COLMAN EALA TO HIS ANCESTRAL
PROVINCE—HIS
VISITS TO ST.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
As a memorial of the miracle wrought, a stone was afterwards to be seen erected on that spot, where it took placets
Thence, it is stated, Colman went to Connor in Ulster. 46 This place had
been lately the seat of the blessed Bishop Macnesse. 4 ? We are told in the
8
Franciscan Life,* that when distinguished for holiness, Colman built a
monastery, but it is not stated where, and in it he desired to spend his days in
heavenly contemplation. Afterwards he left it in charge of four disciples. He requested them to remain there, and such injunction they fulfilled, although suffering from dire want. The total privation of food at last caused their death. It is related, that he restored dead persons to life, and among these was a youth who afterwards devoted himself to the saint's service, in which he continued to his old age. His intervention also restored peace to hostile clans. 4? When travelling one day in a chariot, Colman came to a river, called Dabhall50 or Dabul, which at the time had been swollen to a torrent,
Apostle's Acts with the present St. Colman Elo. 2
"
unjustly struck the servant of Christ, fall to-morrow from thy side. " This
upon, his master said,
May that left hand of thine, with which thou hast
36 In Ultonia. This Colgan intended to show, in the first chapter of his Life, to be published at the 26th of September, and in
notes to be appended.
37 This is to be fouud in the Franciscan
"
Vitoe Sanctorum, ex Codice Inisinsi," in the hand-writing of Father John Colgan, cap. i. , p. 130.
38 According to Tigernach.
39 The Annals of Clonmacnoise state, that he died in 609 ; other Irish Annals have 610. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the P'our Masters," vol. i. , pp. 234-236, and n. (o), ibid.
42 His feast is held on the 3rd of Novem- ber, where notices of him may be found in the present work.
43 According to the Life of St. Colman Eala found in the Franciscan copy "ox Codice Inisensi," cap. 2, p. 130.
4, See ibid. , cap. 2, pp, 130, 131.
45 The foregoing narrative is to be found in
a Manuscript, belonging to Trinity College,
copy
40 See
" Trias volume, Art. i. Thaumaturga. "
Colgan's QuintaAppendix
ad Acta S.
48 That "ex Codice Inisinsi," Patricii, cap. copy
hi. , iv. , pp. 131, 132.
cap.
xxiii, p. 266.
41 See ibid. Sexta Vita S.
4» to the Franciscan Life "ex According
Patricii, cap.
clxxix. , and n. 169, pp. 104, 1 16. Also Sep- Codice Inisensi," cap. v„ vi. , vii. , viii. , pp.
tima Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap. xcii, and 132, L33.
n. 117, pp. 166, 188. s»This was the ancient name of the
Dublin, and classed E.
46 This is not mentioned, however, in the
II, fol, 106, a, b. Franciscan Life of our saint.
47
where his Acts may be found, in the present
3.
His feast occurs at the 3rd of September,
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
yet he drove forward and passed it in safety. Again, he visited the cell of
September 26. 1
597
a
holy virgin,
named Lasara,*1 and there an incredible miracle is recorded as
having taken place. "52
At Connor, it is stated, St. Colman Ela made some stay. In such a manner
were his virtues and miracles manifested, that in following ages he was honoured and esteemed as second patron of that city. " This saint is thought to be identical with St. Colman-Elo of Connor and Muckamore,5* about two miles from Antrim. According to certain writers, St. Colman built a noble monastery at Muckamore. ss—some ruins of which still exist. It is said to have been erected in 550, and to have been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin
6 if St. Colman Elo died in 610, when Mary. s But,
or even
years old, 5 ? the monastery at Muckamore must have been built, at a much later period, supposing this saint to have been its founder. By Adamnan St. Colman is represented as being a Presbyter in one passage, and so he is designatedinhisLife; butinacapitulartitle58heiscalledEpiscopus,which seems to be an error. To make good his episcopal rank, Colgan identifies
6o as Columbanus
Were we to admit that Colman was born in 555, he must have only been fifteen years of age, at the time of St. Ita's death, generally assigned to a. d.
him with the individual, mentioned5? in the Life of St.
and apparently for no better reason, than because the latter went to visit St. Columba on the island of Hyth or Iona, where he obtained the grade of bishop, and afterwards returned to Ireland. He was the foster son of St. Rethna or Rathnat, who lived at Kill-Raith, in the plain of the LifTfey, and whose feast is kept on the 5 th of August. There, as already stated, it seems most likely, he was the Columbanus Mac Ua Laoigse, venerated on the 15th of May.
