5° See "
Collections
on the Shires of Aber- "
deen and Banff, p.
deen and Banff, p.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v4
Canice, whose feast is set down at the nth of October.
" See Martin's " Western Isles of Scot- land, "p. 27, where the inibrmation, afforded in our text, may be found.
'3 "
Seetheadmirable StatisticalAccount
of Harris' Parish," by Rev. John Macleod,
TM the " Old Statistical Account of Scot- 's His Life is written, at the 17th of land," by Sir Jolin Sinclair, vol. x. , num.
March.
^ His feast occurs, at the 2Sth of Septem-
ber.
* His festival is at the 16th of May.
9 Under this form of name, the feast is not
xxviii. , p. 376.
'*
'^ See ibid. ,
''
May.
See ibid.
p. 377.
His feast fell, probably, on the 1st of
Apru- 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 191
the Martyrology of Talkgh,'? we find entered, Donnan, of Egha, with fifty- two of his monks, whose names had been written, in a larger book,'' which appears to have been that, now known as the " Book of Leinster. 's The Bol- landists '° have some notices of these Martyrs, at this same date, with certain doubts expressed, that all their names had been clearly remembered and recorded by posterity, even if we could be assured, that all their names have been written down correctly, from the earliest records. St. Donnan's name occurs, in the Calendar and Office, found in the Aberdeen Breviary, at the
proper day. But, no special allusion to his history can there be discovered. "
Wherefore, the writer of his memoir, in the Acta Sanctorum,"" is obliged to depend exclusively upon Irish authorities. Especially does he quote the
Martyrology of Tallagh, and a transcript, sent from Louvain, by the Irish Father Thomas O'Sheerin, and which he extracted, from an Appendix to that Tract. In Bishop Forbes' work,^^ as also in that of Rev. S. Baring-Gould's,'3 there are notices of this holy Abbot, and of his companions.
The pedigree of St. Donnan, is not recorded ; so that, all we can know concerning him must be gleaned, from short notices in our Irish Annals or Calendars. That he was a native of Ireland seems to be pretty generally received; and,probably,hisreligiousprofessionhadbeenmadeatlona,under the great Abbot, St. Columkille. Like 'some of his countrymen, Donnan was induced to settle, with a company of followers, in the western part of Scotland. He desired to make St. Columkille his Anmchara, which means confessor, or soul's friendj='» but, the holy Abbot of lona refused that office, for his
'"S was the name of that in which Island,"*
Donnan lived, after his coming from Erin. Here, it would seem, he planted a large community of religious. In after times, this Island home gave name to a parish,includingEgg,MuckandRum. Thesearefound,amongthegroup of Hebridean Isles. '? At Eigg, the community did not live unmolested, and Columba had foretold their approaching martyrdom. This, however, did not preventDonnanwithhispeopletakinguptheirabodeonthatIsland. Three sheep, belonging to a certain rich woman of that region, were kept. "' Some accountshaveit, thatshewasaqueenpand,owingtoherenvytowardsthe monks, she moved a plot for their destruction. There came sea-robbers on a certain time, to this Island, and while St. Donnan was celebrating the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. 3° He requested of them not to kill him, until he should
community. Ega
' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxi. There
we find: "Donnani Egha cum sociis. Hi. ,
quorum nomina in majore libro scripsimus. " In the Franciscan copy, the entry of St. Donnan's name, with the names of his monks, as afterwards noted, will be found.
* This may possibly be classed, with the "missing IxmjUs of Erinn," at the present time ; l)Ut, we think it to Iw no other, than
that still preserved, as a separate Tract, in the Franciscan Library of Dublin.
April 17, p. 220.
'< See Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of
St. Columba. " Additional Notes K, p. 305. »3 In the Irish form, it is written ^Veg. gen
-iJeco, or Aegd.
»° However, I find the Rev. S. Baring-
Gould has it Ewe, in Lough Ewe, on the
">
the united elTorts of the Board of
Lately presented to the pul)lic, through
Trinity College, Dublin, and the Council of the
Royal Irish Academy.
* See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus
rilis xvii. De Sancto Donnano et LII. Disci- pulis Hibernis in Insula . Scotiae Eggaoccisis, in Three paragraphs, p. 487.
_
P- 325-
''See "Lives of the Saints," vol. iv. .
" See tomus ii. , Aprilis xvii. , p. 487. "See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
ii. , Ap-
western coast of Ross-shire.
adds " At least I
"in the [north of Albin, in Cattaibh. "—
"Lives of the Saints," vol. iv. , April 17, p. 220.
1"
See Innes' Origines Parochiales," vol.
ii. , pari i. , p. 334.
»* Such is the statement, found in Father
O'Sheerin's extract. The Kalendarof Cashel says,themurderersweresatellites, sentby the king,
»» According to Maguire.
30 The account in the extract, furnished by O'Sheerin, states, that the monks were en- gaged, at that time, singing Psalms in their Oratory.
:
presume
Ewe is the
Ega,
In a note, he
192 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 17. havetheMasscelebrated,andtheygavehimthisrespite. 3' Then,St. Donnan,
"
addressing his disciples, said,
may slaughter us, where we have carnally feasted ; for, we maynot die, so long as we remain, where our souls were engaged, in praising the Lord. But, where we refreshed our bodies, let us pay the mortal penalty. "^^ We are told,
that these religious were martyred, in the refectory of the monastery, and on thenightofEasterSunday. 33 TheMartyrologyofDonegalstates,thatSt. Donnan was afterwards beheaded, with fifty-two of his monks. All their
names, says the Calendarist, are in a certain old book, among the books of Erin. 34 This particular record 3S is mentioned,3^ as having contained the names of fifty-two monks, who were beheaded along with St. Donnan of Egg. Unquestionably, this belonged to the Book of Leinsterj for, in the loose leaves—now in the Franciscan Convent—all of those names are given at length, in the contained copy of the Tallagh Martyrology.
