From the
circumstance
of this saint, as named in our Irish Menologies, having been venerated at Magbile, it has been assumed, by Colgan, that he might have been abbot over that place.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
The latter works are noted by many ; but God and the saints can only know how much he prays.
His vocal prayers may often be required in the per- formance of the public Church liturgy, or ceremonials ; but his mental orisons, or his silent, contemplative lite, plead not less perfectly and power- fully the wants of himself and his flock.
Yet, he enjoys more happiness
amid his cares and burdens, than do the sons of darkness in the Babel of
false pleasures and wickedness surrounding them. The good shepherd of souls endeavours to make atonement for the sins of his people.
At the 13th day of January, Colgan has drawn up some accounts regard- ing this holy prelate, from the Acts of St. Patrick, and from other sources, while he has added some comments of his own to solve difficulties which are presented. ' Before St. Patrick's arrival in Ireland, about a. d. 432, a chieftain named Trichem lived in an eastern part of Ulster. This assertion is capable of proof, from the circumstance of Dichuo, son to this Trichem,
having bestowed on St. Patrick the site for Saul Monastery. Besides this,
it is known that Magbile, Killchlethe, Down, and Neddruni,^ where the sons of this Trichem had their possessions, are all situated in the eastern and maritime parts of Ulster. 3
*
necessarily give refreshment,
In the Franciscan copy this entry reads Art.
— —'
"Acta
^oel^tii fci.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
14, 15,
Art. VIII.
—
'
Edited
Drs. Todd and
accounts of these several in Rev. Dr. places
Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor, and Dromore. " Appendix A, pp. 123 to 179; Appendix N, pp. 217 to 219;
Appendix F, pp. 187 to 197.
Reeves, pp. 14, 15.
''Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xii.
3 In the Franciscan copy we find bAicViem
. 1 . moiC nem<in. The succeeding word in
small characters is
3 See
Colgan
s account, n. 2, 62. p.
illegible.
by
Chap.
See
S. Aielli sen Aiiidi, pp. 6i, t)2.
i.
Sanctorum HibernizE," xiii. Januarii. Vita
*
i.
The reader wiii hnd very interesting
Colgan's
1 84 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 13.
Trichem, or as the name is Latinized, Trichemius, was the descendant of a respectable ancestral pagan line ; but he was likewise the parent of childrennolessdistinguishedintheearlyhistoryofourIrishChurch. This chieftain is stated to have been a scion of the noble Dalfiatacian
from which race were derived many kings, not only of the Ultonian pro- vince,5 but even some who had been monarchs over Ireland. ^ St. Ailild was the son of Trichem, son to Fieg, son of Imchad, son to Breassal, son of Sinchad, son to Fiatach, surnamed Finn. 7 We find the holy archbishop, in after time, classed among the disciples of St. Patrick f and if he deserve such a distinction, it must have been at rather a late period of the Apostle's life, and while Ailild himself was very young.
It has been very positively asserted, that our saint was not Trichem's son,9 and Dr. Lanigan considers him to have been a different person from Ailill of Magbile, with whom, it is said, he was confounded. '° The only grounds on which the former opinion seems formed are, that Dichuo, the elder brother of Ailill, must have had a settled family, and have been at least forty years of age in the year 433, when he had been converted by St. Patrick. Hence, as argued, it could not have been probable he had a brother capable of assuming episcopal functions in the year 513. "
Although Trichem had not the happiness of embracing the Christian faith, yet, through God's holy providence, he was the father of a numerous and
saintly offspring. He became the parent of six sons, who were not only distinguished for being among the first fruits of St. Patrick's apostolic labours and preaching, owing to their reception of the baptismal and re- generating sacrament, but, moreover, they acquired a reputation for being enrolledamongtheearlysaintsofIreland'sChurch. Theyarethusnamed, according to the order of their respective births, viz. , Rius," or Rossius, Dichuo, Durthact, Eugenius, Niell, and Alill. '3 In the Life of St. Patrick we are told, that Dichuo was not alone the first of his family, but of his whole nation, who embraced the Christian faith, when our great Apostle's mission commenced. This example was afterwards followed by members of his household. '"^ The elder brother, Rossius, at first resisted the grace of con- version ; and he even sought to interpose every obstacle to the success of St. Patrick's mission. But his obstinacy and infidelity were finally overcome.
*The"
Is cited by Colgan, and it traces the gene- alogy of our saint to Fiatach, King of Ireland, who was the founder of the Dalfia-
tacian family.
5 Thirty-six Christian kings over Ultonia
"Joceline, in his Life of St. Patrick, chap, xxxiv. , calls this sonofTrichemby *Thie2 supreme monarchs of Ireland the name of Rus. See Colgan's "Trias
Menologic Genealogy," cap. xix. ,
the ofSt. Patrick. " See"Eccle* disciples
siastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , § iii. , p. 440, and n. 37, pp. 441, 442.
" That such an opinion is not sustained by a sufficient amount of evidence will here- after be rendered apparent,
issued in this line, besides ten others in the
timesofpaganism.
sprung from this race.
7 The genealogy of our saint's five bro-
thers follows, as a matter of course, this same order. See Colgan's "Acta Sane- torum Hibemiffi," n. 3, p. 62.
^ See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix ad»Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 269.