569
61 or
570.
62 As
may readily
be he could not have been concluded,
consecrated bishop, at so early a period. By many writers, this saint has 6
been confounded with St. Colman, Bishop of Dromore, 3 whose festival occurs
at the 7th of June. The learned Ussher fell into this mistake 6* and his ;
authority, doubtless, deceived several subsequent writers. 65
Abhainn-mor or iilackwater Rver, id the Counties of Tyrone and Arm. -igh. See Dr. O'Donovan's"AnnalsoftheFourMasters," vol. i. , p. 124, n, (u).
51 Several saints bearing this name are recorded in our Irish Calendars
s8 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 5, p. 29.
s2 Related in the Franciscan Life, "ex
Codice Iniscensi," cap. x. , xii. , pp. 133, the date for her feast in the First Volume
134.
53 See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga,"
Sexta Vita S- Patricii. or Jocelyn's, cap. xcvi. Also, Archbishop Ussher's Works, vol. vi. , " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"
of this work, Art. i.
" 6l
— "Acta Sanctorum Colgan's
fifty-two
fifty-six,
Ita,
;
S9Thus: "cui nomen erat Columbam pergens, ill ic gradum episcopalem accepit. "
Hiberniae," xv. Januarii,Vita S. Itae,cap. xxi. , p. 69, and n. 2—2.
vol. i. pp. 206, 207. " 62
cap xvii. , p. 530.
54 See Rev. William Reeves' Ecclesias- According to the Annals of Tighernach.
tical Antiquities of Down, Connor, and See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hiberni-
Dromore," pp. 97, 98, n. (g), and Appendix, p. 380.
55 See L'Abbe Ma-Geoghegan's "Historic de l'lrlande, ancienne et moderne," tome i,, seconde partie, chap, iii. , p. 296,
56 See Rev. John Dubourdieu's " Statisti- cal Survey of the County of Antrim," chap.
carum Scriptores," tomus ii. , Tigernaci Annales, p. 150. The Annals of Inisfallen assign this event to the much earlier date, a. d. 562. Seeibid. , Ann des Inisfalenses, p. 7.
6i See his Acts, at the 7th of June, in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. i.
64
See Archbishop Ussher's collected iv. , sect. 3, p. 591. Also, Archdalls Works, vol, iv. Chronological Index, at
"
Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 10.
A. t. 550.
65 Among others, the Ab -e Ma-Geoghegan,
57 See Rev, Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," at A. d. 610, vol. i. , pp. 234 to 237.
"
Seconde Partie, chap, iii. , pp. 304, 305.
6" See her Life at the of
— 15th January
According to the Annales Ultonienses.
"
See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's
carum Scriptores," tomus iv. , p. 25, and Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters,"
in his
Histoire de l'lrlande/' tome i. ,
Return Hiberni-
59«
LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September26.
CHAPTER II.
RETURN OF ST.
COLMAN EALA TO HIS ANCESTRAL PROVINCE—HIS VISITS TO ST. COLUMBA IN IONA—ESCAPES THE DANGERS OF COIREBRECAIN WHIRLPOOL- CONVENTION AT WHICH ST. COLMAN OBTAINS A GRANT OF LAND TO FOUND HIS MONASTERY AND CHURCH AT LYNALLY—RECORD OF VARIOUS MIRACLES— FOREKNOWLEDGE OF HIS DEATH—HIS VISIT TO Cl. ONARD IN ANTICIPATION OF IT—HIS RETURN TO LYNALLY AND DEPARTURE FROM LIFE—ST. COLMAN EALA's COMMEMORATION AND MEMORIALS—CONCLUSION.
