Fechin or Vigean were at Grange of Conan, There are to be found a small grove and the foundations of a chapel, as
likewise
a most copious fountain, which pre- serves his name.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
,'3 instituted this see.
In 1098, Magnus,'* King of Norway,'s having conquered, not only the Western Isles but Man, the bishopricsofSodorandManwereunited.
" Theycontinuedthus,untilthe close of the fourteenth century.
'?
On the death of John Dunkan, a.
d.
1380,
Articlen. —' See"ActaSanctorum,"
tomus ii. , xxvi. Januarii. Prsetermissi et in
"SeeRev. AlbanButler's"Livesofthe
Fathers, Martyrs and other Principal Saints," at the 26th of January, where there is a no- tice of St. Conon, Bishop of the Isle of
alios dies rejecti, p. 690.
' " De Gestis Scotorum," lib. iv.
3 See the account of this saint, in " De Man.
Statu Hominis, Veteris simul ac Novas Ecclesise, et Sanctis Regni Scotiae," lib. i. , cap. iii. , sec. 2, p. 135.
" Yet the " Chronicon Mannise," states, that the names of the earliest bishops were neither recorded in writing, or known from tradition. See *'
< See his Life at the of
Johnstone's Antiquitates Celto-Normanicae," p. 44.
30th August. History of Scotland," book ix. , chap. 21, Bollanden's translation, tomus ii. ,
p. 108. Ed. 1821.
' See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xiii.
Januarii. De S. Connano Episcop. Mannice, pp. 59, 60.
' At the 13th of January. Article ix.
5 " Sec
^
instructive article, on the Isle of Man, vol. Chronicon Manniae, pp. 10 to 12.
'*
" Isle of Man ; its History, Physical, Ec- princes was acknowledged in the Isle of
vi. , pp. 295, 296.
clesiastical, Civil, and Legendary. " Appen- dix P. , pp. 341, 342.
Man, there might have been a close con- nexion between the Manx Church and the ancient British Church in Wales,
'°
See the account of this transaction re-
corded by Jocelyn in Colgan's
''
Trias Thau-
^^ had ofthe Then the English possession
maturga. " Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xcii. , p. 86.
"
Isle of Man. See Chambers' Enclyclo-
'^ He sat in the Papal chair from A. D.
827to 843. See Sir Harris Nicolas' "Chrono-
logy of History," p. 391.
'* See H. A. Bullock's "History of the
Isle of Man," chap, i. , pp. 8, 9.
*s See an account of his exploits in John-
See in Chambers' "EncyclopDsdia," an stone's "Antiquitates Celto-Normanicae. "
It is not improbable, that during the 9 See Rev. Joseph George Cumming's period when the authority of the Welsh
paedia," vol. vi. , art. , Isle of Man, p. 296.
nerally
to
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 26.
the clergy of Man elected Robert Waldby, for their prelate ;^^ at the same time, the bishops of Man still retained their title, bishops of Sodor ; giving the name of Sodor to a little island near Peel, in which the cathedral of St. German was built. ^9
St. Conon appears to have been born during the latter part of the sixth
century. Although no record regarding this matter is known to remain, it is
probable he left Ireland to join the religious community at lona, where his education may have been received, and where his talents and virtues, no doubt, caused him to attain distinction. His youth was devoted to prayer andtopenitentialexercises: heentertainedlikewiseagreatdevotiontowards theholyMotherofGod. ^° Theseyouthfulpracticesgrewwithhisyears;=' and the greatest purity characterized his every thought, word and act. In fine, Conanus was appointed tutor to the three sons^^ of Eugenius the Fourth, King of Scotland. ^3 These young princes are described as having made great progress in learning and good morals. Afterwards Conon sat as bishop in the Isle of Man, it is said, about the year 600. These, at least, are the only tangible accounts we can glean from writers who have alluded to him. From the tuition of Bishop Conon, Doneualdus was called away by the universal suffrages of the Scottish people, to take on himself the direction of their affairs. ''^
This is probably the St. Conan who is placed among the southern Pictish bishops, in that magnificent and learned work of Dr. Gordon,'3 and whose
is
period assigned
to a. d. It is the date to which his death is— 648. ^^ ge-
In — placing
his festival at the 26th of
day January
referred. ^7
which Colgan demiirs^^ Camerarius appears to be more correct than his learned criticiser.
