^^ See the work of Eugene O'Curry, " On
'^ According to Archdall, this Abbey, founded by St.
'^ According to Archdall, this Abbey, founded by St.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v5
8.
O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 192,, 193. He was killed by the Ui-Briuin, in '574. See ibid. , pp. 208, 209.
"His death is placed, under A. D. 576, in the " Annales Ultonienses. " See some in- teresting notices of him, in Rev. Dr. O'Cono'i's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scripto- res," tomus iv. , p. 10, n. 2, p. 17, n. i, and p. 28, n. 3.
" See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's "Acta Sancti Ijrendani," Vita S. Brendairi, cap. xviii. , pp. 17, 18.
« See his Life, at the i6th day of January, in the First Volume of this work, Art. i.
76 xhis statement, however, is deemed to be fabulous, by Rev. Dr. Lanigan, in his " Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xvi. , sect, vii. , n. 62, pp. 453, 454.
77 it seems likely there is a corrupt spel- ling here, and not corresponding with the Irish pronunciation.
i f
450
go where thou wilt. " Afterwards, that emancipated person returned to St. Brendan, presenting to him the gold, and giving thanks to God for his own liberation. ^'
In the year of grace 561,^^ our present St. Brendan is said to have flourished in Ireland. This is about the period, to which the foundation of Clonfert city has been ascribed,^? and, while the holy man was in his seventy-
be free
;
although, other accounts place it at an earlier date,^^ while the Annals of Inisfallen synchronize it with the very day on which the battle of Culdreimhe had been fought. ^^ An angel is said to have directed its foun- dation. ^? While our saint lived there, a monk, who had left his parents in Britain, and who had travelled with St. Brendan, died. Tiie third day after his departure, the holy old Abbot said to the Bishop, St. Moeneiu : " Place my bacillus over the body of the dead brother. " Accordingly, St. Moeneiu set it on the stiff cold corpse, when the monk was restored to life. After- wards, that brother, filled with faith in our holy Brendan's miraculous power,
seventh year
? * See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's " Acta Sancti Brendani," Vita S. Brendani, cap. xix. , p. 18.
79 On either side of Lough Corrib, near Inisquin, the countiy is level.
f''
^ Among the ancient Irish, the conditions
of life varied ; and, slave labour, as dislin-
guished from the work done, by free men and
women, is alluded to in several of our old re-
cords. See Eugene O'Curry's "Manners
and Customs of the Ancient Irish," Edited
with an Introduction, Appendices, &c. , by date given, for its foundation. See pp. W. K. Sullivan, Ph. D. , vol. i. Introduction,
pp. ccclx. , ccclxi.
*' See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's " Acta Sancti Brendani," Vita S. Brendani, cap. XX. , p. 19.
^' See Matthew of Paris, " Chronica Majora," edited by Henry Richards Luard, M. A. , vol. i. , p. 246.
*3 The Annals of Ulster place this event
Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptorcs," tomus ii. , Annales Inisfalenses, p. 7.
"' See Annales Innisfalenses," at A. D. 561 : " Diarmait vero fugit, et in eo die Cluainferto-Brenainn fundata est, angelo imperante. " Ibid.
—
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6-
Brendan, with an account of that transaction. He said to them : " Return and say to him, who has been struck, Brother, arise, for thy Abbot Brendan calls thee. " This instruction they carried out, and the monk, then lying on a bed and lifeless, arose. Afterwards, he went to St. Brendan, bearing a por- tionoftheweaponofiron,withwhichhehadbeenstruck,inhishead. On seeinghim,theholyAbbotsaid: "Dearbrother,doyoudesirestilltoremainin this life, or now to possess Heaven ? " The religious monk at once expressed a wish to depart, and to be with Christ. Instantly, he happily departed, and hewasburiedintheIslandofInis-Mac-Hua-Cuin. Theplaceofburialwas called in Irish, Lebayd in tollcynd," meaning, " the grave of the perforated head. " Thisspotwasafterwardsshowntovisitorsthere,anditwasheldin great veneration. ^^ One day, St. Brendan left that Island, to journey through the plain, which lay near it. 79 A man in great distress met him, and, in tears, he fell at the saint's feet, saying : " Have pity on me, holy father, for my kinghasreducedmetoastateofmiserablebondage. ^" Wellknowinghis wretched case, St. Brendan's compassion Avas moved. He then struck his staff into the ground, and thence he brought a lump of gold, which he gave to the poor man, as a price for his ransom. Brendan then spoke : " Tell this to no person, but only offer it to the dynast, and he shall free thee and thy posterity. " However, that man told the king how it had been found. On hearing his statement, the dynast replied: " This gold of Christ is his gift, audit belongs not to me, but to his servants, while thou and thy seed, O man, shall
at A. D. 557, in one passage, while they afford an alternative conjecture, that it may have been a. d. 563. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Reruni Hibernicarum Scripto- res," tomus iv. , Annales Ultonienses, pp. 21, 24.
