Fathers, Martyrs
them as the Salamancan or First Life of St.
them as the Salamancan or First Life of St.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
This probably gave rise to the Padie 88 Fair, which is still commemorated in that neighbourhood,
8
and on the same day. ? Within the chapel of St. Palladius, the bones of
that saint are said to be deposited,9° and in a niche, towards the east end of the building. King Kenneth III. of Scotland was killed a. d. 995,9I in that
2 while he was
Palladius, to which, among other shrines, he went, in order to perform penance for the part he had in the assassination of Dufifus,93 which happened at Dnnsinoen. 94 We are informed, by Hector Boethius,95 that St. Palladius' relics were kept at Fordun, in his days. It is stated, moreover, that those remains had been
enshrined by William Schevez, Archbishop of St. Andrew's, a. d. 1494. They weredepositedinasilvershrine,setwithdiamonds. Itisthought,also,that to this period the oldest part of St. Palladius' chapel at Fordoun belongs. According to tradition, that rich shrine was afterwards stolen, by the sacrile-
neighbourhood^
passing
81
See "Vies des Saints," tome viii. ,
pose, that this Tope could not attend to the
business of consulting St. Patrick until near
to the very day of his death,
88
This is the Scottish abbreviation for the name of Palladius.
8 ' See Bishop Forbes' u Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 429.
Quinta Vita S. Tatricii, lib. i. , cap. xxv. , Mearns.
vi* Jour de Juillet.
8i "
See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , Archbishops of Armagh," p. io. Also, O'Flaherty's " Ogygia Vindicated," chap. xvi.
8-> Hoh in the Dr. Lankan, in his
to Rev. Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, xvi. , n. 149,
year 431, according "
to or from the shrine of St.
»° According to A. Jervise's interesting paper, No. III. Notices of the localities of "Arch- the Sculpture 1 Stone Monuments at St. Vigeans, Incbbrayoch, Pitmuies, and Men- 85 See Colgan's "Tiias Thaumaturga," muir in Angus, and of Fordoun in the
p. 45.
84 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. ,
bishops of Armagh," p. 11.
p. 48.
86
»» See William F. Skene's " Celtic Scot-
land : a History of Ancient Alban," vol. i. ,
book i. , chap, vii. , p. 380.
9* The Fordoun Stone is said to have been
raised as a memorial of his death. This occurred through the stratagem of Finella, wife to the Thane of the Mearns.
»* See "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," vol. ii. , pp. 464, 465.
» See William F. Skene's " Chronicles of
"
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. ,
Independently of a great difference in
the names, this should be in direct opposition
to Probus and to other writers. For these
often mention Auxerre, under its own name
of Antissiodorum. See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's
chap, iv. , sect, xviii. , p. 198, and n. 151, p. 200.
8? Pope Celestine I. died, on the 6th of April, a. d. 432. Now, we are not to sup-
July 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 79 gious Knight of Pitarron, from which time it is said, that the family fortunes
of the Wisharts began to decline. "
6
In the year 1886, a colossal statue of St.
Palladius, first Bishop of the Scots, was placed upon a pedestal prepared for it, fully thirty feet from the ground, outside the south transept of an ornate new church at Drumtochty, near Fordoun. 97 There tradition says the saint in lived and died, in the middle of the fifth 8
question century. 9
The world worships success, and often for no better reason do men become
distinguished in it ; but the true heroes of Christianity love to encounter
adversities, when knowing they engage on the field of duty, and that the Almighty proves his faithful servants here, only to crown them hereafter. We
should learn, however, to disregard human estimates, which mistake temporal fortune for a real good, while life eternal is the true reward for the close of a virtuous career.
ARTICLE II. —ST. DARERCA, OR ST. MONINNE, VIRGIN, OF CILL- TSLEIBHE, NOW K1LLEAVY, OF SLIABH CUILLIN, COUNTY OF ARMAGH.
[FIFTH OR SIXTH CENTURY. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—WRITERS OF THE ACTS OF ST. DARERCA OR MONINNE—HER FAMILY AND BIRTH—BAPTIZED, CONFIRMED AND VEILED BY ST. PATRICK—SHE IS CALLED UPON TO FORM AN ASSOCIATION OF PIOUS FEMALES—UNDER THE DIRECTION OF
VISITS ST. BRIGID—HER — CONGREGATION AT ARDCONAIS THIS
ST. IBAR—SHE
PLACE SHE LEAVES, AND VISITS ST. BRIGID A SECOND TIME.
To spend a life in vanity and exterior adornment of the person is the occupation of many young and accomplished ladies. We are told of an
1 when a certain noble woman, who
used to put the clergy and humble people out of patience, while they waited her idleness in dressing. While looking in her glass one such Sunday, she suddenly saw in the reflection a demon behind her so ugly and staring, that she was almost frightened out of her wits. Afterwards, she thanked God for having given her such a lesson, while it corrected her passion for dress, and made her punctual in attending Divine service. 2 The religious habit requires not such loss of time to arrange, and the religious life is ever active to antici- pate the hours for praying to God. Far different are the desires and pursuits
instance,
although living
near the church
the Picts and Scots," pp. 175, 289.
