9 The Codex
Kilkenniensis
St.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
According to some accounts, he was brother to St.
Joseph, spouse of the Blessed Virgin.
He was one of the two disciples to whom Christ appeared on the day of his Resurrection, and when proceeding to the castle
25th of September.
2
36 See "Gallia
of bread.
The Acts of this Saint
so far as
they
can be
gleaned
are treated
Christiana,"
tomus
*° See
161.
1 150.
"See Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des
Saints," tome xi. xxv'Jour de Septembre, PP- 384i 385-
38 See the Bollandists' " Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. , Septembris xxv. De S. Firmino Episc. Mart. Commentarius Praevius, sect. x. , pp. 46 to 50.
39 Thus " Firmini et
1
:
11 The Book of Obits and Martyrology of the
Cathedral Church of the
"Feilire Hui
episcopi
Martyris. "
Holy Trinity," edited by John Clarke Crosthwaite, A. M. ,
and James Henthorn Todd, D. D. , p. 69.
xxiv.
x. , p.
ibid. , p.
Article xi. — Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly,
p. xxXv.
'Thus : ftuin».
Article xii. —'See Rev. Mr. Reeves'
Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba. " Addi- tional Notes, C, p. 257.
2 See ' Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. ,
published Martyrology
of 1 Tallagh
""
Among the pretermitted
— See Dr. Stokes' Whitley
Gormain," pp. 184, 185.
See the account in St. Luke, chap,
— Septembris xxv.
feasts, p. 3. Article xiii.
2
September 26. ] LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. 593
in the great Bollandist Collection^ at the 25th of September, in a learned
dissertation,* by Father John Stilting, S. J. Certain difficulties regarding him are there examined, but are not resolved in a manner satisfactory to the writer.
Article XIV. —St. Lupus. In the Feilire of Marianus O'Gorman,
2 A the previous commentary3 explains
1 The
for us in an ancient Breviary of that city, and reproduced by the Bollandists
of
man was bishop and confessor at Lyons in Gaul. His Acts are preserved
there is a feast for at the Lupus,
25th
September.
present holy
in their work, at this great
day.
records referring to the saint, especially in old calendars, as also memorials
regarding his period, some of his transactions, his relics, his cultus and miracles.
ArticleXV. —St. Eusebius. IntheFeilireofSt. yEngus,atthe25thof September, there is a festival for Eusebius' followers, who freed every banquet
the day following. The Bollandists3 likewise have this notice.
Ctoentp-'Strtl) 2Bap of September.
ARTICLE I. —ST. COLMAN EALA, OR ELO, ABBOT OF LANN ELO, NOW LYNALLY, KING'S COUNTY.
[SIXTH AND SEVENTH CENTURIES. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—FAMILY AND BIRTH OF ST. COLMAN EALA—HIS EARLY INSTRUCTION UNDER ST. CAEMAN OF SLIABH BLOOM—MIRACLES—COLMAN IS SAID TO HAVE SPENT SOME TIME AT CONNOR—CONFOUNDED WITH ST. COLMAN OF DROMORE.
from excess. 1 A comment is affixed,2 which
that Eusebius was a bishop. This entry is no doubt meant for Pope Eusebius, whose feast is recorded at this date in some copies of the Martyrology of St. Jerome. However, in others, as in the Roman Martyrology, his festival is placed at
and wisdom combined are necessary to form the character of a in discrimination of motives
SANCTpeIrfTecYt religious. Especially and objects to be attained is required.
superiors,
The pious rector must understand,
Stokes' " Feilire Hui Gormain," pp. 184, tembris xxv. De S. Cleopha Discipulo 185.
2
Christi. pp. 5 to 10.
4 Or Sylloge. This is given in two Septembris xxv. De S. Lupo Episc. Conf.
"
2
See ibid. , p. cxlvii.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. ,
3 See Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. , Sep-
sections, containing twenty-four paragraphs.
There we find treated— I. His memorials in
the Greek and Latin Martyrologies. 2. His
cultus. 3. His Acts as gleaned from the Royal Irish Academy, Irish Manuscript Evangelists and from other sources. 4. Series, vol. i. , pait i. On the Calendar of His relationship to St. Joseph, the Blessed Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. Virgin and to Christ our Lord. 5. His cxxxix.
sons called brothers of our Lord. 6. In fine, an enquiry concerning doubts about his
history. — Article xiv.
