Numbers of holy persons grew up in the strength of wisdom, goodness, and faith, hav- m^ received from our earlier Missionaries those truths of religion, which could alone sanctify their works, and make these
contribute
to the lasting benefit of their souls.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v5
, p.
528.
" See "The Natural History of Cornwall," &c. , by William Borlase, A. M. , F. R. S. , chap, xxvi. , sect, viii. , pp. 297, 298, with plate xxix. , illustrating the description. Oxford,
S. Pirano sacellum, qui sanctus etiam 1758,fol.
Hibernicus hie requiescit, cujus sanctitati in- fantia vani scriptoris afifinxit quod decern Hibernise reges et eorum exercitus tribus vaccis suis octo diebus akierit, et porcellos mortuos, nee non homines suscitaverit. " "Britannia,"p. 142. SeeJoannesJansson's fine folio edition, published at Amsterdam, a. d. 1659.
^ About the year 520, St. Petrock, coming from Ireland, is said to have founded a monastery here. See Bishop Tanner's " No- titia Monastica ; or an Account of all the Abbies, Priories, and Houses of Friers, for merlyinEnglandandWales,"&c. Corn-
" See Godwin's " De Pra;sulibus Anglise Commentarius, Omnium Episcoporum nec- nou et Cardinalium ejusdem Gentis Nomina, Tempora, Seriem, atque Actiones maxime memorabiles ab ultima Antiquitate repetita complexus. " De Episcopus Exoniensibus, p. 395. Rev. Canon William Richardson's edition, Cambridge, A. D. 1743, fol.
Article v. — ' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxiii.
^ Thus : ^Xetxiin ITlAc CuAnpe.
3 gee "Acta Sanc*:orum," tomus i. , Maii Among the pretermitted saints, p. 167. SeeColgan's"ActaSanctorumHiber-
Nasmith, M. A. , Cambridge, a. d. 1787, fol. ' According to Rev. William Borlase, St. Patrick here established a religious house, called Laffenack, in the year 432. See " Antiquities, Historical and Monumental, of the County of Cornwall," book iv. , chap.
ii.
—— 3
68 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 2.
name of a St. Aidan, son to Cuaimsecha, whose feast occurs, on the 2nd of May. -*
Article VI. St, Enan. The name of this saint is recorded in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 2nd of May. The Bollandists^ quote the same authority for his festival, at this same date, but erroneously enter his nameEnarius,forEnanius. Venerationwasgiven,onthisday,toEnan,as we read, in the INIartyrology of Donegal.
Article VII. St. Colman, the Holy. The name Colman, without any other designation, appears in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 2nd of May. Quoting the same authority, the Bollandists == notice him, at this same date, as Colmanus, without attempting to designate him, among the many Irishsaints,whoboreasimilarname. TheINIartyrologyofDonegal3 men- tions, likewise, as having been venerated, and on this day, Colman, siurnaraed the Holy.
Article VIII. Feast of St. Brieux, First Bishop, and Patron OFtheDioceseofBrieux. AlbertusleGrandquotestheCornuaille" Bre- viary,inwhichthefestivalofSt. Briocissetdown,atthe2ndofMay. His Life has been given alread)', on the day preceding.
Article IX. St. Ultan, Abbot of Fosse. Although the istdayof this month has been generally assigned for the festival of St. Ultan, Con- fessor,' and brother to St. Fursey f yet, a feast, in honour of that Abbot over Fosse, was kept at Perrone,3 on the 2nd of May. "* At this date, too, the Bollandists s just notice his festival. It was probably transferred from the 1st, which was observed as a holiday, in commemoration of the Apostles St. Philip and St. James.
Article X. —Festival of St. Saturninus. In the Feilire of St. ^ngus, this holy man is commemorated, on the 2nd of May, which is termed
Article ix. —' In his calendar, Adam p. 221. — King calls him a " Scotisman vnder done- Article VI. ' Edited by Rev. Dr ualde. "—Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
nise," xxxi. Januarii. Appendix, cap. i. ,
Kelly, p. xxiii. The Franciscan copy enters eriAiri.
' See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Maii Among the pretermitted saints, p.
ii. 167.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 118,119.
Article vii. — Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxiii. Tlie Franciscan copy has CobniAin.
^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Maii ii. Among the pretermitted saints. p. 167.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. n8, 119.
Scottish Saints," p. 151.
= See his Life, at the i6th of January.
3 According to Desmay.
* At this day, also, Dempster enters in his
" Menologium Scoticum," the following no- tice, "Dierae Ultani Eremitas. "—Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 198.
Article viii,—« Lower Brittany.
