"Handbook for
Travellers
in Ireland.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
This is one—and not the least valuable—among the many admirable historic volumes of the Spaulding Club, —in Scotland.
Prom the
to — when the Club was for- year 1S40 1871
mally dissolved thirty-eight 4to volumes had been published. An account of these
will be found in the concluding volume,
land," vol. iii. ,
'*» See "New Statistical Survey of Scot-
land. " Perth ; pp. 607, 624.
'5° See " New Statistical Account of Scot-
land," vol. X. , pp. 607, 624, 626. Stuart's
magnificent and valuable work was pub-
lished the Club. See
by Spalding plates
of
Iv. , Ivi. , and notices the plates, p. 16.
'5' See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 403.
'5= This writer observes at his " S. day,
Modoche, bishop of Scotland under Crath-
lintus, king, 328. "
'53 See the Bollandists' remarks on this
"
Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , xxxi. Januarii. Vita S. Aidani. Prremium,
nil.
'54 He is said to have flourished about the
year 312, more than two centuries before Maidoc's Ijirth ; to have presided over the
Scottish Church, during its infancy ; and to have been elected to the episcopacj', by the Culdees, without having any fixed see as-
"
signed to him. See the Historia Eccle-
siastica Gentis Scotorum," lib. xii. , n. 850. '55 Nothing is known about him according to Camerarius, except what is in a Latin
" Notices of the
Spaulding Club,
with the
Annual Reports, List of Members and
Works printed for the Club, 1839-71. "
'*' See Rev. Thomas Innes' " Civil and
Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," book ii. , sec. XXV. , p. 161.
'*3 " New Statistical Account of Scot- land," vol. X. , p. 1224. See also the " Old Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. xx. , pp. 40, 92.
"""Old Statistical Account of Scot- land," vol. XX. , p. 81.
'•*3See "Old Statistical Account of Scot- land," vol. iii. , p. 568.
'*^ See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 403.
'*' See " Old Statistical Account of Scot-
subject in the
"
Account of Scotland," vol. xi. , parti. , p. '^''See "Old Statistical Survey of Scot-
sec. 6,
p.
p. 568.
58o • LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
of Drummond,^s6 has an entry regarding this saint, whose veneration is re- ferredtoIreland. Withsingularincorrectness,astatementhasbeenmade,^s7 that St. Maedoc,^s8 Bishop of Ferns, was the first founder of Melrose monas- tery,^59onthebanksoftheTweedinScotland. Thismistakeh—asoriginated,
We have only submitted an abridged biography of this illustrious prelate,
andyetwearereluctantlyobligedtoclosewiththepresentparagraph. That very old vellum book,^^^ which is still accessible,'^^' states, ^^3 how Maedhog of Ferns, in habits and in life, was like unto Cornelius the Pope. '*^* This
latter holy pontiff and martyr passed through all the successive grades of Orders, in all of which he served the Lord faithfully. He was remarkable
for his humility, virginal purity, modesty, meekness, fidelity, and zeal. ^^5 Endowed with like virtues, our saint was the contemporary and companion of various holy persons. The Bollandists remark,^^^ that besides Maidoc having been mentioned in the Acts of St. Lasrian or Molassius^^? of Devenish, his name likewise occurs in those of St. Colman, Bishop of Dromore,'^^ and of St. Colman Elo,^^9 not to speak of many other great men. Throughout Ireland, as in more distant countries, the memory of holy Bishop Maidoc appears to have been held in extraordinary veneration. This may well be allowed, when we consider the many places and objects, more or less con- nected with his name. It shall long live in honoured remembrance, on earth as in heaven, the inheritance and the pledge of piety and fidelity for
past and present supernatural favours.
Article II. —St. Mochumma or Documma, Bishop of Inis Mahee,
County of Down. [Probably in the Fifth, or Sixth, or Seventh Century. ] In his own quaint and peculiar phraseology, a celebrated modern ^vriter has
from the
of Lindisfarne was its first bishop and abbot. "^°
owever, h—
generally
received that St. Aidan a namesake account,
prayer found in the Breviary of Aberdeen and in the Chronicle of Scone. It may thus be rendered in English: "Grant, we be- seech Thee, Almighty God, through the intercession of Thy blessed confessor and bishop, Modoc, that our bodies may be delivered from all adversities, and that our minds may be cleansed from all evil thoughts. Through our Lord Jesus Christ," etc. , etc. See " De Statu Hominis Veteris simul ac novae Ecclesiae et Sanctis Regni Scotise," liber i. , pars, ii. , cap. iii. , sec. 2, p. 139.
'5*Thuswereadattheii. oftheFebruary
"
Kalends (January 31st),
tale Sancti Aedse Episcopi et Sanctus Mael
Monastery of old Melrose, and the Town and Parish of Melrose," by James A. Wade,
gives a most interesting historical, descrip- tive, and architectural account of this cele-
brated locality, in xiv. chapters, pp. 400.
*^
See z3/<3? . , chap, ii. , p. 83.
