The
martyrdom
of Luciani With a great devoted host
of 2 Inan January.
of 2 Inan January.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
Dalton, ibid.
,
pp. 790 to 794.
January 7. ] LIVES OB THE IRISH SAINTS. 99
the choir. The nave is about thirty feet in length, by fifteen in breadth. The
choir is twenty-one feet in length, by fifteen in width. The side walls, in a
great measure, have disappeared. A choir-arch is to be seen in the central
gable wall, with additional loop-hole windows, one on either side of the choir-
arch. The old graveyard is crowded with graves, and it is greatly elevated
over the ground and the roads which bound it. " Dank and matted grass
and nettles covered the graves, at a season when visited by the writer. It
has been a long time since the prayers of worshippers were heard under the
roof of the present mediaeval church, which has yet a melancholy interest
"
attaching to its
voiceless aisles. "
Article X. —St. Corcan. Unnoted by further designation, it seems
diflScult to determine this holy man's place in history. Another saint,
bearing the name of Corcan, is entered in the Martyrologies of Tallagh^ and of Donegal,^ on this day. In the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick after leaving
Cashel, the Apostle of Ireland is represented as having visited Musc-righe Breogain,3 where he converted many to the Faith. Here he is said to have erected various cells and churches. While washing his hands and face at a certain river, one of his teeth being loose fell into the water. Some of his disciples knowing the circumstance searched for it a long time during the absence of the aged- Apostle, who was seated on a mountain that was near. At length they found it shining like a bright star through the limpid water. They brought it as a relic with great reverence to an adjoining church, which
*'
afterwards got the name Kilfiacla,
the Church of the Tooth. "^ Their action
was permitted by St. Patrick, and he allowed four of his disciples, Curcneus, Loscan, Cailech, and Beoan to remain there. These were greatly rejoiced
to possess and guard such a precious relic. s Assuming the foregoing dis- ciples to be classed among the saints, Colgan thinks it possible,^ Curcneus might be easily resolvable into Corcanus? or Corcnatanus. ^ Two Corcans are noted at this day. But the conjectural identity of names and events here noticed must be received with caution and hesitancy.
Article XL—St. Donnan, Priest of Inis-Aingin, now Hare Island, Lough Ree, Parish of Bunown, County Westmeath. \Sixth Century. ] This holy man's course of life seems to have sped in the sixth age. The Martyrology of Donegal' mentions a feast on this day, to a St. Donnan, priest. He was connected with Inis-Aingen, in Loch-Ribh, or Ree. The life of Ciaran of Cluain or Clonmacnois states,^ that he was the son of Senan's brother. 3 This is the account it gives: Donnan the son of Senan's brother came to Ciaran, to Inis-Aingin. He and Senan had the same mother. St. Ciaran* left him the island, "and also his Gospel and its true bearer,
"The annexed engraving by Mrs. Millard,
building. — p. 267.
from a sketch taken the author in by
186. And Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. ,
August, 1873, represents the presentstateof the ruined
59, p.
Quinta
'' Art. X. Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly,
p. xi. The Franciscan MS. copy has Co]\CAni, at this day.
There is a St. Corcan venerated at the 30th of September, and a St. Corcran at the 8th of October.
* There is a St. Corcnutan of Doire-eidh-
nech venera—ted at the 3rd of November.
'
Art. xi. Edited by Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp. 8, 9.
^ xxxvi. Cap.
3 See the Acts of St. Senan at the 8th of March,
^Edited 8, 9.
by
Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp.
3 Now the barony of Clanwilliam, in the south-west of the county of Tipperary.
* This is now the of
parish Kilfeacle,
the diocese of Cashel.
in
5 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Sep-
tima Vita S. Patricii,
pars, iii. , cap. xxxii. ,
* See his Acts at the 9th of
September.
p. 156.
^ See n. idid. ,
loo LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[January 7.
