, e
task, in rather a sarcastic vein O'Donovan signifies the rocky district ori the river !
task, in rather a sarcastic vein O'Donovan signifies the rocky district ori the river !
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v8
in an[ti]ocia fuit metropolis et
sic inuentum est (. i. frith) [corpus Stephani] . i. Lucianus prespiter eclesiae quae est in
Kelly, p. xxxi.
3 In the Book of Leinster copy we read
Vechitimrm-o C1II1 mAir\.
3 Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves,
pp. 208, 209.
4
This is stated by Rev. Dr. Todd, in a
note — subjoined 5.
"
thus translated i—nto English by Dr. Whitley
Article x.
x
"
Breac
In the
copy, we find the following stanza,
Jerusolimis uilla ilia discat [tic) sed Gamulel
scriba legis qui fuit in uno sepulcro cum
Zephano indecauit per ui>>ionem noctis haec
Luc[i]ano dicens Ego Gamulel et Nico-
demus nepos metis et Abbisus films meus
dilectis[sj imus nos omnes in uno sepulcro
cum ZePhano sumus et manifest[au. t] apos- ,
tolus ut ostensa Zephani manifestentur omnibus. "—Ibid. p. cxxviii.
4 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Stokes, LL. D.
mecn4puiLinT>eom Inmein teil cotiAm Itiainechc conoemi
:
ConpAti r-Aen 1
ZephAttl. '
"In John's Metropolis (Jerusalem) beloved is the feast with splendour, whereon was found with holiness Stephen's noble body. "
in alii
Leabhar christianis demonstrauit haud longe ab
Augusti iii. Among the pretermitted feasts, —" Transactions of the Royal Irish p. 198.
uilla
carpaga
(sic)
ipsi corpus Zephani
August 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 39
Jfourtl) 2Baj> of august*
ARTICLE I. —ST. LUA OR MOLUA, ABBOT OF CLONFERT MOLUA, NOW KYLE, QUEEN'S COUNTY.
[SIXTH CENTURY. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—AUTHORITIES FOR ST. MOLUA's ACTS—HIS FAMILY AND RACE—HIS BIRTH AND EARLY INDICATIONS OF SANCTITY—MIRACLES WROUGHT DURING HIS BOYHOOD.
is well that every passing age should learn to know the heroes of the
IT Church and of Christianity. Thus might every generation recognise thesanctityofmonasticrule,andthebeautyofGod'sChurch. Thefurther study of such subjects must tend to reveal still more the spirit of past piety. Nevertheless, those materials, sought after most carefully and laboriously, when brought forth from the dust of ages, should be passed into the crucible of examination for a loving and an ardent mind. All might be stamped with an impress of the nineteenth century, to effect what must be required, in order to please and instruct the people living in our days. Great masters of a spiritual life, however, often wish to retire into the sanctuary, and to lift up their hands to Heaven, like Moyses, while the people outside are fighting thebattleoffreedom. Notlessdosuchreclusesaidinthespiritualcombat, and encourage the sons of life in a struggle with the powers of darkness, than if they were themselves engaged in the most active pursuit of good
external objects and still distracted by their varying influences.
Different forms of name have been applied to the present holy Abbot,
called Lua, Molua, Lugid, Lugith. Lugaidh, and Luan, in Irish, and these have even received various Latin changes in termination. Several ancient writers —have rendered the name— which in Irish stands for
and also Ware 3 speak of Luigidus, as being identical with Molua, Abbot of Clonfert Molua. St. Bernard calls our saint Luanus, in his Life of St.
Malachy,ArchbishopofArmagh. * ColganalsomentionsSt. Molua,under thesamename. s SomeManuscriptCopiesofSt. Molua'sActsareextant. 6
There is a Latin Life of St. Molua, among the Burgundian Library Manu- scripts, at Bruxellep. 7 In the Manuscript known as the Codex Kilken-
compiled by anonymous writers.
Article I. —* The name to him given
The Acts of this saint are presented to us
by Sir James Ware, in his work, " De Scrip-
xii. De Con- Januarii. Laidgenno
toribus lib. Hiberniae,"
6 In the intituled "Vitae Manuscript,
Sanctorum," ex Cod. Inisensi, belonging to the Franciscan Convent, Dublin, there is a Vita S. Molua Druim-Sneachtse, pp. 99 and 104. He is identical with the present saint.
1 The classification is Vol. xxii. , at fol. 202. 8 At fol. 113 to 116.
» it is classed E. 3, 1 1, Vita S. Moluae,
i. , cap. iii. , p. 17. See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
2"
quitates," Index Chronologicus, A. D. dcviil, p. 536.
3 See " De Scriptoribus Hibernise," lib. i. , cap. xiii. , p. 90.
* See his Life, in the present work, at the 3rd of November, the date for his festival.
5 See "Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hi-
at fol. 92.
original Lua, ""2
Moluax in Lua into Usher Englishmeaning my Lugidus. Hence,
8
College, Dublin, there is another. 9 While diversities of statement abound
niensis, there is a Life of St. Molua.
in these, they are for the most part legendary and unreliable, having been
In a Manuscript, belonging to Trinity
hernias," fessore, p. 57.
4o
LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 4.
graphs, pp. 368 to 379.
11 To this he must have had access through
the hereditary keepers.
12 See Dr. Lanigan's " Ecclesiastical
other documents, such as the Life of St.
Moedoc, at cap. xx. , and that of Pulcherius, at cap. xi. In his notes to these Acts,
Colgan applies what is said regarding Molua, son of Coche, to the present Molua, whose festival was held on the 4th of August. See
"Acta Sanctorum Hibernian, "Januarii xxxi. , p. 210, and n. 21, p. 217 ; also, Martii xiii. , p. 590, and n. 14, p. 597.
27 In the Life, as published by the Bollan- dists, it is written Corchode.
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , cap. xii. , sect, vii. , n. 84, p. 207.
