crosses at this church sufficiently
indicate
its antiquity.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v6
:— 6 See an account of him, in the Third
copy
Islands,
13th
of accord- June,
this day, the Transla-
with Benedict the victorious" Transac-
tions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish
664 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 14.
sent saint, than the date of his departure from this life.
He seems to have
lived at Killeany, on the Island of Aranmore, during the first half of the
seventh 8 A former of Tuam,9 who had
century. distinguished Archbishop
courteously furnished our great national hagiologist with a tabular list of churches and their patrons in his diocese, supposed that a St. Benedict, vene- rated on the 14th of June, as stated by the Cashel Calendar, must have been identical with St. Nehemias,10 reverenced at the same date, as found in our other Martyrologies. Yet, we meet no very satisfactory elucidation, regard- ing the locality or personality of a saint, known by either name. 11 The title
12 at the same date, as Nem Mac Ua Birn, abbot, comorbanor successor to St. Enda, of Ara. The Rev. Alban Butler registers St. Nennus, or Nehemias, Abbot, at the 14th of June. 13 St. Nennus, of Ireland, abbot, is also entered, in the CircleoftheSeasons. 1* Hedieda. d. 654,accordingtotheAnnalsofUlster and of the Four Masters. 15 It is in solitude and surrounded by beautiful objects of nature, that a pious soul and an elevated intellect most freely com-
mune with the Great Creator. 16 So it must have been with this saint.
Article II. —St. Cuman Becc, or Cumman Beg, Virgin, of Cill
of the man present holy
appears,
in the
Martyrology
of
Donegal,
Cuimne. ThenameofCumanBeccofTamnaigh,isenteredintheMartyr- 1
ology of Tallagh, as having been venerated, at the 14th of June. There was an old church, now uprooted at Kilcumney, in the deanery of Mullingar, and county of Westmeath. 2 The Rev. Dr. Kelly appears to identify the place of this virgin with Rathdowney, a village and parish in the southern part of the
as the denomination now " the fort of stands,
3 It
the church ;" but, the correct name should be Rathdowney, representing the
Queen's County.
signifies,
Irish
Rath-tamh-naigh,s
" the fort of the field. "6 This is said to have green
Volume of this work, at the 5th of March, Art. i.
7 See his Life, ibid. , at the 2 1st of March, Art. i.
8 As calculated from the date assigned for his decease.
9 Most Rev. Malachias O'Cadhla (CKealy), Latinized, Malachias Quaeleus, sent his description of theDiocesan Churches and Chapels, a. d. 1645, or shortly before ; and within ten years from this date, the prin- cipal churches of Aranmore were destroyed by Cromwell's governors over these islands. Their materials had been applied towards the
** See p. 166.
*5 See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. ,
pp. 266, 267, and nn. (w, x), ibid.
' 6 To such a state of life, devout aspira- tions are congenial, and as applied to it, we may r—ead these lines of a modern French
poet:
" De ce livre divin ou le saint soli- taire
Lisait les grands secrets du cielet de — la terre. "
Lamartine's CEuvres Poetiques, tome iv. La Chute d'un Ange. Septieme Vision, p.
of a citadel and other defensive
228. Ed. — Svo. Paris, 1839,
building
works then erected. See Roderick O'Fla-
'
p. 429. Whether or not, this had any con- nexion with the present saint cannot be known.
3 See his "Calendar of Irish Saints," pp.
IO, 45.
4 The compounds being Rath and Domk-
nach.
s So it is written, in the "Annals of the
Four Masters. "
Article II. herty's Chorographical Description of p. xxvii.
Edited
by
Rev. Dr.
Kelly,
" WestorIl-Iar
edited
a SeeRev. A.
"DioceseofMeath.
Connaught," Hardiman, n. (x), p. 74.
by James
Cogan's
Ancient and Modem," vol. ii. , chap, xviii. ,
10
As they are separately mentioned in the Feilire of St. ^Engus, we may assume, how- ever, that they were distinct persons.
" See Colgan's " Acta Sanctorum Iliber- nioe," xxi. Martii, Vita S. Endei, Appendix, cap. vii. , p. 715.
" Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 170, 171.
13 See " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs,
and other June xiv.
principal Saints,"
vol.
vi. , "
6 See William in Frazer's Allingham, "
Magazine for Town and Country.