Maelodhrain. " The Martyrology of Tallaghs registers St. Donnan, on the 7th ofJanuary,asDonnanofInnseAngin. ThissaintisalsocalledAdonnan,and
he governed for many years the monastery at Inis-Aingin or Inchinneen, also known as Hare Island. Respecting the names of his successors, we possess no record, except that of Toicthiuch, who died a. d. 895. This monastery
was plundered or profaned in a. d. 843, 894, and 895, and also in 920, 922, 929, 937, and 1089. The old church of St. Ciaran on Hare Island measures 49 feet 8 inches, by 1 5 feet 4 inches ; and here there is a tomb with an Irish inscription, asking a prayer for Tuathal Hua Hurain. ^ The old church Hes on the south shore of this romantic island, which owes as much to its beautiful position and outlines, as it does to the care of Lord Ashtown, whose residence there is surrounded with noble woods and fine pleasure-
grounds. 7
The scenery along Lough Ree and the River Shannon is truly charming,
andinmanycasesverysubhme. InLoughRee,besidesInis-Aingin,known also as Inchinneen, and now called Hare Island, may be enumerated Inish- more or Inchmore, "the great Island," Inch-turk, Nuns' Island, and Inishboffin. All of them belong to the union of Kilkenny West, in the deanery of Clara. In all of those islets, we are told, were churches or monasteries. The bracing air, which encounters the tourist, on the lake's placid or ruffled waters ; the numerous islands which dot its horizon ; the extensive prospect of wood and water ; the stillness and solemnity around ; the boats or yachts that scud along the surface of the lake ; the crumbling walls and ivy-mantled ruins of ancient hermitages, monasteries, and churches ; these all lend an unrivalledcharmtothepanorama. Theinvalid,theartist,andtheantiquary may draw their several sources of comfort, inspiration, and pleasure amidst
the hills, shores, islands and waters of the \vide-spreading Lough Ree. ^ When its surface is unruffled by high winds and waves, nothing can be conceived
" moreenjoyable,thanasailtoitsvarioushauntsof pleasaunce. "
ArticleXII. —St. MolaccaofLifeachar. Thenameofaholyman called Molacca, of Lifeachar, occurs in the Martyrology of Donegal,^ on this day. At the 7th of January, a nearly similar entry, Moloca Liphechair, is recorded in the Martyrology of Tallagh. ^ It seems from the epithet, postfixed to his proper name, that his former place of residence must have been ad- joining some part of the River Liffey.
Article XIII. —St. Elither or Ailitri, Abbot. It is entered in the Martyrology of Donegal,' that EHther, abbot, was venerated on this day. In the table appended to this Martyrology his name is Latinized, Elutherius. ^ The name of Ailitri occurs in the Martyrology of Tallagh,3 at the 7th of January. In this latter record, he is also styled abbot.
5 Edited
by
Rev. Dr. xi. The Kelly, p.
Art. xii. —' Edited Reeves, p. 8, 9.
by Drs. Todd and
Franciscan MS. copy has, at this day,
OonriAni 1nfe -Anjin.
*
See Rev. A. Cogan's "Diocese of Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. iii. , chap. Ixx. , pp. 571,"572.
7 See Ordnance Survey Townland Maps fortheCountyofWestmeath. " Sheet22.
"
See Rev. A. Cogan's "Diocese of Meath, AncientandModem,"vol. ii. , chap,xix. , p. 527.
^
Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xi. In
the Franciscan copy the entry is nioiocAe
l,ipecAi]\.
Art. xiii. —' Edited by Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp. 8, 9.
"
Seeibid. ,pp. 406,407.
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xi. In
theFranciscanMS. copytheenUTris^ilici\i '
^b.
January 7. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. loi
Article XIV. —St. Eimhin or Emin, or Emenus. The soul of the just man is tranquil, and nevertheless it yearns for that rest which cannot be obtained on this side of the grave. In the Martyrology of Donegal/ we find the name Eimhin, simply recorded, at this day. And again we have a plain entry of Emin Sci, which occurs in the published Martyrology of Tallaghj^" on the 7th of January. The name is Latinized Eminus or Emenus.
Article XV. —The Daughters of Ferghna. We find merely the entry of Ingen-Fergna, in the published Martyrology of Tallagh,^ on the 7 th
the"
may have been the pious matron Briga, the daughter of Fergna, son to Cobtach, and who warned St. Patrick regarding the plot laid against him by the people, as he approached the confines of Leix. 3 This lady belonged to the Hy-Erchon tribe, and on her, on her relations, and on the people of that district, St. Patrick bestowed a special blessing. ^ In the Life of the great Irish Apostle,7 this incident is more fully related.
Article XVI. -—St. Inna. Within brackets, the etymon [Inna] thus
appears in the Martyrology of Donegal,' on this day. ^ For whom it is meant, we have no means for determining.
Article XVII. —Beginning of the Lent of Jesus, A penitential observance began on this day, in the ancient Irish Church ; and probably it continued for several days afterwards. In the Felire of St. ^ngus, we find :
5. Uli. It). tHAfClAA tticiAm
Co ^^015 rnAiv bAtdtpu
CoffAcli co|\5<Mf l-pu. The following is a literal English version :
G. uii. id.
The martyrdom of Luciani With a great devoted host
of 2 Inan January.
of "are Feargna
Daughters
mentioned in the Martyrology of Donegal,^ as having a feast on this day. From these entries, it has been conjectured,'* that one of these daughters
Art. XIV. —' Edited Reeves, pp. 10, II.
by
Drs. Todd and
a time when the trick had been written,
* See ibid. , and n. 34,
7 At the 17—th of March,
Life of St. Pa-
Drs, Todd and
' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xi.
In the
Franciscan M—S. copy it is noted emeni Oa.
'
Art. XV. Edited by Rev, Dr. Kelly,
Art, xvi.
'
Edited
p, xi.
