^ Tlie
accompanying
engraving of this ruined conventual house was sketched on the spot, and afterwards transferred to the wood, by WilHam F.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
Adamnan was bom about the year
"
"Trias Thaumaturga, Quarta Appendix 625, and must have been younger than
ad Acta S. Columbse, cap. 3, p. 480, and cap. X. , p. 489.
'See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xvii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 613.
filii Feradachii, filii Nennidii, filii Fergiissii,
—
Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," xviii. Martii.
filii Conalli Gulbanii, tSrv. " "
Colgan's
conversation have might
occurred,
3 See "Kalendars of Scottish 307-
Saints," p.
9 O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four See,
His feast occurs, at the 24th of February.
He is also called St. Cuimine Plonn. See
Dr. Elrington's edition of Ussher's Works, Glendalough. At note (m) on Dairchell, vol.
quitates," cap. xvii. , p. 540.
" Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
Mr. O' Donovan remarks: "The death of this bishop, and of Coman is noticed in the Annals of Ulster under the year 677, and in
: theAnnalsofClonmacnoiseat674 "A. D.
677. Daircill mac Curetai Episcopiis GWxme- whose feast is assigned to the 2nd of da-locha, et Conan Episcopus Feman pan- March. sant,"—Ann. Ult. " A. D. 674. Darchill 'See, "Trias Thaumaturga. " Quarta mac Cuyletty, Bushop of Glendalogha,
vi. ,
5 His Life is given, at the 23rd of Sep- tember.
Vita, or Adamnan's Vita S. Columbaj, lib. ii. , cap. xix. , p. 368.
* Otherwise called St. Fergna Britt,
^
Searching for Coman of the Third Class,
died. Coman, Bishop, and Moyledoyer, Bushop, died. "—Ann. Clon. Ibid. I feel inclined to think, the Annals of Ulster
Ussher in his " says
call of Feman. Coman, Bishop
at
that Coman of Ferns was perhaps the Com- man called by Adamnan (/. 3, c. 19), hono- rabilis presbyter, whom Ussher seems to
improperly
According to the Four Masters, an entry re- garding the death of Maeldoghar, Bishop of Fearna, immediately follows the account of
Primordia,"
p. 968,
have supposed the same as Coman of the Coman's death. He is the Moyledoyer,
Third Class. But, Dr. Lanigan asks, as
only 665 Supposing
man of Adamnan to have been different from
Coman of Ferns, which is very probable, he might have been the priest Coman of the list. It is true, that Adamnan speaks of
of the Annals of Clonmacnoise.
'° See the Acts of both these saints, as
Colgan supposes, he has published, at the
Coman of Ferns did not die until
could he have belonged to said class, which lasted until ? " the Com-
678,
how
Comman, who, as he tells us, was maternal nephew of Virgnous, who, after governing
Hy
died in —"Eccle- 623. "
for
siastical History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xvii. , sect, iii. , n. 36, p. 12,
25 years,
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 284, 285, where the death of a "Coman, bishop," is noted at
the year 676, with Dairchell, Bishop of
of and the 17th of March. 24th February,
" See Rev. William Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba," lib. iii. , cap. 19, pp. 223 to 225.
"Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xix,,
836 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 18.
Martyrologists—viz. , the Martyrology of Tallagh," that of Marianus
0'Gorman,'3 of Maguire, and of the O'Clerys^f—call this St. Comman,'^ a
Bishop ; althougli, the See which he governed, and the place where he was specially honoured, are unknown. '^ His feast was held, on the i8th day of March.
Article II. —St. Ercbrect, or Egbert, a Saxon. \FrohaUy in the Eighth Century? ^ On this day, Colgan publishes some accounts, regarding St. Ercbrect,orEcbert,anAnglo-Saxonsaint. ^ Heisthought,^tohavebeen no other than Ecbert,3 otherwise called Eatbert, the King of Northumbria,
after a
the year 757,^ or 758,7 in the Monastery of Lindisfarne, perfect in every practice of humiHty and obedience. Ele is said to have enriched the See of York, by founding there a remarkable library, and which he stored, with all the best books, that could be procured. It is said, he died, about the year 768,^ and that his Natalis is generally assigned to the 20th of August. 9 This, indeed, seems to preclude the idea of his having been the saint, marked in our Irish Calendars, at the i8th of March. Whoever the latter was, Colgan is of opinion, that he must have lived for some time in Ireland, or that his existence closed in our island, to account for the national honour paid him, by our early writers. According to the Martyrology of Tallagh,'° Ericbrit, the Saxon, had veneration paid him, at the i8th of March. Marianus O'Gorman" has a record of this holy man, yet nothing to indicate his personal identity.
where he is called Coemaii, a bishop. In sect, iii. , n. 36, p. 12.
twenty years' reign,
the Franciscan the is
copy, entry CAiniAnu]-
ep.
'3 He has the notice, CAHiiAniif, in one
place, and ComAnu]- ep. in another, as if separate persons are to be understood.
'^ See "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
nis," xviii. RIartii, n. 3, p. 651.
''' See Drs. Todd's and Reeves' pp. 80, 81.
edition,
Ilibernia;," xviii. Martii. Vita S. Ercbrecti,
p. 652. -
By Colgan.
