D, 464, we read: " Conall Gulban, son of Niall of the Nine
Hostages
(from whom are descended the Cinel-Conaill), was slain by the old tribes
hiatus, which supplies the
Annals of
"
Book of Fenagh.
hiatus, which supplies the
Annals of
"
Book of Fenagh.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v2
, p.
532, ibid.
Vita Sexta S.
Brigidse, sec.
xli. , pp. 590, 591, ibid.
St. Luke, vi. 38.
Her name or place of residence is not
given, in St. Brigid's Latin Lives. But, in
Professor O'Looney's Irish Life of the Saint,
she is called the Queen of Crimthan, son
of Enna Cennsellach, King of Leinster.
east of Leinster.
a golden
^ ^*
See From this we pp. 35, 36.
may pro- bably draw an inference, that St. Brigid was then living somewhere in the east or south-
figura
fashioned.
^' This leper appears to have belonged to the territory of Meath, which is usually
^'
man attached to one of its ends.
It is said to have had the figure of a
*'3 Almost are daily
objects of ancient Irish art and ornament among " the finds " of our rural population ; and, several most interestin£T specimens have found their place in our museums. These furnish the most
this chain must have been elaborately and richly
pp. 283 to 287. ""
Brigid's nuns, on
description,
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 135
Brigid, asked her for a cow and calf, which the abbess directed her herdsman to give. He enquired from our saint, what sort of a cow and calf he should select. She told him, to choose the best out of their herd. ^^ Then the herd- man and the leper selected those of prime shape and condition. Yet, they found it a matter of great difficulty to separate the calf from a particular cow belongingtotheherd,althoughthatcowwasnotitsdam. Thiswastoldto the saint by the poor leper, when Brigid desired one of her servants,^9 then engaged at cooking,7° to go and assist him in driving home those animals. Her servant enquired, who had been left to cook, when our abbess said, he should return to take charge of that work, within a very short time. The
man did as he had been desired, and, with the leper, he accomplished a journey usually occupying of two days, but he effected it within an hour.
Their destination was towards the north, and to a place, called Brigh-Chob- thuigh Chaoil. 7^ It escapes our present power of identification. On return- ing to St. Brigid, her servant found the flesh-meat in the cauldron, but not yet cooked. These miraculous events are accorded to St. Brigid's merits. All, to whom they became known, were greatly edified. ^^
A certain king, accompanied by a large retinue, came to celebrate the feast of Pentecost, where St. Brigid Hved. 73 He spent the eve of this festival
with her. On the following morning, having heard Mass, he set out, with his horsemen and chariots, for his own castle. When this day's solemnities
had been celebrated, according to custom, our pious abbess superintended those tables that were set for the abundant refection of rich and poor. But, among the number of her guests, an insolent or a demented leper,74 through some whimsical impulse, refused to partake of food, if he did not first obtain a spear 7S which belonged to the king. The leper was asked, why he had not demanded it, on the previous day ; while, at the same time, all who were present pressed him to eat. They could not, however, procure his compliance. The leper remarked, it was only on the present occasion he desired that gift. The compassionate abbess could not bring herself to par- take of food, while that leper was fasting. She immediately despatched messengers on horseback after the king, to ask his spear as a gift. These
set out, and overtook the dynast, as he was crossing the ford of a small
stream. There they preferred our saint's request. ? ^ The king joyfully pre- sented his spear to them, with the remark, that he would give up all his
"
called in St. Brigid's Lives,
Neill,"thatis, oftheSouthernO'Neills. The Northern O'Neills principally lived in Ultonia or Ulster, during our Saint's life-
Brigidse, sec. xlv. , p. 592. 73TheAbbateD. GiacomoCertaniwrites:
** II Re della Lagena era venuto a Killda-
time. See Colgan's n. 26,p. 543.
Trias Thaumaturga,"
"
ria," &c.
Prodigiosa.
regio nepotum
^2 These incidents are related, as if occur- -
ring while St. Brigid was at Kildare—a came to Kildare, on this occasion, cannot gratuitous, yet a probable supposition—of be established from those accounts con- Abbate D. Giacomo Certani. See "La tained in St. Brigid's more ancient Lives.
Santitk Prodigiosa. Vita di S. Brigida Ibernese. " Libro Quarto, pp. 290 to 292.
^ The Third Life calls him a carter or
groom.
7° As we are told, the servant was boiling
some meat in a cauldron.
74 in Professor O'Looney's Irish Life of St. Brigid, pp. 35, 36, he is called "Lo- man, Brigid's leper," as if he were some person kept in her employment, or some charitably maintained poor simpleton, whose mind and body were wasted through disease.
7= Several fine specimens of ancient bronze
and iron spear-heads are yet preserved in the Royal Irish Academy Museum,
^^ So explained by Colgan, in a note, See, Vita Tertia S. Brigida, n. 29, p. 543.
7' See •' Trias Colgan's
Thaumaturga. " Prima Vita S. Brigidse, stanza 26, p. 516.
72 See ibid. Secunda Vita S. Brigidse, cap. xvi. , p. 520, Tertia Vita S. Brigidse, cap. lii,, p. 532, Quarta Vita S. Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. xxii. , p. 553. Sexta Vita S.