95 SeeHistoriaeScotorum,' lib. vii. ,fol. 128. 96 See Rev. Dr. J. F. S. Gordon's " Scoti-
chronicon," vol. i. , p. 40.
57 This statue was the gift of James S.
Gammell, Esq. , of Drumtochty Castle, Kin- cardineshire. It is sculptured from a block of brown Portland stone, and it is boldly modelled to suit the position it stands in. The stone the sacred edifice is built of is raised near Brechin, and this warm-coloured material harmonizes and yet contrasts ad- mirably with the somewhat cold grey tone of
the sculptured statue,
ss This figure of Palladius stands nine feet in height, representing a bearded and some- what rugged-looking, low-mitred bishop; who, with a flowing cope thrown over his broad shoulders, grasps his ornamental ham- mered copper crozier in his left hand, as he raises his right in the act of giving the apos- tolic blessing. The statue is the work of Mr. Harry Hems, of Exeter. See " The Irish Builder" of December 1st, 1886, vol. xxviii. , No. 647, p. 324.
—Chapter i. —
Article II.
Livre du Chevalier de la Tour Landry, this story is told.
l
In
Le
8o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[July 6.
of the votaries of pleasure and fashion, from those pure aspirations and self- denying practices, which draw pious recluses from worldly vanities and deceits to the desert; where, with hearts fixed on the delights of heaven, all was not solitude in their beloved retreats.
As in the case of the present holy woman, such instances of self-sacrifice are numerous, even from the earliest periods of our national church. Some confusion seems to have arisen, however, when the present St. Darerca has been confounded with the religious sister of our great Apostle St. Patrick, and who was similarly named. Again, as we have seen at the preceding day, under her alias name of Moninna, she has been confounded with a St. Mod- wen or Modwenna, who is supposed to have flourished in the ninth century. Having there made an effort, to discriminate between these latter persons ; we are obliged to depend much on conjecture, as to those particulars, occurring in the Acts already mentioned, some of them referring very possibly to the present saint. As may be seen in the sequel, however, we are obliged to
admit chronological and other difficulties of statement, while endeavouring to investigate her period and career. The few reflected traditions or lights we have from independent sources rather serve to dazzle and perplex than to elucidate her history. We know, however, that a saint called Moninnehad been venerated on the 6th of July, and that her place was in the northern parts of Ireland. —This is stated, in the Feilire of St. ^Engus. 3 —Some commentaries traditional
annexed * although containing information are hardly to be regarded as altogether authentic. Colgan intended and also promised s the
publication of Acts, illustrating the biography of St. Darerca, or Moninna,6 at the 6th of July. i The Bollandists have published two different Acts of
St. Darerca or
Monynna, virgin,
at the 6th of 8 One of these is taken July.
from an Irish Manuscript, belonging to the Jesuit College at Salamanca,9 but its author's name has not been discovered. Its date is unknown, yet it
is thought to be of some considerable antiquity. This is followed by a less
10
attributed to Conchubran,
11
as already stated, at the preceding
reliable Life,
date. There, too, we have endeavoured to deal with both, in trying to dis- criminate between the Monenna, venerated on the 5th of this month, and the Monenna, whose feast has been set down, for the present day. Both l*
*6 See Alexander Vance's Romantic Epis-
odes of Chivalrie and Mediaeval France, pp.
Where her name occurs on the list, published by Charles MacDonnell, Esq. , as
"
S. Darercaequae et Moninna, 6 Jul. " ""
292, 293.
3 In the "Leabhar Breac copy, the 7 See Catalogus Actuum Sanctorum quae
following stanza occurs at this date, and MS. habentur, ordine Mensium et Dierum. "
it has b—een translated by Whitley Stokes,
8
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. ,
vi. DeS. Darercaseu in Monynna Virg.
LL. D.
:
Julii
Hibernia, Scotia, vel Anglia, pp. 200 to 312.
monnroe m Cflebi Cuibrro bacAin Aige
Sabaip buAit> geb gUvme Siuur* Tttuine m-Aipe.
9 The Bollandists have published this, in
four cnapters, containing forty-five para-
graphs.
,0
" Moninne of the mountain of Cuilenn (Slieve Guliion) was a fair pillar : she gained
" Taken from a Codex, belonging to the Cottonian Library, and classed as Cleopatra
asister A. 2. Thisis
of great Mary (the virgin). " "Transactions author, and it has been arranged in eight
a of — :
a ofthe Prologue
bright victory purity (she was)
of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manu- chapters, comprising seventy-eight para-
dar of Oengus, p. cix. 4 See ibid. , p. cxvi.
graphs,
" In the following notes; we shall quote
On the Calen-
script Series, vol. i. , parti.
pendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , Second Life of St. Modwenna.
,3 See " Lives of the and p. 270.