This Conan was greatly venerated in Scotland. He was remembered at Kilconan in Fortingal, and at the well of St. Conan, near Dalmally. ^9 Conan's fair is held on the third Wednesday in March, in Glenorchy;3° but,
'* The civil government of the Manx is and Donualdus, according to some of the
"
liament The islanders make their own Historiae a Prima Gentis Origine," etc. ,
altogether independent of the Imperial Par- Scotch writers. See Boethius'
Scotorum
laws, and appoint their own authorities, judges and law officers. Their parliament is styled the Court of Tynwald. It is com- posed of the Lieutenant-Governor, and the Council, and the House of Keys. The Council is made up of the Bishop, the At- torney-General, two judges, the Clerk of the Rolls, the Water Bailiff, the Archdeacon, and the Vicar-General. The House of Keys is formed of the twenty-four legal re-
lib. ix. , foL 173.
'3 See an account of him in George Bu-
•'
chanan's Rerum Scoticarum Historia,"
lib. v. , pp. 144, 145.
^••See Hector Boetius, "Scotorum His-
torise a Prima Gentis Originse," etc. , lib. ix. , p. 174.
=sSee Rev. J. F. S. Gordon's " Scoti- chronicon," vol. i. . Episcopal Succession in the Church of Scotland, p. 26.
ofthe Anewmea- **Thisis the ofhis people. year
presentatives
sure is introduced into the House of Keys
and debated upon ; it is then sent to the
Council, and finally to the Queen of Eng- land for her assent. It becomes law by
promulgation from t—he Tynwald Hill in English and in Manx a dialect of the latter closely allied to Irish.
'9 See Rev. Joseph George Cumming's
"Isle of Man," &c. , Appendix P. , pp. 338
death, according to Camerarius' "De Statu Hominis veteris
simul ac Novae Ecclesise et Sanctis Regni Scotiae," lib. i. , cap. iii. , sec. 2, p. 136.
=7 See Keith's "Calendar of Scottish
Bishops," p. 296. Russel Ed.
*®See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," De
S. Connano Episcop. Mannise, cap. iv. , p. 60.
to 343-
'° "
According to Camerarius, at the 26th of January;
30 See " New Statistical Account of Scot- land. " Perthshire, p. 103. At the 20th of March, there is a Conan, son of Corre,
"'
to the " Breviarium Lemoui-
According
censis," Limoges, at the 30th of August.
" These are called St. Fiacre, Ferquhard,
=^See the old "Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 449, and vol. viii. , p. 351. Also Origines Parochrales Scotiae," part ii. , p. 135.
January 26. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 449
it seems doubtful, if Conan of Glenorchy were identical with the Bishop of Sodor. 3* There was likewise an old parish church called Kilchonan, on the northsideofLochRannoch,anditisno—wunitedtoFortingal. ^^ Asinmany otherinstances,thenameofSt. Conon evenalthoughhemightbeclaimed as connected with our island—has not been inserted in our Irish Calendars.
Article III. —Festival of St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, Martyr.
This noble champion of the Faith is thought to have received instruction
from the Apostles themselves, during the first age of Christianity. The FeiHre of St. ^ngus contains no Irish saint's festival at the 26th of January. The following, however, is the Irish stanza fo—r this date, with its English translation, as furnished by Professor O'Looney:
e. till. kt. 1f biM^Ach All-ocTiec La ]M5 t)0 ooujrAi|\ci
mentioned in the "
He
gal. " probably
saint.
of Done-
and other
Fathers, Martyrs, Principal
xxv. — Saints," January.
'
e. uii. kl.
SLuAg OpCA 1A]\ n-50]\CA La pAij- poLicA]\pci. '
They are a powerful torch
For the king to whom they came
The host who were killed after privation With the passion of Polycarp.
The Acts of St. Polycarp were written immediately after his glorious martyr-
dom, and this most illustrious father of the Church suffered for the Faith
at an extreme old and after the middle of the second '^ It must age, century.
be of interest for us to know, that his festival appears to have been religiously observed in the early ages of Christian fervour in the Irish Church, as in her Mass and offices, even at the present time.
Article IV. —St. Calb, or Calbh, of Tulach Carpait, now Tully- CORBET, in Menna Tire, IN Ui-Meith-Macha, County of Monaghan. It is to be regretted, we cannot find the period when this holy saint graced our ecclesiastical annals. However, we find that the Martyrology of Donegal' records a festival on this day, for a priest (Cruimther) Calbh, of Tulach Carpait, in Ui-Meith-Macha. In the table subjoined to this Martyrology, it is erroneously stated, that this place was situated in O'Meith, in Orior- O'Hanlon, diocese of Ardmagh. ' This saint is entered in the published Martyr-
Martyrology differs from the
present
3» The original chapel and hermitage of St.
Fechin or Vigean were at Grange of Conan, There are to be found a small grove and the foundations of a chapel, as likewise a most copious fountain, which pre- serves his name. See " New Statistical Ac- countofScotland. " Forfar,p. 490.
