Fortunatus
and of his Companions, Martyrs.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v8
Eugene, the patron saint of the diocese.
2nd. Group of adoring angels. 3rd. Group—
The Nativity of our Blessed Lord. 4th.
Group of adoring angels. Here comes the
Throne. — of
5th. Group adoring angels.
and Mark. SS. Luke and John. St. Patrick. St. Bridget.
so The Irish Builder of 1873, thus describes the pulpit :—" The base of the work is stinted and stooled to receive the bases of the pillars or shafts, upon which are placed the caps, each one of which is carved
6th. Group The Presentation of our Blessed
Lord in the Temple. 7th. Group of adoring in natural and conventional foliage, all
angels. 8th. Figure under canopy ; St. ^
Columkille, in a monk's garb, with a crown at his feet.
46 Chiefly Galway green and Cork red.
*i For particulars stated in the text, see the Londonderry /ourna/ of May 5th, 1873. This admirable description was written by the Very Rev. and learned Parish Priest of Newtownstewart, at that time, and since he has been elevated to the episcopal see of
different in design. Upon the capitals is placed a boldly projecting cornice in one stone, which serves for the platform of the pulpit. Above this line, it assumes the
octangular form. "
5t See "Cistercian Legends of the
Thirteenth Century," translated from the Latin, by Henry Collins, p. 19, London, 1872. i2mo.
Article ii. —' See Leviticus, xxv.
O'Dogherty, D. D.
48 Its design and execution are the work
of Messrs. Early and Powell, Dublin.
U„
346 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 23.
nine years)—were past, the people were ordered to hold the jubilee on the fiftieth year, when " remission was to be proclaimed to all the inhabitants of
1
This
or its
equivalent, Aelmhagh, signifying
Lime,"
place,
was in Calraighe ;
But, it is needless to multiply examples from the Old Testament,
the land. "
where the word occurs nearly one hundred times, as a sacred and peculiar modeofenumeration. Soarewestruckwiththeuseofthewordseven,in our old Litanies and Calendars. It is entered in the —
published Martyrology of Tallagh, that veneration was given at the 23rd of August, to Sect
Septem—nesp. Domnaighmoir, Elmaighi. Somewhat differently is this entered in the Book of Leinster copy of the Martyrology, at the same date. 3
" Plain of the
but, we are not told, in which of the many districts thus called in Ireland it had been situated. « There were several tribes called Calraidhe or Calry, and so noticed as being descended from Lewy Cal. s The names of the places so called serve to perpetuate the memory of those clans. Thus, one of them settled in the ancient Tenia, and the denomination is
6
locally preserved in Slievegolry, near Ardagh, in the County of Longford. '
Moreover, Calry, in the County of Sligo, and it is thought Calary in Wicklow, stillpreservethenamesofthosetribes. AlthoughinthenoticeofAelmhagh,
at a. m. 3790, Dr. O'Donovan does not attempt to identify Aelmhagh, in
8
2
when he meets an account of the
of at Aelmhagh,
Calraighe ;
a. d. 781, he says, this Sept was probably one, otherwise called Calraighe-an- Chala, and seated in the barony of Clonlonan, in the County of Westmeath. 9 Under the heading of Domhnach-mor-Aolmaighe, Duald Mac Firbis records theseven
old Irish
yet,
Calraighe
bishops Litany,"
of at 10 Inthat Domhnach-mor-Aolmaighe, August, 23rd.
ascribed to St. — there is an invocation of the seven Aengus,
bishops of Domnach Calliraigi most probably referring to those of Aelmaighe, although the latter denomination has not been introduced. 12 The history of those bishops we are unable to unfold ; nor is it possible for us to state when they lived, or if all had been contemporaries. It seems
3 Edited Rev. Dr. xxxii. by Kelly, p.
3 Thus : Sechc n epy lOotnnAij; moi|\ eLiriAige.
4 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (a), p. 50.
defective in the commencement—
in the
5 He was the grand-uncle of Maccon, fessor Bryan O'Looney, it has been care- King of Ireland, in the third century. fully collated with the original, and published
6
tain of the Calry people. " Ferguson, by the Royal Irish Academy in a "
county Longford ; which shows that Calry with the ten missing folia, belonging to the
of north Teffia extended northward as far Library of the Franciscans, Merchant's-quay,
as these two townlands. "—Dr. Patrick W. Dublin, published by the Royal Irish
'*
Origin and History of Irish Names of Places," part ii. , chap, ii. , p. 119.
8 In his edition of the " Annals of the Four Masters," at a. d. 239, Dr. O'Donovan says a place called Allamagh was probably
intended for Ealamhagh, t. e. , the plain of the River Alio, in the County of Cork. See vol. i. , n. (t), p. 112.
Academy, Dublin, in a fine folio volume, 1880, under the able editorship of Robert Atkinson, M. A. , LL. D. The work itself was transcribed from the originals, by Mr. Joseph O'Longan, who departed this life before the publication appeared.
13 The reader who desires a fuller
acquaintance with the Litany itself, may find the Irish text published, with an English translation and a critical description of it, in " The Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iii. , May and June Numbers, 1867.
Joyce's
9 See ibid. , n. (h), p. 387. 10 "
See Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. , pp. 106, 107.
" A copy of this is to be found—but
'3 William M. Hennessy, M. R. I. A.