^^ Admitting St. Brendan to have been born a. d. 483, the date of foundation should be in 560.
'^ 1,1 WHjiam M. Ilenne^sy's edition of the " Chronicum Scotorum," A. D. 559 is the
52. 53,
®* The date assigned is 553, in the Rev,
May 1 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 451
wentsafelyhometohisprovinceinBritain. ^^ Itwasajourneyofthreedays, from Clonfert of St. Brendan, in the province of Connaught, to the monastery of Chiayn-Credal,^9 in that territory of Munster, where liis holy nurse St. Ita lived, and whose departure to Heaven now approached. On the night or vigil of our Lord's Nativity, the pious virgin said withinherself: " Would that on this very holy morning, I could receive the Body of Christ, from the hand of myvenerablefoster-sonBrendan. " Then,risingontheinstant,tocelebrate the vigil in her monastery, like the holy Abacuch,9° she was raised by an Angel and brought to the city of St. Brendan, at Clonfert. Knowing in the spirit, what was to occur, the holy superior went out from the porch of his church, to meet St. Ita with the Holy Communion. The Angel placed that fovoured virgin on the ground, where she received the Body of our Lord from the hand of St. Brendan, while offering thanks to God. Giving and receiving mutually a blessing, the virgin of Christ was raised once more by the Angel, and brought to her monastery. Her translation through the air to Clonfert and back to Cluayn-Credal only occupied an hour. s^
St. Brendan made a journey into the province of Connaught, where afield was presented to him. In after times, and even to the present day, that place has been called Clonfert. ? ^ Here arose a once celebrated city, because our saint began there the erection of a religious establishment. 93 That former famous city—the head of an episcopal See—has now dwindled away to an inconsiderable village. In our Annals, it is usually called Clonfert of Bren- dan, to distinguish it from many other places so denominated, in different parts of Ireland. 94 This was a principal one of St. Brendan's erections, and there it was known, in his time, as Clonfert monastery, near the River Shan- non. Its foundation has been ascribed to the year 558. 95 Over this Abbey, he was called upon to preside, as superior of a fervent religious community. He is said afterwards to have been a bishop. s^ It has been stated, moreover, that a great educational institute was erected by St. Brendan, at Clonfert. 97 This college deserves to be ranked in the first place, among the sacred and literary institutions of Ireland. Theology, philosophy, the sciences, and gene- ral literature, were taught within its walls. The numbers that resorted to it for education were so great, that in a few years, it became necessary to appoint a bishop, for the purpose of ordaining missionaries, and of serving the churches, which grew up in the adjacent country.
In legend, too, he is associated with the place. On a certain day, Brenainn was atCluain-ferta, in his church, after preaching and the Mass. This happened fourteen years before his death. He saw a wonderful bird coming inatthewindow,andafterthat,itperchedonthealtar. However,Brenainnwas not able to look at it, in consequence of a sun-like radiance that gleamed
^^ See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's "Acta Sancti Brendani," Vita S. Brendani, cap. xxi. ,pp. 19,20.
''^ This place is now known as Killeedy, at the foot of Sliabh-Luachra, in the County of Limerick.
9° See Daniel xiv. , 35.
^= See Sir James Ware, " De Hibernia et " Acta Sancti Brendani," Vita S. Brendani, Antiquitatibus ejus Disquisitiones," cap.
9' See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's
cap. xxii. , p. 20.
9^ " Clonfert in the Etymology denotes a
Wonderful Den or Lurking Place. "—Sir James Ware's " Commentary of the Prelates of Ireland, from the First Conversion of the Irish Nation to the Christian Faith down to our Times," Fourth Part. Of the Bishops of Clonfert, p. 15. Dublin, 1704, fol.
xxvi. , p. 215.
9* The following statement is made by
Thomas Dempster: " Fuit abbas ordinis S. Benedicti alicubi, ac deinde episcopus, ut ex Joanne Trithemio palam loco priore lauda- to,"—" Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scoto- rum," tomusi. , lib. ii. , num. 143, p. 82.
^^ See the work of Eugene O'Curry, " On
'^ According to Archdall, this Abbey, founded by St. Brendan, was under the in- vocationoftheVirginMary. See"Monas- ticon Hibernicum," p. 278.
s"* See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's "Acta Sancti Brendani," Vita S. Brendani, cap. xii. , p. il.