This is a town in
Article X. —' See "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manu- script Series, vol. i. , part i. Dr. Wliitley Stokes, "On the Calendar of Oengus," p. Ixxviii.
s gee " Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Maii ii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 167.
"See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
—
May 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
the day for his departure to Clirist. ' He is also recorded with Zefanus, Quin- tinus, Transilla, and six others, in the Martyrology of Tallagh. The Bollan- dists,^ who quote from it the foregoing notices, acknowledge, that they could find nothing more to add from other sources.
Article XI. —Candidus, an Irish Monk.
Centuries. \ The Bollandists ' refer to various writers for notices, at this date,
regarding Candidus, an Irish monk; those authors are Henriquez,^ Chale- mot, Bucelin, and Franciscus Bivarius. 3 We have no means, however, for obtainingaccess,totheworksofthesewriters. Perhaps,wemightbeallowed, in the absence of clearer evidence, to conjecture, that Candidus might be rendered, by White, a well-known Anglicized name in Ireland. With a popular opinion of his great sanctity,4 the present holy man died, probably on the 2nd of May, and as we are credibly informed, a. d. 16 16.
Article XII. —St. Columbanus, Bishop. At the 2nd of May, David Camerarius, in the Scottish entries of his calendar, has notice of St. Colum- banus, a Bishop, celebrated among the Scots. '
Article XIII. Reputed Elevation of St, Bertin's Relics. We have the feast for an elevation of St. Bertin's relics, at Sithiu, set down by Dempster,>= at this date. ^
CI)irlr iBap of JflaLn
ARTICLE I. —ST. CONLETH, OR CONLAID, BISHOP AND PATRON OF KILDARE DIOCESE.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. } CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS—VARIOUS NAMES OF ST. CONLETH—HIS PARENTAGE AND PEDIGREE—EREMITICAL LIFE AT OLD CONNELL—ANTIQUE REMAINS THERE—ST. CONLETH's INTERVIEW WITH ST. BRIGID, ABBESS OF KILDARE—REMARKABLE PRESERVATION WHILE RETURNING FROM THIS VISIT—HE BAPTIZES ST. TIGHER- NACH—ST. CONLETH FIKST BISHOP OF KILDARE—HE SECURES ST. BRIGID'S FRIENDSHIP AND ESTEEM—EARLY COMMENCEMENT OF RELIGIOUS ESTABLISH- MENTS IN THE CITY OF KILDARE—CONSECRATION AND FUNCTIONS OF ST. CONLETH AFTER HIS ELECTION—RECORDED INCIDENT OF HIS BEING MIRACU- LOUSLY FURNISHED WITH VESTxMENTS TO CELEBRATE THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF MASS.
AS the northern hordes of barbarians were moving onward towards the gates of Pagan Rome, and were threatening to sweep away, as by the impulse of successive waves, all landmarks of former civilization, from amid
Maii ii. Among the pretermitted saints, ^ In Fasciculo, lib. ii. , Dist. 33.
p. 167. — 3 He is said to have written the Life of
Article xi. ' See "Acta Sancto- this Candidus.
rum,," tomusi. , Maii ii. Among the prater- '^ One Stephen Sartal has celebrated this mitted saints, p. 168. holy man's virtues, and iii metre.
\_Sixteejith andSeventecjith
69
70
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 3.
. the wreck of human hopes, Divine Providence had preserved the Church, to emerge from her darkest days of persecution, and to enlarge her spiritual con- quests in distant lands. To Christianity was due our preservation from the shades and blighting influences of an effete and a degrading heathenism. Ire- land had her own internal and calamitous storms of anti-social and convulsive throes, although laws, arts, sciences, and imperfect philosophy, seem to have received some cultivation and a rude development, even during pre-Cliristian times. While our glorious Apostle, St. Patrick, aroused our Island from her torpor, and transmiued the glad tidings of Redemption to her people, every- where does he seem to have planted fructifying seed, which, during his life- time, ripened into a harvest of souls. From every quarter of the Island were its fruits gathered. Soon were heathen superstitions and rites abandoned for the life and vigour of a spirit, which guided our people into the true fold, and whichgavethempeaceandsecuritywithintheUniversalChurch.
Numbers of holy persons grew up in the strength of wisdom, goodness, and faith, hav- m^ received from our earlier Missionaries those truths of religion, which could alone sanctify their works, and make these contribute to the lasting benefit of their souls.
