No More Learning

3 See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xi.
Februarii. De S. Canoco, cap. v. , p. 312. '' See ibid. , n. 10, p. 313.
61
jj^g ijj_
Article hi.
Scotland,
476 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Februaryii.
Canociis,Canaucus,^Canucii? ;,andMochonocus. 7 AlbertleGrandwrotea Life of St. Canoc. ^ His father was Brecan, and his mother, Din, was a daughter to one of the Saxon kings. This family connexion is more fully treated, at the Life of St. Dabeoc, which occurs, on the ist of January. This saint and his brothers seem to have been born in Wales, and to have beenunclestotheholyArchbishopofMenevia,St. David. 9 Theyflourished,
'°
If such be the case, they must all have been very young men, at the period of his death. According to one account, their father Brecan died, about the year 450. " In this case, we cannot easily beHeve, that he had a grandson, Brochmael, who fought a battle, about a. d. 603, when he utterly routed and killed Ethelfred, King of Northumbria. ^^* The holy children of Bracan appear to have had a great desire to visit Ireland, where religion then com- menced to flourish. St. Canoe, specially devoted to a religious profession, thought his pilgrimage thither must be attended with great spiritual advan- tage's Itissupposed,hehadbeenacompanionofSt. Patrickforatime, and that he may be identified with a priest, named Conan,^4 about whom a narrative occurs, in our great Apostle's Acts. '5 it is thus recorded. While travelling towards a place, denominated Magh-foim-scan,*^ St. Patrick met a different reception from two brothers. One of these, named Derglamn, was hostile to him, and even designed to offer resistance ; while, the other, Lucta, embraced the Christian faith, and received the holy missionary, with reve- rence. St. Patrick denounced the former ; while, he blessed the latter, and predicted, that many holy priests and bishops should be numbered among his posterity. '7 When departing from the place, to make a retreat at Tobar
Stingle,'^ or Stringle,'^ he left a priest Conon to supply the spiritual wants of that district. ^° It lies within the present parish of Ballintober, in the barony
of Carra, and county of Mayo. "*' It is shown, tliat Conon, according to an
**
s See Rice Rees' Lives of the Welsh to be identical with Fiuishinaugh, in the
it is said, as contemporaries with St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland.
Saints," p. 138.
^ See Giraldus Cambrensis' " Itinerarium
Cambriae," lib. i. , cap. ii.
7 The Irish Calendarists chiefly style him,
by this form of name.
"^ See "De Sanctis Britannice et Armo- pars ii,, cap. Ixi. , and n. 117, pp. 137, 178.
ricfle. "
9 See his Life, at tlie ist of March.
'° See his Life, at the 17th of March.
" According to a manuscript, quoted by
Sir R. C. Hoare, in his notes to the " Itin- Mayo. " Sheets 89, 99. The parish of
this name is situated, partly in the barony of liurrishoole, and partly, but chiefly, in that of Carra. It is described, on Sheets
77, 88, 89, 90, 98, 99, 100, 108.
'^ Said to be identical with Ballintober
'•* It is said Canoe, Mocanoc and Conan or the town of the buah. " The name is are synonymous, as in the names Catoc, still retained, in a disguised form, in the ad- MacatocandCatan. SeeColgan's"Acta joiningtownlandofCreevagh,"thebushy
crarium Canibriic," lib. i. , cap. 2.
'^ See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical His-
tory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, viii. , sect. XV. , and nn. 193, 195, pp. 424, 425, 426.
'^ In the Life of his sister, St. Keyne, Robert Buckland alludes to St. Canoe.
townland, anciently called b^iLo ii<x C]\Aibi, "
Sanctorum Hibernise," xi. Febriurii. De
S. Canoco Abbate et Confessore, cap. v. ,
p. 312.
land. " See Dr. O'Donovan's "
Tribes and Customs of Hy-Fiachrach," &c. , n. (1), pp. 190, 191.
