After the middle
of this century, a discussion and two learned Treatises appeared, regarding the precedency of their respective sees, on the part of Dr.
of this century, a discussion and two learned Treatises appeared, regarding the precedency of their respective sees, on the part of Dr.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
" This was issued at Rome, a.
d.
1731 in sixteen folio volumes, with additions and supplements, by Joseph Fonseca ab Ebora, an Observantin Francis-
"
to prepare in alphabetical order an
Saint- Antoine de Padoue a Louvain," § vii. ,
pp. 42 to 45.
'^ An opinion seems to prevail, that since
the foundation of the Belgian Kingdom, the Franciscan Convent at Wexford received
Opera R. Patris Fr. Francisci Haroldi, Hi- berni, L mericensis. In this, Wadding's labours are justly extolled,
"' They are now accessible in the Fran-
ciscan Lil)rary, Merchants'-quay, Dublin, '* A few leaves of MS. are in tiie end of
the last volume, giving the titles of 132 books, which had been lost or missing from the St. Isidore Library,
"^ The scribe adds, on the concluding
Secanicus, patria Bisuntinus, patris Wad- ingi scriptor. " Then follows the date, as well as the note, and in a sort of eccentric arrangement of letters and umueriiL,
several books and M. SS. , par'aaps
formerly belonging to the Franciscan College, Loa- vain. An Irish friar, it is said, removed these
literary treasures. See
"
Proceedings of
the Royal Irish Academy," vol. vi. , pp.
"Hunc librum magno conscripsi
INTRODUCriON. Ivii
served there, but ultimately some were removed to St. Isidore's Franciscan Convent, Rome, while others were transferred to the Bur^^undian Library,
Bruxelles. Itisprobable,thatsomeweresentelsewhere,"-*andmanyarepos- sibly lost. During the last century, the Irish Franciscans abandoned their historic convent of St. Anthony, and left Louvain.
The library of the Irish Franciscans, at St. Isidore's Convent, Rome,
had been assigned as one to be specially consulted by the Congregation of Sacred Rites, in reference to the canonization of saints. The illustrious Franciscan Father Luke Wadding engaged his nephew Father Francis Harold
"
Index Sanctorum" of all holy men, known to have existed to that time, and from the earliest ages, in every countryontheglobe. "s Undertheirrespectivenames,referenceswereto be given to various writers in the Isidore Library, who treated about them. Thiswasmethodicallyperformed. Thevariousslipswerestrungonthreads, and when this task had been laboriously accomplished by Harold, a com- petent scribe was ready to transfer to their proper double columns, those names and references, into two large and very thick folio paper volumes. Pope Alexander '^li. , who saw this M3. , was greatly pleased with the per- formance. "^ These manuscripts are bound in vellum, but unfortunately some pages of the second volume have been nibbled through by mice. "' The first volume contains 794 written pages, as the writer has counted them ; it commences with the letter A, and the word Aaron, while it ends with the letter H, and the word Hypatii. The second volume has 836 written pages,
as counted ; it commences with the letter I, and the word lachelinse, while it ends with the letter Z, and the word Zozimi. On an average, each page, in both volumes, contains ten to twelve names. Many of these belong to Irish saints, and hence its value for purposes of reference must be apparent. "^
This transcript of Harold's notes appears to have been finished in 1647. "' AWatenbrdmm,namedJohnHartrey, becameaCistercianMonkin the Abbey of Nucale, in Spain, where in religion he took the name of Francis.
He returned to Ireland and resided in the Abbey of Holy Cross, county of
95» 96, 106.
"S Wadding ordered a copy to be made crede labore ego loannes Thierry incola
for himself.
"' See Harold's "Vita Fr. Lucjb Wad-
dingi," cap. Ivi. , p. 43, prefixed to his "Epitome Annalium^ Ordinis Minorum. "
page :
Iviii
INTRODUC2I0N.
Tipperary.
In the
year 1640,
he commenced a
work, intituled,
"
Chronologica de Csenobio S. Crucis, Sacrae Ordinis Cistertiensis in Hibernia ;
in quibus plura a salutifero S. Crucis ligno patrata Miracula, aliaque memo-
ratu desiderata illustrantur. "'3o it ^as a small folio MS. on vellum, toler-
ably well adorned and illuminated. It had a preface, dedication and com-
mendatory verses prefixed, as if intended for publication. In 1649, he wrote
"
another work,
Hibernorum Cislertientium," the running title of which was " De Cistertien- tium viris illustribus. " It was also written on vellum. In the year 1733, Walter Harris had a loan of these tracts, bound together, from the officiating parish priest of Holy Cross Parish. 's^ Richard Archdeacon, born in Kil- kenny A. D. 1619, was a learned member of the Society of Jesus, and besides his theological works '3^ he wrote " Vitse et Miraculorum S. Patricii Hibernise Apostoli Epitome," published at Louvain, a. d. 1671. '33 He died at Antwerp, about 1 690. ^34
Among the most learned men of his age must ever be ranked James Ussher, who was born in Dublin, a. d. 1580, who was educated in the newly founded Trinity College, and who afterwards became successively Protestant
BishopofMeath,andArchbishopofArmagh. Passingoverhisotherliterary labours, as irrelevant to our scope, we must especially notice the valuable mass of material for the diligent investigator of earlier Irish records in his " Veterum Epistolarum Hibernicarum Sylloge,"'35 and in his " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates. " '33 These works throw great light on the early history of the British and Irish Churches, and they have been frequently ex- amined and quoted for our purpose. Certain theories and inferences, which had their origin, rather in the peculiar bias of this celebrated writer's mind, thaninaperfectconceptionorarrayoffacts,mustbedoubted. Incidents connected with the establishment and progress of Christianity in our island, and illustrating our national saints' acts, have been confined, for the most part,totheconcludingchaptersofhiswork. Theybearonlyaminorpro- portion of historic data to his previous chapters. The appended Chronolo- gical Index is exceedingly valuable, and it has been so arranged as to afford great assistance to the student or compiler of our earlier ecclesiastical annals.