3* " The honorific name of Conon was
in which form his name — Mochonog, appears
is situated ; while the latter lies far
away
on
" Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scottish
the eastern verge of Armagh and Louth
counties. See »i^;V/. , pp. 396, 397. We are
as the patron of Inverkeillor in Angus.
Saints," p. 308. —
Article hi. 'Leabhar Breac copy,
R. I, A.
''See Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the
told by William M. Hennessy, that Tehel- likewise in the of
Vol. I. —No. 8,
20
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 26, 27.
'
The whole paragraph there is erroneous, arising from the confusion between Ui Meith Macha and Ui Meith Mara. The former territory formed a district in the county and barony of Monaghan, and dio- cese of Clogher, in which the above-named parish of Tulach-charpait, now TuUycorbet,
Article iv.
Ian was situated Ui Meith Macha.
territory
450 LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 27.
ology ofTallagh,3 at the 26th of January, under the designation of Bishop Calb, of Thilaigh Cairpat, in Menna Tin, in h. Meith. This place is identical
with the present Tullycorbet,^ a parish, chiefly in the barony and county of Monaghan, but a part of this parish lies within the barony of Cremorne. s In the Franciscan copy of the Tallagh Martyrology, after the entry of thirteen foreign saints, the name of Bishop Calb first occurs, at this date. ^ Likewise, under the head of Tulagh Carbuid,? Duald Mac Firbis enters, Bishop Calbh, from Tulach-Carbaid, in Menna-tire, in Ui Meith, at January the 26th. ^ This is all that seems to be known regarding him.
Article V. —St. Ernen or Ernin, Bishop. We have no means left for discovering the time when or the place where this holy prelate lived. But we may rest assured he was a man who had been elevated, not as the result of any selfish ambition, but by the sheer force of an innocent and a holylife, ofagreatandmightymind,andofimmeasurabledevotednessto thecauseofourgloriousChurch. IntheFranciscancopyoftheMart)a- ology of Tallagh,^ the name of Ernen, bishop, is to be found in the entries for this particular date. ^ In the Martyrology of Donegal,3 on this day, occurs the name of Ernin, bishop. No further light is thrown on his acts.
iluentp-'Siebettt! ) IBap of Saituarp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. NATALIS OR NAAL, ABBOT AND PATRON OF INVER- NAILE, COUNTY OF DONEGAL, AND OF KINNAWLY, COUNTY OF FERMANAGH.
[SIXTH CENTURY. ']
study of holy men's lives promotes solid instruction and kindly
THE it disarms rancour and feeling ; dispels
it exercises the mind in a love and reverence for religion ; it preserves the fear of God in our souls ; while it puts man in sweet relationship with himself and with
mankind. Colgan professed to give the acts of this saint at the 27th of
January. Yet,heappearstohavebeenundersomemistake,byconfounding this saint with a St. Natalis or Naal, Abbot of Kilmanagh, in the county of Kil-
kenny. '' Butthepresentholyman,similarlynamed,andwhoselocalitywasin the northern parts of Ireland, most probably had been quite a distinct person. '
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii.
*Thisparishis representedonthe *' Ord- nance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Monaghan. " Sheets 13, 14, 18,
Dictionary
^The reading is Opf CAtb o rhulAlg cAi^vpAic in menriA Ci^m in h. meich.
^ Tally corbet in the county of Monaghan is identified with this place in "William M.
Hennessy's note.
8 See " Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. , pait
i. , pp. 132, 133.
Articlev. —' Wetherereadepieniepi.
19.
s See Lewis' "
"Calendar of Irish Saints," published by Rev. Matthew Kelly, D. D. Seep. xiii.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
Topopjraphical of Ireland," vol. ii. , p. 658.
evil
temper ;
^
ptesent bishop's festival is omitted from the
It is remarkable, that at this date, the
26,27. —
at the 31st of July.
'See Dr. P. W. Joyce's "Origin and
History of Irish Names of Places," part ii. , chap, iii. , p. 140.
ARTICLE
'
The Life
of St. Natalis or Naal, Abbot of Kilmanagh, will be found
I.
