Calendars and Martyrologies, Festilogies and Litanies, Canonical Decrees and Epistles, the Rules and Exercises of Monastic observance, Penitentials, Visions and Revelations, H)nTins and Panegyrics, Dialogues, Prophecies and
Legends, Psalters, sacred Genealogies and local Traditions, as also our generally accurate Annals and Chronicles, have respectively their relative and authentic value to evolve the facts of past Ecclesiastical History from much obscurity.
Legends, Psalters, sacred Genealogies and local Traditions, as also our generally accurate Annals and Chronicles, have respectively their relative and authentic value to evolve the facts of past Ecclesiastical History from much obscurity.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
IVCS tb ^.
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*Rcv,5obn Canon ©1l3aii Ion.
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1
i
1
! 1
THE IRISH WITH
SAINTS,
LIVES OF
^\)tt\nl ^t»i^vi^\^f m& iht (tommmoxniiowfi of itoltj ^txmxfi, COMPILED FROM
fslphp, iBijigpiDjip. Bnii |apns %m^ii%, RELATING TO
C! )e Ancient €i)xm\) JSi^torp of Jrelantr,
BY THE
REV. JOHN O'HANLON, M. R. I. A.
Vol. I.
Dublin : James Duffy and Sons, 15 Wellington-quay, and la Paternoster-row, London.
London: Burns, Oates, and Co. , 17 & 18 Portman-street, and 63 Paternoster-row, E. G.
New York : The Catholic Publishing Society,
9 Warren-street.
[all rights reserved. '\
6X
r. . (
JOSEPH DOLLARD, PRINTER, I3 & I4 DAMK-STREET, DUBLIN.
INTRODUCTION.
all ages, the saints and servants of God furnish the brightest
of faith and morals reduced to Christian doctrine and THROUGH
examples practice.
the rule of life it enjoins are best promoted and most attractively shown to
those, who study, with great care and pious reflection, the motives, words, and
actions of religious persons. The applause of mankind, notwithstanding, is seldom lavished on objects really worthy of attention or deserving admi- ration. True virtue is ever unobtrusive. It avoids not only the public gaze and admiration of men, but even it seeks withdrawal from that interior consciousness, which—however natural and unpretending—may prove, it fears, false and exaggerated. The maxims of religion and of the world are
often opposed in spirit and tendency. Hence, it so frequently happens, that the conquerors of earth are exalted in History above the benefactors of their
race ; that incentives to ambition, dazzling achievement, and material great- ness are considered indications of superior genius ; while true wisdom,
that disregards the rewards, the applause, the vanity of this world, in consi- deration of heavenly enjoyments, is too frequently unheeded, because its nature and merits are not sufficiently appreciated. Fame is usually but the
echo of prevailing opinion, subject to various changes, or modified according to accidents of thought and expression. When it celebrates the actions of
individuals, who have been distinguished in the present, or during a former age, and whose lives are worth recording on the page of History—not for the mere satisfaction of idle curiosity, but for the edification and improvement of posterity ; truth becomes served, through its means, and lessons of virtue are more easily inculcated. Thus, are the lives of really great men brought under observation, and proposed as examples for imitation to the human race.
The History of our Holy Church presents subjects, whence sublime in- struction may be drawn, for the guidance of her faithful children. From earliest years, we have been taught to admire and venerate those sanctified persons, who have passed before us to the tomb, and who h—ave attained the full possession of eternal rewards. Their lives and actions their trials and sufferings—their virtues and merits—their temporal sacrifices and enduring recompense—their calm exit from this life to never-ending joys in Heaven —
;
these, and similar considerations, have oftentimes reproduced miracles of Divine Grace, and have procured beatification for countless multitudes,
iv INTRODUCTION.
among the faithful, through succeeding ages. The ApostoHc labours and preaching—the Martyrs' torments ? ind death—the mortification and peni- tential exercises of Recluses—the constancy and heroism of Confessors—the stainless purity and tender devotion of Virgins—the Contemplatives' sublime aspirations—even the humble trust and final perseverance of Christians, more exposed to assaults of the world, the devil, and the flesh ;—all such examples, reverently presented to the view of a devout Catholic, can scarcely fail to excite in his mind those pious desires and that holy emulation, which, in every age, have peopled Heaven with saints. While those heroic souls constituted a happy portion of the Church on earth, their lively faith, their persevering zeal, their ardent charity, their extraordinary miracles and ordi- nary actions, were hidden from the generality of men. But, to the great Searcher of hearts, the noble motives that actuated His servants were fully
known. As here they had lived the life of true Christians, so it followed,
that in the Lord's sight the death of His saints was precious. When trans-
lated to the choirs of the Church Triumphant in Heaven, those blessed
spirits,whohadachievedavictoryovertheworldandits allurements,left
bright examples and memorials for all succeeding generations to the Church Militant on earth.
Hagiologists and ecclesiastical writers have been careful to preserve for us interesting incidents of Saints' Lives, with records of their merits and miracles, so far as these could be discovered. Biographical notices and references to their Acts mainly constitute sources, whence Church History is derived. Among the Greeks and Orientals, collections of such biographies
were known as Menologias, and among the Latins they were styled Acta Sanctorum. CalendarsandMartyrologies,compiledbyvariousindividuals or communities, have preserved for us more concise outlines of Saint History, with the commemorations and festivals of numerous holy servants of God, belonging to many different nations.
For an Introduction, explaining the scope and design of this work, the
writer deems it superfluous specially to descant on the general utility of Hagiography, or to dwell in detail on the labours of illustrious and learned men,whohavedevotedtheirlivestoitscultureandexposition. Nottomen- tion the names of various ancient writers, who flourished before the invention of printing in the fifteenth century, and who have left behind them manu- script memorials of saints ; printed biographies, since pubhshed by a host of mediaeval and modern authors, have taken an extensive range through this interesting department of Church History. It must prove an almost impos- sible task to enumerate the various general, national, provincial, and local collections of Saints' Lives, which have been already published ; to particu- larize different languages or idioms wherein those acts have been written ; and to name all the individuals or congregations, who have been en- gaged, at stated periods, and at several places, in bringing them to light. While the writer of this present work has restricted his researches and con- fined his object to recording Lives of the Irish Saints, he has always felt
tNTRODuctiOn:
regret that this fertile and wide domain of Ecclesiastical and National History should have been hitherto so imperfectly cultivated.
