Todd says, at Cluain-
the withdrawal of that
Par- liamentary Gazetteer of Ireland," vol.
the withdrawal of that
Par- liamentary Gazetteer of Ireland," vol.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v6
Todd and Reeves, pp.
168, 169. Article xiv.
Kelly, p. xxvii.
—
Edited by Rev. Dr.
168, 169.
7 See " of the Irish Proceedings Royal
Academy," vol. i. , part i. , Irish Manuscript Series, pp. 130, 131.
Edited Drs. Todd and Reeves,
by pp.
8 Neither is it to be in that found,
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nise," xv. Martii. Acta SS. Dichulli, connell and Tiaquin, shown on the "Ord-
a See
Munissae et Neslugii fratrum, p. 609, and n. 9. See, also, the account of Saints Dichull, Munissa and Neslug, at the 15th of March, text and notes.
» This is a in the baronies of Kil- parish,
Colgan's
3
By mistake, Colgan Julii. '
,0 Clonkeen is a in the of 13 parish, barony
4 The Second Chapter is quoted, as an authoiity for this account.
Tiaquin, and county of Galway. See sheets 59, 72, 85, ibid. The townland of Clon- keenkerrill is marked on sheets 59, 72.
has entered "
nance Survey Townland Maps for the
County of Galway," sheets 59, 60, 72, 73, 85, 86. The townland of Ballymacward
proper is on sheet 73.
June 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 657
of Galway, the festival of this pious bishop was kept," as a holy day, on the 13thofJune. Theoldpeoplethereshowhisholywell,andalsothesaint's bed; but, no further tradition remains. 12
Article II. —St. Mac Nessi, Abbot of Clonmacnoise, King's County. [SixthCentury. ~\ Thisholymanismentioned,bySt. . /Engusthe Culdee, as deserving of religious veneration from an early date. Among the Burgundian Library Manuscripts, at Bruxelles, there is a Latin Life of Mcenis- sus. 1 Whether he was the saint, or the Mac of Connor,
present Nissi, Bishop
venerated at the 3rd of September, the short account given by Mr. S. Bindon
The Ruins at Clonmacnoise, King's County.
does not enable us to determine. In the Feilire * of iEngus, Mac Nissi the chaste of Cluain is commemorated, on the 13th of June. We also find the name of Mac Nesi, Abbot of Cluana mic nois, occurring m the Martyro ogy of Tallagh,3 and in that of Marianus O'Gorman, as having had a festival, at the 13th of June. Nearly contemporaneously with the death ot bt. lta,« 01 Killeedy, the predecessor of Mac Nissi, and who is called the abbot Aneas, departed this life. St. Macnessius immediately succeeded him, in tne government of Clonmacnoise,? at a time when this sanctuary of holiness, on the banks of the Shannon, was in the zenith of its splendour, as a house ana
"
As we are informed, about the year
—translated by Dr. Whitley Stokes ing lines,
1840.
12 Letter from Rev. Patrick Cannon, P. P. ,
Ballymacward and Clonkeen Kerrill, county of Galway.
appear :
—
3 In the Leabhar Breac copy, the follow-
LApA^chAlon mb}\erc4 •dcmer* mAne cIiuaLa
uAirm Cechains copiS'OA
true mrri CAro C1-UA,1A'
Article ii. fol. 217.
"
It is noted in vol.
xx. ,
at
"With Bartholomew the active—thou art
the
weak if thou hear not—from us to Kings
IT
658 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 13.
homeofretreat. 6 Heruledfromabouta. d. 574,foraperiodofsixteenyears, according to a gloss on Marianus O'Gorman. ? The account of his being abbot, during the lifetime of Eneas, must be taken to signify, either that he was elected at this abbot's express wish, when on his death-bed, according to a custom of the time ; or that the term abbot, said to have been applied to him by St. Ita, was rather an expression used by the author of her Life, and
8 The this saint's O'Clerys place
Article III. —St. Psalmodius, Hermit, Diocese of Limoges, France.
[Sixth or Seventh Century. ~\ The present holy man, whose original Celtic name seems to be unknown, is assumed to have been born of respectable
referable to at a future Macnessius,
period.
death,ata. d. 590. TheMartyrologyofDonegal°recordshimasMacNessi,
Abbot of Cluain-mic-nois.
andtohavebeeneducatedin 1 wherehereceivedtheelements Scotia,
parents,
of instruction when a
ciplehebecame. AnancientBreviary,3havingspecialrelationtotheDio- cese of Limoges, France, has the feast of Saints Psalmodius and Anthony of Padua,atthe13thofJune. Thisseemstobethechiefauthority,forwhatis related regarding the present saint. Gaufredus,* or Geoffroi,* a coenobite of the monastery of St. Martial of Limoges, has an account of the Blessed
6
Psalmodius, enumerated among the chief saints of Limoges, and who was
connected with the monastery of Aentum, or Eymoutiers,? in Haute-Vienne.
This holy man is said to have been a contemporary with Pope St. Gregory
out in the Atlantic Ocean—
boy
from St.
2 of whose dis- Brendan, Bishop Clonfert,
8
theGreat. Itisstated,thatwhileveryyoung,forthreedayshewasexposed
to the sea-waves 9
— probably
but from this the advice of his
danger master, Psalmodius passed over to Gaul. Here he visited St. Leontius," Bishop of
he 10 providentially escaped.