'5
however, as it appears unchronological. See Patrick, Apostle of Ireland. " The Tripar-
Dr. Lanigan will not admit this account,
" Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol.
i. , chap, viii. , sect, xv. , n, 197, p. 426.
'^ In Miss M. F. Cusack':; " Life of St.
Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," the name is
rendered into Magh-Foimsen, which is said lounded a magnificent abbey, in 12 16.
present parish of Cong, barony of Kihnaine and county of JNIayo. It belonged to the ancient district of Partry. See n. 2, p. 413.
'^ See this account in Colgan's "Trias
^^
It is otherwise called liaile Tobair Phadruig, or "the townland of St. Patrick's Well. " It is shown, on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for tlie County of
Thaumaturga. " Septima Vita S. Patricii,
-" See Miss M. F. Cusack's " Life of St.
tite Life, translated by William M, Hcn-
nessy, p. 413.
"' At this Ballintober, Cathal Croibh-
dhearg O'Conor, King of Connaught,
Genealogies,
February ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 477
Irish form of inflection, may readily be resolved into Canoe, or Mochonoc. ^' However, this facility of transfer may not cause our saint's name to be dis- guised under that of Conon, who was immediately a subject of the renowned Irish Apostle. One of the guest-masters of St, Patrick is named Ocanotus, a priest, who is thought, by Colgan, to have been the same as our St. Canoc. ^3 But,thesupposition,inthiscase,is,thatthenamehasbeenmisspelled. If Colgan's conjecture be admitted, as a correct one, our saint, no doubt, should be regarded as a disciple of St. Patrick,^'^ and he must have been a priest, before the Irish Apostle's death. However, we feel inclined to question its accuracy. It is thought, after his arrival in Ireland, St. Conoc founded a monastic establishment at Galinne, in the territory of Dealbhna Ethra,^5 in the western parts of Leinster. ==^ It is said, furthermore, if he did not found, at least, he governed, a monastery of Kill-Mucrois. A place, bearing this
name, was known, both in Britain^? and in Ireland ;^^ so that it seems difficult to determine exactly its location. However, in Galinne, the feast of St. Canoe was chiefly celebrated. At Killros, too, his festival was held. In various parts of Ireland^^ and of Britain, 3° he was venerated, as a patron saint. Especially, in the western parts of Cambria, the people preserved a relic, called the torque of St. Canoe, in the twelfth century. Those, who swore on such a sacred object, were afraid to perjure themselves, lest some great judgmentmightbefallthem. s^ Thisobjectwasgold,inappearance,whileits weight and consistence proved it to be such, in reality. It was artificially carved on the top, with indentations formed in an orb shape, or around the
edges ; while, the head of a dog, with grim-looking teeth, occupied the middlecompartment. Onitssurfaceappearedthemarkofahammer; and, it was said, that some avaricious person, who wishe—d to test the quality of the metal—probably through a fraudulent purpose had given the stroke. But, his impiety was instantly punished by the loss of sight, in both eyes, andthisprivationcontinuedsolongashelived. s^ Fewpersons,havingany pretension to historical and critical acumen, could be found to maintain, that St. Cannice, the Patron of Kilkenny, was identical with the present St. Canoe. Such, however, is the absurd opinion of Rev. Edward Ledwich. 33
The ruins are still in a good state of preser- dialect, "the place of the swine. " See
"
vation. Ussher's
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum An-
^^
See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- tiquitates," cap. xiii. , p. 239. It was situ-
niDe," xi. ^Februarii. De S. Canoco, &c. , cap. v. , p. 312, and n. 25, p. 314.
"
=^3 See "Trias Thaumaturga.
Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap. xcviii. , and nn. 125, 126, pp. 167, 188.
^'^ See ibid. Quinta Appendix ad Acta S.
Patricii, cap, xxiii. , p. 268.
=5 Afterwards, it was called Delbhna Mac-
ated, on the banks of the River Guy, and
Coghlan.
^° An institute of
There is a small island, called Kill- Mucrois, in Lough Swilly, county of Done- gal.