—La Santita S. Brigida Ibernese. "
Vita di Libre Quarto, p. 303, Yet,althoughitmayfairlybeinferred, that he was the King of Leinster, that he
13^ LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, [February i.
arms, if Brigid required him. Our saint's messengers then asked what caused a delay, which prevented the king from proceeding further on his
journey.
His retinue repUed, although riding much, they knew God's pro-
vidence had delayed them, that Brigid might be released from the leper's
importunity. Giving praise to God and to our saint, the royal cortege soon
arrived at their home. Her messengers returned to the holy abbess with the king's spear. This she immediately handed to the leper. Then, the
saint and her guests partook of the banquet provided, 77 and while thankmg the Almighty for favours received,7S there can hardly be a doubt, she felt grateful to the high-minded and generous dynast, who had so great a re- verence for his pious hostess.
Unless referred to an early period of her life, it is very difficult to recon-
cile with exact chronology the following statements, contained in St. Brigid's
Acts. The holy abbess possessed that benign and ingenious power, which
could pacify those fiery and passionate spirits, whose ebullitions gave rise to
so and public quarrels. Her blessing was the — of many private harbinger
peace. 79 One day, walking near the road-side, Connall, son to Niall sup- posed to be the Monarch of the Nine Hostages—came towards Brigid, who was accompanied by her nuns. Now, the last-mentioned celebrated king had two sons2° so named ; one being distinguished as Connall Crimthann,^^ while the other was called Connall Gulban. ^" As the latter^3 died, a. d. 464,^*
"
77 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. great prey of horses ; but, he was pursued
Vita Quarta S. Brigidse, lib. , ii. , cap. xxv. , and overtaken at Loch Saloch, near Fe- P- 553- See also, Vita Tertia S. Brigidse, nagh, in the county of Leitrim. Here, he cap. Iv. , p. 533, ibid. was slain and buried. The account of
7** See the Abbate D. Giacomo Certani's Conall Gulban having been buried by St. accountoftheforegoingoccurrencesin"La Caillinissaidtobeananachronismanda Santitk Prodigiosa. Vita di S. Brigida fabrication of the writer of St. Caillin's
Ibernese. " Libro Quarto, pp. 303 to 308. 79 See L. Tachet de Barneval's "Histoire
Legendaire de I'lrlande," chap, viii. , pp. 80,81.
^° Their respective deaths are commemo- rated, in Dr. O' Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i.
^' Conall Cremthoinn was ancestor to the
O'Melaghlins, who bore the tribe-name of
Clann-Colmain, and to other ancient and
powerful families in Meath. From this
prince were descended seventeen Irish
monarchs. There were nine monarchs of contractions resolved, and (as far as pos- Ireland, belonging to the race of Aedh sible) the original Text restored. The Slaine, who was himself monarch of Ire-
land, from A. D. 599 to 605. When sur- names had been established, the chief fa- mily of his race took the surname of U'Kelly Breagh. This clan settled in the great plain of Bregia, towards the east of ancient Meath. SeeO "
whole carefully revised, indexed, and cor- rectly annotated, by W. M. Hennessy, M. R. I. A. , and done into English by D. II.
Flaherty's Ogygia," pars iii. , cap. Ixxxv. , p. 410, and cap. xciii. , p. 431.
Kelly, M. R. I. A. See pp. 89, 91, 93, 95, 97, 139, 141, 143, 147, 15s. 157, 159, 161, 225, 235, 243, 253,265, 313, 317, 323, 325, 359. 395. 405, 409.
8^ The Cinel-Conaill, or Conall's race,
are the O'Donnells and their correlative
families, in Tyrconnell, or the county of Tigernach," an account of the death of Donegal} ; while Magh-Slecht was the plain Conallus Gulban, from whom the family of around Ballymagauran, in the north-west Tir-Connel derives its origin. Seep. 113,
part of Cavan County. Here Conall Gul- ban was killed by the Masraidhe, an an- cient Firbolg tribe, who lived in that place, as the Book of Fenagh mentions. The prince had gone into their territory on a predatory excursion, and he had seized a
Life, preserved in the
St. Caillin is reputed a contemporary of St. Columkille, and consequently he could hardly have been born in 464, much less have been abbot of Fenagh in Magh-Rein. There is much to be read—not, however, of a very well-authenticated character — re- garding Conall Gulban in "The Book of Fenagh," in Irish and English, originally compiled by St. Caillin, Archbishop, Ab- bot, and Founder of Fenagh alias Dunbally of Moy-Rein, tempore S. Patricii ; with the
^3 In Dr. ©'Conor's " Rerum Hibemica- rum Scriptores," at A. D. 464, we find, in the
"
tomus ii.