•
Septembris xxv. Among the pretermitted See Dr. Whitley saints, p. 4.
explains
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. ,
Lugduni in Gallia, pp. 81 to 85.
3 The editor is Father John Perier, S. J. Article xv. —' See " Transactions of the
IP
594 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September26.
that faults are often substitutes for virtues. Thus, avarice assumes the guise of saving, and waste that of liberality ; sloth is often called piety, and unre-
1
strained anger is thought to be spiritual zeal.
position, and a knowledge of human nature generally, help him to prescribe the best correctives for those he is appointed to govern, and for the regula- tion of his own conduct.
From a very early period this pious ccenobiarch was venerated in the Irish
Church. Atthevi. oftheOctoberKalends,or26thofSeptember,wefind
entered in the of 2 a festival to honour Colman published Martyrology Tallagh,
of Lainn ElaJ It is also found recorded in the Book of Leinster copy. * At the 26th of September, the Feilire of St. ^Engus5 commemorates St. Colman of Lann Ela with a distinguished eulogy, and it calls him " the great John of Ire- land'ssons. " Tothisacommentatorhasappendedexplanatorynotesrelating
to his 6 and to his pedigree
Acts of this man holy
Several
are extant. In Dublin, Trinity College Library and Marsh's Library' have
10
Manuscript Lives. There is a Vita S. Colmani Ela,
among the Franciscan
Ailc
Conit) he An huAlAnn
legem) 1om WAp mAcc nepent).
lahuAigi
Thus rendered into English, by Dr. Whitley
Stokes " Colman of Lann Ela, with per- :
fection of high readings, so that he is
splendid (and) praiseworthy, the great John of Ireland's sons ! "—" Transactions of the
II
It is classed : MSS. vol. iv. , part ii. , At. iii. In the Irish Life of St. Columba, cap. 158, it would seem, that the narrative confounds him with St- Colman mac Ua Laoighse, whose feast occurs at the 15th of
Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript May.
Series, vol. i. , part. i. On the Calendar of
CKngus, p. exxxix.
6 " Colman Ela, son of Beogna, son of
Vol. xxii. , at fol. : 123-
' 3 They are classed : Vila S. Colmani dt
place. *
Manuscript 8
Records, Dublin. This is the Life, we have chiefly consulted in compiling
the present memoir, but it abounds with fables. Among the manuscripts
belonging to the Burgundian Library at Bruxelles, there is an Irish Life of St.
Colman Elo, transcribed by Brother Michael O'Clery.
11
There is also a Latin
Life of St. Colman Elo among the Burgundian Library Manuscripts, Bruxelles. " The Bodleian Library at Oxford, has Manuscript Lives of St. Colman. '3 At the 26th of September, Colgan intended to publish the Acts of this holy Abbot. 1 *
The modern writers who have treated abjut St. Colman Elo or Eala are
Meredith 1* Ussher,16 L'Abbe' 1 ? Hanmer, Archbishop Ma-Geoghegan, Bishop
Article i. —Chap. i. * St. Gregory the jecture regarding the local nomenclature. —
M
Great ; Opera, Pastoralia," pars ii. , cap. Ibid. 1 p. cxlvii.
ix.
3 Edited
xxxv. 55 anno setat. "
I In Irish there is an added note, thus
translated into " A was he, English : John
i. e. , like is he unto John for wisdom and
contains for September 26th, Kal. vi. Oct. Colmani Epis.
9 The Codex Kilkenniensis St. registers
by
3 To this is added
"
p.
Rev. Dr. Kelly,
Lam
5 In the Leabhar Breac copy we find :
Coltnan o tAint) elA
—
Thus a MS. inT. C. D. , classed B. 3, 12,
* Thus
:
Colmani
elo,
lu anno
Aec.
virginity. " 8
Ibid. ,
p.
cxlvii.
Elo, MS. Bodl. Rawl, B. 505, pp. 104-1 1 1, Mochta, son of Cuinned, of Land Ela. " veil, folio, xiv. cent. MS. Bodl Kawl. B.
