"
63
Echaidh, surnamed Fionn, or the Fair,
is named variously Eachdius, Euchadius, Tybraide Tireach.
63
Echaidh, surnamed Fionn, or the Fair,
is named variously Eachdius, Euchadius, Tybraide Tireach.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
For, we can place little faith on the statements of a writer, who gives us an account, con- cerning St.
Declan's visit to St.
David, Bishop of Menevia,3* and regarding the very early establishment of Ardmore as an episcopal See ; as likewise those particulars to be found in the fourth and beginning of the fifth chapters in our saint's Life"; or when he proceeds to record St.
Patrick's subsequent arrival in
35 to which he was sent by Pope Celestine. Besides these, we meet Ireland, #
other matters, which cannot be chronologically reconciled with the foregoing statements. However, the editor of our saint's Acts states, that whatever degree of credit or antiquity may be assigned to them, the author of this Life of St. Declan could not have forged in Ireland certain strange narratives which may therein be found. For, even the common people of that Island
21 From the " Lcabhar Breac "copy, be- to 28.
28 "
longing to the Royal Irish Academy, is the See Vies des Saints," xxive Jour de following stanza, translated by Whitley Juillet, p. 3.
Stokes,
LL. D. :—
niAT>coich t)Uic Aei^\e
•Oocchobaip cing OAige CacViuc cent) c. mile
"OecUn 4|voi mairxe.
29See "St. of Ireland. " Patrick, Apostle
Introductory Dissertation, pp. 206 to 212, 214, 219, 220.
3° See "Lives of the Saints," vol. vii. ,
July 24, pp. 532, 533.
31 He became sole Emperor A. D. 324, and
his very distinguished place in history lasted,
"If thou likest, O Ireland, a champion of
batile to aid thee, thou hast the head of a death. See Edward Gibbon's "History of hundred thousand, Declan of Ardmore. "— the Decline and Fall of the Roman Em- "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," pire," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , to chap, xviii.
Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. the Calendar of Oengus, p. cxii.
22
See ibid. , p. cxx.
23 See " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xv. , p. 362; cap. xvi. , pp.
409, 410, 412 to 414, and cap. xvii. , p.
450.
3* See " Chronicle of Ireland," pp. 67
to 70. 25
See his Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. vii. , July xxiv.
"Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
land," vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, xii. , pp. 25 432.
See "Britannia Sancta," part ii. ,
after a. d. 516, when St. David was elevated to the dignity of Bishop, as the Bollandists show, at the 1st of March, on which day his Acts are given by them.
33 See also the Life of St. David, at the
1st of March, in the Third Volume of this
work, Art. i.
3«
cannotbeassertedfairly, unlesswebewill- tag to admit, that at the incredible age of about one hundred and seventy years, Declan had undertaken a voyage to Rome.
PP- 37> 3%'
26 "
until a. d. 340, the year assigned for his
On Edition of William Smith, LL. D.
3» This supposed visit must have occurred,
The Bollandist editor this remarks,
3s This is generally assigned to a. i>.
July 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 3ii
should have been able to contradict his assertions, if certain allusions to our
saint's remaining monuments, were not in accordance with popular traditions
and cognizance. 36
The Acts of St. Declan commence with a genealogical account concern-
ing his race and origin. We are told, that he was royally descended from the
Kings of Ireland,37 who for a long series of years governed this Island, while
dwelt in Temoria 3 otherwise known as Tamrach or Tamar, or they city,*
Tara. 39 A powerful king, named Equitius Feadhlech,<° who had enlarged
the boundaries of his
kingdom/
1 was the father of three sons. One of these
3 wasfatherto
had three circles of roses like zones on his body, and this happened from the
time of his birth. Besides his elegance of form, he was celebrated for his strength, and for his address in transacting different matters, even from his infancy. He undertook the government of the kingdom, and on that very yearinwhichCaiusCaesar44 wasslain;afterhehadreignedtwenty-sixyears in Temoria, he was killed by the Leinster people, and in that year when the apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul 45 were put to death by Nero. 46 He had a son, named Crimthun niudh nuaruir,4 7 who only reigned ten years before his
8
death. The latter left a son named Ferudach Finfectnach,4 who reigned
thirtyyearsinTemoria. Hewasthefatherofason,calledFichudhFinn- faluidh,49 who reigned thirty years, and who was killed at Tara. This latter was the parent of Tuathal Teachmear,s° who brought many territories under his sway, and who ruled at Tara for twenty-three years, when he was at length
sons,
whowasnamed
Lecharius,*
Luguidh Sriubhnearg,43
who
36 Such as are, the Hall of Dobran after-
wards known as the Hall of St. Declan
the stone shown in Magh Femhin which he
blessed ; the stone on which he was born,
and to which allusion is made in the Life as
existing ; the monastery called after him, at tius, from the Irish Ech, which signifies
;
Temoria the or Cairn of St. Declan; : Heap
theCity of St. Declan, as Ardmorehad been
called ; and the Desert of St. Declan near
it. To these may be added, what is told at
the end of his Life, that St. Declan had been
buried in his own city of Ardmore, where
great signs and miracles were wrought king.
at his tomb, when the Life itself h#d been written. See"ActaSanctorum,"tomusv. , Julli xxiv. De S. Declano Episcopo Ard- morise in Hibernia. Commentarius Proevius, num. 4, p. 591.