' In the Franciscan
copy
we read
In^eriA
Reeves, pp, 10, II,
=^ In a note Dr. Todd says, that the name,
"Inna," is added in a more recent hand,
and not in Iri—sh characters,
'
Art. xvii. The original stanza in Irish,
and the English translation, were furnished by Professor O'Looney of the Catholic Uni- versity, from the Leabhar Breac copy, in the R. I. A.
pe^gne.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, p. 11,
••See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Septima S. Patricii, part iii. , cap. xix, n. 33, pp. 152, 185.
5 This district of Leix is called Laighis
mic-finn, where the marshy or boggy land lay, and which was called Moin-choluim, at
English rendering,
I celebrate a still more noble [feast] The beginning of the Lent of Jesus.
The Rule of St. Francis of Assisi also enjoins certain prescriptions in reference to this observance, after stating, that the brethren shall fast fi-om the feast of All Saints to the Nativity of our Lord. It invokes a blessing on
those monks, who willingly observe the holy Lent, which begins from the Feast of the Epiphany, and continues for forty days, and which the Lord
'
Tripartite
by
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
consecrated by His holy Fast. Those, who were unwilling to do so, are not obliged to this fast, according to the Franciscan Rule, However, it is expressly stated, that the Fast before the Resurrection of the Lord must be strictly observed. *
<Bi^i\) Bap of Sanuajrp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. ALBERT, BISHOP AND PATRON OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF CASHEL AND OF THE DIOCESE OF EMLY.
[SEVENTH CENTURY. I
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—FEAST AND ACTS OF ST. ALBERT—HIS NAME AND ORIGIN—SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN CREATED BISHOP OF CASHEL OR OF EMLY—DESCRIPTIVE, HISTORICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL PARTICULARS REGARDING CASHEL,
A CELEBRATED German writer^ has observed, that while the flames
of war were around the Green Isle the sweets of blazing her, enjoyed
repose. When looking into the ecclesiastical life of her people, we are
almost tempted to beheve, that some potent spirits had transported over the sea the cells of the valley of the Nile, with all their hermits ; its monasteries,
Art. i. — —
We
'
' See Father
pro Hibemia," cap. iv. , p. 43. BoUandus treats "De SS. Episcopis Erardo et Alberto" at the 8th of January. See "Acta Sane- torum Januarii," tomus i. , pp. 533 to 546.
Chap.
i.
Professor Gorres.
the date for his festival.
may presume,
Stephen
White's "
as an reference is made to the
and had settled them down in the Western Isle. In
with all their inmates
the lapse of three centuries, our island, it is very insufficiently reported, gave eight hundred and fifty saints to the Church, won over to Christianity the north of Britain, and soon after a large portion of the yet pagan Germany. It devoted, meantime, the utmost attention to the sciences, and cultivated, with especial care, mystical contemplation in religious communities, as well as in the saints whom they produced. Yet however eulogistic such statementsmaybe; neitherabroadnorathomehavehistoricresearchesyet spread out the entire rolls, destined at some future time to extend much wider the true fame of Ireland.
;
The festival of St. Albert, Bishop and Confessor, is celebrated in the united dioceses of Cashel and Emly on this day. =^ It is kept as a double of the first class, with an octave. Colgan was unable to procure St. Albert's Acts ; and yet, he understood, they had been preserved in Bavaria, at the time he wrote. This author treats about our saint, at the 8th of January ; not, indeed, because he knew the day of St. Albert's death, or even that on which his memory had been venerated, but on account of its having being the festival of St. Erard. This holy man had been Albert's companion, during a considerable period of their respective lives. 3 The German writers, treating about them,4 usually associate those sainted personages as
" SeetheRuleof 3 in his " Sanc- St. Francis, chapter iii. , Catalogus Aliquorum
p. 172. B. P. Francisci Assisiatis "Opus- toram Hibemise" Henry Fitzsimon enters
cula," per Fr, Lucam Waddingum, vol. ii,
St. Albert's name, but without specifying
Apologia
authority, Cronicon Bavarice. "
"
by the name Adalbert,
Conrad de Montepuellarum calls Albert,
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 103
brothers. 5 Such close relationship, however, does not appear to be very certain. Our Irish hagiographist sums up St. Albert's Acts, in a few paragraphs. *^ Moreover, their substance has been collected from the works of various authors, who have alluded to this saint, and to his companions.
By some writers, Albert is called Adalbert. He is supposed by others to have been called Albeus, or Ailbe, in his native country. This is generally regarded as having been Ireland. The proper name of Ailbe was not such an unusual one among Irish families. It is supposed, a transition from it to the form of Albert, a well-known name in Germany, might be both easy and natural, among the people of that country. There are similar changes, re- garding the names of Irish Saints and Doctors, who, in olden times, resorted to the Continent. 7 Most likely St. Albert's original Irish nam—e cannot now
—Thisholymanissaidtohavebeenabrother oratleasta be revealed.
of St.
companion of St. Erard,^ and Hildulph or Hidulf. 9 He thought,
is therefore, to have been descended from a noble, if not from royal parentage, in old Scotia or Hibernia. These holy men were associated, it is assumed, not alone by family ties, but by a holy emulation in the desire of becoming
Rock of Cashel.
perfect. Being anxious to Imitate their Divine Master, in his contempt for worldly honours, they abandoned all comforts, derivable from their birth and possessions. Theywererenowned,aswellfortheirlearningasfortheirpiety.
s Such has not been done, however, by Conrad de Montepuellarum.
