^ Both in this island and in
Scotland
many royal and saintly descendants from this monarch flourished.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
Todd and Reeves, pp.
6, 7.
* See Lewis' "Topographical Dictionary of
Ireland," vol. , i, pp. 661, 662, for a fuller
description of this parish.
5 He is said to have had no less than six
or seven holy brothers, whose names are set
^
See his life at the 6th of February.
6, 7. — Art. II.
7 This church, if not founded by, appears to have been dedicated to, a St. Columb Crag, who lived in the time of St. Colum- kille, and who is venerated at the 22nd of September. SeeDr. Reeves'"Adanman's Life of St. Columba," n. (d), p. 19.
^ See notices regarding him at the 27th of May.
» Colgan mistakes by placing this in Con-
naught.
"See Rev. William Reeves' "Adam-
nan's Life of St. Columba," n. (f), pp. 173, 1 74.
" On the Ordnance Townland Survey
Maps of the County of Londonderry, sheet 14, the site of a "Church in Ruins" is shown within a graveyard between the two lakes. Eastern and Western Lough Enagh, and in the townland of Enagh, Clondei'mot parish.
down in " Trias Colgan's
Thaumaturga,"
Martyrology Donegal"3 day.
Enach,
is quite probable this saint had his dwelling within the present parish of Glendermot, or Clondermot, in the barony of Tirkeeran, county of London- derry. There, it would appear, considerable remains of old ecclesiastical foundations are yet visible ; and at an early period, it is said Saints Patrick and Columkille founded religious houses in this place. The ruins of Annagh, or Enagh,nearoneloughofthisname,areveryextensive. * Manyotherplaces having a similar etymon are to be found in various parts of Ireland. If the conjecture of Colgan be admitted, it is possible the present saint may be identified with St. Moelchuo,s son to Degill and Cumenia, sister to the great St. Columkille. The words Moelchuo and Moelan have nearly the same signification in Irish. Except St. Melchuo, the nephew and disciple of St. Patrick, and who was bishop over Ardagh'^ about the year 460, Colgan was not able to find the natalis of any saint similarly named in our calendars. Hence he seems inclined to conclude, that the St. Melchuo, nephew to St. Columkille, may perchance be St. Maolan, of Enach;? or, if not, St. Mae- Ian,^ of Snamhluthair,9 now Slanore, in the county of Cavan. '° If the nephew of St. Columkille can be identified with the present saint, then his period should be assigned to the close of the sixth or to the beginning of the seventh century. But it must be confessed the conjecture appears rather apocryphal. He may have lived at an earlier or a later date than the epoch noted. Enagh lies about two miles north-east of Deny ;" and here formerly the O'Cahans
should be kept on the 4th of January or on Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Columbae, the loth of May. See "Acta Sanctorum cap. ii. , pp. 478, 479.
January 4. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 61
or O'Kanes had their chief residence " in the castle of Enagh, situated on an islandinEasternLoughEnagh. Fromthisfamilythewholetractfromthe Foyle to the Bann was called the O'Cahan country. The church ruins at this place are very extensive. They measure ninety-one by twenty-one feet, with a transept on the south twenty-three feet square. In the year 1197, Rotsel Piton'3 violated the religious establishment here, and he was after- wardsdefeatedonthestrandofFaughanvale. '+ Informertimes,Enaghwas a chapel of Clondermot, in the corps of the deanery. It seems to have been well endowed by the O'Kanes, and to have been managed by a Herenach about the beginning of the seventeenth century. 'S The exact period of St. Maolan's career upon earth yet remains in doubt. Out of life the faithful adorer of our Divine Lord passes to the embrace of Him who fills the soul with most delightful nourishment, with never-ending joy, and unclouded hap- piness.
Article III. —St. Mochumma, or Machomma, of Drum-ailche, pro- bably Drummully, County Fermanagh. Fancy can as little embellish as facts scantily supply the memoirs of many among our saints. We find a
festival to Droma Ailchi, recorded in the " Machomma, Martyrology
of Tal-
lagh"' on the 4th day of January. Without the designation of that territory, in which some particular spot was situated, it is difficult to identify the places
of many Irish saints. However, in the present instance, the ^
*'
Martyrology of Donegal" calls this saint Mochumma, of Drum-ailche, in Dartraigh. Hence it becomes possible to arrive at a solution. There was a Dartraighe-
Oirghiall, or Dartraighe Coininse,^ which was the ancient denomination of
the present barony of Dartry, in the south-western part of Monaghan county. • There was likewise a Dartraighe Meg Flannchaidh,s in West Breifne. Both of these Dartrys are frequently alluded to in our ancient records. ^ We do not know of any other such likely place for identification with Drum Ailche as the present townland of Drummully,? in the parish so called. It is situated inthebaronyofCoole,countyofFermanagh. ^ ItliesneartheRiverFinn.
ApartofthisparishisinthebaronyofDartree,countyofMonaghan. 9 At Drummully we think it probable this saint lived and died at some early period.
"See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita 5. Columbse, n. 22, p. 373.
O'Huidhrin," Edited by John O'Donovan, pp. 30, 31.
'3 He was acting under the orders of John
De Courcy and the English of Ulidia. See
Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four of Rights," n. (i), p. 153.
Masters," vol. iii. , pp. 106 to 109, and nn. (m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t).
