Brigid, 2
the holy bishop had been journeying through Momonia, and he passed through a place, called Lann-ela.
the holy bishop had been journeying through Momonia, and he passed through a place, called Lann-ela.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
Macnessius is said to have made a pilgrimage to the seat of the Apostles, and to Jerusalem, visiting also other remarkable places in the Holy Land.
In the panegyric of our saint, as published by the Bollandists, we are told
during the pilgrimage, that he frequently offered up his prayers to God, and that he brought several relics with him, on his return from the Holy Land. Among these are enumerated a stone taken from our Lord's Sepulchre, a portion of the Blessed Virgin Mary's hair, a bone of the Apostle St. Thomas, portions of the garments belonging to the Apostles, and one of the bowls belonging to the great altar at Jerusalem. He returned by way of Rome, and lodged in the Apostolic curia, where he remained for some
There he had been treated with marked distinction. We are informed, moreover, that on a certain day, in Rome, Macnisius consecrated and ordained Bishops, Priests and Deacons, the Roman clergy acting as his assistants. On this same occasion, the poverty of the Irish mission was taken into consideration by certain Roman magnates, who bestowed on him many valuable gifts, among which were to be found several gold, silver, and brazen vessels. During his residence at Rome, through the efficacy of his prayers, a leper was cleansed from his foul disease. Having visited the shrines of various saints, and received the Sovereign Pontiff's benediction and prayers, he returned to his native country, bringing with him the many presents he had received. And we are told, that not only the people of his own country, but those of surrounding nations, received him with great rejoicing. 39 When Mac Nessius, with his remarkable relics,-* left Rome for
Ireland, the people went forth to meet him, from the churches, towns, villages, woodsandmountains. Theyreceivedhimwithmostaffectionatedemon- strations of joy, nor were any found absent on these occasions but evil doers, to whom the presence of our saint was a standing reproach.
Soon the seed of Divine wisdom was planted in every direction, the
trumpet of the Gospel was sounded, and churches were founded by our saint.
days.
The holy Bishop was distinguished for the performance of miracles, He was inebriated, also, with a spirit of prophesy, and illuminated with Divine Revelations. Among the many miracles which he wrought, St. Macnesius healed two men, one of whom was blind, and the other was a leper. They presented themselves to him in full confidence of being relieved from their infirmities ; and having first washed themselves, in a fountain of clear water, one of them received the gift of sight, and his companion was cleansed from his leprosy, through the prayers of our saint. He also delivered a boy, named Colman,41 from a violent death. A certain wicked man, who killed the father of this boy, had seized upon the youth, who was under the guardianship of his friends. The tyrant had resolved upon putting him to death. However, our saint interfered to preserve his life.
38 " Perhibetur S. Cailanus, S. Macnisii
episcopi Connorensis equalis, sed in episco- patu posterior, ex Nendrumenai abbate factus Dunensis ecclesiae episcopus sub exitum seculi post Christum natum quinti. " —Ware, p. 52.
39 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Sep- tembris iii. Vita auctore incerto, sect. 3,
4, pp. 664, 665.
40 See Very Rev. James O'Laverty's
" of Down and Connor," vol. v. , p. Bishops
222.
4T The Bollandist editor cites the follow- ing passage from a Ms. of Ward, in a previous Commentary on our saint's Acts,
Finding the cruel man inexorable,
which thus reads :
"
S. Colmannus, quern
is miraculo liberavit a morte, fuit episcopus
Kill-ruadhensis, quae nunc obsoleta sedes est in Aradeorum regione sita ; ad oram
stagni juvenci vulgo Loch-Laodh in Ultonia, ubi ejus festum tanquam patroni colitur xvi.
—"Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. . Septembris iii. De Sancto Macniscio. Com- mentarius prsevius, sect. 3, p. 662.
Octobris. "
century.
68 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. September 3.
Macnessius asked as a favour, that the boy should not be slain until brought
8
to a pile of stones,* which was conspicuous at some distance. This request
he obtained, and afterwards our saint went to the place. There he engaged in prayer. The youth was thrown into the air, so that his body might be received on the points of his executioners' spears. Immediately, however, he was conveyed away by Angels, and deposited on the holy Bishop's bosom
free from all injury. Our saint afterwards nurtured, and diligently taught him the rudiments of Religion, and a knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures. He afterwards founded the church of Killruaird,43 now Kilroot,44 on the north side of Belfast Lough. In the townland so named,45 there is a large grave- yard, containing some portions of an old church, which was about sixty-six feet in length, by twenty-four in width/6 The spot is rendered memorable,
1
Templecorran Church Ruins,
not alone by its having become the primitive see of St. Colman,4? but owing to other interesting circumstances/8 In mediaeval times, Kilroot^ and
of a cromlech, or it may be one of those large cairns, so frequently met with, on eminences. in different places throughout Ireland.
43 Colgan, in his notes on the Life of St.
Corbmac, states, that Kilruaidh is within the
bounds of the former territory of Dal-aradia, and near Lochlaodh. See "Acta Sanc-
torum Hibernise," xxvi. Martii, n. 36, p. 756.
44 This parish contains 2,418a. op. i^r. , in the barony of Lower Belfast. It is shown on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Antrim," sheets 47, 53.
43 "Ad acervum &c. lapidum,"
47 His festival occurs on the 16th of suchapileasisnowknownunderthename October.
45 It contains See ibid. , sheet 53.
4*The south-east and south-west are all that remain standing.
