His
excelknt
knowledge of Irish ecclesiastical antiquities has been the result
of a lile-long study, and with nearly all the local traditions ol this part of Wicklow County he is most familiar.
of a lile-long study, and with nearly all the local traditions ol this part of Wicklow County he is most familiar.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
Paul on him, as also the Books of the Old and New Testament, before he set out for Ireland.
In the second book of a work,56 published by Bishop Von Carl Johann Greith of St.
Gall, we are favoured with an account of the early vestiges of Christianity in Ireland.
many of these were Christians. 5X Now whether this refers to England, *7 His festival is kept, on the 31st of Ireland or Scotland, the account must be rc-
ccived only in a restricted sense. The Irish
and the Scotch have disputed the ques- long
July.
4<s See Les Petits
" Vies des Saints,"tumeix. ,xxxi JourdeJuillet,p. 136. *y Archbishop Spottisuoode states, that
he was sent to
to resist the
Bollandistes, e
towhieh nation St. Palladius had been first sent, but doubtless, it was to Ireland.
s-i See in Breviario Cammiconim Regula-
rium Divi Augustini, when treating about St. Patrick.
S3 In the Irish Tripartite Life of St.
Patrick, he is called the Airchinnech in
Rome, and the forty-second man from St. Peter. See Miss Cusack's "Life of St. Patrick. " The Tripartite, translated by W. M. Hennessy, p. 377.
Scotland, chiefly
Pelagian heresy, which then began to
spread in the Scottish church. See his "History of the Church of Scotland. "
s° "PraeteieaCcelestinus, quumS. Patricii prsedicatione Christianam fidem suscepisset Scotia et Hibernia, quae, ut modo hsereticu- rum, fuit ohm Sanctorum insula, dedit Sco- tis primum Episcopum Palladium Diaco-
num
in Iliberniam. " Berti's
clesiasticasive Dissertationes Ecclesiasticae," tomus iii. , ssec. v. , Dissertatio iv. , cap. i. , p. 174. Bassani, 1769, folio Ed.
"
tion,as
is referred to what has been Historia Ec- already stated, in the Life of St. Patrick, in
the Third Volume of this work at the 17th
— 54
; quo hortatore S. Germanum miserat The reader
day of March. Art. i. , chap. vi.
ss See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,
"
July 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 71
He dwells particularly on the mission of St. Palladius to our Island. He shows by sufficient evidence, that Palladius was a deacon of the Roman Church, and that he was sent by Pope St. Celestine to this country. Although this mission had not been very successful, yet the bishop admits, that other Christians had been there scattered and isolated. 57 A learned Protestant authority = s also sustains this view of the case. A denial of his Roman mission is opposed to tradition and authoritative documents. Palladius is said to have been accompanied by twelve men, to instruct the Gaeidhel,50 and in the same way as Barnabas went from Peter to instruct the Romans. He was then sent to
60 preachtheGospeltothe"Scots,believinginChrist," asnarratedbyatrust-
worthy historian. From these remarks, we might infer, that there must have been many professors of the Gospel in Ireland at this early time. The latter people, according to the Roman style of considering those living without the
limits of their Empire, are styled barbarians; yet, this description seems greatly exaggerated, so far as it relates to Ireland. The date for the arrival of Palladius varies, according to the statement of different authors ; but, it is most generally and correctly assigned to a. d. 431. In the Annals of Multifer-
nan,
incorrectly stated,
year
It is noted, by Prosper, that St.
that in 61 the 423,
in which died, St. Augustine
it is
Palladius was sent to the Scots, or Irish.
Paliadius was sent over the sea on his mission, while Bassus and Antiochus were consuls, which was in the year 43 1. 63 Marianus Scotus has a notice of St. Palladius' mission to Ireland. 6+ However, we are informed by Matthew of
Paris,
bishop, a. d. 433, to the Scots, believing in Christ. This is also the chronology assigned, for his mission, by Matthew of Westminster. 66
The usual course of travel from the Continent of Europe to Ireland in
thefifthcenturywasthroughEngland. Accordingtooneaccount,Palladius and his Roman companions landed in the northern part of Ireland, where
6
they were fiercely opposed by the pagan inhabitants. ? This statement is con-
tradictory, however, to that of most authorities on the subject; for, it is gene- rally held, that his vessel touched the eastern shore, in the first instance. When he landed in Scotia, he came to that part of Leinster, where Nathi, son of Garchon, was ruler. 68 Another account has it, that the holy missionary landed at Inbher Dea,6° in the territory of Leinster. Palladius had a partial
Tertia Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxvi. , p. 23. tos, id est, ad Hibernicos. "—" Annates de
56
Kircheandihrer verbindungmitRom, Gallien und Alemannian (von 430-630)," also Einlei- tung in die Geschichte des Stifts St. Gallien.
02
6 s that Palladius was ordained Celestine and sent as their first by Pope
Intituled, "Geschichte der
altirischen Monte . Edited Dr. Fernandi," by Aquilla
Smith, p. 3. Published by the Irish Archaeo- logical Society in 1842.