'*' Allusion is made to the leaves abstracted
from the Book of Leinster, belonging to Trinity College, Dublin, and which are now in the Franciscan Library, Dublin,
'**
In it are to be found the Martyrology of Maelruain of Tamlacht, and many other matters relating to the saints and to their mothers.
'*3 See Dr. Todd's and Dr. Reeves'
an faid commemorantur. — See Kalen- "
Martyrology of Donegal, pp. 32, 33.
'** His feast occurs at the i6th of Sep- tember.
'*5 gee an account of the pontificate and martyrdom of this illustrious Pope, in Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Saints," vol. ix. September xvi.
darium Drummondiense. Bishop Forbes'
"
Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 4.
'57 On the authority of "Master Fox,"
according to Dr. Hanmer's Ireland," p. 126.
*'
Chronicle of
'58 Who " builded the Monastery o—f Mel-
rose, by the flood of the Tweed. " John
D'Alton's "History of Ireland, from the
earliest period to the year 1245, when the
'^^
xxxi. Januarii. Prcemium ad Acta S. Ae- dani, sec. 10, p. 1 1 12.
'
Annals of Boyle,' which are adopted and
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , '*' Venerated at the 12th of September,
embodied as the running text authority, terminate," vol. ii. , p. 95, n (a).
'59 A beautifully illustrated work, "His- tory of St. Mary's Abbey, Melrose, the
'^
See his life at the 7th of June.
'''See his life, which occurs at the 26th
of September.
In Hibernia na-
""""
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 581
observed of our ruined old churches, that these grim walls are an earnest fact, and that it was for a most real and serious purpose they were built, the heaven's watch-towers of our fathers, and God's fallen houses, the Gol- gotha of true souls departed. ^ In reflective and Christian minds, at least, they excite solemn thoughts, and a visit to the lonely island of St. Mochay cannot fail deeply to interest the investigator of Ireland's early church eccle-
siastical '^ history.
of Irish St. Mochoe Christianity,
in the
or Mochay,3 a favourite disciple of St. Patrick, had founded an early reli-
gious establishment, and this appears to have formed the nucleus of an ancient
episcopal see. Here, too, the sainted Coenobiarch passed away to bhss verg-
ingtowardsthedeclineofthefifthcentury. Afterwardsfollowedasuccession
of holy bishops and abbots, on this beautiful and insulated spot, until the
tenth century drew near its close. Yet, where to fix the present saint's posi-
tion, in point of time, and with sufficient accuracy, cannot well be deter-
mined. Tothe itseems —thatheflourishedtowards writer, probable enough,
in the seventh
thenameofMo-Chumma. s Thedoandmo,however,aretoberegardedas prefixes, and Chumma or Cummine was probably this saint's real name. Mochumma, Bishop of Aondruim,^ or Naondrum, as written in Rev. William Reeves' cornpiled calendar,? is registered in the Martyrology of Donegal,^ on
this day. In his general index. Dr. Reeves appears to identify the present saint with one bearing the same nanie,9 who according to St. ^^ngus the Culdee^° was abbot of Drumbo," county of Down. This identification we havereasonsfordoubting. '^ Insuchcase,itisthought,hewasabrotherto
St. Domangard,'3 whose death is placed at a. d. 506,'+ to St. Aillean,'^ to St. Article 11. —'See Carlyle's "Past and 376.
Here,
very infancy
—e or sometime in the sixth
the close of th fifth, possibly, however,
he lived century. Whether or not he had been the holy founder's im- mediate successor must remain a question for future solution ; since more thanacenturycontinuesblankinthesurvivingrecordsofMaheeIsland. Our early calendars, however, notice this saint, although they do not mark his periodinhistory. ThusheiscalledDochumma,Noendroim,inthepublished Martyrology of Tallagh,'^ at the 31st of January. Marianus O'Gorman is said to have styled this holy man Documma, Bishop of Aondruim ; while as we have already seen, in the previous life of St. Maidoc, patron of Ferns, at this same date, in his metrical calendar, Marianus has likewise given him
^ Edited Present," p. 67. by
Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp.
^ ''"
See the valuable and profusedly illustrated 32,33.
GuidetolBelfastandtheadjacentCounties," by the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club, pp.
245, 246, Antiquities, Ecclesiastical, § 250.
'' See his Life at the 23rd of June.
'See EcclesiasticalAntiquitiesofDown, Connor and Dromore," p. 45, n. (b). Ap- pendix S. , p. 236, and Index, p. 422.
* Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiv. 5"
Mo-Chumma is synonymous with Do-
Chumma or Da-Chumma as Mo-Chonna ;
is synonymous with Do-Chonna or Da-Chon- na. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nipc," xii. Martii. De S. Muro sive Murano, nn. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, p. 587.
"Handbook for Travellers in Ireland. " Route 5, p. 50.
" The known difference of festivals, and
the unproduced historic evidences of identity,
are strong objections.
'3 See his Life at the 24th of March. Also,
•^
In a note at this word, Aondruim, Dr.