Fathers, Martyrs
them as the Salamancan or First Life of St. 5 See "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Ap- Modwenna, and as Conchubran's or the
Evidently, it has been interpolated from some original, and by an ignorant scribe.
preceded by
July 6. ]
LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 81
have been edited, by Father John Pinius, S. J. , who has added notes, and a previous commentary in four paragraphs. At this date, the name of St. Moninna, virgin, appears in Rev. Alban Butler's work. '3 Some notices of this saint are Rev. Dr.
1 * but with the doubts
from a judicious consideration of those accounts, which have come down to our times. There is allusion, likewise, to Sainte Darerque, also called Monynne, virgin, in Les Petits Bollandistes. 'S There is a very interesting in the but, he is of opinion, that we have only enough of evidence to obtain a very clear impression regarding a remarkable Irish saint, who becomes as it were a con- necting link between the three great wonder-workers of Ireland, and the
Scottish Calendars
given in the valuable work of Bishop Forbes
l6 ;
genealogists say, sider her to
Lupita
offered, by
Lanigan,
inseparable
account of this — —who is called Modwenna or
pious virgin Moyenna
circumstances of whose life may be harmonized to suit one individual.
This saint is not to be confounded with the sister or supposed sister of
x 7 and whose feast was held on the 22nd of March. 18 As both
St.
were named Darerca, and as both are supposed to have flourished in the fifth century, it is not difficult to account for such confusion, especially as so many extravagantstatementshavebeenmaderegardingthem. However,thecir- cumstance of the present holy person being regarded as a virgin, and the other having been a matron, ought to afford grounds sufficient for distinguish- ing them. About the progeny of St. Darerca, who is called the sister of St. Patrick, ancient accounts differ, and various controversies have arisen ; for, some writers assign certain sons to Darerca, while other biographers state,
Patrick,
they were the children of Liemania, another sister.
A few of our ancient
had been a — while other authors con- mother,
Richella alsocalledCinne-noemor holy Cinne is said to have been of royal parentage, receiving the name Ricinne or Richinne (royal Cinne), and hence the name lapsed into Richella. She is related to have had a number of sons, who became bishops, priests or deacons. ^ According to some accounts, Darerca was married twice ; her first husband being Conis, a Briton, while her second is named Restitutio, a Lombard. Yet, in some Irish accounts, he is styled Hua-baird, or "son of a bard f and, hence, it is thought, through some mistake, Lombard must have been substituted. 20 Darerca is said to have died a. d. or 23
to this period,^ when we recollect, that the Irish Apostle is supposed to have
that —haveremaineda
other principal Saints," vol. vii. , July vi.
14 "
See Ecclesiastical History of Ireland,"
vol. iii. , chap, xvii. , sect, ix. , pp. 38, 39,
Druimdubhain, in the county of Tyrone. Her Acts are given by Colgan, at the 1st of
February.
20 But the name Restitutus seems a still
more singular one to have been imposed on the son ot an Irish bard. See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. ; chap, iii. , sect, xviii. , p. 126.
2I The "Annals of the Four Masters" state, that Darerca of Cill-Sleibhe-Cuilinn died on the 6th of July, a. d. 517. See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. , pp. 168, 169. She is said to have lived nine score, or 180
andnn. to to 113 119, pp. 40
42.
15 See "Vies des Saints," tome viii. ,
vie Tour de Juillet, p. 65.
I<r
See "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 4°4-
** See Archbishop Ussher's " Britannica-
rum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. ,
pp. 429, 430.
18
See some notices of her, in the Third Volume of this work, at that date, Art. ii.
19
Yet, strange to say, among these sons
wefind wholived at persons,
" est. "
different periods, and who were Irish, both on the father's and mother's side ; such as Kieran,
— Moninne nominata Quies Darercse, quae
very
"
Ussher's Bntannicarum Ecclesia-
virgin.
517," 518. Yet, it is not easy to believe, that a sister of St. Patrick could have survived
rum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 826. Brendan, Maccarthen, Columb, Loam, a3 TJssher has a suspicion, that Darerca of Lurach, with others. Cinne is said to have Slieve Cullen may be the same as that one flourished about a. d. 480, in the nunnery of reported to have been St. Patrick's sister.
years.
82 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 6.
2
passed his prime of life in a. d. 432. Moreover, Darerca 4 is thought to have
been confounded with Liemania, and some effort has been made to account for her bearing this double name. 25 Lupita and Tigrida, her sisters, are said to
26
have wove and prepared linen cloth for religious uses.
the high esteem entertained for Ussher's erudition as a historian,"* Colgan assumes to correct him for confounding Darerca, St. Patrick's relation, with St. Monenna or Modwenna of Kill-slebhe.