June 14. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
665
been the old pagan name. 7 There was a Tamhnach-an-reata, now Tawny, in the parish of Derryvullan, in the barony of Tirkennedy, and county of Fer-
8 Thereisalsoa or a inthe ofDublin. Tawny Taney, parish county
managh.
In the Martyrology of Donegal,? this saint is recorded, at the same date, as Curaman Beg, Virgin, of Cill Cuimne, at Tamhnach.
Article III. —St. Ciaran, of Bealach-dtjin, now Castle-Kieran,
County of Meath. In the {Eighth Century. ']
of
1
Martyrology
at the 14th of June, the simple entry, Ciaran, of Bealaigh Duin, occurs. According to the Calendar of the O'Clerys, this Ciaran descended from the raceofIrial, sontoConallCearnach,whoisoftheraceofRudhraighe,and who belonged to the progeny of Ir, son to Milidh. 2 He was born probably before or about the beginning of the eighth century. He is thought to have beenoneoftheauthors,whowrotetheLifeofSt. Patrick. 3 Heisdesignated the Devout, and he is distinguished as abbot of Belach-duin. 4 This etymon
or * of the fort. "s This was the ancient pass
means in " the English,
road/'
name of Disert-Chiarain 6 or Castlekieran,? near Kells, in the county of
Meath. In Irish, it is now corruptly called Ister-Chiarain. An old church, yet not founded by the present saint, but called after him, is there situated
on the Abhainn-Sele, or Blackwater River. According to a popular rumour, the present saint was a stone-cutter. 8 Many legends are current regarding
him, in the neighbourhood where he lived, but hardly any of them are of a reliable character. The old church yet remains. It is quadrangular, mea- suring forty-five feet six inches, by twenty feet. Most of the stones have been carried away, and the whole presents a melancholy picture of desolation. The interesting remains of five Termon crosses 9 were here, and between four of these the church is situated. They were placed north, south IO and west of the ruin. The base of one was erected in a ford of the River Blackwater; but,
the
shaft,
arms and
top
were 11 The ancient removed, many years ago.
7 The people corrupted it, by changing t to d under the idea, that the damhnach was the proper word, and that the name was de- rived from the church, which was built near the original rath.
8 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. v. , n. (p), p. 1319.
9 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
water," chap, vi. , p. 140.
170, 171. Article hi.
—
z
Edited by Rev.
called Loughan—in the barony of Upper Dr. Kells.
8
Kelly, p. xxvii.
2 See the " Martyrology of Donegal," Laurence Farrelly, C. C. , who is a native of
edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
168, 169.
3 In a note, referring to this statement,
Dr. Reeves says at the words Life of Patrick, " That is, the Tripartite Life, the chapters
that district, with which the present saint is connected.
9 According to a local tradition, these crosses were cut and sculptured by St. Kieran himself.
10 This cross is engraved in William R. Wilde's work, at p. 139.
of which are divided differently
by Colgan, in whose translation the references are lib. i. ,
cap. 69, Trias Th. , p. 128^, and lib. iii. , cap. 99 ib. , p. i67#. " Seep. 170. In the text, this Life is quoted, lib. i. , chap. 17, and lib. iii. , chap. 60. See p. 171.
4 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," threw them—into an adjoining deep pool in
Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, pars iii. , p. 218.
s See William R. Wilde's "Beauties of the Boyne, and its Tributary, the Black-
of the and its the river. " "Beauties Boyne,
Tributary, the Blackwater," chap, vi. ,
p. 138.
" See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
6
Here there was a church formerly appro-
priated to the Priory of St. John the Baptist, at Kells. The place was sometimes called Trystel-Kieran. See "A Treatise of Ire- land,"byJohnDymmok. EditedbyRev. Richard Butler, p. 48, and n. 3. —
7 A small parish of 714a. 2r. 32p. also
21
According to William R. Wilde, it is "
This account I have received from Rev.
said, by some good Protestant, who, anxious to show his loyalty, as we'll as his detestation of such idolatrous structures,
Tallagh,
666 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 14.
crosses at this church sufficiently indicate its antiquity. " Around one of these, on the north side, and placed in the Blackwater,^ cattle used to be driven
by the country people, who believed that practice should preserve them from distemper. About a furlong's length, towards the west of the old church and cemetery, one of the most beautiful of the Irish holy wells may be seen, and shadedbyahoaryashtree,ofsurpassingsizeandbeauty. Itspringsfromalime rock of considerable extent, and it falls into a small natural basin, at the foot of
1
the tree- This is called St. Kieran's Well. * There is a well, dedicated to St.