13 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. Augusti iv. De S. Lugido sive Luano Abbate Cluainfertensi in Hibernia, pp. 339 to 352.
l * Noted as P. Ms. xi.
xs This is contained in twelve
28 After the establishment of
O'Macassy was chieftain there. "
surnames, See O'Fla-
16
paragraphs. This valuable work was printed at the
expense of John Patrick, Marquis of Bute, at Bruges, in 1888. Imp. 4to.
17 Ex Codice Salmanticensi, nunc primum integne edita opera. See col. 261 to 288, as also col. 879 to 890.
heity's Ogygia. " Pars, hi. , cap. lxxxi. , p. 381.
29 John O'Donovan, LL. D.
30 In their "History, Topography, and Antiquities of the County and City of Limerick," vol. i. , pp. 371 to 373, and note.
31 In his edition of Camden's " Britannia"
in the Third Volume, Gough has stated,
18
It is contained, 41 in brief paragraphs.
19 This is comprised in 69 paragraphs. It differs little from the Bollandist version, but
it is more correctly printed. See part ii. , pp. 64, 65.
31
See at p. 1 1 2.
22 We find set down at this
10 from an ancient called the Book of Manuscript,
Father
Molua, as published by Fleming, abounds in fables ; and, as a consequence,
12 The Bollandists have inserted this Saint's Acts in their great collection. '3 His Life was found in an ancient Manuscript * belonging to the University of Salamanca, and it was collated with other codices. A previous commentary »s has been compiled by Father Peter Bosch, SJ. The " Acta Sanctorum Hibernise,"16 as edited by Father Charles De Smet, SJ. , and by Father Joseph De Backer, S. J. , has two different Acts of St. Lugid, for this date. 1 ? The latter Life 18 however is
by
Armagh. 11
an ancient author. This Life he says was first published by himself. A modern writer of Irish Ecclesiastical History states, that the Life of St.
Fleming,
These Acts he ascribes to an anonymous, but to a faithful and
he denies its
a of the former. 10 An account of St. only compendium
very great antiquity.
printed by Bishop Challenor, at this date, in
'•
Britannia Sancta,"
20
as also in
his " Memorial of British 21 The Rev. Alban Butler has a few short Piety. "
notices regarding St. Luanus. 22 He is also commemorated in the works
of Les Petits Bollandistes,33 and of Rev. S.
2*
St. Molua or Luanus was son to Carthach,2^ commonly called Coche,26
ofthe of family
2? andfromthe
of 28 Hy-Fidhgente,
Corcoiche,
intheprovinceofMunster. AccordingtooneofthemostlearnedofIrish
20
topographers, the country of the Hy-Figiente embraced the greater and
better part of the county of Limerick ; it extended from the Shannon to the middle of Slieve Loughra, and from Kerry to Limerick. It was also known as Hy-Cairbre Aobhdha. Some of our modern writers, such as Gough, as also McGregor and Fitzgerald,3° have stated that Cairbre Aobhdha,3x is
10" 26 In his Collectanea Sacra," in 55 para-
This appears, likewise, from several
moreover, that it was also denominated Hy 20 "
or Lugid, sometimes called Molua. See
"
Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. viii. August iv.
See p. 516. The learned representative of the latter name, however, thus takes hi—m to
So
was a rock battle and as stubborn as a rock, but I do
33 See "Vies des Saints," tome ix.
, e
task, in rather a sarcastic vein O'Donovan signifies the rocky district ori the river ! This is truly amusing, but not altogether true ; though I believe Donovan,
iv Jour d'Aout, p. 272.
a*
See "Lives of the Saints," vol. viiL, August 4, pp. 37 to 40.
2* He is called the son of
Life, published by the Bollandists.
in the
the of the progenitor
in
St.
day, Luanus,
the situated on the Shannon river, being
the chiefs of which were the O'Donovans.
;
Daigri,
family,
Baring-Gould.
region
or is Lugid, Molua,
diui namhain ; and he adds, both of which names signify the rocky district on
:
August 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 41
now the barony of Kenry. Assuming his identification of its being the barony of Kenry to be correct, the former writer presumes it probable, that
3 as in this being
it had been the site of an ancient named city
by Ptolemy,3
part of Ireland, while he adds, likewise, that in this cantred was situated Brugh right now Brury,33 an inconsiderable village, but in ancient times the seat of the Kings of Cairbre Aobhdha. 34 The denomination is localised in Bruree Parish, situated partly in Coshma Barony and partly in that of Upper Connello, in the county of Limerick. 35 Its name was derived from a fort, in which the King of Hy-Figeinte resided. Near that ancient fort, the original
6 The Messrs.
have also stated, that O'Donovan37 was chief of Kenry. 38
known, that his residence was at Bruree,39 and without the limits of that district. A statement is made also by these historians, that O'Donovan40 was- killed by Brian Boiromhe.
But O'Halloran is wrong in making
" Here Auliff More O'Donoghue, King of Cairbre Aobhoha, was slain by Murtogh O'Brien in 1 165. "—Gough. " This is false ; Auliff More O'Donoghue was chief of Kil-
parish
placed. 3
Fitzgerald •
McGregor
church had been
and
Yet it is well
Thewholeofthiserror
wrote that O'Donovan's country was co-extensive with the barony of Kenry,
originated and that his residence was at Bruree. *2
not believe he was a rocky district. Is it not
much more likely that this chief took his
name from the colour of his hair : t>onn
signifies brown, and x>ubin means a dark-
haired man? Beauford, from whom the larney, not of Hy-Cairbre Aobhoha. "— above derivation of the name is taken, O"Donovan. "The prince of this cantred
supposed it might be fromTmn-nAh-Abarm, i. e. , thefortoftheriver; i. e. , the hill ofthe river; i. e. , the rocky hill of the river, and by a little stretch of the meaning the rocky
with his subordinate chiefs O'Cleircine and O'Flannabhra were dispossessed by the
—
letter undated, but Bruree.
referring
to the of parish
36 Hence, then, the name of this is parish
not ecclesiastical in its origin ; but it is
called Brugh-righ, which signifies the Fort of the King, or Burgum Regis in Latin. In all the ancient Irish histories, it is celebrated as chief seat of the senior representatives of Fiacha Figeinte. The Hy-Figente assumed
*'
This is certainly wrong, for Carraig note.