* To these he has added a few critical notes,
8 For a further ehicidation of St. Albert's Acts, see the Life of St. Erard, which follows, on this same day.
9 The reader is referred, likewise, to the
' See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical Life of St. Hildulph at the nth of July, the
History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xviii. , § day of his feast. After all, the proper ex-
viii. , and n. 102, pp. no, in, 112, and planation of the word "brother" or
"
Colgan's
Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," viii. "brothers" as applied to those saints may
Januarii, Vita St. Albertl, nn, r, 2, pp. signify, that they were merely brethren in 40, 41. religion, and not in kindred.
I04 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
Hence it happened, that they were compelled, in a measure, to accept episcopal consecration. HildulphbecameBishopofTrevesinGermany. Livingintheir
native country, as we are told, Erard had been appointed Bishop of Ardagh, while Albert became Archbishop of Cashel. ^° This latter place is now a decaying old town, yet rich in the imperishable associations of its renowned " Rock," with former regal and archiepiscopal honours. " Even still it is crowned with ruins, denoting a past history of chequered events, and pre-
serving some interesting memorials of a by-gone splendour. "
The relics of architectural magnificence at Cashel have frequently obtained
admirable and historic illustration. '3 The pictorial
and
of a generation have made those relics the theme for inspiration. ^*
Cashel seems to have been the royal seat of the Munster Kings, long before St. Patrick preached the Gospel in Ireland. ^s However distinguished, afterwards, as a regal residence of the Christian Monarchs, who ruled in North Munster; yetEmly'^seems,sofaraswecanlearn,tohavebeenthefirst seat of the southern provincial bishops. '7 This continued probably for a long period, for until the time of Comiac M'Cuoillinarn, who is noted in our annals, both as King and Bishop of Cashel,^^ no clear trace of an episcopal predecessor at the place, and in the pastoral office, can be discovered. '9
Tradition has it, that King ^ngus built the first church on the Rock, in
'° " See Colgan's
" The annexed
Intent the Annunciation —Feast to hold
Acta Sanctonim Vita S. Alberti,
" There is an engraved ground plan, and a view of the ruins on the Rock of Cashel, drawn by Dr. Wynne, in Grose's "Anti- quities of Ireland," vol. i. , pp. 72, 73. There is likewise an engraving of the old Franciscan Abbey ruins at Cashel, from an original drawing by Barralet. See vol. ii. , pp. 47, 48.
At Cashel of the Kings. "
of St. Patrick," by Aubrey De Vere, p. 95.
now a
Hibemioe," viii. Januarii. §§ i. , ii. ^ pp. 38, 39.
See
"Legends
Mares, Dublin.
poor
erected his first cathedral, or bishop's church. It is fourteen miles west of Cashel, in the south of Ireland. Towards the close of the sixth century, a sort of imiversity is said to have been established here. Until the city was plundered and burnt by the Danes, in the ninth century, it afforded accommoda- tion, as recorded by some writers, for fifteen
engraving,byA. Appleton,
'* About A. D.
500, Emly,
is copied from a photograph, by F. W. village, was the 'spot on which St. Ailbe
'3 Among these pictures and descriptioris Pepper, ''"
"
may be quoted the Dublin Penny Journal,
vol. ii. , No. 66, pp. 105, 106, 108; No. 71,
Byron, or the pencil of a Rosa. " "
p. 148. But the most elegant engravings
'7 See Sir James Ware, Archiepisco-
are the steel in Bartlett's " plates
Casseliensium et Tuamensium pp. I, 2,
Scenery porum, and Antiquities of Ireland," vol. i. , § xvi. ,
Vitae,"
to
'* One of the most beautiful among
'^ Sir
De Vere has
these
pp. 138
Aubrey
beautiful lines, in a sonnet, frequently
149.
——in —
penned
poems pathetically elegiac sentiment, quoted if not in form and written by Very Rev.
Patrick Murray, D. D. , Maynooth College, on "The Rock of Cashel," will long per- petuate undying memories of its former celebrity. This sad and musical series of stanzas thus opens :
:
"Royal and saintly Cashel ! I would gaze Upon the wreck of thy departed powers Not in the de\vy light of matin hours,
Nor the meridian pomp of summer's
blaze.
But at the close of dim autumnal days.
* * * * At such a time, methinks. There breathes from thy lone courts and
voiceless aisles
A melancholy moral, such as sinks
On the lone traveller's heart amid the
piles
Of vast Persepolis on her movmtain
stand.
Or Thebes half buried in the desert land. " '9 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Arch-
bishops of Cashel," pp. 463 to 467.
"
Fair was that eve, as if from earth away All trace of sin and sorrow
Passed, in the light of the eternal day,
"
That knows nor night nor morrow.
pp. 790 to 794.