Then is added in Latin, that Ela was the
name of a woman who lived there before See
St. Colman, or Ela was the proper name of a river near to his church. Then we have
"
the Scriptural verse :
exsurgam diluculo, confitebor Domino, quia non est inane speiare in Domino. " In a second note there is a repetition of the con-
Catalogus Actuum Sanctorum quae MS. habentur, ordine Mensiura et
Dierum. "
,s See "Chronicle of Ireland," p. 132.
Colman ela dixit
Experience of his own dis-
Colmann's Life, at fol. 130 to 133. 10 "
InaManuscript VitseSanctorum,"ex Cod. Inisensi, pp. 130 to 142.
485, fol. 205, veil. 4to. , xiv. cent.
14 *'
16
See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xvii. , p. 497.
17 See " LTIistoire de l'lrlande, ancienne
September 26. ] LIVES OP THE IRISH SAINTS. 595
Challoner, '*
Butler, Biography. "
21 Atthisdate,moreover, Forbes Bishop
ofChristian
has some account of the present Saint ;
Dictionary
et moderne," tome i,, seconde partie, chap,
iii. , p. 303.
18 See "A Memorial of Ancient British
Piety," p. 136.
'9 See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs
and other principal Saints," vol. ix. , Sep- tember xxvi.
20 See "Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
land," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , sect, ii. , pp. 303
to 310.
31 See vol. i. , p. 600.
aS See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
p. 304.
23 Fuit vir vite venerabilis Colmanus
nomine de nobili gente Hiberniae, i. e. , de
the Dal mBuain. According to Mac Firbis Genealogical Manuscripts, pp. 102, 728, b.
1? Rev. Dr. 20 and a writer in the Lanigan,
18 Rev. Alban
Scotland.
This saint's parents belonged to Meath and were of a noble race. 23 They
were known as the family of Mocusailni. St. Colman was the son of Beognai,
sometimes written 2* He Beagni.
belonged
EochoMairedha,26 sontoMuireadh. andhesprangfromthedescendantsof
2
Heremon. His mother was Mor, daughter to Feidhlimidh, ? and sister of
St. Columba,28 to the according
Feidhlemidh was
twenty-second in descent from Fedhlim Saillne, the head of the Dal-Selli, and -from whom
2
this Colman derived his tribe name, Mac-U-Sailni, 9 but from a nearer
progenitor. 3° In some cases, our saint is called Colmanus Episcopus Mac-U-Sailne, or Mocusailni from his tribe name. He is called also
Columbanus Alius Beogni, from his father Beogna. 3
1
It would seem, that the
O'Clerys.
people of Leinster had made an incursion upon the Meathian territory, which
obligedtheparentsofoursainttotakerefugeintheValleyofHoichle,32 now
known as Glenelly,33 in the north-east of the County of Tyrone. A river
flows through this valley, in the parish of Upper Badoney. 3* The valley is about fifteen miles long, and from one and a half to about three miles in
width. 35 The Glenelly River has its source in the hills bordering on London- derry County, and several streams converge before it joins the Owenleagh
29 Every man in the clan Dal-Sailne was a batur. Qui cum esset regio Midi a Lagi- mac U1 SAilne. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' nensibus devastata, fugit cum suis in Valle—m Adamnan's Life of St. Columba, lib. i. , cap.
Nepotibus Neill et pater ejus Beogne voca- HoichleetibinatusestsanctusColmanus. " 5, n. (b. ), p. 29.
11, belonging to Trinity College, Dublin), fol. 106 a, b.
" 30 Vita S. Colmani Ela," cap. i. , (MS. E. 3,
22
for he had been venerated, also, in
31 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life 2*Thus in Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 5, p. 29, and
Hibernise—" we read, "S. Colmannus filius lib. ii. , cap. 15, p. 124.
32 to the Vita S.
