Its plan was qua-
drangular, including a partition wall, which separated an apartment from the nave,ofwhichthatchurchseemstohavebeensolelycomposed.
drangular, including a partition wall, which separated an apartment from the nave,ofwhichthatchurchseemstohavebeensolelycomposed.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
Dr.
Lanigan s Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , sect,
into English
vi. , n. 54, p. 104. 2"
7 InWilliamM. Hennessy'seditionofthe
"Chronicum Scotorum," it is placed at A. D.
531. See pp. 44, 45-
28 See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's " Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , sect, vi. , p. 103.
29 The account of this Abbey, as given in the Psalter of Cashel, is taken from H. MacCurtin's "Brief Discourse in Vindication of the Antiquity of Ireland," part ii. , p. 193.
30 Which has been spoken of at February
1st, when treating about St. Brighit.
31 Also the Martyr, whose feast occurs on
the 10th of August.
52 In his Poem on the Characteristic Vir-
tues of the Irish Saints, thus is St. Nessan mentioned w—ith distinguished honour in the
edited Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 202, 203.
Irish lines
:
CAjvAf neAjuun, riAorh "066611111, Cr\Ab<v6, Am^b-oe, io-oAin
tlOCA CCAiniC CA|\ A 'OeA'O,
ni bat) bneAg mA b<vo bj\eAfAit.
This stanza has been thus t—ranslated into
English by Eugene O'Curry : nise,"
precise time,
"Nessan, the holy deacon, loved
An angelical, pure mortfication, There never came past his lips Anything that was false or deceitful.
"
'
" Calendar ofIrish Vol. VII. —No. 7.
—Rev. Matthew
Kelly's
:
Nessantheholydeacon,loves
Angelic pure devotion ;
Never came outside his teeth What was untrue or guileful. "
—" of Martyrology
34 The Rev. Dr. Lanigan thinks, our saint could not have been very young, at the time he held these conversations with St. Ailbe ofEmly. He also remarks, that in a passage referred to by Ussher, and taken from the Life of Ailbe, Nessan is styled egregiits et
"
sanctissimtts.
it was meant to apply these epithets as suit- ing him at the time of those conversations, it will follow, that he was then of a mature
Yet, we cannot mark the
in which he formed his establishment at Mungret, while it is —undeniable that he was
age.
Donegal,"
by
If, as seems very probable,
"
abbot in that Ecclesiastical His-
place. "
tory of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , sect, vi. ,
p. 103, and n. 58, p. 104.
35 See
xvii. Martii. Vita S.
Colgan's
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
Nessani,
p. 629.
36 In the "Leabhar Breac copy is the
following stanza, thus translated into English, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. :—
mochobnoc fUoriloc.
Ia •oiAlAmniAir> tlefi'An
386 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 25.
with some other Irish Saints, there is a special commemoration of St. Nessan. 37 As the festival of St. Nessan was therefore celebrated atMungret, on the 25th of Juhy8 we may suppose this to have been the day of his death. He is recorded, also, in the Martyrology of Donegal,39 at the same date, but at greater length, as Nessan, Deacon, of Mungairit, in Minister. He died a. d. 551, according to the Annals of the Four Masters ;4° but, according to those of Clonmacnoise, St. Nessan—who is also called "the Leper"—departed
this a. d. life,
41 His feast was celebrated
on the of 8 25th July. *
there, Theyearwas551,accordingtoColgan. 43 Whilefollowingthepeculiaropinion
that he held, the Rev. Dr. Lanigan places it, at a. d. 552,^ he supposing the Annals of the Four Masters to have been antedated by one year. Archbishop Ussher *s mentions a Nessan, who flourished in 570,46 and then confounds him with our saint, who died before that date. The ruins at Mungret as they existed in the last century are said to have consisted of church walls,
bespeaking neither indications of antiquity nor of former splendour. *? Only a few of the ruined buildings are there, at the present day.
1 at the
of
the feast of Mosiloc— Siloc—is interpreted My
561.
Article III. —St. Moshiloc or Moshiolog, Pupil of Moling Luachra. \Probably in the Seventh Century']. In the "Feilire" of St.
yEngus,
setdown. Inacommentannexed,2andjoinedwithMocholmoc,theglosso- grapher calls them " duo principes," which may be rendered " two leaders. " A festival in honour of Moshiloc, pupil or dalta of Moling, is registered in
25th
July,
the Martyrology of Tallagh,3 at the 25th of July. The epithet applied to him seems to indicate, that he became a disciple of St. Moling * Luachair, or
lacot)ceiroitroir
bar b|\AcViAj\ loarmif.