Thaumaturga," p. 72.
'^ Thus these brothers are called in the
"
Menologic Genealogy," chap. xix. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xiii. Januarii. Vita S. Alelli, cap. i. , ii. , p. 61, and n. 5, p. 62,
'In Joceline's "Life of St. Patrick," chap, xxxii. , it is said regarding this Dichuo, "predicante Patricio, cum omni domo sua in Christum credens baptisatur. " From this account it cannot be pronounced,
adhering more closely to Colgan, makes with any degiee of certainty, that Dichuo Ailild one of the six so-called sons of was a married man, as Dr. Lanigan is Trichem, of whom Dichuo was said to be pleased to assume,
one, and in like manner reckons him among
9 Sir James Ware calls Ailill, the son of Trichem, a prince of East Ulster.
" This learned writer observes, " Harris,
family,*
January 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 185
Soon afterwards, having received the sacraments of the Church, he happily departed this life/s The four younger brothers to these converts, already
named, moved by the example of their seniors, and by miracles, manifested at the time of their conversion, were not left without those graces which enabled them to receive the light of Faith. They choose also that better part, by aspiring to the attainment of practices which render faith perfect. They were favoured from above with those Divine inspirations, -which induced them to exercise virtues becoming the saints of Christ. Our martyrologists state that, whilst Dichuo had been venerated at Saul, St. Durthact was honoured at Nendrum, St Eugenius and St. Niell at Kil-cleith, and St. Ailild, at Maghile. *^ This latter place is now known as Moville, situated in the
barony of Ards, county of Down. '7
CHAPTER IL
PECULIARITY OF ST. AILILD'S POSITION IN REFERENCE TO THE RECEPTION OF THE SACRAMENTS—MISREPRESENTATION AND ITS CORRECTION—ST. AILILD SAID TO HAVE BEEN ABBOT OF MAGHBILE, AND ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH—HIS DEATH AND COMMEMORATION—CONCLUSION.
St. Ailild, it has been remarked, is thought to have obtained the graces of all the sacraments. ' For, not only did he receive those graces which
are common to all Christians, but, moreover, Holy Orders and Matrimony, which are distinctive ones, usually constituting a line of demarcation existing between clergy and laity. It has even been stated, that after St. AiHld had been married, he became the father of Carbre. This latter in time was parent to the celebrated St. Finnian, Abbot of Magbile. ^
After his wife's death, most probably, Ailild abandoned all secular cares by devoting himself entirely to God's holy service. 3 When speaking about this saint, Harris remarks, that he was a married man at the time of his con- version. In order to account for a married man taking Holy Orders, this writer states, that Colgan tells us, he put away his wife first. * Now Harris
'S See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Hi. , n. 39, p. 442. It will be seen, there is
nise," xiii. Januarii. Vita S. Alelli, cap. no probable ground whatever for the latter
iii. , iv. , p. 61.
'*The several places noted were situated
statement. The fact of Archbishop Alild I. , being from Clanbrassil territory would not render it unlikely that at one period of his
within the county of Down, and in chapter
xix. of the " Menologic Genealogy," men- life he might have been the inmate of a
tion is made concerning the six brothers
already named. From such source we learn,
that these six brothers, whether about the
same time, or at different intervals, not
alone embraced the Christian faith, but that
their lives were spent in the places alluded
to, where they probably passed out of this
world in the full odour of sanctity. How- tioned, insomuch, as his being married ever, in his Life of St. Patrick, Joceline while a pagan, is possible ; still the proba- relates, that only three brothers, besides bilities may be, that he received Matrimony Dichuo and Rossius, received baptism from after he had become a Christian,
the Irish Apostle. See Colgan's "Acta ^The "Menologic Genealogy," chap.
Sanctorum Hibemise," xiii. Januarii, nn. 6, 7, p. 62.
'7 Dr. Lanigan states, that Abbot Alild, who resided there, must have been different
from Alild I. , Archbishop of Armagh, who was from Clanbrassil. See "Ecclesiastical
xix. , states that St. Finnian of Maghbile was the son of Carbre, son to Ailill, son of Trichem, son of Fieg, &c. , as already traced. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xiii. Januarii, n. 8, p. 62.
^ Set ibid:, cap. vi. , p. 62.
* Harris adds: "He should rather iri"
History
of Ireland," vol. i. , ix. , § chap,
monastery more distant than even that of
Moville, from his birth-place. It is not even certain that St. Alild I. was bom within that ancient territory, although it is known from positive testimony, he was de- scended from—the family of Clanbrassail.
'
Chap. ii. This statement may be ques-
i36 LIVES OF 7HE IRISH SAINTS.
[January 13.
has shamefully perverted the meaning of Colgan, in reference to this subject. The Irish hagiologist is misrepresented and made to say, that Ailill put away his wife before taking Holy Orders. Now Colgan's statement is, that thewifewasdead,beforehebecameaclergyman. ^ Harristhengoesonto show, that the Irish clergy were not bound to celibacy in those times ; but Dr. Lanigan takes him to task and roundly asserts, that in the whole history of the ancient Irish Church, there is no instance of any bishop having been
exempt from the law of celibacy. ^
In addition to what has been urged with so much force, it may be stated,
in reply to what Harris has advanced, when trying to support his false posi-
tion, that, as in the present instance, it is extremely probable some pries. s of the early Irish Church had been married previous to their ordination. Yet, in this case, either their wives died before they assumed orders, or they had consented to a voluntary separation from their husbands, so that these might enter upon a religious state. To persons thus circumstanced, the canon in question had reference ; and, as at the present time, we are able to furnish many instances for illustration, especially as regard married converts to the Catholic religion, so at a period when St. Patrick commenced his mission in Ireland, it might have been deemed expedient to recruit the clerical ranks from persons who had been previously married, and who felt disposed to comply with established ecclesiastical discipline, before their reception of the higher orders.