Beagni. " Vita S. Finniani, cap. xxxii. , According Colmani Ela,
p. 397. Again, Colman ela— mac cap. i. (MS. known as Codex Kilkenniensis
DeopiAi tmctnoccdi true Cuhtotoa. Book of Lecan, p. 70.
name to a sept ; namely, Fedhlim Saillne, or Salline, the head of the Dal Sailne, or Dal Selli ; and Fedhlim Buan, the head of
2 5This Eochaidh's
33
O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , at A. D. 854, p. 488, and ^leano aichle, at A. D. 1600. See vol. vi. , p. 2226.
destruction about A. D. 90 by the expansion of the river Bann gave to that sheet of water the name of Loch nOACACh, now called Lough Neagh. His descendant in the sixth generation was Clothrach, who had two sons, each giving
legendary
to the race of Eochaidh,2? or
26 Allusion is made to the
eruption
of
Lough Neagh over the former plain of
Linnmhuine in the Dinnseanchus, as found
in the Leabhar n-Uidhri, at fol. 36, as also
"
in the
num of Nennius," edited by Rev. James Henthorn Todd, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, pp. 226, 227, and n. (y).
27 Son of Ferghus Cennfada, son to Conall
Gulban, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages.
See "Vita S. Colman," cap. i.
28
See his Life at the 9th of June> in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. i.
Irish Version of the Historia Brito-
See "Dictionary of Christian Biogra- phy," vol. i. , p. 600.
Marsh's folio in Library, Dublin),
129, a. b. It is written 5liono Vhoicle, ln j_) r
34 See an account of it in the " Parliamen- tary Gazetteer of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 115.
"
35 See
Metropolitan Visitation of the Diocese of Derry, A. D. mcccxcvii. , by Rev. William Reeves, D. D. , p. 55, n. (o. )
Acts of Archbishop Colton in his
596 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September26.
River above Newtown Stewart. Two parallel roads run through the
picturesque valley, one on either side of the water. St. Colman Elo was born
in Gleann-aich-Le, in the present County of Tyrone, according to another
6
His advent to this world and his future sanctity were heralded
authority. 3
by an extraordinary miracle, as related in one of his Lives. 3 ? The date of his
s
birth must have been about 555,3 557 r 558, if fifty-two years were his age,
when he resigned his spirit to heaven, about a. d. 610. 39
St. Colman Ela is classed among St. Patrick's disciples ;<° but this must be
regarded as a great anachronism. I—t is clear, however, that in this instance,
—oundedaSt.
25th of September.
2
36 See "Gallia
of bread.
The Acts of this Saint
so far as
they
can be
gleaned
are treated
Christiana,"
tomus
*° See
161.
1 150.
"See Les Petits Bollandistes, "Vies des
Saints," tome xi. xxv'Jour de Septembre, PP- 384i 385-
38 See the Bollandists' " Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. , Septembris xxv. De S. Firmino Episc. Mart. Commentarius Praevius, sect. x. , pp. 46 to 50.
39 Thus " Firmini et
1
:
11 The Book of Obits and Martyrology of the
Cathedral Church of the
"Feilire Hui
episcopi
Martyris. "
Holy Trinity," edited by John Clarke Crosthwaite, A. M. ,
and James Henthorn Todd, D. D. , p. 69.
xxiv.
x. , p.
ibid. , p.
Article xi. — Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly,
p. xxXv.
'Thus : ftuin».
Article xii. —'See Rev. Mr. Reeves'
Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba. " Addi- tional Notes, C, p. 257.
2 See ' Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. ,
published Martyrology
of 1 Tallagh
""
Among the pretermitted
— See Dr. Stokes' Whitley
Gormain," pp. 184, 185.
See the account in St. Luke, chap,
— Septembris xxv.
feasts, p. 3. Article xiii.
2
September 26. ] LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. 593
in the great Bollandist Collection^ at the 25th of September, in a learned
dissertation,* by Father John Stilting, S. J. Certain difficulties regarding him are there examined, but are not resolved in a manner satisfactory to the writer.
Article XIV. —St. Lupus. In the Feilire of Marianus O'Gorman,
2 A the previous commentary3 explains
1 The
for us in an ancient Breviary of that city, and reproduced by the Bollandists
of
man was bishop and confessor at Lyons in Gaul. His Acts are preserved
there is a feast for at the Lupus,
25th
September.
present holy
in their work, at this great
day.
records referring to the saint, especially in old calendars, as also memorials
regarding his period, some of his transactions, his relics, his cultus and miracles.
