Irish Academy," Irish
Manuscript
Series,
into English :
3, pp.
into English :
3, pp.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
2 The present feast is noticed by the —Bollandists.
3 Three principal feasts are instituted in honour of St.
Foillan that of his death, on the 3
1 st of October that of the discovery of his body, on the 16th of January; and that of its
Knight's
"
Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society
and of
2 record the festival of St. Balan or at the Balloin,
Donegal,
3rdofSeptember. 3 Itisstated,thathecamefromEnglandtoIreland,with his brothers, Gerald, Berikert* and Hubritan,s after the middle of the seventh century. He lived at a place, called Tech-Saxan, or the House of the
Maguire,
i See James Bell's System of Geography, Popular and Scientific," vol. i. , part ii. Austria, chap, v. , sect, i. , p. 436.
8 The accompanying illustration, from a local photograph, has been drawn on the
wood, and engraved by Mr. Gregor Grey. Another view of Salzburg, but taken from a different direction, may be seen at the 30th of June—feast of St. Erentrude—in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. i.
9 From 1614 to 1668, by the architect, Santino Solari of Como. See Charles
Septembris iii. Among the pretermitted Feasts, p. 598. —
Article v. 'In his additions to Usuard, issued A. n. 1573.
a
In the Tenth Volume of this work,
3 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Septembris iii. Among the pretermitted
Saints, p. 601.
Article vi. — In the Third Volume of
this work. See Art. iii.
2
In the edition, published by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, at the 3rd of September, such an entry seems to have been acciden- tally omitted ; however, in the Table
appended, it is supplied. See pp. 232 to In his Gynseceum is noticed : S. 235, 362, 363.
for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge,"
vol. xx. , p. 374.
10 *' "
Erentrudis (al Erendrudis) abbatissa Bene- dictinse translatio Salisburgi in Bavaria. "
"
In his Benedictine Menology, "In " Lignum Vitse. "
13 In his Benedictine Martyrology.
J See
niae," Martii xiii.
Elitherensis et Magionensis, n. 5, p. 602.
14 In "
s See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus
* He is also said to have been called Nem. See notices of him, at the 18th of February, and at the 6th of December.
s As Uuilbrithi or Hulbriten, his name is
Catalogus
Generalis Sanctorum. " i. ,
Colgan's
'
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Vita S. Giraldi Abbatis
September 4
]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
83
Saxons, most probably because it had been founded or occupied by himself,
or by his brothers, or by some of his countrymen, who accompanied him from
England. ThisplaceissaidtohavebeeninAthenryParish,intheDiocese
of Tuam, and County of Galway. A house of Franciscans of the Third
OrderwasthereinthetimeofColgan. CastellanplacesthisSt. Balointhe
province of Connaught, and his feast at the present day, as noted by the
6
Article VII. —St. Colman, of Cluain or Druim Ferta Mughaine, now Kilclonfert, King's County. In the Feilire of St. Aligns, at the 3rd day of September, we have an entry for the feast of Colman of Druim
Bollandists.
Ferta. 1 A on that commentator,
contained in the Leabhar
states, that the place is to be identified with Cluain Ferta Mugaine in
copy
Breac,
2 It is at
LowerPhilipstown,andKing'sCounty. SomeruinsoftheoldChurchare still visible. Near them may be found the well of St. Colman, but corruptly called St. Cloman's welU It is probable, Archdall thought this Kilclonfert was identical with Clonfert Mulloe,5 which he incorrectly places in the
;
present
known as Kilclonfert, a
parish
3 in the of Barony
OfTaly.
King's County.
the Martyrology of Christ Church, but not in its prefixed Calendar, at the iii. of the September Nones, the present day. Most likely it is this saint's festival which is commemorated but, it seems difficult to account for the
6 There is an allusion to a Colman and his in companions
8 veneration was given at the 3rd of September to Colman, of Cluain-Ferta or
introduction of his companions. ? According to the Martyrology of Donegal,
Druim9-Ferta. This is also called in Ui I0 or place Mughaine, Failghe,
a district in Leinster. "
Jfourtb 2Bap of September
Offaly,
ARTICLE I. —ST. ULTAN, SAID TO HAVE BEEN BISHOP, OR MORE PROBABLY ABBOT, OF ARDBRACCAN, COUNTY OF MEATH.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. ]
for his sanctity and learning at an early period, St.