84 In Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," at A.
D, 464, we read: " Conall Gulban, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages (from whom are descended the Cinel-Conaill), was slain by the old tribes
hiatus, which supplies the
Annals of
"
Book of Fenagh. "
February i. ] LIVES 01' THE IRISH SAINTS. 137
and as the former lived to a. d. ^s or even later 475,
reasonable to
it is
suppose, that Conall Crimlhann was the prince, who addressed the abbess in
:
theseterms "Oholyvirgin,bestowonmeyourspecialbenediction,lest
my brother Ca^:brey^7 kill me, on account of the kingdom. " God's pious
servant said to him " Let your soldiers precede me, and I will bless you,
:
following them. " At her request, the soldiers preceded them, on their march. When the whole company advanced through the hills, one of her
nuns said to St. " O mother, what shall we do ? Behold, Brigid :
Carbrey,^^ the brother of this prince, approaches, and these brothers will strike
each other. " Our saint replied, that the Almighty would prevent such an accident. ^5 At the same time, Carbrey came up to Brigid, and he said to
:
her "Oholyvirgin,blessme,becauseIfearmeetingmybrotherConall,9°
in these parts. " A film was drawn over the brothers' eyes. ^'' Afterwards, all went together with the abbess, while the hostile brothers did not recognise
each other, owing to our saint's prayers. 9^ At length, parting in different directions, the brothers Connall93 and Carbrey94 even kissed each other, as
of Magh-Slecht, he having been found un- protected, and he was buried at Fidhnach-
Conall Cremthoinn's lands in Meath. For- merly this tract was called Carbre Teffia, to distinguish it from the other.
5° On both the foregoing accounts, Carbrey could be committed to a quarrel with either
Conall ; yet, Colgan thinks the dispute in question lay between him and Conall Crim- thann, for these reasons. As St. Brigid is supposed to have been bom in 453, she was not a nun, and could only have been twelve years of age, at the time of Conall Gulban's death, in 464, while she was an abbess, and distinguishedforhermiracles,abouttheyear 475, when Conall Crimthann ig thought to
Maighe-Rein, by St. Caillin, as the life of the aforesaid saint relates. "—Vol. i. , p. 147. Also, see "The Book of Fenagh," edited by W. M. Hennessy and D. H. Kelly, pp. 96, 97.
8s In Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," at A. D. 475, we find: "Conall Cremhthoinn, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, from whom are sprung the Clann Colmain, and the race ofAedh Slaine, died. "—Vol. i. , p. 149.
8* At the year 480, the "Ulster Annals" record the death of Conaill mc Cremtainne mc Neill. In a note, Dr. O'Conor observes, that the territory of Tyrconnell derived its name from him. See " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , p. 6, and n. ibid. This is incorrect, however, as all Irish ge- nealogists and historians are unanimous in stating, Tyrconnell district derived its name from his brother, Connall Gulban,
®7At A. D. 500, the "Annals of Ulster"
state, that Carbre, the son of Neill, fought the battle of the White Hill or Chnuic Ailbe against the Leinstermen. See Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibernicarum Scrip- tores," tomus iv. , p. 10.
88 See "The Life of St. Brigid," by an Irish Priest, chap, ix. , pp. 121, 122.
have died. See "Trias Thaumaturga.
"
O'Neills are derived, and the race of Aedh 89Colgan remarks, that it is doubtful Slane. Seep. 116, ibid.
which Conall had been mentioned in the 9* This is said to have been the same Car- text ; whether Conall Gulban, or Conall brey or Carprey, an infidel, who refused to
Cremthainn. He thinks, that the quarrel,
here alluded to between Conall and his bro-
ther Carpry or Carbrey, must have had re-
ference to some extension or arrangement of
territory. At this period, Carbrey held a Life of St. Patrick, part ii. , in Miss M. F. tract of country, called after his own name Cusack's "Life of St, Patrick, Apostle of Carbre, even to times less remote. It was Ireland," p. 396. Yet, he must have re- situated in the province of Connaught, and it
lay conterminous to the principality of Conall Gulban. He had another tract in the district of Teffia, near the bounds of
f^
only
Vita Tertia S. Brigidae, n. 38, p. 544.
9' See the account of this adventure in L. Tachet de Barneval's " Histoire Legendaire
de rirlande," chap, viii. , pp. 77, 78.
"
52 At A. D. 475, the
—changing the form of his name—note demise of McConaille, mc Cremthaine, meic Neill. See Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hiber- nicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. , p. 3.
93 Again, in the hiatus, which supplies the ""
AnnalsofTigernach, asifaccordingwith
"
Chronicum Sco- torum," at A. D. 475, is noted the death of Conallus Crimthan, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages,from whom the Clan-Colman
the Four Masters and the
receive baptism, at St. Patrick's hands, and on whom a malediction was pronounced by the Irish Apostle. See William M. Hen- nessy's translation of the Irish Tripartite
pented at a subsequent period—probably he received baptism and became a Christian ; as otherwise, it is not likely he would have asked a blessing from St. Brigid.
Annals of Inisfallen"
the
138 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS [February i.
if they had been most devoted friends. 9s When this occurrence became fully known, God's holy providence and the fame of St. Brigid, as a peace- maker, were universally extolled. 9^
Again, a legend was in vogue, that on another occasion, when about to invade the country of the Picts,97 who often warred with the Britons,^^ this same Conall, accompanied by his soldiers, bearing their hostile emblems or
" O saint of God, we crave your blessing, for we are about to invade distant territories to defeat our
standards,99 came to St. Brigid. He then said
:
enemies. " The saint " I entreat the repHed :
Omnipotent Lord, my God, that, in this instance, you neither inflict injury on any one, nor suffer it your- selves,whereforelayasidethosediabolicalemblems. " Althoughshewasun-
able to prevent the war, God was graciously pleased to grant those prayers of the holy virgin. On hearing her words, the hostile bands sailed for the
^°^
invaders thought they had taken possession of a certain entrenched camp or
country of the Crutheni,^°° in the northern part of Britain.
