Near this place, too, Saint Patrick
designed
the measure and spot where a church should be erected.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v8
] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
445
10 108 is the mill ot Pottie, in the parish of Dron. ? In the Retours of Kincardine,
100
Notwithstanding the present celebrity of St. Fiacie, it is somewhat remarkable, that his name has not been inscribed on the most ancient
calendars. This is supposed to be accounted for, because his Acts had not been written soon after his death, or, at least, that they had not been in
St. Fiacre appears as St. Musset or St. Muffet.
circulation. However, his feast is commemorated in 110 manuscript
general
and in published copies of Usuard, havebeenanadditiontotheoriginalMartyrology atwhattimeisunknown. The author of the Florarium Sanctorum, who flourished in the fifteenth century,
commemorates St. Fiacre on this same
3 In like manner, Andreas
111
at the 30th o—f August ; but this seems to
day. "
Saussay, in his Martyrologium Gallicanum, and Mabillon in his Acta Sanc-
torum Ordinis S. Benedicti, have set down his festival. The Roman Mar-
1^
to the " Heures de Nostre-Dame a l'usage du Mans," at Aovst 30, is the feast of S. Fiacre. In the anonymous calendar of Irish saints, published by O'SullevanBeare,atthe30thofAugust,wehaveFeacerentered. "* Like- wise, in Convaeus' list, we find St. Fiacer, a prince, in the Meldensian territory,
date. 1 ' 5
Martyrology to Fiachrach, an Eremite. In France, he is also known as Fefre, and in all the modern Lives of Saints, the festival of St. Fiacre is set down at the 30th of August.
11 8
Thus, in the works of Bishop Challenor, ? of Rev. Alban Butler," of Les
tyrology
assigns
his festival to the
present day.
In the
Kalendar, prefixed
commemorated at this
present
We find entered in the
of 110 that at the Donegal,
of
30th August
veneration was
given
Petits
Bollandistes,
110 of Forbes,120 and of Rev. S. his Bishop Baring-Gould,
In the Circle of the Seasons, this saint is likewise com- 3
festival is noted. "1
memorated, at the present day. "
The memory of our holy hermit was also held in Scotland to be vener- able, for his name is recorded in her Fasti. "3 In the Scottish Calendars, the feast of St. Fiacre has been entered at the 30th of August. It is omitted intheKalendarotDrummond,andinsomeotherKalendars. However,it is entered in the Kalendar of the Aberdeen Breviary,"4 and St. Fiacre is
commemorated in the
Lessons of that 13* He is Breviary.
proper
of Aberdeen, at the
107 See "New Statistical Survey of and other principal Saints," vol. viii. ,
specially
also noticed in the
fn the Kalendar of Adam King. "7 In like manner, Thomas Dempster
Scotland," Perth, at pp. 810, 864.
108 At pp. 95, 162.
109 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
August xxx.
"9 See " Les Vies des Saints," tome x. ,
xxxe jour d'Aout, p. 335.
fessoris et heremitse, adcujus tumulum quasi continue sunt gloriosa miracula. "
113 In these words:
"
In territorio Mel-
Martyrology
of
30th August,"
6 and
,t0 " Scottish Saints," p. 339. See
Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
110
Sweden, marked No. 428, is read: "In
pago Meldensi, beati Fiacrii confessoris, viri vita et mhaculis gloriosi. "
111 See Father Soller's edition.
1,2
Thus :
"
Item sancti Fiacrii con-
See "Lives of the Saints," vol. viii. , August 30, p. 385.
12a
See p. 243.
"3 See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 338.
I24 Thus, at the iii. of the September
Kalends (August 30), "Fiacrii ab. med. "-— Ibid 120.
In the copy belonging to the Queen of p. 338.
densisanctiFiacriiconfessoris. " Seep. 127.
114" "6"—
Eodem
gee Historise Catholicse Ibernise Thus
Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 50.
"5 See ibid. , cap. x. , p. 48.
116 Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves,
pp. 228, 229.
"7 See "Britannia Sancta," part 11,
"7 Thus
fess. sone to Eugenius ye 4 King of Scotland
-p. 102.
118 " See
Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs,
he lyis besyd Meaux in France," ibid. , p. 160.
I21
"5InParsEstiva,fol. lxxxxiiii.
: iii. Kl.
die Fiacri abbatis. " See "Proceedings of
the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 267, and Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars
of Scottish Saints," p. 133.
" S. Fiacre, Abbot and Con-
:
Septembris.
446 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 30.
8
places him in the Menologium Scotorum," while the feast of St. Fiacre is
recorded among the Scottish entries in the Calendar of David Camerarius,"*
but at the 29th of August.