From the circumstance of this saint, as named in our Irish Menologies, having been venerated at Magbile, it has been assumed, by Colgan, that he might have been abbot over that place. This grave author, however, would not undertake to assert, whether from having been abbot there, St. Ailild had been assumed to Armagh's archiepiscopal see, or whether having ruled over this latter church, he laid down the honours and responsibiUties of pontifical
dignity, to seek repose in Magbile Monastery. ^
From all evidence adduced by Colgan, we might feel unable to arrive at
any other conclusion, than that Ailild resided tor some time in Maghbile
Monastery, as a simple monk. It is likely enough, that he received Holy Orders, and was afterwards promoted to Armagh see, without having previously or subsequently exercised tne function of an abbot. But so far as the chro-
nology ot his episcopacy is concerned, no abbey of Maghbile was in existence,
until after his death. ^ he was venerated there after been Perhaps having
genuously have owned, that celibacy was secrated," says Dr. Lanigan ; "fori know not at this time enjoined the clergy ; and that in times of confusion certain persons,
that the sixth canon of the synod held by St. Patrick, Auxilius, and Iserninus, a. u. 448,
not consecrated, had, in consequence of
having seized on the church property, got themo>elves called bishops. " See "•Lcclesi-
astical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix , § iii. , n. 40, p. 442.
' There are two Movilles in the province of Ulster. One of these is in the northern
provides,
"
that the wife of a priest should
appear abroad veiled. " See iiarris' Ware,
vol. i. , "ArchbishopsofArmagh,"p. 37.
s His words, in reference to Ailild, are,
"abuxorislege solutus," &c. Colgan—took
it
this phrase from St. Paul, who uscj— ag-
cording to the Vulgate translation where he declares, that, in case of the husband's
called Inishowen while the ;
'death,awoman
quae sub viro est mulier vivente viro, alligata est legi ; si antem mortuus fuerit vir ejus, soluta est lege viri," Rom. vii. , 2. 'thus the words used by Colgan necessarily pre- suppose, in a scholastic sense, the wife's
death.
saint
as it seems to have been a patrimonial in-
heritance.
* See Dr. Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Anti-
quities of Down, Conor and Dromore," Ap- pendix A, p. 157. There, it is calculated, that Moville or Maghbile Monastery had been founded about tne year S4a
* •'
I mean real bishops and regularly con-
may marry again.
present
dwelt, especially
peninsula,
other Moville is in the eastern part oi Down, The latter is more celebrated. Here, too,
"Nam most the likely
January 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. If;
called away from life. s On the death of Duach or Dubtach I. , which took
place in the year 512/" St. Alild I. was appointed to succeed, as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland. Our saint sustained the honours of this exalted station for a continuance of thirteen years. " During this period, his merits and virtues were found fuiiy equal to that great trust reposed in his keeping. Full of years and of virtues, he passed out of this life, on the 13th day of January, in the year of salvation, 525. '-
T icdi-al,
He was succeeded in ihe Archiei^scopal See of Armagh, by St. A'. ild II. -p andfromtheconcurrentc ;n:umstancesofbothdistinguishedpersonsbearing the same name, claimiiig tlie same family origin, '4 and coming in an im-
' See ihid. , Appendix IX, p. 376.
'" At this year, we have the following
"
enti'y :
Bishop of Arcl Macha [i\rmagh], resigned his spirit. " . See O'Donovan's "Annals of
the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 168, 169. And in a note, on this entry, Mr. O'Donovan remarks, that Druim-Dearbh was probably identical v/ith Derver, in the county of Louth. See n. (m), ibid.
of Fiachra Casan, son of Colla Dachrioch.
Sec O'Flaherty's Ogygia, iii. , c. 76. On an old ma]:) of a part of Ulster, preserved in the State Paper Office, London, the territory of Clan-brazil is shown as on the south side of Lough Neagh, where the Upper Bann enters that lake,, from which, and from the place given it, we may infer that it was co- extensive with the present barony of Oneil- land East," ibid.
'3 This is attested by the Catalogue of Prelates in this see, and by the Annals of Scnat-mac-Magnus, of Clonmacnoise, and of
"
. Sec Usslier's Catalogue of the Primates
"
Dubhtach, i. e. , of Diuim-Dearbii,
of Armagh in
Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 454.
Britannicaium Ecclcsiarum
" At this year, we have the following ""
the Four Masters. He died in the year entry: Ailill, liishop of Armagh, who 535. See Rev. Robert King's Memoir
was of the Ui Brcasail, died. " . See O'Dono-
Introductory to the early History of the Primacy of Armagh," p. 69.
