* There is a folio paper Manuscript, in the Royal Irish Academy, which is a copy of Repertorium Viride
Johannis
Septimi Archi- episcopi Duljliniensis agnomine Alanus.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v4
-hannon.
name is said to be drawn from a stone said to be remaining there as a monument which hath the form of the letter /, and is reported to have been cast in that place, by the great Irish champion Phuon M. ic Coole. Where- upon from L anil Piiuon the place took its
*" According to Jocelyn's Vita S. Patricii, cap. cvi. , p. 8g.
•5 This IS the "Rath-Cunga, in Campo- Sereth," mentioned by Tirechan, in his Life of St Patrick.
" Formerly Tir-Aodha territory.
*' See Rev. Dr. Lan ' ' Ecclesiastical gan's
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect,
first and then cor- 3' it stood in the very middle of the tnwn.
denomination ruptly Elphin. "
Elphuon
3'
stone fell in his own time, and that it stood O'Dugain and of Giolla na Naoimh over the well of Elphin. O'Huidhrin," edited by Dr. O'Donovan,
Roderick O'Flaherty states, that this
" By Rev. Dr. Lanigan. p. zxx.
<3 The Book oT Armagh, in narrating this,
vi. , pp. 340, 341. *" •'
. "iee The topographical Poems of John
April 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 511
his monks resolved to spend their days with St. Ascicus, so long as he con- tinued in this life. Here, also, tiiere is a conical hill, locally known by the name of Racoon, the apex of which is entrenciied like a rath, and it contains an ancient cemeterv. This is now used, but only for the interment of unbap- tized children. It lies within tlie townland Ballymagroarty, in the parish of Drumhome. 5° The king of that country gave to St. Ascicus, and to his monks after his death, the pasture of one hundred cows, with their calves, and also twenty oxen, as a perpetual offering. After their master's death, the monks built a monastery at Rath Cunga, wherein they served Almighty God, in jus- tice and in sanctity. '' The church built there was regarded as belonging to St. Patrick, the master and patron of Ascicus. s' It lay within the diocese of
Raphoe, and within the territory of Tyrconnell. 'J
The present holy Bishop must have died, before the close of the
fifth century, in Dr. Lanigan's opinion ; and, he throws out a conjec- ture, that this saint may have been identical with Assanus, whose feast
is assigned to the 27th of April. 5« His disciples buried St. Assicus, in Rath-Cunga,55 and there, too, his remains were honourably pre-
served. On this day, also, our saint is honoured, as patron of Elphin dio- cese, and there his festival is celebrated as a Double of the first-class, with an octave. It is a Duplex Major, for the rest of Ireland. The remains of St. Ascicus were preserved in Rath-Cunga, when the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick had been written. To the Irish Apostle, also, belongs that church, upon which thepeopleofColum-CilleandofArd-Srathas*hadthenencroached. Itissome- what strange, that there is no mention of a festival in honour of St. Ascicus, in
the published edition of Tallagh Martyrology, at the 27th of April. " This elicits the observation,'' that we can hardly help suspecting, that Assicus and ThassachusS' of Rathcolpa,*° now Raholp. county of Down, were one and the same. '' It is remarked, by Colgan,*' that the Natalis of Ascicus cannot be found in the Irish Martyrologies, although the name be thus written in the ActsofSt. Patrick. But,heconjectures,thatasoursaintwasamanofgreat sanctity, his name ought not be omitted from the calendars, and it is most pro- bably found under some different spelling. He supposes, that our saint was identical with that Assanus, whose feast occurs, at the 27th of April, according to Marianus O'Gorman and to the Martyrology of Donegal ; or perhaps, he was the Ossin venerated, at the istof May, or at the iQth of July. Father Henry
"
5° See Rev. Dr. Keeves' Adamnan's Life of . St. Columba," n. (e). p 38.
''See Co'gan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
" See " Tiias Colgan's
&c. , where are the names p. xxii. ,
Thaumaturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. , cap. xl. ,
Saints,"
of the four saints, wliose festivais are set down at this day, and no one of these names can he resoived intothat of St. Ascius. On the d. iy preiious, there is an"Asaoch"or "Isaac,' li/V/. , pp. xxii. 2. It may be aslted, if there be any affinity or identity discover- able in it.
