passage has
reference
to the learned Dr.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
Reeves deemed it advisable to adopt Adamnanus, where the word occurs, in his edition of St.
Columba's Life.
40 This parish is situated at Ythan Mouth.
Forvey is called Furni in the reprint of
Anglorum," lib. iv. , cap. 25, lib. v. , cap. 15, 21.
5° See "
Breviary
coupled with St. Adampnanus's name. "— cxlv. , p. 219, See "Collections of Aberdeen and Banff," 5I See Fordun's
"
the of Aberdeen. There it is also
tomus ii. , vol. i.
Epigram, Quercetani. Scotichronicon," lib. i. , p. 388. The collections here alluded to were cap. 6, lib. iii. , cap. 27,29, 38, 42, 49.
published by the Spaulding Club.
" In lib. ii. ,
cap. 10, we find Sanda spoken
41 At the a. d. years
ubi cella sancti Adam-
of as * Insula 42 "
Awyn,
617, 685, 693. Only at the year a. d. 657.
nani. '
5a See " Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xx.
Januarii. Vita S. Fechini, cap. xlvii. , p. 139,
and xiii. Martii. Vita S. Geraldi, cap. xv. ,
xvi. , p. 602.
53 See Mabillon's ° Acta Sanctorum
Ordinis S. Benedicti," sec. iii. , pars ii. , p.
456.
s4 See " Var. Lect. i. I. (p. 16),—49 (p. 95),
iii. , 19 (p. 225), 23 (p. 238). " Rev. Mr.
"
Life of St Columba. " Additional Notes. C, n. (v. ), p. 257.
55 See " Lib. i. , c. 49, —fol. 21, a. The text of i. I. is wanting in B. '' Ibid, Additional Notes. C, n. (w. ), p. 257.
56 "Lib. iii. , 19, 23, fol. 616, 676. "— Ibid. , n. (x. ), p. 257.
43 At the years a. d. 623, 686,691, 696, 703, 726, 729, 730, 835, 953, 1 105.
44 At the year 704, p. 8.
45 These Annals have Adamnanus at the years a. d. 704, 727, 730, and Adamnan at the years A. d. 624, 687, 689, 692, 695, 697.
46 These Annals have Adamnan at the years, a. d. 684, 703, 725, 742, 830, 925, 927, 988, 1010, 1040, 1057, 1 105, Adamnan only occurs at A. D. 936.
4? "The title is pf A-oomnAin mcipic, but elsewhere in the tract there is the other reading. Leabhar Breac, fol. 127, a. "
48 See Petrie's "History and Antiquities
of Tara Hill," pp. 112, 115.
4'See " Historiae Ecclesiastics Gentis
Reeves' Adamnan's
52 The title of his '• De tract,
Opera," a.
Editio Andr "
480 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September23.
Adamnan is an Irish diminutive for Adam. 57 Under the effect of
Adam loses the force of its consonants, and assumes the various sounds of Au, Eu, O and Ou. Thus, when the diminutive termination is added, it produces the respective words, Aunan,58 Eunan,59 Onan,60 and Ounan 6t and
;
these are the forms of pronunciation which Adamnan's name has generally
62
assumed in Ireland. Another Irish form of the name is said to be Syonan. In the north-east of Scotland,63 as in Aberdeen and Banff, there exists a tendency to prefix certain consonants to our Saint's names, either as an
64
In the parish of Aloyne, towards the south of Aberdeenshire, Eunan becomes Theunan. 65 A fresh change takes place ; for St. Adamnan's Well is called Skeulan Well, and his Tree is named Skeulan Tree. At Forvey in Aberdeenshire, Adamnan
66
is called Fidamnan, and in Forglen, in the north of Banff, Adamnan's
Church is Teunan Kirk. At Dull, in Athol, and in the northern part of Perthshire, the form Eonan is preserved ; as also at Kilcherran in Cantyre, wherewefindthecompoundKillewnaneorKillownane. 67 Asaconsequence of this great diversity, both in the written and spoken forms of Adamnan's name, many respectable writers have created one or more additional Saints. Thus Sir James Ware even distinguishes between the individuality of Adamnan and Eunan. After stating St. Columbkille founded a monastery at Raphoe, he informs us, this structure was afterwards repaired by Adamnan, the celebrated abbot of Iona. It is then said, that St. Eunan erected the
6a
church of the Abbey into a Cathedral, and that he was considered to have
been the first Bishop of Raphoe. 69 The compiler of the " Fasti Ecclesiae
"°
Hibernicae 7 adopts a similar opinion, by stating, that St. Eunan is
commonly reported to have erected Raphoe Abbey Church into a Cathedral,
and to have become its first bishop, although nothing certain appears to be
known him, nor the at which he lived. 71 regarding period
The name of the Saint's father was Ronan or Ronat of the Cinel Enna. HewasasonofTinne,fromwhomarederivedtheUaTinne. Thegrand-
equivalent for saint, or to facilitate the pronunciation.
