Mochtei
Episcopi
Lug- madensis, n.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v8
Then, some of her
friends said
:
" If Mochteus could bring her to life, we should give her to
him and to God. " Having heard of this, the saint came near the deceased,
and praying fervently, that virgin was restored to life. Afterwards, she pre-
sented herself and all she possessed to him and to God ; while she lived thirty
additional years, and employed herself in making habits for the monks. The
same Hoa had been espoused to the daughter of a certain Magus, and her
name was 1 he was afflicted with an which caused Brigit. However, infirmity,
himtokeephisbedforonewholeyear. Duringthistime,ashislawfulwife,
she affectionately ministered to him, while she moved him to embrace the
true faith, and to receive Baptism, stating that he should live and be saved
as a consequence. He yielded to her persuasions. Mochta was called to
give him the necessary instructions and to administer Baptism. Then he
said " Believe that after this, you shall obtain not temporal but eternal :
salvation. This is the living and saving, your wife Brigit promised you, for, aftersevendayshence,youshallberemovedfromthislife. " Meantime,Hoa
devoutly performed penance, and died within the term prescribed. Then, Brigit bestowed her farm on the servant of God, and wished to live under
his rule. But, Mochta said " Your future resurrection shall be in your
:
own country : there near the house of your parents, shall you build a cell, in a place surrounded by a thicket, and in the middle of it grows a tree, where a fierce boar now tamed lies at the roots, That animal shall be served up as food for those building your cell. " As predicted, all this happened.
Next have we the account of a certain robber condemned to death, by a kingnamedAilell. 2 Onaccountofhisafflictedparents,oursaintpetitioned for his release, but could not obtain it. The robber had a large stone
Chapter hi—* In the times of St. Patrick and of St. Mochta, three virgins, bearing this name, were known in Ireland. First, the celebrated St. Brigid, Patroness of Kildare, venerated at the 1st of February ; secondly, St. Brigid, daughter of Daire, and belonging to the royal family of Lein- ster, venerated at the 13th or 24th of May; and thirdly, St. Brigid, daughter of Aid, descended from a Dalaradian family, and whose feast occurs, on the 30th of Septem- ber. The known circumstances of her Acts preclude the suspicion of the first-named being identical ; but, Colgan hesitates between the two latter, as being that
Brigit mentioned in the text. However, it seems just as likely, that her name has not been at all inscribed on the Irish Calen- dars.
No attempt has been made to discover who this king may have been, or where he ruled. There was a monarch of Ireland, Oilioll Molt, the son of Dathi, and who reigned from A. D. 459 to a. d. 478. See
"
Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the Four
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 144 to 151. His period well corresponds with the times of St.
Mochta. AnotherAilill,KingofLeinster, flourished somewhat later, and he appears, likewise, to have been a contemporary.
282 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[August 19.
suspended from his neck, and he was then thrown into the sea. Nevertheless, Mocteus brought him to life, and afterwards as a monk, he became a model
of perfection. Another equally stupendous miracle is related, in reference to a disciple of St. Patrick, named Fintan,3 who had been torn into pieces by some enemies. These left the remains among rocks, in the bottom of a deep valley, while his illustrious master was celebrating the Lenten fast and con- tendingwithdemonsonthetopofCruachanMountain. Oursaintbrought Fintan to life, and so restored him, that not even the trace of a wound was tobeseenonhisbody. Afterwards,sometimehavingelapsed,hebecame abbot over a monastery, in Latin called Cella Orientis, and in Irish known as Kill Oirthir.
One night when the festival of Christmas was being celebrated in the monastery of St. Mocteus, the holy Priest Corban * arrived there to the great joy of the monks. While engaged celebrating the nocturnal Lauds, in one of the choirs distinct from that of St. Mochta, there was a boy, who had a remarkably clear voice. Whereupon, our saint asked Corban s if his boy had as clear a voice as another called to him, and who had not yet learned the alphabet. Having brought to him the person designated, and signing his mouth with a cross, Mocteus then said " the Psalms like to that
: Sing
,; Ibar 6 was the thus called, and without more ado, he to youth began
boy.
sing so clearly, that his voice filled the whole church. Afterwards, he became
a bishop.
The Legend of our saint's Acts states, that certain monks coming to Louth,
no bread was ready for their entertainment, but the abbot ordered a calf to be killed. In the morning, however, the calf was found with its mother. In the land of Hi-Meith,? he converted to a monastic life some pagan homi- cides, who had carried the heads of those killed to a house of hospitality belongingtoacertainman. Heenteredtherewithhisdisciplesandothers
6
According to Colgan, this does not seem to have been the Bishop Ibar, the son of Lugne, and who is said to have preached the Gospel in Ireland before the time of St. Patrick. His festival is given in our Calen- dars, at the 23rd of April, where his Acts
3 Among the twenty-three or twenty-four
saints, named Fintan, in the Irish Calendars,
Colgan thinks it most likely, he may be
identified with St. Fintan, the son of Fer-
guss, son to Endeus Niadh. His grand-
father lived about the year of our Lord 430.
and Illand, King of Leinster, who died a. d.
506, is said to have been his cousin-german,
on the father's side. These lived contem- may be seen, in the Fourth Volume of poraneously with St. Patrick and St. this work, Art. ii. Colgan thinks, however, Mochta. Reference is further made by that the present Ibar may be identical with
Colgan to the feast of a St. Fionntain, at the 19th of September, and to a St. Fionntain, at the 1st of October.
another so named in the Kalendar of Camerarius, at the 22nd of March. In the Third Volume of this work, at the same day, he is mentioned, in Art. xii.