January 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 451
According to some accounts, he was connected with Inver, to which the
denomination Naile, from his name, was afterwards added,3 and with
Damhinis, or Devenish, on Lough Erne, and in the county of Fermanagh. *
Another conjecture has been offered, that even here, it is possible, two dif-
ferent saints, bearing the name of Natalis or Naal, may have been con-
founded. 5 There is an Irish life of St. Naulus, transcribed by Michael
O'Clery. It is yet preserved among the MSS. in the Burgundian Library at Bruxelles. ^ The acts of St NataUs were in Colgan's possession, but he did
not judge it necessary to present any portion of these, because they con- tained some things that were doubtful, with fabulous circumstances, and some
things that were manifestly false. However, a part of what they contained was true. It is a loss, notwithstanding, that more liberal use had not been made of the document ; for possibly it would clear up points, that without its publication are very obscure. The present holy man is said to have been the son of -^nghus, son to Nadfraech, son to • Core, son to Lughaidh, who was King of Munster. Eithne, daughter of Crimhthann Crosgrach, was his mother, according to his own life. ? His acts state, likewise, that he was a brother to St. Molaisse, Abbot of Devenish. ^ This is manifestly incorrect. In the opinion of Dr. Lanigan, if any Abbot Naal be the son of ^ngus, it must have been St. Natalis of Kilmanagh, who flourished about the year 520. 9 He says the former supposition would be inconsistent with the fact of the present saint's father having been killed in 490, and the son having succeeded St. Molassius, Abbot of Devenish,^° who did not depart this life imtil 564. " Again, Naal is made a contemporary with St. Maidoc of Ferns, who belonged to a late part of the sixth century. "
Ttae life of Colum Cille'3 states, that Naile came into the presence of Colum Cille for the first time at the Inbher, and that Colum Cille and Ndile blessed the place. Thenceforward, it was from Naile this church has been named. It seems possible, too, that the present saint was identical with a Naal mentioned in the acts of St. Columba,'* and to whose church, it is said, a certain holy smith, named Senach,'S presented a bell. The Martyr-
3SeeiWi/. ,
* See Archdall's "Monasticon Hiberni-
who confounded two distinct possibly
p. 139.
cum," pp. 100, 259. ""
and the place of his residence answers very we—ll, as itwasnotmanymilesfromCashel. " Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land," vol. i. , chap, ix. , § iv. , n. 51, p. 446. "The parish of Devenish is shown in
the barony of Magheraboy, on the "Ord- nance Survey Townland Maps for the
"
County of Fermanagh. Sheets 13, 14, I5»
16, 19,20, 21, 22. The island and ruins of Devenish are marked on Sheet 22.
" Yet, to the writer, there seems to be nothing incredible in the supposition, for the difference in dates need only be seventy- four years ; and surely he might have been Abbot of Devenish after having attained such
an age,
"See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical His-
tory of Ireland," vol i. , chap, ix,, § iv. , n. 51, p. 446.
'3 Chapter xc. is quoted.
'* See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Quinta Vita S. Columbsp, lib. iii. , cap. iii. ,
p. 431.
's His feast seems to have been held on
5 Perhaps," says Dr. Lanigan, Naal of Devenish was a different person from the one of Invemaal. Yet, they are usually
spoken of as one and the same. " See clesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , § iv. , n. 53, p. 447.
^This is classed Vol. xi. , Nos. 4190- 4200. It is at fol. 124.
7 They also relate, that when a young man, he was a disciple of St. Columba, These statements are contradictory and in-
credible, in the opinion of Colgan ; for he remarks, that ^Engus, his father, fell in battle A. D. 515 or 516, some years before the birth of St. Columba. See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xxvii, Januarii, n. 14, p. 174.
^ Perhaps these were intended to have been the acts of St. Natalis, Abbot of Kil- managh, whose life will be found at the
of and that certain 31st July,
particulars, connected with this saint, had been mixed
up with them, through ignorance on the
part
of their
original compiler
or of a
copyist,
"
Ec-
saints, bearing the same name,
— The times 9Headds: "
agree,
452
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 27-
ology of Donegal states, likewise, that it was to St. Naal God gave water
from the hard, stony rock, when great thirst had seized upon him and St.
of ^^ with their monks. He made a distant cast of his Maedhog Ferns,
crozier at it, so that a stream of pure spring water gushed therefrom, just as this spring is now to be seen at Gill Naile. ^7 Here, it is possible his first
^^ Not unlike mtny other ecclesiastical edifices scattered over Ireland, and which owe their erection to the piety and good
establishment had
place.
Rui:is at Inver Naile, Co. Donegal.
taste of the monks of old, this little ruined church of St. Natalis is not ex- ceptional, as regards its pretty and picturesque situation. It stands on the
banks of theEidhneach or Eany(the ivy-producing river) as it empties its placid waters into the Bay of Inver. A belt of stately elms throws shadow upon its shattered walls, and around it are conical mountains of yellow sand, sparkling in the summer's sunshine. When the tide is at its full, the old ruin, with its quiet cemetery, is almost encircled with the briny water. ^9 This church of St. Natalis consists merely ofthe nave, which measures 61 feet in length by 21 feet 6 inches in its extreme width. Now nothing is left of its former carving and tracery save a few elaborately-cut jambs in the east ^vindow. The people around retain but very few legendary tales or old folk-lore con-
nected with this interesting building.
The very extensive parish of Inver^° is situated in the barony of Banagh,
and in the west of Donegal Gounty. The church ruins there are not far
the nth of May, at which date some no- tices of him will be found.