48 Here, in the year 161 1, the first Presby-
terian congregat ion in 1 reland was est ablished,
and in the cemetery adjoiningthe little village
of Ballycarry, in Kilroot parish, is interred
the Rev. Edward Brice, M. A. , who emi-
grated from Scotland, and the first Presby-
terian minister who settled in Ireland. He
was promoted by the Protestant bishop to be
prebendary of Kilroot, in 1613. According
to the inscription on his tombstone, he died
at the age of 67, in the year 1636. See the
" Dublin Penny Journal," vol. iii. , No. 120,
p. 121, and Rev. Dr. James Seaton Reid's
" of the Church in History Presbyterian
Ireland," vol. i. , chap, i. , p. 98, and chap,
625 acres, 3 roods, 7 perches.
Perhaps
angles
iv. , p. 203.
edition, Belfast, 1867.
New
49 This parish was a vicarage, and part of
Skptkmbkr 3
j
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
69
Templecorran parishes constituted the Tuogh or District of Braden or Broad Island,nowknownasIslandMagee. TheunroofedruinsofTemplecorran Churchs° are still to be seen near the Antrim coast. It is remarkable as having been the church of the first prebendal benefice of Kilroot, to which Jonathan Swifts1—afterwards the celebrated Dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin—
had been appointed ;
when he
resigned it,s
secretary, at Moor-park, in England. The parish of Templecorran was a vicarage and part of the benefice of Kilroot or Ballinure. It is traversed by the roads from Carrickfergus to Island Magee and Lame, having Belfast Lough for its southern boundary. 53
In that Life of our saint, contained in the Salamancan Manuscript, we read, that when Macnessius returned to his native country, he miraculously changed the current of a river named Curi. 5 * This he did, in order that the murmuring of its waters should not disturb infirm persons in a monastery, which he built at a place called Disart, or Desert. ss The waters afterwards took a distant course from that spot. On a certain day, when he laboured there with his monks, he had a revelation, that in company with other holy persons, St. Brigid56 was on the way to his house, in order to confer with him on religious subjects. Being greatly rejoiced at this interior admonition, he addressed his com- munity with these words: "Brethren, let us give over this work and retire to
the monastery; we must prepare whatever may be necessary for the holy guests, who are journeying hither, and who shall arrive during this week. "57 St. yEngus Macnessius is reputed to have been the first founder, and to
8
Its establishment is thus referred to the latter half of the fifth century. The present See59 com-
but, he held it only for the short term ot two years,
2 and went to reside with Sir William as his Temple,
have presided as Bishop over the Church of Connor. s
the benefice of Ballinure. The surface comes down from the basaltic uplands, a little east of Lough Mourne, to the margin of
"
Belfast Lough. See Parliamentary
Gazetteer of Ireland," vol. ii. , p. 531.
that in the Dublin Penny Journal," has sought in the vicinity of his Church of been drawn on the wood, and engraved by Connor a place of holy retirement, wh—ere he Mr. Gregor Gray. mightenjoyundisturbedmeditation. " Very
s° The annexed illustration, copied from "
suspects it might have been a small stream, noted on some maps, as passing near Connor
"
towards the North. See Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus i. , Septembris hi. Acta S. Macniseii,
n. (k), p. 666.
ss Hibernice, " Disert. " "St. MacNissi
51 See the Life of Jonathan Swift, pre- Rev. James O'Laverty's fixed to Thomas Roscoe's edition ot his
works, vol. i. , pp. xvi. , xvii.
s2 The pathetic story, told by Sheridan,
and repeated by Sir Walter Scott, in his
Memoirs of Swift, prefixed to the volumi-
nous collection of the Dean's works, about
his having procured that poor clergyman
who lent his horse to obtain it, has no foun-
dation in fact, as proved by that ingenuous
and learned writer, William Monck Mason,
in his admirable and most researchful work,
11
The History and Antiquities of the Col- legiate and Cathedral Church of St. Patrick's,
near Dublin," book ii. , chap, v. , sect, i. , n. (x) p. 235. His account of that extraordi- nary genius is one of the most exact and authentic biographies of the Dean hitherto written.
Gazetteer of Ire-
Parliamentary land," vol. ii. , pp. 324, 325.
54 The Bollandist editor remarks, that he
cannot find a river called Curi : although he p. 272, c. 1 ; p. 502, c. I. The tvo in the
53 See "
chap, i. , sect, i. , p. 15.
59 in Irish records the name Connor
generally appears in the forms Convene, Conoipe, Cotvoeine, Comxvipe, which
Colgan occasionally Latinizes by Condoria.
" Historical Account of the Diocese of Down and
Connor, Ancient and Modern," p. 271.
s« See her Life, in the Second Volume of
this work, at the 1st of February, Art. i.
57 This miracle is recorded in the Acts of our Saint, published by the Bollandists, at the 3rd of September. See "Acta Sanc- torum," tomus i. , Septtmbris. iii. Acta S.
Macnissii, sect. 8, p. 665.
s8 The See of Down was united to that of
Connor by Pope Eugenius IV. Henry VI.
approved of this union, as appears by his
diploma, given in the sixteenth year of his
reign, A. D. , 1438. See Dubourdieu's
"
Statistical Survey of the County Antrim,"
See "Trias Thaumaturga," p. 146, col. 2 ;
7o LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September3. prises several churches, which on one or more occasions had been formerly
60
episcopal seats, and had conferred a title on their respective bishops.
Those churches within the limits whicli formerly enjoyed cathedral honours 61
were Connor, Arthirmuigh, Killanardh, Cuilraithen, Rechrann, and Rath-
62
sithe.
It would seem, from the Bollandist Acts of our Saint, that a monastery63
was founded at Connor, after the arrival of our saint in Ireland, and on his returnfromRome. TheepiscopalSeeofConnorappears,also,tohavehad a separate and an independent existence, at a time when his short Acts were written. 6-* The union of Connor with the See of Down has been referred to the year 1442. In 1458, Patrick Olynnan was vicar of the cathedral church of Connor. 6s The old cathedral of St, Saviour at Connor had been partly destroyed in the rebellion of 164 1. A portion of this having been re-roofed, and thatched with straw, was afterwards used for Protestant service. 66 The subsequent rectory church was built in 18 18, on the site of the old cathedral.