—
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
around it. " Salute us, O cleric," said the bird. " May God salute thee," said Brenainn. " Who art thou? " said the cleric. " I am Michael, the Arch- angel, whom God hath sent to thee, to address thee, and to make harmony for thee. " " Thanks be to Him," said Brenainn, " thou art welcome to me. " The bird placed its bill behind the feathers of its wing, and sweeter than the musicoftheworldwasthemusicwhichitmade. 9^ Brenainnwaslisteningto it for twenty-four hours, and the angel took his leave of him afterwards. From that hour until his death, Brenainn did not listen to any worldly music what- ever, excepting only one Easter day, when he permitted a clerical student from among his people to play a harp for him. He then gave his blessing to theclericalstudent. Whatheusedtodo,whenheheardanyworldlymusic, was to put two wax balls, which he carried with him, into his ears, so that he might not hear any music, except the music of the heavenly hosts. 99
There can hardly be a doubt, that the celebrity acquired by this holy master of a religious life soon attracted to that place a great number of disciples and inhabitants. During his lifetime, the cathedral of Clonfert—said to have contained seven altars '°°—was built. St. Bren- dan has been regarded as the first bishop over Clonfert ; although, during his lifetime, St. Moena or Moinend is thought to have ruled there as a bishop assistant, or as designed to succeed him in that See. ^°' In the short Treatise, which has been ascribed to St. ^ngus,'°^ dividing the Saints of Ireland, according to the Orders of Bishops, Priests and Deacons, St. Brendan mac hu Alta is classed among the Priests. Yet, in the Book of Genea- logies, belonging to the Franciscan Convent, Merchants' Quay, Dublin, he is expressly called Brenoin Easbacc, or Bishop Brendan. Moreover, St. Brendan is said to have had scarcely an equal, in preaching the Gospel. '°3 He is accre- dited, also, with having the gift of prophecy, as when he predicted the com- ing and acts of St. Carthage or St. Mochudda, Bishop and Abbot of Lismore. '°* The See of Clonfert he afterwards resigned to St. Moena, although some writers seem to regard the latter as its first bishop. '°5 TheAnnalsof Ulster re- late, however, the death of the first bishop over this See, to have taken place A. D. 571;'°^ another account has 572. '"^ Brendan was yet living at this date;'°^ but, very little memory of their successors remains, down to the period of the Anglo-Norman Invasion of Ireland.
the Manners and Customs of the Ancient the Iri. -h Franciscans, Merchants' Quay, Irish," edited by W. K. Sullivan, Ph. D. , Dublin.
vol. ii. , Lect. iv. , p. 76. '°^ Thus, Father Stephen White says,
9^ In a note, the Rev. Dr. Reeves here " vix paiem evangelii pia:dicatorem in-
452
says, "The preceding pait of this legend very much resembles that of St. Mochaoi of Aendruim, which is preserved in the Brussels copy of the Felire of yEngus, at the 23rd of June.
99 See Rev. Drs. Todd's and Reeves' " Martyrology of Donegal," pp. 128 to 131.
'°° According to Sir James Ware, "Famous of Old for her seven Altars was that an- cient cathedral church of St. P>rendan. " "Commentary of ihePrelatesof Ireland, from theFirstConversionof the Irish Nation to the Christian Faith down to our Times. " Fourth Part. Of the Bishops of Clonfert, p. 15.
'°' See Archdall's " Monastic(m Iliberni- cum," p. 278.
'"- This formerly belonged to the Book of Leinster, and it is now in the possession of
vcnias. " See "Apologia pro Hibernia," cap. ii. , p. 15, cap. iv. , p. 38.
'°-' See his Life in the present volume, at the 14th of this month, Art. i. , chap. i.
'"^ See Harris Ware, vol. i. , Bishops of Clonfert, pp. 637, 638.
'°* See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Ilibernicarum Scriptores," tonius iv. An- nales Ultonienses, p. 26.
"'' This is the date set forth for the rest of Moenu, Bishop of Cluain-Fcrta-Brenainii, in William M. Hennessy's " Chronicum Scolo- rum," pp. 58, 59.
'"*' See Sir James Ware's "Commentary of the Prelates of Ireland, from the First Conversion of the Irish Nation to the Chris- tian Faith down to our Times. " Fourth Part. Of the Bishops of Clonfert, p. 15.
ChaptebIV. —' Thereis nonotice taken of these objects, on the Ordnance Survey Maps, nor in Thomas O'Conor's Letter, dated Kenmare, 23rd August, 1841, when describing the Antiquities of Prior Parish, in "Letters containing Information relative to the Antiquities of the County of Kerry, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1841," pp. 384 to 417.
* This information has been given to the writer, by Rev. Denis O'Donoghoe, P. P. , of Ardfert.
3 By Heylot.
* A college then existed at this place, as Button avers, and it was much frequented at the time. See "Statistical Survey of the County of Galway," chap, v. , sect. 25, p. 482, n.
5 L'ordre de St. Brendan avoit pour sa
principale Maison I'Abbaie de Port-Pur 131.
dans la ville de Clonfert au Compte de '° At chap. ' xlvii.
Galway en Connacie qui depuis at ete erigee " " On dit qu' un Ange lui dicta la Regie en Cathedrale. "—" Histoire des Ordres qu'il proescrivit a ses Disciples et qu' il en Monastiques, Religieux et Militaires," tome ent deux on trois mille sous sa conduite. " ii. , chap. XX,, p. 145. Heylot's "Histoire des Ordres Monastiques,
*Hisfeastoccurs,onthe29thofNovem- ber, and he died a. d. 571.
