Grillan or
Grillanus
is another form of his name.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
They returned from the Holy Land together to Italy, and afterwards they landed at Marseilles in France.
It so happened, that Ursicinus meeting with an accident at Anjou had broken his leg, when St.
Maura wrapped her veil around the fractured limb, of which soon afterwards he found the use.
About the same time, a small girl, who had been blind, received the gift of sight, when kissed by the Blessed Brigid.
Soon afterwards, Ursicin was seized with a fever, and then he saw in a vision the crown of martyrdom prepared for Saints Maura, Britta and their brother Espian.
Again, he was miraculously healed, and he accompainied them to Angers.
In this place, a widow named Aldegunde had just lost her son named John by
death, but through the prayers and merits of St. Maura he was again restored to life. With her, the holy company there lodged. It was next resolved to visit the tomb of St. Martin in pilgrimage. Aldegund and her son John went in company with the holy travellers. On their way, Maura happened to meet in Touraine a young man named Joel, the son of Gerontius, who had been killed by an arrow, and him she raised to life. At the same time, she pre- dicted, that he should meet a martyr's death, after a lapse of twenty-two years. That house in which Gerontius lived afterwards became the site of a church,
1 dedicated to St. Maura. *
The pilgrims having set out soon arrived at Balagny, near Creil, in the diocese of Beauvais. At this time, France had been overrun by hordes of northern barbarians. A party of pagan robbers approached the place, where the pious pilgrims were, and gave vent to their lawless passions. St. Espian drew his sword to defend his sisters, but he was instantly massacred before their eyes. Afterwards, the widow Aldegund and her son John, together with Saints Maura and Britta, were put to death. They suffered martyrdom within the Beluacensian *s territory of ancient Gaul, it is said before the year 550. Urcissinus escaped from this slaughter to the village of
burgh. Some authors affirm, that for this cause, Edinburgh Castle had been call—ed Agnetes, or the Castle of the Maidens. " Rev. S.
found on the lists of the Kings of Scot- land.
"Lives of the Saints," vol. vii. , July 13th, p. 307.
12
It need scarcely be observed, that the names both of Ella and of Espin are not to be
tome
xiiie
de
Baring-Gould's
Saints," p. 276.
viii. ,
Jour
Juillet,
*s See Les Petits
Bollandistes,
" Vies des
I4 It is situated near St. Catherine de Fcribois, in Touraine.
July 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 221
Balagny,whereheinformedthevillagersofwhathadoccurred. Hewasnot present at the place where the saintly victims had been massacred j yet, be had a vision of celestial light, which seemed to rest over the spot, where their death took place. The sacred remains were then collected, and reverently consignedtothetomb. TheBishopofBeauvais,whoreceivedanaccount of the foregoing occurrences caused Maure and Brigid to be venerated as Virgins and Martyrs. Their festival has been noted in the Calendars on the 13th of July, which is supposed to have been the date for their martyrdom.
On this day, they are commemorated in the Breviaries of Beauvais and of
Nogent. They are recorded, likewise, in the Martyrologies of Ferrarius ,6 1
and of Saussay. ? In the following century, Queen Bathilde ordered the bodies
to be translated to the monastery of Chelles, which she caused to be built
near Lagny. However, when oxen were yoked to a chariot for the purpose,
these refused to move, when they had come to the crossing road at Nogent,
near to Creil. Then, having been permitted to take their own course, they
turned towards the place afterwards called the Croix de Sainte-Maure, and
there taking the direction which led to the church of Nogent, they deposited
their sacred burden. The saints were then buried in its cemetery and right
opposite to the altar of the church. It is related by St. Gregory of Tours,18
that the bodies of St. Maura and of St. Brigid lay near Tours, and that they
had been miraculously discovered by a man finding a wax candle amid some
brambles on a little hill. He then related what he had seen to the Bishop
Euphronius, who dug there and found the bodies. Next night, the holy
virgins appeared to the bishop, and told him their names. The bodies of
those virgins were long preserved, it was thought, in a church dedicated to
1
them near Tours, ^ but the remains may have been different from those of the
holy persons this day commemorated.
In the year 1185, Pope Urban III. directed the Bishops of Beauvais
and Senlis to have their relics honourably enshrined; and he imparted Plenary Indulgences to all who should visit the church of Nogent, between Sunday in the Octave of the Ascension and the Feast of St. John the Baptist,
should venerate and invoke those 20 The bodies of martyrs.
provided they
St. Maura and of St. Brigid were preserved in the church of Nogent, until the time of St. Louis, King of France, who in 1242 visited the church of St. Maure and St. Brigid. This he found to be too small, and he caused the choir to be enlarged. Then, he had their relics removed to new shrines. This work was supervised by Eudes, coadjutor to the Bishop of Beauvais. In the year 1343, Jean de Marigny, Bishop of the same city, had that shrine opened for an inspection of the relics. 21 In the year 1635, the shrines looking old and faded were renewed by the ordinary of the diocese ; and this caused a revival of devotion among the people towards those holy Virgins and Martyrs. They were especially invoked during the periods of prevailing epidemics and pest. A great contagion spread two years afterwards in the parish of St. Andrew, in the city ot Beauvais. A vow was made by the Cure' and by his parishioners, to proceed in solemn procession to the chapel of St. Maure and of St. Brigid. This vow they fulfilled, and on the very day of that procession, the pestilence ceased, so that no other person became infected
13 The Bellovaci were a in people, living
*' See Rev. S. Gould's "Lives of Baring-
or near the modern Beauvais.
