Their parents were superstitious, their friends and
neighbours
are likewise so.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
ruary 23rd, iv.
,
It is
Scoti co Achcochlam. " nicle. "
"
Occisi sunt "Pictish Chro-
See Dr. Todd's "St. Patrick. Apostle
of Ireland," Introductory Dissertation, pp.
36 to 87.
'3 "
''See the "Chronicles of the Picts and
He says, they were— ex Scotis Anglis- See Pars Hyemalis, f. Ixii,
" *'
que gregarie collectis. " Scotorum Hysto- Retours of Fife, 173.
iv. , p. 316.
'^ See an account of him, at the 19th of
Scots," p. 423. ='°
at that— stated, year,
March 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 113
may not be different from the preceding, in the opinion of Bishop Forbes. '^ Wyntoun gives a minute account of the incidents connected with this mar- tyrdom,inhisquaintlyrhymed"Chronicon/'^3 TheholyAdrianandhis companions, martyrs, are venerated on the 4th of March, as we find in the Calendar of the Breviary of Aberdeen, and they had an office of nine Lessons. ^4 In Adam King's Kalendar, at March 4th, we read : S. Adriane bisch. of S. Andrew mart, m scotl. be ye dannes vnder King Constantine ye 2. ^5 Again, in the Island of May, it is stated, St. Adrian a distinguished bishop of the Scots was martyred, and, with many thousands of both sexes
went to Heaven. ^^
Die Martii, enters, St. Adrian or Hadrian Archbishop of St. Andrew's and
Martyr. ^7 It must be acknowledged, our Irish Calendars have no correspond- ing notices.
ArticleHI. —St. Phillip,Bishop,ofCluainBainbh. Thissaintis
merely named, in the Irish Martyrologies and Calendars, as being a bishop of Cluain Bainbh. ' Colgan was unable to discover the age, in which he flourished. He hazards a conjecture, however, that Philip might have been identical with a reputed saint, to whom a feast has been assigned, at the 4th of March. Thus, in the Carthusian Martyrology, it is stated, that a Saint Moggrudo, a Bishop and Confessor, was venerated in Ireland, on this day f but, nothing is contained, in our home Martyrologies or Annals, regarding him, at this, or at any other, date. Perhaps, he only distinguished himself, on a foreign mission. 3 On this day, the Martyrology of Tallagh+ comuiemo- rates the Natalis of a certain holy bishop, whose name is suppressed. ^ How- ever, he is called Bishop of Clocharbainni, probably another name for Cluain- Bainbh. ^ Under another form of insertion, Colgan thinks the former an erroneous one, and that it should accord with that in the Martyrologies of Mananus O'Gorman and of Donegal,? where we find, on this day, recorded, Philip, Bishop, of Cluain Bainbh. The BoUandists have their doubtful notices of Philip and of Moggrudo. ^ Again, under the head of Cluain-bambh, and Clochar, Duald Mac Firbis enters, Philip, Bishop of Cluain bainbh, a holy bishop of Clogher, at March 4th. 9 Besides this, m the anonymous Catalogue of Irish Saints, published by OSuUevan Beare, at the 4th of March,wemeetwithMogrudo. OntheauthorityoftheCarthusianMartyr-
and of order every
slain,
Also,
David Camerarius, at
4
354.
" S.
" See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p.
's Thus he writes — :
"And upon Haly Thurysday Saynt Adriane thai shoe in May
Wyth mony off hys cumpany ; In to that haly lie thai ly. "
Episcopi et Confessoris. " And Herman Greuen finds in a MS. Carthusian Martyr-
3 Colgan here remarks, that unless some
error has been introduced, in writing the name, this saint must have lived and died out of Ireland.
'• EditedbyRev. Dr. Kelly,p. xvii.
it is entered in this form, in the work as
—Book vi. , chap. viii.
s
Forbes' " ''S See ibid. , p. 146.
"
"* See
Scottish . Saints," p. 113.
Kalendars of
Noeb, Eps.
o Clochair
Bishop
published : boinni. "
'* See Dempster's " cum," Ibid. , p. 193.
'^ See ibid. , p. 235.
Menologium
Scoti-
* I am unable to discover the location of Cluain-Bainbh.
7 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
62, 63.
* See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Martii iv. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 299.
9 See "Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i,, part i. , pp. 98, 99, lOO, loi.
Article hi. —' See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," iv. Martii. De S. Muggrudone, Episcopo et Confessore. Item de S. Philippo Episcopo, p. 457.
'The Carthusian Martyrology, at the 4th
" ofMarch, says :
In Hibernia Moggrudonis
of
copi et Confessoris in Hiijernia. "
ology
Cologne :
Moggrudonis Epis-
H
J 14 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 4.
ology, at the same date, he appears, in Henry Fitzsimon's list, as, Mogrado,
a '° The reader is referred to what we have to on the succeed- bishop. state,
ing day.