In the English Martyorology, St. Fiacre is celebrated with a lengthened
eulogy, and it mentions a chapel of this holy hermit erected in Rouen, of
Artois, and which had been frequented by a great concourse of people. In many catalogues of Irish saints, in possession of the Bollandists, the name and feast of St. Fiacre occur at this date. In Trinity College, Dublin, there is a Manuscript, classed B. 3. 15, which contains a Kalendar, in which there isaFeastforSt. Fiacre,atthe30thofAugust. ThefestivalofSt. Fiacreis said to have been observed with special devotion in most of the French
11 belonging to the Trinitarians in the last century. *
Dioceses. A Latin
1 * recited in his honour, was to be seen written on parchment, framed and hung up in the Parisian Church of St. Maturin,
:
,a8 Thus " Meldensi territorio Fiacrii
Eremita regis filii qui Eugenio IV. , patre suo defuncto, eadem hora praesciens se ad regnum vocandum, ardentibus precibus lepram impetravit, quae abeuntibus legatis abivit, nee temere ullus Dei sanctns majori- bus signis inclaruit, ml. bt. K. —Ibid. , pp. 209, 210.
Die Sanctus Fiacrius
" Now behold Hibernia shine
With uncommon light divine, And the distant Meld is flames Withthelustreofhisbeams, That Fiacre sent away,
This receives the filial ray, Both partake the common joy, This the father, that the boy. "
"9 Thus
:
Eugcnii filius.
,
Ibid. p. 240.
hymn Florilegium
Messing- Insula Sanctorum"
"
Lucernse novas specula Illustrator Hibernia, liorruscat Meldis insula Tanta- lucis presentia,
Ilia misit Ftacrium,
Haec missum habet radium, Habent commune gaudium, Haec patrem, ilia filium. "
ists, in their "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. , Augusti xxx. De S. Fiacrio Eremita Conf. in Territorio Meldensi in Gallia. Commen- tarius prsevius, sect, i. , num. 9, pp. 599, 600.
" 29 Scotorum
hymn,
published a more accurate version of this, than had hitherto appeared, in
12
their preface to St. Fiacre's Acts. * In many of the French Breviaries the
Office of St. Fiacre, or a commemoration in their Calendars, is to be found.
Proper Lessons are also given, and several Latin hymns composed to
honour him have been published. In the "Missae Propriae Sanctorum
Hibemiae," collected and published, by Father Nicholas Anthony O'Kenny
at Paris, in 1736; at the 30th of August is placed the Missa S. Facrii con-
fessoris, Hyberniae principis, ecclesiae et dicecesis Meldensis in Gallia
patroni generalis. This also contains an elegant Latin hymn, inserted as a
sequence, and before the Gospel. It enumerates the principal actions of our
1 saint. **
From the sixth, to the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries, the missionary spirit of our countrymen was most active in Europe. Truly was Ireland the "Insula Sanctorum," in those days. Within the island itself, nearly every locality had its school of learning and sanctity ; while an impetus was given to the desire of extending such beneficent blessings to more distant lands. Our annals and calendars largely record the number of holy abbots, and religious, venerated as saints. Even foreign writers acknowledge obligations due to Ireland, for the growth and cultivation of literature and
hoc nomine
Regis quarti —'"
is also in given
'*»
"Ecclesiastical and Literary History of Ire-
Campbell, in his Strictures on the land," sect, vii. , p. 117, gives a part of it
Vita S. Fiacrii, p. 392.
I32 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. ,
Augusti xxx. De S. Fiacrio Eremita Conf.
in Commen- Gallia.
which — with its follows,
translation:
metrical
Territorio Meldensi
English
in
tarius pnevius, sect. i.
'3I The ham's
The Bollandists have
num.
133 It has been published by the Bolland-
,
6, p. 599.
w See Alcuin's "Vita S. Wilibrodi," at
7th of November, Surius, " De Probatis Sanc- torum Vitis," tomus vi.
August 30. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 447
religion. ^* In France, more particularly, where St. Fiacre spent the far greater portion of his life, and where the lustre of his virtues and miracles so long survived his time, the Irish missionaries were recognized as infusing new fervour and piety among the people. There, numbers cultivated the Lord's vineyard, and left behind them lasting memorials of their labours and merits.
Article II—St. Loarn, Priest, of Achadh-mor,—now Aghavower,
or Aghamore, County of Mayo [Fifth Century']. In the published 1
Martyrology of Tallagh, a festival occurs, at the 30th of August, in honour
of Loarn, Priest, of Achadh-moir. In that copy, as found in the Book of
2
Leinster, the record is nearly identical, for this same date. Loarn was the
son of Ernasc,3 who lived in the western province of Ireland, when St. Patrick's missionary course led him thither. * At that time, Loarn seems to have been a youth of good and pious dispositions. He received the gift of
The
Divine Faith, and he then became a disciple of the great Apostle. 5 incident is thus related. The illustrious missionary, after leaving Kierra-
6 came to Airne. ? Here he found both Ernasc and Kierragia
gia Airtech,
Loarn sitting under a shady tree. To them the Apostle opened the welcome
message of salvation, and, in return, he was kindly received, with twelve of his companions. They were invited to spend a week at that place. During
Loarn to write an 8 His alphabet.
his there, St. Patrick sojourn
taught
instruction in letters and piety was rapid, and to the end of his life, it
was in still greater progress. Moreover, the youth was celebrated for holi- ness and the gifts of God's spirit. It appears probable, that he was ordained priest by the Irish Apostle, although this is not recorded in the Acts of the latter. However,St. Patrickhaddesiredtoestablishachurchinthatpartofthe country. This place is now known as Aghavower or Aghamore, 9 a parish in the barony of Costello, and County of Mayo.
