No More Learning

See an account of him at that date, in
Lectiones. "
5 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Junii
Antiquse
Among the pretermitted saints, p. 418. 6s
v.
the pretermitted saints, p. 3.
1 See idid. , Junii ix. De S. Baitheno Ab-
See ibib. , tomus
ii. , Junii vii.
Among
bate, &c, pp. 236 to 238.
Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii vii. Among the pretermitted
saints, p. 3.
2
See his Life, in" this volume, at 9th of June, Art. i.
3 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnnn's " Life of St. Columba," Secunda Pnfefsdo, n. (u),
: —l Thus •'
Lindisfamae
Article ix.
Colmani Archiepiscopi, Nor—thumbrise Apos- toli, miraculis inclyti. ML. " Bishop Forbes' " Kalenders of Scottish Saints," p. 202.
a See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Feb-
ruarii xviii. De S. Colmano, pp. 82 p. 8.
to 88. Article xi. — • See **. Acta Sanctorum. "
3 See ibid. , tomus ii. , Junii vii. Among tomus ii. , Junii vii. Among the pretermitted the pretermitted saints, p. 2. saints, p. 4.
the present wor—k, volume viii.
•
Article x.
See "Acta
1 notice,
June 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 241 <£tgfotf) 23ap of Stme*
ARTICLE I. —ST. BRON, BISHOP OF CASSEL-IRRA, COUNTY OF SLIGO. [FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. }
having close relations, with the great Apostle of Ireland ;
little seems to be the of this ALTHOUGH known, regarding personal history
ye
In the published edition of the Martyrology of Tallagh, we find mention of " Broin Esp. Caisil," at the vi. of the Ides (8th) of June 2 The Bollandists3 notice the Irish Bishop Bron, at this same date, and refer to Colgan's pub-
lished work ; while, they remark, that he had promised to give more regard- ing him, at the 8th of June, and the fulfilment of which promise was to be expected at the hands of succeeding Franciscans.
Although of obscure origin, it is said, that St. Bron was the son of Icnus. In the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick,* Bron or Bronius is called " Alius ignis,"*
t,
primitive and holy bishop. It was the intention of Father John Colgan, had
1
he lived, to have published the Acts of St. Bron, at the 8th day of June.
" filius Icnus. "6 he is at a loss to
but more
know, why this saint was called namehadbeenAodh,orOedh,whichsignifiesfire. 7 Thisholymanismentioned
8
correctly perhaps,
Colgan says,
filius ignis," unless it were that his father's
"
on more than one occasion, in the Acts of the Irish Apostle.
Thus, while he
was in the region called Dumha-graidh,9 beyond the Shannon, St. Patrick had
the monk
Macerca, wereontheirwaytovisithim,butthattheywereafraidtocross
12
an internal that St. revelation,
Bron,
Olcan,
disciple
11
Through the miraculous agency of Ireland's Apostle, however, they were freed from all danger. St. Bron was a disciple of St. Patrick, '3 and probably, at that time, when the Irish Apostle first journeyed toConnaught. He was elevated to the episcopal dignity, also, by the Irish Apostle. 14 St. Bron is said to have ordained St. 1 * who was St. Patrick.
at Traigh-eothuile;
Maneus, baptized by
With the holy man and one named Bitseus, St. Bron assisted at the con-
secration of
Bishop Carellus,
16 who was set over the Church of Tanmach. 17
Article I. — x See "
Catalogus aliquo-
9 While it is so written in the Second
rum Sanctorum Hibernian, quse MS. haben-
Part, and Thirty-fifth Chapter, in the Tripartite Life of the saint, it is written Dumhacha-
gridh, in the succeeding Forty-second Chap- ter.
His feast has been assigned, to the 20th
of February.
" His festival is not known with cer«
tainty.
I2
This estuary lies on the northern coast of Sligo County.
I3 See " Trias Colgan's
tur. "
2" See Rev. Dr. Kelly's
Calendar of Irish
Saints," &c. , p. xxvi.
3 I0
See ''Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii viii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 51.
4 See his Life in the Third Volume of this work, at March 17th, Art. i.
5 See " Trias Thaumaturga," Septima
Vita S.
