Culanus, as having been
venerated
in Ireland, on this day.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v2
Du Noyer, ibid.
, No.
52.
^4 This portion of it is to be found on the
" Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the
County of Londonderry," Sheet 48.
^^ This portion is described on the ** Ord- nance Survey Tovi^nland . Maps for the County of Tyrone," Sheets 21, 29, 30, 38,
*7 Maghera is the modern name. See Rev. William Reeves' " Ecclesiastical Anti* quities of Down, Connor and Dromore,
p. 27.
^^ See Harris* Ware, vol* i. , p. 286.
^9 In 12 18, a Gilla-na-naev O'Gormally,
priest of Rathloury, died on his pilgrimage* See O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four
Masters," vol. iii. , pp. 192, 193 and n. (1. )
i. , pp. 104, 105.
=° ** See
6i8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i8.
Cifffttotttft Bap of jfebruarg*
ARTICLE I. —ST. COLMAN, BISHOP OF ARD-BO, COUNTY TYRONE. [PROBABLY IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. I
are no less than one hundred and thirty saints, named Colman,
enumerated in our Irish THERE
and Histories. It is not wonder- ful, therefore, that much confusion must exist, in distinguishing their festivals and natal days. The task of individual identification must be difficult, especially as only the simple name occurs, in many instances. At the i8th of February, ColgannoticesaBishopColman. ^ ThissaintisveneratedatArd-bOj^"near Lough nEathach, in the county of Tyrone. 3 Little, however, is known with certainty regarding his parentage, birth-place, the age in which he flourished, or even his Acts. It seems probable,-* that this is the St. Colman,^ sur- named Mucaidhe of Ard-bo, or Arboe,'^ the son of Aid, son to Amalgad, son of Muredach, son to Carthenn, son of Ere, son to Ethac or Eochod, son of Colla Huasius, King of Ireland. This genealogy—if relied on—should place his period in the sixth century. His memory is barely recorded in our Martyrologies, most of which assign his festival to this day ; whilst the
Martyrologies
Martyrologies of Tallagh and Maguire commemorate him, on the 21st of February. 7 The very great number of saints, bearing this name^ and to be found in Irish Calenders, often leaves us in doubt regarding the particular St. Col- man, who might be mentioned, in various lives of Irish Saints. At Ard-bo^
Article i —* See **Acta Sanctorum on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps
Hibernise," xviii. Februarii. De S. Col- for the County of Londonderry," (Sheet
niano Episcopo, p. 368. 48) ; and partly in the barony of Upper
'
boe "is now a poor village near the river Ballindery, which falls into Loughneagh,"
''
and that it is situated
Dungannon, and two miles west of Lough-
Archdall tells us, that Ardboe or Hard- Dungannon, which is described on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Tyrone," Sheets 30, 31, 39, 40,
neagh," in the County of Tyrone. See "^
Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 678. Arch- dall, however, had no warrant for stating, that Colman here founded '*a noble and
celebrated monastery. "
3 This is probably the saint mentioned by
Colgan in his "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xxxi. Januarii. Vita S. Maidoci. Appen-
Colgan remarks, that although the Ro- man Martyrology enumerates 61 saints, bearing the name of Felix, to which Ferra- rius adds 18 other homonymous saints ; and
although, from the same source, 24 saints named John, with 60 other saints, named
John, as added by Ferrarius, may be enume- rated : yet, in our Irish Martyrologies and Annals, the feasts and names of—more than 130SaintColmanscanbefound anumber of homonymous saints, not to be equalled, perhaps, in the Calendars of all the other countries in the world. See " Acta Sancto- rum Hibernise," xviii. Febniarii. Vita S. Colmani, and note 3, p. 368. In his Pre- face to this same work, Colgan mentions over 200 saints called Colman, as found in the Tracts of St. ^Engus the Culdee.
9 Dr. O'Donovan Latinizes this place as " CoUis bovis. " See " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. ii. , n. (c), p. 972.
dix, cap. iv. , p. 222. Lough nEathach was the ancient Irish name, for the present exten- sive sheet of water, known as Lough Neagh.
—— *Ifsuchbethecase asitwouldappear
this saint claims descent from Colla Uais,
who began his reign as King of Ireland in
the year of Christ 323. See Dr. O'Dono-
yan's
"
Annals of the" Four Masters," vol.
i. , pp. 122, 123. Thus he was of the same
stock, as St. Maidoc, Bishop of Ferns.
5
Colgan, however, assigns his feast to the 2 1st of February.
* This parish is situated, partly in the barony of Loughinsholin, and this is shown
in the barony of
47, 48.
^ See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nise," p. 368, with notes.
