Seeing the bottom of the boat turned upwards, Finbarr suspecting the cause called the inhabitants of the surround- ing
district
to come armed with pikes and forks.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
143.
100
monastery
Comgall,
Bangor.
1Q
named, and are said to have there studied with him. From the recorded
with St. Barr, bishop of Cork.
,o6
See his Life, at the loth of May, in
the Fifth Volume of this work, Art. i. " xv
See his Life, at the 18th of April, in
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 557
with St. David.
112
Notwithstanding the omission of such an account in the
Burgundian Manuscript, yet it is stated, that St. Barre and a company of twelve pilgrims went to Rome and other foreign parts, as related in his Life. "* In the Acts of St. David "« of Wales, it is said, that a certain Barr, an Irish
from Rome, visited the aforesaid
5 thinks Colgan
Abbot, returning
this Barr to have been identical with our Saint.
bishop. "
On leaving St. David, he
6 11
borrowed a horse," according to the legend, ? which relates an incident too
ridiculous for serious consideration. 1 ' 8 We are told, that the seniors of St. Barrus sent their disciple, with licence and benediction, to learn a—nd read
1x
under a Roman doctor. Th—
1,2
in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
See his Life, at the 1st day of March,
113 Chap 28 is quoted. See Colgan's " Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," Martii i. De S. Suitberto Episcopo Tiesterbandiae Apos- tolo, n. 2, p. 436.
"4 The early Life of St. David by Rice- march has been recast by Giraldus Cam- brensis, and it mentions our Saint, as "abbas Barrochus," by others called St.
Barrus, following the example of the Irish
"S. seu Eulo- Eulangius,
Saints in the Limina visiting
many disciples,
gius, ipsius alioquin S Barrii institutor. ''
Apostolorum and enjoying St. David's conversation either
»
ere
be some truth in this man whom
may somesupposetobeMac-corb havingcomefromRometoIreland
in the Life of St. Senan of Iniscathy, it is said, that even in his day, fifty Roman monks arrived in our country. This, however, was before the time of St. Gregory. Some of these monks are said to have been in St. Finnbarr's establishment, at Cork ; but, this must be regarded as an anachronism. No
such foundation then existed ; yet, Barr's master might have been one of those Roman or Continental monks. 121 It may be possible even, that the relation of master and scholar is here inverted. But, it so happened, that a certain good man bestowed on him I22 some land, whereon he might build a cell in the Lord's name. This was called
120
,23 Here the founder left some disciples who were to build a house and remain in it. Blessing
Culeaysseal.
them, Bairre proceeded on his way, to seek another habitation.
probable, Barr spent some time with St.
David at Menevia in Wales, the latter
having lived late in the sixth century. See
117 This account continues: "Quo con- cesso, ac benedictione obtenta, equum ascen- dit, et sic super mare confidenter et usque adHyberniampervenit. Equumveroprae fatum in servitio fratrum secum retinuit ; sed in memoria miraculi discipuli fecerunt equum aeneum, qui usque hodie apud Cor-
cagiam manet. " It would be a curious
subject for enquiry to ascertain, if ihere be any truth in the latter part of this statement. 1,8 The Bollandist Henschenius, at the 1st day of March, not only regards this legend as fabulous, but he considers it alto- gether unwarranted to make St. David and
St. Barr contemporaries.
119 We may see in a subsequent part of
St. Barr's biography enumerated among his
"
EcclesiasticalHistoryofIreland,"vol. ii. ,
chap, xiv. , sect, iv. , and nn. 56, 57, 58,
pp. 314, 316.
going or returning. See Bishop Forbes' Perhaps, as he bore a Greek or foreign
" Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 276.
115 The statement appears to have had its origin, lrom the Life of St. David, written by Giraldus Cambrensis, in the twelfth or thirteenth century. At the year 630, Ussher
name, Eulangius or Eulogius was identical with this doctor.
120
See this Life, at the 8th of March, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
121 " It may be objected, that Mac-corb
to be an Irish name. He however have got this name in Ireland, by giving a Gallic turn to his real name, as was often done ; ex. c. Phadruig for Patricius,
" Barrus
et Barrocus et Find-
writes
barrus, a parentibus vero Lochanus dictus) apud Corcagienses claruit. . . . A Mac-
curbio, Gregorii Papae discipulo, Roma veniente, in Lagenia institutus fuisse dicitur. Quod si verum Davidi Menevensi avvxpovov iuisse ilium, Giraldo Cam—brensi non facile
:
(qui
appears
might
"If
"
fuerit concedendum. " Britannicarum have called him Mac-corb. " See Dr.
Ecclesiarum Antiquitates. " Index Chrono- logicUS, A. D. DCXXX.
1,6 On an old seal, there is a representa-
tion of St. Barr on horseback and — walking
near the waves, while clad in pontificals. Letter of Very Rev. Patrick Hurley, P. P. , dated Inchigecla, Co. Cork, March 15th, 1889.
"
Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , sect, iv. , n. 55,
Seachlain for Secundinus, &c. "
supposed to have been the son of a man called Corbus or Corvus, the Irish might
Lanigan's pp. 315, 316.
122
St. or the Roman doctor? Quere, Barry
The context is not sufficiently clear to decide
the precise meaning of this passage.
123 According to the Codex Kilkenniensis.
This place has not been identified.
;
for,
***
558
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[September 25.
CHAPTER II.
ST. BAIRRE FOUNDS A SCHOOL FOR RELIGIOUS AT GOUGANE BARRA—NAMES OF HIS DISCIPLES, MEN AND WOMEN—HE IS ADMONISHED BY AN ANGEL TO LEAVE FOR CLOYNE—AFTERWARDS HE GOES TO CORK, WHERE HE ESTABLISHES A FAMOUS SCHOOL AND MONASTERY—NAMES OF HIS CORK SCHOLARS—PERIOD OF HIS EPISCOPACY AND SEE IN THAT CITV—LEGENDS REGARDING HIS CONSECRA-
TION AS BISHOP—DEATH AND BURIAL OF BAIRRE's MASTER MACCUIRP—ORIGIN OF CORK CITY.