'^His life will be met with at the 31st of
January.
'? This statement is found in St. Naile's
own life, chap. x.
Articlen. —' See"ActaSanctorum,"
tomus ii. , xxvi. Januarii. Prsetermissi et in
"SeeRev. AlbanButler's"Livesofthe
Fathers, Martyrs and other Principal Saints," at the 26th of January, where there is a no- tice of St. Conon, Bishop of the Isle of
alios dies rejecti, p. 690.
' " De Gestis Scotorum," lib. iv.
3 See the account of this saint, in " De Man.
Statu Hominis, Veteris simul ac Novas Ecclesise, et Sanctis Regni Scotiae," lib. i. , cap. iii. , sec. 2, p. 135.
" Yet the " Chronicon Mannise," states, that the names of the earliest bishops were neither recorded in writing, or known from tradition. See *'
< See his Life at the of
Johnstone's Antiquitates Celto-Normanicae," p. 44.
30th August. History of Scotland," book ix. , chap. 21, Bollanden's translation, tomus ii. ,
p. 108. Ed. 1821.
' See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xiii.
Januarii. De S. Connano Episcop. Mannice, pp. 59, 60.
' At the 13th of January. Article ix.
5 " Sec
^
instructive article, on the Isle of Man, vol. Chronicon Manniae, pp. 10 to 12.
'*
" Isle of Man ; its History, Physical, Ec- princes was acknowledged in the Isle of
vi. , pp. 295, 296.
clesiastical, Civil, and Legendary. " Appen- dix P. , pp. 341, 342.
Man, there might have been a close con- nexion between the Manx Church and the ancient British Church in Wales,
'°
See the account of this transaction re-
corded by Jocelyn in Colgan's
''
Trias Thau-
^^ had ofthe Then the English possession
maturga. " Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xcii. , p. 86.
"
Isle of Man. See Chambers' Enclyclo-
'^ He sat in the Papal chair from A. D.
827to 843. See Sir Harris Nicolas' "Chrono-
logy of History," p. 391.
'* See H. A. Bullock's "History of the
Isle of Man," chap, i. , pp. 8, 9.
*s See an account of his exploits in John-
See in Chambers' "EncyclopDsdia," an stone's "Antiquitates Celto-Normanicae. "
It is not improbable, that during the 9 See Rev. Joseph George Cumming's period when the authority of the Welsh
paedia," vol. vi. , art. , Isle of Man, p. 296.
nerally
to
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 26.
the clergy of Man elected Robert Waldby, for their prelate ;^^ at the same time, the bishops of Man still retained their title, bishops of Sodor ; giving the name of Sodor to a little island near Peel, in which the cathedral of St. German was built. ^9
St. Conon appears to have been born during the latter part of the sixth
century. Although no record regarding this matter is known to remain, it is
probable he left Ireland to join the religious community at lona, where his education may have been received, and where his talents and virtues, no doubt, caused him to attain distinction. His youth was devoted to prayer andtopenitentialexercises: heentertainedlikewiseagreatdevotiontowards theholyMotherofGod. ^° Theseyouthfulpracticesgrewwithhisyears;=' and the greatest purity characterized his every thought, word and act. In fine, Conanus was appointed tutor to the three sons^^ of Eugenius the Fourth, King of Scotland. ^3 These young princes are described as having made great progress in learning and good morals. Afterwards Conon sat as bishop in the Isle of Man, it is said, about the year 600. These, at least, are the only tangible accounts we can glean from writers who have alluded to him. From the tuition of Bishop Conon, Doneualdus was called away by the universal suffrages of the Scottish people, to take on himself the direction of their affairs. ''^
This is probably the St. Conan who is placed among the southern Pictish bishops, in that magnificent and learned work of Dr. Gordon,'3 and whose
is
period assigned
to a. d. It is the date to which his death is— 648. ^^ ge-
In — placing
his festival at the 26th of
day January
referred. ^7
which Colgan demiirs^^ Camerarius appears to be more correct than his learned criticiser.
This Conan was greatly venerated in Scotland. He was remembered at Kilconan in Fortingal, and at the well of St. Conan, near Dalmally. ^9 Conan's fair is held on the third Wednesday in March, in Glenorchy;3° but,
'* The civil government of the Manx is and Donualdus, according to some of the
"
liament The islanders make their own Historiae a Prima Gentis Origine," etc. ,
altogether independent of the Imperial Par- Scotch writers. See Boethius'
Scotorum
laws, and appoint their own authorities, judges and law officers. Their parliament is styled the Court of Tynwald. It is com- posed of the Lieutenant-Governor, and the Council, and the House of Keys. The Council is made up of the Bishop, the At- torney-General, two judges, the Clerk of the Rolls, the Water Bailiff, the Archdeacon, and the Vicar-General. The House of Keys is formed of the twenty-four legal re-
lib. ix. , foL 173.
