ThisReliquaryseemsto
have been deposited in a place, originally called Cnoc-na-maoile,*4 but afterwards known from the foregoing circumstances as Serin Adamhnain, or Adamnan's Shrine.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
Again,it
September 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 495
u""" the Gorta, or Famine ; the Nuno or Scarcity ;
of Fruit " ;
23 A second vision, or rather a to supplement
not Adamnan's
the first vision follows. In it, the wickedness of Ireland's inhabitants, and also those mortalities with which they were visited, and must yet be visited, are
composition.
recounted. It mentions such visitations, as the Scamhach, or "
the Bo-ar, or M Cow " the toraid, or " mortality j Digbail Blight
"
" Human Mortality. " It announces, that prayer and fasting are the only sure preservatives against an infliction of those various evils. 2* The second part of Adamnan's vision contains instructions for the 35 that
was on the feast of the Decollation of the 26 apprehended, John Baptist.
How far St. Adamnan extended his missionary labours and travels
throughout Ireland has not been clearly ascertained, but some traces may be inferredfromtraditionsthatremain. WhenonavisittoIreland,Adamnan
2
is said to have preached to his relatives, ? the descendants of Fiacha, son to
and on a hill in the townland of 28 which ever since has borne Niall, Syonan,
his name. 29 The place is in the parish of Ardnurcher, diocese and county of Meath. 3°
The church of Raphoe, originally founded by St. Columkille, seems afterwards to have been presided over by St. Adamnan—also called Eunan— who is regarded as the Patron Saint. Local tradition states, that Adamnan
passed some time at this place, and memorials of him exist in that "
neighbourhood. AtRathbothorRaphoe, thefortofboothsorcottages," it has been thought, Adamnan or Eunan spent some of his closing years in
Ireland, not uninfluenced, perhaps, by the opposition of the island
monastery to its abbot's unremitting efforts to secure uniformity in the time
for celebrating Easter with the rest of the Christian Church. There above
every other place were his relatives powerful, and an episcopal See might
have been established in his time; the silence of early writers on this
matter not leaving it improbable, that he was then in episcopal orders. The
bishop of Raphoe—as our ancient annalists state—was Coarb of Adamnan,
or Coarb of Columba and Adamnan, the latter name being the distinctive one
in that place. 3
1
In like manner, at Raphoe was shown an object called Eunan's
authenticity, as is sufficiently manifested, prophesied by Columbcille, Moling and
from a reference to the Imperial Edict of Constantine of a donation to Sylvester, AbbotofRome.
23 The language of the Vision is marked by many characteristics of Middle-age Irish ; such as the confusion of e and i in desinence;
Aireran. The Annals of Clonmacnoise, at
550, attribute the prediction concerning the
ScuabFanaitto BeeMaDe,KingDermot
mac Cerbhail's poet. See Dr. O'Donovan's
"
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (z. ), p. 196.
ae for and // for la, In ;
ndfor nn, ur for
2fi The of 29th day
putting
August.
2? This was the local tradition.
air, er, prosthesis of /; metathesis of cs and is ; final a for ae, at, e ; in the
Preface, p. liii.
2
3I After a lapse of 1,300 years, since the death of St. Columkille, a great Festival was inaugurated and celebrated at Gartan, in the County of Donegal, the place of his
oe,
28
It is Suix>e A-oArhnAm in Irish, that is, article disuse of the neuter forms of the " Seat of Adamnain. " The ruins oi a nom. and ace. singular, and use of na castle exist here, but Macgeoghegan says
for the nom. plural m. , the dual, and the that it was not church land.
dat. plural; in adjectives, use of the fem. *9 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the form in the nom. plural masc. ; and in the Four Masters," at a. d. 703, vol. i. , n. (u), case of verbs compounded with prepositions, p. 305.
use of absolute instead of subjoined forms. 3° See Rev. A. Cogan's "Diocese of
24 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's Meath, ancient and modern," vol. ii. , "Life of St. Columba. " Appendix to chap, xix. , p. 497.
5The note on the Feilire of Aengus at
this day states, that the Scuab a Fanait or
Besom of Fanad was a plague which was to
visit Ireland in the latter times, in revenge birth. The observations contained in the for the beheading of John the Baptist, as text are arguments advanced by a djs-
averting mortality
Leprosy ;
aud the Dunibadh, or
496 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Septembera3.
Bed, in the seventeenth century ; and a Round Tower, which the Bishops of
a
Raphoe had converted into a Museum,3 was there a short time previous.
Before Adamnan had been promoted as Abbot of Iona, Colgan expressly calls him Abbot at Raphoe. 33 Whether he filled the latter position or not has been questioned ; but, he was the person, by whose name the succession at Raphoe used to be distinguished. 34 He was particularly revered as the patron Saint of its monastery and church. It is considered as certain, that he had been closely connected with that place ; and if not absolutely the founder of its church, he was, at least, an abbot there over its monastery. 35 It is strongly suspected, by the learned Dr. Lanigan, that St. Eunan,36 who is usually called the first bishop of Raphoe, was no other than Adamnan ;37 not that he would allow Adamnan had ever been a bishop, for, were it so, he could not have become abbot of Hy, but that he was the ancient patron Saint of the place before it became an episcopal See, the period for such erection not being known. An object of veneration, called the Holy Cross ofRaphoe,stoodthereformerlyj perhapsithadsomerelationtothepatron saint. 38 The cross in question was afterwards removed from Raphoe to Armagh, by John Prene, Archbishop of this latter See, about the year 1441. 39 An opinion has been entertained, likewise, that Adamnan was abbot at Raphoe, which perhaps had been founded by himself, before he was appointed to govern the whole Columban order. Whether or not he repaired the monastery, said to have been erected by St. Columkille at Raphoe, may be doubted, as we find no sufficient warrant for this statement. *
In the present century, a suitable memorial of religious zeal and devotion has been raised to commemorate St. Adamnan or Eunan at Raphoe.
tinguished prelate, to show that Adamnan of
Iona was the same as Eunan, first bishop
of Raphoe. See an interesting illustrated
publication of the proceedings, intituled :
" Cuimne Coluimcitte," or the Gartan
Festival, being a Record of the Celebration very remarkable circumstance, that the
held at Gartan on the 9th June, 1897, the Thirteenth Centennial of St. Columba," Second Introduction, pp. 10 to 12. Dublin 1898, 8vo.