"
57 It is thus interpreted, in Cormac's Trowel, and St. Anthony, Tantan. See
" . <yootnnAn . 1. oifbecA-6 Anma -Ax>Airh.
" Collections on the Shrines of Aberdeen
homutijcutup,
Adomnan, i. e. and Banff," p. 509.
Glossary" :
homungculus. — It is a diminutive for the 6s See ibid. , p. 663.
name Adam. See p.
O'Donovan, LL. D. , and Whitley Stokes, LL. D. Calcutta, 1868, 4to.
58 The name is thus pronounced at Skreen, in Sligo, where we have Toberawnaun and Drehid-aunan.
59 This is the pronunciation of Raphoe.
60 On the " Ordnance Survey Townland Map of Londonderry," St. Onan's Rock is noted in the parish of Errigal, in that county. See Sheet 18. See "Acts of Archbishop
"
Colton" in his
the Diocese of Derry, A. D. mcccxcvii. ," edited by Rev. William Reeves, D. D. , p.
81, n. (y. )
61 In the district of Glenuller, the name is
thus used in the spoken language.
62 On the "Ordnance Survey Townland
It is Aberdeenshire by the Doveran River.
6
from
i. ,
John p.
separated
66 See
Edition of ibid. , 508.
Metropolitan Visitation of
Raphoe," pp. 269, 270.
'•See vol. iii. , p. 347.
'* Such an error, remarks the Rev. Dr.
Reeves, should not have been committed in the century, one of the ornaments of which had said : "I strongly suspect that St. Eunan, who is usually called the first Bishop of Raphoe, was no other than Adamnan. " See Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba. " Additional Notes. C, p. 257. It is need-
Map of Westmeath" (Sheet 31), we find
Syonan, which is said to be formed from
Suix>e xYoArhn4in, or the Sedes Adamnani, less to remark, that the latter eulogistic
63 As in Aberdeen and Banff.
passage has reference to the learned Dr.
44
Thus in one instance, St. Rule becomes
Lanigan.
? See "Origines Parochiales Scotiae," vol. ". , p. IS-
68 Sir James Ware professes himself unable to discover when St. Eunan, the reputed first Bishop of Raphoe, lived. See " De Prsesulibus Hiberniae, Commentarius " De Episcopis Rapotensibus, p. 73.
69 See Harris' Ware, vol. i.
"
Bishops of
aspiration,
September 23. ] LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 48:
sire of our saint was a son to Aedli, the son of Colman or Colum, son to Sedna, from whom are derived the Siol Sedna. This Sedna was son to
Fergus Cennfada, married to Erea, daughter of Loam Mor. Fergus Cennfadha was the son of Conall Gulban, from whom the Cinel Conaill descended. 72 Hence then, our Saint was seventh in descent from the last named monarch, who is regarded as head over one of the two great races of the Northern-Hy-Neill ; and by virtue of his descent, he claimed kindred with St. Columba, as also with many of the sovereigns ruling over Ireland. 73
The Protestant Cathedral, Raphoe.
Conall's posterity. This was called Tir-
Aedha. 81 The race of Enna, or the Cinel Enna, alluded to in the foregoing
pedigree, possessed that tract of land, lying between the Channels of Lough Foyle and Lough Swilly. It was called Tir-Enna or the
11
Land of Enna. " It corresponds with the present barony of Raphoe. Within this district was situated the ancient church of Rath-both, now Raphoe, which is said to have been founded by St. Columba, but which now acknowledges Eunan as its patron,82 the notion being that he repaired the
7* See Rev. Mr. Reeves' Genealogical the Naemhseanchus, and other ancient
Table of the early Abbots of Hy, showing their affinity to one another, and their connexion with the chief families of
Tyrconnell. It has been constructed from
authorities.
