3
37 Seeaninterestingaccountandaview Church,on10thMay,1891,hesays—"Some
of this bridge in Walter Harris' valuable Ostmen burned and plundered the Church of
work, "The History and Antiquities of St.
37 Seeaninterestingaccountandaview Church,on10thMay,1891,hesays—"Some
of this bridge in Walter Harris' valuable Ostmen burned and plundered the Church of
work, "The History and Antiquities of St.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v8
Subsequently, Michee is
sent to Constantinople, and there he presided
over that church. Again, having spent
seven years there, he passed over the Alps.
Furthermore accompanied byseven thousand
companions he travelled over Gaul, the
angel accompanying him, and coming to
the English sea, he found no ships in which
to crosi ; yet, with his companions, Michee script in the Library of Trinity College, passed over with dry feet. With such
abbreviated notice of the narrative, the
Bollandists derisively close their account,
thinking they had already given more than
sufficient of such absurdities. See
"
Dublin, by John Clarke Crosthwaite, A. M. , &c, with an Introduction, by James Hen- thorne Todd, D. D. , V. P. R. I. A. , pp. 68 and 149.
Acta
1 See Introduction, ibid. , p. Ixx.
Sanctorum," tomus v. , Augusti xxv. Among
the pretermitted Saints, p. 3.
3 Thus William Monck Mason writes
" that parish, north of the Liffey (which was
so certainly appropriated to them that it still retains the name of Ostmanstown,) is dedi- cated to St. Michan, a saint not known in Ireland. "—M The History and Antiquities of the Collegiate and Cathedral Church of St.
4 Following this tradition, the Rev. Thomas Walsh makes him a Dane, in his M History of the Irish Hierarchy and Monas- teries of Ireland," p. 645. New York, 1855, 8vo.
5 Unless it may be rendered by the well known Irish name of Meehan.
6 See "The Book of Obits and Martyr- ology of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, commonly called Christ Church, Dublin. " Edited from the Original Manu-
August 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 367
relations with the Irish. Many of the Dublin Ostmen then chose to live on
all that district near the river was known by the denomination of Ostmantown — afterwards corrupted to Oxmantown Green. These residents are thought to havebuilttheChurchofSt. Michan. Thischurchwasdedicatedtohim,on the 14th of May,10 and Dr. Meredith Hanmer places the foundation of St. Michan's Church on the Fair Green or Commune, afterwards called Ostmon- towne Green. This parcel of land is said to have been given by Murchard or
had been observed in Dublin, or at least in that parish of which he was
1 patron.
The parish of St. Michan, during six centuries, was the only parish on
the north side of the River Liffey, and it is supposed to be coeval with the
" earliestparishesintheCityofDublin WithintheWalls. " Abouttheyear
948, a Benedictine Abbey,15 since known as St. Mary's Abbey, was founded
8 For an account of the Ostmen of Dublin and of that " unclean, selfish, cunning and and their conversion to Christianity, the voracious reptile," the RAT, who caused his reader is referred to Charles Halliday's death, see the late Rev. John S. Joly's very
the north side of the Liflfey, about 1095 9 an<3 owing to this circumstance, J
for that 13 The festival of St. Michan purpose.
of
was celebrated always on the 25th of August, and it seems to have been held as a general holy day in that parish, to refrain from servile works. Doubtless religious ceremonies were also prescribed, for its greater solemnity. In the year 1565,1 we have a glimpse of the manner in which St. Michan's feast
Moragh," King
Leinster,
*
16 It was endowed with all the rich and
on the northern bank of the
fertile pasture land, stretching eastwards along the banks of the River Liffey, so far as the Tolka. 1 ? The parish of St. Michan is one of the oldest parishes in Dublin. It extended from the River Liffey northwards, so far as Little Cabra; and from St. Mary's Abbey it reached westward, to Oxmantown Green. 18 In Archbishop Alan's Register, the church is called " Ecclesia
"Scandinavian History of Dublin," Book ii. , chap, vi. , pp. 122 to 142.
9 According to Stanihurst, in his Descrip- tion of Ireland.
10 This statement we find in the calendar of the Obit$ and Martyrology of Christ
interesting brochure on " The Old Bridge of Athlone," Dublin, 1881.
14 This is to be found in the Diary of Sir Peter Lewis, now preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, in the Manuscript classed E, Tab. 2, No. 21.
Church
already
referred to, "ii Id Maii,
'5 An account of this interesting
Abbey
Dedicacio Ecclesie Sancti Michee ;
"
but the
and of the Abbey of the Virgin Mary, that
succeeded it, may be found in Archdall's
" 16
Gilbert, Esq. , F. S. A.
dwellings, and for exportation. The Rev. Meredith Hanmer, D. D. , in his "Chronicle of Ireland," tells us under Anno 1095, that "King William Rufus, by licence of Mur-
year has not transpired. See at p. 65. There
is no notice of this feast in the succeeding old Martyrology, but it has been added in the more recent hand.
" It seems most probable that Dermot
MacMorrough or Diarmaid na nGall, who died A. D. 1 171, is here alluded to.
13 See Rev. Dr. Meredith Hanmer's "Chronicle of Ireland," p. 194. Edition of 1809, Dublin, 8vo.
13 Sir Peter Lewis, who was Chantor of
Christ Church Cathedral, and who was also
architect of the great bridge at Athlone, tells us how St. Michan's Day was observed
Monasticon Hibernicum," pp. 132 to 147. The history of this remarkable religious foundation has been amply set forth, in a volume published by the Master of the Rolls, and learnedly edited by John T.
Liffey.
in his time : —" Saturday, 25th August,
Sanct Myghan's Day, hollyday with all my chard, had that frame which made up the
masons, except Donyll Ogge and his boy wroght all this day having stonys in the
churche tyll night, the wages per diem, xijd. " This entry was made in his Diary, in the year 1 565. For several other curious par- ticulars concerning Sir Peter Lewis, whose
effigy in stone formerly adorned the great
roofe of Westminster Hall, where no English Spider webbeth or breedeth to this day," and that M the faire greene or Commune, now called Ostomontowne-Greene, was all wood, and hee that diggeth at this day to any depth shall finde the ground full of great rootes. " See pp. 194, 195, Edition of 1809.
" t8
bridge he finished in les than one year," In some of the City of Dublin mediaeval
1 All the
westward of St. Mary's Abbey contained dense oak forests, the timber of which the Danish inhabitants of Dublin availed themselves for building
ground lying
368 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 25
S. Michie,"^ and " Ecclesia S. Micheani. "20 And in the Calendar prefixed
of Christ Church, the
for the dedication of the Church of St. Michan
to the
Martyrology
of —is as the date 14th May assigned
Ecclesise Sancti Michee.