** See Father Papebroke's observations in Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii xii. De Sancto Ternano, Pictorum in Britannia
s? The inconclusive objections, which Dr.
Todd urges against the Roman Mission of
Palladius, are fully refuted by Bishop Episcopo. IUorum simul et Scotorum, limi- Greith.
s8 Mr. George Grub, in his impartial and critical' 'Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," declines even to take account of Dr. Todd's
"
objections. See The Chronicle," vol. i. ,
tes, Apostoli, dicecesis, num. 4, p. 534.
64 According to him Indictione xv.
6= See "Chronica Majora," edited by
Henry Richards Luard, M. A. , vol. i. , p. 181.
66 In "Flores Historiarum," at a. d.
ccccxxxiii. , p. 148.
67 See Richard Stanihurst's tract, "De
Vita S. Patricii, Hibernise Apostoli," lib. i. , p. 40.
68 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Secunda Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxiv. , p. 13.
6' Some consider this to be the mouth of
the Vartry river ; but, such a supposition is by no means removed from the pale of con-
No.
59 '-For to the Comorb of Peter belongs
the instruction of Europe," is added in the translation of the Tripartite. See Miss Mary
37, p. 879.
"
60 See St. Prosper, in his Chronicon.
F. Cusack's
Life of St. Patrick," p. 377.
61
The two latter figures probably are only
a transposition, for what should make the
date 432.
62 The statement runs
:
' l mittitur ad Scol-
"
72 LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 6.
success in his first trials, having baptized some in the name of the Most Holy Trinity. 7° He is said to have founded three adjoining churches, viz. : Cill-
in which he left his books, a casket with the relics of Paul and
1 fine, Peter,*
2
and the tablets in which he used to write Thech-na-Roman as also
;? ; Domhnach-Airte, or Domnach Ardec, in which repose theremains of Sylvester" and Solonius,? 4 who are regarded as having been his disciples. Those chuches are supposed to have been situated within the present county of Wicklow ; but the exact modern denomination and identification of each church have given rise to some divergency of opinion. A learned writer,75 and one well acquainted with the localities named, has advanced good reason for supposing
According to a local tradition, still held by the people, Palladius is said to have landed at Ennisboheen,80 in the county of Wicklow, and at the mouth of that little river, which is about three miles south from Wicklow town. Some authorities have the shore of the county of Wexford as the spot ; but, as this landing took place many centuries before either Wexford or Wicklow 8l became shire-divisions, we may readily conceive, how easy it might be to confuse popular traditions, as referring to Irish territories, the boundaries of which are now only known from historic records. 82 The country about that quarter was anciently called Crioch Cualan, and afterwards it was named Hy-Garchan, after the father of Nathi, who ruled there when Palladius landed. Here he is said to have built the church of Kilnne 8 ^ or " the Church of
Teach na Roman to be identical with
tains to be represented by Donard ;? ? while, Cell Fine he considers, to be the present old church site of Killeen Cormac,? 8 about three miles west of Dun- lavin, in the townland of Colbinstown, and in the parish ot Davidstown, countyofKildare. ^ Weareofopinion,however,thatChristianityhadnot been propagated on the western slopes of the Wicklow Mountains, until after the arrival of St. Patrick.
troversy. On this subject, the Very Rev. Richard Galvin, former P. P. , Rathdrum, has written a very forcible and researched communication, which will be found in "The Journal of the Royal Historical and
Archaeological Association of Ireland," vol. i. , Fourth Series, No. 8, October, 1S71, pp. 576, 577.
7° See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Secunda Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxiv. , p. 13.
i* Jocelyn states, that he brought these, with the relics of many other Martyrs, from Rome.
7a These we are told were held in veneration by the people, and they werecalled in the Scottish language Pall-ere or Palla-
? 8 See "Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland," vol. ii. , Fourth Series, July, 1873, No. 15. See a valuable paper, intituled " Loca Patri- ciana," pp. 486 to 498.
79 See a paper, by the Rev. John Francis
Shearman, in the "Irish Ecclesiastical Re-
cord," for June, 1868.
8o
It is Anglicised into Ennisboyne by the country people of the neighbourhood. It is called after St. Boethan, who lived there in the seventh century, and whose feast was commemorated on the 22nd of May.
8l Wicklow was formed into County only
a shire, so late as 1605-1606, according to the Patent Rolls of 3rd of James I.
" Si dere. L'tinized onus Pailadii, or the bur-
The writer is indebted to the Very Rev.
den of Palladius ;" because this seemed to
be the case or shrine, in which the relics
were kept.
73 The feast of Sylvester has been placed
by Colgan, at the 10th of March. At that date, likewise, some notices of him may be found, in theThirdVolumeof this work, Art. i.
7* See Miss M. F. Cusack's Tripartite Life
of St. Patrick, part i. , pp. 377, 378. 75 Rev. John Francis Shearman.