1
In a Life of St. Barr, we find it stated, that after certain transactions already
noticed, he came to a Lake, called in the Scottish or Irish dialect
It is said to have been embosomed in a deep hollow and surrounded by highandsteepmountains. Thedistrictaroundwasthenawildsolitude,and it still preserves a nearly similar character. It forms the source of the River Lee, and is now known as Gougane Barra, rendered " Finbar's rock-cleft. "3 Within the basin of that deep lake, and on a small island, he commenced the foundation of a monastery, which soon counted n great number of cells toaccommodatehisnumerouscommunity. * Fromthewest,orfromBantry and
more than a mile in length and a quarter of a mile in breadth approached by a road, from which a rough descent conducts a traveller down to the water's edge. The River Lee rises in 'Fourteen mountain, and rushes for about two miles through a deep and awe-inspiring little valley, surrounded by lofty mountains, into the head of the lake. The mountain which overtops it on the northern shore separates the Counties of Cork and Kerry, and it
becomes an inaccessible barrier, which in winter often sends down u its thousand wild fountains" with grand effect. * We are told, that St. Finn Barr lived as a hermit in a cave or cell, on a small islet of the romantic lake, still
6
called Gougane Barra, towards the close of the sixth century. It is said,
that coming from his home near Bandon, he first fixed his cell at Cool- mountain, at the Carbery side in Inchigeela parish, where there had been a graveyard, now disused, and near it the foundations of a small building, with walls four feet in breadth. 7 However, hearing of the romantic beauties of
Glengarriff, through
the
Pass of — the lake- wildly grand Keimaneigh,
Chapter 11. —'The Life which was in
6 The island in question was that one cele-
at
2 We find in some writers the word
brated in the
of the Cork
is Colgan's possession quoted
Chapter
xx.
glorious lyric
poet,
written Loch-erce or Lough-eire—probably a printer's mistake. By others, this deno- mination is applied to that part of the River Lee, at which Cork now stands.
3 See Dr. P. W.
Historyof Irish NamesofPlaces. ,"partiv. , chap, vi. , p. 446.
4 So far as we can understand the order of narrative in the Codex Kilkenniensis and Bodleian Lives of our saint, there is no mention of Gougane Barra, but Achad Duirbton or Achad Durbcon in Munster seems to have been substituted for it. See
There is a green island in lone Gougane
Barra,
Where Allua of songs rushes forth as an
arrow
In deep-valleyed Desmond—a thousand
wild fountains
Come down to that Lake, from their home
in the mountains. **
Oh ! where is the dwelling in valley or
Highland
So meet for a bard as this lone little
island ! "
Richard Caulfield's Barre," pp. 15, 16.
"
Life of Saint Fin
Joyce's "Origin
and
5 A thunder-storm or the discharge of small cannon calls forth magnificent echoes from the surrounding hills.
—"Poems of J. J. Callanan," p. 65. Cork, 1861. i2mo.
7 For the foregoing, as lor many other particulars regarding Gougane Barra, the
J. J.
"
Callanan
:
—
is
2 Lough-eirc.
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
559
Gougane Barra, he visited the spot, with which he became so enamoured, that he resolved on settling in it, and there establishing his school. 8 The ruins of an ancient and arched cells 9 are there 10 on
11
leading into it from the main-land.
On the Island, holly and ash grow in great luxuriance. Some rude steps lead to a higher position enclosed by a wall, except on the southern side, where there is an opening, which conducts into the enclosure. Before the visitor then rises a cross of late erection, placed on a platform, and approached by steps. It is surrounded by stations fixed on the old walls. " Many legends are current in the neighbourhood regarding St. Finbarr and his sodality. ^ Gathering numerous mountain rills, the River Lee opens into
chapel eight traceable,
that small island, nearly midway in the lake ; a rude artificial causeway
writer is indebted to the Very Rev. Patrick Hurley, P. P. of Inchigeela, in letters dated,
9 These are called chapels by the country
people. Of late, the Via Crucis has been
placed over them, for devotional purposes.
10
minute description of St. Finnbarr's Island
and the in " Bolster's surrounding scenery
Quarterly Magazine," and under the heading of Gougane Barra. See vol. ii. ,MDCCCXXVli. , No. viii. , pp. 332, 333. On the latter page is an engraving which gives a ground plan of the island, with its chapel, cells, cloisters, court, cross, well, causeway, and ash-trees to the water's edge.
1899.
The Rev. T. Olden, in an article on St.
Finn Barr, published in Leslie Stephens'
" of National vol. Dictionary Biography,"
xix. , p. 35, 36, considered that the place of his settlement was Gougane Barra, identical with Lough Eirke. However, he afterwards changed this opinion ; but, as we think, without sufficient reasons to subvert the almost universal popular tradition regarding
the locality. Alluding to the Irish Life of
St. Fin Barre, he writes ;
that St. Barre or Fin Barr, after his educa- a description of the scenery about here, in "
September, *
There is a picturesquely-written and a
Near the entrance is a Holy Well.
" 11
This Life states There are very exquisite illustrations and
tion in Leinster, continued to labour for Mr. and Mrs. Hall's Ireland : its, scenery,
some time in Kilkenny and the Queen's County, and founded twelve churches before
coming to Cork. It was during this period he established the school in question, which
character," &c, vol. i. , pp. 113 to 117.
12
The modern restorations and improve- ments there effected are due to the zeal and good taste of the Very Rev. Patrick Hurley,
P. P. , who has still the features of preserved
the former ancient ruins. A part of the enclosure is now called the Shrine, good Photos of which, with other illustrations of Gougane Barra, may be seen in the useful hand-book issued by the managers of the Cork and Macroom Direct Railway, " The Tourist's Route to Glengariffand Killarney," pp. 25 to 30.
13 One of these legends states, that the saint's servant Linin, while fishing in his Corougheen, was seized by a Peist, which infested the lake.
Seeing the bottom of the boat turned upwards, Finbarr suspecting the cause called the inhabitants of the surround- ing district to come armed with pikes and forks. Having prayed, the Peist came bellowing from the bottom of the lake, and then following the course of the river for a mile, he threw up Linin's dead body at a place still called Linin's cascade. Finally the monster was killed by the country people at a place called Inchinaneab or " Inch of the Saints," about 15 miles east- ward. It is said so many were with the saint on that occasion, that having forgot his book which was at Gougane Barra, Bran was sent back for it, and the book was
handed from one to another of those who were present until Finbar received it.
is described as at '
Lough
Eirce, in Eadar-
gabhail. ' The last name, which occurs
frequently in Ireland, is Anglicised Adder-
goole, or Adrigole ; but the only one which answers the conditions required is that in
the south of the Queen's County adjoining Kilkenny. It is situated, as the name implies (eadar), between the fork (gabhal), formed by the junction of two rivers, which here are the Gaul and Erkina, tributaries to the Nore. Between them, near the monas- tery of Aghmacart, on the bank of the Gaul, is a ruin known as the College, near which is a depression, now a marsh, which was evidently once a lake. There is every reason to believe that this is the spot, especially as adjoining it, in the County of Kilkenny, is the parish of Eircke. The writers of the three Latin Lives, published by Dr. Caulfield, though concurring with the Irish Life as to his labours in Leinster, suppress all mention of this school, probably for fear of lessening the importance ol that at Cork, which has in a great measure eclipsed the earlier one. The cave or grotto at Gougane Barra, called in the Irish Life Cuas Barra, was a her- mitage, and there never could have been a school at the place. "—Rev. T. Olden's " History of the Church of Ireland. " Ap- pendix, p. 424.