However limited might appear, at first sight, that particular section of
biography which comprises the Hagiology of so small a country as Ireland ; yet, it is scarcely to be hoped, in the ordinary course of nature, that any single person will be found to exhaust—even remotely—those rich treasures that remain after the wTeck of ages, and which contain materials for extended memoirs of distinguished saints, connected with our Island. Such records are now accessible to the generality of capable scholars and students. For-
tunately and opportunely, for the proximate accomplishment of his object, the Lives of many Irish Saints, printed and in manuscript, have become available for the writer's purpose. Rare and voluminous archives chiefly grace the shelves of large public libraries, or are found among the private collections of men, possessing ample means and a taste for procuring scarce and valuable literary treasures. Several manuscript biographies of our national saints are yet to be found in the Irish, Latin, and other tongues, and many of these have not yet been published. From records that remain, we have been enabled to discover titles and occasional fragments, referring to numerous ancient and valuable Acts or Lives, that have been irreparably lost,ornothithertorecovered. Howmanymoremanuscriptshaveperished, during the changing fortunes of their former possessors, or through lapse of time, cannot be known to the present, or perhaps to any future generation.
With—in the limits of this Introduction it might be expedient-^were it possible to present an abbreviated account of unpublished and published documents, that furnish the principal materials for compiling Irish Hagiology. Those manuscripts and printed works of chief importance must be noticed, however, in connexion with this subject, and especially according to the order of their first composition or publication. While several manuscript memorials of Irish saints are contained in the public libraries of Dublin city, and of other places throughout Ireland, a very considerable portion has been removed from this country. Some are to be found in private collections, belonging to gentlemen at present or lately in Ireland. Manuscripts have been undoubtedly lost, yet many are still preserved in the libraries of Great Britain and of various other countries on the Continent of Europe. The cities and towns, where those documents are kept, shall here be briefly noticed, and authorities are cited, that best serve to corroborate the several
statements. It should require a separate and large volume to characterize the value and authenticity of those various records, regarded as sources for the illustration and development of our Saint History.
From earliest ages of the Church, writers were accustomed to register
Acts of the Martyrs and Lives of the principal Saints. This usage was
adopted in Ireland, likewise, and from the first dawn of Christianity in our Island. Many of those writers even deserve to rank among the Beatified.
Abundant sources for Hagiography formerly existed, but, at present, many fail the research of modern Irish archaeologists and historians. Besides
vJ JNIRODUCTIOM.
treating topics purely moral and doctrinal in poems and prose writings, various ancient authors have compiled Acts and Lives of our Saints.
Calendars and Martyrologies, Festilogies and Litanies, Canonical Decrees and Epistles, the Rules and Exercises of Monastic observance, Penitentials, Visions and Revelations, H)nTins and Panegyrics, Dialogues, Prophecies and
Legends, Psalters, sacred Genealogies and local Traditions, as also our generally accurate Annals and Chronicles, have respectively their relative and authentic value to evolve the facts of past Ecclesiastical History from much obscurity. To those old writers and their tracts, we can only allude in a very cursory manner. For a more suitable place and distribution of
topics, in succeeding pages, further literary details and biographical infor- mation are reserved.
Although we may be arrested occasionally by the introduction of some remarkable writer or work, in the chronological order of this recapitulation ; yet, it will only be done to furnish the studious reader with some necessary previous knowledge for better understanding the period, character, and impor- tanceofauthorities,frequentlycitedthroughoutthesevolumes. Nottospeak of some Irish persons, who flourished, it is thought, before the time of St. Patrick, and who are said to have written as Christians, it will suffice to state, that, in the fifth and sixth centuries, some of our earliest and best kno\vTi saint authors lived and wrote. Their literary labours, when well authen- ticated, best serve to illustrate their personal history ; or, when treating about the peculiar topics and authors hereafter enumerated, it must appear that the respective writers, without concerted action, have wTought a chain of evidence, every link of which, making all due allowance for defective parts, will bear the strain of opposing force, and lift our early Irish Church and her sanctified ones to the highest level and brightest position yet attained by other Chris- tian nations.
Section I. —Irish Hagiologists of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Centuries.
The great Apostle of Ireland, St. Patrick,^ has left us, as genuine tracts,* a short Confession, Epistles, and Canonical Decrees ; but other treatises ascribed to him are not regarded as quite authentic. ^ His successor in the see of Armagh, St. Binen, or Benignus,* is said to have written a book, partly in Irish, and partly in Latin, on the Virtues and Miracles of St.
Section I. —' See his Life at the 17th of March.
learned Spanish Priest, at Dublin, a. d. 1835, in an octavo volume, having for its
" Sancti
Sjmodi, Canones, Opuscula, et Scriptorum quae supersunt, Fragmenta ; scholiis illus-
' In the of opinion good
Ibemorum
critics.
3 Sir James Ware published at London, A. D. 1656, an octavo volume, "Opuscula
title,
Patricii,
Apostoli,
Sancto Patricio, qui Hibemos ad fidem trata," a Joachimo Laurentio Villanueva,
Christi convertit, adscripta. " But by far Presbytero. It is already a very scarce the most correct and erudite edition of our work.
Apostle's compositions is that issued by a * Sec his Life at the 9th of November.
5 This work has been most ably edited for the Celtic Society, by the late John O' Donovan, LL. D. , who has added a valu- able Introduction, a Translation from the Irish, and notes. It was published at Dub-
*'
these works, in his
Ecclesiasticorum, sive illustrium virorum, cum Appendice eorum, qui nostro etiam seculo doctissimi claruere," fol. xxxiiii. a. This work was published at Cologne, A. D.