"My Colmoc, my Siloc, with Nessan if we
dare : Jacob without reproach (? ) : the death
of John's brother. "- "Transactions of the
Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript tices of St. Beoanus of Fidh-cuileen ; at the Scries, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of 13th of July, St. Carell ofTagh-rois; at the Oengus, p. cxii. 24th of April, St. Flann ; and at the 15th of
3? To this is added an Irish gloss : . 1. "Oeo- May, St. Muredach. These seven foregoing
cViAti [n] eppan o rtlrnvgllAipiG, rendered Deacon Nessan of Mungret. Sec /bid. , p. exxi. 38 According to St. /Engus, the Calendars of Cashel, Marianus O'Gorman, Maguire,
"
saints are said to have been sons of Nessan. 47 The ruined church is thus described by Rev. Mervyn Archdall : "The east end is forty-seven feet long by sixteen broad, with a and others. See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum plain narrow window ; the centre, or nave,
Ilibernise," xvii. Martii. Vita S. Nessani, n. 2, p. 630.
39 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
202, 203.
e Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. ,
pp. 188, 1S9.
*• See ibid. , n. (f). *"
is thirty-three feet by twenty-eight and a-half, and the communication from this with the east end is by a small arch ; on the north side of the nave is a small porch or entrance; the west end is twelve feet by twenty-two, on the north side whereof is a small square tower, with ruined battlements ; there are
quitates," cap. xvii. , p. 497, and Index Chronologicus, p. 532, ibid.
46 See the Acts of Saints Dichull, Munissa, and Neslug, sons of Nessan, at the 15th of March. See, also, at the 8th of August, no-
Sec- Colgan's TriasTbaumaturga,"Vita no old tombs to be found here, but at a
Tripartita S. I'atricii, pars hi. , cap. lxii. , pp. 157. 158, 185, 187. See, also, "The
Circle of the Seasons,"
4! Sec the •'Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nian" xxix. Januarii, n. 13, p. 192, where his obit is given ; and the "Trias Thauma-
turga," pp. 32 and 186.
•" "
Sec Ecclesiastical History of Ireland,"
vol. ii. , chap. XJ. , sect, vi. f p. 103.
small distance north-cast, are the walls of an old hous—e, which probably made a part of the abbey. " "Monasticonllibernicum,"p. 435.
45 See
"
Britannicarum Ecclcsiarum Anti-
Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , parti. On the Calendar of
Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. cxii. e ibid. , p. cxx.
» Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxx.
4 His Life is given at the 17th day of June,
p.
207.
—
Article hi.
J
See "Transactions of the
July 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 387
Luachra, and so called, because his father had relations with Slieve Lougher, a
wild tract of country, in the present county of Kerry. However, St. Molyng's religiousestablishmentwasontheeastsideoftheRiverBarrow. Whether or not, the present saint studied under this celebrated teacher at St. Mullins, in the county of Carlow, has never been recorded; however, it is probable that he did, and that he must have flourished there, about the middle of the seventh century. The cemetery surrounding the old ecclesiastical ruins at St. Mullins is a favourite place for interments,5 as the numerous tombs and head-stones there sufficiently evince. Many of the inscriptions prove, that the Kavanaghs sought it especially as a place for interment. In a small
6 squareenclosureinthegraveyardatSt. Mullins,thereisastonealtar arched
overhead, where, according to tradition, Mass used to be celebrated in penal
times ; a scout posted on the top of the adjoining moat protected the priest —andhiscongregationagainstasurprise. Whet—hertheoldchurchofToomullin
7
written by John O'Donovan Tuamullin had its origin of name from St.
8
However, in the Trinity College List of castles belonging to Thomond, we find Tuamolyn, as being the residence of Conogher Maglanchy. We have no doubt, but that the old church had been
remodelled for this residence, and that chief lived there, when it had ceased to be used for religious purposes. The curious old church of Toumoulin,9 in the parish of Killilagh, and barony of Corcomroe, near the small bay of Doolin, and in the county of Clare, is yet very perfect.
Its plan was qua-
drangular, including a partition wall, which separated an apartment from the nave,ofwhichthatchurchseemstohavebeensolelycomposed. Thisnave
Moling or not, may be questioned.
measures feet 31
18 feet 10 The across, interiorly.
in
apartment had the same width, and from east to west it is 9 feet 6 inches. 11
Below these was a cross-wall, with a large connecting doorway or open. One apartment was 9 feet from this door to the side wall, and the other was 6 feet 10 inches. An undivided upper story seems to have been over tlie cross- wall, and that was lighted by three small windows. 12 One lower window
3 inches,
length, by
his festival, in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. i.