7* In the parish of Castlemacadam, county of Wicklow.
77 Near Dunlavin, in the west of the county of Wicklow.
Michael Moloney, P. P. , the respected P. P. of Kilbride and Barndarrig, for se\eral re-
marks in the text, and conveyed in a letter, dated Kilbride, Barndang, 12th March, 1886.
His excelknt knowledge of Irish ecclesiastical antiquities has been the result
of a lile-long study, and with nearly all the local traditions ol this part of Wicklow County he is most familiar.
8^ Con of the Hundred Battles having been assassinated at Tara, and his own brother taking part in that deed, the time for retri- bution arrived, when the son of Con having attained his majority banished his uncle and
great
Tigroney;?
6 Domnach Arda he main-
July 6. ]
73
'
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
This seems to be affirmed, by the various Lives of St. Patrick but, the fourth Life states, that the church Teach na Roman, or the House of the Romans, had been built by the disciples of St. Palladius, and that the third church, called Dominica Arda, had been tended by the com- panions of Palladius, Silvester and Solinus, whose relics had been afterwards conveyed to Knnisboethen, where they were held in great honour. 85 A fair inference to be drawn from all those incidental statements is, that the three Palladian churches, as they have been styled, were not severally far removed, and probably they were within the same territory of Hy-Garchon. However,
the Tribes. " 8 4
extant
;
at the present day, it seems impracticable clearly to identify these various 86
sites, especially as the original churches were built of wood, according to Jocelyn's statement.
C H APTER II.
OPPOSITION EXPERIENCED BY ST. PALLADIUS IN IRELAND—HE IS DRIVEN AWAY BY NATHI—OTHER STATEMENTS—HIS REPUTED MISSION IN NORTH BRITAIN—HIS DEATH—HIS FESTIVALS AND COMMEMORATIONS—CONCLUSION.
Notwithstanding his high commission to evangelize the people, St.
in Ireland. 1 To St. Patrick, and not to him, had Providence assigned the grand measure of a successful mission. No sooner had Palladius begun to announce the Godhead and the Gospel of
tery, called in the Irish language Coall-mor rightly rendered Kill Mor. An ancient tradition states, however, that Palladius suffered martyrdom among the Scots,5 and owing to the various obscurities besetting his Acts, to many writers this seems to be a supposition sufficiently probable. One account 6 has it, that he was not allowed to land in Ireland at all, as tempests and signs from God prevented him. 1 However, the prevailing opinion appears to be, that the rude and inhospitable people where he landed did not readily receive his doctrine, and therefore he willed not to remain in a
his followers, who came to Crioch Cualan, of which they took possession. Afterwards they were called 'tribes or Strangers by the natives who lived there.
84 This is called Ecclesia Finte, in the Fourth Life. The meaning is the same, Kill-fine, Kill finte or Kill-fin-tech being rendered in Latin cedes Fine,
Palladius remained not
long
Christ,
enemy
of man cast obstacles -in his Nathi, son of way.
2 than the Garchon,achiefinthatpartofWicklow,opposedhisprogress. Itisstated, that he baptized a few persons at Inbher-Dea—,3 where he erected a monas-
rum Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , p. 424.
s Such is the account given by Tirechan, as we find in Sir William Betham's " Irish 85 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Antiquarian Researches. " In reference to
Quarta Vita S. Patiicii, cap. xxviii. , p. 38, . and nn. 17, 18, 19, 20, p. 49.
86
See ibid. , Sexia Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxv. , p. 70.
him, we read: "qui martyrium passus e—st
apud Scotos, ut tradunt sancti antiqui. "
—
state, at A. D. 431, that he remained one
Anchorite, century,
"
Chapter ii.
r
The Annals of Inisfallen
flourished
in
the
ninth
toriaBritonum byNennius,thefollowing 2"
year.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle places the observation occurs : sed per quasdam
to the Scots, in the year 430. See edition quia nemo potest quicquam accipere in terra of Benjamin Thorpe, vol. i. , p. 19, and nisi fuerit datum desuper, et ille Palladius
mission of Palladius—called also Patricks— tempestates et signa ilium Deus prohibuit,
vol. ii. , p. 11.
3 Held to be the mouth of the present
Vartry River. See Miss Mary F. Cusack's
rediens de Hibernia ad Britanniam ibi de-
functus est in terra Pictorum. "
"
Irish Tripartite Life, translated by William
Life of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland,"
M . Hennessy, M. R. I. A. , part i. , pp. 377,
378, and n. 5.
4 See Ussher's
"
Britannicarum Ecclesia-
Appendix xxxvi.