73 "Sanctus Adampnanus preclaris ortus
de —
parentibus nobilissima Conaldi regis pro-
genie carnis duxit originem. "
'*
Breviarium IH
Adamnan, is called the grandson of Thine,TM in some instances,75from the name of his paternal
6 Ac- cording to the tract attributed to ^Engus on the Mothers of our Irish Saints,
Ronnat, daughter of
grandfather. ?
son to Duach, son to Bair- rindan of Enna's race,77 was the mother of Adam-
8
Although there is
no special record re-
specting the parish
or province 79 in which he was born,8°
yet there is a strong
probability, that Adamnan was a na-
tive of that terri- torial quarter, which
Seghine,
nan, son to Ronan. 7
was
occupied by
482 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 23.
church, and erected that foundation into a cathedral. ^ Such distinction most probably arises, from the circumstance of his natural connexion with the original occupants of that district. Tir-Aedha is now familiarly known as the barony of Tirhugh, and it is situated in the South-western part of DonegalCounty. Theclanfromwhichoursaintsprunghadsettledthere; and one of his principal commemorations has connexion with the church and parish of Drumhome. 8* Here St. Adamnan was regarded as patron. His parish is situated between the towns of Donegal and Ballyshannon, and it lies within the barony of Tirhugh. For several centuries after our Saint's demise, local tradition had preserved a recollection of his former abode at Drumhome. TherewasthewellknownastheDabhachAdamhnain,orthe washing-place of Adamnan. 8s It is said to have been a fountain, celebrated for the miracles there wrought, being situated in Tirconnel, between Donegal and Ballyshannon. In it, our Saint was accustomed to stand during the night, according to tradition. In his Life of St. Columkille, Adamnan him-
86
Different statements occur as to the year ot Adamnan's birth. The Annals
self almost implies, that he lived in this neighbourhood, when a youth.
of Inisfallen are
decidedly
in error, when
8 they assign it to the year 617. ?
However,
the Annals of
Tighernach
88 and the Chronicum Scotorum8? place
Aberdonense. " Pars Estiva. Officium S. Kilmacrenan, and another the barony of
Adampnani, fol. iii. , b. a.
repre- sents the Protestant parish church of Raphoe—formerly the cathedral—and it is 75 He is called Adamnanus Nepos supposed to stand on the site of the ancient Tinnei, in Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " foundation. From a photograph kindly Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. i. , cap. lxix. , furnished by the Very Rev. Patrick Kelly, p. 128. Again he is distinguished as " Hua P. P. , Raphoe, it has been drawn on the wood
7*Thus <V0Atnn. AnUa
"Visionof
82The illustration accompanying
fcitroe, Adamnan," in the Leabhar Breac, fol. 127 a. ,
:
Tinne," in lib. iii. , cap. xcix. , p. 167. Ussher misrepresents by Attiniensis. his Works, vol. vi. , p. 375.
129 b. b.
*6 and were Colgan Lanigan
to See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba. " Appendix to Preface, p. xli. ,
n. (n. ;
77 Enna was son to Niall.
78 Tlonn4C irijjen Seigine nuc "OuAch
meic bAintMrroAin t>o Cneneb entxv mec neill mariAip <VoAmn<Mn meic nonam. "— " De Matribus Sanctorum Hiberniae" as found in the Book of Lecan.
confound it with Maccuthenus.
Reprint.
Tirhugh.
and engraved by Gregor Grey.
83 See Archdeacon Henry Cotton's "Fasti
Ecclesise Hibernise," vol. iii. , Diocese of
Raphoe, p. 346.
*4 This parish was anciently called onuim
chuAtnA, and it is mentioned in the Calendar
of the O'Clerys. in connection with St.
Adamnan, at the 23rd of September.