5 A tomb-stone, lying flat and partly de- faced, has a large central cross, and a mar-
ginal inscription in Latin, notifying that it is the last resting-place of Daniel Kinsellagh, who died 8th Nov. , 1646. Another slab is to the memory of Patrick Doyle, and his wife Catherine, who lived to the age of 126
Clare, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1839," vol. i. Letter of John O'Donovan, dated Kilrush, 4th No- vember, 1839, pp. 322, 323.
8
As the denomination of Tegh Moling was applied by the Irish to his habitation on the banks of the River Barrow, so the various forms of Toomullin, Tuamullin, Tuamolyn, or Toumoulin, may possibly be resolved into Tegh Moling, or the House of Molin—g ;
years.
To the left of this altar, there is a slab of although the first part of the compound if
black marble set in the wall, on which not corrupted in tradition—seems nearer to
appears the following inscription: "Here the Irish tuaim, which means " a mound "
lieth the body of Bryan Kavanagh, of Drum- min, of the family of Ballyleaugh. A man
remarkably known to the nobility and gentry of Ireland by the name of Bryan Nestroake, from his noble actions and valour in King
James's troops in the battles of the Boyne
or "a tomb. " See Dr. P. W. Joyce's
"Origin and History of Irish Names of
Places," part iii. , chap, iii. , pp. 322 to 324. 9 It is shown, on the " Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the County of Clare," sheet 8.
I0 The measurements in the text were taken by the writer on the spot,
"John O'Donovan supposes this apart- ment to have been an addition built out from the west gable, and he adds, that after its erection, a pointed doorway was broken into it close to the south wall.
and
Aughrim.
He died the February 8th,
1 735, aged 74 years. Also the body of his
wife, Mary Kavanagh, alias Murphy, with
foure of their children. R. I. P. " Bryan
Kavanagh is said to have got the appellation
of Nestroake from a sabre-cut mark upon his
face received in the battle of Aughrim.
" I2
7 See Letters containing Information re- The accompanying sketch of the in-
lative to the Antiquities of the County of terior was taken by the writer, on the occa-
383 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 25.
gave light to one of the apartments. In the dividing wall from the nave, two additional openings or windows are to be seen above. In the nave is a beautifully coved window, with a circular head, deeply splayed on the inside, with pointed and narrow mullions on the outside. Another window appears high up in the south side wall of the nave, with a doorway, which is now
walled up. *3 Nothing appears on the north wall, in the shape of an opening, if we except a formless breach, which now affords entrance to the interior. The soil about the church was tilled for potatoes, and the vegetation was ot that peculiar rankness, which has been caused by its use for centuries as a
Interior of Toumoulin Church Ruins, County of Clare.
cemetery, now totally closed and disused. Human remains are often turned up, during the process of cultivation. A bracket or cornice of dressed stones on the inside of the whole building gave support to the roof; and, on a cor- responding level outside, were drip-stones along the top of the side walls. A belfrysurmountedthecross-gable. Thesouthwallsareratherruinous; but,all the masonry was rock-grouted, and composed of large limestones dressed. 14 This old building stands near the margin of a rivulet, and just below it a beauti- ful cascade murmurs, immediately under a high projecting rock, on the south
On the outside, which is about 7 feet from
the present level of the ground, it is only feet in height and 7 inches in width.
14 Near the church is a spring called by the
'3 John O'Donovan states, that at a dis-
tance of five feet from the east gable there is
a round-beaded window, at the height of
four feet from the ground on the outside, and
measuring on the inside six feet by three
feet nine inches, and on the outside four feet
by five inches and one-half inch. The east
gable contains a neat window, wide and
round on the inside, and narrow and pointed the Ordnance Survey in 1839," vol. i. (. 11 the outside. It measures on the inside 7 Letter of John O'Donovan, dated Kilrush, feet in height and 3 feet 8 inches in width. 4th November, 1839, p. 319.
sion of a visit to these ruins in June, 1877. It was afterwards drawn by William F. Wakeman on the wood, and engraved by Mrs. Millard;
people Tubber Brickaron, and which they believe will cure sore eyes. —According to
John O'Donovan's statement
the
more correct one—
probably holy
it is the
well of St.
Brecan, near the old church of Toomullin.
"
See Letters containing Information re-
lative to the Antiquities of the County of Clare, collected during the Progress of
July 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 3X9
side. At the 25th of July, the Martyrology of Donegal ** enters Moshiolog, pupil of Moling Luachra. Where the present holy man lived, or when he died, has not been ascertained. That he was celebrated in his day is proba- ble, owing to the circumstance of his fame having extended even to Scotland, where he was also venerated. In the Calendar of Drummond, at the 25th of July, there is a feast 16 for the Natalis of the Holy Confessors, Mocolmoc, Mosiloc, and Nesain. More information than this bare announcement of the festival and of their names, we can hardly expect to learn regarding them.
