No More Learning

-' " Hsec Ecclesia est Insula Oceano cir- cumfusa in regione Tyrconallias quae Bugel- laigh appellatur ; et Dioecesi Rathbothensi
;
—:
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 22.
mainland, there is a beautiful cascade, known as Eas-nangach, or the Wrinkled
Cataract, descendini^ from a great height, and tumbling down a mountain
steep, near the hamlet of Lia-Conaill ^^—no doubt, taking its name from the
present holy Abbot. He is titular saint, however, and the most celebrated
patron over a very extensive parisli, Iniskeel, in which he is honoured with
extraordinary devotion. ^3 Springing from the cavity of a rock on the Island,
there is a celebrated well, which, with the church not far distant, bore our
saint'sname. Itwasyearlyvisitedbyagreatconcourseofpilgrims,^tonthe
22nd of each returning MaVi^^s and the custom is still continued. A very
curious relic, called the Bearnan Chonaill,^^ or Bell of St. Conall,^? had long
beenpreserved,inthisimmediateneighbourhood. ^^ Thatbellwasenclosed
in an elaborately ornamented case or shrine. There was an inscription on it, in
blackletter,butgreatlydefaced. ^9 ThepresentSt. Conallappears,also,tohave
been connected with a holy well and with a relig or cemetery at Bruckless,
not far from Killybegs, in the parish of Killaghtee, barony of Banagh, and
county of Donegal. Various interesting objects of antiquity are there pre-
3°
served.
The entry regarding Conaill, Inse Cail, appears in the Martyrology ot
Tallagh,3'atthe22ndofMay. AccordingtotheMartyrologyofDonegal,3^ veneration was paid on this day to Conall, Abbot of Inis Caoil, in Cinel Conaill. At this date, also, the Rev. Alban Butler places his festival, and he says, it was most famous. A festival of St. Conall, Abbot, is entered, likewise, in the Circle of
544
in qua S. Conallus 12, Maii colitur. "—Col- gan's ''Acta Sanctorum Ilibernise," xxix. Januarii, h. 16, p. 205. Tlie 12th is apparently a typographical mistake for the 22nd.
" "To the inhabitants of this group of cot- tages, the sun for months in the winter time never seems to rise, as during that space they are completely immerged in the shadow of the mountain. The principal curiosity at Lia-Conaill is an ancient stor. e cross, said to have been erected here by St. Conall of Inis- Caoill, and having the name Lia-Conaill, which signifies the stone or flag of Conall. " Kinnfaela's "Cliff Scenery of South- Western Donegal," chnp. xxi. , p. 149.
*3 See " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. v. , May 22.
°* This fountain is said to have been blessed by St. Conald Coel, and from it, these pilgrims drink three different times.
^= See Archdall's " Monasticon Hiberni- cum," p. 100.
precious relic, at the same time (which must have been many centuries ago) when it was deposited and sealed up in its new and costly shrine. "—Kinnfaela's " Cliff Scenery of South-Western Donegal," chap, xxi. , p. 146, note.
°7 Engravings of this bell and its cover, with a notice by Dr. Petrie, in his " Essay on Ancient Irish Consecrated Bells," may be seen in "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy. " This Essay was read, February 26th, 1838.
*^ In 1835, we are informed, that had been sold to a Major Nesbitt of Woodhill, by Conall Mac Michael O'Breslen, then living at Glengesh. From an Inquisition, takeninthe7thofJamesI. , O'Breslenap- pears to have been one of the Erenachs of Iniskeel. The poor man who sold the bell was regarded as the senior of liis name, and a representative of the original herenach. On the death of Major Nesbitt, a. d. 1844, this bell of St. Conall unaccountably disappeared. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. vi. , A. D. 1611, n. (w), pp. 2372, 2373.
** I find the following account of it
" A lady who had often seen this in-
teresting relic, and taken a drawing both of
the Ijell and its case, and who was present
when the seal of the latter was broken and
the bell taken out by Dr. Petrie, describes it
to the writer as a Mass bell square in form,
and very much worn and thinned from age,
or by long u. --c, having quite a number of Mr. W. II. Patterson of Belfast. See dinges and apertures showing upon it. It had
no tongue, but appeared, when long used,
to have been struck like a gong. Its pur-
jjose, however, being merely to i)r<)tect the
ijcll from further injuries, and to protect it
for future ages, it is plain, the laiter must
have been looked upon as an ancient and
-9 Fromthis,however,thenames,Mahon O'Meehan and O'Breslen, were legible.