Todd writes
:
" The more recent hand adds
Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxiv. Martii. De S . Domangardo, Episcopo, cap. iv. , and n. 7, pp. 743, 744.
here, 'iJ/ar/awo'OocummAepi^n ^on'oiwinA' In Marianus, Documma, Bishop of Aon- druim. " Meaning, that Marianus O'Gorman
spells the name Dochumma, in his Martyr- ology, instead oi Mochumma.
"
7 See Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down,
Connor and Dromore. " Appendix LL, p.
' In the O'Clery's calendar. See " Mar- "
'° In his " On the Mothers of Irish Tract,
Saints. "
" There is a round tower at this place —35 feet in height and 47 in circumference. "
Murray's
tyrology of Donegal, edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 84, 85.
'S Also called Ailleoc, who is venerated at the 24th of July, according to Colgan.
582 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
Aidan,'" to St. Muran,'7 of Fahan, and to St. Cillen,'^ of Achadhcail, in the territory of Lecale. Thus, his parentage is referable to Derinilla, who was married to four different husbands ; and although we cannot discover the name of his father, it would appear, that as a corollary, the date for birth
ought to be assigned to some part of the fifth century. '9 Again do we find the present saint entered as Mochoma, Bishop of Aendruim, by Duald Mac
Firbis,'^ the Genealogist. However, we believe the foregoing conjectural data must be abandoned for a more probable substitution of facts, and seem- ingly well corroborated in our annals. Already have we recorded the death of St. Cronan Beg, at the 7th of January,"' a. d. 642. ='" His demise, at that period, as Bishop of Nendrum on Mahee Island, may have been immediately succeeded by the elevation of Cuimine to his vacant chair. The addition of an usual syllabic prefix, and of a post-syllabic metathesis, will cause that nametoaccordwiththepresentsaint's; whilethetime,placeanddignity, seem to be reconcilable with the supposition of a true identity. According to one account, Cuimine, Bishop of 5s^aendruim, departed this life, a. d. 655. "^ Other authorities place this event, at a. d. 658,"* but we cannot find the day
on which it occurred set down. ^5 His place is stated to have been Nendrum
inLochCuan,"^nowStrangfordLough. ^*? . ^ndruimorNoendrumisknown,
after the name of its religious founder and patron, as Inis-Mochaoi or Inis
Mahee. "^ Untiloflateyears,thesiteofthischurch,whichcanboastanan-
tiquity of more than thirteen centuries, was almost unknown and undescribed.
Happily by a competent investigator of ecclesiastical antiquities,'^ this subject was taken in hand,^° and it formed the basis of that fame, which has not yet
*' The festival of this saint, nor the age when he flourished, has not been determined. '' His festival occurs at the 12th of March, where notices regarding him will be found. Colgan, supposing him to be the author of a life of St. Columkille, ascribes the seventh
94. 95-
** See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 268, 269.
's Unless the O'Clerys' statement be ac- cepted, that his feast must be assigned to the 1st of July, to which day the reader is century as his period. This is most likely referred for further notices. See Drs. Todd's
the case. The death of his
Domangard, in 506, and of Muran a century
and Reeves' " of Martyrology
184, 185.
'"
Dubh, called also Dimmaingert, Bishop of
Connor, who died A. D. 658, was his brother.
See Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibemicarum
Scriptores," tomus iv. Annalcs Ultonienses.
was applied to it. See " A Natural History of Ireland," in three parts, by several hands. Part i. , chap, ii. , sect, iii. , p. 8.
*i "The lough is an irregular sheet of water, twenty miles long, and seven broad, communicating with the sea by an inlet, called the Bay of Strangford, about seven
''
defined. Dr. Reeves thinks, however, that
This saint's festival or age has not been
reputed brother,
Donegal," pp.
It would appear that in the beginning But, it seems quite as probable, that Dima of last century the name " Lough Cone"
later, cannot be chronologically reconciled.
either he of Achadh-chaii, or St. Caylan,
founderofNendrumchurch,maybeasso- mileslong,a—ndoneinbreadth. Itisdott—ed
ciated with the church or parish of Kilclicf,
in Irish Citl-cteice, county of Down. See
"Ecclesiastical
'' See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nijc," xii. Martii. Vita S. Muri, sive Mu- exquisite steel engravings from drawings by
and
Antiquities n.
Down, and
desert. "
Leitch Ritchie's
Dromore," pendix N, p. 217.
Ap-
gether
Picturesque and Romantic," vol. ii. , chap, p. 48. This charming work contains most
of
(f ), pp. 38, 39,
Connor
some inhabited by men, some by cattle, and
some —but the alto- by rabbits, greater part
"
rani, and the accompanying notes, p. 587. "° "
D. M'Clise, Esq. , A. R. A. , and T. Cres- wick, Esq.
and I )romore. " Appendix F, pp. 187 to 197. "'The Rev. Willi. im Reeves, M. B. , then
impropriate curate of Kilconriola, in the diocese of Connor.
