"Hisfeastisheld on the24thof November,
I2 Ussher thus writes at that year :
" Kenanus gentis Connacticae puer a
tyrannide Regis Leogarii, cui obses fuerit
traditus, S.
I2 Ussher thus writes at that year :
" Kenanus gentis Connacticae puer a
tyrannide Regis Leogarii, cui obses fuerit
traditus, S.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
—* Edited by Rev.
Dr.
56 At p. 80 of his Irish Life. R. I. A.
57 Mr. O'Curry thinks this poem had been Kelly, p. xxxiv. Also distinct from the
written about the middle of the fourteenth
moLar-p of Dam Inis in the Book of
Leinster copy is this entry trUcLarpe.
2 See " Sanctorum Hiberniae," Colgan's
x. Januarii. Vita S. Thomiani, nn. 4, 5,
p. 53.
3 See at that date, in the Fifth Volume
of this work, Art. viii.
century.
58 We are
VIII. 's "first
that
attack was levelled at the smaller institu-
tions or those whose yearly income did not exceed two hundred pounds. "—Butler's
"
and Scottish
told,
Henry
Historical Memoirs of the English, Irish
4 " Ma—c Laisre Abbas Bennchair "
Catholics," 4. , p. 205.
vol.
i. , chap, xvii. , ,
Called in Irish C1II molAife.
Such is the statement of John O'Dono- "
Dr. O'Conor's Rerum Hiberni- carum Scriptores," tomus iv. Annales Ultonienses, p. 49. Dr. O'Conor remarks in a note (j) that Molassius of Devenish died 563, and Lasrean of Leighlin died
sec.
59 See Archdall's " Monasticon Hiberni-
quievit. "
cum," pp. 260, 261.
60 61
van in Letters containing Information 638. They are often confounded by late relative to the Antiquities of the County writers ignorant of Irish history.
311
i2 • LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 12. 3 [September
a different person from the present saint. His proper name is nowhere mentioned ; but, he is supposed to have sat in the See of Armagh from a. d. 610, and to have died on the 12th oi September, in the year 623. 5 This saint is thought possibly to have been identical with a St. Terenan, Arch-
bishop 6 of Ireland, as mentioned by John of Tinmouth,' and by Capgrave. 8
This latter saint is said to have heard St. Laurence, Archbishop of Canter-
bury, dispute upon the dissonance regarding the Easter Festival Celebration, and about other Apostolic Institutions. He thus laid hold of the truth, and
afterwards took a great deal of pains, referable to those matters, in reforming his own people. As Laurence was advanced to the See of Canterbury in
611, and died February 3rd, 619, he seems to have been contemporaneous
withthepresentSaint. 9 Atthe12thofSeptember,MacLasreisenteredby
Marianus O'Gorman in his Fdlire. The present holy man is described in
the of 10 at this same date, as Maclaisre, and Martyrology Donegal, Bishop
Abbot of Ard Macha. According to the Annals of the Four Masters," he died in the year 622.
Article IV. —St. Fledh, Virgin, of Tech-Fleidhe, County of
Wicklow. In the " Feilire " x of ^Engus, at the 12th of September, St.
Fled is called the luminous and buoyant. There is a comment in Irish
2
According to tradition, she was daughter to a King of Leinster.
attached.
We are told, that he belonged to Tech Fleidhe, in Ui-Garchon, of Leinster. The district of Hy-Garchon—within which her Church was situated—
belonged to the territory of Forthuatha. This is thought to have represented Ui Mail, in the barony of Upper Talbotstown, and County of Wicklow. 3 Elsewhere, an opinion has been given, that the district of Hy Garchon may
have extended through the barony of Newcastle, in the same county. * In the Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman, Fled is entered at the -12th of
September. According to the Martyrology of Donegal5 veneration was given at the same day to Fledh, virgin, daughter to the King of Leinster.
Article V. —St. Colman, Bishop of Abhla. The Martyrologies of
Tallagh
1 and of 2 a festival in honour of a Donegal register Colman, Bishop,
s See Harris' Ware, vol. i. "Arch- Article iv. —'See "Transactions of
bishops of Armagh," p. 39. There is evidently a printer's error, in the 2nd of September, as found in that passage.
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manu-
script Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar
of Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. cxxxiii. •
2 Thus translated
"'with Fled,' i. e.
°By Harris.
* The " Vita S. Laurentii," is
•He is said to have visited Ireland, and
with a view of persuading the Scots to
observe the custom of the Universal Church
Stokes
Cressy's
book xiv. , chap, x. , sect, i. , p. 327.
bishops of Armagh," p. 39. Yet St. Terenan might have been confounded with St. Thomian or Toinian Mac Ronan, who succeeded this present Saint as Archbishop of Armagh, in 623.
See notices of St. Ernin, at the 18th of August, in the Eighth Volume of this Work, Art. ii.
5 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
10
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
246, 247.
11 2
quoted.
by
Whitley
:
Ibid. cxlv. p.