INTRODUCTION. Vll
Patrick, as also a tract, called the Leabhar na g-Ceart, or the Book of Rights. s Dubthach Ua Lugair,^ Arch-Poet to King Laogaire, became an early convert to Christianity, and thenceforward his gifts of intellect were employed in composing elegant verses, praising the Omnipotent Creator, and extolling His holy preachers. 7
The disciple of this Dubthach, St. Fiec or Fiach,^ afterwards Bishop of Sletty, wrote an Irish Hymn of Thirty-four Distichs or Ranns, on the Acts of
St. Patrick. 9 Sedulius, an accompHshed Poet, Orator, and Divine,'° has leftbehindhimmanyworksinproseandverse. " ToSt. Cathaldus,Bishop of Tarentum," some prophecies have been ascribed. '^ St. Kianan or Cienan, Bishop of Duleek,'+ is said to have written a Life of St. Patrick, by whom he had been baptized. ^s gt. Fridolin,^'^ the son of an Irish king, flou- rished towards the close of the fifth and the beginning of the sixth century. He wrote some pious Exhortations and Treatises, now supposed to be lost. '7
lin, A. D. 1847, in an octavo volume. *"
See a valuable series of erudite Disqui-
sitions by the Rev. John Francis Shearman,
intituled, "LocaPatriciana,"inthe "Journal
of the Royal Historical and Archaeological
Association of Ireland," vol. ii. . Fourth hunc Domini 1557. " Cent. xiv. p. 187.
Series, No. iii. , pp. 486 to 498, and No. iv. pp. 544 to 560. Also vol. iii. No. v. pp.
24 to 59, and No. vi. pp. 183 to 196.
7 Colgan maintains, he possessed different
Owing to the author's peculiar bias and temperament, this work is not very reliable,
except in passages, chiefly extracted from Leland's collection. See also Bellarmin, "De
little compositions of this celebrated poet. ''""
See Trias Thaumaturga, n. 5, p. 8.
^ See his Life at the 12th of October,
9 This, with a Latin translation and notes,
has been published by Colgan, as the first of St. Patrick's Lives, in the "Trias Thauma-
turga. " See pp. I to 10. It was originally extracted from the " Liber Hymnorum," a MS. now preserved in the Franciscan Con- ventual Library, Dublin. Another Irish version, with an English translation, intro- ductory observations and notes, will be found in " The Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iv. , pp. 269 to 293. March, 1868. The Rev. Dr. Todd was about to introduce this Hymn, in his edition of the "Liber Hymno- rum ;" but he has left the Preface even in-
Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis," pp. 149 to 152. See his Life at the 8th of May.
'3 See Bartholomew Moroni, "Vita S. Cathaldi. " This was published at Rome, A. D. 1614. See also Wills' "Lives of Illus- trious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part i. First Period, p. 77.
'* See his Life at the 29th of November.
5 See Harris' Ware, vol. iii. " The Writers of Ireland," book i. , chap. ii. p. Ii.
'^
See his Life at 6th of March.
*7 Such is the statement of Bale, in his work already mentioned. Cent. xiv. No. x. p. 188. In his " Historia Ecclesiatica Gen- tis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. vi. , No. 515, pp. 280, 281, Dempster adds the titles of other works, but he cites no authority for his complete, at part ii. , p. 304.
Calendars and Martyrologies, Festilogies and Litanies, Canonical Decrees and Epistles, the Rules and Exercises of Monastic observance, Penitentials, Visions and Revelations, H)nTins and Panegyrics, Dialogues, Prophecies and
Legends, Psalters, sacred Genealogies and local Traditions, as also our generally accurate Annals and Chronicles, have respectively their relative and authentic value to evolve the facts of past Ecclesiastical History from much obscurity. To those old writers and their tracts, we can only allude in a very cursory manner. For a more suitable place and distribution of
topics, in succeeding pages, further literary details and biographical infor- mation are reserved.
Although we may be arrested occasionally by the introduction of some remarkable writer or work, in the chronological order of this recapitulation ; yet, it will only be done to furnish the studious reader with some necessary previous knowledge for better understanding the period, character, and impor- tanceofauthorities,frequentlycitedthroughoutthesevolumes. Nottospeak of some Irish persons, who flourished, it is thought, before the time of St. Patrick, and who are said to have written as Christians, it will suffice to state, that, in the fifth and sixth centuries, some of our earliest and best kno\vTi saint authors lived and wrote. Their literary labours, when well authen- ticated, best serve to illustrate their personal history ; or, when treating about the peculiar topics and authors hereafter enumerated, it must appear that the respective writers, without concerted action, have wTought a chain of evidence, every link of which, making all due allowance for defective parts, will bear the strain of opposing force, and lift our early Irish Church and her sanctified ones to the highest level and brightest position yet attained by other Chris- tian nations.
Section I. —Irish Hagiologists of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Centuries.
The great Apostle of Ireland, St. Patrick,^ has left us, as genuine tracts,* a short Confession, Epistles, and Canonical Decrees ; but other treatises ascribed to him are not regarded as quite authentic. ^ His successor in the see of Armagh, St. Binen, or Benignus,* is said to have written a book, partly in Irish, and partly in Latin, on the Virtues and Miracles of St.
Section I. —' See his Life at the 17th of March.
learned Spanish Priest, at Dublin, a. d. 1835, in an octavo volume, having for its
" Sancti
Sjmodi, Canones, Opuscula, et Scriptorum quae supersunt, Fragmenta ; scholiis illus-
' In the of opinion good
Ibemorum
critics.
3 Sir James Ware published at London, A. D. 1656, an octavo volume, "Opuscula
title,
Patricii,
Apostoli,
Sancto Patricio, qui Hibemos ad fidem trata," a Joachimo Laurentio Villanueva,
Christi convertit, adscripta. " But by far Presbytero. It is already a very scarce the most correct and erudite edition of our work.
Apostle's compositions is that issued by a * Sec his Life at the 9th of November.
5 This work has been most ably edited for the Celtic Society, by the late John O' Donovan, LL. D. , who has added a valu- able Introduction, a Translation from the Irish, and notes. It was published at Dub-
*'
these works, in his
Ecclesiasticorum, sive illustrium virorum, cum Appendice eorum, qui nostro etiam seculo doctissimi claruere," fol. xxxiiii. a. This work was published at Cologne, A. D.
