We have an entry of the name, Ruissen, Innse Pich, in the
Martyrology
of Tallagh,' at the 7th of April.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v4
It is therefore probable, St.
Finan died, during the first half of the seventh century.
While still vigorous grew his virtues, however, the forces of St.
Finan's body began to fail him, and the day of his departure
"
was near. Then said the saint to his monks,
Dearly beloved, the time for
my release approaches, yet my spirit shall not pass from its prison of the body, until a certain infirm girl, who is now coming from 3. distance, shall have arrived. " This prediction having been fulfilled, Finan's soul escaped from his body, and the Angels of God were seen and heard, coming to meet it, with Hymns and Canticles. They conducted it to the tribunal of the Eter- nal King, where, as the sun's light it shines, yet world without end. 3' How long St. Finan continued Abbot, or what had been the exact year of his death, is altogether unknown ; but, it seems probable, he died, on the 7th of April, which afterwards became the day for his festival.
For reasons already assigned, it is not an easy matter to connect the me-
mory ofour saint, with various places, where a St. Finan was held in memory.
TheSt. Fionan, venerated at Ardfinan,^' in the county of Tipperary, is thought
to be identical with the present holy man, by some writers.
However, this
following places
is
extremely
doubtful
;
nor do we think, that in
Kerry,
the
were under his — The Great special patronage.
J* His talented daughter, Mrs. Ellen Fitz- " In the Codex Inisensi, Vita S. Finani,
called Sceilig Mhichil 39
Skelligs are said to have furnished the first
a founda-
for
tion, by St Finain. <° Thither pilgrimages were made, it is stated,^' even from the time of St Patrick. *^ But this is clearly a mistake. However, their re- mote situation has caused them to be rarely visited by tourists ; but, the
simon, in her chief Poem,
Darrynane in cap. xxxii. , 264. " p.
Hundred and
4, thus describes the situation :
"Across the sands, where the receding tide
Has left free passage to the Abbey Isle,
I shaped my course, and soon before merise
The old gray walls, where once the
•
^a
According
to some this authorities,
Eighteen
—
hymn of praise
Rose to the living God !
Now all is
still.
Save the shrill whistle of the wild
curlew,
Or the loud music of the winds and
waves. "
M The accompanying drawing on the
*• See Dr. " JeofTrey Keating's
William F. \Vakeman, and en- graved, by Mrs. Millard, is from a photo- graph furnished, by Frederick W. Mares,
Dublin.
3* See an account of their reign, in Dr.
O'l '< novan's " . \nnals of the Four Master*,' voL i, pp. 256 to 269.
wood, by
General History of Ireland," Part i. , p. 137. Du y's
"
Thirty-two, pp. 3,
—
Rocks sometimes
wasunderthe
Lobhar, as may be seen in his Life, at the l6tli of March, chap. ii.
39 xhe most complete and accurate anti-
quarian description of Sceilig Mhichel, or Michael's Rock, called also the Greater Skellig, is that containol in " Notes on Irish Architecture," by Edwin, Third Earl of Dunraven, edited by Margaret Stokes, Part i. , sec. ii. Early Christian Monasteries, pp. 26 to 36, A beautiful woodcut of the Island precedes, and six fine lithogra|)hic plates, with a wood-engraving, "The Way
of the Cross," and an lithographic ground
plan of the various cells there, accompany
this description.
*°
It is incorrectly stated, the monks there were St. Austin's Regulars.
place
patronage
ofSt. Finan
edition.
*' His Life occurs, at the I7(h of March. " See an interesting account of this place,
in Miss Cusack's "History of the Kingdom of Kerry, "chap, xviii. , pp. 386 10388?
site
70 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 7
antiquarian should know, that curious objects and some bee-hive shaped cells remain, within what is called St. Michael's cincture, on the Great Skellig. ''3 It has been stated, that some chapels are situated, on the flat part of this island, yet rising fifty yards perpendicular, over the sea level. The Greater Skellig
is celebrated, in some of the oldest legends of Ireland, as the burial-place of Ir, the son of Milesius, who was interred near the summit of the rock. To a late period, a Cromlech stood there, which was held, by tradition, to mark his grave. ••* Towards the extreme south-western part of Kerry County, the parish of Killemlagh '•5 is situated, within the boundaries of Iveragh barony. On the north, west, and south, it is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, and it is bounded on the west,by Caher <*and by Prior*? Parishes. Valentia Island serves to break the swell of waters, that roll on its northern shore. To the west of Killemlagh Parish,*^ dedicated to St. Finan, there is a bay,'»9 which bears the name of the patron saint. s" At the head of this bay, an old church in ruins may be seen, on the south-western decHvity of an elevated ground- swell, and about one quarter of a mile, from the sea-shore. This church, it is sup- posed, wasdedicated to St. Finian. 51 Thevvalls of theoldreligious establishment, near St. Finian's Bay, are in tolerably good preservation, excepting the east
gable's upper part. This had been demolished, nearly as far down as the window-top, which pierced it. The walls were constructed, with a species of green stone, jointed with lime-mortar. 5^ It is built with rude and thin stones, on
*• See " Notes on Irish Architecture," By Edwin,ThirdEarlofDunraven. Editedby Margaret Stokes, vol. i. , Part i. , sec. ii. , p.