!
"—
35 It is shown on the " Ordnance Survey TownlandMapsfortheCountyofLimerick,"
"—" Letters containing
Fitzgeralds, now Knights of the Glinn. " Gough. "This is false; the Knights of Glynn never possessed the one-tenth of this
district of the river
Information relative to the Antiquities of
the County of Limerick, collected during
the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in
1840," vol. i. , p. 278. John O'Donovan's Sheets 38, 39, 46, 47.
32 Known as the frcpa Vrjyia or Altera Regia of the celebrated Greek geographer.
33 With further inaccuracy of statement, in
reference to this part of—Ireland, Gough has "
withDr. SylvesterO'Halloran,*1 who
the singular assertion
now the barony of Pobal Brien. " See the surname O'Donovan after the reign of
"
Gough's Camden's
516. However, in " Letters containing in- formation relative to the Antiquities of the County Limerick, collected during the Pro- gress of the Ordnance Survey in 1840," John O'Donovan writes in reference to
Gough and other writers who followed t—he ""
accounts contained in the Collectanea :
Brian Boru.
37 The fullest information regarding the
pedigree of O'Donovan, in all its branches, will be found in the Appendix to Dr.
"
Annals of the Four Masters. " vol. vi. , pp. 2430 to 2483.
38 See "History of the County and City of Limerick," vol. i. , pp. 371 to 373, and
:
Carrigoginniol is
Britannia," vol. in. , p.
Og-Coinneal was the name of the rock on which O'Brien's Castle stood, and not the
name of a territory, and the present barony of Pubblebrien is not the territory anciently
called Eoganacht Aine. It is sickening to have to notice the base blunders perpetuated by the stupid articles on Irish topography in
39 At this day. , it is no less than 12 Irish miles outside the boundary of the barony of Kenry.
40 Commenting on this statement, Mr. O'Donovan remarks, that O'Donovan should be written Donovan, as "surnames were not established at this- time. "
' 41"
Vallancey's Collectanea,' but if I do not
point them out now, the opportunity niay never offer itself again," vol. i. , p. 277.
34 In this connexion, Gough falls iuto
Author of the General History of Ire- land," and a native of Limerick.
42 Bruree is set down in the Book of Lecan
as one of the ports or fastnesses of the King
territory.
O'Donovan.
O'Donovan's
which are thua corrected — of Cashel, by which it is to be understood
other
Mr. O'Donovan. The former thus writes
mistakes, by :
that
it was one of (he in his forts
kingdom,
42 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 4.
his territory co-extensive with the barony of Kenry ; for O'Huidhran or O'Heerin places it in altogether a different position. *? However, far different
was the O' Donovan's Hy-Fidhgeinte, or Hy-Cairbre Aobhdha, a territory comprising more than six times the extent of the barony of Kenry. From
tli is territory they had been expelled by the Dal-y-Cais of Thomond. Afterwards, the district was known as the plain of Limerick, and with the
establishment of surnames, O'Mackesey was chieftain there. **
Instead of
and known as the Hy-Figinte, are described as being in a country, at the south side of the Shannon, and extending so far as Mount Luachra in the west. It lay within the present county of Limerick, and according to some
Hua Hanmer writes it Hua-Fi. *5 The people there Fidhgente,
authorities, a part of it lay within the County of Kerry. * "
6
living
Before the arrival
of the English, it is stated in Vallancey's Collectanea de Rebus Hi-
"8
bernicis *? followed by other writers,* that Limerick County had been a
kingdom or large principality, denominated Aine Cliach, or Eoganacht Aine Cliach, by the Irish during the middle ages,*9 This region of Hy-Figente was never called Aine Cliach, or Eoganacht Aine Cliach, however, for the territory so denominated comprised little more than one barony.
The following are notices of Hy-Figente, extracted from Smith—'s
Collections for Limerick,s° and under the heading " Antient Territories "
u a Hy-Figinte,
the north
ThechiefofHy-FigeinteiscalledKingofBruree,andit is added,that he was free of tribute, but he received annual presents from the King of Minister for his services in war. s2 From a passage in the Annals of Inis- fallen, given under the year 1200, it is evident, that O'Donovan resumed the possession of his territory, after he had been driven beyond Mangerton by the Dal-y-Cais. When he was finally driven to the south does not appear from
territory comprehending
of Conilloe, and part of Clanmaurice and Ineghticonue, County Kerry. This territory of Hy-Fignata had monarchs of its own, for according to Keating, in the time of Conall Cloan, monarch of Ireland, who began his reign Anno 648, Cuan Conaille, king of this country, was slain at the battle of Cairn Connill. " s<
but not inahabited by himself. The anti- quities of the parish of Bruree for the most part are old castles.
43 We are informed by O'Heerin, that O'Donovan possessed free of tribute " the lands along the River Maigue, and all the plains down to the Shannon. "
Oateif5An61ofpo'nniAigmoibt 1f tiA cliin fiof co Sionomn.
Ille regebat agrum quern \amb\t Magia segnis Et campos protensos fiumen ad usque
Senanum.
44 See John O'Hart's "Irish Pedigrees," vol. ii. , Part v. , chap, ii. , p. 15. From the Edition, 1888, 8vo.
45 See " Chronicle of Ireland," p. 121.
46 See Harris* vol. "
Ware, ii. , Antiquities
O'Kierwick or Hy Ciaraigh, descended from
Feidhlem, son of Nadfry, King of Munster, who had dynasts or subordinate ch—iefs of the several cantreds under him, &c. " Ibid.