'3 See an account of him in George Bu-
•'
chanan's Rerum Scoticarum Historia,"
lib. v. , pp. 144, 145.
^••See Hector Boetius, "Scotorum His-
torise a Prima Gentis Originse," etc. , lib. ix. , p. 174.
=sSee Rev. J. F. S. Gordon's " Scoti- chronicon," vol. i. . Episcopal Succession in the Church of Scotland, p. 26.
ofthe Anewmea- **Thisis the ofhis people. year
presentatives
sure is introduced into the House of Keys
and debated upon ; it is then sent to the
Council, and finally to the Queen of Eng- land for her assent. It becomes law by
promulgation from t—he Tynwald Hill in English and in Manx a dialect of the latter closely allied to Irish.
'9 See Rev. Joseph George Cumming's
"Isle of Man," &c. , Appendix P. , pp. 338
death, according to Camerarius' "De Statu Hominis veteris
simul ac Novae Ecclesise et Sanctis Regni Scotiae," lib. i. , cap. iii. , sec. 2, p. 136.
=7 See Keith's "Calendar of Scottish
Bishops," p. 296. Russel Ed.
*®See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," De
S. Connano Episcop. Mannise, cap. iv. , p. 60.
to 343-
'° "
According to Camerarius, at the 26th of January;
30 See " New Statistical Account of Scot- land. " Perthshire, p. 103. At the 20th of March, there is a Conan, son of Corre,
"'
to the " Breviarium Lemoui-
According
censis," Limoges, at the 30th of August.
" These are called St. Fiacre, Ferquhard,
=^See the old "Statistical Account of Scotland," vol. ii. , p. 449, and vol. viii. , p. 351. Also Origines Parochrales Scotiae," part ii. , p. 135.
January 26. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 449
it seems doubtful, if Conan of Glenorchy were identical with the Bishop of Sodor. 3* There was likewise an old parish church called Kilchonan, on the northsideofLochRannoch,anditisno—wunitedtoFortingal. ^^ Asinmany otherinstances,thenameofSt. Conon evenalthoughhemightbeclaimed as connected with our island—has not been inserted in our Irish Calendars.
Article III. —Festival of St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, Martyr.
This noble champion of the Faith is thought to have received instruction
from the Apostles themselves, during the first age of Christianity. The FeiHre of St. ^ngus contains no Irish saint's festival at the 26th of January. The following, however, is the Irish stanza fo—r this date, with its English translation, as furnished by Professor O'Looney:
e. till. kt. 1f biM^Ach All-ocTiec La ]M5 t)0 ooujrAi|\ci
mentioned in the "
He
gal. " probably
saint.
of Done-
and other
Fathers, Martyrs, Principal
xxv. — Saints," January.
'
e. uii. kl.
SLuAg OpCA 1A]\ n-50]\CA La pAij- poLicA]\pci. '
They are a powerful torch
For the king to whom they came
The host who were killed after privation With the passion of Polycarp.
The Acts of St. Polycarp were written immediately after his glorious martyr-
dom, and this most illustrious father of the Church suffered for the Faith
at an extreme old and after the middle of the second '^ It must age, century.
be of interest for us to know, that his festival appears to have been religiously observed in the early ages of Christian fervour in the Irish Church, as in her Mass and offices, even at the present time.
Article IV. —St. Calb, or Calbh, of Tulach Carpait, now Tully- CORBET, in Menna Tire, IN Ui-Meith-Macha, County of Monaghan. It is to be regretted, we cannot find the period when this holy saint graced our ecclesiastical annals. However, we find that the Martyrology of Donegal' records a festival on this day, for a priest (Cruimther) Calbh, of Tulach Carpait, in Ui-Meith-Macha. In the table subjoined to this Martyrology, it is erroneously stated, that this place was situated in O'Meith, in Orior- O'Hanlon, diocese of Ardmagh. ' This saint is entered in the published Martyr-
Martyrology differs from the
present
3» The original chapel and hermitage of St.
Fechin or Vigean were at Grange of Conan, There are to be found a small grove and the foundations of a chapel, as likewise a most copious fountain, which pre- serves his name. See " New Statistical Ac- countofScotland. " Forfar,p. 490.
3* " The honorific name of Conon was
in which form his name — Mochonog, appears
is situated ; while the latter lies far
away
on
" Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of Scottish
the eastern verge of Armagh and Louth
counties. See »i^;V/. , pp. 396, 397. We are
as the patron of Inverkeillor in Angus.