21
In the Repertorium Viride of Archbishop
22 "
Alan, it is likewise noticed as Ecclesia de Sto Mahano. "
By virtue of an act of Parliament, passed in England a. d. 1534, King Henry VIII. was made supreme head of the Church of England upon earth, and the First Fruits of all ecclesiastical promotions were granted to him. A
similar act was passed in the Irish Parliament, a. d. 1537, which ordained that King Henry should be styled supreme head of the Church of Ireland upon earth, and to have the First Fruits, &c, of all ecclesiastical promotions. Also, a law was made, that no person or ecclesiastic should, upon any pretence whatsoever, appeal to Rome, under a heavy penalty. About the same time, the Church of St. Michan became one of the three prebendal churches assigned to Christ Church Cathedral, by Archbishop Brown, the first Pro- testant Archbishop of Dublin. From that period, we have two rival ecclesiastical churches : the Church of Ireland as by law established, yielding her allegiance to the Crown of England; and the Roman Catholic Church, subject to the Roman Pontiff.
Before the year 16 10, St. Michan's Church is represented as being in Ostman or Ormuntown, on the north bank of the river Liffey, and on the
line of the ancient 2* The former church of this city.
very boundary
said to have been a fine building and one of the largest in Dublin.
is It was attached to the present imposing square tower, a mediaeval structure. How- ever, the body of the former church was taken down after the year 1820, and the present erection was substituted. 2* The adjoining cemetery and the vaults beneath the church have been for many years favourite places for burial, especially with the parishioners. In 1659, a Census was taken of St. Michan's Parish, by Sir William Petty, and it was found to contain a popu- lation of only 1,173 souls, although it then embraced a very large area of northern Dublin. However, owing to the salubrity of its air, Oxmantown became one of the most fashionable suburbs near the city, and when new streets were laid out in it, the population soon began to increase. Sir
Humphrey Jervis, a wealthy alderman of Dublin, had acquired a very con- siderable part of St. Mary's Abbey estate, including the ruined Abbey itself,
and he was a public spirited citizen, who resolved on the improvement of
that 3* Towardsthecloseoftheseventeenth severalstreets property. century,
were laid out, and houses were built rapidly, on the northern side of the
26
Liffey ; especially after the building of Essex Bridge across the River, in
Documents, we find allusion to the parish of St. Michan. Thus, wehave reference tocertain tenures there and to their occupants, in 1244, mentioned in the Dublin White Book. At fol. 61 ro. we read, after the enumeration: " Et iste predicte quatuor terre iacent in parochia Sancti Michani, in villa Ostman- norum. "—"Historic and Municipal Docu- ments of Ireland, A. D. 1172 — 1320," p. 477. P'rom the Archives of the City of Dublin,
aa See an account of him, in John D'Alton's
" Memoirs of the Archbishops of Dublin," pp. 184 to 196.
23 As shown on Speed's Map of Dublin, then published.
•< An illustration of. St. Michan's Church, as it now stands, may be seen in the Dublin Penny Journal of January 4th, 1834. See vol. ii. , No. 79, p. 209.
a 5 However, we are told by Walter Harris, that afterwards he lay in gaol for many years, but the cause for his imprisonment is not stated.
a6
ItwassonamedincomplimenttoArthur Capel, Earl of Essex, and then Lord Lieu- tenant of Ireland.
etc. Edited by J. T. Gilbert, London, 1870, 8vo.
*» At a. d. 1530, fol. 75 a.
F. S. A. ,
90 21
Atfol. 147a.
See Rev. Dr. Todd's Introduction, pp. xlvii, and n. (e. ) ibid. Also p. 65.
:
" ii
Id
Maii,
Dedicacio
parish
August 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
369
i676.
Humphrey Jervis
Hugh Stafford,'*
with
others,
2? Sit
28 and Sir
formed a company, and opened with the erection of Capel Street, so called in honour
of the Viceroy. Several other streets were then formed. 3°
Such was the rapid increase of population on the north side of the city, and so great the extent of St. Michan's parish, that, in order to give church accommodation to the inhabitants, an Act of Parliament was
in the — which two new Protestant — were passed year 1697,3' by parishes
formed out of it
St.
Paul's,
on the west
;
and St.
Mary's,
on the east
the old
parish of St. Michan's being still retained in its almost primitive position.
In the useful comparative and coloured map of the city's increase, published
by Mr. William Wilson in 1798, St. Michan's lay far within the city boundary
of 1 763. 3*
A somewhat remarkable feature attached to the church of St. Michan is,
that its founders dedicated the building to St. Michan, and the south aisle to St. Syth, or Osyth. 33 In the vestry-books of St. Michan's parish it is often referred to as " St. Syth's Aisle. " Here stood the " Counting Table," and doubtless, here also were held the meetings of a guild which was called after hername. St. OsythwasadaughterofRedwald,KingofEastAnglia,who married a king of the East Angles, but the same day she obtained his con- sent to live always a virgin. That king, confirming her in such religious pur- pose,bestowedonherthemanorofChick. Havingmadeavowofvirginity, she retired to Chick, now a parish in the hundred of Tendring, County of Essex. There she founded a church and a nunnery, and she presided over them for several years with great sanctity; but these were afterwards plundered bytheDanes,whobeheadedthefoundressnearanadjacentfountain. 34 This happened about the year 870, during the inroads of Hinguar and Hubba, the barbarous Danish leaders. For fear of the Northmen pirates, her body, after some time, was removed to Ailesbury, and it remained there forty-six years, after which it was brought back to Chick or Chich,35 near Colchester, and which was remarkable for its noble Abbey of Regular Canons in times long
past,
while its name has been derived from St. the 6 This Osyth, patroness.
3
37 Seeaninterestingaccountandaview Church,on10thMay,1891,hesays—"Some
of this bridge in Walter Harris' valuable Ostmen burned and plundered the Church of
work, "The History and Antiquities of St. Osyth, near Colchester, and then started for
Dublin, from the earliest Accounts. " Ap- Ireland, and possibly the voyage was stormy
pendix, sect, xiii. , pp. 474 to 478.
28
After him Jervis-street has been named, and also Jervis-quay, since changed to Lower Ormond-quay.
29 From him Stafford-street took its name.
30 For the dates and original names of many, the reader is referred to an interest- ing and useful book of Rev. Dr. M'Cready, "Dublin Street Names, Dated and Ex- plained. "
31 The 9th year of King William III. Until this time, St. Michan's was the only Dublin parish, on the north side of the River Liffey.
and perilous, and conscience pricked them, and that they dedicated the
south aisle to St. Syth's memory. "
34 See Samuel Lewis' "Topographical Dictionary of England," vol. iii. , Art.
Osyth, St. , Chich, pp. 489, 490.