'••The annals and authorities already quoted relate, that Ailill I. died a. d. 525. He and his successor Ailill II. belonged to the race of Bressail, who belonged to the family of Fiatach Finn. \Vherefore the line of Breassail, drawn from the Dalfiatach
van's
"
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. ,
pp. 172, 173. In note (a), on this entry, Mr. O'Donovan says, in reference to the Ui- Breasail, or Race of Breasal, "These were otherwise called Ui-Breasail-Macha and Clann-Breasail, and derived their name and lineage from Breasal, son of Feidhlim, son
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[January 13.
mediate order as regards succession in the same see, they have been incor- rectly confounded. But the distinction of days, months and years, having reference to their departure from this Hfe, will tend to correct such an error. Our annalists and hagiologists assign the second Alild's death to the ist
of A. D. 's day July, 53 5.
As already observed, those dates referring to the decease of St. Alild I. , are altogether different. '^ The Natalis of Alild I. is held on the Ides or 13th of January, and that of Alild II. , on the ist of July. '? For these statements, we may cite as authorities, the Martyrology of Tallagh,'^ Marianus O'Gorman, the Commentator on St. ^ngus, and the Irish Martyrology of Donegal. '9
Despite a positive assertion of the learned and researchful Colgan, who
appears to have had ample materials before him on which he might ground
an opinion, a learned Irish historian presumes to question the statement, that
AiHld L, Archbishop of Armagh, was the identical person, named Alild of
Magbile. ^° Thelatter-writerasserts,thatinColgan'sactsofoursaint,which
he designates a strange and an incoherent medley," the Irish hagiologist has confounded into one person two saints, who ought to have been regarded as
distinct in identity, and as living at different periods. While allowing Alild of Magbile to have been one of Prince Trichem's sons, and a grandfather to St. Finnian of Magbile, Dr. Lanigan considers this St. Alild to have been
alwaysalayman. FromconfoundingthelatterwithSt. Alild,Archbishopof Armagh, this historian asserts an impression was thence derived that the metropolitan prelate had been married before his ordination. Again Dr. Lanigan maintains, that Alild, Archbishop of Armagh, was not nearly con- nected with Dichuo, St. Patrick's early convert, while the prelate in question was a native of Clanbrassil, this being a district, far distant from Lecale, in
which Dichuo's family resided.
^^
This \\T:iter will not allow there is any
foundation for a statement, that Alild, Archbishop of Armagh, or even Dichuo,
came from a princely extraction. But the argument he principally urges, to
sustain his opinion, is the assumption of Dichuo having had a settled family in the year 432, when in all probability he could not have been less than
forty years of age, and consequently the improbability of his having had a
root, gave name to Clan-bressail, a district '' Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. in Ulster. See ibid. The accompanying 14, 15. In the table postfixed to this view of t—he exact site of Armagh's ancient Martyrology, he is likewise styled Eulalius. cathedral the modem—structure is com- See ibid. , pp. 360, 361.
parativelyarecentone hasbeendrawnby William F. Wakeman, and engraved by A. Appleton.
'5 At the year 535, we find it stated,
" of died. He was Oilill, Bishop Armagh,
also of the Ui-Breasail. " See O'Donovan's Masters have (,ap. Tr. Th. , p. 293): 'S.
" Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp.
178, 179. In note (u) to this entry, Mr.
Alildus Ep. Ardmach de gente de Hi-Bres- sail :' i. e. , Clanbrassil, in the county of Ar-
" He is otherwise called Ailill. He succeeded his relative Ailill I.
(at 13th January) strives to reconcile this with his assumption that Alild was son of the great dynast Trichem, by saying, that the Hi-Bressail sept was a mates at Armagh, Ailill I. is said to have branch of the Dalfiatachs. This is a pitiful
O'Donovan's
says,
magh. Colgan
who died in 526. " Ibid.
'* In the different Catalogues of the Pri-
ruled for thirteen, and Ailill II. for ten
years.
'' See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," xiii.
Januarii. Vita S. Alelli, cap. vii. , and n. 19, p. 62.
'^Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xii. In the Franciscan copy the reading is ^iLLelo ep.
evasion. If Alild was a son of Trichem,
who was of the great and right line of the
Dalfiatachs, he would not have been placed in the distant and minor branch of the Hi- Bressail. " See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , § iii. , n. 38, p. 442.
*° " In the
MenologicGenealogy. " '• "
See Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesiastical His-
tory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , § iii. , n.
35, p. 441.
" The Doctor adds in a note, "The Four
January 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, 189
brother capable of discharging episcopal duties in 513. ^3 The objections of Dr. Lanigan are sufficiently plausible and pertinent, but not entirely convinc- ing nor unanswerable, especially when weighed with received accounts re- garding our saint. '+ According to his usual theory of computation, this historian says, Ailill I. died about, or in the year 526,^5 after having governed Armagh See nearly thirteen years. ^^ The same writer supposes, that Ailill I. , dying so early in the year as the 13th of January, it is very probable, his in- cumbency did not last fully thirteen years, although having its commence- ment in 513. In the body of his text, to Avhich the above observation is ap- pended, the learned Doctor tells us, that the first Alild died on the 13th of January, a. d. 526, after an incumbency of thirteen years. ^7
No doubt much remains to be discovered regarding the Life of St. Alilid I. ,
under these peculiar circumstances; and probably, at some future time, certain involutions of facts now presented may receive adequate solution. For the present, therefore, too much unwarranted assertion or mere speculation might be risked, were the writer of this notice to enter upon further details concern-
ing him, and the contemporary events of his period.
amid his cares and burdens, than do the sons of darkness in the Babel of
false pleasures and wickedness surrounding them. The good shepherd of souls endeavours to make atonement for the sins of his people.