16 20 "
In his General Catalogue.
17 In his French Martyrology.
18 In his work, " De Gloria Confesso-
rum," lib. xviii. The saint relates no par- ticulars to throw light on the history of these holy Virgins and Martyrs.
the Saints," July 13th, p. 309.
See Les Petits Bollandistes, Vies des
Saints," tome viii. , xiiie Jour de Juillet, p. 278.
3I
Afterwards, he became Archbishop of Rouen.
" The foregoing accounts are to be found,
222 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[July 13.
withit, andthosewhohadbeenattackedbecameconvalescentinashort time, no other victim having been added to the previous list of mortality. * The memory of St. Maura and of St. Britta was held in veneration in the church of Nogent—called from them Nogent-les-Vierges—on the 13th of July, andonthe4thofJanuary. ^ Thelatterofthesedateswasprobablythatre- ferring to the Translation of their relics.
Article II. —St. Cairill or Carell, of Tamnach, County of
Sligo. The present St. Carell is said to have been the son of Cormac, son
to Trenn, son of Emchad, son to Mair, son of Ere, son to Tribad, son to Sodan, son of Fiach Aradius. 1 Thus is his genealogy drawn from the royal
line of Ultonia. It is he was a said,
of St. 2 When St. Benignus.
disciple
Patrick visited the territory of Hua Noilella. 3 in the western part of Ireland,
he founded a church eastwards in Tamhnagh. This is now known as the church of Taunagh or Tawnagh. * St. Cairell seems to have been elevated to the episcopal rank, and to have been placed over this church. s He is
6
numbered St. Patrick's among
this is the St. Cairell of the country of Tir-ros, noted in the Martyrologies of Tallagh, ofMarianusO'Gorman,andofDonegal. Itseems,likely,however,thathe has noted incorrectly the 13th of July, for the 13th of June. At this latter date, by referring to St. CairelPs feast, as bishop at Tir Rois,? it would seem, that he flourished, not in the time of St. Patrick, but at a period long subse-
quent. He is there represented, as having been a contemporary with St. ColmanEla,ofLannEla,nowLynnally,intheKing'sCounty. Thusmust we draw a line of demarkation between both saints, however similarly named.
Article III. —St. Ernin, or Arney, of Inis-caoin, now Innis- keen, Counties of Meath and Cavan. At the 13th of July, veneration
1
was given to Ernin, of Inis-caoin, as appears in the Martyrology of Donegal. There are three distinct Inis-caoins, viz. : first, Inishkeen, on Lough Erne;
—another on secondly, Lough
Melvin—both of these are in the
of Fer-
disciples.
Again, Colgan supposes,
managh and thirdly, Inis-caoin-Deagha, or Iniskeen,
Louth. But, the Enniskeen, or Eniskeen, with which the present saint appears to have been connected, was a parish located, partly in the baronies of Lower
Kells and Lower Slane, in the county of Meath, but chiefly in the barony of Clonkee, in the county of Cavan. This old church of Eniskeen has been torn down and uprooted, save and except old crosses and numerous tombs, which serve to mark the resting-places of the faithful. No traces remain at
in L'Abbe Sabatier's "Vies des Saints du Diocese de Beauvais. "
a See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Appendix Quarta ad Acta S. Brigidce, cap. i. ,
s See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. , cap. xliii. ,
p. 135, and n. 86, p. 177.
p. 612. — Article 11.
'
According to the" Genea-
Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 267.
7 See the Sixth Volume of this work
Art. i.
Article hi. —' Edited by Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp. 194, 195.
logic Sanctilogy," chap, xxiii.
2 According to the Life of St. Benignus,
chap. 13, as quoted by Colgan.
3 Now known as the barony of Tirerrill,
2
About the year 1830, these stations were
in the county of Sligo.
held for the last time, as the writer has been
informed, the Rev. Peter O'Reilly, P. P. , by
of Enniskeen, now called Kingscourt. This change of name took place about the begin-
ning of the present century.
« William M. "
See Hennessy's Tripartite
Life of St. Patrick," part ii. Miss Cusack's " Life of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," p. 404, and n. 2, ibid.
6
See ibid. y Quinta Appendix ad Acta S.
in
of
county the county
July 13. ] LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 3*3
present illustrative of the ancient worship. Here, the festival of St. Arney hadbeencelebratedeach13thdayofJuly. Aholywell,dedicatedtothissaint, springs from the soil, and convenient to the burying-ground. It is now dried
up, but stations used to be performed there, on the feast-day.
a
It was called
Toberarney. In the days of persecution, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass had to be celebrated on a large block of stone, outside the graveyard of Eniskeen.
