No More Learning

Article VI. —* Edited by Drs. Todd
June 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 95
Article VII. —St. Sillan, Bishop. He is recorded in the Martyr-
1 at the
of
know not the See, with which he had been connected, nor is his period known. On this day was venerated Sillan, Bishop, as we read also in the
2
Article VIII. —St. Moninne, Virgin. This day veneration was
aswefindmentionedinthe of 1 to 2 a given, Martyrology Donegal, Moninne,
Virgin. About her, it seems difficult to glean other notices.
Article IX. —St. Kanicus, Abbot. At the 3rd of June, we find St. Kanicus, an Abbot, set down in the Carthusian Martyrology and in Father
Article X. —St. Etchius. A festival in honour of Etchius is found
insertedinthe of 1 atthe of more Martyrology Tallagh, 3rd June. Nothing
is known concerning him.
Article XI. —St. Didea, Virgin. Doubt has been expressed, if the
present saint must not be identified with Moninne, who is also venerated on
thisday,accordingtotheMartyrologyofDonegal. Afestivalinhonourof Didea, Virgin, was celebrated at the 3rd of June, as we read in the Martyr-
1
ArticleXII. —AuitrenLocoAnchoritae. Atthe3rdofJune,we
find in the of 1 Auitren Loco anchoritae. It inserted, Martyrology Tallagh,
is not easy to determine, what such an entry can signify.
Article XIII. —Feast of St. Failbeus, Abbot, in Trioit. The
Bollandists * have allusion to this on the At saint, succeeding authority.
the 3rd of June, the Deposition of Failbe Abbot in Trioit is entered in the
" 2 and also in the Ecclesiastical of Scotland, 3 Menologium Scotorum," History
of Thomas Dempster. By this latter writer, he is stated to have written Acts
and Taml. vocat " Consider Reeves, pp. 144, 145. Didea," i. e. ,
3 In note 2, Dr. Todd says, at Ua whether Moninna is not the same who is
called Didea, in the of Tam- Martyrology
lacht. " Both e—ntries occur on this day.
ology
Martyrology of Donegal.
3rd
of
Sillen, Bishop
; but,
Tallagh,
June,
and called we
1 Unless some mistake of has transcription
Fitzsimons'
occurred, in setting down this name for that of Kevinus, we do not know where to find further particulars regarding him.
Henry
Catalogue.
ology of Tallagh.
Kelly, p. xxvi.
a
" This name is added the by
Trianlugha :
more recent hand, quoting 'Mar,' i. e. , Marianus O'Gorm—an. " See ibid. , p. 145.
See "
Article vii. Edited by Rev. Dr. rum Sanctorum Ibernise," in O'Sullevan
*
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 144, 145.
Article viii. — x Edited
by
Drs. Todd
p.
xxvi. —
Kelly, Rev. Dr. Rev. Dr.
and Reeves, pp. 146, 147.
A more recent hand wrote in the Manu-
script, from which the Martyrology of Done-
Article xi.
*
'
Edited Edited
by by
gal has been published
:
" Vide an sit quam
l
Beare's " Historic Catholicse Ibernise Com-
pendium," tom—us i. , lib. iv. , cap. xii. , p. 55.
Article IX.
Catalogus aliquo-
'
Article x. Edited by
Rev. Dr.
Kelly, p. xxvi. Article xii.
Kelly, p. xxvi.
—
96 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 4.
of St. Columba/* lib. i. , and On the Future State of Scotland, lib. i. We are informed, that he flourished a. d. 640; while he was venerated on the 25th of
January, the day of his deposition being the 3rd of June, and another feast hasbeenassignedtohimatthe6thofOctober. Itissaid,also,thathewas
gifted with a prophetic spirit, and that he foretold many things which happened. *
Article XIV. —Feast of a Reputed St. Zephan, or Zephanius. This form of name is very unusual, in the Irish Calendars. Nor do we learn, withwhatplacehehadbeenconnected. AccordingtotheMartyrologyof
3
—"In Trioit Bishop Forbes'
Thus abbatis. C. "
Failbei tish Saints,"
:
depositio
p. 238. According
1 veneration was to or at the of given Zephan, Zephanius, 3rd June.