3* According to Camden, this place was
called St. Osithe's.
Sith
" Capgrave writeth the life of Saint Sith
(otherwise called Osith) that was brought up 32 See Hely Dutton's observations on Mr. under Modwen, that she was a King's
Archer's "Statistical Survey of the County daughter and borne in England. Leppdoo of Dublin," chap, v. , sect. 2, pp. 109, no, the Carthusian and other forraigne Writers
and annexed maps.
33 An attempt has been made to explain
say little of her saving that the Danes (being Heathens), cut off her head, and that shee took herheadin her armes,carried it uprightly
this two-fold dedication, by the following
conjecture. In a sermon preached by the three furlongs off, knockt at the church Rev. Dr. Robert Walsh in St. Michan's doore (being lockt), with her bloudy hands,
36 At page 97 of Dr. Meredith Hanmer's ""
Chronicle of Ireland (Edition of 1&09J, we f—ind the following notice of Saint
:
*
IA
370 LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 15.
house continued till the dissolution of the monasteries, and it was famous for the possession of relics, which were honoured with the performance of many miracles. The festival of this holy virgin, variedly called Osyth, Syth, Sitha. Scite, is noted on the 13th of May, in some of our Martyrologies37 and Calen- dars. 38 Her festival was celebrated with an Office of Nine Lesson, as we find
in a Manuscript Breviary39 of the fifteenth century, and now preserved in the library of Trinity College, Dublin. In the original hand of this Manuscript is the entry "Scite Virginis, ix. lc. " This Breviary was written in Ireland, as appears from an entry on the first leaf; and there is, therefore, some reason to think, that Sitha may be an Irish saint, although no other native Calendar to which the writer has access contains her name, nor is she mentioned by ^Engus, Colgan, or any other authority. The introduction of her name into the Calendar, as appears from the recent entries in the Christ Church volume, and in the Chain-Book of the Dublin Corporation, must have taken place, at least in the Diocese of Dublin, about the end of the fifteenth
40 century.
1
St. Syth's Guild had been organized at an early period in Dublin,* as we
find allusion to it in several mediaeval documents, and especially in the Old Vestry Book of St. Michan's Parish. From the latter it would appear, that theGuildofSt. SythwasidenticalwiththeCorporationofShoemakers. This
2
guild possessed considerable property* in Oxmantown, on the east side of
Smithfield ; it had two chaplains, also, to attend to its spiritual needs. 43 After the Reformation, the Protestant incumbent of this sub-urban parish was the celebrated Doctor Meredith Hanmer, a Vicar-Choral of Christ Church, Dublin, and a Prebendary of St. Michan's in that Cathedral Church ; he was also Archdeacon of Ross and Treasurer of Watcrford. In 1 571, he compiled a M Chronicle of Ireland," but it is untrustworthy as a history of early times, in many of the statements it contains. The preacher who ministered in St. Michan's, during the Cromwellian period, received his stipend from the
revenues of St. Sythe's guild.
and there fell downe. " Here in a foot-note in the same volume at "g iii Id. Maii. Hanmer adds: "The reader is not bound Marie ad martires. Com Sithe to believe this. " "The Martyrologe of virginis, ix. lee. " See p. 65.
Sarum confoundeth Dorothy, and Saint Sith
thus ; The 15 of Januarie, the feast of Saint Dorothie, otherwise called Saint Sith, is kept. in Ireland, who refused marriage, fled
into a Monastetie, where the devill appeared unto her, and there mine Author left her. "
37 In the introduction to The Obits and
Martyrology of Christ Church, written by tile eminent and Very Rev. Dr. James Hen—-
** Most of foregoing particulars have been gleaned from various sources by the Rev. Dr. W. Reynell, and have been published in
"
the "Irish Builder
Vol. xxxiii. , No. 754. The article is headed St. Sythe, and dated St. Sythe's Day,
1891.
** Some of this is shown on a Map of Tor-
tion of the Lands and Premises, the Pro-
March, 1709, and copied from the vellum original, which is bound up with the Vestry Book. See a trace of this Map in the Dublin Builder of May 15th, 1891.
43 In the Dublin Diocesan Register, we her feast is added by a recent hand:— find that William Howard, M. A. , was
thorn Todd, St. Syth is thus mentioned
" iii Id. Maii (May 13). Eodem die Sancte -angel, Dublin, surveyed by John Gibson,
:
See p. lxi. These words are added in the margin, and in a hand of the sixteenth century, as we are there in-
formed.
perty
Sithe Virginis.
"
38 In the Calendar, also at page 65,
ix. lee"; and in the Calen-
" poration of Dublin, the words Sancta
"
Sitha Virgo occur at 3 Id. Maii, in a
modem hand.
» Classed B. Tab. 3, No. 10.
40 The passage Dr. Todd refers to is found
to the second
"Sithe
licensed — the
by archbishop
Virginis
dar prefixed to the Chain-Book of the Cor-
"
chaplaincy Locus 2di Cappelani Guildi
St, Sythae, in parochire Sti Michani,"—on the nomination of the master, wardens, brothers, and sisters of the same. This entry bears date 19 July, 1640. See Dublin Titles, Book i,
of May 15th, 189 1. See
of the of St. Michael the Arch- parish
August 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 371
CHAPTER II.
LATER HISTORY OF ST. MICHAN's PARISH—CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT DIVISIONS- CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT CHURCHES THERE—MEMORIALS OF ST. MICHAN— CONCLUSION.
With the endrmous increase in houses and population which sprung up in those new streets, a proportional increase of Roman Catholic inhabitants took place also ; and a similar division of parishes for the Catholics was deemed
out only a few years previously. The Catholic parish of St. Paul was the first in this new department, and it was bounded on the east by Church-
street . (west side), Glassmanogue to Broadstone ; north, by Little Cabra, and so on to the Viceregal Lodge in the Phoenix Park; and on the south by the River Liffey so far as the old bridge at Church-street. About 1708, a new chapel was erected, or rather an old stable was converted into a chapel. * In course of time, however, the chapel was found to be wholly inadequate to accommodate the number of worshippers who fre- quented it, when it was deemed necessary to seek a more convenient and public site, in 1835. 3 In 1729, the boundaries of St. Mary's Catholic Parish, in the city of Dublin, were defined for the Rev. John Linegar, P. P. ,* and they were then very extensive. In order to accommodate the increasing numbers of parishioners, in the new parish of St. Mary, a chapel was built on an obscure site5 at the rere of Upper Liffey-street, and about equi- distant between the reres of the houses in Mary-street and Abbey-street. It was popularly known as "Liffey-street Chapel. " In 1797, the Most Rev. John Thomas Troy, Archbishop of Dublin, made Liffey-street chapel the metropolitan chapel of Dublin, in lieu of Francis-street Chapel," which, until that time, was the chief or metropolitan chapel. In 1826, on the
In 1707, the Most Rev. Edmond Byrne, Catholic
necessary to be formed.
