No More Learning

, A. c. 716, sec. xi. , pp. 7, 8.
^3 See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," vi.
Januarii, n. 11, pp. 17, 18.
lib. 206. iii. , cap. 17, p.
^^ At this date the
glorum,"
*' See Baronius "Annales Ecclesiastici,"
published MartjTology
of
tomus viii. , a. d. 634, sees, xii. , xiii. , pp. Kelly's edition. The Franciscan copy has
Tallagh 285, 286, and a. d. 664, sees. iv. to xvii. , pp. 'OitnmAe "Oub.
"
clear statement of this whole controversy, year of Diarmaid and Blathmac. Dima
415 to 418, ibid, Baronius gives a full and ^^
The Age of Christ, 658. The second
which he extracts of Venerable Bede.
from the
died on the 6th O'Donovan's "Annals of the
chiefly
History
— of
Dubh, Bishop Connor,
of January. "
has Dimma Dr. Dubh," p. xi. ,
January 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 79
devotion, on the day of his demise,^^ in the church and diocese of Conner,
over which he so faithfully and efficiently presided. ^7 His Acts, if existing, did not come under Colgan's observation. This hagiologist has obtained all notices regarding him from other sources. ^^
It is ever to be desired, that concord and charity should unite the members of Christ's mystical body, the Church. Even in general disciplinary rites and customs, this harmony is desirable. True peace is not to be found, however,
in every kmd of agreement or friendship that may exist in society, as St. Leo the Great well remarks ; for there are wicked alliances, vicious pacts, and similaritiesofpassiontounitemen. ^9 AsthosebondsareopposedtoGod's will, so they must not be dignified with the title of peace ; nor can the love of whatisevilagreewiththeloveofGod. Holypersonsardentlyaspiretobe of one mind with their Divine Lord and Master, so that they may never dis- sent from His eternal law.
ArticleIL—St. Lassar,ofAchadh-foda. Amongthemanyancient names of Irish places now escaping the identification of our topographers and archgeologists, the present denomination may be classed. Its English
would mean " andchangesmightcombinetoaltertheobjectanditsetymon. Lassar,of Achadh-foda, appears in the Martyrology of Donegal^ this day. ^ Lassar sig- nifying "a flame" or ''brightness," is the name of a female, and she is sometimes found Latinized, Lassara, or Lazat'a. No less than fourteen distinct entries of holy women so named occur in this calendar. 3 There is an Irish life of a St. Lassara, a Virgin, among the Burgundian MSS. in the
F. uiii. id, ' ' To his noble chosen went king
forth
Julian of abounding purity
Tis not meet to asperse the per-
fect joy
Of the baptism of the great son
of Mary. "
^7 See Rev. William Reeves' "Ecclesias-
tical Antiquities of Down, Connor, and Dro- more," p. 240. Also calendar in the Ap-
pendix, p. 376. ^* "
See Acta Sanctorum Hibernia;," vi. Leabhar Breac, p. 79, Vellum MSS. of the Januarii. Vita S. Dimani, cap. v. and n.
equivalent
Four Masters. " vol.
658. Dimmaingert, Episcopus Condire, et Cummine, Episcopus n. Aendroma, mortui sunt. "—Annales Ultonienses. The Annals of Clonmacnoise, and of Roscrea, Marianas O'Gonnan, and Charles Maguire, or the Commentator on St. ^ngus, agree in the foregoing statements.
^'^ To Brian
i. , pp. 268,
269. "a. D.
M. R. I. A. , Professor of Irish History and Archaeology in the Catholic. University, the writer is in- debted for the following Irish stanza of the Felire of St. -i^ngus (extracted from the
O'Loony, Esq. ,
R. LA. ,) with the accompanying English translation. As will be seen no Irish Saint's name has been introduced at this day, on which the great Festival of the Epiphany or Manifestation of Our Lord to the Gentiles takes place. It is most interesting to learn from this valuable old Irish Hymnology, that our forefathers in the Faith seem to have had a tradition that Our Divine Redeemer had been baptized by St. John on the 6th day of January. The Julian mentioned must be Julius the Martyr, who is commemorated on this day in the MS. Martyrology of St. Jerome. See " Acta Sanctorum Januarii. " tomus i. , p. 324.
p. uiii. vo. tlAicli CO A^Mj nAn C05A luLiAH Atb n-5LAine
moil5 \&! ^ flAn -pubA IdaicVict tnA't\ mAic mtn^e.
I, p. 16.
^9 Sancti Leonis Magni "Sermones,"
Sermo xcv. De Gradibus Ascensionis ad
beatitudinem, sec. ix. , pp. 425, 426. Roman
Edition, — i2mo. 1849.