=9 In Ireland, our Calendarists refer this saint's feast to the i8th of November, where further notices regarding him will be found.
Canons was there to the middle of the seventeenth cen- tury ; although, according to our Annals, it
3° There his feast seems to have been
Regular
held, Martyrolo- gium Anglicanum," eodem die, and Ferra-
hacl frequently suffered devastation, from rius.
the tenth, to the sixteenth, century,
^7 In Wales, there is a place, called Muc- ros. It is not far from Brechinia. There St. Dubricius founded a celebrated monas-
3' This reliquary is minutely described, by Giraldus Cambrensis, in his "Itinerarium
Kambria;," lib. L, cap. ii. Edited by James
"
Septima
Opera. " 3= For the foregoing account, we are in- John of Teignmouth, he was warned in a debted to Giraldus Cambrensis. See pp.
tery. According to his Life, written by"
dream to build an oratory and a house, 25, 26, ibid.
"
Antiquities of Ireland," at p. pigs lying. Hence, the spot was named 329, Dr.
Ledwich inserts the following . Mucros, which signifies in the old British manuscript note: "Our St. Cannice or
wliere he should find a sow and her litter of 33 In his
it was founded about A. D. 490. See dex Chronologicus," p. 523, ibid.
^'^
"
In-
on the nth of
February.
See "
F. Uimock, M. A. , in vol. vi. of
47§ LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Februaryii.
The Rev. John Francis Shearman has suggested to the ^vriter, that the
probable place, where St. Canoe founded his Irish church was at Kilma-
canoge, near Eray, in the county of Wicklow ;34 and, indeed, we may well believe, his residence or cultus there, afterwards gave name to that place.
Article IV. —St. Ducan, Priest and Pilgrim, at Rath Dubhain, OR RiNN Dubhain, now Hook, County of Wexford. {Fifth or Sixth Century. ^ A few very meagre notices are all that Colgan could collect re- gardingtheConfessor'St. Duban,atthepresentdate. ^ TheBoUandistshave onlyamereallusiontohim. ^ ThesimpleentryofDubanSac. —forpriest— occurs in the Martyrology of Tallagh,3 at the 1 1 th of February. Marianus O'Gorman and Maguire also style him a priest. ^ According to the Martyr- ology of Donegal,5 on this day was venerated, Dubhan, a priest and a pil- grim. He came over to Ireland from Cambria, and, he lived at Rinn Dub-
hain. A king of Brechenoc, in Wales, was his father, called Brachin, son of Braca or Bracmoec, who originally came from Ireland. Din, daughter to a kingofSaxonland,washismother. ^ Thisisfoundrecorded,inanancient old vellum book. The family connexions of this saint have been already detailed. 7 Holily educated in his youth, this saint in more mature age de- sired to leave Britain, and to settle in Ireland, where he designed leading a life of perfect solitude. At Rinn Dubhan Ailithir, so called in after time, from its having been the site of his religious establishment, he founded a house, and there probably he died. Colgan is unable to decide with accuracy, thesituationofthatplace. ^ Yet,hetriesvariousconjectures. 9 But,itwould
" the
the ancient name for the church at Hook. Rinn Dubhain is said to have
been on the east side of the River Bearbha, or Barrow, some distance below Teach Moling, now St. Mullin's, in the county of Carlow. ^° It lies in the southern part of Wexford county. " This saint is said to have wrought various miracles, and to have passed his life, in a very exemplary manner.
Canocus was evidently the Welsh saint of that name. Gir, Camb. Itin. , 1. L, c. 2. "
This is an autograph in the copy, now pre- served in the library of the R. I. A. , and which he used, to prepare a new edition,
3* With sucli an opinion, too, Dr. Joyce
seem,
that Rinn DulDhan
Ailithir,
point
of the Dubhan," was pilgrim
" ofIrishNamesofPlaces. " IndexofNames,
p, 545.
Article IV. — See "Acta Sanctorum
Hibernice,"xi. Februarii. DeS. Dubano Confessore, p. 314.