«*«£?
^'rt^\a\V
St. Kieran's Well, at Castle-Kieran, near Kells.
Kieran or Ciaran, also at the Downs, about 3^ miles east of Mullingar, in the county of Westmeath. In a little mound above it, there is a sculptured stone, partially embedded in the earth, and with a rude effigy carved upon it. According to a local tradition, a church or monastery formerly was there, but not a vestige of it now remains. 15 The well is walled into a square upright opening, and it is held in great reverence by the people ; but, whether it was
Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (s), p. 374, and n.
(y), p. 512, ibid.
* 3 See Rev. A.
" Diocese of Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. i. , chap.
powerful in this county, removed the stone from the well, in order to use it as a corner- stone in a residence then erected for
Cogan's
being
them. On the morning after its first removal
it was found by the workmen in its former 14 The accompanying illustration was position at the well, and the masonry which
XXL, pp. 124, 125.
drawn on the spot by William F. Wakeman, and transferred by him to the wood, en- graved by Mrs. Millard.
s The foregoing information the writer has received from Mr. Joseph Glynn—with
had been placed above and around it in the wall of the house was found thrown down. Again was the stone removed, and again
was it, by some unseen force, conveyed to its old resting place. This continued for
a pen-and-ink drawing of the well
—
in a letter
the
despoilers desisted, and it was allowed to
remain undisturbed. This was, as I have heard, about the middle of the last cen- tury. "
dated The Downs, Mullingar, June 26th,
1888. The following local legend, relating
to the sculptured stone, is furnished by the writer: " A certain Cromwellian familyonce
several until at days,
length
sacrilegious
June 14. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 667
connected with the present St. Kieran, or another bearing the same name, is uncertain, as the patron's feast is not known. The death of our St. Ciaran,
a. d. 16 or a. d. is 770, 778,
The Martyrology of Done-
as the
announced in the Annals of the Four Masters. *?
distinguished
Pious,
14th
of
June,
on the
18 at this same date, the saint as Ciaran of Bealach-duin. The designates
gal,
Bollandists 9 note St. Kieranus, Abbot of Belachduin, at 14th day of June, in their collection. A beautiful legend is current, that formerly the old bells of the church of St. Kieran used to be heard sounding at midnight, on every Christmas Eve. Those 20 who
J
"
ment, according to popular tradition.
miraculous bells
began to chime, and they only ceased at its commence-
live,
assert, they
have heard them frequently
chime most distinctly. During the last century, the former parish priest of
the place used to celebrate midnight Mass within the old ruined church ; but,
this practice has long been discontinued. While flocking to this Mass, ** the
Article IV. —St. Colman mac Luachain. A festival, in honour of
2
Article V. —Reputed Festival of St. Psalmodius. At the 14th
12 June, in the Rev. Alban Butler's work, and in the Circle of the Seasons, we
find a St. Psalmodius, Hermit of Ireland. At this date, likewise, the Bollan- dists 3 have an entry of Psalmodius, whom they make a Hermit, in the country of the Lemovices,'* or Limosin. However, they refer his festival to the
13th of June.
Article VI. —Festival of St. Benedict. In the "Feilire" of St.
Colman mac is inserted in the of 1 at the Luachain, Martyrology Tallagh,
14th has a St. Colman, a Martyr, at the 14th of June. 3 But, the Bollandists,* who record this entry, likewise, think that he brought such a saint into his Calendar at this date,
because he found no other saint to introduce.
of June. In his Scottish Calendar of Saints, Camerarius
^Engus,
1 a St. Benedict was venerated on the 14th of June, and a similar
16 This is the date given for his death, in 4 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta xiv. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 782.
Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, pars iii. , p. 218.
"' See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. ,
They add :
Inan. (r)is theobservation
in reference to this entry—given within Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol.
pp. 384, 385.
brackets
:
" Dr. O'Conor says that this pas-
vi. , June xiv.
2
See p. 166.