CHAPTER II.
ST. MACNESSIUS VISITS LANN-ELA IN COMPANY WITH ST. PATRICK AND ST. BRIGID— ADVISES ST. COLMANTO FOUND A MONASTERY AT DROMORE—ST. MACNESSIUS IS SAID TO HAVE ESTABLISHED A MONASTERY AT KELLS NEAR CONNOR—HIS MIRACLES AND PROPHECIES—HIS DEATH—FESTIVAL AND COMMEMORATIONS—CONCLUSION.
1
In his Acts, it is stated, that in company with St. Patrick and St.
Brigid, 2
the holy bishop had been journeying through Momonia, and he passed through a place, called Lann-ela. 3 While his companions passed on, our saint
middle of the word subsequently passed into Camber, which Ware, in " De Hibernia et
"
«n. , as Mr. O'Donovan observes :
antient Irish manuscripts we find tro almost invariably written for tin of the modern Irish
—"Irish
The orign of the name is thus explained
marginalgloss
(Connor) in the Martyrology of . ^Engus, at the 3rd of September: . 1. T>Aine ha con . 1. •OAine Ambicir com aIIca pnuif ec m eo
See cap. xxvi. , p. 180.
orthography. " t0
Grammar," p. 34.
64 After to the foundation of alluding
in a
on the word Chon,oer\ib
"in hodie sedes quo usque
lupe
Via " Daire-na-conn, [bicaOAUc], i. e. ,
episcopalis habetur. " In a comment on this latter passage, the Bollandist editor infers, that the Life of St. Macnessius must have been written before a. d. , when the See of
i. e. , the oak wood, in which were wild dogs
formerly, and she-wolves used to dwell there-
In the Antiquitatibus ejus," calls Comerer, al Comber, which had been founded A. D. 1199.
in. " This etymology per metathesim was tomus i. , Septembris iii. De Sancio Moc-
common with the Irish, as Colgan observes.
He conjectures that Dercon, the Church of
St. Olcan, was identical with Connor,
"
adding :
per transpositionem nostratibus frequentem, idem sit quod Condere seu Condore. "— " Acta Sanctorum Hibernire," xx. Februarii. Vita S. Olcani seu Bolcani, n. 8, recte 9, p.
377. 61
By the country people the name is pro- nounced as if it was written Con-yer.
62 See Rev. Wm. Reeves' " Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore," note T, p. 237.
6J In a note at this place, the Bollandist editor states, that he could not find a Ccenobium bearing such a name, but that
near Conner there was a named monastery
nescio, nn. (g, h), p. 666.
65 According to Prene's Registry, fol. 4. 66 This portion was probably the transept
of a larger building, for it is described by those who have attended it, as having stood
Derechon, seu rectius Dorechon,
'*
Connerense monasterium," it
is added,
1442,
Connor was united to that of Down, by
Eugenius IV. See "Acta Sanctorum,"
north and south. of 1806, p. 97. —
See Ecclesiastical
Report
Chapter
'
In their several Lives,
as
II.
published by Colgan, we find no allusion to the circumstances here narrated.
2
The Bollandist editor remarks, that by the native Irish it is pronounced Moun, and by the English called Mounster.
3 Now known as Lynally, in the present
King's County, and formerly within the ancient territory of Meath. The term Lann, or Lan, was applied by the Britons to note
a sacred
place.
See " Trias Thau- Colgan's
September 3. J LIVES Ot THE IRISH SAINTS.
remained there, and perceiving this, St. Patrick sent for St. Macnessius. When this latter came up, he was asked the cause for his stopping. Our saint then said to St. Patrick " Over that place in which I stood, I saw the
:
Heavensopened,andtheAngelsofGodascendinganddescending. "* St. Patrick hereupon said : "It therefore behoves us to leave religious men
here to serve God. " Our saint " replied :
Holy Father,
not thus determine. For a child of my family, who shall be born sixty years
from this day, and whose name is to be Colman Ela,5 shall there found a
celebrated monastery. " And, as the Divine Spirit had revealed this to the
man of God, so his prophecy was afterwards duly fulfilled. It is said, while
performing his journeys, through reverence for the Gospels, this holy man
was accustomed to bear books containing its text, on his stooped shoulders,
they being secured by no kind of fastening. These, with such like virtues,
and also miracles, distinguished our holy bishop, during his sojourn upon
6
earth.
We are told, that St. Colman of Dromore,? after the year 500, established
anoblemonastery,byadviceofSt. Macnessius,BishopofConnor. Itwas situated on the banks of the river Locha,8 a former name for the Lagan, which flows through Dromore. 9 This place was also called Druim Mocholmog,10 after the patron saint. It must have been erected, before a. d. 514, when, at the very latest, Macnessius died. 11 Most incorrectly has Archbishop Ussher, by a mere conjecture, assigned the erection of Dromore
monastery to the year 550.
I2
In doing so, he has fallen into the prevalent
maturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. ,
in composition.
4 The Bollandist editor remarks in a note,
that a nearly similar vision of St. Patrick is related by Joceline, in which it is stated,
in a place where he saw much light and heard the canticles of an angelic choir, the Irish Apostle predicted that a Son of Life named Colmanellus should there build a
this work, at the 7th of June, Art i.
8 "The River which was also Locha,
called CAfAri-l/me, is the modern La°an, upon which Dromore is built. "—Rev. Wm. Reeves' " Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore," n. (c), pp. 104, 105.