February i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 619
or Harbonensis—as the place is sometimes found Latinized—there was formerly a splendid monastery. There, too, were the relics of St. Colman
preserved. In the year 1166, however, a fire broke out, and ruined the place. In the seventeenth century, only a few vestiges of its former celebrity remained. These were the remains of the old church walls, with a cross in good preservation, about fifteen feet in height. On it were several inscrip- tions. '° The festival of St. Colman is recorded at the i8th of February, in the "Feilire" of St. ^ngus. " We find entered, in the Martyrology of Tallagh," at the 1 8th of February, a festival in honour of Colman. This
Calendarappendsthefollowingwordstothenotice "ImMeuriabfriMona
:
i tuaidh ata Colman. " " About Meuriab near Mona (bog) to the north there liesColman. "'3 This,however,hardlyhelpsustotheexactidentificationof his place. Colman is venerated on this day, as we read in the Martyrology ofDonegal. '* The Scottish writers, and some foreigners misled by them, have, however, confounded this saint and his festival, with the cultus of another St. Colman. He too was an Irishman, and much more celebrated than the present holy man. Thus, the Bollandists have, at this date, several dissertations, and an epitomized Life of St. Colman, Bishop of Lindisfarne, takenfromtheAberdeenBreviary. ^s ItiscontainedintheParsHyemalis. ^^ In Hke manner, Bishop Forbes'7 has entered some notices of St. Colman, who is so much celebrated, in connexion with Scotland. Thus, too, St. Colman, that Bishop and Confessor, who so tenaciously clung to the Scottish traditions, in reference to the celebration of Easter,'^ has a festival assigned to him,'9 at this date, by Camerarius. In 564, he is said, by this writer, to have left Anglia, and to have retired to Scotia,^° where in the Island of iona he first dwelt, and afterwards he went to the Island of the White Cow, which Camerarius thinks to be Calfa, one of the Orkney Islands. This he left with his Scottish monks, and went to Magio, supposed by Camerarius to have beenoneoftheOrkneys. Agreatdealofnonsensefollowsthisstatement. ^*^ Again, it is said, that at the xii. of the March Kalends, which accords with the 18th of February, St. Colman, Bishop and Confessor, had been venerated in Scocia. The sanctity of his life, the uprightness of his moral character, and the merits of his virtues, afforded example for the imitation of his actions by a faithful flock. He was buried, we are told, at Terbert, in the diocese of Ross. ^"^ The Kalendar of Drummond and of the Aberdeen Breviary has
^° See Archdall's "Monasticon Hiberni-
cum," p. 678.
^^ The following stanza has been furnished
R. I. A.
'4 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
"
fessor O'Looney, w—ith its corresponding Mr. Jeremiah J. MacSweeney, Library,
from the
English translation
5. 5«11. kt. bebAif ir» cAit) ColmAn,
Tio]\A'oi J
1 Veil CAin CO noeb),
Tlucuili SiluAm.
Colman the chaste expired,
^3 This translation is kindly furnished by
Leabhar Breac" copy by Pro- :
mobbA
52, 53.
*5 See "Acta
Februarii
Mention Moliba ye
Ecclesias- tica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. xxvii.
;
On the appropriate feast with
reverence,
Of Rutulus and of Silvanus.
Rutulus and Silvanus were Martyrs in
^9 As a Bishop and a Confessor, among the Scottish entries in the Kalendar of
and their Acts, with those of
other companions will be found in the Bol- landists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
=^° See " De Statu veteris simul Hominis,
Africa,
many
Februarii xviii. De Sanctis Martyribus Afris, &c. , pp. 65, 66.
^^ Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xvi.
Sanctorum," tomus iii,, pp. 82 to 88.
xviii. ,
»^
Fol. Ivi.
*7See ''Kalendars of Scottish
pp. 303, 304.
'^ See Ven. Bede's ** Historia
Saints,"
David Camerarius, as seen in Bishop Forbes' work, p. 235.
ac novoe Ecclesioe, et Infidelium Conver* sione," lib. i. , cap. iii. , sect. 2, p. 149.
620 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Februaryi8.
afeastforColman,BishopandConfessor,atxii. oftheMarchKalends. He had an office of nine lessons. '3 A Scottish Kalendar, likewise, notes him. "^* But, the leading facts of his life are, that St. Colman left Northumberland, A. D. 664,='5 then he went to Ireland, in 667 f^ and he died, on the 8th of August, A. D. 674,^7 according to the Irish Annals. Camerarius, once more, places his day at March the 7th. *^ Again, the Kalendar of Arbuthnott enters the festival of St. Colman, Bishop and Confessor, at the xii. Kalends of March. He had an office of nine lessons, as we are informed. ^9 This hasbeenreproducedinthepagesoftheBollandists. 3o InAdamKing'sKalen- dar, at the 18th of February, we find entered a feast to St. Colman, successor to St. Finnane, and Confessor in Scotland. 3^ Dempster notes St. Colman, Confessor, in Scotia, at this date. 3^ At the 8th of August, we shall treat about the particulars of his history.
Article II. —St. Dacualenus or Culanus, Bishop of Killcuilawn,
County of Tipperary. [Possibly in the Seventh Century. '] At this date,
Colgan has a few notices, regarding St. Culanus or Dacualenus, a bishop. ^ He thinks, however, that the name of this holy man should be written Cucul-
anus. In the anonymous list of Irish saints, published by O'SuUevan Beare, as also in the Catalogue of Henry Fitzsimon, at this day, we have a St. Cuculanus. On the authority of Florarius, the latter writer styles him bishop. =* The Bollandists have short Acts of this Saint Culan,3 in their great compilation. Yet, what Godefrid Henschenn adds there, to Colgan's re- marks, are not worthy of much consideration. Many foreign writers, amongst others Ferrarius,-^ and Canisius,5 make mention of St.
Culanus, as having been venerated in Ireland, on this day. By Florarius, he is called Cucul- anus. But,Colgantellsus,hewasunabletodiscoverasaint,bearingeither name, and whose festival had been kept on the i8th of February, according to our domestic Hagiographers. Yet, Usuard auctus, or the Carthusian Martyrology, and Hermann Greuan, have accounts of St. Culan, Bishop and Confessor, as having been venerated in Ireland, on this day. In one instance, Colgan has classed St. Culenus or Culan, Bishop, among the disciples of St.