of St. Darerca or Moninne is drawn twelve 28
The
from Fiache Araidhe,
who reigned ten years in Emania. He had a son Cas, father of Fedlimid, father of Imchadh, father of Ross, father of Lugaidh, father of Crunn Badhraoi, father of Eochaidh, father of Conall, father of Lughaidh, father of Lilcan, father of Mochta, who was the father of Darerca or Monynne. She sprung from the race of Irial, son to Conall Cearnach, according to one authority. Her
pedigree
by
of Ulster, who flourished, in the
generations
King
year
236,29 and
1 father is said to have been a man, named Motteus 3° or —
good Maugtheus. 3
—
Whileone32 ofherancientLives and apparentlythemostreliable
that
makes him a person of no particular distinction ; another 33 states, that he
was a prince over that territory surrounding Armagh. The name of her father is more generally written Mocteus34 or Mochta. ss Her mother is called
Coman,36 the noble daughter of a king named Dalbranaith, who ruled over all the territory from Duvelin to Regunleth. 37 This pious couple lived at the time, when St. Patrick had been sent by Pope St. Celestine I. to preach in the northern parts of Ireland. 38 Hence, we may infer, that their daughter Monynna had been born in the earlier part of the filth century. For when the Irish Apostle visited their part of the country, where he was hospitably received, several of the inhabitants flocked to hear his preaching, and these became converts. Among others, who desired baptism at his hands, was the
present saint, then only a child. It seems likely, that her parents became
bestowed a — care on they religious
for we are Christians, also, informed,
that
their daughter. She is said to have been born in the plain of Coba also known
as Magh Cobha39— and in the reign of Conaille. «° That district surrounding
See ibid. , Index Chronologicus, A. D. , proper names written, that it is difficult to Dxvm. , p. 526. Colgan has laboured to divine their just interpretation,
them. See "Acta Sancto- 32 The Salamancan or First Life of St.
distinguish
rum Hiberniae," xxii. Martii, Vita S. Modwenna, cap. i. , num. 1
Darercae, pp. 7 16 to 719, with notes. Colgan
33 That attributed to Conchubran,
"
the 22nd of March for her festival. He reserves the6th ofJuly, for the other Darerca.
34 In the to the scholion, appended
for Leabhar Breac" copy of 24 Marianus O'Gorman at the 22nd of the Feilire" of St. -^ngus, her pedigree is
assigns
day
March calls her a virgin. See Colgan'l thus made out from an Irish source :
"ActaSanctorumHibernian,"p. 719. 25 See ibid. , p. 718.
MoninnedaughterofMochta,sonofLilach, son of Lugaid, son of Rossa, son of Imchad, son of Fedlimid, son of Cas, son of Fiacha
26 "
Sanctae Lupita, Tigrida et Crumtheris
textrice—s et sacrorum linteorum erant confec- A—raide, son ot Oengus Goibniu. See ""
trices. " Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Tri- Transactions of tht Royal Irish, Aca-
partita, lib. hi. , cap. xcviii. , p. 167.
*7 See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernice," xxii.
Martii, Vita S. Darerca? , n. 7, p. 719.
28 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scot-
tish Saints," p. 405.
^ See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hi-
bernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. , Tiger- nachi Annales.
3° According to the Salamancan Life.
31 So is he named in the Life by Conchu- bran, who adds "regentem Oveahhulue et totamterram in circuitu Hardmachaa Luue
usque ad Uulester, prosapise cognationis Hi? leth," &c. So incorrectly are the foregoing
demy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. ,
i. On the Calendar of
her feast in the "
Oengus. By Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. cxvi.
port
3S She is made—the daughter an Irish King Naugthei evidently a mistake for Mochthei—by Choman, in Capgrave's Life of this saint.
3<5
According to the Life by Conchubran, cap. i. , num. 3.
3? TothisisaddedbyConchubran "Nam
:
et ilia in finem, optimam vitam duxit per
quindecim annos. "
38 This is generally supposed to have been
in the year 432.
While manifesting
July 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 83
the Hill of Forhart, in the county of Louth, is alluded to, as having been the place in which she was born. The present holy woman is said to have been first known by the name of Darerca, 41 if we are to credit the accounts of some old Irish rhymers. 42 Contrary to the statement contained in the Martyrology of Tallagh, the Annals of the Four Masters *3 declare, however, that the first name of this St. Darerca was Moninne. According to an Irish comment on the LeabharBreaccopyoftheFeilireof^Engus,Sarbile44 wasanamethisholy virgin bore, and a legendary story ^ is told to account for the change of her nametoMoninne. Anotherversionofthis likewise 6
story prevails. *
It is stated, in one of her Lives, that by the imposition of hands, the Irish Apostle administered confirmation on her. He had an interior admonition, likewise, that his new convert was destined to lead a holy life, and he bestowed a special benediction. St. Modwenna having thus been converted 8
through the preaching of St. Patrick, also received the veil*? at his hands. * She is thus classed among his disciples. *9 Early in life, she took the vow of chastity. She was veiled near the pool of Briugis, which is said to mean abundance. This appears to have become a place of pilgrimage, in after time. The Irish Apostle admonished his convert, to persevere in her angelic state of life, and to associate with herself other pious women, who were to learn the fear and worship of God under her direction, and thus learn to accomplish hisworkinthereligiousstate. Then,tothechargeofaholypriest,residingnear her parents' residence, was she committed, in order that she might learn the Psalms. Under his teaching, she remained for some time. Being a person
39 The Ui Ethach Cobha lived in the On the Calendar of Oengus. , p. cxvi. southern parts of the county of Down. 43 See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. ,