34-
*5 The name of this parish is pronounced
in Irish Ciil Imleic, which signifies the
5' See Smith's " Natural and Civil His- tory of the County of Kerry," chap, v. , p. 104.
5^ The parish chapel was built to the north side of this ruined church ; the north wall of the latter serving for the south wall
thickness of its walls is about three feet, five and a-half inches. On the east gal)le, there is a window, constructed of green cut stone.
church " vel conti- cella-adjacens
of the former The old building.
bordering
gua ;" the place in which the old church of
building, on the interior, is forty-eight feet, six inches, in length ; the breadth seventeen feet, nine inches ; while the height of its side walls, on signifies bordering, as just noted in connec- the inside, is ten feet, three inches. I'he
the parish is situated, having previously to the erection of it been called ImleAc, which
tion with another church. 1mte4c,in a Typo-
graphical sense, implies, //(j'fi? , and is always
applied to places bordering on lakes, rivers,
and on the sea. Thus, it might be rendered, It has a circular top, on the inside. This
"
locus adjacens, contenninus vel contiguus. " This Inileat, which forms our present subject, is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, lying westwards of it. The place therefore obtained its name, from its lying
window is eight feet, three inches, high, on the inside, and four feet, two inches, broad. A heap of human bones, coffin boards and earth, dug up to cover graves, raised the ground surface, on the interior, to a level
in Latin,
along the ocean. See " Letters containing with this window, in 1841. On the outside,
Information relative to the Antiquities of the
this window appears to have been pointed at top, where it was somewhat injured, at that period. The window, on this side, was
County of Kerry, collected during the pro-
gress of the Ordnance Survey in 1841. " Mr.
(/Conor's Letter, dated Cahirciveen, then ab—out two feet, four inches, from the
August 15th, 1841, p. 374.
*^
It is situated, in the barony of Iveragh, and it is shown, on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Kerry," Sheets 69, 79, 80, 88, 89.
*' It is situated, in the barony of Iveragh. See ibid. . Sheets 88, 97, 105.
<^ItisinthebaronyofIveragh,anditis shown, on the " Ordnance Survey Town- land Maps for the County of Kerry," Sheets 79, 87, 88, 96, 97, 104, 105.
grou—nd it is to
part it being five feet, two inches, in height, and seven inches, in width. At a distance of two feet, six inches, from the east gable, there stood a window, in the sou—th side wall. This was square on the inside a rude flag- stone being placed across it, at top and bot- tom. Aheapofbonesandbrokencofifins
nearly reached to the window, on the inside, ill 1841. Interiorly, the window measured five feet, eleven inches, in height, and three
" The bay is called, in Irish, big feet, eight inches, in breadth, below, and
pondm, in English, St. Finan's Bay.
5° This festival was fomierly celebrated, it is said, on the i6th of March, in this remote
district
above, three feet, nine inches. Exteriorly, it is rounded, at the top, being two feet, eleven inches, in height ; six inches, in width; and, one foot, nine and a-half inches, from
be at the lower presumed
April 7. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
n
;
the outside 53 and, under the arch, westwardly, it is dilapidated. s* On this side,
it is six feet, four inches, high ; and it is three feet, ten inches, broad. 55 This
establishment is said to have been removed, from Great Skellig Island, owing
to the extreme bleakness, and hazard of approaching that spot. The name of
St. Finan Cam is thought to be preserved,5^ in Rahinnane, or Finan's Fort,
a townland, near Ventry. This conjecture, indeed, seems not improbable, for it lay within his patrimonial district.
Referring to the Manuscripts of Colgan, the Rev. Alban Butler 57 assigns
the celebration of St. Finan of Keann-Ethich, to the 7th day of April. At
such date, in the " Feilire " of St. . ^Engus, we have an entry of St. Finan's
Feast,5' and with this accord the rest of our Kalendars. On the 7th
of April, his name occurs as Finan Cairam, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,59
with a further — that the a
remark, obliquity-r-indicated by designation
appended to the name was in his eyes. His name is found in the Irish Calendar, belonging to the Royal Irish Academy. *" The Martyrology
of Donegal*' registers, on this day, Fionan Cam,*" of Ceann-Eitigh,*3 and of Sliabh-Bladhma. Our saint is also commemorated, in the Scottish
the ground. On the south sidj wall, about thirteen feet, eight inches, from the west ga- ble, there is a circular doorway, the interior sides of which are built with green cut-stone, as is, also, a part of its arch, the top of which has been constructed, with rude and thin stones. The inside height of this door is about seven feet, eight inches ; the breadth is about five feet, four inches.
5' To the west of this old church, St. Finin's Well, called Cobap pneAin, is situated, by the sea-shore.