Patrick,^ following Tirechan's list. 7
We know, that^in the Irish Calendars,
3° See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. Februarii xviii. , p. 88.
3^ See Forbes' "Kalendars of Bishop
" See/3/«/. , pp. 150, 151. =2 "
See Proceedings of the Society of An—- tiquariesof Scotland. " SessionsMDCCCLiv.
V. MDCCCLVI. —VII. ,
1856. No. V. An Obituary and Calendar of Scottish Saints, extracted from the Mar- tyrology for the use of the Church of Aber- deen. A Manuscript of the Sixteenth Century. Communicated by David Laing, Esq. , F. S. A. Scot, p. 261.
Scottish
^''Seeidid. , "Menologium Scoticum,"p.
192.
ARTICLE II. —' See " Acta Sanctorum
Hibernise," xviii. Februarii. De S. Culano,
vol,
ii. ,
May 12,
Saints," p. 145.
See O'Sullevan Beare's Historiae Ca- "3 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of tholicse Ibernise Compendium," tomus i. ,
Scottish Saints," pp. 5, 112.
'' See e<Jidf. , p. 248.
'5 According to the " Annals of Clonmac-
lib. iv. , cap. x^i. , p. 49, and cap. xii. , p. 53. ^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , xviii. Februarii. De S. Culano Episcopo
in Hibernia, p. 82.
* He "In Hibernia^ S. Culani Epis- says,
Generalis Sanctorum. " s In Antiquae Lectiones. "
^
See "Trias Thaumaturga. " Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p.
noise. " '^
According
to the " Annals of Ulster. "
According
"
to the " Annals of the Four —"
copi. " Catalogus
'7
Masters. " See Dr. O'Donovan's edition,
vol. i. , pp. 279 and n. (f). Also pp. 284, 285.
"^See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of 268.
Scottish Saints," pp. 235, and 303, 304. 'This appears in Ussher's "De Primor-
"' See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of diis EcclesiarumBritannicarum," cap. xvii. ,
Scottish
Saints," p. 97. p. 950.
alias Dacualeno, pp. 368, 369. ""
February i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 621
there are many saints, having the name Colan or Coelon. ^ However, Cul- anus, Cuilen, or Cualen, was the same as Cuien or Dachualen, whose com- memoration occurs, at the 12th of March, in the Martyrologies of Maii- anusO'GormanandofCathaldMaguire. s Ifhebethesameperson,his descent is traced, in the Genealogy of the Saints of Ireland, by Cormac, Bishop of Cashel, from the Hy-Niall family. The father of this saint was Guaire, son to Columba, son to Crimthann, son of Eochad Binnigh, son to Eugene, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages. '^ Notwithstanding his assertion, Colgan omits any mention of a saint, bearing this name, at the 12th of March. According to the foregoing pedigree, this holy man should naturally belong to about the beginning of the seventh century. In the parish of
also called in the — of Borrisoleigh," lUeagh, county
Tipperary,
there was
— a church dedicated to a St. Coulane'^ identical with the formerly
present saint and here was long preserved singularly curiously
"
wrought bronze shrine or bell, called the
Barnane Cuilawn," which was
formerly in the possession of the Dwyer family, living at Ballinaruan, near Borrisoleigh, and afterwards it became the property of the late Thomas L.
Cooke of Birr,^3 who got it from the Dwyers. '^ It passed from Mr. Cooke "
to a public institution,'5 and it is said, that the Barnaan Cuilawn" was found many years since, in the hollow of a tree,^^ at a place named Killcui-
^ The Martyrologies of Tallagli, of Mari-
anus O'Gorman and of Cathald Maguire,
mention ^saints, bearing this name at the
loth and 30th of June, at the 25th and 29th
of July, at the i6th and 25th of September,
and at the 29th of October, See Colgan's it, and got it by way of present, from the "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xviii. Feb-
ruarii, n. i, p. 369. 9 See ibid,, n. 2.
family. — Dr. Tracey stated, that young Mr. Cooke most probably Mr. Thomas L.
^°
According
to the "
Sanctilogic
Genea-
and able man— the relic accomplished got
logy," chap. xii.
" The name it bears on the Ordnance
Maps is Two-mile-borris, in the barony of Eliogarty, in the North Riding. It is des- cribed on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Tipperary. " Sheets 41, 42, 47, 48.
"
Archbisop Butler, of Cashel
this particular time, July 22nd, 1 752. Mr. Maurice Lenihan has furnished various ex- tracts of a very interesting character from it, and he has published them in successive
from the Dwyer family, without the least trouble. Dr. Tracey did not hear that
"
" According to a " Visitation Book of the
say,
articles, under the heading,
"
Cashel of the
&c. See for the
Kings," following
notices i\iQ Limerick Reporter oi Yob. 21st, 1873.
compiled at
to explain. Then Miss Mary Dwyer Mrs. ^3 Author of the " Picture of Parsons- Dwyer's daughter—said, "I'll show it to
town. " This work has been enlarged, by his son William Antisell Cooke, of Birr, and published in 1875, under the title of "The
you. " She then took down the curiosity off the tester of a bed ; it had been covered all over with a thick dust, as if it had been but
of the Town of
Parsonstown, with the particulars of remark- whei'e
and as — it had Iain though
for months. Dr. Daniel
Early History
Birr,
or seldom
handled, it was
able events there in more recent times. Also the towns of Nenagh, Roscrea, Banagher,
Tullamore, Philipstown, Frankford, Shin- rone, Kinnetty and Ballyboy, and the ancient septs, princes, and celebrated places of the surrounding country. " By the late Thomas LalorCooke. Dublin,8vo.