560 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 25.
that lustrous and deep lake called Lough Allua. In the middle of the seventeenth century, the surrounding country was all a forest, consisting of
large oak, birch, alder, ash, and yew trees of great size. The woods were stored with red and fallow deer, and abounded with great ayries of excellent hawks. On the summits of the mountains around the Lough, eagles and
1
other birds of prey breed and live in great security. * Within two miles of
Gougane Barra, there is a large and curious stone, called by the country-people Clough Barra ; whether it had any connection with our saint is not known,15 yet it is associated with him by tradition.
It is related, that our saint gathered several distinguished scholars around him in those romantic wilds. They probably formed the nucleus of that
16
in or near Cork. It is probable he went to Gougane Barra, towards the close of the sixth century. Disciples flocked to him from all quarters, and to his school, as to a hive of wisdom and a domicile for all Christian virtues. Such had been the number and zeal of those followers, 1 ? that a former desert was soon changed into a populous locality. From the school then instituted, many persons, eminent for learning and sanctity, afterwards issued. The following
larger school attached to the monastery of St. Finn Barr,
Saints mentioned as his
LifeofS—t.
Eulogius Garbhan,»3
are said, in the
Bnrgundian Manuscript
one of Bart's — The
disciples. following
the volume, Art. iii. present
The other is
list different from that given in the text—is thus inserted, from a Life of our saint, in Colgan's possession: "inter quos enituere S. Eulangius seu Eulogius, ipsius alioquin S. Barrii institutor, S. (Jolmanus de Dordhuncon, (aliter, Doiror- Dhuncon,) S. Baitaeenus, (aliter, Baithinus,) S. Nessanus, S. Garbanus, (aliter, Garb- hanus) filius Finbarrii, S. Talmachus, S.
of Lecain in and venerated Meath,
of these holy men
Eolaing
on the 29th of December.
20 Among the many saints called Colman
on the Irish Calendars, we do not find one
thus distinguished ; but, I am informed by
Very Rev. Patrick Hurley, P. P. , that Derry
Dunaoi was the land on the right of the
Pass of Keimaneagh leading to Bantry.
81
disciples
1' tohavelivedtherewithhim
1? Eolang
—
Bairre,
his tutor, and Colman of Derry Dunaoi,
viz,
Latinized
and Donoughmore,
son of 2« Talmhach2' and Findchua26 of Findbar,
14 See Dr. Charles Smith's " Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork," vol. i. , book ii. , chap, ii. , pp. 191,
192.
'5 Letter of the Very Rev. Patrick Hurley,
P. P. , to the writer and dated Inchigeela,
County Cork, March 15th, 1889.
16 See Gibson's "History of the County
and City of Cork," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , n. P- 341.
*7 Colgan enumerates twenty-one of these disciples, in his acts of St. Nessan, at the 17th of March. See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xvii. Martii, De S. Nessano Praesbytero. This latter saint is regarded as
readings within brackets, are to be found when quoting the same extract in another place. See ibid. , xxvii. Martii. De S. Garvano, Abbate, pp. 750, 751. Some of these, however, are evidently mistakes in the printing.
Under this form of name, he does not Finchadius de Domnachmor, S. Fachua appear in our Calendars.
(aliter Fachna) seu Facundus de Ria, S.
Facundus de Ros-alithir, S. Lucerus, S.
Cumanus, S. Lochinus de Achadairaird, S.
Carinus, S. Fintanus de Roscoerach, S.
Euhell (aliter S. Euchel) de Ros-coerach,
S. Trellanus (aliter S. Frellanus) de Druim
draighnighe, S. Coelehus, S. Mogenna, him in the Third volume of this work, S. Medimocus, S. Sanctanus (aliter S. Art. iii.
24 Whether this name is to determine his
natural or spiritual father may be a question
for enquiry.
25 An account of him may be found at the
et S. filius Columbi. " Lugerius
Sanctanis)
See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xvii.
Martii, De S. Nessano Praesbytero Corca- giensi Patrono, pp. 629, 630. The different
:
20
21
Nesan,"
Baichin,
18
living with him in Gougane Barra or at Achad Durbcon, in the Liber Kilkenniensis, Bodleian, or Trinity College Lives of our saint.
19 There are two saints in the Irish Calen- dars thus named : viz, Eolang of Achadh Bo, venerated at the 5th of September, at which date notices of him may be found in
22
There is no account of the disciples
Otherwise called Neassan of Corcach or Cork, venerated at the 1st of December, where notices of him may be found.
23 Supposed to have been the St. Garbhan of Dungarvan, whose feast is at the 26th of March, at which date there are notices of
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. S«i
2 28 2 ° Fachtna Ria ? and Fachtna of Ross Ailithir, Luicer, ^ Cuman3 and
Loichin31 of Achadh on Aird Cairne,32 Findtan33 and Cothuil,3* who are at
Ross Cacrach,35 Treallan,36 who is at Drom Druighnighe,3? Caolchu,38 MoGenna,39 MoDimog40andSantan,4' asalsoLuiger,*2 sonofColum. It would seem as if an institution for female religious had been there estab- lished under the direction of St. Finn Barre,*3 since we are told in his Life that there were with him likewise, in partnership, the sister of Bairri,** and Crothru,4* daughter of Conall, and the three daughters of Mc Cairthann & and Coch Caille of Ross Benchuir,*? and Mo Shillan*8 of Rathmore, Scothnat w of Cluain Beg, and Lassar of Achadh Durbcon 5° besides these the three
;
daughtersofLughadhs1 ofDun,s2andHer53andBrigid54inchargeofthem.
14th day of March in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
76 Finnchua of Brigoon, venerated on the 25th of November, is the only saint so named in the Irish Calendar. Can Donoughmore be another name for Brigoon ?
27 There are four saints bearing the name
of Fachtna, but to none of these is the
bishop of Cill-dumha-gluinn, venerated at the 26th of December.