« Within the Parish of Killemlagh, there
is another holy well, in the townland of
Killabuonia East. It is called, Cob^p
buiigne. Killabuonia is pronouced in Irish,
CiLle buAine, which name occurs in the
digree of the MacCarthys of Carberry, as
preserved in the Royal Irish Academy. It
IS there written, Cille baine. The
commences Donnell God, son of Donnell
Mor na Curradh, son of Diarmad o( Killa-
buonia (mc Oiirma-oi CiLle baine). It is
written, CiLLe DAi'bne, in the pedigree of bL4T)mA, which latter accords with the the descendants of. Ti^ koe of Sgart, as words of Colgan, viz. , ad montem Bladma. seen among the County Kerry Extracts. The <^5Uf was introduced, through an entire
55 In this parish, there is a burying- misunderstanding of what was meant by the
ground, without an enclosure, in Killoluaig
townland. It Ls situated in a field, to the
right of a road, leading from Cahircivecn to
Kiilemlagh. This burying-placc, CilLo
'-"^'S. gave name to the townland. Another burial-ground,inKilkeevraghtownlandmay
be seen, in the same parish ; and, its
Irish name, CiLL Cdotfiivafi, also g,ive its de- nominationtothetownland. See"Lettets
cont. iining Information relative to theAnti-
quities of the Countyof Kerry, collected
during the progress of the Ordnance Survey vol. i. , Part i. , p. 127. in 1841," vol. i. Mr. O'Conor's Letter,
dated Cahirciveen, August 15th, 184I, pp. 376 to 378.
* See Miss Mary Frances Cusack's " His-
toryof the Kingdom of Kerry," chap. xxviii. , p. 104.
pe-
pedigree,
•» In . Mr. T. O'Conor's dated Letter,
5' In "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. iv. , April vii.
5* The following is the text, with its English translation : —
"
pniti cAmm Chitin ©cig
tmbimbi mop noetmA
ba^enaic CiMjx C4inne OfLeib bLeDech blA'omA.
Finan the squinting of Cenn Etig, round whomwasmuchnoise: achampionofChrist wasCainde, from wolf-hunted Sliab Bladma. "
5» Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xx. In
the Franciscan copy we read, also, pnan
Cdtmm in occubf eiuf piic obLn]uiCij-.
Birr, " The Calendar has ponan Cam 6 Cmeicig Agof 6 sLidb bUiuniA that " Finan
February 2nd, 1838, he observes
:
7 April," is,
Cam (the stooped) of Kinneligh and of aiiabh Bladhma. " b SLiib bl<s'om<j must be
an error in Tipper's copy for a Sli-ab
original. See"LetterscontainingInforma- tion relative to the Antiquities of the King's
County, collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1837-8," now preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, vol. ii. , pp. 90, 91.
* Edited by Drs. To<ld and Reeves, pp.
96,97-
" See Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy's " De-
scriptive Catalogue of Materials relating to the History of Great Britain and Ireland,"
" " Cenn Eitigh, called from Etech, an alias name for Teafa, daughter of Eochaidh Airemhan, the wifeof Naisin mac Nechtain, Book of Lecan 185a. " MS. note, by Wm. M. Hennessy, appended to this passage, in his copy of the Donegal Martyrology.
7:2; LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April y.
Kalendar of Drummdnd,** at the same date. On this holy man, and on the faithful discharge of his sacred functions, no doubt, was greatly dependent the supernatural life of his religious community ; and, at his place, we are still able to find vestiges of spiritual vitality, lasting for centuries succeeding his time.
Article II. —St. Ruisen, of Inis-Picht.
We have an entry of the name, Ruissen, Innse Pich, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 7th of April. The name of this place has been assigned to Muscraige, a territory in Munster f and, again, it has been placed, by Colgan, among the Islands of the Picts. 3 However, the denomination is at present supposed to be obso- lete. * This saint was the same, we are told,5 as Ross,^ or Rus, son of Trichem, son of Fica, son of lomchadh, who belonged to the race of Fiatach Fionn, king of Erinn. If so, he was brother to Dichuo, or Dichu,? who was the first to embrace the faith, in the northern parts of Ireland. The story of his life is to be met with, in various Acts of St. Patrick,^ among whose disciples he is classed. 9 He lived, at a place, called Derluss, a town in the southern part of Ulster ; and, afterwards, it was known as Inreathan. It is now called Bright, andthere,heseemstohaveresided. Forfurtherparticularsrelatedconcern- ing him, the, reader is referred to the Life of St. Patrick,'" already written. Rus, or Ros, is said to have been of Dundaleithglass," the old name for Down- patrick, which was the ancient seat of the Ulidian Kings, and where they livedinthestrongfort,knownasRath-Keltair,quitenearthecathedral. A doubt seems to be implied, as to whether the feast of St. Rus, or Ross,
'^
or to
beeo a misprint, for the 29th, '3 The Bollandists ' commemorate Russonus
de Insula Pich, on the 7th of April. There seems to me, however, that some
confusion, in the attempt to identify St. Ruisen, of Inse Pict, or Inis-Puinc, with St. Ross of Downpatrick, must exist. An ancient Sanctilogy 's repre- sents this latter person, as having been a brother to Dichu, one of St. Patrick's first converts in Ulidia ; and, therefore, not only must the church of Down-
belongs
to
April 7th,
April 9th ;
but,
^* ^"
Thus,undertheheadingofApril(vii. Idus), "Apud Hiberniam Sanctus Con- fessor Finan ad Christum migravit. "—Bis- hop Forbes' ''Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 10.
SeeColgan's TriasThaumaturga,"Se- cunda Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxxi. , p. 14. Tertia Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxxiii. , p. 23. Quarta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxxvii. , p. 39. Jocelyn's or Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxxiv. , xxxv. , p. 72. Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. i. , cap. Hi. , p. 125.