40 Known likewise as Conaille Muir- pp. 168, 169.
8
and on the same day. ? Within the chapel of St. Palladius, the bones of
that saint are said to be deposited,9° and in a niche, towards the east end of the building. King Kenneth III. of Scotland was killed a. d. 995,9I in that
2 while he was
Palladius, to which, among other shrines, he went, in order to perform penance for the part he had in the assassination of Dufifus,93 which happened at Dnnsinoen. 94 We are informed, by Hector Boethius,95 that St. Palladius' relics were kept at Fordun, in his days. It is stated, moreover, that those remains had been
enshrined by William Schevez, Archbishop of St. Andrew's, a. d. 1494. They weredepositedinasilvershrine,setwithdiamonds. Itisthought,also,that to this period the oldest part of St. Palladius' chapel at Fordoun belongs. According to tradition, that rich shrine was afterwards stolen, by the sacrile-
neighbourhood^
passing
81
See "Vies des Saints," tome viii. ,
pose, that this Tope could not attend to the
business of consulting St. Patrick until near
to the very day of his death,
88
This is the Scottish abbreviation for the name of Palladius.
8 ' See Bishop Forbes' u Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 429.
Quinta Vita S. Tatricii, lib. i. , cap. xxv. , Mearns.
vi* Jour de Juillet.
8i "
See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , Archbishops of Armagh," p. io. Also, O'Flaherty's " Ogygia Vindicated," chap. xvi.
8-> Hoh in the Dr. Lankan, in his
to Rev. Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, xvi. , n. 149,
year 431, according "
to or from the shrine of St.
»° According to A. Jervise's interesting paper, No. III. Notices of the localities of "Arch- the Sculpture 1 Stone Monuments at St. Vigeans, Incbbrayoch, Pitmuies, and Men- 85 See Colgan's "Tiias Thaumaturga," muir in Angus, and of Fordoun in the
p. 45.
84 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. ,
bishops of Armagh," p. 11.
p. 48.
86
»» See William F. Skene's " Celtic Scot-
land : a History of Ancient Alban," vol. i. ,
book i. , chap, vii. , p. 380.
9* The Fordoun Stone is said to have been
raised as a memorial of his death. This occurred through the stratagem of Finella, wife to the Thane of the Mearns.
»* See "Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," vol. ii. , pp. 464, 465.
» See William F. Skene's " Chronicles of
"
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. ,
Independently of a great difference in
the names, this should be in direct opposition
to Probus and to other writers. For these
often mention Auxerre, under its own name
of Antissiodorum. See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's
chap, iv. , sect, xviii. , p. 198, and n. 151, p. 200.
8? Pope Celestine I. died, on the 6th of April, a. d. 432. Now, we are not to sup-
July 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 79 gious Knight of Pitarron, from which time it is said, that the family fortunes
of the Wisharts began to decline. "
6
In the year 1886, a colossal statue of St.
Palladius, first Bishop of the Scots, was placed upon a pedestal prepared for it, fully thirty feet from the ground, outside the south transept of an ornate new church at Drumtochty, near Fordoun. 97 There tradition says the saint in lived and died, in the middle of the fifth 8
question century. 9
The world worships success, and often for no better reason do men become
distinguished in it ; but the true heroes of Christianity love to encounter
adversities, when knowing they engage on the field of duty, and that the Almighty proves his faithful servants here, only to crown them hereafter. We
should learn, however, to disregard human estimates, which mistake temporal fortune for a real good, while life eternal is the true reward for the close of a virtuous career.
ARTICLE II. —ST. DARERCA, OR ST. MONINNE, VIRGIN, OF CILL- TSLEIBHE, NOW K1LLEAVY, OF SLIABH CUILLIN, COUNTY OF ARMAGH.
[FIFTH OR SIXTH CENTURY. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—WRITERS OF THE ACTS OF ST. DARERCA OR MONINNE—HER FAMILY AND BIRTH—BAPTIZED, CONFIRMED AND VEILED BY ST. PATRICK—SHE IS CALLED UPON TO FORM AN ASSOCIATION OF PIOUS FEMALES—UNDER THE DIRECTION OF
VISITS ST. BRIGID—HER — CONGREGATION AT ARDCONAIS THIS
ST. IBAR—SHE
PLACE SHE LEAVES, AND VISITS ST. BRIGID A SECOND TIME.
To spend a life in vanity and exterior adornment of the person is the occupation of many young and accomplished ladies. We are told of an
1 when a certain noble woman, who
used to put the clergy and humble people out of patience, while they waited her idleness in dressing. While looking in her glass one such Sunday, she suddenly saw in the reflection a demon behind her so ugly and staring, that she was almost frightened out of her wits. Afterwards, she thanked God for having given her such a lesson, while it corrected her passion for dress, and made her punctual in attending Divine service. 2 The religious habit requires not such loss of time to arrange, and the religious life is ever active to antici- pate the hours for praying to God. Far different are the desires and pursuits
instance,
although living
near the church
the Picts and Scots," pp. 175, 289.