? See the Bollandists' "Acta Sancto- rum," tomus iii. , Maii xvi. D. S. Brendano seu Brandano Abbate Cluainfertensi in lii- bernia, cap. i. , num. i, p. 599.
^ See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's "Acta Sancti Brendani," Vita S. Brendani, cap. xii. , p. 10.
9 Cuimin of Condeire's poem relates more- over his virtues, manner of living, and the legend of his Navigation, as follows :
" Brenainn loves constant piety, According to the synod and congrega-
lion
Seven years on a whale's back he
spent;
It was a difficult mode of piety. "
—See Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves' edition
of the "Martyrology of Donegal," pp. 130,
——
May 1 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 453
CHAPTER IV.
RELIGIOUS ERECTIONS OF ST. BRENDAN IN IRELAND—HIS MONASTIC RULE—MIRA- CLES OF ST. liRENDAN—HIS PLACES AT INISH-GLOUA AND BRANDON MOUNTAIN- WRITINGS ATTRIBUTED TO ST. BRENDAN—HIS CLOSING DAYS AND DEPARTURE FROM LIFE—HIS BURIAL AT CLONFERT—HIS MEMORIALS IN KALENDARS AND PLACES DEDICATED TO HIM—PILGRIMAGES TO BRANDON MOUNTAIN—CONCLU- SION.
However, this religious coenobium at Clonfert was only one, among St. Brendan's many religious establishments ; for, it is stated, that he founded several schools and monasteries, after returning to his own country. There is an old church and nine bee-hive shaped houses,^ which are supposed to have been built, by St. Brendan, at St. Buanigh, in a glen of the Parish of Prior, near Cahirciveen, in the county of Kerry. ^ After St. Brendan's return to Ireland, it is said,3 likewise, that he was principal over an Abbey, called Port- pure, at Clonfert, in the county of Galvvay;'' or, at least, that this was deemed tobethechiefhouseoftheorder,whichhehadestablished. s However,asSt. Brendan of Birr ^ and St. Brendan of Clonfert lived contemporaneously, it is difficult to say, if their Acts have not have been confounded, by subsequent writers. 7 Hence, it might be, that some of the foundations attibuted to one of them may have been really assignable to the other. After our saint had established his various monasteries, in different parts of Ireland, it is related by her seniors, that no fewer than three thousand monks were subject to his jurisdiction. Many brought gifts to aid in these foundations, and presented them, with themselves, to spend the rest of their days, under his religious rule. It is even stated, that his own father became a monk, and that his mother also was a consecrated matron. ^ The Life of Ciaran, of Cluain, re- lates,9 that the order of Brenainn was one of the eight orders that were in Erin. ^° It is fondly believed, that an Angel dictated the Rule, which Bren- dan is thought to have written, and to have intended for the observance of
454
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
himself and of a very numerous community;" and, furthermore, we are assured, for a long time subsequent to his period," that Rule had been observed by his successors. '3 The O'Clerys have supposed it possible, how- ever, that St. Brenainn of Birra, or some other bearing a similar name, may have been the author of that special order, among the eight orders in Erinn, mentioned in an old Life of St. Ciaran of Clonmacnoise ; but, we deem it to bemostprobable,thatallusionisonlymadetothepresentholyman. St. Brandon '4 is said to have had for his disciple, St. Finian Lobhar,'^ son to Ailild, King of IMunster. The latter holy man established his monastic Rules, afterwards, on tb. e Island of Innisfallen, on the lower Lake of Killarney. '^ In his Metrical List of the Saints of Inisfail, Selbach celebrates St. Brendan and St. Mochuda, as having been distinguished for their penitential coun- tenances. Again, St. Thomas the Apostle, in manners and life, has been compared to St. Brendan of Clonfert,'? in that ancient Catalogue of Saints, which has been preserved in the Book of Leinster. '^
In the region of IMuscray-tire, and in the province of Munster, a pesti- ferous fire broke out from the earth. Some persons endeavoured to extin- guish it with water, but they could not, while St. Brendan was passing that way. The flames still rising higher, he said to those present : " O miserable men, you see an infernal fire coming from the earth. " The people asked for succour, and he told them to fast for three days, while he should entreat the Almighty on their behalf. After a three days' fast, St. Brendan said to them: " Go to the Virgin of God, St. Chiar,'9 since to her merits and prayer it is
grantedbyGodtoextinguishedthatfire. "^° Then,themostvirtuousvirgin Chiar offered up her prayers to the Almighty, so that the fire might be ex- tinguished. It ceased immediately, and never afterwards re-appeared. ^' At a time, St. Brendan set out to visit holy persons, living in the territory of Midhi, or Meath. During that period, Diarmait Mac Cerbhail,^^ Ring of Ireland, ruled in the city of Themoria, or Tara. In a dream, he saw two Angels, taking a royal torque ^^ from his neck, and giving it to a person un- known to him. The following day, St.