3<' In a paper intituled, "A Description ot
See Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Irish MSS. . , pp. 84, 85.
^'
'* Mahee Island. For a Anglicized
Academy,"
series,
vol.
i. , part
very full and historic account of this place, the reader is referred to Rev. William Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor
See his feast and notices of him at that date.
" At 641, according to the " Chronicon Scotorum," edited by W. M. Ilennessy, M. R. I. A. , pp. 88, 89.
^3 See the " Chronicon Scotorum," edited by William M. Hennessy, M. R. I. A. , pp.
to the number of
with islands fifty-four
Ireland,
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 583
culminated, and which must still gather accretion as it rolls along the stream ofTime. WhenIslandMaheehadbeenvisitedbytheRev. WilliamReeves,^' in the autumn of 1845, the country-people knew nothing regarding its history,
saving that they had an impression regarding its having been an ancient place, with an indistinct tradition that burials took place there centuries ago. 3' A causeway now unites Mahee Island^- with Reagh Islands-* and the western shore of Strangford Lough. 35 The western portion of Island Mahee slopes gently from the water to an elevation of 66 feet, and there it is surmounted by a small ivy-mantled ruin. Approaching this object, the way leads through
in what to be the remnant of a — circular enclosure. As- gap, appears large
the foundation Within this, at an interval of about 50 yards, a third ring encloses a space, nearly level, and about 70 yards in diameter. At a distance of 25 feet from the inner circumference, on the west, stands
a
—econd cending thence, a s nearly
concentric
ring apparently
of a wall or terrace is crossed.
Mahee Island, Co. Down.
that Httle ruin, possessing the main characteristics of a dilapidated round tower. 3^ The materials of which it is constructed are undressed stones, yet
Nendram, commonly called Mahee Island, embracing its rrescnt Condition and Past
History," pp. 23 to 39. This is to be found
in the first fasciculus of "
read before the Down and Connor and Dro- more Church Architecture Society, during the year 1844. "
3' His paper was read on the 5th of Xoveni-
ber,1845. Anelegantlithographedillustra- tion of ancient remains on the island, with a view of the more distant scenes, is added ; while two well-designetl and accurate ma]ys serve to exhibit the aciual position and out-
lines of this scenic and historically inleresthig spot.
published
Paper. ,
roods and 8
3
'•• See ibid. ,
28.
33 Containing 176 acres 3 roods and 38
p.
'• acres Containing 304
perches.
perches.
» See a descriptive account in Rev. G.
Hansbrow's "Improved Topographical and Historical Hibernian Gazetteer," &c. , pp.
314, 315-
3° I he accompanying illustration is from
a sketch taken by the writer, who visited this interesting spot with the Rev. James
O'Laverty, M. R. I. A. , and P. P. of Holly- wood, in May, 1874. It has been drawn on the wood by William F. Wakeman, and en-
.
^
584 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
so well disposed as to present an even surface on the inside, and so firmly
compacted by groutings, that though the outer wall table has been picked away, the inner has maintained its surface unimpaired. When at its highest elevation, the view from the top of this building must have been very exten- sive and superb ; for a very moderate addition to the natural altitude of its ground site should afford a prospect over the entire length of beautiful Lough Strangford. Thetopmostpartofthisruin,37isonlyaboutninefeetinheight, and the walls are covered with ivy. On the south-west side, there is a fissure, wide enough to admit a man ; it extends to the ground, and it was probably caused by an entrance having been there in the original plan. At a distance of 43 feet to the south-east, an oblong space was observable, 3^ and defined by something like a ridge in the grass. Here and there small portions of a wall andmortarprojectedthroughthesod. Fromitsproportionsanditsbearings to the east, this space resembled the enclosure of a place for Christian wor- ship. It was found to reveal the angles of a quadrilateral building,39 and partsofitssidestothedepthoftwofeetwereexposed. Thisbuildingstood E. N. E. , and such a deflection from the exact east is not uncommon in ancient churches. ''^ At present circling about the stunted round tower,^^ the ancient mounds are clearly traceable, and the intervals between them are often fur- rowed and uneven, while the church ruins are not clearly distinguishable, since long grass and brambles have covered the ground. -^^ These are the only noticeable features of what might be recognised as a long departed nursery of piety and learning. Even the round tower is sadly shorn of its more re- markable and lofty proportions. An English writer has stated, that in no country of Europe, save in Scotland, are to be found specimens like to the Irish round towers,43 and that there, similar models had been built by the
graved by George A. Hanlon, Dublin. It was sketched from a point of view, different from that shown in the lithograph which accompanies the Rev. William Reeves'
Cecila Metella, and which has been descr—ibed
paper. Such as an baffled
3' The diameter inside is 6 feet 6 inches.
The basement course on the exterior
a few inches. Its circumference is 44 feet 6 inches, or nearly 15 feet in diameter.