Leabhar Breac, a Manuscript belonging to the Royal Irish Academy. This valuable MS. has been transcribed by Mr. Joseph O'Longan, and in conjunction with Pro-
Namely, Sliabh g Calraidhe, or "Moun- under direction of the late Sir Samuel
7 There is a townland called Drumhalry fine folio volume in 1876. However, a
(Druim Chalraidhe, the ridge of the Calry),
near Carrigallen in Leitrim ; and another of
the same name in the parish of Killoe,
perfect copy of the Litany is to be found in the Book of Leinster, a Manuscript belong- ing to the Library of Trinity College, and
August 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 347
most probable, however, that they were commemorated, as having passed out of this world, in successive periods, and as having been buried subse- quentlyintheplacewhichhasbeenmentioned. WeareassuredbyDuald Mac Firbis, and by his learned Irish topographical commentator,^ that Domhnach-mor-Aelmhagh or Aolmaighe is in Breifne-O'Ruiarc ; and con-
sequently,
Donaghmore, ofLeitrim. 1* Wefindrecorded,
barony
15 See "
of the
Irish
states : of the Saints "4. Catalogue
that it is now known as
1 * in the likewise,
of Droma-
and
6 at this same date, The Seven Domhnach-mor.
inthe
hire,
County
Martyrology
of
of the Carthusian Martyrology, at the 23rd of August, Henry Fitzsimon, S. J. ,
1 The Bollandists, at this same date, cite the same
2
but, remarking, also, that his festival is noted at the previous day, in Scotia or Hibernia, and
without the title of Martyr. They consider him to be identical with St.
Barr ; Bishop and Patron of Cork, whose chief feast is celebrated on the
25th of September; and therefore, to this latter day, they defer further
notices regarding him. 3 However, the Bishop of Cork alluded to has not
the designation of Martyr applied to him, in our ancient Irish Calendars. *
At the 23rd of August, Thomas Dempster enters St. Barr, a bishop and
5
Article IV. —St. Nectan, Bishop of Aberdeen, in Scotland.
Donegal,'
Article III. —Reputed Feast of St. Barrea, Bishop. On authority
enters Barrea,
Bishop.
authority for a festival to "S. Barrsea episcopus martyr ";
confessor.
In the Scottish Calendar of David Camerarius, at the 23rd of August, there is mentioned a St. Nectan, Bishop of Aberdeen. We do not know if his origin be referable to Ireland or to Scotland. There are some special notices of this holy ma—n, in the admirable work of Bishop Forbes. 1 Howeve—r, this saint's name like that of many Irish saints vene- rated in Scotland does not appear in our native Calendars. We are told,
14 In the parish of Cloonclare. It is of the Society of Jesus. Illustrated from
represented on the " Ordnance Survey contemporary Documents, correspondence
{Twelfth Century. ~\
Townland Maps for the County of Leitrim," sheets u, 12.
of Irish Jesuits, and Government Officials, In giving a list of his writings, Father
Proceedings
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. ,
part i. , p. 85, and n. 18. Also, allusion to this place occurs at the 14th of December.
16
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 226, 227.
3
1615 and 1619 ;
Liege, 1619 ;
Lisbon,
— "HistoriaeCatholicselbernise Compendium,"
Article hi.
tomus i. , lib. iv. , chap, xii. , p. 52.
•
See O'Sullevan Beare's 1620
Antwerp
1621
Royal
Hogan
of Ireland, MS. , finished the 9th April, 161 1; ed. in 1611 or 1612, says Dr. Rothe. The Bollandists cite the editiens of i6u and 1619 ; there were also those of Douay,
There is no warrant for the latter
epithet, in the Calendar of Fitzsimon, which
we have seen ; however, there were various Augusti xxiii. Among the pretermitted editions of this work, as we learn from the
researchful and interesting sketch of Father
Fitzsimon's Life, by Father Edmund Hogan,
S. J. , and postfixed to this editor's valuable
and learned
to persecuted Catholics: written in Exile,
anno 1607. Letters from a cell in Dublin p. 209.
Castle, and Diary of the Bohemian War of Article iv.
publication,
Menologium Scotorum, "
Bishop
" Words of comfort
September, in the succeeding Volume of this work, Art i.
— 1620," by Father Henry Fitzsimon, Priest Saints," pp. 239, 419.
;
;
Antwerp, 1627
;
of i. e. , at Bishops, Aelmhagh,
also at Antwerp in Vtndicia Ibernice, 1621— ;
and in Rome, 1690, in Porter's Annates. " Sect. 18, pp. 281, 282.
3 sCe "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. ,
Saints, p. 554.
4 See his Life, written at the 25th
s See Forbes'
in Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
'See "Kalendarsof Scottish
348 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 24.
that he was bishop of Mortlach, in the reign of King David, and that he was translated to Aberdeen, in the year 1136. " In a charter of that king, he is mentioned, as obtaining certain lands given to God, to St. Mary, to St. Machar, and to Nectan, Bishop of Aberdeen, and to be held in sole and free alms. 3 We are informed, that he was in such favour with King David,4 that the latter consulted him in all affairs of moment, and that on his wise counsels the monarch was always accustomed to act. *
Article V. —Feast of St.
Fortunatus and of his Companions, Martyrs. IntheearlyIrishChurch,aswelearnfromthe"Feilire"ofSt. ^Engus, the feast of St. Fortunatus and of his companions, Martyrs, was held
1
All that can possibly be known, regarding these holy persons who underwent martyrdom at Aquileia and Rome, in Italy, has been given by the Bollandists,* at this same date. Those saints are mentioned in that ancient Martyrology, which Florentinius has attributed to
St. Jerome.
Ctoentpsfourtf) JBap of august.
ARTICLE I. —ST. PATRICK, ABBOT AND BISHOP OF RUIS DELA, PROBABLY ROSSDALLA, COUNTY OF WESTMEATH.