3 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii
sage is inserted in a modern hand, in the
autograph copy at Stowe. "
18 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. xiv. Among the pretermitted saints p.
168, 169.
782.
* There were two divisions of these
See "Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus
''
Junii xiv. Among the pretermitted saints, people : one division lived in Brittany,
p. 782.
20 This was written in the year 1870. Article iv. —* Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly,
:
France, and their chief city was probably Leon, the other was in Aquitaine, and to these Caesar alludes, in his work " De liello Gallico," lib. vii. , cap. iv. The chief town of the latter tribe was
p xxvii. '"Thusisheentered "
S. Colmanus M. Abbas. De eo varii. " The Bollandists ask,
Limoges.
Article VI. — See "Transactions of
however, " sed quinam isti varii ? "
3 See Scottish Entries in the Kalendar of David Camerarius. Bishop Forbes' " Ka-
lendars of Scottish Saints," p. 238.
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript
ii. ,
"
Sunt plurimi Colmanni, ex his aliquis refertur xviii. Junii, quo die de eo
silet Camerarius. "
Articlev. —1 See"LivesoftheFathers,
1
Series, vol. i. , part 1.
of Oengus. By Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , P- xcir,
On the Calendar
668 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[June 15.
entry occurs, in the Calendar of Cashel. Nothing more seems to be known concerning him.
Article VII. —Feast of St. Brendan, Abbot. According to a
Manuscript Usuard, a feast has been assigned to St. Brendan, Abbot—sup-
1 posedtohavebeenthecelebratedNavigator—atthe14thofJune. HisLife
has been ahead)- given, at the 16th day of May. 2 At the present date, how- ever, the Usuard Manuscript Martyrology, enlarged by Greven, as also Mau-
rolycus and other writers, commemorate St. Brendan, Abbot of Clonfert, as the Bollandists state. 3 In the Menologium Scotorum, Dempster has
enteredthisfeast,4 quotingMaurolycus,atthisday. 5
Article VIII. —Reputed Feast of St. Mansuet or Maunsey Bishop of Toul. The additions of Greven to the Martyrology of Usuard,
1
ARTICLE I. — ST. VOUGA, VIE, OR VAUK, BISHOP, IN BRITTANY, FRANCE, AND PATRON OF CARN PARISH, COUNTY OF WEXFORD.
[SIXTH CENTURY. ]
OFa very unsatisfactory character is the information we are permitted to
communicate regarding the present ascetic man, the greater part of whose life and actions appears to have been concealed from men and known only to the Almighty. The notices regarding this saint, which have been compiled by Albert le Grand, were taken from an ancient British Manuscript Chronicle, and from an old legendary parchment manuscript, which had been kept in the monastery of St. Matthew, in the diocese of Leon ; besides, he
at this date, give a festival to the present saint, as the Bollandists observe. HisNatalis is at the 3rd of September, to which day his Acts are deferred.
jftfteentfo Bap of 3une*
made use of certain 1 to the church of collections, belonging
and com-
Leon,
piled in the fifteenth century ; also, an old choral legendary, belonging to the
c—hurch of Leon, and some memoranda from the church of Armagh, in Ireland
—ther Vincent du said to have been authentic, and communicated by Rev. Fa
Val a S. Maria, Vice-Provincial of the Dominicans in Ireland these were em- ployed in drawing up his account. To those notices, Albert le Grand adds vari- ous conjectures of his own. The Bollandists have published Acts of St. Vouga
Articlevii. — SeeBollandists'"Acta
Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Maii xvi. De S.
Brentano seu Brandano, Abbate de Cluain-
fertensi in Ilibemia, cap. ii. , num. 15, rum," tomus ii. , Junii xiv. Among the pre-
p. 603.
2 See the Fifth Volume of this work, at
that date, Art. i.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. ,
Junii xiv. Among the pretermitted feasts, p. 782.
:
4 Thus " Insulis Brandani abbatis. "
termitted — saints, p. 783.
•
These had been
by D. Yvo le Grant! , Canon of Leon, and Rector of Plouneventer and Almoner of Duke Francis II. , who reigned from A. D.
1418 to A. i>. 1488.
2 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii
5 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," —p. 202.