Archbishop of Dublin, by . collation, dated 16th—October, 1707, divided the Catholic parish of St. Michan's into three viz. , St. Michan's, St. Paul's, and St. Mary's. He allotted to each certain new boundaries, so as to distinguish them from the Protestant parishes, which had been marked
1
of the Church of the 6 Metropolitan Conception, Marlborough-street,
opening
Liffey-street chapel was finally closed.
Early in the last century commenced an active crusade to prevent the growth of Popery, and a Committee of the Irish House of Lords was appointedtotakemeasuresforthatpurpose. Returnswereordered,onthe 4th of November, 1731, of the number of Mass-houses in the city of Dublin
Chapter ii. —' His period of incumbency lasted from 1707 to 1 724.
2
This was situated at the reres of the houses now known as Nos. 11 and 12 Arran- quay, and it was approached from Church- street, by a long and narrow passage, recently closed up. That building, having become ruinous, was taken down and rebuilt in the year 1785. It was provided with a new principal entrance from Arran-quay, through a passage under the house No. 12. This house is remarkable in history as being that in which Edmund Burke, the great states-
man, was born.
3 Then, the Very Rev. Wiliiam Yore, P. P. ,
built the present handsome new church of St.
Paul, facing on Arran-quay, the old chapel having been converted into a school-house,
* Subsequently,hebecameArchbishopof Dublin, on the death of Most Rev. Edward
Murphy, that same year.
5 During the Penal times, and until the
passing of the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829, the Roman Catholics were prohibited
from having their places of public worship fronting any street, but they were tolerated in doing so since the passing of the Catholic Relief Bill in 1 791.
6
dial was laid in 1816.
The foundation stone of this pro-Cathe-
372 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 25.
and in the suburbs thereof, and such of them as had been built since the first year of the reign of King George I. Also it was required, to learn the number of Priests officiating at each Mass-house, the number of private Popish chapels, and of all reputed Nunnerys and Fryerys, as also of all Popish schools within the said City and its Liberties.
In the summary of returns made, the parish of St. Paul? is represented as having one private chapel and one Nunnery j in St. Michan's there were
three public Mass-houses,8 two Nunneries,9 and ten schools10
Mary's, there were one Mass-house, twelve priests, two private chapels, and three schools. " The western boundary of the Protestant parish of St. Michan extends from the southern end of Church-street along Arran-quay to Lincoln-lane, thence to Phcenix-street, through the middle of Smithfield, portion of Redcow-lane, and so continues until it joins the parish of Grange-
at the east side of Richmond 13 Penitentiary.
gorman
This parish, in its integral state, is one of the oldest on the north side
of the River Liffey but since it was divided into Roman Catholic parishes,
;—— in the year 1707, it contains only about one-half on the eastern side
of its original area. Yet the small portion of the original parish that it now contains is full of interest to the antiquary, as well as to the historian, in many ways, more especially as including the following noted places : the
Broad Stone x3 the Old Dominican ;
7 From this parish, there are no official returns.
* Two of these had been built before the
reign of King George I. , and one of these was in Mary's-lane, and another on Arran- quay. Another in Church-street had been erected since the commencement of his reign. But no return could be made of the number of priests officiating in them.
9 One of these was in King-street, and in
it there was a private chapel.
10 Two of these were Latin or classical
Priory,
1* which before and after the
schools : one of them was kept by Phill.
Reilly on the Inns, and the other by one
Murphy, in Bow-lane. In Church-street
were three English Schools, kept respectively
by M'Guire, Lyons and Kearnan. One
English School was in Pill-lane, one by Neal
in Hamon-lane, one by M'Gloughlin in
Phrapper-lane, one by Ward, and one by
Burke in Mary's-lane, and one by Gorman now North Brunswick-street, where the
in Bow-lane. The foregoing information was furnished by W. Percival, Minister of St. Michan's, and by his Churchwardens, James Carson and Thomas Hewlett.
Christian Brothers' School now stands. The
foregoing particulars are abridged, chiefly from an admirable and a learned article, "St. Michan's Roman Catholic Church, Dublin : Its History, Past and Present," published in The Irish Builder, vol. xxxiv. ,
11 However, the report from the Rector of
St. Mary's, W. Crosse, and of his Church-
wardens, Richard Dawson and George No. 781, July 1st, 1892.
and it runs in this " In obedience to yor Lordships' command, we, the Minister and Church- wardens of St. Mary's parish, Dublin, have made enquiry concerning ye Mass Houses wth in ye said parish, and cannot find more
' 3 On the north, the former boundary of
this parish was the " Broad Stone," which, in olden times, was also the extremity of the Liberties of the City of Dublin. That crossing had been placed over the Bradogue Stream, and it formed a kind of bridge for the accom-
Tucker, fashion :
is
very meagre,
than one situate in Liffey-stieet, behind modation of man and beast. The stream Mary-street and Abbey-street. This Mass has since been covered over, and utilized as House was very recently erected, since ye a sewer for the northern extension of the accession of his present Majesty to the metropolis. The Broad Stone is mentioned Throne, and is supply'd by the Registered by Sir James Ware, when describing the
Priest, and no other yt we know of.
know of no Nunneries, Fryerys, or Popish Schools wth in ye said Parish ; neither have
we sufficient knowledge of private Popish Chappels wch may be in ye Houses of persons of that communion, so as to be able to make a return of them. " Whether owing to good feeling towards and want of zeal against the persecuted Catholics of that day, or owing to fidelity on the part of these latter, not to betray the interests of the Church and of their co-religionists, the afore- said inquisition is creditable to all the parties concerned, in frustrating the prosecution of an odious task.
13
Therefore it contained the three chapels and nunnery given in the above report, vir. : Arran-quay chapel ; St. Michan's, in Mary's- lane ; the Capuchins' chapel, in Church- street then budding ; and the private chapel belonging to the convent in Channel-row,
We former ceremony of Riding the City Fran-
j
while in St.