Considering the want of ready guidance and the period when Ussher was
'30 On the 2ist of July, 1752, this work »33 in 8vo shape,
was in possession of Rev. John Dorrony, '34 See some particulars regarding him Parish Priest of Holy Cross, as stated by in Rev. George Oliver's "Collections
Synopsis nonnullorum Sanctorum illustriumq ; Monachorum
the Most Rev. James Butler, Archbishop, in his Visitation Book of the Archdiocese. See
Limerick Reporter of February i8th, 1873.
towards illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English, and Irish Members of the
Society of Jesus," p. 213.
'3S PubUshed at Dublin in 1653, as a thin
quarto.
'3* This was first published in Dublin A. D.
1639 in 410 shape, and afterwards as a folio volume iu London A. D. 16S7.
"
ters of Ireland," book i. , chap, xiv. , p. 125.
"
'3* Sec
tatis Jesu," &c. , a Nathanaele Sotvello, ejusdem Societatis Fresbytero, p. 71S.
'3» See Harris' Ware. Vol. iii. ,
Wri-
Bibliotheca Scriptorum Socie-
Triumphalia
INTRODUCTION. llx
enabled to print this volume, sound and critical judgment exercised through- out his entire work must always make it be regarded as a truly researchful ac- cession to our historical literature. It has preserved for us, likewise, many important particulars regarding this island's early state, and which might not otherwise be transmitted to our time. It may almost seem uncalled for to express an opinion, that with better care and greater revision bestowed on his great work, Ussher might have corrected many errors, digested more care- fully abundant disposable materials, and improved its style or arrangement, in a great variety of instances. When objectionable remarks must be re* futed, in subsequent pages of these volumes, special examination and obser- vationsaremade,inaccordwiththedesignandscopeofourwork. Besides his great volume, Ussher's smaller treatises, in which he has preserved a col- lection of ancient pieces, on matters connected with Ireland's ecclesiastical
history,areveryinteresting,althoughofsomewhatlesserimportance. These relate to the condition and habits of the early Irish. '3? After an extremely
chequered career, Ussher died at Rygate, Surrey, on the 21st of March, a. d.
1655, in his seventy-sixth year, and he was buried in Henry Seventh's Chapel, Westminster Abbey. '^s
Not less were those services rendered to our history and antiquities, in that century, by the learned, honest and painstaking Sir James Ware, who was bom in Castle-street, Dublin, a. d. 1594. Educated in Trinity College, he soon became a distinguished and diligent student, as also a great collector of records and manuscripts, both in Ireland and in England. In 1626, he
"
published at Dublin, a tract,'39 intituled,
et Tuamensium Vitae, duobus expressae Commentariis. " Again, in 1828, he
Archiepiscoporum Cassiliensium " De Praesulibus sive Provinciae Liber unus. "'*°
issued, Lageniae,
Dubliniensis,
Under the more
" De Praesulibus
he included both
Hibernise,"
caused much interruption to his historic pursuits for some years. His work, " De Hibernia et Antiquitatibus ejus Disquisitiones," appeared at London,
general title,
theforegoingtreatises,inonebook. In1639,hepublished,"DeScriptoribus Hibernis. " Libri Duo. Prior continet Scriptores in Hibernia natos; Pos- terior Scriptores alios, qui in Hibernia munera aliqua obierunt. '*^ The dis- turbed state of affairs, his official situation, in Ireland, and exile abroad,
'37 A very complete edition of Ussher's works, in seventeen octavo volumes, edited by Dr. £lrington, has been issued from the University Press, at Trinity College, Dublin. A life is prefixed. This edition issued be- tween A. D. 1847 and 1864.
Bishop of Armagh, Primate and Metropoli' tan of all Ireland. " Parr wras chaplain and literary executor for Ussher, at the time of his death. This edition is illustrated with a collection of 300 letters between the Pri- mate and some of the most eminent of his
'3^ His life has been written by his chap- contemporaries at home and abroad. It
lain Dr. Nicholas Bernard, and by Dr. was published at London, in folio, A. D. Thomas Smith of Oxford. The life of 1686.
'^' This was published in quarto shape at
Archbishop Ussher, by Dr. Richard Parr,
his chaplain, is the Inography best known.
It is intituled, "Life of the Most Reverend
Father in God, James Usher, late Lord Dublin.
'^9 in quarto shape, '*"' In quarto size.
ix introduction:
A. D. 1654. '''' He published a second, or corrected, and an enlarged edition of this work, at London, a. d. 1658. '43 in the year 1656, he published the
works ascribed to St. under this Patrick,
"
Sancto
qui Hibernos ad Fidera Christi convertit Adscripta, in lucem emisit, et notis illustravit," Jacobus Waraeus, Eques auratus. '** At the Restoration of Charles II. , Sir James Ware returned to Ireland. He published some
pieces
of the Venerable
Bede,
under this
title,
Epistolse duae; necnon Vitae Abbatum Wiremuthensium et Gerwiensiura.
Accessit Egberti, Archiepiscopi Eboracensis, Dialogus de Ecclesiastica In-
stitutione ; ex Antiquis MS. in lucem emisit et Notis ad Rem Historicam et
Antiquariam spectandbus illustravit," Jacobus Waraeus, Eques auratus. ^^s
This same year, he published, "Rerum Hibernicarum Annales Regnantibus
Henrico VII. , Henrico VIII. , Edwardo VI. et Maria, ab anno (scil. ) Domini
1485 ad Annum 1558. " »46 Lastly, he issued at Dublin, a. d. 1665, the folio
volume "DePraesulibusHiberniaeCommentarius aPrimaGentis intituled, ;
Hibernicae ad Fidem Christianara Conversione, ad nostra usque Tempora. '' Sir James Ware always kept an Irish scribe in his house to interpret and copy Irish documents. The celebrated antiquary and genealogist, Dudley Mac Firbis, served him in that office, at the time of his death. '^^ Tnis happened on the 1st of December, a. d. 1666, having just entered on his seventy-ihird year. At great expense, Sir James Ware collected several valuable Irish historical manuscripts. These fell into the hands of Earl Clarendon, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in the reign of James II. They were brought into England afterwards,andtheresoldtotheDukeofChandos. '*^ Amongtheworksal- ready enumerated, the lives of the bishops and writers of Ireland especially have afforded us no inconsiderable aid, as the Irish sainis are frequently ranked under either class. Sir James Ware's moderated judgment, impartiality, perspicuityofstyleandarrangementaregreatlytobeadmired. Atatime when Ireland's national literature had been consigned to manuscript, which could only be reproduced by much expense and exertion, Archbishop Ussher and Sir James Ware'*^ became Anglo-Irish historical pioneers, and but
'** In 8vo size. In this, too, he included a tract, previously published, "Caeaobia
"
Cistertientia Hibernise.