=' From Rev. Dr. Todd,
59 See a notice of him, at the 14th of this montli.
** Both were workers in metals for St. Patrick.
' See "The Hook of Obits and Martyr- olo^yofthe Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, commonly called Christ Church, Dublin," &c. . Edited by John Clarke Crosihwaite, A. M. , and Rev. Dr. James
llenthorn Todd, D. D. , Introduction, p. xiii , and n (p).
" See "Tnas Thaumaturga," Vita Sexta S. Patricii, n. 122, p. 114.
p. 135.
Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. cvi. , cvii. , pp. 89, 90.
V See Uid. , Septima V^ita S. Patricii, pars. ii. , cap. xl. , p. 135.
SJ See /*;</, n. 79, p. 176.
'* See Rev. Dr.
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, viii. , sect. xiii. , p. 418.
's See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Septim. ! Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. , cap. xl. , p. 135. St. Bite was also burie<l there, with five other B;shops. See n. 79, p. 176.
* Now a parish church, but formerly, it was a cathedral, at Ardstraw, near Strabane, in the county of Tv rone.
" See Rev. Dr. Kelly's "Calendar of Irish
Lanigan's
" Ecclesiastical
'^ See Catalogus aliquorum Sanctorum
S" LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 27.
Fitzsimon includes St. Ascitis, Bishop, in his Catalogue,*3 but he gives not a dayfortliefeast. IntheparishofBandon,thereisanolddisusedgraveyard, called Killhassan. A conjecture is offered, that it may have been called after St. Hassan, or Hassa, St. Patrick's artificer. The low wall of an old church, in the centre, measures about 42 feet, by 14, in the clear. The remains are ofrudematerial,andcoveredwithanet-workofbrambles. Thisspotlies three miles west from Bandon. *'* Further particulars for record we cannot find, to illustrate the acts of the primitive and venerable Bishop, who is
special patron of Elphin diocese.
Article II. —St. Assan, Patron of Raheny Church, County of Dublin. Several Irish saints are only recollected by name, in various locali- ties, and where, not even the time when they flourished is now known, nor the vestige of an ancient church can be found, and associated with their memory. The BoUandists,' quoting the Martyrologies of Tallagh and of Marianus O'Gorman, notice a feast for St. Assanus, at the 27th of April. This may be theLatinizedformforOissin—averycommonIrishname. Whetherhebe identical or not with Assicus, bishop and patron of Elphin diocese, may be questioned ; although Colgan hazards a conjecture to this effect, and the BoUandists have a nearly similar remark. = We learn from Arch-
bishop Alan's3 Register,4 that a church at Raheny, which formerly belonged to the Prior and Convent of the Holy Trinity at Dublin, was after-
wards exchanged, and that it went under the jurisdiction of St. Mary's Con- vent,nearDublin. s Yet,wefindtherenonoticeofapatronsaint,forthe church ; nor is this much to be wondered at, since the original sacred build- ing at Raheny perished,* when that district passed under the domination of the Northmen rule, in and near Dublin. It must be observed, likewise, that after the Anglo-Norman invasion,' several new religious establishments, in the Diocese of Dublin, displaced more ancient ones. Then, also, new patrons were substituted for the old Irish ones, so as completely to obliterate even the traces of our early Christian history. Thetownland of Ratheny, no doubt, takes its name from a conspicuous rath,^ which has been curtailed of its former dimensions ; and, through Raheny passes a stream, anciently called, as we are told, Skillings Glas. Between the Protestant Church and the Railway Station
Hibernioe, in O'SuUivan Scare's " Historise Catholica; Ibt-rniae Compendium," tomiis i. , lib. iv. , cap. xii. , p. 52.
'* The foregoing information was given, in a letter to the author, from Rev. John Lyons, C. C. , and headed, Bandon, November loth, 1882.
AuTiCLE n. — ' See "Acta Sanctorum, tonius iii. , Aprilis xxvii. Among the pre-
termitted saints, p. 475.
= See ''Trias Thaumaturga, Vita Sexta
S. Patricii, n. 122, p. 114.
5 An account of John Alan, or Allen, who
ruled as Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, from A. D. 152810 1534. will be found in Harris Wave, vol. i. , Archbishops of Dublin, pp. 346 to 348. Besides the " Repertorium Viride," he compiled the "Liber Niger seu Registrum Johaunis Alani," to which some additions seem to have been made, A fur- ther account of these Records will be seen, in the Introduclion to this work, sect, vii. , nn. 215, 216.