&5 Father Ward mentions the circum- stance of having seen a well dedicated to St.
disposed
This See
nomine et asylo, et mox rabiosa febre Adamnan was born in the territory of correptus, eadem nocte interiit furibundus,
79 Father Hugh Ward only states that
"
Sancti Rumoldi Martyris inclyti, &c, Acta, &c. " Dissertatio Historica de Patria S. Rumoldi, Art. iii. , sect. 6, p. 218. 80 The Rev. Alban Butler says, that our saint was born at Rathboth, now Raphoe. See u Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. ix. , September xxiii. I know not his authority for such a
statement.
81 Tir-Aedha means the " land of Aedh,"
being so called from Aedh, son to Anmire, who, together with our saint, belonged to the Siol Sedna race, or descendants from Sedna,grandsontoConallGutban. Oneof the branches of this family, viz. , the Cinel
Luighdech, occupied the present barony of
exiliens manibus grabato, uti quodam
Tyrconnell. See
agitatus demone. "— "Sancti Martyris inclyti, &c, Acta &c. "
"
quodam Dabhach Adamhnain, ubi Sanctus
pernoctabat in aquis, vimina ad restem
Adamnan in this parish.
Vidi qui ex loco
nendum abstulisset, contemptis Sancti '
Rumoldi- Dissertatio Historica de Patria S. Rumoldi, Art. iii. ,
sect. 6, p. 219.
86 See his Vita S. Columba;, lib. iii. ,
cap. 23, in Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba," p. 238, and n. (o), ibid.
8? See at that date: "Nativitas Adam- nani. " —Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hiber- nicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. Annales Inisfalenses, p. II.
88
Seeibid. ,TigernachiAnnales,p. 187. ^See William M. Hennessy's edition, pp.
78, 79.
September 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 483
it at the year 624. The Annals of Ulster record the birth of our Saint at the year 623. 9° Adamnan was born in Ireland,*" in or about the year 624,'"
according to a respectable authority. 93 Father Ward assigns his nativity to A. D. 626. 94 The Rev. Alban Butler95 also coincides with this date. It is stated, that Adamnan was in the eighty-third year of his age, at the time of his which occurred in the
death,
follow, that he was born in A. D. 621 or 622,
96 it should Consequently
Little information remains for us, concerning the early history of Adamnan.
A single anecdote which is told, and referring to his school-boy days, can hardly be considered quite authentic. We are informed in the Life of Finnachta, the Festive, a chief of the Southern Hy-Niall,97 that this tanist had beeninvitedasaguesttothehouseofhissister. Accompaniedbyanumerous cavalcade, he responded to the invitation. While riding along the road, they met Adamnan, who was then a school-boy, and who was carrying a jar of milk on his back. Travelling upon the same road, the boy turned out of the way,toavoidthehorsemen. Thenhavingknockedhisfootagainstastone, he thereupon stumbled, and the jar, falling from his back, was broken. Observing this accident, Finnachta said that the student should receive pro- tection from him, and he prayed that Adamnan would not be sorrowful.
Then Adamnan " O replied :
I have cause for for there are grief,
good man,
three goodly students in one house, and three more of us are attendants
upon them. We act in this manner : One attendant from among us goes out in his turn to collect sustenance for the other five. It was my turn to-day, but what I had gathered for them has been spilled upon the ground. What grieves me still more, the borrowed jar is broken, and I have not money to pay for it. " This story is supposed to have been the creation of a later age, and intended to introduce the intimacy of St. Adamnan with Finnachta, and to account for their subsequent relations towards each other. Although it transports the youthful St. Adamnan from Donegal to Meath, there is nothing incredible in this narrative ; for St. Columkille, before his time, studied at Clonard, in 8 and he read with Gemm in a of Leinster. 9°
Meath,9 plain
Neither was it considered inconsistent with the severity of monastic discipline, even for one nobly born, to derive his sustenance from eleemosynary sources,100 It is supposed, there can be no doubt of St.
year 704.
90 T—hus " Nativitas Adomnani abbatis dates are assigned. Placing Adamnan's
:
"
Iae. " Dr. O'Conor's Rerum Hiberni-
carum Scriptores," tomus iv. Annales Ultonienses, p. 41.
91 This he acknowledges, in his " Vita S. Columbse," where he says, in the last chapter of his work, St. Columkille's fame
"
was divulged per totam nostram Scotiam. "
That he meant Ireland is clear, for he
birth at 624, and his death in 704, would make him live to the 80th year.