Article IV. —St. Owen or Owini, Monk, at Lichfield, England. [Seventh Cenhity. '] Several Calendarists place the festival of this holy man, at the present date, when. the Bollandists give his Acts. ^ He must have survived St. Cedda or Chad, his master, and Bishop of Lichfield,^ who is thought to have departed, about 672. There are good reasons for supposing Owini or Owen to have been an Irishman. 3 It is said, a church was dedi- cated to him, in the city of Gloucester, on the River Severn, and in the Kingdom of the West Angles. His other Acts will be found recorded, with those of St. Cedda or Chad, Bishop of Lichfield. ^
Article V. —First Deposition of St. Fursey's Relics.
\Smenth
Century,^ From various sources, Colgan collects the inference, that the first
deposition of St. Fursey's relics took place, at the present date. ' It is
related, in the old Acts of St. Fursey, that his body lay unburied, within,
and, not after, thirty days. Venerable Bede states, that it lay unburied for
twenty-sixdays;' but,Colgansuggests,thattwenty-threeshouldprobablybe the correct rendering. Hence, he considers, that Trithemius^ and others, whomakethisthedayofSt. Fursey'sdeath,oughtratherregardit, asthat for his first interment. The life of this great servant of God has been akeady given, at the i6th of January, while his death by many ^^Tite^3 has beenassigned,eithertothatdate,ortothe9thofFebruary. Supposingthis lattertobethecorrectdateforit, Colganthinksthepresentdayshouldbe marked in the Calendars, for the first deposition of his relics. *
Article VI. —Feast of St. Lucius, Pope and Martyr. \Third Century^ At the 4th of March, the Irish Church celebrated the festival of St. Lucius. ' He was the son of Porphyrius, and of a distinguished Roman
family. He was the twenty-second Pope, but he only ruled over the Church for a brief period, and suffered martyrdom, during the second consulate of Volusianus,onMarch4th,a. d. 253. ' Heiscommemorated,onthisday,in
"See O'SuUevan Beare's "Historiae
CatholicseIberniasCompendium,"tomusi. ,
lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 49, and cap. xii. , p. 56.
Article IV. —'See "Acta
tomus i. , Martii iv. De S. Owino Monacho been
Lichfeldias in Anglia Commentarius histori- cus, pp. 212, 213.
'
See his Life, at the 2nd of March.
3 His Life is included in Jerome Porter's "Flowers of the Lives of the most ilkistrious
Saints of England, Scotland and Ireland. "
* See an account of him in "A Memorial
of Ancient Briti—sh Piety," p. 46.
Article v. 'See "Acta Sanctorum
Hiberniae," iv. Martii. S. Fursei Abbatis
furnished,
by Professor O'Looney
Depositio, pp. 456, 457. *"
5. 1111. n.
*
Stuiiro ce^-An in epouic
1 i\UAini yvig'OA coitroLech Co fluAg Aobul Ainglech tuciuf ieff U)inni\ecli.
Celebrate the passion of the"
bishop,
In Rome, the kingly, the lumi-
nous,
With a mighty angelic host, Lucius the brilliant torch.
See Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis An- glorum," lib. iii. , cap. xix.
3 See " De Viris Illustribus Ordinis Bene- dictini," lib. iii. , cap. Ixxxvi.
Sanctoram,"
See Bertl's "Ecclesiastics Historise * See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Breviavium. " Pars Prima. Skc. iii. , cap.
nine," xvi. Januarii. Appandix ad Vitam S.
i. , p. 96.
Fursaei, cap. x. , p. 98.
—
stanza, in the "Feilire" of St. ^ngus, and
'
found in the " Leabhar Breac " has copy,
with the —
EngUsh translation,
:
Article vi.
The
following
Irish
March 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 115
the Roman Breviary. 3 His Acts, by the Monk Guaiferius, are set forth in the great Bollandist collection, with some preceding commentaries. *
jfittf) I3ap of ilaitl)*
ARTICLE L—ST. KIERAN, OR CIARAN, FIRST BISHOP OF SAIGIR KING'S COUNTY, AND PATRON OF THE DIOCESE OF OSSORY.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. } CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—THE ACTS OF ST, KIERAN—FAMILY AND BIRTH—HIS DESIRE TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN, AND TO VISIT ROME.
guiding to the light of Faith those who have been immersed for a
have weight, with the unconverted. They perform superstitious practices, frequent their' temples, and, on certain days, have absurd rites and cere-
monies, merely in conformity with prevailing national usages.