* There is a folio paper Manuscript, in the Royal Irish Academy, which is a copy of Repertorium Viride Johannis Septimi Archi- episcopi Duljliniensis agnomine Alanus. This transcript is traced, it is said, in Gene- ral Vallancey's handwriting.
5 See ibid. p. ig,
'We are informed, that Gilcolm was the owner of Ratheny, previously to the Anglo- Norman invasion, and that, probably, he be- longed to the Irish family 01 Mac Gilla Col- mac. See Right Rev. Patrick F. Moran's new edition of Archdall's " Monasticon Hibernicum," vol. i. , p. 307, n. 15.
' By a grant from the Earl of Strongbow, Vivian De Cursun acquired the lands of
Ratheny, and in I2I0, John De Coursun, Lord of Ratheny and Kilbarrack, was slain by the sons of Hugh De Lasci and Walter, LordofMeath. ' Seeibid.
"
*
See John D'Alton's "History of Dro-
gheda," &c. , vol. i. Introductory Memoir, p. Ixxv.
April 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. S13
was St. Ossan's well, reputed holy, but it is now covered up in the field; how- ever, an ash tree and a depression there mark its site. The writer of a note, in Right Rev. Patrick F. Moran's edition of Archdall's work,9 states, that a Bishop Ossan, connected witli the monastery of St. Fintan Munnu, son of Tulcan,wasthePatronSaintofRatheny. '° Hediedintheyear683,"but we have great doubt, that he had been the Ossen associated with Ratheny. In the year 1859, the first movement took place for the erection of a new CatholicChurchatRaheny,inthecountyofDublin. Sincethetimesofreli- gious persecution commenced, no building to supply a local want, which had been long felt, was in existence. Within a i^^ years, however, a convenient and handsome rural church was erected, to the honour of St. Assan, for that
St. . Asian's Catholic Church, Raheny.
suburbanvillage,withintheCatholicunionofClontarfParish. " ThePro- testant church there stands on a rising ground,'3 and it had been rebuilt in I722. '* ItwasoriginallydedicatedtoSt. Assan. 's Alocaltraditionhaspre- vailed, and the origin for which cannot now be traced, that he had been a saint, venerated in the neighbourhood ; and, to preserve his memory, it was resolved to place the new Catholic church under his patronage. The Very Rev. Canon Rooney, V. F. , and P. P. , of Clontarf, aided by the zealous exer- tions of his worthy curate,'* erected this neat and picturesque Gothic struc-
' . See "Monasticon Hibemicum. " vol. i. ,
p. 307, n. 15.
'° " In the ' Neamshencus Lebhar Breac '
there is a reference to St. Ossan ; Beoan and Oisan, i. e. , the sons of Athracht at Rath Ossain, and at Rath—Athracht, besides Ath Truitntothewest. " Ihid.
photograph taken in May, 1883, by Mr. Joseph Dollard, jun. , Raheny Park, has been drawn on the wood, by William F. Wakeman, and it was engraved, by Mrs. Millard.
'3 A churchyard, bordered by several very ancient trees, surrounds it. An ancient rath
" See William M.
cum Scotoruni," pp. lo8, 109.
" Chroni-
opposite.
'• This a stone inserted in the wall indi-
Hennessy's
"The accompanying illustration, from a Vol. IV. —No. 9.
is
cates.
'5 See John D'Alton's " History of the
K I
5'4 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 27.
tare. '' In July, 1864, the new building was dedicated, by the Most Rev. Paul Cullen, Arch. bisliop of Dublin, and afterwards Cardinal. The Lord Mayor
of Dublin for that year,'' with several distinguished persons, lay and clerical, assistedatthesacredceremony. ThenameofAssanoccursintheMartyr-
ology of Donegal,'9 as having been venerated, on this day. In the Table or Appendix to this Martyrology, the name has been rendered into the Latin
Aazanus. =° equivalent, Also,
in the Irish
to be found in the — Calendar, Library
oftheRoyalIrishAcademy,wemeet,atthev. oftheMayKalends April
='
27th—thesimpleentryofAssan, butnoplaceforhispatronageisassigned.