3 See Dr. O'Donovan's " Leabhar, na gCeart, or Book of Rights," n. (<1. ) p. 207.
"* 9 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. Arch-
in observing the Easter Festival. See Dean "
Church History of Brittany,"
See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. , pp. Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 246, 247 and n. (1. ) 246, 247.
Dr.
daughter of a King of
Leinster of Tech Fleide in Ui-Garrchon. " —
246, 247. —'Edited Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxxiv. In the Book of Leinster copy, we find also CobniAm Opi <VbleA.
Article v. by
September 12. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 313
atthe12thofSeptember. Abhlaissaidtohavebeenhisplace,butonlyin the former of these calendars.
Article VI. —St. Kenan, surnamed Colledoc, Bishop. [Fi/t/i
AlifeofthisSainthasbeenwrittenbyM. Maurice,1 butitisnot
Century.
of much authority. To his life of St. Joavan, Colgan has some notes
~]
2
attached, relating to St, Kenan; while from him, as a guide, the Abbe
Tresvaux, editor of the latest issue of Lives of the Saints of Bretagne, by the learned Benedictine Priest, Dom Gui Alexis Lobineau* has added notices
about St. Kenan,« surnamed Colledoc, a Bishop, He was born probably after the commencement of the fifth century ; but Albert le Grande, s who states that his birth took place in Great Britain, and that his father was named Ladanus, and his mother, Tagua, has been corrected by Colgan,6 who maintains, that Kenan 7 w—as born in Ciennact— -not in Connaught, as had
8
been incorrectly stated while his father was really Sedanus and his
mother Ethnea. 9 Some writers have thought him not to be a different person from the St. Cienan or Kenan, Abbot, whose feast is marked at the 25th day of February, and about whom we have. already treated. 10 Others have supposed him to be identical with St. Kenan, an early Bishop of Duleek. 11 The story goes, that having subjected Ireland to his sway, in the fifth century, in order to secure the fidelity of the chieftains, Laoghaire, King of Tara, demanded fifty of their children, as hostages. Among these was Kenan, who remained for some time under the control of that Pagan king. However, from that sort of captivity he was released by St. Kieran, whotheninstructedhimwithcareintheChristianreligion. Afterwards,his young disciple passed over to the Continent. The Bretons of France have
12 this native of Ireland
and that? he early embraced a religious life, in the monastery of St. Martin of
Tours. '3 His zeal for the salvation of souls caused his return to Ireland,
where he preached the Gospel in the Province of Connaught, and gained many souls to Christ. Thence he passed to Leinster, where he built a church in a place called after him the Forest of Kenan. There too he collected around him a large congregation of believers, whom he had brought
a that about a. d. tradition,
450,
sought
their
country,
Article vi. —*Vicaire of the Paroisse de Cleder, in the old diocese of Leon.
2 See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," Martii ii. , Vita S. Jaova, Episcopi Leonensis, cap. xiii. , xiv. , and nn. io, II, pp. 441 to 444-
3 See " Les Vies des Saints de Bretagne," Nouvelle edition, revue, corrig£e, et consi- derablemenl augmented, par. M. L'Abbe Tresvaux, tome i. , pp. 62 to 64.
4
This Saint has been altogether omitted from the work of Lobineau, but the account has been added by the Abbe Tresvaux.
5 See his work, on the Saints of Armoric
Britain, in his Life of St. Jaove, Bishop of
See Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," Martii ii. Vita S. Jaova, Episcopi Leonensis, nn. 10, 1 1, p. 443.
? Hugh of Kirksted, a Cistercian monk,
is supposed by Archbishop Ussher to have substituted the term S. Renanus for our S.
Kenanus, in treating of the Irish monk,
who lived in the time of St. Martin of Tours.
8 See Ussher's " Britannicarum Ecclesi- arum Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , and Addenda Quaedam omissa, pp. 411, 508.
'According to the Calendar of Cashel,
at the 24th day of November, and the
Sanctilogium Genealogicum, cap. xxxvi.
I0
See the Second Volume of this work, at that date, art. i.
"Hisfeastisheld on the24thof November,
I2 Ussher thus writes at that year :
" Kenanus gentis Connacticae puer a
tyrannide Regis Leogarii, cui obses fuerit
traditus, S. Kierani Episcopi opera liberatus, et bonis literis a Nathano viro
religio>issimo eruditus, postea Gallias adiit ; et apud Turonenses in ccenobio S. Martini
"
habitum induit monasticum. "— Britanni-
carum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," Index
Chronologicus, p. 519.
I3 His feast is celebrated on the nth of
November.