Tallagh,
It is possible, some of the letters in his name may have been displaced ; and,
perhaps, he is not different from a St. Trefanus, Confessor, who is classed among the Saints of Scotland. 2 At the 3rd of June, a St. Trefanus, Con- fessor, is noted by Camerarius. 3 He refers to Dempster j4 while the Bollan- dists remark,s that the latter writer mentions no Trefanus, save Trefanus in
Champagne of Gaul, and whose Acts are given by them, at the 7th of 6
February.
jfourtib 2Bap of 3une,
ARTICLE I. —ST. CORNELIUS MAC CONCHAILLEADH, OR THE BLESSED CORNELIUS, ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH, AND PATRON OF LEMENC, IN SAVOY.
[TWELFTH CENTURY. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—AUTHORITIES FOR LIFE OF BLESSED CORNELIUS—HIS FAMILY, BIRTH AND EARLY EDUCATION—HE ENTERS A RELIGIOUS ORDER IN ARMAGH—STATE OF ITS CHURCH AT THAT PERIOD—ORDINATION OF CORNELIUS—HE BECOMES ABBOT, AND IT IS SAID ASSISTS AT A COUNCIL—HE SUCCEEDS AS ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH.
have we a holy prelate who lived in distinction at home, and who diedinaretired andinaremote abroad while
HERE
Article xhi. —* See "Acta Sancto-
village, province
the people flock there to venerate his memory, at frequent intervals.
;
rum," tomus i. , Junii iii. termitted feasts, p. 269.
Among the pre-
Article xiv. —* Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxvi.
Scottish Saints," p. 201.
3 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Sco-
torum,"lib. vi. , num. 503, p. 272, Bononise,
"
Kalendars of
It is probable, the /is a literal error* for In Dempster, there is reference to St.
"
Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Scotorum," lib. xviii. , num. 11 13, p. Adamnan's Vita S. Columbse, lib. i. , cap. 610, Bologna edition. He is said to have iii. However, this relates to Failbeus, flourished, early in the sixth century, and Eighth Abbot of Iona, from A. D 669 to to have had his feast, at the 3rd of Decem-
1627, 4to.
* See his Life, at the 9th of June, in this s.
volume, Art. i.
s Reference is made by Dempster to
Tressanus in his
679. He is venerated, on the 2nd day of ber.
March. s See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus
i. ,
a" See Bishop Forbes'
Kalendars of Scot-
to the Scottish Entries in the Kalendar of David
Camerarius.
3 See " De Scotorum Fortitudine," &c, lib. iii. , cap. iv. , p. 152.
4
They
June 4. LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 97
communicated from one to the other, surprising accounts of the saint's austerityandsinglemindednessduringhislife, andofmiraculousmanifesta-
tionsafterdeath. Thuswasaholypilgrim'sreputationspread,eventhough unconsciously, on his part, and without making any effort for fame ; but, it was reserved to our own days, to have his veneration properly transferred to the people of his beloved country.
Dr. Dixon, late Archbishop of Armagh, published an interesting little work, the substance of which, so far as connected with our saint, we shall endea- vour to introduce into the present memoir. In the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum "3—that great collection of saints' lives—there is an account con- cerning him. 4 A brief French Life of this saint 5 has been published at Chambery, in France, the particulars of which—as we are told—could only have been learned from " blessed Cornelius " or from some
holy man was Mac-Concalede,8 or Mac-Conchailleadh f or, probably, as
better Mac 10 or Mac Concoille. 11 This name is now written, Concoilla,
obsolete, or translated Cox or Woods. 12 In Ireland, the Christian name he seems to have borne was that of Conor. r 3 He was a native of Armagh city, in Ireland. From Most Rev. Dr. Dixon's work, we learn, that our saint was formerlycalledCornelius,derivedfromtheCelticConchoard. However,he is also named Concors or Concord. ** He was born, on the 17th of Septem- ber, a. d. 1 1 20. His parents were careful to provide a most excellent educa- tion for him. When ten years of age, he was devoted entirely to his duties,
This Irish saint was almost unheard of in Ireland, until the Most Rev. 12
himself, priests, who probably accompanied him from Ireland. 6 The family name "> of this
Junii iii. Among the pretermitted feasts, p. 268.
Church, in our saint's day, but these state- ments are not drawn from reliable sources.