9 See ibid. Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 265.
'"
See at March 17th, cap. viii.
" The Hon. Algernon Herbert, in his Ad-
ditional Notes to the " Irish Version of the Historia Britonum of Nennius," interprets
Bun Dnletkglas, as "Fort of the Entirely Painted," and in reference to the Dubhda-
—
The Franciscan copy has
'
In Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiber- ni;e," it is described, as being "in regione Momonise Muscragia nuncupata," xx. Mar- tii, Vita S. Gobbani, p. 631. Here it is said,
that St. Carthagus built a monastery, in "In- sula Picti," which was "in freto Eogain. "
See, also, n. 5.
3 Elsewhere, Colgan renders it
Article ii.
Kelly, p. XX.
Edited by Rev. Dr.
nuifi-en Inr^ pice. °"
" Picht," or "in insulis Pictorum. " See xii. Martii. Vita S. Fetchvoni, n. 7, p. 589.
Ibid.
• See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (m), p. 433. 5 In the O'Clerys' Calendar.
= See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," n. 33, p. 31, and Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 265.
' Dr. Todd in a note
" Over this
'^ See ibid. Secunda Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxix. , xxxi. , p. 14, and nn. 47, 52, p. 19.
'• See " Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
656.
's See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxxiv. , p. 72, and nn. 34, 35, p. 1 10. .
name (Ross), in the more recent hand is
written, as a gloss, o 'Oun oa lecglAf, "of
Dunda-lethglas. "
' His feast is said to have been, on the
29th of April.
i. ,
rilis vii. Among the pretermitted feasts, p.
says,
Ap-
in Inse
leths, the Crutheni of Dalriadia. See note
xvii. , p. liv. I
the latter seems to have figure
April 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 75
patrick have been erected, at a very early date, but we ought even regard this Rus or Ross as presiding over it, some time in the fifth century. '* Although the father's name and the place seem different, yet St. Ruisen of Inis Pict may probably be identified with a Russ, or Russen, son to Rodan, Abbot of Innis- freil. '' A conjecture has been offered, likewise, that this saint was identical with the Ruissin, son to Lappain, mentioned in the Life of St. Molagga. "^ He died,'' it is said, a. d. 658, the comorban to St. Barr of Cork. And, we are told, moreover, that Marianus O'Gorman, as also the commentator on iEngus,
St. Columba's ^'
was undertaken, and whose festival has been assigned to the 27th of Decem- ber, by some Scottish writers ; but, Colgan thinks, it ought rather be referred to the 7th of April," as noted in the Martyrologies of Tallagh, of Donegal, of Marianus O'Gorman and of Maguire. ^3 He flourished, a. d. 563, but the date forhisdeathisuncertain. '* TheMartyrologyofDonegal,=5thisdayrecords a festival, in honour of Ruisen, of Inis-Picht.
Article \\\. —St. Senan, Bishop and Abbot. St. Senan seems to
have been doubly registered, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 7th of April; but, with the qualification of his being called Abbot, in one
instance, instead of Bishop," as he is in another place : for, we do not believe, the double entry of this name, at the same day, can refer to distinct saints.
Following the same authority, the Bollandists,^ enter " Senanus Episcopus,"
"
and
ofInisCarthy,atthe8thofMarch. ThereismentionedinourCalendarsa St. Senan, of Achadh-Coel, or of " the narrow field. " Where this was situated has not transpired. But his descent is thus traced. He was the son of Ernin,* son of Trien, son of Dunnius, son to Eochod, son to Bronnfinn, son of Eugene, son of Artcorb, son to Fiach Suighde, the first of the Desies family. ' This saint was the brother of St. Erca, the virgin, who is venerated, at the 12th ofMay. Itseemsnoteasytoidentifyhim,withanyoneoftheSaintsSenan, undistinguished by patronymics, as found in our Calendars. Again, there is a genealogy of St. Senan, son of Becan,* while there is a genealogy of Senan
this saint's Natalis was celebrated, on the of ^° we have 7th April. Again,
say,
an account of Sl Russeus, or Russenus, the son of Rodan, who was one of
companions,
when his first missionary expedition to Britain
Senanus Abbas," with reference to Colgan's Acts of St. Senan, Abbot
'' See Rev. William Reeves' "Ecclesias- tical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dro- more. " Appendix A, p. 142, and Appen-
dix LL. , p. 377.
' See " Memoir of the City and North
Western Liberties of Londonderry," Part ii. , sec. 2, p. 27.
'' Colganadds, "aquibusvocatur Russenus de Insulis Pictorum.
'*See "Trias Thaumaturga,"Quarla Ap- pendix ad Acta S. Columbae,, cap. x. , num.
too, p. 492.
'S Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
'»
See his Life, at the 20th of January.
96, 97. — Article hi.
Kelly, p. xx.
'
Edited by Rev. Dr.
" And in a note on this obiit, we read,
"" that Corcach-more was the great Corcach
or Marsh, now Cork, the chief city of Mun-
iter. It is also frcquenily called Corcach-
mor-M—umhan, »>. the great Cork of Mun-
ster. " Dr. O'Donovan s "Annals of the rilis vii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 292, 293, and n.