Ultan is said to have been the founder of an ancient Irish at DISTINGUISHED See,
present merged in the Diocese of Meath. He is commemorated in the
set down, in the Irish Calendar, at the 24th s See a letter of P. O'Keeffe, from Mount- of April. rath, and dated December 1st, 1838. "Letters
6
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Sep- containing information relative to the
tembris iii. Among the pretermitted Saints, p. 600.
Article VII. —*See "Transactions of the
Antiquities of the Queen's County, collected
during the progress of the Ordnance Survey
See Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 379. Series, vol. ii. , part i. On the Calendar 7 See the edition of John Clarke Crosth-
Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript
of Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. cxxxvi.
3Seeibid. , p. cxli.
3
This parish contains 10,266a. 3r. I5p. , and it is marked on the "Ordnance Survey
waite and Rev. Dr. Todd. Introduction,
p. )xx. and p. 153. 8EditedbyDrs. ToddandReeves,pp. 233,
234.
9 A note by Dr. Todd, at Druim, states :
" The word Droma is written as a gloss over C uain, meaning that we should read Drum- fert, not Clonfert, here.
I0 In the Table appended to this Martyr- ology, we have an Irish entry thus rendered
Townland
for the
Maps sheets 9, 10, 18, 19.
King's County," Th townland proper
is on sheet 10.
4 See Dr. O'Donova " Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. ii. , n. (r), p. 914.
in 1838," vol. i. , pp. 119, 120. 6"
84 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 4.
1
Felire of ^Engus, at this date, and with allusion to what must have been
a more ancient legend regarding him. We have already partially treated about St. Ultan and his writings, in connection with the life of St. Brigid, Virgin
2
and first Abbess of Kildare.
published Martyrology of Tallagh,3 we find a festival recorded in honour of UltanMacHuaConchobar. HewasthereforeheldtobeoftheO'Connor family. 4 An entry is to be found in that copy, contained in the Book of Leinster,s and somewhat different. The words " in Ardbrec w are added, as if to intimate, that he belonged to Ardbraccan. He is also noticed by various
writers, and among these are Archbishop Ussher,6 Sir James Ware,? Father
8 10
John Colgan, Bishop Challenor,9 and the Bollandists. The Rev. Alban
Butler," gives some account of St. Ultan, thought to have been first Bishop of Ardbraccan, in Meath.
He was descended from the race of Irial, son to Connel Cearnach, according to the O'Clerys. " He is said to have been related to the great St. Brigid,13 on the maternal side. 1* Her mother, as we have already seen, was Brodsecha, daughter to Dalbronaigh. St. Ultan is said to have been the brother of Broicsech, daughter of Dallbronach, i. e. , they were both of the Dal Conchubhair.
subsequent to the period already stated. In a table appended to the 16
His birth is related to have taken so place
copy is the following rann
tomus PP- 3. 4
Septembris," pretermitted Feasts,
vol. i. , i. part
p. exxxvi.
9
On the Calendar of
' s Such is the in a more recent entry
See the Second Volume of this work, at Feb. 1, Art. i. , chap. i.
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxxiii.
4 According to Ussher " Ex eodem enim ; Conc—hubarensium sive Counoreorum fami- lia. " " De Primordiis Britannicarum Ec-
clesiarum,'' cap. xvii. , p. 965.
UlriAn m<vc h Conchoban
"Martyrology of Donegal," edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, p. 235.
16 See the edition of Rev. Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp. 478, 479.
17 To him has been ascribed the miracle
of a sunk fleet.
18 His life has been at the already given,
5 Thus
entered, m Arvobnec.
:
ii. the Among
At the 4th of September, likewise, in the
js
it seems most probable— if we take into account the Acts of St. Ultan and the year assigned for his death—that his birtli must be referred to a date long
Martyrology of Donegal, and within brackets, it is laid down, that Ultan of Ard-Brecain,17 was a disciple of St. Declan. 18 Here, again, there seems to
"
Colman of Cluain-ferta [Drom-forta in the Felire of ^Engus] Mugaine [in Ui Failghe]. See ibid. , pp.
382, 383.
"See "The Battle of Magh Rath,"
edited by Dr. O'Donovan, p. 243, n. (v). Article i—' In the " Leabhar Breac"
—
1n mon plAich cenecAil, 1n OAcblaiche becam <*5<mc mor* mm m^ccam 1m ULiean <Mrvo bneccAm.