32 " Ostendebatur Raphoe, non ita pri-
dem, lectus ejus. Ibi porro turris erat
rotunda, colli imposita, in qua Episcopi Rapotenses Musseum olim habebant. "—Sir James Ware, " I)e Praesulibus Hibernise Commentarius. " Episcopi Rapotenses, p. 73.
festival of the saint called Eunan, is kept on the 23rd of September. Now this was the very day, on which Adamnan died, and on which his memory was revered, not only at Raphoe, but in many other churches. The name Eunan, is, I allow, not favour- able to the conjecture of his identity with
person better versed in the Irish language 33 See "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta than I am might perhaps find some analogy
between them. " — " Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xiii. , sect, v. , n. 59, p. 100.
38 In Dr. ODonovan's "Annals of the wise of Adamnan, insomuch as he had been Four Masters," vol. iv. , pp. 750, 751, we
Appendix ad Acta S. Columbae, cap. iii.
34 Thus Malbrigid, who died Archbishop of Armagh in 926, is called comorban or
successor, not only of St. Patrick, but like-
abbot and not bishop at Raphoe as Harris states, before he was raised to the See of
See Harris' Ware, vol. i. ,
read, under the year 1397, a certain Hugh
MacMahon recovered his sight by fasting
in honour of the Holy Cross of Raphoe,
and the image of the blessed regarding
Armagh.
" of Bishops
Raphoe," p.
270.
35 See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's " Ecclesiastical Virgin Mary at Ath-Trim. In Harris'
History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xviii. , sect, v. , n. 59, p. 99.
—supposed to be first bishop at Raphoe— nor could Ware discover any account of him. The first bishop of Raphoe, that we meet
Bishops of Raphoe," p.
36 Colgan never mentions this St. Eunan
with on Colgan's List, was Malduin Mac
Kinfalaid, who died about 930. See
"Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix
ad Acta S. Columbae, cap. vi. ( p. 509.
3? TheRev. Dr. Laniganadds "
: Itisa
Adamnan
have been might some
but there
reason for this variation of names, and a
;
"
Ware, vol. i. ,
270, this Hugh MacMahon is incorrectly styled Hugh Matthew.
39 See ibid.
40 It is affirmed, however, in Harris' Ware,
vol. i. ,
"
Bishops of Raphoe," p. 269.
September 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 497
While the Very Rev. Bernard Kelly, P. P. and V. F. , was in charge of the Parish of Raphoe, he conceived the idea of erecting a new Catholic Church
with appropriate ceremony, and the building was soon afterwards completed. The front of the
in honour of the Patron. *1 He entrusted the to Mr. design
Heavy, Architect in Belfast, who drew the plans and prepared the specifications for an Irish-Romanesque structure of moderate dimensions, and of unassuming ornament, but of effective style. In 1878 the foundation stone was laid,
Exterior of Catholic Church of St. Eunan, Raphoe.
suitableness in the
gable ; higher still is
a smaller window, and above it on the apex of the roof is a cross while on the
;
left-hand angle, a
round-tower, reach- ing to 'the height of 94 feet, terminated
by a tapering cap, and a neat iron cross
6 feet in height, pre- sents an imposing
In the
appearance.
upper compartment are round-headed opes to favour the sounds of a bell; beneath are two other windows of smaller dimensions to admit light to the different stages ; at the base
are projections in string courses on the outside ; and there is a doorway within
which connects it with the interior of the nave This latter extends from the entrance door 73 feet to the altar railing, while the width of the nave is 26 feet 4 inches. The masonry is finely dressed ; the walls are of sufficient thickness to give an air of solidity to the entire erection ; and buttresses are
41 The accompanying view of the exterior Festival ; being a Record of the Celebration of St. Eunan's Catholic Church, Raphoe, held at Gartan on the 9th June, 1897, the has been copied from an interesting and Thirteenth Centennial of St. Columba. " illustrated volume, issued to commemorate Dublin, M. H. Gill and Son, 1898, 8vo. a remarkable event, which had a special The photogravure, at p. 175, has been interest and attraction for the people of copied and transferred to the wood, en-
Donegal. Thebookinquestionisintituled: gravedbyGregorGrey.
Cuirhne Coluimcille," or the Gartan 42 The foregoing particulars were kindly
church is entered by a circularly-headed
doorway,surmounted by a rose window
of
corresponding
II
498 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September23.
on the outside. The rounded chancel, or apse, within which the altar stands, reaches to 17 feet from the enclosing rail to the end window. The three windows within the chancel are each 6 feet in height, by 2 feet in width. A vestry is built on the epistle-side of the altar, while access to it is through a door on the exterior, as also through one on the interior. On either side-wall of the nave are three circularly-headed windows ; each window is 1 1 feet in height, by 3 feet in width ; and they are filled in with coloured glass. On the interior of the church, the roof is elegantly coved and ribbed ; while it is sheeted with pitch-pine and varnished. It rests on
brackets having a good appearance. On the appointment of the present
Interior of St. Eunan's Catholic Church, Raphoe.
respected parish priest, Very Rev. Patrick Kelly, in 187 1, to meet the require- ments of his people, it was found necessary to erect a gallery, which is a great accommodationformanyofthecongregation. Accesstoitisfromacircular stair-way in the tower, and on it is an organ-loft and choir. The gallery is lighted from the rose window over the front entrance. '*'
It is related, that the illustrious Adamnan collected the Martra or Relics of the Saints into one Shrine. An ancient Codex«3 enumerates the twenty-six articles which were enclosed in it, consisting of manuscripts of
furnished to the writer by the Very Rev. 43 Contained in a Bruxelles Manuscript of Patrick Kelly, P. P. , in communications the Burgundian Library, classed No. dated March, 1899, with a photograph of 2324=40, p. 26. This was copied by the interior, from which the accompanying Michael O'Clery, ir. 1629, from " an old illustration has been reproduced and en- and difficult blackish manuscript of parch-
graved on the wood by Gregor Grey. ment. "
September 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 499
the Gospels, hymns, and poems ; articles of apparel belonging to the Saints of Ireland ; and a few relics of St. Paul and the Virgin Mary ; the aggregateofwhichmusthavefilledalargebox.