January 7. ] LIVES OB THE IRISH SAINTS. 99
the choir. The nave is about thirty feet in length, by fifteen in breadth. The
choir is twenty-one feet in length, by fifteen in width. The side walls, in a
great measure, have disappeared. A choir-arch is to be seen in the central
gable wall, with additional loop-hole windows, one on either side of the choir-
arch. The old graveyard is crowded with graves, and it is greatly elevated
over the ground and the roads which bound it. " Dank and matted grass
and nettles covered the graves, at a season when visited by the writer. It
has been a long time since the prayers of worshippers were heard under the
roof of the present mediaeval church, which has yet a melancholy interest
"
attaching to its
voiceless aisles. "
Article X. —St. Corcan. Unnoted by further designation, it seems
diflScult to determine this holy man's place in history. Another saint,
bearing the name of Corcan, is entered in the Martyrologies of Tallagh^ and of Donegal,^ on this day. In the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick after leaving
Cashel, the Apostle of Ireland is represented as having visited Musc-righe Breogain,3 where he converted many to the Faith. Here he is said to have erected various cells and churches. While washing his hands and face at a certain river, one of his teeth being loose fell into the water. Some of his disciples knowing the circumstance searched for it a long time during the absence of the aged- Apostle, who was seated on a mountain that was near. At length they found it shining like a bright star through the limpid water. They brought it as a relic with great reverence to an adjoining church, which
*'
afterwards got the name Kilfiacla,
the Church of the Tooth. "^ Their action
was permitted by St. Patrick, and he allowed four of his disciples, Curcneus, Loscan, Cailech, and Beoan to remain there. These were greatly rejoiced
to possess and guard such a precious relic. s Assuming the foregoing dis- ciples to be classed among the saints, Colgan thinks it possible,^ Curcneus might be easily resolvable into Corcanus? or Corcnatanus. ^ Two Corcans are noted at this day. But the conjectural identity of names and events here noticed must be received with caution and hesitancy.
Article XL—St. Donnan, Priest of Inis-Aingin, now Hare Island, Lough Ree, Parish of Bunown, County Westmeath. \Sixth Century. ] This holy man's course of life seems to have sped in the sixth age. The Martyrology of Donegal' mentions a feast on this day, to a St. Donnan, priest. He was connected with Inis-Aingen, in Loch-Ribh, or Ree. The life of Ciaran of Cluain or Clonmacnois states,^ that he was the son of Senan's brother. 3 This is the account it gives: Donnan the son of Senan's brother came to Ciaran, to Inis-Aingin. He and Senan had the same mother. St. Ciaran* left him the island, "and also his Gospel and its true bearer,
"The annexed engraving by Mrs. Millard,
building. — p. 267.
from a sketch taken the author in by
186. And Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. ,
August, 1873, represents the presentstateof the ruined
59, p.
Quinta
'' Art. X. Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly,
p. xi. The Franciscan MS. copy has Co]\CAni, at this day.
There is a St. Corcan venerated at the 30th of September, and a St. Corcran at the 8th of October.
* There is a St. Corcnutan of Doire-eidh-
nech venera—ted at the 3rd of November.
'
Art. xi. Edited by Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp. 8, 9.
^ xxxvi. Cap.
3 See the Acts of St. Senan at the 8th of March,
^Edited 8, 9.
by
Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp.
3 Now the barony of Clanwilliam, in the south-west of the county of Tipperary.
* This is now the of
parish Kilfeacle,
the diocese of Cashel.
in
5 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Sep-
tima Vita S. Patricii,
pars, iii. , cap. xxxii. ,
* See his Acts at the 9th of
September.
p. 156.
^ See n. idid. ,
loo LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[January 7.
Maelodhrain. " The Martyrology of Tallaghs registers St. Donnan, on the 7th ofJanuary,asDonnanofInnseAngin. ThissaintisalsocalledAdonnan,and
he governed for many years the monastery at Inis-Aingin or Inchinneen, also known as Hare Island. Respecting the names of his successors, we possess no record, except that of Toicthiuch, who died a. d. 895. This monastery
was plundered or profaned in a. d. 843, 894, and 895, and also in 920, 922, 929, 937, and 1089. The old church of St. Ciaran on Hare Island measures 49 feet 8 inches, by 1 5 feet 4 inches ; and here there is a tomb with an Irish inscription, asking a prayer for Tuathal Hua Hurain. ^ The old church Hes on the south shore of this romantic island, which owes as much to its beautiful position and outlines, as it does to the care of Lord Ashtown, whose residence there is surrounded with noble woods and fine pleasure-
grounds. 7
The scenery along Lough Ree and the River Shannon is truly charming,
andinmanycasesverysubhme. InLoughRee,besidesInis-Aingin,known also as Inchinneen, and now called Hare Island, may be enumerated Inish- more or Inchmore, "the great Island," Inch-turk, Nuns' Island, and Inishboffin. All of them belong to the union of Kilkenny West, in the deanery of Clara. In all of those islets, we are told, were churches or monasteries. The bracing air, which encounters the tourist, on the lake's placid or ruffled waters ; the numerous islands which dot its horizon ; the extensive prospect of wood and water ; the stillness and solemnity around ; the boats or yachts that scud along the surface of the lake ; the crumbling walls and ivy-mantled ruins of ancient hermitages, monasteries, and churches ; these all lend an unrivalledcharmtothepanorama. Theinvalid,theartist,andtheantiquary may draw their several sources of comfort, inspiration, and pleasure amidst
the hills, shores, islands and waters of the \vide-spreading Lough Ree. ^ When its surface is unruffled by high winds and waves, nothing can be conceived
" moreenjoyable,thanasailtoitsvarioushauntsof pleasaunce. "
ArticleXII. —St. MolaccaofLifeachar. Thenameofaholyman called Molacca, of Lifeachar, occurs in the Martyrology of Donegal,^ on this day. At the 7th of January, a nearly similar entry, Moloca Liphechair, is recorded in the Martyrology of Tallagh. ^ It seems from the epithet, postfixed to his proper name, that his former place of residence must have been ad- joining some part of the River Liffey.
