holier memories, or brighter associations/ than that elevated site, which the present distinguished man
contributed
to hallow by his rule.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
The ancient denomination is probably lost.
In the Martyrology of Donegal,3 we also read about Finnbheo, of Inbher-Melghe, as having been venerated on this day.
Article VII. —St. Muirgen,or Muirgeilt, Virgin, of Teach Dabeoc,
CountyofDon—egal. \SixthCentury. '] TheholyvirginMuirgeinflourished at an early time and it would seem long before the ninth century ; as we
find her specially commemorated, in the Feilire of St. ^ngus the Culdee, at this particular date. ^ From the manner in which she is introduced to our
Article IV. —' See " De Statu Ilominis Veteris simul ac novae Ecclesiae, et Sanctis Regni Scotiae," lib. i. , cap. iii. , sec. ii. , p. 136.
'
Incorrectly
thew of Westminster, as placing his death at A. D. 701. This refers not to the date of the present saint's demise but to that of St. Adamnan, Abbot of lona. See "Flores
tended for " on the soggart,"
of
His rank in the Church is solely noted. We read of Lucan, priest, in the
Historiarum,"—p. 255. '
does Camerarius cite Mat-
Co tn-DUAt)Aib Xie'fic glAn buAi-o pAt) TvijAib
^^S'I'A, Conx n-UA^Aib.
F. ui. kl. My God loved Muirgen,
A miraculous triumphant being ; They achieved bright victories in
presence of kings Agna and Conx, virgins.
The two latter had no special connexion with
Article v. Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly,
xiii. In the Franciscan copy this entry runs E. ucAnn TAG.
^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 28, 29.
—
mctp.
' This lake is usually called Loch Meilge,
or Loch-Meilge-mhic-Cobhthaigh in our an- cient annals.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
28, 29.
Article vii. —' The following Irish
Ireland. The Bollandists
this date. Saints Castus, Caius and Caeles- tins, martyrs, whose names are said to be found in the Martyrologies of St. Jerome and of Donegal. By the latter we are to understand, ihat ancient Martyrology of Tallagh, now in the Franciscan Library Dublin, and to which the Bollandists appear tohavehadaccessatLouvain. See"Acta
Sanctorum," tomusii. ,xxvii. Januarii. Prae-
Article VI, Kelly, p. xiii.
'
Edited by Rev. Dr. In the Franciscan copy is the following insertion, pn"obeo 1nb1^^
enumerate, at
27th
January,
in the
Martyrology ofTallagh. '
stanza and its
furnished by Professor O'Looney
mii\biiiL gein
English
translation were
— ^. ui, kl. Cai\ai'P moeDA rr^u1l^5en
:
458 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 27.
notice by this pious and well-informed ancient hagiographer, we may fairlyinfer, that the highly romantic tale regarding her, and which has come do\vn to our times, must have been known to him, at least in substance. Her authentic acts do not appear to have been preserved. This holy woman, Liban,=^ is called the daughter of Eochaidh, son to Muireadh,3 or Mairid, by his first wife. Eblinwasthesecondwifeofthislatterprince,calledtheKingofMunster. '* So far as we can learn from existing accounts, her father fled from Irluachair in the South towards the North. Liban belonged to the northern parts of Ireland, where probably she was bom and lived. A story of ancient bardic origin tells us, that Liban's family was drowned by the rising of a well, de- nominated Lind Muni, over a district called Liathmuine in Ulster. It is stated, that Liban was miraculously preserved, and that under the shape of a mermaid, she lived and wandered for about three hundred years along the shores and under the waters of Lough Neagh and the Irish Sea. s Nothing can be imagined more fancifully poetical than the account of her sufferings and adventures, with her longing for freedom and for her obtaining of heaven. ^ Very similar to this situation was that of Fionnuala, the daughter of Lir,7 who is stated to have been transformed into a swan, and to have wandered for many hundred years over certain lakes and rivers in Ireland,^ until the coming of Christianity, when the first sound of the Mass-bell was to be the signal for
teiinissi et in alios dies rejecti, p. 760. No-
tices are omitted, however, as perchance they were identical with saints mentioned at
the 2rst of January. See ibid. , xxi. Jan- uarii, sec. 2, pp. 341, 342, where it is stated
to the R. I. A. The article in question is
TnAi|\et)o, "The Destruction of Eochaid, Son of Mairid," pp. 94 to 112.
from a " Codex
Episcopi, Felicis, Celsionis, Ciciliani, Auguri, Martialis, Eulogise, item alio Eulogise, Vin-
centiae, Agnae Virginis
Roma, Repositae,
Dungalensis. "
*' Fmctuosi
5 She is thus—made
pathetically
to state in
in
Felicis, Emerentianse, Vincentii, Cendreni,
Flori, Viti, Leotii, Puplii, Citiaci, Vincentis, Faustaci, Eustaci, Salatoris, Hermetis, Fmctuosi, Augorii, Diacii, Vitalis, Patrocli, Auiti Episcopi, Satumini, Quintini, Marini, Datii, Rutiti, Gaddiani, Celiani, Seruuli, Rogati, Victoris, Primi, Lucii, Maulini, Honorati, Nascusi, Castini, Cselestini, Zarii, Hermis. " These names appear to have been copied from St. Jerome's ancient Mar- tyrology, nor do we believe that any of them are Irish. The Bollandists cannot deter- mine their era.
* We are told by Mr. Crowe, that the
white beauty. Her grandfather, Mairid, is said to have been king over Munster, to- wards the close of the. first century ; but neither in our Irish Annals, nor in John O'Dugan's chronological poem, "The Kings of the Race of Eibhear," edited by John O'Daly, do we find any mention of him.
Reeves', "Martyr- ology of Donegal," pp. 28, 29.