3 Said, by Arnold Wion, to have been the
eighteenth king of Northumbria.
According to Arnold Wion's " Lignum
Vitre," lib. iv. , cap. 7.
5 This happened, in the third year of
King Kinulph's reign, according to Henry
'5 Although he had spoken of Coman of
Ferns, as a priest, and as having always
remained so, which appears from his having
tliought this Comman might have been the
Comman of Adamnan ; yet, in his " Index
Chronologicus," at A. D. 678, Ussher calls
him the bishop of Ferns. Ware also reckons
him the of but among bishops Ferns, places
his death, at 675, merely, perhaps, on con- jecture, and because he knew, that in the
year 67S the See of Ferns was occupied by Dirath, who succeeded INIaldogar, in 677. It is more tlmn probable, that those writers were mistaken in making him a bishop,
owing to their having met with a bishop of that name—the one of Colgan—and thence
of Huntingdon. See lib. iv.
"
Historia Anglicana,"
him with Coman of Ferns. In a list of the bishops of that See, for the
seventh as found in
century, Colgan's
"Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Erigidce, lib. ii. , n. 2, p. 564, no Coman ap- pears, nor according to the succession there marked could there have been any room for him. See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xvii. ,
^ to the Chronicle of Florence According
of Worcester. See, also Matthew of West- minster, in "Flores Historiarum," A. D. dclvii. , pp. 274, 275.
7 According to the Continuator of Ven. Bede's History, as mentioned in the Roman Breviary, Colgan observes, and Arnold Wion has the same account, " Lignum Vitos," lib. iv. , cap. 7.
9 to Menard's " According Hugo
confounding
*^ to the According
'^ desirous of an eternal crown,s re- obtaining
who,
linquished the temporal one, to his son, Osulph. Eadbert assumed the monastic tonsure and habit. He led a most praiseworthy life, from about
Article ii.
—
'See "Acta Sanctorum
English Martyrology, and Hugh Menard, at the 23rd of March.
ologium Benedictinum," lib. i. , obs.
" Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xix. In
the Franciscan copy, we find, Gi\ecb]\eccup Sa. \o.
" He enters, e^\bei\iccuj* pue Ccbct\ciif, immediately after the insertion of three
Martyr-
March I S. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS,. 837
Article III. —St; Connal, Bishop of Killconnal, and of Aughrim, County of Galway. \S71pposed to be of the Fifth Century^ Whether we may regard them, as possessing intrinsic value or not, the Acts of a St. Conall have been pubHshed, by Colgan, at the present date,' and the Bollan- dists insert some notices, expressed with caution and doubt, regarding him. =^ These seem to be justifiable enough, since the only document adduced is a Manuscript copy of the Acts of St. Patrick's Synod,3 which states, that Ethianus and Conallus ordained unworthy bishops, in the spacious plain of Hai,* and that they were reproved, in consequence, by the Irish Apostle, because they acted, without taking his advice. It is stated, that he predicted their churches should be insignificant, although the ordained d—id penance for
their offences. This eccl
—esiastic at an
towards the closeofthefifthcentury intheterritoryofHy-Many,inthesouthernpart of Connaught, if we can connect him, with the account previously given.
foreign saints, in his Calendar, viz. , . Al-evX- Anoep, eT)tiA|\T)Ui', 5^T^^t^"'OT* The first of these was Alexander, Bishop of Jem- salem, Bishop and Martyr, at Cresarea, in Palestine ; the second, St. Edward, King of England, and Martyr; and the third, was St. Gertrude, Virgin, of Nivelle. The festival of this latter holy woman is usually set down, at the—1 7th of March.
Article III. 'See, " Acta Sanctorum Hibernias," xviii. Martii. Vita S. Conalli, p. 632. .
= See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xviii. Among tlie pretermitted saints, p. 613.
3 Found in the Cottonian Library, accord- "
the same name. They are shown, on the
" Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the
County of Galway," Sheet 86.
^
Its ruins were drawn by Bigari, and they are represented as engraved, in Grose's
ing to Archbishop Ussher, in Primordia Britannicarum Ecclesiarum," p. 1049.
^ Tlie accompanying engraving of this ruined conventual house was sketched on the spot, and afterwards transferred to the wood, by WilHam F. Wakeman. The en- graving is by Mrs. Millard,
*°
For an interesting description and ac- count of Kilconnell Abbey, from its founda- tion to its dissolution, the reader is referred to tlie admirable work of Rev. C. P. Meehan, M. R. I. A. , "The Rise and Fall of the Irish Franciscan Monasteries," &c. , chap, vi. , pp. 69 to 73.
CustomsofHy-Many. " AdditionalNotes,
A. p. 105, and B. n. (d), p. 130.
^- The Bollandists intimate, that there
may have been two distinct Conalls alluded to, in Colgan's Acts of St. Conall.
'^ Or as Colgan observes, "Conallus Droma, sivc dc Druim," which denotes a more elevated spot, on a hill or mountain.
'"* This holy virgin is Patroness of Killa- raght, county of Sligo. Her feast was kept
4
of Roscommon.
