. ,
See William M. Hennessy's Chroni- con Scotorum. "
-^ See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 299 to 301.
^^ " — thisdate. The AnnalsofUlster"give
^ of Article vi. The circumstance
various missionaries and saints, in Scotland, being omitted from our Irish martyrologies and annals does not militate against our claim to their nativities; for, many of the most celebrated Irish saints, venerated in Great Britain, and on the Continent of Europe, are only known to us, through the study of foreign records,
^3
"
jecti," pp. 2, 3. Old edition.
tomus ii.
Prsetermissi et in alios dies re-
^^ We do not think this
to
19See"ProceedingsoftheRoyalIrish
title, however, be warranted on any good authority.
p. 144.
Annals of the
^
Scottish Saints,"
3 See ibid. , p. 441. 4Ferrariusstates,about603. Dempster
See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
396 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February 7.
under King Malduine,s who is said to have reigned from a. d. 664 to 684. ^ St. Ronan lived in Kilmanora, or Kilmanoren, in the Scottish province of Lennocia,7orLevenax. ThisRonanusissaid^tohavebeenthesameashe who is mentioned by Venerable Bede. 9 The present saint is supposed to have been connected with the following places in Scotland. '" The Kil- maronen, in Levenax, is probably the parish of Kilmaronock," which name is formed from that of the saint ; thus, Ma-ron-og, with an honorary prefix and suffix, Kilmaronag, in Muckairn ;" Tempul Ronain,'3 the ancient name for the parish church of Hy ;'^ Eoroby, in the old parish of Ness ;'5 Island of Ronay, off Raasay ;'^ Rona Island,'7 sixty miles north-north-east of the Lewes j'^ St. Ronan's Isle, which is a peninsulated eminence at high tide, and lying off the west coast'9 of the mainland in Zetland,=° Port-Ronain, the principal landing-place in the Island of lona f^ all the foregoing places are thought to have been called after the present St. Ronan. He is not mentioned in our Irish Calendars, at this date, although he may have been anIrishmanbybirth; but,hemustcertainlybedistinguishedfromSt. Ronan Fionn,commemoratedatLannRonain. -^' However,PatherInnesconfounds both ;-3 and the present saint may or may not be the Scottish Ronan,=4 by
nation, who was St. Finan's polemical opponent. A singular mistake has been committed,^5 in identifying the latter with a patron of Insula Ronan. '^^ Bede's Ronan flourished about the year 652, and yet his death is placed at A. D. 778. At the year 736, the "Annals of Ulster" enter the death of Ronain, Abbot of Cinngaraid f^ but, as we are told, St. ^ngus^^ places this saint, at the 9th of February, we may doubt, if he may be identified with the
has a St. Ronan, Bishop of the Scots, at the Here, too, are some crosses,
sect,
"
^^
year; —
same but, his feast is assigned to the
Local legends relate, that St. Ronan came to Rona from Eorapiall where a chapel was dedicated to him—on the back of a whale. It is said, he found it inhabited by hairy creatures, who backed out into the sea before him, while leaving their marks in scratches on the rocks. See Muir's "Cha- racteristics of Architecture," p. 199, and Martin's "Western Islands of Scotland," pp. 19 to 25.
^9 In the bay of Scalloway. =° "
17th of February.
s He is noticed as the fifty-fifth King of
Scotland.
^ See the Chronology of George Buchanan,
in " Rerum Scoticarum Historia," lib. v. , pp. 146, 147.
^ According to the Breviary of Aberdeen. ^ By Camerarius, "De Scotorum Forti-
tudine," p. 96.
9 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis An-
glorum," lib. iii. , cap. 25, p. 233.
'° See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," pp.