9 In the Ecclesiastical Taxation of the
Diocese of Dromore, compiled A. D. 1306, the Church of Drummore is rated at three marks, the Tenth amounting to —2s. and 8d.
n. In 219, p. 183.
at the
time, many local denominations have Lann
and
church, gather many
Sons of
to The church of the — also the Light, parish
Wales,
present
becompanionsoftheAngels. SeeColgan's cathedral of the diocese was antiently "Trias Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. styled ''Ecclesia Sancti Colmani," or Patricii, cap. xcvi. , p. 87. Father Veldius "Colmoci;" but under the charter of
"
suspects, that the vision there related had James I. , in 1609, Ecclesia Christi Re-
been transferred to St. Macniscius, with the addition of the sixty years term elapsing in the case of Colman Ela. A doubt has been expressed by Colgan, as to whether St. Patrick alluded to St. Colman, the future
of — or to St. Colman Ela bishop Dromore,
ofLynally oftenstyledColmanellus. Both
are said to have been disciples of Mac- ridge or hill of Mocholmeg," instead of niscius, while both flourished at the same "0|unm mop, "the great ridge or hill. " The time, and in that part ot Ulster called word "orvuim is cognate to the Latin
is mentioned at the 7th of June, where his
dorsum; thus, Adamnan Latinizes Drium- cheat by Dorsum Cete. In the present instance, it refers either to the rising ground
"
over the town, or to the
which is near the town on the east side.
11 "
See Rev Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol i. , chap, ix. , sect i,, Septembris hi. De Sancto Macniscio p. 432, and vol ii. , cap. xiv. , sect. , ii. , n. 26,
Dalnardia, or more properly Dal-aradia. Seeidid. , n. 106, p. 113.
5 The feast of St. Colman, of Lynally, is kept on the 26th of September, at which day notices of him may be found, in the present volume.
Great Fort,"
6 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Episcopo, Vita auctore incerto, sect. 9, p. 665. p. 308.
12 "
7 See his Acts, in the Sixth Volume of See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum
demptoris de Drumore. " It was originally attached to a monastic institution, and it was founded by St. Colman or Colmac, its first bishop and abbot.
10
In the calendar of the Four Masters, he
is called "Dmum "the church mocoltnoS,
if it do please you,
72 LI VES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 3.
error of confounding Colman-Eala, of Lynally and Muckamore, with Colaian or Colmanellus of Dromore. ^ He seems to have paid no attention to the date of Macnessius's death, although he had before him the Annals of Innis- fallen. These records assign it to as early as the year 506. He also confounded ** the monastery near the Locha, viz. , of Dromore, with that of Muckmore, a place in the County of Antrim. 15
It has been stated, that St. Macnessius became the superior of a religious community, which he established at Connor, and that he continued to govern it until his death. '6 we do not find ancient in
Although any authority, confirmation of such a statement ; yet, considering the usual customs in the
foundation of early missions in this country, we may regard the account as
fairly probable. There is reason also for a supposition, that the original establishment of St. Macnessius was not situated at Connor, but at a place not far distant, and formerly known as the Desert of Connor. 1 ? It is now called Kells, 18 in the parish, and about one half mile west from the church, of Connor. There is some foundation for the supposition, that this monas- tery,^ and not Connor,20 is the representative of those churches founded by
Antiquitates," Index Chonologicus, ad of Connor, appears from the Annals of that
annum dl. , p. 531. Also cap. xvii. , pp. 45 ! » 497-
13 In the Life of St. Colman, published by the Bollandists, at the 7th of June, several clues are given to the discovery of the real date, for the foundation of Dromore, and
about the year 500 may be assigned. That it took place before 513, the following passage proves, because St. MacNissi died
" Deinde saepe venerabilem
place, in the same work. —Ibid. , pp. 239 to 243. The first recorded death of an Abbot over Connor occurs at a. d. 773 [778], more than 200 years after the death of St. Mac- nessius.
17 According to the Ecclesiastical Taxa-
tion of the Diocese of Connor, compiled in
the year 1306, temporalities belonging to the Abbot of the Desert of Connor are set down at £8 6s. 8d. The tenth of this was 16s. 8d.
in that year
—Macnyseum Conderensem Episcopum petit.
:
Illuc perveniens,
ceptus est : ibique paucis diebus mansit. Deinde inito consilio, venerabilem senem, ubi locum, serviendi Deo fundare deberet consulit. Qui respondit : Voluntas Dei est, ut in finibus campi Coda tibi construas monasterium. Beatus igitur Colmanus secundum verbum Sancti Fontificis, fines illas adiit : ibique in valle, sancto Patricio
18 It is shown on the " Ordnance Townland Maps for the County of Down," sheet 38.
19 It is called Ecclesia Beatae Marias de
"
in the old Terrier.
20 At the Dissolution, Connor benefice
was but a vicarage, the rectory and advow- son being vested in the Abbot of Kells. St. Mac Nissi's Church was a conventual one, like most of the early episcopal seats
in omni hilaritate
sus-
Survey
quondumprseostensa super fluvium vocabulo
Locha,sedemsibiconstituit,inquasi—bi oftheprimitiveIrishChurch;anditisa
which cannot be accounted for, otherwise than by supposing the episcopal and abbatial offices to have been early combined in the persons of St. Mac Nissi's successors, that the rectories
and advowsons of the principal parishes of Connor diocese, wherein the bishop had
property, belonged, at the Dissolution, to the Abbot of Kells. Such an arrangement
would naturally follow from a partition of 15 Harris very wisely, and after him the two functions, and the appointment of
discipulorum multitude brevi exeravit. '"' very
curious
fact,
easily
"
Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii, p. 26. The Campus Coba here mentioned is called rtiAJ Cooa in the Irish Annals, and it belonged to a district of Iveagh, which ex- tended to the neighbourhood of Newry, according to the taxation of the Diocese of Dromore, at Domnachmore.