* There is a strange, incoherent fable re- garding their adventures, to be found, with the original Irish and an English translation, by J. O'Beirne Crowe, A. B. , in "The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archae- ological Association of Ireland," vol. i. ,
i. Fourth series. It is taken from the Ea,retbor na h-Uidre, a manuscript belonging
VII.
" While I was under full lake's flood,
I meditated on the King of noble hea-
ven ;
I beseech the father who is holy, I ask a drop of white baptism.
I was the likeness of mighty monsters,
I swam merry, shining sea : Wave carried me over Letha's flood
"
In salmon shape, save my head.
Here the allusion to " white baptism" indi- cates the ancient usage of clothing its re-
in white — cipients garments.
* She thus speaks
XVIII.
" A thought for everyone is the Son of God, Because it is He who sways each king : Guardian of the saints of splendid festi-
vals.
Great God who judges everything. "
' The most—correct and literal version of
— shaded and so melan- finely
translation of her real name, ti-b<iri, is •'"
3 See Drs. Todd and
this romance
"
land. " — No. I. •Ai'oeD echAC mAic
intituled,
Ancient Lake Legends of Ire-
these stanzas
:
:
so
choly in conception is the late Professor
O'Curry's contribution to "The Atlantis," Oitihe chtomne \a-^ SiofAnA, "The Fate oftheChildrenofLirhere. " Seevol. iv. , pp. . 114 to 157.
^
This story furnishes a subject for Gerald
Griffin's very elegant and simple version, in
his charming volume,
Room.
"
"
Tales of the Jury
January 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 459
herrelease. 9 Itseemstobeimpossible,atthepresentday,toaccountforthose curiousadventuresattributedtoLibanorMuirgen; but,perhaps,insomeway she had been saved from a watery grave, and hence the story of St. Beoan,'° son of Inh, having taken her with a net from the sea. He is said to have desired herburialinhismonastery,"whenthetimeofherdeatharrived. Wemustre- ceive only with great diffidence the various bardic accounts regarding Muirgen. " Doubtless some strange, wild legends have been interlaced in popular concep- tion with this saint, '3 It is said, that after her capture she was taken to Teach
Dabeoc, where she was baptized by Comgall,'* with the name Muirgen, i. e. ""
born of the sea," or Muirgeilt, traverser of the sea. "'5 She was called by
another name, Fuinchi,'^ and she is said to have been taken at the mouth of the
RiverOllarba,nowLame,countyofAntrim,a. d. 558. ^7 IntheScottishKa- lendar of Drummond,'^ the holy virgin, Murgeilt, is commemorated at the vi. oftheFebruaryKalends,'9thisday. Theromantictaleofheradventurescon- cludes with a statement, that after her capture, the clerics gave her a choice to be baptized and go to heaven within an hour, or to wait three hundred yearsonearth,onconditionofherafterwardsattaininghappiness. Shechose to die that very hour. She seems to have been buried at Teach Dabeoc, on LoughDerg,inthecountyofDonegal. ^" Miraclesandwonderswerethere wrought through her. There, too, as God ordained for her in heaven, like every holy virgin, she was held in honour and reverence.
Article VIII. —St. Muirghen, Abbot of Gleann-Uisean, or Kill- ESHiN, Queen's County. Few spots in Ireland have been endeared by
9 This beautifully imaginative legend has '5 In the romance of her adventures, Mr. been immortalized in Moore's exquisite Irish Crowe translates tDuTp-jein, "Sea-birth,"
O — which and
melody, "Silent, Moyle," &c, miii|\-5eil-u, "Sea-grazer. "
concludes with these lines
:
'''
In the allusion she
song says
a—ttributed to her in self-
' ' When will that
Warm our isle with peace and love ?
.
ever,
century.
consequently b<! in to mean " white ;" for a compound U-bAn,withb^ntomean"woman"is in-
admissible. " See pp. 106, 107, 112.
"Journal of the Royal Historical and Arch-
ffiological Association of Ireland," vol. i. , part i. Fourth series.
^^ See O'Donovon's " Annals of the Four
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 200 to 203.
U, pp. 265, 266.
We are told by the writer of this
'•* The " Martyrology
p. 414.
article,
or Daboec, was situated in a larger island than where the cell had been built, and that
day-star, mildly springing,
:
When will its sweet bell " I heaven, ringing, pray
Call my spirit to the fields above ? "
'° This holy man was not identical with the St. Beoc, Dabeoc, or Beanus, who has been treated of already, at the 1st of January, the day for his festival. Were we to credit the
date for the capture of Liban, or Muirgen, he must have lived after the middle of the
For true assistance from black profanity: May he for long aid one good F—unche.
"
There is a St. Liban com- ti to mean " and beauty,"
sixth
memorated at the i8th of December, and it does not seem to be very clear, that she may not be identical with the present holy woman.
" At Teach Dabeoc, on an island of Lough
Derg, county of Donegal.
'- In a comment Dr. Todd remarks that
in the margin at this name the original
" '^ scribe has written a note. See Marlyr-
ology of Donegal," n. i, p. 28.
'3 See the curious romance contained in
the "Leabhar na h-Uidhre," fol. 36, as
translated in Rev. William Reeves' "Eccle-
siastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and
Dromore. " Appendix and Calendar LL. , penance and purification in Europe. " and n. (s), pp. 376 to 378.
of
"after having told her history and adven-
that the
of St.
tures," p. 29.
Also Appendix
"Dublin Penny Journal," vol. iv. No. 208,
Donegal" adds,
J. L. L. ,
Priory
Fintan's,
Brenand for ever and
While I am beneath floods of surge, —
Mr. Crowe observes on this stanza " This is the name for the fish called "whiting," conveying the same idea as Li-bAti, as in the above quatrain ix. , where the writer takes
—" :
Et
virgo Murgeilt hodie celebratur. "
It states
apud
'9 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 3.