Article IV. —Feast of St. Colman O'Liathain, Bishop or Abbot of Lismore. [Seventh and Eighth Centuries}. Clearness, conciseness, and objective treatment, are the usual characteristics of ancient classical histo-
rians and biographers, in reference to their subjects. Only in some special instances can all such qualifications be applied to notices of our saints, owing to a want of suitable dates and materials for combinations in detail. The feast of this saint, called Mocholmoc, is set down in the "Feilire" of St. iEngus, at the of 1
A comment is which throws some on his
25th July.
2 Afestival is
8
It is probable, that he was both Bishop and Abbot of Lismore ; for, he is called Comorban or suc- cessor of St. Mochudda,9 in the Calendar of Cashel. According to his usual computation, the Rev. Dr. Lanigan places the death of St. Colman O'Liathain, in the year 726. This learned writer believes, likewise, that his natalis should
202, 203. 7 See 16 "
niam Natale Sanctorum Confessorum Mo-
p. 149.
8 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , at a. d. 725, pp. 322
323-
9 Fifth Volume of this a See the work,
the 14th of May, where his Life has been given, Art. i.
I0
See "Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land," vol. iii. , chap, xix. , sect, vi. , p. 163, and nn. 74, 75, p. 165, ibid.
Il See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. ,
" See of Donegal," edited "Martyrology
by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 202, 203. J3 See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae,
Januarii xx. Vita S. Molagga, n. 10, p. 149. See, likewise, the Life of St. Molagga, at the 20th of January, in the First Volume of
cohnoc et Mosiloc et Nesain. "— Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
P' 19. — Article iv.
l
See "Transactions of the
Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. , p. cxii.
2 In this we read mocholmoc gloss
. 1. Colman IukvLiacIiah o birfino^mochu-od. Thus rendered: i. e. Colman descendant of
Liathan, of Less mor Mochuda.
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxx.
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Vita S. Colmani, n. 12,
pp. 322, 323.
4 See
nise," Januarii xxii. p, 155.
Colgan's
s The Life of St. Colman will be found at
the 22nd of January, in the First Volume of
this work, Art. i. Seen. 26, ibid.
qffixed,
light
in the
ology of Tallagh,3 to honour St. Colman, said to have been identical with Mocholmoc h-Fachrach. According to the Calendar of Cashel, a festival in honour of this holy person occurs, on the 25th of July. He has been con- founded with another St. Colman, Bishop and Abbot of Lismore, whose feast was kept on the 22nd of January. * This latter died in the year 702. 5 The present saint appears to have succeeded Cronan Ua Eoan, Abbot of Lismore, who died on the istof a. d. 6 calls St. Colman O'Liathain
family.
registered, likewise,
at the
25th
July,
Martyr-
June, 716. Colgan
a Bishop of Lismore, in one place. 7 The Four Masters, however, when re-
cording his death, only style him a select doctor.
The Four Masters 11 his death at place
12 also the death of St.
15 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. Cronan, in the year 717.
"
Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae, Thus entered : viii. Kal. Apud Hiber- Januarii xx. Vita S. Mollagce, n. 10
be to the of assigned 25th
a. d. as also do the 725,
10
July.
O'Clerys. Colgan, assigns
Bishop
6• See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the this work, under which the substance of
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 314,315. The Colgan's note may be found, Art. i. , Annals of Ulster place the death of this chap. i.
of
39o LIVES OE 1HE IRISHSAINTS. [July 25.
ColnianO'Liathain,BishopofLisraore,toa. d. 725. '3 IntheAnnalsofUlster, his death is placed at a. d. 730. '* In neither entry, however, do we find St. Colman O'Liadain called Bishop ofLismore. At this same date, the Martyr- ologyofDonegal'5 entersthename,ColmanUaLiathain,Doctor. Inthetable appended to this Martyrology, the compiler has a Latin comment, written in Irish characters, to the purport, that yEngus calls him Mocholmog, in the same way as Miarnog for Iarna, Mosiolog, Maodhdg, Moedoein. 16
Article V. —Festival of St. James the Greater, Apostle. In the ancient Irish Church, there was a festival for "Jacob without reproach," at
the of 25th day
as we find it recorded in the u Feilire " of St. 1 /Engus.
July,
In a scholion annexed, we are told, that this was James, the son of Zebedee, who was killed by Herod Agrippa, and who was the first among the Apostles to suffer martyrdom. 2 The Acts of St. James the Greater have been treated almost exhaustively by the Bollandists in their work,3 at the 25th of July, and they have been edited by Father William Cuper, S. J.