* Colgan supposes him to have been the
Cerban, bishop of Feart-Cearbain, who
died at Tara, A. D. 499 {rede 504), accord-
ing to Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 160, 161, and situation, and sometimes Ui Meith Macha, n. (n). It is also thought, he may be iden-
tical with St. Curifin, or Cuirbin, the Pious, whose feast occurs at the 20th of July. Notices of him may be found, in the Seventh Volume of this work, at that date, Art. ii.
s He is supposed to have been interred at
Feart-Cearbain, Anglicized "the grave of Cerban. " This was the name given to a church, situated to the north-east of Tara Hill, but it is now totally effaced. See Dr. George Petrie's " History and Antiqui- ties of Tara Hill," p. 200. The position of
from its contiguity to Armagh ; while the latter is called Ui Meath Mara, from its contiguity to the sea. The latter was more anciently called Cuailghne. Its name and position are preserved in the Angli- cized name of O'Meath, a district in the County of Louth comprising ten townlands, situated between Carlingford and Newry. See the te<xbh<\r* nA 5-CeApc, or Book of Rights, edited by John O'Donovan, n. (a), pp. 148, 149.
8 The writer adds " Tunc aliis vana :
the church is marked, however, on plate vii. , facing p. 128, ibid.
7 There were two territories bearing this name in Oirghialla : one of these is some- times called Ui Meith Tire, from its inland
August 19. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 283
in company, being invited by the host. By him and by his wife, they were courteously received, and from a vessel filled with butter, they were abun- dantly served. On seeing this, admiring their liberality, Mocteus blessed
: someofthatbutter,andsaidtothewoman "Putthissmallportionintothe
vessel, yet let no one but yourself know or see, and then distribute largely to the poor of Christ and to all needing it. The more of it you distribute, the more shall it multiply. " This promise was fulfilled, and for four conse-
8
At one time, making a journey by night, and much fatigued, Mocteus and his companions slept in the open air. Meantime, robbers came and took away their horses ; but, having travelled on their backs the whole night, those thieves found when morning came, they were still quite near the abbot and hismonks. Wishingtorestoretheanimals,thoserobbersfoundthemselves unabletogetdown. Then,consciousofwhathadhappened,Mocteussaid
:
to his monks " Go to that place, where your horses have been tired with
vain labour, and release those wretches who still remain on their backs. "
Whereupon, the delinquents came to St. Mochta, and repented of their crime. Afterwards, being converted, they served God under his religious rule. On another occasion, when King Aedh,9 the son of Colcan, offered St.
"
Mocteus some land, he refused to take it with these words :
part of Ireland shall be born a saint, named Columba, one the elect and beloved of God, and to whom by Him is that land allotted, for not only Hibernia but Britannia shall serve that saint. "
with his monks, the saint looked askance, and said
me the infant you shall find in that cottage," They entered accordingly, and brought away a child as he desired, when the servant of God admiring his beauty called him Luchar. 10 In course of time, progressing in knowledge and holiness, he was promoted to the episcopacy. Afterwards, seeking a place suitable for his occupation, Mochta said to him : "Go to a spot between the mountain and the sea, where a wolf shall meet you, laying aside his ferocity, and there build your cell. "
The ministry of Angels was accorded to St. Mochta, and what could not be done through human agency, they often enabled him to accomplish. In one instance, while with his monks, Mocteus spent the Easter morning walk- ing round their cemetery in prayer, he saw a child playing there, and he
cutive years of liberal distribution that butter lasted.
Then, the child u You should rather have fulfilled a replied :
11 that
him. " Whereupon,themanofGodwaselevatedintheairbyAngels,and
broughtoveralongwaytoSt. Treanan. HavingcelebratedMass,heagain was returned to his monks. Afterwards, he celebrated Mass for them. Thus,
as a burning and shining light, his whole time was spent in heavenly contem- plation and in the active exercises of religion.
was
reproved.
promise
made to St.
Treanan,
you
would celebrate the Easter with
curiositate videntibus, tanta cessavit gra- tia. "
9 He was chief of Oirghialla and of all
the Airtheara or the people of Orior, and he
Cill-Elgraighe,atthe23rdofDecember,ora St. Lugair, surnamed the Leper, venerated on the nth of May.
" For reference to him, Colgan directs his readers to the Acts of St. Trien or Trienan,
died on a pilgrimage at Cluain-mic-Nois,
A. D. 606, according to Dr. O'Donovan's Abbot of Kill-Elga, at the 22nd of March,
"Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp.
232> 233- As Mochta died about 535, that
king, who is said to have retired from the
world to lead a religious life, must have Trien or Trienan, of Kildalky, he seems to
attained an extraordinary age, to have been able to offer such a gift to our saint.
refer for identity the saint whose name occurs in the text. In like manner, notices of these several saints may be found, in the Third Volume of this work, at March 22nd,
10
been, either a St. Luachair, venerated at
According to Colgan, he must have
:
One day, while travelling " Go, brothers, and bring
and to those of St. Trian, Bishop, at the 23rd of March, as also to those of St. Trenan, Monk, at the latter date. To St.
In the northern
284 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 19.