(i). Ibid. » See
656. <ThereisagenealogyofSenanofAchad
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," XX. Januarii, n, 28, p. 150.
"
was near. Then said the saint to his monks,
Dearly beloved, the time for
my release approaches, yet my spirit shall not pass from its prison of the body, until a certain infirm girl, who is now coming from 3. distance, shall have arrived. " This prediction having been fulfilled, Finan's soul escaped from his body, and the Angels of God were seen and heard, coming to meet it, with Hymns and Canticles. They conducted it to the tribunal of the Eter- nal King, where, as the sun's light it shines, yet world without end. 3' How long St. Finan continued Abbot, or what had been the exact year of his death, is altogether unknown ; but, it seems probable, he died, on the 7th of April, which afterwards became the day for his festival.
For reasons already assigned, it is not an easy matter to connect the me-
mory ofour saint, with various places, where a St. Finan was held in memory.
TheSt. Fionan, venerated at Ardfinan,^' in the county of Tipperary, is thought
to be identical with the present holy man, by some writers.
However, this
following places
is
extremely
doubtful
;
nor do we think, that in
Kerry,
the
were under his — The Great special patronage.
J* His talented daughter, Mrs. Ellen Fitz- " In the Codex Inisensi, Vita S. Finani,
called Sceilig Mhichil 39
Skelligs are said to have furnished the first
a founda-
for
tion, by St Finain. <° Thither pilgrimages were made, it is stated,^' even from the time of St Patrick. *^ But this is clearly a mistake. However, their re- mote situation has caused them to be rarely visited by tourists ; but, the
simon, in her chief Poem,
Darrynane in cap. xxxii. , 264. " p.
Hundred and
4, thus describes the situation :
"Across the sands, where the receding tide
Has left free passage to the Abbey Isle,
I shaped my course, and soon before merise
The old gray walls, where once the
•
^a
According
to some this authorities,
Eighteen
—
hymn of praise
Rose to the living God !
Now all is
still.
Save the shrill whistle of the wild
curlew,
Or the loud music of the winds and
waves. "
M The accompanying drawing on the
*• See Dr. " JeofTrey Keating's
William F. \Vakeman, and en- graved, by Mrs. Millard, is from a photo- graph furnished, by Frederick W. Mares,
Dublin.
3* See an account of their reign, in Dr.
O'l '< novan's " . \nnals of the Four Master*,' voL i, pp. 256 to 269.
wood, by
General History of Ireland," Part i. , p. 137. Du y's
"
Thirty-two, pp. 3,
—
Rocks sometimes
wasunderthe
Lobhar, as may be seen in his Life, at the l6tli of March, chap. ii.
39 xhe most complete and accurate anti-
quarian description of Sceilig Mhichel, or Michael's Rock, called also the Greater Skellig, is that containol in " Notes on Irish Architecture," by Edwin, Third Earl of Dunraven, edited by Margaret Stokes, Part i. , sec. ii. Early Christian Monasteries, pp. 26 to 36, A beautiful woodcut of the Island precedes, and six fine lithogra|)hic plates, with a wood-engraving, "The Way
of the Cross," and an lithographic ground
plan of the various cells there, accompany
this description.
*°
It is incorrectly stated, the monks there were St. Austin's Regulars.
place
patronage
ofSt. Finan
edition.
*' His Life occurs, at the I7(h of March. " See an interesting account of this place,
in Miss Cusack's "History of the Kingdom of Kerry, "chap, xviii. , pp. 386 10388?
site
70 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 7
antiquarian should know, that curious objects and some bee-hive shaped cells remain, within what is called St. Michael's cincture, on the Great Skellig. ''3 It has been stated, that some chapels are situated, on the flat part of this island, yet rising fifty yards perpendicular, over the sea level. The Greater Skellig
is celebrated, in some of the oldest legends of Ireland, as the burial-place of Ir, the son of Milesius, who was interred near the summit of the rock. To a late period, a Cromlech stood there, which was held, by tradition, to mark his grave. ••* Towards the extreme south-western part of Kerry County, the parish of Killemlagh '•5 is situated, within the boundaries of Iveragh barony. On the north, west, and south, it is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, and it is bounded on the west,by Caher <*and by Prior*? Parishes. Valentia Island serves to break the swell of waters, that roll on its northern shore. To the west of Killemlagh Parish,*^ dedicated to St. Finan, there is a bay,'»9 which bears the name of the patron saint. s" At the head of this bay, an old church in ruins may be seen, on the south-western decHvity of an elevated ground- swell, and about one quarter of a mile, from the sea-shore. This church, it is sup- posed, wasdedicated to St. Finian. 51 Thevvalls of theoldreligious establishment, near St. Finian's Bay, are in tolerably good preservation, excepting the east
gable's upper part. This had been demolished, nearly as far down as the window-top, which pierced it. The walls were constructed, with a species of green stone, jointed with lime-mortar. 5^ It is built with rude and thin stones, on
*• See " Notes on Irish Architecture," By Edwin,ThirdEarlofDunraven. Editedby Margaret Stokes, vol. i. , Part i. , sec. ii. , p.
34-
*5 The name of this parish is pronounced
in Irish Ciil Imleic, which signifies the
5' See Smith's " Natural and Civil His- tory of the County of Kerry," chap, v. , p. 104.