40 There is a Mo-Dimoc or Mo-Diommog venerated at the 3rd of March, and notices of him may be found at that date, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. vii.
41 Two Sanctins are in the Irish Calendar ;
one venerated as a Bishop at Cill-da-les, May 9th, at which date are notices of him in
little church of Fachtna," in Muscraighe- other is venerated as Sanctin simply, at Chuirc ; but we know not a saint of the September 17th, where notices are to be
epithet Ria affixed. We learn, however,
there had been a Cillin-Fachtna, or the the Fifth Volume of this work, Art. i. ; the
"
name to whom it had been dedicated.
Volume of this work, Art. i.
29 Under this form the name is not found
in the Irish Calendar, but there is a Luachair
of Cill-Elgraighe venerated on the 23rd of December.
30 There are many saints bearing the name of Cummein noted in the Irish Calendar, and for the most part distinguished by their patro-
nymics or places.
31 There are four saints named Loichen in
the Irish Calendar, and venerated respec-
tively at January 12th, 20th, April 17th, and June 12th, at which dates notices of them may be found in previous volumes of this work. There is a St. Laidgen vene- rated at a place called Achadh-raithin, in the country of the Decies, on the 28th of November.
32 Not identified.
33 Many saints called Fintan, Findtan or Fionntain are mentioned at different days in tho Irish Calendar.
34 No such name appears in any of the Iiish Calendars.
found in the present volume, Art. x.
42 No saint this name is in the Irish bearing
Calendar, but there is a saint called Lughair the Leper, venerated at the nth of May.
: 43Mr. RichardCaulfieldstates "AnIrish
life, kindly lent me by Mr. Windale, men- tions a school of female saints, which was
28 St. Fachnan, "
styled Sapiens,"
who founded the see of Ross. His festival is celebrated on the 14th of August, at which date are notices regarding him in the Eighth
3s Not identified.
36 This name does not Calendar.
37 Not identified.
in appear any
Irish
50 In the Irish Calendars there are many Lassars, but none described as belonging to Achaidh Durbchon. This is supposed to have been the place of St. Finn Barr's birth. See Leslie " of Na-
38 There is a Caolchu of Lui-airthir vene- rated on the 24th of September. See notices of him at the previous day in the present
volume, Art. v.
39 No saint of this name appears on the
Irish Calendar, but there is a Mo-Gheanog,
51 No such denomination is found in the Irish Calendar.
52 Singly and in composition this local denomination is often found in Irish topo-
graphy.
s3 This name is not in the Irish Calendar.
54 Many Irish saints bearing the name of IN
also at this Barre," p. v.
place. "—
" Life of Saint Fin
44 Not otherwise named.
45 Not found in the Irish Calendar.
46 Not found in the Irish Calendar.
47 There is a Cocha of Ros-Bennchair,
thought to have been the nurse of St. Ciaran
of venerated at the 6th of Saighir,
June,
acoording to one conjecture, but according to another at the 29th of June.
48 No such designation is in the Irish Calendar, but there are many saints named Sillan or Siollam.
49 This form of name is not in the Irish
Calendar, but there is a Sgoth, virgin, of Cluain-grencha—Latinized Flora—vene- rated at the 1 8th of January, and a Sgoth, virgin, venerated at Cluain-mor-Mocsena, on the 16th of July.
Stephens' Dictionary tional Biography," vol. xix. , p. 35.
5 62 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 25.
Moreover, it is stated, that all this company offered their churchesss to God
and to Bairre in perpetual fidelity ; by which we are to understand, that they accepted him as their spiritual and temporal superior in affairs ecclesiastical. How long Fin Barre remained at Gougane Barra is not known ; but certain it is, that since his time, popular veneration for the saint and his locality has continued to the 6 an immense concourse of
present day. s Formerly, pilgrims and other visitors used to frequent the Holy Island ; especially on the Eve of St. John the Baptist's Nativity, as also on the Eve and Day of St. Fin Barr's feast. The place had been dedicated to St. Finbar and to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ; and on these days pilgrimages were very generally made, but as such were not under any proper supervision, abuses prevailed which caused the ecclesiastical authorities to intervene, and they were prohibited under penalty of excommunication. However, the late Rt. Rev. Bishop Delaney of Cork removed this bann, and the devotions have since been conducted in a manner which is both edifying and religious. At the present time, a Mass is celebrated on the Island, on the Sunday within the Octave of St. Finbar's festival, and a sermon on the Saint is preached, while great numbers of people come—and many from long distances—to assist at the celebration. 57 On other Sundays, when distance from church or other
Ireland's great Patroness are noted in our Calendars ; but the present Brigid cannot be identified among them.
55 The narrative continues : viz. , Bail neach
s* We are informed, that after the Refor- mation, certain enemies of the Catholic Faith threw crosses of St. Finbar's stations into the lake. In the year 1700, Father Denis O'Mahony took up his residence on the Island, where he fitted up a chapel, and
more in Musgry Mitain, after getting a
banner there, and Nathi and Brogan they
offered their church to Bairri, namely, there led a very mortified life. It is said he Bairneachmoie, and Bairri left with them a
chalice for lay Communion, and four Books
of the Gospels. Lughadh, son of Findtan,
who desired him to go to the country of
Cliach, it was he the same who got control
of a community at Cam Tighearna, in the arched recess like those in the enclo-
sure and facing the island. He wrote his
own " Hoc sibi et successoribus epitaph :
suis in eadem locatione monumentum lay Communion. Baetan, son of Eoghan, imposuit Reverendus Dominus Doctor who got Glen Cain in the country of Lein- Dyonisius O'Mahony Presbyter licet indig- ster Ely, and Mo Diomog, were disciples of nus, a. d. 1700. " The letters having been
Bairri, and both were bishops, the two effaced— time, the
by Very
country of Fer Muigh Feine, or Fermoy, he
offered his church to and Bairri,
Lughadh took from Bairri a chalice of white metal for
offered their churches to Bairri in
fidelity, namely, Glen Cain Druimeidhneach
in the country of Leinster Ely. Saran got
it, and he offered his church to Bairri, and
he got from Bairri a copper lay chalice for
the Sacrament. Goban Corr, who took
Fan Lobus, offered his church to Bairri,
and Bairri gave him a lay chalice of silver
and an altar chalice of gold. Findtan and
Domhangein, likewise, who took Cluain the late Mr. Townsend, with a view of Fotai and Tulach Meen, offered their
churches to Bairri, and Bairri gave them a
lay chalice and an altar chalice of glass.