O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 192,, 193. He was killed by the Ui-Briuin, in '574. See ibid. , pp. 208, 209.
"His death is placed, under A. D. 576, in the " Annales Ultonienses. " See some in- teresting notices of him, in Rev. Dr. O'Cono'i's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scripto- res," tomus iv. , p. 10, n. 2, p. 17, n. i, and p. 28, n. 3.
" See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's "Acta Sancti Ijrendani," Vita S. Brendairi, cap. xviii. , pp. 17, 18.
« See his Life, at the i6th day of January, in the First Volume of this work, Art. i.
76 xhis statement, however, is deemed to be fabulous, by Rev. Dr. Lanigan, in his " Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xvi. , sect, vii. , n. 62, pp. 453, 454.
77 it seems likely there is a corrupt spel- ling here, and not corresponding with the Irish pronunciation.
i f
450
go where thou wilt. " Afterwards, that emancipated person returned to St. Brendan, presenting to him the gold, and giving thanks to God for his own liberation. ^'
In the year of grace 561,^^ our present St. Brendan is said to have flourished in Ireland. This is about the period, to which the foundation of Clonfert city has been ascribed,^? and, while the holy man was in his seventy-
be free
;
although, other accounts place it at an earlier date,^^ while the Annals of Inisfallen synchronize it with the very day on which the battle of Culdreimhe had been fought. ^^ An angel is said to have directed its foun- dation. ^? While our saint lived there, a monk, who had left his parents in Britain, and who had travelled with St. Brendan, died. Tiie third day after his departure, the holy old Abbot said to the Bishop, St. Moeneiu : " Place my bacillus over the body of the dead brother. " Accordingly, St. Moeneiu set it on the stiff cold corpse, when the monk was restored to life. After- wards, that brother, filled with faith in our holy Brendan's miraculous power,
seventh year
? * See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's " Acta Sancti Brendani," Vita S. Brendani, cap. xix. , p. 18.
79 On either side of Lough Corrib, near Inisquin, the countiy is level.
f''
^ Among the ancient Irish, the conditions
of life varied ; and, slave labour, as dislin-
guished from the work done, by free men and
women, is alluded to in several of our old re-
cords. See Eugene O'Curry's "Manners
and Customs of the Ancient Irish," Edited
with an Introduction, Appendices, &c. , by date given, for its foundation. See pp. W. K. Sullivan, Ph. D. , vol. i. Introduction,
pp. ccclx. , ccclxi.
*' See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's " Acta Sancti Brendani," Vita S. Brendani, cap. XX. , p. 19.
^' See Matthew of Paris, " Chronica Majora," edited by Henry Richards Luard, M. A. , vol. i. , p. 246.
*3 The Annals of Ulster place this event
Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptorcs," tomus ii. , Annales Inisfalenses, p. 7.
"' See Annales Innisfalenses," at A. D. 561 : " Diarmait vero fugit, et in eo die Cluainferto-Brenainn fundata est, angelo imperante. " Ibid.
—
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6-
Brendan, with an account of that transaction. He said to them : " Return and say to him, who has been struck, Brother, arise, for thy Abbot Brendan calls thee. " This instruction they carried out, and the monk, then lying on a bed and lifeless, arose. Afterwards, he went to St. Brendan, bearing a por- tionoftheweaponofiron,withwhichhehadbeenstruck,inhishead. On seeinghim,theholyAbbotsaid: "Dearbrother,doyoudesirestilltoremainin this life, or now to possess Heaven ? " The religious monk at once expressed a wish to depart, and to be with Christ. Instantly, he happily departed, and hewasburiedintheIslandofInis-Mac-Hua-Cuin. Theplaceofburialwas called in Irish, Lebayd in tollcynd," meaning, " the grave of the perforated head. " Thisspotwasafterwardsshowntovisitorsthere,anditwasheldin great veneration. ^^ One day, St. Brendan left that Island, to journey through the plain, which lay near it. 79 A man in great distress met him, and, in tears, he fell at the saint's feet, saying : " Have pity on me, holy father, for my kinghasreducedmetoastateofmiserablebondage. ^" Wellknowinghis wretched case, St. Brendan's compassion Avas moved. He then struck his staff into the ground, and thence he brought a lump of gold, which he gave to the poor man, as a price for his ransom. Brendan then spoke : " Tell this to no person, but only offer it to the dynast, and he shall free thee and thy posterity. " However, that man told the king how it had been found. On hearing his statement, the dynast replied: " This gold of Christ is his gift, audit belongs not to me, but to his servants, while thou and thy seed, O man, shall
at A. D. 557, in one passage, while they afford an alternative conjecture, that it may have been a. d. 563. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Reruni Hibernicarum Scripto- res," tomus iv. , Annales Ultonienses, pp. 21, 24.
^^ Admitting St. Brendan to have been born a. d. 483, the date of foundation should be in 560.
