4 They
were
another version, foster-children to Comhgall of Beannchair, or Bangor.
were
another version, foster-children to Comhgall of Beannchair, or Bangor.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
This entry is altogether differently recorded in Mr.
O'Donovan's edition of the
'° " Lismore, long since the muses' darling seat.
Of piety and learning the retreat,
Her aLnui mater shone as bright at
noon,
As Oxford, Cambridge, or the great Sorbonne. "
"John O'Donovan, who examined the antiquities of Lismore in 1841, could find no traces of the twenty churches, said to havebeenformerlyhere. ThepresentCa- thedral was re-edified A. D. 1633, at the expense of the great Earl of Cork, and there was not left a feature of the primitive Irish architecture. Fac-similcs of two old Irish tomos, with inscriptions, are drawn as il-
lustrations, in "Letters Containing Infor- mation relative to the Antiquities of the
"
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp.
—See "
300, 301. We there read, at a. d. 698,
"Jamla, Abbot of Lismor, died. " This
is not the instance, in which I find dif- only
ferent readings, between the latter edition
and citations from "Annals of the Four
Masters," as quoted by Colgan.
'*
See notices regarding hun at that date. '7 In the Life of St. Flannan, which will be found at the l8th of December, St. Col- man is styled Bishop of Lismore. He is called abbot of the same place, by our
ancient annalists.
'^The united parishes of Lismore and
Moco'. lop are verv extensive. Thev include over 1,293 acres in tiic baronies of Condons
of the South of Ireland," letter xxxix. , p. 394.
Philosophical Survey
January 22. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 399
country. Among other distinguished personages, was the Dalcassian Prince Theodoric or Turlough, King of Thomond. He was held in the greatest esteem by our saint, who predicted what should take place with regard to him and his posterity. On all matters of moment, the abbot was consulted by this illustrious, but humble disciple. '^ Whilst our saint presided over Lis- more, the state of its schools was most flourishing ; and the discipline of its religious establishment was maintained in the most healthful vigour. Its school is said to have attained a higher degree of reputation than any other in Ireland. ^" Besides numerous holy men, who sought a refuge from the world in this retreat for wisdom and sanctity, and who lived in seclusion and penance within its monastery, many others were called forth from its en- closure, to adorn stations of dignity and importance in the Irish Church. Thus, our saint was the spiritual father of many monks, and an instructor of
These exhibited in their lives and actions the excellence of
to receive ihe reward of his labours, but after a short episcopate, and term
of abbatial rule, lasting only four years. He died in the year of our Lord
702,'* on the 22nd day of January. The Martyrology of Tallagh^3 registers him, and under the designation of Mocholmoc, Loismoir, mic h. Beona. The Festilogy of St. ^Engus has a similar record. ^'* The Calendar of Cashel
coincides ;^5 but Colgan has incorrectly stated,^^ it gives our saint another
Varilius without ostentation
Felix who made the melodious
journey.
*5 The Calendar of Cashel " S. Col- says:
manus filius Hua Beogna in Lismora Mo- chuddoe. " ButthesameCalendarofCashel places a festival afterwards at the 25th of
"
many prelates.
to which
At an advanced age, full of virtues and merits, our saint was called away
that and discipline
trainiig,
they
had been ^^ subjected.
and Clangibbon in the county of Cork, and over 62,743 ii^ ^'^^ baronies of Coshmore and Coshbride, in the county of Waterford. Sheets 36, 37 of the "Ordnance Survey Townland" of the former
and Sheets II, 12, 19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 34 in the latter
county,representthisunion.
county,
'5 For further particulars regarding Theo-
doric, the reader is referred to the Life of July, in this manner: 25 Julii S. Mochol-
St. Flannan, at the i8th of December.
=^° "
See Smith's Antient and Present State
of the County and City of Waterford," chap, iii. , n. 5, p. 28.
mocus, seu Colmanus O Liathain et S. Si- lanus duo Comorbani seu successores S. Mochuddoe Lismorensis. '' Colgan supposes this day last-named, to have been a festival relating to our saint's translation, or to some other commemoration. See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernios," xxii. Januarii, n. 12, P- 155-
*'
See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nise," xxii. Januarii. Vita S. Colmani,
cap. ii. , iii. , iv. v. , p. 154,
="'
In Mr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four " vol. i. at the Masters, , pp. 304, 305,
"
702, his demise is thus recorded :
son of Finnbhar, Abbot of Lismor, died. " The Annals of Ulster, at the same year, state, "Colman mac Finbair, Abbas Lis- moir, moritur. "
^3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii. After the insertion of twenty-four foreign saints at this date, the Franciscan copy enters first among the Irish ones mocholmoc 1.
'* When
mentioning
the death of Colman
h. beonriA.
*^ The following extract and its English
translation —have been furnished by Professor O'Looney:
A. xi. kl/. ecfechc injen cTiomjAitL CotiriAii in AC h-ui beoriA
tiofmoi]\mAC
Lanigan, except
a. xi. kl.
tlA]Mbuf cen t)i5r\A
ITetic ^uAii\ cuA1|^c ceol. t»A.