It had been Father John Colgan's intention, to publish the Acts of St. Conlaeth, at this day. In nearly all our Irish Ecclesiastical Histories and Biographies, some space is devoted to this holy man, in connexion with the early church of Ireland. ' At the date for St. Conlaeth's Feast—the 3rd of I^Iay—he is found included with the Sancti Prcetermissi -^ nor do his Acts appear, in the great collection of the Bollandist writers. Yet, references are given to those dissertations on, and to their various lives of, St. Brigid, which had been published, at the 1st day of February. 3 These notices, indeed, serve partially to illustrate the present holy bishop's incomplete biography. To such incidental observations are we mainly indebted, for a few particulars relating to him. -* The exact time of this saint's birth has not been recorded, nor do we know whether he was born of Christian parents. His first name is said to have been Roincenn ; in the Acts of St. Brigid, 5 Patroness of Ire- land, he is variously called Conlath, Conlaeth, Conlaith,^ Conlaid,? and Con-
Vita Secunda S. Brigidce, cap. xxix. , xxxv. , pp. 522, 523.
currence of his name in the latter published metrical Acts, Colgan says, that in the ori- ginal MS. Conleth's name was written Gel- lanus, "sod quod Conlaidus sit legendum constat, ex vita prima, cap. 40. Secunda, cap. 29. " Ibid. , n. 14, p. 598.
* Ibid. Vita Teitia S. Brigidn? , cap. li. , p. 532. Also, Vita Quarta S. Biigidre, lil). ii. , cap. xix. , p. 552. In the " Third Life of . St. Brigid," it would appear that he had b^'cnalsocalledCoelianus. Thisappellation h'ld been corrected by Colgan, who adds in a note, "Rectius ergo Conlaidus, velConlrethus legendus, ut alii authores habent. " He then refers to the 3rd of May, where he intended to treat about St. Conleth, n. 24, p. 543. It need scarcely be observed, Culgan did not live to treat of St. Conleath. at the 3rd of May, his "Acts of the Irish Saints" not hav- ing I'cen yet published, beyond the close of
Article XII. — ' See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendarsof Scottish Saints," p. 237.
Article xiii. — ' See " Menologium Scoticum," at 2nd of May.
' Ibid. Vita Prima S. Brigidae, sect. 41, p. 517- Also, Vita Sexta S. Brigidse, sect. ^ See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scot- xliii. , p. 591. In a note, affixed to the oc-
tish Saints," p. 198. — Article i. —Chapter i.
' See an account of him, in Rev. Michael Comer- ford's " Collections relating to the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin," Bishops of Kildare,
p. I to 4.
^ See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. Tertia
Dies Mail, p. 359.
3 See ibid. . Prima Dies Februarii, pp. 99
to 185. This renowned Father John Bol- landus, himself, was the Editor of St. Brigid's Acts.
*A considerable portion of the present Bio"raphy appeared in the Carlow College Magazine, in successive Numbers of the Se- cond Volume. A few emendations—chiefly in form—are here introduced.
s See her Life, already published, in vol. ii. of this work, at the ist of Feb- ruary.
'See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," the month of March.
May 3-] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
71
lian. s ThesenamesarealsoLatinizedundervariousforms. TheMartyrology ofDonegal9 informsus,thatRoincennwashisfirstname,anditstates,thathe descended from the race of Laeghaire Lore, son to Ugaine Mor. From this Laeghaire Lore, who was. monarch of Erin, the Leinster men are also descended.
The earliest notices we can find regarding him gives us to understand, that St. Conleth lived the life of a recluse, and continued the occupant of a cell. This was situated, in a southern part of its plain, on the right bank of the River Liffey. '° We are informed, that besides his distinctive reputation for extraordinary sanctity, Conleth was also gifted with a prophetic spirit. " From those terms applied to him, in the Fourth Life of St. Brigid, it might seem, that this holy man had been a bishop, before his appointment to the See of Kildare, or perhaps, even before the time of his first introduction to St. Brigid. Yet, the text may be understood as conferring such a title on him, in anticipation of a dignity subsequently assumed, and, as the usual one, by which he was distinguished, in after times. "
Tradition has yet faithfully preserved that exact spot, Avhere St. Conlath lived. '3 It is known, now, as Old Connell, near the present town of New- bridge, and it is located in the county of Kildare. His former chantry lay less than a quarter of a mile from the River Liffey, on its southern and right bank. It presents every appearance—even in its dismantled and neglected state—of dating back to the most remote period of our ecclesiastical history. At present, nothing can be seen there like a church, but we find an overcrowded graveyard, filled with human remains, and covered with elder trees, nettles and rank weeds. A rather modern stone enclosure may be observed, just over the burial-ground surface. This, however, was built only to protect the remains ofsomepriestsandotherpersonsthereinhumed. '* OldConnellgraveyard is now surrounded by close fences, and it is covered over with several trees of large growth. Foundations of the old building are partly disclosed, when in- terments take place. '5 They lie at some depth, under the present mounds of earth, formed in a great measure by the dust of many successive human
generations here interred. No very ancient monuments can be seen, after a long lapse of ages, within this churchyard. '^ It has always been a favourite place for burial ; yet, history has recorded little regarding its past. '? Old Connell would seem to have been in a state of total decay, when Great Con-
9 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. ri8, 119.