^° These have been delineated by engrav- ings, and described in a paper, written by
"Journal of the Royal and Archa;ological Association of Ireland," vol. i. , Fourth Series, April. 1S71, No. 6, pp. 466 to 470.
" Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxv.
"'-' Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, J 36, 137-
pp.
———
May 22. 1 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 545
the Seasons. 33 The scenery around the Island of Iniskeel is uncommonly- grand ; for, the adjoining mainland is deeply indented with fine bays, and crowned with noble mountain ranges inland, with rocky promontories, often jutting far into the Atlantic Ocean. 34
Article II. St. Baoithin, of Ennisboyne, County of Wicklow. \_Seventh Century. '] Around few places have we lingered with more agreeable after reminiscences of beautiful scenery, kindly feeling, and associated historic tradition, than in the secluded vale and now transformed island, that formerly separatedSt. Baoithinfromdistractingintercoursewiththeouterworld. The rich yellow-blossomed furze and the pale yellow of tufted primroses, with spangled violets in full bloom and fragrance, spread around the sloping sides of that glen, when our April visit was made to this spot ; while every green bud and blade of grass were glistening, under the influence of passing showers. ' In the "Feilire"^ of St. yEngus, on the 22nd of May, the festival and name of Baethine Mac Findach are specially commemorated. This holy man lived, it is said, in the seventh century. The name Baithin mic Finnach occurs, also, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,3 at the 22nd of May. On the same authority, and on that of Colgan, the Bollandists ^ notice Bait- hinns, son of Finnachus. By race, he was a Leinsterman ;5 but, hie father Findach is stated to have been a robber, in a commentary on that copy of St. Angus' " Feilire," which is to be found in the " Leabhar Breac. However, as the account given is quite improbable and legendary, we may dismiss it, and the other circumstances referring to our saint's birth, which are beneath notice. ^ Wearetold,elsewhere,thathedescendedfromtheraceofLaoigh- sechCeannmor,sontoConallCearnach. Trea,daughterofRonan,sonto Colman, son of Cairpre, and a daughter to the King of Leinster, was his mother ; while, the Scholiast on the " Feilire," in the " Leabhar Breac," calls her Cred, daughter of Ronan, King of Leinster, and in Dal Messincorb,^ moreover, he afterwards lived. This latter narrative seems to intimate, that Boethine had been born in or near Inis Boethine, and ther&, too, he proba-
33 See p. 143.
The following is Dr. Whitley Stokes' Eng- lish translation : —"Ronan (the) Fair's soul went to starry heaven, with the man bright, prolific, Baethine mac Findach. "—"Trans- actions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the
Calendar of Oengus, p. Ixxxi.
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxv.
* See "Acta Sanctorum," tomns v. ,
Mali xxii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 126.
s See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," xix. Februarii. De S. Baitheno, Epis- copo, p. 369, and n. 4.
"See "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Majiuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. Ixxxix.
3* These remarks are the result of personal observation, and of information, obtained on the occasion of a visit to this Island and to its very interesting group of ruins, in July, 1868.
Article ii. —' Truly we felt how homely, descriptive, appropriate, fanciful, and faith- ful, were the lines of our national poet :
" In climes full of sunshine, though splendid the flowers,
Their sighs have no freshness, their odour no worth ;
'Tis the cloud and the mist of our own Isle of showers.
That call the rich spirit of fra- grancy forth. "
7 The Dal Messincorb and some of the old Leinster Pedigrees are set forth as the * In the "Leabhar Breac "copy, we No. i. , to illustrate the Genealogical Tables, in Rev. John Francis Shearman's " Loca
—Moore's "Irish Melodies. " read :
CecliAinj Animm lloriAin pnt) ^o|\]Mchet) jMnnAch tAfinpeix CAin cbAnnAcb bAicheni niAc pnnAch.
Patriciana. See No. ii. , p. 16.
^ See Lewis' " Topographical Dictionary
of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 577.