Afterwards, following
(of heaven) went Mac Nissi the chaste of Cluain. "—" Transactions of the Royal Irish
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, p. xciv.
' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxvii.
* See her Life, at the 15th of January, in the First Volume of this work, Art. i.
s See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nian," xv. Januarii, Vita S. Itse, n. 27, p. 72.
6 The accompanying view of Clonmac- noise, drawn on the wood by William F. W'akeman, and from a drawing by himself
on the spot, has been engraved by Mrs. Millard.
7 In a note, the Rev. Dr. Todd says at this word, Marian, introduced by some writer: "The words within brackets, quoted from the gloss on the Martyrology of Marian O'Gorman, are inserted by the more recent hand. "
8 " Uti dicimus quod Sanctus Kieranus
understood of Ireland. However, the Con- tinental writers have very generally sup- posed, that the saint was born in Great Britain, as they thought Scotia applied ex- clusively to Scotland.
* His wonderful Acts have been already given, in the Fifth Volume of this work, at the 1 6th of May, the date for his festival. See Art. i.
3 This was printed A. D. 1625, by Ray- mond de la Martonia, Bishop.
4 He was appointed prior of Vigeois in Lower Limousin, June 14th, 1 178.
s He wrote a valuable chronicle, which ends with the year 1 184. It had a Prologue, and it is divided into two parts. The first comprises 74 chapters, and the second 22 chapters. See account of him in M. I. e Dr. Iloefer's " Nouvelle Biographie Generale," tome xx. , cols. 21, 22.
6 The Chonicle of Geoffroi has been pub- lished by Le Pere Labbe in " Bibliotheca
Abbas natus sit Febr. licet eo die — Nova tomus
24. quo Manuscriptorum," ii. , p. 279.
7
natus, non fuerit Abbus vel sanctus.
"
This place is about 14 miles distant from Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xv. Januarii, the city of Limoges.
n. 8 He March 27, p. 72. died,
A. n.
9 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
168, 169. — Article hi.
henp of sea-weeds, he was carried out h until a returning tidal-wave brought him back to the shore.
This is stated, by Saussay, and the circumstances show, that it must be
12th,
9 The legend states, that sleeping on a
604.
June 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 659
Saintes, by whom he was directed to embrace a life of celestial contempla-
tion, in that stranger's country. He retired to a lonely forest in Limousin,
12
nearEymoutiers, farfromthehauntsofmen,andwherehisvirtuesendeared
him to the Almighty, who was pleased to distinguish him by the gift of mira- cles. J 3 One woman, who was blind, he restored to the use of sight, by bath- ing her eyes in that water, in which he had washed his hands. The daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine, who had been bitten by a viper, he healed, also, by sprinkling holy water upon her. He was reverenced for his power over wild beasts and demons, as also for his curing of diseases. Such was his love for
singing psalms, that he obtained from that circumstance the name Psalmo- "
diusorPsalmode,meaning Psalm-singer,"bywhichheisatpresentdistin- guished. There he lived a most holy life, and there too he closed it, with a
reputation for great sanctity. '* The year-date of his death, however, does not appear on record, although it is related, that he departed on the Ides of June. When his soul had passed to Heaven, his body was brought from the wood
to the Collegiate Church of St. Stephen, belonging to the monastery of
Aentum, or Eymoutiers. There, it was enclosed in a silver shrine, which
was preserved with great veneration, and many resorted thither to pray at his tomb. His office was celebrated under a Double Rite. There are notices of this saint in the Kalendar of Limoges, at this date, in the Menology of
Article IV. —St. Mocuma Cruimther, or Cruimtheran, of Clon-
ofAndrew
Simon Martin, in the Bollandists^and in the Petits Bollandistes. ' 8
David 1^ inthe Camerarius,
Martyrology
Saussay,
tibert, County of Monaghan. A festival in honour of Mocuma Cruim- 1
ther, Cluna Tiprat, is recorded in the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 13th of June. Thereisaplace,calledClontibret2 atownlandintheparishofClones
and barony of Dartree, in the county of Monaghan. But, it seems more likely, the locality mentioned is the parish of Clontibret, in the barony of Cremorne, and in the same county. The surface of this parish is more pic- turesquely moory, mountainous and bleak, than abounding in good soil. 3 Some lakes are on its borders,* and in the interior. * The Martyrology of
6 at this same enters the name simply as Cruimtheran of Donegal, date,
Cluain-tioprat. 7
to Camerarius, " fluctibus pelagi oppressum non sine miraculo libera-
turn. "
•' His feast occurs, at the 19th of March.
But, here there seems to be an inconsistency of chronology, inasmuch as he flourished the century after St. Brendan, who died A. D. 579. St. Leontius was at the Council of Rheims, about A. D. 624.
"According to Andrew Saussay: "In Sylva de Grya agri Lemovicensis. "
13 Through humility, he begged from the
xiii. De S. Psalmodio Eremita, in Lemovi- censi Gallia Diocoesi, p. 697. These notes have been compiled by Father Godefrid
10
According
Maclovius.
p. 465.
4 The great Lake ofMucknoe is on its
eastern border.
s Among these are the considerable Lakes
of Corraghdergan and Toam.
6 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
168, 169.
? A note by Dr.