" 111 the "Third Life of St. Brigid" it is said, that he dwelt "in dextra Liffi Campi," &c. See Colgan's "Trias Thau- maturga," Vita Tertia S. Brigidse, cap. li. , p. 532.
now far^buried under earth, were obligingly traced out for the writer, by the very intelli- gent lady ah-eady mentioned.
'* In Great Connell, however, portions of the east gable are visible, together with some old sculptures, built into the walls or de- tached in adjoining situations. One of these formed the tomb ol Walter Wellesley, Bishop
" /i^/^. , Vita Quarta S. Brigid^e, lib. ii. ,
cap. xix. , p. 552. Also, Vita Tertia S. Bri- of Kildare, and Prior of this house, de-
gidse, cap. li. , p. 532, ibid.
" See Dr. Lanigan's " Ecclesiastical His-
tory of Irelanii," vol. i. , chap, viii. , sect. xi. , and nn. 130, 131, 132, pp. 409, 411.
'3 Such was the information conveyed to the writer, in the month of September, i860, by Mrs. Hurley, a lady whose beautiful resi- dence immediately adjoins the oldgiaveyard, to which an ancient road leads.
•*By order of Government Commissioners, the cemetery has been lately closed for general interments.
'5 But the exact lines of these foundations,
scribed in Harris' Ware as having died in 1539. See vol. i. , " Bishops of Kildare," pp. 389, 390.
'? The accompanying illustration of this cemetery, drawn on the spot, by the writer, in August, 1S83, has been transferred tothe wood, by William F. Wakeman, and it was engraved by Mrs. Millard.
"^ In Clyn's "Annals," we find the follow- ing entry, at A. D. 1202, " Eundatur domus de Conale per Meylerum filium Henrici. " See Very Rev. Richard Butler's " Annals of Ireland," by John Clyn and Thady Dow-
72
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 3.
nell—a mile or two higher up and on the same side of the Liffey River—had been founded, at the commencement of the thirteenth century. '^
It is no easy matter to determine that exact spot, where the first inter- view between St. Conlaeth and St. Brigid took place. The most minute account of this meeting, remaining on record, is substantially as follows. A certain saint, whose proper name was Conlaidus, came to visit St. Brigid, from among a people, dwelling not far away from her ; as he had a great
ai^^^^^^^Hs. '
May 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 73
duly performed, St. Brigid received her pious visitor, and then brought her nuns,introducingthemtotheirholyguest. AllhersisterhoodwelcomedSt. Conlaeth, with a kindly and cordial greeting. He remained with the reli- gious community for some days. He piously instructed the nuns, through his edifying counsels, and he planted in their hearts those germs of Christian virtues, Avhich were destined to bear fruit in abundance, when the Lord of the vineyard proposed to gallier His harvest. Then, St. Conlaeth bade them adieu, and desired his chariot to be prepared, for a return to his own habita- tion. A boy in attendance was ordered to ])ut their yokes on the necks of his horses. Before starting on this journey, however, the chariot-wheel became
tunately he had escaped from accident. Although a wheel was loose on its axle, the chariot nevertheless bore himself and his attendant safely to the end of their journey. On alighting from the vehicle, St. Conlaeth gave heartfelt thanks to God. He likewise extolled the merits of St. Brigid, to whose bles- sing he attributed this almost miraculous preservation. ^9 These incidents are briefly related, in the Third and Fourth Lives of St. Brigid. In these Acts, it is said, that the attendant of Conlaeth, when yoking the chariot, forgot to place the roset(Z,^° as a security against the movement of the wheels. Thus, it may be seen, how the holy eremite had been enabled to return home, under circumstances of more than ordinary difficulty and danger. ^^ The route of St. Conlaeth homewards lay probably across that well-known plain, denominated the Curragh of Kildare, now deemed the finest common in Europe, and con- taining three thousand acres of land. Nothing can exceed the softness and elasticity of its surface, diversified, as it is, by gentle swells or irregularities, and on which some scattered vestiges of circular entrenchments yet remain.
