No More Learning

'5 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
'7 See pp. 458, 459, of the index to the
" of Martyrology Donegal. "
'* The compiler of the Martyrology adds,
"
particulars
Taylor's
twenty-five
Letters Containing In-
bearing
do not find the appendix postfixed, in the
place indicated in his "Acta Sanctorum
Hibernise. " See at xviii. Januarii, n. i,
pp. 114, 115.
" By Rev. Dr. Kelly, see p. xii.
Father John Colgan.
5 See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xviii.
Januarii. Vita S. Nennidhii seu Nennii, Ab. et Ep. , pp. Ill to 115.
•°
Their surnames, which were applied to distinguish the present holy man from St. Nennidh, Lamh-ghlan, or "the Clean hand," who was a priest and chaplain to the great St. Brigid, of Kildare, have caused
of Sir Ware's James
20, 21. '* See
to hold erroneous and impressions,
Colgan
he has in a great measure, however uncon- sciously, contributed to the misleading of other writers, such as Harris, in his edition
He quotes, likewise, the Life of St. Brigid, cap. 41.
vol. "Writers of Ireland," book i. , chap, iii. ,
'' " xviii. See ActaSanctorumHibernise,"
works,
p. 13; Bishop Challoner, in his "Bri- pp. Ill to 113.
ii. ,
Monennidh,
Colgan's
nise," xviii. Januarii, n. 22, p. 115.
' ' to my own knowledge.
Januarii. Vita S. Nennidhii seu Nennii,
Lives
January i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 321
supposition, that the Bishop and Abbot of Inismacsaint, sometimes de-
nominated Laobh-dearc, was the same as Ninnidh, the priest/" who acted
as chaplain to the holy St. Brigid,^' first Abbess of Kildare,^^ and who is
sometimes called Xinnidh Lamhghlan, and sometimes Xinnidh Laoim-
hiodan. ^3 Under the head of Inis-]Muighe-Samh,^'^ Duald Mac Firbis
enters Xinnidh, bishop, at January i8th. This holy man would seem to
have been the son of Ethach,^5 and he was distinguished likewise by
the denomination of Laobh-dhearc. "^^ It is incorrect to state, that he
flourished so early as the fifth century, when possibly he was not then born.
He came into the world, it seems likely, either towards its close, or early
in the sixth century, for he is reputed as having been a disciple to St. Finian, of Clonard. ^7 He was contemporaneous therefore with the great St.
Columkille,^^ and he may have preceded by a little time, at the school of Clonard, St. Kieran of Clonmacnoise. -? Indeed it appears not improbable that both may have studied together under St. Finian. 3° The present St. Nennidh was a descendant of King Leogaire,^^ having been his great grand- son by the fathers side. This Colgan collects from old genealogical tables. Soon after this saint left St. Finian's religious estabHshment, he seems to have selected the Island of Inis-muighe-Samh, in Lough Erne, for the foundation of a monastery, with the governnaent of which he was charged. Here, at an early period of the sixth century, he was joined by St. Kieran of Clonmac- noise. 3^ It is not improbable, St. X'ennidh invited him to spend some time there, and to assist in managing that institution. Afterwards St. Kieran left this place, and went to live with St. Endeus,33 on the island of Arran. The holy founder of Inis-muighe-Samh34 was highly respected, and he is reckoned among the chief founders of our great Irish monasteries. That his religious establishment was in the island already mentioned is generally admitted. In an old Irish distich,35 he is called a doctor : and he is even distinguished as havmg been a bishop. 3^ The Abbot X'^ennidhius, having governed for some time his monastery in the island, was probably raised to the episcopal dignity,
tory 451.
463, by I'Abbe Ma-Geoghegan. He was killed by
°'
His feast i-eems referable rather to the
'^ See his Life at the 9th of September.
3: St. Kieran is generally said to have
been born about a. d. 507. We must allow
many subsequent years, before he began a course of studies,
2nd of April, at which day his hfe may be
found.
''
See her Life at the ist of Februar}-. '^ "
454-
"•• See
His- I'lrlande, moderne,"
See Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesiastical Ilis-
of
Ireland,"
vol.
-'i Jiis death is at A. o. placed
i. , chap, ix. , § v. , p. ^3 See ibid. , nn. 79, 80, 81, pp. 453,
lightning, at Greallach-Dabhuill, near the
"
of the Academy," Irish MSS. series, vol. i. ,
Irish part
Proceedings
Eoyal
i. , pp. 114, 115.