95 SeeHistoriaeScotorum,' lib. vii. ,fol. 128. 96 See Rev. Dr. J. F. S. Gordon's " Scoti-
chronicon," vol. i. , p. 40.
57 This statue was the gift of James S.
Gammell, Esq. , of Drumtochty Castle, Kin- cardineshire. It is sculptured from a block of brown Portland stone, and it is boldly modelled to suit the position it stands in. The stone the sacred edifice is built of is raised near Brechin, and this warm-coloured material harmonizes and yet contrasts ad- mirably with the somewhat cold grey tone of
the sculptured statue,
ss This figure of Palladius stands nine feet in height, representing a bearded and some- what rugged-looking, low-mitred bishop; who, with a flowing cope thrown over his broad shoulders, grasps his ornamental ham- mered copper crozier in his left hand, as he raises his right in the act of giving the apos- tolic blessing. The statue is the work of Mr. Harry Hems, of Exeter. See " The Irish Builder" of December 1st, 1886, vol. xxviii. , No. 647, p. 324.
—Chapter i. —
Article II.
Livre du Chevalier de la Tour Landry, this story is told.
l
In
Le
8o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[July 6.
of the votaries of pleasure and fashion, from those pure aspirations and self- denying practices, which draw pious recluses from worldly vanities and deceits to the desert; where, with hearts fixed on the delights of heaven, all was not solitude in their beloved retreats.
As in the case of the present holy woman, such instances of self-sacrifice are numerous, even from the earliest periods of our national church. Some confusion seems to have arisen, however, when the present St. Darerca has been confounded with the religious sister of our great Apostle St. Patrick, and who was similarly named. Again, as we have seen at the preceding day, under her alias name of Moninna, she has been confounded with a St. Mod- wen or Modwenna, who is supposed to have flourished in the ninth century. Having there made an effort, to discriminate between these latter persons ; we are obliged to depend much on conjecture, as to those particulars, occurring in the Acts already mentioned, some of them referring very possibly to the present saint. As may be seen in the sequel, however, we are obliged to
admit chronological and other difficulties of statement, while endeavouring to investigate her period and career. The few reflected traditions or lights we have from independent sources rather serve to dazzle and perplex than to elucidate her history. We know, however, that a saint called Moninnehad been venerated on the 6th of July, and that her place was in the northern parts of Ireland. —This is stated, in the Feilire of St. ^Engus. 3 —Some commentaries traditional
annexed * although containing information are hardly to be regarded as altogether authentic. Colgan intended and also promised s the
publication of Acts, illustrating the biography of St. Darerca, or Moninna,6 at the 6th of July. i The Bollandists have published two different Acts of
St. Darerca or
Monynna, virgin,
at the 6th of 8 One of these is taken July.
from an Irish Manuscript, belonging to the Jesuit College at Salamanca,9 but its author's name has not been discovered. Its date is unknown, yet it
is thought to be of some considerable antiquity. This is followed by a less
10
attributed to Conchubran,
11
as already stated, at the preceding
reliable Life,
date. There, too, we have endeavoured to deal with both, in trying to dis- criminate between the Monenna, venerated on the 5th of this month, and the Monenna, whose feast has been set down, for the present day. Both l*
*6 See Alexander Vance's Romantic Epis-
odes of Chivalrie and Mediaeval France, pp.
Where her name occurs on the list, published by Charles MacDonnell, Esq. , as
"
S. Darercaequae et Moninna, 6 Jul. " ""
292, 293.
3 In the "Leabhar Breac copy, the 7 See Catalogus Actuum Sanctorum quae
following stanza occurs at this date, and MS. habentur, ordine Mensium et Dierum. "
it has b—een translated by Whitley Stokes,
8
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. ,
vi. DeS. Darercaseu in Monynna Virg.
LL. D.
:
Julii
Hibernia, Scotia, vel Anglia, pp. 200 to 312.
monnroe m Cflebi Cuibrro bacAin Aige
Sabaip buAit> geb gUvme Siuur* Tttuine m-Aipe.
9 The Bollandists have published this, in
four cnapters, containing forty-five para-
graphs.
,0
" Moninne of the mountain of Cuilenn (Slieve Guliion) was a fair pillar : she gained
" Taken from a Codex, belonging to the Cottonian Library, and classed as Cleopatra
asister A. 2. Thisis
of great Mary (the virgin). " "Transactions author, and it has been arranged in eight
a of — :
a ofthe Prologue
bright victory purity (she was)
of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manu- chapters, comprising seventy-eight para-
dar of Oengus, p. cix. 4 See ibid. , p. cxvi.
graphs,
" In the following notes; we shall quote
On the Calen-
script Series, vol. i. , parti.
pendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , Second Life of St. Modwenna.
,3 See " Lives of the and p. 270.
Fathers, Martyrs
them as the Salamancan or First Life of St. 5 See "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Ap- Modwenna, and as Conchubran's or the
Evidently, it has been interpolated from some original, and by an ignorant scribe.
preceded by
July 6. ]
LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 81
have been edited, by Father John Pinius, S. J. , who has added notes, and a previous commentary in four paragraphs. At this date, the name of St. Moninna, virgin, appears in Rev. Alban Butler's work. '3 Some notices of this saint are Rev. Dr.