^' ' orSt. Patrick's Lough Derg,
Purgatory, was at one time the most famous shrine —of
:
Hibemiam sancta
460 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 27.
holier memories, or brighter associations/ than that elevated site, which the present distinguished man contributed to hallow by his rule. Muirghen, Abbot of Gleann-Uisean, is mentioned in the Martyrologies of Tallagh^ and of Donegal,3 on this day. In the table appended to this latter, the epithet (Marigena)4 is found after his name and place. s This, however, seems rather to have reference to the virgin Muirgen, likewise venerated on this day. Gleann Uissen has been modernized into Killeshin, a parish in the barony ofSHevemarigue,intheQueen'sCounty. ^ Heretherehadbeenareligious establishment from a very remote period. There is a fine old ruined church,'
Ancient Church at Killeshin, with the Modem C. Church in the distance.
within the graveyard at Killeshin, which is situated near a mountain stream, that runs through a deep ravine. ^ Below this spot, and on the churchyard side of this rivulet, the people have a tradition that a town formerly stood. 9 It would seem that interments were frequent at this place, likewise,
a canon from the priory was always resident on the Island of tTie Purgatory to receive, direct, and exhort pilgrims. Ibid. , n. , p. 415- —
'
County. " Sheets 31, 32, 36, 37. The townland proper of this denomination is marked on Sheets 32, 37, On the former are to be traced the ruined church and grave-
with
yard, the immediate surroundings of
chief topographical interest.
^ The accompanying engraving by Alfred Appleton was drawn on the spot, with his usual taste and accuracy, by William F. Wakeman.
^ Near this place was the celebrated nar* row pass-way, known as "the cut of Kil- leshin," on the way from Carlow to the
This is often a favourite resort of the ecclesiastical and lay students of Carlow College on the weekly "walk- day. " Considerably over thirty years have elapsed since it was the writer's privilege to
join in those thoroughly enjoyable excursions. 'Edited by the Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii. In the Franciscan copy we find mupseni
Article vin.
<vb. 'SLiTini u-fen.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. collieries, and described by Sir Charles
2S, 29.
< This word means " bom of the sea. "
'See ibid. , pp. 456, 457.
* It is represented on the "Ordnance
Survey Townland Maps for the Queen's
Coote in his "Statistical Survey of the Queen's County, "chap, xiv. , sec. iv. , pp. 193, 193-
» Such was the information communicated in May, 1869, by a man named Timothy
January 28. ] LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. 461
as numbers of human bones had been turned from the soil. Primitive and
simple in style, as appear the ruins yet existing at Killeshin; yet, the tourist and visitor of- correct taste will find a symmetry and an agreement of pro-
and
of healthful recreation, and the scenery spreading out beneath, especially towards the east and north, has more than once afforded delight and in-
spiration to poets, artists, and antiquaries.
Article IX. —Reputed Feast of St. Palladius, Bishop and Apostle OF THE Scots. \Fifth Centery^ According to Ferrarius and the English Martyrology, a festival of this celebrated saint was observed on to-day. ^ The more ancient and numerous class of Calendarists and Hagiographers place his feast at the 6th of July. ^
ClDentjj-'eigfttft IBap of Sanuarp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. CANNERA, CAINDER, OR KINNERA, VIRGIN. [SIXTH CENTURY. ']
with
or archaic
The fine up-hill walk from Carlow to this elevated site, will prove a source
portions,
elegance
workmanship
carving
GENIUS
has the power of embellishing whatever subject it fondly treats. In the it has linked with metre the name
present case, inspiring lyric
of this holy virgin. Her acts, with illustrative notes and collected from
various sources, have been inserted at the 28th of January, in Colgan's work. ' She is variously called Cinnera, Cainder,^ Cunnera ;3 but Cannera, as found
inanIrishcodex,appearstobethepreferableform. * Thisholyvirginwas of respectable parentage. Her father is named Cruthnechan,5 the son of
Hickey, who was bom at Killeshin, A. D. —See " Poems," p. 67. New edition,
1 812. His father James, who died about 1855, or 1856, was a good Irish scholar, and he had a number of Irish and other
printed at Cork, 1861. Another of our most distinguished modem poets, Samuel
Ferguson, and the accomplished artist and writer, Miss Stokes, have noticed as also
MSS. , which were accidentally burned,
when his house took fire, six or seven years
before his own death. Timothy Hickey curious tracery of great interest at Killeshin.
stated, that according to one of those MSS. M'Dermott was the original founder of Killeshin.
'"The gifted poet, J. J. Callanan, who spent some time as a tutor in the academy of Mr. Lynch at Everton, must often have visited Killeshin, and while there, among other compositions, was penned his lines, to "A Sprig of Mountain Hea—th," containing
Article ix. — 'See the BoUandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , xxvii. Janu-
this beautiful local allusion
:
" No more the morning mist shall break,
Around Clogh-grenan's towering peak;
The hermit plant of Liberty. "
notices of
See another
so
The no more with stag
^ See notices of another holy virgin so called at the I2th of June.
'* See ibid. , n. 2, 176. pp. 175,
^ According to Marianus O'Gorman and
the Scholiast on St. Angus' "Felire," be- longing to the Franciscans.
of Looks fearless from its hazel side ; But there thou livest lone and free
glance
pride,
copied several remaining inscriptions and
arii. Prastermissi et in alios dies p. 761.
rejecti,
"
At that date, notices of this saint will be
found. —
'
ARTICLE
I.
See "Acta Sanctoram De S. Can-
Hiberaise," xxviii. Januarii.
nera Virgine, pp. 174 to 176.
