35 The western portion of Island Mahee slopes gently from the water to an
elevation
of 66 feet, and there it is surmounted by a small ivy-mantled ruin.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
581
observed of our ruined old churches, that these grim walls are an earnest fact, and that it was for a most real and serious purpose they were built, the heaven's watch-towers of our fathers, and God's fallen houses, the Gol- gotha of true souls departed. ^ In reflective and Christian minds, at least, they excite solemn thoughts, and a visit to the lonely island of St. Mochay cannot fail deeply to interest the investigator of Ireland's early church eccle-
siastical '^ history.
of Irish St. Mochoe Christianity,
in the
or Mochay,3 a favourite disciple of St. Patrick, had founded an early reli-
gious establishment, and this appears to have formed the nucleus of an ancient
episcopal see. Here, too, the sainted Coenobiarch passed away to bhss verg-
ingtowardsthedeclineofthefifthcentury. Afterwardsfollowedasuccession
of holy bishops and abbots, on this beautiful and insulated spot, until the
tenth century drew near its close. Yet, where to fix the present saint's posi-
tion, in point of time, and with sufficient accuracy, cannot well be deter-
mined. Tothe itseems —thatheflourishedtowards writer, probable enough,
in the seventh
thenameofMo-Chumma. s Thedoandmo,however,aretoberegardedas prefixes, and Chumma or Cummine was probably this saint's real name. Mochumma, Bishop of Aondruim,^ or Naondrum, as written in Rev. William Reeves' cornpiled calendar,? is registered in the Martyrology of Donegal,^ on
this day. In his general index. Dr. Reeves appears to identify the present saint with one bearing the same nanie,9 who according to St. ^^ngus the Culdee^° was abbot of Drumbo," county of Down. This identification we havereasonsfordoubting. '^ Insuchcase,itisthought,hewasabrotherto
St. Domangard,'3 whose death is placed at a. d. 506,'+ to St. Aillean,'^ to St. Article 11. —'See Carlyle's "Past and 376.
Here,
very infancy
—e or sometime in the sixth
the close of th fifth, possibly, however,
he lived century. Whether or not he had been the holy founder's im- mediate successor must remain a question for future solution ; since more thanacenturycontinuesblankinthesurvivingrecordsofMaheeIsland. Our early calendars, however, notice this saint, although they do not mark his periodinhistory. ThusheiscalledDochumma,Noendroim,inthepublished Martyrology of Tallagh,'^ at the 31st of January. Marianus O'Gorman is said to have styled this holy man Documma, Bishop of Aondruim ; while as we have already seen, in the previous life of St. Maidoc, patron of Ferns, at this same date, in his metrical calendar, Marianus has likewise given him
^ Edited Present," p. 67. by
Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp.
^ ''"
See the valuable and profusedly illustrated 32,33.
GuidetolBelfastandtheadjacentCounties," by the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club, pp.
245, 246, Antiquities, Ecclesiastical, § 250.
'' See his Life at the 23rd of June.
'See EcclesiasticalAntiquitiesofDown, Connor and Dromore," p. 45, n. (b). Ap- pendix S. , p. 236, and Index, p. 422.
* Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiv. 5"
Mo-Chumma is synonymous with Do-
Chumma or Da-Chumma as Mo-Chonna ;
is synonymous with Do-Chonna or Da-Chon- na. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nipc," xii. Martii. De S. Muro sive Murano, nn. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, p. 587.
"Handbook for Travellers in Ireland. " Route 5, p. 50.
" The known difference of festivals, and
the unproduced historic evidences of identity,
are strong objections.
'3 See his Life at the 24th of March. Also,
•^
In a note at this word, Aondruim, Dr.
Todd writes
:
" The more recent hand adds
Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxiv. Martii. De S . Domangardo, Episcopo, cap. iv. , and n. 7, pp. 743, 744.
here, 'iJ/ar/awo'OocummAepi^n ^on'oiwinA' In Marianus, Documma, Bishop of Aon- druim. " Meaning, that Marianus O'Gorman
spells the name Dochumma, in his Martyr- ology, instead oi Mochumma.
"
7 See Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down,
Connor and Dromore. " Appendix LL, p.
' In the O'Clery's calendar. See " Mar- "
'° In his " On the Mothers of Irish Tract,
Saints. "
" There is a round tower at this place —35 feet in height and 47 in circumference. "
Murray's
tyrology of Donegal, edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 84, 85.
'S Also called Ailleoc, who is venerated at the 24th of July, according to Colgan.
582 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
Aidan,'" to St. Muran,'7 of Fahan, and to St. Cillen,'^ of Achadhcail, in the territory of Lecale. Thus, his parentage is referable to Derinilla, who was married to four different husbands ; and although we cannot discover the name of his father, it would appear, that as a corollary, the date for birth
ought to be assigned to some part of the fifth century. '9 Again do we find the present saint entered as Mochoma, Bishop of Aendruim, by Duald Mac
Firbis,'^ the Genealogist. However, we believe the foregoing conjectural data must be abandoned for a more probable substitution of facts, and seem- ingly well corroborated in our annals. Already have we recorded the death of St. Cronan Beg, at the 7th of January,"' a. d. 642. ='" His demise, at that period, as Bishop of Nendrum on Mahee Island, may have been immediately succeeded by the elevation of Cuimine to his vacant chair. The addition of an usual syllabic prefix, and of a post-syllabic metathesis, will cause that nametoaccordwiththepresentsaint's; whilethetime,placeanddignity, seem to be reconcilable with the supposition of a true identity. According to one account, Cuimine, Bishop of 5s^aendruim, departed this life, a. d. 655. "^ Other authorities place this event, at a. d. 658,"* but we cannot find the day
on which it occurred set down. ^5 His place is stated to have been Nendrum
inLochCuan,"^nowStrangfordLough. ^*? . ^ndruimorNoendrumisknown,
after the name of its religious founder and patron, as Inis-Mochaoi or Inis
Mahee. "^ Untiloflateyears,thesiteofthischurch,whichcanboastanan-
tiquity of more than thirteen centuries, was almost unknown and undescribed.