Saints," p. 308. —
Article hi. 'Leabhar Breac copy,
R. I, A.
''See Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the
told by William M. Hennessy, that Tehel- likewise in the of
Vol. I. —No. 8,
20
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 26, 27.
'
The whole paragraph there is erroneous, arising from the confusion between Ui Meith Macha and Ui Meith Mara. The former territory formed a district in the county and barony of Monaghan, and dio- cese of Clogher, in which the above-named parish of Tulach-charpait, now TuUycorbet,
Article iv.
Ian was situated Ui Meith Macha.
territory
450 LIVES 01 THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 27.
ology ofTallagh,3 at the 26th of January, under the designation of Bishop Calb, of Thilaigh Cairpat, in Menna Tin, in h. Meith. This place is identical
with the present Tullycorbet,^ a parish, chiefly in the barony and county of Monaghan, but a part of this parish lies within the barony of Cremorne. s In the Franciscan copy of the Tallagh Martyrology, after the entry of thirteen foreign saints, the name of Bishop Calb first occurs, at this date. ^ Likewise, under the head of Tulagh Carbuid,? Duald Mac Firbis enters, Bishop Calbh, from Tulach-Carbaid, in Menna-tire, in Ui Meith, at January the 26th. ^ This is all that seems to be known regarding him.
Article V. —St. Ernen or Ernin, Bishop. We have no means left for discovering the time when or the place where this holy prelate lived. But we may rest assured he was a man who had been elevated, not as the result of any selfish ambition, but by the sheer force of an innocent and a holylife, ofagreatandmightymind,andofimmeasurabledevotednessto thecauseofourgloriousChurch. IntheFranciscancopyoftheMart)a- ology of Tallagh,^ the name of Ernen, bishop, is to be found in the entries for this particular date. ^ In the Martyrology of Donegal,3 on this day, occurs the name of Ernin, bishop. No further light is thrown on his acts.
iluentp-'Siebettt! ) IBap of Saituarp*
ARTICLE I. —ST. NATALIS OR NAAL, ABBOT AND PATRON OF INVER- NAILE, COUNTY OF DONEGAL, AND OF KINNAWLY, COUNTY OF FERMANAGH.
[SIXTH CENTURY. ']
study of holy men's lives promotes solid instruction and kindly
THE it disarms rancour and feeling ; dispels
it exercises the mind in a love and reverence for religion ; it preserves the fear of God in our souls ; while it puts man in sweet relationship with himself and with
mankind. Colgan professed to give the acts of this saint at the 27th of
January. Yet,heappearstohavebeenundersomemistake,byconfounding this saint with a St. Natalis or Naal, Abbot of Kilmanagh, in the county of Kil-
kenny. '' Butthepresentholyman,similarlynamed,andwhoselocalitywasin the northern parts of Ireland, most probably had been quite a distinct person. '
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xiii.
*Thisparishis representedonthe *' Ord- nance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Monaghan. " Sheets 13, 14, 18,
Dictionary
^The reading is Opf CAtb o rhulAlg cAi^vpAic in menriA Ci^m in h. meich.
^ Tally corbet in the county of Monaghan is identified with this place in "William M.
Hennessy's note.
8 See " Proceedings of the Royal Irish
Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. , pait
i. , pp. 132, 133.
Articlev. —' Wetherereadepieniepi.
19.
s See Lewis' "
"Calendar of Irish Saints," published by Rev. Matthew Kelly, D. D. Seep. xiii.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
Topopjraphical of Ireland," vol. ii. , p. 658.
evil
temper ;
^
ptesent bishop's festival is omitted from the
It is remarkable, that at this date, the
26,27. —
at the 31st of July.
'See Dr. P. W. Joyce's "Origin and
History of Irish Names of Places," part ii. , chap, iii. , p. 140.
ARTICLE
'
The Life
of St. Natalis or Naal, Abbot of Kilmanagh, will be found
I.