^ See " Sancti Rumoldi Martyris inclyti, &c.
40 This parish is situated at Ythan Mouth.
Forvey is called Furni in the reprint of
Anglorum," lib. iv. , cap. 25, lib. v. , cap. 15, 21.
5° See "
Breviary
coupled with St. Adampnanus's name. "— cxlv. , p. 219, See "Collections of Aberdeen and Banff," 5I See Fordun's
"
the of Aberdeen. There it is also
tomus ii. , vol. i.
Epigram, Quercetani. Scotichronicon," lib. i. , p. 388. The collections here alluded to were cap. 6, lib. iii. , cap. 27,29, 38, 42, 49.
published by the Spaulding Club.
" In lib. ii. ,
cap. 10, we find Sanda spoken
41 At the a. d. years
ubi cella sancti Adam-
of as * Insula 42 "
Awyn,
617, 685, 693. Only at the year a. d. 657.
nani. '
5a See " Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xx.
Januarii. Vita S. Fechini, cap. xlvii. , p. 139,
and xiii. Martii. Vita S. Geraldi, cap. xv. ,
xvi. , p. 602.
53 See Mabillon's ° Acta Sanctorum
Ordinis S. Benedicti," sec. iii. , pars ii. , p.
456.
s4 See " Var. Lect. i. I. (p. 16),—49 (p. 95),
iii. , 19 (p. 225), 23 (p. 238). " Rev. Mr.
"
Life of St Columba. " Additional Notes. C, n. (v. ), p. 257.
55 See " Lib. i. , c. 49, —fol. 21, a. The text of i. I. is wanting in B. '' Ibid, Additional Notes. C, n. (w. ), p. 257.
56 "Lib. iii. , 19, 23, fol. 616, 676. "— Ibid. , n. (x. ), p. 257.
43 At the years a. d. 623, 686,691, 696, 703, 726, 729, 730, 835, 953, 1 105.
44 At the year 704, p. 8.
45 These Annals have Adamnanus at the years a. d. 704, 727, 730, and Adamnan at the years A. d. 624, 687, 689, 692, 695, 697.
46 These Annals have Adamnan at the years, a. d. 684, 703, 725, 742, 830, 925, 927, 988, 1010, 1040, 1057, 1 105, Adamnan only occurs at A. D. 936.
4? "The title is pf A-oomnAin mcipic, but elsewhere in the tract there is the other reading. Leabhar Breac, fol. 127, a. "
48 See Petrie's "History and Antiquities
of Tara Hill," pp. 112, 115.
4'See " Historiae Ecclesiastics Gentis
Reeves' Adamnan's
52 The title of his '• De tract,
Opera," a.
Editio Andr "
480 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September23.
Adamnan is an Irish diminutive for Adam. 57 Under the effect of
Adam loses the force of its consonants, and assumes the various sounds of Au, Eu, O and Ou. Thus, when the diminutive termination is added, it produces the respective words, Aunan,58 Eunan,59 Onan,60 and Ounan 6t and
;
these are the forms of pronunciation which Adamnan's name has generally
62
assumed in Ireland. Another Irish form of the name is said to be Syonan. In the north-east of Scotland,63 as in Aberdeen and Banff, there exists a tendency to prefix certain consonants to our Saint's names, either as an
64
In the parish of Aloyne, towards the south of Aberdeenshire, Eunan becomes Theunan. 65 A fresh change takes place ; for St. Adamnan's Well is called Skeulan Well, and his Tree is named Skeulan Tree. At Forvey in Aberdeenshire, Adamnan
66
is called Fidamnan, and in Forglen, in the north of Banff, Adamnan's
Church is Teunan Kirk. At Dull, in Athol, and in the northern part of Perthshire, the form Eonan is preserved ; as also at Kilcherran in Cantyre, wherewefindthecompoundKillewnaneorKillownane. 67 Asaconsequence of this great diversity, both in the written and spoken forms of Adamnan's name, many respectable writers have created one or more additional Saints. Thus Sir James Ware even distinguishes between the individuality of Adamnan and Eunan. After stating St. Columbkille founded a monastery at Raphoe, he informs us, this structure was afterwards repaired by Adamnan, the celebrated abbot of Iona. It is then said, that St. Eunan erected the
6a
church of the Abbey into a Cathedral, and that he was considered to have
been the first Bishop of Raphoe. 69 The compiler of the " Fasti Ecclesiae
"°
Hibernicae 7 adopts a similar opinion, by stating, that St. Eunan is
commonly reported to have erected Raphoe Abbey Church into a Cathedral,
and to have become its first bishop, although nothing certain appears to be
known him, nor the at which he lived. 71 regarding period
The name of the Saint's father was Ronan or Ronat of the Cinel Enna. HewasasonofTinne,fromwhomarederivedtheUaTinne. Thegrand-
equivalent for saint, or to facilitate the pronunciation.