'5 So his father is named in an Irish dis-
tome i. , partie ii. , chap. ii. , p. 263.
3= Ussher states, tliat >. 'innid was then dwelling, about the year 530, in a certain
tich, cited by Colgan. The latter also
names him Eochad or Euthicius, the son of
Aid, son to Laogaire. The name bears a
variety of inflections, in the Irish language.
The district and family of Huibh-Eathach,
corruptly denominated, Ibhechia, "race of
Euthic," is derived from a similar name, I'lrlande," tome i. , partie ii. , chap, ii. , p. but not from our saint's father. The name
Eochaidh or Eachuidh has been Latinized
Euchadius, Eochaduis, Euchidius, Euthy- chius ; sometimes it is found written Euthy-
chis, Equitius, Echo and Echu.
-* Sometimes written Lamh
^^ See his Life at the 12th of December. '^ See his Life a—t the of
9th June. Vol. I. No. 6.
" An an
tsaoi, teaspac,
an ri Ninnidh mhac y
dhearg.
Liffey, in the plain of Kildare. See
toire d6 ancienne et
"
"
wood of Lough Erne. See Britanni-
carum Ecclesiarum Anliquitates. " Index
Chronologicus, p. 52S.
'' See his Life at the 21st of March.
>'• \X. was " fonde par S. Nennidius. "
"
January, and taken from Marianus O'Gor- man, or his Connncntator, at the l6th of this same month.
3^ it is thus — with a Latin transla- given,
See I'Abbe Ma-Geoghegan's
Histoire de
2S9.
33 Quoted by Colgan, at the 18th of
tion by Colgan
:
322 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January i8.
and entrusted with the care of that district, lying along the southern bank of Lough Erne, and thence extending towards the west. It does not appear, that he could have been a bishop so early as 522. This is a mistake, and it is founded on the supposition of Colgan,37 that this holy man was the same as Nennidhius Lamh-glan, who was the contemporary of St. Brigid. There are some amongst our calendarists who place his episcopal residence at Domnach-mor in Magh-ene. s^ This was a plain south of the River Erne, andstretchingbetweenthelakeandthebayofDonegal. Theredoesnot appear to have been a monastery at this spot, although Archdall lias made such a statement, 39 St. Nennid is said to have been living in the island of Inismacsaint, about the year 529 or 530. '«° Incorrectly has Archdall as- signed his death to 523,4^ or 530. '*^ The exact date of his death has not been ascertained ,'>^ but, most probably, it occurred about or after the middle of the sixth century. This holy abbot's bell was preserved long after his decease, as a precious relic. It was ornamented with gold and silver, serving to show the advanced state of the metallic arts in Ireland, at a very early period. 44 It was often judicially tendered to the people, the better to con- firm the trustworthiness of their sworn evidence, and by them it was held in great veneration. 4s In process of time, the ancient abbey was converted into a parish church. With a large district attached, it was regarded as a rectory and vicarage in the diocese of Clogher. -K^ Soon afterwards the old ruins and cemetery must have lapsed into a state of nearly total decay. The stone cross on Inismacsaint is of a form rarely met with in Ireland. 47 The arms are not connected with the shaft by a circle ; neither is there any trace of panelling or scroll work. It was possibly erected at a time when the church was restored ; but it may be old as the days of St. Nennidh. *^ To the west and north of the church extend mounds of earth, which indicate the forms and positions of ancient community dwellings. There was a rampart of mixed earth and stones, and this probably formed a rath or Cashel. 49 Upon the highest part of this island, there is a mound having all the appearance of a
«<
The fact is that the year of his death huibh dho dua Eachach mhaith mhic is unknown ; but it must have been long
ua Laogairii Teid neamh, gona mhanc *3
Aodha. " Id est.
•'Doctor et Antistes, rex, stirps Laogaria,
—, cum Monachis Nennius proles Ethach
astra petit. " See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xviii. Januarii, n. 19, p. 115.
after 530. In some calendars his festival is assigned to the x6th, in others to the i8th
3' See Index Chronologicus ad "Acta
SanctorumHibernise. " thissubjectbyRichardRoltBrash,M. R. I. A. ,
territory
is said to be unknown.
39 In his " Monasticon Hibemicum," p.
261, and n. (zz).
Historical and Archaeological Association
of Ireland. " Fourth Series, A. D. 1 87 1, vol.
i. , part ii. , pp. 509 to 534.
4s See Ward's "Vita S. Rumoldi," p.