" See Dr. O'Donovan's " Tribes and
Said to have teen
in the
present county
5 He was Bishop and Patron of Clonfad, in the parish of KiHucan, county of West- meath, and his feast has been assigned to the nth of February.
* See
Colgan's
"Trias Thaumaturga. "
Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap.
xxiii. , p. 268.
7 The town and townland of Kilconnell are situated in a parish and barony, bearing
flourished,
early period
However, as we have already seen, when treating about St. Etchsenius, or Etchen,s that it is irreconcilable with chronology to suppose him a bishop, in the days of St. Patrick, or to connect him with the Ethianus, mentioned in the Canons ; so must we have little credence in the statement, that his com- panion, Conall, could have been a saint, cotemporaneous with the great Irish Apostle, and said to have been his disciple. ^ According to Colgan, St. Conall had been appointed bishop over a church, erected at a place, named after him, Kilconnel,? or Conall's church, in the county of Galway, near a site, where the Franciscans afterwards founded an establishment. ^ This latter seems to have been erected,^ in the year 1353, by William M'Donnough Moyneagh O'Kelly, Chieftain of Hy-many, and its remains are still to be seen. '° He is also said to have governed a church, at Eachdhruim, near Ballinasloe, and not far removed from the former place," if, indeed, it is to be considered at all distinguishable, according to Colgan's account. This Conall"—also called Blessed Conall Droma'3—is thought to have been the
"
Antiquities of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 65.
83S
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March iS.
uterine brother of St. Attracta,^* and to have incurred her displeasure, because he refused permission to herself and her nuns to settle near that place, he had chosen, for a contemplative life. Little is known, regarding the Conall alluded to, and nothing can safely be stated, in reference to his identity with him, whose feast has been entered, in our Irish Calendars, at the 1 8th of March. Whether Kiilchonill, or Each-Druim^s^now Aughrira,^^
Kilconnell Abbey, County Galway.
about two miles distant—be understood as his place of residence, Colgan leaves to the investigators of his day an inference, that Conall's church had experienced the fate of St. Patrick's and of St. Attracta's denunciations. The Martyrology of Tallagh,^7 at the 18th of March, enters the name of Conall, Bishop. In like manner does Marianus O'Gorman note his feast. *^ Conall, Bishop, is again registered, in the Martyrology of Donegal/9 as having been venerated, on this day.
Article IV. —St. Moedoc, or Maedhog, of Cluain-esgrach. We
find the name and his locality given, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ at this date. Both are precisely similar, in the Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman, whorecordsMaidocus,ofCluainEscragh. ^ IntheAppendixtotheActsof
on the 9th of February, and on the nth of
fought on the 12th of July, 1691, took place, is shown on Sheet 87.
'7 Edited by the Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xix.
August. be found.
At the latter day, her Acts may
" the
baronies of Clonmacnowen and of Kil-
"
ep.
connell, is shown on the
"
Ordnance Survey
'9 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 80, 81.
or In the Franciscan we ridge," copy,
's
hill. "
'^ The parish of Aughrim, situated in the '^ Thus, CoriALluf Gp,
Anglicised,
horse's
find, ConAl. ivif
Article iv. —' Edited by Rev. Dr. Sheets 86, 87, 98, 99. The town of Kelly, p. xix. In the Franciscan copy, we
TownlandMapsfortheCountyofGalway,"
Aughrim, where the celebrated battle, read, niAi'DOCiif •oe cLuAin e^c^AAch.
March i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 839
St. Moedoc, Bishop of Ferns,3 Colgan has a notice of Moedocus de Cluain Escrach, whose feast is set down for the 14th of March f but neither at such date,noratthisday,istherefurthernoteregardinghim. s Itisnotaneasy matter to discover the present name of his place. Again, the Martyrology of Donegal^ mentions, as having a festival on this day, a St. Maedhog, of Cluain- esgrach.
ArticleV,—St. Toman,orThoman,Bishop. ThisnameThomanus,
abishop,appears,intheMartyrologyofTallagh,^attheiSthofMarch. It is entered, in a similar manner, in the Calendar of Marianus O'Gorman. ^ In reference to this saint, the BoUandists remark,3 that he was unknown to Colgan, and to themselves ; unless, indeed, he could be identified with the St. Tomienus, or Tomianus, Archbishop of Armagh, and whose Acts have been already given, at the loth of January. The festival of St. Toman, Bishop, is entered in the Martyrology of Donegal,* at this date.
Article VI. —St. Christianus, or Giolla Criost O'Conarchy, first
Abbot of Mellifont, County of Louth. {Twelfth Century. '] The last
of the Fathers, as St. Bernard^ is affectionately termed by the Church, infused
new vitality into the decaying monastic spirit of Western Europe ; and, at a
time when, but for a mighty spiritual influence, the fervour of religious
observance might have languished. From France, his institute extended to
these islands. So early as 1128, Gififard, Bishop of Winchester, had intro-
duced the Cistercian Order into Great Britain. It was originally instituted,
by Stephen Harding, an Englishman of remarkable energy and holiness, and, it had one of the most illustrious of the mediaeval saints for its true patron.