^* An old and valued friend of Mr. Leni-
han, Dr. Daniel Tracey, formerly of Nenagh, who lived to be over 80 years, said, that
Tracey mentioned these particulars regard- ing it to Maurice Lenihan, on the 12th of
December, 1869.
'S Mr. Lenihan knew not whether to the
Royal Irish Academy, or lo the British
Museum. The object in question, however, isnottobefoundintheformerinstitution.
a ancient and
when he was a very young child, the family of his aunt, Mrs. Dwyer of Ballinaruan, had possession of the " Barnane Cuilawn " for many years, and that one of the sons of Mr.
Richard Cooke, of Borrisoleigh, applied for
Cooke, a great lover of antiquities, and an
people were cured of illness, by the
naan Cuilawn," but he did hear, that people swore on it ; and the children when threat- ening each other at Mrs. Dwyer's used to
"
I'll tell the Barnaan Cuilawn of you," or words to that effect. Dr. Tracey stated, that a sister of his, named Mrs. Duff, at one time threatened the Barnaan Cuilawn, on Mrs. Dwyer's son, Joseph, who appeared greatly frightened in consequence. Mrs. Duff did not, at the time, really know what the Barnaan Cuilawn was, or what the
words and she Mrs. — meant, requested Dwyer
'^ See Lewis' "
of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 654.
Topographical Dictionary
Bar-
622 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Februaryi8.
lawn,*7 situate in the mountains, and about two miles distant from Borriso-
leigh, in the parish of Glankeen/^ and county of Tipperary. This curious , "
reUc, of a remote age, is Hkewise called in the Irish language Obair na naoim ;" —that is " the Saint's work. " In shape, it resembles a mitre, and internally it is made of wrought iron ; the internal part, now nearly eaten away by rust, appears to have been originally about three-tenths of an inch thick, having in its summit two round holes, about three-tenths of an inch in diameter, which do not seem to have been ever intended for receiving any kind of screws or rivets. ^9 It is about eleven inches and a half high, and the bottom—in the shape of a parallelogram—is about eight inches long, by four inches broad, whence its length and breadth gradually diminish, it being at the top only six inches and a half long, and about two inches broad. Around the bottom is a kind of bronze'° frame or base, about one-eighth of an inch thick and two inches in height, having at each corner a round bronze pedestal, about three inches high, and half-an-inch thick. These pillars ex- tend about three-eighths of an inch lower than the bronze frame, so as to form a kind of feet. In the bronze frame or base, on the front side of the Barnaan Cuilawn, is a small semicircular opening, about one inch in dia- meter, and somewhat resembling the aperture of a beehive, through which the bees pass in and out. The iron or internal part of the Barnaan Cuilawn appears to have been originally all covered with bronze highly ornamented. There is bronze still adhering to parts of the iron, and which has the appear- ance of having been united to it, by the effects of fire. The top, which is the most curious part now extant, is of cast metal Hke bronze, of a whitish yellow colour, and of exquisite workmanship. It has several apertures and it is beau- tifully ornamented in runic knots, with gold, silver, copper, and some dark bluish granular metal, which Mr. T. L. Cooke at first took to resemble cobalt, having on each of its —sides four representations of an eye, and on the
See Ordnance Survey Townland Maps lor
of which the Barnaan Cuilawn
the County of Tipperary. 33, 34, 40.
"
Sheets 27, 28,
the interior
is composed. The object itself resembles the cover for an ancient Irish bell.
'3 This description, as furnished by Mr.
Lenihan, is taken from a note book of Mr.
T. L. Cooke, who contributed these facts to
the Royal Irish Academy, in 1822. See
"
Description of the Barnaan Cuilawn, and some conjectures upon the original use thereof ; together with an account of the superstitious purposes to which it was latterly appUed. Also a des-
cription of the remains of an ancient Mill, which were recently discovered near the ruins of Glankeen Church, in the County of Tipperary. " ^y Thomas Lalor Cooke,
Esq. Read January 7, 1822, pp. 31 to 46.
Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy,"
'*
vol. xvii. Antiquities.
*^
Mr. T. L. Cooke, in his note book,
heads muchliket—
endstwobald
thewallsofancientmonasteriesinIreland andtwootherrepresentationsof eyes. In the top are laid three pieces of yellow stone or composition, intersected by other narrow red stones, both in appearance like jasper. ^^ The opinion of Mr. Cooke, that the Barnaan Cuilawn was the top of an ecclesiastical censer is quite incorrect, and could only occur to one, who had not a thorough know-
antique
*7 This denomination does not now appear on the Ordnance Survey Maps.
called the bronze by the name of brass ; but, there is a vast difference between bronze and brass ; an—d Mr. T. L. Cooke wrongly named
with the of the iron in the metal — exception
=' It is right to remark, that both parts of those inlayings, which appeared to be cobalt, are not in reality of that metal. Cobalt is said not to have been discovered, until about the year 1733, although the beautiful colour in some ancient stained windows and orien- tal porcelain would seem to argue, that this metal was longer known.