6 That of Mark the
who
His-
7 In Edward Gunn's edition of the "
8
Such is the account, in Muirchu's an-
4
74 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. . [July 6.
country strange to him. His resolve was formed, to return with the first tide which served, and to seek the Pope who had sent him. 8
We are informed, that the newly arrived missionary was expelled from the country. 9 Sofaraswecanjudge,however,twoormoreofhiscompanionsappear
10 Thesewerehisdisciples,who
1 * and Solonius. 1 * With them
he left some books, as also the relics of saints. '5 Here we have to admire the
inscrutable ways of Divine Providence, who so willed it, that the mission of
Palladius should prove comparatively barren of results, while within a short
time after his leaving Ireland, St. Patrick was destined to arrive, and to
preach the Gospel among the natives, with most successful and consoling
16
AccordingtotheaccountofJocelyn,17 findingtheIrishnationobstinately bent against receiving the doctrines of truth, Palladius departed from Ireland. Intending to return back to Rome, it is said, that he died on the way, but in Britain, and on Pictish land. After Palladius had left Ireland, he passed
credited. An has been opinion
tohavebeenleftbehindhimin
Beiham's
Hy-G-irchon. Augustine, Benedict," Sylvester,
are named 11
results.
into Scotland a. d. l8 as is 431,
generally
advanced, that he landed there in the north-west, and that he continued his
course by land, until he arrived at Fordun, where he fell sick. '9 He went to the kingdom of the Picts. There it is stated, that he preached Christ with
considerable success. 20 Some of the Scottish historians 2I
had a message from Pope St. Celestine I. to arrive about a. d. 429, at Fordun,22 and that there he was most hospitably entertained by Eugenius, King of the Scots, and that during many years he spent among these latter people in Britain, Palladius ordained archbishops and bishops, as also sent
2
missionaries to the Orkney Islands. * Again, it is related, that Dongard,
successor of Eugenius, was a patron of his followers. It is only necessary to observe, that Fordun was then comprised within the country of the Picts f*
cient Life of St. Patrick. See Sir William p. 49; Quinta Vita S. Patricii, lib. i. , cap.
"
Irish Antiquarian Researches," xxiv. , xw. , pp. 48, 49, andnn. 26, 27, p. 63;
— Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxv. , p. 70.
Irish Version of the Historia Britcnum of p. 171.
Appendix i.
9 Such is the account
f Pledius o—
Also, Vita S. i Septima Patricii, pars,
given
another form of Palladius' name in "The xxviii. , xxix. , p. 123, and nn. 20, 21,22,
Nennius," edited with a Translation and Notes by Rev. Dr. James Henthorn Todd, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, pp.
Patriciana," No. iii. , pp. 25 to 37.
11
The name of this missionary is not to be found in the Irish Calendars.
,a There is no mention oi his name, in the Irish Calendars.
13 At the iodi of March, a St. Sylvester is
to be found in the Martyrology of Tallagh. See some account of him, at that date, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
' 4 A feast has been assigned to Solonius, inMarr, by Dempster, and also by Ferrarius, who follows him.
cap.
,
l6 See D. Petrus Lombardus, " De Regno Hibernise, Sanctorum Insulae, Com- mentarius," cap. xiii. , pp. 61 to 63. Very Rev. Dr. Moran's Edition.
106, 107.
10 For several learned and
f See "Trias Colyan's
re- marks in reference to this district and to the Palladian churches, said to have been founded within it, the reader may consult the Rev. John Francis Shearman's " Loca
ingenious
Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxv. , p. 70.
l8 "
See Ussher's Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Anliquitates," cap. xvi. , pp. 418, 424.
*» See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland/' vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, xvi. , n. 149, p. 45.
20 See Bishop Challoner's " Britannia Sancta," part ii. , July vL
8I Among these may be classed John Fordun and Hector Boece.
" According to John Fordun, Palladius arrived with a great companyin the eleventh
year of King Eugenius' reign.
a3 See Ussher's " Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Antiquitates," cap. xv. , pp. 351 to S<. e Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga," 353.
's"
Secunda Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxiv. , p. 13,
and nn. 18 Vita S. 32, 33, 34, p. ; Quarta
Patricii, cap. xxviii. , p. 38, andnn. 16 to 21,
3*
See on this subject, the remarks of
in his learned work "
Chalmers, Caledonia,"
vol. i. , bookii. , chap. vi.
pretend,
that he
July 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 75 nor was there any Scottish kingdom whatever in North Britain, during the
that Kenneth Mac established the Scottish denomination over the Picts, and that the whole of
Alban was regarded as the United Kingdom of Scotland.
If Palladius escaped with his life from Ireland, and arrived amongthe Britons
or Picts; it is thought to be most probable, that Galloway was the place where he landed and died,26 sickness having seized him in the country of the
fifth 2 s It was century.
only,
about the
year 839,
Alpin
Cruiihne. 2? One account 28 has
it,
that when Palladius was forced to leave
Ireland, he was obliged to go round the coast of Ireland towards the north.
Then, he was driven by a great tempest, until he reached the extreme part of
the Modhjiid, towards the south, where he founded the church of Fordoun
2
and Pledi, 9 called after him. According to the Scottish traditions,3° St.