'43 It was issued in 8vo size. To it he
Annals of Henry Eighth's reign,
'^' An account of this learned Irish scho*
lar and his writings will be found in Pro-
*'
Lectures on the Manu- script Materials of Ancient Irish History," Henrico Vil. Annales nunc primum in lect. vi. , pp. 120 to 130. See, likewise,
added, " Rerum Hibernicarum Regnante
lucem editi. "
'*• Issued in London, 8vo. See Thomas
D'Arcy M'Gee's" Gallery of Irish Writers,"
Thomas
D'Arcy
M'Gee's " of Irish Gallery
Writers," pp. 103 to iii.
'« "
See Harris' Ware. Vol. iii. , Wri-
ters of Ireland," book i. , chap, xiv. , pp. 145 to 157.
'*' It is much to be that Harris regretted,
had not more completely and judiciously
translated and edited his works in the suc- introduced again in this volume ; and in ceeding century. The additional and im- X662, he had printed in a separate 8vo the portant matter, often introduced by the editor,
pp. 731082.
'« This appeared at Dublin.
•4* This folio work was
in Dub-
published
lin. Previously, he had published the Annals of Henry Seventh's reign, which he
title,
Patricio,
fessor O'Curry's
Opuscula
in " Venerabilis Bedae 1664,
INTR OD UCTION. Ixi
for their efforts, many precious fragments and records must undoubtedly have been lost. Only a small portion of some documents, then existing, have been preserved. Both writers had access to the most important public and
private records, while their patient, laborious research and literary zeal urged them to arrange and publish important historic materials. In Father John
Colgan's frequent references to their published works, and as representing the great degree of credit attaching to them, our national hagiographer im.
plied,morefrequentlythanexpressed,hisobligations. Heoftenquotesthose writers as standard authorities for many of his statements.
After the middle
of this century, a discussion and two learned Treatises appeared, regarding the precedency of their respective sees, on the part of Dr. Oliver Plunkett,
Archbishop of Armagh'^" and of Dr. Peter Talbot, Archbishop of Dublin. 's^ Indeed, notwithstanding the civil disturbances of this period, the people of
Ireland, during the seventeenth century, arc praised for the prevalence among them of learning and morals by a contemporary writer. '5» This was certainly
an age of national scholarship.
Section V. —Irish Hagiologists of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.
The eighteenth century—a depressing period—was rather barren in the production of Irish historical works, both at home and abroad. Besides
wrote "
dium Annalium Ecclesiasticorum Regni Hiberniae,"' in which he treats of
'*
Opus-
hardly compensates for his defective arrange- Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all ment and many incongruous observations. Ireland. " Dublin, i86r. 8vo.
some controversial Father PYancis pieces.
Porter, O. S. F. ,'
Compen-
Irish saints, churches, and monasteries. Another work of his was,
culum Contra Vulgares quasdam Prophetias de Electionibus Summorum Pontificum S. Malachiae, Archiepiscopo Armachano, Hiberniae Primati, Legato Apostolico, hactenus falso attributas j Gallice primum editum, nunc novis Supplementis auctum, et in Latinum Idioma translatum : Adjunctis celebrium Authorum refiectionibus et judiciis de Abbatis Joachimi Vaticiniis, ejusqueSpirituProphetico. "3 ThiswriterwasaProfessorofDivinityand
Without the requisite marks of division, Harris frequently leaves the reader in doubt, as to whether he is perusing the editor's statements, or the opinions of his original author, Sir James Ware.
'SO The reader is referred to Very Rev.
"
Laurence F. Renehan's Collections on
Irish Church History," vol. i. , pp. 63 to 79, for a further account of this celebrated
'5« See an account ol this prelate and of his
writings, in John JJ' Alton's "Memoirs of
the Archbishops of Dublin," pp. 430 to 446.
»S3 See " Itinerarium" R. D. Thomze Carve
Tipperariensis, &c. , Pars, i. , cap. iv. , p. 34.
SECTION v. —' He was bom in the county of Meath.
and The most martyred prelate.
* This was at published
in a quarto volume.
Rome, A. t>. 1690,
complete and learned biography published, however, is the Rt. Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's
^ This was published at Rome, A. D. 1698, in au octavo volume.
"
Memoirs of the Most Rev. Oliver Plunket,
ixii introduction:
President of St. Isidore's College, Rome, where he Hved a long time. He died there, on the 7th of April, 1 702. * The Rev. Cornelius Nary, bom in
the county of Kildare, about the year 1658, was distinguished as a contro- versialwriter; buthealsowrote"ABriefHistoryofSt. Patrick'sPurgatory,"^
besides a " New History of the World, according to the Computation of the Septuagint. "^ He died the Parish Priest of St. Michan, Dublin, on the 3rd of March, 1738. Towards the close of the seventeenth century, the learned Roderick O'Flaherty produced some most elaborate treatises, in rela- tion to Irish history and topography. Born about the year 1629, at Galway, where he had been educated, fiora an early age he became a distinguished cultivator of antiquarian studies. His first literary production was a " Letter on the Chronology of Irish History," addressed to Dr. John Lynch. This was afterwards revised and to his " seu Rerum Hiberni-
these were his " De- Chorographical
prefixed Ogygia,
carum Chronologia," published at London, a. d. , 1685. 7 He left other
works in and manuscript,
notably among
scription of West or H-Iar Connaught, written a. d. , 1684," and also " Observa-
tions on Dr. Borlace's Reduction of Ireland. ^ He collected many Irish
manuscripts, but these he appears to have parted with, long before his death, as he felt the pressure of great poverty, consequent on the confiscation of his paternal estate. He died at Park, in the western part of Galway county, about the year 17 17. Long after his death, under the editorship of the
"
Venerable Charles O'Conor, a work of his,
Objections of Sir George Mackenzie,"? appeared in 1775. Nor can we omit the names of Thomas De Burgo, Bishop of Ossory,'° of Walter Harris," of the Venerable Charles O'Conor," of Ballenagare, of Dr. Thomas Le-
* See Rev. J. M. Brenan's " Ecclesiasti- cal History of Ireland, from the Introduc- tion of Christianity into that country to the year M. DCCCXXix. " Eighteenth Century, chap, iii. , pp. 580, 581. New edition :
Dublin, 1864, 8vo.