^4 This portion of it is to be found on the
" Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the
County of Londonderry," Sheet 48.
^^ This portion is described on the ** Ord- nance Survey Tovi^nland . Maps for the County of Tyrone," Sheets 21, 29, 30, 38,
*7 Maghera is the modern name. See Rev. William Reeves' " Ecclesiastical Anti* quities of Down, Connor and Dromore,
p. 27.
^^ See Harris* Ware, vol* i. , p. 286.
^9 In 12 18, a Gilla-na-naev O'Gormally,
priest of Rathloury, died on his pilgrimage* See O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four
Masters," vol. iii. , pp. 192, 193 and n. (1. )
i. , pp. 104, 105.
=° ** See
6i8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February i8.
Cifffttotttft Bap of jfebruarg*
ARTICLE I. —ST. COLMAN, BISHOP OF ARD-BO, COUNTY TYRONE. [PROBABLY IN THE SIXTH CENTURY. I
are no less than one hundred and thirty saints, named Colman,
enumerated in our Irish THERE
and Histories. It is not wonder- ful, therefore, that much confusion must exist, in distinguishing their festivals and natal days. The task of individual identification must be difficult, especially as only the simple name occurs, in many instances. At the i8th of February, ColgannoticesaBishopColman. ^ ThissaintisveneratedatArd-bOj^"near Lough nEathach, in the county of Tyrone. 3 Little, however, is known with certainty regarding his parentage, birth-place, the age in which he flourished, or even his Acts. It seems probable,-* that this is the St. Colman,^ sur- named Mucaidhe of Ard-bo, or Arboe,'^ the son of Aid, son to Amalgad, son of Muredach, son to Carthenn, son of Ere, son to Ethac or Eochod, son of Colla Huasius, King of Ireland. This genealogy—if relied on—should place his period in the sixth century. His memory is barely recorded in our Martyrologies, most of which assign his festival to this day ; whilst the
Martyrologies
Martyrologies of Tallagh and Maguire commemorate him, on the 21st of February. 7 The very great number of saints, bearing this name^ and to be found in Irish Calenders, often leaves us in doubt regarding the particular St. Col- man, who might be mentioned, in various lives of Irish Saints. At Ard-bo^
Article i —* See **Acta Sanctorum on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps
Hibernise," xviii. Februarii. De S. Col- for the County of Londonderry," (Sheet
niano Episcopo, p. 368. 48) ; and partly in the barony of Upper
'
boe "is now a poor village near the river Ballindery, which falls into Loughneagh,"
''
and that it is situated
Dungannon, and two miles west of Lough-
Archdall tells us, that Ardboe or Hard- Dungannon, which is described on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Tyrone," Sheets 30, 31, 39, 40,
neagh," in the County of Tyrone. See "^
Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 678. Arch- dall, however, had no warrant for stating, that Colman here founded '*a noble and
celebrated monastery. "
3 This is probably the saint mentioned by
Colgan in his "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xxxi. Januarii. Vita S. Maidoci. Appen-
Colgan remarks, that although the Ro- man Martyrology enumerates 61 saints, bearing the name of Felix, to which Ferra- rius adds 18 other homonymous saints ; and
although, from the same source, 24 saints named John, with 60 other saints, named
John, as added by Ferrarius, may be enume- rated : yet, in our Irish Martyrologies and Annals, the feasts and names of—more than 130SaintColmanscanbefound anumber of homonymous saints, not to be equalled, perhaps, in the Calendars of all the other countries in the world. See " Acta Sancto- rum Hibernise," xviii. Febniarii. Vita S. Colmani, and note 3, p. 368. In his Pre- face to this same work, Colgan mentions over 200 saints called Colman, as found in the Tracts of St. ^Engus the Culdee.
9 Dr. O'Donovan Latinizes this place as " CoUis bovis. " See " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. ii. , n. (c), p. 972.
dix, cap. iv. , p. 222. Lough nEathach was the ancient Irish name, for the present exten- sive sheet of water, known as Lough Neagh.
—— *Ifsuchbethecase asitwouldappear
this saint claims descent from Colla Uais,
who began his reign as King of Ireland in
the year of Christ 323. See Dr. O'Dono-
yan's
"
Annals of the" Four Masters," vol.
i. , pp. 122, 123. Thus he was of the same
stock, as St. Maidoc, Bishop of Ferns.
5
Colgan, however, assigns his feast to the 2 1st of February.
* This parish is situated, partly in the barony of Loughinsholin, and this is shown
in the barony of
47, 48.
^ See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nise," p. 368, with notes.