Then, the Irish
'°^
castle, besieged by them,
had burned
and had killed many of
that
their enemies, who were beheaded. '°3 Afterwards, the leader and his
95SeeAbbateD. GiacomoCertani's"La ologyandPrehistoricAnnalsofScotland," Santitk Prodigiosa. Vita di S. Brigida part i. , chap, iii. , p. 59.
Ibernese. " Libro Quinto, pp. 343 to 346.
'°' "
The geographical position of the
^ See " Trias Colgan's
British and Irish coasts accounts sufficiently
for frequent intercourse between the natives of Scotland and Ireland from the earliest
"
Thaumaturga. " Vita Quarta S. Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. xxxvi,, p. 555. Also, Vita Tertia S. Brigidse, cap.
Scottish
The remarkable an- cient historical Gaelic poem, generally termed the Albanic Duan, written in its present form in the reign of Malcolm Canmore, about the middle of the eleventh century, thus re- fers to the first peopling of Scotland and
the Irish origin of the northern Picts :—
ibid.
97 A learned and
Ixvi. , p. 534,
periods. "
. . .
researchful
writer has observed, that the Pictish period of Caledonian history embraces a course of three hundred and ninety-seven years, viz. , from the date of the Roman abdication of the government of North Britain, A. D. 446, to the subversionof the Pictish government, A. D.
"" 843. He adds, there can be no doubt, that
Ye learned of all Albin,
Ye wise yellow-haired race, Learn who was the first
To acquire the districts of Albin.
Albanusacquiredthemwithhisrace,
The illustrious son of Isiscon,
Brother to Britus, without treachery, FromhimAlbmofshipstakesitsname.
the Picts were Celts, and that they were no other than a part of the race of the ancient Caledonians under another name. "—"A History of the Highlands and of the High- land Clans," by James Browne, Esq. , LL. D. , vol. i. , chap, iii. , p. 60.
^ For nearly forty years after the rule of Constantine III. , the Britons languished under a continual war, during the earlier part of the fifth century. See Sir Winston
''
Churchhill's
Remark upon the Lives of all the Kings of this Isle, from the year of the World 2855, unto the year of Grace 1660. " Sect. i. Class of Britones. Vortigern, p. 93.
"
Giacomo Certani
^°"
modern historian ha
Divi Britannici : being a
they
it,
*' The Cruithne acquired the western region After they had come from the plains of
Erin :
Seventy noble kings of them
A
asserted of Scotland: "The country crowded with hill-fortresses, small and great ; they may be counted by hundreds. They consist of mounds of earth or stone, o—r both, running round the crests of hills. "
The Picts were called Cruithne, by the
ancient Irish, in the idiom of this latter
people. They are also called Cruachna,
being the older Pictish or Ctltic race of
Scotland. See Daniel Wilson's "Archae- chap, viii. , pp. 80, 81.
99 Extern to any evidence contained in the ancient Lives of St. Brigid, the Abbate D.
Acquired the Cruithen plains. "
—who records these inci-
See
— ibid. , part iv. , chap, i. , p. 468.
dents—asserts, that the standards were orna-
mented with the figures of some false Gods,
and that they were inscribed with magical
characters. See "La Santiti Prodigiosa.
Vita di S. Brigida Ibernese. " Libro Quinto,
pp. 346 to 348.
'°°
Hill Burton's "
distinguished
of
from Agricola's Invasion to the Revolution
John
History
Scotland,
of 1688," vol. i. , chap, iii. , p. 91.
'°3 See this account in L. Tachet de Bar-
neval's " Histoire Legendaire de I'lrlande,"
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 139
bands returned to their own country, with great rejoicing and in fancied
triumph. According to the legendary account, however, all this turned out
to be a complete illusion, and when they had landed at the port for which
they were bound in Ireland, it was only then dispelled. This was soon
learned from the report of trustworthy messengers. Connell is said to have
givenpraisetoGod,whenhelearnedthatnolossoflifehadoccurred. He
resolved on seeing the abbess. When he came to the place where St.
Brigid resided,'^-^ he related all that had happened. Then, he and his
forces laid aside their warlike emblems, at St. Brigid's request. She said to
Conall "Becauseyouhaverenouncedthesebadgesatmysuggestion,in :
whatever danger you may be placed, invoke my intercession, and the Al- mighty will defend you on my account, and you shall be preserved from danger. "'°s This promise of the saint was afterwards fulfilled. Some time subsequently, Conall, with a large army, invaded the territories of his ene- mies, when he obtained a great victory over them. ^°6 Afterwards, he re- turned in triumph, towards his own country. When Conall had nearly reached his own dominions, night came on, and he entered a deserted fort
or castle, by the way-side. There, his soldiers remarked to him, that they should incur great danger, by remaining so near the haunts of their enemies.