Near this place, too, Saint Patrick designed the measure and spot where a church should be erected. It rose near a fountain, called in Irish Tober Muena. The church was designated Seincheall, meaning the "oldcill," or church. 10 When Saint Patrick had there laid the foundations of a church, in due course of time, Loarn over it.
presided
In the of Martyrology Donegal,
Priest of Achadh-mor.
12 Loarn is commemorated on this
day,
as a
n.
Article ii. —*
Edited
by
Rev Dr.
teAbVur* x\&
Kelly, 5-Cea|\c,
or Book of
Rights,
xxxiii.
102.
The Irish were not unlettered at this
time, nor for many previous centuries ; but, it seems probable, they had a different form of writing from that used by their early Christian missionaries. However, the mean- ing of this passage may be, that Loam's education in the knowledge of letters had been deferred to that time.
9 This extensive parish, containing 22,820 acres, is described on the "Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the county of Mayo," sheets 72, 81, 82, 92, 93.
I0 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars ii. , cap. lviii. ,
(f). p. 28
p.
Thus : LoAfvn r^c 4chAi-o moir*.
3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. , cap. lvii. ,
p. 137.
4 See the Third Volume of this work, at
March 17th. Art i. , Life of St. Patrick, Apostle and Chief Patron of Ireland, chap. xii.
s See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 267.
6 This territory was in the north-west of the county of Roscommon, and it extended into the adjoining barony of Costello, in the county of Mayo. See the Third Volume of this work, at the 171b of March. Art Life of St. Patrick, Apostle and Chief Patron of Ireland, chap, xii. , n. 21.
» See ibid. ,n. 29. Also John O'Donovan's
p. 137.
" See Lewis's
Some of our modern writers call it a 11 monastery.
i. ,
"Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 18.
" Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 228, 229.
448 LIVES OE THE IRISH SAIN7S. [August 30.
Article III. —St. Muadan of Airegal Muadain, now thought to be
Errigal,CountyofMonaghan. —InthepublishedMartyrologyofTallagh,1 at the 29th of August, a festival is set down—instead of at the 30th of
ist—in honour
of Leinster copy of the Martyrology, the correct entry is only to be found, at
a In treating about certain saints bearing the name of Muadan
Modain, and Bishop of Carnfurbhuidhbe, in Connaught. —He observes, that
day.
of Muadan of Airecail Muadain. in the Book However,
the latter
or Modan,3 Colgan especially notices a holy Abbot, called Modan, vener- ated on the 4th of February/ and another known as Modan, Abbot of Kill-
6
to A. D. he is to be from Saint and refer his period 561, distinguished
Muadan of Aregal Muodain, in Ulster, whose feast is assigned to the 30th of August. The Bollandists ? have notices of a Saint Modan, at the 30th of
August ; but, they do not pretend to throw any light on his history, nor do
they add anything more than an allusion to the authority of Colgan. There
are three parishes in Ireland called by the name Errigal, or Arrigle,
either simply or in composition. The first of these, and called as
announced, is situated in the barony of Coleraine, and county
of The second is • in the of Londonderry. Errigal- Kerogue, barony
Clogher, county of Tyrone. The third is known as Errigal-Trough, a parish, partly in the barony of Clogher and county of Tyrone, but chiefly in that of Trough, county of Monaghan. 8 The place of the present saint has been identified with Errigal, county of Monaghan, by William M. Hennessy. 9 There is a wild and high mountain, known as Errigal, near Gweedore, in the county of Donegal. It is 2,466 feet above the level of the sea, and can be ascended in two hours. Midway up, there is an immense belt of broken stones, unrelieved by a single vestige of vegetation. The mountain narrows towards the top to a mere rugged path of a few inches in width, with an awful abyss on either side. The view from the summitis magnificent,extendingoveraperfectseaofmountainsasfaras Knocklayde, near Ballycastle, county of Antrim, and Benbulben and Bengore, near Sligo, while the whole coast for miles lies at one's feet. In the Martyr- ologies of Marianus O'Gorman and of Donegal, 10 his name occurs on the 30th
w—hiletheIrishcalendarsplacethelatteratMarchioths correctlythe6th
of August, as Muadan, Bishop of Airegal, Muadain.
ll
In the
Martyrology of Cathal Maguire, there is a festival for this saint, at the
30th of August. However, by this writer, he is not entered as a bishop,
neither is he so designated in the Martyrology of Tallagh. The Bollandist
editor, Father John Pinius, finding no record of his death, thinks it possible he flourished in the northern province of Ireland, during the sixth century, or
in some other nearly succeeding it. 12
Article ill. —' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly,
p. xxxiii.