5^ The parish chapel was built to the north side of this ruined church ; the north wall of the latter serving for the south wall
thickness of its walls is about three feet, five and a-half inches. On the east gal)le, there is a window, constructed of green cut stone.
church " vel conti- cella-adjacens
of the former The old building.
bordering
gua ;" the place in which the old church of
building, on the interior, is forty-eight feet, six inches, in length ; the breadth seventeen feet, nine inches ; while the height of its side walls, on signifies bordering, as just noted in connec- the inside, is ten feet, three inches. I'he
the parish is situated, having previously to the erection of it been called ImleAc, which
tion with another church. 1mte4c,in a Typo-
graphical sense, implies, //(j'fi? , and is always
applied to places bordering on lakes, rivers,
and on the sea. Thus, it might be rendered, It has a circular top, on the inside. This
"
locus adjacens, contenninus vel contiguus. " This Inileat, which forms our present subject, is washed by the Atlantic Ocean, lying westwards of it. The place therefore obtained its name, from its lying
window is eight feet, three inches, high, on the inside, and four feet, two inches, broad. A heap of human bones, coffin boards and earth, dug up to cover graves, raised the ground surface, on the interior, to a level
in Latin,
along the ocean. See " Letters containing with this window, in 1841. On the outside,
Information relative to the Antiquities of the
this window appears to have been pointed at top, where it was somewhat injured, at that period. The window, on this side, was
County of Kerry, collected during the pro-
gress of the Ordnance Survey in 1841. " Mr.
(/Conor's Letter, dated Cahirciveen, then ab—out two feet, four inches, from the
August 15th, 1841, p. 374.
*^
It is situated, in the barony of Iveragh, and it is shown, on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Kerry," Sheets 69, 79, 80, 88, 89.
*' It is situated, in the barony of Iveragh. See ibid. . Sheets 88, 97, 105.
<^ItisinthebaronyofIveragh,anditis shown, on the " Ordnance Survey Town- land Maps for the County of Kerry," Sheets 79, 87, 88, 96, 97, 104, 105.
grou—nd it is to
part it being five feet, two inches, in height, and seven inches, in width. At a distance of two feet, six inches, from the east gable, there stood a window, in the sou—th side wall. This was square on the inside a rude flag- stone being placed across it, at top and bot- tom. Aheapofbonesandbrokencofifins
nearly reached to the window, on the inside, ill 1841. Interiorly, the window measured five feet, eleven inches, in height, and three
" The bay is called, in Irish, big feet, eight inches, in breadth, below, and
pondm, in English, St. Finan's Bay.
5° This festival was fomierly celebrated, it is said, on the i6th of March, in this remote
district
above, three feet, nine inches. Exteriorly, it is rounded, at the top, being two feet, eleven inches, in height ; six inches, in width; and, one foot, nine and a-half inches, from
be at the lower presumed
April 7. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
n
;
the outside 53 and, under the arch, westwardly, it is dilapidated. s* On this side,
it is six feet, four inches, high ; and it is three feet, ten inches, broad. 55 This
establishment is said to have been removed, from Great Skellig Island, owing
to the extreme bleakness, and hazard of approaching that spot. The name of
St. Finan Cam is thought to be preserved,5^ in Rahinnane, or Finan's Fort,
a townland, near Ventry. This conjecture, indeed, seems not improbable, for it lay within his patrimonial district.
Referring to the Manuscripts of Colgan, the Rev. Alban Butler 57 assigns
the celebration of St. Finan of Keann-Ethich, to the 7th day of April. At
such date, in the " Feilire " of St. . ^Engus, we have an entry of St. Finan's
Feast,5' and with this accord the rest of our Kalendars. On the 7th
of April, his name occurs as Finan Cairam, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,59
with a further — that the a
remark, obliquity-r-indicated by designation
appended to the name was in his eyes. His name is found in the Irish Calendar, belonging to the Royal Irish Academy. *" The Martyrology
of Donegal*' registers, on this day, Fionan Cam,*" of Ceann-Eitigh,*3 and of Sliabh-Bladhma. Our saint is also commemorated, in the Scottish
the ground. On the south sidj wall, about thirteen feet, eight inches, from the west ga- ble, there is a circular doorway, the interior sides of which are built with green cut-stone, as is, also, a part of its arch, the top of which has been constructed, with rude and thin stones. The inside height of this door is about seven feet, eight inches ; the breadth is about five feet, four inches.
5' To the west of this old church, St. Finin's Well, called Cobap pneAin, is situated, by the sea-shore.