Happily by a competent investigator of ecclesiastical antiquities,'^ this subject was taken in hand,^° and it formed the basis of that fame, which has not yet
*' The festival of this saint, nor the age when he flourished, has not been determined. '' His festival occurs at the 12th of March, where notices regarding him will be found. Colgan, supposing him to be the author of a life of St. Columkille, ascribes the seventh
94. 95-
** See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 268, 269.
's Unless the O'Clerys' statement be ac- cepted, that his feast must be assigned to the 1st of July, to which day the reader is century as his period. This is most likely referred for further notices. See Drs. Todd's
the case. The death of his
Domangard, in 506, and of Muran a century
and Reeves' " of Martyrology
184, 185.
'"
Dubh, called also Dimmaingert, Bishop of
Connor, who died A. D. 658, was his brother.
See Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibemicarum
Scriptores," tomus iv. Annalcs Ultonienses.
was applied to it. See " A Natural History of Ireland," in three parts, by several hands. Part i. , chap, ii. , sect, iii. , p. 8.
*i "The lough is an irregular sheet of water, twenty miles long, and seven broad, communicating with the sea by an inlet, called the Bay of Strangford, about seven
''
defined. Dr. Reeves thinks, however, that
This saint's festival or age has not been
reputed brother,
Donegal," pp.
It would appear that in the beginning But, it seems quite as probable, that Dima of last century the name " Lough Cone"
later, cannot be chronologically reconciled.
either he of Achadh-chaii, or St. Caylan,
founderofNendrumchurch,maybeasso- mileslong,a—ndoneinbreadth. Itisdott—ed
ciated with the church or parish of Kilclicf,
in Irish Citl-cteice, county of Down. See
"Ecclesiastical
'' See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nijc," xii. Martii. Vita S. Muri, sive Mu- exquisite steel engravings from drawings by
and
Antiquities n.
Down, and
desert. "
Leitch Ritchie's
Dromore," pendix N, p. 217.
Ap-
gether
Picturesque and Romantic," vol. ii. , chap, p. 48. This charming work contains most
of
(f ), pp. 38, 39,
Connor
some inhabited by men, some by cattle, and
some —but the alto- by rabbits, greater part
"
rani, and the accompanying notes, p. 587. "° "
D. M'Clise, Esq. , A. R. A. , and T. Cres- wick, Esq.
and I )romore. " Appendix F, pp. 187 to 197. "'The Rev. Willi. im Reeves, M. B. , then
impropriate curate of Kilconriola, in the diocese of Connor.
3<' In a paper intituled, "A Description ot
See Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Irish MSS. . , pp. 84, 85.
^'
'* Mahee Island. For a Anglicized
Academy,"
series,
vol.
i. , part
very full and historic account of this place, the reader is referred to Rev. William Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor
See his feast and notices of him at that date.
" At 641, according to the " Chronicon Scotorum," edited by W. M. Ilennessy, M. R. I. A. , pp. 88, 89.
^3 See the " Chronicon Scotorum," edited by William M. Hennessy, M. R. I. A. , pp.
to the number of
with islands fifty-four
Ireland,
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 583
culminated, and which must still gather accretion as it rolls along the stream ofTime. WhenIslandMaheehadbeenvisitedbytheRev. WilliamReeves,^' in the autumn of 1845, the country-people knew nothing regarding its history,
saving that they had an impression regarding its having been an ancient place, with an indistinct tradition that burials took place there centuries ago. 3' A causeway now unites Mahee Island^- with Reagh Islands-* and the western shore of Strangford Lough.
35 The western portion of Island Mahee slopes gently from the water to an elevation of 66 feet, and there it is surmounted by a small ivy-mantled ruin. Approaching this object, the way leads through
in what to be the remnant of a — circular enclosure. As- gap, appears large
the foundation Within this, at an interval of about 50 yards, a third ring encloses a space, nearly level, and about 70 yards in diameter. At a distance of 25 feet from the inner circumference, on the west, stands
a
—econd cending thence, a s nearly
concentric
ring apparently
of a wall or terrace is crossed.
Mahee Island, Co. Down.
that Httle ruin, possessing the main characteristics of a dilapidated round tower. 3^ The materials of which it is constructed are undressed stones, yet
Nendram, commonly called Mahee Island, embracing its rrescnt Condition and Past
History," pp. 23 to 39. This is to be found
in the first fasciculus of "
read before the Down and Connor and Dro- more Church Architecture Society, during the year 1844. "
3' His paper was read on the 5th of Xoveni-
ber,1845. Anelegantlithographedillustra- tion of ancient remains on the island, with a view of the more distant scenes, is added ; while two well-designetl and accurate ma]ys serve to exhibit the aciual position and out-
lines of this scenic and historically inleresthig spot.
published
Paper. ,
roods and 8
3
'•• See ibid. ,
28.
33 Containing 176 acres 3 roods and 38
p.