'* In 1555 the castle of Enagh was demo- lished by Calvagh O'Donnell. It seems
s This was the ancient, and still the local,
name for the present barony of Rosclogh, in the northern part of Leitrim county. The
Meg-Flannchaidhs are now Anglicised Mac afterwards to have been re-edified, although Clancy, or Clancy. See "Topographical
at present the ruins do not exist. See ibid.
vol. v. , pp. 1540, 1541, and n. (h).
'5 See Rev. William Reeves' edition of
Poems of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla na NaomhO'Huidhrin," edited by Dr. O'Dono- van, n. 268, p. xxxvii.
" *^
Acts of Archbishop Colton in his Metro- See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
politan Visitation of the Diocese of Derry," Four Masters," Index Locorum, vol. vii. , p.
A. D. MCCCXC—VII. ," n. (b), pp. 28, 29. 46.
'7 Art. III. Edited by Dr. Kelly, p. xi. ,
The entry moccornmA '0|voinA ^iLche is in the Franciscan copy.
^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 6,
7.
of the O'Boylans, inhabited it according to
O'Dugan. See "Topographical Poems of JohnO'DubhagainandGiollanaNaomh oftheCountyofMonaghan,sheet16.
3 The Muinter or Baoigheallains, people
^ See Lewis'
of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 519.
• It adjoins Fermanagh. See Dr. O'Do- novan's " Leabhar na g-Ceart," or "Book
There is a graveyard in the townland of Drummully, in the parish of Drummully, barony of Coole, and county of Fermanagh. See Ordnance Survey Townland Maps of the County Fermanagh, sheet 43.
"Topographical Dictionary
^ See Ordnance Survey Tovraland Maps
62 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[January 5.
Article IV. —St, Fidnatan, or Fiadhnat, Virgin. Numberless fe-
males are found in society addicted to idle or frivolous pleasures. Their
lives are spent as a taper that wastes away its substance, giving little or only a
very flickering light. The name of Fidnatan, virgin, is mentioned in the
" of ' onthe of Besidesthis
merits of her well-ordered life.
Article V. —Feast of Saints Brigid and Maura, Sisters, Virgins ANDMartyrs. Afeastinstitutedinhonouroftheseholysistersissetdown at this day in some old Gallic Breviaries and Martyrologies, as also at the 13th of July. At this latter date, further notices are given regarding those saints.
jfitft Bap tif Sanuarp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. CEARA, CIAR, CYRA, CIOR, OR CERA, VIRGIN, PATRONESS OF KILKEARY PARISH, COUNTY OF TIPPERARY.
[SEVENTH CENTURY. I
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—TIME WHEN ST. CIAR, OR CERA, LIVED—HER PARENTAGE AND FAMILY —HER EARLY YEARS—SHE FOUNDS A CONVENT AT KILKEARY—SHE THERE RULES OVER A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY.
and order in the division of life-duties give a saint the power of work. From childhood this have
Martyrology Tallagh," 4th January. Fiadhnat, the same virgin,^ is recorded on this day in the
entry, Martyrology of Donegal. "3 The distinction of sanctity accorded her proves the genuine
METHOD
oducing preternatural may grown into a habit, improving with the increase of holiness. But usually the
pr
religious inmate effects her first great impressions within the convent walls.
There frequently she continues them for long ages, when producing a work
inspired by sublime ideas and sound spiritual teaching.
We find the name of this holy virgin variously -vvTitten Ceara, Ciar, Cior,
Cyra, and Cera^ in the Irish Menologies. =^ Our national hagiographist, Col- gan, has endeavoured to compile acts of this saint for the 5 th of January ;3 but it is probable he fell into mistakes during the process. According to his computation, she must have been born sometime about the middle of the sixth century. It seems more likely, however, that her birth took place about or after the commencement of the century succeeding. The father of
Art. IV. —'Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly,
nat and on Emlinat, mother of Emhin. " 3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
6, 7. — —' As in all words Art. i. Chap. i.
similarly initialed, and found in the Irish
p. xi. In the Franciscan copy of the " Tal- "
lagh Martyrology I find an entry of this saint's festival at the 4th of January as
"pTinACAin. U. "
" There is added in a more recent hand, aca aj
* In a note Dr. Todd he by
like the pronounced Eng-
iriA A mobing eA'OAiAJui'oe,
^ The
of
of Maria-
bht^gic beriAig A|\ per). -poyv A^x ChoiniriAC Ajtif a^ eAThtiAC mAUAi|\ eiiiiii : "whom Moling
Martyrologies
says,
language,
has in his prayer beginning, 'O Briget, Januarii. Vita S. Cerse, with notes ap- bless our path ;' also in his verses onColm- pended, pp. 14 to 16.
the C-is lish letter K.
Tallagh, nus O'Gomian, and of Donegal.
3 See "Acta Sanctomm Hibemise," v.
"
January 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 63
this holy virgin was named Duibhre/ Her origin is derived from the royal race of Conor, King of Ireland.