These, stealing on them unawares, would be likely to follow, and might kill
what she hath predicted must infallibly come to pass.
xli. , pp. 590, 591, ibid.
St. Luke, vi. 38.
Her name or place of residence is not
given, in St. Brigid's Latin Lives. But, in
Professor O'Looney's Irish Life of the Saint,
she is called the Queen of Crimthan, son
of Enna Cennsellach, King of Leinster.
east of Leinster.
a golden
^ ^*
See From this we pp. 35, 36.
may pro- bably draw an inference, that St. Brigid was then living somewhere in the east or south-
figura
fashioned.
^' This leper appears to have belonged to the territory of Meath, which is usually
^'
man attached to one of its ends.
It is said to have had the figure of a
*'3 Almost are daily
objects of ancient Irish art and ornament among " the finds " of our rural population ; and, several most interestin£T specimens have found their place in our museums. These furnish the most
this chain must have been elaborately and richly
pp. 283 to 287. ""
Brigid's nuns, on
description,
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 135
Brigid, asked her for a cow and calf, which the abbess directed her herdsman to give. He enquired from our saint, what sort of a cow and calf he should select. She told him, to choose the best out of their herd. ^^ Then the herd- man and the leper selected those of prime shape and condition. Yet, they found it a matter of great difficulty to separate the calf from a particular cow belongingtotheherd,althoughthatcowwasnotitsdam. Thiswastoldto the saint by the poor leper, when Brigid desired one of her servants,^9 then engaged at cooking,7° to go and assist him in driving home those animals. Her servant enquired, who had been left to cook, when our abbess said, he should return to take charge of that work, within a very short time. The
man did as he had been desired, and, with the leper, he accomplished a journey usually occupying of two days, but he effected it within an hour.
Their destination was towards the north, and to a place, called Brigh-Chob- thuigh Chaoil. 7^ It escapes our present power of identification. On return- ing to St. Brigid, her servant found the flesh-meat in the cauldron, but not yet cooked. These miraculous events are accorded to St. Brigid's merits. All, to whom they became known, were greatly edified. ^^
A certain king, accompanied by a large retinue, came to celebrate the feast of Pentecost, where St. Brigid Hved. 73 He spent the eve of this festival
with her. On the following morning, having heard Mass, he set out, with his horsemen and chariots, for his own castle. When this day's solemnities
had been celebrated, according to custom, our pious abbess superintended those tables that were set for the abundant refection of rich and poor. But, among the number of her guests, an insolent or a demented leper,74 through some whimsical impulse, refused to partake of food, if he did not first obtain a spear 7S which belonged to the king. The leper was asked, why he had not demanded it, on the previous day ; while, at the same time, all who were present pressed him to eat. They could not, however, procure his compliance. The leper remarked, it was only on the present occasion he desired that gift. The compassionate abbess could not bring herself to par- take of food, while that leper was fasting. She immediately despatched messengers on horseback after the king, to ask his spear as a gift. These
set out, and overtook the dynast, as he was crossing the ford of a small
stream. There they preferred our saint's request. ? ^ The king joyfully pre- sented his spear to them, with the remark, that he would give up all his
"
called in St. Brigid's Lives,
Neill,"thatis, oftheSouthernO'Neills. The Northern O'Neills principally lived in Ultonia or Ulster, during our Saint's life-
Brigidse, sec. xlv. , p. 592. 73TheAbbateD. GiacomoCertaniwrites:
** II Re della Lagena era venuto a Killda-
time. See Colgan's n. 26,p. 543.
Trias Thaumaturga,"
"
ria," &c.
Prodigiosa.
regio nepotum
^2 These incidents are related, as if occur- -
ring while St. Brigid was at Kildare—a came to Kildare, on this occasion, cannot gratuitous, yet a probable supposition—of be established from those accounts con- Abbate D. Giacomo Certani. See "La tained in St. Brigid's more ancient Lives.
Santitk Prodigiosa. Vita di S. Brigida Ibernese. " Libro Quarto, pp. 290 to 292.
^ The Third Life calls him a carter or
groom.
7° As we are told, the servant was boiling
some meat in a cauldron.
74 in Professor O'Looney's Irish Life of St. Brigid, pp. 35, 36, he is called "Lo- man, Brigid's leper," as if he were some person kept in her employment, or some charitably maintained poor simpleton, whose mind and body were wasted through disease.
7= Several fine specimens of ancient bronze
and iron spear-heads are yet preserved in the Royal Irish Academy Museum,
^^ So explained by Colgan, in a note, See, Vita Tertia S. Brigida, n. 29, p. 543.
7' See •' Trias Colgan's
Thaumaturga. " Prima Vita S. Brigidse, stanza 26, p. 516.
72 See ibid. Secunda Vita S. Brigidse, cap. xvi. , p. 520, Tertia Vita S. Brigidse, cap. lii,, p. 532, Quarta Vita S. Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. xxii. , p. 553. Sexta Vita S.
—La Santita S. Brigida Ibernese. "
Vita di Libre Quarto, p. 303, Yet,althoughitmayfairlybeinferred, that he was the King of Leinster, that he
13^ LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, [February i.
arms, if Brigid required him. Our saint's messengers then asked what caused a delay, which prevented the king from proceeding further on his
journey.