Patricii,
Pars
ii. , cap. xxxv. , p.
Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap.
'34- 6"
By Dr. O'Donovan, he—is called Bishop
xxiii. , p. 267. I4 See ibid.
Bronus, the son of Icnus. "
Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (g), p. 167.
7 See " Trias Colgan's
Septima Pars ii. , cap. xxxv. , p. 134.
Vita S.
Patricii,
»S Septima Vita S. Patricii, Pars ii. , cap. ber.
xxxv. , n. 72, p. 176.
•See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Septima Vita S. Patricii, Pars ii. , chap. xxxv. , xln. , xliii. , lii. , xcvi. , xcvii. , pp. 134, x35» ! 3"i J42-
" Annals of the
Thaumaturga,"
10 and his
His feast occurs, at the 2nd of Septem-
l6 His feast has been assigned to the 13th
of July.
1 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Septima Vita S. Patricii, Pars ii. , cap. xliii. , p. 135,
Q
242 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 8.
" St. PatrickpassedfromForrach-mac-nAmhalgaidh,or theAssemblyPlace
18 to Ros Filiorum Caitni, where he built a church. Cross- ing the Muaidh or Moy, at Bertriga or Bartragh, he raised a cross there, and he proceeded thence to the mound of Riabart, near which he built a church for
of the Sons of
Awley,"
1? Anotherstructure20 is
connectedwithSt.
his
while in this
speck of land, which rises over Cummeen Strand, is known as Doonan Patrick, achurchinruinsbeingseentothesouth-west. 22 Thepeninsulaherealluded to lies south-west of Sligo town. In St. Patrick's Tripartite Life, this was called the Church of Cassel 23 the foundations of which were laid Bron. We
disciple.
traditionally
Patrick, 21 is associated. This
part
of the
country,
and with it a
legend
Irra, by
find, however, in one account, that the church of this holy bishop was known
^fc^g
Kilaspugbrone Old Church.
as Cuil-Iorre. 2* The name Cassel Irra is no longer remembered among the people, although Cuil-irra is still retained in this part of the country, as a denomination which applies to a district of land, lying west of Sligo town.
The people say, that Cuil-irra extends from where Killaspugbrone is bounded
18 See Dr. P. W. Joyce's " Origin and History of Irish Names of Places," part i. , chap, v. , p. 79.
19 This is stated, in the Annotations to Tirechan, found in the Book of Armagh.
10
This is called Doonan Patrick, ouriAti pacpaic. It is a small round Island, in Dorrin's Strand, a short distance to the east of Coney Island, which tradition says was built by St. Patrick, when he resided on Coney Island, alias Inishmulclohy, i«i|" maob ctuice, in order to have an egress from the island, and an access to it with safety at all times.
" While residing there, St. Patrick re- ceived some offence from the m«ol cUnce,
after whom the Island was named, in retalia- tion for which, the saint denounced him and
his posterity. In consequence thereof, the people say his descendants are so few and so scattered over the land, that four of the name are never met with at a funeral. See County of Sligo Letters, one volume. Mr. O'Conor's Letter, dated Sligo, September 4th, 1836, pp. 60 to 65.
33 These features are very clearly delinea- ted on the Map of Sligo, to be found in the " Gazetteer of the World," vol. x.
*3 Regarding the Church of St. Bron, at this place, the following legend occurs : " in cujus atrio est saxum, super quam ceci- dit dens ejus supra memoratus. "—Colgan's
JUNE 8. LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 243
by St. John's parish, to the east and south-east, and southwards to Ballin- droichet. 25 Thisoldchurch,nowinruins,issituatedinthetownlandofKillas-
26anditisclosetothesea-shore. 2? Atthe thechurch present time,
poigbrone,
whichwasfoundedhereis knownbythenameofKillaspugbrone,beingcalled
after St. Bron. 28 This name seems to be as old as the end of the fifth, or
the beginning of the sixth, century. The present name, Killaspugbrone, is 2"
very little altered from the orignal Cill-easpuig-Broin, ? or the church of bishop Bronus. " The former territory of Cassel-Irra comprised the present
parishes of Killaspugbrone and Kilmacowen, in Carbury barony, county of Sligo. The last-named of those two denominations now forms a parish, a shortdistancesouth-westofSligotown. InthetownlandofKillmacowen,3°
r
there is an old church in ruins,3 at which there is also a well, dedicated to the
great Irish Apostle.