^ Both in this island and in Scotland many royal and saintly descendants from this monarch flourished. ^ As founders of families and religious houses many of those personages are distinguished. 7
St. Cera is said to have been a native of Muscraidhe Thire f but in what particular part of the present baronies of Upper and Lower Ormond, in Tip- perary county, she was born has not transpired. As she grew, however, the fameofhersanctityandmiraclesbecamewidelyknown. Amiraclehaving reference to her is introduced by Colgan, in which it is stated,9 that at the request of St. Brendan, patron of Clonfert, this holy virgin, St. Cera, by her prayers extinguished a pestiferous fire^° which had broken out in the region ofMuscraidheThire. " Herreputationforpietysoondrewmanyvirtuous persons to imitate her example. She was then induced to erect a nunnery, whichtookthenameofCillCeirefromher. " ItisnowknownasKilkeary,
'• He is also called Duibhrea by St. . ^Engus,
the Martyrology of Tallagh, the Annals of Clonmacnoise, and those of the Four Mas- ters.
being situated in this territory. It is stated in a letter written by Sir Charles O'CarrolI to the Lord Deputy in 1585, and preserved
in the Lambeth Library (Carew Collection,
s The Genealogical Menology, in the 1 7th No. 608, fol. 15), that the name Lower
chapter, as also the Calendar of Cashel, at Ormond was then lately imposed upon
the 1 6th of and who " " the of the October, Maguire, by Muskry-heery by usurpation
some is called Angus' Commentator, at —the 5th of January, thus draw his pedigree : This Conor the First immediately suc- ceeded in the sovereignty of Ireland the celebrated Conn of the Hundred Battles, to whose daughter, Saraid, he had been mar- ried. Conor the First reigned from A. D. 158 to 165; and by Saraid he h—ad three
contemporaneous Earl of Ormond. See Dr.
O'Donovan's " Leabhar na g-Ceart," or
"Book of Rights," n. (e), p. 29.
9 This is found in a MS. called the Codex
Kilkenniensis, towards the end of St. Bren- dan's Acts.
'°
See an account of this miracle in the first "Vita S. Brendani," cap. xxiii. , p. 21, sons, viz. , i^Ca—irbre Muse, 2 Cairbre published among the "ActaS. Brendani," Baschaein, and 3 Cairbre Riada. See Dr. original Latin documents connected with O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Mas- the Life of St. Brendan, Patron of Kerry and Clonfert, edited by Right Rev. Patrick
ters," vol. i. , pp. 106, 107.
* From his son Cairbre Muse descended
Moran, D. D. , Bishop of Ossory.
'^ The Irish word "Muscroighe" is said to
the tribes of Muscraige Breogain, now the barony of Clanwilliam, in the south-west of
Tipperary county ; the tribes of Muscraige-
"
Muse," the name
Mitine, now the barony of Muskerry, county fies a progeny or race, or, according to
of and the tribes of from " which a Cork; Muscraighe- others, rige," signifies king-
Thire, now the baronies of Upper and Lower dom or region.
This territory and the Mus-
Ormond, in Tipperary county. See ibid. , n. craige family derive their name and origin "
(t), p. 106, and O'Flaherty's Ogygia," from Carbery Muse, son to Conor, King of pars, iii. , cap. Ixiii. , p. 322. From his son Ireland. The initial letter T is sometimes Cairbre Baschaein descended the Corca elided and sometimes retained, as in Kia- Baiscinn, a people who inhabited a district
in the south-west of Clare, now comprised
in the baronies of Moyarta and of Clondera-
law. From his son Cairbre Riada descended
the Dalriads, a tribe who dwelt in the north See n. 6, p. 15. Kilcrea Abbey, in the of the present Antrim county. This tribe latter county, was dedicated to St. Brigid, is long extinct or unknown there ; but a and founded for the Franciscan Order in the more illustrious tribe of the Dalriads settled
in Scotland, as mentioned by the Venerable
fifteenth century by Cormac Mac Carthy, chief of Muscraige Mitine. See O'Dono- van's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. iv. , pp. 1038 to 1040, and notes (y, z). A St. Credh also had a nunnery here at an early period, but the exact time has not transpired. She appears to have been con- founded with this present saint by Colgan.
Bede.
"
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis An-
glorum," lib. i. , cap. I.
^ Colgan names several of these as saints.
"
See Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," n. 5, p.
15-
8 The Church of Cill Cheire, now Kil-
keary (near the town of Nenagh), and Lea-
tracha, now Latteragh (about eight miles south of the same town), are mentioned as
Avery exquisite poem, called,
"
The Monks
have been derived from ''"
of a hero, and from trogh, which signi-
roghe Alt roighe, Dart roighe, Coenroighe, Muscroighe, Bentroighe.
'*
places it in the county and diocese of Cork.
Colgan certainly mistakes when he
of Kilcrea," anonymously published, admi- rably describes its scenic beauties.
64 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 5.
near Nenagh, in the barony of Upper Ormond, county Tipperary. Here she
governed a community of nuns, but not so early as the sixth century. ^3 There appears to be no sufficient reason for supposing she hved contempo- raneously with St. Brendan of Clonfert ;' and the story to which allusion has been already made may rest only on popular rumour, or have reference to some other St. Cera. Perhaps, indeed, as we shall see hereafter, she may havelivedinthetimeofaSt. Brendan,'s whowasquiteadifferentperson; and in the case of homonymous saints, it may often be doubted, if legends prevaihng and attributed to one of them may not rather be ascribed to some other, and to a totally distinct person. '^ Moreover, for want of correct infor- mation, or because sufficient inquiry had not been instituted, it is to be sus pected that various irreconcilable and chronological inaccuracies have been allowed by the writers of saint legends to find place in their compositions. '7
CHAPTER II.
ST. CERA TRAVELS TOWARDS ELY O'CARROLL—SHE FOUNDS A NUNNERY AT TEHELLY —RETURNS TO KILKEARY—HER DEATH, AND PLACE OF INTERMENT—FESTIVALS— CONCLUSION.