We have not been able to glean any further relative particulars.
Article III. —St. Lugadius. Lugad. us is called the son of Ercus, in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick. ' He is classed among the disciples of the latter holy m;in. ^ He is said to have been one of the disciples and clerics of our national Apostle, according to tlie Life written by Jocelyn. 3 He became bishop over Fordhriim, now Fardrum,* parish of Kilcleagh,5 in the county of Westmeath. The BoUandists^ notice iiim, at this date, as if it were his festival. '
Article IV. — Festival of St. Florentin, Confessor. {Twelfth or Thirteaitlt Ceiilii? -y. '\ Already some notices of this holy man are set down, at the i8th of this month, which is regarded as his chief feast day, according to Camerarius, who also marks it at the present date. " We find other accounts
ofhim,intheworkofThomasDempster. ' TheBollandistshadhopesof procuring some information about him, from the village of Bonnet, in the diocese of Toul, where his relics had been preserved ; but, not succeeding to the full extent of their wishes, they preferred placing him in the supplement to their work, lor the month of January. While Dempster has it, that iiis feast was kept at Langres, in Champagne, on the 14th or i6th of January, the Bol- landists enter one for the 2;th of April. 3
Article V. —St. Ultan, said to have been Brother of Fursa. The simple entry, Ultan, appears in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 27th
County of Dublin," pp. loS, io6.
" Tlie present Very Rev. Michael J.
Canon Bi. idy, P. P. , of Ballytore. In a letter fiom him, and dated from that place, M:irch I2th, the writer has obtained the de- tails here furni. ilied.
' Mr. Patrick Byrne was the architect, and Mr. Jolm Martin, ol Coolock, was the con- tractor. The building cost ^£'1. 400.
^ The Right Hon. Peter P. iui M'Swiney.
•' Edited by IJrs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 112, 113.
'« ^eeiiid. , pp. 354. 355-
" Thus, AffAfl. See "Common Place
his feast is assigned to April 17—probably a misprint for 27.
P- 475- "'"
Book F. p. 41, belonging to the Irish Ord-
nance Survt-y col—lection.
They also remark
Martyrologii Tamlachtensis ecgrapho lauda-
Mayuir Martylologiis, ho. de dcscriptus. " Article iv. — ' In his work, "De Sco-
toram Pietale," lib. iii.
'
Article in. Colgan's
tus a Annot. Colgano,
See "Trias
"
Thaumaturga. Stptinia Vita S. Patricii,
pars, ii. , cap. ix. , p. 130.
'. Ste lihi. Qiiinia Appendix ad Acta . S.
Patricii, cap. x. \i. i. , p. 266. There, however,
104
Jocelinum, ut
3
See idid. Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap.
xciii. , p. 86, and n. 104, p, 113.
< See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. ii. , p. 1107, and n. (o). 5 It is shown, in the barony of Clonlonan,
"
on the
for the County ol Westmeath," sheets 29, 30, 35, 36. Fariirum townland is on sheets 29. 35-
Ordnance Survey 'I'ownland Maps
"" bee "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
iii. , Aprilis XX vii. Among the pretermitted saints,
ad
in illo, vel saltern in Marimi Gormani ac
:
abest a nostro
April 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 515
of April. About his time and place, we are uninformed. However, on this
day was celebrated a festival, in honour of Ultan, brother of Fursa, as we find
recorded, in the Martyrology of Donegal. " At the ist of May, and at the
31st of October, there are more particular notices of St. Fursey's^ martyred brother St. Ultan.
Article VI. —St. Leccax, Bishop. To bishops are specially recom-
mendedthedutyandpracticeofpreachingGod'sholyword. Thescriptural recommendations come with ten-fold force from those, who put the most diffi- cult of them into a daily exercise, and who acquire them by habit. Accord- ing to the Martyrology of Donegal," veneration was given on this day to Leccan, a Bishop, who faithfully fultilled his varied duties.