After some time, giving his blessing to that people, Colman Eala left Connor, it is said, and came into his own ancestral country of Meath, It seems likely, that he had there established for himself a mission, and a character for great sanctity, before he resolved on visiting his near relative St. Columba in the Island of Iona. In Adamnan's Life there are two distinct accounts of our saint having been on a voyage to that Island, and
of
from it, on the of Sr. Columba's death. 1 very year
having departed
Iona, can hardly be determined. However, the great Abbot of that place being one day in his church, and having the gift of second sight, broke forth
again
Although having little regard to chronological sequence in his biographical narrative ; yet, it seems most probable, those accounts have reference to different visits. It has been supposed from a passage in the Life of St. Columba,2 that St. Colman was not only an Abbot, but also a Bishop. Whether this was so or not before he visited St. Columkille in his monastery of
"
on his voyage to us, is now imperilled in the turbulent waters of Brecan's
Charybdis4 butsittingontheprowofhisshipandliftingbothhishandsto
;
Heaven, he blesses the formidable waves. Nor doth the Lord thus affright him, as if he dreaded shipwreck, but to cause him more fervently to pray,
in a joyous exclamation :
Columbanus,3 the son of Bcognai, who started
and that he come to us
may providentially having escaped
that — danger. *"
since
ocation of Brecan's A hasbeen thatthel—
Charybdis
more generally known as Corrybracken6 was originally near the Island of Rathlin, on the north coast of Ireland, in the time of St. Columba, although
conjecture offered,
it has since moved more to the north-east, and nearer to the coast of Scot- land. ' The " Vita Sanctissimi Colmani Ela" adds to the foregoing account,
11. See the Rev. Dr. Reeves' Brecan, son of Maine, son of Niall of the Chapter —'
Nine Hostages, was engulfed by it in the cap. 5, p. 29, and lib. ii. , cap. 15, pp. 124, year a. d. 440. It is a curious fact, that the 125. only place in Ireland where the name now
2"
See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga. " exists is in the inland county of Monaghan,
Quarta Vita S. Columbse, lib. i. , cap. 5, p. where a townland, in the parish of Maghera- 340. cloone, having a fine earthen fort, is called 3 By this title Colman Eala is sometimes Corrybracken. See it marked on the "Ord- nance Survey Townland Maps for the
Adamnan's "Life of St Columba," lib i. ,
distinguished among our Irish saints.
4 In Codex B. of Rev. Dr. Reeves, con-
County of Monaghan,' sheets 30, 31.
7 Although the name has long since shifted to the strait between Scarba and Jura, just as Scotia has forsaken its original home, there can be no doubt that in Adamnan's day this Corry- Bracken was situate near the Irish coast : its connection with the Island of 5 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's Life Rathlin, as furnished in the title, and the
taining
S. ColumbcTe Vita, a vellum MS. of
the middle ef the fifteenth century, there is a
titulus to Adamnan's Life, at lib. ii. , cap. 13,
•'
in vortice Brecani," and it is an allusion to this great natural curiosity of con-
which has
sea-tides and currents.
of St. Columba, lib. i. , cap. 5, p. 29.
6 It was called by the Irish CoinebpecAiii,
'
Brecan's Cauldron,' from the peculiar motion of the water, and the tradition that
flicting
"
"
the chapter of Adamnan's Life of St.
Columba, lib. i. , cap. 5, are sufficient proof of this.
expression
transnavigare incipiens," in
September 26. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 599 that when Colman and his brethren safely arrived in Iona, the monks on
"
that Island greatly rejoiced, and Columba said to him,
do not feel dissatisfied, that you go not to teach distant nations, but return again to Hybemia, the land of your birth, and feed your nation by word and example with the grace given you by God. For of necessity, I have been brought hither, but I beseech you not to absent yourself and deprive your land of your teaching. " Having received such admonition, Colman returned
with a favouring wind to Ireland.
8
Vivid descriptions' regarding the
dangerous gulf or whirlpool of Coirebrecain, to which allusion has been
made, are preserved in the Irish language, both in the Dinnseanchus and in
Cormac's 10 It is referred to Giraldus Cambrensis,11 andfrom an
copy cap. xiii. , pp. 134, 135.
" Ecclesiastical An
In Irish, Slog tii rnana, Gulp of the
:
" Non procul ab insulis ex parte
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 220 to 227.
20 He ruled over Ireland from a. d. 568 to
a. d. 594, when he was slain by Bran Dubh, King of Leinster. See ibid. , pp. 206 to 221. Hence we must infer, this convention had been held before the latter date, and before
to
Aedh Slaine began reign.
22
which date his Life may be seen in the Tenth Volume of this work.
Glossary. by
it had been the terror of mariners. 12 of 13 Writing Scarbay,
early period
Fordun has an allusion to it. 14
has been also, the called,
The saint to whom reference is here made
15 Colman Mocusailne l6 and it is holy bishop ;
said, his danger occurred near the Isle Reachru. 17 Part of the channel between Ballycastle and the Island of Rathlin, at certain times is so dis- turbed by the tidal action, that even in the absence of wind no small cralt
18
could live in it. It is locally known by the characteristic name Slugnamorra. In the order of narrative as contained in the Franciscan Life, we read after St. Colman's return to Ireland from Iona, that a great convention was
held, and it was attended by Aedh Slaine19 and Aedh20 the son of Ainmi- 21
rech, as also by St. Columcille, St. Kynecus and St. Colman. It is stated,
that our saint returned to the County of Meath about the year 590, and 22
attended a meeting at which St. Columkille, St. Cannich and the monarch
of Ireland were 23 All received our saint with St. Colum- present. great joy.