The soil is a fine loam, resting on a gravelly bottom. ^^
In the Life of St.
" See "The Natural History of Cornwall," &c. , by William Borlase, A. M. , F. R. S. , chap, xxvi. , sect, viii. , pp. 297, 298, with plate xxix. , illustrating the description. Oxford,
S. Pirano sacellum, qui sanctus etiam 1758,fol.
Hibernicus hie requiescit, cujus sanctitati in- fantia vani scriptoris afifinxit quod decern Hibernise reges et eorum exercitus tribus vaccis suis octo diebus akierit, et porcellos mortuos, nee non homines suscitaverit. " "Britannia,"p. 142. SeeJoannesJansson's fine folio edition, published at Amsterdam, a. d. 1659.
^ About the year 520, St. Petrock, coming from Ireland, is said to have founded a monastery here. See Bishop Tanner's " No- titia Monastica ; or an Account of all the Abbies, Priories, and Houses of Friers, for merlyinEnglandandWales,"&c. Corn-
" See Godwin's " De Pra;sulibus Anglise Commentarius, Omnium Episcoporum nec- nou et Cardinalium ejusdem Gentis Nomina, Tempora, Seriem, atque Actiones maxime memorabiles ab ultima Antiquitate repetita complexus. " De Episcopus Exoniensibus, p. 395. Rev. Canon William Richardson's edition, Cambridge, A. D. 1743, fol.
Article v. — ' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxiii.
^ Thus : ^Xetxiin ITlAc CuAnpe.
3 gee "Acta Sanc*:orum," tomus i. , Maii Among the pretermitted saints, p. 167. SeeColgan's"ActaSanctorumHiber-
Nasmith, M. A. , Cambridge, a. d. 1787, fol. ' According to Rev. William Borlase, St. Patrick here established a religious house, called Laffenack, in the year 432. See " Antiquities, Historical and Monumental, of the County of Cornwall," book iv. , chap.
ii.
—— 3
68 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 2.
name of a St. Aidan, son to Cuaimsecha, whose feast occurs, on the 2nd of May. -*
Article VI. St, Enan. The name of this saint is recorded in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 2nd of May. The Bollandists^ quote the same authority for his festival, at this same date, but erroneously enter his nameEnarius,forEnanius. Venerationwasgiven,onthisday,toEnan,as we read, in the INIartyrology of Donegal.
Article VII. St. Colman, the Holy. The name Colman, without any other designation, appears in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 2nd of May. Quoting the same authority, the Bollandists == notice him, at this same date, as Colmanus, without attempting to designate him, among the many Irishsaints,whoboreasimilarname. TheINIartyrologyofDonegal3 men- tions, likewise, as having been venerated, and on this day, Colman, siurnaraed the Holy.
Article VIII. Feast of St. Brieux, First Bishop, and Patron OFtheDioceseofBrieux. AlbertusleGrandquotestheCornuaille" Bre- viary,inwhichthefestivalofSt. Briocissetdown,atthe2ndofMay. His Life has been given alread)', on the day preceding.
Article IX. St. Ultan, Abbot of Fosse. Although the istdayof this month has been generally assigned for the festival of St. Ultan, Con- fessor,' and brother to St. Fursey f yet, a feast, in honour of that Abbot over Fosse, was kept at Perrone,3 on the 2nd of May. "* At this date, too, the Bollandists s just notice his festival. It was probably transferred from the 1st, which was observed as a holiday, in commemoration of the Apostles St. Philip and St. James.
Article X. —Festival of St. Saturninus. In the Feilire of St. ^ngus, this holy man is commemorated, on the 2nd of May, which is termed
Article ix. —' In his calendar, Adam p. 221. — King calls him a " Scotisman vnder done- Article VI. ' Edited by Rev. Dr ualde. "—Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
nise," xxxi. Januarii. Appendix, cap. i. ,
Kelly, p. xxiii. The Franciscan copy enters eriAiri.
' See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Maii Among the pretermitted saints, p.
ii. 167.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 118,119.
Article vii. — Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxiii. Tlie Franciscan copy has CobniAin.
^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Maii ii. Among the pretermitted saints. p. 167.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. n8, 119.
Scottish Saints," p. 151.
= See his Life, at the i6th of January.
3 According to Desmay.
* At this day, also, Dempster enters in his
" Menologium Scoticum," the following no- tice, "Dierae Ultani Eremitas. "—Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 198.
Article viii,—« Lower Brittany.
This is a town in
Article X. —' See "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manu- script Series, vol. i. , part i. Dr. Wliitley Stokes, "On the Calendar of Oengus," p. Ixxviii.
s gee " Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Maii ii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 167.
