No More Learning

virginity. " 8
Ibid. ,
p.
cxlvii.
Elo, MS. Bodl. Rawl, B. 505, pp. 104-1 1 1, Mochta, son of Cuinned, of Land Ela. " veil, folio, xiv. cent. MS. Bodl Kawl. B.
Then is added in Latin, that Ela was the
name of a woman who lived there before See
St. Colman, or Ela was the proper name of a river near to his church. Then we have
"
the Scriptural verse :
exsurgam diluculo, confitebor Domino, quia non est inane speiare in Domino. " In a second note there is a repetition of the con-
Catalogus Actuum Sanctorum quae MS. habentur, ordine Mensiura et
Dierum. "
,s See "Chronicle of Ireland," p. 132.
Colman ela dixit
Experience of his own dis-
Colmann's Life, at fol. 130 to 133. 10 "
InaManuscript VitseSanctorum,"ex Cod. Inisensi, pp. 130 to 142.
485, fol. 205, veil. 4to. , xiv. cent.
14 *'
16
See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xvii. , p. 497.
17 See " LTIistoire de l'lrlande, ancienne
September 26. ] LIVES OP THE IRISH SAINTS. 595
Challoner, '*
Butler, Biography. "
21 Atthisdate,moreover, Forbes Bishop
ofChristian
has some account of the present Saint ;
Dictionary
et moderne," tome i,, seconde partie, chap,
iii. , p. 303.
18 See "A Memorial of Ancient British
Piety," p. 136.
'9 See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs
and other principal Saints," vol. ix. , Sep- tember xxvi.
20 See "Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
land," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , sect, ii. , pp. 303
to 310.
31 See vol. i. , p. 600.
aS See " Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
p. 304.
23 Fuit vir vite venerabilis Colmanus
nomine de nobili gente Hiberniae, i. e. , de
the Dal mBuain. According to Mac Firbis Genealogical Manuscripts, pp. 102, 728, b.
1? Rev. Dr. 20 and a writer in the Lanigan,
18 Rev. Alban
Scotland.
This saint's parents belonged to Meath and were of a noble race. 23 They
were known as the family of Mocusailni. St. Colman was the son of Beognai,
sometimes written 2* He Beagni.
belonged
EochoMairedha,26 sontoMuireadh. andhesprangfromthedescendantsof
2
Heremon. His mother was Mor, daughter to Feidhlimidh, ? and sister of
St. Columba,28 to the according
Feidhlemidh was
twenty-second in descent from Fedhlim Saillne, the head of the Dal-Selli, and -from whom
2
this Colman derived his tribe name, Mac-U-Sailni, 9 but from a nearer
progenitor. 3° In some cases, our saint is called Colmanus Episcopus Mac-U-Sailne, or Mocusailni from his tribe name. He is called also
Columbanus Alius Beogni, from his father Beogna. 3
1
It would seem, that the
O'Clerys.
people of Leinster had made an incursion upon the Meathian territory, which
obligedtheparentsofoursainttotakerefugeintheValleyofHoichle,32 now
known as Glenelly,33 in the north-east of the County of Tyrone. A river
flows through this valley, in the parish of Upper Badoney. 3* The valley is about fifteen miles long, and from one and a half to about three miles in
width. 35 The Glenelly River has its source in the hills bordering on London- derry County, and several streams converge before it joins the Owenleagh
29 Every man in the clan Dal-Sailne was a batur. Qui cum esset regio Midi a Lagi- mac U1 SAilne. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' nensibus devastata, fugit cum suis in Valle—m Adamnan's Life of St. Columba, lib. i. , cap.
Nepotibus Neill et pater ejus Beogne voca- HoichleetibinatusestsanctusColmanus. " 5, n. (b. ), p. 29.
11, belonging to Trinity College, Dublin), fol. 106 a, b.
" 30 Vita S. Colmani Ela," cap. i. , (MS. E. 3,
22
for he had been venerated, also, in
31 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life 2*Thus in Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 5, p. 29, and
Hibernise—" we read, "S. Colmannus filius lib. ii. , cap. 15, p. 124.
32 to the Vita S.
Beagni. " Vita S. Finniani, cap. xxxii. , According Colmani Ela,
p. 397. Again, Colman ela— mac cap. i. (MS. known as Codex Kilkenniensis
DeopiAi tmctnoccdi true Cuhtotoa. Book of Lecan, p. 70.
name to a sept ; namely, Fedhlim Saillne, or Salline, the head of the Dal Sailne, or Dal Selli ; and Fedhlim Buan, the head of
2 5This Eochaidh's
33
O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , at A. D. 854, p. 488, and ^leano aichle, at A. D. 1600. See vol. vi. , p. 2226.
destruction about A. D. 90 by the expansion of the river Bann gave to that sheet of water the name of Loch nOACACh, now called Lough Neagh. His descendant in the sixth generation was Clothrach, who had two sons, each giving
legendary
to the race of Eochaidh,2? or
26 Allusion is made to the
eruption
of
Lough Neagh over the former plain of
Linnmhuine in the Dinnseanchus, as found
in the Leabhar n-Uidhri, at fol. 36, as also
"
in the
num of Nennius," edited by Rev. James Henthorn Todd, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, pp. 226, 227, and n. (y).