14 At a. d. 550, compared -with a. d. 456,
in Index Chronologicus. See pp. 521, 531.
during the pilgrimage, that he frequently offered up his prayers to God, and that he brought several relics with him, on his return from the Holy Land. Among these are enumerated a stone taken from our Lord's Sepulchre, a portion of the Blessed Virgin Mary's hair, a bone of the Apostle St. Thomas, portions of the garments belonging to the Apostles, and one of the bowls belonging to the great altar at Jerusalem. He returned by way of Rome, and lodged in the Apostolic curia, where he remained for some
There he had been treated with marked distinction. We are informed, moreover, that on a certain day, in Rome, Macnisius consecrated and ordained Bishops, Priests and Deacons, the Roman clergy acting as his assistants. On this same occasion, the poverty of the Irish mission was taken into consideration by certain Roman magnates, who bestowed on him many valuable gifts, among which were to be found several gold, silver, and brazen vessels. During his residence at Rome, through the efficacy of his prayers, a leper was cleansed from his foul disease. Having visited the shrines of various saints, and received the Sovereign Pontiff's benediction and prayers, he returned to his native country, bringing with him the many presents he had received. And we are told, that not only the people of his own country, but those of surrounding nations, received him with great rejoicing. 39 When Mac Nessius, with his remarkable relics,-* left Rome for
Ireland, the people went forth to meet him, from the churches, towns, villages, woodsandmountains. Theyreceivedhimwithmostaffectionatedemon- strations of joy, nor were any found absent on these occasions but evil doers, to whom the presence of our saint was a standing reproach.
Soon the seed of Divine wisdom was planted in every direction, the
trumpet of the Gospel was sounded, and churches were founded by our saint.
days.
The holy Bishop was distinguished for the performance of miracles, He was inebriated, also, with a spirit of prophesy, and illuminated with Divine Revelations. Among the many miracles which he wrought, St. Macnesius healed two men, one of whom was blind, and the other was a leper. They presented themselves to him in full confidence of being relieved from their infirmities ; and having first washed themselves, in a fountain of clear water, one of them received the gift of sight, and his companion was cleansed from his leprosy, through the prayers of our saint. He also delivered a boy, named Colman,41 from a violent death. A certain wicked man, who killed the father of this boy, had seized upon the youth, who was under the guardianship of his friends. The tyrant had resolved upon putting him to death. However, our saint interfered to preserve his life.
38 " Perhibetur S. Cailanus, S. Macnisii
episcopi Connorensis equalis, sed in episco- patu posterior, ex Nendrumenai abbate factus Dunensis ecclesiae episcopus sub exitum seculi post Christum natum quinti. " —Ware, p. 52.
39 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Sep- tembris iii. Vita auctore incerto, sect. 3,
4, pp. 664, 665.
40 See Very Rev. James O'Laverty's
" of Down and Connor," vol. v. , p. Bishops
222.
4T The Bollandist editor cites the follow- ing passage from a Ms. of Ward, in a previous Commentary on our saint's Acts,
Finding the cruel man inexorable,
which thus reads :
"
S. Colmannus, quern
is miraculo liberavit a morte, fuit episcopus
Kill-ruadhensis, quae nunc obsoleta sedes est in Aradeorum regione sita ; ad oram
stagni juvenci vulgo Loch-Laodh in Ultonia, ubi ejus festum tanquam patroni colitur xvi.
—"Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. . Septembris iii. De Sancto Macniscio. Com- mentarius prsevius, sect. 3, p. 662.
Octobris. "
century.
68 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. September 3.
Macnessius asked as a favour, that the boy should not be slain until brought
8
to a pile of stones,* which was conspicuous at some distance. This request
he obtained, and afterwards our saint went to the place. There he engaged in prayer. The youth was thrown into the air, so that his body might be received on the points of his executioners' spears. Immediately, however, he was conveyed away by Angels, and deposited on the holy Bishop's bosom
free from all injury. Our saint afterwards nurtured, and diligently taught him the rudiments of Religion, and a knowledge of the Sacred Scriptures. He afterwards founded the church of Killruaird,43 now Kilroot,44 on the north side of Belfast Lough. In the townland so named,45 there is a large grave- yard, containing some portions of an old church, which was about sixty-six feet in length, by twenty-four in width/6 The spot is rendered memorable,
1
Templecorran Church Ruins,
not alone by its having become the primitive see of St. Colman,4? but owing to other interesting circumstances/8 In mediaeval times, Kilroot^ and
of a cromlech, or it may be one of those large cairns, so frequently met with, on eminences. in different places throughout Ireland.
43 Colgan, in his notes on the Life of St.
Corbmac, states, that Kilruaidh is within the
bounds of the former territory of Dal-aradia, and near Lochlaodh. See "Acta Sanc-
torum Hibernise," xxvi. Martii, n. 36, p. 756.
44 This parish contains 2,418a. op. i^r. , in the barony of Lower Belfast. It is shown on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Antrim," sheets 47, 53.
43 "Ad acervum &c. lapidum,"
47 His festival occurs on the 16th of suchapileasisnowknownunderthename October.
45 It contains See ibid. , sheet 53.
4*The south-east and south-west are all that remain standing.
48 Here, in the year 161 1, the first Presby-
terian congregat ion in 1 reland was est ablished,
and in the cemetery adjoiningthe little village
of Ballycarry, in Kilroot parish, is interred
the Rev. Edward Brice, M. A. , who emi-
grated from Scotland, and the first Presby-
terian minister who settled in Ireland. He
was promoted by the Protestant bishop to be
prebendary of Kilroot, in 1613. According
to the inscription on his tombstone, he died
at the age of 67, in the year 1636. See the
" Dublin Penny Journal," vol. iii. , No. 120,
p. 121, and Rev. Dr. James Seaton Reid's
" of the Church in History Presbyterian
Ireland," vol. i. , chap, i. , p. 98, and chap,
625 acres, 3 roods, 7 perches.