ThefounderofWaverleyAbbeyhadnobleimitators. Soon,FurnessAbbey,
in Lancashire, Fountains Abbey,^ in Yorkshire, New-Minster, Kirksted, and Roche, followed. The Order went on spreading, until the work of monas- ticism was finished in England. Then, it was found, that there were seventy- five Cistercian houses of men, in England, and twenty-six nunneries, belonging to the same Order. Notwithstanding, however, their great influence, the English branch is singularly barren, in historical memorials. At a somewhat later period, the Cistercian Order was introduced to Ireland, and the present holy abbot presided over the fi—rst house there established. The Life of this holy man, Christianus, or Christian, sometimes called Christianus Ua Condoirche,
= Thus,mAioocuf•oecLuAinefc|\ac1i.
3 His Life is given, at the 31st of Ja-
nuary.
* See " Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxxi.
Januarii. Appendix ad Acta S. Maidoci,
cap. I, p. 221.
s See the BoUandists' " Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus ii. , Martii xviii. Among the preter- mitted saints, p. 613.
* Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
80, 81. —
Article v. 'Edited by Rev. Dr.
Kelly, p. xix. In the Franciscan copy, it is
UhoiTiAnufe-p. ^
Thus, choTnAnui" Op.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. ,
Martii xviii. Among the pretermitted saints," p. 613.
* Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 80, 8i.
Articlevi. —^Thisgreatsahitwasborn, A. d. 1091, and he died, a. d. 1153, on the 20th of August, the date for his festival,
^ For an account of this magnificent erection, the reader is referred to "Memo- rials of the Abbey of St. Mary of Fountains. Collected and Edited by John Richard Walbran, F. S. A. , for the Surtees Society. " 1863. Thisgreathousewasfounded,onthe 26th of December, 1132. At the request of Sigward, Bishop of Bergen, in Norway, a colony of monks went forth from Fountains, A. D. 1 146, to carry their Order into his diocese. Theyfoundedanabbey,alittleto the south of which received the
or Klaustr' a Lysa, show, that, like its Eng- lish parent, the House of the Valley of Light was a noble structure. See pp. xlvi. , 89.
3 See Dr. Jeoffry Keating's enumeration
Bergen,
nameofLysa. The ruins of Lyse-kloster,
840 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March i8.
or Giolla Criost 0'Conarchy,3—had been frequently promised to Colgan ; yet, he was not able to procure it, when he published from various sources those Acts, which are to be found in his work. * The Bollandists, at this day, only have a few brief notices regarding him, and they preferred waiting to see, if his life should turn up, and reveal to them evidence, that any ancient writer had called him Sanctus or Beatiis. ^ The English Martyrology,^ Arnold Wion,7 Ferrarius,^ Vincentius,9 and Hugh Menard, insert his name, in their severalCalendars. Accordingtosomeaccounts,hewasbornoreducated,at Bangor, in Ulster ;^° and, if we credit Colgan, this holy man was a disciple, and also the Archdeacon, of St. Malachy O'Morgair," Archbishop of Armagh ; and, afterwards, he most probably travelled with the venerable prelate, when first leaving Ireland for Rome, about the year 1138, and when he visited Clairvaux, the great house of St. Bernard, on his way. Returning by the same route, it seems probable, that Christian was one of the four disciples, who remained as postulants, under the charge of St. Bernard, and who were admitted as monks of the Cistercian Order. When St. " Malachy reached Ire- land, he felt a great desire to found a house, and to procure a superior and monksfromthatOrdertoinhabitit; sothatsoontheAbbeyofMellifont,a few miles from Drogheda, in the present county of Louth, was founded by Donough O'Carroll, and, in the year 1141, St. Bernard sent over Christian, when duly trained, as the superior of some French brothers, to plant the good seed. About the year 1142, Mellifont seems to have been occupied, and here Christian lived for some time," with his monks. It has been asserted,'3 that Christian was subsequently elevated to the See of Lismore, and that he was the identical Papal Legate, who was present at the Council of Kells, assembled in the springtime of the year ii52,^'» and over which Cardinal John Paparo, Priest of St. Laurence in Damaso, presided, at the instance of Pope Eugene III. Besides, the distinction given to Christianus O'Conairche, as Bishop of Lismore, and Legate of the Sovereign Pontiff for Ireland, he is called head of the Irish monks ; but, in the latter case, we must understand, probably, only those of the Cistercian Order, in Ireland. It is untrue, as has been advanced by some, that he was bishop over Down, '3 succeeding St. Malachy O'IMorgair there, or that he presided as Archbishop
over ^^ Armagh.
that he
this so life,
false is the
early as a. d. i 148. ^7 It has been supposed, that Christianus presided over one
or two other Synods held in Ireland, and in the capacity of Apostolic Legate. Mellifont Abbey having been completed, about the year 1 1 5 7, it was conse-
crated, with a magnificent rite and solemnity. Then and there, a numerous
Equally
account,
departed
of the bishops, assembled at Kells, in his
" General History of Ireland," translated by
Dermod O'Connor, part ii. , p. 518. Duffy's edition.
Lismore," p. 550.
" His Life is given, at the 3rd of Novem-
ber.
" According to Arnold Wion's Benedic-
* See " Acta Sanctorum Hibernire," xviii. tine
Martii. De B. Christiano Abbate Melli- fontensi Episcopo et Legato Apostolico, pp. 652 to 655.
s See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii.