[PROBABLY IN THE FIFTH CENTURY. }
very frequently happens, that the few glimmerings of historic light IT coming down to our times, and in reference especially to the Saints of
Ireland, have to be interpreted by conjectures, which are neither satisfactory nor reliable. There were three distinct Saints thus named, and thus
distinguished, viz. , St. Patrick, the great Apostle of Ireland, St. Patrick
supposed to have presided over Glastonbury Abbey, in England, and who is said to have been there interred. By many old writers, even this latter was confounded with the great Irish Apostle. This subject has been
8 See "View of the Diocese of Vberdeen," p. 143.
3 See " Registrum Episcopatus Aberdo- nensis," vol. i. , p. 4.
4 He ascended the Scottish throne, a. d. 1 124, and reigned to a. d. 1 153. See Rev. Dr. James Taylor's "Pictorial History of
Scotland," vol. i. , chap, vi. , pp. 60 to 66.
5 According to the Scottish Entries in the
on the 23rd of August.
and St. Patrick 1 No doubt, a considerable amount of error Junior.
Senior,
has crept into medieval chronicles, when dealing with former loose traditions in reference to those holy persons. This St. Patrick, Abbot and Bishop of Ruis Dela, is probably confounded with a certain St. Patrick Senior, who is
Calendar of Da—vid Camerarius.
"
Article v. See Transactions
different account, and distribution, in an
Essay on the Three Patricks, Palladius, Sen
Patrick, and Patrick MacCalphum, Apostle
of in the Fifth
Ireland, Century, by the Rev.
•
of the
Royal Irish Academy," vol. i. , part i. , Irish Manuscript Series. On the Calendar of Oen-
John Francis Shearman, in
Loca Patri-
gus. By Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. cxxv. *"
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Augusti xxiii. De SS. Fortunato, Hermone, Xisto, Martiale, Hermogerato, Item de SS. Laurentio et tribus Pueris Habundo,
Innocentio, a—c Merendino, pp. 587 to 589. '
Article
I
The reader may find a quite
" ciana," &c, part xiii. , pp. 395 to 454.
August 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIATS. 349
investigated by one of our ablest historical critics a still much uncertainty ;
prevails regarding the conclusions arrived at, in the endeavour to separate their respective acts, or to establish their periods in point of time, and the
places associated with their memory. 3 According to the Rev. Dr. Lanigan, the existing varieties of statement and obscurities of legendary traditions point to the conclusion, that San or the senior Patrick is not to be distinguished from the illustrious St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland. * His arguments, however, are not conclusive. Already have we discussed this subject, but in a brief and cursory manner, in a previous division of this work. s
It has been stated, that Glastonbury, centrally situated in Somersetshire, England, was formerly distinguished for its celebrated Abbey. A very
remote origin has been assigned to the original foundation ;
difficult to separate its authentic from its legendary history.
6
but, it is now In the most
ancient charters of the monastery, Glastonbury is styled the fountain and
origin of all religion in the realm of Britain. It claims to have been founded
by Joseph of Arimathea,? whom Philip the Apostle of Gaul sent to preach
the Gospel there. It is related, likewise, that when the first church had
Devi, Bishop spot. Subsequently, when it had decayed, twelve persons from the north of England effected once more the work of restoration. ' Moreover, a tradition prevailed, that St. Patrick came thither from Ireland, about a. d. 439, and
fallen into ruins, of Saint David's, rebuilt it on the same 8
of his life in that 10 where he formed the monastery,
spent thirty years
brethren, who had previously lived in huts scattered round the church, into
a regular community. There, too, he is said to have died, and to have been buried. " However, all this account seems to be apocryphal ; and the
2"
Sec Rev. Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesi- observed in the monastery from very remote
astical History of Ireland," vol. i. ,chap. vii. , sect, ii. , and nn. , 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, pp. 324 to 331.
times.
8
See the Third Volume of this work, at the 1st of March, Art. i. , Life of St. David, Archbishop of Menevia, and Chief Patron of Wales, chap. iii.
9 On this whole subject of enquiry, re-
garding the antiquity and traditions of
Glastonbury, the reader is referred to
Archbishop Ussher's very learned disserta-
,0
Before the foundation of the monastery by King Ina, it is stated, that there had been an ancient Church at Glastonbury, and which had been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to St. Patrick.
11
In giving the history of Glastonbury, William of Malmesbury, only mentions this account with hesitation. M Jacet ibi Patricius, si credere dignum, natione Britto, beati Germani Autisiodorensis discipulus, quern, a Papa Celestino ordinatum episco- pum, Hiberniensibus misit apostolum. Qui, cum multis annis in conversione illius gentis suo agente labore, Dei gratia cooperante, non nichil promovisset, tandem annosa; peregrinationis tedio simul et vicino senio admonitus, — redeundum ratus, ibi
3 In Archbishop Ussher's work, " Britan- nicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 464, he refers to a Glastonbury poetaster's account of them.
"
Sunt hujus nominis, tene certissime, Tres Sancti Prsesules : primus Hiberniro
Archiepiscopus; alterAvernise. Qua- natus fuerat ternus Hibernise
Archiepiscopus primus Hiberniae.
Is primus postea Abbas Glastonise,
Natus Britannia prseclaro genere : Ut sua Vita declarat optime. "
4 See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect. ii. pp. 323 to 325.
'
Seethe Third Volume, at the 17th of March, Art. i. , Life of St. Patrick, Apostle and Chief Patron of Ireland, chap, xxv,
6"
See Samuel Lewis, Topographical
Dictionary of England," vol. ii. , pp. 296 to 298.