Leon, 6"
3i4 LIVES OJ- THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 12.
into the true fold. Afterwards, lie visited the Eugenian district, so called from
named
1 * and there he destroyed an idol and the altar erected
a
to him
and he gave it in charge to his beloved disciple, St. Comgell,
that St. Kenan became Bishop of Duleek. '7 Next he retired to a place in hisowncountry,whichwascalledRos-ene, Thesiteofthislocalityhasnot been discovered, nor is it known, how long St. Kenan remained there, or if he had erected a religious house, or had ruled over a community of monks. However, it seems most likely he led the life of an anchoret, which did not pre- vent him from ministering to the wants of converts from paganism, that during his time must have largely prevailed in Ireland. Afterwards, he returned to Aremoric Brittany, and established himself in the country of Leon, where he desired to remain in solitude. He fixed on a place called Cleder, where he lived for many years in companionship with his fellow-disciple, the hermit St. Kerrien. To him, our Saint rendered the last religious offices, when he hadbeencalledawayfromlife. 18 Also,headministeredthelastSacraments
1
of the Church to Jaove, * the holy Bishop of Leon, before his departure.
king
Eugene, by Pagans.
identity
among
the
the
On the site he erected an altar to the living God x s ;
ThedeathofSt. Kenanoccurred,towardstheyear495. Hewasinterredat Cleder,20 in the canton of Plougeved^, arrondissement of Morlaix, where the site of his tomb is shown. 21 It is thought to be possible, that in whole or in part, his relics had been translated to his former monastery of Ros-ene in Ireland. Many—churchesingreaterandlesserBritainhavebeendedicated
14 The old chronicler adds, " been derived from the mother of St. cujus neptis Ethne,
Ethne ipsius Kenani mater fuisse memo- Kenan of Duleek. This enquiry, Colgan
to St. Colledoc said to have been feastisassignedtothe12thofSeptember. Wedonotfindhisnamemen- tioned in the " Histoire de Bretagne," by Lobineau. Festivals are instituted, also, in his honour, at the 1st and 7 th of October.
ratur. "
15 See Ussher's " Britannicarum Eccle-
siarum Antiquitates. " Addenda Qusedam omissa, p. 508.
16 Who the Saint had been that bore this
name,wehavenomeansleftfordetermining.
promised further to develop, at the feast day of the latter Saint, November 24th. See " Acta Sanctorum Hibernke," Martii ii. Vita S. Jaove, Episcopi Leonensis, nn. 10,
II, p. 443.
,8
Nothing more seems to be known, regarding St. Kerrien of Bretagne, than
17 This conjecture is hazarded by Colgan,
who supposes that the Kenan, named what is related in the text.
22 another name for St. Kenan. His
Albert Le Grand, could have ' 9 See his Life in the Third Volume of
Calodoc
been no other than the bishop of Duleek, this work, at the 2nd day of March, who flourished in the fifth century, and Art. iii.
w " II fat inhume dans le cimetiere, d'ou
on a sans doute leve son —le
corps pour placer
"
de Bretagne, par Dom Guy-Alexis Lobineau, tome i. , pp. 63, 64.
by
chiefly for the following reasons.
First, Britons, no other Saint similarly called is to be found.
of names, as
the
L'Abbe" Secondly, the concurrence of place and Tresvaux's edition de Les Vies des Saints
period, as we read of Kenan having been in Gaul about the year 450, where it seems probable he remained until A. l>. 472, besides
2I See Les Petits Bollandistes, " Vies des other subsequent years. Thirdly, because Saints," tome xi. , xiie Jour de Septembre,
Kenan, surnamed Calodock, had a disciple named St. Kerian, who was probably St. Kieran of Saigir, by whose means St. KenanofDuleekhadbeenliberated,and who then went to Gaul. Fourthly, that in Ireland there was a place known as Ros-ene, which denomination seems to have
p. 48.
"The Abbe Tresvaux adds : "son tombeau
se voit encore dans une petite chapelle qui portesonnometset—rouvedansuncoindu
dans un lieu plus honorable. "
cimetiere de Cleder. "
Edition de "Les Vies
des Saints de Bretagne," par Dom Guy- Alexis Lobineau, tome i-, p. 64.
16
It is said,
September 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 315
Cbtrteentb Dap of September.
ARTICLE I. —ST. DAGAN, BISHOP OF ACHAD-DAGAIN, OR ENNER- REILLY, COUNTY OF WICKLOW.
[SIXTH AND SEVENTH CENTURIES. ]
the present holy man had been greatly venerated while he lived
does not admit of THAT
question.