Article VII. —St. Baain. Veneration was paid to Baain, at this date,
as we find recorded, in the published Martyrology of Tallagh. ' A similar entry is in the Franciscan copy. "
ArticleVIII. —St. Furudrain. Afestival,inhonourofFurudrain,is
set down, in the published Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 27th of April. In the Franciscan copy, we have a similar reading. "
Article IX —St. Fergusa.
name is said to be drawn from a stone said to be remaining there as a monument which hath the form of the letter /, and is reported to have been cast in that place, by the great Irish champion Phuon M. ic Coole. Where- upon from L anil Piiuon the place took its
*" According to Jocelyn's Vita S. Patricii, cap. cvi. , p. 8g.
•5 This IS the "Rath-Cunga, in Campo- Sereth," mentioned by Tirechan, in his Life of St Patrick.
" Formerly Tir-Aodha territory.
*' See Rev. Dr. Lan ' ' Ecclesiastical gan's
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect,
first and then cor- 3' it stood in the very middle of the tnwn.
denomination ruptly Elphin. "
Elphuon
3'
stone fell in his own time, and that it stood O'Dugain and of Giolla na Naoimh over the well of Elphin. O'Huidhrin," edited by Dr. O'Donovan,
Roderick O'Flaherty states, that this
" By Rev. Dr. Lanigan. p. zxx.
<3 The Book oT Armagh, in narrating this,
vi. , pp. 340, 341. *" •'
. "iee The topographical Poems of John
April 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 511
his monks resolved to spend their days with St. Ascicus, so long as he con- tinued in this life. Here, also, tiiere is a conical hill, locally known by the name of Racoon, the apex of which is entrenciied like a rath, and it contains an ancient cemeterv. This is now used, but only for the interment of unbap- tized children. It lies within tlie townland Ballymagroarty, in the parish of Drumhome. 5° The king of that country gave to St. Ascicus, and to his monks after his death, the pasture of one hundred cows, with their calves, and also twenty oxen, as a perpetual offering. After their master's death, the monks built a monastery at Rath Cunga, wherein they served Almighty God, in jus- tice and in sanctity. '' The church built there was regarded as belonging to St. Patrick, the master and patron of Ascicus. s' It lay within the diocese of
Raphoe, and within the territory of Tyrconnell. 'J
The present holy Bishop must have died, before the close of the
fifth century, in Dr. Lanigan's opinion ; and, he throws out a conjec- ture, that this saint may have been identical with Assanus, whose feast
is assigned to the 27th of April. 5« His disciples buried St. Assicus, in Rath-Cunga,55 and there, too, his remains were honourably pre-
served. On this day, also, our saint is honoured, as patron of Elphin dio- cese, and there his festival is celebrated as a Double of the first-class, with an octave. It is a Duplex Major, for the rest of Ireland. The remains of St. Ascicus were preserved in Rath-Cunga, when the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick had been written. To the Irish Apostle, also, belongs that church, upon which thepeopleofColum-CilleandofArd-Srathas*hadthenencroached. Itissome- what strange, that there is no mention of a festival in honour of St. Ascicus, in
the published edition of Tallagh Martyrology, at the 27th of April. " This elicits the observation,'' that we can hardly help suspecting, that Assicus and ThassachusS' of Rathcolpa,*° now Raholp. county of Down, were one and the same. '' It is remarked, by Colgan,*' that the Natalis of Ascicus cannot be found in the Irish Martyrologies, although the name be thus written in the ActsofSt. Patrick. But,heconjectures,thatasoursaintwasamanofgreat sanctity, his name ought not be omitted from the calendars, and it is most pro- bably found under some different spelling. He supposes, that our saint was identical with that Assanus, whose feast occurs, at the 27th of April, according to Marianus O'Gorman and to the Martyrology of Donegal ; or perhaps, he was the Ossin venerated, at the istof May, or at the iQth of July. Father Henry
"
5° See Rev. Dr. Keeves' Adamnan's Life of . St. Columba," n. (e). p 38.
''See Co'gan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
" See " Tiias Colgan's
&c. , where are the names p. xxii. ,
Thaumaturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. , cap. xl. ,
Saints,"
of the four saints, wliose festivais are set down at this day, and no one of these names can he resoived intothat of St. Ascius. On the d. iy preiious, there is an"Asaoch"or "Isaac,' li/V/. , pp. xxii. 2. It may be aslted, if there be any affinity or identity discover- able in it.