The holy prelate Daygeus I2 was his disciple, and preaching to the monks
:
at Bangor he bears this testimony " I give thanks to my God, that I see
you like the last class of St. Mochta's monks. For he had three orders of
monks succeeding him : the first, distinguished for angelic purity; the second, for apostolic acts ; the third, as holy martyrs prepared to shed their blood for Christ. " A life abundant in virtue was that spent by St. Mochta, while he was at Louth. There he is thought to have exercised the offices both of Bishop and Abbot. Some writers have even stated, that he succeeded St. Patrick, in the government of the See of Armagh. Nevertheless, this does not seem to have been the case, since his name is not found inscribed on the
J
Catalogue of the Archbishops at that place 3 but, Colgan inclines to an
;
opinion, that such omission may be accounted for, as he only held that See for a few days, and until the proper successor to the Irish Apostle had been elected and consecrated. 14 The fame of Mochta was so exalted, that he is
panegyrized as a chief man among the priests of Ireland. 1S The Martyrology of Donegal quotes an old poem regarding St. Mochta. 16 The account given of him in it shows, that there were three score seniors in his house, or those
who did not perform any labour, except the occupation of repeating psalms and prayers. Those seniors abode continually within the conventual precincts, as contradistinguished from those who were engaged at manual labour out in the fields. 1 * A panegyrist of Mochta states, that he never uttered a false word or an ignorant one j nor did he eat one morsel of fat, or that on which there was fatty moisture during the whole term of his long life. His predic- tions are also stated to have been admirably verified. He prophesied thus regarding St. Columkille, as Adamnan had been informed on the testimony of learned ancients. * In the last of the
Ocean's Islands; and, he shall brilliantly enlighten the last days of the
world. Our little monastery shall have only a small field, with a hedge
separating them l8 he shall be a man very dear to God and having great ;
merit in his ;,I 9 However, it must be sight.
world,"
be born, whose name Columba shall be announced in every province of the
Columba.
21
This account seems to have been drawn from an Irish Life ot
Art. iii , and at March 23rd, Art. ii. , iii.
Barony and County of Monaghan. The ancient chapel of Ardpatrick, which lay about half-a-mile south-east, and Cnoc-na- seangain, where the Abbey of Knock was
founded, A. n. 1 148, are. both in the parish of Louth. One of these may have been
originally appropriated as in the text.
19 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life
of St. Columba," Secunda Praefacio, pp. 6, 7, and n. (r).
12
The feast of St. Dageus is held on the
18th of August. See an account of him, in
the present volume, and on the previous day, Art. i.
13 See in Archbishop Ussher's work," Bri-
tannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"
cap. xvii. , p. 454.
14 See " Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae,"
Martii xxiv. , Vita S.
Mochtei Episcopi Lug- madensis, n. 10, p. 731.
2Q
This is the account given by O'Clery, in
15 By Prince O'Donnell, he is styled, Hiberniensium sacerdotum primicerius. "
Reeves, pp. 222 to 225.
** Note of Rev. Dr. Reeves, n. 2, p. 223.
18
ages
quite
such a prophecy was pronounced two hundred years before the birth of St.
a loose sheet of paper, which has been found •' "
—Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbae, lib. i. , cap. iii. , p. 389. 16 See the edition of Rev. Drs. Todd and
in his Manuscript copy of the Martyrology of Donegal," and which is found repeated in the work, as edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves. See pp. 152 to 154, and nn. 5, 6,
also pp. 224, 225, and n. 3.
" As Mochta was a disciple of St. Patrick,
and as St. Columba was born about A. D. 520, this could not have been the case. Besides, St. Cuimin, in his Vita S. Columbae, cap. ii. , more accurately places the date, at
Nevertheless, there seems to remain no
record of any church or lands belonging to
St. Columba having been near to St.
Mochta's church of Louth, nor an accouut
of any other church under this saint's patron-
age, except Louth and Kilmore, in the Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga," Vita
he " a son shall said,
incorrect to 20 that state,
sixty years only having elapsed. See "
August 19. J LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 285
St. Columkille; and allusion is probably made to that of Prince O'Donnell, which has been abridged by Colgan, but, the date is not there to be found. 22 Even, the prophecy of St. Mochta is differently given, and it is said to have
been pronounced by him, in the Island of Iona, long before Columba took 2
possession of it. 3
Although St. Mochta lived probably to a great age, we cannot accept the
extraordinary term of years given to him, by some writers. It may be, that
he attained the of one hundred as Cuimin of Connor states. 2* He age years,
is therefore usually styled longcevus. Nor are we obliged to accept the
O'Clerys' statement, that three hundred years was his age, when he went to
heaven, a. d. 534,23 since these comparatively modern writers relate it, in
quoting an old Irish poem. 26 From bards and story-tellers, among mediaeval
writers, Jocelyn *7 probably inferred, that Mochta lived three hundred years.
However, Colgan
28
such a nonsensical statement. He the quotes
rejects
Irish distich, already given in a previous note, whence we may conclude,
that his age did not exceed one hundred. This was certainly an age to
entitle him to the of u epithet
longaevus. "
When Mocteus found the last days of his long life approaching, St.
Dageus came to administer the Holy Viaticum to him, and having devoutly
received it, our blessed and venerable saint
stated, his death occurred in the first half of the sixth century.