'° These are still in manuscript, and pre-
served in the Library of the Royal Irish
Academy.
si There are several references to Hy-
Fidgeintein anIrish manuscriptcopyof Keating's "History of Ireland," in the
"
Chronicum Scotorum,"and in the "Annals of the Four Masters. "
52 These presents are enumerated in the
in the "Book of— following quatrain, Rights,"
which is ascribed to St. Benignus
:
"Cuanapcol jug b]\o§4 nig, O ni§ enitTO can imfnirh TJeic n-main -oonnA DeAngA
of Ireland," chap. vii. 4? See Nos. n and
" The of the stipend
48
3.
Especially Gough, in his edition of
King
Camden's "Britannia," vol. iii. , p. 516.
49
or king of Aine Cliach, who was named
Gough incorrectly adds, that the chief
parts
barony
of the said
-oeich can 1f n-goibl
And ten foreigners (ft. *. , foreign slaves) without Gaelic. "
of Bruree From the King of Erin without sorrow Ten tunics, brown red mantles (tunics)
SAetelgA. "
:
August 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 43
any document yet discovered ; but, it is evident, he was not in his original territory in 1420, when the poet OTIeerin flourished, who speaks of him as the person to whom this territory was due. Still, it appears from his words, that O'Donovan was not then in possession of Carbury ^va. 53
Many tracts in Ireland were denominated Corcach or Corcoich, which
""or"low "the
signifies moor/' marsh," swampy ground ; but, expression
is too general to indicate the exact locality of St. Molua's birth.
As the name Carthar or Carthach was that of several princes and nobles of Munster> it became necessary to distinguish them by surnames or epithets.
These, as in many other cases, were often used alone to designate persons, omitting, for the sake of conciseness, their real names. Thus, although Molua's father was a Carthar, yet he might have been more generally called simply Coche. 54 The mother of Lua was named Sochla,ss from Ossory, in the western part of the Leinster province. Her name is also written Sochte, of the Dadail Birnn race, in Ossory. s6 These people were probably settled in or near the place, which our saint afterwards chose for his foun- dation at Clonfert Molua. Sochta was the mother of three sons, by her husband Carthach \ and of these, our saint was the youngest ; but, in fame and sanctity, he was pre-eminent among his brothers. These children were
respectively named Lugith, Luger and Johain. 57
A commentator on the " Feilire " of St. ^Engus, and one who is very
fond of retailing unreliable legends of the Irish Saints, relates, that when
Comgall of Bangor, with his family, was wending his way, it came to pass, that they heard somewhat like the cries of a babe in a bank of rushes, while
they saw a service of angels over it a little distance from the road. Then
St. Comgall said to a monk of his order " See thou what is there in that
:
bank of rushes. " The man went and giving a kick into the brake of rushes, he beheld a child in the midst, and he took it into his arm-pit. St. Comgall askedwhathehadfoundandwhathehaddone. Themonkreplied,that he had found a babe, and that he had given it a kick. " Where is it," then enquired Comgall. The brother answered, that it was in his arm-pit. " This shall be its name," said Comgall, u My-lua (kick) son of ocha (arm- pit);" and, it is added, that our saint was so named, either because of finding him in the rushes, or because of the kick, which that monk gave to the brake of rushes, in which the babe had been found. 58 Afterwards, as we are told, he was reared by Comgall, so that he grew up very innocent. From
53 His words are :—
" "Dual t> O'TJontiAOAitt •othn ctii|\c -An ci]\ p 'nA cir\ lor>5puir\C
£a leif JAti cio|' fo'n mil*; tnoill 1r* via cl^i|\ pof co Sionoinn. "
vero ejus Sochte Dadail Birnn Osrigi duxit ""
O'Donovanus qui quondam in Corci arce sedebat
Pro terra castrorum est hcee regione potitus ;
Ille regebat agrum quern lambit Magia segnis
Etcampos protensos flumen ad usque Senanum. "
genus : &c.
57 See the Bollandists' Acta Sanctorum,"
" Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xii. , sect.
vii. , n. 85, pp. 207, 208.
Luano, Abbate Cluainfertensi, Vita, &c, cap. i. , sect. I, p. 342.
s8 The Commentator afterwards states, thatMacochai; represents"sonofarmpit;" but, for brevity's sake, Molua was called Macochai; forbytheIrishbeforehistim—e, ocha had been the term for "armpit. " "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. " Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. On the Calendar of Stokes,
54 See Rev. Dr.
Lanigan's
ss The Rev.
from Upper Ossory, and that her name in
J.
Holahan states she was
Oengus, by Whitley LL. D. , p. cxxviii.
Latin was
Largay meaning very great,
"
large
;
Notes
" — also openhanded, plentiful. "
on the Antiquities of the United Parishes of
Ballycallan, Kilmanagh and Killaloe," &c,
p. 34.
s6 The Bollandist Life has it: "mater
"
tomus i. Augusti iv. De S. Lugido sive
44* LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 4.
the foregoing account, one might be induced to suppose, that Mo-lua had been a foundling ; but, it is evidently only another version of a circumstance in his life, and which occurred, when he was delivered up by his parents for tuition to the holy Abbot of Bangor, as hereafter related.
Even in his youth, the holy child was distinguished by the performance of many miracles. He is said to have healed his father Carthach from the effects of a cancer, which necessitated the amputation of his foot; but the son effected a perfect cure, which relieved his parent from all pain, and he even restored the limb. Angels were seen to have charge of the boy, at this early period of his life, and these are said to have been his special guardians in many instances. One day, St. Molua's mother brought him with her to the house of a certain man, to enquire about her cattle, which this person had in keeping. On that occasion, the boy appeared surrounded by a bright flame, to the great astonishment of that man. He requested the child's hand to be placed on his head, on account of his having given such early proofs of sanctity. When the mother brought her child to that pious person, the infant was observed to weep. These tears fell on the man's breast. Being afflicted with a grievous ulcer, and having pains in the head, that patient found instant relief from both maladies. He felt duly grateful for such a cure, while the fame of Molua's sanctity was spread throughout all that neighbourhood.
sic inuentum est (. i. frith) [corpus Stephani] . i. Lucianus prespiter eclesiae quae est in
Kelly, p. xxxi.