Anciently, this seems to have been the pedestal of a stone cross or a sanc- tuary terminus. 3 Various other curious antique objects are in this parish. 4 There is a notice of this saint's festival, on the 13th of July, as furnished by Father O'Sheerin to the Bollandists. s
Article IV. —St. Greallog Obelech, of Tamlacht Charna, in Ui Breasail-airthir. This saint's name occurs in the MartyrologiesofTallagh,
1
of Marianus O'Gorman and of Maguire, at the present —date.
There is a St. Grellan, apparently Londonderry seemingly yet only
and— connected with
conjecturally identified with the present saint.
2
This may be Grealla, says
the calendarist, and sister to Monchan of Liath, and of Greillseach, while
Mella was mother of the three. According to another conjecture, however,
it is supposed the present saint, may be identical with a Grellan,3 who was
the companion of St. Columba,* when he set out for Caledonia, on his great
missionary enterprise about the year 565. If so, this saint must have flourished
in the sixth century. The connexion of place in Ulster renders such an
opinion not impossible.
Grillan or Grillanus is another form of his name.
Some of the Scottish historians incorrectly call him Gallanus. s We find
entered in the of 6 that a festival was celebrated at the
Martyrology Donegal,
13th of July, in honour of Greallog Oeblach of Tamlacht Charna, in Ui Brea- sail airthir. The Ui Breasail, aJ,so called Ui Breasail Mach, were descended
fromBreasal,oftheCollaDaChriochrace. Inlatterages,thisterritorywas knownasClanbrazil. 7 AlltheeasternpartofOrighialla,calledOirthear,had been occupied by septs of Niallan race. 8 In some part of this territory, Tarn lacht Charna must, in all likelihood, be sought. The ancient territory of
3 See Rev. A.
Ancient and Modern," vol. ii. , chap, xvi. , pp. 298, 299.
4 See Lewis' "Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 604.
5 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Julii xiii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 474.
Article IV.
—
x
See Colgan's "Trias
194, 195.
t This district is shown, on a Map of
Ulster drawn up in the reign of Elizabeth or James I. , as situated to the south of Lough Neagh, where the Upper Bann enters that lake. From this circumstance, and from the space described, it appears to have been co- extensive with the present barony of Oneil- land East.
8
Cogan's
pp.
Thaumaturga," Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Columbae, cap. x. , p. 490.
" Diocese of Meath,
6 Edited Drs. Todd and Reeves, by
The foregoing district appears not only 2 See " Memoir of the City and North to have included the present baronies of Western Liberties of Londonderry," part ii. , Oneilland, East and West, but also East
sect. 2, p. 27. and West (? ) North and South Orior. The 3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," sept of the O'h-Anluains (O'Hanlons), pos-
Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Colunibae, cap. x. ,p. 490.
4 St. Grellan is classed among those, who flourished or died at Iona. See ibid. , Appen-
sessed the two latter baronies, Upper and Lower. TheyweredescendantsofNiallan. See Dr. O'Donovan's " Leabhar na g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," n. (y), pp. 147, 148.
9 in died Ruarcan O'Hamill, chief 1376,
bard to O'lianlon (of Armagh). This Ruar-
can kept a house of general hospitality, and he never refused to receive any one. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. iv. , pp. 666, 667.
Quinta
cap. iii. ,
ad Acta S. Columbse,
dix
sect, v. , p. 502.
s See Hector Boece's rum," lib. ix. , fol. 173.
Historia Scoto- In like manner, he is called by Lesley, in his Scottish History,
lib. iv. , and by Dempster.
"
224 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 13.
Orior belonged to the O'Hanlon sept. 9 After the confiscation of Irish dis-
10 when
that of Oneilland, and the same remark applies to the arrangements made in
liag. "
a
Hence, it should seem, that Siloc was simply his name, and it is
forming baronies,
more than one
territory
had been in placed
tricts,
in Hi-Bressalia orientali, at the 13th of July.
Article V. —St. Mosiloc or Mothiolog, of Cloonatten, Parish
ofKilmichaelOge,CountyofWexford. Thenameofthisholyman,
"1
as Siloc, is entered in the Feilire" of St. ^Engus, at the 13th of June.
Therehereceivesahighencomium. Inacommentaryadded,heisstyled and identified as " my Siloc, i. e. , of Cell Mo-siloc in Ui-Degad, in Ui-Cennse-
other of Ireland. The parts
11 on the of Father authority
Bollandists,
O'Sheerin, have entered the feast of Grelloca Oeblech de Tamlacht-Charna
entered Silog in the Calendar of Cashel. Veneration was given to Mosiloc
Cluana Daethcain, at the 13th of July, as appears in the Martyrology of
Tallagh. 3 In Rev. Dr. Kelly's edition of the Martyrology of Tallagh, this
place is identified * with Clonkeen, Queen's County. His name and place are
elsewhere differently entered. At this same date, we find in the Martyrology of Donegal,s Mothiolog, of Cill Mothiolog,6 in Ui-Ceinnsealaigh, or Mothiolog,
of Cluain Aithghin. This place is Cloonatten, in the parish of Kilmichael Oge,7inthebaronyofGorey,andcountyofWexford. Thereisacuriousold
locality.