'These and the following observations
are from notes and observations, taken on IM
546
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [MAY;:
bly spent his religious days, in retirement from all worldly concerns. This place, now known as Ennisboyne, sometimes called Ennisboheen,^ or Dun- ganstown, seems to have derived its denomination from him. This is now aparish,situatedinthebaronyofArklow,andcountyofWicklow. Notfar from the county town, there are some few ruins of an ancient church to be seen. Around it is a burial ground. Formerly the church was situated on a small low-lying island, within a deep ravine, through which flows the Three Mile Water River. 9 Within the memory of persons yet living, this island was recollected ; but, one branch of the stream having been dried up, the river has taken a particular bend, so as to form that island into a peninsula. Still human bones and old rude headstones are there turned up, while no trace of a building can be seen. The surface only appears, at present, as a very green pasture, with the blackest of mould underneath. High stepping-stones
Inishboheen Cemetery, County of Wicklow.
now cross the stream into the former island. Tradition has it, thata suicide oran insane person having been interred there, at a period long remote, the church became elevated to the high bank, on the south side of the river, during a singlenight. Therationaleofthislegendmustbe,thattheoldchurchhaving fallenintodecaycenturiesago,it wasdeemednecessarytobuildanotheron the slope of the ravine, so as to render it less exposed to floods and more accessible to frequeiiters. This last church is even now a shapeless mass of ruins. Jt once consisted of a nave and choir ; tlie former was internally 46 feet, 3 inches, in length, by 22 feet, in width—while the choir was 17 feet, in length, by 15 feet, 5 inches, in breadth. The situation is uncommonly
the spot, after a visit with an okl and of Kill)ride was built.
esteemed friend, the Very Rev. Michael Maloney, P. P. , of Ennisboyne, Kilbride, and Castlctimon parishes, during the month of April, 1871. His parish was called Ennis- bethan, before A. I). 1795, when the chapel
'" The accompanying illustration of the scene is from a drawing by the writer, in July, 1S73, on the spot, and since trans- ferred to the wood, by William E. Wakeman. It was engraved by Airs. Millard.
—
May 22. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
romantic, at the plateau over a deep glen, through which the Three Mile Water winds along to the high sand banks, a little below where it enters the sea, at Maghera Point. '° Here, the people have a tradition, St. Patrick " first landed, when he reached the Wicklow coast. Only two fragments of the choir walls remain, and all the nave walls are nearly levelled with the ground. However, the former dimensions are quite traceable. Two granite caps of windows lie within the graveyard, still much resorted to for interments. " Tiie turning of an arch is yet traceable, between nave and choir. The church walls are 2 feet, 10 inches, in thickness, on an average. The burial-ground has been enclosed with a modern wall ; but, at one angle, the river below has undermined the upper clay bank, and a semicircular land-slide there has been the consequence. The scenery around thi. ; old church is of the most delightful character. According to the Martyrology of Donegal,'3 Baoithin, son to Finnach, of Inis Baithin, in the east of Leinster,'4 had veneration given
him, on this day.
ArticleHI. St. RonanFinn,ofLannRonain,CountyofDown. For the 22nd of May, a festival is recorded, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ to honour Ronan Find, of Lan Ruadain Ronain f and, at the same date, the "Feilire"ofSt. yEngusmentionshim,withspecialeulogy.
Accordingtothe scholiast on that copy found in the " Leabhar Breac," Ronan the Fair was son of Saran, son to Colgan or Colcu, son of Tuathal, son to Cruindbel,^ son of Fedlimid, son to Fiacha Cassan, son of Colla da Chrich, son of Echaid Doimplen. + This saint is noticed, in the Book of Lecain. s The Bollandists ^ have some account of St. Ronnanus, Bishop and Confessor, at this date, althoughtheyacknowledge,thatlittleisknownabouthim. Hemusthave flourished, in the early part of the seventh century, if we are to attach credit to certain romantic fragments of our national history. Some Scottish writers callhimadiscipleofSt. Benedict; but,theygivenowarrant,forsuchastate-
ment. Theepithetappliedtohim—bytheIrish—ofFinnsignifies"white," or " fair. " He was the son of Saran, son to Colgan, and he sprung from the family of Orgiell, or Colla Dachrioch,7 according to the poem, which is called the Naemhshenchus of the Saints of Inis Fail. The mother of Ronan, and the mother of Fionnchu, of the Bri Gobhann, were sisters. ^ Elsewhere, he is conjecturedtohavebeenthesonofBerach. 9 Allusionismadetothissaint,
" See his Life, in the Third Volume of this work, at March 17th, Art. i.
