"—"Acta
Sanctorum
Hi-
bemiae," xi.
bemiae," xi.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
, 62.
lation.
Gary's
Trans-
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 299
Clonenagh, the holy disciple felt called, by Heaven, to a state of higher per- fection. Some six or seven miles trom Clonenagh, and at a place, since called after hun Dysartenos,^* it is stated, that ^ngus had built a cell3s for himself. Thither he frequently retired, to put in practice, unknown and un- noticed, those rigorous observances which he followed. However, it may not be improbable, that the place of his first retreat was much nearer to Clonenagh, and that it was not tar from the River Nore. The anonymous Scholiast, already mentioned, calls it Disert Unguis ; and, the other ^ngus, who wrote our saint's eulogy, writes it down as Disert-Bethech. 36 He Uke- wise indicates, that it lay very near to Clonenagh ; and, indeed, the present townland of Dysartbeytagh, or Dysartbeagh,37 on which the town of Mount- rath stands, must furnish this site, now apparently lost. Colgan, in a very
shrewd conjecture, supposed it was not distinct from Clonenagh 38
; ygt,
it was separated by the distance of a mile, or perhaps two miles, and he allows, that St. yEngus died perchance, and had been buried, at Disert Be-
' thech. our Annals39 Again,
that another Desertum
differed trom Cluain-edhneach, and, even from Disert Bethech, or from
Dysart-Enos, in the Queen's County.
The locality of this holy coenobite's cell hence derived its name, Dysart-
enos, or the desert of ^ngus, which it yet retains, supposing we are correct in assigning the habitation there, to the present, and not to a different, St.
. ^ngus. Abrokenrangeoflimestonehills,ofromanticandruggedoutline, probably suggested to him the idea of its suitableness as a place for seclusion and retreat. At this day, the scenes of his retirement present an aspect of solitude and grandeur, the effect of which must have been considerably
heightened in that early age. '*" At present, on a slope of those hills, the old graveyard of Dysart, thickly studded over with headstones, tombs, and graves, may be seen there ; and, even yet, it is much resorted to tor the interment of
enos lay within the townland of Dysart, barony of Maryborough West. The parish
Castletown, yet on the north bank of the Nore.
37 This townland, in the united parishes of Clonenagh and Clonagheen, barony of Mary- borough West, is shown, on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the Queen's Couniy," Sheets 16, 17.
is shown, on the
"
Ordnance Survey 'I'own-
land Maps for the Queen's County," Sheets 13, 14, 18, 19. The townland is on Sheets
13, 18.
35 That he built a cell for himself at Dy-
sart Euos may be inferred, not only from the ""
expression of Colgan, coluit eremum," but also from a statement that he recited the
first fifty psalms "in oratorio," and the
second " sub diu arbo- fiity, juxia proceram
rem oratorio ad|accntem. " See "Acta
Sanctorum Hibernise," xi. Martii. De S.
^ngussio Hagiographo Episcopo et Con- fessore, cap. iii. , p. 579.
3* The site of this old church is
known, with any degree of accuracy, at present; although the student and topo- grapher may see it marked, on Sir William Petty's Map of the district. The writer has been shown a spot, near the Brigitine Con- vent, at Mountraih, where tradition has it, that a church formerly stood ; but, he is in- clined to believe, that Disert-Bethech lay still nearer to the River Nore, as the Map seems to indicate. However, from the most careiul enquiries prosecuted among the people there, every trace of its existence appears to be lost. To the writer's concep- tion, its site was quite near the present
certainly show,
^ngussii
hardly
^s ^Hmjing jq ^^g Scholiast's statement, as Colgan adds, vel forte ab ipso non esse diversum, in quatenus ait in S. ^ngussium esse in jam memorato deserto (et non addit
non m et educatum quod Cluain-edhneach),
et sepultum. "
39 Tiiese record, that Conn, son of Mael-
padraig, Archinnech ot Disert-Oenghusa and of Mungauit, dietl A. D. 1033. See
" Acta Sanctorum
Colgan's fiibemiae," xi.
Martii, n. 6, p. 582 ; and O . bonovan's
"
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. ii. , pp. 820, 627. In a note (y) ibid. , I am certain, Dr. ODonovan fell into an error, by iden-
titying ihe latter Disert- Aengusa, with Dy- sart-Eno,>, in the Queen's Couniy. I feel
satisfied, the Disert-Aengussa and Mungai- rit, already named, were both situated with- in the present county of Limerick. The former lay near Ballingarry, and the latter near Limerick city.
''° Near the Dysart Hills lies a beautiful demesne, called Lamberton Park. Here, during the Wizard of the North's tour
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii. deceased Catholics. No doubt, the very old parish church occupied this
" seven
churches " are clearly visible under favouring circumstances. In what part of
Dysartenos parish the cell of ^Engus, or monastery, if such, was situated, the
300
site. From or near this elevated position, the ruins of Clonenagh's antiquary is not likely to discover. Many remains of curious old monuments,
'rri*Pr<'^^J{
Dysart church and Graveyard, Queen's County.
however, are yet standing in the immediate neighbourhood. If I might be allowed to offer a conjecture, St. ^ngus possibly selected for his cell the site, on which the former Protestant Church of Dysart, erected during the last century,maynowbeseen,asacomparativelymodernruin. -*^ Unroofedand desolate, yet surrounded by a serviceable cemetery wall, the tourist can pene- trate to its interior j^z and, there, he will find the projecting foundations of a former and of a smaller building, which was probably of a very ancient type. An extensive tract of morass and bog now intervenes, between the ruins of Clon- enagh's old monastery and Dysartenos. This moorland must formerly have rendered access, between both places, a matter of some difficulty. In this favourite retreat, we are told by his biographers, . ^ngus was in the habit of
through Ireland, in 1825, he was hospitably- entertained, by a former proprietor, the Right Hon. Judge Moore, as may be seen,
"
by consulting Lockhart's Life of Sir
Walter Scott," chap. Ixiii. What Lockhart
forgets to state, however, is yet traditionally remembered in this neighbourhood. Sir Walter is said to have expressed himself, as being highly gratified, by the scenic beauty of all this surrounding locality ; and, it must be allowed, few persons had truer percep- tions of taste and judgment, in reference to an opinion or a thought about such matters.
"
Queen's County," in 1801, he describes Dy-
^' Not many years back, and within the writer's memory, the few Protestant parish- ioners here were accustomed to hold their meetings within it.
When Sir Charles
Coote wrote his
Statistical Survey of the
"
hills of the same name, with a square tower
or steeple, which has a very picturesque ap- pearance. " Chap, ix. , sect, iv. , p. 117.
*^ In his boyhood years, often had the
writer, quite unaware of Dysart's historical interest, visited the spot, and on more than one occasion attended at funerals there. During his last visit, in July, 1873, he took the accompanying sketch, transferred to the wood, and engraved by Gregor Grey, Dublin. The Devil's Bit Mountain, Tippe- rary, looms in the distance. It formerly went by the name of Barnane Ely.
sart church, as standing
on one of the lofty
March II. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 301
making three hundred genuflections, each day, and of reciting the entire Psalter. This latter office he divided into three separate portions : the first was said within the cell ; the second under a spreading tree of large growth, that cast its branches over his rude habitation ; and the third he repeated, whilst tied by the neck to a stake, with half of his body plunged in a tub of cold water. Besides these extraordinary practices, he was continually em- ployed in singing the praises of God, and in acquiring such an ascendency over his passions, that to all, save himself, ^ngus seemed to be an angel, concealed in human form. Another and a learned authority has stated, that after leaving Clonenagh, St. ^ngus travelled into Munster, and that he founded the church of Disert Aengusa, at a place situated near Ballingarry,'t3 in the present county of Limerick. 44 We are told, also, that the primitive belfry, or round tower of this church, yet remains. There are good reasons for believing, however, that the latter church must have had its name, from
man is known to have settled, not far from Clonenagh in fact, so very near, that the localities Clonenagh and Dysartenos have been confounded, by ancient scholiastsonhisworks. ^s Othercircumstances,relatingtohisActsandinci- dents of his Life, probably serve to confirm our conclusions, that he lived, for some short time, at least, in Dysartenos, a parish so denominated, near the celebrated Rock and Castle of Dunamase,-*^ and a few miles from the
county town of Maryborough. ^?