Let us retire to the refectory, that the robbers
The malicious woman, to whom we have alluded, had brought a marau-
ding party—possibly of Picts—from the neighbouring coast, to murder the saint and his companions. The following are said to have been the names
of these disciples,37 . ^Edanus, larloga, Maricus, Congallius, Lonanus, Maclas- rius, Joannes, Arnanes, Erninus, Baithinus, Rothanus, Andrelanus, Carellus, Rotanus, Fergussaiuis, Rectarius, Connidius, Endeus, Macloga, Guretius, Junetus, Coranus, Baithanus, Colmanus, Jernludus, Lugadius, Luda, Gruun- dus, Cucalinus, Cobranus, Conmundus, Cunminus, Balthianus, Senachus, Demanus, Cummenus, Fernlugus, Finanus, Finnchanus, Finnichus, Conanus, Modomma, Cronanus, Kieranus, Colmanus, Navinnus, Remannus, Erninus, Ailchuo, Donnanus. Here, however, we only find fifty different persons' enumerated. 3^ We are also led to infer from the account, that these martyrs were burned to death. Possibly the murderers set fire to that chamber, where those brethren had assembled, slaying each one, as he endeavoured to escape. 39 They are said to have died, on the 17th of April, a. d. 617,4° according to Tighernach. From this date, and from the evidences already adduced, it seems a great mistake to assert, that the paganism of Ireland and of Scotland had fallen peacefully, before the power of the Christian Faith, almost three centuries before the martyrdom of St. Donnan and of his com- panions, who suffered " red martyrdom," in the Island of Eigg, by the hands of the Vikings. '" The Felire of St. ^ngus,4" commemorates the martyrdom
3' This is the version given, by the Kalen-
dar of Cashcl, and by Maguire.
3" In the extract, furnished by O'Sheerin,
we read " Ega nomen fontis in Aldafain :
Cattaibh, in Boreali Albania : et ibi Don-
nanus cumsuafamilia martyrium subjit, quod "
sic contigit.
33 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Ap-
rilis xvii. , p. 487.
3t In a note, Dr. Todd says, "The more re-
There is a short tract, regarding the Martyr- dom of St. Donnan Ega, or Donnan of Egg. Ega nomen fontis in Aldasain (in Alban) . 1. carrac stir gall gaedelu agus ceud liri ina camair immuih.
3' These nameswere furnished, by Thomas Sirinus, or O'Sheerin, Jubilate Lector of Theology, in the Irish Franciscan College of Louvain, to Father Godefridus Henschenius. They were taken, from the "larger book," to which allusion is made, in the Martyro-
logy of Tallagh.
3" See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 467.
39 See Rev. William Reeves' Adamnan's
"Life of St. Columba," Additional Notes
(K), pp. 303 to 309.
*" See Rev. James Gaflfney's "Ancient
Irish Church," chap, ii. , sect. i. p. 39.
< See Joseph Anderson's "Scotland in
Early Christian Times," P'irst Series, L«c- ture v. , p. 190, note I.
cent hand adds here : "A-oeiyv-Aoiiga)- gu^x- b^-AC mAi)\ciiM [^ngus says that they were martyrs] ut scripsimus, inquit. J/rtr/. 7a? «/. in libro magno. The Martyrology of jEngus has
mA]\c^4 'muAtii, "Tie (Donnan) ascended in victorious martyr-
'Ol^eb<Mn5
dom. "
35 "The old Books of Erin" are spoken
of generally, at p. 123; and "a certain
book," at p. 167, in the published "Martyr- '
ology of Donegal.
3° See ibid. , p. 105. At page 17, col. 2.
April 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 193
of this saint and of his clergy, at the 17th day of April. The Kalendar of Cashel and that of Maguire record, in like manner, his feast. This day was
dedicated, according to the Martyrology of DonegaU3 to honour Donnan, of
Ega,Abbot. St. Donnanandhiscompanions,whoweremartyredwitlihim,
are mentioned in the Martyrologies of Drummond,'''' in the Kalendarof the Bre-
viary of Aberdeen. 43 in Adam King's Kalendar,** and in Thomas Dempster's
" Scotorum. "" This St. Donnan was venerated, in the Menologium greatly
northandwestofScotland whilevariouschurcheswerebuiltinhishonour, ;
and dedicated to him. The Island of Egg <' had a church, called Killdo- nain, and called after the present saint's name. St. Donnan's well is shown in Eigg. « Until the Reformation, the Crozier of St. Donnan, was kept at the Church of Auchterless. s" There is a church, at Baldongan,5' in the county of Dublin. However, it cannot be safely asserted, that it had any connexion, with the present holy martyr, Donnan. The foregoing notices comprise nearly everything known, regarding this religious community of Martyrs.
Article II. —Loichen, of Cong, County of Mayo. It is remark- able, in the early times of Christia^nity, that when the Pagans burned their dead, the Christians placed their bodies in sepulchres. The faithful were taught by Christ, that death was only sleep, and that the bodies of the dead should be deposited in a place of rest. Thus, the present term of cemetery,
which is taken from a Greek
Island, together with this idea, was a sentiment, universally felt by our Chris- tian ancestors, that while the cemetery most appropriately adjoined the church of a locality, there, too, were the congregations to regard it, as the place of their resurrection. In the present connexion, it is a pleasing circumstance to record those enlightened efforts made to preserve the walls,' if not to restore an Irish fane, which had formerly a wide-spread celebrity. The remark applied to Normandy, by a learned ecclesiastic, that if the cemetery sur- rounded the church, the church itself was oftentimes one vast cemetery,'' has
*' The following stanza is from the "Leab- "
har Breac copy, with Whitley Stokes' English translation : —
Ldpeit peciip ceochom DpebivAing nia|\cj\A rhbuaoe CotiAchtetp cam oine X)onn<in eja huape.