"
57 It is thus interpreted, in Cormac's Trowel, and St. Anthony, Tantan. See
" . <yootnnAn . 1. oifbecA-6 Anma -Ax>Airh.
" Collections on the Shrines of Aberdeen
homutijcutup,
Adomnan, i. e. and Banff," p. 509.
Glossary" :
homungculus. — It is a diminutive for the 6s See ibid. , p. 663.
name Adam. See p.
O'Donovan, LL. D. , and Whitley Stokes, LL. D. Calcutta, 1868, 4to.
58 The name is thus pronounced at Skreen, in Sligo, where we have Toberawnaun and Drehid-aunan.
59 This is the pronunciation of Raphoe.
60 On the " Ordnance Survey Townland Map of Londonderry," St. Onan's Rock is noted in the parish of Errigal, in that county. See Sheet 18. See "Acts of Archbishop
"
Colton" in his
the Diocese of Derry, A. D. mcccxcvii. ," edited by Rev. William Reeves, D. D. , p.
81, n. (y. )
61 In the district of Glenuller, the name is
thus used in the spoken language.
62 On the "Ordnance Survey Townland
It is Aberdeenshire by the Doveran River.
6
from
i. ,
John p.
separated
66 See
Edition of ibid. , 508.
Metropolitan Visitation of
Raphoe," pp. 269, 270.
'•See vol. iii. , p. 347.
'* Such an error, remarks the Rev. Dr.
Reeves, should not have been committed in the century, one of the ornaments of which had said : "I strongly suspect that St. Eunan, who is usually called the first Bishop of Raphoe, was no other than Adamnan. " See Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba. " Additional Notes. C, p. 257. It is need-
Map of Westmeath" (Sheet 31), we find
Syonan, which is said to be formed from
Suix>e xYoArhn4in, or the Sedes Adamnani, less to remark, that the latter eulogistic
63 As in Aberdeen and Banff.
passage has reference to the learned Dr.
44
Thus in one instance, St. Rule becomes
Lanigan.
? See "Origines Parochiales Scotiae," vol. ". , p. IS-
68 Sir James Ware professes himself unable to discover when St. Eunan, the reputed first Bishop of Raphoe, lived. See " De Prsesulibus Hiberniae, Commentarius " De Episcopis Rapotensibus, p. 73.
69 See Harris' Ware, vol. i.
"
Bishops of
aspiration,
September 23. ] LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. 48:
sire of our saint was a son to Aedli, the son of Colman or Colum, son to Sedna, from whom are derived the Siol Sedna. This Sedna was son to
Fergus Cennfada, married to Erea, daughter of Loam Mor. Fergus Cennfadha was the son of Conall Gulban, from whom the Cinel Conaill descended. 72 Hence then, our Saint was seventh in descent from the last named monarch, who is regarded as head over one of the two great races of the Northern-Hy-Neill ; and by virtue of his descent, he claimed kindred with St. Columba, as also with many of the sovereigns ruling over Ireland. 73
The Protestant Cathedral, Raphoe.
Conall's posterity. This was called Tir-
Aedha. 81 The race of Enna, or the Cinel Enna, alluded to in the foregoing
pedigree, possessed that tract of land, lying between the Channels of Lough Foyle and Lough Swilly. It was called Tir-Enna or the
11
Land of Enna. " It corresponds with the present barony of Raphoe. Within this district was situated the ancient church of Rath-both, now Raphoe, which is said to have been founded by St. Columba, but which now acknowledges Eunan as its patron,82 the notion being that he repaired the
7* See Rev. Mr. Reeves' Genealogical the Naemhseanchus, and other ancient
Table of the early Abbots of Hy, showing their affinity to one another, and their connexion with the chief families of
Tyrconnell. It has been constructed from
authorities.