INTRODUCTION. Vll
Patrick, as also a tract, called the Leabhar na g-Ceart, or the Book of Rights. s Dubthach Ua Lugair,^ Arch-Poet to King Laogaire, became an early convert to Christianity, and thenceforward his gifts of intellect were employed in composing elegant verses, praising the Omnipotent Creator, and extolling His holy preachers. 7
The disciple of this Dubthach, St. Fiec or Fiach,^ afterwards Bishop of Sletty, wrote an Irish Hymn of Thirty-four Distichs or Ranns, on the Acts of
St. Patrick. 9 Sedulius, an accompHshed Poet, Orator, and Divine,'° has leftbehindhimmanyworksinproseandverse. " ToSt. Cathaldus,Bishop of Tarentum," some prophecies have been ascribed. '^ St. Kianan or Cienan, Bishop of Duleek,'+ is said to have written a Life of St. Patrick, by whom he had been baptized. ^s gt. Fridolin,^'^ the son of an Irish king, flou- rished towards the close of the fifth and the beginning of the sixth century. He wrote some pious Exhortations and Treatises, now supposed to be lost. '7
lin, A. D. 1847, in an octavo volume. *"
See a valuable series of erudite Disqui-
sitions by the Rev. John Francis Shearman,
intituled, "LocaPatriciana,"inthe "Journal
of the Royal Historical and Archaeological
Association of Ireland," vol. ii. . Fourth hunc Domini 1557. " Cent. xiv. p. 187.
Series, No. iii. , pp. 486 to 498, and No. iv. pp. 544 to 560. Also vol. iii. No. v. pp.
24 to 59, and No. vi. pp. 183 to 196.
7 Colgan maintains, he possessed different
Owing to the author's peculiar bias and temperament, this work is not very reliable,
except in passages, chiefly extracted from Leland's collection. See also Bellarmin, "De
little compositions of this celebrated poet. ''""
See Trias Thaumaturga, n. 5, p. 8.
^ See his Life at the 12th of October,
9 This, with a Latin translation and notes,
has been published by Colgan, as the first of St. Patrick's Lives, in the "Trias Thauma-
turga. " See pp. I to 10. It was originally extracted from the " Liber Hymnorum," a MS. now preserved in the Franciscan Con- ventual Library, Dublin. Another Irish version, with an English translation, intro- ductory observations and notes, will be found in " The Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iv. , pp. 269 to 293. March, 1868. The Rev. Dr. Todd was about to introduce this Hymn, in his edition of the "Liber Hymno- rum ;" but he has left the Preface even in-
Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis," pp. 149 to 152. See his Life at the 8th of May.
'3 See Bartholomew Moroni, "Vita S. Cathaldi. " This was published at Rome, A. D. 1614. See also Wills' "Lives of Illus- trious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part i. First Period, p. 77.
'* See his Life at the 29th of November.
5 See Harris' Ware, vol. iii. " The Writers of Ireland," book i. , chap. ii. p. Ii.
'^
See his Life at 6th of March.
*7 Such is the statement of Bale, in his work already mentioned. Cent. xiv. No. x. p. 188. In his " Historia Ecclesiatica Gen- tis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. vi. , No. 515, pp. 280, 281, Dempster adds the titles of other works, but he cites no authority for his complete, at part ii. , p. 304. This is all we statement. See Edinburgh edition, a. d.
have as yet published, and it issued soon
after the death of the lamented Dr. Todd,
in 1869.
" See his Life at the 12th of February.
1829. This writer's great partiality for Scotland induces him improperly to claim the present saint, as also many other saints
and writers, although unquestionably these were Irishmen.
"
John of Trittenhem enumerates some of
Catalogus Scriptorum
1531, in quarto shape. Bale has added to John of Trittenhem's List, in his Scripto-
rum Illustrium Majoris Brytannije, quam nunc Angliam et Scotiam vocant, Catalogus: a Japheto per 3618 annos, usque ad annum
vm INTROD UCTION.
St. Ailbe, Bishop of Emly,^^ is believed to have compiled a Rule for Monks, ^9 which had been preserved in manuscript. ^"
The illustrious St. Brigid,^^ justly regarded as the great luminary in our Irish Church, about the close of the fifth and beginning of the sixth centu-
ries, is stated to have composed a Rule for her Nuns, and to have written some devout poems and epistles. ^^ Her chaplain, St. Nemid or Ninnidh Lainidan,=^3 is said to have produced some Hymns, in one of which there is a Panegyric of St. Brigid. ^-^ St. Brogan Cloen,*s Abbot of Rostuirck in Ossory, also wrote an Irish Hymn in her praise. ^*^ Cogitosus compiled a Life of St. Brigid. ^7
St. Diarmuid, the Just, was Abbot of Inis-Clothran,'^ and to him is attri- buted a work in the form of a Psalter, wherein fifty-two Irish saints are com- memorated. "9 St. FinenorFinian,BishopofClonard,isenumeratedamong our writers. 3° A certain Geman wrote a hymn in praise of this holy Bishop. 3^ St. Kieran, Abbot of Clonmacnoise,^" is also said to have written a Rule for his Monks, and it is known under a title, The Law of Ciaran, the Artificer. 33 Some Prophecies are rather doubtfully ascribed to St. Jarlath,34 Bishop of Tuam. 35 Amergin Mac Auley, Poet Laureate to Dermod Mac Carroll,3'5 is supposed to be author of the Dinnsenchus, or
the Etymology of Remarkable Places in Ireland. 37 Again, the Canons of
'^
See his Life at the I2th of September.
'' This seems to have been the Law of St.
Albe, embraced in Munster, according to the "Ulster Annals," at a. d. 792. See
September.
'7 See Gerard Vossius, " De Scriptoribus
Latinis," lib. iii. , p. 624. Canisius, "An- tiquje Lectiones," tomus v.
January.
'9 Colgan says,' he had a copy of this Poem, but he thinks that interpolations have been inserted there by a more recent hand. See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernifc,"
X. Januarii, Vita S. Diermitii, n. 9, pp. 51,52. 30 His Life is given at the 1 2th of Decem-
ber. For his imputed writings, see Sir James Ware's " De Scriptoribus Hiberniae," lib. i. , p. 10.
3' See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- niae," xxiii. Februarii, Vita S. Finiaui, cap. xxiii. , p. 395.