Thus rendered into English, by Dr. Whitley
Stokes:—"The great sinless prince, in
whom the little ones are flourishing, greatly
play the —children round Ultan of Aid
Breccain. " "Transactions of the Royal Irish Hymn, composed in Praise of St.
Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series,
into English :
3, pp. 22, 23.
In "Trias Thaumaturga. See Tertia
Oengus,
hand, as found in the O'Clerys' Calendar; "467 natus. " Note of Rev. Dr. Todd. See
24th of July, in the Seventh Volume of this See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti- work, Art i. See chap. iii. for the miracle quitates," cap. xvii. , pp. 426, 499. to which allusion has been made in the pre-
6"
? See "De Scriptoribus Hibernise," lib. i. , ceding note.
cap5.
"
11
early
as a. d.
467.
However,
Vita S. Brigidae, p. 527, Prologus, and n. I, p. 542 ; Sexta Vita S. Brigida? Prologus, p. 582, and nn. 3, 5, pp. 597, 598.
9 See " Britannia Sancta," part ii. , p. 119.
10 See " Acta Sanctorum
See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. ix. Sep- tember iv.
12 "
See the Martyrology of Donegal,"
edited by Rev, Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
234, 235.
13 See her Life, at the 1st of February,
in the Second Volume of this work, Art. i. 14 According to the old Scholiast, on the
Brigid.
September 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
«5
be an anachronism, and Ultan has probably been confounded with that holy man, his namesake, who is called the son of Erc. x 9 No connected biogra- phical account remains of St. Ultan. Colgan is of opinion, however, that he was bishop over the ancient See of Ardbraccan,20 in the County of Meath. Yet, in the Kalendar of Drummond. this saint is only distinguished as a Priest and Confessor, remarkable for his exemplary life and for holiness*.
21
one of his usages was to feed, with his own hands, every child who had no support in Erin. 22 Another account states, that he he had a most charitable care for the infants of those women,
According to very ancient legend,
who died of the Buidhe Chonaill or yellow plague. The first mention of the 2
Bolgach or Small Pox, 3 appears in the Annals of lnnisfallen, at a. d. 569 ; 2
but, this is supposed * to have been a mistake for the leprosy, which was an
epidemic
about that time
; whereas, only
about a. d.
675,
2s or 26 did the 67a,
Bolgach first prevail in Ireland. However, the first outbreak of another
pestilence, known as the Buidhe-Chonnaill is said to have taken place in
2 28
Magh-Itha, ? in Fotherta of Leinster, in 663 ; while it seems to have
culminated in a still greater mortality the following year. A remarkable
eclipse of the sun preceded this public calamity in the month of May, a. d. 2
664. 9 According to Venerable Bede, it happened on the 3rd of May, the same year, and about ten o'clock in the morning ; while, besides the ravages
produced throughout Ireland, that pestilence depopulated the southern coasts of Britain, and afterwards extending into the province of Northumbria,
26
He —
J9
ceeded St. Declan, as Abbot, at Ardmore. in Hibernia que vocatur Bolgach. "
22
The curious mode, by which he fed the
is said to have suc- Atthis weread
immediately year "Lepra gravissima
See notices of him, in the Third Volume of this work, at the 14th of March, Art. hi.
Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scrip-
tores," tomus iv. , Annales Ultonienses.
27 A plain in the Barony of Forth, and
20 See " Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Ap-
pendix ad Acta S. Patricii, pars iii. De County of Wexford.
Scriptoribus Actorum Sancti Patricii, p. 217.
38
According to the Annals of Clonmac-
21
See the Book of Obits and Martyrology
noise, this plague happened A. D. 660, but this account is incorrect. The Annals of Ulster state at a. d. 633 "Tenebre in
:
Kalendis Mair in ix hora, et in eadem estate celum ardescere visum est. Mortalitas in Hibernia pervenit in Kalendis Augusti . . . In campo Ito in Fothart exarsit mortalitas primo in Hibernia. A—morte Patricii cciii. Prima mortalitas cxii. " Rev. Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , Annales Ultonienses.