7 It is rather a remarkable coincidence in connexion with this place, that his festival
been held on the
has
which is also the day for St. Patrick's chief feast. Hence may have arisen the tradition of the Irish monks at Glastonbury, that their great Apostle died, and was interred there, as their Patron's festival had- been
always
17th
of March,
patriam
diem clausit. " Willelmi Malmesbiriensis
" quitates,"cap. vi. ,pp. 53to73.
tion in
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
Monachi "De Gestis Pontificum Anglorum," lib. ii. , p. 197. Edited from the Autograph Manuscript by N. E. S. A. Hamilton, London, 1870, 8vo.
3So LIVES Of THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 24.
real foundation of the monastery of Glastonbury has been referred to Ina,
King of the West Saxons, who flourished towards the close of the seventh
and beginning of the eighth century. " The monastery, at the time of its first foundation, appears to have been colonised chiefly with monks from Ireland, and to it great numbers of pilgrims came from our Island, so that it was designated Glastonbury of the Irish.
The Bollandists have some observations regarding two different saints, named Patrick, at this date ; one of these is supposed to have been con-
1
edited by the Bollandists, * there is an entry at the 24th of August, regarding
the deposition of St. Patrick, Abbot, in the monastery of Glastonbury, in Britain. Regarding him, they avow entire ignorance as to whom and in
nected with
in the territory of Nivernais, a tract lying between the Rivers Loire and Allier, in Gaul. 1 * Thus, in addition to the ancient Martyrology of Usuard,
what
position
he had been. '6
But,
at this
very
same another St. day,
Glastonbury monastery
in
England,
Abbot,
Patrick is venerated, and who was born in Auvergne, the son of wealthy
and highly distinguished parents. He retired from the world and took
refuge in the monastery of the holy Abbot Porcian, and in a place still
called after him Saint Pourcain, in the department of Allier, *» there to form
his conduct of life to the practice of all virtues. 18 Afterwards desiring to
lead a solitary life, and having obtained leave from his master, together
with Germanus and his nephew Germanion, Patrick retired to a desert place
near the present town of Nivernois, where he spent the time in constant
and 1? prayer, fasting vigils.
To
compensate
him for such the sacrifices,
Almighty was pleased to grant him the gift of miracles, and to reserve for
him the
glory
of —to Christ the inhabitants of that
20 converting Jesus territory.
However, this St. Patrick — confounded with different although apparently
persons bearing the same name in our island any particular connexion with Ireland.
does not seem to have
had
" His reign over the West Saxons, lasted composed of the eastern section of the from a. D. 688 to 726. See John Speed's ancient Bourbonnais, and of a small portion
"
History of Great Britaine," &c. The of Auvergne. It is intersected from north to
Seventh Booke, chap, vii. , pp. 306, 307.
13 See notices of him in "Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus iv. , Augusti, xxiv. Among the pretermitted Saints, pp. 741, 742.
l * No ancient acts of this saint survive but, Father William Cuper, S J. , has a Dissertation, " De Sancto Patricio Abbate in Territorio Nivernensi Gallise," and it treats about the veneration, incidents and probable period of this saint, in a Historic
south, by two low ranges of granitic
mountains, whose highest summits do not
exceed 2,300 feet. These separate the
basin of the Allier from that of the Loire on
the and from that of the Cher on the east,
west. The mineral springs of this district
have long been celebrated ; those of Neris,
Bourbon-l'Archambault, and Vichy, are the most frequented. See " Gazetteer of the World," vol. i. , p. 172.
,8 See LesPetits " Vies des Bollandistes,
Saints," tome x. , xxive jour d'Aout, p. 166, note I.
Sylloge 781 to 783.
paragraphs.
of nine
See
;
ibid. , pp.
15 From the copy of a Manuscript described as belonging to Rosweyde, " et de quo
"
" According to Andreas Saussay, in his
ad eumdem
add a
quis posset, hunc esse ipsum abbatem
synonymum Nivernensem, de quo supra ;
imperito aliquo pro Nivernis legente vel
substituente Hibernis ; qui agi ratus de Parize of the Diocese of Nevers. But Patricio Hibernorum apostolo, traxerit eum during that period of folly and impiety, his
in Britanniam ad monasterium Glastoniense, relics were dispersed. See Monseigneur ""
ejusque praefecturam. Crosnier's Hagiologie Nivernaise," which 17 One of the most central in France, treats of this saint.
in
agitur praefacione
pag. lvii. "
Usuardum,
"
Martyrologium Gallicanum," of August.
at the
24th
16
They
20 Before the
relics reposed in a curious crypt under the sanctuary of that church, which had been dedicated to him, and now known as Saint-
conjecture :
suspicari
year 1793,
his
precious
x 3 while the other was
August 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 351
The published Martyrology of Tallagh" records, at this present date, a St. Patrick, Abbot and Bishop of Ruis dela. In like form, he is commemo- rated in that copy contained in the Book of Leinster. " This appears to have been the holy personage, distinguished in other ancient records as Sen Patraic. The Calendar of Cashel, which is reputed to be a work ot
9
the eleventh century 3 and consequently written after the promulgation of ,
certain presumed Glastonbury fables, has an account of this Saint, as having been connected with the latter ancient place, as also with Ros-Dela, in the territory of Magh-lacha. This denomination most probably may be identified
with 2* a townland in the Rossdalla,
of Durrow, near and Kilbeggan,
parish
in the County of Westmeath. The Irish etymon Ros-Deala means in
English, " Deala's Wood. "as It is clear, that both Fiech and his very ancient scholiast distinguished Sen Patrick from the great Irish Apostle ; and the latter supposes the Senior Patrick to have been at Ros-Dela and Glastonbury, while doubtful as to which of these places may possess his remains. 26 There appears to exist no old or authentic account of the Irish Apostle having ever been at Glastonbury, notwithstanding the received local tradition ; nor do any of his ancient Lives record such a sojourn, so that the
2?