The fame of his sanctity diffused itself, to most distant parts of the
country. Numbers flocked towards his retreat, to enjoy the pious conversa- tion and exhortations of this holy anchorite, and to derive from his example and instructions those lessons of virtue, which he could so well inculcate.
Fearing the suggestions of vain-glory, and finding it a matter of utter impossi- bihty to enjoy, in his present abode, that perfect seclusion desired, in the practice of his austerities and devotions, . ^ngus took the resolution of departing in a secret manner, towards some other place of retirement.
Before his departure, however, and on the route to his selected retreat, it was his intention to visit the church of Coolbanagher,'*^ for the purpose of
"•3 There are two
name in Limerick County. One is situated, in the barony of Upper Connello, and it is
some other saint, or person, named . ^ngus
—the
; for, present holy
defined on the
"
this
Ordnance Survey Town-
we take it for may
parishes, bearing
pp. 316, 317. Hence,
granted, this writer had a good local know-
ledge respecting Clonenagh and DysartEnos. But, because he did not advert to the pos- sible identity of the later denomination with Desart ^ngus, he thought this place where St. . ^ngus resided could not then be identified.
^^ Here stand the ruined walls of the fortress of the O'Moores, formerly Chiefs of Leix. A more particular account of the place will be found, in the " Legend Lays of Ireland," by Lageniensis, No. x. A
land Maps for the County of Limerick," Sheets 29, 30, 37, 38. The other is in the
barony of Coshlea, and it is shown, on Sheets 48, 49, 57, ibid.
'•'* See Professor
Eugene O'Curry's
" Lee-
great
tures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient
Irish Histor}'," lect. xvii. , p. 364.
^s " AH the country about Cliiainenach for
many miles, was, in the memory of men yet
living, a great forest. * * * * Besert Legend of Dunamase, pp. 65 to Tl. A
^ngus (though the name be now lost) was
"
sketch of the Barbican of Dunamase, by
Samuel a historical Lover, R. H. A. , and
article accompanying, by John D'Alton, will be found in " The Irish Penny Maga-
zine," vol. i. . No. 3, pp. 17, 18. This place lies within the parish of Dysertenos, and it is shown on the "Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the Queen's County," Sheet 13.
'^ In the parish of Burris, and barony of Maryborough East, is found, ibid.
'^ This place is connected, it is thought, with a St. Lugach or Lughaidh, whose
some part of this great wood. "—
Harris' Writers of Ireland," book i. , pp. 51, 52, note D. Harris lived in the earlier part of the last century, when his principal works were published. He inti- mates, likewise, that the place of his birth was at or near Brittas, where his father, Captain Lieutenant Hopton Harris of the Militia, took part in an engagement, during the Jacobite and Williamite wars in 1691.
Ware, vol. iii. ,
"
and Reign of William the Third," book ix. ,
See Walter Harris'
History of the Life
302 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
offering up prayers to that God, whom he so faithfully served. Whilst engagedinthisexercise,avisionofangelsappearedtohim. Theseblessed spiritsseemedtosurroundaparticulartomb. Celestialsongswereheardby him, at the same time, the ravishing harmony of which gave him a foretaste of canticles, entoned by the beatified in heaven. He noted the tomb thus distinguished, and immediately directed his steps to a priest, serving the church, ^ngus made enquiries, regarding the name and character of the
deceased. He soon learned, that the occupant of the tomb in question had been in early life a warrior,'>9 who retired from the profession of arms, and who had devoted himself to a life of penance. This soldier of Christ had closed a long life of holy and spiritual warfare, a few days before such event, . ^ngus was still more desirous to learn the practices, devotions, and peniten- tial exercises ol that soldier. His curiosity being gratified, he was unable to discover anything very unusual, in these his religious observances, with the exception of a practice, followed each morning and night, which was that of invoking the prayers of all saints, whose names occurred to his memory. From this relation, given by the priest, the idea of composing a metrical hymn, in honour of all the saints, took possession of the mind of ^ngus. 5° This hymn, only as yet a mental conception, he intended to repeat to his death, although his sincere humility deterred him from the immediate prose- cutionofhismeditatedproject, ^ngus,wearetold,judgedhimselfunfitted for such a task, and he also feared, that the praises of the saints might be commemorated, in a manner, hardly suited to the dignity and im]:)ortance of his subject.
CHAPTER II.
ST. y^NGUS PROCEEDS TO THE MONASTERY OF TALLAGH—HE SEEKS ADMISSION THERE IN GUISE OF A SERVANT MANUAL LABOUR AT AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS HIS HUMILITY AND MORTIFICATIONS—AN ACCIDENT WHICH BEFEL HIM, AND HIS MIRACULOUS CURE—THE INCIDENT WHICH FIRST DISCOVERED ST. ^NGUS TO THE HOLY ABBOT ST. MELRUAN—FRIENDSHIP THENCEFORTH EXISTING BETWEEN THEM —ST. iENGUS WAS PROBABLY ORDAINED PRIEST AT TALLAGH.
At this time, St. Molruan' presided over a great monastery, on Tallagh Hill, in the present county of Dublin. Towards that religious house, our saint
festival occurs, at the 6th of October, where a fuller description may be lound. This parish, in the barony of Portnahinch, is de-
of the saints should doubtless have a high reward, when so much has been vouchsafed
fined on the
"
Ordnance Survey Townland
Aengus then commenced his poem on the
spot. He subsequently continued it gradu-
ally, and finished it as we have already
seen. " Lect. xvii. , p, 365.
^° To this incident, allusion has been
made, by Thomas D'Ai-cy M'Gee', in that beautiful dirge, composed on the lamented death of his friend, Proiessor Eugene O'Curry, and which is included —in the
Maps tor the Queen's County," Sheets 4, 8, 9, 13, 14. The townland proper is on Sheets 8, 13, ibid.
^9 Instead of the buried person being
called a "soldier," according to an account, found in Professor O Curry's "Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish
" History," he is said to have been a poor
What good did he do ? said Aengus. I saw no particular good by him,' said the priest, 'but that his customary practice was to recount and invoke the saints ot the world, as far as he could remember them, at his going to bed and getting up, in accord- ance with the custom of the old devotees. '
!
"
" Let those who love and lose him most, Lr their great sorrow comfort tind,
Remembering how heaven's mighty host Were ever present to his mind ;
Descending on his grave at even, — May they a radiant phalanx see
given
old man, who formerly lived at the place. '''
American edition ot his "Poems :
'Ah '
'hewho would make a poetical composition in praise
was In vision to the rapt Culdee. "
my God, said Aengus,
Such wondrous sight as once
••
to the efforts of this holy devotee !
'
And
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 303
proceeded. He appeared at the monastery gate, and he begged admission, among the members of its religious frarernity, in quaHty of lay brother, according to Colgan^ and Harris ;3 although Dr. Lanigan tells us. that such a title was unknown in religious houses before the eleventh century. * Stu- diously concealing both his name, and that of the monastery, in which he had hitherto lived, -(fengus was well aware, that his fame had already extended to the institute of Tallagh, which was then in its infancy. Wherefore, he as- sumed a habit, calculated most effectually to disguise his real condition. He concealed the fact of his enrolment in the ecclesiastical order, and he
appeared as a serving man, seeking for employment. This holy servant of Christ was permitted to prove his vocation for a religious life, by engaging in the most laborious and meanest offices, connected with the monastery.