ThisReliquaryseemsto have been deposited in a place, originally called Cnoc-na-maoile,*4 but afterwards known from the foregoing circumstances as Serin Adamhnain, or Adamnan's Shrine. At present, the place is denominated Skreen, a parish church^ in the diocese of Killala, county of Sligo, barony of Tireragh. It is bounded on the north by Sligo Bay. There he is locally called Awnaun, and his well is situated a little to the east of the old church, at the other side of the road. From this well, the townland Toberawnaun46 derives its name. Between it and the townlaud Soodry runs the Dunmoran Stream. Over this rivulet, in connexion with a boreen, is the Drehid or "
Awnawn, Bridge of Adamnan," formed of a flag nine feet long, nine inches broad and two feet high, resting on two stones in the bed of the stream. It does not fill the whole breadth of the rivulet, so that at either end there is a vacant space between it and the bank. The natives say it was formed by the Saint, for
his convenience in going from his church to the strand. *? That shrine of
8 for it was afterwards removed to Iona. There it was regarded as a very sacred object. ** It seems probable, however, that there were two shrines called after Adamnan, the later, con-
1 taininghisownremains;5°theother,* containingthemiscellaneousobjects
mentioned in the catalogue. This latter was in after time coupled with his name, and preserved in his church of Skreen.
In the contemporary statements of Venerable Bede S2 and Ceolfrid, we
have the highest testimony borne to our Saint's character, for his proficiency in ecclesiastical and secular learning," and for all those virtues, which
Adamnan seems to have been
portable/
nani, cap. viii. , p. 337.
satchels in which the early ecclesiastics used to carry about their books. In the present
46
Resolvable into CobAft . <V6. Arrm. Ain.
notes on this name de Tir Fhiachrach, de
44 See the
in O'Donovan's " John
pp. 267, 268. Also, Addenda J. , pp. 416, S. Farannani, n. 42, p. 340. He pro-
interesting
vide — in qua, plura
Genealogies,
and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach," nn. (s. t. ), Sanctorum Hiberniae.
"
Februarii xv. Vita
417.
45 The site of the church is an old grant .
The Life of Farannan relates, that Tibraide, son of Maelduin, Lord of Hy-Fiachrach, bestowed upon St. Columba and his frater-
nity three pleasant portions of ground, one
"
nani dictus. "— "Acta Sanctorum Colgan's
mised to give a Catalogue of the relics contained in this shrine, when he should deal with the Life of St. Adamnan ; but needless to state, he did not live to fulfil that promise.
s° Referred to in the Annals at A. d. 727 and 730. This would allow but twenty- three years' interval between his death and the enshrinement of his remains,
of which
dicebatur, postea a S. Adamnano Abbate, Serin Adhamhnain, i. e. , Scrinium S. Adam-
locus isto sevo Cnoc-na-maoile
Tribes notis ad vitam S. Adamnani. " "Acta
calls it a Hibernise," Februarii xv. Vita S. Faran- which is the term used for the leathern
4? Some additions were
it, inordertocompletethecontinuityofthe path, but they were speedily removed, as foreign to the original design. The church derives its name from Adamnan's shrine, which was preserved there.
the words m instance, ciAij
48 That was the shrine which Cilline Droicthech, the fourteenth Abbot of Hy, son of Dicolla, brought to Erin to make peace and friendship between the Cinel Conaill and Cinel
:
commences thus " O fair youth, noble is
the theca thou hast taken upon thy back. " 52 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
Anglorum," lib. v. , cap. xv. , xxi.
S3 Mr. Pinkerton declares, he considers
49
age ; again,
most complete piece of such biography that
Eoghain.
Colgan couples this shrine with the
Adamnan's Life of St. Columkille, as " one of the most curious monuments of the literature of that " and as " the
formerly
made to
have the interlineal gloss . i. m fejiine, "the Shrine. " It was probably of leather, for the recital
Church of Skreen, and observes: "Est all Europe can boast of. "
ecclesia multorum reliquiis nobilis et into the History of Scotland," vol. i. veneranda, Dicecesis Kill-aladen, in regione Preface, p. xlviii.
SI The ancient
Catalogue
ciaj,
—"An
Enquiry
5oo LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 23.
become truly ornamental to the Christian priest. Alcuin, who flourished at a later period in the same century, ranks Adamnan with the most celebrated
among his country's saints. 5* In the Vision, he is styled the noble sage of
the Western World 55 and his life ascribes the combined virtues of Patriarch ;
andApostletohim. Fordunsays,thatoursaintwasdistinguishedbothfor his virtues and miracles, and that he was scrupulously exact in citing authority for every statement he made, in writing on matters pertaining to history. 56 The Four Masters add, that he was a good man, according to
the testimony of Bede, for he was tearful, penitent, given to prayer, diligent, ascetic, temperate ; that he never used to eat except on Sundays and Thurs- days; thathemadeaslaveofhimselftothesevirtues; moreover,thathewas
wise and learned in clearly understanding the Holy Scriptures of God. 57
A holy bishop called Arculf, who was an intelligent native of Gaul,58 and who was a highly credible witness for what he had seen in distant countries,
spent nine months in the city of Jerusalem. During that time, he daily visited all the Holy Places in and around the city. It appears, that Arculf had travelled to Jerusalem, for the purpose of visiting its sacred localities. He traversed all Judea, besides visiting Damascus, Constantinople, Alex- andria, and many islands in the adjacent seas. Returning to his own country in a vessel, and owing to the violence of a tempest, he was carried towards the western shores of Britain. ^ That prelate, was a learned Scripturian, and he had a full knowledge concerning those places, rendered sovenerablebecauseoftheirconnectionwiththeworld'sRedeemer. After many adventures, he came to Adamnan, by whom he was most joyfully received as a guest. The abbot, also, became a willing listener to accounts given by the bishop, regarding the Holy Land, and which he deemed worthy of being recorded. 60 Arculf related all he had seen, and delineated on waxedtablets6lcertaindiagramstoillustratehisdescriptions. Thisaccount was faithfully checked and revised, before it was committed to parchment for
the
it to writing. ^
Adamnan
After the publication
The body of this edition contains 388 pages, and it was published at
Perigueux, in France, A. D. 1870.