Their parents were superstitious, their friends and neighbours are likewise so. With diffi- culty can they make up their minds to break that chain which strictly binds them to all these things : it would be a breach of filial or natural piety, to recede from the customs of their forefathers. Considerations like these keep back a great many honest-minded pagans, from embracing the pure Faith, whichleadstothemostadmirablecodeofmorahty. Lefttothemselves,the people are not generally hostile to Christianity. Were they but free in their movements, they would follow the attraction of what they see and under- stand. This would be all the easier, since their trust in spells and idols is of the faintest kind. Yet, those vested interests, which tend to sustain the tottering fabric of unsound and impious institutions, are with difficulty counteracted, because fanaticism and deep-rooted prejudices combine, to
IN timein
long pagan darkness,
conversionswouldbenumerousandmore easily effected, if it were only possible, to remove the moral and material obstacles which obstruct their way. Traditions and ties of race and family
prevent truth from appearing lovely to human minds. For a long time, our "
ancestors were sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death," until the people became the Lord's portion and the lot of his inheritance. ' However, Christianity was not unknown, in parts of Ireland, during those years preced-
ing the arrival of St. Patrick,^ according to many respectable authorities. 3 After Ireland's early reign of Druidismand Heathendom, the land, that was desolate and impassable, was to be made glad; the wilderness was to rejoice and flourish like a lily ; the eyes of the blind were to be opened, and the ears of the deaf were to be unstopped ; waters were to break out in the desert, and streams in the wilderness ; the dry land was to become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water ; the redeemed of the Lord were to come into Sionwithgreatpraise,everlastingjoywastobeupontheirheads; theywere to obtain joy and gladness; sorrow and mourning were to flee away ;+ while
3ParsVerna. Dieiv.
* See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , iv.
et
nomy. xxxii. , 9.
= See his Life, at the 17th of March.
3 See "Chronicon," at A. D. Sigebert's
432. This writer died, A. D. 1 1 12. * See Isaias, xxxv.
Martii. De S. Lucio
Papa
Article i. —Chapter i. —. ' Deutero-
301 to 3p8.
Martyre, pp.
11 6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[March 5.
the light of the Gospel was destined to arise and to beam with effulgence over the land.
The primitive form of Irish society appears to have been based, on the clan or sept system ; the chief was regarded as the patriarch, father and defender of an extended family, whose members were generally united by ties of relationship and kindred. s However, there was an Ard-Righ, or chief monarch over Ireland, and under him were subordinate princes, whose powers were well defined, and subject to the chief monarch. One of these ruled over each considerable province or district. The chief was a petty sovereign, within his own territory. Notwithstanding, the chieftains acknow- ledged a qualified allegiance, either directly or indirectly, to the monarch of the Island, According to a very general opinion of our historians, Ireland was governed by a sort of pentarchy, as the chief ruler's authority was supposed to immediately and directly affect four other powerful kings, his suzerains. There can be little doubt, that from a community thus constituted at Saigher, the first preachers of Christianity went forth, among the rude and turbulent tribes of ancient Ossory. Nor is it at all improbable, that on this spot was also erected one of the earliest Christian churches in Ireland. A date, anterior to the advent of St. Patrick, is very generally assigned for the founding of the cell at Saigher, by St. Kieran, or Chiarain, the son of Lug- haidh. ^ Several matters, connected with his transactions and period, have been questioned, notwithstanding, and it shall be our object to give these the fairest consideration, we are able to afford, consistenly with the involved diffi- culties of our theme.
Some Irish Lives of the holy man, who has been so affectionately styled,
" Primogenitus Sanctorum Hibernise," 7 are yet preserved in manuscript. Among these, a Life of St. Kieran of Saigir, in Irish, has been transcribed by Brother Michael O'Clery. ^ Among the Messrs. Hodges and Smith's collec- tion of Irish Manuscripts, in the Royal Irish Academy, is a Lite of St. Kiaran of Saighir. 9 Jn Marsh's Library, Dublin, in the manuscript, called "Codex Kilkenniensis," there is a Lite of St. Kieranus (Ossoriensis). '** Thereis an '* VitaS.
"in a
among Messrs. Hodges and Smith's MSS. , No. 12,'3 in the Royal Irish Academy. Another is to be found, in the Bodleian Library, at Oxtord,'* and it is a vellum folio of the fourteenth century. Colgan furnishes two Lives of this celebrated saint. 's One of these is taken from the manuscript described
Kierani,"
belonging to Trinity College, Dublin. " A Life of St. Kieran is contained,
imperfect
5 See Goldwin Smith's " Irbh History and Irish Character," p. 15.
fol. 139. Again in vol. xxii. , Nos, 7672 to 7674, we find a Vita S. Kierani, fol. 197.
' it is numbered 150, a 410 paper MS,
"Fol, 107 to 110.
" It only gives a few sentences, however, beginning at fol. 71, the succeeding lolios to 91 being defective.
" This is classed E. 3. 11.
'3 A small 4to paper MS.
'* It is classed, Rawl. B. 505, pp. 223 to
227.
'5 See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," v.
Martii. Vita S. Kierani Episcopi et Con-
fessoris. Ex Codice Kilkenniensi, pp. 458 to 467. Alia Vita ejusdem seu Lectiones
Officii ejus ex M S. Salmanticensi, pp. 467 to 469, An Appendix, in four chapters, follows, pp. 470 to 473.