32 There is a stone at this well, which presents a reddish
or rust-like colour, and it is indented, the people say, with an impression of St. Patrick's knee, and stained with the blood of this same saint. Nothing is now knownofthesainttowhomthisparish33 isdedicated.
In the Life of St. Brigid, Patroness of Kildare,34 the primitive bishop of this locality, St. Bron, is specially noticed. It is stated, that he was present at a Synod, where St. Patrick and himself attended. 35 A very scandalous falsehood had been concocted by an infamous woman, who pre- ferred an unfounded charge against Bishop Broon, St. Patrick's disciple. This is said to have been disproved by a miracle, through which the innocent
bishop'scharacterhadbeenamplyvindicated. 36 Inthepresenceofallassem-
bled, the woman professed her repentance, while the sanctity of our saint was gloriously magnified. 37 However, the whole account of this matter is false and contradictory ; for, there are several irreconcilable particulars, in different versions of the narrative.
O'Conor's
31 Called by the people, ceAtnpAlX ciUle true eogAin.
32 It is called, cobAr*pAcr\Aic, or the Well of Patrick.
33 Mr. O'Conoralsoremarks "Thename :
of a townland in Killmacowen parish, which
is pronounced in Irish cj\oc tiA nur\r»<x, and in the Down Survey is spelt Knocknahin and Knocknahir, seems to me to retain the ir\rvA ofCuil-irra. "
34 See her Life in the Second Volume of this work, at February 1, Art. i.
Letter, dated Sligo, September 4th, 1836, pp. 63, 64.
The two first Lives of St. Brigid omit it
"Trias Thaumaturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars ii. , cap. xcvii. , p—. 142.
24 Such is the I—rish text rendered in Latin Sylvae Iorrae as given, when treat- ing about Bishop Bron, in Rev. Charles
"
Rerum Hibernicarum Scripto- res," tomus iii. Quatuor Magistrorum An-
nates Hibernici," p. 139.
25 See County of Sligo Letters, formerly
belonging to the Ordnance Survey Office, Phcenix Park, one vol. Mr. O'Conor's
26 "
work.
lx. , p. 559. Also, Quinta Vita S. Brigidse, 27 The accompanying illustration, drawn cap. l. , p. 579.
35 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"Tertia Vita S. Brigidse, cap. xxxix. , xl. , lxxxv. , pp. Genealogies, Tribes and Customs of Hy- 531, 532. Quarta Vita S. Brigidse, lib. i. , Fiachrach," p. 470, and Map of the same cap. xlii. , p. 549, and lib. ii. , cap. lviii. , lix. ,
See O'Donovan's Translation of
onthespotbyjWilliamF. Wakeman,wasby him transferred to the wood, engraved by
Mrs. Millard.
28
"Killaspoigbrone Parish is called in Irish —cill-edr-p<si5br>oin, Cella Episcopi Broni. " "Letters containing Information relative to the Antiquities of the County Sligo, col- lected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey, in the year 1836," one volume. Mr.
36It maybeanimitationofasomewhat similar anecdote, concerning St. Buccius or Briction, Bishop of Tours, the immediate successor of St. Martin. See St. Gregory of Tours " Historia Francorum," lib. ii. , cap. i.
37 The Rev. Dr. Lanigan remarks, that this narrative is placed before the appoint- ment of Natfroich, as companion to St.
O'Conor's Letter, dated Sligo, September Brigid ; and hence, if such a circumstance
4th, 1836, p. 60.
"» As written by the Four Masters.
30 Killmacowen is called, ciLl mic eoin
(eo$Ain), in Irish, i. e. , Cella filii Eugenii.
occurred, in the presence of St. Patrick, St. Brigid must have been very young at the time.