'• acres Containing 304
perches.
perches.
» See a descriptive account in Rev. G.
Hansbrow's "Improved Topographical and Historical Hibernian Gazetteer," &c. , pp.
314, 315-
3° I he accompanying illustration is from
a sketch taken by the writer, who visited this interesting spot with the Rev. James
O'Laverty, M. R. I. A. , and P. P. of Holly- wood, in May, 1874. It has been drawn on the wood by William F. Wakeman, and en-
.
^
584 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
so well disposed as to present an even surface on the inside, and so firmly
compacted by groutings, that though the outer wall table has been picked away, the inner has maintained its surface unimpaired. When at its highest elevation, the view from the top of this building must have been very exten- sive and superb ; for a very moderate addition to the natural altitude of its ground site should afford a prospect over the entire length of beautiful Lough Strangford. Thetopmostpartofthisruin,37isonlyaboutninefeetinheight, and the walls are covered with ivy. On the south-west side, there is a fissure, wide enough to admit a man ; it extends to the ground, and it was probably caused by an entrance having been there in the original plan. At a distance of 43 feet to the south-east, an oblong space was observable, 3^ and defined by something like a ridge in the grass. Here and there small portions of a wall andmortarprojectedthroughthesod. Fromitsproportionsanditsbearings to the east, this space resembled the enclosure of a place for Christian wor- ship. It was found to reveal the angles of a quadrilateral building,39 and partsofitssidestothedepthoftwofeetwereexposed. Thisbuildingstood E. N. E. , and such a deflection from the exact east is not uncommon in ancient churches. ''^ At present circling about the stunted round tower,^^ the ancient mounds are clearly traceable, and the intervals between them are often fur- rowed and uneven, while the church ruins are not clearly distinguishable, since long grass and brambles have covered the ground. -^^ These are the only noticeable features of what might be recognised as a long departed nursery of piety and learning. Even the round tower is sadly shorn of its more re- markable and lofty proportions. An English writer has stated, that in no country of Europe, save in Scotland, are to be found specimens like to the Irish round towers,43 and that there, similar models had been built by the
graved by George A. Hanlon, Dublin. It was sketched from a point of view, different from that shown in the lithograph which accompanies the Rev. William Reeves'
Cecila Metella, and which has been descr—ibed
paper. Such as an baffled
3' The diameter inside is 6 feet 6 inches.
The basement course on the exterior
a few inches. Its circumference is 44 feet 6 inches, or nearly 15 feet in diameter.
3^ This was sought for and discovered by the Rev. William Reeves, on the occasion of his visit.
inches ; length in clear, 52 feet 4 inches breadth in clear 15 feet 8 inches. Thus, 3 feet are allowed for the thickness of the end walls, and 3 feet 4 inches, for tlie sides. At the west end, two angular pro- jections of dressed stones were seemingly the rudiments of shallow buttresses. They measured 2 feet 6 inches in breadth, by 9 inches in depth.
^° Some antiquarians have thought, that various church directions were designed to
correspond with the point of the sun's rising on the morning of that festival day, which was commemorative of the patron saint. This is technically called the orientation of churches.
*'
Smaller in its proportions, and less per- fect, while still enduring, like that strange monument which rises over the grave of
39 Its proportions were, total length, 58
projects
—"Childe Harold's canto Pilgrimage,"
iv. , stanza xcix.
** The pious care of some future "Old
Mortality" must soon be required to prevent their disappearance from the casual observer's
view : the antiquary may readily find data, feet 4 inches ; total breadth, 22 feet 4 which will keep them green in his memory.
;
*3 Alluding to the theory of George Petrie, LL. D. , and of most Irish antiquaries, in his beautiful poem, on "The Pillar Towers of Ireland," Denis Florence MacCarthy thus indicates their Christian uses.
" Here was placed the holy chalice that held the sacred wine,
And the gold cross from the altar, and the relics from the shrine,
And the mitre shining brighter with its diamonds than the East ;
And the crozier of the Pontiff, and the vestments of the Priest !
" Where blared—the sacred fire, rung out the
vesper bell
Where the fugitive found shelter, became
the hermit'i cell ;
by Lord Byron, in his immortal poem
" There is a stem round tower of other days, Firm as a fortress with its fence of stone,
army's
Standing with half its battlements alone. "
strength delays,
:
,
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 585
posterity of Irishmen, who emigrated with Fergus. '** Yet, he seems to have been unacquainted with the fact, that his own country possessed such struc- tures, and these are of a curious type. The style of erecting ecclesiastical round towers must have been brought from Ireland into England+5 and Scot- land, at an early period. We can hardly doubt, if the ecclesiastical remains on Mahee Island be not referable to the founder's or to our saint's period,
there may be seen a hoariness, a desolation, and a solitude, betokening the most remote and mysterious antiquity. In case the present holy man, Mo- chumma or Documma, were to be identified with St. Cumin,+^ Abbot of
Drumbo, not only must he be probably placed among the early Christian century saints, but we must also assign a double festival to him. Indeed, it
has been conjectured,'*7 that the Abbot of Drumbo,'*^ at this early period, may be identical with St. Dochonna,49 a bishop venerated at the 15th of May. There is also a St. Dochonna, reverenced at the 30th of October,s° but no- thing is said of him, or of St. Dochonna, son of Odhran, whose feast falls on the 17th of February. 51 Again, it has been considered,^^ in like manner,53 that St. Mochumma or Cumin, Abbot of DrumbOjS-* may be identified with St. Mochumma, Bishop of n-Aendruim, venerated on this day, or with a St. Mochumma, undistinguished, whose feast falls on the 13th of June. ss No allusion is made to St. Mochumma or Machomma of Drum-Ailche,s^ or Drum- mully, county of Fermanagh, 57 of whom notices may be seen at his feast day, onthe4thofJanuary. AmongtheholymenbearingthenameofCuimraein,'^
And hope hung out its symbol to the in- nocent and good,
For the cross o'er the moss of the pointed — summit stood ! "
See Edward Hayes' "Ballads of Ireland,"
54 This parish, in the barony of Upper Castlereagh, is represented on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Down," Sheets 9, 10, 14, 15. The town- land of Drumbo proper is found on Sheets 9, 15-
55 in Col- Erroneously printed "3 Junii,"
gan's work.