1
Palladius arrived in Scotland, during the reign of Eugene^ and he long
ministered at the church of Fordoun. ^ This is now a midland parish, in
the county of Kincardine, where the kirk is romantically situated upon the eastern slope of the Hill of Strathfinla, overhanging the mountain stream of the Luther. ?
many of these were Christians. 5X Now whether this refers to England, *7 His festival is kept, on the 31st of Ireland or Scotland, the account must be rc-
ccived only in a restricted sense. The Irish
and the Scotch have disputed the ques- long
July.
4<s See Les Petits
" Vies des Saints,"tumeix. ,xxxi JourdeJuillet,p. 136. *y Archbishop Spottisuoode states, that
he was sent to
to resist the
Bollandistes, e
towhieh nation St. Palladius had been first sent, but doubtless, it was to Ireland.
s-i See in Breviario Cammiconim Regula-
rium Divi Augustini, when treating about St. Patrick.
S3 In the Irish Tripartite Life of St.
Patrick, he is called the Airchinnech in
Rome, and the forty-second man from St. Peter. See Miss Cusack's "Life of St. Patrick. " The Tripartite, translated by W. M. Hennessy, p. 377.
Scotland, chiefly
Pelagian heresy, which then began to
spread in the Scottish church. See his "History of the Church of Scotland. "
s° "PraeteieaCcelestinus, quumS. Patricii prsedicatione Christianam fidem suscepisset Scotia et Hibernia, quae, ut modo hsereticu- rum, fuit ohm Sanctorum insula, dedit Sco- tis primum Episcopum Palladium Diaco-
num
in Iliberniam. " Berti's
clesiasticasive Dissertationes Ecclesiasticae," tomus iii. , ssec. v. , Dissertatio iv. , cap. i. , p. 174. Bassani, 1769, folio Ed.
"
tion,as
is referred to what has been Historia Ec- already stated, in the Life of St. Patrick, in
the Third Volume of this work at the 17th
— 54
; quo hortatore S. Germanum miserat The reader
day of March. Art. i. , chap. vi.
ss See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,
"
July 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 71
He dwells particularly on the mission of St. Palladius to our Island. He shows by sufficient evidence, that Palladius was a deacon of the Roman Church, and that he was sent by Pope St. Celestine to this country. Although this mission had not been very successful, yet the bishop admits, that other Christians had been there scattered and isolated. 57 A learned Protestant authority = s also sustains this view of the case. A denial of his Roman mission is opposed to tradition and authoritative documents. Palladius is said to have been accompanied by twelve men, to instruct the Gaeidhel,50 and in the same way as Barnabas went from Peter to instruct the Romans. He was then sent to
60 preachtheGospeltothe"Scots,believinginChrist," asnarratedbyatrust-
worthy historian. From these remarks, we might infer, that there must have been many professors of the Gospel in Ireland at this early time. The latter people, according to the Roman style of considering those living without the
limits of their Empire, are styled barbarians; yet, this description seems greatly exaggerated, so far as it relates to Ireland. The date for the arrival of Palladius varies, according to the statement of different authors ; but, it is most generally and correctly assigned to a. d. 431. In the Annals of Multifer-
nan,
incorrectly stated,
year
It is noted, by Prosper, that St.
that in 61 the 423,
in which died, St. Augustine
it is
Palladius was sent to the Scots, or Irish.
Paliadius was sent over the sea on his mission, while Bassus and Antiochus were consuls, which was in the year 43 1. 63 Marianus Scotus has a notice of St. Palladius' mission to Ireland. 6+ However, we are informed by Matthew of
Paris,
bishop, a. d. 433, to the Scots, believing in Christ. This is also the chronology assigned, for his mission, by Matthew of Westminster. 66
The usual course of travel from the Continent of Europe to Ireland in
thefifthcenturywasthroughEngland. Accordingtooneaccount,Palladius and his Roman companions landed in the northern part of Ireland, where
6
they were fiercely opposed by the pagan inhabitants. ? This statement is con-
tradictory, however, to that of most authorities on the subject; for, it is gene- rally held, that his vessel touched the eastern shore, in the first instance. When he landed in Scotia, he came to that part of Leinster, where Nathi, son of Garchon, was ruler. 68 Another account has it, that the holy missionary landed at Inbher Dea,6° in the territory of Leinster. Palladius had a partial
Tertia Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxvi. , p. 23. tos, id est, ad Hibernicos. "—" Annates de
56
Kircheandihrer verbindungmitRom, Gallien und Alemannian (von 430-630)," also Einlei- tung in die Geschichte des Stifts St. Gallien.
02
6 s that Palladius was ordained Celestine and sent as their first by Pope
Intituled, "Geschichte der
altirischen Monte . Edited Dr. Fernandi," by Aquilla
Smith, p. 3. Published by the Irish Archaeo- logical Society in 1842.
** See Father Papebroke's observations in Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii xii. De Sancto Ternano, Pictorum in Britannia
s? The inconclusive objections, which Dr.