August 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 373
Reformation T 5 underwent so many vicissitudes l6 and the Granary of St. ;
Mary's Abbey, on the north-western side of George's-hill, and on the south side of Cuckoo-lane. 1 ? In this mysterious vault, there are still traces of three passages, and diverging in three different directions. 18 The various divisions bear a strong resemblance to an ecclesiastical crypt, and having
a 1 ?
sent to Constantinople, and there he presided
over that church. Again, having spent
seven years there, he passed over the Alps.
Furthermore accompanied byseven thousand
companions he travelled over Gaul, the
angel accompanying him, and coming to
the English sea, he found no ships in which
to crosi ; yet, with his companions, Michee script in the Library of Trinity College, passed over with dry feet. With such
abbreviated notice of the narrative, the
Bollandists derisively close their account,
thinking they had already given more than
sufficient of such absurdities. See
"
Dublin, by John Clarke Crosthwaite, A. M. , &c, with an Introduction, by James Hen- thorne Todd, D. D. , V. P. R. I. A. , pp. 68 and 149.
Acta
1 See Introduction, ibid. , p. Ixx.
Sanctorum," tomus v. , Augusti xxv. Among
the pretermitted Saints, p. 3.
3 Thus William Monck Mason writes
" that parish, north of the Liffey (which was
so certainly appropriated to them that it still retains the name of Ostmanstown,) is dedi- cated to St. Michan, a saint not known in Ireland. "—M The History and Antiquities of the Collegiate and Cathedral Church of St.
4 Following this tradition, the Rev. Thomas Walsh makes him a Dane, in his M History of the Irish Hierarchy and Monas- teries of Ireland," p. 645. New York, 1855, 8vo.
5 Unless it may be rendered by the well known Irish name of Meehan.
6 See "The Book of Obits and Martyr- ology of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, commonly called Christ Church, Dublin. " Edited from the Original Manu-
August 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 367
relations with the Irish. Many of the Dublin Ostmen then chose to live on
all that district near the river was known by the denomination of Ostmantown — afterwards corrupted to Oxmantown Green. These residents are thought to havebuilttheChurchofSt. Michan. Thischurchwasdedicatedtohim,on the 14th of May,10 and Dr. Meredith Hanmer places the foundation of St. Michan's Church on the Fair Green or Commune, afterwards called Ostmon- towne Green. This parcel of land is said to have been given by Murchard or
had been observed in Dublin, or at least in that parish of which he was
1 patron.
The parish of St. Michan, during six centuries, was the only parish on
the north side of the River Liffey, and it is supposed to be coeval with the
" earliestparishesintheCityofDublin WithintheWalls. " Abouttheyear
948, a Benedictine Abbey,15 since known as St. Mary's Abbey, was founded
8 For an account of the Ostmen of Dublin and of that " unclean, selfish, cunning and and their conversion to Christianity, the voracious reptile," the RAT, who caused his reader is referred to Charles Halliday's death, see the late Rev. John S. Joly's very
the north side of the Liflfey, about 1095 9 an<3 owing to this circumstance, J
for that 13 The festival of St. Michan purpose.
of
was celebrated always on the 25th of August, and it seems to have been held as a general holy day in that parish, to refrain from servile works. Doubtless religious ceremonies were also prescribed, for its greater solemnity. In the year 1565,1 we have a glimpse of the manner in which St. Michan's feast
Moragh," King
Leinster,
*
16 It was endowed with all the rich and
on the northern bank of the
fertile pasture land, stretching eastwards along the banks of the River Liffey, so far as the Tolka. 1 ? The parish of St. Michan is one of the oldest parishes in Dublin. It extended from the River Liffey northwards, so far as Little Cabra; and from St. Mary's Abbey it reached westward, to Oxmantown Green. 18 In Archbishop Alan's Register, the church is called " Ecclesia
"Scandinavian History of Dublin," Book ii. , chap, vi. , pp. 122 to 142.
9 According to Stanihurst, in his Descrip- tion of Ireland.
10 This statement we find in the calendar of the Obit$ and Martyrology of Christ
interesting brochure on " The Old Bridge of Athlone," Dublin, 1881.
14 This is to be found in the Diary of Sir Peter Lewis, now preserved in the Library of Trinity College, Dublin, in the Manuscript classed E, Tab. 2, No. 21.
Church
already
referred to, "ii Id Maii,
'5 An account of this interesting
Abbey
Dedicacio Ecclesie Sancti Michee ;
"
but the
and of the Abbey of the Virgin Mary, that
succeeded it, may be found in Archdall's
" 16
Gilbert, Esq. , F. S. A.
dwellings, and for exportation. The Rev. Meredith Hanmer, D. D. , in his "Chronicle of Ireland," tells us under Anno 1095, that "King William Rufus, by licence of Mur-
year has not transpired. See at p. 65. There
is no notice of this feast in the succeeding old Martyrology, but it has been added in the more recent hand.
" It seems most probable that Dermot
MacMorrough or Diarmaid na nGall, who died A. D. 1 171, is here alluded to.
13 See Rev. Dr. Meredith Hanmer's "Chronicle of Ireland," p. 194. Edition of 1809, Dublin, 8vo.
13 Sir Peter Lewis, who was Chantor of
Christ Church Cathedral, and who was also
architect of the great bridge at Athlone, tells us how St. Michan's Day was observed
Monasticon Hibernicum," pp. 132 to 147. The history of this remarkable religious foundation has been amply set forth, in a volume published by the Master of the Rolls, and learnedly edited by John T.
Liffey.
in his time : —" Saturday, 25th August,
Sanct Myghan's Day, hollyday with all my chard, had that frame which made up the
masons, except Donyll Ogge and his boy wroght all this day having stonys in the
churche tyll night, the wages per diem, xijd. " This entry was made in his Diary, in the year 1 565. For several other curious par- ticulars concerning Sir Peter Lewis, whose
effigy in stone formerly adorned the great
roofe of Westminster Hall, where no English Spider webbeth or breedeth to this day," and that M the faire greene or Commune, now called Ostomontowne-Greene, was all wood, and hee that diggeth at this day to any depth shall finde the ground full of great rootes. " See pp. 194, 195, Edition of 1809.
" t8
bridge he finished in les than one year," In some of the City of Dublin mediaeval
1 All the
westward of St. Mary's Abbey contained dense oak forests, the timber of which the Danish inhabitants of Dublin availed themselves for building
ground lying
368 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 25
S. Michie,"^ and " Ecclesia S. Micheani. "20 And in the Calendar prefixed
of Christ Church, the
for the dedication of the Church of St. Michan
to the
Martyrology
of —is as the date 14th May assigned
Ecclesise Sancti Michee.