These duties, however, he cheerfully executed, and he devoted unremittmg attention to their most careful performance. He was principally employed
at field labour, and in the farm-yard, belonging to the monastery ; for, we are told, that with the sweat of his brow, he was found as a reaper of corn during the harvest, that he bore the sheaves on his back to the barn, that he afterwards threshed out the grain, and winnowed chaff therefrom, placing what had been thus prepared m sacks. Like a beast of burden, he carried those sacks on his back, sometimes to the granary, and sometimes to the mill. This mill and a kiln, he had charge of by Melruan's orders. ^ During all these labours, this devout and humble brother found time to raise his heartandthoughtstowardsheaven. Thisarkofhiddenwisdomconsidered himself, as only fitted to discharge the mean offices, to which of choice he was subjected. These daily toils showed his complete self-abnegation, and his contempt for the opinion of worldlings. During his labours, this humble workman was scantily clothed. His countenance was often disguised, owing to the combined effects of sweat and dust, which covered his features.
But, he had neither the vanity not inclination to appear well looking, in the presence of nis brethren. Nor would he devote any time to the decoration of his person. He allowed the hair on his head to grow long, tangled and uncombed ; the chaffy dust and straws of the field and barn, he would not
evenremovefromhisclothes. Thus,^ngusputintopracticaloperationthe virtues of his monastic profession ; tor, it was only by these means, he could induce worldlings to believe, that he was the most abject and vile of all creatures, having more the appearance of a monster, than of a human being. An extraordinary love of mortification was united with ecstatic flames of •Divine love, in the soul of this great vessel of election ; and, hence, he
Chapter ii. —' See his Life, at the 7th of July.
'
tions, so as that one of them was perpetually debarred from any ecclesiastical promotion, and destined to toil in the fields and else- where as subordinate to the other, and, in
Colgan says, he applied for admission,
'* inter conversos.
"—"Acta Sanctorum Hi-
bemiae," xi. Martii. De S. yEnyussio Ha- fact, a—s servants of the clerical or higher
giographo, Episcopo et Confessore, cap. v. , p. 581.
class. " "Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land," vol. iii. ,chap. xx. , sect, x. , n. 95, pp. 247, 248.
3 Taking his account from Colgan, Harris ""
thathewas — theAbbot states, received, by
Maelruan, as a lay brother. "
^
Professor Lec- See, Eugene O'Curry's
Harris'
vol. iL, "Writers of Ireland," book i. , p.
tures on the Materials of Ancient Manuscript
Irish History," Lect. xvii. , p. 365. The autiior of this learned work declares, that he saw the ruins of this mill and kiln, in their primitive dimensions, and that only a few years have passed by, since those venerable relics have yielded to " the improving hand
of modem progress. "
52.
"In older times some monks, it is true,
were raised more or less to the clerical ranks, and the number of such promotions appears to have increased with the course of ages ; but there was not as yet any radical distinction of classes in the religious instiiu-
*
See tAoiche pAnnuicheAchcA, edited
Ware,
304 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii. merited the title of Kele-De, which he obtained, and which may be rendered,
"
a lover of God. " With an humble spirit, in a mortified body, a light radi- ated the interior of his soul. Yet, this light was destined to escape from the close sanctuary, within which it had hitherto beamed.
Meantime, it may be well to relate, that the Almighty was pleased to re- ward the virtues of his servant, and by the testimony of a surprising miracle.
For, at one time, while this holy monk was engaged in a neighbouring wood, and when cutting down branches for the use of his monastery, it happened, that he held with the left hand a branch, which he wished to separate from the trunk of a tree, and the axe, grasped in his right hand, glanced from the object, against which it had been directed. This incautious stroke resulted inseveringthelefthandfromhisbody. Wearetold,theverybirds,inthe wood, by a sort of preternatural instinct, had formed an attachment towards St. ^ngus, on account of his innocent demeanour. Perhaps, the holy man had oft—en lightened his out-door labours, by chaunting the psalmody of the Church probablyadaptedtoversesofhisowncomposition. Thosefeathered warblers, the thrushes or blackbirds—so often celebrated in Ossianic song*^— had made the dells and brakes around Glenasmoil^ and Tallagh resound with dulcet melody, while spring and summer breezes loaded the air with agreeable perfume, from mountain herbs and shrubs. Their strains were often stilled, when more solemn and pathetic notes, from " a son of song," agreeably called forth the natural echoes, which resounded through wooded hill-sides and hollows, surrounding St. Melruan's monastery. Those songsters of the grove and thicket will rest with listening ear, and love to linger near any'
spot, where the humble field-labourer pours forth the unpremeditated lay, with a clear and modulated voice. If not disturbed, those woodland minstrels even desire human companionship and vocalism of a perfect character. We cannot doubt, the Christian's heart was naturally gentle and toned with refined feeling, while the poet's soul and senses were attuned to all the soft and sweet influences of wild scenery and its charming accessories. Sometimes, it is said, even ravens flap their wings with affright, when from a distance they scent human blood. A mysterious sympathy frequently unites irrational to rational creatures. At the moment his accident befel ^Engus, birds flocked around, and, by their screams and cries, seemed to bewail the pure and angelic man's misfortune. Full of confidence in the power and goodness of God, without hesitation, uiEngus took up the hand which had been lopped off, and at once set it, in its proper place, at the extremity of his mutilated arm. Instantly, it adhered, and recovered its former power, as if no accident whatever had befallen him. Hereupon ^ngus poured forth his soul, in praise and thanksgiving, to the great Preserver of all creatures. ^ Our popular traditions, especially referring to the saints, often savour of exaggeration. The Irish people have loved and admired purity and holiness, while they have implicit faith in t—he sovereign power of God towards and over his elect.
The
althoughheissaidtohavewroughtmany maybeclassedwithourLegenda Sanctorum. Probably, its rationale might accord better with the fact, that St. ^ngus had almost chopped the left hand from his arm, but that he had
miracle one of the few m—
foregoing saint,
Transactions of the Ossianic Society for the year 1856,"
by John O'Daly, n. i, p. 4,
grapho, Episcopo et Confessore, cap. vi. , p. 580.
9 Dr. Lanigan undertakes to explain the circumstance of this boy's proficiency in his lesson, owing to the help he derived from yEngus. See, " Ecclesiastical Histoiy of
Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xx. , sect, x. , p. 246. At note 97 he adds: "It is thus, I
vol. iv.
7 The ancient name of that romantically
beautiful valley, at the sources of the River Dodder.
**
See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nire," xi. Martii. De S. ^Engussio Hagio-^
"
iracles recorded about our
March II. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
305
immediately bandaged and united these members of his body, so nearly dissevered, and yet so fortunately preserved for future use. In the case of wounds, eminent surgeons allow, that very dangerous ones are often healed by prompt attention, and by a recuperative energy, found in the human body itself. If a piece of flesh be totally cut away, and soon after applied to tiie placewhencetaken,bothpartswillagainunite. Bythepopularrumour,the cure of St. ^ngus has been pronounced miraculous. However it had been effected, we cannot fail to recognise the Almighty's bounty, towards a favoured servant, who was destined to effect still greater good, and to acquire
additional merits, before his day of deliverance from earth had arrived.
St. ^ngus continued to exercise his usual austerities, and he remained unknown to the monks, and to the rest of mankind, for seven whole years. At length, an unusual occurrence betrayed the secret he seemed so anxious to conceal. Whilst ^ngus was at work one day in the monastery barn, a scholar, who had not thoroughly prepared his lesson, and who as a conse- quence was afraid to appear in school, applied for admission and conceal- ment, at least during that day. When ^Engus learned the cause of this boy's uneasiness, he spoke kindly and with cheering assurances : pressing the child
to his bosom, he contrived to lull the truant to sleep. After some time, this boy was awakened, and desired to repeat his lesson. 9 He proceeded in the task, repeated every word to the end, and this was done without hesitation or difficulty. The affectionate, kind, and patient teacher was probably exempli- fied,inthecaseof^iEngus; andhence,thechildmighthavebeenencouraged to greater mental exercise, by his instructions, and through the excellent method he took in communicating them, ^ngus exacted from this pupil a promise of silence regarding these circumstances, and recommended him
to' seek his teacher. The — on examination of his immediately latter, disciple,
found him very well prepared on this day an occurrence of rare result in the boy's course of training. His master, no less a personage than the
Abbot, St. Melruan, insisted on learning the cause of his forwardness, at this particular juncture. Awed by the abbot's authority and earnest manner, the boy revealed the circumstances of his case, as they had actually occurred.