The death of Comghall's daughter Colman son of Ua Bcona
Colman,
O'Liathain, Colgan does not give its date
norhisexactcommemoration. Colganvery
oddly imagined, that St. Colman of the
22nd January and the Colman venerated on
the 25th July to have been one and the same
person, and that a seond festival, perhaps of
translation, was held in honour of the pre-
sent saint. " I do not know what reason
he could have had for thinking so," adds
Dr. " that the Colman at
25th July was called Mocholmoc, which
name was often given to the older Colman.
But St. Colman have surely every might
beencalledMocholmoc(seenote12). That in said Calendar two distinct Colmans were meant is evident, not only from the difference of the days marked, but still more from the former being surnamed Hua-Beogna, and the latter O'Liathain, the very Colman that died in 726. Whether the 25th of July was his Natalis, i. e. . , the anniversary of his
400 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 22.
festival, which is assigned to the 25th of July. In the Martyrology of Donegal,*^ we find entered on the 22nd day of January, Colraan, i. e. , Mo- cholmogofLes-mdir,sonofUa-Bheonna. MarianusO'Gormarihasalike statement. ^^ His festival was celebrated on this day, at Lismore. ^s As in
tropical climates, when the great luminary has passed the meridian, both land and atmosphere imbibe the sun's rays and become heated to a higher degree for some hours after mid-day ; so, when the great founder of this city had passed away from earth, the lustre of his zeal, fervour, and learning beamed \vith even greater intensity over that region, and among a people once blessed with his living presence.
Article II. —St. Goar, Guarius, or Guaire Mor, of Aghadowv, County of Londonderry. [Probably in the Seventh or Eighth Century. ]
In the days of early youth, most probably this holy man had fought his way into the sanctuary of God as a young priest, and had arrived at distinction
in the Church. We read in the Martyrology of Donegal,* as having been venerated on this day, Guaire Mor, of Achadh Dubhthaigh, now the parish
of Aghadowy^ or Aghadoey, county of Londonderry, on the banks of the
LowerBanna,orRiverBann. HewasthesonofColman,sontoFuactage,
son to Ferguss, son to Leogaire, son to Fiachre, son to Colla Uais, who was
Monarch of Ireland. ^ He is styled abbot of the foregoing place, in the
plain of Li. * The Martyrology of Tallaghts records him on the 22nd of
January, under the simple designation of Guaire. It does not seem pro-
bable this saint was the original founder of the monastery at this place,^ nor
does his of " seem to " elder. " He was first epithet Mor, great," equivalent
cousin, yet removed by a later generation,? to the saint, bearing this same name, whose feast occurs on the 9th of this month ; and our present Guaire Mor probably succeeded the other in order of time. Perhaps, indeed, not- withstanding such a probability, and his apparently junior age, this Guaire Mor may have founded Aghadowey Church singly, or in conjunction with his cousin ; and the term applied to the present saint might indicate superiority, celebrity, or position. Perhaps simply a difference of stature may have caused the distinction in names between Guaire Mor and Guaire Beg. ^
ArticleIII. —St. UmhalghaidorAmhalghaidh. Wehavenothing
death, or a day of commemoration, lean- I. O. S. , the pedigree of this Goar, or Gaurius not decide ; but, considering the usual prac- Magnus, is traced, in some unpaged notes, tice in the calendars, it —is more probable bound towards the end of this volume. In that it was the Natalis. " " Ecclesiastical the order of the note paper marks it is p. 23.
of vol.
History Ireland," iii. , chap, xix. ,
sec. vi. , n. 75, p. 165.
"7 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
24, 25.
''^Marianus O' Gorman says: "S. Col-
manus seu Mocholmocus Lismorensis filius
* See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," xxxi. Januarii. Vita S. Maidoci.
Appendix, cap. iv. , p. 223.
5 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii. So
likewise is he simply designated in the Fran- ciscan copy,
of
Aghad- by St. (joarus in the seventh century. " See
Beonnae. "
"^Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemias,"
* We are the told,
nepotis
Abbey
dubthaigh, now Aghadooey, was "founded
xxii. Januarii. p. 154.
Vita S. Colmani, cap. v. ,
"
— Reeves, pp. 24, 25.
Statistical Survey of the County of Londonderry, "chap.
'
Aghadowey parish, in the barony of Coleraine, is represented on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Londonderry. " Sheets 10, li, 12, 18, 19.
In the volume of "Extracts for the Counties of Antrim and Londonderry,"
Article n.
Edited by Drs. Todd and
'
v. , p. 485.
7 See the family pedigree of both dis-
tinctly drawn in Dr. Reeves' Archbishop Colton's "Visitation of the Diocese of
Derry,"n. (w. ), p. 80.
*
Rev. G. Vaughan Sampson's
See notices of him at the 9th of January.
January 22. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 401
more distinctive than the mere entry of this saint's name in our calendars.