The date of St. Mochta's death, and also that for his festival, have been set down at the 14th of the September Kalends—August 19th—a. d. 532, in the " Chronicum Scotorum. "3° The old Chronicle of Tighernach and the Annals of the Four Masters record his death at 534. 31 It is said, that St. Mochteus departed to our Lord, on the 19th of August, a. d. 535. 32 His
Secunda S. Columbae, cap. ii. , p. 325.
gal," as edited by Rev. Drs. —Todd and
22
the Life of St. Columkille or Columba, Abbot of Iona, and Apostle of Caledonia,
See what has been set down already in
Reeves, at the 19th of August
" A man of three score, a man of three
chap, i. , and nn. 185 to 191, at the 9th of June, in the Sixth Volume of this work.
hundred,
Blessed be God ! how old the set of
teeth
Not more has the youth under valour
How the ancient tooth. " lasting
23 See "Trias Colgan's
Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbae, lib. i. , cap. iii. ,
!
8
PP- 3 9> 390-
24 In his Poem on the Characteristic Vir- tues of Irish Saints occurs this verse : —
CA^Af tnocca tu §mAi§
Cj\e peace if cne piAJAil, 5ah mij\ n-ArmUnrm hia coj\p tlA bocc pr\i j\e cea-o bliadain.
'
Thus rendered into
"
English :
—
The Irish letter y which follows in the original indicates, that the poem is com-
pleted. According to Rev. Dr. Todd : "It is the initial letter of its first word, which,
according to custom, is repeated at the close, as a mark of completion. "
27 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Sexta S. Patricii, cap. exxxv. , p. 95.
28
See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniac," xxiv. Martii. Appendix ad Vitam S. Mochtei, cap. iii. , p. 734.
2? See the Bollandists' "Acta Sancto-
rum,"tomusiii. , Augustixix. DeS. Mocteo
vel Mochteo Episcopo Lugmadensi in Hi- beinia. Vita auctore anonymo, cap. ii. ,
num.
17, p. 746.
3° See William M. Hennessy's edition, pp.
44, 45.
31 See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. ,
pp. 1 76, 1 77.
32 See Rev. Alban Butler's " Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal saints," vol. viii. , August xix.
Mochta of Lugh-magh loved,
By law and by rule,
That no rich food his body should
enter,
For the space of one hundred years. "
" Calendar of
—Rev. Dr. Matthew
Kelly's Irish Saints," pp. 160, 161.
25 See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 176 to 179.
26
Its concluding verse has been omitted by
Colgan, who nevertheless quotes it. The
translation is given, in the lollowing lines, to be found in the "Martyiology of Done-
happily departed.
generally
2 ^ As
:
286 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[August 19.
death happened in a. d. 534 or 536, as stated in the Annals of Ulster. 33 But, Archbishop Ussher, according to his computation, changes both dates respec-
tively to a. d. 535 or 537. 34 Also, Sir James Ware tells us,35 he governed the See of Louth to a. d. 535, alias 534, when he departed this life. Other accounts have 537,36 as the date for his death.
The Irish Calendars, at the 24th of March,37 and at the 19th of August, have two festivals, as already mentioned, to commemorate St. Mochta or Mochteus. In the "Feilire" of St. ^Engus,38 the feast of this saint is com- memorated, at the 19th of August. 39 At the 19th of August, likewise, the
Martyrology of Tallagh 4° simply records the name, Mochta of Lugmadh. 1
Marianus O'Gorman places his festival at the same date,* and with a eulogy whichexpressesthelocalvenerationinwhichhewasheld. IntheMartyro- logy of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Dublin, the feast of this holy
man is entered at the xiiii. Kal. Septembris, as follows
sandi Mocthei confessoris. "43 He is described more fully, in the Martyro- logy of Donegal,43 where his feast is entered at this date. This holy man was commemorated, likewise, in the Scottish Kalendars. His feast, at this date, is entered in the Kalendar of Drummond. 44 Also, at the 13th of the Sep-
45 6 tember Kalends, both Archbishop Ussher and Sir James Ware/—have
Cjvoch intMAfvcij\ marm Cocleirx combu4i'obl<xiche niochcA tnop maich pchbe enAii Oj\oni4 tlAichne.
" The cross of the martyr Magnus, with a
train victorious, blooming, Mochta the great
— chieftain, Enan of Druim Roithne. " good
"Transactions of the Royal Irish Aca-
demy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, p. cxxiv. An explanatory scholion is found
nostrse sene nxxxv. vel
dxxxvii. ")
cap. xvii. , p. 445.
35 See " De Scriptoribus Hibernise,"
to have committed a mistake
they appear they
placed his festival
should have noted xiv. Kal. Septembris, a date which corresponds only with the 19th of August. In the Circle of the Seasons,47 the festival of holy Mochta
33 Thus we read
discipuli Patricii, xvi. Kal. Sept. sic ipse scripsit in epistola sua, Mocteus [Macutenus- Ann. Ult. ] peccator prespiter, sancti
Patricii
:
;
but,
" Dormitatio Moctai
in Domino salutem. "
34 To the Annals of Ulster account he
discipulus,
adds within a parenthesis (" hoc est, usitatse
— " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"
lib. ii. , cap. i. , p. 105.
36 See Bishop Challoner's " Britannia attached. See ibid. , p. cxxxii.
Sancta," part ii. , p. 89.
57 At the 24th day of March, Colgan thus
39 Differently translated from the Feilire is Colgan's version referring to this saint,
writes: "Duo ut minus H. Mochtafesta viz.