His acts have not come down to us,
however, so that Colgan's Life of him is extracted, for the most part, from biographies of other saints, or from ancient documents, with a few italicised
sentences of his own! 1 we have Already
given
the 1 2th day of March f but, the present day is his chief festival. 3 In the
" Acta Sanctorum" 4 of the Bollandists, at the 13th of September, some brief notices of Dagan occur ; but, it is to be regretted, that the writer should have manifested such little knowledge and consideration of matters relating to the saint's history, as to throw aspersions and doubts on the veneration in which he was formerly held in Ireland. The father of this saint5 was Colmad, or Colmadan, son to Conall. He was the son of Enan, son to Sinill, son of Conall, son to Cathar, son of Armor, son of Nazar, son to Fothad, son of Lamderg, son to Messincorb,6 son to Cucorb, etc. , according to an Irish Life of St. Mochoemoc,? translated into English by Professor O'Looney. Thus, Dagan was descended from the noble family of Dalmessincorb, in Leinster. 8 Another name for the father of our saint was Colman. The Sanctilogic Genealogy of the Irish Saints9 likewise derives him from the renowned Messincorb. 10 his mother was named
Again, daughtertoCoemlog,andsistertoSt. CoemhgenorKevin. " Accordingto
a Tract, said to have been composed by St. ^Engus the Culdee, besides St. Kevin, the mother of our Saint had two holy brothers, viz. , St. Coeman12 Santlebhain of Ardne, and St. Mochoemius or Natchoemius^ of Tirdaglas,
Article i. —* See " Acta Sane- Colgan's
torum Hibernise," xii. Martii. De S.
Dagano, Abbate et episcopo, pp. 584 to 587. 2 In the Third Volume of this work, Art. ix.
Maguire, and the Martyrology of Donegal. ' There we read
Colgan states, it is allowed by all, that St. herdeaile in regione de Hi-Kennseluigh Dagan's festival is referred to the 1 2th of filius Colman, filii Conalli, F. Enani, F.
March, and to the 13th of September. Sinelli, F. Conalli, F. Cacherij, F. Anmorij. "
8 See
3 According to Marianus O'Gorman, nise," xii. Martii, n. 1, p. 586.
See Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xii. F. Nazarij, F. Fothadij, F. Eochadij
nn. II, 12, 13,
4 See tomusiv. , Septembris xiii.
— F. Messincorbi, F. Cucorbi," Laimhdeirg,
&c. "Sanctilogium Genealogicum,"cap. xx.
Martii,
p. 586.
the pretermitted Saints, p. 50.
5 Maguire and the Sanctilogium Genealo-
gicum refer to St. Dagan, as a descendant of Messincorb, founder of the Dal messencorb family, in the southern part of Leinster.
I0
See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
6 This Messincorb, who was also called
Niacorb, was son to Cucorb, Prince of
Leinster, and uncle on the father's side to
Cathair, the last Leinster King over Ireland,
as would appear from the Sanctilogium work, Art. iv.
Among
Genealogicum, cap. logies of Leinster.
7 At chapter 28.
20, and from the Genea-
some notice of St. at Dagan,
Colgan's
' ' Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
:
" S. Daganus de Imb-
nise," xii. Martii, n. 2, p. 586.
" See his Life, in the Sixth Volume of
this work, at the 3rd of June, Art. i.
I2
His feast occurs on the 12th of June. See at that date in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. vi.
I3 His feast is kept on the 1st of May. See, at that date, the Fifth Volume of this
Coeltigherna,
316 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September13.
and a holy sister named St. Coemoca. 1 * All of these were illustrious for their virtues and miracles. According to a Tract, attributed to St. ^ngus the Culdee,15 Coeltigerna, the sister of St. Coemgen was the mother of four sons : viz. , of Uagan of Innbherdaoile, of Mobai, of Molibseus, and of Menoc of Glennfaidhle. '6 Thus,hehadthreebrothers,Molibba,1? BishopofGlendalough, Mobai,18 and Menoc,1? Abbot of Glennfaidhle; all these were distinguished
for their sanctity. Lastly, Dempster and Camerarius incorrectly state, that St. Dagan was a British Scot by birth. 20 St. Dagan was born in or after
a. d. to the 565, according
of Dr. 21 who adduces Lanigan,
conjecture reasons to support his conclusion.
good This learned historian also shows, that
the birth of our saint cannot be placed at a much later period than a. d. 570,
22
while Colgan says, he was born, about the close of the sixth century.
At a tender age, St. Dagan was brought to the school of St. Pulcherius or Mochoemoc of Liathmore. 2^ Here he remained for some years, pursuing those studies which were required to fit him for the ecclesiastical state. Our
Saint was for mildness and of 2< distinguished suavity disposition, although
not naturally devoid of a certain warmth of temper. In St. Puleherin's Life, we are informed, that during the time our Saint remained under his tutelage, certain monks came to Liathmore monastery, being desirous of seeing and
14 See notices of her, in the Seventh Volume of this work, at the 22nd of July, Art ii.
*s At lib. iv. , cap. 16.
16
However, Colgan says, that a certain interpolator of ^Engus, who writes as fol-
lows, at chap. 88, is in error " Coemaca
:
the day for his festival. See " Acta Sanc-
torum HiDemise," xii. Martii, nn. iS, 19,
pp. 586, 587.
soror S. Coemgini, fuit mater Dagani filii
Colmadii et Mobaii filii Colmadii et Menoci
de Glennfaidhle et de Ros-mor, Menoic et
Molibsei filii Aridii de Dal-aradiis oriundi. "
But, as Colgan shows, St. Molibseus, son to
Aradius, of the Dalaradian family in Ulster,
who is venerated at Enach Elte, in the
same province, was not brother of the pre-
ceding Saints, but St. Molibaeus, Bishop of 609. " "Ecclesiastical History Ireland,"
Glendalough, as shown at the 8th of vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , sec. xvi. , n. 229, p. 366.