=' From Rev. Dr. Todd,
59 See a notice of him, at the 14th of this montli.
** Both were workers in metals for St. Patrick.
' See "The Hook of Obits and Martyr- olo^yofthe Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity, commonly called Christ Church, Dublin," &c. . Edited by John Clarke Crosihwaite, A. M. , and Rev. Dr. James
llenthorn Todd, D. D. , Introduction, p. xiii , and n (p).
" See "Tnas Thaumaturga," Vita Sexta S. Patricii, n. 122, p. 114.
p. 135.
Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. cvi. , cvii. , pp. 89, 90.
V See Uid. , Septima V^ita S. Patricii, pars. ii. , cap. xl. , p. 135.
SJ See /*;</, n. 79, p. 176.
'* See Rev. Dr.
History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, viii. , sect. xiii. , p. 418.
's See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Septim. ! Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. , cap. xl. , p. 135. St. Bite was also burie<l there, with five other B;shops. See n. 79, p. 176.
* Now a parish church, but formerly, it was a cathedral, at Ardstraw, near Strabane, in the county of Tv rone.
" See Rev. Dr. Kelly's "Calendar of Irish
Lanigan's
" Ecclesiastical
'^ See Catalogus aliquorum Sanctorum
S" LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 27.
Fitzsimon includes St. Ascitis, Bishop, in his Catalogue,*3 but he gives not a dayfortliefeast. IntheparishofBandon,thereisanolddisusedgraveyard, called Killhassan. A conjecture is offered, that it may have been called after St. Hassan, or Hassa, St. Patrick's artificer. The low wall of an old church, in the centre, measures about 42 feet, by 14, in the clear. The remains are ofrudematerial,andcoveredwithanet-workofbrambles. Thisspotlies three miles west from Bandon. *'* Further particulars for record we cannot find, to illustrate the acts of the primitive and venerable Bishop, who is
special patron of Elphin diocese.
Article II. —St. Assan, Patron of Raheny Church, County of Dublin. Several Irish saints are only recollected by name, in various locali- ties, and where, not even the time when they flourished is now known, nor the vestige of an ancient church can be found, and associated with their memory. The BoUandists,' quoting the Martyrologies of Tallagh and of Marianus O'Gorman, notice a feast for St. Assanus, at the 27th of April. This may be theLatinizedformforOissin—averycommonIrishname. Whetherhebe identical or not with Assicus, bishop and patron of Elphin diocese, may be questioned ; although Colgan hazards a conjecture to this effect, and the BoUandists have a nearly similar remark. = We learn from Arch-
bishop Alan's3 Register,4 that a church at Raheny, which formerly belonged to the Prior and Convent of the Holy Trinity at Dublin, was after-
wards exchanged, and that it went under the jurisdiction of St. Mary's Con- vent,nearDublin. s Yet,wefindtherenonoticeofapatronsaint,forthe church ; nor is this much to be wondered at, since the original sacred build- ing at Raheny perished,* when that district passed under the domination of the Northmen rule, in and near Dublin. It must be observed, likewise, that after the Anglo-Norman invasion,' several new religious establishments, in the Diocese of Dublin, displaced more ancient ones. Then, also, new patrons were substituted for the old Irish ones, so as completely to obliterate even the traces of our early Christian history. Thetownland of Ratheny, no doubt, takes its name from a conspicuous rath,^ which has been curtailed of its former dimensions ; and, through Raheny passes a stream, anciently called, as we are told, Skillings Glas. Between the Protestant Church and the Railway Station
Hibernioe, in O'SuUivan Scare's " Historise Catholica; Ibt-rniae Compendium," tomiis i. , lib. iv. , cap. xii. , p. 52.
'* The foregoing information was given, in a letter to the author, from Rev. John Lyons, C. C. , and headed, Bandon, November loth, 1882.
AuTiCLE n. — ' See "Acta Sanctorum, tonius iii. , Aprilis xxvii. Among the pre-
termitted saints, p. 475.
= See ''Trias Thaumaturga, Vita Sexta
S. Patricii, n. 122, p. 114.
5 An account of John Alan, or Allen, who
ruled as Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, from A. D. 152810 1534. will be found in Harris Wave, vol. i. , Archbishops of Dublin, pp. 346 to 348. Besides the " Repertorium Viride," he compiled the "Liber Niger seu Registrum Johaunis Alani," to which some additions seem to have been made, A fur- ther account of these Records will be seen, in the Introduclion to this work, sect, vii. , nn. 215, 216.