:
olim in Hibernia solere celebrari tradunt
nostra communiter, etiam per antiqua Festi-
logia.
friends said
:
" If Mochteus could bring her to life, we should give her to
him and to God. " Having heard of this, the saint came near the deceased,
and praying fervently, that virgin was restored to life. Afterwards, she pre-
sented herself and all she possessed to him and to God ; while she lived thirty
additional years, and employed herself in making habits for the monks. The
same Hoa had been espoused to the daughter of a certain Magus, and her
name was 1 he was afflicted with an which caused Brigit. However, infirmity,
himtokeephisbedforonewholeyear. Duringthistime,ashislawfulwife,
she affectionately ministered to him, while she moved him to embrace the
true faith, and to receive Baptism, stating that he should live and be saved
as a consequence. He yielded to her persuasions. Mochta was called to
give him the necessary instructions and to administer Baptism. Then he
said " Believe that after this, you shall obtain not temporal but eternal :
salvation. This is the living and saving, your wife Brigit promised you, for, aftersevendayshence,youshallberemovedfromthislife. " Meantime,Hoa
devoutly performed penance, and died within the term prescribed. Then, Brigit bestowed her farm on the servant of God, and wished to live under
his rule. But, Mochta said " Your future resurrection shall be in your
:
own country : there near the house of your parents, shall you build a cell, in a place surrounded by a thicket, and in the middle of it grows a tree, where a fierce boar now tamed lies at the roots, That animal shall be served up as food for those building your cell. " As predicted, all this happened.
Next have we the account of a certain robber condemned to death, by a kingnamedAilell. 2 Onaccountofhisafflictedparents,oursaintpetitioned for his release, but could not obtain it. The robber had a large stone
Chapter hi—* In the times of St. Patrick and of St. Mochta, three virgins, bearing this name, were known in Ireland. First, the celebrated St. Brigid, Patroness of Kildare, venerated at the 1st of February ; secondly, St. Brigid, daughter of Daire, and belonging to the royal family of Lein- ster, venerated at the 13th or 24th of May; and thirdly, St. Brigid, daughter of Aid, descended from a Dalaradian family, and whose feast occurs, on the 30th of Septem- ber. The known circumstances of her Acts preclude the suspicion of the first-named being identical ; but, Colgan hesitates between the two latter, as being that
Brigit mentioned in the text. However, it seems just as likely, that her name has not been at all inscribed on the Irish Calen- dars.
No attempt has been made to discover who this king may have been, or where he ruled. There was a monarch of Ireland, Oilioll Molt, the son of Dathi, and who reigned from A. D. 459 to a. d. 478. See
"
Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the Four
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 144 to 151. His period well corresponds with the times of St.
Mochta. AnotherAilill,KingofLeinster, flourished somewhat later, and he appears, likewise, to have been a contemporary.
282 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[August 19.
suspended from his neck, and he was then thrown into the sea. Nevertheless, Mocteus brought him to life, and afterwards as a monk, he became a model
of perfection. Another equally stupendous miracle is related, in reference to a disciple of St. Patrick, named Fintan,3 who had been torn into pieces by some enemies. These left the remains among rocks, in the bottom of a deep valley, while his illustrious master was celebrating the Lenten fast and con- tendingwithdemonsonthetopofCruachanMountain. Oursaintbrought Fintan to life, and so restored him, that not even the trace of a wound was tobeseenonhisbody. Afterwards,sometimehavingelapsed,hebecame abbot over a monastery, in Latin called Cella Orientis, and in Irish known as Kill Oirthir.
One night when the festival of Christmas was being celebrated in the monastery of St. Mocteus, the holy Priest Corban * arrived there to the great joy of the monks. While engaged celebrating the nocturnal Lauds, in one of the choirs distinct from that of St. Mochta, there was a boy, who had a remarkably clear voice. Whereupon, our saint asked Corban s if his boy had as clear a voice as another called to him, and who had not yet learned the alphabet. Having brought to him the person designated, and signing his mouth with a cross, Mocteus then said " the Psalms like to that
: Sing
,; Ibar 6 was the thus called, and without more ado, he to youth began
boy.
sing so clearly, that his voice filled the whole church. Afterwards, he became
a bishop.
The Legend of our saint's Acts states, that certain monks coming to Louth,
no bread was ready for their entertainment, but the abbot ordered a calf to be killed. In the morning, however, the calf was found with its mother. In the land of Hi-Meith,? he converted to a monastic life some pagan homi- cides, who had carried the heads of those killed to a house of hospitality belongingtoacertainman. Heenteredtherewithhisdisciplesandothers
6
According to Colgan, this does not seem to have been the Bishop Ibar, the son of Lugne, and who is said to have preached the Gospel in Ireland before the time of St. Patrick. His festival is given in our Calen- dars, at the 23rd of April, where his Acts
3 Among the twenty-three or twenty-four
saints, named Fintan, in the Irish Calendars,
Colgan thinks it most likely, he may be
identified with St. Fintan, the son of Fer-
guss, son to Endeus Niadh. His grand-
father lived about the year of our Lord 430.
and Illand, King of Leinster, who died a. d.
506, is said to have been his cousin-german,
on the father's side. These lived contem- may be seen, in the Fourth Volume of poraneously with St. Patrick and St. this work, Art. ii. Colgan thinks, however, Mochta. Reference is further made by that the present Ibar may be identical with
Colgan to the feast of a St. Fionntain, at the 19th of September, and to a St. Fionntain, at the 1st of October.
another so named in the Kalendar of Camerarius, at the 22nd of March. In the Third Volume of this work, at the same day, he is mentioned, in Art. xii.