2nd. Group of adoring angels. 3rd. Group—
The Nativity of our Blessed Lord. 4th.
Group of adoring angels. Here comes the
Throne. — of
5th. Group adoring angels.
and Mark. SS. Luke and John. St. Patrick. St. Bridget.
so The Irish Builder of 1873, thus describes the pulpit :—" The base of the work is stinted and stooled to receive the bases of the pillars or shafts, upon which are placed the caps, each one of which is carved
6th. Group The Presentation of our Blessed
Lord in the Temple. 7th. Group of adoring in natural and conventional foliage, all
angels. 8th. Figure under canopy ; St. ^
Columkille, in a monk's garb, with a crown at his feet.
46 Chiefly Galway green and Cork red.
*i For particulars stated in the text, see the Londonderry /ourna/ of May 5th, 1873. This admirable description was written by the Very Rev. and learned Parish Priest of Newtownstewart, at that time, and since he has been elevated to the episcopal see of
different in design. Upon the capitals is placed a boldly projecting cornice in one stone, which serves for the platform of the pulpit. Above this line, it assumes the
octangular form. "
5t See "Cistercian Legends of the
Thirteenth Century," translated from the Latin, by Henry Collins, p. 19, London, 1872. i2mo.
Article ii. —' See Leviticus, xxv.
O'Dogherty, D. D.
48 Its design and execution are the work
of Messrs. Early and Powell, Dublin.
U„
346 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 23.
nine years)—were past, the people were ordered to hold the jubilee on the fiftieth year, when " remission was to be proclaimed to all the inhabitants of
1
This
or its
equivalent, Aelmhagh, signifying
Lime,"
place,
was in Calraighe ;
But, it is needless to multiply examples from the Old Testament,
the land. "
where the word occurs nearly one hundred times, as a sacred and peculiar modeofenumeration. Soarewestruckwiththeuseofthewordseven,in our old Litanies and Calendars. It is entered in the —
published Martyrology of Tallagh, that veneration was given at the 23rd of August, to Sect
Septem—nesp. Domnaighmoir, Elmaighi. Somewhat differently is this entered in the Book of Leinster copy of the Martyrology, at the same date. 3
" Plain of the
but, we are not told, in which of the many districts thus called in Ireland it had been situated. « There were several tribes called Calraidhe or Calry, and so noticed as being descended from Lewy Cal. s The names of the places so called serve to perpetuate the memory of those clans. Thus, one of them settled in the ancient Tenia, and the denomination is
6
locally preserved in Slievegolry, near Ardagh, in the County of Longford. '
Moreover, Calry, in the County of Sligo, and it is thought Calary in Wicklow, stillpreservethenamesofthosetribes. AlthoughinthenoticeofAelmhagh,
at a. m. 3790, Dr. O'Donovan does not attempt to identify Aelmhagh, in
8
2
when he meets an account of the
of at Aelmhagh,
Calraighe ;
a. d. 781, he says, this Sept was probably one, otherwise called Calraighe-an- Chala, and seated in the barony of Clonlonan, in the County of Westmeath. 9 Under the heading of Domhnach-mor-Aolmaighe, Duald Mac Firbis records theseven
old Irish
yet,
Calraighe
bishops Litany,"
of at 10 Inthat Domhnach-mor-Aolmaighe, August, 23rd.
ascribed to St. — there is an invocation of the seven Aengus,
bishops of Domnach Calliraigi most probably referring to those of Aelmaighe, although the latter denomination has not been introduced. 12 The history of those bishops we are unable to unfold ; nor is it possible for us to state when they lived, or if all had been contemporaries. It seems
3 Edited Rev. Dr. xxxii. by Kelly, p.
3 Thus : Sechc n epy lOotnnAij; moi|\ eLiriAige.
4 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (a), p. 50.
defective in the commencement—
in the
5 He was the grand-uncle of Maccon, fessor Bryan O'Looney, it has been care- King of Ireland, in the third century. fully collated with the original, and published
6
tain of the Calry people. " Ferguson, by the Royal Irish Academy in a "
county Longford ; which shows that Calry with the ten missing folia, belonging to the
of north Teffia extended northward as far Library of the Franciscans, Merchant's-quay,
as these two townlands. "—Dr. Patrick W. Dublin, published by the Royal Irish
'*
Origin and History of Irish Names of Places," part ii. , chap, ii. , p. 119.
8 In his edition of the " Annals of the Four Masters," at a. d. 239, Dr. O'Donovan says a place called Allamagh was probably
intended for Ealamhagh, t. e. , the plain of the River Alio, in the County of Cork. See vol. i. , n. (t), p. 112.
Academy, Dublin, in a fine folio volume, 1880, under the able editorship of Robert Atkinson, M. A. , LL. D. The work itself was transcribed from the originals, by Mr. Joseph O'Longan, who departed this life before the publication appeared.
13 The reader who desires a fuller
acquaintance with the Litany itself, may find the Irish text published, with an English translation and a critical description of it, in " The Irish Ecclesiastical Record," vol. iii. , May and June Numbers, 1867.
Joyce's
9 See ibid. , n. (h), p. 387. 10 "
See Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. , pp. 106, 107.
" A copy of this is to be found—but
'3 William M. Hennessy, M. R. I. A.