'
Art. II. Edited by Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp. 8, 9.
^
She is likewise entered in the Franciscan copy of the Martyrology of Tallagh, as l/Af|'A|\ <3l|\CA]A.
3 Besides the present saint, there is a Las- sar venerated at the i8th of February ; at the 23rd and 29th of March ; at the i8th of April; at the 7th, nth, and 14th of May; at the 23rd and 27th of July ; at 20th of August ; at the 15th and 30th of September; and at the 13th of November. See "Mar- tyrology of Donegal," pp. 430 to 433. The latter St. Lassar was venerated at Achavea, in the county of Fermanagh ; and it seems
long field,"
and it is to understand how time easy
8o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 6.
Library at Bmxelles. '^ We cannot assert, however, that it treats regarding the present, or some other St. Lassara. Not having received a fuller de- scription of the tract in question, we must be content to await that further pubhcity which the future may disclose. There is a parish called Killesher in the barony of Glenawley, county of Fermanagh. Water, mountain, and moorland, with cultivated tracts and plantations, lend diversity and interest to the surface of this extensive parish. The patron saint of this Killesher is Laisir, a Virgin. Her church lies in ruins, near the south-eastern extremity
il^^r xiia
Church Ruins at Killesher.
of Lough Mac Neane. There is a holy well near it which is called Tobar Laistreach. s The ruins of St. Lassar's church are enclosed, and sheltered by some fine trees. ^ The site is a beautiful one. The townland here gave name to the parish. Besides those objects already described, the cell of St. Lassar is pointed out, and within the townland of Killesher. ? There is
" Church of the on a Mass,"
another old called church,
Tempulnaffrin,
townland of the same name in the adjoining parish of Cleenish. ^ It is
charmingly situated on the northern bank of Lower Lough Mac Neane,9 which is the Loch-da-en of Irish history.
ArticleIII. —St, Diermaid,BishopofAirindh-Indaich. Froman early time, the zeal of our religious was manifested in those sacrifices made
possible she may have been the saint con- nectedwithKillesher, inthatcounty.
4 It was transcribed See fol. 112.
5 See Dr. O'Donovan's
Michael
^ See "Ordnance Townland Survey
by
O'Clery.
Maps 9 There is a tradition, it took name from
— dated from letter,
that two built nests eagles
Enniskillen, Nov. loth, 1834 "Fermanagh the circumstance
Letters of I. O. S. ," vol. i. , pp. 78, 79. in one of its islands. See Letters con-
MSS. in the R. I. A.
^
The accompanying view, drawn on the spot by William F. Wakeman in September,
1873, has been engraved by A. Appleton.
''
taining Information relative to the Antiquities of the County of Fermanagh, collected dur- ing the progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1834-5. R. 1. A. ," pp. 79, 80.
"
oftheCountyofFermanagh. Sheets26,32.
7 See
Ordnance Survey Totvnland Maps "
of Fermanagh. " Sheet 25.
January 6. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
by them, to procure the salvation of souls. Were we to admit Colgan's
conjecture, that the present saint might have been the companion of St. Columkille, when he journeyed from Ireland to Britain,' and the " ministrator "
of that great saint, we should find little difficulty in fixing the period when he flourished. The identity of name, notwithstanding, will not determine
this question. * St. Columba's companion, Diermaid, is frequently mentioned
in Columkille's various Acts. 3 That "minister" or servant, named Dier-
maid, appears to have been present at the death of his master,^ and to have
lived after 597. Various saints, bearing the name of Diermaid or Diarmait,
appear in our calendars. s Most of those are clearly distinguishable from the
companion of St. Columba ; while it seems difficult, if not impossible, to
identify any one of them with him. We find Eochod and Eachdach set
do\vn as the name of the present Diarmait's father ; but few other distinctive
particulars can be gleaned to clear the obscurity surrounding his Acts.
However, the place of this saint is found written Airiudh-Ionduigh. This
musthavebeenthenameofanancientsee; butW^illiamM. Hennessysays,
it has not been yet identified. ^ Diarmaid, Bishop of Airindh-Indaich, is set
down in the Martyrology of Donegal^ on this day.
His name is somewhat
differently entered in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ where he is called the
son of Eachdach, and he is represented as having connexion with Airiud
sin la Cerclac. When or in what rank of bishops this St. Diermait lived
is still involved in uncertainty. His place seems to have escaped the identi-
fication of our topographical investigators. In the Franciscan MS. copy of
the Martyrology of Tallagh, the names of twenty foreign saints precede the entry of this sainfs name, as the first on the list of nine distinct holy Irish
persons. It may be observed, once for all, that the ancient Hieronymian Martyrology evidently furnished the chief authority for an insertion of various
foreign saints in the Martyrology of Tallagh, and in the Felire of St. ^ngus.