* Colgan supposes him to have been the
Cerban, bishop of Feart-Cearbain, who
died at Tara, A. D. 499 {rede 504), accord-
ing to Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 160, 161, and situation, and sometimes Ui Meith Macha, n. (n). It is also thought, he may be iden-
tical with St. Curifin, or Cuirbin, the Pious, whose feast occurs at the 20th of July. Notices of him may be found, in the Seventh Volume of this work, at that date, Art. ii.
s He is supposed to have been interred at
Feart-Cearbain, Anglicized "the grave of Cerban. " This was the name given to a church, situated to the north-east of Tara Hill, but it is now totally effaced. See Dr. George Petrie's " History and Antiqui- ties of Tara Hill," p. 200. The position of
from its contiguity to Armagh ; while the latter is called Ui Meath Mara, from its contiguity to the sea. The latter was more anciently called Cuailghne. Its name and position are preserved in the Angli- cized name of O'Meath, a district in the County of Louth comprising ten townlands, situated between Carlingford and Newry. See the te<xbh<\r* nA 5-CeApc, or Book of Rights, edited by John O'Donovan, n. (a), pp. 148, 149.
8 The writer adds " Tunc aliis vana :
the church is marked, however, on plate vii. , facing p. 128, ibid.
7 There were two territories bearing this name in Oirghialla : one of these is some- times called Ui Meith Tire, from its inland
August 19. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 283
in company, being invited by the host. By him and by his wife, they were courteously received, and from a vessel filled with butter, they were abun- dantly served. On seeing this, admiring their liberality, Mocteus blessed
: someofthatbutter,andsaidtothewoman "Putthissmallportionintothe
vessel, yet let no one but yourself know or see, and then distribute largely to the poor of Christ and to all needing it. The more of it you distribute, the more shall it multiply. " This promise was fulfilled, and for four conse-
8
At one time, making a journey by night, and much fatigued, Mocteus and his companions slept in the open air. Meantime, robbers came and took away their horses ; but, having travelled on their backs the whole night, those thieves found when morning came, they were still quite near the abbot and hismonks. Wishingtorestoretheanimals,thoserobbersfoundthemselves unabletogetdown. Then,consciousofwhathadhappened,Mocteussaid
:
to his monks " Go to that place, where your horses have been tired with
vain labour, and release those wretches who still remain on their backs. "
Whereupon, the delinquents came to St. Mochta, and repented of their crime. Afterwards, being converted, they served God under his religious rule. On another occasion, when King Aedh,9 the son of Colcan, offered St.
"
Mocteus some land, he refused to take it with these words :
part of Ireland shall be born a saint, named Columba, one the elect and beloved of God, and to whom by Him is that land allotted, for not only Hibernia but Britannia shall serve that saint. "
with his monks, the saint looked askance, and said
me the infant you shall find in that cottage," They entered accordingly, and brought away a child as he desired, when the servant of God admiring his beauty called him Luchar. 10 In course of time, progressing in knowledge and holiness, he was promoted to the episcopacy. Afterwards, seeking a place suitable for his occupation, Mochta said to him : "Go to a spot between the mountain and the sea, where a wolf shall meet you, laying aside his ferocity, and there build your cell. "
The ministry of Angels was accorded to St. Mochta, and what could not be done through human agency, they often enabled him to accomplish. In one instance, while with his monks, Mocteus spent the Easter morning walk- ing round their cemetery in prayer, he saw a child playing there, and he
cutive years of liberal distribution that butter lasted.
Then, the child u You should rather have fulfilled a replied :
11 that
him. " Whereupon,themanofGodwaselevatedintheairbyAngels,and
broughtoveralongwaytoSt. Treanan. HavingcelebratedMass,heagain was returned to his monks. Afterwards, he celebrated Mass for them. Thus,
as a burning and shining light, his whole time was spent in heavenly contem- plation and in the active exercises of religion.
was
reproved.
promise
made to St.
Treanan,
you
would celebrate the Easter with
curiositate videntibus, tanta cessavit gra- tia. "
9 He was chief of Oirghialla and of all
the Airtheara or the people of Orior, and he
Cill-Elgraighe,atthe23rdofDecember,ora St. Lugair, surnamed the Leper, venerated on the nth of May.
" For reference to him, Colgan directs his readers to the Acts of St. Trien or Trienan,
died on a pilgrimage at Cluain-mic-Nois,
A. D. 606, according to Dr. O'Donovan's Abbot of Kill-Elga, at the 22nd of March,
"Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp.
232> 233- As Mochta died about 535, that
king, who is said to have retired from the
world to lead a religious life, must have Trien or Trienan, of Kildalky, he seems to
attained an extraordinary age, to have been able to offer such a gift to our saint.
refer for identity the saint whose name occurs in the text. In like manner, notices of these several saints may be found, in the Third Volume of this work, at March 22nd,
10
been, either a St. Luachair, venerated at
According to Colgan, he must have
:
One day, while travelling " Go, brothers, and bring
and to those of St. Trian, Bishop, at the 23rd of March, as also to those of St. Trenan, Monk, at the latter date. To St.
In the northern
284 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 19.