* See "Acta Sanctorum," tomusii. , Feb- ruarii xi. This occurs among the preter- mitted or transferred saints, p. 506.
3 Edited by the Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xv.
* They enter his feast, too, at this same date.
5 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 46, 47.
^ Dr.
of his place of abode, Colgan knew nothing, except that Aengus Kelideus, among the so- Called sons of Brecan, records one Duban de Rinn-dubhain alithir. Dr. Lanigan then adds: "These genealogical accounts, in which some of our old writers so much abound, cannot be depended upon, unless
See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernioe," xi.
seems to agree, in his
Origin and History
Lanigan
observes, that of him, or
*
9 Thus, Colgan thinks it to be a place in Hy-Many,in the diocese of Clonfert in Con-
naught, which i—n his time was corruptly calledRinn-duin thelettersMinthemiddle
of a word not being pronounced, very fre- quently, by the Irish. There was at that place a Xenodochium or Monastery of St. John the Baptist, mentioned by the Four Masters, at a. d. 1374. There was also a Cluain-Dubhain, near the town of Clogher, where the holy virgins Cinnia and Cectum- bria are interred.
" See Professor series Eugene O'Curry's
of lectures "On the Manners and Customs
of the Ancient Irish," vol. ii. , lect. xviii. , p.
,384. Edited by W. K. Sullivan, Ph. D. , &c.
" So I am assured, by W. M. Ilennessy, who states, that the ancient Irish tract on the Borromean Tribute exactly identifies it with Hook.
supported by other authority. "
—"
Ecclesi- astical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap.
viii. , sect, xv. , n. 197, p. 426.
? See the Life of his brother St. Dabeog,
at the 1st ofJanuary.
^
Februarii. Vita S. Dubani, n. i, p. 314.
February ii. ] LIVES 0I< THE IRISH SAlNlS. 479
He flourished, towards the close of the fifth, or beginning of the sixth, century.
A true pilgrim on earth he was, although returning to the country of his fathers ; for, he shunned the company of men, and reputing Heaven as his true country, his expectations were directed to that abiding city, while he was everbentonobservingGod'sholylaw. Notwithstandingwhathasbeenhere written, Colgan elsewhere thinks the present St. Duban to have been that son of Corcan, the disciple of St. Patrick, who, when . he travelled through the beautiful pass of Barnesmore in Donegal, came to the region of Mag- Ithe. " There he built the church of Donoughmore, and set St. Dubhan over it. ^3 Another name for that holy man may be Nigellus. '''* However, the first accounts regarding this present saint seem to be the most reliable ; and, he appears to have had connexions with the south-east, rather than with the north-west, of Ireland. Thus, it is generally understood, that he was a brother to St. Canoe, whose notices precede, at this date.
Article V. —St. Cognat, Virgin, of Earnaidhe, or Urnev. The
"
word Ernaidhe, Urnaidhe, or Ornaidhe^ signifies primarily a prayer," but
^ Most
there is an exceedingly old church, at a place, called Nurney. ^ We find registered, on this day, in the Martyrology of Donegal,^ Cognat, virgin, of
Earnaidhe. Itispossible,theremaybesomemistake,inmakingthisentry,
and that the present saint is not a different person from the Gobnat, already
recorded, at this date. There is a parish of Urney, situated partly in the
barony of Lower,^ but, chiefly in that of Upper Loughtee,^ in the county of
Cavan. ^ The very ancient church and graveyard, here, are on the townland
ofUrneyproper,inUpperLoughtee. 9 Urneychurchandgraveyardareto be seen, on the north bank of the River Erne, after its waters have left the
beautifully intricate and irregular bounds of Lough Oughter. Considerable remains of the old church, now standing in the centre of the cemetery, reveal
its singular peculiarities of construction. ^° The ruins consist of a church, which measured thirty-nine feet in length, by nineteen feet and four inches
inwidth,interiorly; then,apassage,formedbytwoparallelstonewallsrun- ning cross-wise, takes up seven feet of space, and in its centre are stone steps, which ascend as high as the remaining side walls. Two doorways conduct throughthepassage,andleadintotwocells,attheextremewest-end. Each
ina sensea" secondary
it takestheAn-
commonly,
glicized form of Urney, in Tyrone, Cavan and King's County ; while, in Carlow and in Kildare, it incorporates the article, in English, and it becomes Nurney, in several parishes, villages and townlands. 3 In Carlow county
" This is a country district of Tirconnell, lying on the banks of the River Finn.