There Barri performed miracles, namely,
the healing of a son who was deaf and
dumb, as also the healing of lepers.
100
monastery
Comgall,
Bangor.
1Q
named, and are said to have there studied with him. From the recorded
with St. Barr, bishop of Cork.
,o6
See his Life, at the loth of May, in
the Fifth Volume of this work, Art. i. " xv
See his Life, at the 18th of April, in
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 557
with St. David.
112
Notwithstanding the omission of such an account in the
Burgundian Manuscript, yet it is stated, that St. Barre and a company of twelve pilgrims went to Rome and other foreign parts, as related in his Life. "* In the Acts of St. David "« of Wales, it is said, that a certain Barr, an Irish
from Rome, visited the aforesaid
5 thinks Colgan
Abbot, returning
this Barr to have been identical with our Saint.
bishop. "
On leaving St. David, he
6 11
borrowed a horse," according to the legend, ? which relates an incident too
ridiculous for serious consideration. 1 ' 8 We are told, that the seniors of St. Barrus sent their disciple, with licence and benediction, to learn a—nd read
1x
under a Roman doctor. Th—
1,2
in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
See his Life, at the 1st day of March,
113 Chap 28 is quoted. See Colgan's " Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," Martii i. De S. Suitberto Episcopo Tiesterbandiae Apos- tolo, n. 2, p. 436.
"4 The early Life of St. David by Rice- march has been recast by Giraldus Cam- brensis, and it mentions our Saint, as "abbas Barrochus," by others called St.
Barrus, following the example of the Irish
"S. seu Eulo- Eulangius,
Saints in the Limina visiting
many disciples,
gius, ipsius alioquin S Barrii institutor. ''
Apostolorum and enjoying St. David's conversation either
»
ere
be some truth in this man whom
may somesupposetobeMac-corb havingcomefromRometoIreland
in the Life of St. Senan of Iniscathy, it is said, that even in his day, fifty Roman monks arrived in our country. This, however, was before the time of St. Gregory. Some of these monks are said to have been in St. Finnbarr's establishment, at Cork ; but, this must be regarded as an anachronism. No
such foundation then existed ; yet, Barr's master might have been one of those Roman or Continental monks. 121 It may be possible even, that the relation of master and scholar is here inverted. But, it so happened, that a certain good man bestowed on him I22 some land, whereon he might build a cell in the Lord's name. This was called
120
,23 Here the founder left some disciples who were to build a house and remain in it. Blessing
Culeaysseal.
them, Bairre proceeded on his way, to seek another habitation.
probable, Barr spent some time with St.
David at Menevia in Wales, the latter
having lived late in the sixth century. See
117 This account continues: "Quo con- cesso, ac benedictione obtenta, equum ascen- dit, et sic super mare confidenter et usque adHyberniampervenit. Equumveroprae fatum in servitio fratrum secum retinuit ; sed in memoria miraculi discipuli fecerunt equum aeneum, qui usque hodie apud Cor-
cagiam manet. " It would be a curious
subject for enquiry to ascertain, if ihere be any truth in the latter part of this statement. 1,8 The Bollandist Henschenius, at the 1st day of March, not only regards this legend as fabulous, but he considers it alto- gether unwarranted to make St. David and
St. Barr contemporaries.
119 We may see in a subsequent part of
St. Barr's biography enumerated among his
"
EcclesiasticalHistoryofIreland,"vol. ii. ,
chap, xiv. , sect, iv. , and nn. 56, 57, 58,
pp. 314, 316.
going or returning. See Bishop Forbes' Perhaps, as he bore a Greek or foreign
" Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 276.
115 The statement appears to have had its origin, lrom the Life of St. David, written by Giraldus Cambrensis, in the twelfth or thirteenth century. At the year 630, Ussher
name, Eulangius or Eulogius was identical with this doctor.
120
See this Life, at the 8th of March, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
121 " It may be objected, that Mac-corb
to be an Irish name. He however have got this name in Ireland, by giving a Gallic turn to his real name, as was often done ; ex. c. Phadruig for Patricius,
" Barrus
et Barrocus et Find-
writes
barrus, a parentibus vero Lochanus dictus) apud Corcagienses claruit. . . . A Mac-
curbio, Gregorii Papae discipulo, Roma veniente, in Lagenia institutus fuisse dicitur. Quod si verum Davidi Menevensi avvxpovov iuisse ilium, Giraldo Cam—brensi non facile
:
(qui
appears
might
"If
"
fuerit concedendum. " Britannicarum have called him Mac-corb. " See Dr.
Ecclesiarum Antiquitates. " Index Chrono- logicUS, A. D. DCXXX.
1,6 On an old seal, there is a representa-
tion of St. Barr on horseback and — walking
near the waves, while clad in pontificals. Letter of Very Rev. Patrick Hurley, P. P. , dated Inchigecla, Co. Cork, March 15th, 1889.
"
Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , sect, iv. , n. 55,
Seachlain for Secundinus, &c. "
supposed to have been the son of a man called Corbus or Corvus, the Irish might
Lanigan's pp. 315, 316.
122
St. or the Roman doctor? Quere, Barry
The context is not sufficiently clear to decide
the precise meaning of this passage.
123 According to the Codex Kilkenniensis.
This place has not been identified.
;
for,
***
558
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[September 25.
CHAPTER II.
ST. BAIRRE FOUNDS A SCHOOL FOR RELIGIOUS AT GOUGANE BARRA—NAMES OF HIS DISCIPLES, MEN AND WOMEN—HE IS ADMONISHED BY AN ANGEL TO LEAVE FOR CLOYNE—AFTERWARDS HE GOES TO CORK, WHERE HE ESTABLISHES A FAMOUS SCHOOL AND MONASTERY—NAMES OF HIS CORK SCHOLARS—PERIOD OF HIS EPISCOPACY AND SEE IN THAT CITV—LEGENDS REGARDING HIS CONSECRA-
TION AS BISHOP—DEATH AND BURIAL OF BAIRRE's MASTER MACCUIRP—ORIGIN OF CORK CITY.