Todd says, at Cluain-
the withdrawal of that
Par- liamentary Gazetteer of Ireland," vol. i. ,
Almighty
14 See Les Petits Bollandistes' " Vies des
e
Saints," tome vii. , xv Jour de Juin, p. 60.
•S Who calls him Psalmetus, and who
states, that he was brother to St. Machalus or
16 In "
and at the xiv. of
'? See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii
xiii. of
June
in the
June, supplement.
Martyrologium
Gallicanum," at the
privilege.
Henschenn, in four ,8 "
16in in Ferrarius,
paragraphs. ^
See Vies des Saints," tome vi. ,
xiiie Jour de Juin, pp. 605, 606, and tome
vii. , xv<= Jour de Juin, p. 60. *
Article IV. — Edited by Rev. Dr.
Kelly, p. xxvii.
2 It is shown on the " Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the County of
Monaghan," sheets II, 12, 16, 17.
3 See a good description of it, in the
"
660 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
Article V. —Reputed Feast of a St. Mochumma. In the Martyr-
1 atthe
chumma. However,theMocumaCruimther,atthisday,intheMartyrology
of Tallagh, appears to be identical with him there mentioned, in the O'Clerys' Calendar.
Article VI. —St. Damnat or Damhnat, Virgin, of Sliabh Betha.
ology
of
Donegal,
13th
of
June,
wehavethe ofMo- separate entry
\Fifth
Century.
~\
Martyrology Tallagh festival,
orSixth The of • entersa at
the Ides or 13th of June, in honour of Damnat Sleibe Betha. Her mother is
said to have been Bronach, the daughter of Milchon, St. Patrick's master, and
she was the mother of many saints. * She seems to be distinguishable from
another known as St. Dympna. Colgan states, that St. Damnoda or Dymna,
surnamed Schene, or " the fugitive," was the daughter to Damen, son to
Corpre, surnamed Damh-airgid, son to Eochod, the son of Crimthann, son to
Fieg,&c,oftheCollaDachriochrace. Hesays,thatherfeastwasheldon
the 13th of June,3 in Ireland, according . to our native Martyrologies, while in
Belgium it was celebrated on the 15th of May. * He also remarks, that in
some this saint's name is found " mac
Manuscripts, written, Damand-Scene, Daimhen," &c, which means, " Damand, the fugitive, the son of Damen. " It is thought, that two errors have crept into these Manuscripts, at this particular
passage. The first was, the transposition of a letter, which converted Damnad, into Damand. For, there was a very celebrated virgin, of the Oirgiell race, called Damnad, who was venerated as patron of Orgiell ; whilst there is no saint, male or female, in Irish Martyrologies or Annals, whose name was Damand. The second error appears to. have been, that instead of these
words, " Mac-Daimen," we should read, " Daimhein," or " Ingen
Ingen mhic-Daimhein," which would mean, " the daughter of Damen," or " the daughter of Damen's son. "* Both Drs. George Petrie and John O'Donovan
thought, however, there was much reason to doubt Colgan's opinion, that the St. Davnet, venerated in Ireland on the 13th of June, and the St. Dympna, whose feast was on the 15th of May in Belgium, could have been one and the same person. Nor do we feel inclined to believe, that the Damnat of Sleibhe Betha, venerated on the 13th of June, and alluded to in the Martyrology of Tallagh, can be fairly identified with St. Dympna, patroness of Gheel. In the year 1835, while Mr. O'Donovan was travelling in the county of Monaghan, he suspected, that the name of this parish must have been derived from a St. Damhnat,6 whose habitation had been there. Then a popular tradition pre- vailed among the old inhabitants, that a St. Davnet was the first founder of
the old church in their parish. 7 They had no idea, however, regarding the age in which that female saint lived, but they thought it was a long time after
the introduction of
Christianity.
On
being
furnished with extracts 8 from the
" The more recent hand adds here
quiimcep, Mar. Matt. Taml. ,' meaning at that date, her Life is written. See
tioprat : '
* Tn the Fifth Volume of this work, and Art. i.
s
Edited by Rev. Drs. nice," xxi. Martii, Appendix ad Acta S.
that he is called Cruimter, not Cruimtheran,
in those — Martyrologies. "
See
Colgan's
"Acta . Sanctorum Hiber-
Article v.
•
Todd and — Endei,
Reeves, pp. 168, 169. iv. ,pp. 713, 714.
•6 Edited by Rev. Dr.
Article, vi. Kelly,p. xxvii.
3
According to the Tract attributed to St. /Engus. " De Matribus Sanctorum Hiber- niae. "
3 See "Acta Sanctorum I Iibernia? ," xxi.
lie conjectured, that the compound de- rivativeswereci5,orcec,orcoig,meaning
a house, and 'O. drmiAice or "OAinrtATOe, a
proper name,
7 For a very interesting account of Tcdav-
net, the reader is referred to Evelyn Philip
Martii, Appendix ad Acta S. /Endei, cap. Shirley's "History of the County of iv\, pp, 713, 714. Monaghan," chap, xi. , pp. 300 to 308.
[June 13.