^ See his Life at the 9th of September.
33 See Sir James Ware's " De Scripto- ribus Hiberniae," lib. i. , p. 10.
3* See his Life at the 6th of June.
35 Colgan had a copy of those reputed prophecies. See "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
niae, "xi. Februarii, VitaS. Hierlathi, p. 309.
:r-
*Rcv,5obn Canon ©1l3aii Ion.
//>/
f
1
i
1
! 1
THE IRISH WITH
SAINTS,
LIVES OF
^\)tt\nl ^t»i^vi^\^f m& iht (tommmoxniiowfi of itoltj ^txmxfi, COMPILED FROM
fslphp, iBijigpiDjip. Bnii |apns %m^ii%, RELATING TO
C! )e Ancient €i)xm\) JSi^torp of Jrelantr,
BY THE
REV. JOHN O'HANLON, M. R. I. A.
Vol. I.
Dublin : James Duffy and Sons, 15 Wellington-quay, and la Paternoster-row, London.
London: Burns, Oates, and Co. , 17 & 18 Portman-street, and 63 Paternoster-row, E. G.
New York : The Catholic Publishing Society,
9 Warren-street.
[all rights reserved. '\
6X
r. . (
JOSEPH DOLLARD, PRINTER, I3 & I4 DAMK-STREET, DUBLIN.
INTRODUCTION.
all ages, the saints and servants of God furnish the brightest
of faith and morals reduced to Christian doctrine and THROUGH
examples practice.
the rule of life it enjoins are best promoted and most attractively shown to
those, who study, with great care and pious reflection, the motives, words, and
actions of religious persons. The applause of mankind, notwithstanding, is seldom lavished on objects really worthy of attention or deserving admi- ration. True virtue is ever unobtrusive. It avoids not only the public gaze and admiration of men, but even it seeks withdrawal from that interior consciousness, which—however natural and unpretending—may prove, it fears, false and exaggerated. The maxims of religion and of the world are
often opposed in spirit and tendency. Hence, it so frequently happens, that the conquerors of earth are exalted in History above the benefactors of their
race ; that incentives to ambition, dazzling achievement, and material great- ness are considered indications of superior genius ; while true wisdom,
that disregards the rewards, the applause, the vanity of this world, in consi- deration of heavenly enjoyments, is too frequently unheeded, because its nature and merits are not sufficiently appreciated. Fame is usually but the
echo of prevailing opinion, subject to various changes, or modified according to accidents of thought and expression. When it celebrates the actions of
individuals, who have been distinguished in the present, or during a former age, and whose lives are worth recording on the page of History—not for the mere satisfaction of idle curiosity, but for the edification and improvement of posterity ; truth becomes served, through its means, and lessons of virtue are more easily inculcated. Thus, are the lives of really great men brought under observation, and proposed as examples for imitation to the human race.
The History of our Holy Church presents subjects, whence sublime in- struction may be drawn, for the guidance of her faithful children. From earliest years, we have been taught to admire and venerate those sanctified persons, who have passed before us to the tomb, and who h—ave attained the full possession of eternal rewards. Their lives and actions their trials and sufferings—their virtues and merits—their temporal sacrifices and enduring recompense—their calm exit from this life to never-ending joys in Heaven —
;
these, and similar considerations, have oftentimes reproduced miracles of Divine Grace, and have procured beatification for countless multitudes,
iv INTRODUCTION.
among the faithful, through succeeding ages. The ApostoHc labours and preaching—the Martyrs' torments ? ind death—the mortification and peni- tential exercises of Recluses—the constancy and heroism of Confessors—the stainless purity and tender devotion of Virgins—the Contemplatives' sublime aspirations—even the humble trust and final perseverance of Christians, more exposed to assaults of the world, the devil, and the flesh ;—all such examples, reverently presented to the view of a devout Catholic, can scarcely fail to excite in his mind those pious desires and that holy emulation, which, in every age, have peopled Heaven with saints. While those heroic souls constituted a happy portion of the Church on earth, their lively faith, their persevering zeal, their ardent charity, their extraordinary miracles and ordi- nary actions, were hidden from the generality of men. But, to the great Searcher of hearts, the noble motives that actuated His servants were fully
known. As here they had lived the life of true Christians, so it followed,
that in the Lord's sight the death of His saints was precious. When trans-
lated to the choirs of the Church Triumphant in Heaven, those blessed
spirits,whohadachievedavictoryovertheworldandits allurements,left
bright examples and memorials for all succeeding generations to the Church Militant on earth.
Hagiologists and ecclesiastical writers have been careful to preserve for us interesting incidents of Saints' Lives, with records of their merits and miracles, so far as these could be discovered. Biographical notices and references to their Acts mainly constitute sources, whence Church History is derived. Among the Greeks and Orientals, collections of such biographies
were known as Menologias, and among the Latins they were styled Acta Sanctorum. CalendarsandMartyrologies,compiledbyvariousindividuals or communities, have preserved for us more concise outlines of Saint History, with the commemorations and festivals of numerous holy servants of God, belonging to many different nations.
For an Introduction, explaining the scope and design of this work, the
writer deems it superfluous specially to descant on the general utility of Hagiography, or to dwell in detail on the labours of illustrious and learned men,whohavedevotedtheirlivestoitscultureandexposition. Nottomen- tion the names of various ancient writers, who flourished before the invention of printing in the fifteenth century, and who have left behind them manu- script memorials of saints ; printed biographies, since pubhshed by a host of mediaeval and modern authors, have taken an extensive range through this interesting department of Church History. It must prove an almost impos- sible task to enumerate the various general, national, provincial, and local collections of Saints' Lives, which have been already published ; to particu- larize different languages or idioms wherein those acts have been written ; and to name all the individuals or congregations, who have been en- gaged, at stated periods, and at several places, in bringing them to light. While the writer of this present work has restricted his researches and con- fined his object to recording Lives of the Irish Saints, he has always felt
tNTRODuctiOn:
regret that this fertile and wide domain of Ecclesiastical and National History should have been hitherto so imperfectly cultivated.