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , sect,
into English
vi. , n. 54, p. 104. 2"
7 InWilliamM. Hennessy'seditionofthe
"Chronicum Scotorum," it is placed at A. D.
531. See pp. 44, 45-
28 See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's " Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , sect, vi. , p. 103.
29 The account of this Abbey, as given in the Psalter of Cashel, is taken from H. MacCurtin's "Brief Discourse in Vindication of the Antiquity of Ireland," part ii. , p. 193.
30 Which has been spoken of at February
1st, when treating about St. Brighit.
31 Also the Martyr, whose feast occurs on
the 10th of August.
52 In his Poem on the Characteristic Vir-
tues of the Irish Saints, thus is St. Nessan mentioned w—ith distinguished honour in the
edited Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 202, 203.
Irish lines
:
CAjvAf neAjuun, riAorh "066611111, Cr\Ab<v6, Am^b-oe, io-oAin
tlOCA CCAiniC CA|\ A 'OeA'O,
ni bat) bneAg mA b<vo bj\eAfAit.
This stanza has been thus t—ranslated into
English by Eugene O'Curry : nise,"
precise time,
"Nessan, the holy deacon, loved
An angelical, pure mortfication, There never came past his lips Anything that was false or deceitful.
"
'
" Calendar ofIrish Vol. VII. —No. 7.
—Rev. Matthew
Kelly's
:
Nessantheholydeacon,loves
Angelic pure devotion ;
Never came outside his teeth What was untrue or guileful. "
—" of Martyrology
34 The Rev. Dr. Lanigan thinks, our saint could not have been very young, at the time he held these conversations with St. Ailbe ofEmly. He also remarks, that in a passage referred to by Ussher, and taken from the Life of Ailbe, Nessan is styled egregiits et
"
sanctissimtts.
it was meant to apply these epithets as suit- ing him at the time of those conversations, it will follow, that he was then of a mature
Yet, we cannot mark the
in which he formed his establishment at Mungret, while it is —undeniable that he was
age.
Donegal,"
by
If, as seems very probable,
"
abbot in that Ecclesiastical His-
place. "
tory of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , sect, vi. ,
p. 103, and n. 58, p. 104.
35 See
xvii. Martii. Vita S.
Colgan's
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
Nessani,
p. 629.
36 In the "Leabhar Breac copy is the
following stanza, thus translated into English, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. :—
mochobnoc fUoriloc.
Ia •oiAlAmniAir> tlefi'An
386 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 25.
with some other Irish Saints, there is a special commemoration of St. Nessan. 37 As the festival of St. Nessan was therefore celebrated atMungret, on the 25th of Juhy8 we may suppose this to have been the day of his death. He is recorded, also, in the Martyrology of Donegal,39 at the same date, but at greater length, as Nessan, Deacon, of Mungairit, in Minister. He died a. d. 551, according to the Annals of the Four Masters ;4° but, according to those of Clonmacnoise, St. Nessan—who is also called "the Leper"—departed
this a. d. life,
41 His feast was celebrated
on the of 8 25th July. *
there, Theyearwas551,accordingtoColgan. 43 Whilefollowingthepeculiaropinion
that he held, the Rev. Dr. Lanigan places it, at a. d. 552,^ he supposing the Annals of the Four Masters to have been antedated by one year. Archbishop Ussher *s mentions a Nessan, who flourished in 570,46 and then confounds him with our saint, who died before that date. The ruins at Mungret as they existed in the last century are said to have consisted of church walls,
bespeaking neither indications of antiquity nor of former splendour. *? Only a few of the ruined buildings are there, at the present day.
1 at the
of
the feast of Mosiloc— Siloc—is interpreted My
561.
Article III. —St. Moshiloc or Moshiolog, Pupil of Moling Luachra. \Probably in the Seventh Century']. In the "Feilire" of St.
yEngus,
setdown. Inacommentannexed,2andjoinedwithMocholmoc,theglosso- grapher calls them " duo principes," which may be rendered " two leaders. " A festival in honour of Moshiloc, pupil or dalta of Moling, is registered in
25th
July,
the Martyrology of Tallagh,3 at the 25th of July. The epithet applied to him seems to indicate, that he became a disciple of St. Moling * Luachair, or
lacot)ceiroitroir
bar b|\AcViAj\ loarmif.