Having ruled over her religious establishment in Muscraighe Thire for some time with great prudence and sanctity, Cera found the number of her postu- lants daily on the increase. She then resolved on seeking another location where she might erect a second house. Accordingly, the holy woman left Kilkeary, in company with some of her religious. She directed her course,
" statementistobefound. See"
'3 Yet in
Harris' Ware," vol. ii. , such a
English translation, was obligingly furnished
Antiquities of Ireland," chap, xxxviii. , p. 270. Arch- dall, too, places St. Cyra's foundation in the countyofCork. See"MonasticonHiber-
nicum," p. 72.
'* This anachronism is insisted on by Dr.
"
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. iii,, chap, xviii. , § xii. , n.
159, and pp. 129-131.
'5 The Abbot of Birr, St. Brendan, died
on the 29th of November, A. D. 571 or 572,
according to our native annals, and therefore
it would hardly seem he could have been
by e. n.
Lanigan in his
CojAi^w Semeoin, ^ochA, CoC]\ifcc]\uch^ongloA; "bA CAin 5]MAn speic nuA, CiA]\, in gen 'Ouib]\eA.
" The call of Semeoin, the sage, To Christ of purest form ;
A new transitory gentle sun was|
"
Ciar, the daughter of Duibrea. According to this translation, the probable
the person. Brendan is sometimes written inference to be drawn from the foregoing
Brenainn and there are no less than ten of would be that Ciar lived for a short time
;
the latter denomination found in our calen- dars. One is venerated at the 9th of Janu- ary; one respectively at the 8th and i6th of
only, and yet her virtues shone brightly; while it is right to observe the commentator on this passage seemed to think she lived
one
ber; and one respectively at the 1st, 8th,
May one at the
; 27th
of
tively at the 1st, 3rd, and 29th of Novem- for in a gloss to 5]\eic he thus states:
and '*
of December.
Thus it seems hard to believe that St.
A — aca tdo niUfcyvAi'oe Ch1]^e aju^* pt
13th
Che^i
Brendan of Clonfert, who died in 576, could have requested St. Cera, who died more
than one hundred years later, to perform the miracle to which reference has been made in the text.
'' The following stanza, from the Leabhar Breac copy of the Feilire of St. ^ngus, in Irish, at the Nones of January, with its
since, she was, i. e. , in Cill Chen, in Mus-
craidhe Thire, and she is of the race of
"
Conaire.
tion would apparently serve to remove her in point of time far from the age of St. Brendan of Clonfert. The Semeoin alluded to in the text was St. Simeon Stylites, vene- rated at the 5th of January.
July ;
respec-
a short time before St. — only . ^^ngus wrote,
Mr. — O'Longan :
. 1 . 5e|\Aic riA 5Ai]MC o]\o bui . 1. 1 Cibl/
CoriAi^e
T)!
i. e. ,
"not or short long since,
The acceptation of either transla-
January 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 65
irissaid,''towardsHeli,orElyO'Carrollcountry-^ butitwouldappearshe went beyond its bounds to the northern part of the King's County. From St. Fintan Munnu^ she is said to have obtained the site for a nunnery, and at a place called Tech Telle. 3 It is now known as Tehelly. '* There St. Fintan Munnu lived ; but to St. Ceras and to the five nuns who accompanied her he resigned that site. Here she is thought to have remained for some time f afterwards she returned to Kilkeary. 7
M. LEUVHAvNTDtW
Church Ruins at Kilkeaiy.
On the right side of the road, as the traveller proceeds from Nenagh to Burrisoleigh, are situated the ancient cemetery and ruined church of Kilkeary
Chap. ii. —' The tribe name was derived from Eile, the seventh in descent from Cian, son to OUoU Olum, King of Ireland. Ac- cording to O'h-Uidhrin this territory, situ- ated in ancient Mumha, or Munster, had been divided into eight "tuatha," ruled by eight petty chiefs, over whom O'Cearbhall, or O'Carroll, was the king or head. An- cient Eile, or Ely, comprised the whole of Eile O'Carroll, included within the baronies of Clonlisk and
the county of Westmeath.
* This is stated to have been neau-Durrow,
in a gloss to the Feilire of St. ^ngus, at the
25th of June, according to the Leabhar Breac copy. It lies within the present parish of Durrow, where St. Columbkille founded a celebrated monastery in the sixth century. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (u), p. 282, and n. (h), p. 319-
'
5
as also the baronies of Ikerrin and Elyo- before it was occupied by St. Telle. The
or "Bookof n. Rights,"
Ballybritt, King's County,
',She
place
garty, county of Tipperary. That portion of the King's County belonging now to the diocese of Killaloe was comprised in Ely
O'Carroll, and it originally belonged to Munster. On its northern line the boundary between the dioceses of Killaloe and Meath determines that between the ancient territo- ries of Ely O'Carroll and Midhe or Meath. SeeDr. O'Donovan's "Leabhar na g-Ceart,"
'
will be found.
3 It was called from St. Telle, who ob-
tained possession of it, as may be seen by
referring to some notices of this saint at the
of — has its situation in 25th June. Colgan
only difficulty is that Telle flourished before the death, in 635, of Fintan Munnu. But St. Cera seems to have been young at the time she is said to have been there. Sup- posing that this was about 625, her having
lived until 680 contains — contradic- nothing
"
tory or unchronological. Dr. Lanigan's
"Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol.
iii. , chap, xviii. , § 12, n. 157, pp. 130, 131.
* of the houses in West- Treating religious
meath County, Archdall incorrectly states that St. Cera built an abbey at Teaghtelle some time before the year 576. See " Mo- nasticon Hibernicum," p. 728.
^ Marianus O'Gorman, in his Martyrology, and the Scholiast on St. ^ngus, are autho- rities for this account.