3^ This was sought for and discovered by the Rev. William Reeves, on the occasion of his visit.
inches ; length in clear, 52 feet 4 inches breadth in clear 15 feet 8 inches.
to — when the Club was for- year 1S40 1871
mally dissolved thirty-eight 4to volumes had been published. An account of these
will be found in the concluding volume,
land," vol. iii. ,
'*» See "New Statistical Survey of Scot-
land. " Perth ; pp. 607, 624.
'5° See " New Statistical Account of Scot-
land," vol. X. , pp. 607, 624, 626. Stuart's
magnificent and valuable work was pub-
lished the Club. See
by Spalding plates
of
Iv. , Ivi. , and notices the plates, p. 16.
'5' See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 403.
'5= This writer observes at his " S. day,
Modoche, bishop of Scotland under Crath-
lintus, king, 328. "
'53 See the Bollandists' remarks on this
"
Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , xxxi. Januarii. Vita S. Aidani. Prremium,
nil.
'54 He is said to have flourished about the
year 312, more than two centuries before Maidoc's Ijirth ; to have presided over the
Scottish Church, during its infancy ; and to have been elected to the episcopacj', by the Culdees, without having any fixed see as-
"
signed to him. See the Historia Eccle-
siastica Gentis Scotorum," lib. xii. , n. 850. '55 Nothing is known about him according to Camerarius, except what is in a Latin
" Notices of the
Spaulding Club,
with the
Annual Reports, List of Members and
Works printed for the Club, 1839-71. "
'*' See Rev. Thomas Innes' " Civil and
Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," book ii. , sec. XXV. , p. 161.
'*3 " New Statistical Account of Scot- land," vol. X. , p. 1224. See also the " Old Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. xx. , pp. 40, 92.
"""Old Statistical Account of Scot- land," vol. XX. , p. 81.
'•*3See "Old Statistical Account of Scot- land," vol. iii. , p. 568.
'*^ See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 403.
'*' See " Old Statistical Account of Scot-
subject in the
"
Account of Scotland," vol. xi. , parti. , p. '^''See "Old Statistical Survey of Scot-
sec. 6,
p.
p. 568.
58o • LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
of Drummond,^s6 has an entry regarding this saint, whose veneration is re- ferredtoIreland. Withsingularincorrectness,astatementhasbeenmade,^s7 that St. Maedoc,^s8 Bishop of Ferns, was the first founder of Melrose monas- tery,^59onthebanksoftheTweedinScotland. Thismistakeh—asoriginated,
We have only submitted an abridged biography of this illustrious prelate,
andyetwearereluctantlyobligedtoclosewiththepresentparagraph. That very old vellum book,^^^ which is still accessible,'^^' states, ^^3 how Maedhog of Ferns, in habits and in life, was like unto Cornelius the Pope. '*^* This
latter holy pontiff and martyr passed through all the successive grades of Orders, in all of which he served the Lord faithfully. He was remarkable
for his humility, virginal purity, modesty, meekness, fidelity, and zeal. ^^5 Endowed with like virtues, our saint was the contemporary and companion of various holy persons. The Bollandists remark,^^^ that besides Maidoc having been mentioned in the Acts of St. Lasrian or Molassius^^? of Devenish, his name likewise occurs in those of St. Colman, Bishop of Dromore,'^^ and of St. Colman Elo,^^9 not to speak of many other great men. Throughout Ireland, as in more distant countries, the memory of holy Bishop Maidoc appears to have been held in extraordinary veneration. This may well be allowed, when we consider the many places and objects, more or less con- nected with his name. It shall long live in honoured remembrance, on earth as in heaven, the inheritance and the pledge of piety and fidelity for
past and present supernatural favours.
Article II. —St. Mochumma or Documma, Bishop of Inis Mahee,
County of Down. [Probably in the Fifth, or Sixth, or Seventh Century. ] In his own quaint and peculiar phraseology, a celebrated modern ^vriter has
from the
of Lindisfarne was its first bishop and abbot. "^°
owever, h—
generally
received that St. Aidan a namesake account,
prayer found in the Breviary of Aberdeen and in the Chronicle of Scone. It may thus be rendered in English: "Grant, we be- seech Thee, Almighty God, through the intercession of Thy blessed confessor and bishop, Modoc, that our bodies may be delivered from all adversities, and that our minds may be cleansed from all evil thoughts. Through our Lord Jesus Christ," etc. , etc. See " De Statu Hominis Veteris simul ac novae Ecclesiae et Sanctis Regni Scotise," liber i. , pars, ii. , cap. iii. , sec. 2, p. 139.
'5*Thuswereadattheii. oftheFebruary
"
Kalends (January 31st),
tale Sancti Aedse Episcopi et Sanctus Mael
Monastery of old Melrose, and the Town and Parish of Melrose," by James A. Wade,
gives a most interesting historical, descrip- tive, and architectural account of this cele-
brated locality, in xiv. chapters, pp. 400.
*^
See z3/<3? . , chap, ii. , p. 83.