59 This incident, mentioned by Bede,
proves that Arculf visited Adamnan in Hy,
andnotinIreland. Nomentionofitoccurs, "
purposes
Immediately afterwards,
consigned
of readers. 62
This treatise lay long in manuscript.
s* " Patricius, Cheranus, Scotorum gloria gentis,
the sixth century.
Atque Columbanus, Adomnanusatque
Congallus,
Prseclari patres, morum vitaeque magistri,
His precibus pietas horum nos however, in the tract, De Locis Sanctis," adjuvat omnes. " subsequently written.
—Alcuini
ii. , p. 219, Ed. Ratisbon, 1777, fol. 55 Thus: ** xVOAmnAn Ua
"
^ M. Martial " Essai sur les opera. " Epigrammata, tomus In Delpit's
anciens P6lerinages a Jerusalem" may be Chm-oe found, towards the close of the First Volume, the text of three Books of Adamnan, on St. s6 See " Scotichronicon," lib. iii. , 49, CI, Arculph's Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, with the
AjroecnAi-o iajicaiji -DomAin. "
57 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the various readings of MSS. 6l
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 304 10307. This interesting record is an important s8 M. Martial Delpit has published an item in the history of writing, as showing octavo volume intituled; "Essai sur les the collateral and respective uses among the anciens P61erinages a Jerusalem" in xxx Irish of waxed tablets and membranes for
pages, prefixed to the text of Arculphe's literary purposes, towards the close of the Pilgrimage. This was taken from a Manu- seventh century.
script of the thirteenth century, which
6a Thus Adamnan writes in this tract :
to a collection of the ancient " abbey at Cadouin, in the Diocese of Peri- gueux. Besides this, he found another tract
on a similar subject and an earlier account,
by St. Anthony de Plaisanci, belonging to
belonged
Cujus
mihi formam in tabula cerata Arculfus ipse depinxit ;" and again, "juxta exemplar quod mihi Arculfus in paginola
figuravit cerata depinximus. "
63 The venerable Bede adds;
"
Fecitque
September 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 501
of Cardinal Baronius' great historical work,6* in which the author accepted implicitly the statements by Arculfus, he was severely criticised by Isaac Casaubon ; when, in order to vindicate Baronius, the laborious Jesuit Jacob Gretser undertook to publish the entire treatise,65 and in his Prologomina to it, he vigourously assails Casaubon for having impugned the authenticity of
66
This treatise M De Locis Sanctis " 6? is mentioned by Venerable Bede, as
Adamnan's genuine work. In the Vatican Library and at Corbey, manuscript copies of it are preserved, both of which have been used by Mabillon, who has published it. There are other copies at St. Germanus a Pratis,68 of the
at Berne, of the ninth and tenth centuries 69 at of eighth century ; ; Saltzburg,
the ninth or tenth century 7° and at Rheinau, of the eleventh centuryJ1 ;
There is another in the British Museum,? 3 of the fourteenth century. 73 The
tractopenswithaprologue 74invokingfirstthethreepersonsoftheMost ;
HolyTrinity,beforestatingthetitleandoriginalinceptionofthework. In this tract, Adamnan mentions the tombs of St. Simeon and of St. Joseph at Jerusalem, many relics of the Passion of Christ, the impression of the feet of our Saviour on Mount Olivet, covered with a round church having a hole open on the top, and over the place where the impression of the footsteps was to be seen. He also mentions grasshoppers in the deserts of the Jordan, and which the common people eat, boiled with oil ; as also a portion of the cross in the Rotunda Church of Constantinople, and which was exposed on a golden altar during the three last days of Holy Week, when the emperor, court, army, clergy, and others went there to kiss the sacred wood. 75
The two chief literary works associated with the name of Adamnan are the Tract intituled " De Locis Sanctis," and the " Vita St. Columbae. " Already have we briefly described and criticised the latter work, when
Arculfus' statements on insufficient information.
recording the Life of the great Archimandrite. ?
6
In his account of Adamnan,
John of Trittenham,77 altogether omits his having been the author of St. Columba's Acts, while some of his less celebrated writings are noted. Cave
opus ut dixi, multum utile, et maxime illis, qui longius ab eis locis, in quibus patriarchse
et apostoli erant, secreti, ea tan—tum de his, quse lectione didicerint, norunt. " "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. v. , cap. xv.
64 See "Annales Ecclesiastici," tomus viii. ,
Ibid. , pp. 129, 132. Again we are told, "ce MS. — etoit dans la bibliotheque de
Corbie. " Ibid. , p. 355. It is probably the
Corbey manuscript which was collated by Mabillon.
^ Report of the Record Commission. Appendix A. , pp. 31, 46.
Annus
6s With the title
7°See ibid
7I See ibid. ,
7* It is classed Codex Cotton, Tiberius,
D. v. , pars ii. , pp. 156 a to 184 £.
73 Though copied by an ignorant scribe,
and imperfect, it contains some valuable various readings. It has been collated by the Rev. Dr. Reeves.
74 See Mabillon's ''Acta Sanctorum Or- dinis S. Benedicti," sec. iii. , pars ii. , p. 456. Venetiis, 1734.
" See the Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of
J. C. 699,
sect, x. ,
201. 203.
:
xi. , p. 543.
" Adamnani Abbatis
p. p.
Hiiensis Libri tres de Locis Sanctis ex Relatione Arculfi, Episcopi Galli. "
'6 See Leslie Stephen's "Dictionary of National Biography,"—vol. i. , art. Adamnan
or Adomnan (625? 704) by John T. Gilbert, p. 93.
67 Gretser 'sedition of this work, published at Ingoldst, a. d. 1619, was printed from a manuscript sent to him by Father Rosweyd, " ex intima Holandia. " See Prolegomina, p. 22.