However limited might appear, at first sight, that particular section of
biography which comprises the Hagiology of so small a country as Ireland ; yet, it is scarcely to be hoped, in the ordinary course of nature, that any single person will be found to exhaust—even remotely—those rich treasures that remain after the wTeck of ages, and which contain materials for extended memoirs of distinguished saints, connected with our Island. Such records are now accessible to the generality of capable scholars and students. For-
tunately and opportunely, for the proximate accomplishment of his object, the Lives of many Irish Saints, printed and in manuscript, have become available for the writer's purpose. Rare and voluminous archives chiefly grace the shelves of large public libraries, or are found among the private collections of men, possessing ample means and a taste for procuring scarce and valuable literary treasures. Several manuscript biographies of our national saints are yet to be found in the Irish, Latin, and other tongues, and many of these have not yet been published. From records that remain, we have been enabled to discover titles and occasional fragments, referring to numerous ancient and valuable Acts or Lives, that have been irreparably lost,ornothithertorecovered. Howmanymoremanuscriptshaveperished, during the changing fortunes of their former possessors, or through lapse of time, cannot be known to the present, or perhaps to any future generation.
With—in the limits of this Introduction it might be expedient-^were it possible to present an abbreviated account of unpublished and published documents, that furnish the principal materials for compiling Irish Hagiology. Those manuscripts and printed works of chief importance must be noticed, however, in connexion with this subject, and especially according to the order of their first composition or publication. While several manuscript memorials of Irish saints are contained in the public libraries of Dublin city, and of other places throughout Ireland, a very considerable portion has been removed from this country. Some are to be found in private collections, belonging to gentlemen at present or lately in Ireland. Manuscripts have been undoubtedly lost, yet many are still preserved in the libraries of Great Britain and of various other countries on the Continent of Europe. The cities and towns, where those documents are kept, shall here be briefly noticed, and authorities are cited, that best serve to corroborate the several
statements. It should require a separate and large volume to characterize the value and authenticity of those various records, regarded as sources for the illustration and development of our Saint History.
From earliest ages of the Church, writers were accustomed to register
Acts of the Martyrs and Lives of the principal Saints. This usage was
adopted in Ireland, likewise, and from the first dawn of Christianity in our Island. Many of those writers even deserve to rank among the Beatified.
Abundant sources for Hagiography formerly existed, but, at present, many fail the research of modern Irish archaeologists and historians. Besides
vJ JNIRODUCTIOM.
treating topics purely moral and doctrinal in poems and prose writings, various ancient authors have compiled Acts and Lives of our Saints.
Calendars and Martyrologies, Festilogies and Litanies, Canonical Decrees and Epistles, the Rules and Exercises of Monastic observance, Penitentials, Visions and Revelations, H)nTins and Panegyrics, Dialogues, Prophecies and
Legends, Psalters, sacred Genealogies and local Traditions, as also our generally accurate Annals and Chronicles, have respectively their relative and authentic value to evolve the facts of past Ecclesiastical History from much obscurity. To those old writers and their tracts, we can only allude in a very cursory manner. For a more suitable place and distribution of
topics, in succeeding pages, further literary details and biographical infor- mation are reserved.
Although we may be arrested occasionally by the introduction of some remarkable writer or work, in the chronological order of this recapitulation ; yet, it will only be done to furnish the studious reader with some necessary previous knowledge for better understanding the period, character, and impor- tanceofauthorities,frequentlycitedthroughoutthesevolumes. Nottospeak of some Irish persons, who flourished, it is thought, before the time of St. Patrick, and who are said to have written as Christians, it will suffice to state, that, in the fifth and sixth centuries, some of our earliest and best kno\vTi saint authors lived and wrote. Their literary labours, when well authen- ticated, best serve to illustrate their personal history ; or, when treating about the peculiar topics and authors hereafter enumerated, it must appear that the respective writers, without concerted action, have wTought a chain of evidence, every link of which, making all due allowance for defective parts, will bear the strain of opposing force, and lift our early Irish Church and her sanctified ones to the highest level and brightest position yet attained by other Chris- tian nations.
Section I. —Irish Hagiologists of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Centuries.
The great Apostle of Ireland, St. Patrick,^ has left us, as genuine tracts,* a short Confession, Epistles, and Canonical Decrees ; but other treatises ascribed to him are not regarded as quite authentic. ^ His successor in the see of Armagh, St. Binen, or Benignus,* is said to have written a book, partly in Irish, and partly in Latin, on the Virtues and Miracles of St.
Section I. —' See his Life at the 17th of March.
learned Spanish Priest, at Dublin, a. d. 1835, in an octavo volume, having for its
" Sancti
Sjmodi, Canones, Opuscula, et Scriptorum quae supersunt, Fragmenta ; scholiis illus-
' In the of opinion good
Ibemorum
critics.
3 Sir James Ware published at London, A. D. 1656, an octavo volume, "Opuscula
title,
Patricii,
Apostoli,
Sancto Patricio, qui Hibemos ad fidem trata," a Joachimo Laurentio Villanueva,
Christi convertit, adscripta. " But by far Presbytero. It is already a very scarce the most correct and erudite edition of our work.
Apostle's compositions is that issued by a * Sec his Life at the 9th of November.
5 This work has been most ably edited for the Celtic Society, by the late John O' Donovan, LL. D. , who has added a valu- able Introduction, a Translation from the Irish, and notes. It was published at Dub-
*'
these works, in his
Ecclesiasticorum, sive illustrium virorum, cum Appendice eorum, qui nostro etiam seculo doctissimi claruere," fol. xxxiiii. a. This work was published at Cologne, A. D.