"
"Trias Thaumaturga, Quarta Appendix 625, and must have been younger than
ad Acta S. Columbse, cap. 3, p. 480, and cap. X. , p. 489.
'See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xvii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 613.
filii Feradachii, filii Nennidii, filii Fergiissii,
—
Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," xviii. Martii.
filii Conalli Gulbanii, tSrv. " "
Colgan's
conversation have might
occurred,
3 See "Kalendars of Scottish 307-
Saints," p.
9 O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four See,
His feast occurs, at the 24th of February.
He is also called St. Cuimine Plonn. See
Dr. Elrington's edition of Ussher's Works, Glendalough. At note (m) on Dairchell, vol.
quitates," cap. xvii. , p. 540.
" Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
Mr. O' Donovan remarks: "The death of this bishop, and of Coman is noticed in the Annals of Ulster under the year 677, and in
: theAnnalsofClonmacnoiseat674 "A. D.
677. Daircill mac Curetai Episcopiis GWxme- whose feast is assigned to the 2nd of da-locha, et Conan Episcopus Feman pan- March. sant,"—Ann. Ult. " A. D. 674. Darchill 'See, "Trias Thaumaturga. " Quarta mac Cuyletty, Bushop of Glendalogha,
vi. ,
5 His Life is given, at the 23rd of Sep- tember.
Vita, or Adamnan's Vita S. Columbaj, lib. ii. , cap. xix. , p. 368.
* Otherwise called St. Fergna Britt,
^
Searching for Coman of the Third Class,
died. Coman, Bishop, and Moyledoyer, Bushop, died. "—Ann. Clon. Ibid. I feel inclined to think, the Annals of Ulster
Ussher in his " says
call of Feman. Coman, Bishop
at
that Coman of Ferns was perhaps the Com- man called by Adamnan (/. 3, c. 19), hono- rabilis presbyter, whom Ussher seems to
improperly
According to the Four Masters, an entry re- garding the death of Maeldoghar, Bishop of Fearna, immediately follows the account of
Primordia,"
p. 968,
have supposed the same as Coman of the Coman's death. He is the Moyledoyer,
Third Class. But, Dr. Lanigan asks, as
only 665 Supposing
man of Adamnan to have been different from
Coman of Ferns, which is very probable, he might have been the priest Coman of the list. It is true, that Adamnan speaks of
of the Annals of Clonmacnoise.
'° See the Acts of both these saints, as
Colgan supposes, he has published, at the
Coman of Ferns did not die until
could he have belonged to said class, which lasted until ? " the Com-
678,
how
Comman, who, as he tells us, was maternal nephew of Virgnous, who, after governing
Hy
died in —"Eccle- 623. "
for
siastical History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xvii. , sect, iii. , n. 36, p. 12,
25 years,
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 284, 285, where the death of a "Coman, bishop," is noted at
the year 676, with Dairchell, Bishop of
of and the 17th of March. 24th February,
" See Rev. William Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba," lib. iii. , cap. 19, pp. 223 to 225.
"Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xix,,
836 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 18.
Martyrologists—viz. , the Martyrology of Tallagh," that of Marianus
0'Gorman,'3 of Maguire, and of the O'Clerys^f—call this St. Comman,'^ a
Bishop ; althougli, the See which he governed, and the place where he was specially honoured, are unknown. '^ His feast was held, on the i8th day of March.
Article II. —St. Ercbrect, or Egbert, a Saxon. \FrohaUy in the Eighth Century? ^ On this day, Colgan publishes some accounts, regarding St. Ercbrect,orEcbert,anAnglo-Saxonsaint. ^ Heisthought,^tohavebeen no other than Ecbert,3 otherwise called Eatbert, the King of Northumbria,
after a
the year 757,^ or 758,7 in the Monastery of Lindisfarne, perfect in every practice of humiHty and obedience. Ele is said to have enriched the See of York, by founding there a remarkable library, and which he stored, with all the best books, that could be procured. It is said, he died, about the year 768,^ and that his Natalis is generally assigned to the 20th of August. 9 This, indeed, seems to preclude the idea of his having been the saint, marked in our Irish Calendars, at the i8th of March. Whoever the latter was, Colgan is of opinion, that he must have lived for some time in Ireland, or that his existence closed in our island, to account for the national honour paid him, by our early writers. According to the Martyrology of Tallagh,'° Ericbrit, the Saxon, had veneration paid him, at the i8th of March. Marianus O'Gorman" has a record of this holy man, yet nothing to indicate his personal identity.
where he is called Coemaii, a bishop. In sect, iii. , n. 36, p. 12.
twenty years' reign,
the Franciscan the is
copy, entry CAiniAnu]-
ep.
'3 He has the notice, CAHiiAniif, in one
place, and ComAnu]- ep. in another, as if separate persons are to be understood.
'^ See "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
nis," xviii. RIartii, n. 3, p. 651.
''' See Drs. Todd's and Reeves' pp. 80, 81.
edition,
Ilibernia;," xviii. Martii. Vita S. Ercbrecti,
p. 652. -
By Colgan.
3 Said, by Arnold Wion, to have been the
eighteenth king of Northumbria.