September 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 495
u""" the Gorta, or Famine ; the Nuno or Scarcity ;
of Fruit " ;
23 A second vision, or rather a to supplement
not Adamnan's
the first vision follows. In it, the wickedness of Ireland's inhabitants, and also those mortalities with which they were visited, and must yet be visited, are
composition.
recounted. It mentions such visitations, as the Scamhach, or "
the Bo-ar, or M Cow " the toraid, or " mortality j Digbail Blight
"
" Human Mortality. " It announces, that prayer and fasting are the only sure preservatives against an infliction of those various evils. 2* The second part of Adamnan's vision contains instructions for the 35 that
was on the feast of the Decollation of the 26 apprehended, John Baptist.
How far St. Adamnan extended his missionary labours and travels
throughout Ireland has not been clearly ascertained, but some traces may be inferredfromtraditionsthatremain. WhenonavisittoIreland,Adamnan
2
is said to have preached to his relatives, ? the descendants of Fiacha, son to
and on a hill in the townland of 28 which ever since has borne Niall, Syonan,
his name. 29 The place is in the parish of Ardnurcher, diocese and county of Meath. 3°
The church of Raphoe, originally founded by St. Columkille, seems afterwards to have been presided over by St. Adamnan—also called Eunan— who is regarded as the Patron Saint. Local tradition states, that Adamnan
passed some time at this place, and memorials of him exist in that "
neighbourhood. AtRathbothorRaphoe, thefortofboothsorcottages," it has been thought, Adamnan or Eunan spent some of his closing years in
Ireland, not uninfluenced, perhaps, by the opposition of the island
monastery to its abbot's unremitting efforts to secure uniformity in the time
for celebrating Easter with the rest of the Christian Church. There above
every other place were his relatives powerful, and an episcopal See might
have been established in his time; the silence of early writers on this
matter not leaving it improbable, that he was then in episcopal orders. The
bishop of Raphoe—as our ancient annalists state—was Coarb of Adamnan,
or Coarb of Columba and Adamnan, the latter name being the distinctive one
in that place. 3
1
In like manner, at Raphoe was shown an object called Eunan's
authenticity, as is sufficiently manifested, prophesied by Columbcille, Moling and
from a reference to the Imperial Edict of Constantine of a donation to Sylvester, AbbotofRome.
23 The language of the Vision is marked by many characteristics of Middle-age Irish ; such as the confusion of e and i in desinence;
Aireran. The Annals of Clonmacnoise, at
550, attribute the prediction concerning the
ScuabFanaitto BeeMaDe,KingDermot
mac Cerbhail's poet. See Dr. O'Donovan's
"
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (z. ), p. 196.
ae for and // for la, In ;
ndfor nn, ur for
2fi The of 29th day
putting
August.
2? This was the local tradition.
air, er, prosthesis of /; metathesis of cs and is ; final a for ae, at, e ; in the
Preface, p. liii.
2
3I After a lapse of 1,300 years, since the death of St. Columkille, a great Festival was inaugurated and celebrated at Gartan, in the County of Donegal, the place of his
oe,
28
It is Suix>e A-oArhnAm in Irish, that is, article disuse of the neuter forms of the " Seat of Adamnain. " The ruins oi a nom. and ace. singular, and use of na castle exist here, but Macgeoghegan says
for the nom. plural m. , the dual, and the that it was not church land.
dat. plural; in adjectives, use of the fem. *9 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the form in the nom. plural masc. ; and in the Four Masters," at a. d. 703, vol. i. , n. (u), case of verbs compounded with prepositions, p. 305.
use of absolute instead of subjoined forms. 3° See Rev. A. Cogan's "Diocese of
24 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's Meath, ancient and modern," vol. ii. , "Life of St. Columba. " Appendix to chap, xix. , p. 497.
5The note on the Feilire of Aengus at
this day states, that the Scuab a Fanait or
Besom of Fanad was a plague which was to
visit Ireland in the latter times, in revenge birth. The observations contained in the for the beheading of John the Baptist, as text are arguments advanced by a djs-
averting mortality
Leprosy ;
aud the Dunibadh, or
496 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Septembera3.
Bed, in the seventeenth century ; and a Round Tower, which the Bishops of
a
Raphoe had converted into a Museum,3 was there a short time previous.
Before Adamnan had been promoted as Abbot of Iona, Colgan expressly calls him Abbot at Raphoe. 33 Whether he filled the latter position or not has been questioned ; but, he was the person, by whose name the succession at Raphoe used to be distinguished. 34 He was particularly revered as the patron Saint of its monastery and church. It is considered as certain, that he had been closely connected with that place ; and if not absolutely the founder of its church, he was, at least, an abbot there over its monastery. 35 It is strongly suspected, by the learned Dr. Lanigan, that St. Eunan,36 who is usually called the first bishop of Raphoe, was no other than Adamnan ;37 not that he would allow Adamnan had ever been a bishop, for, were it so, he could not have become abbot of Hy, but that he was the ancient patron Saint of the place before it became an episcopal See, the period for such erection not being known. An object of veneration, called the Holy Cross ofRaphoe,stoodthereformerlyj perhapsithadsomerelationtothepatron saint. 38 The cross in question was afterwards removed from Raphoe to Armagh, by John Prene, Archbishop of this latter See, about the year 1441. 39 An opinion has been entertained, likewise, that Adamnan was abbot at Raphoe, which perhaps had been founded by himself, before he was appointed to govern the whole Columban order. Whether or not he repaired the monastery, said to have been erected by St. Columkille at Raphoe, may be doubted, as we find no sufficient warrant for this statement. *
In the present century, a suitable memorial of religious zeal and devotion has been raised to commemorate St. Adamnan or Eunan at Raphoe.
tinguished prelate, to show that Adamnan of
Iona was the same as Eunan, first bishop
of Raphoe. See an interesting illustrated
publication of the proceedings, intituled :
" Cuimne Coluimcitte," or the Gartan
Festival, being a Record of the Celebration very remarkable circumstance, that the
held at Gartan on the 9th June, 1897, the Thirteenth Centennial of St. Columba," Second Introduction, pp. 10 to 12. Dublin 1898, 8vo.