At the 13th day of January, Colgan has drawn up some accounts regard- ing this holy prelate, from the Acts of St. Patrick, and from other sources, while he has added some comments of his own to solve difficulties which are presented. ' Before St. Patrick's arrival in Ireland, about a. d. 432, a chieftain named Trichem lived in an eastern part of Ulster. This assertion is capable of proof, from the circumstance of Dichuo, son to this Trichem,
having bestowed on St. Patrick the site for Saul Monastery. Besides this,
it is known that Magbile, Killchlethe, Down, and Neddruni,^ where the sons of this Trichem had their possessions, are all situated in the eastern and maritime parts of Ulster. 3
*
necessarily give refreshment,
In the Franciscan copy this entry reads Art.
— —'
"Acta
^oel^tii fci.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
14, 15,
Art. VIII.
—
'
Edited
Drs. Todd and
accounts of these several in Rev. Dr. places
Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor, and Dromore. " Appendix A, pp. 123 to 179; Appendix N, pp. 217 to 219;
Appendix F, pp. 187 to 197.
Reeves, pp. 14, 15.
''Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xii.
3 In the Franciscan copy we find bAicViem
. 1 . moiC nem<in. The succeeding word in
small characters is
3 See
Colgan
s account, n. 2, 62. p.
illegible.
by
Chap.
See
S. Aielli sen Aiiidi, pp. 6i, t)2.
i.
Sanctorum HibernizE," xiii. Januarii. Vita
*
i.
The reader wiii hnd very interesting
Colgan's
1 84 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 13.
Trichem, or as the name is Latinized, Trichemius, was the descendant of a respectable ancestral pagan line ; but he was likewise the parent of childrennolessdistinguishedintheearlyhistoryofourIrishChurch. This chieftain is stated to have been a scion of the noble Dalfiatacian
from which race were derived many kings, not only of the Ultonian pro- vince,5 but even some who had been monarchs over Ireland. ^ St. Ailild was the son of Trichem, son to Fieg, son of Imchad, son to Breassal, son of Sinchad, son to Fiatach, surnamed Finn. 7 We find the holy archbishop, in after time, classed among the disciples of St. Patrick f and if he deserve such a distinction, it must have been at rather a late period of the Apostle's life, and while Ailild himself was very young.
It has been very positively asserted, that our saint was not Trichem's son,9 and Dr. Lanigan considers him to have been a different person from Ailill of Magbile, with whom, it is said, he was confounded. '° The only grounds on which the former opinion seems formed are, that Dichuo, the elder brother of Ailill, must have had a settled family, and have been at least forty years of age in the year 433, when he had been converted by St. Patrick. Hence, as argued, it could not have been probable he had a brother capable of assuming episcopal functions in the year 513. "
Although Trichem had not the happiness of embracing the Christian faith, yet, through God's holy providence, he was the father of a numerous and
saintly offspring. He became the parent of six sons, who were not only distinguished for being among the first fruits of St. Patrick's apostolic labours and preaching, owing to their reception of the baptismal and re- generating sacrament, but, moreover, they acquired a reputation for being enrolledamongtheearlysaintsofIreland'sChurch. Theyarethusnamed, according to the order of their respective births, viz. , Rius," or Rossius, Dichuo, Durthact, Eugenius, Niell, and Alill. '3 In the Life of St. Patrick we are told, that Dichuo was not alone the first of his family, but of his whole nation, who embraced the Christian faith, when our great Apostle's mission commenced. This example was afterwards followed by members of his household. '"^ The elder brother, Rossius, at first resisted the grace of con- version ; and he even sought to interpose every obstacle to the success of St. Patrick's mission. But his obstinacy and infidelity were finally overcome.
*The"
Is cited by Colgan, and it traces the gene- alogy of our saint to Fiatach, King of Ireland, who was the founder of the Dalfia-
tacian family.
5 Thirty-six Christian kings over Ultonia
"Joceline, in his Life of St. Patrick, chap, xxxiv. , calls this sonofTrichemby *Thie2 supreme monarchs of Ireland the name of Rus. See Colgan's "Trias
Menologic Genealogy," cap. xix. ,
the ofSt. Patrick. " See"Eccle* disciples
siastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , § iii. , p. 440, and n. 37, pp. 441, 442.
" That such an opinion is not sustained by a sufficient amount of evidence will here- after be rendered apparent,
issued in this line, besides ten others in the
timesofpaganism.
sprung from this race.
7 The genealogy of our saint's five bro-
thers follows, as a matter of course, this same order. See Colgan's "Acta Sane- torum Hibemiffi," n. 3, p. 62.
^ See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix ad»Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 269.
Thaumaturga," p. 72.