In the Martyrology of Tallagh,' he has been denominated Umhalghaid. Amhalghaidh is mentioned in the Martyrology of Donegal^ as having a fes- tival at this date. In the table postfixed to this Martyrology, his name has been Latinised Amalgythus. 3
Article IV. —The Daughters of Comgall, Colma, Bogha, and Lassara, of Glena\% County of Antrim. The more boundless our confidence in the intercession of our virgin saints, the more numerous will be those graces we may obtain through their intercession. The greater that honour we pay them, the more fully shall we experience the effects of their powerful protection, and that love for innocence and purity, which made their lives only a preparation for never-ending bliss. The Martyrology of Tallagh' mentions a festival on the 22nd of January in honour of Comghaill's daughters,Lassir,Columba,andBogha. Someconfusioninrenderingtheir names appears to have crept into our calendars. According to the Martyr- ology of Donegal,^ on this day was venerated Colma, also called Columba, Bogha, and Laisri,3 three sisters. These virgins belonged to the sept, and
were of son to —were buried and daughters Comhgall, Fianglach.
4 They
were
another version, foster-children to Comhgall of Beannchair, or Bangor.
venerated at Leitir Dal-Araidh —e
;
they
disciples or, according
to
According
poem beginning
Articlk III. —' Edited the Rev. Dr. "Human bones have been by
" The of the Saints of Inis- Hagiology
to the
Fail," they are of the Dal m Buain, the race of Eochaidh, son of Muireadh. The place called Lettir in Dalaradia was anciently known as Lettir-Phadruig, after the Irish Apostle St. Patrick, who there first built a church. From the disciple, called Abhac, placed over it, Lann-Abhaich,'*; Lan-avy, and finally Glen-avy, were titles given to this spot. s It is a parochial church in the diocese of Connor, and in the ancient territory of Delmunia. ^ It is said, that the present church does not occupy the original site ; but that old
Glenavy churchyard lay at some distance, in an angle formed by the Glenavy and Pigeonstown roads. 7 Yet this account seems inconsistent \vith an ex- isting tradition. ^ Glenavy parish? is situated within the barony of Upper
frequently Kelly, p. xiii. In the Franciscan copy we found in that spot. See William Shaw
find this saint's name united there with that Mason's of the previous one: AniAlsAix) ocui'
3uAii\e.
=* Edited
by
Drs. Todd and Reeves,
rishes of Glenavy, Camlin, and Tullyrusk.
the Rev. Edward LL. B. , pp. By Cupples,
24, 25.
3 See /^zV/. , pp. 354, 355.
Article IV. —'Editedby Rev. Dr. Kelly,
]). xiii. In the Franciscan copy we react:
1. Co- ViliA^xtini Com^Ailt efc lAfii ocu]'
tumbv^e ocuy bo5<ie.
^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
24, 25.
^ In the table appended to the Donegal
Martyrology, this holy female's name has
been Latinised Lasia. See ? 3/^. , pp. 432, 433.
The father of this latter was Deman, son
to Nuathaill, son to Mutalan, son to Can-
talan, son to Fiengalac, son to Nied, son to
'• a Dal-Buain. See Rev. Wm. Buan, quo
Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down,
Connor, and Dromore. " Appendix S. , p. '
/3/V/, pp. 236, 237.
'See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
Scptima Vita S. Patricii, n. 219, p. 183. Vol. I,
Vicar, pp. 236, 237.
^In a letter to the writer, headed
237.
5 See
"
Statistical Account or Parochial Survey of Ireland," vol. ii. , No. xiii. Pa-
"Glenavy, 2nd May, 1873," the Rev. George Pye, P. P. , thus states the popular belief, while furnishing — particu-
descriptive
lars regarding this place: "There is no vestige of the old church of Glenavy. A tradition ^exists, that the Protestant church is on the site of the old one. It is divided by a river from what is supposed to be the
old cemetery, where, according to Reeves, were buried the three sisters. These are said to be the sisters of St. Comgall, abbot
there
'It is on the "Ordnance represented
Survey Townland Maps for the County of Antrim. " Sheets 58, 59, 62, 63.
2D
and founder of Bangor.
Maheramorne, near Lame.
was a religious house in Glenavy, to which the three sisters retired. There is no ruin whatever on the spot. "
He came from
Perhaps
402 LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 22
Massereene, and in the county of Antrim. At a place called Camus^° Comhgaill," those holy women are also said to have been venerated. This, by others, is also thought to be the spot where their bodies had been interred. The holy virgins' names are included in the calendar compiled by the Rev. William Reeves. " They are likewise entered in the Kalendar of Drum- mond -p but, apparently in a most incorrect manner, at the xi. of the Februar}- kalends, which corresponds with this date. Thus in early ages, and in the same family, we find many saints, while from the fifth to the eighth century Ireland appeared to realize the glorious vision of a church which St. John had in Patmos. ^<
ArticleV. —St. LonanFinn. LonanFinnoccursintheMartyrolog>'
of Donegal' on this day. Nothing more is recorded. A nearly similar
entry is made, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ at the 22nd of January; but in the published copy, we find Lonan (fann) corrected to (fionn). The latter ""
appellation usually designates
Article VI. —Reputed Festival of St. Erlulph, Bishop of Verdun,
AND Martyr. [Eighth a? id Ninth Centuries? \ On this day, according to
Ferrarius' and Dempster,^ St. Erlulph, Bishop of Verdun and martyr,^ was honoured with a festival. But Colgan, who gives his acts, thought better to assignthemtothe2nddayofFebruary. * Theremoremaybelearnedre- garding this devoted missionary.