June 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 661
Irish Calendar, he identified Tedavnet with the St. Damhnat, whose feast
occurs at this date. Slieve Beagh lies to the north-west of the parish of
Tedavnet,? which is within the barony and county of Monaghan. 10 That
mountain range—forming about one-fourth part of the parish—stretches
towardsTyrone. Therewasanoldchurch,formerlyintheparish,whichis
now 11 This ruined church a about utterlydestroyed. onlypresents fragment,
six feet by four, at the present time, and it has been made to serve as a
monument for the Robinson 12 This " Bith's Moun- family. place, Anglicized
tain," is situated on the confines of the counties of Monaghan and of Fer- managh. ^ IntheparishofTedavnetwaskeptacrozierofthesaint,called Bachall DamhnaitJ* which remained in possession of a man, named Lamb. He stated, that this relic had been in his family from time immemorial, having descended to him as an heirloom. Some eight years before he had been accustomed to send it as far as Newry and Dundalk, for the use of persons, who swore on it. Deponents were said to be in great danger, if they swore falsely. Some fearful change of their features was an apprehended result ; but, the most usual alteration was said to be their mouths turning awry, or towards the ear. Many persons, when accused of theft by their neighbours, and when threatened, that the Bachall Damhnait should be sent for, frequently came and acknowledged their guilt; for, they feared the result of a false deposi- tion on this relic. 15 In the Martyrology of Donegal l6 is Damhnat, virgin, of
pp. 30, 40.
dated Monaghan, May 4th, 1835.
12 The cemetery of Tedavnet may be seen, in the illustration in our Life of St. Dympna, in the Fifth Volume of this work, at May 15th, Art. i. , chap. v.
x3 See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (f), p. 3.
•4 This curious relic of St. Davnet existed in the year 1835, when it was seen by Mr.
O'Donovan, Academy's Museum.
An engraving of it is
in
Evelyn Philip Shirley's
tory of the County of Monaghan," chap, xi. ,
"
p. 301.
presented
but it was so defaced, that Mr. O'Donovan
Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. vi. , June
The owner said he had been offered £zo for it, which he re-
xiii. 20
could not decipher it.
pointed
object.
Mr. O'Donovan's Letter is
and it is now in the Irish Royal
" His-
js '» "Lives of the Fathers, This crozier exhibited an inscription, See
In the Irish Calendar, belonging to the
Sliabh Betha, at the 13th of June.
Irish Ordnance 1 ? there is an — —Survey,
? findnoticesofSt. Damhnade; and,intheCircleoftheSeasons2°ismen- tionedDamka-nade,Virgin,inIreland. IntheManuscriptofTrinityCollege,
Dublin, classed B. 3, 12, we find at June 13, Ides, Damnate, Virgo.
entry
Ides or 13th of June. At this date, in the Rev. Alban Butler's work,
1
we
Article VII. —The Venerable Caius Ccelius . Sedulius.
This distinguished man is said to have been a Priest of the Scots, and to have been
8 By Mr. O'Keeffe, then in Dublin. 9 In Irish CeAch 'OArrfn&c.
County of Monaghan," sheet 6.
" See " Letters containing Information
relative to the Antiquities of the Counties of Armagh and Monaghan, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1835,"
fused, although he was then willing to take half the sum for this curious antiquarian
He also said, that three men were about buying it from him, at the time. One of these was named as Doctor Bell, a Scotch- man, who spent eight days at his house, taking sketches of the relic. With great difficulty, Mr. O'Donovan was able to learn from Lamb, that his father used to call him- self O'luAin, a name which is to be found amongst families, descended from the three Collas in Oriel. This family originally lived in the parish of Tedavnet. See "Letters containing Information relative to the Anti- quities of the Counties of Armagh and Monaghan, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1835. " Mr. O'Donovan's Letter, dated Monaghan, May 9th, 1835, pp. 68 to 70.
"6 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
168, 169.
J ? It is now preserved in the Royal Irish
Academy's Library,
l8 Thus: T>ArhnAr; 65 6 Sliab OeacA.
10 The exact location is
out on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the
l8 of St. Damhnat's festival, at the
See p. 165.
662 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[June 13.
a disciple of Hildebert, Archbishop of the Scots, from an early age, to
have left his own country, and to have travelled abroad through France,
1
Italy,AsiaandAchaia,inGreece. InRome,likewise,hewasdistinguished
for his learning. At this date, Thomas Dempster 2 has allusion to the feast
of Sedulius,3 whom he makes a bishop in Greece. According to him, the relation of his relics which were deposited in the monastery of Kilwinnon
belongstothe13thJune. 4 DistrustingthestatementsofDempster,however, the Bollandists 5 are unwilling to accept his authority for Sedulius being a
collected from various sources as quoted, some notices of Caius or Ccelius Sedulius;? but,thereislittlethereproducedtothrowanylightonhisbiogra- phy. Itisstated,byCamerarius,thatafestivaltocommemoratethevene- rable and learned Caius Ccelius Sedulius, had been observed on the 13th of June. Our notices of this distinguished person have been already set down,
8
Article VIII. —Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle. In the Feilire of St. ^Engus, the feast of St. Bartholomew the Aposile is commemo-
Grecian 6 but Bishop,
insert some notices of him, at this
that Colgan has alluded to one known as the Venerable Sedulius, at the 12th of February, and who appears to be quite different from the present assumed Greek Bishop. In his Scottish Ecclesiastical History, Thomas Dempster has
at the 1 2 th day of February.
the 28th of December, he writes:
Cavac
Reliquiarum Sedulii depositio et venera- tio. "
5 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii
xiii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 66s.
* See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii
xiii. Among the pretermitted feasts. Article ix. — See the Second Vo-
lume of this work, at that date, Art. i. * *'
*
That he was a bishop is asserted on the
tomus ii.