:
* It is added " oblius est ampullam cum Gentis Scotorum," edited by William F.
oleo quam solus Columba ei concessit. Sed
providential summi provisoris factum est ut sancti Colmano orante in loco suo eandem ampullam in la reiictam corum se vuleret. '' —P'ranciscan
Inisensi,''
9 See Hamilton's " Letters on the North
Coast of Antrim," p. 14.
10 The latter of which, with other illus-
trative matter, is printed in Dr. Reeves'
"
Colgan's TriasThaumaturga,"p. 458,and O'DonneU's Life of S. Columba, lib. iii. , cap.
21, p. 434. **&.
" Thus
boreali, est maris qua;dam admiranda vorago. Ad quam a remotis partibus omnes undique marini fiuctus tanquam ex condicto confluunt et concurrunt : qui in secreta naturre pene- tralia se ib—i transfundentes, quasi in abyssum vorantur. " "Topographia Hibernica. " Dis- tinctio ii. , cap. xiv.
Skeene, vol i. , lib. ii. , cap. x. , p. 43.
'5 He is stated to have been a presbyter, at the time of S. Columba's death. The dig- nity of bishop he must have afterwaids
obtained.
16
The clan name by which he was distin- guished, Colman ela nuc Ui Sailne.
'7 Now Rathlin, off the northern Coast of
" ex Codice
of Down, Coniior and Dromore," pp. 289, 386. See also the extract from the Life of St. Kieran in
sea. ' It is the
probably Jolduhlaup,
iquities
"Owing to the danger encountered, extra
pay had been given to the coast-guard, at
that station, to a comparatively recent was venerated on the nth of October, at
date.
•» About the year 1390.
14
Regarding it, this author says, "Juxta quam gurges oceani decurrit fortissima Core- brekane. "—Johannis de Fordun " Chronica
23 " Diocese of See Rev. A. Cogan's
Antrim County. The natives call it Raghery. 18 '
' Break- ing of waves,' commemorated in the Icelandic
Sagas.
'9 Aedh Slaine began his reign over Ire-
land, a,d. 595, and it continued to a. d. 600.
See Dr. O' Donovan's
"
Annals of the Four
21
He was born A. D. 517, and he died A. D. 600.
Or Canice,the Patron Saint of Kilkenny.
This saint, the patron of Kilkenny,
Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. iii. , chap, lxxiv. ,
pp. 617, 618.
Brother Colman,
6oo LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September26.
kille proposed a motion, that they should give Colman a proper place to found a monastery for his disciples. When all the nobles and clergy had agreed to this resolution, ^Edus, the son of Slane, Prince of Meath, proffered
24
a large forest in the southern part of his dominions called Fidh-Elo,
in the
of 8 This Colman accepted, and then foretold, that there territory Fergall. *
should be his place of resurrection. It was declared likewise, from that place he should take his name. Then accompanied by Lasrianus the minister of St. Columba, Colman went to the place, and they selected a site for the religious foundation. In the middle of that forest, and in a place well watered, and encompassed with fair fields, Colman raised the famous monastery of Land or Lann-Elo. 26 There in after time a great number of
2
holy disciples served the Lord with fidelity. ? Archbishop Ussher furnishes
an extract fiom the life of St. Colman Rio, and he describes the situation of
St. Colman Elo's Church, Lynally.
this church, as having been four miles distant from Durrow of St. Columkille.
28
The place was called Linalli,
Tullamore, in the present King's County. There he lived in extraoidinary sanctity, to a good old age, while he trained up many souls in religious perfection.
Approaching the close of the sixth century, it is probable St. Colman
Elo erected his monastery and chinch.
24 See the account of Lynally in " Letters containing Information relative to the Anti- quities of the King's County, collected
during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1837," vol. i. Letter of John O' Donovan, dated Tullamore, January 2nd, 1 838, pp. 93 to 96,
The present ruins of L) nally church
the Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 384, 385-
now Lynally, about one mile south-west of
ss Or Fir-Ceall, where Lann Eala was script Vita; Sanctorum ex Codice Inisensi,
situated. See the Table appended to the
«'
Martyrology of Donegal," edited by
chap, xiv. , p. 135. 28 "
26
Lann is frequently used in connexion with Welsh churches, and having the same mean-
ing.