"My Colmoc, my Siloc, with Nessan if we
dare : Jacob without reproach (? ) : the death
of John's brother. "- "Transactions of the
Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript tices of St. Beoanus of Fidh-cuileen ; at the Scries, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of 13th of July, St. Carell ofTagh-rois; at the Oengus, p. cxii. 24th of April, St. Flann ; and at the 15th of
3? To this is added an Irish gloss : . 1. "Oeo- May, St. Muredach. These seven foregoing
cViAti [n] eppan o rtlrnvgllAipiG, rendered Deacon Nessan of Mungret. Sec /bid. , p. exxi. 38 According to St. /Engus, the Calendars of Cashel, Marianus O'Gorman, Maguire,
"
saints are said to have been sons of Nessan. 47 The ruined church is thus described by Rev. Mervyn Archdall : "The east end is forty-seven feet long by sixteen broad, with a and others. See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum plain narrow window ; the centre, or nave,
Ilibernise," xvii. Martii. Vita S. Nessani, n. 2, p. 630.
39 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
202, 203.
e Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. ,
pp. 188, 1S9.
*• See ibid. , n. (f). *"
is thirty-three feet by twenty-eight and a-half, and the communication from this with the east end is by a small arch ; on the north side of the nave is a small porch or entrance; the west end is twelve feet by twenty-two, on the north side whereof is a small square tower, with ruined battlements ; there are
quitates," cap. xvii. , p. 497, and Index Chronologicus, p. 532, ibid.
46 See the Acts of Saints Dichull, Munissa, and Neslug, sons of Nessan, at the 15th of March. See, also, at the 8th of August, no-
Sec- Colgan's TriasTbaumaturga,"Vita no old tombs to be found here, but at a
Tripartita S. I'atricii, pars hi. , cap. lxii. , pp. 157. 158, 185, 187. See, also, "The
Circle of the Seasons,"
4! Sec the •'Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nian" xxix. Januarii, n. 13, p. 192, where his obit is given ; and the "Trias Thauma-
turga," pp. 32 and 186.
•" "
Sec Ecclesiastical History of Ireland,"
vol. ii. , chap. XJ. , sect, vi. f p. 103.
small distance north-cast, are the walls of an old hous—e, which probably made a part of the abbey. " "Monasticonllibernicum,"p. 435.
45 See
"
Britannicarum Ecclcsiarum Anti-
Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , parti. On the Calendar of
Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. cxii. e ibid. , p. cxx.
» Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxx.
4 His Life is given at the 17th day of June,
p.
207.
—
Article hi.
J
See "Transactions of the
July 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 387
Luachra, and so called, because his father had relations with Slieve Lougher, a
wild tract of country, in the present county of Kerry. However, St. Molyng's religiousestablishmentwasontheeastsideoftheRiverBarrow. Whether or not, the present saint studied under this celebrated teacher at St. Mullins, in the county of Carlow, has never been recorded; however, it is probable that he did, and that he must have flourished there, about the middle of the seventh century. The cemetery surrounding the old ecclesiastical ruins at St. Mullins is a favourite place for interments,5 as the numerous tombs and head-stones there sufficiently evince. Many of the inscriptions prove, that the Kavanaghs sought it especially as a place for interment. In a small
6 squareenclosureinthegraveyardatSt. Mullins,thereisastonealtar arched
overhead, where, according to tradition, Mass used to be celebrated in penal
times ; a scout posted on the top of the adjoining moat protected the priest —andhiscongregationagainstasurprise. Whet—hertheoldchurchofToomullin
7
written by John O'Donovan Tuamullin had its origin of name from St.
8
However, in the Trinity College List of castles belonging to Thomond, we find Tuamolyn, as being the residence of Conogher Maglanchy. We have no doubt, but that the old church had been
remodelled for this residence, and that chief lived there, when it had ceased to be used for religious purposes. The curious old church of Toumoulin,9 in the parish of Killilagh, and barony of Corcomroe, near the small bay of Doolin, and in the county of Clare, is yet very perfect.
Its plan was qua-
drangular, including a partition wall, which separated an apartment from the nave,ofwhichthatchurchseemstohavebeensolelycomposed. Thisnave
Moling or not, may be questioned.
measures feet 31
18 feet 10 The across, interiorly.
in
apartment had the same width, and from east to west it is 9 feet 6 inches. 11
Below these was a cross-wall, with a large connecting doorway or open. One apartment was 9 feet from this door to the side wall, and the other was 6 feet 10 inches. An undivided upper story seems to have been over tlie cross- wall, and that was lighted by three small windows. 12 One lower window
3 inches,
length, by
his festival, in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. i.