8 In the Kalendar of Drummond ° the feast of this
church in that
saint is inserted, at the present date. There is an entry of Mosilocus, at the
13 th of July, in the work of the Bollandists. 10 them with the notice inserted.
10 A called Acton, in the of parish barony
Lower Orior, county of Armagh, is about three miles from Tandragee. The village
Father O'Sheerin supplied
See ibid. , p. cxviii.
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxix.
4 Apparently on Dr. O'Donovan's autho-
was originally founded by Sir Toby Pointz,
who for his military services obtained a grant
of 500 acres of land, part of the forfeited
estate of the O'Hanlons. He erected a bawn
of 100 feet square, a house of lime and brick
for his own residence, and 24 cottages for so 192, 193.
In the " Leabhar Breac "
trans-
copy
lated into English by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. :—
milir- Amm conArn euAiigeln noemtxM
LAmpLoc •oonrvigpai'o tint) hirit>pl4ich raejvoAi.
" Sweet the name with splendour of Evan- gelus the sainted, with my Siloc of the kings, he went into the noble realm of
Article v. — 1
William M. 9 Thus:
we have the
following stanza,
Hennessy's copy
Sancti Confessoris Mosiloc. " Bishop
8
According to a Manuscript note in
of this work. "13 iii. Idus. In Hibernia
"Transactions of the Irish Royal
peace. "—
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, p. ex.
2
rity.
5 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
settlers. He called the 6 Anote O'Donovan "Mothio- place by says,
many English
Acton, from his native village in England. The remains of a church, built by him in 1684, under the chancel of which he lies buried, are in the midst of a wood. A tablet
with inscription to his memory is yet pre- served there. See Lewis' "Topographical
Dictionary of Ireland. "
11
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Julii xiii. Among the pretermitted feasts, p. 474.
log now corrupted to Kilmichaelog," I find another note appended by William M.
Hennessy to this ancient denomination, " Kilmokiloge or Kilmichaeloge, near Gorey, County Waterford," (? Wexford).
7 Thisplace,identifiedwiththepresentSt. Mohecloge the patron, is written Kilma- killoge, in the county of Wexford. Anti- quarian Letters, vol. i. , I. O. S. R.
— Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints,
'
p.
18.
10 See Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
Julii xiii. Among the pretermitted feasts, p. 474. —
Article vi. A note by Dr. Todd says at Cill-airthir : "The more recent hand adds here, 'quod Cella orientis dicitur in Vita S. Mochtai. '"
July 13. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
225
Article VI. —Cruimther Fionntain, of Cill-airthir. Happy must be the condition of Christian communities, where we find the good priest united with a pious people, and a faithful flock bearing reverence towards
they
holy pastor.
of
Fionntain, Cill-airthir,
A festival to honour Cruimther
1
their
appears registered in the Martyrology of Donegal
Killartery townland in the parish of Mayne, barony of Ferrard, and county of Louth ; there is also a Killartry townland in the parish of Aghavea, barony of Magherastephana, and county of Fermanagh. 3 These seem the only Irish denominations likely to correspond with the ancient nomenclature of his place, which does not appear to be known. The Rev. John Francis Shearman has identified the present Cruimther Fintan with a Crubther Fin- tain, who lived in the Island of Aran, and who is said to have chased St. Cybi 4 and his companions Maclog and Cyngar, not only from that place, but even away from Ireland. 5 This, however, is manifestly a legendary story. TheBollandists6 werefurnishedbyFatherO'Sheerin,withanoticeofFin- tanus Sacerdos de Kill airthir, for the 13th of July.
Article VII. —St. Finnu, Finnus, or Finnius, Son of Arath, or Aradius. An adage of human wisdom has laid it down, that " to work is to pray. " But, as a celebrated and brilliant. Catholic writer remarks, if this be admitted, may we not also assume, that he who prays works, while such labour must be regarded as the most fruitful and meritorious of all occupa- tions. This, too, justifies and glorifies those blamed by the world, because
and 2 The name of prolonged prayer.
have rested in
contemplation
Finnu, son of Arath, occurs in the Martyrology of Donegal,3 at the 13th of
July. We are not able further to trace his pedigree, his time, or his place in
history. As furnished by Father O'Sheerin, the Bollandists 4 commemorate
* his festival at the present date.
Article VIII. —St. Ultan, Son of Araidi. Having the same patrony- mic, it may be suspected—but it does not seem to be proved—that the present holy man had been a brother to the last-mentioned. According to the
1
Martyrology of Donegal, Ultan, son of Araidi, had veneration paid to him,
at the 13th of July. At the same date, the Bollandists 2 have inserted his festival, as Father O'Sheerin had furnished them with the entry.
Article IX. —St. Taodhog, of Tigh Taedhog. It is mentioned, in 1
the Martyrologies of Marianus O'Gorman, of Cathald Maguire, and of
22"
Les Moines de l'Occident,"
Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves,
pp. 192, 193.