32 " Ostendebatur Raphoe, non ita pri-
dem, lectus ejus. Ibi porro turris erat
rotunda, colli imposita, in qua Episcopi Rapotenses Musseum olim habebant. "—Sir James Ware, " I)e Praesulibus Hibernise Commentarius. " Episcopi Rapotenses, p. 73.
festival of the saint called Eunan, is kept on the 23rd of September. Now this was the very day, on which Adamnan died, and on which his memory was revered, not only at Raphoe, but in many other churches. The name Eunan, is, I allow, not favour- able to the conjecture of his identity with
person better versed in the Irish language 33 See "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta than I am might perhaps find some analogy
between them. " — " Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xiii. , sect, v. , n. 59, p. 100.
38 In Dr. ODonovan's "Annals of the wise of Adamnan, insomuch as he had been Four Masters," vol. iv. , pp. 750, 751, we
Appendix ad Acta S. Columbae, cap. iii.
34 Thus Malbrigid, who died Archbishop of Armagh in 926, is called comorban or
successor, not only of St. Patrick, but like-
abbot and not bishop at Raphoe as Harris states, before he was raised to the See of
See Harris' Ware, vol. i. ,
read, under the year 1397, a certain Hugh
MacMahon recovered his sight by fasting
in honour of the Holy Cross of Raphoe,
and the image of the blessed regarding
Armagh.
" of Bishops
Raphoe," p.
270.
35 See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's " Ecclesiastical Virgin Mary at Ath-Trim. In Harris'
History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xviii. , sect, v. , n. 59, p. 99.
—supposed to be first bishop at Raphoe— nor could Ware discover any account of him. The first bishop of Raphoe, that we meet
Bishops of Raphoe," p.
36 Colgan never mentions this St. Eunan
with on Colgan's List, was Malduin Mac
Kinfalaid, who died about 930. See
"Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix
ad Acta S. Columbae, cap. vi. ( p. 509.
3? TheRev. Dr. Laniganadds "
: Itisa
Adamnan
have been might some
but there
reason for this variation of names, and a
;
"
Ware, vol. i. ,
270, this Hugh MacMahon is incorrectly styled Hugh Matthew.
39 See ibid.
40 It is affirmed, however, in Harris' Ware,
vol. i. ,
"
Bishops of Raphoe," p. 269.
September 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 497
While the Very Rev. Bernard Kelly, P. P. and V. F. , was in charge of the Parish of Raphoe, he conceived the idea of erecting a new Catholic Church
with appropriate ceremony, and the building was soon afterwards completed. The front of the
in honour of the Patron. *1 He entrusted the to Mr. design
Heavy, Architect in Belfast, who drew the plans and prepared the specifications for an Irish-Romanesque structure of moderate dimensions, and of unassuming ornament, but of effective style. In 1878 the foundation stone was laid,
Exterior of Catholic Church of St. Eunan, Raphoe.
suitableness in the
gable ; higher still is
a smaller window, and above it on the apex of the roof is a cross while on the
;
left-hand angle, a
round-tower, reach- ing to 'the height of 94 feet, terminated
by a tapering cap, and a neat iron cross
6 feet in height, pre- sents an imposing
In the
appearance.
upper compartment are round-headed opes to favour the sounds of a bell; beneath are two other windows of smaller dimensions to admit light to the different stages ; at the base
are projections in string courses on the outside ; and there is a doorway within
which connects it with the interior of the nave This latter extends from the entrance door 73 feet to the altar railing, while the width of the nave is 26 feet 4 inches. The masonry is finely dressed ; the walls are of sufficient thickness to give an air of solidity to the entire erection ; and buttresses are
41 The accompanying view of the exterior Festival ; being a Record of the Celebration of St. Eunan's Catholic Church, Raphoe, held at Gartan on the 9th June, 1897, the has been copied from an interesting and Thirteenth Centennial of St. Columba. " illustrated volume, issued to commemorate Dublin, M. H. Gill and Son, 1898, 8vo. a remarkable event, which had a special The photogravure, at p. 175, has been interest and attraction for the people of copied and transferred to the wood, en-
Donegal. Thebookinquestionisintituled: gravedbyGregorGrey.
Cuirhne Coluimcille," or the Gartan 42 The foregoing particulars were kindly
church is entered by a circularly-headed
doorway,surmounted by a rose window
of
corresponding
II
498 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September23.
on the outside. The rounded chancel, or apse, within which the altar stands, reaches to 17 feet from the enclosing rail to the end window. The three windows within the chancel are each 6 feet in height, by 2 feet in width. A vestry is built on the epistle-side of the altar, while access to it is through a door on the exterior, as also through one on the interior. On either side-wall of the nave are three circularly-headed windows ; each window is 1 1 feet in height, by 3 feet in width ; and they are filled in with coloured glass. On the interior of the church, the roof is elegantly coved and ribbed ; while it is sheeted with pitch-pine and varnished. It rests on
brackets having a good appearance. On the appointment of the present
Interior of St. Eunan's Catholic Church, Raphoe.
respected parish priest, Very Rev. Patrick Kelly, in 187 1, to meet the require- ments of his people, it was found necessary to erect a gallery, which is a great accommodationformanyofthecongregation. Accesstoitisfromacircular stair-way in the tower, and on it is an organ-loft and choir. The gallery is lighted from the rose window over the front entrance. '*'
It is related, that the illustrious Adamnan collected the Martra or Relics of the Saints into one Shrine. An ancient Codex«3 enumerates the twenty-six articles which were enclosed in it, consisting of manuscripts of
furnished to the writer by the Very Rev. 43 Contained in a Bruxelles Manuscript of Patrick Kelly, P. P. , in communications the Burgundian Library, classed No. dated March, 1899, with a photograph of 2324=40, p. 26. This was copied by the interior, from which the accompanying Michael O'Clery, ir. 1629, from " an old illustration has been reproduced and en- and difficult blackish manuscript of parch-
graved on the wood by Gregor Grey. ment. "
September 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 499
the Gospels, hymns, and poems ; articles of apparel belonging to the Saints of Ireland ; and a few relics of St. Paul and the Virgin Mary ; the aggregateofwhichmusthavefilledalargebox.