"
holy virgin called at the 5th of November.
still '° preserved.
462 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 28.
Laighne or Lugne. ^ Some doubt exists regarding the true name of her mother, who was probably Cumania. 7 The infant, destined for future dis- tinction and sanctity, on earth as in heaven, is said to have been bom in the sea-washed district of Bentraighe, now represented by the barony of Bantry,^ a part of Carbery territory, and which is said to have its name from Beant Mac Farriola. 9 This person, it is stated, descended from the O'Donovans andMahonys. ^° TheterritorylayaroundBantryBay,inthepresentdiocese andcountyofCork. " Fromherearliestyears,St. Caneracultivatedalove
Round Tower and Ruins on Iniscathy Island.
ofholypurity,anddedicatedhervirginitytoGod. Sheretiredtoasolitude, near the place of her birth. Here she built a cell, and spent many years, in
the exercise of prayer and heavenly contemplation.
On a certain night," as
* According
to the "
O'Glavin, who was
lagh. "
y The ancient book on the "Mothers of
Irish Saints" makes Cumania the mother of
branchofit. "—Smith's"
of the County and City of Cork," vol. i. , book i. , chap, i. , pp. 31, 32.
Canneria. But
Colgan
wasunabletodis-
particular
History
cover whether Cumania was mother to our
saint, or to Canneria, the daughter of Foillan.
See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxviii.
Januarii, nn. 3, 4, p. 176.
*
" Allusion to the family descendants of Conor, King of Ireland, and of his son Cairbre Muse, will be found in the Life of
Martyrology
of Tal-
and the Carew
also their termon, or steward, possessed a part of it. By these names, Daly and Glavin, I design the family, and not any
It is situated in the West Riding of Cork
County, and it contains over 59,216 acres.
This barony is shown on the "Ordnance n. 6, According to Smith, the district of
Survey Townland Maps for the County of Cork. ^' Sheets 79, 80, 91, 92, 93, 104, 105, 106, 117, 118, 119.
"A son of his, "called Bear Briver, pos-
sessed that small rugged tract, called by the
name of Minterbairr, being now the parish
of Killegrohan. I find, in latter times, the
Carbery, took its name from Carbry Riada.
See ibid. , n. 13, p. 23.
" Although Smith refers to Keating in
support of various statements in his note ; yet on consulting that historian, I do not find anything to warrant his assertions to their full extent.
" See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
nise," viii. Martii, pp. 610, 525 (/vr/t), 52c,
had this who were suc- territory,
O'Dalys
cessively bard* or poets to the O'Mahon,
family.
St. Ceara, at the 5th of January, chap, i. ,
January 28. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
463
related in St. Senan's metrical life,'3 while Cannera was thus engaged, she saw in a vision all the churches of Ireland sending forth bright fiery flames, which reached the stars ; and amongst others, the church and monastery on Inis- cathy Island,^* where St. Senan then lived, emitted a brighter light, and a higher flame, than any of the other churches. The virgin immediately abandoned her cell, and without guide or companion travelled by day and night, following the direction of this flame, until she arrived on the Shannon's banks and opposite Iniscathy Island. ^5 An angel there appeared, who rais- ingherfromtheearthtransportedhertotheislandofherpilgrimage. There at the present time are to be seen an interesting round tower, with venerable ruins, some of which are thought to date back to St. Cannera's time. ^*^ She was accosted by Senan, who desired the virgin to seek his mother's house, where she would be received, and which was not far distant from Iniscathy, since the rules of his monastery did not allow the visits of woman within its enclosure. In vain did she urge a request, to be permitted to take up her abode on the island. '? Senan still persisted in his refusal : for although she was related to him on the mother's side, as also distinguished by her virtues and purity of soul, yet he told her, that to avoid all occasion for scandal, she
'^
should return to the exterior world.
As a last favour, she desired permission to have her body deposited on the
extreme verge of Iniscathy Island, after her death, and to receive com- munion from the hands of St. Senan. The holy abbot demurred at first, regarding the place selected for her interment, as liable to be washed away by the waves. But St. Cannera replied, this might be left to the disposition of Divine Providence; and she trusted that her remains should never be disturbed by any irruption of the sea. Her request was at length granted by St. Senan. '9 Immediately after her reception of the Holy Eucharist, Cannera resigned a pure spirit to the Creator. Then her obsequies having been performed by the monastic brethren, according to her request, she was buried on the shore of Iniscathy Island. We are told, that a trench had been dug for her remains at high-water mark, and that although the place is^ now washed by the tide, St. Canera's ! grave has not been effaced. It is pointed out traditionally, even to the present time. *°
About the year 530," she died in the flower of her age. The 28th of
521. Vita Metrica S. Senani, cap. xviii. These incidents are related more fully, in St. Senan's Second Life, as published by Colgan. See cap. xl. , p. 536 [recte), 532.
•3 The Life of St. Senan wiU be found at the 8th of March.
' Scattery Island, as now called, is in the parish of Kilrush and barony of Moyarta. Seeitssituationdefinedonthe"Ordnance
Survey Townland Maps for the County of
"
Clare.
'S There is a wood-cut of Inniscattery Is-
land, with its round tower and cells, in
" The Dublin Penny Journal," vol. iv. . No.
172, October 17th, 1835, p. 125. In the See Moore's Irish Melodies. "
letterpress allusion is made to St. Cannera ofBantry.
part
Sheet 67.
'^
round tower, with one of the ancient churches near it, was engraved by Messrs. Jacquet
''See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nioe," viii. Martii. Vita S. Senani, cap. xl. , p. 536 {recte) 532.
The accompanying illustration of the
*See "The Legen4 of Iniscathy," in "
I, p. 39.
" Such at least is the opinion of Colgan.