168, 169. Article xiv.
Kelly, p. xxvii.
—
Edited by Rev. Dr.
168, 169.
7 See " of the Irish Proceedings Royal
Academy," vol. i. , part i. , Irish Manuscript Series, pp. 130, 131.
Edited Drs. Todd and Reeves,
by pp.
8 Neither is it to be in that found,
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nise," xv. Martii. Acta SS. Dichulli, connell and Tiaquin, shown on the "Ord-
a See
Munissae et Neslugii fratrum, p. 609, and n. 9. See, also, the account of Saints Dichull, Munissa and Neslug, at the 15th of March, text and notes.
» This is a in the baronies of Kil- parish,
Colgan's
3
By mistake, Colgan Julii. '
,0 Clonkeen is a in the of 13 parish, barony
4 The Second Chapter is quoted, as an authoiity for this account.
Tiaquin, and county of Galway. See sheets 59, 72, 85, ibid. The townland of Clon- keenkerrill is marked on sheets 59, 72.
has entered "
nance Survey Townland Maps for the
County of Galway," sheets 59, 60, 72, 73, 85, 86. The townland of Ballymacward
proper is on sheet 73.
June 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 657
of Galway, the festival of this pious bishop was kept," as a holy day, on the 13thofJune. Theoldpeoplethereshowhisholywell,andalsothesaint's bed; but, no further tradition remains. 12
Article II. —St. Mac Nessi, Abbot of Clonmacnoise, King's County. [SixthCentury. ~\ Thisholymanismentioned,bySt. . /Engusthe Culdee, as deserving of religious veneration from an early date. Among the Burgundian Library Manuscripts, at Bruxelles, there is a Latin Life of Mcenis- sus. 1 Whether he was the saint, or the Mac of Connor,
present Nissi, Bishop
venerated at the 3rd of September, the short account given by Mr. S. Bindon
The Ruins at Clonmacnoise, King's County.
does not enable us to determine. In the Feilire * of iEngus, Mac Nissi the chaste of Cluain is commemorated, on the 13th of June. We also find the name of Mac Nesi, Abbot of Cluana mic nois, occurring m the Martyro ogy of Tallagh,3 and in that of Marianus O'Gorman, as having had a festival, at the 13th of June. Nearly contemporaneously with the death ot bt. lta,« 01 Killeedy, the predecessor of Mac Nissi, and who is called the abbot Aneas, departed this life. St. Macnessius immediately succeeded him, in tne government of Clonmacnoise,? at a time when this sanctuary of holiness, on the banks of the Shannon, was in the zenith of its splendour, as a house ana
"
As we are informed, about the year
—translated by Dr. Whitley Stokes ing lines,
1840.
12 Letter from Rev. Patrick Cannon, P. P. ,
Ballymacward and Clonkeen Kerrill, county of Galway.
appear :
—
3 In the Leabhar Breac copy, the follow-
LApA^chAlon mb}\erc4 •dcmer* mAne cIiuaLa
uAirm Cechains copiS'OA
true mrri CAro C1-UA,1A'
Article ii. fol. 217.
"
It is noted in vol.
xx. ,
at
"With Bartholomew the active—thou art
the
weak if thou hear not—from us to Kings
IT
658 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 13.
homeofretreat. 6 Heruledfromabouta. d. 574,foraperiodofsixteenyears, according to a gloss on Marianus O'Gorman. ? The account of his being abbot, during the lifetime of Eneas, must be taken to signify, either that he was elected at this abbot's express wish, when on his death-bed, according to a custom of the time ; or that the term abbot, said to have been applied to him by St. Ita, was rather an expression used by the author of her Life, and
8 The this saint's O'Clerys place
Article III. —St. Psalmodius, Hermit, Diocese of Limoges, France.
[Sixth or Seventh Century. ~\ The present holy man, whose original Celtic name seems to be unknown, is assumed to have been born of respectable
referable to at a future Macnessius,
period.
death,ata. d. 590. TheMartyrologyofDonegal°recordshimasMacNessi,
Abbot of Cluain-mic-nois.
andtohavebeeneducatedin 1 wherehereceivedtheelements Scotia,
parents,
of instruction when a
ciplehebecame. AnancientBreviary,3havingspecialrelationtotheDio- cese of Limoges, France, has the feast of Saints Psalmodius and Anthony of Padua,atthe13thofJune. Thisseemstobethechiefauthority,forwhatis related regarding the present saint. Gaufredus,* or Geoffroi,* a coenobite of the monastery of St. Martial of Limoges, has an account of the Blessed
6
Psalmodius, enumerated among the chief saints of Limoges, and who was
connected with the monastery of Aentum, or Eymoutiers,? in Haute-Vienne.
This holy man is said to have been a contemporary with Pope St. Gregory
out in the Atlantic Ocean—
boy
from St.
2 of whose dis- Brendan, Bishop Clonfert,
8
theGreat. Itisstated,thatwhileveryyoung,forthreedayshewasexposed
to the sea-waves 9
— probably
but from this the advice of his
danger master, Psalmodius passed over to Gaul. Here he visited St. Leontius," Bishop of
he 10 providentially escaped.
Afterwards, following
(of heaven) went Mac Nissi the chaste of Cluain. "—" Transactions of the Royal Irish
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, p. xciv.
' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxvii.
* See her Life, at the 15th of January, in the First Volume of this work, Art. i.
s See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nian," xv. Januarii, Vita S. Itse, n. 27, p. 72.
6 The accompanying view of Clonmac- noise, drawn on the wood by William F. W'akeman, and from a drawing by himself
on the spot, has been engraved by Mrs. Millard.
7 In a note, the Rev. Dr. Todd says at this word, Marian, introduced by some writer: "The words within brackets, quoted from the gloss on the Martyrology of Marian O'Gorman, are inserted by the more recent hand. "
8 " Uti dicimus quod Sanctus Kieranus
understood of Ireland. However, the Con- tinental writers have very generally sup- posed, that the saint was born in Great Britain, as they thought Scotia applied ex- clusively to Scotland.
* His wonderful Acts have been already given, in the Fifth Volume of this work, at the 1 6th of May, the date for his festival. See Art. i.
3 This was printed A. D. 1625, by Ray- mond de la Martonia, Bishop.
4 He was appointed prior of Vigeois in Lower Limousin, June 14th, 1 178.
s He wrote a valuable chronicle, which ends with the year 1 184. It had a Prologue, and it is divided into two parts. The first comprises 74 chapters, and the second 22 chapters. See account of him in M. I. e Dr. Iloefer's " Nouvelle Biographie Generale," tome xx. , cols. 21, 22.
6 The Chonicle of Geoffroi has been pub- lished by Le Pere Labbe in " Bibliotheca
Abbas natus sit Febr. licet eo die — Nova tomus
24. quo Manuscriptorum," ii. , p. 279.
7
natus, non fuerit Abbus vel sanctus.
"
This place is about 14 miles distant from Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xv. Januarii, the city of Limoges.
n. 8 He March 27, p. 72. died,
A. n.
9 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
168, 169. — Article hi.
henp of sea-weeds, he was carried out h until a returning tidal-wave brought him back to the shore.
This is stated, by Saussay, and the circumstances show, that it must be
12th,
9 The legend states, that sleeping on a
604.
June 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 659
Saintes, by whom he was directed to embrace a life of celestial contempla-
tion, in that stranger's country. He retired to a lonely forest in Limousin,
12
nearEymoutiers, farfromthehauntsofmen,andwherehisvirtuesendeared
him to the Almighty, who was pleased to distinguish him by the gift of mira- cles. J 3 One woman, who was blind, he restored to the use of sight, by bath- ing her eyes in that water, in which he had washed his hands. The daughter of the Duke of Aquitaine, who had been bitten by a viper, he healed, also, by sprinkling holy water upon her. He was reverenced for his power over wild beasts and demons, as also for his curing of diseases. Such was his love for
singing psalms, that he obtained from that circumstance the name Psalmo- "
diusorPsalmode,meaning Psalm-singer,"bywhichheisatpresentdistin- guished. There he lived a most holy life, and there too he closed it, with a
reputation for great sanctity. '* The year-date of his death, however, does not appear on record, although it is related, that he departed on the Ides of June. When his soul had passed to Heaven, his body was brought from the wood
to the Collegiate Church of St. Stephen, belonging to the monastery of
Aentum, or Eymoutiers. There, it was enclosed in a silver shrine, which
was preserved with great veneration, and many resorted thither to pray at his tomb. His office was celebrated under a Double Rite. There are notices of this saint in the Kalendar of Limoges, at this date, in the Menology of
Article IV. —St. Mocuma Cruimther, or Cruimtheran, of Clon-
ofAndrew
Simon Martin, in the Bollandists^and in the Petits Bollandistes. ' 8
David 1^ inthe Camerarius,
Martyrology
Saussay,
tibert, County of Monaghan. A festival in honour of Mocuma Cruim- 1
ther, Cluna Tiprat, is recorded in the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 13th of June. Thereisaplace,calledClontibret2 atownlandintheparishofClones
and barony of Dartree, in the county of Monaghan. But, it seems more likely, the locality mentioned is the parish of Clontibret, in the barony of Cremorne, and in the same county. The surface of this parish is more pic- turesquely moory, mountainous and bleak, than abounding in good soil. 3 Some lakes are on its borders,* and in the interior. * The Martyrology of
6 at this same enters the name simply as Cruimtheran of Donegal, date,
Cluain-tioprat. 7
to Camerarius, " fluctibus pelagi oppressum non sine miraculo libera-
turn. "
•' His feast occurs, at the 19th of March.
But, here there seems to be an inconsistency of chronology, inasmuch as he flourished the century after St. Brendan, who died A. D. 579. St. Leontius was at the Council of Rheims, about A. D. 624.
"According to Andrew Saussay: "In Sylva de Grya agri Lemovicensis. "
13 Through humility, he begged from the
xiii. De S. Psalmodio Eremita, in Lemovi- censi Gallia Diocoesi, p. 697. These notes have been compiled by Father Godefrid
10
According
Maclovius.
p. 465.
4 The great Lake ofMucknoe is on its
eastern border.
s Among these are the considerable Lakes
of Corraghdergan and Toam.
6 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
168, 169.
? A note by Dr.
Todd says, at Cluain-
the withdrawal of that
Par- liamentary Gazetteer of Ireland," vol. i. ,
Almighty
14 See Les Petits Bollandistes' " Vies des
e
Saints," tome vii. , xv Jour de Juin, p. 60.