5 A tomb-stone, lying flat and partly de- faced, has a large central cross, and a mar-
ginal inscription in Latin, notifying that it is the last resting-place of Daniel Kinsellagh, who died 8th Nov. , 1646. Another slab is to the memory of Patrick Doyle, and his wife Catherine, who lived to the age of 126
Clare, collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Survey in 1839," vol. i. Letter of John O'Donovan, dated Kilrush, 4th No- vember, 1839, pp. 322, 323.
8
As the denomination of Tegh Moling was applied by the Irish to his habitation on the banks of the River Barrow, so the various forms of Toomullin, Tuamullin, Tuamolyn, or Toumoulin, may possibly be resolved into Tegh Moling, or the House of Molin—g ;
years.
To the left of this altar, there is a slab of although the first part of the compound if
black marble set in the wall, on which not corrupted in tradition—seems nearer to
appears the following inscription: "Here the Irish tuaim, which means " a mound "
lieth the body of Bryan Kavanagh, of Drum- min, of the family of Ballyleaugh. A man
remarkably known to the nobility and gentry of Ireland by the name of Bryan Nestroake, from his noble actions and valour in King
James's troops in the battles of the Boyne
or "a tomb. " See Dr. P. W. Joyce's
"Origin and History of Irish Names of
Places," part iii. , chap, iii. , pp. 322 to 324. 9 It is shown, on the " Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the County of Clare," sheet 8.
I0 The measurements in the text were taken by the writer on the spot,
"John O'Donovan supposes this apart- ment to have been an addition built out from the west gable, and he adds, that after its erection, a pointed doorway was broken into it close to the south wall.
and
Aughrim.
He died the February 8th,
1 735, aged 74 years. Also the body of his
wife, Mary Kavanagh, alias Murphy, with
foure of their children. R. I. P. " Bryan
Kavanagh is said to have got the appellation
of Nestroake from a sabre-cut mark upon his
face received in the battle of Aughrim.
" I2
7 See Letters containing Information re- The accompanying sketch of the in-
lative to the Antiquities of the County of terior was taken by the writer, on the occa-
383 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 25.
gave light to one of the apartments. In the dividing wall from the nave, two additional openings or windows are to be seen above. In the nave is a beautifully coved window, with a circular head, deeply splayed on the inside, with pointed and narrow mullions on the outside. Another window appears high up in the south side wall of the nave, with a doorway, which is now
walled up. *3 Nothing appears on the north wall, in the shape of an opening, if we except a formless breach, which now affords entrance to the interior. The soil about the church was tilled for potatoes, and the vegetation was ot that peculiar rankness, which has been caused by its use for centuries as a
Interior of Toumoulin Church Ruins, County of Clare.
cemetery, now totally closed and disused. Human remains are often turned up, during the process of cultivation. A bracket or cornice of dressed stones on the inside of the whole building gave support to the roof; and, on a cor- responding level outside, were drip-stones along the top of the side walls. A belfrysurmountedthecross-gable. Thesouthwallsareratherruinous; but,all the masonry was rock-grouted, and composed of large limestones dressed. 14 This old building stands near the margin of a rivulet, and just below it a beauti- ful cascade murmurs, immediately under a high projecting rock, on the south
On the outside, which is about 7 feet from
the present level of the ground, it is only feet in height and 7 inches in width.
14 Near the church is a spring called by the
'3 John O'Donovan states, that at a dis-
tance of five feet from the east gable there is
a round-beaded window, at the height of
four feet from the ground on the outside, and
measuring on the inside six feet by three
feet nine inches, and on the outside four feet
by five inches and one-half inch. The east
gable contains a neat window, wide and
round on the inside, and narrow and pointed the Ordnance Survey in 1839," vol. i. (. 11 the outside. It measures on the inside 7 Letter of John O'Donovan, dated Kilrush, feet in height and 3 feet 8 inches in width. 4th November, 1839, p. 319.
sion of a visit to these ruins in June, 1877. It was afterwards drawn by William F. Wakeman on the wood, and engraved by Mrs. Millard;
people Tubber Brickaron, and which they believe will cure sore eyes. —According to
John O'Donovan's statement
the
more correct one—
probably holy
it is the
well of St.
Brecan, near the old church of Toomullin.
"
See Letters containing Information re-
lative to the Antiquities of the County of Clare, collected during the Progress of
July 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 3X9
side. At the 25th of July, the Martyrology of Donegal ** enters Moshiolog, pupil of Moling Luachra. Where the present holy man lived, or when he died, has not been ascertained. That he was celebrated in his day is proba- ble, owing to the circumstance of his fame having extended even to Scotland, where he was also venerated. In the Calendar of Drummond, at the 25th of July, there is a feast 16 for the Natalis of the Holy Confessors, Mocolmoc, Mosiloc, and Nesain. More information than this bare announcement of the festival and of their names, we can hardly expect to learn regarding them.