2, Thus : muATjan <U\icail tttuAo«\n.
3 See an account of him, at the 4th of February, in the Second Volume of this work, Art. ii.
For the festival of this saint, the pud-
copo, in Ultonia Hiberniae, p. 565.
8 por a detailed account of these several
parishes
"Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," vol. i. , pp. 608 to 610.
9 See "Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. , part i,p. 84,n-i.
»o EditedbyRev. Drs. ToddandReeves,
pp. 228, 229.
"See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum
Hiberniae," iv. Februarii. Vita S. Modani,
n. 6, p. 253.
« See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. ,
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. , Augusti xxx. De S. Modano, fortasse Augustixxx. De S. Modano fortasse Epis- Episcopo in Ultonia Hiberniae, p. 565.
4" See Colgan's
niae," iv. Februarii. pp. 252, 253.
Acta Sanctorum Hiber- DeS. Modano Abbate,
s This is one of the many typographical errors that disfigure Colgan's printed works.
6
See an account of this St. Modan or
Muadan, in the Third Volume of this work,
at the 6th of March, Art. iv, 7"
the reader is referred to Lewis'
August 30. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 449
lished Martyrology of Tallagh has the 29th of August ; but this seems only a misplacement of the entry, which should be for the 30th of this month.
Article IV. —St. Cronan op Cluain-an-dobhair, King's County. — 1
It is recorded in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, that at the 30th of August, veneration was given to Cronan, of Cluain-an-dobhair, or as it is written, Cluana andobhair. In that copy contained in the Book of Leinster,
2
ated somewhere in the present King's County, says that eminent Irish topo-
grapher, Dr. John O'Donovan; but, it has not yet been identified. * It may be, that the topographical designation has now become obsolete ; or, if not, it should probably be sought for in the neighbourhood of Birr. The festival
of this saint is entered, likewise, in the Martyrology of Donegal,$ as that of Cronan, Cluana an dobair. His humble grave bears no monument, but he requires no memorials beyond those which exist in survival lessons he taught to bring many others to be wise unto salvation.
the entry is nearly similar.
Cluain-an-dobhair, or Cluain-in-dibhair,3 is situ-
Article V. —St. Firdacrich, or Fer-da-chrioch. —Tne simple entry 1
of Firdacrich appears in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 30th ofAugust. Asimilarnoticeissetdown,inthatcopyoftheMartyrologyto be seen in the Book of Leinster. 3 In the Martyrology of Donegal,? at this same date, his name is entered as Fir-da-chrioch.
Article VI. —Festival of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr. —In the
Irish Church, the memory of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr, was specially commemorated on the 30th of August, as recorded in the " Feilire * of St. jfEngus. " This festival appears to have been a translation of her relics, with
those of other named saints,
and 2 Eulogius.
Fructuosus,
At the 21st day of January, the Bollandists 3 commemorate saints similarly
named, excepting Maurice, placed at the 22nd of September, in the Roman Martyrology. Tobothdaystheyreferforfurtherelucidation.
—Article VII. —Feast of the Translation of St. Wilibrord's Relics.
From the additions to Usuard's Martyrology by Greven, the Bollandists
Article iv. —l Edited
*
: Stokes, LL. D —
~° «A <\ AcriA *Um 5 5
Kelly, p.
xxxiii.
2 Thus CnouAn cUiAin &x\ X)obon. :
3 This place is alluded to in the " Annals of the Four Masters," at a. d. 507, when the battle of Druim-Deargaighe was fought and
. .
"son of Niaff, over Foilghe Berraidhe. Afterwards, the land from Cluain-in Dibhair to the Hill of Uis-
gained by Fiacha,
by
Rev. Dr. translation is
by Whitley
Mauricius,
Augurius,
" A delightful virgin Agatha, who is a sun neachinWestmeathbelongedtotheCinel- toyoursaints; totherewardabo—verewards Fiachach, his tribe. See Dr. O'Donovan's she ran with her noble sisters. " "Trans-
" edition, vol. i. , pp. 164 to 167. actions of the Royal Irish Academy Irish
4 By the Four Masters it is again alluded Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i.
On the To this a
et
to, at A. D. 843, 938, and 942. —Ibid, n (d).
Calendar of Oengus, p. cxxvi.
—is affixed:
comment "Agatha
martyr. " Ibid. , p. cxxxv.
s Edited
by
228, 229. Article v.
Drs Todd and
— Kelly, p. xxxiii.
l
2 is found in According to what
Reeves, pp. Edited by Rev.