Perhaps
angles
iv. , p. 203.
edition, Belfast, 1867.
New
49 This parish was a vicarage, and part of
Skptkmbkr 3
j
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
69
Templecorran parishes constituted the Tuogh or District of Braden or Broad Island,nowknownasIslandMagee. TheunroofedruinsofTemplecorran Churchs° are still to be seen near the Antrim coast. It is remarkable as having been the church of the first prebendal benefice of Kilroot, to which Jonathan Swifts1—afterwards the celebrated Dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin—
had been appointed ;
when he
resigned it,s
secretary, at Moor-park, in England. The parish of Templecorran was a vicarage and part of the benefice of Kilroot or Ballinure. It is traversed by the roads from Carrickfergus to Island Magee and Lame, having Belfast Lough for its southern boundary. 53
In that Life of our saint, contained in the Salamancan Manuscript, we read, that when Macnessius returned to his native country, he miraculously changed the current of a river named Curi. 5 * This he did, in order that the murmuring of its waters should not disturb infirm persons in a monastery, which he built at a place called Disart, or Desert. ss The waters afterwards took a distant course from that spot. On a certain day, when he laboured there with his monks, he had a revelation, that in company with other holy persons, St. Brigid56 was on the way to his house, in order to confer with him on religious subjects. Being greatly rejoiced at this interior admonition, he addressed his com- munity with these words: "Brethren, let us give over this work and retire to
the monastery; we must prepare whatever may be necessary for the holy guests, who are journeying hither, and who shall arrive during this week. "57 St. yEngus Macnessius is reputed to have been the first founder, and to
8
Its establishment is thus referred to the latter half of the fifth century. The present See59 com-
but, he held it only for the short term ot two years,
2 and went to reside with Sir William as his Temple,
have presided as Bishop over the Church of Connor. s
the benefice of Ballinure. The surface comes down from the basaltic uplands, a little east of Lough Mourne, to the margin of
"
Belfast Lough. See Parliamentary
Gazetteer of Ireland," vol. ii. , p. 531.
that in the Dublin Penny Journal," has sought in the vicinity of his Church of been drawn on the wood, and engraved by Connor a place of holy retirement, wh—ere he Mr. Gregor Gray. mightenjoyundisturbedmeditation. " Very
s° The annexed illustration, copied from "
suspects it might have been a small stream, noted on some maps, as passing near Connor
"
towards the North. See Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus i. , Septembris hi. Acta S. Macniseii,
n. (k), p. 666.
ss Hibernice, " Disert. " "St. MacNissi
51 See the Life of Jonathan Swift, pre- Rev. James O'Laverty's fixed to Thomas Roscoe's edition ot his
works, vol. i. , pp. xvi. , xvii.
s2 The pathetic story, told by Sheridan,
and repeated by Sir Walter Scott, in his
Memoirs of Swift, prefixed to the volumi-
nous collection of the Dean's works, about
his having procured that poor clergyman
who lent his horse to obtain it, has no foun-
dation in fact, as proved by that ingenuous
and learned writer, William Monck Mason,
in his admirable and most researchful work,
11
The History and Antiquities of the Col- legiate and Cathedral Church of St. Patrick's,
near Dublin," book ii. , chap, v. , sect, i. , n. (x) p. 235. His account of that extraordi- nary genius is one of the most exact and authentic biographies of the Dean hitherto written.
Gazetteer of Ire-
Parliamentary land," vol. ii. , pp. 324, 325.
54 The Bollandist editor remarks, that he
cannot find a river called Curi : although he p. 272, c. 1 ; p. 502, c. I. The tvo in the
53 See "
chap, i. , sect, i. , p. 15.
59 in Irish records the name Connor
generally appears in the forms Convene, Conoipe, Cotvoeine, Comxvipe, which
Colgan occasionally Latinizes by Condoria.
" Historical Account of the Diocese of Down and
Connor, Ancient and Modern," p. 271.
s« See her Life, in the Second Volume of
this work, at the 1st of February, Art. i.
57 This miracle is recorded in the Acts of our Saint, published by the Bollandists, at the 3rd of September. See "Acta Sanc- torum," tomus i. , Septtmbris. iii. Acta S.
Macnissii, sect. 8, p. 665.
s8 The See of Down was united to that of
Connor by Pope Eugenius IV. Henry VI.
approved of this union, as appears by his
diploma, given in the sixteenth year of his
reign, A. D. , 1438. See Dubourdieu's
"
Statistical Survey of the County Antrim,"
See "Trias Thaumaturga," p. 146, col. 2 ;
7o LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September3. prises several churches, which on one or more occasions had been formerly
60
episcopal seats, and had conferred a title on their respective bishops.
Those churches within the limits whicli formerly enjoyed cathedral honours 61
were Connor, Arthirmuigh, Killanardh, Cuilraithen, Rechrann, and Rath-
62
sithe.
It would seem, from the Bollandist Acts of our Saint, that a monastery63
was founded at Connor, after the arrival of our saint in Ireland, and on his returnfromRome. TheepiscopalSeeofConnorappears,also,tohavehad a separate and an independent existence, at a time when his short Acts were written. 6-* The union of Connor with the See of Down has been referred to the year 1442. In 1458, Patrick Olynnan was vicar of the cathedral church of Connor. 6s The old cathedral of St, Saviour at Connor had been partly destroyed in the rebellion of 164 1. A portion of this having been re-roofed, and thatched with straw, was afterwards used for Protestant service. 66 The subsequent rectory church was built in 18 18, on the site of the old cathedral.