Article VII. —Reputed Festival of St. Adalgisus, or Algisus, Priest,inTheoracia,aDistrictinPicardy. Afeasthasbeenassigned to this day' for the saint, whose name appears at the head of this article, as statedbytheBoUandists. ^ Buthisfestivalseemsmoreproperlyreferable to the 2nd of June,3 where his life will be found.
'°
This is identified with Camus, in Derry,
quoque sancte virgines Comgaill et sanctus confessor Colman hodie ad Christum migra- verunt. "—Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 3.
" In a note at this passage Dr. Todd says : ' ' The more recent hand has added here, AT Ai|\e fin AX)ei|\ Oieiiguf, erj'echc ingen
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scoto- rum," lib. v.
or in of In the pupils religion Comhgall.
whiteness" or fairness. "
by John O'Donovan, in a marginal note to the *' Irish Calendar of Saints," p. 14.
'
the to\vnland of Camus, in the parish of Article v. — Edited by Drs. Todd and
Macosquin, and barony of Coleraine, re- Reeves, p. 25. ''*
This valuable hagiographical manuscript,
belonging to the I. 0. S. collection, is now
preserved in the R. I. A. This must be History of Ireland," chap, i. , p. 13.
presented on the Ordnance Survey Towti- Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii. In the land Maps for the County of Londonderry. " Franciscan copy, this entry reads tonAn
Sheets 7, 8, 11, 12. On Sheet 7 of the pnt». — townland Lower Camus may be seen the Article vi.
" Ruins of a church" immediately on the ralis Sanctorum. "
""" south banks of the pastoral Bann. "
'See "Catalogus Gene-
* See " Acta Sanctorum "See "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of dies rejecti, p. 389.
annotations to Felire {Dublin MS. , are called Blaisse, Coma, and Boga. "
they
tomus ii. , xxii. Januarii. Praetermissi et in alios
Down, Connor, and Dromore," Appendix
LL. , p. 376.
'3 Thus: xi. Kal. "Apud Hiberniam
3See "Acta . Sanctorum Junii," of the
BoUandists, tomusi. ,ii. Junii, pp. 222to22S. There they have rightly inserted his acts.
' See Rev. Sylvester Maione's "Church
3 In his " Menologicum Scoticura" Demp-
ster enters Erlulf as a bishop and confessor, '"
CliomgAilL It is for this reason that at Verdun. See Bishop Forbes' Kalen-
yEngus says, The decease of the daughters of Comhgall. ' These are the words of
^ngus in his Felire or Martyrology ; he
calls the three * of Comh- virgins daughters
gall,' because they were the foster-children
dars of Scottish Saints," p, 190.
*See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemioc," xxii.
Januarii, p. 153, and ii. Februarii, pp. 240,
241. De S. Verdensi et ErlulphoEpiscopo
Martyre.
Article vn. —" By Camerarius.
Januarii,"
January 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
403
Ctomtp'-tftirtr Bap of Sanuarp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. MAIMBOD, MARTYR, IN FRANCE.
{PROBABLY IN THE NINTH CENTURY. ^
Aportrait-painter or a sculptor usually desires to copy after the fairest
features and the most forms. The in like man- graceful biographer,
ner, should be pleased when he has for his subject a person possessing the highest moral perfections. These he finds in every true saint, but more especially in every noble martyr venerated by the faithful. The BoUandists
have published Acts of Saint Maimbod,' from a MS. , belonging to the church of Besan9on, and from Chifflet. Colgan has also republished them at this day. ^
The period of this saint seems to have been about the ninth century. 3 From various accounts we learn, that he was a native and wore the habit or dress+ of Scotia or Ireland. ^ Of illustrious birth and rank, he was entirely devoted to God's service from his youth, and distinguished by the exercise of all Christian virtues. Maimbod was remarkable, also, for personal beauty and elegance of form. These advantages of birth, rank, and figure he little valued, rather preferring that his soul should be adorned with the virtues of humility and of self-denial. He considered worldly things as mean and transitory. He knew, that a Christian's highest ambition should be eternal rewards. At what period of life he resolved on setting out from Ireland has not transpired. Maimbod's object in leaving his native country appears to have been the acquisition of greater perfection, and a subjection of his will to God's designs. He likewise desired to visit certain shrines and places, where the relics of saints and martyrs were preserved. During this pilgrim- age, he exercised extraordinary mortification and resolution in overcoming temptations. With joy of spirit, he endured cold, hunger, and thirst ; and whilst exteriorly he was scantily clothed, interiorly his soul was inflamed with an ever-burning love of the Creator, and a great zeal to promote whatever contributed to His honour and glory. He always denied himself luxuries, and often bodily necessaries. In him, the flesh was always subject to the spirit. It would appear, that Maimbod had been elevated to the clerical state before leaving Ireland, and that he was distinguished for wisdom,
holiness, and ecclesiastical learning.