« Within the Parish of Killemlagh, there
is another holy well, in the townland of
Killabuonia East. It is called, Cob^p
buiigne. Killabuonia is pronouced in Irish,
CiLle buAine, which name occurs in the
digree of the MacCarthys of Carberry, as
preserved in the Royal Irish Academy. It
IS there written, Cille baine. The
commences Donnell God, son of Donnell
Mor na Curradh, son of Diarmad o( Killa-
buonia (mc Oiirma-oi CiLle baine). It is
written, CiLLe DAi'bne, in the pedigree of bL4T)mA, which latter accords with the the descendants of. Ti^ koe of Sgart, as words of Colgan, viz. , ad montem Bladma. seen among the County Kerry Extracts. The <^5Uf was introduced, through an entire
55 In this parish, there is a burying- misunderstanding of what was meant by the
ground, without an enclosure, in Killoluaig
townland. It Ls situated in a field, to the
right of a road, leading from Cahircivecn to
Kiilemlagh. This burying-placc, CilLo
'-"^'S. gave name to the townland. Another burial-ground,inKilkeevraghtownlandmay
be seen, in the same parish ; and, its
Irish name, CiLL Cdotfiivafi, also g,ive its de- nominationtothetownland. See"Lettets
cont. iining Information relative to theAnti-
quities of the Countyof Kerry, collected
during the progress of the Ordnance Survey vol. i. , Part i. , p. 127. in 1841," vol. i. Mr. O'Conor's Letter,
dated Cahirciveen, August 15th, 184I, pp. 376 to 378.
* See Miss Mary Frances Cusack's " His-
toryof the Kingdom of Kerry," chap. xxviii. , p. 104.
pe-
pedigree,
•» In . Mr. T. O'Conor's dated Letter,
5' In "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. iv. , April vii.
5* The following is the text, with its English translation : —
"
pniti cAmm Chitin ©cig
tmbimbi mop noetmA
ba^enaic CiMjx C4inne OfLeib bLeDech blA'omA.
Finan the squinting of Cenn Etig, round whomwasmuchnoise: achampionofChrist wasCainde, from wolf-hunted Sliab Bladma. "
5» Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xx. In
the Franciscan copy we read, also, pnan
Cdtmm in occubf eiuf piic obLn]uiCij-.
Birr, " The Calendar has ponan Cam 6 Cmeicig Agof 6 sLidb bUiuniA that " Finan
February 2nd, 1838, he observes
:
7 April," is,
Cam (the stooped) of Kinneligh and of aiiabh Bladhma. " b SLiib bl<s'om<j must be
an error in Tipper's copy for a Sli-ab
original. See"LetterscontainingInforma- tion relative to the Antiquities of the King's
County, collected during the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1837-8," now preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, vol. ii. , pp. 90, 91.
* Edited by Drs. To<ld and Reeves, pp.
96,97-
" See Sir Thomas Duffus Hardy's " De-
scriptive Catalogue of Materials relating to the History of Great Britain and Ireland,"
" " Cenn Eitigh, called from Etech, an alias name for Teafa, daughter of Eochaidh Airemhan, the wifeof Naisin mac Nechtain, Book of Lecan 185a. " MS. note, by Wm. M. Hennessy, appended to this passage, in his copy of the Donegal Martyrology.
7:2; LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April y.
Kalendar of Drummdnd,** at the same date. On this holy man, and on the faithful discharge of his sacred functions, no doubt, was greatly dependent the supernatural life of his religious community ; and, at his place, we are still able to find vestiges of spiritual vitality, lasting for centuries succeeding his time.
Article II. —St. Ruisen, of Inis-Picht.
We have an entry of the name, Ruissen, Innse Pich, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 7th of April. The name of this place has been assigned to Muscraige, a territory in Munster f and, again, it has been placed, by Colgan, among the Islands of the Picts. 3 However, the denomination is at present supposed to be obso- lete. * This saint was the same, we are told,5 as Ross,^ or Rus, son of Trichem, son of Fica, son of lomchadh, who belonged to the race of Fiatach Fionn, king of Erinn. If so, he was brother to Dichuo, or Dichu,? who was the first to embrace the faith, in the northern parts of Ireland. The story of his life is to be met with, in various Acts of St. Patrick,^ among whose disciples he is classed. 9 He lived, at a place, called Derluss, a town in the southern part of Ulster ; and, afterwards, it was known as Inreathan. It is now called Bright, andthere,heseemstohaveresided. Forfurtherparticularsrelatedconcern- ing him, the, reader is referred to the Life of St. Patrick,'" already written. Rus, or Ros, is said to have been of Dundaleithglass," the old name for Down- patrick, which was the ancient seat of the Ulidian Kings, and where they livedinthestrongfort,knownasRath-Keltair,quitenearthecathedral. A doubt seems to be implied, as to whether the feast of St. Rus, or Ross,
'^
or to
beeo a misprint, for the 29th, '3 The Bollandists ' commemorate Russonus
de Insula Pich, on the 7th of April. There seems to me, however, that some
confusion, in the attempt to identify St. Ruisen, of Inse Pict, or Inis-Puinc, with St. Ross of Downpatrick, must exist. An ancient Sanctilogy 's repre- sents this latter person, as having been a brother to Dichu, one of St. Patrick's first converts in Ulidia ; and, therefore, not only must the church of Down-
belongs
to
April 7th,
April 9th ;
but,
^* ^"
Thus,undertheheadingofApril(vii. Idus), "Apud Hiberniam Sanctus Con- fessor Finan ad Christum migravit. "—Bis- hop Forbes' ''Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 10.
SeeColgan's TriasThaumaturga,"Se- cunda Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxxi. , p. 14. Tertia Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxxiii. , p. 23. Quarta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxxvii. , p. 39. Jocelyn's or Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxxiv. , xxxv. , p. 72. Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. i. , cap. Hi. , p. 125.
9 See ibid. Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 265.
'"
See at March 17th, cap. viii.