'3 See "Trias Thaumaturga. " Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. cxiv. , p. 144.
and 24 perches, including 72 acres, 3 roods, and 33 perches of water, superficial measure* ment.
7 This portion contains 7>493 ^cres, 2
prayer-house. "
'4 See ibid. , n—n. 163, 164, 165, p. 181. roods, and 2 perches, including 452 acres, 3
^
Article v. Pronounced
**erny. "
" as
^
In Latin "oratorium,"
3 SeeP. W. "
Joyce's Origin History
and
of Irish Names of Places," part iii. , chap.
ii. , pp. 294, 295.
4 Of this church, Mr. Du Noyer has pre-
served an his interesting sketch, among
port- folio drawings, in the library of the Royal
Irish Academy.
5 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
46, 47.
^
This portion contains 440 acres, 2 roods,
Urny" or
roods and 13 perches of Lough Oughter, also 530 acres, 2 roods and 7 perches of water.
^ Its extent is described on the **Ord» nance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Cavan. " Sheets 15, 20, 25.
9 They are shown on Sheet 15, ibid.
^° The accompanying illustration, drawn on the wood by William F. Wakeman, and engraved by Mrs. Millard, is from a sketch, taken on the spot, by the author, in June, 1876. The sketch was taken from withiu the graveyard enclosure.
48o LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [Februaryii.
of these cells measures interiorly twenty-nine feet in length, by ten feet six inches in breadth, while, one of these compartments has a coved-roof in a good state of preservation, and the former coved roof of the other—quite perfect until a very short time since—is now becoming quite ruinous. " These were dimly lighted, when in a perfect state, and they seem to have been only the cellars of a house, which once stood there, as an appendage to the church. The stone-stairway evidently led to some upper chambers. Although the gables yet stand, the whole extent of the church and erdamhs has been long ago unroofed. '^ To a very late period, the Catholics Avere
Urney Church, County of Cavan.
accustomed to assemble witliin the roofless walls, and assist there at a mid- night Mass, which used to be celebrated, at Christmas-tide. The walls of the old church are about three feet, in thickness, and they are now grown over with ivy. The neighbouring people have a great veneration for this church, which they regard, as being the most ancient, in the diocese of Kil- more ; and, they relate many interesting traditions, in connexion with it. Its situation is truly a most picturesque one, beside a bridge, which leads over a channel of the Upper P^rne, into a large island called Inismore,'^ which is a tract, rising high over the water, and of very considerable extent,
" A midcllc-aged peasant of the neigh- bourhood told the writer, that he received
the rudiments of education, in a school, taught by a Catholic master within one of those cells.
'^ The Catholic peasantry, in the neigh-
bourhood, have a tradition, that Urncy clnirch was built by a Bishop Brady, who
engaged three skilled masons, for the pur-
pose, and these were brought from a dis- tance. He is said, as a reward, to have made over to them a large tract of land ad- joining.
'3 It contains nearly 500 acres, and it is well inhabited, being intersected with high hedge rows, giving it a very umbrageous aspect.
February ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 481
inthelowerwatersofLoughOughter. ^4 Theplace,wherethispresentholy
virgin lived, cannot be determined, however, with accuracy ; and, her period has not been discovered, by the writer.
Article VI. —St. Jarlath or Hierlath, Archbishop of Armagh.
[Fifth Century. '] The Providence of God is often a subject of mystery to
men, incapable of connecting results known to them, with those supremely
wise decrees, from which they spring.