•
Article viii. See "Acta Sancto-
Article
i.
prepared
June 1 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
669
2
orVio, at the 15th of June, in eight paragraphs. These have been collected
from various sources.
copy
Islands,
13th
of accord- June,
this day, the Transla-
with Benedict the victorious" Transac-
tions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish
664 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 14.
sent saint, than the date of his departure from this life.
He seems to have
lived at Killeany, on the Island of Aranmore, during the first half of the
seventh 8 A former of Tuam,9 who had
century. distinguished Archbishop
courteously furnished our great national hagiologist with a tabular list of churches and their patrons in his diocese, supposed that a St. Benedict, vene- rated on the 14th of June, as stated by the Cashel Calendar, must have been identical with St. Nehemias,10 reverenced at the same date, as found in our other Martyrologies. Yet, we meet no very satisfactory elucidation, regard- ing the locality or personality of a saint, known by either name. 11 The title
12 at the same date, as Nem Mac Ua Birn, abbot, comorbanor successor to St. Enda, of Ara. The Rev. Alban Butler registers St. Nennus, or Nehemias, Abbot, at the 14th of June. 13 St. Nennus, of Ireland, abbot, is also entered, in the CircleoftheSeasons. 1* Hedieda. d. 654,accordingtotheAnnalsofUlster and of the Four Masters. 15 It is in solitude and surrounded by beautiful objects of nature, that a pious soul and an elevated intellect most freely com-
mune with the Great Creator. 16 So it must have been with this saint.
Article II. —St. Cuman Becc, or Cumman Beg, Virgin, of Cill
of the man present holy
appears,
in the
Martyrology
of
Donegal,
Cuimne. ThenameofCumanBeccofTamnaigh,isenteredintheMartyr- 1
ology of Tallagh, as having been venerated, at the 14th of June. There was an old church, now uprooted at Kilcumney, in the deanery of Mullingar, and county of Westmeath. 2 The Rev. Dr. Kelly appears to identify the place of this virgin with Rathdowney, a village and parish in the southern part of the
as the denomination now " the fort of stands,
3 It
the church ;" but, the correct name should be Rathdowney, representing the
Queen's County.
signifies,
Irish
Rath-tamh-naigh,s
" the fort of the field. "6 This is said to have green
Volume of this work, at the 5th of March, Art. i.
7 See his Life, ibid. , at the 2 1st of March, Art. i.
8 As calculated from the date assigned for his decease.
9 Most Rev. Malachias O'Cadhla (CKealy), Latinized, Malachias Quaeleus, sent his description of theDiocesan Churches and Chapels, a. d. 1645, or shortly before ; and within ten years from this date, the prin- cipal churches of Aranmore were destroyed by Cromwell's governors over these islands. Their materials had been applied towards the
** See p. 166.
*5 See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. ,
pp. 266, 267, and nn. (w, x), ibid.
' 6 To such a state of life, devout aspira- tions are congenial, and as applied to it, we may r—ead these lines of a modern French
poet:
" De ce livre divin ou le saint soli- taire
Lisait les grands secrets du cielet de — la terre. "
Lamartine's CEuvres Poetiques, tome iv. La Chute d'un Ange. Septieme Vision, p.
of a citadel and other defensive
228. Ed. — Svo. Paris, 1839,
building
works then erected. See Roderick O'Fla-
'
p. 429. Whether or not, this had any con- nexion with the present saint cannot be known.
3 See his "Calendar of Irish Saints," pp.
IO, 45.
4 The compounds being Rath and Domk-
nach.
s So it is written, in the "Annals of the
Four Masters. "
Article II. herty's Chorographical Description of p. xxvii.
Edited
by
Rev. Dr.
Kelly,
" WestorIl-Iar
edited
a SeeRev. A.
"DioceseofMeath.
Connaught," Hardiman, n. (x), p. 74.
by James
Cogan's
Ancient and Modem," vol. ii. , chap, xviii. ,
10
As they are separately mentioned in the Feilire of St. ^Engus, we may assume, how- ever, that they were distinct persons.
" See Colgan's " Acta Sanctorum Iliber- nioe," xxi. Martii, Vita S. Endei, Appendix, cap. vii. , p. 715.
" Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 170, 171.
13 See " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs,
and other June xiv.
principal Saints,"
vol.
vi. , "
6 See William in Frazer's Allingham, "
Magazine for Town and Country.