1
In a Life of St. Barr, we find it stated, that after certain transactions already
noticed, he came to a Lake, called in the Scottish or Irish dialect
It is said to have been embosomed in a deep hollow and surrounded by highandsteepmountains. Thedistrictaroundwasthenawildsolitude,and it still preserves a nearly similar character. It forms the source of the River Lee, and is now known as Gougane Barra, rendered " Finbar's rock-cleft. "3 Within the basin of that deep lake, and on a small island, he commenced the foundation of a monastery, which soon counted n great number of cells toaccommodatehisnumerouscommunity. * Fromthewest,orfromBantry and
more than a mile in length and a quarter of a mile in breadth approached by a road, from which a rough descent conducts a traveller down to the water's edge. The River Lee rises in 'Fourteen mountain, and rushes for about two miles through a deep and awe-inspiring little valley, surrounded by lofty mountains, into the head of the lake. The mountain which overtops it on the northern shore separates the Counties of Cork and Kerry, and it
becomes an inaccessible barrier, which in winter often sends down u its thousand wild fountains" with grand effect. * We are told, that St. Finn Barr lived as a hermit in a cave or cell, on a small islet of the romantic lake, still
6
called Gougane Barra, towards the close of the sixth century. It is said,
that coming from his home near Bandon, he first fixed his cell at Cool- mountain, at the Carbery side in Inchigeela parish, where there had been a graveyard, now disused, and near it the foundations of a small building, with walls four feet in breadth. 7 However, hearing of the romantic beauties of
Glengarriff, through
the
Pass of — the lake- wildly grand Keimaneigh,
Chapter 11. —'The Life which was in
6 The island in question was that one cele-
at
2 We find in some writers the word
brated in the
of the Cork
is Colgan's possession quoted
Chapter
xx.
glorious lyric
poet,
written Loch-erce or Lough-eire—probably a printer's mistake. By others, this deno- mination is applied to that part of the River Lee, at which Cork now stands.
3 See Dr. P. W.
Historyof Irish NamesofPlaces. ,"partiv. , chap, vi. , p. 446.
4 So far as we can understand the order of narrative in the Codex Kilkenniensis and Bodleian Lives of our saint, there is no mention of Gougane Barra, but Achad Duirbton or Achad Durbcon in Munster seems to have been substituted for it. See
There is a green island in lone Gougane
Barra,
Where Allua of songs rushes forth as an
arrow
In deep-valleyed Desmond—a thousand
wild fountains
Come down to that Lake, from their home
in the mountains. **
Oh ! where is the dwelling in valley or
Highland
So meet for a bard as this lone little
island ! "
Richard Caulfield's Barre," pp. 15, 16.
"
Life of Saint Fin
Joyce's "Origin
and
5 A thunder-storm or the discharge of small cannon calls forth magnificent echoes from the surrounding hills.
—"Poems of J. J. Callanan," p. 65. Cork, 1861. i2mo.
7 For the foregoing, as lor many other particulars regarding Gougane Barra, the
J. J.
"
Callanan
:
—
is
2 Lough-eirc.
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
559
Gougane Barra, he visited the spot, with which he became so enamoured, that he resolved on settling in it, and there establishing his school. 8 The ruins of an ancient and arched cells 9 are there 10 on
11
leading into it from the main-land.
On the Island, holly and ash grow in great luxuriance. Some rude steps lead to a higher position enclosed by a wall, except on the southern side, where there is an opening, which conducts into the enclosure. Before the visitor then rises a cross of late erection, placed on a platform, and approached by steps. It is surrounded by stations fixed on the old walls. " Many legends are current in the neighbourhood regarding St. Finbarr and his sodality. ^ Gathering numerous mountain rills, the River Lee opens into
chapel eight traceable,
that small island, nearly midway in the lake ; a rude artificial causeway
writer is indebted to the Very Rev. Patrick Hurley, P. P. of Inchigeela, in letters dated,
9 These are called chapels by the country
people. Of late, the Via Crucis has been
placed over them, for devotional purposes.
10
minute description of St. Finnbarr's Island
and the in " Bolster's surrounding scenery
Quarterly Magazine," and under the heading of Gougane Barra. See vol. ii. ,MDCCCXXVli. , No. viii. , pp. 332, 333. On the latter page is an engraving which gives a ground plan of the island, with its chapel, cells, cloisters, court, cross, well, causeway, and ash-trees to the water's edge.
1899.
The Rev. T. Olden, in an article on St.
Finn Barr, published in Leslie Stephens'
" of National vol. Dictionary Biography,"
xix. , p. 35, 36, considered that the place of his settlement was Gougane Barra, identical with Lough Eirke. However, he afterwards changed this opinion ; but, as we think, without sufficient reasons to subvert the almost universal popular tradition regarding
the locality. Alluding to the Irish Life of
St. Fin Barre, he writes ;
that St. Barre or Fin Barr, after his educa- a description of the scenery about here, in "
September, *
There is a picturesquely-written and a
Near the entrance is a Holy Well.
" 11
This Life states There are very exquisite illustrations and
tion in Leinster, continued to labour for Mr. and Mrs. Hall's Ireland : its, scenery,
some time in Kilkenny and the Queen's County, and founded twelve churches before
coming to Cork. It was during this period he established the school in question, which
character," &c, vol. i. , pp. 113 to 117.
12
The modern restorations and improve- ments there effected are due to the zeal and good taste of the Very Rev. Patrick Hurley,
P. P. , who has still the features of preserved
the former ancient ruins. A part of the enclosure is now called the Shrine, good Photos of which, with other illustrations of Gougane Barra, may be seen in the useful hand-book issued by the managers of the Cork and Macroom Direct Railway, " The Tourist's Route to Glengariffand Killarney," pp. 25 to 30.
13 One of these legends states, that the saint's servant Linin, while fishing in his Corougheen, was seized by a Peist, which infested the lake.
Seeing the bottom of the boat turned upwards, Finbarr suspecting the cause called the inhabitants of the surround- ing district to come armed with pikes and forks. Having prayed, the Peist came bellowing from the bottom of the lake, and then following the course of the river for a mile, he threw up Linin's dead body at a place still called Linin's cascade. Finally the monster was killed by the country people at a place called Inchinaneab or " Inch of the Saints," about 15 miles east- ward. It is said so many were with the saint on that occasion, that having forgot his book which was at Gougane Barra, Bran was sent back for it, and the book was
handed from one to another of those who were present until Finbar received it.
is described as at '
Lough
Eirce, in Eadar-
gabhail. ' The last name, which occurs
frequently in Ireland, is Anglicised Adder-
goole, or Adrigole ; but the only one which answers the conditions required is that in
the south of the Queen's County adjoining Kilkenny. It is situated, as the name implies (eadar), between the fork (gabhal), formed by the junction of two rivers, which here are the Gaul and Erkina, tributaries to the Nore. Between them, near the monas- tery of Aghmacart, on the bank of the Gaul, is a ruin known as the College, near which is a depression, now a marsh, which was evidently once a lake. There is every reason to believe that this is the spot, especially as adjoining it, in the County of Kilkenny, is the parish of Eircke. The writers of the three Latin Lives, published by Dr. Caulfield, though concurring with the Irish Life as to his labours in Leinster, suppress all mention of this school, probably for fear of lessening the importance ol that at Cork, which has in a great measure eclipsed the earlier one. The cave or grotto at Gougane Barra, called in the Irish Life Cuas Barra, was a her- mitage, and there never could have been a school at the place. "—Rev. T. Olden's " History of the Church of Ireland. " Ap- pendix, p. 424.