1 * but with the doubts
from a judicious consideration of those accounts, which have come down to our times. There is allusion, likewise, to Sainte Darerque, also called Monynne, virgin, in Les Petits Bollandistes. 'S There is a very interesting in the but, he is of opinion, that we have only enough of evidence to obtain a very clear impression regarding a remarkable Irish saint, who becomes as it were a con- necting link between the three great wonder-workers of Ireland, and the
Scottish Calendars
given in the valuable work of Bishop Forbes
l6 ;
genealogists say, sider her to
Lupita
offered, by
Lanigan,
inseparable
account of this — —who is called Modwenna or
pious virgin Moyenna
circumstances of whose life may be harmonized to suit one individual.
This saint is not to be confounded with the sister or supposed sister of
x 7 and whose feast was held on the 22nd of March. 18 As both
St.
were named Darerca, and as both are supposed to have flourished in the fifth century, it is not difficult to account for such confusion, especially as so many extravagantstatementshavebeenmaderegardingthem. However,thecir- cumstance of the present holy person being regarded as a virgin, and the other having been a matron, ought to afford grounds sufficient for distinguish- ing them. About the progeny of St. Darerca, who is called the sister of St. Patrick, ancient accounts differ, and various controversies have arisen ; for, some writers assign certain sons to Darerca, while other biographers state,
Patrick,
they were the children of Liemania, another sister.
A few of our ancient
had been a — while other authors con- mother,
Richella alsocalledCinne-noemor holy Cinne is said to have been of royal parentage, receiving the name Ricinne or Richinne (royal Cinne), and hence the name lapsed into Richella. She is related to have had a number of sons, who became bishops, priests or deacons. ^ According to some accounts, Darerca was married twice ; her first husband being Conis, a Briton, while her second is named Restitutio, a Lombard. Yet, in some Irish accounts, he is styled Hua-baird, or "son of a bard f and, hence, it is thought, through some mistake, Lombard must have been substituted. 20 Darerca is said to have died a. d. or 23
to this period,^ when we recollect, that the Irish Apostle is supposed to have
that —haveremaineda
other principal Saints," vol. vii. , July vi.
14 "
See Ecclesiastical History of Ireland,"
vol. iii. , chap, xvii. , sect, ix. , pp. 38, 39,
Druimdubhain, in the county of Tyrone. Her Acts are given by Colgan, at the 1st of
February.
20 But the name Restitutus seems a still
more singular one to have been imposed on the son ot an Irish bard. See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. ; chap, iii. , sect, xviii. , p. 126.
2I The "Annals of the Four Masters" state, that Darerca of Cill-Sleibhe-Cuilinn died on the 6th of July, a. d. 517. See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. , pp. 168, 169. She is said to have lived nine score, or 180
andnn. to to 113 119, pp. 40
42.
15 See "Vies des Saints," tome viii. ,
vie Tour de Juillet, p. 65.
I<r
See "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 4°4-
** See Archbishop Ussher's " Britannica-
rum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. ,
pp. 429, 430.
18
See some notices of her, in the Third Volume of this work, at that date, Art. ii.
19
Yet, strange to say, among these sons
wefind wholived at persons,
" est. "
different periods, and who were Irish, both on the father's and mother's side ; such as Kieran,
— Moninne nominata Quies Darercse, quae
very
"
Ussher's Bntannicarum Ecclesia-
virgin.
517," 518. Yet, it is not easy to believe, that a sister of St. Patrick could have survived
rum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 826. Brendan, Maccarthen, Columb, Loam, a3 TJssher has a suspicion, that Darerca of Lurach, with others. Cinne is said to have Slieve Cullen may be the same as that one flourished about a. d. 480, in the nunnery of reported to have been St. Patrick's sister.
years.
82 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 6.
2
passed his prime of life in a. d. 432. Moreover, Darerca 4 is thought to have
been confounded with Liemania, and some effort has been made to account for her bearing this double name. 25 Lupita and Tigrida, her sisters, are said to
26
have wove and prepared linen cloth for religious uses.
the high esteem entertained for Ussher's erudition as a historian,"* Colgan assumes to correct him for confounding Darerca, St. Patrick's relation, with St. Monenna or Modwenna of Kill-slebhe.