Leabhar Breac, a Manuscript belonging to the Royal Irish Academy. This valuable MS. has been transcribed by Mr. Joseph O'Longan, and in conjunction with Pro-
Namely, Sliabh g Calraidhe, or "Moun- under direction of the late Sir Samuel
7 There is a townland called Drumhalry fine folio volume in 1876. However, a
(Druim Chalraidhe, the ridge of the Calry),
near Carrigallen in Leitrim ; and another of
the same name in the parish of Killoe,
perfect copy of the Litany is to be found in the Book of Leinster, a Manuscript belong- ing to the Library of Trinity College, and
August 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 347
most probable, however, that they were commemorated, as having passed out of this world, in successive periods, and as having been buried subse- quentlyintheplacewhichhasbeenmentioned. WeareassuredbyDuald Mac Firbis, and by his learned Irish topographical commentator,^ that Domhnach-mor-Aelmhagh or Aolmaighe is in Breifne-O'Ruiarc ; and con-
sequently,
Donaghmore, ofLeitrim. 1* Wefindrecorded,
barony
15 See "
of the
Irish
states : of the Saints "4. Catalogue
that it is now known as
1 * in the likewise,
of Droma-
and
6 at this same date, The Seven Domhnach-mor.
inthe
hire,
County
Martyrology
of
of the Carthusian Martyrology, at the 23rd of August, Henry Fitzsimon, S. J. ,
1 The Bollandists, at this same date, cite the same
2
but, remarking, also, that his festival is noted at the previous day, in Scotia or Hibernia, and
without the title of Martyr. They consider him to be identical with St.
Barr ; Bishop and Patron of Cork, whose chief feast is celebrated on the
25th of September; and therefore, to this latter day, they defer further
notices regarding him. 3 However, the Bishop of Cork alluded to has not
the designation of Martyr applied to him, in our ancient Irish Calendars. *
At the 23rd of August, Thomas Dempster enters St. Barr, a bishop and
5
Article IV. —St. Nectan, Bishop of Aberdeen, in Scotland.
Donegal,'
Article III. —Reputed Feast of St. Barrea, Bishop. On authority
enters Barrea,
Bishop.
authority for a festival to "S. Barrsea episcopus martyr ";
confessor.
In the Scottish Calendar of David Camerarius, at the 23rd of August, there is mentioned a St. Nectan, Bishop of Aberdeen. We do not know if his origin be referable to Ireland or to Scotland. There are some special notices of this holy ma—n, in the admirable work of Bishop Forbes. 1 Howeve—r, this saint's name like that of many Irish saints vene- rated in Scotland does not appear in our native Calendars. We are told,
14 In the parish of Cloonclare. It is of the Society of Jesus. Illustrated from
represented on the " Ordnance Survey contemporary Documents, correspondence
{Twelfth Century. ~\
Townland Maps for the County of Leitrim," sheets u, 12.
of Irish Jesuits, and Government Officials, In giving a list of his writings, Father
Proceedings
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. ,
part i. , p. 85, and n. 18. Also, allusion to this place occurs at the 14th of December.
16
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 226, 227.
3
1615 and 1619 ;
Liege, 1619 ;
Lisbon,
— "HistoriaeCatholicselbernise Compendium,"
Article hi.
tomus i. , lib. iv. , chap, xii. , p. 52.
•
See O'Sullevan Beare's 1620
Antwerp
1621
Royal
Hogan
of Ireland, MS. , finished the 9th April, 161 1; ed. in 1611 or 1612, says Dr. Rothe. The Bollandists cite the editiens of i6u and 1619 ; there were also those of Douay,
There is no warrant for the latter
epithet, in the Calendar of Fitzsimon, which
we have seen ; however, there were various Augusti xxiii. Among the pretermitted editions of this work, as we learn from the
researchful and interesting sketch of Father
Fitzsimon's Life, by Father Edmund Hogan,
S. J. , and postfixed to this editor's valuable
and learned
to persecuted Catholics: written in Exile,
anno 1607. Letters from a cell in Dublin p. 209.
Castle, and Diary of the Bohemian War of Article iv.
publication,
Menologium Scotorum, "
Bishop
" Words of comfort
September, in the succeeding Volume of this work, Art i.
— 1620," by Father Henry Fitzsimon, Priest Saints," pp. 239, 419.
;
;
Antwerp, 1627
;
of i. e. , at Bishops, Aelmhagh,
also at Antwerp in Vtndicia Ibernice, 1621— ;
and in Rome, 1690, in Porter's Annates. " Sect. 18, pp. 281, 282.
3 sCe "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. ,
Saints, p. 554.
4 See his Life, written at the 25th
s See Forbes'
in Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
'See "Kalendarsof Scottish
348 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 24.
that he was bishop of Mortlach, in the reign of King David, and that he was translated to Aberdeen, in the year 1136. " In a charter of that king, he is mentioned, as obtaining certain lands given to God, to St. Mary, to St. Machar, and to Nectan, Bishop of Aberdeen, and to be held in sole and free alms. 3 We are informed, that he was in such favour with King David,4 that the latter consulted him in all affairs of moment, and that on his wise counsels the monarch was always accustomed to act. *
Article V. —Feast of St.
Fortunatus and of his Companions, Martyrs. IntheearlyIrishChurch,aswelearnfromthe"Feilire"ofSt. ^Engus, the feast of St. Fortunatus and of his companions, Martyrs, was held
1
All that can possibly be known, regarding these holy persons who underwent martyrdom at Aquileia and Rome, in Italy, has been given by the Bollandists,* at this same date. Those saints are mentioned in that ancient Martyrology, which Florentinius has attributed to
St. Jerome.
Ctoentpsfourtf) JBap of august.
ARTICLE I. —ST. PATRICK, ABBOT AND BISHOP OF RUIS DELA, PROBABLY ROSSDALLA, COUNTY OF WESTMEATH.