His retinue repUed, although riding much, they knew God's pro-
vidence had delayed them, that Brigid might be released from the leper's
importunity. Giving praise to God and to our saint, the royal cortege soon
arrived at their home. Her messengers returned to the holy abbess with the king's spear. This she immediately handed to the leper. Then, the
saint and her guests partook of the banquet provided, 77 and while thankmg the Almighty for favours received,7S there can hardly be a doubt, she felt grateful to the high-minded and generous dynast, who had so great a re- verence for his pious hostess.
Unless referred to an early period of her life, it is very difficult to recon-
cile with exact chronology the following statements, contained in St. Brigid's
Acts. The holy abbess possessed that benign and ingenious power, which
could pacify those fiery and passionate spirits, whose ebullitions gave rise to
so and public quarrels. Her blessing was the — of many private harbinger
peace. 79 One day, walking near the road-side, Connall, son to Niall sup- posed to be the Monarch of the Nine Hostages—came towards Brigid, who was accompanied by her nuns. Now, the last-mentioned celebrated king had two sons2° so named ; one being distinguished as Connall Crimthann,^^ while the other was called Connall Gulban. ^" As the latter^3 died, a. d. 464,^*
"
77 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. great prey of horses ; but, he was pursued
Vita Quarta S. Brigidse, lib. , ii. , cap. xxv. , and overtaken at Loch Saloch, near Fe- P- 553- See also, Vita Tertia S. Brigidse, nagh, in the county of Leitrim. Here, he cap. Iv. , p. 533, ibid. was slain and buried. The account of
7** See the Abbate D. Giacomo Certani's Conall Gulban having been buried by St. accountoftheforegoingoccurrencesin"La Caillinissaidtobeananachronismanda Santitk Prodigiosa. Vita di S. Brigida fabrication of the writer of St. Caillin's
Ibernese. " Libro Quarto, pp. 303 to 308. 79 See L. Tachet de Barneval's "Histoire
Legendaire de I'lrlande," chap, viii. , pp. 80,81.
^° Their respective deaths are commemo- rated, in Dr. O' Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i.
^' Conall Cremthoinn was ancestor to the
O'Melaghlins, who bore the tribe-name of
Clann-Colmain, and to other ancient and
powerful families in Meath. From this
prince were descended seventeen Irish
monarchs. There were nine monarchs of contractions resolved, and (as far as pos- Ireland, belonging to the race of Aedh sible) the original Text restored. The Slaine, who was himself monarch of Ire-
land, from A. D. 599 to 605. When sur- names had been established, the chief fa- mily of his race took the surname of U'Kelly Breagh. This clan settled in the great plain of Bregia, towards the east of ancient Meath. SeeO "
whole carefully revised, indexed, and cor- rectly annotated, by W. M. Hennessy, M. R. I. A. , and done into English by D. II.
Flaherty's Ogygia," pars iii. , cap. Ixxxv. , p. 410, and cap. xciii. , p. 431.
Kelly, M. R. I. A. See pp. 89, 91, 93, 95, 97, 139, 141, 143, 147, 15s. 157, 159, 161, 225, 235, 243, 253,265, 313, 317, 323, 325, 359. 395. 405, 409.
8^ The Cinel-Conaill, or Conall's race,
are the O'Donnells and their correlative
families, in Tyrconnell, or the county of Tigernach," an account of the death of Donegal} ; while Magh-Slecht was the plain Conallus Gulban, from whom the family of around Ballymagauran, in the north-west Tir-Connel derives its origin. Seep. 113,
part of Cavan County. Here Conall Gul- ban was killed by the Masraidhe, an an- cient Firbolg tribe, who lived in that place, as the Book of Fenagh mentions. The prince had gone into their territory on a predatory excursion, and he had seized a
Life, preserved in the
St. Caillin is reputed a contemporary of St. Columkille, and consequently he could hardly have been born in 464, much less have been abbot of Fenagh in Magh-Rein. There is much to be read—not, however, of a very well-authenticated character — re- garding Conall Gulban in "The Book of Fenagh," in Irish and English, originally compiled by St. Caillin, Archbishop, Ab- bot, and Founder of Fenagh alias Dunbally of Moy-Rein, tempore S. Patricii ; with the
^3 In Dr. ©'Conor's " Rerum Hibemica- rum Scriptores," at A. D. 464, we find, in the
"
tomus ii.