June 14. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
665
been the old pagan name. 7 There was a Tamhnach-an-reata, now Tawny, in the parish of Derryvullan, in the barony of Tirkennedy, and county of Fer-
8 Thereisalsoa or a inthe ofDublin. Tawny Taney, parish county
managh.
In the Martyrology of Donegal,? this saint is recorded, at the same date, as Curaman Beg, Virgin, of Cill Cuimne, at Tamhnach.
Article III. —St. Ciaran, of Bealach-dtjin, now Castle-Kieran,
County of Meath. In the {Eighth Century. ']
of
1
Martyrology
at the 14th of June, the simple entry, Ciaran, of Bealaigh Duin, occurs. According to the Calendar of the O'Clerys, this Ciaran descended from the raceofIrial, sontoConallCearnach,whoisoftheraceofRudhraighe,and who belonged to the progeny of Ir, son to Milidh. 2 He was born probably before or about the beginning of the eighth century. He is thought to have beenoneoftheauthors,whowrotetheLifeofSt. Patrick. 3 Heisdesignated the Devout, and he is distinguished as abbot of Belach-duin. 4 This etymon
or * of the fort. "s This was the ancient pass
means in " the English,
road/'
name of Disert-Chiarain 6 or Castlekieran,? near Kells, in the county of
Meath. In Irish, it is now corruptly called Ister-Chiarain. An old church, yet not founded by the present saint, but called after him, is there situated
on the Abhainn-Sele, or Blackwater River. According to a popular rumour, the present saint was a stone-cutter. 8 Many legends are current regarding
him, in the neighbourhood where he lived, but hardly any of them are of a reliable character. The old church yet remains. It is quadrangular, mea- suring forty-five feet six inches, by twenty feet. Most of the stones have been carried away, and the whole presents a melancholy picture of desolation. The interesting remains of five Termon crosses 9 were here, and between four of these the church is situated. They were placed north, south IO and west of the ruin. The base of one was erected in a ford of the River Blackwater; but,
the
shaft,
arms and
top
were 11 The ancient removed, many years ago.
7 The people corrupted it, by changing t to d under the idea, that the damhnach was the proper word, and that the name was de- rived from the church, which was built near the original rath.
8 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. v. , n. (p), p. 1319.
9 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
water," chap, vi. , p. 140.
170, 171. Article hi.
—
z
Edited by Rev.
called Loughan—in the barony of Upper Dr. Kells.
8
Kelly, p. xxvii.
2 See the " Martyrology of Donegal," Laurence Farrelly, C. C. , who is a native of
edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
168, 169.
3 In a note, referring to this statement,
Dr. Reeves says at the words Life of Patrick, " That is, the Tripartite Life, the chapters
that district, with which the present saint is connected.
9 According to a local tradition, these crosses were cut and sculptured by St. Kieran himself.
10 This cross is engraved in William R. Wilde's work, at p. 139.
of which are divided differently
by Colgan, in whose translation the references are lib. i. ,
cap. 69, Trias Th. , p. 128^, and lib. iii. , cap. 99 ib. , p. i67#. " Seep. 170. In the text, this Life is quoted, lib. i. , chap. 17, and lib. iii. , chap. 60. See p. 171.
4 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," threw them—into an adjoining deep pool in
Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, pars iii. , p. 218.
s See William R. Wilde's "Beauties of the Boyne, and its Tributary, the Black-
of the and its the river. " "Beauties Boyne,
Tributary, the Blackwater," chap, vi. ,
p. 138.
" See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
6
Here there was a church formerly appro-
priated to the Priory of St. John the Baptist, at Kells. The place was sometimes called Trystel-Kieran. See "A Treatise of Ire- land,"byJohnDymmok. EditedbyRev. Richard Butler, p. 48, and n. 3. —
7 A small parish of 714a. 2r. 32p. also
21
According to William R. Wilde, it is "
This account I have received from Rev.
said, by some good Protestant, who, anxious to show his loyalty, as we'll as his detestation of such idolatrous structures,
Tallagh,
666 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 14.
crosses at this church sufficiently indicate its antiquity. " Around one of these, on the north side, and placed in the Blackwater,^ cattle used to be driven
by the country people, who believed that practice should preserve them from distemper. About a furlong's length, towards the west of the old church and cemetery, one of the most beautiful of the Irish holy wells may be seen, and shadedbyahoaryashtree,ofsurpassingsizeandbeauty. Itspringsfromalime rock of considerable extent, and it falls into a small natural basin, at the foot of
1
the tree- This is called St. Kieran's Well. * There is a well, dedicated to St.