•^ The author has obtained the loan of au
English translation, from an Irish version of this Life, made by the well-known Irish
*
Prim's "History of the Cathedral Church of St. Canice, Kilkenny," p, 2,
See Rev. James Graves' and John A.
7 In an eloquent sermon, preached, on the Feast of St. Kieran at Saigher, A. D.
1877, the Rev. N. Murphy, C. C. , in vindi-
eating for the patron that foregoing title, adds the following —translation of an Irish stanza in his praise :
"
Kieran, the faithful, noble Coharb,
Tlie senior of the heaven-loving saints of
Erin,
Illustrious, the festival of the royal one, Whose peaceful cathedra is great Sal-
gher. '
•
Bruxelles, classed vol. iv. , Nos. 2324— 2340,
It is in the Burgtmdian Library, at
4to parchu»ent manuscript,
March 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 117
as the Codex Kilkenniensis/^ with a shorter one, extracted from a Salaman- can MS. , and which is said to contain his office lessons, distributed into twelve parts. In the opinion of Colgan, the writer of the longer Life must have been a monk,'? living under St. Kieran's rule. '^ Such a conclusion, however, may not safely be inferred from the evidence cited. The style of this foremost composition indicates a remote age, being remarkable for its concise- ness and simplicity, not less than for its occasional violations of grammatical rules. Colgan inclines to a supposition, that this- Life had been written by St. Evan, who also compiled St. Patrick's Acts, and most of the other Lives, contained in the Codex Kilkenniensis. Such, likewise, seems to have been the opinion of Father Hugh Ward. The first published Life, in Colgan, had been collated with others, not differing much in substance from it ; while the office lessons, which are published, have probably been extracted, from some one or other of the earlier Lives. However, events therein related appear to have been selected from more copious materials, and they are probably written in a more elegant style, than found in the originals. The extant Lives of St. Kieran are unquestionably of great antiquity, and although com- prising much that is fabulous, they do not bear the marks of documents, forged to support a preconceived theory. Perhaps, it is assuming too much in supposing, that they are altogether without foundation ; especially, when we recollect, that they derive support, from almost every historical authority, bearing on the ancient Church History of Ireland. '? For the 3rd of the March Nones, John Capgrave has noted the Acts of St. Piran,='° Bishop and Confessor. ^' In the great Bollandist collection, the Acts of St. Kieran and of St. Carthac, his disciple, bishops and abbots of Saigir, in Ossory, a province of Ireland, are found united, at the 5th day of March. " Bishop Challenor treats about this saint. ^3 The Rev. Alban Butler^" gives some notices of this St. Kiaran, or as he is also styled, Kenerin, B. C, called by the Britons, Piran. ^s The Rev. S. Baring-Gould has also a Life of St. Kieran or Abbot of ^'^
Piran, Saigir.
scholar, Mr. John O'Daly, of 9 Anglesea- street, Dublin. In some few particulars, it differs from the Life, as published by Col- gan.
'' Thus, he is thought to have lived, be-
But, by
far the most and re- complete
fore the year 550, according to these words
:
James Graves, A. B. , and J. A. Prim, p. 2. ^° The original is in MS. Cott. Tiber E,
i. , ff. 56-58 b.
^' See "Nova Legenda Angliae," fol.
cclxvii. , cclxviii. , cclxix. , cclxx.
*^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Martii v. A previous commentary, in three sections, and afterwards, the Life, taken from the Salamancan MS. of the Irish
"Hie indicat clare author se vixisse inter
Monachos S. Kierani tempore patrati hujus
miraculi, dum dicit quia nemini ex nostris
hoc ifidicavit. " See ibid. , n. 30, p. 465. College of the Jesuits, as published also by
And, also, speaking of this particular pas-
Colgan, together with an Appendix, con- taining additional miracles taken from the
Codex Kilkenniensis, published by Colgan, with some few corrections or additions in the general Appendix : all these matters comprise the Bollandist notices. See pp. 389 to 399, and pp. 901, 902.
^3 See "Britannia Sancta," part i,, pp. 154, 155.
^^ See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. iii. , March v.
*5 These notices profess to be extracted, from Leland's "Collections," published by Hearne, tome iii. , pp. 10, i74,from Ussher, and from John of Tinmouth.
"
indicare & se Monachum S. Kierani fuisse,
sage, Colgan says :
Quibus verbis videtur
& interfuisse, dum ilia, quae refert, gereban- tur. Unde videtur vixisse ante annum 550, ante quem ilia constat gesta fuisse : quo tenipore & S. Evinum vixisse ostendimus in notis ad vitam Tripartitam S. Patricii, num. i. " See ibid. , n. 1. , p. 463.
'^ _
From a passage in the former Life,
cited by Colgan, it is supposed, that its
author had been contemporaneous with our
"
saint.
redibat, quia nemini ex nostris hoc indica- vit. "— Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," V. Martii. Vita S. Kierani ex Codice Kilkenniensi, cap. xxv. , p. 461.