3 See "General Alphabetical List to the
Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baro-
See
tomei. , Introduction, chap, iv. , p. lviii.
nies of Ireland,"
4 His feast is referred, to the 8th of No-
vember.
s See "LocaPatriciana," No. x.
death, but through the prayers and merits of St. Maura he was again restored to life. With her, the holy company there lodged. It was next resolved to visit the tomb of St. Martin in pilgrimage. Aldegund and her son John went in company with the holy travellers. On their way, Maura happened to meet in Touraine a young man named Joel, the son of Gerontius, who had been killed by an arrow, and him she raised to life. At the same time, she pre- dicted, that he should meet a martyr's death, after a lapse of twenty-two years. That house in which Gerontius lived afterwards became the site of a church,
1 dedicated to St. Maura. *
The pilgrims having set out soon arrived at Balagny, near Creil, in the diocese of Beauvais. At this time, France had been overrun by hordes of northern barbarians. A party of pagan robbers approached the place, where the pious pilgrims were, and gave vent to their lawless passions. St. Espian drew his sword to defend his sisters, but he was instantly massacred before their eyes. Afterwards, the widow Aldegund and her son John, together with Saints Maura and Britta, were put to death. They suffered martyrdom within the Beluacensian *s territory of ancient Gaul, it is said before the year 550. Urcissinus escaped from this slaughter to the village of
burgh. Some authors affirm, that for this cause, Edinburgh Castle had been call—ed Agnetes, or the Castle of the Maidens. " Rev. S.
found on the lists of the Kings of Scot- land.
"Lives of the Saints," vol. vii. , July 13th, p. 307.
12
It need scarcely be observed, that the names both of Ella and of Espin are not to be
tome
xiiie
de
Baring-Gould's
Saints," p. 276.
viii. ,
Jour
Juillet,
*s See Les Petits
Bollandistes,
" Vies des
I4 It is situated near St. Catherine de Fcribois, in Touraine.
July 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 221
Balagny,whereheinformedthevillagersofwhathadoccurred. Hewasnot present at the place where the saintly victims had been massacred j yet, be had a vision of celestial light, which seemed to rest over the spot, where their death took place. The sacred remains were then collected, and reverently consignedtothetomb. TheBishopofBeauvais,whoreceivedanaccount of the foregoing occurrences caused Maure and Brigid to be venerated as Virgins and Martyrs. Their festival has been noted in the Calendars on the 13th of July, which is supposed to have been the date for their martyrdom.
On this day, they are commemorated in the Breviaries of Beauvais and of
Nogent. They are recorded, likewise, in the Martyrologies of Ferrarius ,6 1
and of Saussay. ? In the following century, Queen Bathilde ordered the bodies
to be translated to the monastery of Chelles, which she caused to be built
near Lagny. However, when oxen were yoked to a chariot for the purpose,
these refused to move, when they had come to the crossing road at Nogent,
near to Creil. Then, having been permitted to take their own course, they
turned towards the place afterwards called the Croix de Sainte-Maure, and
there taking the direction which led to the church of Nogent, they deposited
their sacred burden. The saints were then buried in its cemetery and right
opposite to the altar of the church. It is related by St. Gregory of Tours,18
that the bodies of St. Maura and of St. Brigid lay near Tours, and that they
had been miraculously discovered by a man finding a wax candle amid some
brambles on a little hill. He then related what he had seen to the Bishop
Euphronius, who dug there and found the bodies. Next night, the holy
virgins appeared to the bishop, and told him their names. The bodies of
those virgins were long preserved, it was thought, in a church dedicated to
1
them near Tours, ^ but the remains may have been different from those of the
holy persons this day commemorated.
In the year 1185, Pope Urban III. directed the Bishops of Beauvais
and Senlis to have their relics honourably enshrined; and he imparted Plenary Indulgences to all who should visit the church of Nogent, between Sunday in the Octave of the Ascension and the Feast of St. John the Baptist,
should venerate and invoke those 20 The bodies of martyrs.
provided they
St. Maura and of St. Brigid were preserved in the church of Nogent, until the time of St. Louis, King of France, who in 1242 visited the church of St. Maure and St. Brigid. This he found to be too small, and he caused the choir to be enlarged. Then, he had their relics removed to new shrines. This work was supervised by Eudes, coadjutor to the Bishop of Beauvais. In the year 1343, Jean de Marigny, Bishop of the same city, had that shrine opened for an inspection of the relics. 21 In the year 1635, the shrines looking old and faded were renewed by the ordinary of the diocese ; and this caused a revival of devotion among the people towards those holy Virgins and Martyrs. They were especially invoked during the periods of prevailing epidemics and pest. A great contagion spread two years afterwards in the parish of St. Andrew, in the city ot Beauvais. A vow was made by the Cure' and by his parishioners, to proceed in solemn procession to the chapel of St. Maure and of St. Brigid. This vow they fulfilled, and on the very day of that procession, the pestilence ceased, so that no other person became infected
13 The Bellovaci were a in people, living
*' See Rev. S. Gould's "Lives of Baring-
or near the modern Beauvais.