February i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 619
or Harbonensis—as the place is sometimes found Latinized—there was formerly a splendid monastery. There, too, were the relics of St. Colman
preserved. In the year 1166, however, a fire broke out, and ruined the place. In the seventeenth century, only a few vestiges of its former celebrity remained. These were the remains of the old church walls, with a cross in good preservation, about fifteen feet in height. On it were several inscrip- tions. '° The festival of St. Colman is recorded at the i8th of February, in the "Feilire" of St. ^ngus. " We find entered, in the Martyrology of Tallagh," at the 1 8th of February, a festival in honour of Colman. This
Calendarappendsthefollowingwordstothenotice "ImMeuriabfriMona
:
i tuaidh ata Colman. " " About Meuriab near Mona (bog) to the north there liesColman. "'3 This,however,hardlyhelpsustotheexactidentificationof his place. Colman is venerated on this day, as we read in the Martyrology ofDonegal. '* The Scottish writers, and some foreigners misled by them, have, however, confounded this saint and his festival, with the cultus of another St. Colman. He too was an Irishman, and much more celebrated than the present holy man. Thus, the Bollandists have, at this date, several dissertations, and an epitomized Life of St. Colman, Bishop of Lindisfarne, takenfromtheAberdeenBreviary. ^s ItiscontainedintheParsHyemalis. ^^ In Hke manner, Bishop Forbes'7 has entered some notices of St. Colman, who is so much celebrated, in connexion with Scotland. Thus, too, St. Colman, that Bishop and Confessor, who so tenaciously clung to the Scottish traditions, in reference to the celebration of Easter,'^ has a festival assigned to him,'9 at this date, by Camerarius. In 564, he is said, by this writer, to have left Anglia, and to have retired to Scotia,^° where in the Island of iona he first dwelt, and afterwards he went to the Island of the White Cow, which Camerarius thinks to be Calfa, one of the Orkney Islands. This he left with his Scottish monks, and went to Magio, supposed by Camerarius to have beenoneoftheOrkneys. Agreatdealofnonsensefollowsthisstatement. ^*^ Again, it is said, that at the xii. of the March Kalends, which accords with the 18th of February, St. Colman, Bishop and Confessor, had been venerated in Scocia. The sanctity of his life, the uprightness of his moral character, and the merits of his virtues, afforded example for the imitation of his actions by a faithful flock. He was buried, we are told, at Terbert, in the diocese of Ross. ^"^ The Kalendar of Drummond and of the Aberdeen Breviary has
^° See Archdall's "Monasticon Hiberni-
cum," p. 678.
^^ The following stanza has been furnished
R. I. A.
'4 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
"
fessor O'Looney, w—ith its corresponding Mr. Jeremiah J. MacSweeney, Library,
from the
English translation
5. 5«11. kt. bebAif ir» cAit) ColmAn,
Tio]\A'oi J
1 Veil CAin CO noeb),
Tlucuili SiluAm.
Colman the chaste expired,
^3 This translation is kindly furnished by
Leabhar Breac" copy by Pro- :
mobbA
52, 53.
*5 See "Acta
Februarii
Mention Moliba ye
Ecclesias- tica Gentis Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. xxvii.
;
On the appropriate feast with
reverence,
Of Rutulus and of Silvanus.
Rutulus and Silvanus were Martyrs in
^9 As a Bishop and a Confessor, among the Scottish entries in the Kalendar of
and their Acts, with those of
other companions will be found in the Bol- landists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
=^° See " De Statu veteris simul Hominis,
Africa,
many
Februarii xviii. De Sanctis Martyribus Afris, &c. , pp. 65, 66.
^^ Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xvi.
Sanctorum," tomus iii,, pp. 82 to 88.
xviii. ,
»^
Fol. Ivi.
*7See ''Kalendars of Scottish
pp. 303, 304.
'^ See Ven. Bede's ** Historia
Saints,"
David Camerarius, as seen in Bishop Forbes' work, p. 235.
ac novoe Ecclesioe, et Infidelium Conver* sione," lib. i. , cap. iii. , sect. 2, p. 149.
620 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Februaryi8.
afeastforColman,BishopandConfessor,atxii. oftheMarchKalends. He had an office of nine lessons. '3 A Scottish Kalendar, likewise, notes him. "^* But, the leading facts of his life are, that St. Colman left Northumberland, A. D. 664,='5 then he went to Ireland, in 667 f^ and he died, on the 8th of August, A. D. 674,^7 according to the Irish Annals. Camerarius, once more, places his day at March the 7th. *^ Again, the Kalendar of Arbuthnott enters the festival of St. Colman, Bishop and Confessor, at the xii. Kalends of March. He had an office of nine lessons, as we are informed. ^9 This hasbeenreproducedinthepagesoftheBollandists. 3o InAdamKing'sKalen- dar, at the 18th of February, we find entered a feast to St. Colman, successor to St. Finnane, and Confessor in Scotland. 3^ Dempster notes St. Colman, Confessor, in Scotia, at this date. 3^ At the 8th of August, we shall treat about the particulars of his history.
Article II. —St. Dacualenus or Culanus, Bishop of Killcuilawn,
County of Tipperary. [Possibly in the Seventh Century. '] At this date,
Colgan has a few notices, regarding St. Culanus or Dacualenus, a bishop. ^ He thinks, however, that the name of this holy man should be written Cucul-
anus. In the anonymous list of Irish saints, published by O'SuUevan Beare, as also in the Catalogue of Henry Fitzsimon, at this day, we have a St. Cuculanus. On the authority of Florarius, the latter writer styles him bishop. =* The Bollandists have short Acts of this Saint Culan,3 in their great compilation. Yet, what Godefrid Henschenn adds there, to Colgan's re- marks, are not worthy of much consideration. Many foreign writers, amongst others Ferrarius,-^ and Canisius,5 make mention of St.
Culanus, as having been venerated in Ireland, on this day. By Florarius, he is called Cucul- anus. But,Colgantellsus,hewasunabletodiscoverasaint,bearingeither name, and whose festival had been kept on the i8th of February, according to our domestic Hagiographers. Yet, Usuard auctus, or the Carthusian Martyrology, and Hermann Greuan, have accounts of St. Culan, Bishop and Confessor, as having been venerated in Ireland, on this day. In one instance, Colgan has classed St. Culenus or Culan, Bishop, among the disciples of St.