37 The small folio vellum Manuscript in
the Royal Irish Academy, No. 42. 6, inti- tuled the Book of Lecan, contains various
43 In the aforesaid Sanctilogium Genealo- gicum, the name is written, "Lugadius
Sriebdearg. "
44 This Emperor was surnamed Caligula.
He was assassinated by conspirators, in the year of Christ 41.
45 In the Life, Doctor of the Gentiles is a
title superadded to this Apostle.
46 The Bollandists have referred the
martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul, to the year of Christ, 65. Petavius, Labbeus and other writersassignittoA. D. 67. Withthelatter date, the Acts of our saint seem to agree,
as they make Luguidh reign twenty-six years.
47 In the Sanctilogium Genealogicum, he is called "Crimthannus Nianair. "
48 The Sanctilogium Genealogicum calls
"
and accounts Ireland's regarding
poems
early colonists, the synchronisms of the kings of the world and the successions of
Irishkings.
38 It was a city in eastern Midia, or Meath,
within the present province of Leinster.
39 It was anciently the seat of the chief monarchs over all Ireland to the sixth cen- tury, and to the reign of Dermod the First, as has been already remarked, in the Life of
him simply
40 The Manuscript of St. Isidore has logicum, he is called "Fiachus Finnfho-
St. Ruadan, chap, hi. , at the 15th of April. See Fourth Volume of this work, Art. i.
Feredacius. "
49 According to the Sanctilogium Genea-
"
Eochu Fedlech. "
laidh. "
5° In the Sanctilogium Genealogicum he is named, "Tuathalius Techtmuir.
41 In the Sanctilogium Genealogicum, according to Colgan, his name is written
"
" in English "a horse. " See ibid. , eques,"
Eochodius Fedhleach. See
maturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbse, n. 9, p. 447. Colgan tells us, in the same work, that the name Eochodius or Eachodius, is aptly expressed in Latin, by the term Equi-
Quarta Vita S. Brigida? , n. 4, p. 563.
42 The Sanctilogium Genealogicum, already cited in the previous note, denomi- nates him " Bressius Finnius," nor does it call him a king, but son and father of a
Trias Thau-
312
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 24.
the Ultonians. s 1 He was the father of FeiJlhmdh Reachtmear,s3 who establishedrnanylawsforhiskingdom. 53 Hereignednineyears,54andhe had three sons, viz. , Conn Cheadcha,ss Eochaidh Fionn,-6 and Fiachu
slain
by
Conn Ceadchathach s 8
years. 59 The fame of his goodness, as also the peace and cultivation of the kingdom during his reign, are celebrated in our national Annals. 60 He was no less renowned as a warrior. From the race of Conn Cheadcha 6l descended some of the principal families of Ulster, of Connaught andofMeath, besides However, he was killed on the of Ulster. Candidus,6*
Suighde. 57
The elder of these
sons,
reigned twenty
no less than fifty-six monarchs of Ireland. 63
Coba, by Tyberiad Cyrech,
King
Equitius
plain
Fothardii Leinster. 6? Fiachu
dynasts,
Suighde
68 was the third of Feidhlimidh Reachtmar's
63
of
the second eldest son, went to the province of Leinster, where his posterity afterwards dwelt. 65 From the family of Eochaidh or Equitius proceeded the
66 who are said to have a third of formerly possessed part
s» " A gente Ultorum," is found in the Hibernioe," p. 66. Something similar may Life ; but Ultoniorum must be the more be found, where Colgan writes at p. 71. correct reading. Keating, in his History of Ireland, and the
52 He was king over Ireland A. D. 164. In Annals of the Four Masters, state, that
the Sanctilogium Genealogicum he is called, " FelhlemidiusLegifer," which latter epithet is Latin for the Irish word " Reachtmear," as Colgan observes, in " Trias Thauma-
turga," Quarta Vita S. Brigidoe, n. 3, P- 563-
53 St. Declan belonged to the race of this
Fedhlimidh Rectmhar, King of Erin. See
" ofthe Irish Proceedings Royal Academy,"
Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. , p. 83. s« This king, variously styled Feidhlimidh, Feidhlim or Felix, began his reign in the year A. D. in, and died A. D. 119, "after
having been nine years in the sovereignty of Ireland. "—Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of
the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 102, 103.
ss His name is also written Conn Ketcha- tach, meaning of the Hundred Battles or Victories, because he was reputed the con- queror in so many different engagements. He is styled by other writers, Constans,
Constantinus and Conon.
s6
Constantine was killed in the thirty-fifth year of his reign, A. D. 157. But, in this account, the Four Masters contradict them- selves, as also the writer of St. Declan's Acts. For the Four Masters state, that
Fethlemid died A. D. 119 ; while, thirty-five years added to this period should bring us
only to A. D. 154.
60 The author of our saint's Acts observes
respecting this prince : "Hujus nomen in Themoria perpetuo regnat. " See, likewise, Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 104, 105.
61 His name has been Latinized " Centima-
chus.