21
In the Repertorium Viride of Archbishop
22 "
Alan, it is likewise noticed as Ecclesia de Sto Mahano. "
By virtue of an act of Parliament, passed in England a. d. 1534, King Henry VIII. was made supreme head of the Church of England upon earth, and the First Fruits of all ecclesiastical promotions were granted to him. A
similar act was passed in the Irish Parliament, a. d. 1537, which ordained that King Henry should be styled supreme head of the Church of Ireland upon earth, and to have the First Fruits, &c, of all ecclesiastical promotions. Also, a law was made, that no person or ecclesiastic should, upon any pretence whatsoever, appeal to Rome, under a heavy penalty. About the same time, the Church of St. Michan became one of the three prebendal churches assigned to Christ Church Cathedral, by Archbishop Brown, the first Pro- testant Archbishop of Dublin. From that period, we have two rival ecclesiastical churches : the Church of Ireland as by law established, yielding her allegiance to the Crown of England; and the Roman Catholic Church, subject to the Roman Pontiff.
Before the year 16 10, St. Michan's Church is represented as being in Ostman or Ormuntown, on the north bank of the river Liffey, and on the
line of the ancient 2* The former church of this city.
very boundary
said to have been a fine building and one of the largest in Dublin.
is It was attached to the present imposing square tower, a mediaeval structure. How- ever, the body of the former church was taken down after the year 1820, and the present erection was substituted. 2* The adjoining cemetery and the vaults beneath the church have been for many years favourite places for burial, especially with the parishioners. In 1659, a Census was taken of St. Michan's Parish, by Sir William Petty, and it was found to contain a popu- lation of only 1,173 souls, although it then embraced a very large area of northern Dublin. However, owing to the salubrity of its air, Oxmantown became one of the most fashionable suburbs near the city, and when new streets were laid out in it, the population soon began to increase. Sir
Humphrey Jervis, a wealthy alderman of Dublin, had acquired a very con- siderable part of St. Mary's Abbey estate, including the ruined Abbey itself,
and he was a public spirited citizen, who resolved on the improvement of
that 3* Towardsthecloseoftheseventeenth severalstreets property. century,
were laid out, and houses were built rapidly, on the northern side of the
26
Liffey ; especially after the building of Essex Bridge across the River, in
Documents, we find allusion to the parish of St. Michan. Thus, wehave reference tocertain tenures there and to their occupants, in 1244, mentioned in the Dublin White Book. At fol. 61 ro. we read, after the enumeration: " Et iste predicte quatuor terre iacent in parochia Sancti Michani, in villa Ostman- norum. "—"Historic and Municipal Docu- ments of Ireland, A. D. 1172 — 1320," p. 477. P'rom the Archives of the City of Dublin,
aa See an account of him, in John D'Alton's
" Memoirs of the Archbishops of Dublin," pp. 184 to 196.
23 As shown on Speed's Map of Dublin, then published.
•< An illustration of. St. Michan's Church, as it now stands, may be seen in the Dublin Penny Journal of January 4th, 1834. See vol. ii. , No. 79, p. 209.
a 5 However, we are told by Walter Harris, that afterwards he lay in gaol for many years, but the cause for his imprisonment is not stated.
a6
ItwassonamedincomplimenttoArthur Capel, Earl of Essex, and then Lord Lieu- tenant of Ireland.
etc. Edited by J. T. Gilbert, London, 1870, 8vo.
*» At a. d. 1530, fol. 75 a.
F. S. A. ,
90 21
Atfol. 147a.
See Rev. Dr. Todd's Introduction, pp. xlvii, and n. (e. ) ibid. Also p. 65.
:
" ii
Id
Maii,
Dedicacio
parish
August 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
369
i676.
Humphrey Jervis
Hugh Stafford,'*
with
others,
2? Sit
28 and Sir
formed a company, and opened with the erection of Capel Street, so called in honour
of the Viceroy. Several other streets were then formed. 3°
Such was the rapid increase of population on the north side of the city, and so great the extent of St. Michan's parish, that, in order to give church accommodation to the inhabitants, an Act of Parliament was
in the — which two new Protestant — were passed year 1697,3' by parishes
formed out of it
St.
Paul's,
on the west
;
and St.
Mary's,
on the east
the old
parish of St. Michan's being still retained in its almost primitive position.
In the useful comparative and coloured map of the city's increase, published
by Mr. William Wilson in 1798, St. Michan's lay far within the city boundary
of 1 763. 3*
A somewhat remarkable feature attached to the church of St. Michan is,
that its founders dedicated the building to St. Michan, and the south aisle to St. Syth, or Osyth. 33 In the vestry-books of St. Michan's parish it is often referred to as " St. Syth's Aisle. " Here stood the " Counting Table," and doubtless, here also were held the meetings of a guild which was called after hername. St. OsythwasadaughterofRedwald,KingofEastAnglia,who married a king of the East Angles, but the same day she obtained his con- sent to live always a virgin. That king, confirming her in such religious pur- pose,bestowedonherthemanorofChick. Havingmadeavowofvirginity, she retired to Chick, now a parish in the hundred of Tendring, County of Essex. There she founded a church and a nunnery, and she presided over them for several years with great sanctity; but these were afterwards plundered bytheDanes,whobeheadedthefoundressnearanadjacentfountain. 34 This happened about the year 870, during the inroads of Hinguar and Hubba, the barbarous Danish leaders. For fear of the Northmen pirates, her body, after some time, was removed to Ailesbury, and it remained there forty-six years, after which it was brought back to Chick or Chich,35 near Colchester, and which was remarkable for its noble Abbey of Regular Canons in times long
past,
while its name has been derived from St. the 6 This Osyth, patroness.
3
37 Seeaninterestingaccountandaview Church,on10thMay,1891,hesays—"Some
of this bridge in Walter Harris' valuable Ostmen burned and plundered the Church of
work, "The History and Antiquities of St. Osyth, near Colchester, and then started for
Dublin, from the earliest Accounts. " Ap- Ireland, and possibly the voyage was stormy
pendix, sect, xiii. , pp. 474 to 478.
28
After him Jervis-street has been named, and also Jervis-quay, since changed to Lower Ormond-quay.
29 From him Stafford-street took its name.
30 For the dates and original names of many, the reader is referred to an interest- ing and useful book of Rev. Dr. M'Cready, "Dublin Street Names, Dated and Ex- plained. "
31 The 9th year of King William III. Until this time, St. Michan's was the only Dublin parish, on the north side of the River Liffey.
and perilous, and conscience pricked them, and that they dedicated the
south aisle to St. Syth's memory. "
34 See Samuel Lewis' "Topographical Dictionary of England," vol. iii. , Art.
Osyth, St. , Chich, pp. 489, 490.
3* According to Camden, this place was
called St. Osithe's.