Art. 1. —'They are found in ten para- graphs. See"ActaSanctorum,"tomusii. , xxiii.
'° " Lismore, long since the muses' darling seat.
Of piety and learning the retreat,
Her aLnui mater shone as bright at
noon,
As Oxford, Cambridge, or the great Sorbonne. "
"John O'Donovan, who examined the antiquities of Lismore in 1841, could find no traces of the twenty churches, said to havebeenformerlyhere. ThepresentCa- thedral was re-edified A. D. 1633, at the expense of the great Earl of Cork, and there was not left a feature of the primitive Irish architecture. Fac-similcs of two old Irish tomos, with inscriptions, are drawn as il-
lustrations, in "Letters Containing Infor- mation relative to the Antiquities of the
"
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp.
—See "
300, 301. We there read, at a. d. 698,
"Jamla, Abbot of Lismor, died. " This
is not the instance, in which I find dif- only
ferent readings, between the latter edition
and citations from "Annals of the Four
Masters," as quoted by Colgan.
'*
See notices regarding hun at that date. '7 In the Life of St. Flannan, which will be found at the l8th of December, St. Col- man is styled Bishop of Lismore. He is called abbot of the same place, by our
ancient annalists.
'^The united parishes of Lismore and
Moco'. lop are verv extensive. Thev include over 1,293 acres in tiic baronies of Condons
of the South of Ireland," letter xxxix. , p. 394.
Philosophical Survey
January 22. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 399
country. Among other distinguished personages, was the Dalcassian Prince Theodoric or Turlough, King of Thomond. He was held in the greatest esteem by our saint, who predicted what should take place with regard to him and his posterity. On all matters of moment, the abbot was consulted by this illustrious, but humble disciple. '^ Whilst our saint presided over Lis- more, the state of its schools was most flourishing ; and the discipline of its religious establishment was maintained in the most healthful vigour. Its school is said to have attained a higher degree of reputation than any other in Ireland. ^" Besides numerous holy men, who sought a refuge from the world in this retreat for wisdom and sanctity, and who lived in seclusion and penance within its monastery, many others were called forth from its en- closure, to adorn stations of dignity and importance in the Irish Church. Thus, our saint was the spiritual father of many monks, and an instructor of
These exhibited in their lives and actions the excellence of
to receive ihe reward of his labours, but after a short episcopate, and term
of abbatial rule, lasting only four years. He died in the year of our Lord
702,'* on the 22nd day of January. The Martyrology of Tallagh^3 registers him, and under the designation of Mocholmoc, Loismoir, mic h. Beona. The Festilogy of St. ^Engus has a similar record. ^'* The Calendar of Cashel
coincides ;^5 but Colgan has incorrectly stated,^^ it gives our saint another
Varilius without ostentation
Felix who made the melodious
journey.
*5 The Calendar of Cashel " S. Col- says:
manus filius Hua Beogna in Lismora Mo- chuddoe. " ButthesameCalendarofCashel places a festival afterwards at the 25th of
"
many prelates.
to which
At an advanced age, full of virtues and merits, our saint was called away
that and discipline
trainiig,
they
had been ^^ subjected.
and Clangibbon in the county of Cork, and over 62,743 ii^ ^'^^ baronies of Coshmore and Coshbride, in the county of Waterford. Sheets 36, 37 of the "Ordnance Survey Townland" of the former
and Sheets II, 12, 19, 20, 21, 28, 29, 34 in the latter
county,representthisunion.
county,
'5 For further particulars regarding Theo-
doric, the reader is referred to the Life of July, in this manner: 25 Julii S. Mochol-
St. Flannan, at the i8th of December.
=^° "
See Smith's Antient and Present State
of the County and City of Waterford," chap, iii. , n. 5, p. 28.
mocus, seu Colmanus O Liathain et S. Si- lanus duo Comorbani seu successores S. Mochuddoe Lismorensis. '' Colgan supposes this day last-named, to have been a festival relating to our saint's translation, or to some other commemoration. See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernios," xxii. Januarii, n. 12, P- 155-
*'
See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nise," xxii. Januarii. Vita S. Colmani,
cap. ii. , iii. , iv. v. , p. 154,
="'
In Mr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four " vol. i. at the Masters, , pp. 304, 305,
"
702, his demise is thus recorded :
son of Finnbhar, Abbot of Lismor, died. " The Annals of Ulster, at the same year, state, "Colman mac Finbair, Abbas Lis- moir, moritur. "
^3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii. After the insertion of twenty-four foreign saints at this date, the Franciscan copy enters first among the Irish ones mocholmoc 1.
'* When
mentioning
the death of Colman
h. beonriA.
*^ The following extract and its English
translation —have been furnished by Professor O'Looney:
A. xi. kl/. ecfechc injen cTiomjAitL CotiriAii in AC h-ui beoriA
tiofmoi]\mAC
Lanigan, except
a. xi. kl.
tlA]Mbuf cen t)i5r\A
ITetic ^uAii\ cuA1|^c ceol. t»A.