5* In English, "the ridge of the stone,"
accordingtoJohnW. Hanna; althoughDr. P. W. Joyce has rendered its equivalent, Drummully, "the ridge of the summit," in his "Origin and History of Irish Names of Places. " SeeIndex,p. 537.
57 In reference to a previously expressed opinion, that St. Mochumma had connexion
with Drummully,in the county of Fermanagh,
Mr. John W. Hanna of Downpatrick re-
in the Ulster that "the marks, Examiner,
author threw out a happy and correct con- jecture, for, by an inquisition sped at Ennis-
killen, l8th September, 1609, to inquire into and distinguish the ecclesiastical lands from those belonging to the Crown in the county of Fermanagh, it was found that in the half barony of Cuyl-naine, now Coole, there was the parish of Drumalchy, spelled also Dru- mulchy, being the church in question. The latter name has been softened by the ellipse of the letter ' but rendered
signification from the original form. "
The so—
5* following saints, called in the
"Martyrology of Donegal," are: I. St. Cuimmein, son of Dubh, at the 12th of Jan- uary. 2. St. Cuimmein, of Gleann-mona, at the 1 2th of Februaiy. 3. St. Cuimmein, Abbot of la, at the 24th of February. 4.
vol.
i. , p. 5.
^See Watkinson's "
John Philosophical
Survey of the South of Ireland," let. ix. , p. 90. *5 For illustrations the reader is referred to an article on "Burgh Castle and the Eccle- siastical Round Towers of Suffolk and Nor- folk. " See "The Archaeological Album; or Museum of National Antiquities," edited
by Thomas Wright, the illustrations by F.
W. Fairholt, pp. 93 to 99.
** His feast occurs at the 1 0th of August.
See notices at that date.
*7 By Father John Colgan.
'^ From a
round tower, county of Down, by a distin- guished artist, J. Howard Burgess, Belfast, a finely executed lithograph, by Marcus Ward and Co. , has been produced.
*9 This holy man is classed among the bishops of Condeire or Connor, and his death is referred to A. D. 725.
5° See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemife," xii.
Martii. De S. Muro sive Murano, nn. 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, p. 587.
5' For notices of the several saints so called
the reader is refen-ed to the dates of their re- spective festivals, and to Rev. Drs. Todd's
very elegant
sketch of Drumbo
and Reeves' "
52, 53, 126, 127, 288, 289.
of
Donegal, "pp.
Mart)rrology
s^ By Father John Colgan.
S3 See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," xii. Martii. De S. Muro, sive Murano, nn. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, p. 587.
,
c,' improperly Drum-mully, having an entirely different
586 LIVES OF THE lEISH SAINTS. [January 31.
Cuimmin,s5 Coman,^ or Comman,^' there is a St. Cuimmein, a Bishop of n-Aendruim, whose feast occurs at the ist of July, and who is said to have died a. d. 658. '^* We consider, that he may have been a distinct person from the saint, venerated on this day. Further evidence is wanting, however, to pronounce a safe opinion on this very undecided point.
ArticleIII. —St. Adamnan,ofColdingham,inScotland. [Seventh
Century. ] Sinners may derive hope and happiness from a consideration, that several dissolute and abandoned persons had the true courage to rise from the slough of their iniquities and to resolve on a change of life. Thus, instead of being very disedifying members of Christian communities, with the help of God's grace, they became great saints. To sin is alone shameful ; to become a real penitent is the sinner's chiefest crown and glory. As a remarkable in- stance of God's mercy, from the work of Venerable Bede are derived the earliest and most authentic accounts, regarding the present distinguished penitent* VariouschroniclersandwritersonEnglishandScottishecclesi- astical history draw their general notices of him from that source. At the same time, it must be observed, that some writers have mistaken his identity. Matthew of Westminster,^ who refers to St. Adamnan,3 Abbot of lona, at A. D. 701,^ has been erroneously thought to have had allusion to the present saint. Thus, among others, at the 31st of January, Camerarius treats about St. Adamnan, Abbot of Hy, as if he were the holy convert of that name, who was venerated on this day. s and who is likewise called Abbot of Coludius. * Likewise, Gesner and Bale,7 in their works, and Possevino,^ make this saint Abbot of Hy, and attribute various works to him which are the compositions of his more celebrated namesake. Dempster is especially inaccurate, not
St. Cuimmein, son of Baedan, at the 19th Comman, son of Ua Theimhne, at the 27th of lilay. 5. St. Cuimmein, at the Ist of of February. 3. St. Comman, bishop, at June. 6. St. Cuimmein, Bishop of Aen- the 28th of March. 4. St. Comman, at the druim, at the ist of July. 7. St. Cuimmein, 23rd of May. 5. St. Comman, son of Dioma, son of Aride, at the 29th of July. 8.