ThisReliquaryseemsto have been deposited in a place, originally called Cnoc-na-maoile,*4 but afterwards known from the foregoing circumstances as Serin Adamhnain, or Adamnan's Shrine. At present, the place is denominated Skreen, a parish church^ in the diocese of Killala, county of Sligo, barony of Tireragh. It is bounded on the north by Sligo Bay. There he is locally called Awnaun, and his well is situated a little to the east of the old church, at the other side of the road. From this well, the townland Toberawnaun46 derives its name. Between it and the townlaud Soodry runs the Dunmoran Stream. Over this rivulet, in connexion with a boreen, is the Drehid or "
Awnawn, Bridge of Adamnan," formed of a flag nine feet long, nine inches broad and two feet high, resting on two stones in the bed of the stream. It does not fill the whole breadth of the rivulet, so that at either end there is a vacant space between it and the bank. The natives say it was formed by the Saint, for
his convenience in going from his church to the strand. *? That shrine of
8 for it was afterwards removed to Iona. There it was regarded as a very sacred object. ** It seems probable, however, that there were two shrines called after Adamnan, the later, con-
1 taininghisownremains;5°theother,* containingthemiscellaneousobjects
mentioned in the catalogue. This latter was in after time coupled with his name, and preserved in his church of Skreen.
In the contemporary statements of Venerable Bede S2 and Ceolfrid, we
have the highest testimony borne to our Saint's character, for his proficiency in ecclesiastical and secular learning," and for all those virtues, which
Adamnan seems to have been
portable/
nani, cap. viii. , p. 337.
satchels in which the early ecclesiastics used to carry about their books. In the present
46
Resolvable into CobAft . <V6. Arrm. Ain.
notes on this name de Tir Fhiachrach, de
44 See the
in O'Donovan's " John
pp. 267, 268. Also, Addenda J. , pp. 416, S. Farannani, n. 42, p. 340. He pro-
interesting
vide — in qua, plura
Genealogies,
and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach," nn. (s. t. ), Sanctorum Hiberniae.
"
Februarii xv. Vita
417.
45 The site of the church is an old grant .
The Life of Farannan relates, that Tibraide, son of Maelduin, Lord of Hy-Fiachrach, bestowed upon St. Columba and his frater-
nity three pleasant portions of ground, one
"
nani dictus. "— "Acta Sanctorum Colgan's
mised to give a Catalogue of the relics contained in this shrine, when he should deal with the Life of St. Adamnan ; but needless to state, he did not live to fulfil that promise.
s° Referred to in the Annals at A. d. 727 and 730. This would allow but twenty- three years' interval between his death and the enshrinement of his remains,
of which
dicebatur, postea a S. Adamnano Abbate, Serin Adhamhnain, i. e. , Scrinium S. Adam-
locus isto sevo Cnoc-na-maoile
Tribes notis ad vitam S. Adamnani. " "Acta
calls it a Hibernise," Februarii xv. Vita S. Faran- which is the term used for the leathern
4? Some additions were
it, inordertocompletethecontinuityofthe path, but they were speedily removed, as foreign to the original design. The church derives its name from Adamnan's shrine, which was preserved there.
the words m instance, ciAij
48 That was the shrine which Cilline Droicthech, the fourteenth Abbot of Hy, son of Dicolla, brought to Erin to make peace and friendship between the Cinel Conaill and Cinel
:
commences thus " O fair youth, noble is
the theca thou hast taken upon thy back. " 52 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
Anglorum," lib. v. , cap. xv. , xxi.
S3 Mr. Pinkerton declares, he considers
49
age ; again,
most complete piece of such biography that
Eoghain.
Colgan couples this shrine with the
Adamnan's Life of St. Columkille, as " one of the most curious monuments of the literature of that " and as " the
formerly
made to
have the interlineal gloss . i. m fejiine, "the Shrine. " It was probably of leather, for the recital
Church of Skreen, and observes: "Est all Europe can boast of. "
ecclesia multorum reliquiis nobilis et into the History of Scotland," vol. i. veneranda, Dicecesis Kill-aladen, in regione Preface, p. xlviii.
SI The ancient
Catalogue
ciaj,
—"An
Enquiry
5oo LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 23.
become truly ornamental to the Christian priest. Alcuin, who flourished at a later period in the same century, ranks Adamnan with the most celebrated
among his country's saints. 5* In the Vision, he is styled the noble sage of
the Western World 55 and his life ascribes the combined virtues of Patriarch ;
andApostletohim. Fordunsays,thatoursaintwasdistinguishedbothfor his virtues and miracles, and that he was scrupulously exact in citing authority for every statement he made, in writing on matters pertaining to history. 56 The Four Masters add, that he was a good man, according to
the testimony of Bede, for he was tearful, penitent, given to prayer, diligent, ascetic, temperate ; that he never used to eat except on Sundays and Thurs- days; thathemadeaslaveofhimselftothesevirtues; moreover,thathewas
wise and learned in clearly understanding the Holy Scriptures of God. 57
A holy bishop called Arculf, who was an intelligent native of Gaul,58 and who was a highly credible witness for what he had seen in distant countries,
spent nine months in the city of Jerusalem. During that time, he daily visited all the Holy Places in and around the city. It appears, that Arculf had travelled to Jerusalem, for the purpose of visiting its sacred localities. He traversed all Judea, besides visiting Damascus, Constantinople, Alex- andria, and many islands in the adjacent seas. Returning to his own country in a vessel, and owing to the violence of a tempest, he was carried towards the western shores of Britain. ^ That prelate, was a learned Scripturian, and he had a full knowledge concerning those places, rendered sovenerablebecauseoftheirconnectionwiththeworld'sRedeemer. After many adventures, he came to Adamnan, by whom he was most joyfully received as a guest. The abbot, also, became a willing listener to accounts given by the bishop, regarding the Holy Land, and which he deemed worthy of being recorded. 60 Arculf related all he had seen, and delineated on waxedtablets6lcertaindiagramstoillustratehisdescriptions. Thisaccount was faithfully checked and revised, before it was committed to parchment for
the
it to writing. ^
Adamnan
After the publication
The body of this edition contains 388 pages, and it was published at
Perigueux, in France, A. D. 1870.