Article IV,—St. Curnan Beg, Patron of Kilcornan, Diocese and CountyofLimerick. TheFaithofoldtimeshasneverflickeredoutfrom the hearts and homes of the faithful ; but, on the contrary, it has acquired a new lustre, in its transmission to the present age, when inherited from the ministry of many a holy pastor, in many a seclu—ded locality of Ireland.
"
The
small stature is found recorded in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' with a festival to his honour, at the 6th day of January. The later Martyrology of Donegal,* while noting the veneration paid to St. Curnan Beg on this
S—t.
Art. III. —' See "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Columbse, cap.
ix. , p. 487. Also, Hector Boetius, "His-
toria Scotorum," lib. ix. , p. 166; Leslseus,
"
Historia Regum Scotorum," p. 150. This voyage took place about A. D. 563.
^ Nor indeed does Colgan decide anything
on this See "Trias
point. Thaumaturga,"
n. 42, p. 374.
3 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life
of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 8, 12, 22, 25, 29j 30, 34; lib. ii. , cap. 29, 30; lib. iii. , cap. II, 23.
"* See
"Trias
*
"Diarmaid mac^ Eachdach o Airiud sin la Cerclac. " See Rev. Dr. Kelly's edition, p. xi. In the Franciscan copy, it is
'OiA|\mAi'o.
Art. iv. Edited by the Rev. Dr.
Kelly, p. xi. In the Franciscan MS. copy, at this same date, we find simply CAupriAn.
'
present
Curnan, styled
Beg,
httle," probably owing
Colgan's
Thaumaturga. "
—. Ocoac. ,.
Cumineus or Vita Secunda S. Columba,
cap. xxxv. , pp. 329, 330. Also O'Donell's
or Quinta Vita S. Columbae, lib. iii. , cap.
'
Becc or
to his
Diermait commemorated at the loth, 15th, and i6th of January ; at the 24th of April ;
at the 21st of June ; at the 8th of July; at the 28th of September; at the 12th of Octo- ber; and at the 12th and 20th of December,
^
See "Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. , part
•
n. 2.
7 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 5 Besides the present saint, mc find a 8, 9.
liv. , p. 440.
Vol. I. G
i. , pp. 84, 85, 8, 9.
82 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 6.
day, is more precise in giving his genealogy, and the exact place where he was reverenced as patron. The writer of this Calendar, O'Clery, remarks, that we find a Curnan—it is be be assumed the present holy man—a son of
Sinell, belonging to the race of Condri, son of Fearghus, son to Ross Ruadh, who was son of Rudhraighe. From this latter was derived the Clann-Rudhraighe. St. Curnan Beg is said to have belonged to Cill-Chur- nain, a place which doubtless derived its denomination from a church or cell there founded by him. There is a parish, known'as'Kilcornan or Kil- coran, in the barony of Clanwilliam, and county of Tipperary. 3 There an old church in ruins may yet be seen within an ancient^burial-ground. The
Ruins of an Ancient Church at Killeen.
Cill-Churnan, with which our saint was connected, however, seems to be represented in the etymon of Kilcornan parish, situated within the ancient district of Caenraighe, now the barony of Kenry, in the diocese and county of Luimneach or Limerick. -^ Within this and
close to the beautiful demesne of Curragh Chase,5 are the ruins of an ancient church at
3 See Lewis' "
of Ireland," vol. ii. , p. 72. Likewise "Ord- nance Survey Townland Maps of the County ofTipperary," Sheet58.
^ In a Table appended to the Martyrology of Donegal, St. Curnan Beg is noted as Patron of Cill Curnain parish in Cainraidho, in the county and diocese of Limerick. A fair and a holiday were held here, in the seventeenth century, as we may infer from the remarks of O'Clery. See pp. 392, 393. Since that time, the fair and holiday appear to have been abolished.