'*' Allusion is made to the leaves abstracted
from the Book of Leinster, belonging to Trinity College, Dublin, and which are now in the Franciscan Library, Dublin,
'**
In it are to be found the Martyrology of Maelruain of Tamlacht, and many other matters relating to the saints and to their mothers.
'*3 See Dr. Todd's and Dr. Reeves'
an faid commemorantur. — See Kalen- "
Martyrology of Donegal, pp. 32, 33.
'** His feast occurs at the i6th of Sep- tember.
'*5 gee an account of the pontificate and martyrdom of this illustrious Pope, in Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other Principal Saints," vol. ix. September xvi.
darium Drummondiense. Bishop Forbes'
"
Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 4.
'57 On the authority of "Master Fox,"
according to Dr. Hanmer's Ireland," p. 126.
*'
Chronicle of
'58 Who " builded the Monastery o—f Mel-
rose, by the flood of the Tweed. " John
D'Alton's "History of Ireland, from the
earliest period to the year 1245, when the
'^^
xxxi. Januarii. Prcemium ad Acta S. Ae- dani, sec. 10, p. 1 1 12.
'
Annals of Boyle,' which are adopted and
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , '*' Venerated at the 12th of September,
embodied as the running text authority, terminate," vol. ii. , p. 95, n (a).
'59 A beautifully illustrated work, "His- tory of St. Mary's Abbey, Melrose, the
'^
See his life at the 7th of June.
'''See his life, which occurs at the 26th
of September.
In Hibernia na-
""""
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 581
observed of our ruined old churches, that these grim walls are an earnest fact, and that it was for a most real and serious purpose they were built, the heaven's watch-towers of our fathers, and God's fallen houses, the Gol- gotha of true souls departed. ^ In reflective and Christian minds, at least, they excite solemn thoughts, and a visit to the lonely island of St. Mochay cannot fail deeply to interest the investigator of Ireland's early church eccle-
siastical '^ history.
of Irish St. Mochoe Christianity,
in the
or Mochay,3 a favourite disciple of St. Patrick, had founded an early reli-
gious establishment, and this appears to have formed the nucleus of an ancient
episcopal see. Here, too, the sainted Coenobiarch passed away to bhss verg-
ingtowardsthedeclineofthefifthcentury. Afterwardsfollowedasuccession
of holy bishops and abbots, on this beautiful and insulated spot, until the
tenth century drew near its close. Yet, where to fix the present saint's posi-
tion, in point of time, and with sufficient accuracy, cannot well be deter-
mined. Tothe itseems —thatheflourishedtowards writer, probable enough,
in the seventh
thenameofMo-Chumma. s Thedoandmo,however,aretoberegardedas prefixes, and Chumma or Cummine was probably this saint's real name. Mochumma, Bishop of Aondruim,^ or Naondrum, as written in Rev. William Reeves' cornpiled calendar,? is registered in the Martyrology of Donegal,^ on
this day. In his general index. Dr. Reeves appears to identify the present saint with one bearing the same nanie,9 who according to St. ^^ngus the Culdee^° was abbot of Drumbo," county of Down. This identification we havereasonsfordoubting. '^ Insuchcase,itisthought,hewasabrotherto
St. Domangard,'3 whose death is placed at a. d. 506,'+ to St. Aillean,'^ to St. Article 11. —'See Carlyle's "Past and 376.
Here,
very infancy
—e or sometime in the sixth
the close of th fifth, possibly, however,
he lived century. Whether or not he had been the holy founder's im- mediate successor must remain a question for future solution ; since more thanacenturycontinuesblankinthesurvivingrecordsofMaheeIsland. Our early calendars, however, notice this saint, although they do not mark his periodinhistory. ThusheiscalledDochumma,Noendroim,inthepublished Martyrology of Tallagh,'^ at the 31st of January. Marianus O'Gorman is said to have styled this holy man Documma, Bishop of Aondruim ; while as we have already seen, in the previous life of St. Maidoc, patron of Ferns, at this same date, in his metrical calendar, Marianus has likewise given him
^ Edited Present," p. 67. by
Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp.
^ ''"
See the valuable and profusedly illustrated 32,33.
GuidetolBelfastandtheadjacentCounties," by the Belfast Naturalists' Field Club, pp.
245, 246, Antiquities, Ecclesiastical, § 250.
'' See his Life at the 23rd of June.
'See EcclesiasticalAntiquitiesofDown, Connor and Dromore," p. 45, n. (b). Ap- pendix S. , p. 236, and Index, p. 422.
* Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiv. 5"
Mo-Chumma is synonymous with Do-
Chumma or Da-Chumma as Mo-Chonna ;
is synonymous with Do-Chonna or Da-Chon- na. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nipc," xii. Martii. De S. Muro sive Murano, nn. 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, p. 587.
"Handbook for Travellers in Ireland. " Route 5, p. 50.
" The known difference of festivals, and
the unproduced historic evidences of identity,
are strong objections.
'3 See his Life at the 24th of March. Also,
•^
In a note at this word, Aondruim, Dr.