"
63
Echaidh, surnamed Fionn, or the Fair,
is named variously Eachdius, Euchadius, Tybraide Tireach. "
Ultorum,
Eochadius and Euthichius. Not less cor- rectly, he is frequently denominated in Latin Equitius ; for the word Each or Eck has the same meaning in Irish as Eqnus in Latin. And, as from the Irish word Each, he is called Eachaidh or Eochaidh ; so in Latin, heis properlynamedEquitius.
64 The Manuscript of St. Isidore has Eochidh Fionn," which is the same in sense ; for, the first epithet is correctly ren-
"
dered by the Latin word Equitius," as
already observed, and "Candidus" corre-
"
sponds with the Irish word Fionn. " See
Colgan's"TriasThaumaturga,"QuartaVita 57 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," S. Brigidse, n. 4, p. 563.
Quarta Vita S. Brigidte, cap. i. , p. 546, and n. 4, p. 563.
s8 Or as he is called in the Sanctilogium
Genealogicum, Constantinus Cedchathaig. 59 Alone of the three brothers, is he said to have held the Irish sceptre, after the death of Fethlemid. According to the author of oursaint'sActs,heissaidtohavebeenthe o}dest son ; yet, not according to the author of St. Brigid's Fourth Life, nor according to the author of Vita S. Itae siveMidre, as may be seen in Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum
6s The Acts of St. Declan remark, that in Leinster "habitant nepotes ejus semper in diversis locis, de quibus comites ct viri poten-
This appears from the Catalogues and Genealogies of our native Kings. For an account of Conn Cedhcahach's reign, the reader is referred to Roderick O'Flaherty's "
"
Og**ia," pars hi. , cap. lx. , pp. 313 to 316. 6i The same event is related in St. Ita's
Acts, written by Colgan ; but, there Con-
is "rex stantine's slayer called,
tes sunt, qui inter Lageniensesnumerantur. " See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus v. , Julii xxiv. De S. DeclanoEpiscopo Ardmoriae in Hiber- nia, cap. i. , sects. I, 2, p. 593, and nn. (a, b, c,d,e,f,g,h,i,k,1,m,n,o,p,q,r), P- 595-
w See Roderick O'Flaherty's "Ogygia," pars iii. , cap. lxiv. , pp. 324, 325.
"7 Theysettledprincipallyinthepresent
July 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 313
sons. From Fiacha's posterity issued the renowned race of the Desii, at first having their settlement near Tara, in Meath, but who were obliged afterwards to remove and seek lands in the southern part of Ireland. They settled at length in the present Waterford, and gave name to the territory of the Decies.
The legendary and rather imaginative character of the Life of St. Declan 69 must be apparent, from the following narrative, which is to be found in it. However, in some particulars, the account corresponds with what is related by many of our chroniclers. ? Fiachu Suighde dwelt in a territory,
2
with whom this latter wished to be at peace,TM would not agree to the monarch's proposals, unless King Cormac surrendered to him ^Eneas or
^ngus, and his brothers, who were his constant life-guards. At first, the king felt unwilling to agree to these terms ; but, at length, he consented to them ; when JEngus and his brothers, having been delivered to the chief, this latter personage came to the monarch, and then concluded a peace with him. Yet, after some days, Cenllach/s son to King Cormac, apprehended this chief, and without his father's consent, deprived his unfortunate captive of sight, by barbarously putting out his eyes. When afCneas heard of this cruel and treacherous action, being fired with resentment, he ran towards Temoria, where the culprit resided with his father. On seeing the multitude of armed men that accompanied ^Eneas before Tara, the king ordered all
: entrancesintothefortresstobeclosed,saying "TrulyyEneasisbeforehis
brothers, wishing to avenge upon us the wrong done to their keeper. " Having heard their king pronouncing these words, his followers' hearts began to fail them, for they knew and feared the courage and daring of that invading chief.
counties of Carlow and Wexford. From them murdered his own brothers Conlai and the baronies named Forth have been named. Crionni. See Gratianus Lucius' "Cam- See John O'Donovan's teAbhan na brensis Eversus," vol. i. , cap. viii. , pp. 472 gCeanc, or Book of Rights. Index sub voce. to 475. Rev. Dr. Kelly's edition.
68 This Fiach is likewise called Fiecus, 72 According to Roderick O'Flaherty, he Fiachus and Fiacus, by various writers. He had four sons, and they are thus named,
lying
Temoria,
enjoying
the of Ireland. 7 r sceptre
is said to have been the ancestor of the Desii inMeathandWaterford. See"TheIrish Version of the Historia Britonum of Nen- nius," edited by Rev. Dr. Todd and the Hon. Algernon Herbert, p. 254, n. (z).
69 As published by the Bollandists.
7° The account, following in the text, is substantially, but more briefly, found in
"
Roderick O'Flaherty's
cap. lxix. , pp. 338 to 340; as likewise, in Dr. Charles Smith's "Ancient and Present
Fiach Raide, Rossius Righ-fhoda, Eugenius and Artcorbus.
? 3 King Cormac is stated to have suc-
ceeded a. d. 254, after his father, to the king-
dom of his grandfather. However, it must be observed, that the transactions alluded to in this narrative are generally allowed to have taken place, not under Cormac, but during the reign of Art, father to Cormac. See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Brigidse, cap. i. , p. 546.