CHAPTER II.
ST. MACNESSIUS VISITS LANN-ELA IN COMPANY WITH ST. PATRICK AND ST. BRIGID— ADVISES ST. COLMANTO FOUND A MONASTERY AT DROMORE—ST. MACNESSIUS IS SAID TO HAVE ESTABLISHED A MONASTERY AT KELLS NEAR CONNOR—HIS MIRACLES AND PROPHECIES—HIS DEATH—FESTIVAL AND COMMEMORATIONS—CONCLUSION.
1
In his Acts, it is stated, that in company with St. Patrick and St.
Brigid, 2
the holy bishop had been journeying through Momonia, and he passed through a place, called Lann-ela. 3 While his companions passed on, our saint
middle of the word subsequently passed into Camber, which Ware, in " De Hibernia et
"
«n. , as Mr. O'Donovan observes :
antient Irish manuscripts we find tro almost invariably written for tin of the modern Irish
—"Irish
The orign of the name is thus explained
marginalgloss
(Connor) in the Martyrology of . ^Engus, at the 3rd of September: . 1. T>Aine ha con . 1. •OAine Ambicir com aIIca pnuif ec m eo
See cap. xxvi. , p. 180.
orthography. " t0
Grammar," p. 34.
64 After to the foundation of alluding
in a
on the word Chon,oer\ib
"in hodie sedes quo usque
lupe
Via " Daire-na-conn, [bicaOAUc], i. e. ,
episcopalis habetur. " In a comment on this latter passage, the Bollandist editor infers, that the Life of St. Macnessius must have been written before a. d. , when the See of
i. e. , the oak wood, in which were wild dogs
formerly, and she-wolves used to dwell there-
In the Antiquitatibus ejus," calls Comerer, al Comber, which had been founded A. D. 1199.
in. " This etymology per metathesim was tomus i. , Septembris iii. De Sancio Moc-
common with the Irish, as Colgan observes.
He conjectures that Dercon, the Church of
St. Olcan, was identical with Connor,
"
adding :
per transpositionem nostratibus frequentem, idem sit quod Condere seu Condore. "— " Acta Sanctorum Hibernire," xx. Februarii. Vita S. Olcani seu Bolcani, n. 8, recte 9, p.
377. 61
By the country people the name is pro- nounced as if it was written Con-yer.
62 See Rev. Wm. Reeves' " Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore," note T, p. 237.
6J In a note at this place, the Bollandist editor states, that he could not find a Ccenobium bearing such a name, but that
near Conner there was a named monastery
nescio, nn. (g, h), p. 666.
65 According to Prene's Registry, fol. 4. 66 This portion was probably the transept
of a larger building, for it is described by those who have attended it, as having stood
Derechon, seu rectius Dorechon,
'*
Connerense monasterium," it
is added,
1442,
Connor was united to that of Down, by
Eugenius IV. See "Acta Sanctorum,"
north and south. of 1806, p. 97. —
See Ecclesiastical
Report
Chapter
'
In their several Lives,
as
II.
published by Colgan, we find no allusion to the circumstances here narrated.
2
The Bollandist editor remarks, that by the native Irish it is pronounced Moun, and by the English called Mounster.
3 Now known as Lynally, in the present
King's County, and formerly within the ancient territory of Meath. The term Lann, or Lan, was applied by the Britons to note
a sacred
place.
See " Trias Thau- Colgan's
September 3. J LIVES Ot THE IRISH SAINTS.
remained there, and perceiving this, St. Patrick sent for St. Macnessius. When this latter came up, he was asked the cause for his stopping. Our saint then said to St. Patrick " Over that place in which I stood, I saw the
:
Heavensopened,andtheAngelsofGodascendinganddescending. "* St. Patrick hereupon said : "It therefore behoves us to leave religious men
here to serve God. " Our saint " replied :
Holy Father,
not thus determine. For a child of my family, who shall be born sixty years
from this day, and whose name is to be Colman Ela,5 shall there found a
celebrated monastery. " And, as the Divine Spirit had revealed this to the
man of God, so his prophecy was afterwards duly fulfilled. It is said, while
performing his journeys, through reverence for the Gospels, this holy man
was accustomed to bear books containing its text, on his stooped shoulders,
they being secured by no kind of fastening. These, with such like virtues,
and also miracles, distinguished our holy bishop, during his sojourn upon
6
earth.
We are told, that St. Colman of Dromore,? after the year 500, established
anoblemonastery,byadviceofSt. Macnessius,BishopofConnor. Itwas situated on the banks of the river Locha,8 a former name for the Lagan, which flows through Dromore. 9 This place was also called Druim Mocholmog,10 after the patron saint. It must have been erected, before a. d. 514, when, at the very latest, Macnessius died. 11 Most incorrectly has Archbishop Ussher, by a mere conjecture, assigned the erection of Dromore
monastery to the year 550.
I2
In doing so, he has fallen into the prevalent
maturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. ,
in composition.
4 The Bollandist editor remarks in a note,
that a nearly similar vision of St. Patrick is related by Joceline, in which it is stated,
in a place where he saw much light and heard the canticles of an angelic choir, the Irish Apostle predicted that a Son of Life named Colmanellus should there build a
this work, at the 7th of June, Art i.
8 "The River which was also Locha,
called CAfAri-l/me, is the modern La°an, upon which Dromore is built. "—Rev. Wm. Reeves' " Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore," n. (c), pp. 104, 105.