73 "Sanctus Adampnanus preclaris ortus
de —
parentibus nobilissima Conaldi regis pro-
genie carnis duxit originem. "
'*
Breviarium IH
Adamnan, is called the grandson of Thine,TM in some instances,75from the name of his paternal
6 Ac- cording to the tract attributed to ^Engus on the Mothers of our Irish Saints,
Ronnat, daughter of
grandfather. ?
son to Duach, son to Bair- rindan of Enna's race,77 was the mother of Adam-
8
Although there is
no special record re-
specting the parish
or province 79 in which he was born,8°
yet there is a strong
probability, that Adamnan was a na-
tive of that terri- torial quarter, which
Seghine,
nan, son to Ronan. 7
was
occupied by
482 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 23.
church, and erected that foundation into a cathedral. ^ Such distinction most probably arises, from the circumstance of his natural connexion with the original occupants of that district. Tir-Aedha is now familiarly known as the barony of Tirhugh, and it is situated in the South-western part of DonegalCounty. Theclanfromwhichoursaintsprunghadsettledthere; and one of his principal commemorations has connexion with the church and parish of Drumhome. 8* Here St. Adamnan was regarded as patron. His parish is situated between the towns of Donegal and Ballyshannon, and it lies within the barony of Tirhugh. For several centuries after our Saint's demise, local tradition had preserved a recollection of his former abode at Drumhome. TherewasthewellknownastheDabhachAdamhnain,orthe washing-place of Adamnan. 8s It is said to have been a fountain, celebrated for the miracles there wrought, being situated in Tirconnel, between Donegal and Ballyshannon. In it, our Saint was accustomed to stand during the night, according to tradition. In his Life of St. Columkille, Adamnan him-
86
Different statements occur as to the year ot Adamnan's birth. The Annals
self almost implies, that he lived in this neighbourhood, when a youth.
of Inisfallen are
decidedly
in error, when
8 they assign it to the year 617. ?
However,
the Annals of
Tighernach
88 and the Chronicum Scotorum8? place
Aberdonense. " Pars Estiva. Officium S. Kilmacrenan, and another the barony of
Adampnani, fol. iii. , b. a.
repre- sents the Protestant parish church of Raphoe—formerly the cathedral—and it is 75 He is called Adamnanus Nepos supposed to stand on the site of the ancient Tinnei, in Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " foundation. From a photograph kindly Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. i. , cap. lxix. , furnished by the Very Rev. Patrick Kelly, p. 128. Again he is distinguished as " Hua P. P. , Raphoe, it has been drawn on the wood
7*Thus <V0Atnn. AnUa
"Visionof
82The illustration accompanying
fcitroe, Adamnan," in the Leabhar Breac, fol. 127 a. ,
:
Tinne," in lib. iii. , cap. xcix. , p. 167. Ussher misrepresents by Attiniensis. his Works, vol. vi. , p. 375.
129 b. b.
*6 and were Colgan Lanigan
to See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's " Life of St. Columba. " Appendix to Preface, p. xli. ,
n. (n. ;
77 Enna was son to Niall.
78 Tlonn4C irijjen Seigine nuc "OuAch
meic bAintMrroAin t>o Cneneb entxv mec neill mariAip <VoAmn<Mn meic nonam. "— " De Matribus Sanctorum Hiberniae" as found in the Book of Lecan.
confound it with Maccuthenus.
Reprint.
Tirhugh.
and engraved by Gregor Grey.
83 See Archdeacon Henry Cotton's "Fasti
Ecclesise Hibernise," vol. iii. , Diocese of
Raphoe, p. 346.
*4 This parish was anciently called onuim
chuAtnA, and it is mentioned in the Calendar
of the O'Clerys. in connection with St.
Adamnan, at the 23rd of September.
&5 Father Ward mentions the circum- stance of having seen a well dedicated to St.
disposed
This See
nomine et asylo, et mox rabiosa febre Adamnan was born in the territory of correptus, eadem nocte interiit furibundus,
79 Father Hugh Ward only states that
"
Sancti Rumoldi Martyris inclyti, &c, Acta, &c. " Dissertatio Historica de Patria S. Rumoldi, Art. iii. , sect. 6, p. 218. 80 The Rev. Alban Butler says, that our saint was born at Rathboth, now Raphoe. See u Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. ix. , September xxiii. I know not his authority for such a
statement.