16 20 "
In his General Catalogue.
17 In his French Martyrology.
18 In his work, " De Gloria Confesso-
rum," lib. xviii. The saint relates no par- ticulars to throw light on the history of these holy Virgins and Martyrs.
the Saints," July 13th, p. 309.
See Les Petits Bollandistes, Vies des
Saints," tome viii. , xiiie Jour de Juillet, p. 278.
3I
Afterwards, he became Archbishop of Rouen.
" The foregoing accounts are to be found,
222 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[July 13.
withit, andthosewhohadbeenattackedbecameconvalescentinashort time, no other victim having been added to the previous list of mortality. * The memory of St. Maura and of St. Britta was held in veneration in the church of Nogent—called from them Nogent-les-Vierges—on the 13th of July, andonthe4thofJanuary. ^ Thelatterofthesedateswasprobablythatre- ferring to the Translation of their relics.
Article II. —St. Cairill or Carell, of Tamnach, County of
Sligo. The present St. Carell is said to have been the son of Cormac, son
to Trenn, son of Emchad, son to Mair, son of Ere, son to Tribad, son to Sodan, son of Fiach Aradius. 1 Thus is his genealogy drawn from the royal
line of Ultonia. It is he was a said,
of St. 2 When St. Benignus.
disciple
Patrick visited the territory of Hua Noilella. 3 in the western part of Ireland,
he founded a church eastwards in Tamhnagh. This is now known as the church of Taunagh or Tawnagh. * St. Cairell seems to have been elevated to the episcopal rank, and to have been placed over this church. s He is
6
numbered St. Patrick's among
this is the St. Cairell of the country of Tir-ros, noted in the Martyrologies of Tallagh, ofMarianusO'Gorman,andofDonegal. Itseems,likely,however,thathe has noted incorrectly the 13th of July, for the 13th of June. At this latter date, by referring to St. CairelPs feast, as bishop at Tir Rois,? it would seem, that he flourished, not in the time of St. Patrick, but at a period long subse-
quent. He is there represented, as having been a contemporary with St. ColmanEla,ofLannEla,nowLynnally,intheKing'sCounty. Thusmust we draw a line of demarkation between both saints, however similarly named.
Article III. —St. Ernin, or Arney, of Inis-caoin, now Innis- keen, Counties of Meath and Cavan. At the 13th of July, veneration
1
was given to Ernin, of Inis-caoin, as appears in the Martyrology of Donegal. There are three distinct Inis-caoins, viz. : first, Inishkeen, on Lough Erne;
—another on secondly, Lough
Melvin—both of these are in the
of Fer-
disciples.
Again, Colgan supposes,
managh and thirdly, Inis-caoin-Deagha, or Iniskeen,
Louth. But, the Enniskeen, or Eniskeen, with which the present saint appears to have been connected, was a parish located, partly in the baronies of Lower
Kells and Lower Slane, in the county of Meath, but chiefly in the barony of Clonkee, in the county of Cavan. This old church of Eniskeen has been torn down and uprooted, save and except old crosses and numerous tombs, which serve to mark the resting-places of the faithful. No traces remain at
in L'Abbe Sabatier's "Vies des Saints du Diocese de Beauvais. "
a See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Appendix Quarta ad Acta S. Brigidce, cap. i. ,
s See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. , cap. xliii. ,
p. 135, and n. 86, p. 177.
p. 612. — Article 11.
'
According to the" Genea-
Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 267.
7 See the Sixth Volume of this work
Art. i.
Article hi. —' Edited by Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp. 194, 195.
logic Sanctilogy," chap, xxiii.
2 According to the Life of St. Benignus,
chap. 13, as quoted by Colgan.
3 Now known as the barony of Tirerrill,
2
About the year 1830, these stations were
in the county of Sligo.
held for the last time, as the writer has been
informed, the Rev. Peter O'Reilly, P. P. , by
of Enniskeen, now called Kingscourt. This change of name took place about the begin-
ning of the present century.
« William M. "
See Hennessy's Tripartite
Life of St. Patrick," part ii. Miss Cusack's " Life of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," p. 404, and n. 2, ibid.
6
See ibid. y Quinta Appendix ad Acta S.
in
of
county the county
July 13. ] LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 3*3
present illustrative of the ancient worship. Here, the festival of St. Arney hadbeencelebratedeach13thdayofJuly. Aholywell,dedicatedtothissaint, springs from the soil, and convenient to the burying-ground. It is now dried
up, but stations used to be performed there, on the feast-day.
a
It was called
Toberarney. In the days of persecution, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass had to be celebrated on a large block of stone, outside the graveyard of Eniskeen.
Anciently, this seems to have been the pedestal of a stone cross or a sanc- tuary terminus. 3 Various other curious antique objects are in this parish. 4 There is a notice of this saint's festival, on the 13th of July, as furnished by Father O'Sheerin to the Bollandists. s
Article IV. —St. Greallog Obelech, of Tamlacht Charna, in Ui Breasail-airthir. This saint's name occurs in the MartyrologiesofTallagh,
1
of Marianus O'Gorman and of Maguire, at the present —date.