ArticleXV. —St. Eusebius. IntheFeilireofSt. yEngus,atthe25thof September, there is a festival for Eusebius' followers, who freed every banquet
the day following. The Bollandists3 likewise have this notice.
Ctoentp-'Strtl) 2Bap of September.
ARTICLE I. —ST. COLMAN EALA, OR ELO, ABBOT OF LANN ELO, NOW LYNALLY, KING'S COUNTY.
[SIXTH AND SEVENTH CENTURIES. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—FAMILY AND BIRTH OF ST. COLMAN EALA—HIS EARLY INSTRUCTION UNDER ST. CAEMAN OF SLIABH BLOOM—MIRACLES—COLMAN IS SAID TO HAVE SPENT SOME TIME AT CONNOR—CONFOUNDED WITH ST. COLMAN OF DROMORE.
from excess. 1 A comment is affixed,2 which
that Eusebius was a bishop. This entry is no doubt meant for Pope Eusebius, whose feast is recorded at this date in some copies of the Martyrology of St. Jerome. However, in others, as in the Roman Martyrology, his festival is placed at
and wisdom combined are necessary to form the character of a in discrimination of motives
SANCTpeIrfTecYt religious. Especially and objects to be attained is required.
superiors,
The pious rector must understand,
Stokes' " Feilire Hui Gormain," pp. 184, tembris xxv. De S. Cleopha Discipulo 185.
2
Christi. pp. 5 to 10.
4 Or Sylloge. This is given in two Septembris xxv. De S. Lupo Episc. Conf.
"
2
See ibid. , p. cxlvii.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. ,
3 See Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. , Sep-
sections, containing twenty-four paragraphs.
There we find treated— I. His memorials in
the Greek and Latin Martyrologies. 2. His
cultus. 3. His Acts as gleaned from the Royal Irish Academy, Irish Manuscript Evangelists and from other sources. 4. Series, vol. i. , pait i. On the Calendar of His relationship to St. Joseph, the Blessed Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. Virgin and to Christ our Lord. 5. His cxxxix.
sons called brothers of our Lord. 6. In fine, an enquiry concerning doubts about his
history. — Article xiv.
•
Septembris xxv. Among the pretermitted See Dr. Whitley saints, p. 4.
explains
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. ,
Lugduni in Gallia, pp. 81 to 85.
3 The editor is Father John Perier, S. J. Article xv. —' See " Transactions of the
IP
594 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September26.
that faults are often substitutes for virtues. Thus, avarice assumes the guise of saving, and waste that of liberality ; sloth is often called piety, and unre-
1
strained anger is thought to be spiritual zeal.
position, and a knowledge of human nature generally, help him to prescribe the best correctives for those he is appointed to govern, and for the regula- tion of his own conduct.
From a very early period this pious ccenobiarch was venerated in the Irish
Church. Atthevi. oftheOctoberKalends,or26thofSeptember,wefind
entered in the of 2 a festival to honour Colman published Martyrology Tallagh,
of Lainn ElaJ It is also found recorded in the Book of Leinster copy. * At the 26th of September, the Feilire of St. ^Engus5 commemorates St. Colman of Lann Ela with a distinguished eulogy, and it calls him " the great John of Ire- land'ssons. " Tothisacommentatorhasappendedexplanatorynotesrelating
to his 6 and to his pedigree
Acts of this man holy
Several
are extant. In Dublin, Trinity College Library and Marsh's Library' have
10
Manuscript Lives. There is a Vita S. Colmani Ela,
among the Franciscan
Ailc
Conit) he An huAlAnn
legem) 1om WAp mAcc nepent).
lahuAigi
Thus rendered into English, by Dr. Whitley
Stokes " Colman of Lann Ela, with per- :
fection of high readings, so that he is
splendid (and) praiseworthy, the great John of Ireland's sons ! "—" Transactions of the
II
It is classed : MSS. vol. iv. , part ii. , At. iii. In the Irish Life of St. Columba, cap. 158, it would seem, that the narrative confounds him with St- Colman mac Ua Laoighse, whose feast occurs at the 15th of
Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript May.
Series, vol. i. , part. i. On the Calendar of
CKngus, p. exxxix.