January 27. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 451
According to some accounts, he was connected with Inver, to which the
denomination Naile, from his name, was afterwards added,3 and with
Damhinis, or Devenish, on Lough Erne, and in the county of Fermanagh. *
Another conjecture has been offered, that even here, it is possible, two dif-
ferent saints, bearing the name of Natalis or Naal, may have been con-
founded. 5 There is an Irish life of St. Naulus, transcribed by Michael
O'Clery. It is yet preserved among the MSS. in the Burgundian Library at Bruxelles. ^ The acts of St NataUs were in Colgan's possession, but he did
not judge it necessary to present any portion of these, because they con- tained some things that were doubtful, with fabulous circumstances, and some
things that were manifestly false. However, a part of what they contained was true. It is a loss, notwithstanding, that more liberal use had not been made of the document ; for possibly it would clear up points, that without its publication are very obscure. The present holy man is said to have been the son of -^nghus, son to Nadfraech, son to • Core, son to Lughaidh, who was King of Munster. Eithne, daughter of Crimhthann Crosgrach, was his mother, according to his own life. ? His acts state, likewise, that he was a brother to St. Molaisse, Abbot of Devenish. ^ This is manifestly incorrect. In the opinion of Dr. Lanigan, if any Abbot Naal be the son of ^ngus, it must have been St. Natalis of Kilmanagh, who flourished about the year 520. 9 He says the former supposition would be inconsistent with the fact of the present saint's father having been killed in 490, and the son having succeeded St. Molassius, Abbot of Devenish,^° who did not depart this life imtil 564. " Again, Naal is made a contemporary with St. Maidoc of Ferns, who belonged to a late part of the sixth century. "
Ttae life of Colum Cille'3 states, that Naile came into the presence of Colum Cille for the first time at the Inbher, and that Colum Cille and Ndile blessed the place. Thenceforward, it was from Naile this church has been named. It seems possible, too, that the present saint was identical with a Naal mentioned in the acts of St. Columba,'* and to whose church, it is said, a certain holy smith, named Senach,'S presented a bell. The Martyr-
3SeeiWi/. ,
* See Archdall's "Monasticon Hiberni-
who confounded two distinct possibly
p. 139.
cum," pp. 100, 259. ""
and the place of his residence answers very we—ll, as itwasnotmanymilesfromCashel. " Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ire- land," vol. i. , chap, ix. , § iv. , n. 51, p. 446. "The parish of Devenish is shown in
the barony of Magheraboy, on the "Ord- nance Survey Townland Maps for the
"
County of Fermanagh. Sheets 13, 14, I5»
16, 19,20, 21, 22. The island and ruins of Devenish are marked on Sheet 22.
" Yet, to the writer, there seems to be nothing incredible in the supposition, for the difference in dates need only be seventy- four years ; and surely he might have been Abbot of Devenish after having attained such
an age,
"See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical His-
tory of Ireland," vol i. , chap, ix,, § iv. , n. 51, p. 446.
'3 Chapter xc. is quoted.
'* See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Quinta Vita S. Columbsp, lib. iii. , cap. iii. ,
p. 431.
's His feast seems to have been held on
5 Perhaps," says Dr. Lanigan, Naal of Devenish was a different person from the one of Invemaal. Yet, they are usually
spoken of as one and the same. " See clesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , § iv. , n. 53, p. 447.
^This is classed Vol. xi. , Nos. 4190- 4200. It is at fol. 124.
7 They also relate, that when a young man, he was a disciple of St. Columba, These statements are contradictory and in-
credible, in the opinion of Colgan ; for he remarks, that ^Engus, his father, fell in battle A. D. 515 or 516, some years before the birth of St. Columba. See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xxvii, Januarii, n. 14, p. 174.
^ Perhaps these were intended to have been the acts of St. Natalis, Abbot of Kil- managh, whose life will be found at the
of and that certain 31st July,
particulars, connected with this saint, had been mixed
up with them, through ignorance on the
part
of their
original compiler
or of a
copyist,
"
Ec-
saints, bearing the same name,
— The times 9Headds: "
agree,
452
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 27-
ology of Donegal states, likewise, that it was to St. Naal God gave water
from the hard, stony rock, when great thirst had seized upon him and St.
of ^^ with their monks. He made a distant cast of his Maedhog Ferns,
crozier at it, so that a stream of pure spring water gushed therefrom, just as this spring is now to be seen at Gill Naile. ^7 Here, it is possible his first
^^ Not unlike mtny other ecclesiastical edifices scattered over Ireland, and which owe their erection to the piety and good
establishment had
place.
Rui:is at Inver Naile, Co. Donegal.
taste of the monks of old, this little ruined church of St. Natalis is not ex- ceptional, as regards its pretty and picturesque situation. It stands on the
banks of theEidhneach or Eany(the ivy-producing river) as it empties its placid waters into the Bay of Inver. A belt of stately elms throws shadow upon its shattered walls, and around it are conical mountains of yellow sand, sparkling in the summer's sunshine. When the tide is at its full, the old ruin, with its quiet cemetery, is almost encircled with the briny water. ^9 This church of St. Natalis consists merely ofthe nave, which measures 61 feet in length by 21 feet 6 inches in its extreme width. Now nothing is left of its former carving and tracery save a few elaborately-cut jambs in the east ^vindow. The people around retain but very few legendary tales or old folk-lore con-
nected with this interesting building.
The very extensive parish of Inver^° is situated in the barony of Banagh,
and in the west of Donegal Gounty. The church ruins there are not far
the nth of May, at which date some no- tices of him will be found.
'^His life will be met with at the 31st of
January.
'? This statement is found in St. Naile's
own life, chap. x.