observed of our ruined old churches, that these grim walls are an earnest fact, and that it was for a most real and serious purpose they were built, the heaven's watch-towers of our fathers, and God's fallen houses, the Gol- gotha of true souls departed. ^ In reflective and Christian minds, at least, they excite solemn thoughts, and a visit to the lonely island of St. Mochay cannot fail deeply to interest the investigator of Ireland's early church eccle-
siastical '^ history.
of Irish St. Mochoe Christianity,
in the
or Mochay,3 a favourite disciple of St. Patrick, had founded an early reli-
gious establishment, and this appears to have formed the nucleus of an ancient
episcopal see. Here, too, the sainted Coenobiarch passed away to bhss verg-
ingtowardsthedeclineofthefifthcentury. Afterwardsfollowedasuccession
of holy bishops and abbots, on this beautiful and insulated spot, until the
tenth century drew near its close. Yet, where to fix the present saint's posi-
tion, in point of time, and with sufficient accuracy, cannot well be deter-
mined. Tothe itseems —thatheflourishedtowards writer, probable enough,
in the seventh
thenameofMo-Chumma. s Thedoandmo,however,aretoberegardedas prefixes, and Chumma or Cummine was probably this saint's real name. Mochumma, Bishop of Aondruim,^ or Naondrum, as written in Rev. William Reeves' cornpiled calendar,? is registered in the Martyrology of Donegal,^ on
this day. In his general index. Dr. Reeves appears to identify the present saint with one bearing the same nanie,9 who according to St. ^^ngus the Culdee^° was abbot of Drumbo," county of Down. This identification we havereasonsfordoubting. '^ Insuchcase,itisthought,hewasabrotherto
St. Domangard,'3 whose death is placed at a. d. 506,'+ to St. Aillean,'^ to St. Article 11. —'See Carlyle's "Past and 376.
Here,
very infancy
—e or sometime in the sixth
the close of th fifth, possibly, however,
he lived century. Whether or not he had been the holy founder's im- mediate successor must remain a question for future solution ; since more thanacenturycontinuesblankinthesurvivingrecordsofMaheeIsland. Our early calendars, however, notice this saint, although they do not mark his periodinhistory. ThusheiscalledDochumma,Noendroim,inthepublished Martyrology of Tallagh,'^ at the 31st of January. Marianus O'Gorman is said to have styled this holy man Documma, Bishop of Aondruim ; while as we have already seen, in the previous life of St. Maidoc, patron of Ferns, at this same date, in his metrical calendar, Marianus has likewise given him
^ Edited Present," p. 67. by
Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp.
^ ''"
See the valuable and profusedly illustrated 32,33.
GuidetolBelfastandtheadjacentCounties," by the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club, pp.
245, 246, Antiquities, Ecclesiastical, § 250.
'' See his Life at the 23rd of June.
'See EcclesiasticalAntiquitiesofDown, Connor and Dromore," p. 45, n. (b). Ap- pendix S. , p. 236, and Index, p. 422.
* Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiv. 5"
Mo-Chumma is synonymous with Do-
Chumma or Da-Chumma as Mo-Chonna ;
is synonymous with Do-Chonna or Da-Chon- na. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nipc," xii. Martii. De S. Muro sive Murano, nn. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, p. 587.
"Handbook for Travellers in Ireland. " Route 5, p. 50.
" The known difference of festivals, and
the unproduced historic evidences of identity,
are strong objections.
'3 See his Life at the 24th of March. Also,
•^
In a note at this word, Aondruim, Dr.
Todd writes
:
" The more recent hand adds
Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxiv. Martii. De S . Domangardo, Episcopo, cap. iv. , and n. 7, pp. 743, 744.
here, 'iJ/ar/awo'OocummAepi^n ^on'oiwinA' In Marianus, Documma, Bishop of Aon- druim. " Meaning, that Marianus O'Gorman
spells the name Dochumma, in his Martyr- ology, instead oi Mochumma.
"
7 See Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down,
Connor and Dromore. " Appendix LL, p.
' In the O'Clery's calendar. See " Mar- "
'° In his " On the Mothers of Irish Tract,
Saints. "
" There is a round tower at this place —35 feet in height and 47 in circumference. "
Murray's
tyrology of Donegal, edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 84, 85.
'S Also called Ailleoc, who is venerated at the 24th of July, according to Colgan.
582 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
Aidan,'" to St. Muran,'7 of Fahan, and to St. Cillen,'^ of Achadhcail, in the territory of Lecale. Thus, his parentage is referable to Derinilla, who was married to four different husbands ; and although we cannot discover the name of his father, it would appear, that as a corollary, the date for birth
ought to be assigned to some part of the fifth century. '9 Again do we find the present saint entered as Mochoma, Bishop of Aendruim, by Duald Mac
Firbis,'^ the Genealogist. However, we believe the foregoing conjectural data must be abandoned for a more probable substitution of facts, and seem- ingly well corroborated in our annals. Already have we recorded the death of St. Cronan Beg, at the 7th of January,"' a. d. 642. ='" His demise, at that period, as Bishop of Nendrum on Mahee Island, may have been immediately succeeded by the elevation of Cuimine to his vacant chair. The addition of an usual syllabic prefix, and of a post-syllabic metathesis, will cause that nametoaccordwiththepresentsaint's; whilethetime,placeanddignity, seem to be reconcilable with the supposition of a true identity. According to one account, Cuimine, Bishop of 5s^aendruim, departed this life, a. d. 655. "^ Other authorities place this event, at a. d. 658,"* but we cannot find the day
on which it occurred set down. ^5 His place is stated to have been Nendrum
inLochCuan,"^nowStrangfordLough. ^*? . ^ndruimorNoendrumisknown,
after the name of its religious founder and patron, as Inis-Mochaoi or Inis
Mahee. "^ Untiloflateyears,thesiteofthischurch,whichcanboastanan-
tiquity of more than thirteen centuries, was almost unknown and undescribed.