•S Who calls him Psalmetus, and who
states, that he was brother to St. Machalus or
16 In "
and at the xiv. of
'? See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii
xiii. of
June
in the
June, supplement.
Martyrologium
Gallicanum," at the
privilege.
Henschenn, in four ,8 "
16in in Ferrarius,
paragraphs. ^
See Vies des Saints," tome vi. ,
xiiie Jour de Juin, pp. 605, 606, and tome
vii. , xv<= Jour de Juin, p. 60. *
Article IV. — Edited by Rev. Dr.
Kelly, p. xxvii.
2 It is shown on the " Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the County of
Monaghan," sheets II, 12, 16, 17.
3 See a good description of it, in the
"
660 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
Article V. —Reputed Feast of a St. Mochumma. In the Martyr-
1 atthe
chumma. However,theMocumaCruimther,atthisday,intheMartyrology
of Tallagh, appears to be identical with him there mentioned, in the O'Clerys' Calendar.
Article VI. —St. Damnat or Damhnat, Virgin, of Sliabh Betha.
ology
of
Donegal,
13th
of
June,
wehavethe ofMo- separate entry
\Fifth
Century.
~\
Martyrology Tallagh festival,
orSixth The of • entersa at
the Ides or 13th of June, in honour of Damnat Sleibe Betha. Her mother is
said to have been Bronach, the daughter of Milchon, St. Patrick's master, and
she was the mother of many saints. * She seems to be distinguishable from
another known as St. Dympna. Colgan states, that St. Damnoda or Dymna,
surnamed Schene, or " the fugitive," was the daughter to Damen, son to
Corpre, surnamed Damh-airgid, son to Eochod, the son of Crimthann, son to
Fieg,&c,oftheCollaDachriochrace. Hesays,thatherfeastwasheldon
the 13th of June,3 in Ireland, according . to our native Martyrologies, while in
Belgium it was celebrated on the 15th of May. * He also remarks, that in
some this saint's name is found " mac
Manuscripts, written, Damand-Scene, Daimhen," &c, which means, " Damand, the fugitive, the son of Damen. " It is thought, that two errors have crept into these Manuscripts, at this particular
passage. The first was, the transposition of a letter, which converted Damnad, into Damand. For, there was a very celebrated virgin, of the Oirgiell race, called Damnad, who was venerated as patron of Orgiell ; whilst there is no saint, male or female, in Irish Martyrologies or Annals, whose name was Damand. The second error appears to. have been, that instead of these
words, " Mac-Daimen," we should read, " Daimhein," or " Ingen
Ingen mhic-Daimhein," which would mean, " the daughter of Damen," or " the daughter of Damen's son. "* Both Drs. George Petrie and John O'Donovan
thought, however, there was much reason to doubt Colgan's opinion, that the St. Davnet, venerated in Ireland on the 13th of June, and the St. Dympna, whose feast was on the 15th of May in Belgium, could have been one and the same person. Nor do we feel inclined to believe, that the Damnat of Sleibhe Betha, venerated on the 13th of June, and alluded to in the Martyrology of Tallagh, can be fairly identified with St. Dympna, patroness of Gheel. In the year 1835, while Mr. O'Donovan was travelling in the county of Monaghan, he suspected, that the name of this parish must have been derived from a St. Damhnat,6 whose habitation had been there. Then a popular tradition pre- vailed among the old inhabitants, that a St. Davnet was the first founder of
the old church in their parish. 7 They had no idea, however, regarding the age in which that female saint lived, but they thought it was a long time after
the introduction of
Christianity.
On
being
furnished with extracts 8 from the
" The more recent hand adds here
quiimcep, Mar. Matt. Taml. ,' meaning at that date, her Life is written. See
tioprat : '
* Tn the Fifth Volume of this work, and Art. i.
s
Edited by Rev. Drs. nice," xxi. Martii, Appendix ad Acta S.
that he is called Cruimter, not Cruimtheran,
in those — Martyrologies. "
See
Colgan's
"Acta . Sanctorum Hiber-
Article v.
•
Todd and — Endei,
Reeves, pp. 168, 169. iv. ,pp. 713, 714.
•6 Edited by Rev. Dr.
Article, vi. Kelly,p. xxvii.
3
According to the Tract attributed to St. /Engus. " De Matribus Sanctorum Hiber- niae. "
3 See "Acta Sanctorum I Iibernia? ," xxi.
lie conjectured, that the compound de- rivativeswereci5,orcec,orcoig,meaning
a house, and 'O. drmiAice or "OAinrtATOe, a
proper name,
7 For a very interesting account of Tcdav-
net, the reader is referred to Evelyn Philip
Martii, Appendix ad Acta S. /Endei, cap. Shirley's "History of the County of iv\, pp, 713, 714. Monaghan," chap, xi. , pp. 300 to 308.
[June 13.