State of the and County City
chap,i. , pp. 3to6.
7 1
of Waterford,"
? 4 At this " volens rex expression,
pacem
with the account hereafter given, Airt, father to Cormac, and holding the sceptre of Ireland for thirty years, banished his uncles Eochaidh Fionnfuath and Fiacha Suidhi from the territory about Tara for having treacherously betrayed his father Conn to the Ultonians, and fur having
cum illo inire," in the Acts, the editor ob-
that the nominative is used serve? , frequently
for the ablative absolute. See "Acta Sanc-
torum," tomus v. , Julii xxiv. De S. Declaim
Episcopo in Hibernia, cap. i. , n. (t), p. 595. 75 Elsewhere in this same narrative, his
name is written Ceallach.
? 6 It must be observed, here, that the
Disagreeing
but he died without
around
Fiachuhadthreerenownedsons,? namedRossa,^EngusandEoghan,who were great warriors and skilled in military exercises. But, ^ngus distin- guished himself more than his brothers, being a hero of an ungovernable temper and of remarkable bravery. Therefore, when Cormac, ? 3 son to Airt, and grandson to Conn Chadchaidhe, assumed the government of this king- dom, a certain noble and powerful man, who was an enemy to the king, and
Ogygia," pars iii. ,
3M LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 24.
Seeing the approaches closed against him, the passions of ^Eneas became excited the more, and with incredible boldness, he rushed towards another
rampart, and lie sprung with a swift bound upon its topmost part. Then, leaping over the interior fortifications or trenches, he reached the palace of Temoria itself. The king was there present, and the warrior now sought his son Cenllach, as doomed to an instantaneous death. The following almost
incredible story is then told. ?
6
While his guards fled in every direction, the
king's son rushed before his father, intending to defend both Cormac and
himself. At the same time, the governor of Tara citadel," who was a brave
man, ran to protect the king and his son, by placing himself in a dangerous
post. But, little regarding these obstacles opposed to his arms, Eneas
brandished his spear on coming up, and then planted it in the breast of Ceal-
8
lach,? the king's son. Through his body, it entered the governor's breast,
then through his back again it passed, and lodged in the eye of King Cormac. We are told, that the prince and governor immediately fell forward on the earth, and if they had not fallen against the spear, it must have penetrated even through the king's brain. Thus, with a single stroke, ^Eneas is related to have taken the lives of the Temorian prince and governor, and to have deprived King Cormac of sights He again made an attack on King Cormac, intending to kill him ; but, on coming up, the monarch adjured him by the
8°
gods, and by ties of consanguinity, to spare him.
and the brave governor of Tara had been slain, ^Engus allowed his passion to cool. Moved also by the appeal of a kinsman, he spared the monarch, and then he returned from Themoria, in great triumph. We are next informed, that Cormac, King of Ireland, had reigned forty-two years at this time. Being afflicted at the death of his son, and of the governor over Tara, as likewise at the loss of his own sight, Cormac collected a considerable force, with which he expelled yEneas and his brothers from the territory of Temoria, to that which was called Nan Desi. 81 He would not even suffer them to remain in northern territory, for he feared them greatly, as the kingdom rightly devolved on them, and they having as just a claim to it as himself. What might be expected from their high birth and military spirit happened ; since, those chiefs resisted their attempted expulsion for some time, and they fought seven battles, in which ^Eneas and his brothers slaughtered a multitude of their enemies. They were finally overpowered, and with the loss of a great number of their adherents. In fine, not being able to oppose the monarch's numerous armies, in various parts of Ireland, they left the lands of their native country Meath, and entered the Leinster province. Thence, after a year's delay, they went towards Munster. The people of Ossory, who lived on the western bounds of the Leinster province, and adjoining that of Munster, inflicted some injury on them, while passing through their territories. At this time, Oilill
genuine facts of our ancient history have been grcatly obscured by the wild and tasteless inventions of the bards and shenachies, who have drawn largely on the credulity of their patrons, and whose accounts have been too frequently incorporated in our books of an- nals, and into the acts of many among our . ^aints.
7? The epithet applied to this man in our saint's Acts is " Comes civitatis Themo- riae. "
in a previous passage it is written Cenl- lach.
79 According to Roderick O'Flaherty, this happened to King Cormac when lie had reigned twenty-three years at Tara. See "Ogygia," pars iii. , cap. lxix. , p. 340.