2; See the Life of our saint from the Manu-
RenderedtheChurchofElo. Theterm
See Primodia," cap. xvii. , p. 960.
September 26. 1
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
Thence, it is stated, Colman went to Connor in Ulster. 46 This place had
been lately the seat of the blessed Bishop Macnesse. 4 ? We are told in the
8
Franciscan Life,* that when distinguished for holiness, Colman built a
monastery, but it is not stated where, and in it he desired to spend his days in
heavenly contemplation. Afterwards he left it in charge of four disciples. He requested them to remain there, and such injunction they fulfilled, although suffering from dire want. The total privation of food at last caused their death. It is related, that he restored dead persons to life, and among these was a youth who afterwards devoted himself to the saint's service, in which he continued to his old age. His intervention also restored peace to hostile clans. 4? When travelling one day in a chariot, Colman came to a river, called Dabhall50 or Dabul, which at the time had been swollen to a torrent,
Apostle's Acts with the present St. Colman Elo. 2
"
unjustly struck the servant of Christ, fall to-morrow from thy side. " This
upon, his master said,
May that left hand of thine, with which thou hast
36 In Ultonia. This Colgan intended to show, in the first chapter of his Life, to be published at the 26th of September, and in
notes to be appended.
37 This is to be fouud in the Franciscan
"
Vitoe Sanctorum, ex Codice Inisinsi," in the hand-writing of Father John Colgan, cap. i. , p. 130.
38 According to Tigernach.
39 The Annals of Clonmacnoise state, that he died in 609 ; other Irish Annals have 610. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the P'our Masters," vol. i. , pp. 234-236, and n. (o), ibid.
42 His feast is held on the 3rd of Novem- ber, where notices of him may be found in the present work.
43 According to the Life of St. Colman Eala found in the Franciscan copy "ox Codice Inisensi," cap. 2, p. 130.
4, See ibid. , cap. 2, pp, 130, 131.
45 The foregoing narrative is to be found in
a Manuscript, belonging to Trinity College,
copy
40 See
" Trias volume, Art. i. Thaumaturga. "
Colgan's QuintaAppendix
ad Acta S.
48 That "ex Codice Inisinsi," Patricii, cap. copy
hi. , iv. , pp. 131, 132.
cap.
xxiii, p. 266.
41 See ibid. Sexta Vita S.
4» to the Franciscan Life "ex According
Patricii, cap.
clxxix. , and n. 169, pp. 104, 1 16. Also Sep- Codice Inisensi," cap. v„ vi. , vii. , viii. , pp.
tima Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap. xcii, and 132, L33.
n. 117, pp. 166, 188. s»This was the ancient name of the
Dublin, and classed E.
46 This is not mentioned, however, in the
II, fol, 106, a, b. Franciscan Life of our saint.
47
where his Acts may be found, in the present
3.
His feast occurs at the 3rd of September,
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
yet he drove forward and passed it in safety. Again, he visited the cell of
September 26. 1
597
a
holy virgin,
named Lasara,*1 and there an incredible miracle is recorded as
having taken place. "52
At Connor, it is stated, St. Colman Ela made some stay. In such a manner
were his virtues and miracles manifested, that in following ages he was honoured and esteemed as second patron of that city. " This saint is thought to be identical with St. Colman-Elo of Connor and Muckamore,5* about two miles from Antrim. According to certain writers, St. Colman built a noble monastery at Muckamore. ss—some ruins of which still exist. It is said to have been erected in 550, and to have been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin
6 if St. Colman Elo died in 610, when Mary. s But,
or even
years old, 5 ? the monastery at Muckamore must have been built, at a much later period, supposing this saint to have been its founder. By Adamnan St. Colman is represented as being a Presbyter in one passage, and so he is designatedinhisLife; butinacapitulartitle58heiscalledEpiscopus,which seems to be an error. To make good his episcopal rank, Colgan identifies
6o as Columbanus
Were we to admit that Colman was born in 555, he must have only been fifteen years of age, at the time of St. Ita's death, generally assigned to a. d.
him with the individual, mentioned5? in the Life of St.
and apparently for no better reason, than because the latter went to visit St. Columba on the island of Hyth or Iona, where he obtained the grade of bishop, and afterwards returned to Ireland. He was the foster son of St. Rethna or Rathnat, who lived at Kill-Raith, in the plain of the LifTfey, and whose feast is kept on the 5 th of August. There, as already stated, it seems most likely, he was the Columbanus Mac Ua Laoigse, venerated on the 15th of May.
569
61 or
570.