10 108 is the mill ot Pottie, in the parish of Dron. ? In the Retours of Kincardine,
100
Notwithstanding the present celebrity of St. Fiacie, it is somewhat remarkable, that his name has not been inscribed on the most ancient
calendars. This is supposed to be accounted for, because his Acts had not been written soon after his death, or, at least, that they had not been in
St. Fiacre appears as St. Musset or St. Muffet.
circulation. However, his feast is commemorated in 110 manuscript
general
and in published copies of Usuard, havebeenanadditiontotheoriginalMartyrology atwhattimeisunknown. The author of the Florarium Sanctorum, who flourished in the fifteenth century,
commemorates St. Fiacre on this same
3 In like manner, Andreas
111
at the 30th o—f August ; but this seems to
day. "
Saussay, in his Martyrologium Gallicanum, and Mabillon in his Acta Sanc-
torum Ordinis S. Benedicti, have set down his festival. The Roman Mar-
1^
to the " Heures de Nostre-Dame a l'usage du Mans," at Aovst 30, is the feast of S. Fiacre. In the anonymous calendar of Irish saints, published by O'SullevanBeare,atthe30thofAugust,wehaveFeacerentered. "* Like- wise, in Convaeus' list, we find St. Fiacer, a prince, in the Meldensian territory,
date. 1 ' 5
Martyrology to Fiachrach, an Eremite. In France, he is also known as Fefre, and in all the modern Lives of Saints, the festival of St. Fiacre is set down at the 30th of August.
11 8
Thus, in the works of Bishop Challenor, ? of Rev. Alban Butler," of Les
tyrology
assigns
his festival to the
present day.
In the
Kalendar, prefixed
commemorated at this
present
We find entered in the
of 110 that at the Donegal,
of
30th August
veneration was
given
Petits
Bollandistes,
110 of Forbes,120 and of Rev. S. his Bishop Baring-Gould,
In the Circle of the Seasons, this saint is likewise com- 3
festival is noted. "1
memorated, at the present day. "
The memory of our holy hermit was also held in Scotland to be vener- able, for his name is recorded in her Fasti. "3 In the Scottish Calendars, the feast of St. Fiacre has been entered at the 30th of August. It is omitted intheKalendarotDrummond,andinsomeotherKalendars. However,it is entered in the Kalendar of the Aberdeen Breviary,"4 and St. Fiacre is
commemorated in the
Lessons of that 13* He is Breviary.
proper
of Aberdeen, at the
107 See "New Statistical Survey of and other principal Saints," vol. viii. ,
specially
also noticed in the
fn the Kalendar of Adam King. "7 In like manner, Thomas Dempster
Scotland," Perth, at pp. 810, 864.
108 At pp. 95, 162.
109 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
August xxx.
"9 See " Les Vies des Saints," tome x. ,
xxxe jour d'Aout, p. 335.
fessoris et heremitse, adcujus tumulum quasi continue sunt gloriosa miracula. "
113 In these words:
"
In territorio Mel-
Martyrology
of
30th August,"
6 and
,t0 " Scottish Saints," p. 339. See
Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
110
Sweden, marked No. 428, is read: "In
pago Meldensi, beati Fiacrii confessoris, viri vita et mhaculis gloriosi. "
111 See Father Soller's edition.
1,2
Thus :
"
Item sancti Fiacrii con-
See "Lives of the Saints," vol. viii. , August 30, p. 385.
12a
See p. 243.
"3 See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," p. 338.
I24 Thus, at the iii. of the September
Kalends (August 30), "Fiacrii ab. med. "-— Ibid 120.
In the copy belonging to the Queen of p. 338.
densisanctiFiacriiconfessoris. " Seep. 127.
114" "6"—
Eodem
gee Historise Catholicse Ibernise Thus
Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 50.
"5 See ibid. , cap. x. , p. 48.
116 Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves,
pp. 228, 229.
"7 See "Britannia Sancta," part 11,
"7 Thus
fess. sone to Eugenius ye 4 King of Scotland
-p. 102.
118 " See
Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs,
he lyis besyd Meaux in France," ibid. , p. 160.
I21
"5InParsEstiva,fol. lxxxxiiii.
: iii. Kl.
die Fiacri abbatis. " See "Proceedings of
the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 267, and Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars
of Scottish Saints," p. 133.
" S. Fiacre, Abbot and Con-
:
Septembris.
446 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 30.
8
places him in the Menologium Scotorum," while the feast of St. Fiacre is
recorded among the Scottish entries in the Calendar of David Camerarius,"*
but at the 29th of August.