78 The Bollandist
passage, observes, thut the prince's name, in this instance, is written Ceallach, although
of the Desies " enim ilia : gens
editor,
in a note at this
8o
The writer of St. Declan's Life here "
Finding that the prince
any
adds: ipsi enim tunc gentiles erant, colentes deos, imo idola, secundum velle snum. "
' ' Na nDesi has the
English signification
tunc et
hodie vocatur gens Desiorum. "—Colgan's
"
ActaSanctorumHibernise. " VitaS. Itre
July 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 315 Oluim,82 King of Munster, had been married to an excellent and a beautiful
named 8* toCuinnCedchath. Hewasuncletothe Soidhb, daughter
wife,
tive brothers, and they were received by him with distinguished honour. Oilill
Oluim permitted them to acquire any territory in Munster by force of arms ; or if they preferred it, he allowed them to wage war against the Connacians, 84 or against the Lagenians, or against their native Meathian province. He even allowed them, to acquire a part of Munster, and a part of any other dis- trict they could obtain. The brothers would not receive any territory, how- ever, but that in which they might be enabled to draw their swords with some semblance of justice. Whereupon, they selected the Ossorian people as meet subjects for their vengance, because they had carelessly inflicted injury upon
two against the people of Munster, and two against the Ossorians, who dwelt within the Leinster province. ^Eneas was victorious in these battles. We are ;then told, that the people of Ossory were driven from the middle of
88 8
formerly called Tyrfene, but afterwards called Firmuighe, 9 towards a small
plain, in which a city, denominated Brighdband,9° was situated. After having
1 conquered them in war, the people dwelling in Liuthuin district,? were
2
expelled from the river, which was formerly called Nemh,9 but when our
saint's Acts had been written, it was named Obhann Mhor. They were driven to the River Kille Cobhtuig which ran along the confines of Na n Desi and Traliathuin. 93 After those four battles, the brothers thus acquired a great and fertile country, in the interior and on the coast. 94 From north to south, it reached from the River Luase 9S to the sea ; from east to west, it extended from Cill Cobhtuig 96 towards a strait 97 separating the Na n Desi people
and fertile
on the confines of Munster and Leinster in which they fought four battles ;
fugitives.
There was a
great
territory, adjoining
86 towards the and as far as the River Cinnan. 8? At the east,
Femhyn plain,
time St. Declan's Acts were written, this river constituted a boundary line between Leinster and Munster in that part, where the Na n Desii and Ossory territories were separated. With the strong hand uppermost, those brothers destroyed the inhabitants of a country extending from the midst of that plain,
alias Midae Virginis et Abbat. ex Codice Kilkenniensi, n. 7, p. 71.
82 The son of Mogh Nuadhat, and progeni- tor of the chief Iberian families of Munster.
8g At the time when St. Declan's Life had been written. NowFermoy.
9° Not identified.
See Roderick O'Flaherty's Ogygia," pars iii. , cap. lxv. , p. 326.
from the Irish word 1/iAch, meaning gray. " Their territory was nearly co-extensive with the modern barony of Barrymore, in the
the
present
9<5 This place must be sought for in the western part of Waterford county ; but, at present, it seems to be unknown,
97 Apparently, the present entrance to the harbour of Waterford city is meant.
9I This may probably have been so called ""
83 She is also called Saba, the sister of
King Airt, and who at first married Magnet, county of Cork. It probably reached even son to Lughaidh. After the death of her first to the coast in the south-west part of that husband, she married Oilill Oluim. See county.
Gratianus Lucius' "Cambrensis Eversus,"
vol. i. , cap. viii.
35 to which he was sent by Pope Celestine. Besides these, we meet Ireland, #
other matters, which cannot be chronologically reconciled with the foregoing statements. However, the editor of our saint's Acts states, that whatever degree of credit or antiquity may be assigned to them, the author of this Life of St. Declan could not have forged in Ireland certain strange narratives which may therein be found. For, even the common people of that Island
21 From the " Lcabhar Breac "copy, be- to 28.
28 "
longing to the Royal Irish Academy, is the See Vies des Saints," xxive Jour de following stanza, translated by Whitley Juillet, p. 3.
Stokes,
LL. D. :—
niAT>coich t)Uic Aei^\e
•Oocchobaip cing OAige CacViuc cent) c. mile
"OecUn 4|voi mairxe.
29See "St. of Ireland. " Patrick, Apostle
Introductory Dissertation, pp. 206 to 212, 214, 219, 220.
3° See "Lives of the Saints," vol. vii. ,
July 24, pp. 532, 533.
31 He became sole Emperor A. D. 324, and
his very distinguished place in history lasted,
"If thou likest, O Ireland, a champion of
batile to aid thee, thou hast the head of a death. See Edward Gibbon's "History of hundred thousand, Declan of Ardmore. "— the Decline and Fall of the Roman Em- "Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," pire," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , to chap, xviii.
Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. the Calendar of Oengus, p. cxii.
22
See ibid. , p. cxx.
23 See " Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xv. , p. 362; cap. xvi. , pp.
409, 410, 412 to 414, and cap. xvii. , p.
450.
3* See " Chronicle of Ireland," pp. 67
to 70. 25
See his Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. vii. , July xxiv.
"Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
land," vol. i. , chap, i. , sect, xii. , pp. 25 432.
See "Britannia Sancta," part ii. ,
after a. d. 516, when St. David was elevated to the dignity of Bishop, as the Bollandists show, at the 1st of March, on which day his Acts are given by them.
33 See also the Life of St. David, at the
1st of March, in the Third Volume of this
work, Art. i.
3«
cannotbeassertedfairly, unlesswebewill- tag to admit, that at the incredible age of about one hundred and seventy years, Declan had undertaken a voyage to Rome.
PP- 37> 3%'
26 "
until a. d. 340, the year assigned for his
On Edition of William Smith, LL. D.