June 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 661
Irish Calendar, he identified Tedavnet with the St. Damhnat, whose feast
occurs at this date. Slieve Beagh lies to the north-west of the parish of
Tedavnet,? which is within the barony and county of Monaghan. 10 That
mountain range—forming about one-fourth part of the parish—stretches
towardsTyrone. Therewasanoldchurch,formerlyintheparish,whichis
now 11 This ruined church a about utterlydestroyed. onlypresents fragment,
six feet by four, at the present time, and it has been made to serve as a
monument for the Robinson 12 This " Bith's Moun- family. place, Anglicized
tain," is situated on the confines of the counties of Monaghan and of Fer- managh. ^ IntheparishofTedavnetwaskeptacrozierofthesaint,called Bachall DamhnaitJ* which remained in possession of a man, named Lamb. He stated, that this relic had been in his family from time immemorial, having descended to him as an heirloom. Some eight years before he had been accustomed to send it as far as Newry and Dundalk, for the use of persons, who swore on it. Deponents were said to be in great danger, if they swore falsely. Some fearful change of their features was an apprehended result ; but, the most usual alteration was said to be their mouths turning awry, or towards the ear. Many persons, when accused of theft by their neighbours, and when threatened, that the Bachall Damhnait should be sent for, frequently came and acknowledged their guilt; for, they feared the result of a false deposi- tion on this relic. 15 In the Martyrology of Donegal l6 is Damhnat, virgin, of
pp. 30, 40.
dated Monaghan, May 4th, 1835.
12 The cemetery of Tedavnet may be seen, in the illustration in our Life of St. Dympna, in the Fifth Volume of this work, at May 15th, Art. i. , chap. v.
x3 See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (f), p. 3.
•4 This curious relic of St. Davnet existed in the year 1835, when it was seen by Mr.
O'Donovan, Academy's Museum.
An engraving of it is
in
Evelyn Philip Shirley's
tory of the County of Monaghan," chap, xi. ,
"
p. 301.
presented
but it was so defaced, that Mr. O'Donovan
Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. vi. , June
The owner said he had been offered £zo for it, which he re-
xiii. 20
could not decipher it.
pointed
object.
Mr. O'Donovan's Letter is
and it is now in the Irish Royal
" His-
js '» "Lives of the Fathers, This crozier exhibited an inscription, See
In the Irish Calendar, belonging to the
Sliabh Betha, at the 13th of June.
Irish Ordnance 1 ? there is an — —Survey,
? findnoticesofSt. Damhnade; and,intheCircleoftheSeasons2°ismen- tionedDamka-nade,Virgin,inIreland. IntheManuscriptofTrinityCollege,
Dublin, classed B. 3, 12, we find at June 13, Ides, Damnate, Virgo.
entry
Ides or 13th of June. At this date, in the Rev. Alban Butler's work,
1
we
Article VII. —The Venerable Caius Ccelius . Sedulius.
This distinguished man is said to have been a Priest of the Scots, and to have been
8 By Mr. O'Keeffe, then in Dublin. 9 In Irish CeAch 'OArrfn&c.
County of Monaghan," sheet 6.
" See " Letters containing Information
relative to the Antiquities of the Counties of Armagh and Monaghan, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1835,"
fused, although he was then willing to take half the sum for this curious antiquarian
He also said, that three men were about buying it from him, at the time. One of these was named as Doctor Bell, a Scotch- man, who spent eight days at his house, taking sketches of the relic. With great difficulty, Mr. O'Donovan was able to learn from Lamb, that his father used to call him- self O'luAin, a name which is to be found amongst families, descended from the three Collas in Oriel. This family originally lived in the parish of Tedavnet. See "Letters containing Information relative to the Anti- quities of the Counties of Armagh and Monaghan, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1835. " Mr. O'Donovan's Letter, dated Monaghan, May 9th, 1835, pp. 68 to 70.
"6 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
168, 169.
J ? It is now preserved in the Royal Irish
Academy's Library,
l8 Thus: T>ArhnAr; 65 6 Sliab OeacA.
10 The exact location is
out on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the
l8 of St. Damhnat's festival, at the
See p. 165.
662 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[June 13.
a disciple of Hildebert, Archbishop of the Scots, from an early age, to
have left his own country, and to have travelled abroad through France,
1
Italy,AsiaandAchaia,inGreece. InRome,likewise,hewasdistinguished
for his learning. At this date, Thomas Dempster 2 has allusion to the feast
of Sedulius,3 whom he makes a bishop in Greece. According to him, the relation of his relics which were deposited in the monastery of Kilwinnon
belongstothe13thJune. 4 DistrustingthestatementsofDempster,however, the Bollandists 5 are unwilling to accept his authority for Sedulius being a
collected from various sources as quoted, some notices of Caius or Ccelius Sedulius;? but,thereislittlethereproducedtothrowanylightonhisbiogra- phy. Itisstated,byCamerarius,thatafestivaltocommemoratethevene- rable and learned Caius Ccelius Sedulius, had been observed on the 13th of June. Our notices of this distinguished person have been already set down,
8
Article VIII. —Feast of St. Bartholomew, Apostle. In the Feilire of St. ^Engus, the feast of St. Bartholomew the Aposile is commemo-
Grecian 6 but Bishop,
insert some notices of him, at this
that Colgan has alluded to one known as the Venerable Sedulius, at the 12th of February, and who appears to be quite different from the present assumed Greek Bishop. In his Scottish Ecclesiastical History, Thomas Dempster has
at the 1 2 th day of February.
the 28th of December, he writes:
Cavac
Reliquiarum Sedulii depositio et venera- tio. "
5 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii
xiii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 66s.
* See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii
xiii. Among the pretermitted feasts. Article ix. — See the Second Vo-
lume of this work, at that date, Art. i. * *'
*
That he was a bishop is asserted on the
tomus ii.