Article XIII. —St. Elither or Ailitri, Abbot. It is entered in the Martyrology of Donegal,' that EHther, abbot, was venerated on this day. In the table appended to this Martyrology his name is Latinized, Elutherius. ^ The name of Ailitri occurs in the Martyrology of Tallagh,3 at the 7th of January. In this latter record, he is also styled abbot.
5 Edited
by
Rev. Dr. xi. The Kelly, p.
Art. xii. —' Edited Reeves, p. 8, 9.
by Drs. Todd and
Franciscan MS. copy has, at this day,
OonriAni 1nfe -Anjin.
*
See Rev. A. Cogan's "Diocese of Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. iii. , chap. Ixx. , pp. 571,"572.
7 See Ordnance Survey Townland Maps fortheCountyofWestmeath. " Sheet22.
"
See Rev. A. Cogan's "Diocese of Meath, AncientandModem,"vol. ii. , chap,xix. , p. 527.
^
Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xi. In
the Franciscan copy the entry is nioiocAe
l,ipecAi]\.
Art. xiii. —' Edited by Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp. 8, 9.
"
Seeibid. ,pp. 406,407.
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xi. In
theFranciscanMS. copytheenUTris^ilici\i '
^b.
January 7. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. loi
Article XIV. —St. Eimhin or Emin, or Emenus. The soul of the just man is tranquil, and nevertheless it yearns for that rest which cannot be obtained on this side of the grave. In the Martyrology of Donegal/ we find the name Eimhin, simply recorded, at this day. And again we have a plain entry of Emin Sci, which occurs in the published Martyrology of Tallaghj^" on the 7th of January. The name is Latinized Eminus or Emenus.
Article XV. —The Daughters of Ferghna. We find merely the entry of Ingen-Fergna, in the published Martyrology of Tallagh,^ on the 7 th
the"
may have been the pious matron Briga, the daughter of Fergna, son to Cobtach, and who warned St. Patrick regarding the plot laid against him by the people, as he approached the confines of Leix. 3 This lady belonged to the Hy-Erchon tribe, and on her, on her relations, and on the people of that district, St. Patrick bestowed a special blessing. ^ In the Life of the great Irish Apostle,7 this incident is more fully related.
Article XVI. -—St. Inna. Within brackets, the etymon [Inna] thus
appears in the Martyrology of Donegal,' on this day. ^ For whom it is meant, we have no means for determining.
Article XVII. —Beginning of the Lent of Jesus, A penitential observance began on this day, in the ancient Irish Church ; and probably it continued for several days afterwards. In the Felire of St. ^ngus, we find :
5. Uli. It). tHAfClAA tticiAm
Co ^^015 rnAiv bAtdtpu
CoffAcli co|\5<Mf l-pu. The following is a literal English version :
G. uii. id.
The martyrdom of Luciani With a great devoted host
of 2 Inan January.
of "are Feargna
Daughters
mentioned in the Martyrology of Donegal,^ as having a feast on this day. From these entries, it has been conjectured,'* that one of these daughters
Art. XIV. —' Edited Reeves, pp. 10, II.
by
Drs. Todd and
a time when the trick had been written,
* See ibid. , and n. 34,
7 At the 17—th of March,
Life of St. Pa-
Drs, Todd and
' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xi.
In the
Franciscan M—S. copy it is noted emeni Oa.
'
Art. XV. Edited by Rev, Dr. Kelly,
Art, xvi.
'
Edited
p, xi.
' In the Franciscan
copy
we read
In^eriA
Reeves, pp, 10, II,
=^ In a note Dr. Todd says, that the name,
"Inna," is added in a more recent hand,
and not in Iri—sh characters,
'
Art. xvii. The original stanza in Irish,
and the English translation, were furnished by Professor O'Looney of the Catholic Uni- versity, from the Leabhar Breac copy, in the R. I. A.
pe^gne.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, p. 11,
••See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Vita Septima S. Patricii, part iii. , cap. xix, n. 33, pp. 152, 185.