(i), pp. 78, 79.
* See Lewis' "Topographical Dictionary of
Ireland," vol. , i, pp. 661, 662, for a fuller
description of this parish.
5 He is said to have had no less than six
or seven holy brothers, whose names are set
^
See his life at the 6th of February.
6, 7. — Art. II.
7 This church, if not founded by, appears to have been dedicated to, a St. Columb Crag, who lived in the time of St. Colum- kille, and who is venerated at the 22nd of September. SeeDr. Reeves'"Adanman's Life of St. Columba," n. (d), p. 19.
^ See notices regarding him at the 27th of May.
» Colgan mistakes by placing this in Con-
naught.
"See Rev. William Reeves' "Adam-
nan's Life of St. Columba," n. (f), pp. 173, 1 74.
" On the Ordnance Townland Survey
Maps of the County of Londonderry, sheet 14, the site of a "Church in Ruins" is shown within a graveyard between the two lakes. Eastern and Western Lough Enagh, and in the townland of Enagh, Clondei'mot parish.
down in " Trias Colgan's
Thaumaturga,"
Martyrology Donegal"3 day.
Enach,
is quite probable this saint had his dwelling within the present parish of Glendermot, or Clondermot, in the barony of Tirkeeran, county of London- derry. There, it would appear, considerable remains of old ecclesiastical foundations are yet visible ; and at an early period, it is said Saints Patrick and Columkille founded religious houses in this place. The ruins of Annagh, or Enagh,nearoneloughofthisname,areveryextensive. * Manyotherplaces having a similar etymon are to be found in various parts of Ireland. If the conjecture of Colgan be admitted, it is possible the present saint may be identified with St. Moelchuo,s son to Degill and Cumenia, sister to the great St. Columkille. The words Moelchuo and Moelan have nearly the same signification in Irish. Except St. Melchuo, the nephew and disciple of St. Patrick, and who was bishop over Ardagh'^ about the year 460, Colgan was not able to find the natalis of any saint similarly named in our calendars. Hence he seems inclined to conclude, that the St. Melchuo, nephew to St. Columkille, may perchance be St. Maolan, of Enach;? or, if not, St. Mae- Ian,^ of Snamhluthair,9 now Slanore, in the county of Cavan. '° If the nephew of St. Columkille can be identified with the present saint, then his period should be assigned to the close of the sixth or to the beginning of the seventh century. But it must be confessed the conjecture appears rather apocryphal. He may have lived at an earlier or a later date than the epoch noted. Enagh lies about two miles north-east of Deny ;" and here formerly the O'Cahans
should be kept on the 4th of January or on Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Columbae, the loth of May. See "Acta Sanctorum cap. ii. , pp. 478, 479.
January 4. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 61
or O'Kanes had their chief residence " in the castle of Enagh, situated on an islandinEasternLoughEnagh. Fromthisfamilythewholetractfromthe Foyle to the Bann was called the O'Cahan country. The church ruins at this place are very extensive. They measure ninety-one by twenty-one feet, with a transept on the south twenty-three feet square. In the year 1197, Rotsel Piton'3 violated the religious establishment here, and he was after- wardsdefeatedonthestrandofFaughanvale. '+ Informertimes,Enaghwas a chapel of Clondermot, in the corps of the deanery. It seems to have been well endowed by the O'Kanes, and to have been managed by a Herenach about the beginning of the seventeenth century. 'S The exact period of St. Maolan's career upon earth yet remains in doubt. Out of life the faithful adorer of our Divine Lord passes to the embrace of Him who fills the soul with most delightful nourishment, with never-ending joy, and unclouded hap- piness.
Article III. —St. Mochumma, or Machomma, of Drum-ailche, pro- bably Drummully, County Fermanagh. Fancy can as little embellish as facts scantily supply the memoirs of many among our saints. We find a
festival to Droma Ailchi, recorded in the " Machomma, Martyrology
of Tal-
lagh"' on the 4th day of January. Without the designation of that territory, in which some particular spot was situated, it is difficult to identify the places
of many Irish saints. However, in the present instance, the ^
*'
Martyrology of Donegal" calls this saint Mochumma, of Drum-ailche, in Dartraigh. Hence it becomes possible to arrive at a solution. There was a Dartraighe-
Oirghiall, or Dartraighe Coininse,^ which was the ancient denomination of
the present barony of Dartry, in the south-western part of Monaghan county. • There was likewise a Dartraighe Meg Flannchaidh,s in West Breifne. Both of these Dartrys are frequently alluded to in our ancient records. ^ We do not know of any other such likely place for identification with Drum Ailche as the present townland of Drummully,? in the parish so called. It is situated inthebaronyofCoole,countyofFermanagh. ^ ItliesneartheRiverFinn.
ApartofthisparishisinthebaronyofDartree,countyofMonaghan. 9 At Drummully we think it probable this saint lived and died at some early period.
"See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita 5. Columbse, n. 22, p. 373.
O'Huidhrin," Edited by John O'Donovan, pp. 30, 31.
'3 He was acting under the orders of John
De Courcy and the English of Ulidia. See
Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four of Rights," n. (i), p. 153.
Masters," vol. iii. , pp. 106 to 109, and nn. (m, n, o, p, q, r, s, t).
'* In 1555 the castle of Enagh was demo- lished by Calvagh O'Donnell. It seems
s This was the ancient, and still the local,
name for the present barony of Rosclogh, in the northern part of Leitrim county. The
Meg-Flannchaidhs are now Anglicised Mac afterwards to have been re-edified, although Clancy, or Clancy. See "Topographical
at present the ruins do not exist. See ibid.
vol. v. , pp. 1540, 1541, and n. (h).