84 In Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," at A.
D, 464, we read: " Conall Gulban, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages (from whom are descended the Cinel-Conaill), was slain by the old tribes
hiatus, which supplies the
Annals of
"
Book of Fenagh. "
February i. ] LIVES 01' THE IRISH SAINTS. 137
and as the former lived to a. d. ^s or even later 475,
reasonable to
it is
suppose, that Conall Crimlhann was the prince, who addressed the abbess in
:
theseterms "Oholyvirgin,bestowonmeyourspecialbenediction,lest
my brother Ca^:brey^7 kill me, on account of the kingdom. " God's pious
servant said to him " Let your soldiers precede me, and I will bless you,
:
following them. " At her request, the soldiers preceded them, on their march. When the whole company advanced through the hills, one of her
nuns said to St. " O mother, what shall we do ? Behold, Brigid :
Carbrey,^^ the brother of this prince, approaches, and these brothers will strike
each other. " Our saint replied, that the Almighty would prevent such an accident. ^5 At the same time, Carbrey came up to Brigid, and he said to
:
her "Oholyvirgin,blessme,becauseIfearmeetingmybrotherConall,9°
in these parts. " A film was drawn over the brothers' eyes. ^'' Afterwards, all went together with the abbess, while the hostile brothers did not recognise
each other, owing to our saint's prayers. 9^ At length, parting in different directions, the brothers Connall93 and Carbrey94 even kissed each other, as
of Magh-Slecht, he having been found un- protected, and he was buried at Fidhnach-
Conall Cremthoinn's lands in Meath. For- merly this tract was called Carbre Teffia, to distinguish it from the other.
5° On both the foregoing accounts, Carbrey could be committed to a quarrel with either
Conall ; yet, Colgan thinks the dispute in question lay between him and Conall Crim- thann, for these reasons. As St. Brigid is supposed to have been bom in 453, she was not a nun, and could only have been twelve years of age, at the time of Conall Gulban's death, in 464, while she was an abbess, and distinguishedforhermiracles,abouttheyear 475, when Conall Crimthann ig thought to
Maighe-Rein, by St. Caillin, as the life of the aforesaid saint relates. "—Vol. i. , p. 147. Also, see "The Book of Fenagh," edited by W. M. Hennessy and D. H. Kelly, pp. 96, 97.
8s In Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," at A. D. 475, we find: "Conall Cremhthoinn, son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, from whom are sprung the Clann Colmain, and the race ofAedh Slaine, died. "—Vol. i. , p. 149.
8* At the year 480, the "Ulster Annals" record the death of Conaill mc Cremtainne mc Neill. In a note, Dr. O'Conor observes, that the territory of Tyrconnell derived its name from him. See " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , p. 6, and n. ibid. This is incorrect, however, as all Irish ge- nealogists and historians are unanimous in stating, Tyrconnell district derived its name from his brother, Connall Gulban,
®7At A. D. 500, the "Annals of Ulster"
state, that Carbre, the son of Neill, fought the battle of the White Hill or Chnuic Ailbe against the Leinstermen. See Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibernicarum Scrip- tores," tomus iv. , p. 10.
88 See "The Life of St. Brigid," by an Irish Priest, chap, ix. , pp. 121, 122.
have died. See "Trias Thaumaturga.
"
O'Neills are derived, and the race of Aedh 89Colgan remarks, that it is doubtful Slane. Seep. 116, ibid.
which Conall had been mentioned in the 9* This is said to have been the same Car- text ; whether Conall Gulban, or Conall brey or Carprey, an infidel, who refused to
Cremthainn. He thinks, that the quarrel,
here alluded to between Conall and his bro-
ther Carpry or Carbrey, must have had re-
ference to some extension or arrangement of
territory. At this period, Carbrey held a Life of St. Patrick, part ii. , in Miss M. F. tract of country, called after his own name Cusack's "Life of St, Patrick, Apostle of Carbre, even to times less remote. It was Ireland," p. 396. Yet, he must have re- situated in the province of Connaught, and it
lay conterminous to the principality of Conall Gulban. He had another tract in the district of Teffia, near the bounds of
f^
only
Vita Tertia S. Brigidae, n. 38, p. 544.
9' See the account of this adventure in L. Tachet de Barneval's " Histoire Legendaire
de rirlande," chap, viii. , pp. 77, 78.
"
52 At A. D. 475, the
—changing the form of his name—note demise of McConaille, mc Cremthaine, meic Neill. See Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hiber- nicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. , p. 3.
93 Again, in the hiatus, which supplies the ""
AnnalsofTigernach, asifaccordingwith
"
Chronicum Sco- torum," at A. D. 475, is noted the death of Conallus Crimthan, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages,from whom the Clan-Colman
the Four Masters and the
receive baptism, at St. Patrick's hands, and on whom a malediction was pronounced by the Irish Apostle. See William M. Hen- nessy's translation of the Irish Tripartite
pented at a subsequent period—probably he received baptism and became a Christian ; as otherwise, it is not likely he would have asked a blessing from St. Brigid.
Annals of Inisfallen"
the
138 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS [February i.
if they had been most devoted friends. 9s When this occurrence became fully known, God's holy providence and the fame of St. Brigid, as a peace- maker, were universally extolled. 9^
Again, a legend was in vogue, that on another occasion, when about to invade the country of the Picts,97 who often warred with the Britons,^^ this same Conall, accompanied by his soldiers, bearing their hostile emblems or
" O saint of God, we crave your blessing, for we are about to invade distant territories to defeat our
standards,99 came to St. Brigid. He then said
:
enemies. " The saint " I entreat the repHed :
Omnipotent Lord, my God, that, in this instance, you neither inflict injury on any one, nor suffer it your- selves,whereforelayasidethosediabolicalemblems. " Althoughshewasun-
able to prevent the war, God was graciously pleased to grant those prayers of the holy virgin. On hearing her words, the hostile bands sailed for the
^°^
invaders thought they had taken possession of a certain entrenched camp or
country of the Crutheni,^°° in the northern part of Britain.