Patrick,^ following Tirechan's list. 7
We know, that^in the Irish Calendars,
3° See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. Februarii xviii. , p. 88.
3^ See Forbes' "Kalendars of Bishop
" See/3/«/. , pp. 150, 151. =2 "
See Proceedings of the Society of An—- tiquariesof Scotland. " SessionsMDCCCLiv.
V. MDCCCLVI. —VII. ,
1856. No. V. An Obituary and Calendar of Scottish Saints, extracted from the Mar- tyrology for the use of the Church of Aber- deen. A Manuscript of the Sixteenth Century. Communicated by David Laing, Esq. , F. S. A. Scot, p. 261.
Scottish
^''Seeidid. , "Menologium Scoticum,"p.
192.
ARTICLE II. —' See " Acta Sanctorum
Hibernise," xviii. Februarii. De S. Culano,
vol,
ii. ,
May 12,
Saints," p. 145.
See O'Sullevan Beare's Historiae Ca- "3 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of tholicse Ibernise Compendium," tomus i. ,
Scottish Saints," pp. 5, 112.
'' See e<Jidf. , p. 248.
'5 According to the " Annals of Clonmac-
lib. iv. , cap. x^i. , p. 49, and cap. xii. , p. 53. ^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. , xviii. Februarii. De S. Culano Episcopo
in Hibernia, p. 82.
* He "In Hibernia^ S. Culani Epis- says,
Generalis Sanctorum. " s In Antiquae Lectiones. "
^
See "Trias Thaumaturga. " Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p.
noise. " '^
According
to the " Annals of Ulster. "
According
"
to the " Annals of the Four —"
copi. " Catalogus
'7
Masters. " See Dr. O'Donovan's edition,
vol. i. , pp. 279 and n. (f). Also pp. 284, 285.
"^See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of 268.
Scottish Saints," pp. 235, and 303, 304. 'This appears in Ussher's "De Primor-
"' See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of diis EcclesiarumBritannicarum," cap. xvii. ,
Scottish
Saints," p. 97. p. 950.
alias Dacualeno, pp. 368, 369. ""
February i8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 621
there are many saints, having the name Colan or Coelon. ^ However, Cul- anus, Cuilen, or Cualen, was the same as Cuien or Dachualen, whose com- memoration occurs, at the 12th of March, in the Martyrologies of Maii- anusO'GormanandofCathaldMaguire. s Ifhebethesameperson,his descent is traced, in the Genealogy of the Saints of Ireland, by Cormac, Bishop of Cashel, from the Hy-Niall family. The father of this saint was Guaire, son to Columba, son to Crimthann, son of Eochad Binnigh, son to Eugene, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages. '^ Notwithstanding his assertion, Colgan omits any mention of a saint, bearing this name, at the 12th of March. According to the foregoing pedigree, this holy man should naturally belong to about the beginning of the seventh century. In the parish of
also called in the — of Borrisoleigh," lUeagh, county
Tipperary,
there was
— a church dedicated to a St. Coulane'^ identical with the formerly
present saint and here was long preserved singularly curiously
"
wrought bronze shrine or bell, called the
Barnane Cuilawn," which was
formerly in the possession of the Dwyer family, living at Ballinaruan, near Borrisoleigh, and afterwards it became the property of the late Thomas L.
Cooke of Birr,^3 who got it from the Dwyers. '^ It passed from Mr. Cooke "
to a public institution,'5 and it is said, that the Barnaan Cuilawn" was found many years since, in the hollow of a tree,^^ at a place named Killcui-
^ The Martyrologies of Tallagli, of Mari-
anus O'Gorman and of Cathald Maguire,
mention ^saints, bearing this name at the
loth and 30th of June, at the 25th and 29th
of July, at the i6th and 25th of September,
and at the 29th of October, See Colgan's it, and got it by way of present, from the "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," xviii. Feb-
ruarii, n. i, p. 369. 9 See ibid,, n. 2.
family. — Dr. Tracey stated, that young Mr. Cooke most probably Mr. Thomas L.
^°
According
to the "
Sanctilogic
Genea-
and able man— the relic accomplished got
logy," chap. xii.
" The name it bears on the Ordnance
Maps is Two-mile-borris, in the barony of Eliogarty, in the North Riding. It is des- cribed on the " Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Tipperary. " Sheets 41, 42, 47, 48.
"
Archbisop Butler, of Cashel
this particular time, July 22nd, 1 752. Mr. Maurice Lenihan has furnished various ex- tracts of a very interesting character from it, and he has published them in successive
from the Dwyer family, without the least trouble. Dr. Tracey did not hear that
"
" According to a " Visitation Book of the
say,
articles, under the heading,
"
Cashel of the
&c. See for the
Kings," following
notices i\iQ Limerick Reporter oi Yob. 21st, 1873.
compiled at
to explain. Then Miss Mary Dwyer Mrs. ^3 Author of the " Picture of Parsons- Dwyer's daughter—said, "I'll show it to
town. " This work has been enlarged, by his son William Antisell Cooke, of Birr, and published in 1875, under the title of "The
you. " She then took down the curiosity off the tester of a bed ; it had been covered all over with a thick dust, as if it had been but
of the Town of
Parsonstown, with the particulars of remark- whei'e
and as — it had Iain though
for months. Dr. Daniel
Early History
Birr,
or seldom
handled, it was
able events there in more recent times. Also the towns of Nenagh, Roscrea, Banagher,
Tullamore, Philipstown, Frankford, Shin- rone, Kinnetty and Ballyboy, and the ancient septs, princes, and celebrated places of the surrounding country. " By the late Thomas LalorCooke. Dublin,8vo.