29 Dr. William Robert Wilde writes " The second outbreak of the Buidhe Chon-
nail, or yellow plague, commenced about the middle of the seventh century. Tigher-
nach, whose annals are more chronologically correct than most others, dates its com- mencement at a. d. 664, but the Annals of lnnisfallen, and the Obits of Christ's Church, Dublin, have assigned a date so early as 656. Allowing for the chronological discrepancy among early annalists, there appears every reason to believe that this great pestilential period was also affected by the same law which has so frequently appeared to influence the progress of epidemic constitutions, and lasted ten years ; Tighernach himself gives two entries relating to it, with an interval of three years between. The Welsh annaals would make it twenty. "
of the Cathedral Church of the Holy
Trinity. " Edited by John Clarke Crosth-
waite and Rev. Dr. Todd. Introduction,
pp. xxv. , xxvi.
children playing around him, is to be found
in a note appended to the Leabhar Breac
copy of the Feilire, and there too are some
Irish verses quoted in his praise, although
their is not meaning
wholly intelligible. See "Transactions of the Royal Irish
:
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, by
Whitly Stokes, LL. D. , pp. cxlii. , cxliii.
23 This loathsome and dangerous form of disease had prevailed in China and Hindos- tan from remote antiquity, and it is supposed
to have originated at Mecca, about a. d. 569, before the birth of Mahomet. Afterwards, it extended over Africa, and reached Europe.
See Moore's p. no.
"
History of the Small Pox,"
2 *By William Robert Wilde, M. D. , in his historical Report on the Diseases of Ire- land, to be found in the volumes of the Census Commissioners of Ireland for a. d. 1851.
25 According to the Annals of Clonmac- noise.
:
36 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[September 4.
it wasted the country far and near, destroying a great multitude of persons. 30 Among those who died of the Buidhe Chonnaill this year in Ireland is mentioned St. Ultan Mac h Ui-Cunga, Abbot of Cluain-Iraird or Clonard 31
;
and, it is not improbable, he may have been confounded with the St. Ultan, who wrote St. Brigid's Acts. For the exercise of his great charity, when Fursa32 had been removed from the abbacy of old Mochta of Louth, Ultan was elected. It is stated, he often had fifty, and thrice fifty children, with him together, although it was difficult for him to feed them all. To St. Bracan or Brecain33 has been attributed the foundation of Ardbraccan Monastery, and from him the place has been named. 34 It seems probable, that Ultan was for some time under his rule in that place. 35
We find it stated, that after St. Bracan36 had departed for the Arran Islands, our saint became Abbot of Ardbraccan Monastery, in the County of Meath. Ussher supposes Ultan to have been a Bishop at Ardbraccan. 3? He belonged to the Third Class of Irish Saints. 38 In the parish of Burry,3? in the Deanery of Kells, County of Meath, there was a well,40 dedicated to
a St. Ultan—probably the present saint. That spring was called Tobar- Ultan, but it no longer exists. 41 This holy man is said to have lived on terms of great intimacy with St. Fechin of Fore. 43 From the latter, it is stated he asked a request. 43 His habit of penitence was accompanied by great austerity. Cuimin of Coindeire remarked, that St. Ultan had a prison of stone, or of boards against his side ; and that he used to bathe in cold water, during the prevalence of a sharp wind. 44
Among the Irish writers, St. Ultan of Ardbraccan has been classed. To
him is attributed an Irish Hymn, in praise of St. Brigid. 45 It has been
published of late in the u Liber Hymnorum. " We are informed, moreover, that it was he, who made the Latin verse at the end of it. The Latin poem
30 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Britannicavum Ecclesiarum," cap. xvii. , p.
Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. xxvii.
31 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , and nn. (p,q, x), pp. 274 to 277.
32 As we have said in the Life of St. Fursey, in the First Volume of this work, Art. i. , at the 1 6th of January, another saint of the name seems to have been commemo- rated in our Calendars. But, this is inferred
from a difference in
965.
38 See Ussher's "Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Antiquitates," chap, xvii. , p. 474.
39 Described on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Meath,"
sheets 16, 17, 23.
*° It is noticed in the Ordnance Survey
rather than
papers relating to the County of Meath, and now preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, * l See Rev. A. " Diocese of Meath,
proved, genealogical accounts.
Cogan's
Ancient and Modern," vol. ii. , chap, xvi. , p.
33 His feast was held on the 16th of July,
at which date some accounts of him may be
found in the Seventh Volume of this work,
Art. i. 43
34 "
See Archdall's Monasticon Hiberni-
cum," p. 511.
35 From him Ardbreccan was sometimes
called Tobar Ultain or Ultan's Well. See Edward O'Reilly's M Chronological Account
Four Hundred Irish Writers," &c,
3<5 His death has been assigned to about
See Colgan's
bernise," xx. Januarii. Secunda Vita S. Fechini, cap. xxix.