It is
Scoti co Achcochlam. " nicle. "
"
Occisi sunt "Pictish Chro-
See Dr. Todd's "St. Patrick. Apostle
of Ireland," Introductory Dissertation, pp.
36 to 87.
'3 "
''See the "Chronicles of the Picts and
He says, they were— ex Scotis Anglis- See Pars Hyemalis, f. Ixii,
" *'
que gregarie collectis. " Scotorum Hysto- Retours of Fife, 173.
iv. , p. 316.
'^ See an account of him, at the 19th of
Scots," p. 423. ='°
at that— stated, year,
March 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 113
may not be different from the preceding, in the opinion of Bishop Forbes. '^ Wyntoun gives a minute account of the incidents connected with this mar- tyrdom,inhisquaintlyrhymed"Chronicon/'^3 TheholyAdrianandhis companions, martyrs, are venerated on the 4th of March, as we find in the Calendar of the Breviary of Aberdeen, and they had an office of nine Lessons. ^4 In Adam King's Kalendar, at March 4th, we read : S. Adriane bisch. of S. Andrew mart, m scotl. be ye dannes vnder King Constantine ye 2. ^5 Again, in the Island of May, it is stated, St. Adrian a distinguished bishop of the Scots was martyred, and, with many thousands of both sexes
went to Heaven. ^^
Die Martii, enters, St. Adrian or Hadrian Archbishop of St. Andrew's and
Martyr. ^7 It must be acknowledged, our Irish Calendars have no correspond- ing notices.
ArticleHI. —St. Phillip,Bishop,ofCluainBainbh. Thissaintis
merely named, in the Irish Martyrologies and Calendars, as being a bishop of Cluain Bainbh. ' Colgan was unable to discover the age, in which he flourished. He hazards a conjecture, however, that Philip might have been identical with a reputed saint, to whom a feast has been assigned, at the 4th of March. Thus, in the Carthusian Martyrology, it is stated, that a Saint Moggrudo, a Bishop and Confessor, was venerated in Ireland, on this day f but, nothing is contained, in our home Martyrologies or Annals, regarding him, at this, or at any other, date. Perhaps, he only distinguished himself, on a foreign mission. 3 On this day, the Martyrology of Tallagh+ comuiemo- rates the Natalis of a certain holy bishop, whose name is suppressed. ^ How- ever, he is called Bishop of Clocharbainni, probably another name for Cluain- Bainbh. ^ Under another form of insertion, Colgan thinks the former an erroneous one, and that it should accord with that in the Martyrologies of Mananus O'Gorman and of Donegal,? where we find, on this day, recorded, Philip, Bishop, of Cluain Bainbh. The BoUandists have their doubtful notices of Philip and of Moggrudo. ^ Again, under the head of Cluain-bambh, and Clochar, Duald Mac Firbis enters, Philip, Bishop of Cluain bainbh, a holy bishop of Clogher, at March 4th. 9 Besides this, m the anonymous Catalogue of Irish Saints, published by OSuUevan Beare, at the 4th of March,wemeetwithMogrudo. OntheauthorityoftheCarthusianMartyr-
and of order every
slain,
Also,
David Camerarius, at
4
354.
" S.
" See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p.
's Thus he writes — :
"And upon Haly Thurysday Saynt Adriane thai shoe in May
Wyth mony off hys cumpany ; In to that haly lie thai ly. "
Episcopi et Confessoris. " And Herman Greuen finds in a MS. Carthusian Martyr-
3 Colgan here remarks, that unless some
error has been introduced, in writing the name, this saint must have lived and died out of Ireland.
'• EditedbyRev. Dr. Kelly,p. xvii.
it is entered in this form, in the work as
—Book vi. , chap. viii.
s
Forbes' " ''S See ibid. , p. 146.
"
"* See
Scottish . Saints," p. 113.
Kalendars of
Noeb, Eps.
o Clochair
Bishop
published : boinni. "
'* See Dempster's " cum," Ibid. , p. 193.
'^ See ibid. , p. 235.
Menologium
Scoti-
* I am unable to discover the location of Cluain-Bainbh.
7 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
62, 63.
* See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Martii iv. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 299.
9 See "Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i,, part i. , pp. 98, 99, lOO, loi.
Article hi. —' See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," iv. Martii. De S. Muggrudone, Episcopo et Confessore. Item de S. Philippo Episcopo, p. 457.
'The Carthusian Martyrology, at the 4th
" ofMarch, says :
In Hibernia Moggrudonis
of
copi et Confessoris in Hiijernia. "
ology
Cologne :
Moggrudonis Epis-
H
J 14 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 4.
ology, at the same date, he appears, in Henry Fitzsimon's list, as, Mogrado,
a '° The reader is referred to what we have to on the succeed- bishop. state,
ing day.