1 60.
<« Archdall tells us, that the situation of
4° See Ussher's "Index Chronologicus. " ''"
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum p. 528.
Antiquitates,
of January. " Dr. Lanigan's
"
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, x. , §xi. ,
n. 173, pp. 55, 56.
^^ gee an admirable article referring to
are the ruins of on "The Preciou—s Metals and Ancient Min-
38 Within this
several churches, although Domhnach-Mor ing in Ireland. " "Journal of the Royal
4' For 523, there is no authority whatever,
except a conjecture of Colgan, that Lamh- reign of Queen Anne, it was removed to glan died in said year. But he was a Drumenagh, on the mainland and in the
different person altogether from the present saint.
43 As to 530, the foundation for this date
is still mere pitiful.
Colgan quoted Ussher as stating that Nennidhius was living in the island about 530. Archdall seems to have
understood Colgan's words, as if these meant, that he died in said year.
same parish. See "Monasticon Hibemi- cum," pp. 262, 263.
*^ There is an interesting wood-engraving of this cross, in Mr. Wakeman's work already
quoted. See ibid. , p. 79.
48 guch is the opinion of Mr. Wakeman. 49 This enclosed church, cross and do-
mestic buildings.
the church being highly inconvenient, in the
January i8. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 323
sepulchre, belonging to the Tuatha de Danann era. 5° Few traces of the ancient monastic establishment remain : all now is a scene of ruin and desola- tion:—
"The sacred tapers' lights are gone, Grey moss hath clad the altar-stone, The holy image is o'er-thrown,
The bell has ceased to toll.
The long-ribbed aisles are burnt and shrunk, The holy shrines to ruin sunk,
Departed is the pious monk,
God's blessing on his soul. "S'
Article III. —Saints Scoth, Feammor, Blath and Ana, Four Virgins of Cluain-Greanach. While unable to identify the place where these virgins Hved, it seems equally difficult to determine their period. It is
notlikely,however,thatallwerecontemporaries. InreadingtheMartyrology of Donegal,' we find mentioned, as having festivals celebrated on this day,
Scoth,= Feammor, Blath, and Ana, four virgins of Cluain-greanach. In the table this place is printed Cluain-grencha. An entry of these saints is found in the Martyrology of Tallagh,3 at the i8th of January ; but the two foremost ones, Scoth and Femmair, are united in- one passage, without mention of any locality, while after the entry of two other saints, the names of Blath and Ana of Cluain Grenaich follow. However separated during life's days or by residence they may have been, in heaven they are united, and their charity for sojourners yet on earth is exerted in joint intercession on this their common festival.
Article IV. —St. Coppa or Cobba, Virgin, Daughter of Baedan.
\Possibly in the Fifth Century. ] The silence of history has obscured many a career,whichifbetterknownmustcommandtherespectofthegood. A
festival in honour of Cobba, daughter toBaetan, is recorded in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the i8th of January. Nor do we find further notices of her inthelatercalendars. Coppa,virgin,andadaughterofBaedan,isentered intheMartyrologyofDonegal,^onthisdayofthemonth. Intheactsof
it is said he left a
the mother of
—at the Bishop Bite,
holy
Article V. —St. Mochua. In the Martyrology of Donegal,* Mochua is simply recorded, as being venerated on this day. Chua was probably the
St.
Patrick,
Cipia,3
churchofElphin. '* Colganseemstodoubtwhe
woman whom
—therthis
he classed among those veiled by St. Patrick was not identical with the present St. Coppa or Cobba. s
s° See tdtd. , pp. 79, 80.
S' Rediriva. Quoted by O'Shea in his "Guide to Spain. "
Art. III. —'Edited by Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp. 20, 21.
'In the table superadded to this work,
her name has affixed the Latin appellation J'lora, as the Irish word ScotA means a Aower. SeeI'^ii/. , pp. 472,473.
Art. IV. —' Edited by the Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii. In the Franciscan copy we
findCobbA, i. e. becAiri.
' Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
20, 21.
3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturg:a. "
Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. xxxix. , pp. 134, 135.
* The parish of Elphin, with its various
townland denominations, is represented in thebaronyandcountyofRoscommon. See "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Roscommon," Sheets 22, 23.
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii. In
the Franciscan copy we find these four
names separated, thus in one line we read
Scoch /Jjuf pe"i»^<5'it^i and apart we Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. have bLAch Aguf AriA id. . . . jyveriAich.
s See " Trias Thaumaturga,"n. 78, p. 176,
xxiii. , p. 270.