Sith
" Capgrave writeth the life of Saint Sith
(otherwise called Osith) that was brought up 32 See Hely Dutton's observations on Mr. under Modwen, that she was a King's
Archer's "Statistical Survey of the County daughter and borne in England. Leppdoo of Dublin," chap, v. , sect. 2, pp. 109, no, the Carthusian and other forraigne Writers
and annexed maps.
33 An attempt has been made to explain
say little of her saving that the Danes (being Heathens), cut off her head, and that shee took herheadin her armes,carried it uprightly
this two-fold dedication, by the following
conjecture. In a sermon preached by the three furlongs off, knockt at the church Rev. Dr. Robert Walsh in St. Michan's doore (being lockt), with her bloudy hands,
36 At page 97 of Dr. Meredith Hanmer's ""
Chronicle of Ireland (Edition of 1&09J, we f—ind the following notice of Saint
:
*
IA
370 LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 15.
house continued till the dissolution of the monasteries, and it was famous for the possession of relics, which were honoured with the performance of many miracles. The festival of this holy virgin, variedly called Osyth, Syth, Sitha. Scite, is noted on the 13th of May, in some of our Martyrologies37 and Calen- dars. 38 Her festival was celebrated with an Office of Nine Lesson, as we find
in a Manuscript Breviary39 of the fifteenth century, and now preserved in the library of Trinity College, Dublin. In the original hand of this Manuscript is the entry "Scite Virginis, ix. lc. " This Breviary was written in Ireland, as appears from an entry on the first leaf; and there is, therefore, some reason to think, that Sitha may be an Irish saint, although no other native Calendar to which the writer has access contains her name, nor is she mentioned by ^Engus, Colgan, or any other authority. The introduction of her name into the Calendar, as appears from the recent entries in the Christ Church volume, and in the Chain-Book of the Dublin Corporation, must have taken place, at least in the Diocese of Dublin, about the end of the fifteenth
40 century.
1
St. Syth's Guild had been organized at an early period in Dublin,* as we
find allusion to it in several mediaeval documents, and especially in the Old Vestry Book of St. Michan's Parish. From the latter it would appear, that theGuildofSt. SythwasidenticalwiththeCorporationofShoemakers. This
2
guild possessed considerable property* in Oxmantown, on the east side of
Smithfield ; it had two chaplains, also, to attend to its spiritual needs. 43 After the Reformation, the Protestant incumbent of this sub-urban parish was the celebrated Doctor Meredith Hanmer, a Vicar-Choral of Christ Church, Dublin, and a Prebendary of St. Michan's in that Cathedral Church ; he was also Archdeacon of Ross and Treasurer of Watcrford. In 1 571, he compiled a M Chronicle of Ireland," but it is untrustworthy as a history of early times, in many of the statements it contains. The preacher who ministered in St. Michan's, during the Cromwellian period, received his stipend from the
revenues of St. Sythe's guild.
and there fell downe. " Here in a foot-note in the same volume at "g iii Id. Maii. Hanmer adds: "The reader is not bound Marie ad martires. Com Sithe to believe this. " "The Martyrologe of virginis, ix. lee. " See p. 65.
Sarum confoundeth Dorothy, and Saint Sith
thus ; The 15 of Januarie, the feast of Saint Dorothie, otherwise called Saint Sith, is kept. in Ireland, who refused marriage, fled
into a Monastetie, where the devill appeared unto her, and there mine Author left her. "
37 In the introduction to The Obits and
Martyrology of Christ Church, written by tile eminent and Very Rev. Dr. James Hen—-
** Most of foregoing particulars have been gleaned from various sources by the Rev. Dr. W. Reynell, and have been published in
"
the "Irish Builder
Vol. xxxiii. , No. 754. The article is headed St. Sythe, and dated St. Sythe's Day,
1891.
** Some of this is shown on a Map of Tor-
tion of the Lands and Premises, the Pro-
March, 1709, and copied from the vellum original, which is bound up with the Vestry Book. See a trace of this Map in the Dublin Builder of May 15th, 1891.
43 In the Dublin Diocesan Register, we her feast is added by a recent hand:— find that William Howard, M. A. , was
thorn Todd, St. Syth is thus mentioned
" iii Id. Maii (May 13). Eodem die Sancte -angel, Dublin, surveyed by John Gibson,
:
See p. lxi. These words are added in the margin, and in a hand of the sixteenth century, as we are there in-
formed.
perty
Sithe Virginis.
"
38 In the Calendar, also at page 65,
ix. lee"; and in the Calen-
" poration of Dublin, the words Sancta
"
Sitha Virgo occur at 3 Id. Maii, in a
modem hand.
» Classed B. Tab. 3, No. 10.
40 The passage Dr. Todd refers to is found
to the second
"Sithe
licensed — the
by archbishop
Virginis
dar prefixed to the Chain-Book of the Cor-
"
chaplaincy Locus 2di Cappelani Guildi
St, Sythae, in parochire Sti Michani,"—on the nomination of the master, wardens, brothers, and sisters of the same. This entry bears date 19 July, 1640. See Dublin Titles, Book i,
of May 15th, 189 1. See
of the of St. Michael the Arch- parish
August 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 371
CHAPTER II.
LATER HISTORY OF ST. MICHAN's PARISH—CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT DIVISIONS- CATHOLIC AND PROTESTANT CHURCHES THERE—MEMORIALS OF ST. MICHAN— CONCLUSION.
With the endrmous increase in houses and population which sprung up in those new streets, a proportional increase of Roman Catholic inhabitants took place also ; and a similar division of parishes for the Catholics was deemed
out only a few years previously. The Catholic parish of St. Paul was the first in this new department, and it was bounded on the east by Church-
street . (west side), Glassmanogue to Broadstone ; north, by Little Cabra, and so on to the Viceregal Lodge in the Phoenix Park; and on the south by the River Liffey so far as the old bridge at Church-street. About 1708, a new chapel was erected, or rather an old stable was converted into a chapel. * In course of time, however, the chapel was found to be wholly inadequate to accommodate the number of worshippers who fre- quented it, when it was deemed necessary to seek a more convenient and public site, in 1835. 3 In 1729, the boundaries of St. Mary's Catholic Parish, in the city of Dublin, were defined for the Rev. John Linegar, P. P. ,* and they were then very extensive. In order to accommodate the increasing numbers of parishioners, in the new parish of St. Mary, a chapel was built on an obscure site5 at the rere of Upper Liffey-street, and about equi- distant between the reres of the houses in Mary-street and Abbey-street. It was popularly known as "Liffey-street Chapel. " In 1797, the Most Rev. John Thomas Troy, Archbishop of Dublin, made Liffey-street chapel the metropolitan chapel of Dublin, in lieu of Francis-street Chapel," which, until that time, was the chief or metropolitan chapel. In 1826, on the
In 1707, the Most Rev. Edmond Byrne, Catholic
necessary to be formed.