81 Tir-Aedha means the " land of Aedh,"
being so called from Aedh, son to Anmire, who, together with our saint, belonged to the Siol Sedna race, or descendants from Sedna,grandsontoConallGutban. Oneof the branches of this family, viz. , the Cinel
Luighdech, occupied the present barony of
exiliens manibus grabato, uti quodam
Tyrconnell. See
agitatus demone. "— "Sancti Martyris inclyti, &c, Acta &c. "
"
quodam Dabhach Adamhnain, ubi Sanctus
pernoctabat in aquis, vimina ad restem
Adamnan in this parish.
Vidi qui ex loco
nendum abstulisset, contemptis Sancti '
Rumoldi- Dissertatio Historica de Patria S. Rumoldi, Art. iii. ,
sect. 6, p. 219.
86 See his Vita S. Columba;, lib. iii. ,
cap. 23, in Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba," p. 238, and n. (o), ibid.
8? See at that date: "Nativitas Adam- nani. " —Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hiber- nicarum Scriptores," tomus ii. Annales Inisfalenses, p. II.
88
Seeibid. ,TigernachiAnnales,p. 187. ^See William M. Hennessy's edition, pp.
78, 79.
September 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 483
it at the year 624. The Annals of Ulster record the birth of our Saint at the year 623. 9° Adamnan was born in Ireland,*" in or about the year 624,'"
according to a respectable authority. 93 Father Ward assigns his nativity to A. D. 626. 94 The Rev. Alban Butler95 also coincides with this date. It is stated, that Adamnan was in the eighty-third year of his age, at the time of his which occurred in the
death,
follow, that he was born in A. D. 621 or 622,
96 it should Consequently
Little information remains for us, concerning the early history of Adamnan.
A single anecdote which is told, and referring to his school-boy days, can hardly be considered quite authentic. We are informed in the Life of Finnachta, the Festive, a chief of the Southern Hy-Niall,97 that this tanist had beeninvitedasaguesttothehouseofhissister. Accompaniedbyanumerous cavalcade, he responded to the invitation. While riding along the road, they met Adamnan, who was then a school-boy, and who was carrying a jar of milk on his back. Travelling upon the same road, the boy turned out of the way,toavoidthehorsemen. Thenhavingknockedhisfootagainstastone, he thereupon stumbled, and the jar, falling from his back, was broken. Observing this accident, Finnachta said that the student should receive pro- tection from him, and he prayed that Adamnan would not be sorrowful.
Then Adamnan " O replied :
I have cause for for there are grief,
good man,
three goodly students in one house, and three more of us are attendants
upon them. We act in this manner : One attendant from among us goes out in his turn to collect sustenance for the other five. It was my turn to-day, but what I had gathered for them has been spilled upon the ground. What grieves me still more, the borrowed jar is broken, and I have not money to pay for it. " This story is supposed to have been the creation of a later age, and intended to introduce the intimacy of St. Adamnan with Finnachta, and to account for their subsequent relations towards each other. Although it transports the youthful St. Adamnan from Donegal to Meath, there is nothing incredible in this narrative ; for St. Columkille, before his time, studied at Clonard, in 8 and he read with Gemm in a of Leinster. 9°
Meath,9 plain
Neither was it considered inconsistent with the severity of monastic discipline, even for one nobly born, to derive his sustenance from eleemosynary sources,100 It is supposed, there can be no doubt of St.
year 704.
90 T—hus " Nativitas Adomnani abbatis dates are assigned. Placing Adamnan's
:
"
Iae. " Dr. O'Conor's Rerum Hiberni-
carum Scriptores," tomus iv. Annales Ultonienses, p. 41.
91 This he acknowledges, in his " Vita S. Columbse," where he says, in the last chapter of his work, St. Columkille's fame
"
was divulged per totam nostram Scotiam. "
That he meant Ireland is clear, for he
birth at 624, and his death in 704, would make him live to the 80th year.
^ See " Sancti Rumoldi Martyris inclyti, &c.