In the English Martyorology, St. Fiacre is celebrated with a lengthened
eulogy, and it mentions a chapel of this holy hermit erected in Rouen, of
Artois, and which had been frequented by a great concourse of people. In many catalogues of Irish saints, in possession of the Bollandists, the name and feast of St. Fiacre occur at this date. In Trinity College, Dublin, there is a Manuscript, classed B. 3. 15, which contains a Kalendar, in which there isaFeastforSt. Fiacre,atthe30thofAugust. ThefestivalofSt. Fiacreis said to have been observed with special devotion in most of the French
11 belonging to the Trinitarians in the last century. *
Dioceses. A Latin
1 * recited in his honour, was to be seen written on parchment, framed and hung up in the Parisian Church of St. Maturin,
:
,a8 Thus " Meldensi territorio Fiacrii
Eremita regis filii qui Eugenio IV. , patre suo defuncto, eadem hora praesciens se ad regnum vocandum, ardentibus precibus lepram impetravit, quae abeuntibus legatis abivit, nee temere ullus Dei sanctns majori- bus signis inclaruit, ml. bt. K. —Ibid. , pp. 209, 210.
Die Sanctus Fiacrius
" Now behold Hibernia shine
With uncommon light divine, And the distant Meld is flames Withthelustreofhisbeams, That Fiacre sent away,
This receives the filial ray, Both partake the common joy, This the father, that the boy. "
"9 Thus
:
Eugcnii filius.
,
Ibid. p. 240.
hymn Florilegium
Messing- Insula Sanctorum"
"
Lucernse novas specula Illustrator Hibernia, liorruscat Meldis insula Tanta- lucis presentia,
Ilia misit Ftacrium,
Haec missum habet radium, Habent commune gaudium, Haec patrem, ilia filium. "
ists, in their "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. , Augusti xxx. De S. Fiacrio Eremita Conf. in Territorio Meldensi in Gallia. Commen- tarius prsevius, sect, i. , num. 9, pp. 599, 600.
" 29 Scotorum
hymn,
published a more accurate version of this, than had hitherto appeared, in
12
their preface to St. Fiacre's Acts. * In many of the French Breviaries the
Office of St. Fiacre, or a commemoration in their Calendars, is to be found.
Proper Lessons are also given, and several Latin hymns composed to
honour him have been published. In the "Missae Propriae Sanctorum
Hibemiae," collected and published, by Father Nicholas Anthony O'Kenny
at Paris, in 1736; at the 30th of August is placed the Missa S. Facrii con-
fessoris, Hyberniae principis, ecclesiae et dicecesis Meldensis in Gallia
patroni generalis. This also contains an elegant Latin hymn, inserted as a
sequence, and before the Gospel. It enumerates the principal actions of our
1 saint. **
From the sixth, to the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries, the missionary spirit of our countrymen was most active in Europe. Truly was Ireland the "Insula Sanctorum," in those days. Within the island itself, nearly every locality had its school of learning and sanctity ; while an impetus was given to the desire of extending such beneficent blessings to more distant lands. Our annals and calendars largely record the number of holy abbots, and religious, venerated as saints. Even foreign writers acknowledge obligations due to Ireland, for the growth and cultivation of literature and
hoc nomine
Regis quarti —'"
is also in given
'*»
"Ecclesiastical and Literary History of Ire-
Campbell, in his Strictures on the land," sect, vii. , p. 117, gives a part of it
Vita S. Fiacrii, p. 392.
I32 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. ,
Augusti xxx. De S. Fiacrio Eremita Conf.
in Commen- Gallia.
which — with its follows,
translation:
metrical
Territorio Meldensi
English
in
tarius pnevius, sect. i.
'3I The ham's
The Bollandists have
num.
133 It has been published by the Bolland-
,
6, p. 599.
w See Alcuin's "Vita S. Wilibrodi," at
7th of November, Surius, " De Probatis Sanc- torum Vitis," tomus vi.
August 30. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 447
religion. ^* In France, more particularly, where St. Fiacre spent the far greater portion of his life, and where the lustre of his virtues and miracles so long survived his time, the Irish missionaries were recognized as infusing new fervour and piety among the people. There, numbers cultivated the Lord's vineyard, and left behind them lasting memorials of their labours and merits.
Article II—St. Loarn, Priest, of Achadh-mor,—now Aghavower,
or Aghamore, County of Mayo [Fifth Century']. In the published 1
Martyrology of Tallagh, a festival occurs, at the 30th of August, in honour
of Loarn, Priest, of Achadh-moir. In that copy, as found in the Book of
2
Leinster, the record is nearly identical, for this same date. Loarn was the
son of Ernasc,3 who lived in the western province of Ireland, when St. Patrick's missionary course led him thither. * At that time, Loarn seems to have been a youth of good and pious dispositions. He received the gift of
The
Divine Faith, and he then became a disciple of the great Apostle. 5 incident is thus related. The illustrious missionary, after leaving Kierra-
6 came to Airne. ? Here he found both Ernasc and Kierragia
gia Airtech,
Loarn sitting under a shady tree. To them the Apostle opened the welcome
message of salvation, and, in return, he was kindly received, with twelve of his companions. They were invited to spend a week at that place. During
Loarn to write an 8 His alphabet.
his there, St. Patrick sojourn
taught
instruction in letters and piety was rapid, and to the end of his life, it
was in still greater progress. Moreover, the youth was celebrated for holi- ness and the gifts of God's spirit. It appears probable, that he was ordained priest by the Irish Apostle, although this is not recorded in the Acts of the latter. However,St. Patrickhaddesiredtoestablishachurchinthatpartofthe country. This place is now known as Aghavower or Aghamore, 9 a parish in the barony of Costello, and County of Mayo.