56 At p. 80 of his Irish Life. R. I. A.
57 Mr. O'Curry thinks this poem had been Kelly, p. xxxiv. Also distinct from the
written about the middle of the fourteenth
moLar-p of Dam Inis in the Book of
Leinster copy is this entry trUcLarpe.
2 See " Sanctorum Hiberniae," Colgan's
x. Januarii. Vita S. Thomiani, nn. 4, 5,
p. 53.
3 See at that date, in the Fifth Volume
of this work, Art. viii.
century.
58 We are
VIII. 's "first
that
attack was levelled at the smaller institu-
tions or those whose yearly income did not exceed two hundred pounds. "—Butler's
"
and Scottish
told,
Henry
Historical Memoirs of the English, Irish
4 " Ma—c Laisre Abbas Bennchair "
Catholics," 4. , p. 205.
vol.
i. , chap, xvii. , ,
Called in Irish C1II molAife.
Such is the statement of John O'Dono- "
Dr. O'Conor's Rerum Hiberni- carum Scriptores," tomus iv. Annales Ultonienses, p. 49. Dr. O'Conor remarks in a note (j) that Molassius of Devenish died 563, and Lasrean of Leighlin died
sec.
59 See Archdall's " Monasticon Hiberni-
quievit. "
cum," pp. 260, 261.
60 61
van in Letters containing Information 638. They are often confounded by late relative to the Antiquities of the County writers ignorant of Irish history.
311
i2 • LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 12. 3 [September
a different person from the present saint. His proper name is nowhere mentioned ; but, he is supposed to have sat in the See of Armagh from a. d. 610, and to have died on the 12th oi September, in the year 623. 5 This saint is thought possibly to have been identical with a St. Terenan, Arch-
bishop 6 of Ireland, as mentioned by John of Tinmouth,' and by Capgrave. 8
This latter saint is said to have heard St. Laurence, Archbishop of Canter-
bury, dispute upon the dissonance regarding the Easter Festival Celebration, and about other Apostolic Institutions. He thus laid hold of the truth, and
afterwards took a great deal of pains, referable to those matters, in reforming his own people. As Laurence was advanced to the See of Canterbury in
611, and died February 3rd, 619, he seems to have been contemporaneous
withthepresentSaint. 9 Atthe12thofSeptember,MacLasreisenteredby
Marianus O'Gorman in his Fdlire. The present holy man is described in
the of 10 at this same date, as Maclaisre, and Martyrology Donegal, Bishop
Abbot of Ard Macha. According to the Annals of the Four Masters," he died in the year 622.
Article IV. —St. Fledh, Virgin, of Tech-Fleidhe, County of
Wicklow. In the " Feilire " x of ^Engus, at the 12th of September, St.
Fled is called the luminous and buoyant. There is a comment in Irish
2
According to tradition, she was daughter to a King of Leinster.
attached.
We are told, that he belonged to Tech Fleidhe, in Ui-Garchon, of Leinster. The district of Hy-Garchon—within which her Church was situated—
belonged to the territory of Forthuatha. This is thought to have represented Ui Mail, in the barony of Upper Talbotstown, and County of Wicklow. 3 Elsewhere, an opinion has been given, that the district of Hy Garchon may
have extended through the barony of Newcastle, in the same county. * In the Martyrology of Marianus O'Gorman, Fled is entered at the -12th of
September. According to the Martyrology of Donegal5 veneration was given at the same day to Fledh, virgin, daughter to the King of Leinster.
Article V. —St. Colman, Bishop of Abhla. The Martyrologies of
Tallagh
1 and of 2 a festival in honour of a Donegal register Colman, Bishop,
s See Harris' Ware, vol. i. "Arch- Article iv. —'See "Transactions of
bishops of Armagh," p. 39. There is evidently a printer's error, in the 2nd of September, as found in that passage.
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manu-
script Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar
of Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. cxxxiii. •
2 Thus translated
"'with Fled,' i. e.
°By Harris.
* The " Vita S. Laurentii," is
•He is said to have visited Ireland, and
with a view of persuading the Scots to
observe the custom of the Universal Church
Stokes
Cressy's
book xiv. , chap, x. , sect, i. , p. 327.
bishops of Armagh," p. 39. Yet St. Terenan might have been confounded with St. Thomian or Toinian Mac Ronan, who succeeded this present Saint as Archbishop of Armagh, in 623.
See notices of St. Ernin, at the 18th of August, in the Eighth Volume of this Work, Art. ii.
5 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
10
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
246, 247.
11 2
quoted.
by
Whitley
:
Ibid. cxlv. p.
3 See Dr. O'Donovan's " Leabhar, na gCeart, or Book of Rights," n. (<1. ) p. 207.
"* 9 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. Arch-
in observing the Easter Festival. See Dean "
Church History of Brittany,"
See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. , pp. Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 246, 247 and n. (1. ) 246, 247.