62 As
may readily
be he could not have been concluded,
consecrated bishop, at so early a period. By many writers, this saint has 6
been confounded with St. Colman, Bishop of Dromore, 3 whose festival occurs
at the 7th of June. The learned Ussher fell into this mistake 6* and his ;
authority, doubtless, deceived several subsequent writers. 65
Abhainn-mor or iilackwater Rver, id the Counties of Tyrone and Arm. -igh. See Dr. O'Donovan's"AnnalsoftheFourMasters," vol. i. , p. 124, n, (u).
51 Several saints bearing this name are recorded in our Irish Calendars
s8 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 5, p. 29.
s2 Related in the Franciscan Life, "ex
Codice Iniscensi," cap. x. , xii. , pp. 133, the date for her feast in the First Volume
134.
53 See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga,"
Sexta Vita S- Patricii. or Jocelyn's, cap. xcvi. Also, Archbishop Ussher's Works, vol. vi. , " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"
of this work, Art. i.
" 6l
— "Acta Sanctorum Colgan's
fifty-two
fifty-six,
Ita,
;
S9Thus: "cui nomen erat Columbam pergens, ill ic gradum episcopalem accepit. "
Hiberniae," xv. Januarii,Vita S. Itae,cap. xxi. , p. 69, and n. 2—2.
vol. i. pp. 206, 207. " 62
cap xvii. , p. 530.
54 See Rev. William Reeves' Ecclesias- According to the Annals of Tighernach.
tical Antiquities of Down, Connor, and See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hiberni-
Dromore," pp. 97, 98, n. (g), and Appendix, p. 380.
55 See L'Abbe Ma-Geoghegan's "Historic de l'lrlande, ancienne et moderne," tome i,, seconde partie, chap, iii. , p. 296,
56 See Rev. John Dubourdieu's " Statisti- cal Survey of the County of Antrim," chap.
carum Scriptores," tomus ii. , Tigernaci Annales, p. 150. The Annals of Inisfallen assign this event to the much earlier date, a. d. 562. Seeibid. , Ann des Inisfalenses, p. 7.
6i See his Acts, at the 7th of June, in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. i.
64
See Archbishop Ussher's collected iv. , sect. 3, p. 591. Also, Archdalls Works, vol, iv. Chronological Index, at
"
Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 10.
A. t. 550.
65 Among others, the Ab -e Ma-Geoghegan,
57 See Rev, Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," at A. d. 610, vol. i. , pp. 234 to 237.
"
Seconde Partie, chap, iii. , pp. 304, 305.
6" See her Life at the of
— 15th January
According to the Annales Ultonienses.
"
See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's
carum Scriptores," tomus iv. , p. 25, and Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters,"
in his
Histoire de l'lrlande/' tome i. ,
Return Hiberni-
59«
LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September26.
CHAPTER II.
RETURN OF ST.
COLMAN EALA TO HIS ANCESTRAL PROVINCE—HIS VISITS TO ST. COLUMBA IN IONA—ESCAPES THE DANGERS OF COIREBRECAIN WHIRLPOOL- CONVENTION AT WHICH ST. COLMAN OBTAINS A GRANT OF LAND TO FOUND HIS MONASTERY AND CHURCH AT LYNALLY—RECORD OF VARIOUS MIRACLES— FOREKNOWLEDGE OF HIS DEATH—HIS VISIT TO Cl. ONARD IN ANTICIPATION OF IT—HIS RETURN TO LYNALLY AND DEPARTURE FROM LIFE—ST. COLMAN EALA's COMMEMORATION AND MEMORIALS—CONCLUSION.