Todd writes
:
" The more recent hand adds
Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xxiv. Martii. De S . Domangardo, Episcopo, cap. iv. , and n. 7, pp. 743, 744.
here, 'iJ/ar/awo'OocummAepi^n ^on'oiwinA' In Marianus, Documma, Bishop of Aon- druim. " Meaning, that Marianus O'Gorman
spells the name Dochumma, in his Martyr- ology, instead oi Mochumma.
"
7 See Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down,
Connor and Dromore. " Appendix LL, p.
' In the O'Clery's calendar. See " Mar- "
'° In his " On the Mothers of Irish Tract,
Saints. "
" There is a round tower at this place —35 feet in height and 47 in circumference. "
Murray's
tyrology of Donegal, edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 84, 85.
'S Also called Ailleoc, who is venerated at the 24th of July, according to Colgan.
582 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
Aidan,'" to St. Muran,'7 of Fahan, and to St. Cillen,'^ of Achadhcail, in the territory of Lecale. Thus, his parentage is referable to Derinilla, who was married to four different husbands ; and although we cannot discover the name of his father, it would appear, that as a corollary, the date for birth
ought to be assigned to some part of the fifth century. '9 Again do we find the present saint entered as Mochoma, Bishop of Aendruim, by Duald Mac
Firbis,'^ the Genealogist. However, we believe the foregoing conjectural data must be abandoned for a more probable substitution of facts, and seem- ingly well corroborated in our annals. Already have we recorded the death of St. Cronan Beg, at the 7th of January,"' a. d. 642. ='" His demise, at that period, as Bishop of Nendrum on Mahee Island, may have been immediately succeeded by the elevation of Cuimine to his vacant chair. The addition of an usual syllabic prefix, and of a post-syllabic metathesis, will cause that nametoaccordwiththepresentsaint's; whilethetime,placeanddignity, seem to be reconcilable with the supposition of a true identity. According to one account, Cuimine, Bishop of 5s^aendruim, departed this life, a. d. 655. "^ Other authorities place this event, at a. d. 658,"* but we cannot find the day
on which it occurred set down. ^5 His place is stated to have been Nendrum
inLochCuan,"^nowStrangfordLough. ^*? . ^ndruimorNoendrumisknown,
after the name of its religious founder and patron, as Inis-Mochaoi or Inis
Mahee. "^ Untiloflateyears,thesiteofthischurch,whichcanboastanan-
tiquity of more than thirteen centuries, was almost unknown and undescribed.
Happily by a competent investigator of ecclesiastical antiquities,'^ this subject was taken in hand,^° and it formed the basis of that fame, which has not yet
*' The festival of this saint, nor the age when he flourished, has not been determined. '' His festival occurs at the 12th of March, where notices regarding him will be found. Colgan, supposing him to be the author of a life of St. Columkille, ascribes the seventh
94. 95-
** See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 268, 269.
's Unless the O'Clerys' statement be ac- cepted, that his feast must be assigned to the 1st of July, to which day the reader is century as his period. This is most likely referred for further notices. See Drs. Todd's
the case. The death of his
Domangard, in 506, and of Muran a century
and Reeves' " of Martyrology
184, 185.
'"
Dubh, called also Dimmaingert, Bishop of
Connor, who died A. D. 658, was his brother.
See Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibemicarum
Scriptores," tomus iv. Annalcs Ultonienses.
was applied to it. See " A Natural History of Ireland," in three parts, by several hands. Part i. , chap, ii. , sect, iii. , p. 8.
*i "The lough is an irregular sheet of water, twenty miles long, and seven broad, communicating with the sea by an inlet, called the Bay of Strangford, about seven
''
defined. Dr. Reeves thinks, however, that
This saint's festival or age has not been
reputed brother,
Donegal," pp.
It would appear that in the beginning But, it seems quite as probable, that Dima of last century the name " Lough Cone"
later, cannot be chronologically reconciled.
either he of Achadh-chaii, or St. Caylan,
founderofNendrumchurch,maybeasso- mileslong,a—ndoneinbreadth. Itisdott—ed
ciated with the church or parish of Kilclicf,
in Irish Citl-cteice, county of Down. See
"Ecclesiastical
'' See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nijc," xii. Martii. Vita S. Muri, sive Mu- exquisite steel engravings from drawings by
and
Antiquities n.
Down, and
desert. "
Leitch Ritchie's
Dromore," pendix N, p. 217.
Ap-
gether
Picturesque and Romantic," vol. ii. , chap, p. 48. This charming work contains most
of
(f ), pp. 38, 39,
Connor
some inhabited by men, some by cattle, and
some —but the alto- by rabbits, greater part
"
rani, and the accompanying notes, p. 587. "° "
D. M'Clise, Esq. , A. R. A. , and T. Cres- wick, Esq.
and I )romore. " Appendix F, pp. 187 to 197. "'The Rev. Willi. im Reeves, M. B. , then
impropriate curate of Kilconriola, in the diocese of Connor.
3<' In a paper intituled, "A Description ot
See Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Irish MSS. . , pp. 84, 85.