"See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
—
May 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
the day for his departure to Clirist. ' He is also recorded with Zefanus, Quin- tinus, Transilla, and six others, in the Martyrology of Tallagh. The Bollan- dists,^ who quote from it the foregoing notices, acknowledge, that they could find nothing more to add from other sources.
Article XI. —Candidus, an Irish Monk.
Centuries. \ The Bollandists ' refer to various writers for notices, at this date,
regarding Candidus, an Irish monk; those authors are Henriquez,^ Chale- mot, Bucelin, and Franciscus Bivarius. 3 We have no means, however, for obtainingaccess,totheworksofthesewriters. Perhaps,wemightbeallowed, in the absence of clearer evidence, to conjecture, that Candidus might be rendered, by White, a well-known Anglicized name in Ireland. With a popular opinion of his great sanctity,4 the present holy man died, probably on the 2nd of May, and as we are credibly informed, a. d. 16 16.
Article XII. —St. Columbanus, Bishop. At the 2nd of May, David Camerarius, in the Scottish entries of his calendar, has notice of St. Colum- banus, a Bishop, celebrated among the Scots. '
Article XIII. Reputed Elevation of St, Bertin's Relics. We have the feast for an elevation of St. Bertin's relics, at Sithiu, set down by Dempster,>= at this date. ^
CI)irlr iBap of JflaLn
ARTICLE I. —ST. CONLETH, OR CONLAID, BISHOP AND PATRON OF KILDARE DIOCESE.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. } CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTORY REMARKS—VARIOUS NAMES OF ST. CONLETH—HIS PARENTAGE AND PEDIGREE—EREMITICAL LIFE AT OLD CONNELL—ANTIQUE REMAINS THERE—ST. CONLETH's INTERVIEW WITH ST. BRIGID, ABBESS OF KILDARE—REMARKABLE PRESERVATION WHILE RETURNING FROM THIS VISIT—HE BAPTIZES ST. TIGHER- NACH—ST. CONLETH FIKST BISHOP OF KILDARE—HE SECURES ST. BRIGID'S FRIENDSHIP AND ESTEEM—EARLY COMMENCEMENT OF RELIGIOUS ESTABLISH- MENTS IN THE CITY OF KILDARE—CONSECRATION AND FUNCTIONS OF ST. CONLETH AFTER HIS ELECTION—RECORDED INCIDENT OF HIS BEING MIRACU- LOUSLY FURNISHED WITH VESTxMENTS TO CELEBRATE THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF MASS.
AS the northern hordes of barbarians were moving onward towards the gates of Pagan Rome, and were threatening to sweep away, as by the impulse of successive waves, all landmarks of former civilization, from amid
Maii ii. Among the pretermitted saints, ^ In Fasciculo, lib. ii. , Dist. 33.
p. 167. — 3 He is said to have written the Life of
Article xi. ' See "Acta Sancto- this Candidus.
rum,," tomusi. , Maii ii. Among the prater- '^ One Stephen Sartal has celebrated this mitted saints, p. 168. holy man's virtues, and iii metre.
\_Sixteejith andSeventecjith
69
70
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 3.
. the wreck of human hopes, Divine Providence had preserved the Church, to emerge from her darkest days of persecution, and to enlarge her spiritual con- quests in distant lands. To Christianity was due our preservation from the shades and blighting influences of an effete and a degrading heathenism. Ire- land had her own internal and calamitous storms of anti-social and convulsive throes, although laws, arts, sciences, and imperfect philosophy, seem to have received some cultivation and a rude development, even during pre-Cliristian times. While our glorious Apostle, St. Patrick, aroused our Island from her torpor, and transmiued the glad tidings of Redemption to her people, every- where does he seem to have planted fructifying seed, which, during his life- time, ripened into a harvest of souls. From every quarter of the Island were its fruits gathered. Soon were heathen superstitions and rites abandoned for the life and vigour of a spirit, which guided our people into the true fold, and whichgavethempeaceandsecuritywithintheUniversalChurch.
Numbers of holy persons grew up in the strength of wisdom, goodness, and faith, hav- m^ received from our earlier Missionaries those truths of religion, which could alone sanctify their works, and make these contribute to the lasting benefit of their souls.