560 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 25.
that lustrous and deep lake called Lough Allua. In the middle of the seventeenth century, the surrounding country was all a forest, consisting of
large oak, birch, alder, ash, and yew trees of great size. The woods were stored with red and fallow deer, and abounded with great ayries of excellent hawks. On the summits of the mountains around the Lough, eagles and
1
other birds of prey breed and live in great security. * Within two miles of
Gougane Barra, there is a large and curious stone, called by the country-people Clough Barra ; whether it had any connection with our saint is not known,15 yet it is associated with him by tradition.
It is related, that our saint gathered several distinguished scholars around him in those romantic wilds. They probably formed the nucleus of that
16
in or near Cork. It is probable he went to Gougane Barra, towards the close of the sixth century. Disciples flocked to him from all quarters, and to his school, as to a hive of wisdom and a domicile for all Christian virtues. Such had been the number and zeal of those followers, 1 ? that a former desert was soon changed into a populous locality. From the school then instituted, many persons, eminent for learning and sanctity, afterwards issued. The following
larger school attached to the monastery of St. Finn Barr,
Saints mentioned as his
LifeofS—t.
Eulogius Garbhan,»3
are said, in the
Bnrgundian Manuscript
one of Bart's — The
disciples. following
the volume, Art. iii. present
The other is
list different from that given in the text—is thus inserted, from a Life of our saint, in Colgan's possession: "inter quos enituere S. Eulangius seu Eulogius, ipsius alioquin S. Barrii institutor, S. (Jolmanus de Dordhuncon, (aliter, Doiror- Dhuncon,) S. Baitaeenus, (aliter, Baithinus,) S. Nessanus, S. Garbanus, (aliter, Garb- hanus) filius Finbarrii, S. Talmachus, S.
of Lecain in and venerated Meath,
of these holy men
Eolaing
on the 29th of December.
20 Among the many saints called Colman
on the Irish Calendars, we do not find one
thus distinguished ; but, I am informed by
Very Rev. Patrick Hurley, P. P. , that Derry
Dunaoi was the land on the right of the
Pass of Keimaneagh leading to Bantry.
81
disciples
1' tohavelivedtherewithhim
1? Eolang
—
Bairre,
his tutor, and Colman of Derry Dunaoi,
viz,
Latinized
and Donoughmore,
son of 2« Talmhach2' and Findchua26 of Findbar,
14 See Dr. Charles Smith's " Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork," vol. i. , book ii. , chap, ii. , pp. 191,
192.
'5 Letter of the Very Rev. Patrick Hurley,
P. P. , to the writer and dated Inchigeela,
County Cork, March 15th, 1889.
16 See Gibson's "History of the County
and City of Cork," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , n. P- 341.
*7 Colgan enumerates twenty-one of these disciples, in his acts of St. Nessan, at the 17th of March. See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xvii. Martii, De S. Nessano Praesbytero. This latter saint is regarded as
readings within brackets, are to be found when quoting the same extract in another place. See ibid. , xxvii. Martii. De S. Garvano, Abbate, pp. 750, 751. Some of these, however, are evidently mistakes in the printing.
Under this form of name, he does not Finchadius de Domnachmor, S. Fachua appear in our Calendars.
(aliter Fachna) seu Facundus de Ria, S.
Facundus de Ros-alithir, S. Lucerus, S.
Cumanus, S. Lochinus de Achadairaird, S.
Carinus, S. Fintanus de Roscoerach, S.
Euhell (aliter S. Euchel) de Ros-coerach,
S. Trellanus (aliter S. Frellanus) de Druim
draighnighe, S. Coelehus, S. Mogenna, him in the Third volume of this work, S. Medimocus, S. Sanctanus (aliter S. Art. iii.
24 Whether this name is to determine his
natural or spiritual father may be a question
for enquiry.
25 An account of him may be found at the
et S. filius Columbi. " Lugerius
Sanctanis)
See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xvii.
Martii, De S. Nessano Praesbytero Corca- giensi Patrono, pp. 629, 630. The different
:
20
21
Nesan,"
Baichin,
18
living with him in Gougane Barra or at Achad Durbcon, in the Liber Kilkenniensis, Bodleian, or Trinity College Lives of our saint.
19 There are two saints in the Irish Calen- dars thus named : viz, Eolang of Achadh Bo, venerated at the 5th of September, at which date notices of him may be found in
22
There is no account of the disciples
Otherwise called Neassan of Corcach or Cork, venerated at the 1st of December, where notices of him may be found.
23 Supposed to have been the St. Garbhan of Dungarvan, whose feast is at the 26th of March, at which date there are notices of
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. S«i
2 28 2 ° Fachtna Ria ? and Fachtna of Ross Ailithir, Luicer, ^ Cuman3 and
Loichin31 of Achadh on Aird Cairne,32 Findtan33 and Cothuil,3* who are at
Ross Cacrach,35 Treallan,36 who is at Drom Druighnighe,3? Caolchu,38 MoGenna,39 MoDimog40andSantan,4' asalsoLuiger,*2 sonofColum. It would seem as if an institution for female religious had been there estab- lished under the direction of St. Finn Barre,*3 since we are told in his Life that there were with him likewise, in partnership, the sister of Bairri,** and Crothru,4* daughter of Conall, and the three daughters of Mc Cairthann & and Coch Caille of Ross Benchuir,*? and Mo Shillan*8 of Rathmore, Scothnat w of Cluain Beg, and Lassar of Achadh Durbcon 5° besides these the three
;
daughtersofLughadhs1 ofDun,s2andHer53andBrigid54inchargeofthem.
14th day of March in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
76 Finnchua of Brigoon, venerated on the 25th of November, is the only saint so named in the Irish Calendar. Can Donoughmore be another name for Brigoon ?
27 There are four saints bearing the name
of Fachtna, but to none of these is the
bishop of Cill-dumha-gluinn, venerated at the 26th of December.
40 There is a Mo-Dimoc or Mo-Diommog venerated at the 3rd of March, and notices of him may be found at that date, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. vii.