According to Arnold Wion's " Lignum
Vitre," lib. iv. , cap. 7.
5 This happened, in the third year of
King Kinulph's reign, according to Henry
'5 Although he had spoken of Coman of
Ferns, as a priest, and as having always
remained so, which appears from his having
tliought this Comman might have been the
Comman of Adamnan ; yet, in his " Index
Chronologicus," at A. D. 678, Ussher calls
him the bishop of Ferns. Ware also reckons
him the of but among bishops Ferns, places
his death, at 675, merely, perhaps, on con- jecture, and because he knew, that in the
year 67S the See of Ferns was occupied by Dirath, who succeeded INIaldogar, in 677. It is more tlmn probable, that those writers were mistaken in making him a bishop,
owing to their having met with a bishop of that name—the one of Colgan—and thence
of Huntingdon. See lib. iv.
"
Historia Anglicana,"
him with Coman of Ferns. In a list of the bishops of that See, for the
seventh as found in
century, Colgan's
"Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Erigidce, lib. ii. , n. 2, p. 564, no Coman ap- pears, nor according to the succession there marked could there have been any room for him. See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xvii. ,
^ to the Chronicle of Florence According
of Worcester. See, also Matthew of West- minster, in "Flores Historiarum," A. D. dclvii. , pp. 274, 275.
7 According to the Continuator of Ven. Bede's History, as mentioned in the Roman Breviary, Colgan observes, and Arnold Wion has the same account, " Lignum Vitos," lib. iv. , cap. 7.
9 to Menard's " According Hugo
confounding
*^ to the According
'^ desirous of an eternal crown,s re- obtaining
who,
linquished the temporal one, to his son, Osulph. Eadbert assumed the monastic tonsure and habit. He led a most praiseworthy life, from about
Article ii.
—
'See "Acta Sanctorum
English Martyrology, and Hugh Menard, at the 23rd of March.
ologium Benedictinum," lib. i. , obs.
" Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xix. In
the Franciscan copy, we find, Gi\ecb]\eccup Sa. \o.
" He enters, e^\bei\iccuj* pue Ccbct\ciif, immediately after the insertion of three
Martyr-
March I S. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS,. 837
Article III. —St; Connal, Bishop of Killconnal, and of Aughrim, County of Galway. \S71pposed to be of the Fifth Century^ Whether we may regard them, as possessing intrinsic value or not, the Acts of a St. Conall have been pubHshed, by Colgan, at the present date,' and the Bollan- dists insert some notices, expressed with caution and doubt, regarding him. =^ These seem to be justifiable enough, since the only document adduced is a Manuscript copy of the Acts of St. Patrick's Synod,3 which states, that Ethianus and Conallus ordained unworthy bishops, in the spacious plain of Hai,* and that they were reproved, in consequence, by the Irish Apostle, because they acted, without taking his advice. It is stated, that he predicted their churches should be insignificant, although the ordained d—id penance for
their offences. This eccl
—esiastic at an
towards the closeofthefifthcentury intheterritoryofHy-Many,inthesouthernpart of Connaught, if we can connect him, with the account previously given.
foreign saints, in his Calendar, viz. , . Al-evX- Anoep, eT)tiA|\T)Ui', 5^T^^t^"'OT* The first of these was Alexander, Bishop of Jem- salem, Bishop and Martyr, at Cresarea, in Palestine ; the second, St. Edward, King of England, and Martyr; and the third, was St. Gertrude, Virgin, of Nivelle. The festival of this latter holy woman is usually set down, at the—1 7th of March.
Article III. 'See, " Acta Sanctorum Hibernias," xviii. Martii. Vita S. Conalli, p. 632. .
= See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xviii. Among tlie pretermitted saints, p. 613.
3 Found in the Cottonian Library, accord- "
the same name. They are shown, on the
" Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the
County of Galway," Sheet 86.
^
Its ruins were drawn by Bigari, and they are represented as engraved, in Grose's
ing to Archbishop Ussher, in Primordia Britannicarum Ecclesiarum," p. 1049.
^ Tlie accompanying engraving of this ruined conventual house was sketched on the spot, and afterwards transferred to the wood, by WilHam F. Wakeman. The en- graving is by Mrs. Millard,
*°
For an interesting description and ac- count of Kilconnell Abbey, from its founda- tion to its dissolution, the reader is referred to tlie admirable work of Rev. C. P. Meehan, M. R. I. A. , "The Rise and Fall of the Irish Franciscan Monasteries," &c. , chap, vi. , pp. 69 to 73.
CustomsofHy-Many. " AdditionalNotes,
A. p. 105, and B. n. (d), p. 130.
^- The Bollandists intimate, that there
may have been two distinct Conalls alluded to, in Colgan's Acts of St. Conall.
'^ Or as Colgan observes, "Conallus Droma, sivc dc Druim," which denotes a more elevated spot, on a hill or mountain.
'"* This holy virgin is Patroness of Killa- raght, county of Sligo. Her feast was kept
4
of Roscommon.
" See Dr. O'Donovan's " Tribes and
Said to have teen
in the
present county
5 He was Bishop and Patron of Clonfad, in the parish of KiHucan, county of West- meath, and his feast has been assigned to the nth of February.