1 st of October that of the discovery of his body, on the 16th of January; and that of its
Knight's
"
Penny Cyclopaedia of the Society
and of
2 record the festival of St. Balan or at the Balloin,
Donegal,
3rdofSeptember. 3 Itisstated,thathecamefromEnglandtoIreland,with his brothers, Gerald, Berikert* and Hubritan,s after the middle of the seventh century. He lived at a place, called Tech-Saxan, or the House of the
Maguire,
i See James Bell's System of Geography, Popular and Scientific," vol. i. , part ii. Austria, chap, v. , sect, i. , p. 436.
8 The accompanying illustration, from a local photograph, has been drawn on the
wood, and engraved by Mr. Gregor Grey. Another view of Salzburg, but taken from a different direction, may be seen at the 30th of June—feast of St. Erentrude—in the Sixth Volume of this work, Art. i.
9 From 1614 to 1668, by the architect, Santino Solari of Como. See Charles
Septembris iii. Among the pretermitted Feasts, p. 598. —
Article v. 'In his additions to Usuard, issued A. n. 1573.
a
In the Tenth Volume of this work,
3 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Septembris iii. Among the pretermitted
Saints, p. 601.
Article vi. — In the Third Volume of
this work. See Art. iii.
2
In the edition, published by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, at the 3rd of September, such an entry seems to have been acciden- tally omitted ; however, in the Table
appended, it is supplied. See pp. 232 to In his Gynseceum is noticed : S. 235, 362, 363.
for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge,"
vol. xx. , p. 374.
10 *' "
Erentrudis (al Erendrudis) abbatissa Bene- dictinse translatio Salisburgi in Bavaria. "
"
In his Benedictine Menology, "In " Lignum Vitse. "
13 In his Benedictine Martyrology.
J See
niae," Martii xiii.
Elitherensis et Magionensis, n. 5, p. 602.
14 In "
s See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus
* He is also said to have been called Nem. See notices of him, at the 18th of February, and at the 6th of December.
s As Uuilbrithi or Hulbriten, his name is
Catalogus
Generalis Sanctorum. " i. ,
Colgan's
'
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Vita S. Giraldi Abbatis
September 4
]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
83
Saxons, most probably because it had been founded or occupied by himself,
or by his brothers, or by some of his countrymen, who accompanied him from
England. ThisplaceissaidtohavebeeninAthenryParish,intheDiocese
of Tuam, and County of Galway. A house of Franciscans of the Third
OrderwasthereinthetimeofColgan. CastellanplacesthisSt. Balointhe
province of Connaught, and his feast at the present day, as noted by the
6
Article VII. —St. Colman, of Cluain or Druim Ferta Mughaine, now Kilclonfert, King's County. In the Feilire of St. Aligns, at the 3rd day of September, we have an entry for the feast of Colman of Druim
Bollandists.
Ferta. 1 A on that commentator,
contained in the Leabhar
states, that the place is to be identified with Cluain Ferta Mugaine in
copy
Breac,
2 It is at
LowerPhilipstown,andKing'sCounty. SomeruinsoftheoldChurchare still visible. Near them may be found the well of St. Colman, but corruptly called St. Cloman's welU It is probable, Archdall thought this Kilclonfert was identical with Clonfert Mulloe,5 which he incorrectly places in the
;
present
known as Kilclonfert, a
parish
3 in the of Barony
OfTaly.
King's County.
the Martyrology of Christ Church, but not in its prefixed Calendar, at the iii. of the September Nones, the present day. Most likely it is this saint's festival which is commemorated but, it seems difficult to account for the
6 There is an allusion to a Colman and his in companions
8 veneration was given at the 3rd of September to Colman, of Cluain-Ferta or
introduction of his companions. ? According to the Martyrology of Donegal,
Druim9-Ferta. This is also called in Ui I0 or place Mughaine, Failghe,
a district in Leinster. "
Jfourtb 2Bap of September
Offaly,
ARTICLE I. —ST. ULTAN, SAID TO HAVE BEEN BISHOP, OR MORE PROBABLY ABBOT, OF ARDBRACCAN, COUNTY OF MEATH.
[FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. ]
for his sanctity and learning at an early period, St.
Ultan is said to have been the founder of an ancient Irish at DISTINGUISHED See,
present merged in the Diocese of Meath. He is commemorated in the
set down, in the Irish Calendar, at the 24th s See a letter of P. O'Keeffe, from Mount- of April. rath, and dated December 1st, 1838. "Letters
6
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Sep- containing information relative to the
tembris iii. Among the pretermitted Saints, p. 600.