3 In the Book of Leinster copy we read
Vechitimrm-o C1II1 mAir\.
3 Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves,
pp. 208, 209.
4
This is stated by Rev. Dr. Todd, in a
note — subjoined 5.
"
thus translated i—nto English by Dr. Whitley
Article x.
x
"
Breac
In the
copy, we find the following stanza,
Jerusolimis uilla ilia discat [tic) sed Gamulel
scriba legis qui fuit in uno sepulcro cum
Zephano indecauit per ui>>ionem noctis haec
Luc[i]ano dicens Ego Gamulel et Nico-
demus nepos metis et Abbisus films meus
dilectis[sj imus nos omnes in uno sepulcro
cum ZePhano sumus et manifest[au. t] apos- ,
tolus ut ostensa Zephani manifestentur omnibus. "—Ibid. p. cxxviii.
4 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Stokes, LL. D.
mecn4puiLinT>eom Inmein teil cotiAm Itiainechc conoemi
:
ConpAti r-Aen 1
ZephAttl. '
"In John's Metropolis (Jerusalem) beloved is the feast with splendour, whereon was found with holiness Stephen's noble body. "
in alii
Leabhar christianis demonstrauit haud longe ab
Augusti iii. Among the pretermitted feasts, —" Transactions of the Royal Irish p. 198.
uilla
carpaga
(sic)
ipsi corpus Zephani
August 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 39
Jfourtl) 2Baj> of august*
ARTICLE I. —ST. LUA OR MOLUA, ABBOT OF CLONFERT MOLUA, NOW KYLE, QUEEN'S COUNTY.
[SIXTH CENTURY. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—AUTHORITIES FOR ST. MOLUA's ACTS—HIS FAMILY AND RACE—HIS BIRTH AND EARLY INDICATIONS OF SANCTITY—MIRACLES WROUGHT DURING HIS BOYHOOD.
is well that every passing age should learn to know the heroes of the
IT Church and of Christianity. Thus might every generation recognise thesanctityofmonasticrule,andthebeautyofGod'sChurch. Thefurther study of such subjects must tend to reveal still more the spirit of past piety. Nevertheless, those materials, sought after most carefully and laboriously, when brought forth from the dust of ages, should be passed into the crucible of examination for a loving and an ardent mind. All might be stamped with an impress of the nineteenth century, to effect what must be required, in order to please and instruct the people living in our days. Great masters of a spiritual life, however, often wish to retire into the sanctuary, and to lift up their hands to Heaven, like Moyses, while the people outside are fighting thebattleoffreedom. Notlessdosuchreclusesaidinthespiritualcombat, and encourage the sons of life in a struggle with the powers of darkness, than if they were themselves engaged in the most active pursuit of good
external objects and still distracted by their varying influences.
Different forms of name have been applied to the present holy Abbot,
called Lua, Molua, Lugid, Lugith. Lugaidh, and Luan, in Irish, and these have even received various Latin changes in termination. Several ancient writers —have rendered the name— which in Irish stands for
and also Ware 3 speak of Luigidus, as being identical with Molua, Abbot of Clonfert Molua. St. Bernard calls our saint Luanus, in his Life of St.
Malachy,ArchbishopofArmagh. * ColganalsomentionsSt. Molua,under thesamename. s SomeManuscriptCopiesofSt. Molua'sActsareextant. 6
There is a Latin Life of St. Molua, among the Burgundian Library Manu- scripts, at Bruxellep. 7 In the Manuscript known as the Codex Kilken-
compiled by anonymous writers.
Article I. —* The name to him given
The Acts of this saint are presented to us
by Sir James Ware, in his work, " De Scrip-
xii. De Con- Januarii. Laidgenno
toribus lib. Hiberniae,"
6 In the intituled "Vitae Manuscript,
Sanctorum," ex Cod. Inisensi, belonging to the Franciscan Convent, Dublin, there is a Vita S. Molua Druim-Sneachtse, pp. 99 and 104. He is identical with the present saint.
1 The classification is Vol. xxii. , at fol. 202. 8 At fol. 113 to 116.
» it is classed E. 3, 1 1, Vita S. Moluae,
i. , cap. iii. , p. 17. See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
2"
quitates," Index Chronologicus, A. D. dcviil, p. 536.
3 See " De Scriptoribus Hibernise," lib. i. , cap. xiii. , p. 90.
* See his Life, in the present work, at the 3rd of November, the date for his festival.
5 See "Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hi-
at fol. 92.
original Lua, ""2
Moluax in Lua into Usher Englishmeaning my Lugidus. Hence,
8
College, Dublin, there is another. 9 While diversities of statement abound
niensis, there is a Life of St. Molua.
in these, they are for the most part legendary and unreliable, having been
In a Manuscript, belonging to Trinity
hernias," fessore, p. 57.
4o
LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 4.
graphs, pp. 368 to 379.
11 To this he must have had access through
the hereditary keepers.
12 See Dr. Lanigan's " Ecclesiastical
other documents, such as the Life of St.
Moedoc, at cap. xx. , and that of Pulcherius, at cap. xi. In his notes to these Acts,
Colgan applies what is said regarding Molua, son of Coche, to the present Molua, whose festival was held on the 4th of August. See
"Acta Sanctorum Hibernian, "Januarii xxxi. , p. 210, and n. 21, p. 217 ; also, Martii xiii. , p. 590, and n. 14, p. 597.
27 In the Life, as published by the Bollan- dists, it is written Corchode.
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , cap. xii. , sect, vii. , n. 84, p. 207.