The holy prelate Daygeus I2 was his disciple, and preaching to the monks
:
at Bangor he bears this testimony " I give thanks to my God, that I see
you like the last class of St. Mochta's monks. For he had three orders of
monks succeeding him : the first, distinguished for angelic purity; the second, for apostolic acts ; the third, as holy martyrs prepared to shed their blood for Christ. " A life abundant in virtue was that spent by St. Mochta, while he was at Louth. There he is thought to have exercised the offices both of Bishop and Abbot. Some writers have even stated, that he succeeded St. Patrick, in the government of the See of Armagh. Nevertheless, this does not seem to have been the case, since his name is not found inscribed on the
J
Catalogue of the Archbishops at that place 3 but, Colgan inclines to an
;
opinion, that such omission may be accounted for, as he only held that See for a few days, and until the proper successor to the Irish Apostle had been elected and consecrated. 14 The fame of Mochta was so exalted, that he is
panegyrized as a chief man among the priests of Ireland. 1S The Martyrology of Donegal quotes an old poem regarding St. Mochta. 16 The account given of him in it shows, that there were three score seniors in his house, or those
who did not perform any labour, except the occupation of repeating psalms and prayers. Those seniors abode continually within the conventual precincts, as contradistinguished from those who were engaged at manual labour out in the fields. 1 * A panegyrist of Mochta states, that he never uttered a false word or an ignorant one j nor did he eat one morsel of fat, or that on which there was fatty moisture during the whole term of his long life. His predic- tions are also stated to have been admirably verified. He prophesied thus regarding St. Columkille, as Adamnan had been informed on the testimony of learned ancients. * In the last of the
Ocean's Islands; and, he shall brilliantly enlighten the last days of the
world. Our little monastery shall have only a small field, with a hedge
separating them l8 he shall be a man very dear to God and having great ;
merit in his ;,I 9 However, it must be sight.
world,"
be born, whose name Columba shall be announced in every province of the
Columba.
21
This account seems to have been drawn from an Irish Life ot
Art. iii , and at March 23rd, Art. ii. , iii.
Barony and County of Monaghan. The ancient chapel of Ardpatrick, which lay about half-a-mile south-east, and Cnoc-na- seangain, where the Abbey of Knock was
founded, A. n. 1 148, are. both in the parish of Louth. One of these may have been
originally appropriated as in the text.
19 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life
of St. Columba," Secunda Praefacio, pp. 6, 7, and n. (r).
12
The feast of St. Dageus is held on the
18th of August. See an account of him, in
the present volume, and on the previous day, Art. i.
13 See in Archbishop Ussher's work," Bri-
tannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"
cap. xvii. , p. 454.
14 See " Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae,"
Martii xxiv. , Vita S.
Mochtei Episcopi Lug- madensis, n. 10, p. 731.
2Q
This is the account given by O'Clery, in
15 By Prince O'Donnell, he is styled, Hiberniensium sacerdotum primicerius. "
Reeves, pp. 222 to 225.
** Note of Rev. Dr. Reeves, n. 2, p. 223.
18
ages
quite
such a prophecy was pronounced two hundred years before the birth of St.
a loose sheet of paper, which has been found •' "
—Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbae, lib. i. , cap. iii. , p. 389. 16 See the edition of Rev. Drs. Todd and
in his Manuscript copy of the Martyrology of Donegal," and which is found repeated in the work, as edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves. See pp. 152 to 154, and nn. 5, 6,
also pp. 224, 225, and n. 3.
" As Mochta was a disciple of St. Patrick,
and as St. Columba was born about A. D. 520, this could not have been the case. Besides, St. Cuimin, in his Vita S. Columbae, cap. ii. , more accurately places the date, at
Nevertheless, there seems to remain no
record of any church or lands belonging to
St. Columba having been near to St.
Mochta's church of Louth, nor an accouut
of any other church under this saint's patron-
age, except Louth and Kilmore, in the Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga," Vita
he " a son shall said,
incorrect to 20 that state,
sixty years only having elapsed. See "
August 19. J LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 285
St. Columkille; and allusion is probably made to that of Prince O'Donnell, which has been abridged by Colgan, but, the date is not there to be found. 22 Even, the prophecy of St. Mochta is differently given, and it is said to have
been pronounced by him, in the Island of Iona, long before Columba took 2
possession of it. 3
Although St. Mochta lived probably to a great age, we cannot accept the
extraordinary term of years given to him, by some writers. It may be, that
he attained the of one hundred as Cuimin of Connor states. 2* He age years,
is therefore usually styled longcevus. Nor are we obliged to accept the
O'Clerys' statement, that three hundred years was his age, when he went to
heaven, a. d. 534,23 since these comparatively modern writers relate it, in
quoting an old Irish poem. 26 From bards and story-tellers, among mediaeval
writers, Jocelyn *7 probably inferred, that Mochta lived three hundred years.
However, Colgan
28
such a nonsensical statement. He the quotes
rejects
Irish distich, already given in a previous note, whence we may conclude,
that his age did not exceed one hundred. This was certainly an age to
entitle him to the of u epithet
longaevus. "
When Mocteus found the last days of his long life approaching, St.
Dageus came to administer the Holy Viaticum to him, and having devoutly
received it, our blessed and venerable saint
stated, his death occurred in the first half of the sixth century.