The death of Comghall's daughter Colman son of Ua Bcona
Colman,
O'Liathain, Colgan does not give its date
norhisexactcommemoration. Colganvery
oddly imagined, that St. Colman of the
22nd January and the Colman venerated on
the 25th July to have been one and the same
person, and that a seond festival, perhaps of
translation, was held in honour of the pre-
sent saint. " I do not know what reason
he could have had for thinking so," adds
Dr. " that the Colman at
25th July was called Mocholmoc, which
name was often given to the older Colman.
But St. Colman have surely every might
beencalledMocholmoc(seenote12). That in said Calendar two distinct Colmans were meant is evident, not only from the difference of the days marked, but still more from the former being surnamed Hua-Beogna, and the latter O'Liathain, the very Colman that died in 726. Whether the 25th of July was his Natalis, i. e. . , the anniversary of his
400 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 22.
festival, which is assigned to the 25th of July. In the Martyrology of Donegal,*^ we find entered on the 22nd day of January, Colraan, i. e. , Mo- cholmogofLes-mdir,sonofUa-Bheonna. MarianusO'Gormarihasalike statement. ^^ His festival was celebrated on this day, at Lismore. ^s As in
tropical climates, when the great luminary has passed the meridian, both land and atmosphere imbibe the sun's rays and become heated to a higher degree for some hours after mid-day ; so, when the great founder of this city had passed away from earth, the lustre of his zeal, fervour, and learning beamed \vith even greater intensity over that region, and among a people once blessed with his living presence.
Article II. —St. Goar, Guarius, or Guaire Mor, of Aghadowv, County of Londonderry. [Probably in the Seventh or Eighth Century. ]
In the days of early youth, most probably this holy man had fought his way into the sanctuary of God as a young priest, and had arrived at distinction
in the Church. We read in the Martyrology of Donegal,* as having been venerated on this day, Guaire Mor, of Achadh Dubhthaigh, now the parish
of Aghadowy^ or Aghadoey, county of Londonderry, on the banks of the
LowerBanna,orRiverBann. HewasthesonofColman,sontoFuactage,
son to Ferguss, son to Leogaire, son to Fiachre, son to Colla Uais, who was
Monarch of Ireland. ^ He is styled abbot of the foregoing place, in the
plain of Li. * The Martyrology of Tallaghts records him on the 22nd of
January, under the simple designation of Guaire. It does not seem pro-
bable this saint was the original founder of the monastery at this place,^ nor
does his of " seem to " elder. " He was first epithet Mor, great," equivalent
cousin, yet removed by a later generation,? to the saint, bearing this same name, whose feast occurs on the 9th of this month ; and our present Guaire Mor probably succeeded the other in order of time. Perhaps, indeed, not- withstanding such a probability, and his apparently junior age, this Guaire Mor may have founded Aghadowey Church singly, or in conjunction with his cousin ; and the term applied to the present saint might indicate superiority, celebrity, or position. Perhaps simply a difference of stature may have caused the distinction in names between Guaire Mor and Guaire Beg. ^
ArticleIII. —St. UmhalghaidorAmhalghaidh. Wehavenothing
death, or a day of commemoration, lean- I. O. S. , the pedigree of this Goar, or Gaurius not decide ; but, considering the usual prac- Magnus, is traced, in some unpaged notes, tice in the calendars, it —is more probable bound towards the end of this volume. In that it was the Natalis. " " Ecclesiastical the order of the note paper marks it is p. 23.
of vol.
History Ireland," iii. , chap, xix. ,
sec. vi. , n. 75, p. 165.
"7 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
24, 25.
''^Marianus O' Gorman says: "S. Col-
manus seu Mocholmocus Lismorensis filius
* See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," xxxi. Januarii. Vita S. Maidoci.
Appendix, cap. iv. , p. 223.
5 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii. So
likewise is he simply designated in the Fran- ciscan copy,
of
Aghad- by St. (joarus in the seventh century. " See
Beonnae. "
"^Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemias,"
* We are the told,
nepotis
Abbey
dubthaigh, now Aghadooey, was "founded
xxii. Januarii. p. 154.
Vita S. Colmani, cap. v. ,
"
— Reeves, pp. 24, 25.
Statistical Survey of the County of Londonderry, "chap.
'
Aghadowey parish, in the barony of Coleraine, is represented on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Londonderry. " Sheets 10, li, 12, 18, 19.
In the volume of "Extracts for the Counties of Antrim and Londonderry,"
Article n.
Edited by Drs. Todd and
'
v. , p. 485.
7 See the family pedigree of both dis-
tinctly drawn in Dr. Reeves' Archbishop Colton's "Visitation of the Diocese of
Derry,"n. (w. ), p. 80.
*
Rev. G. Vaughan Sampson's
See notices of him at the 9th of January.
January 22. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 401
more distinctive than the mere entry of this saint's name in our calendars.