^'
'* Mahee Island. For a Anglicized
Academy,"
series,
vol.
i. , part
very full and historic account of this place, the reader is referred to Rev. William Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor
See his feast and notices of him at that date.
" At 641, according to the " Chronicon Scotorum," edited by W. M. Ilennessy, M. R. I. A. , pp. 88, 89.
^3 See the " Chronicon Scotorum," edited by William M. Hennessy, M. R. I. A. , pp.
to the number of
with islands fifty-four
Ireland,
January 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 583
culminated, and which must still gather accretion as it rolls along the stream ofTime. WhenIslandMaheehadbeenvisitedbytheRev. WilliamReeves,^' in the autumn of 1845, the country-people knew nothing regarding its history,
saving that they had an impression regarding its having been an ancient place, with an indistinct tradition that burials took place there centuries ago. 3' A causeway now unites Mahee Island^- with Reagh Islands-* and the western shore of Strangford Lough. 35 The western portion of Island Mahee slopes gently from the water to an elevation of 66 feet, and there it is surmounted by a small ivy-mantled ruin. Approaching this object, the way leads through
in what to be the remnant of a — circular enclosure. As- gap, appears large
the foundation Within this, at an interval of about 50 yards, a third ring encloses a space, nearly level, and about 70 yards in diameter. At a distance of 25 feet from the inner circumference, on the west, stands
a
—econd cending thence, a s nearly
concentric
ring apparently
of a wall or terrace is crossed.
Mahee Island, Co. Down.
that Httle ruin, possessing the main characteristics of a dilapidated round tower. 3^ The materials of which it is constructed are undressed stones, yet
Nendram, commonly called Mahee Island, embracing its rrescnt Condition and Past
History," pp. 23 to 39. This is to be found
in the first fasciculus of "
read before the Down and Connor and Dro- more Church Architecture Society, during the year 1844. "
3' His paper was read on the 5th of Xoveni-
ber,1845. Anelegantlithographedillustra- tion of ancient remains on the island, with a view of the more distant scenes, is added ; while two well-designetl and accurate ma]ys serve to exhibit the aciual position and out-
lines of this scenic and historically inleresthig spot.
published
Paper. ,
roods and 8
3
'•• See ibid. ,
28.
33 Containing 176 acres 3 roods and 38
p.
'• acres Containing 304
perches.
perches.
» See a descriptive account in Rev. G.
Hansbrow's "Improved Topographical and Historical Hibernian Gazetteer," &c. , pp.
314, 315-
3° I he accompanying illustration is from
a sketch taken by the writer, who visited this interesting spot with the Rev. James
O'Laverty, M. R. I. A. , and P. P. of Holly- wood, in May, 1874. It has been drawn on the wood by William F. Wakeman, and en-
.
^
584 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 31.
so well disposed as to present an even surface on the inside, and so firmly
compacted by groutings, that though the outer wall table has been picked away, the inner has maintained its surface unimpaired. When at its highest elevation, the view from the top of this building must have been very exten- sive and superb ; for a very moderate addition to the natural altitude of its ground site should afford a prospect over the entire length of beautiful Lough Strangford. Thetopmostpartofthisruin,37isonlyaboutninefeetinheight, and the walls are covered with ivy. On the south-west side, there is a fissure, wide enough to admit a man ; it extends to the ground, and it was probably caused by an entrance having been there in the original plan. At a distance of 43 feet to the south-east, an oblong space was observable, 3^ and defined by something like a ridge in the grass. Here and there small portions of a wall andmortarprojectedthroughthesod. Fromitsproportionsanditsbearings to the east, this space resembled the enclosure of a place for Christian wor- ship. It was found to reveal the angles of a quadrilateral building,39 and partsofitssidestothedepthoftwofeetwereexposed. Thisbuildingstood E. N. E. , and such a deflection from the exact east is not uncommon in ancient churches. ''^ At present circling about the stunted round tower,^^ the ancient mounds are clearly traceable, and the intervals between them are often fur- rowed and uneven, while the church ruins are not clearly distinguishable, since long grass and brambles have covered the ground. -^^ These are the only noticeable features of what might be recognised as a long departed nursery of piety and learning. Even the round tower is sadly shorn of its more re- markable and lofty proportions. An English writer has stated, that in no country of Europe, save in Scotland, are to be found specimens like to the Irish round towers,43 and that there, similar models had been built by the
graved by George A. Hanlon, Dublin. It was sketched from a point of view, different from that shown in the lithograph which accompanies the Rev. William Reeves'
Cecila Metella, and which has been descr—ibed
paper. Such as an baffled
3' The diameter inside is 6 feet 6 inches.
The basement course on the exterior
a few inches. Its circumference is 44 feet 6 inches, or nearly 15 feet in diameter.
3^ This was sought for and discovered by the Rev. William Reeves, on the occasion of his visit.
inches ; length in clear, 52 feet 4 inches breadth in clear 15 feet 8 inches.