Dr.
daughter of a King of
Leinster of Tech Fleide in Ui-Garrchon. " —
246, 247. —'Edited Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxxiv. In the Book of Leinster copy, we find also CobniAm Opi <VbleA.
Article v. by
September 12. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 313
atthe12thofSeptember. Abhlaissaidtohavebeenhisplace,butonlyin the former of these calendars.
Article VI. —St. Kenan, surnamed Colledoc, Bishop. [Fi/t/i
AlifeofthisSainthasbeenwrittenbyM. Maurice,1 butitisnot
Century.
of much authority. To his life of St. Joavan, Colgan has some notes
~]
2
attached, relating to St, Kenan; while from him, as a guide, the Abbe
Tresvaux, editor of the latest issue of Lives of the Saints of Bretagne, by the learned Benedictine Priest, Dom Gui Alexis Lobineau* has added notices
about St. Kenan,« surnamed Colledoc, a Bishop, He was born probably after the commencement of the fifth century ; but Albert le Grande, s who states that his birth took place in Great Britain, and that his father was named Ladanus, and his mother, Tagua, has been corrected by Colgan,6 who maintains, that Kenan 7 w—as born in Ciennact— -not in Connaught, as had
8
been incorrectly stated while his father was really Sedanus and his
mother Ethnea. 9 Some writers have thought him not to be a different person from the St. Cienan or Kenan, Abbot, whose feast is marked at the 25th day of February, and about whom we have. already treated. 10 Others have supposed him to be identical with St. Kenan, an early Bishop of Duleek. 11 The story goes, that having subjected Ireland to his sway, in the fifth century, in order to secure the fidelity of the chieftains, Laoghaire, King of Tara, demanded fifty of their children, as hostages. Among these was Kenan, who remained for some time under the control of that Pagan king. However, from that sort of captivity he was released by St. Kieran, whotheninstructedhimwithcareintheChristianreligion. Afterwards,his young disciple passed over to the Continent. The Bretons of France have
12 this native of Ireland
and that? he early embraced a religious life, in the monastery of St. Martin of
Tours. '3 His zeal for the salvation of souls caused his return to Ireland,
where he preached the Gospel in the Province of Connaught, and gained many souls to Christ. Thence he passed to Leinster, where he built a church in a place called after him the Forest of Kenan. There too he collected around him a large congregation of believers, whom he had brought
a that about a. d. tradition,
450,
sought
their
country,
Article vi. —*Vicaire of the Paroisse de Cleder, in the old diocese of Leon.
2 See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," Martii ii. , Vita S. Jaova, Episcopi Leonensis, cap. xiii. , xiv. , and nn. io, II, pp. 441 to 444-
3 See " Les Vies des Saints de Bretagne," Nouvelle edition, revue, corrig£e, et consi- derablemenl augmented, par. M. L'Abbe Tresvaux, tome i. , pp. 62 to 64.
4
This Saint has been altogether omitted from the work of Lobineau, but the account has been added by the Abbe Tresvaux.
5 See his work, on the Saints of Armoric
Britain, in his Life of St. Jaove, Bishop of
See Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," Martii ii. Vita S. Jaova, Episcopi Leonensis, nn. 10, 1 1, p. 443.
? Hugh of Kirksted, a Cistercian monk,
is supposed by Archbishop Ussher to have substituted the term S. Renanus for our S.
Kenanus, in treating of the Irish monk,
who lived in the time of St. Martin of Tours.
8 See Ussher's " Britannicarum Ecclesi- arum Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , and Addenda Quaedam omissa, pp. 411, 508.
'According to the Calendar of Cashel,
at the 24th day of November, and the
Sanctilogium Genealogicum, cap. xxxvi.
I0
See the Second Volume of this work, at that date, art. i.
"Hisfeastisheld on the24thof November,
I2 Ussher thus writes at that year :
" Kenanus gentis Connacticae puer a
tyrannide Regis Leogarii, cui obses fuerit
traditus, S. Kierani Episcopi opera liberatus, et bonis literis a Nathano viro
religio>issimo eruditus, postea Gallias adiit ; et apud Turonenses in ccenobio S. Martini
"
habitum induit monasticum. "— Britanni-
carum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," Index
Chronologicus, p. 519.
I3 His feast is celebrated on the nth of
November.