He this may be inferred from the supposes
and Bisson, Paris, from a photograph taken by Frederick H. Mares of Dublin.
Article VII. —St. Muirgen,or Muirgeilt, Virgin, of Teach Dabeoc,
CountyofDon—egal. \SixthCentury. '] TheholyvirginMuirgeinflourished at an early time and it would seem long before the ninth century ; as we
find her specially commemorated, in the Feilire of St. ^ngus the Culdee, at this particular date. ^ From the manner in which she is introduced to our
Article IV. —' See " De Statu Ilominis Veteris simul ac novae Ecclesiae, et Sanctis Regni Scotiae," lib. i. , cap. iii. , sec. ii. , p. 136.
'
Incorrectly
thew of Westminster, as placing his death at A. D. 701. This refers not to the date of the present saint's demise but to that of St. Adamnan, Abbot of lona. See "Flores
tended for " on the soggart,"
of
His rank in the Church is solely noted. We read of Lucan, priest, in the
Historiarum,"—p. 255. '
does Camerarius cite Mat-
Co tn-DUAt)Aib Xie'fic glAn buAi-o pAt) TvijAib
^^S'I'A, Conx n-UA^Aib.
F. ui. kl. My God loved Muirgen,
A miraculous triumphant being ; They achieved bright victories in
presence of kings Agna and Conx, virgins.
The two latter had no special connexion with
Article v. Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly,
xiii. In the Franciscan copy this entry runs E. ucAnn TAG.
^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 28, 29.
—
mctp.
' This lake is usually called Loch Meilge,
or Loch-Meilge-mhic-Cobhthaigh in our an- cient annals.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
28, 29.
Article vii. —' The following Irish
Ireland. The Bollandists
this date. Saints Castus, Caius and Caeles- tins, martyrs, whose names are said to be found in the Martyrologies of St. Jerome and of Donegal. By the latter we are to understand, ihat ancient Martyrology of Tallagh, now in the Franciscan Library Dublin, and to which the Bollandists appear tohavehadaccessatLouvain. See"Acta
Sanctorum," tomusii. ,xxvii. Januarii. Prae-
Article VI, Kelly, p. xiii.
'
Edited by Rev. Dr. In the Franciscan copy is the following insertion, pn"obeo 1nb1^^
enumerate, at
27th
January,
in the
Martyrology ofTallagh. '
stanza and its
furnished by Professor O'Looney
mii\biiiL gein
English
translation were
— ^. ui, kl. Cai\ai'P moeDA rr^u1l^5en
:
458 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 27.
notice by this pious and well-informed ancient hagiographer, we may fairlyinfer, that the highly romantic tale regarding her, and which has come do\vn to our times, must have been known to him, at least in substance. Her authentic acts do not appear to have been preserved. This holy woman, Liban,=^ is called the daughter of Eochaidh, son to Muireadh,3 or Mairid, by his first wife. Eblinwasthesecondwifeofthislatterprince,calledtheKingofMunster. '* So far as we can learn from existing accounts, her father fled from Irluachair in the South towards the North. Liban belonged to the northern parts of Ireland, where probably she was bom and lived. A story of ancient bardic origin tells us, that Liban's family was drowned by the rising of a well, de- nominated Lind Muni, over a district called Liathmuine in Ulster. It is stated, that Liban was miraculously preserved, and that under the shape of a mermaid, she lived and wandered for about three hundred years along the shores and under the waters of Lough Neagh and the Irish Sea. s Nothing can be imagined more fancifully poetical than the account of her sufferings and adventures, with her longing for freedom and for her obtaining of heaven. ^ Very similar to this situation was that of Fionnuala, the daughter of Lir,7 who is stated to have been transformed into a swan, and to have wandered for many hundred years over certain lakes and rivers in Ireland,^ until the coming of Christianity, when the first sound of the Mass-bell was to be the signal for
teiinissi et in alios dies rejecti, p. 760. No-
tices are omitted, however, as perchance they were identical with saints mentioned at
the 2rst of January. See ibid. , xxi. Jan- uarii, sec. 2, pp. 341, 342, where it is stated
to the R. I. A. The article in question is
TnAi|\et)o, "The Destruction of Eochaid, Son of Mairid," pp. 94 to 112.
from a " Codex
Episcopi, Felicis, Celsionis, Ciciliani, Auguri, Martialis, Eulogise, item alio Eulogise, Vin-
centiae, Agnae Virginis
Roma, Repositae,
Dungalensis. "
*' Fmctuosi
5 She is thus—made
pathetically
to state in
in
Felicis, Emerentianse, Vincentii, Cendreni,
Flori, Viti, Leotii, Puplii, Citiaci, Vincentis, Faustaci, Eustaci, Salatoris, Hermetis, Fmctuosi, Augorii, Diacii, Vitalis, Patrocli, Auiti Episcopi, Satumini, Quintini, Marini, Datii, Rutiti, Gaddiani, Celiani, Seruuli, Rogati, Victoris, Primi, Lucii, Maulini, Honorati, Nascusi, Castini, Cselestini, Zarii, Hermis. " These names appear to have been copied from St. Jerome's ancient Mar- tyrology, nor do we believe that any of them are Irish. The Bollandists cannot deter- mine their era.
* We are told by Mr. Crowe, that the
white beauty. Her grandfather, Mairid, is said to have been king over Munster, to- wards the close of the. first century ; but neither in our Irish Annals, nor in John O'Dugan's chronological poem, "The Kings of the Race of Eibhear," edited by John O'Daly, do we find any mention of him.
Reeves', "Martyr- ology of Donegal," pp. 28, 29.