13 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. Augusti iv. De S. Lugido sive Luano Abbate Cluainfertensi in Hibernia, pp. 339 to 352.
l * Noted as P. Ms. xi.
xs This is contained in twelve
28 After the establishment of
O'Macassy was chieftain there. "
surnames, See O'Fla-
16
paragraphs. This valuable work was printed at the
expense of John Patrick, Marquis of Bute, at Bruges, in 1888. Imp. 4to.
17 Ex Codice Salmanticensi, nunc primum integne edita opera. See col. 261 to 288, as also col. 879 to 890.
heity's Ogygia. " Pars, hi. , cap. lxxxi. , p. 381.
29 John O'Donovan, LL. D.
30 In their "History, Topography, and Antiquities of the County and City of Limerick," vol. i. , pp. 371 to 373, and note.
31 In his edition of Camden's " Britannia"
in the Third Volume, Gough has stated,
18
It is contained, 41 in brief paragraphs.
19 This is comprised in 69 paragraphs. It differs little from the Bollandist version, but
it is more correctly printed. See part ii. , pp. 64, 65.
31
See at p. 1 1 2.
22 We find set down at this
10 from an ancient called the Book of Manuscript,
Father
Molua, as published by Fleming, abounds in fables ; and, as a consequence,
12 The Bollandists have inserted this Saint's Acts in their great collection. '3 His Life was found in an ancient Manuscript * belonging to the University of Salamanca, and it was collated with other codices. A previous commentary »s has been compiled by Father Peter Bosch, SJ. The " Acta Sanctorum Hibernise,"16 as edited by Father Charles De Smet, SJ. , and by Father Joseph De Backer, S. J. , has two different Acts of St. Lugid, for this date. 1 ? The latter Life 18 however is
by
Armagh. 11
an ancient author. This Life he says was first published by himself. A modern writer of Irish Ecclesiastical History states, that the Life of St.
Fleming,
These Acts he ascribes to an anonymous, but to a faithful and
he denies its
a of the former. 10 An account of St. only compendium
very great antiquity.
printed by Bishop Challenor, at this date, in
'•
Britannia Sancta,"
20
as also in
his " Memorial of British 21 The Rev. Alban Butler has a few short Piety. "
notices regarding St. Luanus. 22 He is also commemorated in the works
of Les Petits Bollandistes,33 and of Rev. S.
2*
St. Molua or Luanus was son to Carthach,2^ commonly called Coche,26
ofthe of family
2? andfromthe
of 28 Hy-Fidhgente,
Corcoiche,
intheprovinceofMunster. AccordingtooneofthemostlearnedofIrish
20
topographers, the country of the Hy-Figiente embraced the greater and
better part of the county of Limerick ; it extended from the Shannon to the middle of Slieve Loughra, and from Kerry to Limerick. It was also known as Hy-Cairbre Aobhdha. Some of our modern writers, such as Gough, as also McGregor and Fitzgerald,3° have stated that Cairbre Aobhdha,3x is
10" 26 In his Collectanea Sacra," in 55 para-
This appears, likewise, from several
moreover, that it was also denominated Hy 20 "
or Lugid, sometimes called Molua. See
"
Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. viii. August iv.
See p. 516. The learned representative of the latter name, however, thus takes hi—m to
So
was a rock battle and as stubborn as a rock, but I do
33 See "Vies des Saints," tome ix.
, e
task, in rather a sarcastic vein O'Donovan signifies the rocky district ori the river ! This is truly amusing, but not altogether true ; though I believe Donovan,
iv Jour d'Aout, p. 272.
a*
See "Lives of the Saints," vol. viiL, August 4, pp. 37 to 40.
2* He is called the son of
Life, published by the Bollandists.
in the
the of the progenitor
in
St.
day, Luanus,
the situated on the Shannon river, being
the chiefs of which were the O'Donovans.
;
Daigri,
family,
Baring-Gould.
region
or is Lugid, Molua,
diui namhain ; and he adds, both of which names signify the rocky district on
:
August 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 41
now the barony of Kenry. Assuming his identification of its being the barony of Kenry to be correct, the former writer presumes it probable, that
3 as in this being
it had been the site of an ancient named city
by Ptolemy,3
part of Ireland, while he adds, likewise, that in this cantred was situated Brugh right now Brury,33 an inconsiderable village, but in ancient times the seat of the Kings of Cairbre Aobhdha. 34 The denomination is localised in Bruree Parish, situated partly in Coshma Barony and partly in that of Upper Connello, in the county of Limerick. 35 Its name was derived from a fort, in which the King of Hy-Figeinte resided. Near that ancient fort, the original
6 The Messrs.
have also stated, that O'Donovan37 was chief of Kenry. 38
known, that his residence was at Bruree,39 and without the limits of that district. A statement is made also by these historians, that O'Donovan40 was- killed by Brian Boiromhe.
But O'Halloran is wrong in making
" Here Auliff More O'Donoghue, King of Cairbre Aobhoha, was slain by Murtogh O'Brien in 1 165. "—Gough. " This is false ; Auliff More O'Donoghue was chief of Kil-
parish
placed. 3
Fitzgerald •
McGregor
church had been
and
Yet it is well
Thewholeofthiserror
wrote that O'Donovan's country was co-extensive with the barony of Kenry,
originated and that his residence was at Bruree. *2
not believe he was a rocky district. Is it not
much more likely that this chief took his
name from the colour of his hair : t>onn
signifies brown, and x>ubin means a dark-
haired man? Beauford, from whom the larney, not of Hy-Cairbre Aobhoha. "— above derivation of the name is taken, O"Donovan. "The prince of this cantred
supposed it might be fromTmn-nAh-Abarm, i. e. , thefortoftheriver; i. e. , the hill ofthe river; i. e. , the rocky hill of the river, and by a little stretch of the meaning the rocky
with his subordinate chiefs O'Cleircine and O'Flannabhra were dispossessed by the
—
letter undated, but Bruree.
referring
to the of parish
36 Hence, then, the name of this is parish
not ecclesiastical in its origin ; but it is
called Brugh-righ, which signifies the Fort of the King, or Burgum Regis in Latin. In all the ancient Irish histories, it is celebrated as chief seat of the senior representatives of Fiacha Figeinte. The Hy-Figente assumed
*'
This is certainly wrong, for Carraig note.