Near this place, too, Saint Patrick designed the measure and spot where a church should be erected. It rose near a fountain, called in Irish Tober Muena. The church was designated Seincheall, meaning the "oldcill," or church. 10 When Saint Patrick had there laid the foundations of a church, in due course of time, Loarn over it.
presided
In the of Martyrology Donegal,
Priest of Achadh-mor.
12 Loarn is commemorated on this
day,
as a
n.
Article ii. —*
Edited
by
Rev Dr.
teAbVur* x\&
Kelly, 5-Cea|\c,
or Book of
Rights,
xxxiii.
102.
The Irish were not unlettered at this
time, nor for many previous centuries ; but, it seems probable, they had a different form of writing from that used by their early Christian missionaries. However, the mean- ing of this passage may be, that Loam's education in the knowledge of letters had been deferred to that time.
9 This extensive parish, containing 22,820 acres, is described on the "Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the county of Mayo," sheets 72, 81, 82, 92, 93.
I0 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars ii. , cap. lviii. ,
(f). p. 28
p.
Thus : LoAfvn r^c 4chAi-o moir*.
3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. , cap. lvii. ,
p. 137.
4 See the Third Volume of this work, at
March 17th. Art i. , Life of St. Patrick, Apostle and Chief Patron of Ireland, chap. xii.
s See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 267.
6 This territory was in the north-west of the county of Roscommon, and it extended into the adjoining barony of Costello, in the county of Mayo. See the Third Volume of this work, at the 171b of March. Art Life of St. Patrick, Apostle and Chief Patron of Ireland, chap, xii. , n. 21.
» See ibid. ,n. 29. Also John O'Donovan's
p. 137.
" See Lewis's
Some of our modern writers call it a 11 monastery.
i. ,
"Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 18.
" Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 228, 229.
448 LIVES OE THE IRISH SAIN7S. [August 30.
Article III. —St. Muadan of Airegal Muadain, now thought to be
Errigal,CountyofMonaghan. —InthepublishedMartyrologyofTallagh,1 at the 29th of August, a festival is set down—instead of at the 30th of
ist—in honour
of Leinster copy of the Martyrology, the correct entry is only to be found, at
a In treating about certain saints bearing the name of Muadan
Modain, and Bishop of Carnfurbhuidhbe, in Connaught. —He observes, that
day.
of Muadan of Airecail Muadain. in the Book However,
the latter
or Modan,3 Colgan especially notices a holy Abbot, called Modan, vener- ated on the 4th of February/ and another known as Modan, Abbot of Kill-
6
to A. D. he is to be from Saint and refer his period 561, distinguished
Muadan of Aregal Muodain, in Ulster, whose feast is assigned to the 30th of August. The Bollandists ? have notices of a Saint Modan, at the 30th of
August ; but, they do not pretend to throw any light on his history, nor do
they add anything more than an allusion to the authority of Colgan. There
are three parishes in Ireland called by the name Errigal, or Arrigle,
either simply or in composition. The first of these, and called as
announced, is situated in the barony of Coleraine, and county
of The second is • in the of Londonderry. Errigal- Kerogue, barony
Clogher, county of Tyrone. The third is known as Errigal-Trough, a parish, partly in the barony of Clogher and county of Tyrone, but chiefly in that of Trough, county of Monaghan. 8 The place of the present saint has been identified with Errigal, county of Monaghan, by William M. Hennessy. 9 There is a wild and high mountain, known as Errigal, near Gweedore, in the county of Donegal. It is 2,466 feet above the level of the sea, and can be ascended in two hours. Midway up, there is an immense belt of broken stones, unrelieved by a single vestige of vegetation. The mountain narrows towards the top to a mere rugged path of a few inches in width, with an awful abyss on either side. The view from the summitis magnificent,extendingoveraperfectseaofmountainsasfaras Knocklayde, near Ballycastle, county of Antrim, and Benbulben and Bengore, near Sligo, while the whole coast for miles lies at one's feet. In the Martyr- ologies of Marianus O'Gorman and of Donegal, 10 his name occurs on the 30th
w—hiletheIrishcalendarsplacethelatteratMarchioths correctlythe6th
of August, as Muadan, Bishop of Airegal, Muadain.
ll
In the
Martyrology of Cathal Maguire, there is a festival for this saint, at the
30th of August. However, by this writer, he is not entered as a bishop,
neither is he so designated in the Martyrology of Tallagh. The Bollandist
editor, Father John Pinius, finding no record of his death, thinks it possible he flourished in the northern province of Ireland, during the sixth century, or
in some other nearly succeeding it. 12
Article ill. —' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly,
p. xxxiii.