5 This district of Leix is called Laighis
mic-finn, where the marshy or boggy land lay, and which was called Moin-choluim, at
English rendering,
I celebrate a still more noble [feast] The beginning of the Lent of Jesus.
The Rule of St. Francis of Assisi also enjoins certain prescriptions in reference to this observance, after stating, that the brethren shall fast fi-om the feast of All Saints to the Nativity of our Lord. It invokes a blessing on
those monks, who willingly observe the holy Lent, which begins from the Feast of the Epiphany, and continues for forty days, and which the Lord
'
Tripartite
by
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
consecrated by His holy Fast. Those, who were unwilling to do so, are not obliged to this fast, according to the Franciscan Rule, However, it is expressly stated, that the Fast before the Resurrection of the Lord must be strictly observed. *
<Bi^i\) Bap of Sanuajrp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. ALBERT, BISHOP AND PATRON OF THE ARCHDIOCESE OF CASHEL AND OF THE DIOCESE OF EMLY.
[SEVENTH CENTURY. I
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—FEAST AND ACTS OF ST. ALBERT—HIS NAME AND ORIGIN—SUPPOSED TO HAVE BEEN CREATED BISHOP OF CASHEL OR OF EMLY—DESCRIPTIVE, HISTORICAL AND ECCLESIASTICAL PARTICULARS REGARDING CASHEL,
A CELEBRATED German writer^ has observed, that while the flames
of war were around the Green Isle the sweets of blazing her, enjoyed
repose. When looking into the ecclesiastical life of her people, we are
almost tempted to beheve, that some potent spirits had transported over the sea the cells of the valley of the Nile, with all their hermits ; its monasteries,
Art. i. — —
We
'
' See Father
pro Hibemia," cap. iv. , p. 43. BoUandus treats "De SS. Episcopis Erardo et Alberto" at the 8th of January. See "Acta Sane- torum Januarii," tomus i. , pp. 533 to 546.
Chap.
i.
Professor Gorres.
the date for his festival.
may presume,
Stephen
White's "
as an reference is made to the
and had settled them down in the Western Isle. In
with all their inmates
the lapse of three centuries, our island, it is very insufficiently reported, gave eight hundred and fifty saints to the Church, won over to Christianity the north of Britain, and soon after a large portion of the yet pagan Germany. It devoted, meantime, the utmost attention to the sciences, and cultivated, with especial care, mystical contemplation in religious communities, as well as in the saints whom they produced. Yet however eulogistic such statementsmaybe; neitherabroadnorathomehavehistoricresearchesyet spread out the entire rolls, destined at some future time to extend much wider the true fame of Ireland.
;
The festival of St. Albert, Bishop and Confessor, is celebrated in the united dioceses of Cashel and Emly on this day. =^ It is kept as a double of the first class, with an octave. Colgan was unable to procure St. Albert's Acts ; and yet, he understood, they had been preserved in Bavaria, at the time he wrote. This author treats about our saint, at the 8th of January ; not, indeed, because he knew the day of St. Albert's death, or even that on which his memory had been venerated, but on account of its having being the festival of St. Erard. This holy man had been Albert's companion, during a considerable period of their respective lives. 3 The German writers, treating about them,4 usually associate those sainted personages as
" SeetheRuleof 3 in his " Sanc- St. Francis, chapter iii. , Catalogus Aliquorum
p. 172. B. P. Francisci Assisiatis "Opus- toram Hibemise" Henry Fitzsimon enters
cula," per Fr, Lucam Waddingum, vol. ii,
St. Albert's name, but without specifying
Apologia
authority, Cronicon Bavarice. "
"
by the name Adalbert,
Conrad de Montepuellarum calls Albert,
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 103
brothers. 5 Such close relationship, however, does not appear to be very certain. Our Irish hagiographist sums up St. Albert's Acts, in a few paragraphs. *^ Moreover, their substance has been collected from the works of various authors, who have alluded to this saint, and to his companions.
By some writers, Albert is called Adalbert. He is supposed by others to have been called Albeus, or Ailbe, in his native country. This is generally regarded as having been Ireland. The proper name of Ailbe was not such an unusual one among Irish families. It is supposed, a transition from it to the form of Albert, a well-known name in Germany, might be both easy and natural, among the people of that country. There are similar changes, re- garding the names of Irish Saints and Doctors, who, in olden times, resorted to the Continent. 7 Most likely St. Albert's original Irish nam—e cannot now
—Thisholymanissaidtohavebeenabrother oratleasta be revealed.
of St.
companion of St. Erard,^ and Hildulph or Hidulf. 9 He thought,
is therefore, to have been descended from a noble, if not from royal parentage, in old Scotia or Hibernia. These holy men were associated, it is assumed, not alone by family ties, but by a holy emulation in the desire of becoming
Rock of Cashel.
perfect. Being anxious to Imitate their Divine Master, in his contempt for worldly honours, they abandoned all comforts, derivable from their birth and possessions. Theywererenowned,aswellfortheirlearningasfortheirpiety.
s Such has not been done, however, by Conrad de Montepuellarum.