3» This supposed visit must have occurred,
The Bollandist editor this remarks,
3s This is generally assigned to a. i>.
July 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 3ii
should have been able to contradict his assertions, if certain allusions to our
saint's remaining monuments, were not in accordance with popular traditions
and cognizance. 36
The Acts of St. Declan commence with a genealogical account concern-
ing his race and origin. We are told, that he was royally descended from the
Kings of Ireland,37 who for a long series of years governed this Island, while
dwelt in Temoria 3 otherwise known as Tamrach or Tamar, or they city,*
Tara. 39 A powerful king, named Equitius Feadhlech,<° who had enlarged
the boundaries of his
kingdom/
1 was the father of three sons. One of these
3 wasfatherto
had three circles of roses like zones on his body, and this happened from the
time of his birth. Besides his elegance of form, he was celebrated for his strength, and for his address in transacting different matters, even from his infancy. He undertook the government of the kingdom, and on that very yearinwhichCaiusCaesar44 wasslain;afterhehadreignedtwenty-sixyears in Temoria, he was killed by the Leinster people, and in that year when the apostles, St. Peter and St. Paul 45 were put to death by Nero. 46 He had a son, named Crimthun niudh nuaruir,4 7 who only reigned ten years before his
8
death. The latter left a son named Ferudach Finfectnach,4 who reigned
thirtyyearsinTemoria. Hewasthefatherofason,calledFichudhFinn- faluidh,49 who reigned thirty years, and who was killed at Tara. This latter was the parent of Tuathal Teachmear,s° who brought many territories under his sway, and who ruled at Tara for twenty-three years, when he was at length
sons,
whowasnamed
Lecharius,*
Luguidh Sriubhnearg,43
who
36 Such as are, the Hall of Dobran after-
wards known as the Hall of St. Declan
the stone shown in Magh Femhin which he
blessed ; the stone on which he was born,
and to which allusion is made in the Life as
existing ; the monastery called after him, at tius, from the Irish Ech, which signifies
;
Temoria the or Cairn of St. Declan; : Heap
theCity of St. Declan, as Ardmorehad been
called ; and the Desert of St. Declan near
it. To these may be added, what is told at
the end of his Life, that St. Declan had been
buried in his own city of Ardmore, where
great signs and miracles were wrought king.
at his tomb, when the Life itself h#d been written. See"ActaSanctorum,"tomusv. , Julli xxiv. De S. Declano Episcopo Ard- morise in Hibernia. Commentarius Proevius, num. 4, p. 591.
37 The small folio vellum Manuscript in
the Royal Irish Academy, No. 42. 6, inti- tuled the Book of Lecan, contains various
43 In the aforesaid Sanctilogium Genealo- gicum, the name is written, "Lugadius
Sriebdearg. "
44 This Emperor was surnamed Caligula.
He was assassinated by conspirators, in the year of Christ 41.
45 In the Life, Doctor of the Gentiles is a
title superadded to this Apostle.
46 The Bollandists have referred the
martyrdom of Saints Peter and Paul, to the year of Christ, 65. Petavius, Labbeus and other writersassignittoA. D. 67. Withthelatter date, the Acts of our saint seem to agree,
as they make Luguidh reign twenty-six years.
47 In the Sanctilogium Genealogicum, he is called "Crimthannus Nianair. "
48 The Sanctilogium Genealogicum calls
"
and accounts Ireland's regarding
poems
early colonists, the synchronisms of the kings of the world and the successions of
Irishkings.
38 It was a city in eastern Midia, or Meath,
within the present province of Leinster.
39 It was anciently the seat of the chief monarchs over all Ireland to the sixth cen- tury, and to the reign of Dermod the First, as has been already remarked, in the Life of
him simply
40 The Manuscript of St. Isidore has logicum, he is called "Fiachus Finnfho-
St. Ruadan, chap, hi. , at the 15th of April. See Fourth Volume of this work, Art. i.
Feredacius. "
49 According to the Sanctilogium Genea-
"
Eochu Fedlech. "
laidh. "
5° In the Sanctilogium Genealogicum he is named, "Tuathalius Techtmuir.
41 In the Sanctilogium Genealogicum, according to Colgan, his name is written
"
" in English "a horse. " See ibid. , eques,"
Eochodius Fedhleach. See
maturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbse, n. 9, p. 447. Colgan tells us, in the same work, that the name Eochodius or Eachodius, is aptly expressed in Latin, by the term Equi-
Quarta Vita S. Brigida? , n. 4, p. 563.