2, Thus : muATjan <U\icail tttuAo«\n.
3 See an account of him, at the 4th of February, in the Second Volume of this work, Art. ii.
For the festival of this saint, the pud-
copo, in Ultonia Hiberniae, p. 565.
8 por a detailed account of these several
parishes
"Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," vol. i. , pp. 608 to 610.
9 See "Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. , part i,p. 84,n-i.
»o EditedbyRev. Drs. ToddandReeves,
pp. 228, 229.
"See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum
Hiberniae," iv. Februarii. Vita S. Modani,
n. 6, p. 253.
« See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. ,
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. , Augusti xxx. De S. Modano, fortasse Augustixxx. De S. Modano fortasse Epis- Episcopo in Ultonia Hiberniae, p. 565.
4" See Colgan's
niae," iv. Februarii. pp. 252, 253.
Acta Sanctorum Hiber- DeS. Modano Abbate,
s This is one of the many typographical errors that disfigure Colgan's printed works.
6
See an account of this St. Modan or
Muadan, in the Third Volume of this work,
at the 6th of March, Art. iv, 7"
the reader is referred to Lewis'
August 30. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 449
lished Martyrology of Tallagh has the 29th of August ; but this seems only a misplacement of the entry, which should be for the 30th of this month.
Article IV. —St. Cronan op Cluain-an-dobhair, King's County. — 1
It is recorded in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, that at the 30th of August, veneration was given to Cronan, of Cluain-an-dobhair, or as it is written, Cluana andobhair. In that copy contained in the Book of Leinster,
2
ated somewhere in the present King's County, says that eminent Irish topo-
grapher, Dr. John O'Donovan; but, it has not yet been identified. * It may be, that the topographical designation has now become obsolete ; or, if not, it should probably be sought for in the neighbourhood of Birr. The festival
of this saint is entered, likewise, in the Martyrology of Donegal,$ as that of Cronan, Cluana an dobair. His humble grave bears no monument, but he requires no memorials beyond those which exist in survival lessons he taught to bring many others to be wise unto salvation.
the entry is nearly similar.
Cluain-an-dobhair, or Cluain-in-dibhair,3 is situ-
Article V. —St. Firdacrich, or Fer-da-chrioch. —Tne simple entry 1
of Firdacrich appears in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 30th ofAugust. Asimilarnoticeissetdown,inthatcopyoftheMartyrologyto be seen in the Book of Leinster. 3 In the Martyrology of Donegal,? at this same date, his name is entered as Fir-da-chrioch.
Article VI. —Festival of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr. —In the
Irish Church, the memory of St. Agatha, Virgin and Martyr, was specially commemorated on the 30th of August, as recorded in the " Feilire * of St. jfEngus. " This festival appears to have been a translation of her relics, with
those of other named saints,
and 2 Eulogius.
Fructuosus,
At the 21st day of January, the Bollandists 3 commemorate saints similarly
named, excepting Maurice, placed at the 22nd of September, in the Roman Martyrology. Tobothdaystheyreferforfurtherelucidation.
—Article VII. —Feast of the Translation of St. Wilibrord's Relics.
From the additions to Usuard's Martyrology by Greven, the Bollandists
Article iv. —l Edited
*
: Stokes, LL. D —
~° «A <\ AcriA *Um 5 5
Kelly, p.
xxxiii.
2 Thus CnouAn cUiAin &x\ X)obon. :
3 This place is alluded to in the " Annals of the Four Masters," at a. d. 507, when the battle of Druim-Deargaighe was fought and
. .
"son of Niaff, over Foilghe Berraidhe. Afterwards, the land from Cluain-in Dibhair to the Hill of Uis-
gained by Fiacha,
by
Rev. Dr. translation is
by Whitley
Mauricius,
Augurius,
" A delightful virgin Agatha, who is a sun neachinWestmeathbelongedtotheCinel- toyoursaints; totherewardabo—verewards Fiachach, his tribe. See Dr. O'Donovan's she ran with her noble sisters. " "Trans-
" edition, vol. i. , pp. 164 to 167. actions of the Royal Irish Academy Irish
4 By the Four Masters it is again alluded Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i.
On the To this a
et
to, at A. D. 843, 938, and 942. —Ibid, n (d).
Calendar of Oengus, p. cxxvi.
—is affixed:
comment "Agatha
martyr. " Ibid. , p. cxxxv.
s Edited
by
228, 229. Article v.
Drs Todd and
— Kelly, p. xxxiii.
l
2 is found in According to what
Reeves, pp. Edited by Rev.