There is a St. Grellan, apparently Londonderry seemingly yet only
and— connected with
conjecturally identified with the present saint.
2
This may be Grealla, says
the calendarist, and sister to Monchan of Liath, and of Greillseach, while
Mella was mother of the three. According to another conjecture, however,
it is supposed the present saint, may be identical with a Grellan,3 who was
the companion of St. Columba,* when he set out for Caledonia, on his great
missionary enterprise about the year 565. If so, this saint must have flourished
in the sixth century. The connexion of place in Ulster renders such an
opinion not impossible.
Grillan or Grillanus is another form of his name.
Some of the Scottish historians incorrectly call him Gallanus. s We find
entered in the of 6 that a festival was celebrated at the
Martyrology Donegal,
13th of July, in honour of Greallog Oeblach of Tamlacht Charna, in Ui Brea- sail airthir. The Ui Breasail, aJ,so called Ui Breasail Mach, were descended
fromBreasal,oftheCollaDaChriochrace. Inlatterages,thisterritorywas knownasClanbrazil. 7 AlltheeasternpartofOrighialla,calledOirthear,had been occupied by septs of Niallan race. 8 In some part of this territory, Tarn lacht Charna must, in all likelihood, be sought. The ancient territory of
3 See Rev. A.
Ancient and Modern," vol. ii. , chap, xvi. , pp. 298, 299.
4 See Lewis' "Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 604.
5 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Julii xiii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 474.
Article IV.
—
x
See Colgan's "Trias
194, 195.
t This district is shown, on a Map of
Ulster drawn up in the reign of Elizabeth or James I. , as situated to the south of Lough Neagh, where the Upper Bann enters that lake. From this circumstance, and from the space described, it appears to have been co- extensive with the present barony of Oneil- land East.
8
Cogan's
pp.
Thaumaturga," Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Columbae, cap. x. , p. 490.
" Diocese of Meath,
6 Edited Drs. Todd and Reeves, by
The foregoing district appears not only 2 See " Memoir of the City and North to have included the present baronies of Western Liberties of Londonderry," part ii. , Oneilland, East and West, but also East
sect. 2, p. 27. and West (? ) North and South Orior. The 3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," sept of the O'h-Anluains (O'Hanlons), pos-
Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Colunibae, cap. x. ,p. 490.
4 St. Grellan is classed among those, who flourished or died at Iona. See ibid. , Appen-
sessed the two latter baronies, Upper and Lower. TheyweredescendantsofNiallan. See Dr. O'Donovan's " Leabhar na g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," n. (y), pp. 147, 148.
9 in died Ruarcan O'Hamill, chief 1376,
bard to O'lianlon (of Armagh). This Ruar-
can kept a house of general hospitality, and he never refused to receive any one. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. iv. , pp. 666, 667.
Quinta
cap. iii. ,
ad Acta S. Columbse,
dix
sect, v. , p. 502.
s See Hector Boece's rum," lib. ix. , fol. 173.
Historia Scoto- In like manner, he is called by Lesley, in his Scottish History,
lib. iv. , and by Dempster.
"
224 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 13.
Orior belonged to the O'Hanlon sept. 9 After the confiscation of Irish dis-
10 when
that of Oneilland, and the same remark applies to the arrangements made in
liag. "
a
Hence, it should seem, that Siloc was simply his name, and it is
forming baronies,
more than one
territory
had been in placed
tricts,
in Hi-Bressalia orientali, at the 13th of July.
Article V. —St. Mosiloc or Mothiolog, of Cloonatten, Parish
ofKilmichaelOge,CountyofWexford. Thenameofthisholyman,
"1
as Siloc, is entered in the Feilire" of St. ^Engus, at the 13th of June.
Therehereceivesahighencomium. Inacommentaryadded,heisstyled and identified as " my Siloc, i. e. , of Cell Mo-siloc in Ui-Degad, in Ui-Cennse-
other of Ireland. The parts
11 on the of Father authority
Bollandists,
O'Sheerin, have entered the feast of Grelloca Oeblech de Tamlacht-Charna
entered Silog in the Calendar of Cashel. Veneration was given to Mosiloc
Cluana Daethcain, at the 13th of July, as appears in the Martyrology of
Tallagh. 3 In Rev. Dr. Kelly's edition of the Martyrology of Tallagh, this
place is identified * with Clonkeen, Queen's County. His name and place are
elsewhere differently entered. At this same date, we find in the Martyrology of Donegal,s Mothiolog, of Cill Mothiolog,6 in Ui-Ceinnsealaigh, or Mothiolog,
of Cluain Aithghin. This place is Cloonatten, in the parish of Kilmichael Oge,7inthebaronyofGorey,andcountyofWexford. Thereisacuriousold
locality.
8 In the Kalendar of Drummond ° the feast of this
church in that
saint is inserted, at the present date. There is an entry of Mosilocus, at the
13 th of July, in the work of the Bollandists. 10 them with the notice inserted.