'^ 1,1 WHjiam M. Ilenne^sy's edition of the " Chronicum Scotorum," A. D. 559 is the
52. 53,
®* The date assigned is 553, in the Rev,
May 1 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 451
wentsafelyhometohisprovinceinBritain. ^^ Itwasajourneyofthreedays, from Clonfert of St. Brendan, in the province of Connaught, to the monastery of Chiayn-Credal,^9 in that territory of Munster, where liis holy nurse St. Ita lived, and whose departure to Heaven now approached. On the night or vigil of our Lord's Nativity, the pious virgin said withinherself: " Would that on this very holy morning, I could receive the Body of Christ, from the hand of myvenerablefoster-sonBrendan. " Then,risingontheinstant,tocelebrate the vigil in her monastery, like the holy Abacuch,9° she was raised by an Angel and brought to the city of St. Brendan, at Clonfert. Knowing in the spirit, what was to occur, the holy superior went out from the porch of his church, to meet St. Ita with the Holy Communion. The Angel placed that fovoured virgin on the ground, where she received the Body of our Lord from the hand of St. Brendan, while offering thanks to God. Giving and receiving mutually a blessing, the virgin of Christ was raised once more by the Angel, and brought to her monastery. Her translation through the air to Clonfert and back to Cluayn-Credal only occupied an hour. s^
St. Brendan made a journey into the province of Connaught, where afield was presented to him. In after times, and even to the present day, that place has been called Clonfert. ? ^ Here arose a once celebrated city, because our saint began there the erection of a religious establishment. 93 That former famous city—the head of an episcopal See—has now dwindled away to an inconsiderable village. In our Annals, it is usually called Clonfert of Bren- dan, to distinguish it from many other places so denominated, in different parts of Ireland. 94 This was a principal one of St. Brendan's erections, and there it was known, in his time, as Clonfert monastery, near the River Shan- non. Its foundation has been ascribed to the year 558. 95 Over this Abbey, he was called upon to preside, as superior of a fervent religious community. He is said afterwards to have been a bishop. s^ It has been stated, moreover, that a great educational institute was erected by St. Brendan, at Clonfert. 97 This college deserves to be ranked in the first place, among the sacred and literary institutions of Ireland. Theology, philosophy, the sciences, and gene- ral literature, were taught within its walls. The numbers that resorted to it for education were so great, that in a few years, it became necessary to appoint a bishop, for the purpose of ordaining missionaries, and of serving the churches, which grew up in the adjacent country.
In legend, too, he is associated with the place. On a certain day, Brenainn was atCluain-ferta, in his church, after preaching and the Mass. This happened fourteen years before his death. He saw a wonderful bird coming inatthewindow,andafterthat,itperchedonthealtar. However,Brenainnwas not able to look at it, in consequence of a sun-like radiance that gleamed
^^ See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's "Acta Sancti Brendani," Vita S. Brendani, cap. xxi. ,pp. 19,20.
''^ This place is now known as Killeedy, at the foot of Sliabh-Luachra, in the County of Limerick.
9° See Daniel xiv. , 35.
^= See Sir James Ware, " De Hibernia et " Acta Sancti Brendani," Vita S. Brendani, Antiquitatibus ejus Disquisitiones," cap.
9' See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's
cap. xxii. , p. 20.
9^ " Clonfert in the Etymology denotes a
Wonderful Den or Lurking Place. "—Sir James Ware's " Commentary of the Prelates of Ireland, from the First Conversion of the Irish Nation to the Christian Faith down to our Times," Fourth Part. Of the Bishops of Clonfert, p. 15. Dublin, 1704, fol.
xxvi. , p. 215.
9* The following statement is made by
Thomas Dempster: " Fuit abbas ordinis S. Benedicti alicubi, ac deinde episcopus, ut ex Joanne Trithemio palam loco priore lauda- to,"—" Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scoto- rum," tomusi. , lib. ii. , num. 143, p. 82.
^^ See the work of Eugene O'Curry, " On
'^ According to Archdall, this Abbey, founded by St. Brendan, was under the in- vocationoftheVirginMary. See"Monas- ticon Hibernicum," p. 278.
s"* See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's "Acta Sancti Brendani," Vita S. Brendani, cap. xii. , p. il.