Todd urges against the Roman Mission of
Palladius, are fully refuted by Bishop Episcopo. IUorum simul et Scotorum, limi- Greith.
s8 Mr. George Grub, in his impartial and critical' 'Ecclesiastical History of Scotland," declines even to take account of Dr. Todd's
"
objections. See The Chronicle," vol. i. ,
tes, Apostoli, dicecesis, num. 4, p. 534.
64 According to him Indictione xv.
6= See "Chronica Majora," edited by
Henry Richards Luard, M. A. , vol. i. , p. 181.
66 In "Flores Historiarum," at a. d.
ccccxxxiii. , p. 148.
67 See Richard Stanihurst's tract, "De
Vita S. Patricii, Hibernise Apostoli," lib. i. , p. 40.
68 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Secunda Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxiv. , p. 13.
6' Some consider this to be the mouth of
the Vartry river ; but, such a supposition is by no means removed from the pale of con-
No.
59 '-For to the Comorb of Peter belongs
the instruction of Europe," is added in the translation of the Tripartite. See Miss Mary
37, p. 879.
"
60 See St. Prosper, in his Chronicon.
F. Cusack's
Life of St. Patrick," p. 377.
61
The two latter figures probably are only
a transposition, for what should make the
date 432.
62 The statement runs
:
' l mittitur ad Scol-
"
72 LIVES OE THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 6.
success in his first trials, having baptized some in the name of the Most Holy Trinity. 7° He is said to have founded three adjoining churches, viz. : Cill-
in which he left his books, a casket with the relics of Paul and
1 fine, Peter,*
2
and the tablets in which he used to write Thech-na-Roman as also
;? ; Domhnach-Airte, or Domnach Ardec, in which repose theremains of Sylvester" and Solonius,? 4 who are regarded as having been his disciples. Those chuches are supposed to have been situated within the present county of Wicklow ; but the exact modern denomination and identification of each church have given rise to some divergency of opinion. A learned writer,75 and one well acquainted with the localities named, has advanced good reason for supposing
According to a local tradition, still held by the people, Palladius is said to have landed at Ennisboheen,80 in the county of Wicklow, and at the mouth of that little river, which is about three miles south from Wicklow town. Some authorities have the shore of the county of Wexford as the spot ; but, as this landing took place many centuries before either Wexford or Wicklow 8l became shire-divisions, we may readily conceive, how easy it might be to confuse popular traditions, as referring to Irish territories, the boundaries of which are now only known from historic records. 82 The country about that quarter was anciently called Crioch Cualan, and afterwards it was named Hy-Garchan, after the father of Nathi, who ruled there when Palladius landed. Here he is said to have built the church of Kilnne 8 ^ or " the Church of
Teach na Roman to be identical with
tains to be represented by Donard ;? ? while, Cell Fine he considers, to be the present old church site of Killeen Cormac,? 8 about three miles west of Dun- lavin, in the townland of Colbinstown, and in the parish ot Davidstown, countyofKildare. ^ Weareofopinion,however,thatChristianityhadnot been propagated on the western slopes of the Wicklow Mountains, until after the arrival of St. Patrick.
troversy. On this subject, the Very Rev. Richard Galvin, former P. P. , Rathdrum, has written a very forcible and researched communication, which will be found in "The Journal of the Royal Historical and
Archaeological Association of Ireland," vol. i. , Fourth Series, No. 8, October, 1S71, pp. 576, 577.
7° See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Secunda Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxiv. , p. 13.
i* Jocelyn states, that he brought these, with the relics of many other Martyrs, from Rome.
7a These we are told were held in veneration by the people, and they werecalled in the Scottish language Pall-ere or Palla-
? 8 See "Journal of the Royal Historical and Archaeological Association of Ireland," vol. ii. , Fourth Series, July, 1873, No. 15. See a valuable paper, intituled " Loca Patri- ciana," pp. 486 to 498.
79 See a paper, by the Rev. John Francis
Shearman, in the "Irish Ecclesiastical Re-
cord," for June, 1868.
8o
It is Anglicised into Ennisboyne by the country people of the neighbourhood. It is called after St. Boethan, who lived there in the seventh century, and whose feast was commemorated on the 22nd of May.
8l Wicklow was formed into County only
a shire, so late as 1605-1606, according to the Patent Rolls of 3rd of James I.
" Si dere. L'tinized onus Pailadii, or the bur-
The writer is indebted to the Very Rev.
den of Palladius ;" because this seemed to
be the case or shrine, in which the relics
were kept.
73 The feast of Sylvester has been placed
by Colgan, at the 10th of March. At that date, likewise, some notices of him may be found, in theThirdVolumeof this work, Art. i.
7* See Miss M. F. Cusack's Tripartite Life
of St. Patrick, part i. , pp. 377, 378. 75 Rev. John Francis Shearman.
7* In the parish of Castlemacadam, county of Wicklow.
77 Near Dunlavin, in the west of the county of Wicklow.
Michael Moloney, P. P. , the respected P. P. of Kilbride and Barndarrig, for se\eral re-
marks in the text, and conveyed in a letter, dated Kilbride, Barndang, 12th March, 1886.