By a sudden inspiration, a belief in the identity of this disguised monk, with the missing ^ngus of Dysartenos, rushed upon the mind of the superior over the Tallagh community. He ran immediately to the barn, and embraced -^ngus with most tender affection, lavishing on him reproaches, which love and admiration could alone dictate, ^ngus was blamed for those long-borne
and humiliating, though willing, services rendered to the community, and for that false humility, which deprived it of the learning and experience, possessed by so great a master of science and of the spiritual life, ^ngus fell on his knees, at the feet of Abbot Melruan, when he begged and obtained pardon for those faults, which merited loving reproaches. From that time forward, they became bosom friends, and unconscious rivals in that
'°
holy ambition, by which a true saint is ever prompted.
Although ^ngus is said to have become a professed monk in Clonenagh
Monastery," and to have concealed the fact of his enrolment in the ecclesias-
think, that the anecdote related in . Angus' Acts ought to be understood. The boy's
improvement is indeed stated as miraculous,
and as a of his supernatural consequence
nias," xi. Martii. De S. ^ngussio Hagiogra-
pho, Episcopo et Confessore, cap. vii. , viii. ,
" See Rev. Dr. ** Ecclesiastical Lanigan's
having slept for awhile on the bosom of History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xx. ,
^ngus. without
248.
" See
But, it can be well accounted for
sect, ix. , p. 245.
recurring
Colgan's
Ibid. , p.
Colgan saysof him, " Monachum professus in nobili mouasterio de Cluain-edhneach," and in the
to a miracle. "
" Actn Sanctorum Tliber-
" the first statement, Regarding
ix. , p. 580.
U
3o6
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
tical order, when he sought admission to Melruan's monastery at Tallagh/=' it is probable, our saint had only received clerical tonsure, or at most minor orders, when he first left Dysartenos. Were ^ngus advanced to the priest- hood, at this period of life, a necessity for celebrating the holy Sacrifice of Mass very frequendy,^3 with the performance of other peculiar sacerdotal
must soon have revealed his rank to Abbot Melruan, and to the members of his community. Even were those solitary or strictly private
to be celebrated in many ancient
allowed as a practice in our early religious houses, the secret of our saint's priestly ordination could not long be concealed. It is more difficult to com- prehend how, as a monk, he had not been questioned, on the subject of his having already received the pecuhar and noticeable ecclesiastical tonsure. However, there can hardly be any doubt, after Abbot Melruan discovered
the real name, virtues, and learning of his highly-gifted disciple, with his dis- positions for the office, ^ngus must soon have been raised to the sacerdotal
dignity. For want of more complete records, referring to our saint's bio- graphy, and not having seen many early or sufficiently authentic copies of his works, and with little serving for autobiography in his own writings, our present imperfect lights, regarding his private acts, occasionally require us to launch upon a sea of conjecture.
CHAPTER III.
functions,
Masses, formerly permitted
churches,^*
LITERARY PURSUITS OF ST. ^NGUS—THE MARTYROLOGY OF TALLAGH—HE ENGAGES ON THE FELIRE OR FESTILOGY—PRESENTS A COPY OF IT TO FOTHADIUS THE CANONIST —PROBABLE DATE, ORIGIN, AND OBJECT OF THE FEILIRE—TREATISE OF ST. ^NGUS,
—
"DE SANCTIS HIBERNI^"—THE " SALTAIR-NA-RANN " PEDIGREES OR CATA-
LOGUES OF IRISH SAINTS, AND POEMS, ATTRIBUTED TO HIS AUTHORSHIP.
The literary labours, in which St. ^Engus engaged, have given him very great celebrity through after times ; but, in all probability, he had not formed the most remote idea, regarding this merited renown, at the period when he
lived. His works are of exceeding value, not only as having been composed, in a comparatively remote age ; but, because the subjects on which they treat give them a historical value and importance, even of which ancient pieces can rarely boast. Fiction is too often blended with fact, in many such tracts,
and to the great prejudice of their authenticity. Numerous saints, that adorned the early Irish Church, are named in his writings, and records of
those holy personages are thus preserved, for the veneration of posterity. While his own name has been exalted by his various works, the country that
"
tans. " See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernias,"
xi. Martii. De S. ^ngussio Hagiographo, Episcopo et Confessore, cap. ii. , v. , pp. 579' 5^°-
ds See that very learned treatise of Cardi- nal Bona, " Rerum Liturgicarum de his qu^E ad Missam generatim spectant," lib. i. , cap. iv. , pp. 203, 204, for proofs of frequently offering the Holy Victim of propitiation, and from the earliest ages of the Christian Church. "Opera Omnia" Emin. Dom. D. Joannis Bona, S. R. E. Card. Pres. Ord. Cis.
Antwerp edition, A. D. 1723, folio.
'* See Cardinal Bona, " Rerum Liturgica-
rum de his quce ad Missam generatim spec- tant. " Having described different rites for
celebrating the Holy Sacrifice, he remarks :
*'
actas aliquando in Monasteriis Missas a solo sacerdote nemine pr^sente et respon- dente, quae idcirco sohtarice dict^e sint . . . Verum Missas privatas non a Monachis, sed a primjE Ecclesios Patribus originem traxisse capite sequenti ostendam : Missas autem solitarias in coenobiis actas ex indulgentia, ut loquitur Eduensis, sive ex privilegio ; canonicse sanctiones demonstrant, quae sub- latis omnibus privilegiis, ne quis solus Mis- sas agerat, districte prohibuerunt," lib. i. , cap. xiii. , p. 230. Ibid.
second instance,
clericale institutum occul-
MARCH II. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 307
gave him birth derives no small share of renown, from accounts he has left, respecting her beatified children. Hence, we are enabled to estimate the
services of ^ngus to sacred learning and literature, in a new light ; for, happily, in him, we have found a true saint to record the actions of his sanc-
tified compatriots and predecessors.
For an account of the various Tracts, attributed to St. . ^ngus, the reader
is referred to the Introduction," which precedes the First Volume of this work. We cannot be sure, in all cases, that they are his genuine productions ; or, if so, that in some instances, additions or interpolations have not been in- troduced,longafterhisdeath. Aswehavealreadyseen,suchremarksespe- cially apply to the joint composition of St. Melruan and of St. . ^ngus,
usually
by
title,
known
" " The Mar- Martyrologium Tamlachtense," or,
the
tyrology of Tallagh. " Its origin and history have been elsewhere related. The oldest known copy—yet in part defective—is that which is found in the " Book of Leinster. " A Brussels manuscript copy of the Tallagh Martyr- ology was probably transcribed from the leaves extracted from this Codex, and which are now kept, in the Franciscan Convent, Dublin. It is an abstract, however, for it only contains the names and festivals of Irish Saints. It takes no notice of the general sanctilogic and foreign entries which form the greater portion of that tract. It has omitted, even, the names of some Irish Saints, which occur in the margin of the MS. It also represents as defective some days, not wanting in the original, but on which,^ it so happened,thatnoIrishSaintshadbeenentered. Perhaps,amorecomplete copy had been made. If so, it does not exist, at present, among the Brussels MSS. 3 Itwouldappear,ColgancontemplatedapublicationoftheTallagh Martyrology, could he only have found a more perfect copy or copies of it, than he had in his possession. -* It is still to be greatly desired, that a more correct edition, than that published by the Rev. Matthew Kelly, D. D,, were to appear. The original work, which some writers consider prior to the Festilogium, in the order of being composed, is prosaic and very comprehen-
sive.