«*«£?
^'rt^\a\V
St. Kieran's Well, at Castle-Kieran, near Kells.
Kieran or Ciaran, also at the Downs, about 3^ miles east of Mullingar, in the county of Westmeath. In a little mound above it, there is a sculptured stone, partially embedded in the earth, and with a rude effigy carved upon it. According to a local tradition, a church or monastery formerly was there, but not a vestige of it now remains. 15 The well is walled into a square upright opening, and it is held in great reverence by the people ; but, whether it was
Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (s), p. 374, and n.
(y), p. 512, ibid.
* 3 See Rev. A.
" Diocese of Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. i. , chap.
powerful in this county, removed the stone from the well, in order to use it as a corner- stone in a residence then erected for
Cogan's
being
them. On the morning after its first removal
it was found by the workmen in its former 14 The accompanying illustration was position at the well, and the masonry which
XXL, pp. 124, 125.
drawn on the spot by William F. Wakeman, and transferred by him to the wood, en- graved by Mrs. Millard.
s The foregoing information the writer has received from Mr. Joseph Glynn—with
had been placed above and around it in the wall of the house was found thrown down. Again was the stone removed, and again
was it, by some unseen force, conveyed to its old resting place. This continued for
a pen-and-ink drawing of the well
—
in a letter
the
despoilers desisted, and it was allowed to
remain undisturbed. This was, as I have heard, about the middle of the last cen- tury. "
dated The Downs, Mullingar, June 26th,
1888. The following local legend, relating
to the sculptured stone, is furnished by the writer: " A certain Cromwellian familyonce
several until at days,
length
sacrilegious
June 14. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 667
connected with the present St. Kieran, or another bearing the same name, is uncertain, as the patron's feast is not known. The death of our St. Ciaran,
a. d. 16 or a. d. is 770, 778,
The Martyrology of Done-
as the
announced in the Annals of the Four Masters. *?
distinguished
Pious,
14th
of
June,
on the
18 at this same date, the saint as Ciaran of Bealach-duin. The designates
gal,
Bollandists 9 note St. Kieranus, Abbot of Belachduin, at 14th day of June, in their collection. A beautiful legend is current, that formerly the old bells of the church of St. Kieran used to be heard sounding at midnight, on every Christmas Eve. Those 20 who
J
"
ment, according to popular tradition.
miraculous bells
began to chime, and they only ceased at its commence-
live,
assert, they
have heard them frequently
chime most distinctly. During the last century, the former parish priest of
the place used to celebrate midnight Mass within the old ruined church ; but,
this practice has long been discontinued. While flocking to this Mass, ** the
Article IV. —St. Colman mac Luachain. A festival, in honour of
2
Article V. —Reputed Festival of St. Psalmodius. At the 14th
12 June, in the Rev. Alban Butler's work, and in the Circle of the Seasons, we
find a St. Psalmodius, Hermit of Ireland. At this date, likewise, the Bollan- dists 3 have an entry of Psalmodius, whom they make a Hermit, in the country of the Lemovices,'* or Limosin. However, they refer his festival to the
13th of June.
Article VI. —Festival of St. Benedict. In the "Feilire" of St.
Colman mac is inserted in the of 1 at the Luachain, Martyrology Tallagh,
14th has a St. Colman, a Martyr, at the 14th of June. 3 But, the Bollandists,* who record this entry, likewise, think that he brought such a saint into his Calendar at this date,
because he found no other saint to introduce.
of June. In his Scottish Calendar of Saints, Camerarius
^Engus,
1 a St. Benedict was venerated on the 14th of June, and a similar
16 This is the date given for his death, in 4 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta xiv. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 782.
Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, pars iii. , p. 218.
"' See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. ,
They add :
Inan. (r)is theobservation
in reference to this entry—given within Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol.
pp. 384, 385.
brackets
:
" Dr. O'Conor says that this pas-
vi. , June xiv.
2
See p. 166.
3 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii
sage is inserted in a modern hand, in the
autograph copy at Stowe. "
18 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. xiv. Among the pretermitted saints p.