42 The Sanctilogium Genealogicum, already cited in the previous note, denomi- nates him " Bressius Finnius," nor does it call him a king, but son and father of a
Trias Thau-
312
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 24.
the Ultonians. s 1 He was the father of FeiJlhmdh Reachtmear,s3 who establishedrnanylawsforhiskingdom. 53 Hereignednineyears,54andhe had three sons, viz. , Conn Cheadcha,ss Eochaidh Fionn,-6 and Fiachu
slain
by
Conn Ceadchathach s 8
years. 59 The fame of his goodness, as also the peace and cultivation of the kingdom during his reign, are celebrated in our national Annals. 60 He was no less renowned as a warrior. From the race of Conn Cheadcha 6l descended some of the principal families of Ulster, of Connaught andofMeath, besides However, he was killed on the of Ulster. Candidus,6*
Suighde. 57
The elder of these
sons,
reigned twenty
no less than fifty-six monarchs of Ireland. 63
Coba, by Tyberiad Cyrech,
King
Equitius
plain
Fothardii Leinster. 6? Fiachu
dynasts,
Suighde
68 was the third of Feidhlimidh Reachtmar's
63
of
the second eldest son, went to the province of Leinster, where his posterity afterwards dwelt. 65 From the family of Eochaidh or Equitius proceeded the
66 who are said to have a third of formerly possessed part
s» " A gente Ultorum," is found in the Hibernioe," p. 66. Something similar may Life ; but Ultoniorum must be the more be found, where Colgan writes at p. 71. correct reading. Keating, in his History of Ireland, and the
52 He was king over Ireland A. D. 164. In Annals of the Four Masters, state, that
the Sanctilogium Genealogicum he is called, " FelhlemidiusLegifer," which latter epithet is Latin for the Irish word " Reachtmear," as Colgan observes, in " Trias Thauma-
turga," Quarta Vita S. Brigidoe, n. 3, P- 563-
53 St. Declan belonged to the race of this
Fedhlimidh Rectmhar, King of Erin. See
" ofthe Irish Proceedings Royal Academy,"
Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. , p. 83. s« This king, variously styled Feidhlimidh, Feidhlim or Felix, began his reign in the year A. D. in, and died A. D. 119, "after
having been nine years in the sovereignty of Ireland. "—Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of
the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 102, 103.
ss His name is also written Conn Ketcha- tach, meaning of the Hundred Battles or Victories, because he was reputed the con- queror in so many different engagements. He is styled by other writers, Constans,
Constantinus and Conon.
s6
Constantine was killed in the thirty-fifth year of his reign, A. D. 157. But, in this account, the Four Masters contradict them- selves, as also the writer of St. Declan's Acts. For the Four Masters state, that
Fethlemid died A. D. 119 ; while, thirty-five years added to this period should bring us
only to A. D. 154.
60 The author of our saint's Acts observes
respecting this prince : "Hujus nomen in Themoria perpetuo regnat. " See, likewise, Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 104, 105.
61 His name has been Latinized " Centima-
chus.
"
63
Echaidh, surnamed Fionn, or the Fair,
is named variously Eachdius, Euchadius, Tybraide Tireach. "
Ultorum,
Eochadius and Euthichius. Not less cor- rectly, he is frequently denominated in Latin Equitius ; for the word Each or Eck has the same meaning in Irish as Eqnus in Latin. And, as from the Irish word Each, he is called Eachaidh or Eochaidh ; so in Latin, heis properlynamedEquitius.
64 The Manuscript of St. Isidore has Eochidh Fionn," which is the same in sense ; for, the first epithet is correctly ren-
"
dered by the Latin word Equitius," as
already observed, and "Candidus" corre-
"
sponds with the Irish word Fionn. " See
Colgan's"TriasThaumaturga,"QuartaVita 57 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," S. Brigidse, n. 4, p. 563.
Quarta Vita S. Brigidte, cap. i. , p. 546, and n. 4, p. 563.
s8 Or as he is called in the Sanctilogium
Genealogicum, Constantinus Cedchathaig. 59 Alone of the three brothers, is he said to have held the Irish sceptre, after the death of Fethlemid. According to the author of oursaint'sActs,heissaidtohavebeenthe o}dest son ; yet, not according to the author of St. Brigid's Fourth Life, nor according to the author of Vita S. Itae siveMidre, as may be seen in Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum
6s The Acts of St. Declan remark, that in Leinster "habitant nepotes ejus semper in diversis locis, de quibus comites ct viri poten-
This appears from the Catalogues and Genealogies of our native Kings. For an account of Conn Cedhcahach's reign, the reader is referred to Roderick O'Flaherty's "
"
Og**ia," pars hi. , cap. lx. , pp. 313 to 316. 6i The same event is related in St. Ita's
Acts, written by Colgan ; but, there Con-
is "rex stantine's slayer called,
tes sunt, qui inter Lageniensesnumerantur. " See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus v. , Julii xxiv. De S. DeclanoEpiscopo Ardmoriae in Hiber- nia, cap. i. , sects. I, 2, p. 593, and nn. (a, b, c,d,e,f,g,h,i,k,1,m,n,o,p,q,r), P- 595-
w See Roderick O'Flaherty's "Ogygia," pars iii. , cap. lxiv. , pp. 324, 325.
"7 Theysettledprincipallyinthepresent
July 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 313
sons. From Fiacha's posterity issued the renowned race of the Desii, at first having their settlement near Tara, in Meath, but who were obliged afterwards to remove and seek lands in the southern part of Ireland. They settled at length in the present Waterford, and gave name to the territory of the Decies.