of St. Darerca or Moninne is drawn twelve 28
The
from Fiache Araidhe,
who reigned ten years in Emania. He had a son Cas, father of Fedlimid, father of Imchadh, father of Ross, father of Lugaidh, father of Crunn Badhraoi, father of Eochaidh, father of Conall, father of Lughaidh, father of Lilcan, father of Mochta, who was the father of Darerca or Monynne. She sprung from the race of Irial, son to Conall Cearnach, according to one authority. Her
pedigree
by
of Ulster, who flourished, in the
generations
King
year
236,29 and
1 father is said to have been a man, named Motteus 3° or —
good Maugtheus. 3
—
Whileone32 ofherancientLives and apparentlythemostreliable
that
makes him a person of no particular distinction ; another 33 states, that he
was a prince over that territory surrounding Armagh. The name of her father is more generally written Mocteus34 or Mochta. ss Her mother is called
Coman,36 the noble daughter of a king named Dalbranaith, who ruled over all the territory from Duvelin to Regunleth. 37 This pious couple lived at the time, when St. Patrick had been sent by Pope St. Celestine I. to preach in the northern parts of Ireland. 38 Hence, we may infer, that their daughter Monynna had been born in the earlier part of the filth century. For when the Irish Apostle visited their part of the country, where he was hospitably received, several of the inhabitants flocked to hear his preaching, and these became converts. Among others, who desired baptism at his hands, was the
present saint, then only a child. It seems likely, that her parents became
bestowed a — care on they religious
for we are Christians, also, informed,
that
their daughter. She is said to have been born in the plain of Coba also known
as Magh Cobha39— and in the reign of Conaille. «° That district surrounding
See ibid. , Index Chronologicus, A. D. , proper names written, that it is difficult to Dxvm. , p. 526. Colgan has laboured to divine their just interpretation,
them. See "Acta Sancto- 32 The Salamancan or First Life of St.
distinguish
rum Hiberniae," xxii. Martii, Vita S. Modwenna, cap. i. , num. 1
Darercae, pp. 7 16 to 719, with notes. Colgan
33 That attributed to Conchubran,
"
the 22nd of March for her festival. He reserves the6th ofJuly, for the other Darerca.
34 In the to the scholion, appended
for Leabhar Breac" copy of 24 Marianus O'Gorman at the 22nd of the Feilire" of St. -^ngus, her pedigree is
assigns
day
March calls her a virgin. See Colgan'l thus made out from an Irish source :
"ActaSanctorumHibernian,"p. 719. 25 See ibid. , p. 718.
MoninnedaughterofMochta,sonofLilach, son of Lugaid, son of Rossa, son of Imchad, son of Fedlimid, son of Cas, son of Fiacha
26 "
Sanctae Lupita, Tigrida et Crumtheris
textrice—s et sacrorum linteorum erant confec- A—raide, son ot Oengus Goibniu. See ""
trices. " Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Tri- Transactions of tht Royal Irish, Aca-
partita, lib. hi. , cap. xcviii. , p. 167.
*7 See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernice," xxii.
Martii, Vita S. Darerca? , n. 7, p. 719.
28 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scot-
tish Saints," p. 405.
^ See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hi-
bernicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. , Tiger- nachi Annales.
3° According to the Salamancan Life.
31 So is he named in the Life by Conchu- bran, who adds "regentem Oveahhulue et totamterram in circuitu Hardmachaa Luue
usque ad Uulester, prosapise cognationis Hi? leth," &c. So incorrectly are the foregoing
demy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. ,
i. On the Calendar of
her feast in the "
Oengus. By Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. cxvi.
port
3S She is made—the daughter an Irish King Naugthei evidently a mistake for Mochthei—by Choman, in Capgrave's Life of this saint.
3<5
According to the Life by Conchubran, cap. i. , num. 3.
3? TothisisaddedbyConchubran "Nam
:
et ilia in finem, optimam vitam duxit per
quindecim annos. "
38 This is generally supposed to have been
in the year 432.
While manifesting
July 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 83
the Hill of Forhart, in the county of Louth, is alluded to, as having been the place in which she was born. The present holy woman is said to have been first known by the name of Darerca, 41 if we are to credit the accounts of some old Irish rhymers. 42 Contrary to the statement contained in the Martyrology of Tallagh, the Annals of the Four Masters *3 declare, however, that the first name of this St. Darerca was Moninne. According to an Irish comment on the LeabharBreaccopyoftheFeilireof^Engus,Sarbile44 wasanamethisholy virgin bore, and a legendary story ^ is told to account for the change of her nametoMoninne. Anotherversionofthis likewise 6
story prevails. *
It is stated, in one of her Lives, that by the imposition of hands, the Irish Apostle administered confirmation on her. He had an interior admonition, likewise, that his new convert was destined to lead a holy life, and he bestowed a special benediction. St. Modwenna having thus been converted 8
through the preaching of St. Patrick, also received the veil*? at his hands. * She is thus classed among his disciples. *9 Early in life, she took the vow of chastity. She was veiled near the pool of Briugis, which is said to mean abundance. This appears to have become a place of pilgrimage, in after time. The Irish Apostle admonished his convert, to persevere in her angelic state of life, and to associate with herself other pious women, who were to learn the fear and worship of God under her direction, and thus learn to accomplish hisworkinthereligiousstate. Then,tothechargeofaholypriest,residingnear her parents' residence, was she committed, in order that she might learn the Psalms. Under his teaching, she remained for some time. Being a person
39 The Ui Ethach Cobha lived in the On the Calendar of Oengus. , p. cxvi. southern parts of the county of Down. 43 See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. ,
40 Known likewise as Conaille Muir- pp. 168, 169.