It had been Father John Colgan's intention, to publish the Acts of St. Conlaeth, at this day. In nearly all our Irish Ecclesiastical Histories and Biographies, some space is devoted to this holy man, in connexion with the early church of Ireland. ' At the date for St. Conlaeth's Feast—the 3rd of I^Iay—he is found included with the Sancti Prcetermissi -^ nor do his Acts appear, in the great collection of the Bollandist writers. Yet, references are given to those dissertations on, and to their various lives of, St. Brigid, which had been published, at the 1st day of February. 3 These notices, indeed, serve partially to illustrate the present holy bishop's incomplete biography. To such incidental observations are we mainly indebted, for a few particulars relating to him. -* The exact time of this saint's birth has not been recorded, nor do we know whether he was born of Christian parents. His first name is said to have been Roincenn ; in the Acts of St. Brigid, 5 Patroness of Ire- land, he is variously called Conlath, Conlaeth, Conlaith,^ Conlaid,? and Con-
Vita Secunda S. Brigidce, cap. xxix. , xxxv. , pp. 522, 523.
currence of his name in the latter published metrical Acts, Colgan says, that in the ori- ginal MS. Conleth's name was written Gel- lanus, "sod quod Conlaidus sit legendum constat, ex vita prima, cap. 40. Secunda, cap. 29. " Ibid. , n. 14, p. 598.
* Ibid. Vita Teitia S. Brigidn? , cap. li. , p. 532. Also, Vita Quarta S. Biigidre, lil). ii. , cap. xix. , p. 552. In the " Third Life of . St. Brigid," it would appear that he had b^'cnalsocalledCoelianus. Thisappellation h'ld been corrected by Colgan, who adds in a note, "Rectius ergo Conlaidus, velConlrethus legendus, ut alii authores habent. " He then refers to the 3rd of May, where he intended to treat about St. Conleth, n. 24, p. 543. It need scarcely be observed, Culgan did not live to treat of St. Conleath. at the 3rd of May, his "Acts of the Irish Saints" not hav- ing I'cen yet published, beyond the close of
Article XII. — ' See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendarsof Scottish Saints," p. 237.
Article xiii. — ' See " Menologium Scoticum," at 2nd of May.
' Ibid. Vita Prima S. Brigidae, sect. 41, p. 517- Also, Vita Sexta S. Brigidse, sect. ^ See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scot- xliii. , p. 591. In a note, affixed to the oc-
tish Saints," p. 198. — Article i. —Chapter i.
' See an account of him, in Rev. Michael Comer- ford's " Collections relating to the Diocese of Kildare and Leighlin," Bishops of Kildare,
p. I to 4.
^ See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. Tertia
Dies Mail, p. 359.
3 See ibid. . Prima Dies Februarii, pp. 99
to 185. This renowned Father John Bol- landus, himself, was the Editor of St. Brigid's Acts.
*A considerable portion of the present Bio"raphy appeared in the Carlow College Magazine, in successive Numbers of the Se- cond Volume. A few emendations—chiefly in form—are here introduced.
s See her Life, already published, in vol. ii. of this work, at the ist of Feb- ruary.
'See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," the month of March.
May 3-] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
71
lian. s ThesenamesarealsoLatinizedundervariousforms. TheMartyrology ofDonegal9 informsus,thatRoincennwashisfirstname,anditstates,thathe descended from the race of Laeghaire Lore, son to Ugaine Mor. From this Laeghaire Lore, who was. monarch of Erin, the Leinster men are also descended.
The earliest notices we can find regarding him gives us to understand, that St. Conleth lived the life of a recluse, and continued the occupant of a cell. This was situated, in a southern part of its plain, on the right bank of the River Liffey. '° We are informed, that besides his distinctive reputation for extraordinary sanctity, Conleth was also gifted with a prophetic spirit. " From those terms applied to him, in the Fourth Life of St. Brigid, it might seem, that this holy man had been a bishop, before his appointment to the See of Kildare, or perhaps, even before the time of his first introduction to St. Brigid. Yet, the text may be understood as conferring such a title on him, in anticipation of a dignity subsequently assumed, and, as the usual one, by which he was distinguished, in after times. "
Tradition has yet faithfully preserved that exact spot, Avhere St. Conlath lived. '3 It is known, now, as Old Connell, near the present town of New- bridge, and it is located in the county of Kildare. His former chantry lay less than a quarter of a mile from the River Liffey, on its southern and right bank. It presents every appearance—even in its dismantled and neglected state—of dating back to the most remote period of our ecclesiastical history. At present, nothing can be seen there like a church, but we find an overcrowded graveyard, filled with human remains, and covered with elder trees, nettles and rank weeds. A rather modern stone enclosure may be observed, just over the burial-ground surface. This, however, was built only to protect the remains ofsomepriestsandotherpersonsthereinhumed. '* OldConnellgraveyard is now surrounded by close fences, and it is covered over with several trees of large growth. Foundations of the old building are partly disclosed, when in- terments take place. '5 They lie at some depth, under the present mounds of earth, formed in a great measure by the dust of many successive human
generations here interred. No very ancient monuments can be seen, after a long lapse of ages, within this churchyard. '^ It has always been a favourite place for burial ; yet, history has recorded little regarding its past. '? Old Connell would seem to have been in a state of total decay, when Great Con-
9 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. ri8, 119.