Happily by a competent investigator of ecclesiastical antiquities,'^ this subject was taken in hand,^° and it formed the basis of that fame, which has not yet
*' The festival of this saint, nor the age when he flourished, has not been determined. '' His festival occurs at the 12th of March, where notices regarding him will be found. Colgan, supposing him to be the author of a life of St. Columkille, ascribes the seventh
94. 95-
** See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 268, 269.
's Unless the O'Clerys' statement be ac- cepted, that his feast must be assigned to the 1st of July, to which day the reader is century as his period. This is most likely referred for further notices. See Drs. Todd's
the case. The death of his
Domangard, in 506, and of Muran a century
and Reeves' " of Martyrology
184, 185.
'"
Dubh, called also Dimmaingert, Bishop of
Connor, who died A. D. 658, was his brother.
See Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibemicarum
Scriptores," tomus iv. Annalcs Ultonienses.
was applied to it. See " A Natural History of Ireland," in three parts, by several hands. Part i. , chap, ii. , sect, iii. , p. 8.
*i "The lough is an irregular sheet of water, twenty miles long, and seven broad, communicating with the sea by an inlet, called the Bay of Strangford, about seven
''
defined. Dr. Reeves thinks, however, that
This saint's festival or age has not been
reputed brother,
Donegal," pp.
It would appear that in the beginning But, it seems quite as probable, that Dima of last century the name " Lough Cone"
later, cannot be chronologically reconciled.
either he of Achadh-chaii, or St. Caylan,
founderofNendrumchurch,maybeasso- mileslong,a—ndoneinbreadth. Itisdott—ed
ciated with the church or parish of Kilclicf,
in Irish Citl-cteice, county of Down. See
"Ecclesiastical
'' See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nijc," xii. Martii. Vita S. Muri, sive Mu- exquisite steel engravings from drawings by
and
Antiquities n.
Down, and
desert. "
Leitch Ritchie's
Dromore," pendix N, p. 217.
Ap-
gether
Picturesque and Romantic," vol. ii. , chap, p. 48. This charming work contains most
of
(f ), pp. 38, 39,
Connor
some inhabited by men, some by cattle, and
some —but the alto- by rabbits, greater part
"
rani, and the accompanying notes, p. 587. "° "
D. M'Clise, Esq. , A. R. A. , and T. Cres- wick, Esq.
and I )romore. " Appendix F, pp. 187 to 197. "'The Rev. Willi. im Reeves, M. B. , then
impropriate curate of Kilconriola, in the diocese of Connor.
3<' In a paper intituled, "A Description ot
See Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Irish MSS. . , pp. 84, 85.
^'
'* Mahee Island. For a Anglicized
Academy,"
series,
vol.
i. , part
very full and historic account of this place, the reader is referred to Rev. William Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor
See his feast and notices of him at that date.
" At 641, according to the " Chronicon Scotorum," edited by W. M. Ilennessy, M. R. I. A. , pp. 88, 89.
^3 See the " Chronicon Scotorum," edited by William M. Hennessy, M. R. I. A. , pp.
to the number of
with islands fifty-four
Ireland,
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 583
culminated, and which must still gather accretion as it rolls along the stream ofTime. WhenIslandMaheehadbeenvisitedbytheRev. WilliamReeves,^' in the autumn of 1845, the country-people knew nothing regarding its history,
saving that they had an impression regarding its having been an ancient place, with an indistinct tradition that burials took place there centuries ago. 3' A causeway now unites Mahee Island^- with Reagh Islands-* and the western shore of Strangford Lough.
35 The western portion of Island Mahee slopes gently from the water to an elevation of 66 feet, and there it is surmounted by a small ivy-mantled ruin. Approaching this object, the way leads through
in what to be the remnant of a — circular enclosure. As- gap, appears large
the foundation Within this, at an interval of about 50 yards, a third ring encloses a space, nearly level, and about 70 yards in diameter. At a distance of 25 feet from the inner circumference, on the west, stands
a
—econd cending thence, a s nearly
concentric
ring apparently
of a wall or terrace is crossed.
Mahee Island, Co. Down.
that Httle ruin, possessing the main characteristics of a dilapidated round tower. 3^ The materials of which it is constructed are undressed stones, yet
Nendram, commonly called Mahee Island, embracing its rrescnt Condition and Past
History," pp. 23 to 39. This is to be found
in the first fasciculus of "
read before the Down and Connor and Dro- more Church Architecture Society, during the year 1844. "
3' His paper was read on the 5th of Xoveni-
ber,1845. Anelegantlithographedillustra- tion of ancient remains on the island, with a view of the more distant scenes, is added ; while two well-designetl and accurate ma]ys serve to exhibit the aciual position and out-
lines of this scenic and historically inleresthig spot.
published
Paper. ,
roods and 8
3
'•• See ibid. ,
28.
33 Containing 176 acres 3 roods and 38
p.
'• acres Containing 304
perches.
perches.
» See a descriptive account in Rev. G.