Art. v. —' Edited by Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp, 20, 21.
324
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January i8.
Confession. In Father Henry Fitzsimon's
while
addicting
d. u. X, kl.
**
:
The magnification of Peter the Apostle
most — saying noble,
"mo"
been
1 8th of January. Nothing more seems on record regarding his family or the place where he was venerated.
Article VI. —St. Rottan. \Possibly in the Fifth Century,] The Lord is our advocate and he asks for us, are words used by holy St. Patrick in his
"
Catalogus aliquorum Sanctorum Hiberniae,"Rodanus,abishop,isfoundclassed. ^ WereadintheMartyrologies of Tallagh^ and of Donegal3 that Rottan had a festival on this day. Who he was has not clearly transpired. There is a Rodan,4 said to have been St. Patrick's shepherd or herdsman, who was afterwards consecrated bishop. s He led a very holy life, while tending his herds in the fields. His occupa- tion lefi; him time for prayers and retirement. His herds grazed quietly too
Article VII. —Feast of St. Peter's Chair at Rome, and Feast of THE Death of the Blessed Virgin Mary, observed in the Ancient Irish Church. In the Leabhar Breac version of St. —the
following festivals are noted, in connexion with our early Irish Church o. «. X. ki. tnoixATo pecAi|\ ApfCAlL
ofhis
endearment. Mochua is mentioned in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ at the
original
name,
the
epithet
having
prefixed,
as a term of
he was — for a
study, preparing higher pastoral
himself to
charge. —There is a noticed saint of the name and he does not appear to be identical who is alluded to in St. Patrick's Tripartite Life, as a presbyter, left at the church of Sencheall Dumhaige, in the territory of Hua-Nolella. * The last-named of these holy men is said to have been a noble. The region in which his church was placed is better known under the designation of Tir-oilill, situated in the county of Sligo. 7 This was so called from a Prince Oilill,^ and it is the district now represented by the barony of Tirerrill. 9
:
The foregoing Irish stanza, whic—h he supplied, has thus been rendered into
English, by Professor O'Looney
01XU La|' in ticVi If UAH\liu X)A]' ino]\ tnAc1iAi\ IfU.
1|VUAim ^A"0 11"
In
The death of the Mother of Jesus.
itisa
With the still nobler solemnity
Rome,
From the foregoing it is manifest, that the Irish Church of the eighth century had observed that festival, which commemorates the foundation of
' Edited by the Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii. In the Franciscan copy, his commemoration is united with that of the succeeding saint, thus, mochuA •Aguf tlocAti.
Art. VI. —'SeeO'SullevanBeare's"His- torise Catholicae Ibemiae Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xii. , p. 56.
"Edited by the Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
20, 21.
O'Sullevan mentions him, lib. viii. , cap.
viii. Colgan remarks that, according to the Martyrology of Tallagh, his feast was cele- brated on this day; alihoagh, according to
Marianus O'Gorman—and more truly—it must be assigned to the 24th of August.
5 See Colgan's
"
Trias Thaumaturga,"
Angus' Felire,
Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. cxlii. , and n.
150, pp. 96, 115.
"*
See j/J/</. , Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, 11, cap. xli. , xliii. , and nn. 80, 83, pp. 135, 176.
' See Dr. O'Donovan's " Leabhar nag- Ceart, or Book of Rights," p. 185, n.
^
See O'Flaherty's "Ogygia," pars, iii. , cap. Ixxix. , p. 374.
'See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (n), p. 32.
January i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 325
the Chair of St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles, at Rome. In the riiost ancient of martyrologies, now known to exist,' and attributed to St. Jerome, the feast of St. Peter's Chair is entered. From this, too, our early ecclesiastics noted remarkable festivals, besides those peculiar to their own country. Besides such a festival, the Death, Deposition, or Dormition of the Blessed Virgin Mary, was kept on this day,^ as distinguished from the feast of the Assumption,3 on the 15th day of August. '^ Some of the Fathers reverenced her memory to that degree, they denied she died at all,5 and asserted she was transferred to eternal life, God thus crowning His other favours to her, by exempting her from the common lot of humanity. But this opinion is generally deemed wholly inadmissible ; for it can hardly be supposed, she obtained a privilege, denied to her Divine Son. ^ It is universally admitted by all Catholic divines, and believed by the faithful at large, that after the Holy Virgin's death, her immaculate soul was immediately transferred to bliss eternal.