6 " Colman Ela, son of Beogna, son of
Vol. xxii. , at fol. : 123-
' 3 They are classed : Vila S. Colmani dt
place. *
Manuscript 8
Records, Dublin. This is the Life, we have chiefly consulted in compiling
the present memoir, but it abounds with fables. Among the manuscripts
belonging to the Burgundian Library at Bruxelles, there is an Irish Life of St.
Colman Elo, transcribed by Brother Michael O'Clery.
11
There is also a Latin
Life of St. Colman Elo among the Burgundian Library Manuscripts, Bruxelles. " The Bodleian Library at Oxford, has Manuscript Lives of St. Colman. '3 At the 26th of September, Colgan intended to publish the Acts of this holy Abbot. 1 *
The modern writers who have treated abjut St. Colman Elo or Eala are
Meredith 1* Ussher,16 L'Abbe' 1 ? Hanmer, Archbishop Ma-Geoghegan, Bishop
Article i. —Chap. i. * St. Gregory the jecture regarding the local nomenclature. —
M
Great ; Opera, Pastoralia," pars ii. , cap. Ibid. 1 p. cxlvii.
ix.
3 Edited
xxxv. 55 anno setat. "
I In Irish there is an added note, thus
translated into " A was he, English : John
i. e. , like is he unto John for wisdom and
contains for September 26th, Kal. vi. Oct. Colmani Epis.
9 The Codex Kilkenniensis St. registers
by
3 To this is added
"
p.
Rev. Dr. Kelly,
Lam
5 In the Leabhar Breac copy we find :
Coltnan o tAint) elA
—
Thus a MS. inT. C. D. , classed B. 3, 12,
* Thus
:
Colmani
elo,
lu anno
Aec.
virginity. " 8
Ibid. ,
p.
cxlvii.
Elo, MS. Bodl. Rawl, B. 505, pp. 104-1 1 1, Mochta, son of Cuinned, of Land Ela. " veil, folio, xiv. cent. MS. Bodl Kawl. B.
Then is added in Latin, that Ela was the
name of a woman who lived there before See
St. Colman, or Ela was the proper name of a river near to his church. Then we have
"
the Scriptural verse :
exsurgam diluculo, confitebor Domino, quia non est inane speiare in Domino. " In a second note there is a repetition of the con-
Catalogus Actuum Sanctorum quae MS. habentur, ordine Mensiura et
Dierum. "
,s See "Chronicle of Ireland," p. 132.
Colman ela dixit
Experience of his own dis-
Colmann's Life, at fol. 130 to 133. 10 "
InaManuscript VitseSanctorum,"ex Cod. Inisensi, pp. 130 to 142.
485, fol. 205, veil. 4to. , xiv. cent.
14 *'
16
See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xvii. , p. 497.
17 See " LTIistoire de l'lrlande, ancienne
September 26. ] LIVES OP THE IRISH SAINTS. 595
Challoner, '*
Butler, Biography. "
21 Atthisdate,moreover, Forbes Bishop
ofChristian
has some account of the present Saint ;
Dictionary
et moderne," tome i,, seconde partie, chap,
iii. , p. 303.
18 See "A Memorial of Ancient British
Piety," p. 136.
'9 See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs
and other principal Saints," vol. ix. , Sep- tember xxvi.
20 See "Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
land," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , sect, ii. , pp. 303
to 310.
31 See vol. i. , p. 600.
aS See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
p. 304.
23 Fuit vir vite venerabilis Colmanus
nomine de nobili gente Hiberniae, i. e. , de
the Dal mBuain. According to Mac Firbis Genealogical Manuscripts, pp. 102, 728, b.
1? Rev. Dr. 20 and a writer in the Lanigan,
18 Rev. Alban
Scotland.