* See
Colgan's
"Trias Thaumaturga. "
Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap.
xxiii. , p. 268.
7 The town and townland of Kilconnell are situated in a parish and barony, bearing
flourished,
early period
However, as we have already seen, when treating about St. Etchsenius, or Etchen,s that it is irreconcilable with chronology to suppose him a bishop, in the days of St. Patrick, or to connect him with the Ethianus, mentioned in the Canons ; so must we have little credence in the statement, that his com- panion, Conall, could have been a saint, cotemporaneous with the great Irish Apostle, and said to have been his disciple. ^ According to Colgan, St. Conall had been appointed bishop over a church, erected at a place, named after him, Kilconnel,? or Conall's church, in the county of Galway, near a site, where the Franciscans afterwards founded an establishment. ^ This latter seems to have been erected,^ in the year 1353, by William M'Donnough Moyneagh O'Kelly, Chieftain of Hy-many, and its remains are still to be seen. '° He is also said to have governed a church, at Eachdhruim, near Ballinasloe, and not far removed from the former place," if, indeed, it is to be considered at all distinguishable, according to Colgan's account. This Conall"—also called Blessed Conall Droma'3—is thought to have been the
"
Antiquities of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 65.
83S
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March iS.
uterine brother of St. Attracta,^* and to have incurred her displeasure, because he refused permission to herself and her nuns to settle near that place, he had chosen, for a contemplative life. Little is known, regarding the Conall alluded to, and nothing can safely be stated, in reference to his identity with him, whose feast has been entered, in our Irish Calendars, at the 1 8th of March. Whether Kiilchonill, or Each-Druim^s^now Aughrira,^^
Kilconnell Abbey, County Galway.
about two miles distant—be understood as his place of residence, Colgan leaves to the investigators of his day an inference, that Conall's church had experienced the fate of St. Patrick's and of St. Attracta's denunciations. The Martyrology of Tallagh,^7 at the 18th of March, enters the name of Conall, Bishop. In like manner does Marianus O'Gorman note his feast. *^ Conall, Bishop, is again registered, in the Martyrology of Donegal/9 as having been venerated, on this day.
Article IV. —St. Moedoc, or Maedhog, of Cluain-esgrach. We
find the name and his locality given, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ at this date. Both are precisely similar, in the Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman, whorecordsMaidocus,ofCluainEscragh. ^ IntheAppendixtotheActsof
on the 9th of February, and on the nth of
fought on the 12th of July, 1691, took place, is shown on Sheet 87.
'7 Edited by the Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xix.
August. be found.
At the latter day, her Acts may
" the
baronies of Clonmacnowen and of Kil-
"
ep.
connell, is shown on the
"
Ordnance Survey
'9 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 80, 81.
or In the Franciscan we ridge," copy,
's
hill. "
'^ The parish of Aughrim, situated in the '^ Thus, CoriALluf Gp,
Anglicised,
horse's
find, ConAl. ivif
Article iv. —' Edited by Rev. Dr. Sheets 86, 87, 98, 99. The town of Kelly, p. xix. In the Franciscan copy, we
TownlandMapsfortheCountyofGalway,"
Aughrim, where the celebrated battle, read, niAi'DOCiif •oe cLuAin e^c^AAch.
March i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 839
St. Moedoc, Bishop of Ferns,3 Colgan has a notice of Moedocus de Cluain Escrach, whose feast is set down for the 14th of March f but neither at such date,noratthisday,istherefurthernoteregardinghim. s Itisnotaneasy matter to discover the present name of his place. Again, the Martyrology of Donegal^ mentions, as having a festival on this day, a St. Maedhog, of Cluain- esgrach.
ArticleV,—St. Toman,orThoman,Bishop. ThisnameThomanus,
abishop,appears,intheMartyrologyofTallagh,^attheiSthofMarch. It is entered, in a similar manner, in the Calendar of Marianus O'Gorman. ^ In reference to this saint, the BoUandists remark,3 that he was unknown to Colgan, and to themselves ; unless, indeed, he could be identified with the St. Tomienus, or Tomianus, Archbishop of Armagh, and whose Acts have been already given, at the loth of January. The festival of St. Toman, Bishop, is entered in the Martyrology of Donegal,* at this date.
Article VI. —St. Christianus, or Giolla Criost O'Conarchy, first
Abbot of Mellifont, County of Louth. {Twelfth Century. '] The last
of the Fathers, as St. Bernard^ is affectionately termed by the Church, infused
new vitality into the decaying monastic spirit of Western Europe ; and, at a
time when, but for a mighty spiritual influence, the fervour of religious
observance might have languished. From France, his institute extended to
these islands. So early as 1128, Gififard, Bishop of Winchester, had intro-
duced the Cistercian Order into Great Britain. It was originally instituted,
by Stephen Harding, an Englishman of remarkable energy and holiness, and, it had one of the most illustrious of the mediaeval saints for its true patron.