* There is a strange, incoherent fable re- garding their adventures, to be found, with the original Irish and an English translation, by J. O'Beirne Crowe, A. B. , in "The Journal of the Royal Historical and Archae- ological Association of Ireland," vol. i. ,
i. Fourth series. It is taken from the Ea,retbor na h-Uidre, a manuscript belonging
VII.
" While I was under full lake's flood,
I meditated on the King of noble hea-
ven ;
I beseech the father who is holy, I ask a drop of white baptism.
I was the likeness of mighty monsters,
I swam merry, shining sea : Wave carried me over Letha's flood
"
In salmon shape, save my head.
Here the allusion to " white baptism" indi- cates the ancient usage of clothing its re-
in white — cipients garments.
* She thus speaks
XVIII.
" A thought for everyone is the Son of God, Because it is He who sways each king : Guardian of the saints of splendid festi-
vals.
Great God who judges everything. "
' The most—correct and literal version of
— shaded and so melan- finely
translation of her real name, ti-b<iri, is •'"
3 See Drs. Todd and
this romance
"
land. " — No. I. •Ai'oeD echAC mAic
intituled,
Ancient Lake Legends of Ire-
these stanzas
:
:
so
choly in conception is the late Professor
O'Curry's contribution to "The Atlantis," Oitihe chtomne \a-^ SiofAnA, "The Fate oftheChildrenofLirhere. " Seevol. iv. , pp. . 114 to 157.
^
This story furnishes a subject for Gerald
Griffin's very elegant and simple version, in
his charming volume,
Room.
"
"
Tales of the Jury
January 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 459
herrelease. 9 Itseemstobeimpossible,atthepresentday,toaccountforthose curiousadventuresattributedtoLibanorMuirgen; but,perhaps,insomeway she had been saved from a watery grave, and hence the story of St. Beoan,'° son of Inh, having taken her with a net from the sea. He is said to have desired herburialinhismonastery,"whenthetimeofherdeatharrived. Wemustre- ceive only with great diffidence the various bardic accounts regarding Muirgen. " Doubtless some strange, wild legends have been interlaced in popular concep- tion with this saint, '3 It is said, that after her capture she was taken to Teach
Dabeoc, where she was baptized by Comgall,'* with the name Muirgen, i. e. ""
born of the sea," or Muirgeilt, traverser of the sea. "'5 She was called by
another name, Fuinchi,'^ and she is said to have been taken at the mouth of the
RiverOllarba,nowLame,countyofAntrim,a. d. 558. ^7 IntheScottishKa- lendar of Drummond,'^ the holy virgin, Murgeilt, is commemorated at the vi. oftheFebruaryKalends,'9thisday. Theromantictaleofheradventurescon- cludes with a statement, that after her capture, the clerics gave her a choice to be baptized and go to heaven within an hour, or to wait three hundred yearsonearth,onconditionofherafterwardsattaininghappiness. Shechose to die that very hour. She seems to have been buried at Teach Dabeoc, on LoughDerg,inthecountyofDonegal. ^" Miraclesandwonderswerethere wrought through her. There, too, as God ordained for her in heaven, like every holy virgin, she was held in honour and reverence.
Article VIII. —St. Muirghen, Abbot of Gleann-Uisean, or Kill- ESHiN, Queen's County. Few spots in Ireland have been endeared by
9 This beautifully imaginative legend has '5 In the romance of her adventures, Mr. been immortalized in Moore's exquisite Irish Crowe translates tDuTp-jein, "Sea-birth,"
O — which and
melody, "Silent, Moyle," &c, miii|\-5eil-u, "Sea-grazer. "
concludes with these lines
:
'''
In the allusion she
song says
a—ttributed to her in self-
' ' When will that
Warm our isle with peace and love ?
.
ever,
century.
consequently b<! in to mean " white ;" for a compound U-bAn,withb^ntomean"woman"is in-
admissible. " See pp. 106, 107, 112.
"Journal of the Royal Historical and Arch-
ffiological Association of Ireland," vol. i. , part i. Fourth series.
^^ See O'Donovon's " Annals of the Four
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 200 to 203.
U, pp. 265, 266.
We are told by the writer of this
'•* The " Martyrology
p. 414.
article,
or Daboec, was situated in a larger island than where the cell had been built, and that
day-star, mildly springing,
:
When will its sweet bell " I heaven, ringing, pray
Call my spirit to the fields above ? "
'° This holy man was not identical with the St. Beoc, Dabeoc, or Beanus, who has been treated of already, at the 1st of January, the day for his festival. Were we to credit the
date for the capture of Liban, or Muirgen, he must have lived after the middle of the
For true assistance from black profanity: May he for long aid one good F—unche.
"
There is a St. Liban com- ti to mean " and beauty,"
sixth
memorated at the i8th of December, and it does not seem to be very clear, that she may not be identical with the present holy woman.
" At Teach Dabeoc, on an island of Lough
Derg, county of Donegal.
'- In a comment Dr. Todd remarks that
in the margin at this name the original
" '^ scribe has written a note. See Marlyr-
ology of Donegal," n. i, p. 28.
'3 See the curious romance contained in
the "Leabhar na h-Uidhre," fol. 36, as
translated in Rev. William Reeves' "Eccle-
siastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and
Dromore. " Appendix and Calendar LL. , penance and purification in Europe. " and n. (s), pp. 376 to 378.
of
"after having told her history and adven-
that the
of St.
tures," p. 29.
Also Appendix
"Dublin Penny Journal," vol. iv. No. 208,
Donegal" adds,
J. L. L. ,
Priory
Fintan's,
Brenand for ever and
While I am beneath floods of surge, —
Mr. Crowe observes on this stanza " This is the name for the fish called "whiting," conveying the same idea as Li-bAti, as in the above quatrain ix. , where the writer takes
—" :
Et
virgo Murgeilt hodie celebratur. "
It states
apud
'9 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 3.