Article IV. —Feast of St. Colman O'Liathain, Bishop or Abbot of Lismore. [Seventh and Eighth Centuries}. Clearness, conciseness, and objective treatment, are the usual characteristics of ancient classical histo-
rians and biographers, in reference to their subjects. Only in some special instances can all such qualifications be applied to notices of our saints, owing to a want of suitable dates and materials for combinations in detail. The feast of this saint, called Mocholmoc, is set down in the "Feilire" of St. iEngus, at the of 1
A comment is which throws some on his
25th July.
2 Afestival is
8
It is probable, that he was both Bishop and Abbot of Lismore ; for, he is called Comorban or suc- cessor of St. Mochudda,9 in the Calendar of Cashel. According to his usual computation, the Rev. Dr. Lanigan places the death of St. Colman O'Liathain, in the year 726. This learned writer believes, likewise, that his natalis should
202, 203. 7 See 16 "
niam Natale Sanctorum Confessorum Mo-
p. 149.
8 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , at a. d. 725, pp. 322
323-
9 Fifth Volume of this a See the work,
the 14th of May, where his Life has been given, Art. i.
I0
See "Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land," vol. iii. , chap, xix. , sect, vi. , p. 163, and nn. 74, 75, p. 165, ibid.
Il See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. ,
" See of Donegal," edited "Martyrology
by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 202, 203. J3 See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae,
Januarii xx. Vita S. Molagga, n. 10, p. 149. See, likewise, the Life of St. Molagga, at the 20th of January, in the First Volume of
cohnoc et Mosiloc et Nesain. "— Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
P' 19. — Article iv.
l
See "Transactions of the
Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. , p. cxii.
2 In this we read mocholmoc gloss
. 1. Colman IukvLiacIiah o birfino^mochu-od. Thus rendered: i. e. Colman descendant of
Liathan, of Less mor Mochuda.
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxx.
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Vita S. Colmani, n. 12,
pp. 322, 323.
4 See
nise," Januarii xxii. p, 155.
Colgan's
s The Life of St. Colman will be found at
the 22nd of January, in the First Volume of
this work, Art. i. Seen. 26, ibid.
qffixed,
light
in the
ology of Tallagh,3 to honour St. Colman, said to have been identical with Mocholmoc h-Fachrach. According to the Calendar of Cashel, a festival in honour of this holy person occurs, on the 25th of July. He has been con- founded with another St. Colman, Bishop and Abbot of Lismore, whose feast was kept on the 22nd of January. * This latter died in the year 702. 5 The present saint appears to have succeeded Cronan Ua Eoan, Abbot of Lismore, who died on the istof a. d. 6 calls St. Colman O'Liathain
family.
registered, likewise,
at the
25th
July,
Martyr-
June, 716. Colgan
a Bishop of Lismore, in one place. 7 The Four Masters, however, when re-
cording his death, only style him a select doctor.
The Four Masters 11 his death at place
12 also the death of St.
15 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. Cronan, in the year 717.
"
Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae, Thus entered : viii. Kal. Apud Hiber- Januarii xx. Vita S. Mollagce, n. 10
be to the of assigned 25th
a. d. as also do the 725,
10
July.
O'Clerys. Colgan, assigns
Bishop
6• See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the this work, under which the substance of
Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 314,315. The Colgan's note may be found, Art. i. , Annals of Ulster place the death of this chap. i.
of
39o LIVES OE 1HE IRISHSAINTS. [July 25.
ColnianO'Liathain,BishopofLisraore,toa. d. 725. '3 IntheAnnalsofUlster, his death is placed at a. d. 730. '* In neither entry, however, do we find St. Colman O'Liadain called Bishop ofLismore. At this same date, the Martyr- ologyofDonegal'5 entersthename,ColmanUaLiathain,Doctor. Inthetable appended to this Martyrology, the compiler has a Latin comment, written in Irish characters, to the purport, that yEngus calls him Mocholmog, in the same way as Miarnog for Iarna, Mosiolog, Maodhdg, Moedoein. 16
Article V. —Festival of St. James the Greater, Apostle. In the ancient Irish Church, there was a festival for "Jacob without reproach," at
the of 25th day
as we find it recorded in the u Feilire " of St. 1 /Engus.
July,
In a scholion annexed, we are told, that this was James, the son of Zebedee, who was killed by Herod Agrippa, and who was the first among the Apostles to suffer martyrdom. 2 The Acts of St. James the Greater have been treated almost exhaustively by the Bollandists in their work,3 at the 25th of July, and they have been edited by Father William Cuper, S. J.