Gary's
Trans-
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 299
Clonenagh, the holy disciple felt called, by Heaven, to a state of higher per- fection. Some six or seven miles trom Clonenagh, and at a place, since called after hun Dysartenos,^* it is stated, that ^ngus had built a cell3s for himself. Thither he frequently retired, to put in practice, unknown and un- noticed, those rigorous observances which he followed. However, it may not be improbable, that the place of his first retreat was much nearer to Clonenagh, and that it was not tar from the River Nore. The anonymous Scholiast, already mentioned, calls it Disert Unguis ; and, the other ^ngus, who wrote our saint's eulogy, writes it down as Disert-Bethech. 36 He Uke- wise indicates, that it lay very near to Clonenagh ; and, indeed, the present townland of Dysartbeytagh, or Dysartbeagh,37 on which the town of Mount- rath stands, must furnish this site, now apparently lost. Colgan, in a very
shrewd conjecture, supposed it was not distinct from Clonenagh 38
; ygt,
it was separated by the distance of a mile, or perhaps two miles, and he allows, that St. yEngus died perchance, and had been buried, at Disert Be-
' thech. our Annals39 Again,
that another Desertum
differed trom Cluain-edhneach, and, even from Disert Bethech, or from
Dysart-Enos, in the Queen's County.
The locality of this holy coenobite's cell hence derived its name, Dysart-
enos, or the desert of ^ngus, which it yet retains, supposing we are correct in assigning the habitation there, to the present, and not to a different, St.
. ^ngus. Abrokenrangeoflimestonehills,ofromanticandruggedoutline, probably suggested to him the idea of its suitableness as a place for seclusion and retreat. At this day, the scenes of his retirement present an aspect of solitude and grandeur, the effect of which must have been considerably
heightened in that early age. '*" At present, on a slope of those hills, the old graveyard of Dysart, thickly studded over with headstones, tombs, and graves, may be seen there ; and, even yet, it is much resorted to tor the interment of
enos lay within the townland of Dysart, barony of Maryborough West. The parish
Castletown, yet on the north bank of the Nore.
37 This townland, in the united parishes of Clonenagh and Clonagheen, barony of Mary- borough West, is shown, on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the Queen's Couniy," Sheets 16, 17.
is shown, on the
"
Ordnance Survey 'I'own-
land Maps for the Queen's County," Sheets 13, 14, 18, 19. The townland is on Sheets
13, 18.
35 That he built a cell for himself at Dy-
sart Euos may be inferred, not only from the ""
expression of Colgan, coluit eremum," but also from a statement that he recited the
first fifty psalms "in oratorio," and the
second " sub diu arbo- fiity, juxia proceram
rem oratorio ad|accntem. " See "Acta
Sanctorum Hibernise," xi. Martii. De S.
^ngussio Hagiographo Episcopo et Con- fessore, cap. iii. , p. 579.
3* The site of this old church is
known, with any degree of accuracy, at present; although the student and topo- grapher may see it marked, on Sir William Petty's Map of the district. The writer has been shown a spot, near the Brigitine Con- vent, at Mountraih, where tradition has it, that a church formerly stood ; but, he is in- clined to believe, that Disert-Bethech lay still nearer to the River Nore, as the Map seems to indicate. However, from the most careiul enquiries prosecuted among the people there, every trace of its existence appears to be lost. To the writer's concep- tion, its site was quite near the present
certainly show,
^ngussii
hardly
^s ^Hmjing jq ^^g Scholiast's statement, as Colgan adds, vel forte ab ipso non esse diversum, in quatenus ait in S. ^ngussium esse in jam memorato deserto (et non addit
non m et educatum quod Cluain-edhneach),
et sepultum. "
39 Tiiese record, that Conn, son of Mael-
padraig, Archinnech ot Disert-Oenghusa and of Mungauit, dietl A. D. 1033. See
" Acta Sanctorum
Colgan's fiibemiae," xi.
Martii, n. 6, p. 582 ; and O . bonovan's
"
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. ii. , pp. 820, 627. In a note (y) ibid. , I am certain, Dr. ODonovan fell into an error, by iden-
titying ihe latter Disert- Aengusa, with Dy- sart-Eno,>, in the Queen's Couniy. I feel
satisfied, the Disert-Aengussa and Mungai- rit, already named, were both situated with- in the present county of Limerick. The former lay near Ballingarry, and the latter near Limerick city.
''° Near the Dysart Hills lies a beautiful demesne, called Lamberton Park. Here, during the Wizard of the North's tour
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii. deceased Catholics. No doubt, the very old parish church occupied this
" seven
churches " are clearly visible under favouring circumstances. In what part of
Dysartenos parish the cell of ^Engus, or monastery, if such, was situated, the
300
site. From or near this elevated position, the ruins of Clonenagh's antiquary is not likely to discover. Many remains of curious old monuments,
'rri*Pr<'^^J{
Dysart church and Graveyard, Queen's County.
however, are yet standing in the immediate neighbourhood. If I might be allowed to offer a conjecture, St. ^ngus possibly selected for his cell the site, on which the former Protestant Church of Dysart, erected during the last century,maynowbeseen,asacomparativelymodernruin. -*^ Unroofedand desolate, yet surrounded by a serviceable cemetery wall, the tourist can pene- trate to its interior j^z and, there, he will find the projecting foundations of a former and of a smaller building, which was probably of a very ancient type. An extensive tract of morass and bog now intervenes, between the ruins of Clon- enagh's old monastery and Dysartenos. This moorland must formerly have rendered access, between both places, a matter of some difficulty. In this favourite retreat, we are told by his biographers, . ^ngus was in the habit of
through Ireland, in 1825, he was hospitably- entertained, by a former proprietor, the Right Hon. Judge Moore, as may be seen,
"
by consulting Lockhart's Life of Sir
Walter Scott," chap. Ixiii. What Lockhart
forgets to state, however, is yet traditionally remembered in this neighbourhood. Sir Walter is said to have expressed himself, as being highly gratified, by the scenic beauty of all this surrounding locality ; and, it must be allowed, few persons had truer percep- tions of taste and judgment, in reference to an opinion or a thought about such matters.
"
Queen's County," in 1801, he describes Dy-
^' Not many years back, and within the writer's memory, the few Protestant parish- ioners here were accustomed to hold their meetings within it.
When Sir Charles
Coote wrote his
Statistical Survey of the
"
hills of the same name, with a square tower
or steeple, which has a very picturesque ap- pearance. " Chap, ix. , sect, iv. , p. 117.
*^ In his boyhood years, often had the
writer, quite unaware of Dysart's historical interest, visited the spot, and on more than one occasion attended at funerals there. During his last visit, in July, 1873, he took the accompanying sketch, transferred to the wood, and engraved by Gregor Grey, Dublin. The Devil's Bit Mountain, Tippe- rary, looms in the distance. It formerly went by the name of Barnane Ely.
sart church, as standing
on one of the lofty
March II. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 301
making three hundred genuflections, each day, and of reciting the entire Psalter. This latter office he divided into three separate portions : the first was said within the cell ; the second under a spreading tree of large growth, that cast its branches over his rude habitation ; and the third he repeated, whilst tied by the neck to a stake, with half of his body plunged in a tub of cold water. Besides these extraordinary practices, he was continually em- ployed in singing the praises of God, and in acquiring such an ascendency over his passions, that to all, save himself, ^ngus seemed to be an angel, concealed in human form. Another and a learned authority has stated, that after leaving Clonenagh, St. ^ngus travelled into Munster, and that he founded the church of Disert Aengusa, at a place situated near Ballingarry,'t3 in the present county of Limerick. 44 We are told, also, that the primitive belfry, or round tower of this church, yet remains. There are good reasons for believing, however, that the latter church must have had its name, from
man is known to have settled, not far from Clonenagh in fact, so very near, that the localities Clonenagh and Dysartenos have been confounded, by ancient scholiastsonhisworks. ^s Othercircumstances,relatingtohisActsandinci- dents of his Life, probably serve to confirm our conclusions, that he lived, for some short time, at least, in Dysartenos, a parish so denominated, near the celebrated Rock and Castle of Dunamase,-*^ and a few miles from the
county town of Maryborough. ^?