The date of St. Mochta's death, and also that for his festival, have been set down at the 14th of the September Kalends—August 19th—a. d. 532, in the " Chronicum Scotorum. "3° The old Chronicle of Tighernach and the Annals of the Four Masters record his death at 534. 31 It is said, that St. Mochteus departed to our Lord, on the 19th of August, a. d. 535. 32 His
Secunda S. Columbae, cap. ii. , p. 325.
gal," as edited by Rev. Drs. —Todd and
22
the Life of St. Columkille or Columba, Abbot of Iona, and Apostle of Caledonia,
See what has been set down already in
Reeves, at the 19th of August
" A man of three score, a man of three
chap, i. , and nn. 185 to 191, at the 9th of June, in the Sixth Volume of this work.
hundred,
Blessed be God ! how old the set of
teeth
Not more has the youth under valour
How the ancient tooth. " lasting
23 See "Trias Colgan's
Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbae, lib. i. , cap. iii. ,
!
8
PP- 3 9> 390-
24 In his Poem on the Characteristic Vir- tues of Irish Saints occurs this verse : —
CA^Af tnocca tu §mAi§
Cj\e peace if cne piAJAil, 5ah mij\ n-ArmUnrm hia coj\p tlA bocc pr\i j\e cea-o bliadain.
'
Thus rendered into
"
English :
—
The Irish letter y which follows in the original indicates, that the poem is com-
pleted. According to Rev. Dr. Todd : "It is the initial letter of its first word, which,
according to custom, is repeated at the close, as a mark of completion. "
27 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Sexta S. Patricii, cap. exxxv. , p. 95.
28
See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniac," xxiv. Martii. Appendix ad Vitam S. Mochtei, cap. iii. , p. 734.
2? See the Bollandists' "Acta Sancto-
rum,"tomusiii. , Augustixix. DeS. Mocteo
vel Mochteo Episcopo Lugmadensi in Hi- beinia. Vita auctore anonymo, cap. ii. ,
num.
17, p. 746.
3° See William M. Hennessy's edition, pp.
44, 45.
31 See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. ,
pp. 1 76, 1 77.
32 See Rev. Alban Butler's " Lives of the
Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal saints," vol. viii. , August xix.
Mochta of Lugh-magh loved,
By law and by rule,
That no rich food his body should
enter,
For the space of one hundred years. "
" Calendar of
—Rev. Dr. Matthew
Kelly's Irish Saints," pp. 160, 161.
25 See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 176 to 179.
26
Its concluding verse has been omitted by
Colgan, who nevertheless quotes it. The
translation is given, in the lollowing lines, to be found in the "Martyiology of Done-
happily departed.
generally
2 ^ As
:
286 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[August 19.
death happened in a. d. 534 or 536, as stated in the Annals of Ulster. 33 But, Archbishop Ussher, according to his computation, changes both dates respec-
tively to a. d. 535 or 537. 34 Also, Sir James Ware tells us,35 he governed the See of Louth to a. d. 535, alias 534, when he departed this life. Other accounts have 537,36 as the date for his death.
The Irish Calendars, at the 24th of March,37 and at the 19th of August, have two festivals, as already mentioned, to commemorate St. Mochta or Mochteus. In the "Feilire" of St. ^Engus,38 the feast of this saint is com- memorated, at the 19th of August. 39 At the 19th of August, likewise, the
Martyrology of Tallagh 4° simply records the name, Mochta of Lugmadh. 1
Marianus O'Gorman places his festival at the same date,* and with a eulogy whichexpressesthelocalvenerationinwhichhewasheld. IntheMartyro- logy of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, Dublin, the feast of this holy
man is entered at the xiiii. Kal. Septembris, as follows
sandi Mocthei confessoris. "43 He is described more fully, in the Martyro- logy of Donegal,43 where his feast is entered at this date. This holy man was commemorated, likewise, in the Scottish Kalendars. His feast, at this date, is entered in the Kalendar of Drummond. 44 Also, at the 13th of the Sep-
45 6 tember Kalends, both Archbishop Ussher and Sir James Ware/—have
Cjvoch intMAfvcij\ marm Cocleirx combu4i'obl<xiche niochcA tnop maich pchbe enAii Oj\oni4 tlAichne.
" The cross of the martyr Magnus, with a
train victorious, blooming, Mochta the great
— chieftain, Enan of Druim Roithne. " good
"Transactions of the Royal Irish Aca-
demy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, p. cxxiv. An explanatory scholion is found
nostrse sene nxxxv. vel
dxxxvii. ")
cap. xvii. , p. 445.
35 See " De Scriptoribus Hibernise,"
to have committed a mistake
they appear they
placed his festival
should have noted xiv. Kal. Septembris, a date which corresponds only with the 19th of August. In the Circle of the Seasons,47 the festival of holy Mochta
33 Thus we read
discipuli Patricii, xvi. Kal. Sept. sic ipse scripsit in epistola sua, Mocteus [Macutenus- Ann. Ult. ] peccator prespiter, sancti
Patricii
:
;
but,
" Dormitatio Moctai
in Domino salutem. "
34 To the Annals of Ulster account he
discipulus,
adds within a parenthesis (" hoc est, usitatse
— " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"
lib. ii. , cap. i. , p. 105.
36 See Bishop Challoner's " Britannia attached. See ibid. , p. cxxxii.
Sancta," part ii. , p. 89.
57 At the 24th day of March, Colgan thus
39 Differently translated from the Feilire is Colgan's version referring to this saint,
writes: "Duo ut minus H. Mochtafesta viz.
:
olim in Hibernia solere celebrari tradunt
nostra communiter, etiam per antiqua Festi-
logia.