'^ Thus these brothers are called in the
"
Menologic Genealogy," chap. xix. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xiii. Januarii. Vita S. Alelli, cap. i. , ii. , p. 61, and n. 5, p. 62,
'In Joceline's "Life of St. Patrick," chap, xxxii. , it is said regarding this Dichuo, "predicante Patricio, cum omni domo sua in Christum credens baptisatur. " From this account it cannot be pronounced,
adhering more closely to Colgan, makes with any degiee of certainty, that Dichuo Ailild one of the six so-called sons of was a married man, as Dr. Lanigan is Trichem, of whom Dichuo was said to be pleased to assume,
one, and in like manner reckons him among
9 Sir James Ware calls Ailill, the son of Trichem, a prince of East Ulster.
" This learned writer observes, " Harris,
family,*
January 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 185
Soon afterwards, having received the sacraments of the Church, he happily departed this life/s The four younger brothers to these converts, already
named, moved by the example of their seniors, and by miracles, manifested at the time of their conversion, were not left without those graces which enabled them to receive the light of Faith. They choose also that better part, by aspiring to the attainment of practices which render faith perfect. They were favoured from above with those Divine inspirations, -which induced them to exercise virtues becoming the saints of Christ. Our martyrologists state that, whilst Dichuo had been venerated at Saul, St. Durthact was honoured at Nendrum, St Eugenius and St. Niell at Kil-cleith, and St. Ailild, at Maghile. *^ This latter place is now known as Moville, situated in the
barony of Ards, county of Down. '7
CHAPTER IL
PECULIARITY OF ST. AILILD'S POSITION IN REFERENCE TO THE RECEPTION OF THE SACRAMENTS—MISREPRESENTATION AND ITS CORRECTION—ST. AILILD SAID TO HAVE BEEN ABBOT OF MAGHBILE, AND ARCHBISHOP OF ARMAGH—HIS DEATH AND COMMEMORATION—CONCLUSION.
St. Ailild, it has been remarked, is thought to have obtained the graces of all the sacraments. ' For, not only did he receive those graces which
are common to all Christians, but, moreover, Holy Orders and Matrimony, which are distinctive ones, usually constituting a line of demarcation existing between clergy and laity. It has even been stated, that after St. AiHld had been married, he became the father of Carbre. This latter in time was parent to the celebrated St. Finnian, Abbot of Magbile. ^
After his wife's death, most probably, Ailild abandoned all secular cares by devoting himself entirely to God's holy service. 3 When speaking about this saint, Harris remarks, that he was a married man at the time of his con- version. In order to account for a married man taking Holy Orders, this writer states, that Colgan tells us, he put away his wife first. * Now Harris
'S See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Hi. , n. 39, p. 442. It will be seen, there is
nise," xiii. Januarii. Vita S. Alelli, cap. no probable ground whatever for the latter
iii. , iv. , p. 61.
'*The several places noted were situated
statement. The fact of Archbishop Alild I. , being from Clanbrassil territory would not render it unlikely that at one period of his
within the county of Down, and in chapter
xix. of the " Menologic Genealogy," men- life he might have been the inmate of a
tion is made concerning the six brothers
already named. From such source we learn,
that these six brothers, whether about the
same time, or at different intervals, not
alone embraced the Christian faith, but that
their lives were spent in the places alluded
to, where they probably passed out of this
world in the full odour of sanctity. How- tioned, insomuch, as his being married ever, in his Life of St. Patrick, Joceline while a pagan, is possible ; still the proba- relates, that only three brothers, besides bilities may be, that he received Matrimony Dichuo and Rossius, received baptism from after he had become a Christian,
the Irish Apostle. See Colgan's "Acta ^The "Menologic Genealogy," chap.
Sanctorum Hibemise," xiii. Januarii, nn. 6, 7, p. 62.
'7 Dr. Lanigan states, that Abbot Alild, who resided there, must have been different
from Alild I. , Archbishop of Armagh, who was from Clanbrassil. See "Ecclesiastical
xix. , states that St. Finnian of Maghbile was the son of Carbre, son to Ailill, son of Trichem, son of Fieg, &c. , as already traced. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xiii. Januarii, n. 8, p. 62.
^ Set ibid:, cap. vi. , p. 62.
* Harris adds: "He should rather iri"
History
of Ireland," vol. i. , ix. , § chap,
monastery more distant than even that of
Moville, from his birth-place. It is not even certain that St. Alild I. was bom within that ancient territory, although it is known from positive testimony, he was de- scended from—the family of Clanbrassail.
'
Chap. ii. This statement may be ques-
i36 LIVES OF 7HE IRISH SAINTS.
[January 13.
has shamefully perverted the meaning of Colgan, in reference to this subject. The Irish hagiologist is misrepresented and made to say, that Ailill put away his wife before taking Holy Orders. Now Colgan's statement is, that thewifewasdead,beforehebecameaclergyman. ^ Harristhengoesonto show, that the Irish clergy were not bound to celibacy in those times ; but Dr. Lanigan takes him to task and roundly asserts, that in the whole history of the ancient Irish Church, there is no instance of any bishop having been
exempt from the law of celibacy. ^
In addition to what has been urged with so much force, it may be stated,
in reply to what Harris has advanced, when trying to support his false posi-
tion, that, as in the present instance, it is extremely probable some pries. s of the early Irish Church had been married previous to their ordination. Yet, in this case, either their wives died before they assumed orders, or they had consented to a voluntary separation from their husbands, so that these might enter upon a religious state. To persons thus circumstanced, the canon in question had reference ; and, as at the present time, we are able to furnish many instances for illustration, especially as regard married converts to the Catholic religion, so at a period when St. Patrick commenced his mission in Ireland, it might have been deemed expedient to recruit the clerical ranks from persons who had been previously married, and who felt disposed to comply with established ecclesiastical discipline, before their reception of the higher orders.