The fame of his sanctity diffused itself, to most distant parts of the
country. Numbers flocked towards his retreat, to enjoy the pious conversa- tion and exhortations of this holy anchorite, and to derive from his example and instructions those lessons of virtue, which he could so well inculcate.
Fearing the suggestions of vain-glory, and finding it a matter of utter impossi- bihty to enjoy, in his present abode, that perfect seclusion desired, in the practice of his austerities and devotions, . ^ngus took the resolution of departing in a secret manner, towards some other place of retirement.
Before his departure, however, and on the route to his selected retreat, it was his intention to visit the church of Coolbanagher,'*^ for the purpose of
"•3 There are two
name in Limerick County. One is situated, in the barony of Upper Connello, and it is
some other saint, or person, named . ^ngus
—the
; for, present holy
defined on the
"
this
Ordnance Survey Town-
we take it for may
parishes, bearing
pp. 316, 317. Hence,
granted, this writer had a good local know-
ledge respecting Clonenagh and DysartEnos. But, because he did not advert to the pos- sible identity of the later denomination with Desart ^ngus, he thought this place where St. . ^ngus resided could not then be identified.
^^ Here stand the ruined walls of the fortress of the O'Moores, formerly Chiefs of Leix. A more particular account of the place will be found, in the " Legend Lays of Ireland," by Lageniensis, No. x. A
land Maps for the County of Limerick," Sheets 29, 30, 37, 38. The other is in the
barony of Coshlea, and it is shown, on Sheets 48, 49, 57, ibid.
'•'* See Professor
Eugene O'Curry's
" Lee-
great
tures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient
Irish Histor}'," lect. xvii. , p. 364.
^s " AH the country about Cliiainenach for
many miles, was, in the memory of men yet
living, a great forest. * * * * Besert Legend of Dunamase, pp. 65 to Tl. A
^ngus (though the name be now lost) was
"
sketch of the Barbican of Dunamase, by
Samuel a historical Lover, R. H. A. , and
article accompanying, by John D'Alton, will be found in " The Irish Penny Maga-
zine," vol. i. . No. 3, pp. 17, 18. This place lies within the parish of Dysertenos, and it is shown on the "Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the Queen's County," Sheet 13.
'^ In the parish of Burris, and barony of Maryborough East, is found, ibid.
'^ This place is connected, it is thought, with a St. Lugach or Lughaidh, whose
some part of this great wood. "—
Harris' Writers of Ireland," book i. , pp. 51, 52, note D. Harris lived in the earlier part of the last century, when his principal works were published. He inti- mates, likewise, that the place of his birth was at or near Brittas, where his father, Captain Lieutenant Hopton Harris of the Militia, took part in an engagement, during the Jacobite and Williamite wars in 1691.
Ware, vol. iii. ,
"
and Reign of William the Third," book ix. ,
See Walter Harris'
History of the Life
302 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
offering up prayers to that God, whom he so faithfully served. Whilst engagedinthisexercise,avisionofangelsappearedtohim. Theseblessed spiritsseemedtosurroundaparticulartomb. Celestialsongswereheardby him, at the same time, the ravishing harmony of which gave him a foretaste of canticles, entoned by the beatified in heaven. He noted the tomb thus distinguished, and immediately directed his steps to a priest, serving the church, ^ngus made enquiries, regarding the name and character of the
deceased. He soon learned, that the occupant of the tomb in question had been in early life a warrior,'>9 who retired from the profession of arms, and who had devoted himself to a life of penance. This soldier of Christ had closed a long life of holy and spiritual warfare, a few days before such event, . ^ngus was still more desirous to learn the practices, devotions, and peniten- tial exercises ol that soldier. His curiosity being gratified, he was unable to discover anything very unusual, in these his religious observances, with the exception of a practice, followed each morning and night, which was that of invoking the prayers of all saints, whose names occurred to his memory. From this relation, given by the priest, the idea of composing a metrical hymn, in honour of all the saints, took possession of the mind of ^ngus. 5° This hymn, only as yet a mental conception, he intended to repeat to his death, although his sincere humility deterred him from the immediate prose- cutionofhismeditatedproject, ^ngus,wearetold,judgedhimselfunfitted for such a task, and he also feared, that the praises of the saints might be commemorated, in a manner, hardly suited to the dignity and im]:)ortance of his subject.
CHAPTER II.
ST. y^NGUS PROCEEDS TO THE MONASTERY OF TALLAGH—HE SEEKS ADMISSION THERE IN GUISE OF A SERVANT MANUAL LABOUR AT AGRICULTURAL OPERATIONS HIS HUMILITY AND MORTIFICATIONS—AN ACCIDENT WHICH BEFEL HIM, AND HIS MIRACULOUS CURE—THE INCIDENT WHICH FIRST DISCOVERED ST. ^NGUS TO THE HOLY ABBOT ST. MELRUAN—FRIENDSHIP THENCEFORTH EXISTING BETWEEN THEM —ST. iENGUS WAS PROBABLY ORDAINED PRIEST AT TALLAGH.
At this time, St. Molruan' presided over a great monastery, on Tallagh Hill, in the present county of Dublin. Towards that religious house, our saint
festival occurs, at the 6th of October, where a fuller description may be lound. This parish, in the barony of Portnahinch, is de-
of the saints should doubtless have a high reward, when so much has been vouchsafed
fined on the
"
Ordnance Survey Townland
Aengus then commenced his poem on the
spot. He subsequently continued it gradu-
ally, and finished it as we have already
seen. " Lect. xvii. , p, 365.
^° To this incident, allusion has been
made, by Thomas D'Ai-cy M'Gee', in that beautiful dirge, composed on the lamented death of his friend, Proiessor Eugene O'Curry, and which is included —in the
Maps tor the Queen's County," Sheets 4, 8, 9, 13, 14. The townland proper is on Sheets 8, 13, ibid.
^9 Instead of the buried person being
called a "soldier," according to an account, found in Professor O Curry's "Lectures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish
" History," he is said to have been a poor
What good did he do ? said Aengus. I saw no particular good by him,' said the priest, 'but that his customary practice was to recount and invoke the saints ot the world, as far as he could remember them, at his going to bed and getting up, in accord- ance with the custom of the old devotees. '
!
"
" Let those who love and lose him most, Lr their great sorrow comfort tind,
Remembering how heaven's mighty host Were ever present to his mind ;
Descending on his grave at even, — May they a radiant phalanx see
given
old man, who formerly lived at the place. '''
American edition ot his "Poems :
'Ah '
'hewho would make a poetical composition in praise
was In vision to the rapt Culdee. "
my God, said Aengus,
Such wondrous sight as once
••
to the efforts of this holy devotee !
'
And
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 303
proceeded. He appeared at the monastery gate, and he begged admission, among the members of its religious frarernity, in quaHty of lay brother, according to Colgan^ and Harris ;3 although Dr. Lanigan tells us. that such a title was unknown in religious houses before the eleventh century. * Stu- diously concealing both his name, and that of the monastery, in which he had hitherto lived, -(fengus was well aware, that his fame had already extended to the institute of Tallagh, which was then in its infancy. Wherefore, he as- sumed a habit, calculated most effectually to disguise his real condition. He concealed the fact of his enrolment in the ecclesiastical order, and he
appeared as a serving man, seeking for employment. This holy servant of Christ was permitted to prove his vocation for a religious life, by engaging in the most laborious and meanest offices, connected with the monastery.