Article IV. —St. Owen or Owini, Monk, at Lichfield, England. [Seventh Cenhity. '] Several Calendarists place the festival of this holy man, at the present date, when. the Bollandists give his Acts. ^ He must have survived St. Cedda or Chad, his master, and Bishop of Lichfield,^ who is thought to have departed, about 672. There are good reasons for supposing Owini or Owen to have been an Irishman. 3 It is said, a church was dedi- cated to him, in the city of Gloucester, on the River Severn, and in the Kingdom of the West Angles. His other Acts will be found recorded, with those of St. Cedda or Chad, Bishop of Lichfield. ^
Article V. —First Deposition of St. Fursey's Relics.
\Smenth
Century,^ From various sources, Colgan collects the inference, that the first
deposition of St. Fursey's relics took place, at the present date. ' It is
related, in the old Acts of St. Fursey, that his body lay unburied, within,
and, not after, thirty days. Venerable Bede states, that it lay unburied for
twenty-sixdays;' but,Colgansuggests,thattwenty-threeshouldprobablybe the correct rendering. Hence, he considers, that Trithemius^ and others, whomakethisthedayofSt. Fursey'sdeath,oughtratherregardit, asthat for his first interment. The life of this great servant of God has been akeady given, at the i6th of January, while his death by many ^^Tite^3 has beenassigned,eithertothatdate,ortothe9thofFebruary. Supposingthis lattertobethecorrectdateforit, Colganthinksthepresentdayshouldbe marked in the Calendars, for the first deposition of his relics. *
Article VI. —Feast of St. Lucius, Pope and Martyr. \Third Century^ At the 4th of March, the Irish Church celebrated the festival of St. Lucius. ' He was the son of Porphyrius, and of a distinguished Roman
family. He was the twenty-second Pope, but he only ruled over the Church for a brief period, and suffered martyrdom, during the second consulate of Volusianus,onMarch4th,a. d. 253. ' Heiscommemorated,onthisday,in
"See O'SuUevan Beare's "Historiae
CatholicseIberniasCompendium,"tomusi. ,
lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 49, and cap. xii. , p. 56.
Article IV. —'See "Acta
tomus i. , Martii iv. De S. Owino Monacho been
Lichfeldias in Anglia Commentarius histori- cus, pp. 212, 213.
'
See his Life, at the 2nd of March.
3 His Life is included in Jerome Porter's "Flowers of the Lives of the most ilkistrious
Saints of England, Scotland and Ireland. "
* See an account of him in "A Memorial
of Ancient Briti—sh Piety," p. 46.
Article v. 'See "Acta Sanctorum
Hiberniae," iv. Martii. S. Fursei Abbatis
furnished,
by Professor O'Looney
Depositio, pp. 456, 457. *"
5. 1111. n.
*
Stuiiro ce^-An in epouic
1 i\UAini yvig'OA coitroLech Co fluAg Aobul Ainglech tuciuf ieff U)inni\ecli.
Celebrate the passion of the"
bishop,
In Rome, the kingly, the lumi-
nous,
With a mighty angelic host, Lucius the brilliant torch.
See Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis An- glorum," lib. iii. , cap. xix.
3 See " De Viris Illustribus Ordinis Bene- dictini," lib. iii. , cap. Ixxxvi.
Sanctoram,"
See Bertl's "Ecclesiastics Historise * See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Breviavium. " Pars Prima. Skc. iii. , cap.
nine," xvi. Januarii. Appandix ad Vitam S.
i. , p. 96.
Fursaei, cap. x. , p. 98.
—
stanza, in the "Feilire" of St. ^ngus, and
'
found in the " Leabhar Breac " has copy,
with the —
EngUsh translation,
:
Article vi.
The
following
Irish
March 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 115
the Roman Breviary. 3 His Acts, by the Monk Guaiferius, are set forth in the great Bollandist collection, with some preceding commentaries. *
jfittf) I3ap of ilaitl)*
ARTICLE L—ST. KIERAN, OR CIARAN, FIRST BISHOP OF SAIGIR KING'S COUNTY, AND PATRON OF THE DIOCESE OF OSSORY.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. } CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—THE ACTS OF ST, KIERAN—FAMILY AND BIRTH—HIS DESIRE TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN, AND TO VISIT ROME.
guiding to the light of Faith those who have been immersed for a
have weight, with the unconverted. They perform superstitious practices, frequent their' temples, and, on certain days, have absurd rites and cere-
monies, merely in conformity with prevailing national usages.