"With the feast of Deacon Peter, who
betlangori medebatur, K. " Seep. 197. Jbid. ** There is a tine old Map of ihe Isles of
Rum, Egg, Muck, and Kannog, royal folio size, compiled about 1620, by T. Pont.
« See Joseph Anderson's " Scotland in Early Christian Times," First Series, Lec- ture v. , p. 193, note I.
5° See " Collections on the Shires of Aber- "
deen and Banff, p. 505.
5'Seetlie "OrilnanceSurveyTownland
for the — of sheet 12. Maps County Dublin,"
to victorious
sprang martyrdom,
with his
clergy a fair assemblage (? ), Donnan of chilly Eca. "
"Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
104, 105. See, likewise, pp. 404, 405.
" See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scottish Saints,' at xv. Kl. corresponding with the 17th of April. "Apud Britt. -iniam Sanctus Donnan cum socia turba hoc die
martyrio coronatus est. " See p. 10.
*5 At XV. Kalends of May, or 17th of
Article ii.
view was engraved by . Mrs. Millard.
» See M. I'Abbe Cochet's "La Normaridie Souterraine ou Notices sur des Cimetieres Roinains et des Cimetieres Francs explores en Normandie," Premiere Partie, chap, i. ,
p. I,
April, we find p. 115. Ilnd.
"
Donani ab iii. Lee. '' See
'
Allusion is here made, to that munificence of expenditure, by the late Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, ownerofthesoil, who, over twenty years ago, undertook the work of restoration, so as to preserve the former style of Cong Abbey. Since that time, William F. Wakeman, drew a sketch of the ruins, for Sir William Wilde, whicli with a modern photograph enabled him to prepare the Exterior View of Cong, drawn on the wood, and now illustrating the text. This
" " S. Donane Abot and confess, in Scot- land vnder King Machabeda. " See p. 150. Ibid.
*' Under xvii. "Donanni abbatis patroni in Achtcrles, cujus baculus circulatus cuili-
Vou IV. —No. 4.
N
word, signifies
" a of rest. " In our own place
194 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 17.
like relationsliip to many of our churches, that have disappeared, and where graves are now only to be found. Too frequently, in the past, as at the pre- sent time, have our rulers desecrated and disregarded those pious associations, connected with the churcli and the cemetery. But, our people have even for- gotten the reverence due to them, as did the more culpable Christians of the Middle Ages, in Rome, and whose forefathers, driven from the pagan ceme- teries,3 resorted to the Catacombs,'* while these latter were gradually ne- glected, until their very sites passed away from memory. ' In the Martyrology of Tallagh^ is recorded the name, Lochin, Cunga, at the 17th of April. The place, with which this holy man was connected, and in Irish denominated
" a neck uponthatisthmus,whichdividesLoughMaskfromLoughCorrib. Theplace
Cunga, signifies
/' and,
it is so
called, owing
to its situation peculiar
Exterior View of Cong Abbey, County of Mayo.
is now known as Cong, and it lies on an insulated spot of ground, which is surrounded on all sides, by a number of streams. ' This inconsiderable village—once a town of great note—is beautifully situated, in the barony of Kilmain, and in the county of Mayo. * Its locality was near the great plain
3 Until the year of 257 of the Christian era the Roman laws protected buri. il ground ; but, after that, the Christians were forbidden to use the cemeteries. Then recourse was had to the subterranean chambers, since known as the Catacombs.
* It is calculated, that there are 350 miles ofsubterranean tomb-avenues about Rome, and containing 7,000,000 bodies. The build-
ing of those required an infinity of l. ibour, as some of the Catacomb tombs are fifty feet deep, and often five stories, in height.
s Not until the loth of December, 1593, were the real Catacombs discovered. A learned man then interested himself in the discovery, and worked at excavating the
passages for thirty-six years, in the meantime writing a great number of manuscripts, de- scriptive of the wonderful subterranean ce- metery. Interest was thus awakened. In our own time*, organized societies for the prosecution of that work have been formed.
The men composing these societies have
already made curious and great discove-
ries.
'
Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxi. The Franciscan copy has Lochetii Cungi.
' See Sir William Wilde's "Lough Corrib,
its Shores and Islands : with Notices of
Lough Mask," chap, vii. , p. 145.
'See Archdall's "Monasticon Hiberni-
cum," p. 498.
April 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 195
of Moytura, which lay to the west and north, and where a great battle had
beenfought,intheyearoftheworld3303. 9 Thatneighbourhoodwasvery
populous, before tiie period of the Christian era. Traces of the dwellings
and monuments of its former inhabitants even yet remain. '" It does not
appear, that St. Patrick," or any of his immediate attendants, approached
nearer to Cong than Inchangoill ; but, its charming situation pointed it out,
as the site for a religious establishment. This circumstance, and its vast
water-power so suitable for milling establishments, soon called a town into
existence. The origin of a monastery, at this place, has been referred to the
seventh century ; and, some have asserted, that its foundation is traceable to
the celebrated Patron of Fore, in the county of Westmeath. Sir James Ware ob-
serves, that St. Fechin " was said some time to have been Abbot of Cong. For
this,thereseemstobeslightfoundation. '3 Theexistingruinsofecclesiasti-
cal establishments there hardly refer to so early a period. The monastery of
Cong is said, also, to have been founded,'. < by Donald, son of Aed, or Aidus,
——
and grandson 's not nephew as in the English translation of Anmirech, that
is Domnald II. , King of Ireland, who died in 642. However this may be, it is very certain, that at such an early period, it could not have been intended, foracommunityofAugustinianCanons. Thisfoundationhasbeenassigned to A. D. 624, by Sir James Ware ;'* his editor Harris adds, or 635. '^ A St.