INTRODUCTION. Vll
Patrick, as also a tract, called the Leabhar na g-Ceart, or the Book of Rights. s Dubthach Ua Lugair,^ Arch-Poet to King Laogaire, became an early convert to Christianity, and thenceforward his gifts of intellect were employed in composing elegant verses, praising the Omnipotent Creator, and extolling His holy preachers. 7
The disciple of this Dubthach, St. Fiec or Fiach,^ afterwards Bishop of Sletty, wrote an Irish Hymn of Thirty-four Distichs or Ranns, on the Acts of
St. Patrick. 9 Sedulius, an accompHshed Poet, Orator, and Divine,'° has leftbehindhimmanyworksinproseandverse. " ToSt. Cathaldus,Bishop of Tarentum," some prophecies have been ascribed. '^ St. Kianan or Cienan, Bishop of Duleek,'+ is said to have written a Life of St. Patrick, by whom he had been baptized. ^s gt. Fridolin,^'^ the son of an Irish king, flou- rished towards the close of the fifth and the beginning of the sixth century. He wrote some pious Exhortations and Treatises, now supposed to be lost. '7
lin, A. D. 1847, in an octavo volume. *"
See a valuable series of erudite Disqui-
sitions by the Rev. John Francis Shearman,
intituled, "LocaPatriciana,"inthe "Journal
of the Royal Historical and Archaeological
Association of Ireland," vol. ii. . Fourth hunc Domini 1557. " Cent. xiv. p. 187.
Series, No. iii. , pp. 486 to 498, and No. iv. pp. 544 to 560. Also vol. iii. No. v. pp.
24 to 59, and No. vi. pp. 183 to 196.
7 Colgan maintains, he possessed different
Owing to the author's peculiar bias and temperament, this work is not very reliable,
except in passages, chiefly extracted from Leland's collection. See also Bellarmin, "De
little compositions of this celebrated poet. ''""
See Trias Thaumaturga, n. 5, p. 8.
^ See his Life at the 12th of October,
9 This, with a Latin translation and notes,
has been published by Colgan, as the first of St. Patrick's Lives, in the "Trias Thauma-
turga. " See pp. I to 10. It was originally extracted from the " Liber Hymnorum," a MS. now preserved in the Franciscan Con- ventual Library, Dublin. Another Irish version, with an English translation, intro- ductory observations and notes, will be found in " The Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iv. , pp. 269 to 293. March, 1868. The Rev. Dr. Todd was about to introduce this Hymn, in his edition of the "Liber Hymno- rum ;" but he has left the Preface even in-
Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis," pp. 149 to 152. See his Life at the 8th of May.
'3 See Bartholomew Moroni, "Vita S. Cathaldi. " This was published at Rome, A. D. 1614. See also Wills' "Lives of Illus- trious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part i. First Period, p. 77.
'* See his Life at the 29th of November.
5 See Harris' Ware, vol. iii. " The Writers of Ireland," book i. , chap. ii. p. Ii.
'^
See his Life at 6th of March.
*7 Such is the statement of Bale, in his work already mentioned. Cent. xiv. No. x. p. 188. In his " Historia Ecclesiatica Gen- tis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. vi. , No. 515, pp. 280, 281, Dempster adds the titles of other works, but he cites no authority for his complete, at part ii. , p. 304.
Calendars and Martyrologies, Festilogies and Litanies, Canonical Decrees and Epistles, the Rules and Exercises of Monastic observance, Penitentials, Visions and Revelations, H)nTins and Panegyrics, Dialogues, Prophecies and
Legends, Psalters, sacred Genealogies and local Traditions, as also our generally accurate Annals and Chronicles, have respectively their relative and authentic value to evolve the facts of past Ecclesiastical History from much obscurity. To those old writers and their tracts, we can only allude in a very cursory manner. For a more suitable place and distribution of
topics, in succeeding pages, further literary details and biographical infor- mation are reserved.
Although we may be arrested occasionally by the introduction of some remarkable writer or work, in the chronological order of this recapitulation ; yet, it will only be done to furnish the studious reader with some necessary previous knowledge for better understanding the period, character, and impor- tanceofauthorities,frequentlycitedthroughoutthesevolumes. Nottospeak of some Irish persons, who flourished, it is thought, before the time of St. Patrick, and who are said to have written as Christians, it will suffice to state, that, in the fifth and sixth centuries, some of our earliest and best kno\vTi saint authors lived and wrote. Their literary labours, when well authen- ticated, best serve to illustrate their personal history ; or, when treating about the peculiar topics and authors hereafter enumerated, it must appear that the respective writers, without concerted action, have wTought a chain of evidence, every link of which, making all due allowance for defective parts, will bear the strain of opposing force, and lift our early Irish Church and her sanctified ones to the highest level and brightest position yet attained by other Chris- tian nations.
Section I. —Irish Hagiologists of the Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Centuries.
The great Apostle of Ireland, St. Patrick,^ has left us, as genuine tracts,* a short Confession, Epistles, and Canonical Decrees ; but other treatises ascribed to him are not regarded as quite authentic. ^ His successor in the see of Armagh, St. Binen, or Benignus,* is said to have written a book, partly in Irish, and partly in Latin, on the Virtues and Miracles of St.
Section I. —' See his Life at the 17th of March.
learned Spanish Priest, at Dublin, a. d. 1835, in an octavo volume, having for its
" Sancti
Sjmodi, Canones, Opuscula, et Scriptorum quae supersunt, Fragmenta ; scholiis illus-
' In the of opinion good
Ibemorum
critics.
3 Sir James Ware published at London, A. D. 1656, an octavo volume, "Opuscula
title,
Patricii,
Apostoli,
Sancto Patricio, qui Hibemos ad fidem trata," a Joachimo Laurentio Villanueva,
Christi convertit, adscripta. " But by far Presbytero. It is already a very scarce the most correct and erudite edition of our work.
Apostle's compositions is that issued by a * Sec his Life at the 9th of November.
5 This work has been most ably edited for the Celtic Society, by the late John O' Donovan, LL. D. , who has added a valu- able Introduction, a Translation from the Irish, and notes. It was published at Dub-
*'
these works, in his
Ecclesiasticorum, sive illustrium virorum, cum Appendice eorum, qui nostro etiam seculo doctissimi claruere," fol. xxxiiii. a. This work was published at Cologne, A. D.