These duties, however, he cheerfully executed, and he devoted unremittmg attention to their most careful performance. He was principally employed
at field labour, and in the farm-yard, belonging to the monastery ; for, we are told, that with the sweat of his brow, he was found as a reaper of corn during the harvest, that he bore the sheaves on his back to the barn, that he afterwards threshed out the grain, and winnowed chaff therefrom, placing what had been thus prepared m sacks. Like a beast of burden, he carried those sacks on his back, sometimes to the granary, and sometimes to the mill. This mill and a kiln, he had charge of by Melruan's orders. ^ During all these labours, this devout and humble brother found time to raise his heartandthoughtstowardsheaven. Thisarkofhiddenwisdomconsidered himself, as only fitted to discharge the mean offices, to which of choice he was subjected. These daily toils showed his complete self-abnegation, and his contempt for the opinion of worldlings. During his labours, this humble workman was scantily clothed. His countenance was often disguised, owing to the combined effects of sweat and dust, which covered his features.
But, he had neither the vanity not inclination to appear well looking, in the presence of nis brethren. Nor would he devote any time to the decoration of his person. He allowed the hair on his head to grow long, tangled and uncombed ; the chaffy dust and straws of the field and barn, he would not
evenremovefromhisclothes. Thus,^ngusputintopracticaloperationthe virtues of his monastic profession ; tor, it was only by these means, he could induce worldlings to believe, that he was the most abject and vile of all creatures, having more the appearance of a monster, than of a human being. An extraordinary love of mortification was united with ecstatic flames of •Divine love, in the soul of this great vessel of election ; and, hence, he
Chapter ii. —' See his Life, at the 7th of July.
'
tions, so as that one of them was perpetually debarred from any ecclesiastical promotion, and destined to toil in the fields and else- where as subordinate to the other, and, in
Colgan says, he applied for admission,
'* inter conversos.
"—"Acta Sanctorum Hi-
bemiae," xi. Martii. De S. yEnyussio Ha- fact, a—s servants of the clerical or higher
giographo, Episcopo et Confessore, cap. v. , p. 581.
class. " "Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land," vol. iii. ,chap. xx. , sect, x. , n. 95, pp. 247, 248.
3 Taking his account from Colgan, Harris ""
thathewas — theAbbot states, received, by
Maelruan, as a lay brother. "
^
Professor Lec- See, Eugene O'Curry's
Harris'
vol. iL, "Writers of Ireland," book i. , p.
tures on the Materials of Ancient Manuscript
Irish History," Lect. xvii. , p. 365. The autiior of this learned work declares, that he saw the ruins of this mill and kiln, in their primitive dimensions, and that only a few years have passed by, since those venerable relics have yielded to " the improving hand
of modem progress. "
52.
"In older times some monks, it is true,
were raised more or less to the clerical ranks, and the number of such promotions appears to have increased with the course of ages ; but there was not as yet any radical distinction of classes in the religious instiiu-
*
See tAoiche pAnnuicheAchcA, edited
Ware,
304 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii. merited the title of Kele-De, which he obtained, and which may be rendered,
"
a lover of God. " With an humble spirit, in a mortified body, a light radi- ated the interior of his soul. Yet, this light was destined to escape from the close sanctuary, within which it had hitherto beamed.
Meantime, it may be well to relate, that the Almighty was pleased to re- ward the virtues of his servant, and by the testimony of a surprising miracle.
For, at one time, while this holy monk was engaged in a neighbouring wood, and when cutting down branches for the use of his monastery, it happened, that he held with the left hand a branch, which he wished to separate from the trunk of a tree, and the axe, grasped in his right hand, glanced from the object, against which it had been directed. This incautious stroke resulted inseveringthelefthandfromhisbody. Wearetold,theverybirds,inthe wood, by a sort of preternatural instinct, had formed an attachment towards St. ^ngus, on account of his innocent demeanour. Perhaps, the holy man had oft—en lightened his out-door labours, by chaunting the psalmody of the Church probablyadaptedtoversesofhisowncomposition. Thosefeathered warblers, the thrushes or blackbirds—so often celebrated in Ossianic song*^— had made the dells and brakes around Glenasmoil^ and Tallagh resound with dulcet melody, while spring and summer breezes loaded the air with agreeable perfume, from mountain herbs and shrubs. Their strains were often stilled, when more solemn and pathetic notes, from " a son of song," agreeably called forth the natural echoes, which resounded through wooded hill-sides and hollows, surrounding St. Melruan's monastery. Those songsters of the grove and thicket will rest with listening ear, and love to linger near any'
spot, where the humble field-labourer pours forth the unpremeditated lay, with a clear and modulated voice. If not disturbed, those woodland minstrels even desire human companionship and vocalism of a perfect character. We cannot doubt, the Christian's heart was naturally gentle and toned with refined feeling, while the poet's soul and senses were attuned to all the soft and sweet influences of wild scenery and its charming accessories. Sometimes, it is said, even ravens flap their wings with affright, when from a distance they scent human blood. A mysterious sympathy frequently unites irrational to rational creatures. At the moment his accident befel ^Engus, birds flocked around, and, by their screams and cries, seemed to bewail the pure and angelic man's misfortune. Full of confidence in the power and goodness of God, without hesitation, uiEngus took up the hand which had been lopped off, and at once set it, in its proper place, at the extremity of his mutilated arm. Instantly, it adhered, and recovered its former power, as if no accident whatever had befallen him. Hereupon ^ngus poured forth his soul, in praise and thanksgiving, to the great Preserver of all creatures. ^ Our popular traditions, especially referring to the saints, often savour of exaggeration. The Irish people have loved and admired purity and holiness, while they have implicit faith in t—he sovereign power of God towards and over his elect.
The
althoughheissaidtohavewroughtmany maybeclassedwithourLegenda Sanctorum. Probably, its rationale might accord better with the fact, that St. ^ngus had almost chopped the left hand from his arm, but that he had
miracle one of the few m—
foregoing saint,
Transactions of the Ossianic Society for the year 1856,"
by John O'Daly, n. i, p. 4,
grapho, Episcopo et Confessore, cap. vi. , p. 580.
9 Dr. Lanigan undertakes to explain the circumstance of this boy's proficiency in his lesson, owing to the help he derived from yEngus. See, " Ecclesiastical Histoiy of
Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xx. , sect, x. , p. 246. At note 97 he adds: "It is thus, I
vol. iv.
7 The ancient name of that romantically
beautiful valley, at the sources of the River Dodder.
**
See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nire," xi. Martii. De S. ^Engussio Hagio-^
"
iracles recorded about our
March II. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
305
immediately bandaged and united these members of his body, so nearly dissevered, and yet so fortunately preserved for future use. In the case of wounds, eminent surgeons allow, that very dangerous ones are often healed by prompt attention, and by a recuperative energy, found in the human body itself. If a piece of flesh be totally cut away, and soon after applied to tiie placewhencetaken,bothpartswillagainunite. Bythepopularrumour,the cure of St. ^ngus has been pronounced miraculous. However it had been effected, we cannot fail to recognise the Almighty's bounty, towards a favoured servant, who was destined to effect still greater good, and to acquire
additional merits, before his day of deliverance from earth had arrived.
St. ^ngus continued to exercise his usual austerities, and he remained unknown to the monks, and to the rest of mankind, for seven whole years. At length, an unusual occurrence betrayed the secret he seemed so anxious to conceal. Whilst ^ngus was at work one day in the monastery barn, a scholar, who had not thoroughly prepared his lesson, and who as a conse- quence was afraid to appear in school, applied for admission and conceal- ment, at least during that day. When ^Engus learned the cause of this boy's uneasiness, he spoke kindly and with cheering assurances : pressing the child
to his bosom, he contrived to lull the truant to sleep. After some time, this boy was awakened, and desired to repeat his lesson. 9 He proceeded in the task, repeated every word to the end, and this was done without hesitation or difficulty. The affectionate, kind, and patient teacher was probably exempli- fied,inthecaseof^iEngus; andhence,thechildmighthavebeenencouraged to greater mental exercise, by his instructions, and through the excellent method he took in communicating them, ^ngus exacted from this pupil a promise of silence regarding these circumstances, and recommended him
to' seek his teacher. The — on examination of his immediately latter, disciple,
found him very well prepared on this day an occurrence of rare result in the boy's course of training. His master, no less a personage than the
Abbot, St. Melruan, insisted on learning the cause of his forwardness, at this particular juncture. Awed by the abbot's authority and earnest manner, the boy revealed the circumstances of his case, as they had actually occurred.