5 Published in Dublin, 1718, l2mo.
'
Published in Dublin, 1 720, fol.
1 In quarto shape, and in Latin. It was translated into English, by the Rev. Mr. Hely. See Thomas D'Arcy M 'Gee's "Gal-
^
edited for the Irish Archaeological Society, in 1846, with valuable notes and illustra-
tions by James Hardiman, Esq. , M. R. I. A.
'° See an account of this learned man and his works in the Rev. M. J. Brenan's " Ec- clesiastical History of Ireland. " Eigh- teenth Century, chap, iii. , pp. 585 to 587. He was bom in Dublin about a. d. 1709, and he died at Kilkenny a. d. 1786.
of Irish Writers," 200 to lery pp.
his are noticed in W. B. S.
" His-
209,
Both of these have been published and
Taylor's
9 In his Preface to
it,
Charles O'Conor
to a highly respectable and ancient family
in He " Disserta- Connaught. published,
tions on the History of Ireland. " To which
"
The second edi- tion is dated Dublin, 1766, 8vo, and a,
gives some interesting particulars of the author, an account of whom, still more ex-
tended, from the pen of Mr. Hardiman, will
A Dissertation on the Irish Colonies established in Britain. With some Remarks on Mr. Mac Pherson's Translation
"
be found in his edition of the "
phical Description of West or H-IarCon- naught. " Appendix iii. , pp. 419 to 430.
Chorogra-
Ogygia Vindicated against the
" He was a native of Dublin, and a ne- phew to Sir James Ware, whose works he translated and edited in three large folio volumes, published in Dublin, before the middle of the last century.
tory of the University of Dublin," chap. vL,
§ iii. , pp. 427, 428.
'*
This excellent Irish scholar belonged
is subjoined
ofFingal and Temora.
Other works of
publication
third edition in like shape was there issued,
A. D. 1812. The author died 1st, 1791, July
in his eighty-second year. See Richard Ryan's "Biographical Dictionary of the Worthies of Ireland," vol, ii. , pp. 453, 454.
Century. " London : 1778. 2 vols. , 4to. He died in June, 1807. See Ryan's *' Bio- graphical Dictionary of the Worthies of Ire- land," vol. ii. , pp. 456, 457.
'* He was bom in Dublin, A. D. and 1723,
hediedA. D. 1791. See W. B. S. Taylor's
"History of the University of Dublin," chap, vi. , § iii. , pp. 422, 423. After his death was published an enlarged edition of Lodge's Peerage, in seven octavo volumes, Forty years he was engaged on the " Mo- nasticum Hibeinicum; or an History of the Abbies, Priories, and other Religious Houses in Ireland. " It was published at London,
a. d. 1786,inathick4tovolume. Seealso '•
Ryan's Biographical Dictionary of the Worthies of Ireland," vol i. , pp. 17 to 19.
'^ Editor of " The Irish Magazine. " See
volume for a. d. 1814, p. 528. The office
of his periodical was at No. 1 50 Abbey- street, iJublin. A very singular account of
613; vol. iv. , pp. 259 et seq. Dublin, i860, 8vo.
'3 Among his other works a
"
History of
INTRODUCTION. Ixiil
land,'3 of the Abbe Ma-Geoghegan,'* of Dr. Sylvester 0'Halloran,'s and of Rev. Mervyn Archdall,'^ with a few other writers. These have rendered some special services to our history.
In the beginning of this present century, a work was intended for issue,
" The Lives of the Saints of Ireland, com* piled from the works of the Venerated Father Colgan, of the Franciscan Order; asalsofromthelearnedDr. DeBurgo,BishopofOssor/sHistory of the Irish Dominicans, and from other Catholic Hagiographers, and authors of equal estimation for orthodoxy and erudition. By a Catholic Divine. " It was announced, that this work was to be dedicated to the Catholics of Ireland, and to be published by the notorious and eccentric Walter Cox'7 The
and bearing the following title
:
:
werethusannounced "I. TheLivesoftheIrish
conditionsof
Saints will be printed in the octavo size. II. The history of each will be apportioned in extent to the rank and estimation of the Saint in the Catholic Church. III. Each life will be accompanied with notes, chiefly from Col- gan's works, for illustrating the saints' birth-place, nomenclature, festival day religious foundations, &c. IV. No Saint's Life shall be recorded or admitted in the work, but that of a native of Ireland. V. In arranging and publishing the work, each Saint's Life will be placed in succession, according to the order of its festival day in the Calendar, from the first of January to the year's end. VI. For the accommodation of pious Catholics, whose pecuniary resources are so limited, as to preclude the possibility of their purchasing
Ireland," with a Preliminary discourse, ap-
peared simultaneously in Dublin and Lon-
don, in three volumes, 4to, a. d. 1773. See
an account of this writer in W. B. S. Tay-
"
"
History of the University of Dublin,"
lor's
chap, vi. , § iii. , p. 422.