10 A called Acton, in the of parish barony
Lower Orior, county of Armagh, is about three miles from Tandragee. The village
Father O'Sheerin supplied
See ibid. , p. cxviii.
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxix.
4 Apparently on Dr. O'Donovan's autho-
was originally founded by Sir Toby Pointz,
who for his military services obtained a grant
of 500 acres of land, part of the forfeited
estate of the O'Hanlons. He erected a bawn
of 100 feet square, a house of lime and brick
for his own residence, and 24 cottages for so 192, 193.
In the " Leabhar Breac "
trans-
copy
lated into English by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. :—
milir- Amm conArn euAiigeln noemtxM
LAmpLoc •oonrvigpai'o tint) hirit>pl4ich raejvoAi.
" Sweet the name with splendour of Evan- gelus the sainted, with my Siloc of the kings, he went into the noble realm of
Article v. — 1
William M. 9 Thus:
we have the
following stanza,
Hennessy's copy
Sancti Confessoris Mosiloc. " Bishop
8
According to a Manuscript note in
of this work. "13 iii. Idus. In Hibernia
"Transactions of the Irish Royal
peace. "—
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, p. ex.
2
rity.
5 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
settlers. He called the 6 Anote O'Donovan "Mothio- place by says,
many English
Acton, from his native village in England. The remains of a church, built by him in 1684, under the chancel of which he lies buried, are in the midst of a wood. A tablet
with inscription to his memory is yet pre- served there. See Lewis' "Topographical
Dictionary of Ireland. "
11
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Julii xiii. Among the pretermitted feasts, p. 474.
log now corrupted to Kilmichaelog," I find another note appended by William M.
Hennessy to this ancient denomination, " Kilmokiloge or Kilmichaeloge, near Gorey, County Waterford," (? Wexford).
7 Thisplace,identifiedwiththepresentSt. Mohecloge the patron, is written Kilma- killoge, in the county of Wexford. Anti- quarian Letters, vol. i. , I. O. S. R.
— Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints,
'
p.
18.
10 See Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
Julii xiii. Among the pretermitted feasts, p. 474. —
Article vi. A note by Dr. Todd says at Cill-airthir : "The more recent hand adds here, 'quod Cella orientis dicitur in Vita S. Mochtai. '"
July 13. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
225
Article VI. —Cruimther Fionntain, of Cill-airthir. Happy must be the condition of Christian communities, where we find the good priest united with a pious people, and a faithful flock bearing reverence towards
they
holy pastor.
of
Fionntain, Cill-airthir,
A festival to honour Cruimther
1
their
appears registered in the Martyrology of Donegal
Killartery townland in the parish of Mayne, barony of Ferrard, and county of Louth ; there is also a Killartry townland in the parish of Aghavea, barony of Magherastephana, and county of Fermanagh. 3 These seem the only Irish denominations likely to correspond with the ancient nomenclature of his place, which does not appear to be known. The Rev. John Francis Shearman has identified the present Cruimther Fintan with a Crubther Fin- tain, who lived in the Island of Aran, and who is said to have chased St. Cybi 4 and his companions Maclog and Cyngar, not only from that place, but even away from Ireland. 5 This, however, is manifestly a legendary story. TheBollandists6 werefurnishedbyFatherO'Sheerin,withanoticeofFin- tanus Sacerdos de Kill airthir, for the 13th of July.
Article VII. —St. Finnu, Finnus, or Finnius, Son of Arath, or Aradius. An adage of human wisdom has laid it down, that " to work is to pray. " But, as a celebrated and brilliant. Catholic writer remarks, if this be admitted, may we not also assume, that he who prays works, while such labour must be regarded as the most fruitful and meritorious of all occupa- tions. This, too, justifies and glorifies those blamed by the world, because
and 2 The name of prolonged prayer.
have rested in
contemplation
Finnu, son of Arath, occurs in the Martyrology of Donegal,3 at the 13th of
July. We are not able further to trace his pedigree, his time, or his place in
history. As furnished by Father O'Sheerin, the Bollandists 4 commemorate
* his festival at the present date.
Article VIII. —St. Ultan, Son of Araidi. Having the same patrony- mic, it may be suspected—but it does not seem to be proved—that the present holy man had been a brother to the last-mentioned. According to the
1
Martyrology of Donegal, Ultan, son of Araidi, had veneration paid to him,
at the 13th of July. At the same date, the Bollandists 2 have inserted his festival, as Father O'Sheerin had furnished them with the entry.
Article IX. —St. Taodhog, of Tigh Taedhog. It is mentioned, in 1
the Martyrologies of Marianus O'Gorman, of Cathald Maguire, and of
22"
Les Moines de l'Occident,"
Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves,
pp. 192, 193.
3 See "General Alphabetical List to the
Townlands and Towns, Parishes and Baro-
See
tomei. , Introduction, chap, iv. , p. lviii.
nies of Ireland,"
4 His feast is referred, to the 8th of No-
vember.
s See "LocaPatriciana," No. x.