Molocus of Cong, whose name is in the Calendars, at the 17th of April, is "
noticed by Father John Colgan. "' With the expletive ww, or my," prefixed, to the Latinized Locus, this is probably intended, as applying to the present
Loichin. It seems probable, enough, although this monastery at Cong might
have been erected, at the expense of King Domnald, that Molocus or
Loichin was really the first Abbot, and probably the chief Patron of the
place ; for, he was the saint, whose name is found joined to that of Cunga. 's
Near Cong, as we are told, is an Island, known as Inis-an-Gael-crabhuig, or
"
the
Island of the religious strangers," in which are the ruins of two chapels,
and many graves of holy men. In conformity with its etymology, tradition
states it to have been one of those marts of literature, which Ireland threw
open to the converted Saxons. ^" It is stated,^' that the ruins of several
churches may be seen here f but, these no longer exist, and the name of
one only remains, at present, attached to the field of the Killeen-breac, or
"
littlespeckledchurch. " Itliestothesouthoftheabbeygrounds. 'sCong
» See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
nn. 32, 33, 34, p. 151. It will be observed, that ten Molacuses are enumerated, in the
foregoing list, as given by Colgan ; although he had said previously, there were eight bearing this name, and different from our saint. Perhaps, two saints of this name were venerated, on two different days of the year, or, perchance, one St. Molacus was com-
Four Masters," vol. i. ,pp. 16, 17.
° See Sir William Wilde's " Lough Corrib, its Shores and Islands ; with No-
tices of Lough Mask," chap, vii. , p. 162.
" See his Life, at the 17th of March.
" See his Life, at the 20th of January, vol.
i. , and chap. i.
"
in the Second Life of St. Fechin, Abbot of Fore.
'* See Sir James Ware, " De Hibemia et
Antiquitatibus ejus,'' cap. xxvi. , p. 222.
'5 Whence Ware derived this information.
the Rev. Dr. Lanigan could not discover.
" See " De Hibemia et Antiquitatibus
ejus," cap, xxvi. , p. 222.
' Probably a mistake for 625. See Harris
Ware, vol. i. , "Antiquities of Ireland, "chap. xxxviii. , p. 268.
'*
See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniac," xx. Januarii, Vita St. Molaggse seu Molaci, &c. ,
on
Apparently, not more than
memorated,
three
different
days.
the " suo "
'» See Colgan's Topograpliicai Index to "
the ActaSanctorumHiberniae. "
"° See John D'Alton's Illustrations of Irish
Topograpliy, No. ii. , in the "Irish Penny Magazine," vol. i. , No. 2, p. 10.
" In the first instance, by Father John
Colgan.
" See Archdall's " Monasticon Hiberni-
cum," p. 501.
»3 In an old garden to the left of the se-
cond eastern bridge, there is a remarkable
stone, called Leach-na-poll, or the "flag- stone of the holes," which is described and
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 17.
196
was originally a bishopric, as regulated by the Synod of Rath-BreasiU, about AD 1010: and, it is thought probable, that this ancient See had been trans- ferred to Aanai-hdown, early in the twelfth century. ^* The locality of Loichen is celebrated, for that delightfully situated old abbey, which had been erected there, about the same period. Many objects of antiquity and of scenic interest are to be found, in connexion with this spot j^s but, the old
monastic ruins are particularly calculataid to impress the visitor. Here died
Roderick O'Conor, the last Monarch of Ireland, in November, 11 98;=" here
ruled a succession of Augustinian Abbot*; and here, too, after the suppression of this Abbey, its possessions fell into the hands of laics, while gradually the
old ecclesiastical buildings were crumbling into decay. ^? The ruins of Cong
Interior View of Cong Abbey, County of Mayo.
Church and Monastery occupy the south-western angle of the Island. '' Only thechancelwallsarenowperfect; butthetombsofmanydistinguishedpersons are still to be seen. The celebrated Cross of Cong was long preserved in this Abbey, and afterwards it was kept in the town ; but, of late years, it has been secured by the Royal Irish Academy, where it is shown, as a choice object of local and medieval art. The Bollandists have no notice of St. Loichen, at the 6th April. On this day, we read, in the Martyrology of Done-
figured,
in Sir William Wilde's "Lough
"^ The accompanying illustration of the in- terior, drawn on the spot, by William F. Wakeman, and by him transferred to the
wood, was engraved by Mrs. Millard.
=8 Samuel Lover, R. H. A. , in the "Irish Penny Magazine," has furnished a beautiful sketch of the Ruins of Cong, as they were in 1833, and it has been copied by Sir William
"
Corrib, its Shores and Islands," &c. , chap,
vii. , pp. 163, 164.
'* See ib'ul. , chap, iv. , p. 64.
'S For very interesting engravings and a description of Cong, the reader is referred to Mr. and Mrs. Hall's exquisite work : "Ire- land : its Scenery, Character," &c. , vol. iii. , PP- 365 to 377-
No. 2, pp. 9, 10.
Lough Coirib, its Shores and Islands," &:c. , chap, vii. , p.
__ ,. ,,• '' See the " Irish Penny Journal, vol. 1. ,
Wilde, in his work on 170.
April 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 197
gal,»9 that Loichen, of Cong, was venerated. But, the period when he lived does not seem to have been determined.