Article VII. —*See "Transactions of the
Antiquities of the Queen's County, collected
during the progress of the Ordnance Survey
See Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 379. Series, vol. ii. , part i. On the Calendar 7 See the edition of John Clarke Crosth-
Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript
of Oengus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. cxxxvi.
3Seeibid. , p. cxli.
3
This parish contains 10,266a. 3r. I5p. , and it is marked on the "Ordnance Survey
waite and Rev. Dr. Todd. Introduction,
p. )xx. and p. 153. 8EditedbyDrs. ToddandReeves,pp. 233,
234.
9 A note by Dr. Todd, at Druim, states :
" The word Droma is written as a gloss over C uain, meaning that we should read Drum- fert, not Clonfert, here.
I0 In the Table appended to this Martyr- ology, we have an Irish entry thus rendered
Townland
for the
Maps sheets 9, 10, 18, 19.
King's County," Th townland proper
is on sheet 10.
4 See Dr. O'Donova " Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. ii. , n. (r), p. 914.
in 1838," vol. i. , pp. 119, 120. 6"
84 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 4.
1
Felire of ^Engus, at this date, and with allusion to what must have been
a more ancient legend regarding him. We have already partially treated about St. Ultan and his writings, in connection with the life of St. Brigid, Virgin
2
and first Abbess of Kildare.
published Martyrology of Tallagh,3 we find a festival recorded in honour of UltanMacHuaConchobar. HewasthereforeheldtobeoftheO'Connor family. 4 An entry is to be found in that copy, contained in the Book of Leinster,s and somewhat different. The words " in Ardbrec w are added, as if to intimate, that he belonged to Ardbraccan. He is also noticed by various
writers, and among these are Archbishop Ussher,6 Sir James Ware,? Father
8 10
John Colgan, Bishop Challenor,9 and the Bollandists. The Rev. Alban
Butler," gives some account of St. Ultan, thought to have been first Bishop of Ardbraccan, in Meath.
He was descended from the race of Irial, son to Connel Cearnach, according to the O'Clerys. " He is said to have been related to the great St. Brigid,13 on the maternal side. 1* Her mother, as we have already seen, was Brodsecha, daughter to Dalbronaigh. St. Ultan is said to have been the brother of Broicsech, daughter of Dallbronach, i. e. , they were both of the Dal Conchubhair.
subsequent to the period already stated. In a table appended to the 16
His birth is related to have taken so place
copy is the following rann
tomus PP- 3. 4
Septembris," pretermitted Feasts,
vol. i. , i. part
p. exxxvi.
9
On the Calendar of
' s Such is the in a more recent entry
See the Second Volume of this work, at Feb. 1, Art. i. , chap. i.
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxxiii.
4 According to Ussher " Ex eodem enim ; Conc—hubarensium sive Counoreorum fami- lia. " " De Primordiis Britannicarum Ec-
clesiarum,'' cap. xvii. , p. 965.
UlriAn m<vc h Conchoban
"Martyrology of Donegal," edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, p. 235.
16 See the edition of Rev. Drs. Todd and
Reeves, pp. 478, 479.
17 To him has been ascribed the miracle
of a sunk fleet.
18 His life has been at the already given,
5 Thus
entered, m Arvobnec.
:
ii. the Among
At the 4th of September, likewise, in the
js
it seems most probable— if we take into account the Acts of St. Ultan and the year assigned for his death—that his birtli must be referred to a date long
Martyrology of Donegal, and within brackets, it is laid down, that Ultan of Ard-Brecain,17 was a disciple of St. Declan. 18 Here, again, there seems to
"
Colman of Cluain-ferta [Drom-forta in the Felire of ^Engus] Mugaine [in Ui Failghe]. See ibid. , pp.
382, 383.
"See "The Battle of Magh Rath,"
edited by Dr. O'Donovan, p. 243, n. (v). Article i—' In the " Leabhar Breac"
—
1n mon plAich cenecAil, 1n OAcblaiche becam <*5<mc mor* mm m^ccam 1m ULiean <Mrvo bneccAm.
Thus rendered into English, by Dr. Whitley
Stokes:—"The great sinless prince, in
whom the little ones are flourishing, greatly
play the —children round Ultan of Aid
Breccain. " "Transactions of the Royal Irish Hymn, composed in Praise of St.
Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series,
into English :
3, pp. 22, 23.
In "Trias Thaumaturga. See Tertia
Oengus,
hand, as found in the O'Clerys' Calendar; "467 natus. " Note of Rev. Dr. Todd. See
24th of July, in the Seventh Volume of this See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti- work, Art i. See chap. iii. for the miracle quitates," cap. xvii. , pp. 426, 499. to which allusion has been made in the pre-
6"
? See "De Scriptoribus Hibernise," lib. i. , ceding note.
cap5.
"
11
early
as a. d.
467.
However,
Vita S. Brigidae, p. 527, Prologus, and n. I, p. 542 ; Sexta Vita S. Brigida? Prologus, p. 582, and nn. 3, 5, pp. 597, 598.
9 See " Britannia Sancta," part ii. , p. 119.
10 See " Acta Sanctorum
See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. ix. Sep- tember iv.
12 "
See the Martyrology of Donegal,"
edited by Rev, Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
234, 235.
13 See her Life, at the 1st of February,
in the Second Volume of this work, Art. i. 14 According to the old Scholiast, on the
Brigid.
September 4. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
«5
be an anachronism, and Ultan has probably been confounded with that holy man, his namesake, who is called the son of Erc. x 9 No connected biogra- phical account remains of St. Ultan. Colgan is of opinion, however, that he was bishop over the ancient See of Ardbraccan,20 in the County of Meath. Yet, in the Kalendar of Drummond. this saint is only distinguished as a Priest and Confessor, remarkable for his exemplary life and for holiness*.
21
one of his usages was to feed, with his own hands, every child who had no support in Erin. 22 Another account states, that he he had a most charitable care for the infants of those women,
According to very ancient legend,
who died of the Buidhe Chonaill or yellow plague. The first mention of the 2
Bolgach or Small Pox, 3 appears in the Annals of lnnisfallen, at a. d. 569 ; 2
but, this is supposed * to have been a mistake for the leprosy, which was an
epidemic
about that time
; whereas, only
about a. d.
675,
2s or 26 did the 67a,
Bolgach first prevail in Ireland. However, the first outbreak of another
pestilence, known as the Buidhe-Chonnaill is said to have taken place in
2 28
Magh-Itha, ? in Fotherta of Leinster, in 663 ; while it seems to have
culminated in a still greater mortality the following year. A remarkable
eclipse of the sun preceded this public calamity in the month of May, a. d. 2
664. 9 According to Venerable Bede, it happened on the 3rd of May, the same year, and about ten o'clock in the morning ; while, besides the ravages
produced throughout Ireland, that pestilence depopulated the southern coasts of Britain, and afterwards extending into the province of Northumbria,
26
He —
J9
ceeded St. Declan, as Abbot, at Ardmore. in Hibernia que vocatur Bolgach. "
22
The curious mode, by which he fed the
is said to have suc- Atthis weread
immediately year "Lepra gravissima
See notices of him, in the Third Volume of this work, at the 14th of March, Art. hi.
Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scrip-
tores," tomus iv. , Annales Ultonienses.
27 A plain in the Barony of Forth, and
20 See " Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Ap-
pendix ad Acta S. Patricii, pars iii. De County of Wexford.
Scriptoribus Actorum Sancti Patricii, p. 217.
38
According to the Annals of Clonmac-
21
See the Book of Obits and Martyrology
noise, this plague happened A. D. 660, but this account is incorrect. The Annals of Ulster state at a. d. 633 "Tenebre in
:
Kalendis Mair in ix hora, et in eadem estate celum ardescere visum est. Mortalitas in Hibernia pervenit in Kalendis Augusti . . . In campo Ito in Fothart exarsit mortalitas primo in Hibernia. A—morte Patricii cciii. Prima mortalitas cxii. " Rev. Dr. O'Conor's "Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores," tomus iv. , Annales Ultonienses.