* There is a folio paper Manuscript, in the Royal Irish Academy, which is a copy of Repertorium Viride Johannis Septimi Archi- episcopi Duljliniensis agnomine Alanus. This transcript is traced, it is said, in Gene- ral Vallancey's handwriting.
5 See ibid. p. ig,
'We are informed, that Gilcolm was the owner of Ratheny, previously to the Anglo- Norman invasion, and that, probably, he be- longed to the Irish family 01 Mac Gilla Col- mac. See Right Rev. Patrick F. Moran's new edition of Archdall's " Monasticon Hibernicum," vol. i. , p. 307, n. 15.
' By a grant from the Earl of Strongbow, Vivian De Cursun acquired the lands of
Ratheny, and in I2I0, John De Coursun, Lord of Ratheny and Kilbarrack, was slain by the sons of Hugh De Lasci and Walter, LordofMeath. ' Seeibid.
"
*
See John D'Alton's "History of Dro-
gheda," &c. , vol. i. Introductory Memoir, p. Ixxv.
April 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. S13
was St. Ossan's well, reputed holy, but it is now covered up in the field; how- ever, an ash tree and a depression there mark its site. The writer of a note, in Right Rev. Patrick F. Moran's edition of Archdall's work,9 states, that a Bishop Ossan, connected witli the monastery of St. Fintan Munnu, son of Tulcan,wasthePatronSaintofRatheny. '° Hediedintheyear683,"but we have great doubt, that he had been the Ossen associated with Ratheny. In the year 1859, the first movement took place for the erection of a new CatholicChurchatRaheny,inthecountyofDublin. Sincethetimesofreli- gious persecution commenced, no building to supply a local want, which had been long felt, was in existence. Within a i^^ years, however, a convenient and handsome rural church was erected, to the honour of St. Assan, for that
St. . Asian's Catholic Church, Raheny.
suburbanvillage,withintheCatholicunionofClontarfParish. " ThePro- testant church there stands on a rising ground,'3 and it had been rebuilt in I722. '* ItwasoriginallydedicatedtoSt. Assan. 's Alocaltraditionhaspre- vailed, and the origin for which cannot now be traced, that he had been a saint, venerated in the neighbourhood ; and, to preserve his memory, it was resolved to place the new Catholic church under his patronage. The Very Rev. Canon Rooney, V. F. , and P. P. , of Clontarf, aided by the zealous exer- tions of his worthy curate,'* erected this neat and picturesque Gothic struc-
' . See "Monasticon Hibemicum. " vol. i. ,
p. 307, n. 15.
'° " In the ' Neamshencus Lebhar Breac '
there is a reference to St. Ossan ; Beoan and Oisan, i. e. , the sons of Athracht at Rath Ossain, and at Rath—Athracht, besides Ath Truitntothewest. " Ihid.
photograph taken in May, 1883, by Mr. Joseph Dollard, jun. , Raheny Park, has been drawn on the wood, by William F. Wakeman, and it was engraved, by Mrs. Millard.
'3 A churchyard, bordered by several very ancient trees, surrounds it. An ancient rath
" See William M.
cum Scotoruni," pp. lo8, 109.
" Chroni-
opposite.
'• This a stone inserted in the wall indi-
Hennessy's
"The accompanying illustration, from a Vol. IV. —No. 9.
is
cates.
'5 See John D'Alton's " History of the
K I
5'4 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [April 27.
tare. '' In July, 1864, the new building was dedicated, by the Most Rev. Paul Cullen, Arch. bisliop of Dublin, and afterwards Cardinal. The Lord Mayor
of Dublin for that year,'' with several distinguished persons, lay and clerical, assistedatthesacredceremony. ThenameofAssanoccursintheMartyr-
ology of Donegal,'9 as having been venerated, on this day. In the Table or Appendix to this Martyrology, the name has been rendered into the Latin
Aazanus. =° equivalent, Also,
in the Irish
to be found in the — Calendar, Library
oftheRoyalIrishAcademy,wemeet,atthev. oftheMayKalends April
='
27th—thesimpleentryofAssan, butnoplaceforhispatronageisassigned.
We have not been able to glean any further relative particulars.