Hansbrow's "Improved Topographical and Historical Hibernian Gazetteer," &c. , pp.
314, 315-
3° I he accompanying illustration is from
a sketch taken by the writer, who visited this interesting spot with the Rev. James
O'Laverty, M. R. I. A. , and P. P. of Holly- wood, in May, 1874. It has been drawn on the wood by William F. Wakeman, and en-
.
^
584 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
so well disposed as to present an even surface on the inside, and so firmly
compacted by groutings, that though the outer wall table has been picked away, the inner has maintained its surface unimpaired. When at its highest elevation, the view from the top of this building must have been very exten- sive and superb ; for a very moderate addition to the natural altitude of its ground site should afford a prospect over the entire length of beautiful Lough Strangford. Thetopmostpartofthisruin,37isonlyaboutninefeetinheight, and the walls are covered with ivy. On the south-west side, there is a fissure, wide enough to admit a man ; it extends to the ground, and it was probably caused by an entrance having been there in the original plan. At a distance of 43 feet to the south-east, an oblong space was observable, 3^ and defined by something like a ridge in the grass. Here and there small portions of a wall andmortarprojectedthroughthesod. Fromitsproportionsanditsbearings to the east, this space resembled the enclosure of a place for Christian wor- ship. It was found to reveal the angles of a quadrilateral building,39 and partsofitssidestothedepthoftwofeetwereexposed. Thisbuildingstood E. N. E. , and such a deflection from the exact east is not uncommon in ancient churches. ''^ At present circling about the stunted round tower,^^ the ancient mounds are clearly traceable, and the intervals between them are often fur- rowed and uneven, while the church ruins are not clearly distinguishable, since long grass and brambles have covered the ground. -^^ These are the only noticeable features of what might be recognised as a long departed nursery of piety and learning. Even the round tower is sadly shorn of its more re- markable and lofty proportions. An English writer has stated, that in no country of Europe, save in Scotland, are to be found specimens like to the Irish round towers,43 and that there, similar models had been built by the
graved by George A. Hanlon, Dublin. It was sketched from a point of view, different from that shown in the lithograph which accompanies the Rev. William Reeves'
Cecila Metella, and which has been descr—ibed
paper. Such as an baffled
3' The diameter inside is 6 feet 6 inches.
The basement course on the exterior
a few inches. Its circumference is 44 feet 6 inches, or nearly 15 feet in diameter.
3^ This was sought for and discovered by the Rev. William Reeves, on the occasion of his visit.
inches ; length in clear, 52 feet 4 inches breadth in clear 15 feet 8 inches. Thus, 3 feet are allowed for the thickness of the end walls, and 3 feet 4 inches, for tlie sides. At the west end, two angular pro- jections of dressed stones were seemingly the rudiments of shallow buttresses. They measured 2 feet 6 inches in breadth, by 9 inches in depth.
^° Some antiquarians have thought, that various church directions were designed to
correspond with the point of the sun's rising on the morning of that festival day, which was commemorative of the patron saint. This is technically called the orientation of churches.
*'
Smaller in its proportions, and less per- fect, while still enduring, like that strange monument which rises over the grave of
39 Its proportions were, total length, 58
projects
—"Childe Harold's canto Pilgrimage,"
iv. , stanza xcix.
** The pious care of some future "Old
Mortality" must soon be required to prevent their disappearance from the casual observer's
view : the antiquary may readily find data, feet 4 inches ; total breadth, 22 feet 4 which will keep them green in his memory.
;
*3 Alluding to the theory of George Petrie, LL. D. , and of most Irish antiquaries, in his beautiful poem, on "The Pillar Towers of Ireland," Denis Florence MacCarthy thus indicates their Christian uses.
" Here was placed the holy chalice that held the sacred wine,
And the gold cross from the altar, and the relics from the shrine,
And the mitre shining brighter with its diamonds than the East ;
And the crozier of the Pontiff, and the vestments of the Priest !
" Where blared—the sacred fire, rung out the
vesper bell
Where the fugitive found shelter, became
the hermit'i cell ;
by Lord Byron, in his immortal poem
" There is a stem round tower of other days, Firm as a fortress with its fence of stone,
army's
Standing with half its battlements alone. "
strength delays,
:
,
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 585
posterity of Irishmen, who emigrated with Fergus. '** Yet, he seems to have been unacquainted with the fact, that his own country possessed such struc- tures, and these are of a curious type. The style of erecting ecclesiastical round towers must have been brought from Ireland into England+5 and Scot- land, at an early period. We can hardly doubt, if the ecclesiastical remains on Mahee Island be not referable to the founder's or to our saint's period,
there may be seen a hoariness, a desolation, and a solitude, betokening the most remote and mysterious antiquity. In case the present holy man, Mo- chumma or Documma, were to be identified with St. Cumin,+^ Abbot of
Drumbo, not only must he be probably placed among the early Christian century saints, but we must also assign a double festival to him. Indeed, it
has been conjectured,'*7 that the Abbot of Drumbo,'*^ at this early period, may be identical with St. Dochonna,49 a bishop venerated at the 15th of May. There is also a St. Dochonna, reverenced at the 30th of October,s° but no- thing is said of him, or of St. Dochonna, son of Odhran, whose feast falls on the 17th of February. 51 Again, it has been considered,^^ in like manner,53 that St. Mochumma or Cumin, Abbot of DrumbOjS-* may be identified with St. Mochumma, Bishop of n-Aendruim, venerated on this day, or with a St. Mochumma, undistinguished, whose feast falls on the 13th of June. ss No allusion is made to St. Mochumma or Machomma of Drum-Ailche,s^ or Drum- mully, county of Fermanagh, 57 of whom notices may be seen at his feast day, onthe4thofJanuary. AmongtheholymenbearingthenameofCuimraein,'^
And hope hung out its symbol to the in- nocent and good,
For the cross o'er the moss of the pointed — summit stood ! "
See Edward Hayes' "Ballads of Ireland,"
54 This parish, in the barony of Upper Castlereagh, is represented on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Down," Sheets 9, 10, 14, 15. The town- land of Drumbo proper is found on Sheets 9, 15-
55 in Col- Erroneously printed "3 Junii,"
gan's work.