His excelknt knowledge of Irish ecclesiastical antiquities has been the result
of a lile-long study, and with nearly all the local traditions ol this part of Wicklow County he is most familiar.
8^ Con of the Hundred Battles having been assassinated at Tara, and his own brother taking part in that deed, the time for retri- bution arrived, when the son of Con having attained his majority banished his uncle and
great
Tigroney;?
6 Domnach Arda he main-
July 6. ]
73
'
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
This seems to be affirmed, by the various Lives of St. Patrick but, the fourth Life states, that the church Teach na Roman, or the House of the Romans, had been built by the disciples of St. Palladius, and that the third church, called Dominica Arda, had been tended by the com- panions of Palladius, Silvester and Solinus, whose relics had been afterwards conveyed to Knnisboethen, where they were held in great honour. 85 A fair inference to be drawn from all those incidental statements is, that the three Palladian churches, as they have been styled, were not severally far removed, and probably they were within the same territory of Hy-Garchon. However,
the Tribes. " 8 4
extant
;
at the present day, it seems impracticable clearly to identify these various 86
sites, especially as the original churches were built of wood, according to Jocelyn's statement.
C H APTER II.
OPPOSITION EXPERIENCED BY ST. PALLADIUS IN IRELAND—HE IS DRIVEN AWAY BY NATHI—OTHER STATEMENTS—HIS REPUTED MISSION IN NORTH BRITAIN—HIS DEATH—HIS FESTIVALS AND COMMEMORATIONS—CONCLUSION.
Notwithstanding his high commission to evangelize the people, St.
in Ireland. 1 To St. Patrick, and not to him, had Providence assigned the grand measure of a successful mission. No sooner had Palladius begun to announce the Godhead and the Gospel of
tery, called in the Irish language Coall-mor rightly rendered Kill Mor. An ancient tradition states, however, that Palladius suffered martyrdom among the Scots,5 and owing to the various obscurities besetting his Acts, to many writers this seems to be a supposition sufficiently probable. One account 6 has it, that he was not allowed to land in Ireland at all, as tempests and signs from God prevented him. 1 However, the prevailing opinion appears to be, that the rude and inhospitable people where he landed did not readily receive his doctrine, and therefore he willed not to remain in a
his followers, who came to Crioch Cualan, of which they took possession. Afterwards they were called 'tribes or Strangers by the natives who lived there.
84 This is called Ecclesia Finte, in the Fourth Life. The meaning is the same, Kill-fine, Kill finte or Kill-fin-tech being rendered in Latin cedes Fine,
Palladius remained not
long
Christ,
enemy
of man cast obstacles -in his Nathi, son of way.
2 than the Garchon,achiefinthatpartofWicklow,opposedhisprogress. Itisstated, that he baptized a few persons at Inbher-Dea—,3 where he erected a monas-
rum Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , p. 424.
s Such is the account given by Tirechan, as we find in Sir William Betham's " Irish 85 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Antiquarian Researches. " In reference to
Quarta Vita S. Patiicii, cap. xxviii. , p. 38, . and nn. 17, 18, 19, 20, p. 49.
86
See ibid. , Sexia Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxv. , p. 70.
him, we read: "qui martyrium passus e—st
apud Scotos, ut tradunt sancti antiqui. "
—
state, at A. D. 431, that he remained one
Anchorite, century,
"
Chapter ii.
r
The Annals of Inisfallen
flourished
in
the
ninth
toriaBritonum byNennius,thefollowing 2"
year.
The Anglo-Saxon Chronicle places the observation occurs : sed per quasdam
to the Scots, in the year 430. See edition quia nemo potest quicquam accipere in terra of Benjamin Thorpe, vol. i. , p. 19, and nisi fuerit datum desuper, et ille Palladius
mission of Palladius—called also Patricks— tempestates et signa ilium Deus prohibuit,
vol. ii. , p. 11.
3 Held to be the mouth of the present
Vartry River. See Miss Mary F. Cusack's
rediens de Hibernia ad Britanniam ibi de-
functus est in terra Pictorum. "
"
Irish Tripartite Life, translated by William
Life of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland,"
M . Hennessy, M. R. I. A. , part i. , pp. 377,
378, and n. 5.
4 See Ussher's
"
Britannicarum Ecclesia-
Appendix xxxvi.