Then, the Irish
'°^
castle, besieged by them,
had burned
and had killed many of
that
their enemies, who were beheaded. '°3 Afterwards, the leader and his
95SeeAbbateD. GiacomoCertani's"La ologyandPrehistoricAnnalsofScotland," Santitk Prodigiosa. Vita di S. Brigida part i. , chap, iii. , p. 59.
Ibernese. " Libro Quinto, pp. 343 to 346.
'°' "
The geographical position of the
^ See " Trias Colgan's
British and Irish coasts accounts sufficiently
for frequent intercourse between the natives of Scotland and Ireland from the earliest
"
Thaumaturga. " Vita Quarta S. Brigidae, lib. ii. , cap. xxxvi,, p. 555. Also, Vita Tertia S. Brigidse, cap.
Scottish
The remarkable an- cient historical Gaelic poem, generally termed the Albanic Duan, written in its present form in the reign of Malcolm Canmore, about the middle of the eleventh century, thus re- fers to the first peopling of Scotland and
the Irish origin of the northern Picts :—
ibid.
97 A learned and
Ixvi. , p. 534,
periods. "
. . .
researchful
writer has observed, that the Pictish period of Caledonian history embraces a course of three hundred and ninety-seven years, viz. , from the date of the Roman abdication of the government of North Britain, A. D. 446, to the subversionof the Pictish government, A. D.
"" 843. He adds, there can be no doubt, that
Ye learned of all Albin,
Ye wise yellow-haired race, Learn who was the first
To acquire the districts of Albin.
Albanusacquiredthemwithhisrace,
The illustrious son of Isiscon,
Brother to Britus, without treachery, FromhimAlbmofshipstakesitsname.
the Picts were Celts, and that they were no other than a part of the race of the ancient Caledonians under another name. "—"A History of the Highlands and of the High- land Clans," by James Browne, Esq. , LL. D. , vol. i. , chap, iii. , p. 60.
^ For nearly forty years after the rule of Constantine III. , the Britons languished under a continual war, during the earlier part of the fifth century. See Sir Winston
''
Churchhill's
Remark upon the Lives of all the Kings of this Isle, from the year of the World 2855, unto the year of Grace 1660. " Sect. i. Class of Britones. Vortigern, p. 93.
"
Giacomo Certani
^°"
modern historian ha
Divi Britannici : being a
they
it,
*' The Cruithne acquired the western region After they had come from the plains of
Erin :
Seventy noble kings of them
A
asserted of Scotland: "The country crowded with hill-fortresses, small and great ; they may be counted by hundreds. They consist of mounds of earth or stone, o—r both, running round the crests of hills. "
The Picts were called Cruithne, by the
ancient Irish, in the idiom of this latter
people. They are also called Cruachna,
being the older Pictish or Ctltic race of
Scotland. See Daniel Wilson's "Archae- chap, viii. , pp. 80, 81.
99 Extern to any evidence contained in the ancient Lives of St. Brigid, the Abbate D.
Acquired the Cruithen plains. "
—who records these inci-
See
— ibid. , part iv. , chap, i. , p. 468.
dents—asserts, that the standards were orna-
mented with the figures of some false Gods,
and that they were inscribed with magical
characters. See "La Santiti Prodigiosa.
Vita di S. Brigida Ibernese. " Libro Quinto,
pp. 346 to 348.
'°°
Hill Burton's "
distinguished
of
from Agricola's Invasion to the Revolution
John
History
Scotland,
of 1688," vol. i. , chap, iii. , p. 91.
'°3 See this account in L. Tachet de Bar-
neval's " Histoire Legendaire de I'lrlande,"
February i. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 139
bands returned to their own country, with great rejoicing and in fancied
triumph. According to the legendary account, however, all this turned out
to be a complete illusion, and when they had landed at the port for which
they were bound in Ireland, it was only then dispelled. This was soon
learned from the report of trustworthy messengers. Connell is said to have
givenpraisetoGod,whenhelearnedthatnolossoflifehadoccurred. He
resolved on seeing the abbess. When he came to the place where St.
Brigid resided,'^-^ he related all that had happened. Then, he and his
forces laid aside their warlike emblems, at St. Brigid's request. She said to
Conall "Becauseyouhaverenouncedthesebadgesatmysuggestion,in :
whatever danger you may be placed, invoke my intercession, and the Al- mighty will defend you on my account, and you shall be preserved from danger. "'°s This promise of the saint was afterwards fulfilled. Some time subsequently, Conall, with a large army, invaded the territories of his ene- mies, when he obtained a great victory over them. ^°6 Afterwards, he re- turned in triumph, towards his own country. When Conall had nearly reached his own dominions, night came on, and he entered a deserted fort
or castle, by the way-side. There, his soldiers remarked to him, that they should incur great danger, by remaining so near the haunts of their enemies.
These, stealing on them unawares, would be likely to follow, and might kill
what she hath predicted must infallibly come to pass.