" See Martin's " Western Isles of Scot- land, "p. 27, where the inibrmation, afforded in our text, may be found.
'3 "
Seetheadmirable StatisticalAccount
of Harris' Parish," by Rev. John Macleod,
TM the " Old Statistical Account of Scot- 's His Life is written, at the 17th of land," by Sir Jolin Sinclair, vol. x. , num.
March.
^ His feast occurs, at the 2Sth of Septem-
ber.
* His festival is at the 16th of May.
9 Under this form of name, the feast is not
xxviii. , p. 376.
'*
'^ See ibid. ,
''
May.
See ibid.
p. 377.
His feast fell, probably, on the 1st of
Apru- 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 191
the Martyrology of Talkgh,'? we find entered, Donnan, of Egha, with fifty- two of his monks, whose names had been written, in a larger book,'' which appears to have been that, now known as the " Book of Leinster. 's The Bol- landists '° have some notices of these Martyrs, at this same date, with certain doubts expressed, that all their names had been clearly remembered and recorded by posterity, even if we could be assured, that all their names have been written down correctly, from the earliest records. St. Donnan's name occurs, in the Calendar and Office, found in the Aberdeen Breviary, at the
proper day. But, no special allusion to his history can there be discovered. "
Wherefore, the writer of his memoir, in the Acta Sanctorum,"" is obliged to depend exclusively upon Irish authorities. Especially does he quote the
Martyrology of Tallagh, and a transcript, sent from Louvain, by the Irish Father Thomas O'Sheerin, and which he extracted, from an Appendix to that Tract. In Bishop Forbes' work,^^ as also in that of Rev. S. Baring-Gould's,'3 there are notices of this holy Abbot, and of his companions.
The pedigree of St. Donnan, is not recorded ; so that, all we can know concerning him must be gleaned, from short notices in our Irish Annals or Calendars. That he was a native of Ireland seems to be pretty generally received; and,probably,hisreligiousprofessionhadbeenmadeatlona,under the great Abbot, St. Columkille. Like 'some of his countrymen, Donnan was induced to settle, with a company of followers, in the western part of Scotland. He desired to make St. Columkille his Anmchara, which means confessor, or soul's friendj='» but, the holy Abbot of lona refused that office, for his
'"S was the name of that in which Island,"*
Donnan lived, after his coming from Erin. Here, it would seem, he planted a large community of religious. In after times, this Island home gave name to a parish,includingEgg,MuckandRum. Thesearefound,amongthegroup of Hebridean Isles. '? At Eigg, the community did not live unmolested, and Columba had foretold their approaching martyrdom. This, however, did not preventDonnanwithhispeopletakinguptheirabodeonthatIsland. Three sheep, belonging to a certain rich woman of that region, were kept. "' Some accountshaveit, thatshewasaqueenpand,owingtoherenvytowardsthe monks, she moved a plot for their destruction. There came sea-robbers on a certain time, to this Island, and while St. Donnan was celebrating the holy Sacrifice of the Mass. 3° He requested of them not to kill him, until he should
community. Ega
' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxi. There
we find: "Donnani Egha cum sociis. Hi. ,
quorum nomina in majore libro scripsimus. " In the Franciscan copy, the entry of St. Donnan's name, with the names of his monks, as afterwards noted, will be found.
* This may possibly be classed, with the "missing IxmjUs of Erinn," at the present time ; l)Ut, we think it to Iw no other, than
that still preserved, as a separate Tract, in the Franciscan Library of Dublin.
April 17, p. 220.
'< See Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of
St. Columba. " Additional Notes K, p. 305. »3 In the Irish form, it is written ^Veg. gen
-iJeco, or Aegd.
»° However, I find the Rev. S. Baring-
Gould has it Ewe, in Lough Ewe, on the
">
the united elTorts of the Board of
Lately presented to the pul)lic, through
Trinity College, Dublin, and the Council of the
Royal Irish Academy.
* See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus
rilis xvii. De Sancto Donnano et LII. Disci- pulis Hibernis in Insula . Scotiae Eggaoccisis, in Three paragraphs, p. 487.
_
P- 325-
''See "Lives of the Saints," vol. iv. .
" See tomus ii. , Aprilis xvii. , p. 487. "See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
ii. , Ap-
western coast of Ross-shire.
adds " At least I
"in the [north of Albin, in Cattaibh. "—
"Lives of the Saints," vol. iv. , April 17, p. 220.
1"
See Innes' Origines Parochiales," vol.
ii. , pari i. , p. 334.
»* Such is the statement, found in Father
O'Sheerin's extract. The Kalendarof Cashel says,themurderersweresatellites, sentby the king,
»» According to Maguire.
30 The account in the extract, furnished by O'Sheerin, states, that the monks were en- gaged, at that time, singing Psalms in their Oratory.
:
presume
Ewe is the
Ega,
In a note, he
192 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 17. havetheMasscelebrated,andtheygavehimthisrespite. 3' Then,St. Donnan,
"
addressing his disciples, said,
may slaughter us, where we have carnally feasted ; for, we maynot die, so long as we remain, where our souls were engaged, in praising the Lord. But, where we refreshed our bodies, let us pay the mortal penalty. "^^ We are told,
that these religious were martyred, in the refectory of the monastery, and on thenightofEasterSunday. 33 TheMartyrologyofDonegalstates,thatSt. Donnan was afterwards beheaded, with fifty-two of his monks. All their
names, says the Calendarist, are in a certain old book, among the books of Erin. 34 This particular record 3S is mentioned,3^ as having contained the names of fifty-two monks, who were beheaded along with St. Donnan of Egg. Unquestionably, this belonged to the Book of Leinsterj for, in the loose leaves—now in the Franciscan Convent—all of those names are given at length, in the contained copy of the Tallagh Martyrology.