—
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
around it. " Salute us, O cleric," said the bird. " May God salute thee," said Brenainn. " Who art thou? " said the cleric. " I am Michael, the Arch- angel, whom God hath sent to thee, to address thee, and to make harmony for thee. " " Thanks be to Him," said Brenainn, " thou art welcome to me. " The bird placed its bill behind the feathers of its wing, and sweeter than the musicoftheworldwasthemusicwhichitmade. 9^ Brenainnwaslisteningto it for twenty-four hours, and the angel took his leave of him afterwards. From that hour until his death, Brenainn did not listen to any worldly music what- ever, excepting only one Easter day, when he permitted a clerical student from among his people to play a harp for him. He then gave his blessing to theclericalstudent. Whatheusedtodo,whenheheardanyworldlymusic, was to put two wax balls, which he carried with him, into his ears, so that he might not hear any music, except the music of the heavenly hosts. 99
There can hardly be a doubt, that the celebrity acquired by this holy master of a religious life soon attracted to that place a great number of disciples and inhabitants. During his lifetime, the cathedral of Clonfert—said to have contained seven altars '°°—was built. St. Bren- dan has been regarded as the first bishop over Clonfert ; although, during his lifetime, St. Moena or Moinend is thought to have ruled there as a bishop assistant, or as designed to succeed him in that See. ^°' In the short Treatise, which has been ascribed to St. ^ngus,'°^ dividing the Saints of Ireland, according to the Orders of Bishops, Priests and Deacons, St. Brendan mac hu Alta is classed among the Priests. Yet, in the Book of Genea- logies, belonging to the Franciscan Convent, Merchants' Quay, Dublin, he is expressly called Brenoin Easbacc, or Bishop Brendan. Moreover, St. Brendan is said to have had scarcely an equal, in preaching the Gospel. '°3 He is accre- dited, also, with having the gift of prophecy, as when he predicted the com- ing and acts of St. Carthage or St. Mochudda, Bishop and Abbot of Lismore. '°* The See of Clonfert he afterwards resigned to St. Moena, although some writers seem to regard the latter as its first bishop. '°5 TheAnnalsof Ulster re- late, however, the death of the first bishop over this See, to have taken place A. D. 571;'°^ another account has 572. '"^ Brendan was yet living at this date;'°^ but, very little memory of their successors remains, down to the period of the Anglo-Norman Invasion of Ireland.
the Manners and Customs of the Ancient the Iri. -h Franciscans, Merchants' Quay, Irish," edited by W. K. Sullivan, Ph. D. , Dublin.
vol. ii. , Lect. iv. , p. 76. '°^ Thus, Father Stephen White says,
9^ In a note, the Rev. Dr. Reeves here " vix paiem evangelii pia:dicatorem in-
452
says, "The preceding pait of this legend very much resembles that of St. Mochaoi of Aendruim, which is preserved in the Brussels copy of the Felire of yEngus, at the 23rd of June.
99 See Rev. Drs. Todd's and Reeves' " Martyrology of Donegal," pp. 128 to 131.
'°° According to Sir James Ware, "Famous of Old for her seven Altars was that an- cient cathedral church of St. P>rendan. " "Commentary of ihePrelatesof Ireland, from theFirstConversionof the Irish Nation to the Christian Faith down to our Times. " Fourth Part. Of the Bishops of Clonfert, p. 15.
'°' See Archdall's " Monastic(m Iliberni- cum," p. 278.
'"- This formerly belonged to the Book of Leinster, and it is now in the possession of
vcnias. " See "Apologia pro Hibernia," cap. ii. , p. 15, cap. iv. , p. 38.
'°-' See his Life in the present volume, at the 14th of this month, Art. i. , chap. i.
'"^ See Harris Ware, vol. i. , Bishops of Clonfert, pp. 637, 638.
'°* See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Ilibernicarum Scriptores," tonius iv. An- nales Ultonienses, p. 26.
"'' This is the date set forth for the rest of Moenu, Bishop of Cluain-Fcrta-Brenainii, in William M. Hennessy's " Chronicum Scolo- rum," pp. 58, 59.
'"*' See Sir James Ware's "Commentary of the Prelates of Ireland, from the First Conversion of the Irish Nation to the Chris- tian Faith down to our Times. " Fourth Part. Of the Bishops of Clonfert, p. 15.
ChaptebIV. —' Thereis nonotice taken of these objects, on the Ordnance Survey Maps, nor in Thomas O'Conor's Letter, dated Kenmare, 23rd August, 1841, when describing the Antiquities of Prior Parish, in "Letters containing Information relative to the Antiquities of the County of Kerry, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1841," pp. 384 to 417.
* This information has been given to the writer, by Rev. Denis O'Donoghoe, P. P. , of Ardfert.
3 By Heylot.
* A college then existed at this place, as Button avers, and it was much frequented at the time. See "Statistical Survey of the County of Galway," chap, v. , sect. 25, p. 482, n.
5 L'ordre de St. Brendan avoit pour sa
principale Maison I'Abbaie de Port-Pur 131.
dans la ville de Clonfert au Compte de '° At chap. ' xlvii.
Galway en Connacie qui depuis at ete erigee " " On dit qu' un Ange lui dicta la Regie en Cathedrale. "—" Histoire des Ordres qu'il proescrivit a ses Disciples et qu' il en Monastiques, Religieux et Militaires," tome ent deux on trois mille sous sa conduite. " ii. , chap. XX,, p. 145. Heylot's "Histoire des Ordres Monastiques,
*Hisfeastoccurs,onthe29thofNovem- ber, and he died a. d. 571.