By a sudden inspiration, a belief in the identity of this disguised monk, with the missing ^ngus of Dysartenos, rushed upon the mind of the superior over the Tallagh community. He ran immediately to the barn, and embraced -^ngus with most tender affection, lavishing on him reproaches, which love and admiration could alone dictate, ^ngus was blamed for those long-borne
and humiliating, though willing, services rendered to the community, and for that false humility, which deprived it of the learning and experience, possessed by so great a master of science and of the spiritual life, ^ngus fell on his knees, at the feet of Abbot Melruan, when he begged and obtained pardon for those faults, which merited loving reproaches. From that time forward, they became bosom friends, and unconscious rivals in that
'°
holy ambition, by which a true saint is ever prompted.
Although ^ngus is said to have become a professed monk in Clonenagh
Monastery," and to have concealed the fact of his enrolment in the ecclesias-
think, that the anecdote related in . Angus' Acts ought to be understood. The boy's
improvement is indeed stated as miraculous,
and as a of his supernatural consequence
nias," xi. Martii. De S. ^ngussio Hagiogra-
pho, Episcopo et Confessore, cap. vii. , viii. ,
" See Rev. Dr. ** Ecclesiastical Lanigan's
having slept for awhile on the bosom of History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xx. ,
^ngus. without
248.
" See
But, it can be well accounted for
sect, ix. , p. 245.
recurring
Colgan's
Ibid. , p.
Colgan saysof him, " Monachum professus in nobili mouasterio de Cluain-edhneach," and in the
to a miracle. "
" Actn Sanctorum Tliber-
" the first statement, Regarding
ix. , p. 580.
U
3o6
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
tical order, when he sought admission to Melruan's monastery at Tallagh/=' it is probable, our saint had only received clerical tonsure, or at most minor orders, when he first left Dysartenos. Were ^ngus advanced to the priest- hood, at this period of life, a necessity for celebrating the holy Sacrifice of Mass very frequendy,^3 with the performance of other peculiar sacerdotal
must soon have revealed his rank to Abbot Melruan, and to the members of his community. Even were those solitary or strictly private
to be celebrated in many ancient
allowed as a practice in our early religious houses, the secret of our saint's priestly ordination could not long be concealed. It is more difficult to com- prehend how, as a monk, he had not been questioned, on the subject of his having already received the pecuhar and noticeable ecclesiastical tonsure. However, there can hardly be any doubt, after Abbot Melruan discovered
the real name, virtues, and learning of his highly-gifted disciple, with his dis- positions for the office, ^ngus must soon have been raised to the sacerdotal
dignity. For want of more complete records, referring to our saint's bio- graphy, and not having seen many early or sufficiently authentic copies of his works, and with little serving for autobiography in his own writings, our present imperfect lights, regarding his private acts, occasionally require us to launch upon a sea of conjecture.
CHAPTER III.
functions,
Masses, formerly permitted
churches,^*
LITERARY PURSUITS OF ST. ^NGUS—THE MARTYROLOGY OF TALLAGH—HE ENGAGES ON THE FELIRE OR FESTILOGY—PRESENTS A COPY OF IT TO FOTHADIUS THE CANONIST —PROBABLE DATE, ORIGIN, AND OBJECT OF THE FEILIRE—TREATISE OF ST. ^NGUS,
—
"DE SANCTIS HIBERNI^"—THE " SALTAIR-NA-RANN " PEDIGREES OR CATA-
LOGUES OF IRISH SAINTS, AND POEMS, ATTRIBUTED TO HIS AUTHORSHIP.
The literary labours, in which St. ^Engus engaged, have given him very great celebrity through after times ; but, in all probability, he had not formed the most remote idea, regarding this merited renown, at the period when he
lived. His works are of exceeding value, not only as having been composed, in a comparatively remote age ; but, because the subjects on which they treat give them a historical value and importance, even of which ancient pieces can rarely boast. Fiction is too often blended with fact, in many such tracts,
and to the great prejudice of their authenticity. Numerous saints, that adorned the early Irish Church, are named in his writings, and records of
those holy personages are thus preserved, for the veneration of posterity. While his own name has been exalted by his various works, the country that
"
tans. " See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernias,"
xi. Martii. De S. ^ngussio Hagiographo, Episcopo et Confessore, cap. ii. , v. , pp. 579' 5^°-
ds See that very learned treatise of Cardi- nal Bona, " Rerum Liturgicarum de his qu^E ad Missam generatim spectant," lib. i. , cap. iv. , pp. 203, 204, for proofs of frequently offering the Holy Victim of propitiation, and from the earliest ages of the Christian Church. "Opera Omnia" Emin. Dom. D. Joannis Bona, S. R. E. Card. Pres. Ord. Cis.
Antwerp edition, A. D. 1723, folio.
'* See Cardinal Bona, " Rerum Liturgica-
rum de his quce ad Missam generatim spec- tant. " Having described different rites for
celebrating the Holy Sacrifice, he remarks :
*'
actas aliquando in Monasteriis Missas a solo sacerdote nemine pr^sente et respon- dente, quae idcirco sohtarice dict^e sint . . . Verum Missas privatas non a Monachis, sed a primjE Ecclesios Patribus originem traxisse capite sequenti ostendam : Missas autem solitarias in coenobiis actas ex indulgentia, ut loquitur Eduensis, sive ex privilegio ; canonicse sanctiones demonstrant, quae sub- latis omnibus privilegiis, ne quis solus Mis- sas agerat, districte prohibuerunt," lib. i. , cap. xiii. , p. 230. Ibid.
second instance,
clericale institutum occul-
MARCH II. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 307
gave him birth derives no small share of renown, from accounts he has left, respecting her beatified children. Hence, we are enabled to estimate the
services of ^ngus to sacred learning and literature, in a new light ; for, happily, in him, we have found a true saint to record the actions of his sanc-
tified compatriots and predecessors.
For an account of the various Tracts, attributed to St. . ^ngus, the reader
is referred to the Introduction," which precedes the First Volume of this work. We cannot be sure, in all cases, that they are his genuine productions ; or, if so, that in some instances, additions or interpolations have not been in- troduced,longafterhisdeath. Aswehavealreadyseen,suchremarksespe- cially apply to the joint composition of St. Melruan and of St. . ^ngus,
usually
by
title,
known
" " The Mar- Martyrologium Tamlachtense," or,
the
tyrology of Tallagh. " Its origin and history have been elsewhere related. The oldest known copy—yet in part defective—is that which is found in the " Book of Leinster. " A Brussels manuscript copy of the Tallagh Martyr- ology was probably transcribed from the leaves extracted from this Codex, and which are now kept, in the Franciscan Convent, Dublin. It is an abstract, however, for it only contains the names and festivals of Irish Saints. It takes no notice of the general sanctilogic and foreign entries which form the greater portion of that tract. It has omitted, even, the names of some Irish Saints, which occur in the margin of the MS. It also represents as defective some days, not wanting in the original, but on which,^ it so happened,thatnoIrishSaintshadbeenentered. Perhaps,amorecomplete copy had been made. If so, it does not exist, at present, among the Brussels MSS. 3 Itwouldappear,ColgancontemplatedapublicationoftheTallagh Martyrology, could he only have found a more perfect copy or copies of it, than he had in his possession. -* It is still to be greatly desired, that a more correct edition, than that published by the Rev. Matthew Kelly, D. D,, were to appear. The original work, which some writers consider prior to the Festilogium, in the order of being composed, is prosaic and very comprehen-
sive.