From the circumstance of this saint, as named in our Irish Menologies, having been venerated at Magbile, it has been assumed, by Colgan, that he might have been abbot over that place. This grave author, however, would not undertake to assert, whether from having been abbot there, St. Ailild had been assumed to Armagh's archiepiscopal see, or whether having ruled over this latter church, he laid down the honours and responsibiUties of pontifical
dignity, to seek repose in Magbile Monastery. ^
From all evidence adduced by Colgan, we might feel unable to arrive at
any other conclusion, than that Ailild resided tor some time in Maghbile
Monastery, as a simple monk. It is likely enough, that he received Holy Orders, and was afterwards promoted to Armagh see, without having previously or subsequently exercised tne function of an abbot. But so far as the chro-
nology ot his episcopacy is concerned, no abbey of Maghbile was in existence,
until after his death. ^ he was venerated there after been Perhaps having
genuously have owned, that celibacy was secrated," says Dr. Lanigan ; "fori know not at this time enjoined the clergy ; and that in times of confusion certain persons,
that the sixth canon of the synod held by St. Patrick, Auxilius, and Iserninus, a. u. 448,
not consecrated, had, in consequence of
having seized on the church property, got themo>elves called bishops. " See "•Lcclesi-
astical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix , § iii. , n. 40, p. 442.
' There are two Movilles in the province of Ulster. One of these is in the northern
provides,
"
that the wife of a priest should
appear abroad veiled. " See iiarris' Ware,
vol. i. , "ArchbishopsofArmagh,"p. 37.
s His words, in reference to Ailild, are,
"abuxorislege solutus," &c. Colgan—took
it
this phrase from St. Paul, who uscj— ag-
cording to the Vulgate translation where he declares, that, in case of the husband's
called Inishowen while the ;
'death,awoman
quae sub viro est mulier vivente viro, alligata est legi ; si antem mortuus fuerit vir ejus, soluta est lege viri," Rom. vii. , 2. 'thus the words used by Colgan necessarily pre- suppose, in a scholastic sense, the wife's
death.
saint
as it seems to have been a patrimonial in-
heritance.
* See Dr. Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Anti-
quities of Down, Conor and Dromore," Ap- pendix A, p. 157. There, it is calculated, that Moville or Maghbile Monastery had been founded about tne year S4a
* •'
I mean real bishops and regularly con-
may marry again.
present
dwelt, especially
peninsula,
other Moville is in the eastern part oi Down, The latter is more celebrated. Here, too,
"Nam most the likely
January 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. If;
called away from life. s On the death of Duach or Dubtach I. , which took
place in the year 512/" St. Alild I. was appointed to succeed, as Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of Ireland. Our saint sustained the honours of this exalted station for a continuance of thirteen years. " During this period, his merits and virtues were found fuiiy equal to that great trust reposed in his keeping. Full of years and of virtues, he passed out of this life, on the 13th day of January, in the year of salvation, 525. '-
T icdi-al,
He was succeeded in ihe Archiei^scopal See of Armagh, by St. A'. ild II. -p andfromtheconcurrentc ;n:umstancesofbothdistinguishedpersonsbearing the same name, claimiiig tlie same family origin, '4 and coming in an im-
' See ihid. , Appendix IX, p. 376.
'" At this year, we have the following
"
enti'y :
Bishop of Arcl Macha [i\rmagh], resigned his spirit. " . See O'Donovan's "Annals of
the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 168, 169. And in a note, on this entry, Mr. O'Donovan remarks, that Druim-Dearbh was probably identical v/ith Derver, in the county of Louth. See n. (m), ibid.
of Fiachra Casan, son of Colla Dachrioch.
Sec O'Flaherty's Ogygia, iii. , c. 76. On an old ma]:) of a part of Ulster, preserved in the State Paper Office, London, the territory of Clan-brazil is shown as on the south side of Lough Neagh, where the Upper Bann enters that lake,, from which, and from the place given it, we may infer that it was co- extensive with the present barony of Oneil- land East," ibid.
'3 This is attested by the Catalogue of Prelates in this see, and by the Annals of Scnat-mac-Magnus, of Clonmacnoise, and of
"
. Sec Usslier's Catalogue of the Primates
"
Dubhtach, i. e. , of Diuim-Dearbii,
of Armagh in
Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 454.
Britannicaium Ecclcsiarum
" At this year, we have the following ""
the Four Masters. He died in the year entry: Ailill, liishop of Armagh, who 535. See Rev. Robert King's Memoir
was of the Ui Brcasail, died. " . See O'Dono-
Introductory to the early History of the Primacy of Armagh," p. 69.