'^ His " Histoire de I'lrknde," appeared at Paris in 1758 and 1762, in two thick 4to volumes. The author was chaplain to the Irish troops in the service of France, and his work, written in the French Ian- guage, was found v. ry serviceable in fami- liarizing the people of that country with a knowledge of Irish History.
"
to prepare in alphabetical order an
Saint- Antoine de Padoue a Louvain," § vii. ,
pp. 42 to 45.
'^ An opinion seems to prevail, that since
the foundation of the Belgian Kingdom, the Franciscan Convent at Wexford received
Opera R. Patris Fr. Francisci Haroldi, Hi- berni, L mericensis. In this, Wadding's labours are justly extolled,
"' They are now accessible in the Fran-
ciscan Lil)rary, Merchants'-quay, Dublin, '* A few leaves of MS. are in tiie end of
the last volume, giving the titles of 132 books, which had been lost or missing from the St. Isidore Library,
"^ The scribe adds, on the concluding
Secanicus, patria Bisuntinus, patris Wad- ingi scriptor. " Then follows the date, as well as the note, and in a sort of eccentric arrangement of letters and umueriiL,
several books and M. SS. , par'aaps
formerly belonging to the Franciscan College, Loa- vain. An Irish friar, it is said, removed these
literary treasures. See
"
Proceedings of
the Royal Irish Academy," vol. vi. , pp.
"Hunc librum magno conscripsi
INTRODUCriON. Ivii
served there, but ultimately some were removed to St. Isidore's Franciscan Convent, Rome, while others were transferred to the Bur^^undian Library,
Bruxelles. Itisprobable,thatsomeweresentelsewhere,"-*andmanyarepos- sibly lost. During the last century, the Irish Franciscans abandoned their historic convent of St. Anthony, and left Louvain.
The library of the Irish Franciscans, at St. Isidore's Convent, Rome,
had been assigned as one to be specially consulted by the Congregation of Sacred Rites, in reference to the canonization of saints. The illustrious Franciscan Father Luke Wadding engaged his nephew Father Francis Harold
"
Index Sanctorum" of all holy men, known to have existed to that time, and from the earliest ages, in every countryontheglobe. "s Undertheirrespectivenames,referenceswereto be given to various writers in the Isidore Library, who treated about them. Thiswasmethodicallyperformed. Thevariousslipswerestrungonthreads, and when this task had been laboriously accomplished by Harold, a com- petent scribe was ready to transfer to their proper double columns, those names and references, into two large and very thick folio paper volumes. Pope Alexander '^li. , who saw this M3. , was greatly pleased with the per- formance. "^ These manuscripts are bound in vellum, but unfortunately some pages of the second volume have been nibbled through by mice. "' The first volume contains 794 written pages, as the writer has counted them ; it commences with the letter A, and the word Aaron, while it ends with the letter H, and the word Hypatii. The second volume has 836 written pages,
as counted ; it commences with the letter I, and the word lachelinse, while it ends with the letter Z, and the word Zozimi. On an average, each page, in both volumes, contains ten to twelve names. Many of these belong to Irish saints, and hence its value for purposes of reference must be apparent. "^
This transcript of Harold's notes appears to have been finished in 1647. "' AWatenbrdmm,namedJohnHartrey, becameaCistercianMonkin the Abbey of Nucale, in Spain, where in religion he took the name of Francis.
He returned to Ireland and resided in the Abbey of Holy Cross, county of
95» 96, 106.
"S Wadding ordered a copy to be made crede labore ego loannes Thierry incola
for himself.
"' See Harold's "Vita Fr. Lucjb Wad-
dingi," cap. Ivi. , p. 43, prefixed to his "Epitome Annalium^ Ordinis Minorum. "
page :
Iviii
INTRODUC2I0N.
Tipperary.
In the
year 1640,
he commenced a
work, intituled,
"
Chronologica de Csenobio S. Crucis, Sacrae Ordinis Cistertiensis in Hibernia ;
in quibus plura a salutifero S. Crucis ligno patrata Miracula, aliaque memo-
ratu desiderata illustrantur. "'3o it ^as a small folio MS. on vellum, toler-
ably well adorned and illuminated. It had a preface, dedication and com-
mendatory verses prefixed, as if intended for publication. In 1649, he wrote
"
another work,
Hibernorum Cislertientium," the running title of which was " De Cistertien- tium viris illustribus. " It was also written on vellum. In the year 1733, Walter Harris had a loan of these tracts, bound together, from the officiating parish priest of Holy Cross Parish. 's^ Richard Archdeacon, born in Kil- kenny A. D. 1619, was a learned member of the Society of Jesus, and besides his theological works '3^ he wrote " Vitse et Miraculorum S. Patricii Hibernise Apostoli Epitome," published at Louvain, a. d. 1671. '33 He died at Antwerp, about 1 690. ^34
Among the most learned men of his age must ever be ranked James Ussher, who was born in Dublin, a. d. 1580, who was educated in the newly founded Trinity College, and who afterwards became successively Protestant
BishopofMeath,andArchbishopofArmagh. Passingoverhisotherliterary labours, as irrelevant to our scope, we must especially notice the valuable mass of material for the diligent investigator of earlier Irish records in his " Veterum Epistolarum Hibernicarum Sylloge,"'35 and in his " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates. " '33 These works throw great light on the early history of the British and Irish Churches, and they have been frequently ex- amined and quoted for our purpose. Certain theories and inferences, which had their origin, rather in the peculiar bias of this celebrated writer's mind, thaninaperfectconceptionorarrayoffacts,mustbedoubted. Incidents connected with the establishment and progress of Christianity in our island, and illustrating our national saints' acts, have been confined, for the most part,totheconcludingchaptersofhiswork. Theybearonlyaminorpro- portion of historic data to his previous chapters. The appended Chronolo- gical Index is exceedingly valuable, and it has been so arranged as to afford great assistance to the student or compiler of our earlier ecclesiastical annals.