'5 See Rev. William Reeves' edition of
Poems of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla na NaomhO'Huidhrin," edited by Dr. O'Dono- van, n. 268, p. xxxvii.
" *^
Acts of Archbishop Colton in his Metro- See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
politan Visitation of the Diocese of Derry," Four Masters," Index Locorum, vol. vii. , p.
A. D. MCCCXC—VII. ," n. (b), pp. 28, 29. 46.
'7 Art. III. Edited by Dr. Kelly, p. xi. ,
The entry moccornmA '0|voinA ^iLche is in the Franciscan copy.
^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 6,
7.
of the O'Boylans, inhabited it according to
O'Dugan. See "Topographical Poems of JohnO'DubhagainandGiollanaNaomh oftheCountyofMonaghan,sheet16.
3 The Muinter or Baoigheallains, people
^ See Lewis'
of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 519.
• It adjoins Fermanagh. See Dr. O'Do- novan's " Leabhar na g-Ceart," or "Book
There is a graveyard in the townland of Drummully, in the parish of Drummully, barony of Coole, and county of Fermanagh. See Ordnance Survey Townland Maps of the County Fermanagh, sheet 43.
"Topographical Dictionary
^ See Ordnance Survey Tovraland Maps
62 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[January 5.
Article IV. —St, Fidnatan, or Fiadhnat, Virgin. Numberless fe-
males are found in society addicted to idle or frivolous pleasures. Their
lives are spent as a taper that wastes away its substance, giving little or only a
very flickering light. The name of Fidnatan, virgin, is mentioned in the
" of ' onthe of Besidesthis
merits of her well-ordered life.
Article V. —Feast of Saints Brigid and Maura, Sisters, Virgins ANDMartyrs. Afeastinstitutedinhonouroftheseholysistersissetdown at this day in some old Gallic Breviaries and Martyrologies, as also at the 13th of July. At this latter date, further notices are given regarding those saints.
jfitft Bap tif Sanuarp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. CEARA, CIAR, CYRA, CIOR, OR CERA, VIRGIN, PATRONESS OF KILKEARY PARISH, COUNTY OF TIPPERARY.
[SEVENTH CENTURY. I
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—TIME WHEN ST. CIAR, OR CERA, LIVED—HER PARENTAGE AND FAMILY —HER EARLY YEARS—SHE FOUNDS A CONVENT AT KILKEARY—SHE THERE RULES OVER A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY.
and order in the division of life-duties give a saint the power of work. From childhood this have
Martyrology Tallagh," 4th January. Fiadhnat, the same virgin,^ is recorded on this day in the
entry, Martyrology of Donegal. "3 The distinction of sanctity accorded her proves the genuine
METHOD
oducing preternatural may grown into a habit, improving with the increase of holiness. But usually the
pr
religious inmate effects her first great impressions within the convent walls.
There frequently she continues them for long ages, when producing a work
inspired by sublime ideas and sound spiritual teaching.
We find the name of this holy virgin variously -vvTitten Ceara, Ciar, Cior,
Cyra, and Cera^ in the Irish Menologies. =^ Our national hagiographist, Col- gan, has endeavoured to compile acts of this saint for the 5 th of January ;3 but it is probable he fell into mistakes during the process. According to his computation, she must have been born sometime about the middle of the sixth century. It seems more likely, however, that her birth took place about or after the commencement of the century succeeding. The father of
Art. IV. —'Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly,
nat and on Emlinat, mother of Emhin. " 3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
6, 7. — —' As in all words Art. i. Chap. i.
similarly initialed, and found in the Irish
p. xi. In the Franciscan copy of the " Tal- "
lagh Martyrology I find an entry of this saint's festival at the 4th of January as
"pTinACAin. U. "
" There is added in a more recent hand, aca aj
* In a note Dr. Todd he by
like the pronounced Eng-
iriA A mobing eA'OAiAJui'oe,
^ The
of
of Maria-
bht^gic beriAig A|\ per). -poyv A^x ChoiniriAC Ajtif a^ eAThtiAC mAUAi|\ eiiiiii : "whom Moling
Martyrologies
says,
language,
has in his prayer beginning, 'O Briget, Januarii. Vita S. Cerse, with notes ap- bless our path ;' also in his verses onColm- pended, pp. 14 to 16.
the C-is lish letter K.
Tallagh, nus O'Gomian, and of Donegal.
3 See "Acta Sanctomm Hibemise," v.
"
January 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 63
this holy virgin was named Duibhre/ Her origin is derived from the royal race of Conor, King of Ireland.