168, 169.
782.
* There were two divisions of these
See "Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus
''
Junii xiv. Among the pretermitted saints, people : one division lived in Brittany,
p. 782.
20 This was written in the year 1870. Article iv. —* Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly,
:
France, and their chief city was probably Leon, the other was in Aquitaine, and to these Caesar alludes, in his work " De liello Gallico," lib. vii. , cap. iv. The chief town of the latter tribe was
p xxvii. '"Thusisheentered "
S. Colmanus M. Abbas. De eo varii. " The Bollandists ask,
Limoges.
Article VI. — See "Transactions of
however, " sed quinam isti varii ? "
3 See Scottish Entries in the Kalendar of David Camerarius. Bishop Forbes' " Ka-
lendars of Scottish Saints," p. 238.
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript
ii. ,
"
Sunt plurimi Colmanni, ex his aliquis refertur xviii. Junii, quo die de eo
silet Camerarius. "
Articlev. —1 See"LivesoftheFathers,
1
Series, vol. i. , part 1.
of Oengus. By Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , P- xcir,
On the Calendar
668 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[June 15.
entry occurs, in the Calendar of Cashel. Nothing more seems to be known concerning him.
Article VII. —Feast of St. Brendan, Abbot. According to a
Manuscript Usuard, a feast has been assigned to St. Brendan, Abbot—sup-
1 posedtohavebeenthecelebratedNavigator—atthe14thofJune. HisLife
has been ahead)- given, at the 16th day of May. 2 At the present date, how- ever, the Usuard Manuscript Martyrology, enlarged by Greven, as also Mau-
rolycus and other writers, commemorate St. Brendan, Abbot of Clonfert, as the Bollandists state. 3 In the Menologium Scotorum, Dempster has
enteredthisfeast,4 quotingMaurolycus,atthisday. 5
Article VIII. —Reputed Feast of St. Mansuet or Maunsey Bishop of Toul. The additions of Greven to the Martyrology of Usuard,
1
ARTICLE I. — ST. VOUGA, VIE, OR VAUK, BISHOP, IN BRITTANY, FRANCE, AND PATRON OF CARN PARISH, COUNTY OF WEXFORD.
[SIXTH CENTURY. ]
OFa very unsatisfactory character is the information we are permitted to
communicate regarding the present ascetic man, the greater part of whose life and actions appears to have been concealed from men and known only to the Almighty. The notices regarding this saint, which have been compiled by Albert le Grand, were taken from an ancient British Manuscript Chronicle, and from an old legendary parchment manuscript, which had been kept in the monastery of St. Matthew, in the diocese of Leon ; besides, he
at this date, give a festival to the present saint, as the Bollandists observe. HisNatalis is at the 3rd of September, to which day his Acts are deferred.
jftfteentfo Bap of 3une*
made use of certain 1 to the church of collections, belonging
and com-
Leon,
piled in the fifteenth century ; also, an old choral legendary, belonging to the
c—hurch of Leon, and some memoranda from the church of Armagh, in Ireland
—ther Vincent du said to have been authentic, and communicated by Rev. Fa
Val a S. Maria, Vice-Provincial of the Dominicans in Ireland these were em- ployed in drawing up his account. To those notices, Albert le Grand adds vari- ous conjectures of his own. The Bollandists have published Acts of St. Vouga
Articlevii. — SeeBollandists'"Acta
Sanctorum," tomus iii. , Maii xvi. De S.
Brentano seu Brandano, Abbate de Cluain-
fertensi in Ilibemia, cap. ii. , num. 15, rum," tomus ii. , Junii xiv. Among the pre-
p. 603.
2 See the Fifth Volume of this work, at
that date, Art. i.
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. ,
Junii xiv. Among the pretermitted feasts, p. 782.
:
4 Thus " Insulis Brandani abbatis. "
termitted — saints, p. 783.
•
These had been
by D. Yvo le Grant! , Canon of Leon, and Rector of Plouneventer and Almoner of Duke Francis II. , who reigned from A. D.
1418 to A. i>. 1488.
2 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii
5 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of
Scottish Saints," —p. 202.
•
Article viii. See "Acta Sancto-
Article
i.
prepared
June 1 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
669
2
orVio, at the 15th of June, in eight paragraphs. These have been collected
from various sources.