I This had either never been known to the
inhabitants at Chambery, or it had been for-
6 We rather
the correct rendering, and his Life is given in the Second Volume of this work, at that
date, Art. i. Article
i.
— It is so written, by Ware.
Chapter r— The
suspect
Tressan or Tresan is
parti- culars of his own Life are embodied in
According 10
Lanigan. O'Clerys.
Blessed Cornelius : or some Tidings of an
'9
to Rev. Dr.
As the Sister Mary Frances Clare Cusack's Life Four Masters are the most ancient Irish
"
of His Grace the Most Rev. Dr. Dixon, late Archbishop of Armagh, and Primate of all
authority that we possess on this point, their mode of writing the name ought to be pre- ferred.
II Irish Professor Thedistinguished scholar,
Eugene O'Curry, says, that this Irish family name, as pronounced by Ware and Lanigan, was formerly very common, but that now it
Ireland," crown 8vo.
2 The title of this book is as follows
:
"The
Archbishopof Armagh, who went to Romein
the Twelfth Century, and did not return ; pre-
faced by a brief Narrative of a Visit to Rome, is universally translated Woods. See Most
etc. , in 1854. " By the Most Rev. Joseph Dixon, Archbishop of Armagh, and Primate ofall Ireland. Dublin, 1855, 8vo,
3 See tomus i. , Junii iv.
Rev. Dr. Dixon's "Blessed Cornelius," &c,
chap, xii. , p. 103.
12 As stated by Dr. John O'Donovan.
See " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. iii. ,
n. (p), p. 22.
13 See ibid. , pp. 22, 23.
14 There is no doubt entertained at Cham-
4
It has been written, by Father Daniel
Papebroch, and it is thus headed
Concorde Episcopo prope Camberiacum in
:
" De S.
" ——where he is venerated as a Sabaudia. It is a historic commentary, bery special
the of St. Con- contained in 10 paragraphs, pp. 412 to patron regarding identity
414.
5 This Life is thus translated into English,
cord and the Conchovar of Colgan, the Con- cobar of Ware, and the Conor of the Four Masters. Indeed, we may presume, that any
and it is intituled, "An Abridgment of the
Life of St. Concord, Archbishop of Armagh, one, who knows how an Irish- speaking
and Primate of Ireland, who died at the
people pronounce Conchovar, and how a French-speaking people pronounce Concord, might easily admit an almost perfect identity of sound in both names.
15 Archbishop Ussher has placed the
"
informed, likewise, that the compiler of this biography added some matters, connected with the state of the Irish
Monastery of St. Peter of Lemenc.
6 We are
gotten there. 8
According
to the
98 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 4
and he exhibited a gravity, far beyond his years. At the age of fifteen, Conor or Concord had made such progress in knowledge and virtue, that it was easy to anticipate, he would embrace the ecclesiastical state, and be advanced to some of the highest dignities in the Church.
6
It is said, that about the middle of the fifth century,^ St. Patrick,' the illustrious Apostle of Ireland, had founded an Abbey for Canons Regular of St. Augustine, at Armagh, and that he dedicated it to the Apostles St. Peter and St. Paul. For many ages, it continued to be one of the most celebrated ecclesiastical foundations in the world. 1 Frequently in the Irish Annals do we find, that although usually distinct, the dignities of bishop and of abbot were united, in this great metro- politan See. But, among the various pious institutions there, the abbey was undoubtedly that most renowned, and to it was annexed the great school of
Armagh, bearing the character of a university. It was richly endowed, and we often meet with notices of professors and lecturers having been appointed
to chairs of divinity and of science ; while foundations for professorships here, by the chief monarchs of Ireland, are recorded. Nay more, at the period of which we now treat, Florence O'Gorman, the head moderator of Armagh University and of all the schools in Ireland, a man well skilled in divinity,
and
deeply
learned in all the
18
died on the 20th of March, a. d. — sciences, 1174.