41 Two Sanctins are in the Irish Calendar ;
one venerated as a Bishop at Cill-da-les, May 9th, at which date are notices of him in
little church of Fachtna," in Muscraighe- other is venerated as Sanctin simply, at Chuirc ; but we know not a saint of the September 17th, where notices are to be
epithet Ria affixed. We learn, however,
there had been a Cillin-Fachtna, or the the Fifth Volume of this work, Art. i. ; the
"
name to whom it had been dedicated.
Volume of this work, Art. i.
29 Under this form the name is not found
in the Irish Calendar, but there is a Luachair
of Cill-Elgraighe venerated on the 23rd of December.
30 There are many saints bearing the name of Cummein noted in the Irish Calendar, and for the most part distinguished by their patro-
nymics or places.
31 There are four saints named Loichen in
the Irish Calendar, and venerated respec-
tively at January 12th, 20th, April 17th, and June 12th, at which dates notices of them may be found in previous volumes of this work. There is a St. Laidgen vene- rated at a place called Achadh-raithin, in the country of the Decies, on the 28th of November.
32 Not identified.
33 Many saints called Fintan, Findtan or Fionntain are mentioned at different days in tho Irish Calendar.
34 No such name appears in any of the Iiish Calendars.
found in the present volume, Art. x.
42 No saint this name is in the Irish bearing
Calendar, but there is a saint called Lughair the Leper, venerated at the nth of May.
: 43Mr. RichardCaulfieldstates "AnIrish
life, kindly lent me by Mr. Windale, men- tions a school of female saints, which was
28 St. Fachnan, "
styled Sapiens,"
who founded the see of Ross. His festival is celebrated on the 14th of August, at which date are notices regarding him in the Eighth
3s Not identified.
36 This name does not Calendar.
37 Not identified.
in appear any
Irish
50 In the Irish Calendars there are many Lassars, but none described as belonging to Achaidh Durbchon. This is supposed to have been the place of St. Finn Barr's birth. See Leslie " of Na-
38 There is a Caolchu of Lui-airthir vene- rated on the 24th of September. See notices of him at the previous day in the present
volume, Art. v.
39 No saint of this name appears on the
Irish Calendar, but there is a Mo-Gheanog,
51 No such denomination is found in the Irish Calendar.
52 Singly and in composition this local denomination is often found in Irish topo-
graphy.
s3 This name is not in the Irish Calendar.
54 Many Irish saints bearing the name of IN
also at this Barre," p. v.
place. "—
" Life of Saint Fin
44 Not otherwise named.
45 Not found in the Irish Calendar.
46 Not found in the Irish Calendar.
47 There is a Cocha of Ros-Bennchair,
thought to have been the nurse of St. Ciaran
of venerated at the 6th of Saighir,
June,
acoording to one conjecture, but according to another at the 29th of June.
48 No such designation is in the Irish Calendar, but there are many saints named Sillan or Siollam.
49 This form of name is not in the Irish
Calendar, but there is a Sgoth, virgin, of Cluain-grencha—Latinized Flora—vene- rated at the 1 8th of January, and a Sgoth, virgin, venerated at Cluain-mor-Mocsena, on the 16th of July.
Stephens' Dictionary tional Biography," vol. xix. , p. 35.
5 62 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 25.
Moreover, it is stated, that all this company offered their churchesss to God
and to Bairre in perpetual fidelity ; by which we are to understand, that they accepted him as their spiritual and temporal superior in affairs ecclesiastical. How long Fin Barre remained at Gougane Barra is not known ; but certain it is, that since his time, popular veneration for the saint and his locality has continued to the 6 an immense concourse of
present day. s Formerly, pilgrims and other visitors used to frequent the Holy Island ; especially on the Eve of St. John the Baptist's Nativity, as also on the Eve and Day of St. Fin Barr's feast. The place had been dedicated to St. Finbar and to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ; and on these days pilgrimages were very generally made, but as such were not under any proper supervision, abuses prevailed which caused the ecclesiastical authorities to intervene, and they were prohibited under penalty of excommunication. However, the late Rt. Rev. Bishop Delaney of Cork removed this bann, and the devotions have since been conducted in a manner which is both edifying and religious. At the present time, a Mass is celebrated on the Island, on the Sunday within the Octave of St. Finbar's festival, and a sermon on the Saint is preached, while great numbers of people come—and many from long distances—to assist at the celebration. 57 On other Sundays, when distance from church or other
Ireland's great Patroness are noted in our Calendars ; but the present Brigid cannot be identified among them.
55 The narrative continues : viz. , Bail neach
s* We are informed, that after the Refor- mation, certain enemies of the Catholic Faith threw crosses of St. Finbar's stations into the lake. In the year 1700, Father Denis O'Mahony took up his residence on the Island, where he fitted up a chapel, and
more in Musgry Mitain, after getting a
banner there, and Nathi and Brogan they
offered their church to Bairri, namely, there led a very mortified life. It is said he Bairneachmoie, and Bairri left with them a
chalice for lay Communion, and four Books
of the Gospels. Lughadh, son of Findtan,
who desired him to go to the country of
Cliach, it was he the same who got control
of a community at Cam Tighearna, in the arched recess like those in the enclo-
sure and facing the island. He wrote his
own " Hoc sibi et successoribus epitaph :
suis in eadem locatione monumentum lay Communion. Baetan, son of Eoghan, imposuit Reverendus Dominus Doctor who got Glen Cain in the country of Lein- Dyonisius O'Mahony Presbyter licet indig- ster Ely, and Mo Diomog, were disciples of nus, a. d. 1700. " The letters having been
Bairri, and both were bishops, the two effaced— time, the
by Very
country of Fer Muigh Feine, or Fermoy, he
offered his church to and Bairri,
Lughadh took from Bairri a chalice of white metal for
offered their churches to Bairri in
fidelity, namely, Glen Cain Druimeidhneach
in the country of Leinster Ely. Saran got
it, and he offered his church to Bairri, and
he got from Bairri a copper lay chalice for
the Sacrament. Goban Corr, who took
Fan Lobus, offered his church to Bairri,
and Bairri gave him a lay chalice of silver
and an altar chalice of gold. Findtan and
Domhangein, likewise, who took Cluain the late Mr. Townsend, with a view of Fotai and Tulach Meen, offered their
churches to Bairri, and Bairri gave them a
lay chalice and an altar chalice of glass.
There Barri performed miracles, namely,
the healing of a son who was deaf and
dumb, as also the healing of lepers.