In the Martyrology of Tallagh,' he has been denominated Umhalghaid. Amhalghaidh is mentioned in the Martyrology of Donegal^ as having a fes- tival at this date. In the table postfixed to this Martyrology, his name has been Latinised Amalgythus. 3
Article IV. —The Daughters of Comgall, Colma, Bogha, and Lassara, of Glena\% County of Antrim. The more boundless our confidence in the intercession of our virgin saints, the more numerous will be those graces we may obtain through their intercession. The greater that honour we pay them, the more fully shall we experience the effects of their powerful protection, and that love for innocence and purity, which made their lives only a preparation for never-ending bliss. The Martyrology of Tallagh' mentions a festival on the 22nd of January in honour of Comghaill's daughters,Lassir,Columba,andBogha. Someconfusioninrenderingtheir names appears to have crept into our calendars. According to the Martyr- ology of Donegal,^ on this day was venerated Colma, also called Columba, Bogha, and Laisri,3 three sisters. These virgins belonged to the sept, and
were of son to —were buried and daughters Comhgall, Fianglach.
4 They
were
another version, foster-children to Comhgall of Beannchair, or Bangor.
venerated at Leitir Dal-Araidh —e
;
they
disciples or, according
to
According
poem beginning
Articlk III. —' Edited the Rev. Dr. "Human bones have been by
" The of the Saints of Inis- Hagiology
to the
Fail," they are of the Dal m Buain, the race of Eochaidh, son of Muireadh. The place called Lettir in Dalaradia was anciently known as Lettir-Phadruig, after the Irish Apostle St. Patrick, who there first built a church. From the disciple, called Abhac, placed over it, Lann-Abhaich,'*; Lan-avy, and finally Glen-avy, were titles given to this spot. s It is a parochial church in the diocese of Connor, and in the ancient territory of Delmunia. ^ It is said, that the present church does not occupy the original site ; but that old
Glenavy churchyard lay at some distance, in an angle formed by the Glenavy and Pigeonstown roads. 7 Yet this account seems inconsistent \vith an ex- isting tradition. ^ Glenavy parish? is situated within the barony of Upper
frequently Kelly, p. xiii. In the Franciscan copy we found in that spot. See William Shaw
find this saint's name united there with that Mason's of the previous one: AniAlsAix) ocui'
3uAii\e.
=* Edited
by
Drs. Todd and Reeves,
rishes of Glenavy, Camlin, and Tullyrusk.
the Rev. Edward LL. B. , pp. By Cupples,
24, 25.
3 See /^zV/. , pp. 354, 355.
Article IV. —'Editedby Rev. Dr. Kelly,
]). xiii. In the Franciscan copy we react:
1. Co- ViliA^xtini Com^Ailt efc lAfii ocu]'
tumbv^e ocuy bo5<ie.
^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
24, 25.
^ In the table appended to the Donegal
Martyrology, this holy female's name has
been Latinised Lasia. See ? 3/^. , pp. 432, 433.
The father of this latter was Deman, son
to Nuathaill, son to Mutalan, son to Can-
talan, son to Fiengalac, son to Nied, son to
'• a Dal-Buain. See Rev. Wm. Buan, quo
Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down,
Connor, and Dromore. " Appendix S. , p. '
/3/V/, pp. 236, 237.
'See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
Scptima Vita S. Patricii, n. 219, p. 183. Vol. I,
Vicar, pp. 236, 237.
^In a letter to the writer, headed
237.
5 See
"
Statistical Account or Parochial Survey of Ireland," vol. ii. , No. xiii. Pa-
"Glenavy, 2nd May, 1873," the Rev. George Pye, P. P. , thus states the popular belief, while furnishing — particu-
descriptive
lars regarding this place: "There is no vestige of the old church of Glenavy. A tradition ^exists, that the Protestant church is on the site of the old one. It is divided by a river from what is supposed to be the
old cemetery, where, according to Reeves, were buried the three sisters. These are said to be the sisters of St. Comgall, abbot
there
'It is on the "Ordnance represented
Survey Townland Maps for the County of Antrim. " Sheets 58, 59, 62, 63.
2D
and founder of Bangor.
Maheramorne, near Lame.
was a religious house in Glenavy, to which the three sisters retired. There is no ruin whatever on the spot. "
He came from
Perhaps
402 LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 22
Massereene, and in the county of Antrim. At a place called Camus^° Comhgaill," those holy women are also said to have been venerated. This, by others, is also thought to be the spot where their bodies had been interred. The holy virgins' names are included in the calendar compiled by the Rev. William Reeves. " They are likewise entered in the Kalendar of Drum- mond -p but, apparently in a most incorrect manner, at the xi. of the Februar}- kalends, which corresponds with this date. Thus in early ages, and in the same family, we find many saints, while from the fifth to the eighth century Ireland appeared to realize the glorious vision of a church which St. John had in Patmos. ^<
ArticleV. —St. LonanFinn. LonanFinnoccursintheMartyrolog>'
of Donegal' on this day. Nothing more is recorded. A nearly similar
entry is made, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ at the 22nd of January; but in the published copy, we find Lonan (fann) corrected to (fionn). The latter ""
appellation usually designates
Article VI. —Reputed Festival of St. Erlulph, Bishop of Verdun,
AND Martyr. [Eighth a? id Ninth Centuries? \ On this day, according to
Ferrarius' and Dempster,^ St. Erlulph, Bishop of Verdun and martyr,^ was honoured with a festival. But Colgan, who gives his acts, thought better to assignthemtothe2nddayofFebruary. * Theremoremaybelearnedre- garding this devoted missionary.