[PROBABLY IN THE FIFTH CENTURY. }
very frequently happens, that the few glimmerings of historic light IT coming down to our times, and in reference especially to the Saints of
Ireland, have to be interpreted by conjectures, which are neither satisfactory nor reliable. There were three distinct Saints thus named, and thus
distinguished, viz. , St. Patrick, the great Apostle of Ireland, St. Patrick
supposed to have presided over Glastonbury Abbey, in England, and who is said to have been there interred. By many old writers, even this latter was confounded with the great Irish Apostle. This subject has been
8 See "View of the Diocese of Vberdeen," p. 143.
3 See " Registrum Episcopatus Aberdo- nensis," vol. i. , p. 4.
4 He ascended the Scottish throne, a. d. 1 124, and reigned to a. d. 1 153. See Rev. Dr. James Taylor's "Pictorial History of
Scotland," vol. i. , chap, vi. , pp. 60 to 66.
5 According to the Scottish Entries in the
on the 23rd of August.
and St. Patrick 1 No doubt, a considerable amount of error Junior.
Senior,
has crept into medieval chronicles, when dealing with former loose traditions in reference to those holy persons. This St. Patrick, Abbot and Bishop of Ruis Dela, is probably confounded with a certain St. Patrick Senior, who is
Calendar of Da—vid Camerarius.
"
Article v. See Transactions
different account, and distribution, in an
Essay on the Three Patricks, Palladius, Sen
Patrick, and Patrick MacCalphum, Apostle
of in the Fifth
Ireland, Century, by the Rev.
•
of the
Royal Irish Academy," vol. i. , part i. , Irish Manuscript Series. On the Calendar of Oen-
John Francis Shearman, in
Loca Patri-
gus. By Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. cxxv. *"
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus iv. , Augusti xxiii. De SS. Fortunato, Hermone, Xisto, Martiale, Hermogerato, Item de SS. Laurentio et tribus Pueris Habundo,
Innocentio, a—c Merendino, pp. 587 to 589. '
Article
I
The reader may find a quite
" ciana," &c, part xiii. , pp. 395 to 454.
August 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAIATS. 349
investigated by one of our ablest historical critics a still much uncertainty ;
prevails regarding the conclusions arrived at, in the endeavour to separate their respective acts, or to establish their periods in point of time, and the
places associated with their memory. 3 According to the Rev. Dr. Lanigan, the existing varieties of statement and obscurities of legendary traditions point to the conclusion, that San or the senior Patrick is not to be distinguished from the illustrious St. Patrick, the Apostle of Ireland. * His arguments, however, are not conclusive. Already have we discussed this subject, but in a brief and cursory manner, in a previous division of this work. s
It has been stated, that Glastonbury, centrally situated in Somersetshire, England, was formerly distinguished for its celebrated Abbey. A very
remote origin has been assigned to the original foundation ;
difficult to separate its authentic from its legendary history.
6
but, it is now In the most
ancient charters of the monastery, Glastonbury is styled the fountain and
origin of all religion in the realm of Britain. It claims to have been founded
by Joseph of Arimathea,? whom Philip the Apostle of Gaul sent to preach
the Gospel there. It is related, likewise, that when the first church had
Devi, Bishop spot. Subsequently, when it had decayed, twelve persons from the north of England effected once more the work of restoration. ' Moreover, a tradition prevailed, that St. Patrick came thither from Ireland, about a. d. 439, and
fallen into ruins, of Saint David's, rebuilt it on the same 8
of his life in that 10 where he formed the monastery,
spent thirty years
brethren, who had previously lived in huts scattered round the church, into
a regular community. There, too, he is said to have died, and to have been buried. " However, all this account seems to be apocryphal ; and the
2"
Sec Rev. Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesi- observed in the monastery from very remote
astical History of Ireland," vol. i. ,chap. vii. , sect, ii. , and nn. , 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, pp. 324 to 331.
times.
8
See the Third Volume of this work, at the 1st of March, Art. i. , Life of St. David, Archbishop of Menevia, and Chief Patron of Wales, chap. iii.
9 On this whole subject of enquiry, re-
garding the antiquity and traditions of
Glastonbury, the reader is referred to
Archbishop Ussher's very learned disserta-
,0
Before the foundation of the monastery by King Ina, it is stated, that there had been an ancient Church at Glastonbury, and which had been dedicated to the Blessed Virgin Mary, and to St. Patrick.
11
In giving the history of Glastonbury, William of Malmesbury, only mentions this account with hesitation. M Jacet ibi Patricius, si credere dignum, natione Britto, beati Germani Autisiodorensis discipulus, quern, a Papa Celestino ordinatum episco- pum, Hiberniensibus misit apostolum. Qui, cum multis annis in conversione illius gentis suo agente labore, Dei gratia cooperante, non nichil promovisset, tandem annosa; peregrinationis tedio simul et vicino senio admonitus, — redeundum ratus, ibi
3 In Archbishop Ussher's work, " Britan- nicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvii. , p. 464, he refers to a Glastonbury poetaster's account of them.
"
Sunt hujus nominis, tene certissime, Tres Sancti Prsesules : primus Hiberniro
Archiepiscopus; alterAvernise. Qua- natus fuerat ternus Hibernise
Archiepiscopus primus Hiberniae.
Is primus postea Abbas Glastonise,
Natus Britannia prseclaro genere : Ut sua Vita declarat optime. "
4 See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, vii. , sect. ii. pp. 323 to 325.
'
Seethe Third Volume, at the 17th of March, Art. i. , Life of St. Patrick, Apostle and Chief Patron of Ireland, chap, xxv,
6"
See Samuel Lewis, Topographical
Dictionary of England," vol. ii. , pp. 296 to 298.