!
"—
35 It is shown on the " Ordnance Survey TownlandMapsfortheCountyofLimerick,"
"—" Letters containing
Fitzgeralds, now Knights of the Glinn. " Gough. "This is false; the Knights of Glynn never possessed the one-tenth of this
district of the river
Information relative to the Antiquities of
the County of Limerick, collected during
the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in
1840," vol. i. , p. 278. John O'Donovan's Sheets 38, 39, 46, 47.
32 Known as the frcpa Vrjyia or Altera Regia of the celebrated Greek geographer.
33 With further inaccuracy of statement, in
reference to this part of—Ireland, Gough has "
withDr. SylvesterO'Halloran,*1 who
the singular assertion
now the barony of Pobal Brien. " See the surname O'Donovan after the reign of
"
Gough's Camden's
516. However, in " Letters containing in- formation relative to the Antiquities of the County Limerick, collected during the Pro- gress of the Ordnance Survey in 1840," John O'Donovan writes in reference to
Gough and other writers who followed t—he ""
accounts contained in the Collectanea :
Brian Boru.
37 The fullest information regarding the
pedigree of O'Donovan, in all its branches, will be found in the Appendix to Dr.
"
Annals of the Four Masters. " vol. vi. , pp. 2430 to 2483.
38 See "History of the County and City of Limerick," vol. i. , pp. 371 to 373, and
:
Carrigoginniol is
Britannia," vol. in. , p.
Og-Coinneal was the name of the rock on which O'Brien's Castle stood, and not the
name of a territory, and the present barony of Pubblebrien is not the territory anciently
called Eoganacht Aine. It is sickening to have to notice the base blunders perpetuated by the stupid articles on Irish topography in
39 At this day. , it is no less than 12 Irish miles outside the boundary of the barony of Kenry.
40 Commenting on this statement, Mr. O'Donovan remarks, that O'Donovan should be written Donovan, as "surnames were not established at this- time. "
' 41"
Vallancey's Collectanea,' but if I do not
point them out now, the opportunity niay never offer itself again," vol. i. , p. 277.
34 In this connexion, Gough falls iuto
Author of the General History of Ire- land," and a native of Limerick.
42 Bruree is set down in the Book of Lecan
as one of the ports or fastnesses of the King
territory.
O'Donovan.
O'Donovan's
which are thua corrected — of Cashel, by which it is to be understood
other
Mr. O'Donovan. The former thus writes
mistakes, by :
that
it was one of (he in his forts
kingdom,
42 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 4.
his territory co-extensive with the barony of Kenry ; for O'Huidhran or O'Heerin places it in altogether a different position. *? However, far different
was the O' Donovan's Hy-Fidhgeinte, or Hy-Cairbre Aobhdha, a territory comprising more than six times the extent of the barony of Kenry. From
tli is territory they had been expelled by the Dal-y-Cais of Thomond. Afterwards, the district was known as the plain of Limerick, and with the
establishment of surnames, O'Mackesey was chieftain there. **
Instead of
and known as the Hy-Figinte, are described as being in a country, at the south side of the Shannon, and extending so far as Mount Luachra in the west. It lay within the present county of Limerick, and according to some
Hua Hanmer writes it Hua-Fi. *5 The people there Fidhgente,
authorities, a part of it lay within the County of Kerry. * "
6
living
Before the arrival
of the English, it is stated in Vallancey's Collectanea de Rebus Hi-
"8
bernicis *? followed by other writers,* that Limerick County had been a
kingdom or large principality, denominated Aine Cliach, or Eoganacht Aine Cliach, by the Irish during the middle ages,*9 This region of Hy-Figente was never called Aine Cliach, or Eoganacht Aine Cliach, however, for the territory so denominated comprised little more than one barony.
The following are notices of Hy-Figente, extracted from Smith—'s
Collections for Limerick,s° and under the heading " Antient Territories "
u a Hy-Figinte,
the north
ThechiefofHy-FigeinteiscalledKingofBruree,andit is added,that he was free of tribute, but he received annual presents from the King of Minister for his services in war. s2 From a passage in the Annals of Inis- fallen, given under the year 1200, it is evident, that O'Donovan resumed the possession of his territory, after he had been driven beyond Mangerton by the Dal-y-Cais. When he was finally driven to the south does not appear from
territory comprehending
of Conilloe, and part of Clanmaurice and Ineghticonue, County Kerry. This territory of Hy-Fignata had monarchs of its own, for according to Keating, in the time of Conall Cloan, monarch of Ireland, who began his reign Anno 648, Cuan Conaille, king of this country, was slain at the battle of Cairn Connill. " s<
but not inahabited by himself. The anti- quities of the parish of Bruree for the most part are old castles.
43 We are informed by O'Heerin, that O'Donovan possessed free of tribute " the lands along the River Maigue, and all the plains down to the Shannon. "
Oateif5An61ofpo'nniAigmoibt 1f tiA cliin fiof co Sionomn.
Ille regebat agrum quern \amb\t Magia segnis Et campos protensos fiumen ad usque
Senanum.
44 See John O'Hart's "Irish Pedigrees," vol. ii. , Part v. , chap, ii. , p. 15. From the Edition, 1888, 8vo.
45 See " Chronicle of Ireland," p. 121.
46 See Harris* vol. "
Ware, ii. , Antiquities
O'Kierwick or Hy Ciaraigh, descended from
Feidhlem, son of Nadfry, King of Munster, who had dynasts or subordinate ch—iefs of the several cantreds under him, &c. " Ibid.