Considering the want of ready guidance and the period when Ussher was
'30 On the 2ist of July, 1752, this work »33 in 8vo shape,
was in possession of Rev. John Dorrony, '34 See some particulars regarding him Parish Priest of Holy Cross, as stated by in Rev. George Oliver's "Collections
Synopsis nonnullorum Sanctorum illustriumq ; Monachorum
the Most Rev. James Butler, Archbishop, in his Visitation Book of the Archdiocese. See
Limerick Reporter of February i8th, 1873.
towards illustrating the Biography of the Scotch, English, and Irish Members of the
Society of Jesus," p. 213.
'3S PubUshed at Dublin in 1653, as a thin
quarto.
'3* This was first published in Dublin A. D.
1639 in 410 shape, and afterwards as a folio volume iu London A. D. 16S7.
"
ters of Ireland," book i. , chap, xiv. , p. 125.
"
'3* Sec
tatis Jesu," &c. , a Nathanaele Sotvello, ejusdem Societatis Fresbytero, p. 71S.
'3» See Harris' Ware. Vol. iii. ,
Wri-
Bibliotheca Scriptorum Socie-
Triumphalia
INTRODUCTION. llx
enabled to print this volume, sound and critical judgment exercised through- out his entire work must always make it be regarded as a truly researchful ac- cession to our historical literature. It has preserved for us, likewise, many important particulars regarding this island's early state, and which might not otherwise be transmitted to our time. It may almost seem uncalled for to express an opinion, that with better care and greater revision bestowed on his great work, Ussher might have corrected many errors, digested more care- fully abundant disposable materials, and improved its style or arrangement, in a great variety of instances. When objectionable remarks must be re* futed, in subsequent pages of these volumes, special examination and obser- vationsaremade,inaccordwiththedesignandscopeofourwork. Besides his great volume, Ussher's smaller treatises, in which he has preserved a col- lection of ancient pieces, on matters connected with Ireland's ecclesiastical
history,areveryinteresting,althoughofsomewhatlesserimportance. These relate to the condition and habits of the early Irish. '3? After an extremely
chequered career, Ussher died at Rygate, Surrey, on the 21st of March, a. d.
1655, in his seventy-sixth year, and he was buried in Henry Seventh's Chapel, Westminster Abbey. '^s
Not less were those services rendered to our history and antiquities, in that century, by the learned, honest and painstaking Sir James Ware, who was bom in Castle-street, Dublin, a. d. 1594. Educated in Trinity College, he soon became a distinguished and diligent student, as also a great collector of records and manuscripts, both in Ireland and in England. In 1626, he
"
published at Dublin, a tract,'39 intituled,
et Tuamensium Vitae, duobus expressae Commentariis. " Again, in 1828, he
Archiepiscoporum Cassiliensium " De Praesulibus sive Provinciae Liber unus. "'*°
issued, Lageniae,
Dubliniensis,
Under the more
" De Praesulibus
he included both
Hibernise,"
caused much interruption to his historic pursuits for some years. His work, " De Hibernia et Antiquitatibus ejus Disquisitiones," appeared at London,
general title,
theforegoingtreatises,inonebook. In1639,hepublished,"DeScriptoribus Hibernis. " Libri Duo. Prior continet Scriptores in Hibernia natos; Pos- terior Scriptores alios, qui in Hibernia munera aliqua obierunt. '*^ The dis- turbed state of affairs, his official situation, in Ireland, and exile abroad,
'37 A very complete edition of Ussher's works, in seventeen octavo volumes, edited by Dr. £lrington, has been issued from the University Press, at Trinity College, Dublin. A life is prefixed. This edition issued be- tween A. D. 1847 and 1864.
Bishop of Armagh, Primate and Metropoli' tan of all Ireland. " Parr wras chaplain and literary executor for Ussher, at the time of his death. This edition is illustrated with a collection of 300 letters between the Pri- mate and some of the most eminent of his
'3^ His life has been written by his chap- contemporaries at home and abroad. It
lain Dr. Nicholas Bernard, and by Dr. was published at London, in folio, A. D. Thomas Smith of Oxford. The life of 1686.
'^' This was published in quarto shape at
Archbishop Ussher, by Dr. Richard Parr,
his chaplain, is the Inography best known.
It is intituled, "Life of the Most Reverend
Father in God, James Usher, late Lord Dublin.
'^9 in quarto shape, '*"' In quarto size.
ix introduction:
A. D. 1654. '''' He published a second, or corrected, and an enlarged edition of this work, at London, a. d. 1658. '43 in the year 1656, he published the
works ascribed to St. under this Patrick,
"
Sancto
qui Hibernos ad Fidera Christi convertit Adscripta, in lucem emisit, et notis illustravit," Jacobus Waraeus, Eques auratus. '** At the Restoration of Charles II. , Sir James Ware returned to Ireland. He published some
pieces
of the Venerable
Bede,
under this
title,
Epistolse duae; necnon Vitae Abbatum Wiremuthensium et Gerwiensiura.
Accessit Egberti, Archiepiscopi Eboracensis, Dialogus de Ecclesiastica In-
stitutione ; ex Antiquis MS. in lucem emisit et Notis ad Rem Historicam et
Antiquariam spectandbus illustravit," Jacobus Waraeus, Eques auratus. ^^s
This same year, he published, "Rerum Hibernicarum Annales Regnantibus
Henrico VII. , Henrico VIII. , Edwardo VI. et Maria, ab anno (scil. ) Domini
1485 ad Annum 1558. " »46 Lastly, he issued at Dublin, a. d. 1665, the folio
volume "DePraesulibusHiberniaeCommentarius aPrimaGentis intituled, ;
Hibernicae ad Fidem Christianara Conversione, ad nostra usque Tempora. '' Sir James Ware always kept an Irish scribe in his house to interpret and copy Irish documents. The celebrated antiquary and genealogist, Dudley Mac Firbis, served him in that office, at the time of his death. '^^ Tnis happened on the 1st of December, a. d. 1666, having just entered on his seventy-ihird year. At great expense, Sir James Ware collected several valuable Irish historical manuscripts. These fell into the hands of Earl Clarendon, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, in the reign of James II. They were brought into England afterwards,andtheresoldtotheDukeofChandos. '*^ Amongtheworksal- ready enumerated, the lives of the bishops and writers of Ireland especially have afforded us no inconsiderable aid, as the Irish sainis are frequently ranked under either class. Sir James Ware's moderated judgment, impartiality, perspicuityofstyleandarrangementaregreatlytobeadmired. Atatime when Ireland's national literature had been consigned to manuscript, which could only be reproduced by much expense and exertion, Archbishop Ussher and Sir James Ware'*^ became Anglo-Irish historical pioneers, and but
'** In 8vo size. In this, too, he included a tract, previously published, "Caeaobia
"
Cistertientia Hibernise.