^* An old and valued friend of Mr. Leni-
han, Dr. Daniel Tracey, formerly of Nenagh, who lived to be over 80 years, said, that
Tracey mentioned these particulars regard- ing it to Maurice Lenihan, on the 12th of
December, 1869.
'S Mr. Lenihan knew not whether to the
Royal Irish Academy, or lo the British
Museum. The object in question, however, isnottobefoundintheformerinstitution.
a ancient and
when he was a very young child, the family of his aunt, Mrs. Dwyer of Ballinaruan, had possession of the " Barnane Cuilawn " for many years, and that one of the sons of Mr.
Richard Cooke, of Borrisoleigh, applied for
Cooke, a great lover of antiquities, and an
people were cured of illness, by the
naan Cuilawn," but he did hear, that people swore on it ; and the children when threat- ening each other at Mrs. Dwyer's used to
"
I'll tell the Barnaan Cuilawn of you," or words to that effect. Dr. Tracey stated, that a sister of his, named Mrs. Duff, at one time threatened the Barnaan Cuilawn, on Mrs. Dwyer's son, Joseph, who appeared greatly frightened in consequence. Mrs. Duff did not, at the time, really know what the Barnaan Cuilawn was, or what the
words and she Mrs. — meant, requested Dwyer
'^ See Lewis' "
of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 654.
Topographical Dictionary
Bar-
622 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Februaryi8.
lawn,*7 situate in the mountains, and about two miles distant from Borriso-
leigh, in the parish of Glankeen/^ and county of Tipperary. This curious , "
reUc, of a remote age, is Hkewise called in the Irish language Obair na naoim ;" —that is " the Saint's work. " In shape, it resembles a mitre, and internally it is made of wrought iron ; the internal part, now nearly eaten away by rust, appears to have been originally about three-tenths of an inch thick, having in its summit two round holes, about three-tenths of an inch in diameter, which do not seem to have been ever intended for receiving any kind of screws or rivets. ^9 It is about eleven inches and a half high, and the bottom—in the shape of a parallelogram—is about eight inches long, by four inches broad, whence its length and breadth gradually diminish, it being at the top only six inches and a half long, and about two inches broad. Around the bottom is a kind of bronze'° frame or base, about one-eighth of an inch thick and two inches in height, having at each corner a round bronze pedestal, about three inches high, and half-an-inch thick. These pillars ex- tend about three-eighths of an inch lower than the bronze frame, so as to form a kind of feet. In the bronze frame or base, on the front side of the Barnaan Cuilawn, is a small semicircular opening, about one inch in dia- meter, and somewhat resembling the aperture of a beehive, through which the bees pass in and out. The iron or internal part of the Barnaan Cuilawn appears to have been originally all covered with bronze highly ornamented. There is bronze still adhering to parts of the iron, and which has the appear- ance of having been united to it, by the effects of fire. The top, which is the most curious part now extant, is of cast metal Hke bronze, of a whitish yellow colour, and of exquisite workmanship. It has several apertures and it is beau- tifully ornamented in runic knots, with gold, silver, copper, and some dark bluish granular metal, which Mr. T. L. Cooke at first took to resemble cobalt, having on each of its —sides four representations of an eye, and on the
See Ordnance Survey Townland Maps lor
of which the Barnaan Cuilawn
the County of Tipperary. 33, 34, 40.
"
Sheets 27, 28,
the interior
is composed. The object itself resembles the cover for an ancient Irish bell.
'3 This description, as furnished by Mr.
Lenihan, is taken from a note book of Mr.
T. L. Cooke, who contributed these facts to
the Royal Irish Academy, in 1822. See
"
Description of the Barnaan Cuilawn, and some conjectures upon the original use thereof ; together with an account of the superstitious purposes to which it was latterly appUed. Also a des-
cription of the remains of an ancient Mill, which were recently discovered near the ruins of Glankeen Church, in the County of Tipperary. " ^y Thomas Lalor Cooke,
Esq. Read January 7, 1822, pp. 31 to 46.
Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy,"
'*
vol. xvii. Antiquities.
*^
Mr. T. L. Cooke, in his note book,
heads muchliket—
endstwobald
thewallsofancientmonasteriesinIreland andtwootherrepresentationsof eyes. In the top are laid three pieces of yellow stone or composition, intersected by other narrow red stones, both in appearance like jasper. ^^ The opinion of Mr. Cooke, that the Barnaan Cuilawn was the top of an ecclesiastical censer is quite incorrect, and could only occur to one, who had not a thorough know-
antique
*7 This denomination does not now appear on the Ordnance Survey Maps.
called the bronze by the name of brass ; but, there is a vast difference between bronze and brass ; an—d Mr. T. L. Cooke wrongly named
with the of the iron in the metal — exception
=' It is right to remark, that both parts of those inlayings, which appeared to be cobalt, are not in reality of that metal. Cobalt is said not to have been discovered, until about the year 1733, although the beautiful colour in some ancient stained windows and orien- tal porcelain would seem to argue, that this metal was longer known.