'° These are still in manuscript, and pre-
served in the Library of the Royal Irish
Academy.
si There are several references to Hy-
Fidgeintein anIrish manuscriptcopyof Keating's "History of Ireland," in the
"
Chronicum Scotorum,"and in the "Annals of the Four Masters. "
52 These presents are enumerated in the
in the "Book of— following quatrain, Rights,"
which is ascribed to St. Benignus
:
"Cuanapcol jug b]\o§4 nig, O ni§ enitTO can imfnirh TJeic n-main -oonnA DeAngA
of Ireland," chap. vii. 4? See Nos. n and
" The of the stipend
48
3.
Especially Gough, in his edition of
King
Camden's "Britannia," vol. iii. , p. 516.
49
or king of Aine Cliach, who was named
Gough incorrectly adds, that the chief
parts
barony
of the said
-oeich can 1f n-goibl
And ten foreigners (ft. *. , foreign slaves) without Gaelic. "
of Bruree From the King of Erin without sorrow Ten tunics, brown red mantles (tunics)
SAetelgA. "
:
August 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 43
any document yet discovered ; but, it is evident, he was not in his original territory in 1420, when the poet OTIeerin flourished, who speaks of him as the person to whom this territory was due. Still, it appears from his words, that O'Donovan was not then in possession of Carbury ^va. 53
Many tracts in Ireland were denominated Corcach or Corcoich, which
""or"low "the
signifies moor/' marsh," swampy ground ; but, expression
is too general to indicate the exact locality of St. Molua's birth.
As the name Carthar or Carthach was that of several princes and nobles of Munster> it became necessary to distinguish them by surnames or epithets.
These, as in many other cases, were often used alone to designate persons, omitting, for the sake of conciseness, their real names. Thus, although Molua's father was a Carthar, yet he might have been more generally called simply Coche. 54 The mother of Lua was named Sochla,ss from Ossory, in the western part of the Leinster province. Her name is also written Sochte, of the Dadail Birnn race, in Ossory. s6 These people were probably settled in or near the place, which our saint afterwards chose for his foun- dation at Clonfert Molua. Sochta was the mother of three sons, by her husband Carthach \ and of these, our saint was the youngest ; but, in fame and sanctity, he was pre-eminent among his brothers. These children were
respectively named Lugith, Luger and Johain. 57
A commentator on the " Feilire " of St. ^Engus, and one who is very
fond of retailing unreliable legends of the Irish Saints, relates, that when
Comgall of Bangor, with his family, was wending his way, it came to pass, that they heard somewhat like the cries of a babe in a bank of rushes, while
they saw a service of angels over it a little distance from the road. Then
St. Comgall said to a monk of his order " See thou what is there in that
:
bank of rushes. " The man went and giving a kick into the brake of rushes, he beheld a child in the midst, and he took it into his arm-pit. St. Comgall askedwhathehadfoundandwhathehaddone. Themonkreplied,that he had found a babe, and that he had given it a kick. " Where is it," then enquired Comgall. The brother answered, that it was in his arm-pit. " This shall be its name," said Comgall, u My-lua (kick) son of ocha (arm- pit);" and, it is added, that our saint was so named, either because of finding him in the rushes, or because of the kick, which that monk gave to the brake of rushes, in which the babe had been found. 58 Afterwards, as we are told, he was reared by Comgall, so that he grew up very innocent. From
53 His words are :—
" "Dual t> O'TJontiAOAitt •othn ctii|\c -An ci]\ p 'nA cir\ lor>5puir\C
£a leif JAti cio|' fo'n mil*; tnoill 1r* via cl^i|\ pof co Sionoinn. "
vero ejus Sochte Dadail Birnn Osrigi duxit ""
O'Donovanus qui quondam in Corci arce sedebat
Pro terra castrorum est hcee regione potitus ;
Ille regebat agrum quern lambit Magia segnis
Etcampos protensos flumen ad usque Senanum. "
genus : &c.
57 See the Bollandists' Acta Sanctorum,"
" Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xii. , sect.
vii. , n. 85, pp. 207, 208.
Luano, Abbate Cluainfertensi, Vita, &c, cap. i. , sect. I, p. 342.
s8 The Commentator afterwards states, thatMacochai; represents"sonofarmpit;" but, for brevity's sake, Molua was called Macochai; forbytheIrishbeforehistim—e, ocha had been the term for "armpit. " "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. " Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. On the Calendar of Stokes,
54 See Rev. Dr.
Lanigan's
ss The Rev.
from Upper Ossory, and that her name in
J.
Holahan states she was
Oengus, by Whitley LL. D. , p. cxxviii.
Latin was
Largay meaning very great,
"
large
;
Notes
" — also openhanded, plentiful. "
on the Antiquities of the United Parishes of
Ballycallan, Kilmanagh and Killaloe," &c,
p. 34.
s6 The Bollandist Life has it: "mater
"
tomus i. Augusti iv. De S. Lugido sive
44* LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 4.
the foregoing account, one might be induced to suppose, that Mo-lua had been a foundling ; but, it is evidently only another version of a circumstance in his life, and which occurred, when he was delivered up by his parents for tuition to the holy Abbot of Bangor, as hereafter related.
Even in his youth, the holy child was distinguished by the performance of many miracles. He is said to have healed his father Carthach from the effects of a cancer, which necessitated the amputation of his foot; but the son effected a perfect cure, which relieved his parent from all pain, and he even restored the limb. Angels were seen to have charge of the boy, at this early period of his life, and these are said to have been his special guardians in many instances. One day, St. Molua's mother brought him with her to the house of a certain man, to enquire about her cattle, which this person had in keeping. On that occasion, the boy appeared surrounded by a bright flame, to the great astonishment of that man. He requested the child's hand to be placed on his head, on account of his having given such early proofs of sanctity. When the mother brought her child to that pious person, the infant was observed to weep. These tears fell on the man's breast. Being afflicted with a grievous ulcer, and having pains in the head, that patient found instant relief from both maladies. He felt duly grateful for such a cure, while the fame of Molua's sanctity was spread throughout all that neighbourhood.