^ Both in this island and in Scotland many royal and saintly descendants from this monarch flourished. ^ As founders of families and religious houses many of those personages are distinguished. 7
St. Cera is said to have been a native of Muscraidhe Thire f but in what particular part of the present baronies of Upper and Lower Ormond, in Tip- perary county, she was born has not transpired. As she grew, however, the fameofhersanctityandmiraclesbecamewidelyknown. Amiraclehaving reference to her is introduced by Colgan, in which it is stated,9 that at the request of St. Brendan, patron of Clonfert, this holy virgin, St. Cera, by her prayers extinguished a pestiferous fire^° which had broken out in the region ofMuscraidheThire. " Herreputationforpietysoondrewmanyvirtuous persons to imitate her example. She was then induced to erect a nunnery, whichtookthenameofCillCeirefromher. " ItisnowknownasKilkeary,
'• He is also called Duibhrea by St. . ^Engus,
the Martyrology of Tallagh, the Annals of Clonmacnoise, and those of the Four Mas- ters.
being situated in this territory. It is stated in a letter written by Sir Charles O'CarrolI to the Lord Deputy in 1585, and preserved
in the Lambeth Library (Carew Collection,
s The Genealogical Menology, in the 1 7th No. 608, fol. 15), that the name Lower
chapter, as also the Calendar of Cashel, at Ormond was then lately imposed upon
the 1 6th of and who " " the of the October, Maguire, by Muskry-heery by usurpation
some is called Angus' Commentator, at —the 5th of January, thus draw his pedigree : This Conor the First immediately suc- ceeded in the sovereignty of Ireland the celebrated Conn of the Hundred Battles, to whose daughter, Saraid, he had been mar- ried. Conor the First reigned from A. D. 158 to 165; and by Saraid he h—ad three
contemporaneous Earl of Ormond. See Dr.
O'Donovan's " Leabhar na g-Ceart," or
"Book of Rights," n. (e), p. 29.
9 This is found in a MS. called the Codex
Kilkenniensis, towards the end of St. Bren- dan's Acts.
'°
See an account of this miracle in the first "Vita S. Brendani," cap. xxiii. , p. 21, sons, viz. , i^Ca—irbre Muse, 2 Cairbre published among the "ActaS. Brendani," Baschaein, and 3 Cairbre Riada. See Dr. original Latin documents connected with O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Mas- the Life of St. Brendan, Patron of Kerry and Clonfert, edited by Right Rev. Patrick
ters," vol. i. , pp. 106, 107.
* From his son Cairbre Muse descended
Moran, D. D. , Bishop of Ossory.
'^ The Irish word "Muscroighe" is said to
the tribes of Muscraige Breogain, now the barony of Clanwilliam, in the south-west of
Tipperary county ; the tribes of Muscraige-
"
Muse," the name
Mitine, now the barony of Muskerry, county fies a progeny or race, or, according to
of and the tribes of from " which a Cork; Muscraighe- others, rige," signifies king-
Thire, now the baronies of Upper and Lower dom or region.
This territory and the Mus-
Ormond, in Tipperary county. See ibid. , n. craige family derive their name and origin "
(t), p. 106, and O'Flaherty's Ogygia," from Carbery Muse, son to Conor, King of pars, iii. , cap. Ixiii. , p. 322. From his son Ireland. The initial letter T is sometimes Cairbre Baschaein descended the Corca elided and sometimes retained, as in Kia- Baiscinn, a people who inhabited a district
in the south-west of Clare, now comprised
in the baronies of Moyarta and of Clondera-
law. From his son Cairbre Riada descended
the Dalriads, a tribe who dwelt in the north See n. 6, p. 15. Kilcrea Abbey, in the of the present Antrim county. This tribe latter county, was dedicated to St. Brigid, is long extinct or unknown there ; but a and founded for the Franciscan Order in the more illustrious tribe of the Dalriads settled
in Scotland, as mentioned by the Venerable
fifteenth century by Cormac Mac Carthy, chief of Muscraige Mitine. See O'Dono- van's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. iv. , pp. 1038 to 1040, and notes (y, z). A St. Credh also had a nunnery here at an early period, but the exact time has not transpired. She appears to have been con- founded with this present saint by Colgan.
Bede.
"
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis An-
glorum," lib. i. , cap. I.
^ Colgan names several of these as saints.
"
See Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," n. 5, p.
15-
8 The Church of Cill Cheire, now Kil-
keary (near the town of Nenagh), and Lea-
tracha, now Latteragh (about eight miles south of the same town), are mentioned as
Avery exquisite poem, called,
"
The Monks
have been derived from ''"
of a hero, and from trogh, which signi-
roghe Alt roighe, Dart roighe, Coenroighe, Muscroighe, Bentroighe.
'*
places it in the county and diocese of Cork.
Colgan certainly mistakes when he
of Kilcrea," anonymously published, admi- rably describes its scenic beauties.
64 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 5.
near Nenagh, in the barony of Upper Ormond, county Tipperary. Here she
governed a community of nuns, but not so early as the sixth century. ^3 There appears to be no sufficient reason for supposing she hved contempo- raneously with St. Brendan of Clonfert ;' and the story to which allusion has been already made may rest only on popular rumour, or have reference to some other St. Cera. Perhaps, indeed, as we shall see hereafter, she may havelivedinthetimeofaSt. Brendan,'s whowasquiteadifferentperson; and in the case of homonymous saints, it may often be doubted, if legends prevaihng and attributed to one of them may not rather be ascribed to some other, and to a totally distinct person. '^ Moreover, for want of correct infor- mation, or because sufficient inquiry had not been instituted, it is to be sus pected that various irreconcilable and chronological inaccuracies have been allowed by the writers of saint legends to find place in their compositions. '7
CHAPTER II.
ST. CERA TRAVELS TOWARDS ELY O'CARROLL—SHE FOUNDS A NUNNERY AT TEHELLY —RETURNS TO KILKEARY—HER DEATH, AND PLACE OF INTERMENT—FESTIVALS— CONCLUSION.