After some time, giving his blessing to that people, Colman Eala left Connor, it is said, and came into his own ancestral country of Meath, It seems likely, that he had there established for himself a mission, and a character for great sanctity, before he resolved on visiting his near relative St. Columba in the Island of Iona. In Adamnan's Life there are two distinct accounts of our saint having been on a voyage to that Island, and
of
from it, on the of Sr. Columba's death. 1 very year
having departed
Iona, can hardly be determined. However, the great Abbot of that place being one day in his church, and having the gift of second sight, broke forth
again
Although having little regard to chronological sequence in his biographical narrative ; yet, it seems most probable, those accounts have reference to different visits. It has been supposed from a passage in the Life of St. Columba,2 that St. Colman was not only an Abbot, but also a Bishop. Whether this was so or not before he visited St. Columkille in his monastery of
"
on his voyage to us, is now imperilled in the turbulent waters of Brecan's
Charybdis4 butsittingontheprowofhisshipandliftingbothhishandsto
;
Heaven, he blesses the formidable waves. Nor doth the Lord thus affright him, as if he dreaded shipwreck, but to cause him more fervently to pray,
in a joyous exclamation :
Columbanus,3 the son of Bcognai, who started
and that he come to us
may providentially having escaped
that — danger. *"
since
ocation of Brecan's A hasbeen thatthel—
Charybdis
more generally known as Corrybracken6 was originally near the Island of Rathlin, on the north coast of Ireland, in the time of St. Columba, although
conjecture offered,
it has since moved more to the north-east, and nearer to the coast of Scot- land. ' The " Vita Sanctissimi Colmani Ela" adds to the foregoing account,
11. See the Rev. Dr. Reeves' Brecan, son of Maine, son of Niall of the Chapter —'
Nine Hostages, was engulfed by it in the cap. 5, p. 29, and lib. ii. , cap. 15, pp. 124, year a. d. 440. It is a curious fact, that the 125. only place in Ireland where the name now
2"
See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga. " exists is in the inland county of Monaghan,
Quarta Vita S. Columbse, lib. i. , cap. 5, p. where a townland, in the parish of Maghera- 340. cloone, having a fine earthen fort, is called 3 By this title Colman Eala is sometimes Corrybracken. See it marked on the "Ord- nance Survey Townland Maps for the
Adamnan's "Life of St Columba," lib i. ,
distinguished among our Irish saints.
4 In Codex B. of Rev. Dr. Reeves, con-
County of Monaghan,' sheets 30, 31.
7 Although the name has long since shifted to the strait between Scarba and Jura, just as Scotia has forsaken its original home, there can be no doubt that in Adamnan's day this Corry- Bracken was situate near the Irish coast : its connection with the Island of 5 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's Life Rathlin, as furnished in the title, and the
taining
S. ColumbcTe Vita, a vellum MS. of
the middle ef the fifteenth century, there is a
titulus to Adamnan's Life, at lib. ii. , cap. 13,
•'
in vortice Brecani," and it is an allusion to this great natural curiosity of con-
which has
sea-tides and currents.
of St. Columba, lib. i. , cap. 5, p. 29.
6 It was called by the Irish CoinebpecAiii,
'
Brecan's Cauldron,' from the peculiar motion of the water, and the tradition that
flicting
"
"
the chapter of Adamnan's Life of St.
Columba, lib. i. , cap. 5, are sufficient proof of this.
expression
transnavigare incipiens," in
September 26. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 599 that when Colman and his brethren safely arrived in Iona, the monks on
"
that Island greatly rejoiced, and Columba said to him,
do not feel dissatisfied, that you go not to teach distant nations, but return again to Hybemia, the land of your birth, and feed your nation by word and example with the grace given you by God. For of necessity, I have been brought hither, but I beseech you not to absent yourself and deprive your land of your teaching. " Having received such admonition, Colman returned
with a favouring wind to Ireland.
8
Vivid descriptions' regarding the
dangerous gulf or whirlpool of Coirebrecain, to which allusion has been
made, are preserved in the Irish language, both in the Dinnseanchus and in
Cormac's 10 It is referred to Giraldus Cambrensis,11 andfrom an
copy cap. xiii. , pp. 134, 135.
" Ecclesiastical An
In Irish, Slog tii rnana, Gulp of the
:
" Non procul ab insulis ex parte
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 220 to 227.
20 He ruled over Ireland from a. d. 568 to
a. d. 594, when he was slain by Bran Dubh, King of Leinster. See ibid. , pp. 206 to 221. Hence we must infer, this convention had been held before the latter date, and before
to
Aedh Slaine began reign.
22
which date his Life may be seen in the Tenth Volume of this work.
Glossary. by
it had been the terror of mariners. 12 of 13 Writing Scarbay,
early period
Fordun has an allusion to it. 14
has been also, the called,
The saint to whom reference is here made
15 Colman Mocusailne l6 and it is holy bishop ;
said, his danger occurred near the Isle Reachru. 17 Part of the channel between Ballycastle and the Island of Rathlin, at certain times is so dis- turbed by the tidal action, that even in the absence of wind no small cralt
18
could live in it. It is locally known by the characteristic name Slugnamorra. In the order of narrative as contained in the Franciscan Life, we read after St. Colman's return to Ireland from Iona, that a great convention was
held, and it was attended by Aedh Slaine19 and Aedh20 the son of Ainmi- 21
rech, as also by St. Columcille, St. Kynecus and St. Colman. It is stated,
that our saint returned to the County of Meath about the year 590, and 22
attended a meeting at which St. Columkille, St. Cannich and the monarch
of Ireland were 23 All received our saint with St. Colum- present. great joy.