As the houses in Armagh were chiefly roofed with thatch o—planks
r of wood many perhaps being constructed from the latter material we have frequent accounts of their destruction through fire. The celebrated abbey there was burned, in 1116; but, in the year 1126, the abbot Imar Hua Hoedhagain '9 rebuilt20 thegreatChurchofSt. PeterandSt. Paul. 21 Attheageoftwenty,and in a. d. 1 140, through an inspiration from Heaven, Conchover is said to have enteredintotheOrderofCanonsRegularofSt. Augustine,whoarestatedto have been attached to that church. 22 It would seem, that the great monas- tery and school at Armagh lay near the Regies of Saints Peter and Paul, and on the northern verge of the hill within the ecclesiastical precincts, and about
2
130 yards north of the present Protestant cathedral. ^ Notwithstanding the
many burnings and plunderings of the city, its great abbey continued to flourish, until a. d. 1557, when an Inquisition was taken, during the first year of Queen Elizabeth's reign, in which its possessions in nouses and lands are set forth ; but, as the Irish power was too strong in the North, at that time and subsequently, their final confiscation was deferred to May, 161 2, when
Sir Toby Caulfield, Knight, received a grant of these possessions at the rent 2
of five pounds Irish. * During the thirteenth century, the Franciscan Friars founded a monastery for their order, under the patronage of Maelpatrick
O'Scannail, Archbishop
of
Armagh.
25
In Mac chief of 1264, Donnell,
O'Hegan, belongs in modern times to a
foundation of the church at Armagh, so early "
as 445. See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Presbyterian place of worship ; but, in the "
Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 444, and In- name (Abbey-street), of the adjoining
dex Chronologicus," A. D. , ccccxlv. , p.
518.
15 See his Life, in the Third Volume of
this work, at the 17th of March, Art. i. , chap. xxii.
x? See Archdall's "Monasticon Hiberni-
thoroughfare is still preserved the memory of the older — which stood once in the
cum," p. 14.
J 9 He is venerated as a saint, and his feast is on the 13th of August, where further no- tices regarding him shall be found.
cum," pp. 23, 24.
" See Sir James Ware, " De Hibemia et
Antiquitatibus ejus," &c, cap. xxvi. , p. 177.
** See Rev. Dr. Reeves' " Ancient Churches of Armagh," sect, vii. , pp. 28, 29. 3« See Lodge's "Irish Peerages," vol. iii. ,
,8 See
Acta S. Patricii, p. HO.
Colgan's
" Trias Thaumaturga,"
20 "The site of the Regies, or Abbey, of
SS. Peter and Paul, erected by Ivar p. 86, n.
building
" same " Rev. Robert Me-
locality. King's
moir Introductory to the Early History of the Primacy of Armagh," p. 86.
M See Archdall's "Monasticon Hiberni-
June 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 99
O'Neill's gallow-glasses or heavy-armed body-guards, began the erection of the conventual buildings, which were completed in 1266. 26 The O'Neills
were great patrons of the Franciscans, and they chose this church as their
place of sepulture. The Franciscans of the strict observance began the refor-
2
mation of this friary in i5i8. 7 During that fierce war waged by Shane
O'Neill against Sir Henry Sydney, Queen Elizabeth's Lord Deputy, this con- vent was burned to the ground. The friars were obliged to fly to more remote fastnesses in Ulster. In 1596, Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone, placed his son Conn in ambuscade among the ruins, whence he sallied out with all his forces upon a large detachment of English, who were conveying provisions to the city of Armagh, then held by Stafford, as governor. He surprised the relieving party and cut them to pieces. Soon afterwards, the English surrendered
to O'Neill. He dismantled the fortress. 28 The site and Armagh Hugh
pre- cinct of the monastery being granted to the See, in 1620, the premises
Monastery of Friars Minor, in the Protestant Primate's Demesne, Armagh.
becameincorporatedwiththedemesnelands. 29 There,aconsiderableportion of the venerable ruin yet exists,3° within the ornamental grounds, which environ the mansion of the Protestant Archbishop of Armagh.
After his novitiate, and on the completion of his studies, Concho var was pro- moted to the priesthood, to the great satisfaction of his superiors, and of the reli- giousbelongingtohisorder. Theyearfollowinghisordination,hewasmadea
" Memoir of the
Rogers' Armagh Cathedral," p. 57.
26 See Rev. C. P. Meehan's " Rise and
Fall of the Irish Franciscan Monasteries,"
&c, Appendix, p. 280.
2? See ArchdalPs " Monasticon Hiberni-
25 See Edward
viii. , p. 42.
29 SeeRev. Dr. Reeves'"AncientChurches
of Armagh," sect, viii. , pp. 32 to 34.