" An old cut stone, with an inscription 1698, lies at the head of a grave. It is very rudely carved.
'3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 136, 137.
"In
it is again corrected. See ibid. , pp. 362,
Lan Ruadain Ronain, in manu recenti. "
3 'fhe scholiast adds, " a quo Hui-Cruind-
beoil. "
'' See " Transactions of the Royal Irish
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. , pp. Ixxxi. , Ixxxix.
^A note, by William M. Hennessy, Esq. ,
't In a note. Rev. Dr. Reeves says
the Manuscript copy ia^vua^ tAijen, 'west
of Leinster,' is the reading ; but, as this is a
clerical error, it has been rectified in the 79 bb. "
text, both here and at the i6th, p. 130, * See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus v. , supra. " A similar error occurs, in the Maii xxii. Among the pretermitted saints, table postfixed to this Martyrology, where p. 125.
363.
Article hi.
—
'
Edited by Rev. Dr.
'See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum. Hiber- niae," xxi. Martii. Vita S. Endei. Appendix, cap. i v. , p. 713.
" The Life of Fionnchu, chap. viii. is quoted for the foregoing statement.
' See Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, " Martyrology of Donegal," pp. 462, 463.
Kelly, p. xxv.
^ In this work, the latter words in Italics
are said to have been added, by a more re- cent hand. There we read : " Ronani find o
:
M. R. I. A. , says:
1lui]"en o nioig^AAuh . 1. i|']. -up|\iACA HonAin pnt) iriAc be|\A]'c (lAnn bAig) B. of Lecain,
—
"Ronan Finn Copco
547
548
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 2 2.
by Father Jolin Colgan,'° as having been venerated, at the church of Lann Ronain, on the 22nd of May. There is aLann Ronan situated in CorcaRuisen, inMagrath, nearNewr}', county of Down. " Nothwithstanding, Colgan thinks" Lann Ronain to have been identical with Magherahn, otherwise called Lane orLannHuachaille,orI^annMocholmog,inthedioceseofDromore. This, however,hasbeendenied,bytheRev. WilliamReeves. '^ Thesituationof LannRonain,"theChurchofRonan,"isnotexactlyknown. However,it would appear to have been near Moira, in the old parish of Magheralin, of which Moira formed a part, until a. d. 1725. '+ The church of Moira is called St. Innis. 's This is the Ronan, who denounced Suibhne, son to Colman Ciar, King of Dal Araidhe, because Suibhne had dragged the said Ronan dis- honourably from the place, where he was praising God, out of the church, andhecasthisPsalterintoapoolofwater,whereitwassubmerged. The king did not permit the saint to remain in the church. '^ For this impiety, Suibhnebecamefrantic. HiswanderingsaftertheBattleofMaghRatharere- lated,inacuriousoldtract,calledtheBuileShuibhne. '? ThisSuibhnedied A. D. 637,accordingtotheAnnalsofTighernach. '^ TheScotchwritershave made Ronan a Bishop ; and, at this date, he has an office of Three Lessons in the Breviary of Aberdeen. It is also said, that he flourished a. d. 603. Again, Camerarius commemorates him as that Ronan, the Scot, who strenuously de- fended the Roman rite for the celebration of Easter, in the Synod of Strenes- healh,'9 a. d. 664. However, his feast is usually referred to the 6th ^° or 7th^' of
February. If we credit Dempster,'^ he departed this life a. d. 660, in Levinia ;
but, he seems rather to have died in Ireland. The INIartyrology of Donegal =3 registers, on this daj-, the name of Ronan Finn, of Lann Ronain Finn, in Ui Eachach Uladh. In the Irish Calendar, preserved in the Royal Irish Aca- demy, the festival of this saint is at the xi. of the June Kalends, which cor- responds with the 22nd of May. ^^ It seems probable enough, that the pre- sent saint had been venerated in Scotland, ^5 from an entry in the Kalendaro<" Drummond. ^^ On the little Island of North Rona,^7 which lies nearly sixty Uiiles north from the Butt of Lewis, there is a primitive church, called Team-
'° See "Acta Sanctorum riibernise/'xxi. Martii, Appendix ad Acta S. Endaei, cap. iv. , p. 713.