Archbishop of Dublin, by . collation, dated 16th—October, 1707, divided the Catholic parish of St. Michan's into three viz. , St. Michan's, St. Paul's, and St. Mary's. He allotted to each certain new boundaries, so as to distinguish them from the Protestant parishes, which had been marked
1
of the Church of the 6 Metropolitan Conception, Marlborough-street,
opening
Liffey-street chapel was finally closed.
Early in the last century commenced an active crusade to prevent the growth of Popery, and a Committee of the Irish House of Lords was appointedtotakemeasuresforthatpurpose. Returnswereordered,onthe 4th of November, 1731, of the number of Mass-houses in the city of Dublin
Chapter ii. —' His period of incumbency lasted from 1707 to 1 724.
2
This was situated at the reres of the houses now known as Nos. 11 and 12 Arran- quay, and it was approached from Church- street, by a long and narrow passage, recently closed up. That building, having become ruinous, was taken down and rebuilt in the year 1785. It was provided with a new principal entrance from Arran-quay, through a passage under the house No. 12. This house is remarkable in history as being that in which Edmund Burke, the great states-
man, was born.
3 Then, the Very Rev. Wiliiam Yore, P. P. ,
built the present handsome new church of St.
Paul, facing on Arran-quay, the old chapel having been converted into a school-house,
* Subsequently,hebecameArchbishopof Dublin, on the death of Most Rev. Edward
Murphy, that same year.
5 During the Penal times, and until the
passing of the Catholic Emancipation Act in 1829, the Roman Catholics were prohibited
from having their places of public worship fronting any street, but they were tolerated in doing so since the passing of the Catholic Relief Bill in 1 791.
6
dial was laid in 1816.
The foundation stone of this pro-Cathe-
372 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 25.
and in the suburbs thereof, and such of them as had been built since the first year of the reign of King George I. Also it was required, to learn the number of Priests officiating at each Mass-house, the number of private Popish chapels, and of all reputed Nunnerys and Fryerys, as also of all Popish schools within the said City and its Liberties.
In the summary of returns made, the parish of St. Paul? is represented as having one private chapel and one Nunnery j in St. Michan's there were
three public Mass-houses,8 two Nunneries,9 and ten schools10
Mary's, there were one Mass-house, twelve priests, two private chapels, and three schools. " The western boundary of the Protestant parish of St. Michan extends from the southern end of Church-street along Arran-quay to Lincoln-lane, thence to Phcenix-street, through the middle of Smithfield, portion of Redcow-lane, and so continues until it joins the parish of Grange-
at the east side of Richmond 13 Penitentiary.
gorman
This parish, in its integral state, is one of the oldest on the north side
of the River Liffey but since it was divided into Roman Catholic parishes,
;—— in the year 1707, it contains only about one-half on the eastern side
of its original area. Yet the small portion of the original parish that it now contains is full of interest to the antiquary, as well as to the historian, in many ways, more especially as including the following noted places : the
Broad Stone x3 the Old Dominican ;
7 From this parish, there are no official returns.
* Two of these had been built before the
reign of King George I. , and one of these was in Mary's-lane, and another on Arran- quay. Another in Church-street had been erected since the commencement of his reign. But no return could be made of the number of priests officiating in them.
9 One of these was in King-street, and in
it there was a private chapel.
10 Two of these were Latin or classical
Priory,
1* which before and after the
schools : one of them was kept by Phill.
Reilly on the Inns, and the other by one
Murphy, in Bow-lane. In Church-street
were three English Schools, kept respectively
by M'Guire, Lyons and Kearnan. One
English School was in Pill-lane, one by Neal
in Hamon-lane, one by M'Gloughlin in
Phrapper-lane, one by Ward, and one by
Burke in Mary's-lane, and one by Gorman now North Brunswick-street, where the
in Bow-lane. The foregoing information was furnished by W. Percival, Minister of St. Michan's, and by his Churchwardens, James Carson and Thomas Hewlett.
Christian Brothers' School now stands. The
foregoing particulars are abridged, chiefly from an admirable and a learned article, "St. Michan's Roman Catholic Church, Dublin : Its History, Past and Present," published in The Irish Builder, vol. xxxiv. ,
11 However, the report from the Rector of
St. Mary's, W. Crosse, and of his Church-
wardens, Richard Dawson and George No. 781, July 1st, 1892.
and it runs in this " In obedience to yor Lordships' command, we, the Minister and Church- wardens of St. Mary's parish, Dublin, have made enquiry concerning ye Mass Houses wth in ye said parish, and cannot find more
' 3 On the north, the former boundary of
this parish was the " Broad Stone," which, in olden times, was also the extremity of the Liberties of the City of Dublin. That crossing had been placed over the Bradogue Stream, and it formed a kind of bridge for the accom-
Tucker, fashion :
is
very meagre,
than one situate in Liffey-stieet, behind modation of man and beast. The stream Mary-street and Abbey-street. This Mass has since been covered over, and utilized as House was very recently erected, since ye a sewer for the northern extension of the accession of his present Majesty to the metropolis. The Broad Stone is mentioned Throne, and is supply'd by the Registered by Sir James Ware, when describing the
Priest, and no other yt we know of.
know of no Nunneries, Fryerys, or Popish Schools wth in ye said Parish ; neither have
we sufficient knowledge of private Popish Chappels wch may be in ye Houses of persons of that communion, so as to be able to make a return of them. " Whether owing to good feeling towards and want of zeal against the persecuted Catholics of that day, or owing to fidelity on the part of these latter, not to betray the interests of the Church and of their co-religionists, the afore- said inquisition is creditable to all the parties concerned, in frustrating the prosecution of an odious task.
13
Therefore it contained the three chapels and nunnery given in the above report, vir. : Arran-quay chapel ; St. Michan's, in Mary's- lane ; the Capuchins' chapel, in Church- street then budding ; and the private chapel belonging to the convent in Channel-row,
We former ceremony of Riding the City Fran-
j
while in St.
August 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 373
Reformation T 5 underwent so many vicissitudes l6 and the Granary of St. ;
Mary's Abbey, on the north-western side of George's-hill, and on the south side of Cuckoo-lane. 1 ? In this mysterious vault, there are still traces of three passages, and diverging in three different directions. 18 The various divisions bear a strong resemblance to an ecclesiastical crypt, and having
a 1 ?