9 In the Ecclesiastical Taxation of the
Diocese of Dromore, compiled A. D. 1306, the Church of Drummore is rated at three marks, the Tenth amounting to —2s. and 8d.
n. In 219, p. 183.
at the
time, many local denominations have Lann
and
church, gather many
Sons of
to The church of the — also the Light, parish
Wales,
present
becompanionsoftheAngels. SeeColgan's cathedral of the diocese was antiently "Trias Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. styled ''Ecclesia Sancti Colmani," or Patricii, cap. xcvi. , p. 87. Father Veldius "Colmoci;" but under the charter of
"
suspects, that the vision there related had James I. , in 1609, Ecclesia Christi Re-
been transferred to St. Macniscius, with the addition of the sixty years term elapsing in the case of Colman Ela. A doubt has been expressed by Colgan, as to whether St. Patrick alluded to St. Colman, the future
of — or to St. Colman Ela bishop Dromore,
ofLynally oftenstyledColmanellus. Both
are said to have been disciples of Mac- ridge or hill of Mocholmeg," instead of niscius, while both flourished at the same "0|unm mop, "the great ridge or hill. " The time, and in that part ot Ulster called word "orvuim is cognate to the Latin
is mentioned at the 7th of June, where his
dorsum; thus, Adamnan Latinizes Drium- cheat by Dorsum Cete. In the present instance, it refers either to the rising ground
"
over the town, or to the
which is near the town on the east side.
11 "
See Rev Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol i. , chap, ix. , sect i,, Septembris hi. De Sancto Macniscio p. 432, and vol ii. , cap. xiv. , sect. , ii. , n. 26,
Dalnardia, or more properly Dal-aradia. Seeidid. , n. 106, p. 113.
5 The feast of St. Colman, of Lynally, is kept on the 26th of September, at which day notices of him may be found, in the present volume.
Great Fort,"
6 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Episcopo, Vita auctore incerto, sect. 9, p. 665. p. 308.
12 "
7 See his Acts, in the Sixth Volume of See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum
demptoris de Drumore. " It was originally attached to a monastic institution, and it was founded by St. Colman or Colmac, its first bishop and abbot.
10
In the calendar of the Four Masters, he
is called "Dmum "the church mocoltnoS,
if it do please you,
72 LI VES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 3.
error of confounding Colman-Eala, of Lynally and Muckamore, with Colaian or Colmanellus of Dromore. ^ He seems to have paid no attention to the date of Macnessius's death, although he had before him the Annals of Innis- fallen. These records assign it to as early as the year 506. He also confounded ** the monastery near the Locha, viz. , of Dromore, with that of Muckmore, a place in the County of Antrim. 15
It has been stated, that St. Macnessius became the superior of a religious community, which he established at Connor, and that he continued to govern it until his death. '6 we do not find ancient in
Although any authority, confirmation of such a statement ; yet, considering the usual customs in the
foundation of early missions in this country, we may regard the account as
fairly probable. There is reason also for a supposition, that the original establishment of St. Macnessius was not situated at Connor, but at a place not far distant, and formerly known as the Desert of Connor. 1 ? It is now called Kells, 18 in the parish, and about one half mile west from the church, of Connor. There is some foundation for the supposition, that this monas- tery,^ and not Connor,20 is the representative of those churches founded by
Antiquitates," Index Chonologicus, ad of Connor, appears from the Annals of that
annum dl. , p. 531. Also cap. xvii. , pp. 45 ! » 497-
13 In the Life of St. Colman, published by the Bollandists, at the 7th of June, several clues are given to the discovery of the real date, for the foundation of Dromore, and
about the year 500 may be assigned. That it took place before 513, the following passage proves, because St. MacNissi died
" Deinde saepe venerabilem
place, in the same work. —Ibid. , pp. 239 to 243. The first recorded death of an Abbot over Connor occurs at a. d. 773 [778], more than 200 years after the death of St. Mac- nessius.
17 According to the Ecclesiastical Taxa-
tion of the Diocese of Connor, compiled in
the year 1306, temporalities belonging to the Abbot of the Desert of Connor are set down at £8 6s. 8d. The tenth of this was 16s. 8d.
in that year
—Macnyseum Conderensem Episcopum petit.
:
Illuc perveniens,
ceptus est : ibique paucis diebus mansit. Deinde inito consilio, venerabilem senem, ubi locum, serviendi Deo fundare deberet consulit. Qui respondit : Voluntas Dei est, ut in finibus campi Coda tibi construas monasterium. Beatus igitur Colmanus secundum verbum Sancti Fontificis, fines illas adiit : ibique in valle, sancto Patricio
18 It is shown on the " Ordnance Townland Maps for the County of Down," sheet 38.
19 It is called Ecclesia Beatae Marias de
"
in the old Terrier.
20 At the Dissolution, Connor benefice
was but a vicarage, the rectory and advow- son being vested in the Abbot of Kells. St. Mac Nissi's Church was a conventual one, like most of the early episcopal seats
in omni hilaritate
sus-
Survey
quondumprseostensa super fluvium vocabulo
Locha,sedemsibiconstituit,inquasi—bi oftheprimitiveIrishChurch;anditisa
which cannot be accounted for, otherwise than by supposing the episcopal and abbatial offices to have been early combined in the persons of St. Mac Nissi's successors, that the rectories
and advowsons of the principal parishes of Connor diocese, wherein the bishop had
property, belonged, at the Dissolution, to the Abbot of Kells. Such an arrangement
would naturally follow from a partition of 15 Harris very wisely, and after him the two functions, and the appointment of
discipulorum multitude brevi exeravit. '"' very
curious
fact,
easily
"
Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii, p. 26. The Campus Coba here mentioned is called rtiAJ Cooa in the Irish Annals, and it belonged to a district of Iveagh, which ex- tended to the neighbourhood of Newry, according to the taxation of the Diocese of Dromore, at Domnachmore.
14 At a. d. 550, compared -with a. d. 456,
in Index Chronologicus. See pp. 521, 531.