^' ' orSt. Patrick's Lough Derg,
Purgatory, was at one time the most famous shrine —of
:
Hibemiam sancta
460 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 27.
holier memories, or brighter associations/ than that elevated site, which the present distinguished man contributed to hallow by his rule. Muirghen, Abbot of Gleann-Uisean, is mentioned in the Martyrologies of Tallagh^ and of Donegal,3 on this day. In the table appended to this latter, the epithet (Marigena)4 is found after his name and place. s This, however, seems rather to have reference to the virgin Muirgen, likewise venerated on this day. Gleann Uissen has been modernized into Killeshin, a parish in the barony ofSHevemarigue,intheQueen'sCounty. ^ Heretherehadbeenareligious establishment from a very remote period. There is a fine old ruined church,'
Ancient Church at Killeshin, with the Modem C. Church in the distance.
within the graveyard at Killeshin, which is situated near a mountain stream, that runs through a deep ravine. ^ Below this spot, and on the churchyard side of this rivulet, the people have a tradition that a town formerly stood. 9 It would seem that interments were frequent at this place, likewise,
a canon from the priory was always resident on the Island of tTie Purgatory to receive, direct, and exhort pilgrims. Ibid. , n. , p. 415- —
'
County. " Sheets 31, 32, 36, 37. The townland proper of this denomination is marked on Sheets 32, 37, On the former are to be traced the ruined church and grave-
with
yard, the immediate surroundings of
chief topographical interest.
^ The accompanying engraving by Alfred Appleton was drawn on the spot, with his usual taste and accuracy, by William F. Wakeman.
^ Near this place was the celebrated nar* row pass-way, known as "the cut of Kil- leshin," on the way from Carlow to the
This is often a favourite resort of the ecclesiastical and lay students of Carlow College on the weekly "walk- day. " Considerably over thirty years have elapsed since it was the writer's privilege to
join in those thoroughly enjoyable excursions. 'Edited by the Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii. In the Franciscan copy we find mupseni
Article vin.
<vb. 'SLiTini u-fen.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. collieries, and described by Sir Charles
2S, 29.
< This word means " bom of the sea. "
'See ibid. , pp. 456, 457.
* It is represented on the "Ordnance
Survey Townland Maps for the Queen's
Coote in his "Statistical Survey of the Queen's County, "chap, xiv. , sec. iv. , pp. 193, 193-
» Such was the information communicated in May, 1869, by a man named Timothy
January 28. ] LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. 461
as numbers of human bones had been turned from the soil. Primitive and
simple in style, as appear the ruins yet existing at Killeshin; yet, the tourist and visitor of- correct taste will find a symmetry and an agreement of pro-
and
of healthful recreation, and the scenery spreading out beneath, especially towards the east and north, has more than once afforded delight and in-
spiration to poets, artists, and antiquaries.
Article IX. —Reputed Feast of St. Palladius, Bishop and Apostle OF THE Scots. \Fifth Centery^ According to Ferrarius and the English Martyrology, a festival of this celebrated saint was observed on to-day. ^ The more ancient and numerous class of Calendarists and Hagiographers place his feast at the 6th of July. ^
ClDentjj-'eigfttft IBap of Sanuarp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. CANNERA, CAINDER, OR KINNERA, VIRGIN. [SIXTH CENTURY. ']
with
or archaic
The fine up-hill walk from Carlow to this elevated site, will prove a source
portions,
elegance
workmanship
carving
GENIUS
has the power of embellishing whatever subject it fondly treats. In the it has linked with metre the name
present case, inspiring lyric
of this holy virgin. Her acts, with illustrative notes and collected from
various sources, have been inserted at the 28th of January, in Colgan's work. ' She is variously called Cinnera, Cainder,^ Cunnera ;3 but Cannera, as found
inanIrishcodex,appearstobethepreferableform. * Thisholyvirginwas of respectable parentage. Her father is named Cruthnechan,5 the son of
Hickey, who was bom at Killeshin, A. D. —See " Poems," p. 67. New edition,
1 812. His father James, who died about 1855, or 1856, was a good Irish scholar, and he had a number of Irish and other
printed at Cork, 1861. Another of our most distinguished modem poets, Samuel
Ferguson, and the accomplished artist and writer, Miss Stokes, have noticed as also
MSS. , which were accidentally burned,
when his house took fire, six or seven years
before his own death. Timothy Hickey curious tracery of great interest at Killeshin.
stated, that according to one of those MSS. M'Dermott was the original founder of Killeshin.
'"The gifted poet, J. J. Callanan, who spent some time as a tutor in the academy of Mr. Lynch at Everton, must often have visited Killeshin, and while there, among other compositions, was penned his lines, to "A Sprig of Mountain Hea—th," containing
Article ix. — 'See the BoUandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , xxvii. Janu-
this beautiful local allusion
:
" No more the morning mist shall break,
Around Clogh-grenan's towering peak;
The hermit plant of Liberty. "
notices of
See another
so
The no more with stag
^ See notices of another holy virgin so called at the I2th of June.
'* See ibid. , n. 2, 176. pp. 175,
^ According to Marianus O'Gorman and
the Scholiast on St. Angus' "Felire," be- longing to the Franciscans.
of Looks fearless from its hazel side ; But there thou livest lone and free
glance
pride,
copied several remaining inscriptions and
arii. Prastermissi et in alios dies p. 761.
rejecti,
"
At that date, notices of this saint will be
found. —
'
ARTICLE
I.
See "Acta Sanctoram De S. Can-
Hiberaise," xxviii. Januarii.
nera Virgine, pp. 174 to 176.
"
holy virgin called at the 5th of November.
still '° preserved.
462 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 28.