59 This incident, mentioned by Bede,
proves that Arculf visited Adamnan in Hy,
andnotinIreland. Nomentionofitoccurs, "
purposes
Immediately afterwards,
consigned
of readers. 62
This treatise lay long in manuscript.
s* " Patricius, Cheranus, Scotorum gloria gentis,
the sixth century.
Atque Columbanus, Adomnanusatque
Congallus,
Prseclari patres, morum vitaeque magistri,
His precibus pietas horum nos however, in the tract, De Locis Sanctis," adjuvat omnes. " subsequently written.
—Alcuini
ii. , p. 219, Ed. Ratisbon, 1777, fol. 55 Thus: ** xVOAmnAn Ua
"
^ M. Martial " Essai sur les opera. " Epigrammata, tomus In Delpit's
anciens P6lerinages a Jerusalem" may be Chm-oe found, towards the close of the First Volume, the text of three Books of Adamnan, on St. s6 See " Scotichronicon," lib. iii. , 49, CI, Arculph's Pilgrimage to Jerusalem, with the
AjroecnAi-o iajicaiji -DomAin. "
57 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the various readings of MSS. 6l
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 304 10307. This interesting record is an important s8 M. Martial Delpit has published an item in the history of writing, as showing octavo volume intituled; "Essai sur les the collateral and respective uses among the anciens P61erinages a Jerusalem" in xxx Irish of waxed tablets and membranes for
pages, prefixed to the text of Arculphe's literary purposes, towards the close of the Pilgrimage. This was taken from a Manu- seventh century.
script of the thirteenth century, which
6a Thus Adamnan writes in this tract :
to a collection of the ancient " abbey at Cadouin, in the Diocese of Peri- gueux. Besides this, he found another tract
on a similar subject and an earlier account,
by St. Anthony de Plaisanci, belonging to
belonged
Cujus
mihi formam in tabula cerata Arculfus ipse depinxit ;" and again, "juxta exemplar quod mihi Arculfus in paginola
figuravit cerata depinximus. "
63 The venerable Bede adds;
"
Fecitque
September 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 501
of Cardinal Baronius' great historical work,6* in which the author accepted implicitly the statements by Arculfus, he was severely criticised by Isaac Casaubon ; when, in order to vindicate Baronius, the laborious Jesuit Jacob Gretser undertook to publish the entire treatise,65 and in his Prologomina to it, he vigourously assails Casaubon for having impugned the authenticity of
66
This treatise M De Locis Sanctis " 6? is mentioned by Venerable Bede, as
Adamnan's genuine work. In the Vatican Library and at Corbey, manuscript copies of it are preserved, both of which have been used by Mabillon, who has published it. There are other copies at St. Germanus a Pratis,68 of the
at Berne, of the ninth and tenth centuries 69 at of eighth century ; ; Saltzburg,
the ninth or tenth century 7° and at Rheinau, of the eleventh centuryJ1 ;
There is another in the British Museum,? 3 of the fourteenth century. 73 The
tractopenswithaprologue 74invokingfirstthethreepersonsoftheMost ;
HolyTrinity,beforestatingthetitleandoriginalinceptionofthework. In this tract, Adamnan mentions the tombs of St. Simeon and of St. Joseph at Jerusalem, many relics of the Passion of Christ, the impression of the feet of our Saviour on Mount Olivet, covered with a round church having a hole open on the top, and over the place where the impression of the footsteps was to be seen. He also mentions grasshoppers in the deserts of the Jordan, and which the common people eat, boiled with oil ; as also a portion of the cross in the Rotunda Church of Constantinople, and which was exposed on a golden altar during the three last days of Holy Week, when the emperor, court, army, clergy, and others went there to kiss the sacred wood. 75
The two chief literary works associated with the name of Adamnan are the Tract intituled " De Locis Sanctis," and the " Vita St. Columbae. " Already have we briefly described and criticised the latter work, when
Arculfus' statements on insufficient information.
recording the Life of the great Archimandrite. ?
6
In his account of Adamnan,
John of Trittenham,77 altogether omits his having been the author of St. Columba's Acts, while some of his less celebrated writings are noted. Cave
opus ut dixi, multum utile, et maxime illis, qui longius ab eis locis, in quibus patriarchse
et apostoli erant, secreti, ea tan—tum de his, quse lectione didicerint, norunt. " "Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Anglorum," lib. v. , cap. xv.
64 See "Annales Ecclesiastici," tomus viii. ,
Ibid. , pp. 129, 132. Again we are told, "ce MS. — etoit dans la bibliotheque de
Corbie. " Ibid. , p. 355. It is probably the
Corbey manuscript which was collated by Mabillon.
^ Report of the Record Commission. Appendix A. , pp. 31, 46.
Annus
6s With the title
7°See ibid
7I See ibid. ,
7* It is classed Codex Cotton, Tiberius,
D. v. , pars ii. , pp. 156 a to 184 £.
73 Though copied by an ignorant scribe,
and imperfect, it contains some valuable various readings. It has been collated by the Rev. Dr. Reeves.
74 See Mabillon's ''Acta Sanctorum Or- dinis S. Benedicti," sec. iii. , pars ii. , p. 456. Venetiis, 1734.
" See the Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of
J. C. 699,
sect, x. ,
201. 203.
:
xi. , p. 543.
" Adamnani Abbatis
p. p.
Hiiensis Libri tres de Locis Sanctis ex Relatione Arculfi, Episcopi Galli. "
'6 See Leslie Stephen's "Dictionary of National Biography,"—vol. i. , art. Adamnan
or Adomnan (625? 704) by John T. Gilbert, p. 93.
67 Gretser 'sedition of this work, published at Ingoldst, a. d. 1619, was printed from a manuscript sent to him by Father Rosweyd, " ex intima Holandia. " See Prolegomina, p. 22.