" The Hon. Algernon Herbert, in his Ad-
ditional Notes to the " Irish Version of the Historia Britonum of Nennius," interprets
Bun Dnletkglas, as "Fort of the Entirely Painted," and in reference to the Dubhda-
—
The Franciscan copy has
'
In Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiber- ni;e," it is described, as being "in regione Momonise Muscragia nuncupata," xx. Mar- tii, Vita S. Gobbani, p. 631. Here it is said,
that St. Carthagus built a monastery, in "In- sula Picti," which was "in freto Eogain. "
See, also, n. 5.
3 Elsewhere, Colgan renders it
Article ii.
Kelly, p. XX.
Edited by Rev. Dr.
nuifi-en Inr^ pice. °"
" Picht," or "in insulis Pictorum. " See xii. Martii. Vita S. Fetchvoni, n. 7, p. 589.
Ibid.
• See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (m), p. 433. 5 In the O'Clerys' Calendar.
= See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," n. 33, p. 31, and Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 265.
' Dr. Todd in a note
" Over this
'^ See ibid. Secunda Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxix. , xxxi. , p. 14, and nn. 47, 52, p. 19.
'• See " Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
656.
's See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxxiv. , p. 72, and nn. 34, 35, p. 1 10. .
name (Ross), in the more recent hand is
written, as a gloss, o 'Oun oa lecglAf, "of
Dunda-lethglas. "
' His feast is said to have been, on the
29th of April.
i. ,
rilis vii. Among the pretermitted feasts, p.
says,
Ap-
in Inse
leths, the Crutheni of Dalriadia. See note
xvii. , p. liv. I
the latter seems to have figure
April 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 75
patrick have been erected, at a very early date, but we ought even regard this Rus or Ross as presiding over it, some time in the fifth century. '* Although the father's name and the place seem different, yet St. Ruisen of Inis Pict may probably be identified with a Russ, or Russen, son to Rodan, Abbot of Innis- freil. '' A conjecture has been offered, likewise, that this saint was identical with the Ruissin, son to Lappain, mentioned in the Life of St. Molagga. "^ He died,'' it is said, a. d. 658, the comorban to St. Barr of Cork. And, we are told, moreover, that Marianus O'Gorman, as also the commentator on iEngus,
St. Columba's ^'
was undertaken, and whose festival has been assigned to the 27th of Decem- ber, by some Scottish writers ; but, Colgan thinks, it ought rather be referred to the 7th of April," as noted in the Martyrologies of Tallagh, of Donegal, of Marianus O'Gorman and of Maguire. ^3 He flourished, a. d. 563, but the date forhisdeathisuncertain. '* TheMartyrologyofDonegal,=5thisdayrecords a festival, in honour of Ruisen, of Inis-Picht.
Article \\\. —St. Senan, Bishop and Abbot. St. Senan seems to
have been doubly registered, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 7th of April; but, with the qualification of his being called Abbot, in one
instance, instead of Bishop," as he is in another place : for, we do not believe, the double entry of this name, at the same day, can refer to distinct saints.
Following the same authority, the Bollandists,^ enter " Senanus Episcopus,"
"
and
ofInisCarthy,atthe8thofMarch. ThereismentionedinourCalendarsa St. Senan, of Achadh-Coel, or of " the narrow field. " Where this was situated has not transpired. But his descent is thus traced. He was the son of Ernin,* son of Trien, son of Dunnius, son to Eochod, son to Bronnfinn, son of Eugene, son of Artcorb, son to Fiach Suighde, the first of the Desies family. ' This saint was the brother of St. Erca, the virgin, who is venerated, at the 12th ofMay. Itseemsnoteasytoidentifyhim,withanyoneoftheSaintsSenan, undistinguished by patronymics, as found in our Calendars. Again, there is a genealogy of St. Senan, son of Becan,* while there is a genealogy of Senan
this saint's Natalis was celebrated, on the of ^° we have 7th April. Again,
say,
an account of Sl Russeus, or Russenus, the son of Rodan, who was one of
companions,
when his first missionary expedition to Britain
Senanus Abbas," with reference to Colgan's Acts of St. Senan, Abbot
'' See Rev. William Reeves' "Ecclesias- tical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dro- more. " Appendix A, p. 142, and Appen-
dix LL. , p. 377.
' See " Memoir of the City and North
Western Liberties of Londonderry," Part ii. , sec. 2, p. 27.
'' Colganadds, "aquibusvocatur Russenus de Insulis Pictorum.
'*See "Trias Thaumaturga,"Quarla Ap- pendix ad Acta S. Columbae,, cap. x. , num.
too, p. 492.
'S Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
'»
See his Life, at the 20th of January.
96, 97. — Article hi.
Kelly, p. xx.
'
Edited by Rev. Dr.
" And in a note on this obiit, we read,
"" that Corcach-more was the great Corcach
or Marsh, now Cork, the chief city of Mun-
iter. It is also frcquenily called Corcach-
mor-M—umhan, »>. the great Cork of Mun-
ster. " Dr. O'Donovan s "Annals of the rilis vii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 292, 293, and n.
(i). Ibid. » See
656. <ThereisagenealogyofSenanofAchad
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," XX. Januarii, n, 28, p. 150.