? See the Bollandists' "Acta Sancto- rum," tomus iii. , Maii xvi. D. S. Brendano seu Brandano Abbate Cluainfertensi in lii- bernia, cap. i. , num. i, p. 599.
^ See Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's "Acta Sancti Brendani," Vita S. Brendani, cap. xii. , p. 10.
9 Cuimin of Condeire's poem relates more- over his virtues, manner of living, and the legend of his Navigation, as follows :
" Brenainn loves constant piety, According to the synod and congrega-
lion
Seven years on a whale's back he
spent;
It was a difficult mode of piety. "
—See Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves' edition
of the "Martyrology of Donegal," pp. 130,
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May 1 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 453
CHAPTER IV.
RELIGIOUS ERECTIONS OF ST. BRENDAN IN IRELAND—HIS MONASTIC RULE—MIRA- CLES OF ST. liRENDAN—HIS PLACES AT INISH-GLOUA AND BRANDON MOUNTAIN- WRITINGS ATTRIBUTED TO ST. BRENDAN—HIS CLOSING DAYS AND DEPARTURE FROM LIFE—HIS BURIAL AT CLONFERT—HIS MEMORIALS IN KALENDARS AND PLACES DEDICATED TO HIM—PILGRIMAGES TO BRANDON MOUNTAIN—CONCLU- SION.
However, this religious coenobium at Clonfert was only one, among St. Brendan's many religious establishments ; for, it is stated, that he founded several schools and monasteries, after returning to his own country. There is an old church and nine bee-hive shaped houses,^ which are supposed to have been built, by St. Brendan, at St. Buanigh, in a glen of the Parish of Prior, near Cahirciveen, in the county of Kerry. ^ After St. Brendan's return to Ireland, it is said,3 likewise, that he was principal over an Abbey, called Port- pure, at Clonfert, in the county of Galvvay;'' or, at least, that this was deemed tobethechiefhouseoftheorder,whichhehadestablished. s However,asSt. Brendan of Birr ^ and St. Brendan of Clonfert lived contemporaneously, it is difficult to say, if their Acts have not have been confounded, by subsequent writers. 7 Hence, it might be, that some of the foundations attibuted to one of them may have been really assignable to the other. After our saint had established his various monasteries, in different parts of Ireland, it is related by her seniors, that no fewer than three thousand monks were subject to his jurisdiction. Many brought gifts to aid in these foundations, and presented them, with themselves, to spend the rest of their days, under his religious rule. It is even stated, that his own father became a monk, and that his mother also was a consecrated matron. ^ The Life of Ciaran, of Cluain, re- lates,9 that the order of Brenainn was one of the eight orders that were in Erin. ^° It is fondly believed, that an Angel dictated the Rule, which Bren- dan is thought to have written, and to have intended for the observance of
454
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May i6.
himself and of a very numerous community;" and, furthermore, we are assured, for a long time subsequent to his period," that Rule had been observed by his successors. '3 The O'Clerys have supposed it possible, how- ever, that St. Brenainn of Birra, or some other bearing a similar name, may have been the author of that special order, among the eight orders in Erinn, mentioned in an old Life of St. Ciaran of Clonmacnoise ; but, we deem it to bemostprobable,thatallusionisonlymadetothepresentholyman. St. Brandon '4 is said to have had for his disciple, St. Finian Lobhar,'^ son to Ailild, King of IMunster. The latter holy man established his monastic Rules, afterwards, on tb. e Island of Innisfallen, on the lower Lake of Killarney. '^ In his Metrical List of the Saints of Inisfail, Selbach celebrates St. Brendan and St. Mochuda, as having been distinguished for their penitential coun- tenances. Again, St. Thomas the Apostle, in manners and life, has been compared to St. Brendan of Clonfert,'? in that ancient Catalogue of Saints, which has been preserved in the Book of Leinster. '^
In the region of IMuscray-tire, and in the province of Munster, a pesti- ferous fire broke out from the earth. Some persons endeavoured to extin- guish it with water, but they could not, while St. Brendan was passing that way. The flames still rising higher, he said to those present : " O miserable men, you see an infernal fire coming from the earth. " The people asked for succour, and he told them to fast for three days, while he should entreat the Almighty on their behalf. After a three days' fast, St. Brendan said to them: " Go to the Virgin of God, St. Chiar,'9 since to her merits and prayer it is
grantedbyGodtoextinguishedthatfire. "^° Then,themostvirtuousvirgin Chiar offered up her prayers to the Almighty, so that the fire might be ex- tinguished. It ceased immediately, and never afterwards re-appeared. ^' At a time, St. Brendan set out to visit holy persons, living in the territory of Midhi, or Meath. During that period, Diarmait Mac Cerbhail,^^ Ring of Ireland, ruled in the city of Themoria, or Tara. In a dream, he saw two Angels, taking a royal torque ^^ from his neck, and giving it to a person un- known to him. The following day, St.