'43 It was issued in 8vo size. To it he
Annals of Henry Eighth's reign,
'^' An account of this learned Irish scho*
lar and his writings will be found in Pro-
*'
Lectures on the Manu- script Materials of Ancient Irish History," Henrico Vil. Annales nunc primum in lect. vi. , pp. 120 to 130. See, likewise,
added, " Rerum Hibernicarum Regnante
lucem editi. "
'*• Issued in London, 8vo. See Thomas
D'Arcy M'Gee's" Gallery of Irish Writers,"
Thomas
D'Arcy
M'Gee's " of Irish Gallery
Writers," pp. 103 to iii.
'« "
See Harris' Ware. Vol. iii. , Wri-
ters of Ireland," book i. , chap, xiv. , pp. 145 to 157.
'*' It is much to be that Harris regretted,
had not more completely and judiciously
translated and edited his works in the suc- introduced again in this volume ; and in ceeding century. The additional and im- X662, he had printed in a separate 8vo the portant matter, often introduced by the editor,
pp. 731082.
'« This appeared at Dublin.
•4* This folio work was
in Dub-
published
lin. Previously, he had published the Annals of Henry Seventh's reign, which he
title,
Patricio,
fessor O'Curry's
Opuscula
in " Venerabilis Bedae 1664,
INTR OD UCTION. Ixi
for their efforts, many precious fragments and records must undoubtedly have been lost. Only a small portion of some documents, then existing, have been preserved. Both writers had access to the most important public and
private records, while their patient, laborious research and literary zeal urged them to arrange and publish important historic materials. In Father John
Colgan's frequent references to their published works, and as representing the great degree of credit attaching to them, our national hagiographer im.
plied,morefrequentlythanexpressed,hisobligations. Heoftenquotesthose writers as standard authorities for many of his statements.
After the middle
of this century, a discussion and two learned Treatises appeared, regarding the precedency of their respective sees, on the part of Dr. Oliver Plunkett,
Archbishop of Armagh'^" and of Dr. Peter Talbot, Archbishop of Dublin. 's^ Indeed, notwithstanding the civil disturbances of this period, the people of
Ireland, during the seventeenth century, arc praised for the prevalence among them of learning and morals by a contemporary writer. '5» This was certainly
an age of national scholarship.
Section V. —Irish Hagiologists of the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries.
The eighteenth century—a depressing period—was rather barren in the production of Irish historical works, both at home and abroad. Besides
wrote "
dium Annalium Ecclesiasticorum Regni Hiberniae,"' in which he treats of
'*
Opus-
hardly compensates for his defective arrange- Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all ment and many incongruous observations. Ireland. " Dublin, i86r. 8vo.
some controversial Father PYancis pieces.
Porter, O. S. F. ,'
Compen-
Irish saints, churches, and monasteries. Another work of his was,
culum Contra Vulgares quasdam Prophetias de Electionibus Summorum Pontificum S. Malachiae, Archiepiscopo Armachano, Hiberniae Primati, Legato Apostolico, hactenus falso attributas j Gallice primum editum, nunc novis Supplementis auctum, et in Latinum Idioma translatum : Adjunctis celebrium Authorum refiectionibus et judiciis de Abbatis Joachimi Vaticiniis, ejusqueSpirituProphetico. "3 ThiswriterwasaProfessorofDivinityand
Without the requisite marks of division, Harris frequently leaves the reader in doubt, as to whether he is perusing the editor's statements, or the opinions of his original author, Sir James Ware.
'SO The reader is referred to Very Rev.
"
Laurence F. Renehan's Collections on
Irish Church History," vol. i. , pp. 63 to 79, for a further account of this celebrated
'5« See an account ol this prelate and of his
writings, in John JJ' Alton's "Memoirs of
the Archbishops of Dublin," pp. 430 to 446.
»S3 See " Itinerarium" R. D. Thomze Carve
Tipperariensis, &c. , Pars, i. , cap. iv. , p. 34.
SECTION v. —' He was bom in the county of Meath.
and The most martyred prelate.
* This was at published
in a quarto volume.
Rome, A. t>. 1690,
complete and learned biography published, however, is the Rt. Rev. Patrick Francis Moran's
^ This was published at Rome, A. D. 1698, in au octavo volume.
"
Memoirs of the Most Rev. Oliver Plunket,
ixii introduction:
President of St. Isidore's College, Rome, where he Hved a long time. He died there, on the 7th of April, 1 702. * The Rev. Cornelius Nary, bom in
the county of Kildare, about the year 1658, was distinguished as a contro- versialwriter; buthealsowrote"ABriefHistoryofSt. Patrick'sPurgatory,"^
besides a " New History of the World, according to the Computation of the Septuagint. "^ He died the Parish Priest of St. Michan, Dublin, on the 3rd of March, 1738. Towards the close of the seventeenth century, the learned Roderick O'Flaherty produced some most elaborate treatises, in rela- tion to Irish history and topography. Born about the year 1629, at Galway, where he had been educated, fiora an early age he became a distinguished cultivator of antiquarian studies. His first literary production was a " Letter on the Chronology of Irish History," addressed to Dr. John Lynch. This was afterwards revised and to his " seu Rerum Hiberni-
these were his " De- Chorographical
prefixed Ogygia,
carum Chronologia," published at London, a. d. , 1685. 7 He left other
works in and manuscript,
notably among
scription of West or H-Iar Connaught, written a. d. , 1684," and also " Observa-
tions on Dr. Borlace's Reduction of Ireland. ^ He collected many Irish
manuscripts, but these he appears to have parted with, long before his death, as he felt the pressure of great poverty, consequent on the confiscation of his paternal estate. He died at Park, in the western part of Galway county, about the year 17 17. Long after his death, under the editorship of the
"
Venerable Charles O'Conor, a work of his,
Objections of Sir George Mackenzie,"? appeared in 1775. Nor can we omit the names of Thomas De Burgo, Bishop of Ossory,'° of Walter Harris," of the Venerable Charles O'Conor," of Ballenagare, of Dr. Thomas Le-
* See Rev. J. M. Brenan's " Ecclesiasti- cal History of Ireland, from the Introduc- tion of Christianity into that country to the year M. DCCCXXix. " Eighteenth Century, chap, iii. , pp. 580, 581. New edition :
Dublin, 1864, 8vo.