" 111 the "Third Life of St. Brigid" it is said, that he dwelt "in dextra Liffi Campi," &c. See Colgan's "Trias Thau- maturga," Vita Tertia S. Brigidse, cap. li. , p. 532.
now far^buried under earth, were obligingly traced out for the writer, by the very intelli- gent lady ah-eady mentioned.
'* In Great Connell, however, portions of the east gable are visible, together with some old sculptures, built into the walls or de- tached in adjoining situations. One of these formed the tomb ol Walter Wellesley, Bishop
" /i^/^. , Vita Quarta S. Brigid^e, lib. ii. ,
cap. xix. , p. 552. Also, Vita Tertia S. Bri- of Kildare, and Prior of this house, de-
gidse, cap. li. , p. 532, ibid.
" See Dr. Lanigan's " Ecclesiastical His-
tory of Irelanii," vol. i. , chap, viii. , sect. xi. , and nn. 130, 131, 132, pp. 409, 411.
'3 Such was the information conveyed to the writer, in the month of September, i860, by Mrs. Hurley, a lady whose beautiful resi- dence immediately adjoins the oldgiaveyard, to which an ancient road leads.
•*By order of Government Commissioners, the cemetery has been lately closed for general interments.
'5 But the exact lines of these foundations,
scribed in Harris' Ware as having died in 1539. See vol. i. , " Bishops of Kildare," pp. 389, 390.
'? The accompanying illustration of this cemetery, drawn on the spot, by the writer, in August, 1S83, has been transferred tothe wood, by William F. Wakeman, and it was engraved by Mrs. Millard.
"^ In Clyn's "Annals," we find the follow- ing entry, at A. D. 1202, " Eundatur domus de Conale per Meylerum filium Henrici. " See Very Rev. Richard Butler's " Annals of Ireland," by John Clyn and Thady Dow-
72
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 3.
nell—a mile or two higher up and on the same side of the Liffey River—had been founded, at the commencement of the thirteenth century. '^
It is no easy matter to determine that exact spot, where the first inter- view between St. Conlaeth and St. Brigid took place. The most minute account of this meeting, remaining on record, is substantially as follows. A certain saint, whose proper name was Conlaidus, came to visit St. Brigid, from among a people, dwelling not far away from her ; as he had a great
ai^^^^^^^Hs. '
May 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 73
duly performed, St. Brigid received her pious visitor, and then brought her nuns,introducingthemtotheirholyguest. AllhersisterhoodwelcomedSt. Conlaeth, with a kindly and cordial greeting. He remained with the reli- gious community for some days. He piously instructed the nuns, through his edifying counsels, and he planted in their hearts those germs of Christian virtues, Avhich were destined to bear fruit in abundance, when the Lord of the vineyard proposed to gallier His harvest. Then, St. Conlaeth bade them adieu, and desired his chariot to be prepared, for a return to his own habita- tion. A boy in attendance was ordered to ])ut their yokes on the necks of his horses. Before starting on this journey, however, the chariot-wheel became
tunately he had escaped from accident. Although a wheel was loose on its axle, the chariot nevertheless bore himself and his attendant safely to the end of their journey. On alighting from the vehicle, St. Conlaeth gave heartfelt thanks to God. He likewise extolled the merits of St. Brigid, to whose bles- sing he attributed this almost miraculous preservation. ^9 These incidents are briefly related, in the Third and Fourth Lives of St. Brigid. In these Acts, it is said, that the attendant of Conlaeth, when yoking the chariot, forgot to place the roset(Z,^° as a security against the movement of the wheels. Thus, it may be seen, how the holy eremite had been enabled to return home, under circumstances of more than ordinary difficulty and danger. ^^ The route of St. Conlaeth homewards lay probably across that well-known plain, denominated the Curragh of Kildare, now deemed the finest common in Europe, and con- taining three thousand acres of land. Nothing can exceed the softness and elasticity of its surface, diversified, as it is, by gentle swells or irregularities, and on which some scattered vestiges of circular entrenchments yet remain.
The soil is a fine loam, resting on a gravelly bottom. ^^
In the Life of St.