Their parents were superstitious, their friends and neighbours are likewise so. With diffi- culty can they make up their minds to break that chain which strictly binds them to all these things : it would be a breach of filial or natural piety, to recede from the customs of their forefathers. Considerations like these keep back a great many honest-minded pagans, from embracing the pure Faith, whichleadstothemostadmirablecodeofmorahty. Lefttothemselves,the people are not generally hostile to Christianity. Were they but free in their movements, they would follow the attraction of what they see and under- stand. This would be all the easier, since their trust in spells and idols is of the faintest kind. Yet, those vested interests, which tend to sustain the tottering fabric of unsound and impious institutions, are with difficulty counteracted, because fanaticism and deep-rooted prejudices combine, to
IN timein
long pagan darkness,
conversionswouldbenumerousandmore easily effected, if it were only possible, to remove the moral and material obstacles which obstruct their way. Traditions and ties of race and family
prevent truth from appearing lovely to human minds. For a long time, our "
ancestors were sitting in darkness and in the shadow of death," until the people became the Lord's portion and the lot of his inheritance. ' However, Christianity was not unknown, in parts of Ireland, during those years preced-
ing the arrival of St. Patrick,^ according to many respectable authorities. 3 After Ireland's early reign of Druidismand Heathendom, the land, that was desolate and impassable, was to be made glad; the wilderness was to rejoice and flourish like a lily ; the eyes of the blind were to be opened, and the ears of the deaf were to be unstopped ; waters were to break out in the desert, and streams in the wilderness ; the dry land was to become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water ; the redeemed of the Lord were to come into Sionwithgreatpraise,everlastingjoywastobeupontheirheads; theywere to obtain joy and gladness; sorrow and mourning were to flee away ;+ while
3ParsVerna. Dieiv.
* See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , iv.
et
nomy. xxxii. , 9.
= See his Life, at the 17th of March.
3 See "Chronicon," at A. D. Sigebert's
432. This writer died, A. D. 1 1 12. * See Isaias, xxxv.
Martii. De S. Lucio
Papa
Article i. —Chapter i. —. ' Deutero-
301 to 3p8.
Martyre, pp.
11 6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[March 5.
the light of the Gospel was destined to arise and to beam with effulgence over the land.
The primitive form of Irish society appears to have been based, on the clan or sept system ; the chief was regarded as the patriarch, father and defender of an extended family, whose members were generally united by ties of relationship and kindred. s However, there was an Ard-Righ, or chief monarch over Ireland, and under him were subordinate princes, whose powers were well defined, and subject to the chief monarch. One of these ruled over each considerable province or district. The chief was a petty sovereign, within his own territory. Notwithstanding, the chieftains acknow- ledged a qualified allegiance, either directly or indirectly, to the monarch of the Island, According to a very general opinion of our historians, Ireland was governed by a sort of pentarchy, as the chief ruler's authority was supposed to immediately and directly affect four other powerful kings, his suzerains. There can be little doubt, that from a community thus constituted at Saigher, the first preachers of Christianity went forth, among the rude and turbulent tribes of ancient Ossory. Nor is it at all improbable, that on this spot was also erected one of the earliest Christian churches in Ireland. A date, anterior to the advent of St. Patrick, is very generally assigned for the founding of the cell at Saigher, by St. Kieran, or Chiarain, the son of Lug- haidh. ^ Several matters, connected with his transactions and period, have been questioned, notwithstanding, and it shall be our object to give these the fairest consideration, we are able to afford, consistenly with the involved diffi- culties of our theme.
Some Irish Lives of the holy man, who has been so affectionately styled,
" Primogenitus Sanctorum Hibernise," 7 are yet preserved in manuscript. Among these, a Life of St. Kieran of Saigir, in Irish, has been transcribed by Brother Michael O'Clery. ^ Among the Messrs. Hodges and Smith's collec- tion of Irish Manuscripts, in the Royal Irish Academy, is a Lite of St. Kiaran of Saighir. 9 Jn Marsh's Library, Dublin, in the manuscript, called "Codex Kilkenniensis," there is a Lite of St. Kieranus (Ossoriensis). '** Thereis an '* VitaS.
"in a
among Messrs. Hodges and Smith's MSS. , No. 12,'3 in the Royal Irish Academy. Another is to be found, in the Bodleian Library, at Oxtord,'* and it is a vellum folio of the fourteenth century. Colgan furnishes two Lives of this celebrated saint. 's One of these is taken from the manuscript described
Kierani,"
belonging to Trinity College, Dublin. " A Life of St. Kieran is contained,
imperfect
5 See Goldwin Smith's " Irbh History and Irish Character," p. 15.
fol. 139. Again in vol. xxii. , Nos, 7672 to 7674, we find a Vita S. Kierani, fol. 197.
' it is numbered 150, a 410 paper MS,
"Fol, 107 to 110.
" It only gives a few sentences, however, beginning at fol. 71, the succeeding lolios to 91 being defective.
" This is classed E. 3. 11.
'3 A small 4to paper MS.
'* It is classed, Rawl. B. 505, pp. 223 to
227.
'5 See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," v.
Martii. Vita S. Kierani Episcopi et Con-
fessoris. Ex Codice Kilkenniensi, pp. 458 to 467. Alia Vita ejusdem seu Lectiones
Officii ejus ex M S. Salmanticensi, pp. 467 to 469, An Appendix, in four chapters, follows, pp. 470 to 473.