This saint's parents belonged to Meath and were of a noble race. 23 They
were known as the family of Mocusailni. St. Colman was the son of Beognai,
sometimes written 2* He Beagni.
belonged
EochoMairedha,26 sontoMuireadh. andhesprangfromthedescendantsof
2
Heremon. His mother was Mor, daughter to Feidhlimidh, ? and sister of
St. Columba,28 to the according
Feidhlemidh was
twenty-second in descent from Fedhlim Saillne, the head of the Dal-Selli, and -from whom
2
this Colman derived his tribe name, Mac-U-Sailni, 9 but from a nearer
progenitor. 3° In some cases, our saint is called Colmanus Episcopus Mac-U-Sailne, or Mocusailni from his tribe name. He is called also
Columbanus Alius Beogni, from his father Beogna. 3
1
It would seem, that the
O'Clerys.
people of Leinster had made an incursion upon the Meathian territory, which
obligedtheparentsofoursainttotakerefugeintheValleyofHoichle,32 now
known as Glenelly,33 in the north-east of the County of Tyrone. A river
flows through this valley, in the parish of Upper Badoney. 3* The valley is about fifteen miles long, and from one and a half to about three miles in
width. 35 The Glenelly River has its source in the hills bordering on London- derry County, and several streams converge before it joins the Owenleagh
29 Every man in the clan Dal-Sailne was a batur. Qui cum esset regio Midi a Lagi- mac U1 SAilne. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' nensibus devastata, fugit cum suis in Valle—m Adamnan's Life of St. Columba, lib. i. , cap.
Nepotibus Neill et pater ejus Beogne voca- HoichleetibinatusestsanctusColmanus. " 5, n. (b. ), p. 29.
11, belonging to Trinity College, Dublin), fol. 106 a, b.
" 30 Vita S. Colmani Ela," cap. i. , (MS. E. 3,
22
for he had been venerated, also, in
31 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life 2*Thus in Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 5, p. 29, and
Hibernise—" we read, "S. Colmannus filius lib. ii. , cap. 15, p. 124.
32 to the Vita S.
Beagni. " Vita S. Finniani, cap. xxxii. , According Colmani Ela,
p. 397. Again, Colman ela— mac cap. i. (MS. known as Codex Kilkenniensis
DeopiAi tmctnoccdi true Cuhtotoa. Book of Lecan, p. 70.
name to a sept ; namely, Fedhlim Saillne, or Salline, the head of the Dal Sailne, or Dal Selli ; and Fedhlim Buan, the head of
2 5This Eochaidh's
33
O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , at A. D. 854, p. 488, and ^leano aichle, at A. D. 1600. See vol. vi. , p. 2226.
destruction about A. D. 90 by the expansion of the river Bann gave to that sheet of water the name of Loch nOACACh, now called Lough Neagh. His descendant in the sixth generation was Clothrach, who had two sons, each giving
legendary
to the race of Eochaidh,2? or
26 Allusion is made to the
eruption
of
Lough Neagh over the former plain of
Linnmhuine in the Dinnseanchus, as found
in the Leabhar n-Uidhri, at fol. 36, as also
"
in the
num of Nennius," edited by Rev. James Henthorn Todd, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, pp. 226, 227, and n. (y).
27 Son of Ferghus Cennfada, son to Conall
Gulban, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages.
See "Vita S. Colman," cap. i.
28
See his Life at the 9th of June> in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. i.
Irish Version of the Historia Brito-
See "Dictionary of Christian Biogra- phy," vol. i. , p. 600.
Marsh's folio in Library, Dublin),
129, a. b. It is written 5liono Vhoicle, ln j_) r
34 See an account of it in the " Parliamen- tary Gazetteer of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 115.
"
35 See
Metropolitan Visitation of the Diocese of Derry, A. D. mcccxcvii. , by Rev. William Reeves, D. D. , p. 55, n. (o. )
Acts of Archbishop Colton in his
596 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September26.
River above Newtown Stewart. Two parallel roads run through the
picturesque valley, one on either side of the water. St. Colman Elo was born
in Gleann-aich-Le, in the present County of Tyrone, according to another
6
His advent to this world and his future sanctity were heralded
authority. 3
by an extraordinary miracle, as related in one of his Lives. 3 ? The date of his
s
birth must have been about 555,3 557 r 558, if fifty-two years were his age,
when he resigned his spirit to heaven, about a. d. 610. 39
St. Colman Ela is classed among St. Patrick's disciples ;<° but this must be
regarded as a great anachronism. I—t is clear, however, that in this instance,
—oundedaSt.