Leon, 6"
3i4 LIVES OJ- THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 12.
into the true fold. Afterwards, lie visited the Eugenian district, so called from
named
1 * and there he destroyed an idol and the altar erected
a
to him
and he gave it in charge to his beloved disciple, St. Comgell,
that St. Kenan became Bishop of Duleek. '7 Next he retired to a place in hisowncountry,whichwascalledRos-ene, Thesiteofthislocalityhasnot been discovered, nor is it known, how long St. Kenan remained there, or if he had erected a religious house, or had ruled over a community of monks. However, it seems most likely he led the life of an anchoret, which did not pre- vent him from ministering to the wants of converts from paganism, that during his time must have largely prevailed in Ireland. Afterwards, he returned to Aremoric Brittany, and established himself in the country of Leon, where he desired to remain in solitude. He fixed on a place called Cleder, where he lived for many years in companionship with his fellow-disciple, the hermit St. Kerrien. To him, our Saint rendered the last religious offices, when he hadbeencalledawayfromlife. 18 Also,headministeredthelastSacraments
1
of the Church to Jaove, * the holy Bishop of Leon, before his departure.
king
Eugene, by Pagans.
identity
among
the
the
On the site he erected an altar to the living God x s ;
ThedeathofSt. Kenanoccurred,towardstheyear495. Hewasinterredat Cleder,20 in the canton of Plougeved^, arrondissement of Morlaix, where the site of his tomb is shown. 21 It is thought to be possible, that in whole or in part, his relics had been translated to his former monastery of Ros-ene in Ireland. Many—churchesingreaterandlesserBritainhavebeendedicated
14 The old chronicler adds, " been derived from the mother of St. cujus neptis Ethne,
Ethne ipsius Kenani mater fuisse memo- Kenan of Duleek. This enquiry, Colgan
to St. Colledoc said to have been feastisassignedtothe12thofSeptember. Wedonotfindhisnamemen- tioned in the " Histoire de Bretagne," by Lobineau. Festivals are instituted, also, in his honour, at the 1st and 7 th of October.
ratur. "
15 See Ussher's " Britannicarum Eccle-
siarum Antiquitates. " Addenda Qusedam omissa, p. 508.
16 Who the Saint had been that bore this
name,wehavenomeansleftfordetermining.
promised further to develop, at the feast day of the latter Saint, November 24th. See " Acta Sanctorum Hibernke," Martii ii. Vita S. Jaove, Episcopi Leonensis, nn. 10,
II, p. 443.
,8
Nothing more seems to be known, regarding St. Kerrien of Bretagne, than
17 This conjecture is hazarded by Colgan,
who supposes that the Kenan, named what is related in the text.
22 another name for St. Kenan. His
Albert Le Grand, could have ' 9 See his Life in the Third Volume of
Calodoc
been no other than the bishop of Duleek, this work, at the 2nd day of March, who flourished in the fifth century, and Art. iii.
w " II fat inhume dans le cimetiere, d'ou
on a sans doute leve son —le
corps pour placer
"
de Bretagne, par Dom Guy-Alexis Lobineau, tome i. , pp. 63, 64.
by
chiefly for the following reasons.
First, Britons, no other Saint similarly called is to be found.
of names, as
the
L'Abbe" Secondly, the concurrence of place and Tresvaux's edition de Les Vies des Saints
period, as we read of Kenan having been in Gaul about the year 450, where it seems probable he remained until A. l>. 472, besides
2I See Les Petits Bollandistes, " Vies des other subsequent years. Thirdly, because Saints," tome xi. , xiie Jour de Septembre,
Kenan, surnamed Calodock, had a disciple named St. Kerian, who was probably St. Kieran of Saigir, by whose means St. KenanofDuleekhadbeenliberated,and who then went to Gaul. Fourthly, that in Ireland there was a place known as Ros-ene, which denomination seems to have
p. 48.
"The Abbe Tresvaux adds : "son tombeau
se voit encore dans une petite chapelle qui portesonnometset—rouvedansuncoindu
dans un lieu plus honorable. "
cimetiere de Cleder. "
Edition de "Les Vies
des Saints de Bretagne," par Dom Guy- Alexis Lobineau, tome i-, p. 64.
16
It is said,
September 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 315
Cbtrteentb Dap of September.
ARTICLE I. —ST. DAGAN, BISHOP OF ACHAD-DAGAIN, OR ENNER- REILLY, COUNTY OF WICKLOW.
[SIXTH AND SEVENTH CENTURIES. ]
the present holy man had been greatly venerated while he lived
does not admit of THAT
question.
His acts have not come down to us,
however, so that Colgan's Life of him is extracted, for the most part, from biographies of other saints, or from ancient documents, with a few italicised
sentences of his own! 1 we have Already
given
the 1 2th day of March f but, the present day is his chief festival. 3 In the
" Acta Sanctorum" 4 of the Bollandists, at the 13th of September, some brief notices of Dagan occur ; but, it is to be regretted, that the writer should have manifested such little knowledge and consideration of matters relating to the saint's history, as to throw aspersions and doubts on the veneration in which he was formerly held in Ireland. The father of this saint5 was Colmad, or Colmadan, son to Conall. He was the son of Enan, son to Sinill, son of Conall, son to Cathar, son of Armor, son of Nazar, son to Fothad, son of Lamderg, son to Messincorb,6 son to Cucorb, etc. , according to an Irish Life of St. Mochoemoc,? translated into English by Professor O'Looney. Thus, Dagan was descended from the noble family of Dalmessincorb, in Leinster. 8 Another name for the father of our saint was Colman. The Sanctilogic Genealogy of the Irish Saints9 likewise derives him from the renowned Messincorb. 10 his mother was named
Again, daughtertoCoemlog,andsistertoSt. CoemhgenorKevin. " Accordingto
a Tract, said to have been composed by St. ^Engus the Culdee, besides St. Kevin, the mother of our Saint had two holy brothers, viz. , St. Coeman12 Santlebhain of Ardne, and St. Mochoemius or Natchoemius^ of Tirdaglas,
Article i. —* See " Acta Sane- Colgan's
torum Hibernise," xii. Martii. De S.