Article III. —St. Lugadius. Lugad. us is called the son of Ercus, in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick. ' He is classed among the disciples of the latter holy m;in. ^ He is said to have been one of the disciples and clerics of our national Apostle, according to tlie Life written by Jocelyn. 3 He became bishop over Fordhriim, now Fardrum,* parish of Kilcleagh,5 in the county of Westmeath. The BoUandists^ notice iiim, at this date, as if it were his festival. '
Article IV. — Festival of St. Florentin, Confessor. {Twelfth or Thirteaitlt Ceiilii? -y. '\ Already some notices of this holy man are set down, at the i8th of this month, which is regarded as his chief feast day, according to Camerarius, who also marks it at the present date. " We find other accounts
ofhim,intheworkofThomasDempster. ' TheBollandistshadhopesof procuring some information about him, from the village of Bonnet, in the diocese of Toul, where his relics had been preserved ; but, not succeeding to the full extent of their wishes, they preferred placing him in the supplement to their work, lor the month of January. While Dempster has it, that iiis feast was kept at Langres, in Champagne, on the 14th or i6th of January, the Bol- landists enter one for the 2;th of April. 3
Article V. —St. Ultan, said to have been Brother of Fursa. The simple entry, Ultan, appears in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 27th
County of Dublin," pp. loS, io6.
" Tlie present Very Rev. Michael J.
Canon Bi. idy, P. P. , of Ballytore. In a letter fiom him, and dated from that place, M:irch I2th, the writer has obtained the de- tails here furni. ilied.
' Mr. Patrick Byrne was the architect, and Mr. Jolm Martin, ol Coolock, was the con- tractor. The building cost ^£'1. 400.
^ The Right Hon. Peter P. iui M'Swiney.
•' Edited by IJrs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 112, 113.
'« ^eeiiid. , pp. 354. 355-
" Thus, AffAfl. See "Common Place
his feast is assigned to April 17—probably a misprint for 27.
P- 475- "'"
Book F. p. 41, belonging to the Irish Ord-
nance Survt-y col—lection.
They also remark
Martyrologii Tamlachtensis ecgrapho lauda-
Mayuir Martylologiis, ho. de dcscriptus. " Article iv. — ' In his work, "De Sco-
toram Pietale," lib. iii.
'
Article in. Colgan's
tus a Annot. Colgano,
See "Trias
"
Thaumaturga. Stptinia Vita S. Patricii,
pars, ii. , cap. ix. , p. 130.
'. Ste lihi. Qiiinia Appendix ad Acta . S.
Patricii, cap. x. \i. i. , p. 266. There, however,
104
Jocelinum, ut
3
See idid. Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap.
xciii. , p. 86, and n. 104, p, 113.
< See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. ii. , p. 1107, and n. (o). 5 It is shown, in the barony of Clonlonan,
"
on the
for the County ol Westmeath," sheets 29, 30, 35, 36. Fariirum townland is on sheets 29. 35-
Ordnance Survey 'I'ownland Maps
"" bee "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
iii. , Aprilis XX vii. Among the pretermitted saints,
ad
in illo, vel saltern in Marimi Gormani ac
:
abest a nostro
April 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 515
of April. About his time and place, we are uninformed. However, on this
day was celebrated a festival, in honour of Ultan, brother of Fursa, as we find
recorded, in the Martyrology of Donegal. " At the ist of May, and at the
31st of October, there are more particular notices of St. Fursey's^ martyred brother St. Ultan.
Article VI. —St. Leccax, Bishop. To bishops are specially recom-
mendedthedutyandpracticeofpreachingGod'sholyword. Thescriptural recommendations come with ten-fold force from those, who put the most diffi- cult of them into a daily exercise, and who acquire them by habit. Accord- ing to the Martyrology of Donegal," veneration was given on this day to Leccan, a Bishop, who faithfully fultilled his varied duties.
Article VII. —St. Baain. Veneration was paid to Baain, at this date,
as we find recorded, in the published Martyrology of Tallagh. ' A similar entry is in the Franciscan copy. "
ArticleVIII. —St. Furudrain. Afestival,inhonourofFurudrain,is
set down, in the published Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 27th of April. In the Franciscan copy, we have a similar reading. "
Article IX —St. Fergusa.