27 Son of Ferghus Cennfada, son to Conall
Gulban, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages.
See "Vita S. Colman," cap. i.
28
See his Life at the 9th of June> in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. i.
Irish Version of the Historia Brito-
See "Dictionary of Christian Biogra- phy," vol. i. , p. 600.
Marsh's folio in Library, Dublin),
129, a. b. It is written 5liono Vhoicle, ln j_) r
34 See an account of it in the " Parliamen- tary Gazetteer of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 115.
"
35 See
Metropolitan Visitation of the Diocese of Derry, A. D. mcccxcvii. , by Rev. William Reeves, D. D. , p. 55, n. (o. )
Acts of Archbishop Colton in his
596 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September26.
River above Newtown Stewart. Two parallel roads run through the
picturesque valley, one on either side of the water. St. Colman Elo was born
in Gleann-aich-Le, in the present County of Tyrone, according to another
6
His advent to this world and his future sanctity were heralded
authority. 3
by an extraordinary miracle, as related in one of his Lives. 3 ? The date of his
s
birth must have been about 555,3 557 r 558, if fifty-two years were his age,
when he resigned his spirit to heaven, about a. d. 610. 39
St. Colman Ela is classed among St. Patrick's disciples ;<° but this must be
regarded as a great anachronism. I—t is clear, however, that in this instance,
—oundedaSt. Colman nototherwise intheIrish Colgan has conf distinguished
41
The latter was educated under St. Coeman,< the holy Abbot who presided over the monas- tery of Enachtruim, now Annatrim, on Mount Bladhma, now Slieve Bloom, in the west of Leinster. Under this great master, our Saint was instructed in moral and literary science. 43 While there, he was assailed by a passionate woman, and for this act she was miraculously punished. 44 The anecdote is thus related, that while he was a youth, and coming out of Church one day,withoutanyprovocation,thatwomanstrucktheinnocentboy. Where-
imprecation was followed, by such result, according to the legend. As a memorial of the miracle wrought, a stone was afterwards to be seen erected on that spot, where it took placets
Thence, it is stated, Colman went to Connor in Ulster. 46 This place had
been lately the seat of the blessed Bishop Macnesse. 4 ?
We are told in the
8
Franciscan Life,* that when distinguished for holiness, Colman built a
monastery, but it is not stated where, and in it he desired to spend his days in
heavenly contemplation. Afterwards he left it in charge of four disciples. He requested them to remain there, and such injunction they fulfilled, although suffering from dire want. The total privation of food at last caused their death. It is related, that he restored dead persons to life, and among these was a youth who afterwards devoted himself to the saint's service, in which he continued to his old age. His intervention also restored peace to hostile clans. 4? When travelling one day in a chariot, Colman came to a river, called Dabhall50 or Dabul, which at the time had been swollen to a torrent,
Apostle's Acts with the present St. Colman Elo. 2
"
unjustly struck the servant of Christ, fall to-morrow from thy side. " This
upon, his master said,
May that left hand of thine, with which thou hast
36 In Ultonia. This Colgan intended to show, in the first chapter of his Life, to be published at the 26th of September, and in
notes to be appended.
37 This is to be fouud in the Franciscan
"
Vitoe Sanctorum, ex Codice Inisinsi," in the hand-writing of Father John Colgan, cap. i. , p. 130.
38 According to Tigernach.
39 The Annals of Clonmacnoise state, that he died in 609 ; other Irish Annals have 610. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the P'our Masters," vol. i. , pp. 234-236, and n. (o), ibid.
42 His feast is held on the 3rd of Novem- ber, where notices of him may be found in the present work.
43 According to the Life of St. Colman Eala found in the Franciscan copy "ox Codice Inisensi," cap. 2, p. 130.
4, See ibid. , cap. 2, pp, 130, 131.
45 The foregoing narrative is to be found in
a Manuscript, belonging to Trinity College,
copy
40 See
" Trias volume, Art. i. Thaumaturga. "
Colgan's QuintaAppendix
ad Acta S.
48 That "ex Codice Inisinsi," Patricii, cap. copy
hi. , iv. , pp. 131, 132.
cap.
xxiii, p. 266.
41 See ibid. Sexta Vita S.
4» to the Franciscan Life "ex According
Patricii, cap.
clxxix. , and n. 169, pp. 104, 1 16. Also Sep- Codice Inisensi," cap. v„ vi. , vii. , viii. , pp.
tima Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap. xcii, and 132, L33.
n. 117, pp. 166, 188. s»This was the ancient name of the
Dublin, and classed E.
46 This is not mentioned, however, in the
II, fol, 106, a, b. Franciscan Life of our saint.
47
where his Acts may be found, in the present
3.