•^ The author has obtained the loan of au
English translation, from an Irish version of this Life, made by the well-known Irish
*
Prim's "History of the Cathedral Church of St. Canice, Kilkenny," p, 2,
See Rev. James Graves' and John A.
7 In an eloquent sermon, preached, on the Feast of St. Kieran at Saigher, A. D.
1877, the Rev. N. Murphy, C. C. , in vindi-
eating for the patron that foregoing title, adds the following —translation of an Irish stanza in his praise :
"
Kieran, the faithful, noble Coharb,
Tlie senior of the heaven-loving saints of
Erin,
Illustrious, the festival of the royal one, Whose peaceful cathedra is great Sal-
gher. '
•
Bruxelles, classed vol. iv. , Nos. 2324— 2340,
It is in the Burgtmdian Library, at
4to parchu»ent manuscript,
March 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 117
as the Codex Kilkenniensis/^ with a shorter one, extracted from a Salaman- can MS. , and which is said to contain his office lessons, distributed into twelve parts. In the opinion of Colgan, the writer of the longer Life must have been a monk,'? living under St. Kieran's rule. '^ Such a conclusion, however, may not safely be inferred from the evidence cited. The style of this foremost composition indicates a remote age, being remarkable for its concise- ness and simplicity, not less than for its occasional violations of grammatical rules. Colgan inclines to a supposition, that this- Life had been written by St. Evan, who also compiled St. Patrick's Acts, and most of the other Lives, contained in the Codex Kilkenniensis. Such, likewise, seems to have been the opinion of Father Hugh Ward. The first published Life, in Colgan, had been collated with others, not differing much in substance from it ; while the office lessons, which are published, have probably been extracted, from some one or other of the earlier Lives. However, events therein related appear to have been selected from more copious materials, and they are probably written in a more elegant style, than found in the originals. The extant Lives of St. Kieran are unquestionably of great antiquity, and although com- prising much that is fabulous, they do not bear the marks of documents, forged to support a preconceived theory. Perhaps, it is assuming too much in supposing, that they are altogether without foundation ; especially, when we recollect, that they derive support, from almost every historical authority, bearing on the ancient Church History of Ireland. '? For the 3rd of the March Nones, John Capgrave has noted the Acts of St. Piran,='° Bishop and Confessor. ^' In the great Bollandist collection, the Acts of St. Kieran and of St. Carthac, his disciple, bishops and abbots of Saigir, in Ossory, a province of Ireland, are found united, at the 5th day of March. " Bishop Challenor treats about this saint. ^3 The Rev. Alban Butler^" gives some notices of this St. Kiaran, or as he is also styled, Kenerin, B. C, called by the Britons, Piran. ^s The Rev. S. Baring-Gould has also a Life of St. Kieran or Abbot of ^'^
Piran, Saigir.
scholar, Mr. John O'Daly, of 9 Anglesea- street, Dublin. In some few particulars, it differs from the Life, as published by Col- gan.
'' Thus, he is thought to have lived, be-
But, by
far the most and re- complete
fore the year 550, according to these words
:
James Graves, A. B. , and J. A. Prim, p. 2. ^° The original is in MS. Cott. Tiber E,
i. , ff. 56-58 b.
^' See "Nova Legenda Angliae," fol.
cclxvii. , cclxviii. , cclxix. , cclxx.
*^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Martii v. A previous commentary, in three sections, and afterwards, the Life, taken from the Salamancan MS. of the Irish
"Hie indicat clare author se vixisse inter
Monachos S. Kierani tempore patrati hujus
miraculi, dum dicit quia nemini ex nostris
hoc ifidicavit. " See ibid. , n. 30, p. 465. College of the Jesuits, as published also by
And, also, speaking of this particular pas-
Colgan, together with an Appendix, con- taining additional miracles taken from the
Codex Kilkenniensis, published by Colgan, with some few corrections or additions in the general Appendix : all these matters comprise the Bollandist notices. See pp. 389 to 399, and pp. 901, 902.
^3 See "Britannia Sancta," part i,, pp. 154, 155.
^^ See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. iii. , March v.
*5 These notices profess to be extracted, from Leland's "Collections," published by Hearne, tome iii. , pp. 10, i74,from Ussher, and from John of Tinmouth.
"
indicare & se Monachum S. Kierani fuisse,
sage, Colgan says :
Quibus verbis videtur
& interfuisse, dum ilia, quae refert, gereban- tur. Unde videtur vixisse ante annum 550, ante quem ilia constat gesta fuisse : quo tenipore & S. Evinum vixisse ostendimus in notis ad vitam Tripartitam S. Patricii, num. i. " See ibid. , n. 1. , p. 463.
'^ _
From a passage in the former Life,
cited by Colgan, it is supposed, that its
author had been contemporaneous with our
"
saint.
redibat, quia nemini ex nostris hoc indica- vit. "— Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," V. Martii. Vita S. Kierani ex Codice Kilkenniensi, cap. xxv. , p. 461.