6 That of Mark the
who
His-
7 In Edward Gunn's edition of the "
8
Such is the account, in Muirchu's an-
4
74 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. . [July 6.
country strange to him. His resolve was formed, to return with the first tide which served, and to seek the Pope who had sent him. 8
We are informed, that the newly arrived missionary was expelled from the country. 9 Sofaraswecanjudge,however,twoormoreofhiscompanionsappear
10 Thesewerehisdisciples,who
1 * and Solonius. 1 * With them
he left some books, as also the relics of saints. '5 Here we have to admire the
inscrutable ways of Divine Providence, who so willed it, that the mission of
Palladius should prove comparatively barren of results, while within a short
time after his leaving Ireland, St. Patrick was destined to arrive, and to
preach the Gospel among the natives, with most successful and consoling
16
AccordingtotheaccountofJocelyn,17 findingtheIrishnationobstinately bent against receiving the doctrines of truth, Palladius departed from Ireland. Intending to return back to Rome, it is said, that he died on the way, but in Britain, and on Pictish land. After Palladius had left Ireland, he passed
credited. An has been opinion
tohavebeenleftbehindhimin
Beiham's
Hy-G-irchon. Augustine, Benedict," Sylvester,
are named 11
results.
into Scotland a. d. l8 as is 431,
generally
advanced, that he landed there in the north-west, and that he continued his
course by land, until he arrived at Fordun, where he fell sick. '9 He went to the kingdom of the Picts. There it is stated, that he preached Christ with
considerable success. 20 Some of the Scottish historians 2I
had a message from Pope St. Celestine I. to arrive about a. d. 429, at Fordun,22 and that there he was most hospitably entertained by Eugenius, King of the Scots, and that during many years he spent among these latter people in Britain, Palladius ordained archbishops and bishops, as also sent
2
missionaries to the Orkney Islands. * Again, it is related, that Dongard,
successor of Eugenius, was a patron of his followers. It is only necessary to observe, that Fordun was then comprised within the country of the Picts f*
cient Life of St. Patrick. See Sir William p. 49; Quinta Vita S. Patricii, lib. i. , cap.
"
Irish Antiquarian Researches," xxiv. , xw. , pp. 48, 49, andnn. 26, 27, p. 63;
— Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxv. , p. 70.
Irish Version of the Historia Britcnum of p. 171.
Appendix i.
9 Such is the account
f Pledius o—
Also, Vita S. i Septima Patricii, pars,
given
another form of Palladius' name in "The xxviii. , xxix. , p. 123, and nn. 20, 21,22,
Nennius," edited with a Translation and Notes by Rev. Dr. James Henthorn Todd, and by the Hon. Algernon Herbert, pp.
Patriciana," No. iii. , pp. 25 to 37.
11
The name of this missionary is not to be found in the Irish Calendars.
,a There is no mention oi his name, in the Irish Calendars.
13 At the iodi of March, a St. Sylvester is
to be found in the Martyrology of Tallagh. See some account of him, at that date, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
' 4 A feast has been assigned to Solonius, inMarr, by Dempster, and also by Ferrarius, who follows him.
cap.
,
l6 See D. Petrus Lombardus, " De Regno Hibernise, Sanctorum Insulae, Com- mentarius," cap. xiii. , pp. 61 to 63. Very Rev. Dr. Moran's Edition.
106, 107.
10 For several learned and
f See "Trias Colyan's
re- marks in reference to this district and to the Palladian churches, said to have been founded within it, the reader may consult the Rev. John Francis Shearman's " Loca
ingenious
Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxv. , p. 70.
l8 "
See Ussher's Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Anliquitates," cap. xvi. , pp. 418, 424.
*» See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland/' vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, xvi. , n. 149, p. 45.
20 See Bishop Challoner's " Britannia Sancta," part ii. , July vL
8I Among these may be classed John Fordun and Hector Boece.
" According to John Fordun, Palladius arrived with a great companyin the eleventh
year of King Eugenius' reign.
a3 See Ussher's " Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Antiquitates," cap. xv. , pp. 351 to S<. e Colgan's Trias Thaumaturga," 353.
's"
Secunda Vita S. Patricii, cap. xxiv. , p. 13,
and nn. 18 Vita S. 32, 33, 34, p. ; Quarta
Patricii, cap. xxviii. , p. 38, andnn. 16 to 21,
3*
See on this subject, the remarks of
in his learned work "
Chalmers, Caledonia,"
vol. i. , bookii. , chap. vi.
pretend,
that he
July 6. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 75 nor was there any Scottish kingdom whatever in North Britain, during the
that Kenneth Mac established the Scottish denomination over the Picts, and that the whole of
Alban was regarded as the United Kingdom of Scotland.
If Palladius escaped with his life from Ireland, and arrived amongthe Britons
or Picts; it is thought to be most probable, that Galloway was the place where he landed and died,26 sickness having seized him in the country of the
fifth 2 s It was century.
only,
about the
year 839,
Alpin
Cruiihne. 2? One account 28 has
it,
that when Palladius was forced to leave
Ireland, he was obliged to go round the coast of Ireland towards the north.
Then, he was driven by a great tempest, until he reached the extreme part of
the Modhjiid, towards the south, where he founded the church of Fordoun
2
and Pledi, 9 called after him. According to the Scottish traditions,3° St.
1
Palladius arrived in Scotland, during the reign of Eugene^ and he long
ministered at the church of Fordoun. ^ This is now a midland parish, in
the county of Kincardine, where the kirk is romantically situated upon the eastern slope of the Hill of Strathfinla, overhanging the mountain stream of the Luther. ?