His feast occurs at the 3rd of September,
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
yet he drove forward and passed it in safety. Again, he visited the cell of
September 26. 1
597
a
holy virgin,
named Lasara,*1 and there an incredible miracle is recorded as
having taken place. "52
At Connor, it is stated, St. Colman Ela made some stay. In such a manner
were his virtues and miracles manifested, that in following ages he was honoured and esteemed as second patron of that city. " This saint is thought to be identical with St. Colman-Elo of Connor and Muckamore,5* about two miles from Antrim. According to certain writers, St. Colman built a noble monastery at Muckamore. ss—some ruins of which still exist. It is said to have been erected in 550, and to have been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin
6 if St. Colman Elo died in 610, when Mary. s But,
or even
years old, 5 ? the monastery at Muckamore must have been built, at a much later period, supposing this saint to have been its founder. By Adamnan St. Colman is represented as being a Presbyter in one passage, and so he is designatedinhisLife; butinacapitulartitle58heiscalledEpiscopus,which seems to be an error. To make good his episcopal rank, Colgan identifies
6o as Columbanus
Were we to admit that Colman was born in 555, he must have only been fifteen years of age, at the time of St. Ita's death, generally assigned to a. d.
him with the individual, mentioned5? in the Life of St.
and apparently for no better reason, than because the latter went to visit St. Columba on the island of Hyth or Iona, where he obtained the grade of bishop, and afterwards returned to Ireland. He was the foster son of St. Rethna or Rathnat, who lived at Kill-Raith, in the plain of the LifTfey, and whose feast is kept on the 5 th of August. There, as already stated, it seems most likely, he was the Columbanus Mac Ua Laoigse, venerated on the 15th of May.
569
61 or
570.
62 As
may readily
be he could not have been concluded,
consecrated bishop, at so early a period. By many writers, this saint has 6
been confounded with St. Colman, Bishop of Dromore, 3 whose festival occurs
at the 7th of June. The learned Ussher fell into this mistake 6* and his ;
authority, doubtless, deceived several subsequent writers. 65
Abhainn-mor or iilackwater Rver, id the Counties of Tyrone and Arm. -igh. See Dr. O'Donovan's"AnnalsoftheFourMasters," vol. i. , p. 124, n, (u).
51 Several saints bearing this name are recorded in our Irish Calendars
s8 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 5, p. 29.
s2 Related in the Franciscan Life, "ex
Codice Iniscensi," cap. x. , xii. , pp. 133, the date for her feast in the First Volume
134.
53 See Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga,"
Sexta Vita S- Patricii. or Jocelyn's, cap. xcvi. Also, Archbishop Ussher's Works, vol. vi. , " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates,"
of this work, Art. i.
" 6l
— "Acta Sanctorum Colgan's
fifty-two
fifty-six,
Ita,
;
S9Thus: "cui nomen erat Columbam pergens, ill ic gradum episcopalem accepit. "
Hiberniae," xv. Januarii,Vita S. Itae,cap. xxi. , p. 69, and n. 2—2.
vol. i. pp. 206, 207. " 62
cap xvii. , p. 530.
54 See Rev. William Reeves' Ecclesias- According to the Annals of Tighernach.
tical Antiquities of Down, Connor, and See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hiberni-
Dromore," pp. 97, 98, n. (g), and Appendix, p. 380.
55 See L'Abbe Ma-Geoghegan's "Historic de l'lrlande, ancienne et moderne," tome i,, seconde partie, chap, iii. , p. 296,
56 See Rev. John Dubourdieu's " Statisti- cal Survey of the County of Antrim," chap.
carum Scriptores," tomus ii. , Tigernaci Annales, p. 150. The Annals of Inisfallen assign this event to the much earlier date, a. d. 562. Seeibid. , Ann des Inisfalenses, p. 7.
6i See his Acts, at the 7th of June, in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. i.
64
See Archbishop Ussher's collected iv. , sect. 3, p. 591. Also, Archdalls Works, vol, iv. Chronological Index, at
"
Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 10.
A. t. 550.
65 Among others, the Ab -e Ma-Geoghegan,
57 See Rev, Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," at A. d. 610, vol. i. , pp. 234 to 237.
"
Seconde Partie, chap, iii. , pp. 304, 305.
6" See her Life at the of
— 15th January
According to the Annales Ultonienses.
"
See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's
carum Scriptores," tomus iv. , p. 25, and Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters,"
in his
Histoire de l'lrlande/' tome i. ,
Return Hiberni-
59«
LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September26.
CHAPTER II.
RETURN OF ST. COLMAN EALA TO HIS ANCESTRAL PROVINCE—HIS VISITS TO ST. COLUMBA IN IONA—ESCAPES THE DANGERS OF COIREBRECAIN WHIRLPOOL- CONVENTION AT WHICH ST. COLMAN OBTAINS A GRANT OF LAND TO FOUND HIS MONASTERY AND CHURCH AT LYNALLY—RECORD OF VARIOUS MIRACLES— FOREKNOWLEDGE OF HIS DEATH—HIS VISIT TO Cl. ONARD IN ANTICIPATION OF IT—HIS RETURN TO LYNALLY AND DEPARTURE FROM LIFE—ST.