* To these he has added a few critical notes,
8 For a further ehicidation of St. Albert's Acts, see the Life of St. Erard, which follows, on this same day.
9 The reader is referred, likewise, to the
' See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical Life of St. Hildulph at the nth of July, the
History of Ireland," vol. iii. , chap, xviii. , § day of his feast. After all, the proper ex-
viii. , and n. 102, pp. no, in, 112, and planation of the word "brother" or
"
Colgan's
Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," viii. "brothers" as applied to those saints may
Januarii, Vita St. Albertl, nn, r, 2, pp. signify, that they were merely brethren in 40, 41. religion, and not in kindred.
I04 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
Hence it happened, that they were compelled, in a measure, to accept episcopal consecration. HildulphbecameBishopofTrevesinGermany. Livingintheir
native country, as we are told, Erard had been appointed Bishop of Ardagh, while Albert became Archbishop of Cashel. ^° This latter place is now a decaying old town, yet rich in the imperishable associations of its renowned " Rock," with former regal and archiepiscopal honours. " Even still it is crowned with ruins, denoting a past history of chequered events, and pre-
serving some interesting memorials of a by-gone splendour. "
The relics of architectural magnificence at Cashel have frequently obtained
admirable and historic illustration. '3 The pictorial
and
of a generation have made those relics the theme for inspiration. ^*
Cashel seems to have been the royal seat of the Munster Kings, long before St. Patrick preached the Gospel in Ireland. ^s However distinguished, afterwards, as a regal residence of the Christian Monarchs, who ruled in North Munster; yetEmly'^seems,sofaraswecanlearn,tohavebeenthefirst seat of the southern provincial bishops. '7 This continued probably for a long period, for until the time of Comiac M'Cuoillinarn, who is noted in our annals, both as King and Bishop of Cashel,^^ no clear trace of an episcopal predecessor at the place, and in the pastoral office, can be discovered. '9
Tradition has it, that King ^ngus built the first church on the Rock, in
'° " See Colgan's
" The annexed
Intent the Annunciation —Feast to hold
Acta Sanctonim Vita S. Alberti,
" There is an engraved ground plan, and a view of the ruins on the Rock of Cashel, drawn by Dr. Wynne, in Grose's "Anti- quities of Ireland," vol. i. , pp. 72, 73. There is likewise an engraving of the old Franciscan Abbey ruins at Cashel, from an original drawing by Barralet. See vol. ii. , pp. 47, 48.
At Cashel of the Kings. "
of St. Patrick," by Aubrey De Vere, p. 95.
now a
Hibemioe," viii. Januarii. §§ i. , ii. ^ pp. 38, 39.
See
"Legends
Mares, Dublin.
poor
erected his first cathedral, or bishop's church. It is fourteen miles west of Cashel, in the south of Ireland. Towards the close of the sixth century, a sort of imiversity is said to have been established here. Until the city was plundered and burnt by the Danes, in the ninth century, it afforded accommoda- tion, as recorded by some writers, for fifteen
engraving,byA. Appleton,
'* About A. D.
500, Emly,
is copied from a photograph, by F. W. village, was the 'spot on which St. Ailbe
'3 Among these pictures and descriptioris Pepper, ''"
"
may be quoted the Dublin Penny Journal,
vol. ii. , No. 66, pp. 105, 106, 108; No. 71,
Byron, or the pencil of a Rosa. " "
p. 148. But the most elegant engravings
'7 See Sir James Ware, Archiepisco-
are the steel in Bartlett's " plates
Casseliensium et Tuamensium pp. I, 2,
Scenery porum, and Antiquities of Ireland," vol. i. , § xvi. ,
Vitae,"
to
'* One of the most beautiful among
'^ Sir
De Vere has
these
pp. 138
Aubrey
beautiful lines, in a sonnet, frequently
149.
——in —
penned
poems pathetically elegiac sentiment, quoted if not in form and written by Very Rev.
Patrick Murray, D. D. , Maynooth College, on "The Rock of Cashel," will long per- petuate undying memories of its former celebrity. This sad and musical series of stanzas thus opens :
:
"Royal and saintly Cashel ! I would gaze Upon the wreck of thy departed powers Not in the de\vy light of matin hours,
Nor the meridian pomp of summer's
blaze.
But at the close of dim autumnal days.
* * * * At such a time, methinks. There breathes from thy lone courts and
voiceless aisles
A melancholy moral, such as sinks
On the lone traveller's heart amid the
piles
Of vast Persepolis on her movmtain
stand.
Or Thebes half buried in the desert land. " '9 See Harris' Ware, vol. i. , "Arch-
bishops of Cashel," pp. 463 to 467.
"
Fair was that eve, as if from earth away All trace of sin and sorrow
Passed, in the light of the eternal day,
"
That knows nor night nor morrow.