Let us retire to the refectory, that the robbers
The malicious woman, to whom we have alluded, had brought a marau-
ding party—possibly of Picts—from the neighbouring coast, to murder the saint and his companions. The following are said to have been the names
of these disciples,37 . ^Edanus, larloga, Maricus, Congallius, Lonanus, Maclas- rius, Joannes, Arnanes, Erninus, Baithinus, Rothanus, Andrelanus, Carellus, Rotanus, Fergussaiuis, Rectarius, Connidius, Endeus, Macloga, Guretius, Junetus, Coranus, Baithanus, Colmanus, Jernludus, Lugadius, Luda, Gruun- dus, Cucalinus, Cobranus, Conmundus, Cunminus, Balthianus, Senachus, Demanus, Cummenus, Fernlugus, Finanus, Finnchanus, Finnichus, Conanus, Modomma, Cronanus, Kieranus, Colmanus, Navinnus, Remannus, Erninus, Ailchuo, Donnanus. Here, however, we only find fifty different persons' enumerated. 3^ We are also led to infer from the account, that these martyrs were burned to death. Possibly the murderers set fire to that chamber, where those brethren had assembled, slaying each one, as he endeavoured to escape. 39 They are said to have died, on the 17th of April, a. d. 617,4° according to Tighernach. From this date, and from the evidences already adduced, it seems a great mistake to assert, that the paganism of Ireland and of Scotland had fallen peacefully, before the power of the Christian Faith, almost three centuries before the martyrdom of St. Donnan and of his com- panions, who suffered " red martyrdom," in the Island of Eigg, by the hands of the Vikings. '" The Felire of St. ^ngus,4" commemorates the martyrdom
3' This is the version given, by the Kalen-
dar of Cashcl, and by Maguire.
3" In the extract, furnished by O'Sheerin,
we read " Ega nomen fontis in Aldafain :
Cattaibh, in Boreali Albania : et ibi Don-
nanus cumsuafamilia martyrium subjit, quod "
sic contigit.
33 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Ap-
rilis xvii. , p. 487.
3t In a note, Dr. Todd says, "The more re-
There is a short tract, regarding the Martyr- dom of St. Donnan Ega, or Donnan of Egg. Ega nomen fontis in Aldasain (in Alban) . 1. carrac stir gall gaedelu agus ceud liri ina camair immuih.
3' These nameswere furnished, by Thomas Sirinus, or O'Sheerin, Jubilate Lector of Theology, in the Irish Franciscan College of Louvain, to Father Godefridus Henschenius. They were taken, from the "larger book," to which allusion is made, in the Martyro-
logy of Tallagh.
3" See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 467.
39 See Rev. William Reeves' Adamnan's
"Life of St. Columba," Additional Notes
(K), pp. 303 to 309.
*" See Rev. James Gaflfney's "Ancient
Irish Church," chap, ii. , sect. i. p. 39.
< See Joseph Anderson's "Scotland in
Early Christian Times," P'irst Series, L«c- ture v. , p. 190, note I.
cent hand adds here : "A-oeiyv-Aoiiga)- gu^x- b^-AC mAi)\ciiM [^ngus says that they were martyrs] ut scripsimus, inquit. J/rtr/. 7a? «/. in libro magno. The Martyrology of jEngus has
mA]\c^4 'muAtii, "Tie (Donnan) ascended in victorious martyr-
'Ol^eb<Mn5
dom. "
35 "The old Books of Erin" are spoken
of generally, at p. 123; and "a certain
book," at p. 167, in the published "Martyr- '
ology of Donegal.
3° See ibid. , p. 105. At page 17, col. 2.
April 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 193
of this saint and of his clergy, at the 17th day of April. The Kalendar of Cashel and that of Maguire record, in like manner, his feast. This day was
dedicated, according to the Martyrology of DonegaU3 to honour Donnan, of
Ega,Abbot. St. Donnanandhiscompanions,whoweremartyredwitlihim,
are mentioned in the Martyrologies of Drummond,'''' in the Kalendarof the Bre-
viary of Aberdeen. 43 in Adam King's Kalendar,** and in Thomas Dempster's
" Scotorum. "" This St. Donnan was venerated, in the Menologium greatly
northandwestofScotland whilevariouschurcheswerebuiltinhishonour, ;
and dedicated to him. The Island of Egg <' had a church, called Killdo- nain, and called after the present saint's name. St. Donnan's well is shown in Eigg. « Until the Reformation, the Crozier of St. Donnan, was kept at the Church of Auchterless. s" There is a church, at Baldongan,5' in the county of Dublin. However, it cannot be safely asserted, that it had any connexion, with the present holy martyr, Donnan. The foregoing notices comprise nearly everything known, regarding this religious community of Martyrs.
Article II. —Loichen, of Cong, County of Mayo. It is remark- able, in the early times of Christia^nity, that when the Pagans burned their dead, the Christians placed their bodies in sepulchres. The faithful were taught by Christ, that death was only sleep, and that the bodies of the dead should be deposited in a place of rest. Thus, the present term of cemetery,
which is taken from a Greek
Island, together with this idea, was a sentiment, universally felt by our Chris- tian ancestors, that while the cemetery most appropriately adjoined the church of a locality, there, too, were the congregations to regard it, as the place of their resurrection. In the present connexion, it is a pleasing circumstance to record those enlightened efforts made to preserve the walls,' if not to restore an Irish fane, which had formerly a wide-spread celebrity. The remark applied to Normandy, by a learned ecclesiastic, that if the cemetery sur- rounded the church, the church itself was oftentimes one vast cemetery,'' has
*' The following stanza is from the "Leab- "
har Breac copy, with Whitley Stokes' English translation : —
Ldpeit peciip ceochom DpebivAing nia|\cj\A rhbuaoe CotiAchtetp cam oine X)onn<in eja huape.