5 Published in Dublin, 1718, l2mo.
'
Published in Dublin, 1 720, fol.
1 In quarto shape, and in Latin. It was translated into English, by the Rev. Mr. Hely. See Thomas D'Arcy M 'Gee's "Gal-
^
edited for the Irish Archaeological Society, in 1846, with valuable notes and illustra-
tions by James Hardiman, Esq. , M. R. I. A.
'° See an account of this learned man and his works in the Rev. M. J. Brenan's " Ec- clesiastical History of Ireland. " Eigh- teenth Century, chap, iii. , pp. 585 to 587. He was bom in Dublin about a. d. 1709, and he died at Kilkenny a. d. 1786.
of Irish Writers," 200 to lery pp.
his are noticed in W. B. S.
" His-
209,
Both of these have been published and
Taylor's
9 In his Preface to
it,
Charles O'Conor
to a highly respectable and ancient family
in He " Disserta- Connaught. published,
tions on the History of Ireland. " To which
"
The second edi- tion is dated Dublin, 1766, 8vo, and a,
gives some interesting particulars of the author, an account of whom, still more ex-
tended, from the pen of Mr. Hardiman, will
A Dissertation on the Irish Colonies established in Britain. With some Remarks on Mr. Mac Pherson's Translation
"
be found in his edition of the "
phical Description of West or H-IarCon- naught. " Appendix iii. , pp. 419 to 430.
Chorogra-
Ogygia Vindicated against the
" He was a native of Dublin, and a ne- phew to Sir James Ware, whose works he translated and edited in three large folio volumes, published in Dublin, before the middle of the last century.
tory of the University of Dublin," chap. vL,
§ iii. , pp. 427, 428.
'*
This excellent Irish scholar belonged
is subjoined
ofFingal and Temora.
Other works of
publication
third edition in like shape was there issued,
A. D. 1812. The author died 1st, 1791, July
in his eighty-second year. See Richard Ryan's "Biographical Dictionary of the Worthies of Ireland," vol, ii. , pp. 453, 454.
Century. " London : 1778. 2 vols. , 4to. He died in June, 1807. See Ryan's *' Bio- graphical Dictionary of the Worthies of Ire- land," vol. ii. , pp. 456, 457.
'* He was bom in Dublin, A. D. and 1723,
hediedA. D. 1791. See W. B. S. Taylor's
"History of the University of Dublin," chap, vi. , § iii. , pp. 422, 423. After his death was published an enlarged edition of Lodge's Peerage, in seven octavo volumes, Forty years he was engaged on the " Mo- nasticum Hibeinicum; or an History of the Abbies, Priories, and other Religious Houses in Ireland. " It was published at London,
a. d. 1786,inathick4tovolume. Seealso '•
Ryan's Biographical Dictionary of the Worthies of Ireland," vol i. , pp. 17 to 19.
'^ Editor of " The Irish Magazine. " See
volume for a. d. 1814, p. 528. The office
of his periodical was at No. 1 50 Abbey- street, iJublin. A very singular account of
613; vol. iv. , pp. 259 et seq. Dublin, i860, 8vo.
'3 Among his other works a
"
History of
INTRODUCTION. Ixiil
land,'3 of the Abbe Ma-Geoghegan,'* of Dr. Sylvester 0'Halloran,'s and of Rev. Mervyn Archdall,'^ with a few other writers. These have rendered some special services to our history.
In the beginning of this present century, a work was intended for issue,
" The Lives of the Saints of Ireland, com* piled from the works of the Venerated Father Colgan, of the Franciscan Order; asalsofromthelearnedDr. DeBurgo,BishopofOssor/sHistory of the Irish Dominicans, and from other Catholic Hagiographers, and authors of equal estimation for orthodoxy and erudition. By a Catholic Divine. " It was announced, that this work was to be dedicated to the Catholics of Ireland, and to be published by the notorious and eccentric Walter Cox'7 The
and bearing the following title
:
:
werethusannounced "I. TheLivesoftheIrish
conditionsof
Saints will be printed in the octavo size. II. The history of each will be apportioned in extent to the rank and estimation of the Saint in the Catholic Church. III. Each life will be accompanied with notes, chiefly from Col- gan's works, for illustrating the saints' birth-place, nomenclature, festival day religious foundations, &c. IV. No Saint's Life shall be recorded or admitted in the work, but that of a native of Ireland. V. In arranging and publishing the work, each Saint's Life will be placed in succession, according to the order of its festival day in the Calendar, from the first of January to the year's end. VI. For the accommodation of pious Catholics, whose pecuniary resources are so limited, as to preclude the possibility of their purchasing
Ireland," with a Preliminary discourse, ap-
peared simultaneously in Dublin and Lon-
don, in three volumes, 4to, a. d. 1773. See
an account of this writer in W. B. S. Tay-
"
"
History of the University of Dublin,"
lor's
chap, vi. , § iii. , p. 422.
'^ His " Histoire de I'lrknde," appeared at Paris in 1758 and 1762, in two thick 4to volumes. The author was chaplain to the Irish troops in the service of France, and his work, written in the French Ian- guage, was found v. ry serviceable in fami- liarizing the people of that country with a knowledge of Irish History.