ThefounderofWaverleyAbbeyhadnobleimitators. Soon,FurnessAbbey,
in Lancashire, Fountains Abbey,^ in Yorkshire, New-Minster, Kirksted, and Roche, followed. The Order went on spreading, until the work of monas- ticism was finished in England. Then, it was found, that there were seventy- five Cistercian houses of men, in England, and twenty-six nunneries, belonging to the same Order. Notwithstanding, however, their great influence, the English branch is singularly barren, in historical memorials. At a somewhat later period, the Cistercian Order was introduced to Ireland, and the present holy abbot presided over the fi—rst house there established. The Life of this holy man, Christianus, or Christian, sometimes called Christianus Ua Condoirche,
= Thus,mAioocuf•oecLuAinefc|\ac1i.
3 His Life is given, at the 31st of Ja-
nuary.
* See " Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxxi.
Januarii. Appendix ad Acta S. Maidoci,
cap. I, p. 221.
s See the BoUandists' " Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus ii. , Martii xviii. Among the preter- mitted saints, p. 613.
* Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
80, 81. —
Article v. 'Edited by Rev. Dr.
Kelly, p. xix. In the Franciscan copy, it is
UhoiTiAnufe-p. ^
Thus, choTnAnui" Op.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. ,
Martii xviii. Among the pretermitted saints," p. 613.
* Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 80, 8i.
Articlevi. —^Thisgreatsahitwasborn, A. d. 1091, and he died, a. d. 1153, on the 20th of August, the date for his festival,
^ For an account of this magnificent erection, the reader is referred to "Memo- rials of the Abbey of St. Mary of Fountains. Collected and Edited by John Richard Walbran, F. S. A. , for the Surtees Society. " 1863. Thisgreathousewasfounded,onthe 26th of December, 1132. At the request of Sigward, Bishop of Bergen, in Norway, a colony of monks went forth from Fountains, A. D. 1 146, to carry their Order into his diocese. Theyfoundedanabbey,alittleto the south of which received the
or Klaustr' a Lysa, show, that, like its Eng- lish parent, the House of the Valley of Light was a noble structure. See pp. xlvi. , 89.
3 See Dr. Jeoffry Keating's enumeration
Bergen,
nameofLysa. The ruins of Lyse-kloster,
840 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March i8.
or Giolla Criost 0'Conarchy,3—had been frequently promised to Colgan ; yet, he was not able to procure it, when he published from various sources those Acts, which are to be found in his work. * The Bollandists, at this day, only have a few brief notices regarding him, and they preferred waiting to see, if his life should turn up, and reveal to them evidence, that any ancient writer had called him Sanctus or Beatiis. ^ The English Martyrology,^ Arnold Wion,7 Ferrarius,^ Vincentius,9 and Hugh Menard, insert his name, in their severalCalendars. Accordingtosomeaccounts,hewasbornoreducated,at Bangor, in Ulster ;^° and, if we credit Colgan, this holy man was a disciple, and also the Archdeacon, of St. Malachy O'Morgair," Archbishop of Armagh ; and, afterwards, he most probably travelled with the venerable prelate, when first leaving Ireland for Rome, about the year 1138, and when he visited Clairvaux, the great house of St. Bernard, on his way. Returning by the same route, it seems probable, that Christian was one of the four disciples, who remained as postulants, under the charge of St. Bernard, and who were admitted as monks of the Cistercian Order. When St. " Malachy reached Ire- land, he felt a great desire to found a house, and to procure a superior and monksfromthatOrdertoinhabitit; sothatsoontheAbbeyofMellifont,a few miles from Drogheda, in the present county of Louth, was founded by Donough O'Carroll, and, in the year 1141, St. Bernard sent over Christian, when duly trained, as the superior of some French brothers, to plant the good seed. About the year 1142, Mellifont seems to have been occupied, and here Christian lived for some time," with his monks. It has been asserted,'3 that Christian was subsequently elevated to the See of Lismore, and that he was the identical Papal Legate, who was present at the Council of Kells, assembled in the springtime of the year ii52,^'» and over which Cardinal John Paparo, Priest of St. Laurence in Damaso, presided, at the instance of Pope Eugene III. Besides, the distinction given to Christianus O'Conairche, as Bishop of Lismore, and Legate of the Sovereign Pontiff for Ireland, he is called head of the Irish monks ; but, in the latter case, we must understand, probably, only those of the Cistercian Order, in Ireland. It is untrue, as has been advanced by some, that he was bishop over Down, '3 succeeding St. Malachy O'IMorgair there, or that he presided as Archbishop
over ^^ Armagh.
that he
this so life,
false is the
early as a. d. i 148. ^7 It has been supposed, that Christianus presided over one
or two other Synods held in Ireland, and in the capacity of Apostolic Legate. Mellifont Abbey having been completed, about the year 1 1 5 7, it was conse-
crated, with a magnificent rite and solemnity. Then and there, a numerous
Equally
account,
departed
of the bishops, assembled at Kells, in his
" General History of Ireland," translated by
Dermod O'Connor, part ii. , p. 518. Duffy's edition.
Lismore," p. 550.
" His Life is given, at the 3rd of Novem-
ber.
" According to Arnold Wion's Benedic-
* See " Acta Sanctorum Hibernire," xviii. tine
Martii. De B. Christiano Abbate Melli- fontensi Episcopo et Legato Apostolico, pp. 652 to 655.
s See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii.