:
* It is added " oblius est ampullam cum Gentis Scotorum," edited by William F.
oleo quam solus Columba ei concessit. Sed
providential summi provisoris factum est ut sancti Colmano orante in loco suo eandem ampullam in la reiictam corum se vuleret. '' —P'ranciscan
Inisensi,''
9 See Hamilton's " Letters on the North
Coast of Antrim," p. 14.
10 The latter of which, with other illus-
trative matter, is printed in Dr. Reeves'
"
Colgan's TriasThaumaturga,"p. 458,and O'DonneU's Life of S. Columba, lib. iii. , cap.
21, p. 434. **&.
" Thus
boreali, est maris qua;dam admiranda vorago. Ad quam a remotis partibus omnes undique marini fiuctus tanquam ex condicto confluunt et concurrunt : qui in secreta naturre pene- tralia se ib—i transfundentes, quasi in abyssum vorantur. " "Topographia Hibernica. " Dis- tinctio ii. , cap. xiv.
Skeene, vol i. , lib. ii. , cap. x. , p. 43.
'5 He is stated to have been a presbyter, at the time of S. Columba's death. The dig- nity of bishop he must have afterwaids
obtained.
16
The clan name by which he was distin- guished, Colman ela nuc Ui Sailne.
'7 Now Rathlin, off the northern Coast of
" ex Codice
of Down, Coniior and Dromore," pp. 289, 386. See also the extract from the Life of St. Kieran in
sea. ' It is the
probably Jolduhlaup,
iquities
"Owing to the danger encountered, extra
pay had been given to the coast-guard, at
that station, to a comparatively recent was venerated on the nth of October, at
date.
•» About the year 1390.
14
Regarding it, this author says, "Juxta quam gurges oceani decurrit fortissima Core- brekane. "—Johannis de Fordun " Chronica
23 " Diocese of See Rev. A. Cogan's
Antrim County. The natives call it Raghery. 18 '
' Break- ing of waves,' commemorated in the Icelandic
Sagas.
'9 Aedh Slaine began his reign over Ire-
land, a,d. 595, and it continued to a. d. 600.
See Dr. O' Donovan's
"
Annals of the Four
21
He was born A. D. 517, and he died A. D. 600.
Or Canice,the Patron Saint of Kilkenny.
This saint, the patron of Kilkenny,
Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. iii. , chap, lxxiv. ,
pp. 617, 618.
Brother Colman,
6oo LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September26.
kille proposed a motion, that they should give Colman a proper place to found a monastery for his disciples. When all the nobles and clergy had agreed to this resolution, ^Edus, the son of Slane, Prince of Meath, proffered
24
a large forest in the southern part of his dominions called Fidh-Elo,
in the
of 8 This Colman accepted, and then foretold, that there territory Fergall. *
should be his place of resurrection. It was declared likewise, from that place he should take his name. Then accompanied by Lasrianus the minister of St. Columba, Colman went to the place, and they selected a site for the religious foundation. In the middle of that forest, and in a place well watered, and encompassed with fair fields, Colman raised the famous monastery of Land or Lann-Elo. 26 There in after time a great number of
2
holy disciples served the Lord with fidelity. ? Archbishop Ussher furnishes
an extract fiom the life of St. Colman Rio, and he describes the situation of
St. Colman Elo's Church, Lynally.
this church, as having been four miles distant from Durrow of St. Columkille.
28
The place was called Linalli,
Tullamore, in the present King's County. There he lived in extraoidinary sanctity, to a good old age, while he trained up many souls in religious perfection.
Approaching the close of the sixth century, it is probable St. Colman
Elo erected his monastery and chinch.
24 See the account of Lynally in " Letters containing Information relative to the Anti- quities of the King's County, collected
during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1837," vol. i. Letter of John O' Donovan, dated Tullamore, January 2nd, 1 838, pp. 93 to 96,
The present ruins of L) nally church
the Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 384, 385-
now Lynally, about one mile south-west of
ss Or Fir-Ceall, where Lann Eala was script Vita; Sanctorum ex Codice Inisensi,
situated. See the Table appended to the
«'
Martyrology of Donegal," edited by
chap, xiv. , p. 135. 28 "
26
Lann is frequently used in connexion with Welsh churches, and having the same mean-
ing.
2; See the Life of our saint from the Manu-
RenderedtheChurchofElo. Theterm
See Primodia," cap. xvii. , p. 960.
September 26. 1
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