'••The annals and authorities already quoted relate, that Ailill I. died a. d. 525. He and his successor Ailill II. belonged to the race of Bressail, who belonged to the family of Fiatach Finn. \Vherefore the line of Breassail, drawn from the Dalfiatach
van's
"
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. ,
pp. 172, 173. In note (a), on this entry, Mr. O'Donovan says, in reference to the Ui- Breasail, or Race of Breasal, "These were otherwise called Ui-Breasail-Macha and Clann-Breasail, and derived their name and lineage from Breasal, son of Feidhlim, son
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[January 13.
mediate order as regards succession in the same see, they have been incor- rectly confounded. But the distinction of days, months and years, having reference to their departure from this Hfe, will tend to correct such an error. Our annalists and hagiologists assign the second Alild's death to the ist
of A. D. 's day July, 53 5.
As already observed, those dates referring to the decease of St. Alild I. , are altogether different. '^ The Natalis of Alild I. is held on the Ides or 13th of January, and that of Alild II. , on the ist of July. '? For these statements, we may cite as authorities, the Martyrology of Tallagh,'^ Marianus O'Gorman, the Commentator on St. ^ngus, and the Irish Martyrology of Donegal. '9
Despite a positive assertion of the learned and researchful Colgan, who
appears to have had ample materials before him on which he might ground
an opinion, a learned Irish historian presumes to question the statement, that
AiHld L, Archbishop of Armagh, was the identical person, named Alild of
Magbile. ^° Thelatter-writerasserts,thatinColgan'sactsofoursaint,which
he designates a strange and an incoherent medley," the Irish hagiologist has confounded into one person two saints, who ought to have been regarded as
distinct in identity, and as living at different periods. While allowing Alild of Magbile to have been one of Prince Trichem's sons, and a grandfather to St. Finnian of Magbile, Dr. Lanigan considers this St. Alild to have been
alwaysalayman. FromconfoundingthelatterwithSt. Alild,Archbishopof Armagh, this historian asserts an impression was thence derived that the metropolitan prelate had been married before his ordination. Again Dr. Lanigan maintains, that Alild, Archbishop of Armagh, was not nearly con- nected with Dichuo, St. Patrick's early convert, while the prelate in question was a native of Clanbrassil, this being a district, far distant from Lecale, in
which Dichuo's family resided.
^^
This \\T:iter will not allow there is any
foundation for a statement, that Alild, Archbishop of Armagh, or even Dichuo,
came from a princely extraction. But the argument he principally urges, to
sustain his opinion, is the assumption of Dichuo having had a settled family in the year 432, when in all probability he could not have been less than
forty years of age, and consequently the improbability of his having had a
root, gave name to Clan-bressail, a district '' Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. in Ulster. See ibid. The accompanying 14, 15. In the table postfixed to this view of t—he exact site of Armagh's ancient Martyrology, he is likewise styled Eulalius. cathedral the modem—structure is com- See ibid. , pp. 360, 361.
parativelyarecentone hasbeendrawnby William F. Wakeman, and engraved by A. Appleton.
'5 At the year 535, we find it stated,
" of died. He was Oilill, Bishop Armagh,
also of the Ui-Breasail. " See O'Donovan's Masters have (,ap. Tr. Th. , p. 293): 'S.
" Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp.
178, 179. In note (u) to this entry, Mr.
Alildus Ep. Ardmach de gente de Hi-Bres- sail :' i. e. , Clanbrassil, in the county of Ar-
" He is otherwise called Ailill. He succeeded his relative Ailill I.
(at 13th January) strives to reconcile this with his assumption that Alild was son of the great dynast Trichem, by saying, that the Hi-Bressail sept was a mates at Armagh, Ailill I. is said to have branch of the Dalfiatachs. This is a pitiful
O'Donovan's
says,
magh. Colgan
who died in 526. " Ibid.
'* In the different Catalogues of the Pri-
ruled for thirteen, and Ailill II. for ten
years.
'' See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," xiii.
Januarii. Vita S. Alelli, cap. vii. , and n. 19, p. 62.
'^Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xii. In the Franciscan copy the reading is ^iLLelo ep.
evasion. If Alild was a son of Trichem,
who was of the great and right line of the
Dalfiatachs, he would not have been placed in the distant and minor branch of the Hi- Bressail. " See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , § iii. , n. 38, p. 442.
*° " In the
MenologicGenealogy. " '• "
See Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesiastical His-
tory of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , § iii. , n.
35, p. 441.
" The Doctor adds in a note, "The Four
January 13. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, 189
brother capable of discharging episcopal duties in 513. ^3 The objections of Dr. Lanigan are sufficiently plausible and pertinent, but not entirely convinc- ing nor unanswerable, especially when weighed with received accounts re- garding our saint. '+ According to his usual theory of computation, this historian says, Ailill I. died about, or in the year 526,^5 after having governed Armagh See nearly thirteen years. ^^ The same writer supposes, that Ailill I. , dying so early in the year as the 13th of January, it is very probable, his in- cumbency did not last fully thirteen years, although having its commence- ment in 513. In the body of his text, to Avhich the above observation is ap- pended, the learned Doctor tells us, that the first Alild died on the 13th of January, a. d. 526, after an incumbency of thirteen years. ^7
No doubt much remains to be discovered regarding the Life of St. Alilid I. ,
under these peculiar circumstances; and probably, at some future time, certain involutions of facts now presented may receive adequate solution. For the present, therefore, too much unwarranted assertion or mere speculation might be risked, were the writer of this notice to enter upon further details concern-
ing him, and the contemporary events of his period.