Dagano, Abbate et episcopo, pp. 584 to 587. 2 In the Third Volume of this work, Art. ix.
Maguire, and the Martyrology of Donegal. ' There we read
Colgan states, it is allowed by all, that St. herdeaile in regione de Hi-Kennseluigh Dagan's festival is referred to the 1 2th of filius Colman, filii Conalli, F. Enani, F.
March, and to the 13th of September. Sinelli, F. Conalli, F. Cacherij, F. Anmorij. "
8 See
3 According to Marianus O'Gorman, nise," xii. Martii, n. 1, p. 586.
See Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xii. F. Nazarij, F. Fothadij, F. Eochadij
nn. II, 12, 13,
4 See tomusiv. , Septembris xiii.
— F. Messincorbi, F. Cucorbi," Laimhdeirg,
&c. "Sanctilogium Genealogicum,"cap. xx.
Martii,
p. 586.
the pretermitted Saints, p. 50.
5 Maguire and the Sanctilogium Genealo-
gicum refer to St. Dagan, as a descendant of Messincorb, founder of the Dal messencorb family, in the southern part of Leinster.
I0
See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
6 This Messincorb, who was also called
Niacorb, was son to Cucorb, Prince of
Leinster, and uncle on the father's side to
Cathair, the last Leinster King over Ireland,
as would appear from the Sanctilogium work, Art. iv.
Among
Genealogicum, cap. logies of Leinster.
7 At chapter 28.
20, and from the Genea-
some notice of St. at Dagan,
Colgan's
' ' Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
:
" S. Daganus de Imb-
nise," xii. Martii, n. 2, p. 586.
" See his Life, in the Sixth Volume of
this work, at the 3rd of June, Art. i.
I2
His feast occurs on the 12th of June. See at that date in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. vi.
I3 His feast is kept on the 1st of May. See, at that date, the Fifth Volume of this
Coeltigherna,
316 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September13.
and a holy sister named St. Coemoca. 1 * All of these were illustrious for their virtues and miracles. According to a Tract, attributed to St. ^ngus the Culdee,15 Coeltigerna, the sister of St. Coemgen was the mother of four sons : viz. , of Uagan of Innbherdaoile, of Mobai, of Molibseus, and of Menoc of Glennfaidhle. '6 Thus,hehadthreebrothers,Molibba,1? BishopofGlendalough, Mobai,18 and Menoc,1? Abbot of Glennfaidhle; all these were distinguished
for their sanctity. Lastly, Dempster and Camerarius incorrectly state, that St. Dagan was a British Scot by birth. 20 St. Dagan was born in or after
a. d. to the 565, according
of Dr. 21 who adduces Lanigan,
conjecture reasons to support his conclusion.
good This learned historian also shows, that
the birth of our saint cannot be placed at a much later period than a. d. 570,
22
while Colgan says, he was born, about the close of the sixth century.
At a tender age, St. Dagan was brought to the school of St. Pulcherius or Mochoemoc of Liathmore. 2^ Here he remained for some years, pursuing those studies which were required to fit him for the ecclesiastical state. Our
Saint was for mildness and of 2< distinguished suavity disposition, although
not naturally devoid of a certain warmth of temper. In St. Puleherin's Life, we are informed, that during the time our Saint remained under his tutelage, certain monks came to Liathmore monastery, being desirous of seeing and
14 See notices of her, in the Seventh Volume of this work, at the 22nd of July, Art ii.
*s At lib. iv. , cap. 16.
16
However, Colgan says, that a certain interpolator of ^Engus, who writes as fol-
lows, at chap. 88, is in error " Coemaca
:
the day for his festival. See " Acta Sanc-
torum HiDemise," xii. Martii, nn. iS, 19,
pp. 586, 587.
soror S. Coemgini, fuit mater Dagani filii
Colmadii et Mobaii filii Colmadii et Menoci
de Glennfaidhle et de Ros-mor, Menoic et
Molibsei filii Aridii de Dal-aradiis oriundi. "
But, as Colgan shows, St. Molibseus, son to
Aradius, of the Dalaradian family in Ulster,
who is venerated at Enach Elte, in the
same province, was not brother of the pre-
ceding Saints, but St. Molibaeus, Bishop of 609. " "Ecclesiastical History Ireland,"
Glendalough, as shown at the 8th of vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , sec. xvi. , n. 229, p. 366.