5* In English, "the ridge of the stone,"
accordingtoJohnW. Hanna; althoughDr. P. W. Joyce has rendered its equivalent, Drummully, "the ridge of the summit," in his "Origin and History of Irish Names of Places. " SeeIndex,p. 537.
57 In reference to a previously expressed opinion, that St. Mochumma had connexion
with Drummully,in the county of Fermanagh,
Mr. John W. Hanna of Downpatrick re-
in the Ulster that "the marks, Examiner,
author threw out a happy and correct con- jecture, for, by an inquisition sped at Ennis-
killen, l8th September, 1609, to inquire into and distinguish the ecclesiastical lands from those belonging to the Crown in the county of Fermanagh, it was found that in the half barony of Cuyl-naine, now Coole, there was the parish of Drumalchy, spelled also Dru- mulchy, being the church in question. The latter name has been softened by the ellipse of the letter ' but rendered
signification from the original form. "
The so—
5* following saints, called in the
"Martyrology of Donegal," are: I. St. Cuimmein, son of Dubh, at the 12th of Jan- uary. 2. St. Cuimmein, of Gleann-mona, at the 1 2th of Februaiy. 3. St. Cuimmein, Abbot of la, at the 24th of February. 4.
vol.
i. , p. 5.
^See Watkinson's "
John Philosophical
Survey of the South of Ireland," let. ix. , p. 90. *5 For illustrations the reader is referred to an article on "Burgh Castle and the Eccle- siastical Round Towers of Suffolk and Nor- folk. " See "The Archaeological Album; or Museum of National Antiquities," edited
by Thomas Wright, the illustrations by F.
W. Fairholt, pp. 93 to 99.
** His feast occurs at the 1 0th of August.
See notices at that date.
*7 By Father John Colgan.
'^ From a
round tower, county of Down, by a distin- guished artist, J. Howard Burgess, Belfast, a finely executed lithograph, by Marcus Ward and Co. , has been produced.
*9 This holy man is classed among the bishops of Condeire or Connor, and his death is referred to A. D. 725.
5° See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemife," xii.
Martii. De S. Muro sive Murano, nn. 5, 6,
7, 8, 9, p. 587.
5' For notices of the several saints so called
the reader is refen-ed to the dates of their re- spective festivals, and to Rev. Drs. Todd's
very elegant
sketch of Drumbo
and Reeves' "
52, 53, 126, 127, 288, 289.
of
Donegal, "pp.
Mart)rrology
s^ By Father John Colgan.
S3 See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," xii. Martii. De S. Muro, sive Murano, nn. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, p. 587.
,
c,' improperly Drum-mully, having an entirely different
586 LIVES OF THE lEISH SAINTS. [January 31.
Cuimmin,s5 Coman,^ or Comman,^' there is a St. Cuimmein, a Bishop of n-Aendruim, whose feast occurs at the ist of July, and who is said to have died a. d. 658. '^* We consider, that he may have been a distinct person from the saint, venerated on this day. Further evidence is wanting, however, to pronounce a safe opinion on this very undecided point.
ArticleIII. —St. Adamnan,ofColdingham,inScotland. [Seventh
Century. ] Sinners may derive hope and happiness from a consideration, that several dissolute and abandoned persons had the true courage to rise from the slough of their iniquities and to resolve on a change of life. Thus, instead of being very disedifying members of Christian communities, with the help of God's grace, they became great saints. To sin is alone shameful ; to become a real penitent is the sinner's chiefest crown and glory. As a remarkable in- stance of God's mercy, from the work of Venerable Bede are derived the earliest and most authentic accounts, regarding the present distinguished penitent* VariouschroniclersandwritersonEnglishandScottishecclesi- astical history draw their general notices of him from that source. At the same time, it must be observed, that some writers have mistaken his identity. Matthew of Westminster,^ who refers to St. Adamnan,3 Abbot of lona, at A. D. 701,^ has been erroneously thought to have had allusion to the present saint. Thus, among others, at the 31st of January, Camerarius treats about St. Adamnan, Abbot of Hy, as if he were the holy convert of that name, who was venerated on this day. s and who is likewise called Abbot of Coludius. * Likewise, Gesner and Bale,7 in their works, and Possevino,^ make this saint Abbot of Hy, and attribute various works to him which are the compositions of his more celebrated namesake. Dempster is especially inaccurate, not
St. Cuimmein, son of Baedan, at the 19th Comman, son of Ua Theimhne, at the 27th of lilay. 5. St. Cuimmein, at the Ist of of February. 3. St. Comman, bishop, at June. 6. St. Cuimmein, Bishop of Aen- the 28th of March. 4. St. Comman, at the druim, at the ist of July. 7. St. Cuimmein, 23rd of May. 5. St. Comman, son of Dioma, son of Aride, at the 29th of July. 8.