38 See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical
244 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 8.
altogether, although relating several of her miracles less remarkable, and worthy of being recorded. 38 A ruined little church still remains on the very spot, where St. Bron officiated ; but, it cannot be the structure erected in the time of St. Patrick, for the style of masonry proves, that it belongs to a very much later period. 3? In the beginning of this century, a village adjacent to the old church was gradually engulfed by the blowing sands, and its inhabi- tants, as a consequence, were compelled to remove. 40
1
Our saint died on the 8th day of the month of June,* in the beginning of
the sixth century. In the Irish Calendar,43 at the vi. of the Ides of June, cor-
respondingwithJune8th,thissaintiscommemorated. 43 Onthe8thofJune,
the O'Clerys 44 record the festival of Bron, Bishop of Caiseal Irrae, in Ui
Faichrach-Muaidhe. Again, under the head of Caisiol Iorra, Duald Mac
Firbis,45 records Bron, bishop of Caisiol-Iorra, in Hy Fiachrach of the Moy.
These authorities also have his death, at a. d. 511, which agrees with the
chronology, in the Annals of the Four Masters. 40 This year 4? is usually
regarded as that, in which he died. Our saint appears to have been interred
at Cassel-Irra. 48 The people of Killaspugbrone do not at present know the
Patron Saint or Patron Day of this Parish, the latter observance having been
discontinued long since. St. Biteus 4° of Caissel-ira is supposed 5° to have
become bishop there after a. d. 512, the year succeeding that in which
Bronius died ; and, accordingly, he must have been very young, when he was
a of St. Patrick. * 1 He is said to have been buried at We disciple Rathcunga.
are not able to add, any additional particulars to elucidate the episcopacy of the present St. Bron ; nor do we find that special Acts remain, to make his biography more complete.
Article II. —St. Luathrfnna, or Luaithrenn, Virgin, of Kill Luathrenn, or Killurin, County of Sligo. Notwithstanding the obscurity in which this pious virgin's Acts are veiled, we may feel assured, that she undertook no work, on which she could not invoke the Lord's bless-
ing, and that she was diligent in public and private devotions. The simple 1
entry Luaitrind, Achaidh Coraind, occurs i—n the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the—8thofJune. TheAbbotSt. Corbmac whoflourishedinthesixthcen-
tury predicted the future sanctity of this virgin, according to an account,
contained in his as 3 To this we have elsewhere Life, published by Colgan.
alluded. 3 This pious woman descended from the race of Corbmac Gaileng,
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, viii. , sect. xi. , n. 139, p. 413.
39 See Dr. P. W. Joyce's "Origin and History of Irish Names of Places," part i. , chap, v. , p. 79.
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. , pp. 92, 93.
46 See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's edition, tomus
iii. , p. 139.
*7 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
40 See
Major
Wood-Martin's "
History
of
Four vol. Masters,"
"Trias Thaumaturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars ii. , cap. xxxv. , p. 134, Hence, we may infer, that he lies buried there.
book
41 See Rev. Dr. Charles O'Conor's " Re- our saint " est in Caissel-Irra. " Colgan's
note
rum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iii. ,
Quatuor Magistorum Annales Hibernici,
Life of St. Patrick of says
Sligo," &c,
i. , chap,
i. ,
p. 9,
3.
Tripartite
p. 139-
4a " *9
a
CCivea sc ,. «
p. 136. — Article ii.
There we
find, Opon efp. CAipiob — o
Ipjv&e inuib £i4cp46 muAToe ano 'Ooiri
511. "
43 See the Ordnance Survey Office Copy
of " Common Place Book F," now in the
Royal Irish Academy, p. 52.
44 See Drs. Todd's and Reeves' edition
His feast has been
to the 22nd
*-,pf the Martyrology of Donegal," pp. 148, • V
Edited by Rev. Dr. a See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernia,"
Proceedings
of the
Royal
Irish
48 The
assigned,
of July and to the 30th of September.
i. ,pp. 166, i67. ,andn. (g).
5° By Rev. Dr. Lanigan in his " Ecclesi- astical History of Ireland," vol. i.
$* See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars ii. , cap. Iii. ,
Kelly, p. xxvi.
June 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 245 son to Tadhg, son of Cian, son to Oilioll Oluim, according to the compiler of
"
the O'Clerys' Calendar. This also agrees with a statement of the
Sanctilo-
giumGenealogicum.