s The residence of Aubrey De Vere, one
of our distinguished Irish poets. In this
beside whom he at the battle of Has- fought
tings. The De Veres of Curragh Chase descend in the female line from the De Veres, Earls of Oxford. Edward De Vere, Eaii of Oxford in the reign of Queen Eliza- beth, was a poet, and he wrote several spirited songs. About two hundred years ago, the De Veres settled in Ireland. The late Sir Aubrey De Vere, baronet, father to the living Aubrey De Vere, was a highly- gifted writer of sonnets and other poems, for the most part descriptive of Irish scenery and historic events. His poems are chiefly to be found collected in his volumes, insti- tuted, "A Song of Faith," and "Mary Tudor. " In this latter, the last he wrote,
Topographical Dictionary
family of the De Veres, poetic inspiration
seems to have — been hereditary
is the fine poem designated
''
The Lamenta-
a circum- stance not unusual, as we find in recurring to the bardic history of our Celtic tribes. The first settler in England of the family was Aubrey De Vere, a Norman baron, and a brother-in-law of William the Conqueror,
tion of Ireland. " "The Search after Proser-
pine," "Julian the Apostate," with several
dramatic and lyric compositions, are instinct with grace and feeling, while many shorter poems are justly popular.
parish,
quite
January 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 83
Killeen. '^ These vestiges and the old burial-ground most probably mark the former site of St. Curnan Beg's religious establishment. At all events, the writer is assured by Aubrey De Vere, Esq. / that he had never heard any tradition regarding any other church-site within the bounds of Kilcornan parish. The following are very nearly the dimensions of this old church. In length, it measures about forty-five feet ; in breadth, it is about twenty- four feet ; the height of the side-walls reaches to about fourteen feet ; while the height of the gables is about twenty-two feet. The walls are about two feet nine inches in thickness. There are windows at both sides, three feet high, and six inches wide. There is a window at the east end. —Under the gable, at the west end, there is a space about six feet by two probably a window, or possibly the space for hanging a bell. The church does not appear to lie exactly east and west. In the northern wall, opposite the entrance, there is an arch, nearly filled up with masonry. This appears to have been, at one time, a second entrance : it is about seven feet and a-half foot in height, by about three feet in width. The entrance is at the southern side, and it consists of an arched opening, six feet by three feet. It stands on
a gentle, grassy slope, about six feet high, and in a rough green field, with afewbushesandbramblesovergrowing. ^ Thewallsslantexternallyfrom about four feet near the foundations, while this circumstance imparts a character of solidity and dignity to the antique structure. It stands on an elevated slope of about twenty feet over the adjoining grounds.
The enjoyment of beautiful natural scenery is as much an acquirement as
a faculty. It does not seem wanting to uneducated humanity, but it is most
generally found in persons of refined tastes. On plain, on hill, in valley, and along the margins of our streams and lakes, the site of some old ruined fane is hardly even wanting to hallow the spot ; and yet for lack of better information than most tourists possess, ignorance of its past associations and history deprives it of greatly additional interest. These remarks are ap- plicable to the scenery and site of the places already mentioned.
ArticleV. —St. Lugidon,SonofDeclan,Bishop. Thenameofa saint is often the only voice emitted from our Calendars to break a silence of many centuries. Here a patronymic is added. In the Martyrology of Donegal,' Lugidon, son of Declan, bishop, is recorded on this day. In the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ he is mentioned, on the 6th of January, as Lugidon, Mac Declan, Under this form of the name, we cannot discover it in our Annals.
Article VI. —St. Dighdhi. In the Franciscan copy of the Tallagh Martyr)5>logy there is an entry, the latter portion of which is obliterated.
* See " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps in the County of Limerick. " Sheet ii.
^ In a letter headed Curragh Chase, Adare, Dec. 30th, 1873.
nished a very elegant and correct sketch of the ruin. This has been drawn on wood by William F. Wakeman and engraved by George A. H—anlon.
'
Art. v. Edited by Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp. 8, 9.
^ Edited Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xi. At by
this day, the viii, 1x>uf, the Franciscan copy has tusiTDon mc . . . .
* The
were communicated to the writer in a letter
dated
Curragh Chase, Adare, January 6th, 1874, from Aubrey De Vere, Esq. , through whose kind instrumentality, a friend and
neighbour, Mr. Taylor of HoUypark, fur-
foregoing descriptive particulars
84 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 6.
This regards a Saint Digdi Cercl. . . ' In the published Martyrology,^ there is no such entry—at least under the foregoing form. In the Martyrology of
Donegal,3 at the 6th of January, we find a St. Dighdhi simply ^vritten.
ArticleVII. —AReputedSt. Cearclach. ThenameofaSt. Cear-
clach is set down, at this day, without further designation, in the Martyr-
ology of Donegal. ^ We suspect some error in the application of such name to a person, regarding whom we have no other account. The form,
in which the word occurs in a preceding entry, at this date, renders it very dubious in application, except possibly to some place.
Article VIII. —St. Dianarch or Dianach, Bishop. The Franciscan MS. copy of the Martyrology of Tallagh enters a Dianarch, bishop,' at this day.