7 It is rather a remarkable coincidence in connexion with this place, that his festival
been held on the
has
which is also the day for St. Patrick's chief feast. Hence may have arisen the tradition of the Irish monks at Glastonbury, that their great Apostle died, and was interred there, as their Patron's festival had- been
always
17th
of March,
patriam
diem clausit. " Willelmi Malmesbiriensis
" quitates,"cap. vi. ,pp. 53to73.
tion in
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
Monachi "De Gestis Pontificum Anglorum," lib. ii. , p. 197. Edited from the Autograph Manuscript by N. E. S. A. Hamilton, London, 1870, 8vo.
3So LIVES Of THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 24.
real foundation of the monastery of Glastonbury has been referred to Ina,
King of the West Saxons, who flourished towards the close of the seventh
and beginning of the eighth century. " The monastery, at the time of its first foundation, appears to have been colonised chiefly with monks from Ireland, and to it great numbers of pilgrims came from our Island, so that it was designated Glastonbury of the Irish.
The Bollandists have some observations regarding two different saints, named Patrick, at this date ; one of these is supposed to have been con-
1
edited by the Bollandists, * there is an entry at the 24th of August, regarding
the deposition of St. Patrick, Abbot, in the monastery of Glastonbury, in Britain. Regarding him, they avow entire ignorance as to whom and in
nected with
in the territory of Nivernais, a tract lying between the Rivers Loire and Allier, in Gaul. 1 * Thus, in addition to the ancient Martyrology of Usuard,
what
position
he had been. '6
But,
at this
very
same another St. day,
Glastonbury monastery
in
England,
Abbot,
Patrick is venerated, and who was born in Auvergne, the son of wealthy
and highly distinguished parents. He retired from the world and took
refuge in the monastery of the holy Abbot Porcian, and in a place still
called after him Saint Pourcain, in the department of Allier, *» there to form
his conduct of life to the practice of all virtues. 18 Afterwards desiring to
lead a solitary life, and having obtained leave from his master, together
with Germanus and his nephew Germanion, Patrick retired to a desert place
near the present town of Nivernois, where he spent the time in constant
and 1? prayer, fasting vigils.
To
compensate
him for such the sacrifices,
Almighty was pleased to grant him the gift of miracles, and to reserve for
him the
glory
of —to Christ the inhabitants of that
20 converting Jesus territory.
However, this St. Patrick — confounded with different although apparently
persons bearing the same name in our island any particular connexion with Ireland.
does not seem to have
had
" His reign over the West Saxons, lasted composed of the eastern section of the from a. D. 688 to 726. See John Speed's ancient Bourbonnais, and of a small portion
"
History of Great Britaine," &c. The of Auvergne. It is intersected from north to
Seventh Booke, chap, vii. , pp. 306, 307.
13 See notices of him in "Acta Sanctorum,"
tomus iv. , Augusti, xxiv. Among the pretermitted Saints, pp. 741, 742.
l * No ancient acts of this saint survive but, Father William Cuper, S J. , has a Dissertation, " De Sancto Patricio Abbate in Territorio Nivernensi Gallise," and it treats about the veneration, incidents and probable period of this saint, in a Historic
south, by two low ranges of granitic
mountains, whose highest summits do not
exceed 2,300 feet. These separate the
basin of the Allier from that of the Loire on
the and from that of the Cher on the east,
west. The mineral springs of this district
have long been celebrated ; those of Neris,
Bourbon-l'Archambault, and Vichy, are the most frequented. See " Gazetteer of the World," vol. i. , p. 172.
,8 See LesPetits " Vies des Bollandistes,
Saints," tome x. , xxive jour d'Aout, p. 166, note I.
Sylloge 781 to 783.
paragraphs.
of nine
See
;
ibid. , pp.
15 From the copy of a Manuscript described as belonging to Rosweyde, " et de quo
"
" According to Andreas Saussay, in his
ad eumdem
add a
quis posset, hunc esse ipsum abbatem
synonymum Nivernensem, de quo supra ;
imperito aliquo pro Nivernis legente vel
substituente Hibernis ; qui agi ratus de Parize of the Diocese of Nevers. But Patricio Hibernorum apostolo, traxerit eum during that period of folly and impiety, his
in Britanniam ad monasterium Glastoniense, relics were dispersed. See Monseigneur ""
ejusque praefecturam. Crosnier's Hagiologie Nivernaise," which 17 One of the most central in France, treats of this saint.
in
agitur praefacione
pag. lvii. "
Usuardum,
"
Martyrologium Gallicanum," of August.
at the
24th
16
They
20 Before the
relics reposed in a curious crypt under the sanctuary of that church, which had been dedicated to him, and now known as Saint-
conjecture :
suspicari
year 1793,
his
precious
x 3 while the other was
August 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 351
The published Martyrology of Tallagh" records, at this present date, a St. Patrick, Abbot and Bishop of Ruis dela. In like form, he is commemo- rated in that copy contained in the Book of Leinster. " This appears to have been the holy personage, distinguished in other ancient records as Sen Patraic. The Calendar of Cashel, which is reputed to be a work ot
9
the eleventh century 3 and consequently written after the promulgation of ,
certain presumed Glastonbury fables, has an account of this Saint, as having been connected with the latter ancient place, as also with Ros-Dela, in the territory of Magh-lacha. This denomination most probably may be identified
with 2* a townland in the Rossdalla,
of Durrow, near and Kilbeggan,
parish
in the County of Westmeath. The Irish etymon Ros-Deala means in
English, " Deala's Wood. "as It is clear, that both Fiech and his very ancient scholiast distinguished Sen Patrick from the great Irish Apostle ; and the latter supposes the Senior Patrick to have been at Ros-Dela and Glastonbury, while doubtful as to which of these places may possess his remains. 26 There appears to exist no old or authentic account of the Irish Apostle having ever been at Glastonbury, notwithstanding the received local tradition ; nor do any of his ancient Lives record such a sojourn, so that the
2?