3° The accompanying drawing of this Franciscan Friary was taken on the spot, by William F. Wakeman, and by him trans- ferred to the wood, engraved by Mrs. Mil-
cum,"p. 33.
28 See Thomas
of
D'Arcy
vol.
M'Gee's "
lard. 31
History
Ireland,"
ii. ,
Book
Popular viii. , chap.
They
labour under a mistake at Cham-
ioo LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[June 4.
professor. This office Conchovar filled for five whole years, during which time, hewasoccupiedininstructingthereligiousconnectedwithhisorder. Suchwas his merit, that at the end of that period, he was named Abbot of the Church of St. Peter and St. Paul. It is said, he was attached to the Cathedral at Armagh, while he was considered the most eligible person to fill this post. It required a man, entirely devoted to the service of God, and one who took every means to instruct people committed to his charge, in the duties of our holy religion. As Cornelius was thirty-two years of age, at the time of the SynodofKells3I—in1152—wheresomanyabbotsandpriorsassisted,it is most probable, that he was present, as Abbot of Armagh. It appears to be cer- tain, that the Abbot of Armagh must have been present, also, at the Synod of Clane, in the county of Kildare, and which was held by Gelasius in 1 162. This
wasattendedbytwenty-sixbishops,manyabbotsandotherclergymen. There a famous decree was enacted, with the unanimous consent of the Synod, that for the future, no one should be admitted as a professor or teacher of theo- logy, in any church throughout Ireland, who should not be approved of for that office, by the great school at Armagh.
The Life of St. Concord then tells us, that during the time our saint was
Abbot, Henry II. , King of England, added Ireland to his dominions, in the year n7i;32 and, that this king had a council convened at Cashel,3* in
1172,34 by the authority of Pope Alexander III. , then the reigning Pontiff. 3 s This the English monarch procured, chiefly through motives of civil polity. 36
The Legate who presided over the Synod of Cashel in n 72 was Christian, Bishop of Lismore. The council was composed of a Legate, three Arch-
bishops,twenty-eightBishops,withseveralAbbots,PriorsandDeans. The Life says, that in this council, Cornelius, who was remarkable for his eminent virtues, and who had spent his days and nights in meditation on what should be done to promote the glory of God and the salvation of his neighbour, found no difficulty in uniting all the votes of the Bishops and others, who composedthecouncil; forhissentimentaloneprevailed,anditwasconfirmed bythePope. 37 ItistrueasmentionedinthisLife,thattherewerebutthree Archbishops at the Synod of Cashel, for Gelasius, the Primate, was not there; and if he absented himself through an unwillingness to favour the progress of Henry, we might not expect to find Cornelius there either; but, if the absence of Gelasius was owing to his age and infirmities, and that he waited on Henry in of what had been done in the
Synod,3
8 then we suppose, that not only Cornelius was present, but also that he represented there Gelasius, which circumstance must have added considerably to his
Dublin, approving
may
bery, in supposing that Cardinal Paparopre- sided over the Synod of Cashel, or that he was in Ireland at all, at that time. The Car- dinal had presided over the Synod of Kells in 1 152, and he left Ireland very soon afterwards.
32 See account of these proceedings, in Rev. Sylvester Malone's "Church History of Ireland," chap, ii. , pp. 34 to 56.
33 The MostRev. Dr. Dixon hasthefollow-
note "Wemust
ing atthispassage : observe,
that the Life here speaks of two Councils, one at Cashel and another at Armagh, and that it assigns the same number of Bishops to both, and the same influence to Cornelius in both. I cannot find any reference in our Irish his- torians to this Synod at Armagh. At that
time, Henry's power was hardly recognised in the North. "
in Sir Harris Nicolas'
"
Chronology of His-
34
Incorrectly placed at November, 1 171,
tory," p. 248.
3S He presided over the Church from A. D.
1159101181. See ibid. , p. 208.
3° See Rev. M. J. Brenan's "Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," Twelfth Century, chap. iii. , pp. 277 to 279.
3? See Most Rev. Dr. Dixon's "The Blessed Cornelius," &c, chap, xii. , and note, pp. 96, 97.
38 As Giraldus Cambrensis informs us. See "Opera Omnia," vol. v. , edited by Dimock, Expugnatio Hibernica, lib. i. , cap.