Having ruled over her religious establishment in Muscraighe Thire for some time with great prudence and sanctity, Cera found the number of her postu- lants daily on the increase. She then resolved on seeking another location where she might erect a second house. Accordingly, the holy woman left Kilkeary, in company with some of her religious. She directed her course,
" statementistobefound. See"
'3 Yet in
Harris' Ware," vol. ii. , such a
English translation, was obligingly furnished
Antiquities of Ireland," chap, xxxviii. , p. 270. Arch- dall, too, places St. Cyra's foundation in the countyofCork. See"MonasticonHiber-
nicum," p. 72.
'* This anachronism is insisted on by Dr.
"
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. iii,, chap, xviii. , § xii. , n.
159, and pp. 129-131.
'5 The Abbot of Birr, St. Brendan, died
on the 29th of November, A. D. 571 or 572,
according to our native annals, and therefore
it would hardly seem he could have been
by e. n.
Lanigan in his
CojAi^w Semeoin, ^ochA, CoC]\ifcc]\uch^ongloA; "bA CAin 5]MAn speic nuA, CiA]\, in gen 'Ouib]\eA.
" The call of Semeoin, the sage, To Christ of purest form ;
A new transitory gentle sun was|
"
Ciar, the daughter of Duibrea. According to this translation, the probable
the person. Brendan is sometimes written inference to be drawn from the foregoing
Brenainn and there are no less than ten of would be that Ciar lived for a short time
;
the latter denomination found in our calen- dars. One is venerated at the 9th of Janu- ary; one respectively at the 8th and i6th of
only, and yet her virtues shone brightly; while it is right to observe the commentator on this passage seemed to think she lived
one
ber; and one respectively at the 1st, 8th,
May one at the
; 27th
of
tively at the 1st, 3rd, and 29th of Novem- for in a gloss to 5]\eic he thus states:
and '*
of December.
Thus it seems hard to believe that St.
A — aca tdo niUfcyvAi'oe Ch1]^e aju^* pt
13th
Che^i
Brendan of Clonfert, who died in 576, could have requested St. Cera, who died more
than one hundred years later, to perform the miracle to which reference has been made in the text.
'' The following stanza, from the Leabhar Breac copy of the Feilire of St. ^ngus, in Irish, at the Nones of January, with its
since, she was, i. e. , in Cill Chen, in Mus-
craidhe Thire, and she is of the race of
"
Conaire.
tion would apparently serve to remove her in point of time far from the age of St. Brendan of Clonfert. The Semeoin alluded to in the text was St. Simeon Stylites, vene- rated at the 5th of January.
July ;
respec-
a short time before St. — only . ^^ngus wrote,
Mr. — O'Longan :
. 1 . 5e|\Aic riA 5Ai]MC o]\o bui . 1. 1 Cibl/
CoriAi^e
T)!
i. e. ,
"not or short long since,
The acceptation of either transla-
January 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 65
irissaid,''towardsHeli,orElyO'Carrollcountry-^ butitwouldappearshe went beyond its bounds to the northern part of the King's County. From St. Fintan Munnu^ she is said to have obtained the site for a nunnery, and at a place called Tech Telle. 3 It is now known as Tehelly. '* There St. Fintan Munnu lived ; but to St. Ceras and to the five nuns who accompanied her he resigned that site. Here she is thought to have remained for some time f afterwards she returned to Kilkeary. 7
M. LEUVHAvNTDtW
Church Ruins at Kilkeaiy.
On the right side of the road, as the traveller proceeds from Nenagh to Burrisoleigh, are situated the ancient cemetery and ruined church of Kilkeary
Chap. ii. —' The tribe name was derived from Eile, the seventh in descent from Cian, son to OUoU Olum, King of Ireland. Ac- cording to O'h-Uidhrin this territory, situ- ated in ancient Mumha, or Munster, had been divided into eight "tuatha," ruled by eight petty chiefs, over whom O'Cearbhall, or O'Carroll, was the king or head. An- cient Eile, or Ely, comprised the whole of Eile O'Carroll, included within the baronies of Clonlisk and
the county of Westmeath.
* This is stated to have been neau-Durrow,
in a gloss to the Feilire of St. ^ngus, at the
25th of June, according to the Leabhar Breac copy. It lies within the present parish of Durrow, where St. Columbkille founded a celebrated monastery in the sixth century. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (u), p. 282, and n. (h), p. 319-
'
5
as also the baronies of Ikerrin and Elyo- before it was occupied by St. Telle. The
or "Bookof n. Rights,"
Ballybritt, King's County,
',She
place
garty, county of Tipperary. That portion of the King's County belonging now to the diocese of Killaloe was comprised in Ely
O'Carroll, and it originally belonged to Munster. On its northern line the boundary between the dioceses of Killaloe and Meath determines that between the ancient territo- ries of Ely O'Carroll and Midhe or Meath. SeeDr. O'Donovan's "Leabhar na g-Ceart,"
'
will be found.
3 It was called from St. Telle, who ob-
tained possession of it, as may be seen by
referring to some notices of this saint at the
of — has its situation in 25th June. Colgan
only difficulty is that Telle flourished before the death, in 635, of Fintan Munnu. But St. Cera seems to have been young at the time she is said to have been there. Sup- posing that this was about 625, her having
lived until 680 contains — contradic- nothing
"
tory or unchronological. Dr. Lanigan's
"Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol.
iii. , chap, xviii. , § 12, n. 157, pp. 130, 131.
* of the houses in West- Treating religious
meath County, Archdall incorrectly states that St. Cera built an abbey at Teaghtelle some time before the year 576. See " Mo- nasticon Hibernicum," p. 728.
^ Marianus O'Gorman, in his Martyrology, and the Scholiast on St. ^ngus, are autho- rities for this account.
(i), pp. 78, 79.