" See Rev. Dr. Kelly's " Calendar of Irish Saints," p. 43.
Books.
'^See Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibemi-
caram Scriptores," tomus ii. , Tigernachi Annales, p. 193.
'5 See Venerable Bede's "Historia Eccle- " See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," siastica Gentis Scotorum," lib. iii. , cap.
Martii xxx. De S. Colniano Lannensi, sive XXV. , pp. 233 to 239.
Linnensi Abbate, p. 792. '° For this date, Camerarius cites the Bre-
'3 See "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of viary of Aberdeen, which, however, gives
Down, Connor and Dromore," Appendix EE, n. (o), p. 313.
'* An entry in the Book of Lecan (fol. 96 b) is cited, as authority for the above state- ment. It is thus Latinized, " Lann Ronain Finn, in Corco Ruishen, in Magh Rath. "
5 See Rev. William Reeves' " Ecclesias- tical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore," Appendix LL, p. 378, and note (x).
" See " Battle of Magh Rath," edited by John O'Donovan, pp. 232, 233.
"' The Buile Shuihhne, or Madness of
Suibhne, was an ancient historical romance,
giving an account of the lunacy and death of
this celebrated chieftain. For more regard-
ing him, see that beautiful historic poem of nani et Baitinni. "—Bishop Forbes' " Ka- Sir Samuel Fergu>on, " Congal," in Five lendars of Scottish Saints," pp. 13, 14.
the feast of a Ronan only at the 7th.
" Dempster, citing the Scottish Breviary,
gives his feast at this date.
" See " Historia I'. cclesiastica Gentis
Scotorum," tomus ii. , lib. xvi. , num. 1066, p. 564.
' Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 136, 137
-^ There we read : " Uon^n pon 6 \&x\\\ TlotKMi p"" i"tlib CAccA(b 111. "—Ord- nance Survey Office copy, Common Place Book F, p. 48.
F. S. Gordon's " Sco- tichronicon," vol. i. , pp. 47 to 50.
^5 See Rev. Dr.
J.
=* At xi. Kal. Junii, we read : " Apud Hi- berniam Natale Sanctorum Confessorum Ro-
May 2 2. ]
549
—— —
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS
pull Ronan. The Island is steep and rugged,^^ while St. Ronan's church stands on an elevated plateau, near the soutliern side of that remote spot. Externally, thechurchisnowonlyaroundedheapofloosestones. Itconsistsoftwoparts, the eastern one of which is manifestly older than the other ; and, it was very curiously constructed, as seen in the interior, for there the end walls converge slightly towards each other, and the side walls so greatly, that although they are seven feet six inches apart on the floor, they are only two feet apart at the roof. ^9 This is formed of slabs, laid across from wall to wall. In the west end, there is a small square doorway, and so low, that those who enter must creep through on hands and knees. Over the doorway is a flat-headed windovv. 3° At the east end of the cell, and in the middle of tlie floor, lies an altar-slab, three feet in length. As a nave to a chancel and attached to the west end, there is another cell, internally 14 feet, 8 inches long, by 8 feet, 3 inches wide. It has a flat-headed doorway, and a small ourial ground is contiguous to the building, in which are several stone crosses,3' small and plain. There was a building, called Teampull nam Manach outside the graveyard. 3^ The career of this holy man, it must be acknowledged, is involved in great obscurity.
Article IV. St. Brecan, the Pilgrim, of Teampull Breccain, Island of Aranmore, County of Galway. This saint has been iden- tified with St, Brecan, founder of Ardbraccan See, in Meath, by the learned Dr. Petrie. He even says, our historic records make this certain. ' But, as the feast of this holy bishop was celebrated on the 6th of December, the ])re- sent St. Brecan's festival is known to have been held, on the 22nd of May,
at the handsome and formerly parochial church, known as Tempull Breccain, or '' the Church of Breccain. "^ This holy saint appears to have been distin- guished as the Pilgrim. Early in the present century, his tomb was discovered near that church, dedicated to his memory, on Aranmore, and we even have preserved an engraving and a description of it. Some curious inscriptions therehavealsocometolight. NearthischurchofSt. Brecan,therewasanother commonlycalledTempullaPhuill. Severalofthoseedifices,whichexistedin the middle of the seventeenth century, are now known to have fallen into ruin, so that their very site cannot at present be distinguished.