INTRODUCTION. Vll
Patrick, as also a tract, called the Leabhar na g-Ceart, or the Book of Rights. s Dubthach Ua Lugair,^ Arch-Poet to King Laogaire, became an early convert to Christianity, and thenceforward his gifts of intellect were employed in composing elegant verses, praising the Omnipotent Creator, and extolling His holy preachers. 7
The disciple of this Dubthach, St. Fiec or Fiach,^ afterwards Bishop of Sletty, wrote an Irish Hymn of Thirty-four Distichs or Ranns, on the Acts of
St. Patrick. 9 Sedulius, an accompHshed Poet, Orator, and Divine,'° has leftbehindhimmanyworksinproseandverse. " ToSt. Cathaldus,Bishop of Tarentum," some prophecies have been ascribed. '^ St. Kianan or Cienan, Bishop of Duleek,'+ is said to have written a Life of St. Patrick, by whom he had been baptized. ^s gt. Fridolin,^'^ the son of an Irish king, flou- rished towards the close of the fifth and the beginning of the sixth century. He wrote some pious Exhortations and Treatises, now supposed to be lost. '7
lin, A. D. 1847, in an octavo volume. *"
See a valuable series of erudite Disqui-
sitions by the Rev. John Francis Shearman,
intituled, "LocaPatriciana,"inthe "Journal
of the Royal Historical and Archaeological
Association of Ireland," vol. ii. . Fourth hunc Domini 1557. " Cent. xiv. p. 187.
Series, No. iii. , pp. 486 to 498, and No. iv. pp. 544 to 560. Also vol. iii. No. v. pp.
24 to 59, and No. vi. pp. 183 to 196.
7 Colgan maintains, he possessed different
Owing to the author's peculiar bias and temperament, this work is not very reliable,
except in passages, chiefly extracted from Leland's collection. See also Bellarmin, "De
little compositions of this celebrated poet. ''""
See Trias Thaumaturga, n. 5, p. 8.
^ See his Life at the 12th of October,
9 This, with a Latin translation and notes,
has been published by Colgan, as the first of St. Patrick's Lives, in the "Trias Thauma-
turga. " See pp. I to 10. It was originally extracted from the " Liber Hymnorum," a MS. now preserved in the Franciscan Con- ventual Library, Dublin. Another Irish version, with an English translation, intro- ductory observations and notes, will be found in " The Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iv. , pp. 269 to 293. March, 1868. The Rev. Dr. Todd was about to introduce this Hymn, in his edition of the "Liber Hymno- rum ;" but he has left the Preface even in-
Scriptoribus Ecclesiasticis," pp. 149 to 152. See his Life at the 8th of May.
'3 See Bartholomew Moroni, "Vita S. Cathaldi. " This was published at Rome, A. D. 1614. See also Wills' "Lives of Illus- trious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. i. , part i. First Period, p. 77.
'* See his Life at the 29th of November.
5 See Harris' Ware, vol. iii. " The Writers of Ireland," book i. , chap. ii. p. Ii.
'^
See his Life at 6th of March.
*7 Such is the statement of Bale, in his work already mentioned. Cent. xiv. No. x. p. 188. In his " Historia Ecclesiatica Gen- tis Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. vi. , No. 515, pp. 280, 281, Dempster adds the titles of other works, but he cites no authority for his complete, at part ii. , p. 304. This is all we statement. See Edinburgh edition, a. d.
have as yet published, and it issued soon
after the death of the lamented Dr. Todd,
in 1869.
" See his Life at the 12th of February.
1829. This writer's great partiality for Scotland induces him improperly to claim the present saint, as also many other saints
and writers, although unquestionably these were Irishmen.
"
John of Trittenhem enumerates some of
Catalogus Scriptorum
1531, in quarto shape. Bale has added to John of Trittenhem's List, in his Scripto-
rum Illustrium Majoris Brytannije, quam nunc Angliam et Scotiam vocant, Catalogus: a Japheto per 3618 annos, usque ad annum
vm INTROD UCTION.
St. Ailbe, Bishop of Emly,^^ is believed to have compiled a Rule for Monks, ^9 which had been preserved in manuscript. ^"
The illustrious St. Brigid,^^ justly regarded as the great luminary in our Irish Church, about the close of the fifth and beginning of the sixth centu-
ries, is stated to have composed a Rule for her Nuns, and to have written some devout poems and epistles. ^^ Her chaplain, St. Nemid or Ninnidh Lainidan,=^3 is said to have produced some Hymns, in one of which there is a Panegyric of St. Brigid. ^-^ St. Brogan Cloen,*s Abbot of Rostuirck in Ossory, also wrote an Irish Hymn in her praise. ^*^ Cogitosus compiled a Life of St. Brigid. ^7
St. Diarmuid, the Just, was Abbot of Inis-Clothran,'^ and to him is attri- buted a work in the form of a Psalter, wherein fifty-two Irish saints are com- memorated. "9 St. FinenorFinian,BishopofClonard,isenumeratedamong our writers. 3° A certain Geman wrote a hymn in praise of this holy Bishop. 3^ St. Kieran, Abbot of Clonmacnoise,^" is also said to have written a Rule for his Monks, and it is known under a title, The Law of Ciaran, the Artificer. 33 Some Prophecies are rather doubtfully ascribed to St. Jarlath,34 Bishop of Tuam. 35 Amergin Mac Auley, Poet Laureate to Dermod Mac Carroll,3'5 is supposed to be author of the Dinnsenchus, or
the Etymology of Remarkable Places in Ireland. 37 Again, the Canons of
'^
See his Life at the I2th of September.
'' This seems to have been the Law of St.
Albe, embraced in Munster, according to the "Ulster Annals," at a. d. 792. See
September.
'7 See Gerard Vossius, " De Scriptoribus
Latinis," lib. iii. , p. 624. Canisius, "An- tiquje Lectiones," tomus v.
January.
'9 Colgan says,' he had a copy of this Poem, but he thinks that interpolations have been inserted there by a more recent hand. See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernifc,"
X. Januarii, Vita S. Diermitii, n. 9, pp. 51,52. 30 His Life is given at the 1 2th of Decem-
ber. For his imputed writings, see Sir James Ware's " De Scriptoribus Hiberniae," lib. i. , p. 10.
3' See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- niae," xxiii. Februarii, Vita S. Finiaui, cap. xxiii. , p. 395.
^ See his Life at the 9th of September.
33 See Sir James Ware's " De Scripto- ribus Hiberniae," lib. i. , p. 10.
3* See his Life at the 6th of June.
35 Colgan had a copy of those reputed prophecies. See "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
niae, "xi. Februarii, VitaS. Hierlathi, p. 309.