29 Dr. William Robert Wilde writes " The second outbreak of the Buidhe Chon-
nail, or yellow plague, commenced about the middle of the seventh century. Tigher-
nach, whose annals are more chronologically correct than most others, dates its com- mencement at a. d. 664, but the Annals of lnnisfallen, and the Obits of Christ's Church, Dublin, have assigned a date so early as 656. Allowing for the chronological discrepancy among early annalists, there appears every reason to believe that this great pestilential period was also affected by the same law which has so frequently appeared to influence the progress of epidemic constitutions, and lasted ten years ; Tighernach himself gives two entries relating to it, with an interval of three years between. The Welsh annaals would make it twenty. "
of the Cathedral Church of the Holy
Trinity. " Edited by John Clarke Crosth-
waite and Rev. Dr. Todd. Introduction,
pp. xxv. , xxvi.
children playing around him, is to be found
in a note appended to the Leabhar Breac
copy of the Feilire, and there too are some
Irish verses quoted in his praise, although
their is not meaning
wholly intelligible. See "Transactions of the Royal Irish
:
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, by
Whitly Stokes, LL. D. , pp. cxlii. , cxliii.
23 This loathsome and dangerous form of disease had prevailed in China and Hindos- tan from remote antiquity, and it is supposed
to have originated at Mecca, about a. d. 569, before the birth of Mahomet. Afterwards, it extended over Africa, and reached Europe.
See Moore's p. no.
"
History of the Small Pox,"
2 *By William Robert Wilde, M. D. , in his historical Report on the Diseases of Ire- land, to be found in the volumes of the Census Commissioners of Ireland for a. d. 1851.
25 According to the Annals of Clonmac- noise.
:
36 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[September 4.
it wasted the country far and near, destroying a great multitude of persons. 30 Among those who died of the Buidhe Chonnaill this year in Ireland is mentioned St. Ultan Mac h Ui-Cunga, Abbot of Cluain-Iraird or Clonard 31
;
and, it is not improbable, he may have been confounded with the St. Ultan, who wrote St. Brigid's Acts. For the exercise of his great charity, when Fursa32 had been removed from the abbacy of old Mochta of Louth, Ultan was elected. It is stated, he often had fifty, and thrice fifty children, with him together, although it was difficult for him to feed them all. To St. Bracan or Brecain33 has been attributed the foundation of Ardbraccan Monastery, and from him the place has been named. 34 It seems probable, that Ultan was for some time under his rule in that place. 35
We find it stated, that after St. Bracan36 had departed for the Arran Islands, our saint became Abbot of Ardbraccan Monastery, in the County of Meath. Ussher supposes Ultan to have been a Bishop at Ardbraccan. 3? He belonged to the Third Class of Irish Saints. 38 In the parish of Burry,3? in the Deanery of Kells, County of Meath, there was a well,40 dedicated to
a St. Ultan—probably the present saint. That spring was called Tobar- Ultan, but it no longer exists. 41 This holy man is said to have lived on terms of great intimacy with St. Fechin of Fore. 43 From the latter, it is stated he asked a request. 43 His habit of penitence was accompanied by great austerity. Cuimin of Coindeire remarked, that St. Ultan had a prison of stone, or of boards against his side ; and that he used to bathe in cold water, during the prevalence of a sharp wind. 44
Among the Irish writers, St. Ultan of Ardbraccan has been classed. To
him is attributed an Irish Hymn, in praise of St. Brigid. 45 It has been
published of late in the u Liber Hymnorum. " We are informed, moreover, that it was he, who made the Latin verse at the end of it. The Latin poem
30 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis Britannicavum Ecclesiarum," cap. xvii. , p.
Anglorum," lib. iii. , cap. xxvii.
31 See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the
Four Masters," vol. i. , and nn. (p,q, x), pp. 274 to 277.
32 As we have said in the Life of St. Fursey, in the First Volume of this work, Art. i. , at the 1 6th of January, another saint of the name seems to have been commemo- rated in our Calendars. But, this is inferred
from a difference in
965.
38 See Ussher's "Britannicarum Ecclesia-
rum Antiquitates," chap, xvii. , p. 474.
39 Described on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Meath,"
sheets 16, 17, 23.
*° It is noticed in the Ordnance Survey
rather than
papers relating to the County of Meath, and now preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, * l See Rev. A. " Diocese of Meath,
proved, genealogical accounts.
Cogan's
Ancient and Modern," vol. ii. , chap, xvi. , p.
33 His feast was held on the 16th of July,
at which date some accounts of him may be
found in the Seventh Volume of this work,
Art. i. 43
34 "
See Archdall's Monasticon Hiberni-
cum," p. 511.
35 From him Ardbreccan was sometimes
called Tobar Ultain or Ultan's Well. See Edward O'Reilly's M Chronological Account
Four Hundred Irish Writers," &c,
3<5 His death has been assigned to about
See Colgan's
bernise," xx. Januarii. Secunda Vita S. Fechini, cap. xxix.