Article VII. —Reputed Festival of St. Adalgisus, or Algisus, Priest,inTheoracia,aDistrictinPicardy. Afeasthasbeenassigned to this day' for the saint, whose name appears at the head of this article, as statedbytheBoUandists. ^ Buthisfestivalseemsmoreproperlyreferable to the 2nd of June,3 where his life will be found.
'°
This is identified with Camus, in Derry,
quoque sancte virgines Comgaill et sanctus confessor Colman hodie ad Christum migra- verunt. "—Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 3.
" In a note at this passage Dr. Todd says : ' ' The more recent hand has added here, AT Ai|\e fin AX)ei|\ Oieiiguf, erj'echc ingen
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scoto- rum," lib. v.
or in of In the pupils religion Comhgall.
whiteness" or fairness. "
by John O'Donovan, in a marginal note to the *' Irish Calendar of Saints," p. 14.
'
the to\vnland of Camus, in the parish of Article v. — Edited by Drs. Todd and
Macosquin, and barony of Coleraine, re- Reeves, p. 25. ''*
This valuable hagiographical manuscript,
belonging to the I. 0. S. collection, is now
preserved in the R. I. A. This must be History of Ireland," chap, i. , p. 13.
presented on the Ordnance Survey Towti- Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii. In the land Maps for the County of Londonderry. " Franciscan copy, this entry reads tonAn
Sheets 7, 8, 11, 12. On Sheet 7 of the pnt». — townland Lower Camus may be seen the Article vi.
" Ruins of a church" immediately on the ralis Sanctorum. "
""" south banks of the pastoral Bann. "
'See "Catalogus Gene-
* See " Acta Sanctorum "See "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of dies rejecti, p. 389.
annotations to Felire {Dublin MS. , are called Blaisse, Coma, and Boga. "
they
tomus ii. , xxii. Januarii. Praetermissi et in alios
Down, Connor, and Dromore," Appendix
LL. , p. 376.
'3 Thus: xi. Kal. "Apud Hiberniam
3See "Acta . Sanctorum Junii," of the
BoUandists, tomusi. ,ii. Junii, pp. 222to22S. There they have rightly inserted his acts.
' See Rev. Sylvester Maione's "Church
3 In his " Menologicum Scoticura" Demp-
ster enters Erlulf as a bishop and confessor, '"
CliomgAilL It is for this reason that at Verdun. See Bishop Forbes' Kalen-
yEngus says, The decease of the daughters of Comhgall. ' These are the words of
^ngus in his Felire or Martyrology ; he
calls the three * of Comh- virgins daughters
gall,' because they were the foster-children
dars of Scottish Saints," p, 190.
*See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemioc," xxii.
Januarii, p. 153, and ii. Februarii, pp. 240,
241. De S. Verdensi et ErlulphoEpiscopo
Martyre.
Article vn. —" By Camerarius.
Januarii,"
January 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
403
Ctomtp'-tftirtr Bap of Sanuarp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. MAIMBOD, MARTYR, IN FRANCE.
{PROBABLY IN THE NINTH CENTURY. ^
Aportrait-painter or a sculptor usually desires to copy after the fairest
features and the most forms. The in like man- graceful biographer,
ner, should be pleased when he has for his subject a person possessing the highest moral perfections. These he finds in every true saint, but more especially in every noble martyr venerated by the faithful. The BoUandists
have published Acts of Saint Maimbod,' from a MS. , belonging to the church of Besan9on, and from Chifflet. Colgan has also republished them at this day. ^
The period of this saint seems to have been about the ninth century. 3 From various accounts we learn, that he was a native and wore the habit or dress+ of Scotia or Ireland. ^ Of illustrious birth and rank, he was entirely devoted to God's service from his youth, and distinguished by the exercise of all Christian virtues. Maimbod was remarkable, also, for personal beauty and elegance of form. These advantages of birth, rank, and figure he little valued, rather preferring that his soul should be adorned with the virtues of humility and of self-denial. He considered worldly things as mean and transitory. He knew, that a Christian's highest ambition should be eternal rewards. At what period of life he resolved on setting out from Ireland has not transpired. Maimbod's object in leaving his native country appears to have been the acquisition of greater perfection, and a subjection of his will to God's designs. He likewise desired to visit certain shrines and places, where the relics of saints and martyrs were preserved. During this pilgrim- age, he exercised extraordinary mortification and resolution in overcoming temptations. With joy of spirit, he endured cold, hunger, and thirst ; and whilst exteriorly he was scantily clothed, interiorly his soul was inflamed with an ever-burning love of the Creator, and a great zeal to promote whatever contributed to His honour and glory. He always denied himself luxuries, and often bodily necessaries. In him, the flesh was always subject to the spirit. It would appear, that Maimbod had been elevated to the clerical state before leaving Ireland, and that he was distinguished for wisdom,
holiness, and ecclesiastical learning.
Art. 1. —'They are found in ten para- graphs. See"ActaSanctorum,"tomusii. , xxiii.