Laighne or Lugne. ^ Some doubt exists regarding the true name of her mother, who was probably Cumania. 7 The infant, destined for future dis- tinction and sanctity, on earth as in heaven, is said to have been bom in the sea-washed district of Bentraighe, now represented by the barony of Bantry,^ a part of Carbery territory, and which is said to have its name from Beant Mac Farriola. 9 This person, it is stated, descended from the O'Donovans andMahonys. ^° TheterritorylayaroundBantryBay,inthepresentdiocese andcountyofCork. " Fromherearliestyears,St. Caneracultivatedalove
Round Tower and Ruins on Iniscathy Island.
ofholypurity,anddedicatedhervirginitytoGod. Sheretiredtoasolitude, near the place of her birth. Here she built a cell, and spent many years, in
the exercise of prayer and heavenly contemplation.
On a certain night," as
* According
to the "
O'Glavin, who was
lagh. "
y The ancient book on the "Mothers of
Irish Saints" makes Cumania the mother of
branchofit. "—Smith's"
of the County and City of Cork," vol. i. , book i. , chap, i. , pp. 31, 32.
Canneria. But
Colgan
wasunabletodis-
particular
History
cover whether Cumania was mother to our
saint, or to Canneria, the daughter of Foillan.
See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxviii.
Januarii, nn. 3, 4, p. 176.
*
" Allusion to the family descendants of Conor, King of Ireland, and of his son Cairbre Muse, will be found in the Life of
Martyrology
of Tal-
and the Carew
also their termon, or steward, possessed a part of it. By these names, Daly and Glavin, I design the family, and not any
It is situated in the West Riding of Cork
County, and it contains over 59,216 acres.
This barony is shown on the "Ordnance n. 6, According to Smith, the district of
Survey Townland Maps for the County of Cork. ^' Sheets 79, 80, 91, 92, 93, 104, 105, 106, 117, 118, 119.
"A son of his, "called Bear Briver, pos-
sessed that small rugged tract, called by the
name of Minterbairr, being now the parish
of Killegrohan. I find, in latter times, the
Carbery, took its name from Carbry Riada.
See ibid. , n. 13, p. 23.
" Although Smith refers to Keating in
support of various statements in his note ; yet on consulting that historian, I do not find anything to warrant his assertions to their full extent.
" See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
nise," viii. Martii, pp. 610, 525 (/vr/t), 52c,
had this who were suc- territory,
O'Dalys
cessively bard* or poets to the O'Mahon,
family.
St. Ceara, at the 5th of January, chap, i. ,
January 28. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
463
related in St. Senan's metrical life,'3 while Cannera was thus engaged, she saw in a vision all the churches of Ireland sending forth bright fiery flames, which reached the stars ; and amongst others, the church and monastery on Inis- cathy Island,^* where St. Senan then lived, emitted a brighter light, and a higher flame, than any of the other churches. The virgin immediately abandoned her cell, and without guide or companion travelled by day and night, following the direction of this flame, until she arrived on the Shannon's banks and opposite Iniscathy Island. ^5 An angel there appeared, who rais- ingherfromtheearthtransportedhertotheislandofherpilgrimage. There at the present time are to be seen an interesting round tower, with venerable ruins, some of which are thought to date back to St. Cannera's time. ^*^ She was accosted by Senan, who desired the virgin to seek his mother's house, where she would be received, and which was not far distant from Iniscathy, since the rules of his monastery did not allow the visits of woman within its enclosure. In vain did she urge a request, to be permitted to take up her abode on the island. '? Senan still persisted in his refusal : for although she was related to him on the mother's side, as also distinguished by her virtues and purity of soul, yet he told her, that to avoid all occasion for scandal, she
'^
should return to the exterior world.
As a last favour, she desired permission to have her body deposited on the
extreme verge of Iniscathy Island, after her death, and to receive com- munion from the hands of St. Senan. The holy abbot demurred at first, regarding the place selected for her interment, as liable to be washed away by the waves. But St. Cannera replied, this might be left to the disposition of Divine Providence; and she trusted that her remains should never be disturbed by any irruption of the sea. Her request was at length granted by St. Senan. '9 Immediately after her reception of the Holy Eucharist, Cannera resigned a pure spirit to the Creator. Then her obsequies having been performed by the monastic brethren, according to her request, she was buried on the shore of Iniscathy Island. We are told, that a trench had been dug for her remains at high-water mark, and that although the place is^ now washed by the tide, St. Canera's ! grave has not been effaced. It is pointed out traditionally, even to the present time. *°
About the year 530," she died in the flower of her age. The 28th of
521. Vita Metrica S. Senani, cap. xviii. These incidents are related more fully, in St. Senan's Second Life, as published by Colgan. See cap. xl. , p. 536 [recte), 532.
•3 The Life of St. Senan wiU be found at the 8th of March.
' Scattery Island, as now called, is in the parish of Kilrush and barony of Moyarta. Seeitssituationdefinedonthe"Ordnance
Survey Townland Maps for the County of
"
Clare.
'S There is a wood-cut of Inniscattery Is-
land, with its round tower and cells, in
" The Dublin Penny Journal," vol. iv. . No.
172, October 17th, 1835, p. 125. In the See Moore's Irish Melodies. "
letterpress allusion is made to St. Cannera ofBantry.
part
Sheet 67.
'^
round tower, with one of the ancient churches near it, was engraved by Messrs. Jacquet
''See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nioe," viii. Martii. Vita S. Senani, cap. xl. , p. 536 {recte) 532.
The accompanying illustration of the
*See "The Legen4 of Iniscathy," in "
I, p. 39.
" Such at least is the opinion of Colgan.
He this may be inferred from the supposes
and Bisson, Paris, from a photograph taken by Frederick H. Mares of Dublin.