"With the feast of Deacon Peter, who
betlangori medebatur, K. " Seep. 197. Jbid. ** There is a tine old Map of ihe Isles of
Rum, Egg, Muck, and Kannog, royal folio size, compiled about 1620, by T. Pont.
« See Joseph Anderson's " Scotland in Early Christian Times," First Series, Lec- ture v. , p. 193, note I.
5° See " Collections on the Shires of Aber- "
deen and Banff, p. 505.
5'Seetlie "OrilnanceSurveyTownland
for the — of sheet 12. Maps County Dublin,"
to victorious
sprang martyrdom,
with his
clergy a fair assemblage (? ), Donnan of chilly Eca. "
"Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
104, 105. See, likewise, pp. 404, 405.
" See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scottish Saints,' at xv. Kl. corresponding with the 17th of April. "Apud Britt. -iniam Sanctus Donnan cum socia turba hoc die
martyrio coronatus est. " See p. 10.
*5 At XV. Kalends of May, or 17th of
Article ii.
view was engraved by . Mrs. Millard.
» See M. I'Abbe Cochet's "La Normaridie Souterraine ou Notices sur des Cimetieres Roinains et des Cimetieres Francs explores en Normandie," Premiere Partie, chap, i. ,
p. I,
April, we find p. 115. Ilnd.
"
Donani ab iii. Lee. '' See
'
Allusion is here made, to that munificence of expenditure, by the late Sir Benjamin Lee Guinness, ownerofthesoil, who, over twenty years ago, undertook the work of restoration, so as to preserve the former style of Cong Abbey. Since that time, William F. Wakeman, drew a sketch of the ruins, for Sir William Wilde, whicli with a modern photograph enabled him to prepare the Exterior View of Cong, drawn on the wood, and now illustrating the text. This
" " S. Donane Abot and confess, in Scot- land vnder King Machabeda. " See p. 150. Ibid.
*' Under xvii. "Donanni abbatis patroni in Achtcrles, cujus baculus circulatus cuili-
Vou IV. —No. 4.
N
word, signifies
" a of rest. " In our own place
194 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 17.
like relationsliip to many of our churches, that have disappeared, and where graves are now only to be found. Too frequently, in the past, as at the pre- sent time, have our rulers desecrated and disregarded those pious associations, connected with the churcli and the cemetery. But, our people have even for- gotten the reverence due to them, as did the more culpable Christians of the Middle Ages, in Rome, and whose forefathers, driven from the pagan ceme- teries,3 resorted to the Catacombs,'* while these latter were gradually ne- glected, until their very sites passed away from memory. ' In the Martyrology of Tallagh^ is recorded the name, Lochin, Cunga, at the 17th of April. The place, with which this holy man was connected, and in Irish denominated
" a neck uponthatisthmus,whichdividesLoughMaskfromLoughCorrib. Theplace
Cunga, signifies
/' and,
it is so
called, owing
to its situation peculiar
Exterior View of Cong Abbey, County of Mayo.
is now known as Cong, and it lies on an insulated spot of ground, which is surrounded on all sides, by a number of streams. ' This inconsiderable village—once a town of great note—is beautifully situated, in the barony of Kilmain, and in the county of Mayo. * Its locality was near the great plain
3 Until the year of 257 of the Christian era the Roman laws protected buri. il ground ; but, after that, the Christians were forbidden to use the cemeteries. Then recourse was had to the subterranean chambers, since known as the Catacombs.
* It is calculated, that there are 350 miles ofsubterranean tomb-avenues about Rome, and containing 7,000,000 bodies. The build-
ing of those required an infinity of l. ibour, as some of the Catacomb tombs are fifty feet deep, and often five stories, in height.
s Not until the loth of December, 1593, were the real Catacombs discovered. A learned man then interested himself in the discovery, and worked at excavating the
passages for thirty-six years, in the meantime writing a great number of manuscripts, de- scriptive of the wonderful subterranean ce- metery. Interest was thus awakened. In our own time*, organized societies for the prosecution of that work have been formed.
The men composing these societies have
already made curious and great discove-
ries.
'
Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxi. The Franciscan copy has Lochetii Cungi.
' See Sir William Wilde's "Lough Corrib,
its Shores and Islands : with Notices of
Lough Mask," chap, vii. , p. 145.
'See Archdall's "Monasticon Hiberni-
cum," p. 498.
April 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 195
of Moytura, which lay to the west and north, and where a great battle had
beenfought,intheyearoftheworld3303. 9 Thatneighbourhoodwasvery
populous, before tiie period of the Christian era. Traces of the dwellings
and monuments of its former inhabitants even yet remain. '" It does not
appear, that St. Patrick," or any of his immediate attendants, approached
nearer to Cong than Inchangoill ; but, its charming situation pointed it out,
as the site for a religious establishment. This circumstance, and its vast
water-power so suitable for milling establishments, soon called a town into
existence. The origin of a monastery, at this place, has been referred to the
seventh century ; and, some have asserted, that its foundation is traceable to
the celebrated Patron of Fore, in the county of Westmeath. Sir James Ware ob-
serves, that St. Fechin " was said some time to have been Abbot of Cong. For
this,thereseemstobeslightfoundation. '3 Theexistingruinsofecclesiasti-
cal establishments there hardly refer to so early a period. The monastery of
Cong is said, also, to have been founded,'. < by Donald, son of Aed, or Aidus,
——
and grandson 's not nephew as in the English translation of Anmirech, that
is Domnald II. , King of Ireland, who died in 642. However this may be, it is very certain, that at such an early period, it could not have been intended, foracommunityofAugustinianCanons. Thisfoundationhasbeenassigned to A. D. 624, by Sir James Ware ;'* his editor Harris adds, or 635. '^ A St.
Molocus of Cong, whose name is in the Calendars, at the 17th of April, is "
noticed by Father John Colgan. "' With the expletive ww, or my," prefixed, to the Latinized Locus, this is probably intended, as applying to the present
Loichin. It seems probable, enough, although this monastery at Cong might
have been erected, at the expense of King Domnald, that Molocus or
Loichin was really the first Abbot, and probably the chief Patron of the
place ; for, he was the saint, whose name is found joined to that of Cunga. 's
Near Cong, as we are told, is an Island, known as Inis-an-Gael-crabhuig, or
"
the
Island of the religious strangers," in which are the ruins of two chapels,
and many graves of holy men. In conformity with its etymology, tradition
states it to have been one of those marts of literature, which Ireland threw
open to the converted Saxons. ^" It is stated,^' that the ruins of several
churches may be seen here f but, these no longer exist, and the name of
one only remains, at present, attached to the field of the Killeen-breac, or
"
littlespeckledchurch. " Itliestothesouthoftheabbeygrounds. 'sCong
» See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
nn. 32, 33, 34, p. 151. It will be observed, that ten Molacuses are enumerated, in the
foregoing list, as given by Colgan ; although he had said previously, there were eight bearing this name, and different from our saint. Perhaps, two saints of this name were venerated, on two different days of the year, or, perchance, one St. Molacus was com-
Four Masters," vol. i. ,pp. 16, 17.
° See Sir William Wilde's " Lough Corrib, its Shores and Islands ; with No-
tices of Lough Mask," chap, vii. , p. 162.
" See his Life, at the 17th of March.
" See his Life, at the 20th of January, vol.
i. , and chap. i.
"
in the Second Life of St. Fechin, Abbot of Fore.
'* See Sir James Ware, " De Hibemia et
Antiquitatibus ejus,'' cap. xxvi. , p. 222.
'5 Whence Ware derived this information.
the Rev. Dr. Lanigan could not discover.
" See " De Hibemia et Antiquitatibus
ejus," cap, xxvi. , p. 222.
' Probably a mistake for 625. See Harris
Ware, vol. i. , "Antiquities of Ireland, "chap. xxxviii. , p. 268.
'*
See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniac," xx. Januarii, Vita St. Molaggse seu Molaci, &c. ,
on
Apparently, not more than
memorated,
three
different
days.
the " suo "
'» See Colgan's Topograpliicai Index to "
the ActaSanctorumHiberniae. "
"° See John D'Alton's Illustrations of Irish
Topograpliy, No. ii. , in the "Irish Penny Magazine," vol. i. , No. 2, p. 10.
" In the first instance, by Father John
Colgan.
" See Archdall's " Monasticon Hiberni-
cum," p. 501.
»3 In an old garden to the left of the se-
cond eastern bridge, there is a remarkable
stone, called Leach-na-poll, or the "flag- stone of the holes," which is described and
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 17.
196
was originally a bishopric, as regulated by the Synod of Rath-BreasiU, about AD 1010: and, it is thought probable, that this ancient See had been trans- ferred to Aanai-hdown, early in the twelfth century. ^* The locality of Loichen is celebrated, for that delightfully situated old abbey, which had been erected there, about the same period. Many objects of antiquity and of scenic interest are to be found, in connexion with this spot j^s but, the old
monastic ruins are particularly calculataid to impress the visitor. Here died
Roderick O'Conor, the last Monarch of Ireland, in November, 11 98;=" here
ruled a succession of Augustinian Abbot*; and here, too, after the suppression of this Abbey, its possessions fell into the hands of laics, while gradually the
old ecclesiastical buildings were crumbling into decay. ^? The ruins of Cong
Interior View of Cong Abbey, County of Mayo.
Church and Monastery occupy the south-western angle of the Island. '' Only thechancelwallsarenowperfect; butthetombsofmanydistinguishedpersons are still to be seen. The celebrated Cross of Cong was long preserved in this Abbey, and afterwards it was kept in the town ; but, of late years, it has been secured by the Royal Irish Academy, where it is shown, as a choice object of local and medieval art. The Bollandists have no notice of St. Loichen, at the 6th April. On this day, we read, in the Martyrology of Done-
figured,
in Sir William Wilde's "Lough
"^ The accompanying illustration of the in- terior, drawn on the spot, by William F. Wakeman, and by him transferred to the
wood, was engraved by Mrs. Millard.
=8 Samuel Lover, R. H. A. , in the "Irish Penny Magazine," has furnished a beautiful sketch of the Ruins of Cong, as they were in 1833, and it has been copied by Sir William
"
Corrib, its Shores and Islands," &c. , chap,
vii. , pp. 163, 164.
'* See ib'ul. , chap, iv. , p. 64.
'S For very interesting engravings and a description of Cong, the reader is referred to Mr. and Mrs. Hall's exquisite work : "Ire- land : its Scenery, Character," &c. , vol. iii. , PP- 365 to 377-
No. 2, pp. 9, 10.
Lough Coirib, its Shores and Islands," &:c. , chap, vii. , p.
__ ,. ,,• '' See the " Irish Penny Journal, vol. 1. ,
Wilde, in his work on 170.
April 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 197
gal,»9 that Loichen, of Cong, was venerated. But, the period when he lived does not seem to have been determined.