The legendary and rather imaginative character of the Life of St. Declan 69 must be apparent, from the following narrative, which is to be found in it. However, in some particulars, the account corresponds with what is related by many of our chroniclers. ? Fiachu Suighde dwelt in a territory,
2
with whom this latter wished to be at peace,TM would not agree to the monarch's proposals, unless King Cormac surrendered to him ^Eneas or
^ngus, and his brothers, who were his constant life-guards. At first, the king felt unwilling to agree to these terms ; but, at length, he consented to them ; when JEngus and his brothers, having been delivered to the chief, this latter personage came to the monarch, and then concluded a peace with him. Yet, after some days, Cenllach/s son to King Cormac, apprehended this chief, and without his father's consent, deprived his unfortunate captive of sight, by barbarously putting out his eyes. When afCneas heard of this cruel and treacherous action, being fired with resentment, he ran towards Temoria, where the culprit resided with his father. On seeing the multitude of armed men that accompanied ^Eneas before Tara, the king ordered all
: entrancesintothefortresstobeclosed,saying "TrulyyEneasisbeforehis
brothers, wishing to avenge upon us the wrong done to their keeper. " Having heard their king pronouncing these words, his followers' hearts began to fail them, for they knew and feared the courage and daring of that invading chief.
counties of Carlow and Wexford. From them murdered his own brothers Conlai and the baronies named Forth have been named. Crionni. See Gratianus Lucius' "Cam- See John O'Donovan's teAbhan na brensis Eversus," vol. i. , cap. viii. , pp. 472 gCeanc, or Book of Rights. Index sub voce. to 475. Rev. Dr. Kelly's edition.
68 This Fiach is likewise called Fiecus, 72 According to Roderick O'Flaherty, he Fiachus and Fiacus, by various writers. He had four sons, and they are thus named,
lying
Temoria,
enjoying
the of Ireland. 7 r sceptre
is said to have been the ancestor of the Desii inMeathandWaterford. See"TheIrish Version of the Historia Britonum of Nen- nius," edited by Rev. Dr. Todd and the Hon. Algernon Herbert, p. 254, n. (z).
69 As published by the Bollandists.
7° The account, following in the text, is substantially, but more briefly, found in
"
Roderick O'Flaherty's
cap. lxix. , pp. 338 to 340; as likewise, in Dr. Charles Smith's "Ancient and Present
Fiach Raide, Rossius Righ-fhoda, Eugenius and Artcorbus.
? 3 King Cormac is stated to have suc-
ceeded a. d. 254, after his father, to the king-
dom of his grandfather. However, it must be observed, that the transactions alluded to in this narrative are generally allowed to have taken place, not under Cormac, but during the reign of Art, father to Cormac. See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Brigidse, cap. i. , p. 546.
State of the and County City
chap,i. , pp. 3to6.
7 1
of Waterford,"
? 4 At this " volens rex expression,
pacem
with the account hereafter given, Airt, father to Cormac, and holding the sceptre of Ireland for thirty years, banished his uncles Eochaidh Fionnfuath and Fiacha Suidhi from the territory about Tara for having treacherously betrayed his father Conn to the Ultonians, and fur having
cum illo inire," in the Acts, the editor ob-
that the nominative is used serve? , frequently
for the ablative absolute. See "Acta Sanc-
torum," tomus v. , Julii xxiv. De S. Declaim
Episcopo in Hibernia, cap. i. , n. (t), p. 595. 75 Elsewhere in this same narrative, his
name is written Ceallach.
? 6 It must be observed, here, that the
Disagreeing
but he died without
around
Fiachuhadthreerenownedsons,? namedRossa,^EngusandEoghan,who were great warriors and skilled in military exercises. But, ^ngus distin- guished himself more than his brothers, being a hero of an ungovernable temper and of remarkable bravery. Therefore, when Cormac, ? 3 son to Airt, and grandson to Conn Chadchaidhe, assumed the government of this king- dom, a certain noble and powerful man, who was an enemy to the king, and
Ogygia," pars iii. ,
3M LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [July 24.
Seeing the approaches closed against him, the passions of ^Eneas became excited the more, and with incredible boldness, he rushed towards another
rampart, and lie sprung with a swift bound upon its topmost part. Then, leaping over the interior fortifications or trenches, he reached the palace of Temoria itself. The king was there present, and the warrior now sought his son Cenllach, as doomed to an instantaneous death. The following almost
incredible story is then told. ?
6
While his guards fled in every direction, the
king's son rushed before his father, intending to defend both Cormac and
himself. At the same time, the governor of Tara citadel," who was a brave
man, ran to protect the king and his son, by placing himself in a dangerous
post. But, little regarding these obstacles opposed to his arms, Eneas
brandished his spear on coming up, and then planted it in the breast of Ceal-
8
lach,? the king's son. Through his body, it entered the governor's breast,
then through his back again it passed, and lodged in the eye of King Cormac. We are told, that the prince and governor immediately fell forward on the earth, and if they had not fallen against the spear, it must have penetrated even through the king's brain. Thus, with a single stroke, ^Eneas is related to have taken the lives of the Temorian prince and governor, and to have deprived King Cormac of sights He again made an attack on King Cormac, intending to kill him ; but, on coming up, the monarch adjured him by the
8°
gods, and by ties of consanguinity, to spare him.
and the brave governor of Tara had been slain, ^Engus allowed his passion to cool. Moved also by the appeal of a kinsman, he spared the monarch, and then he returned from Themoria, in great triumph. We are next informed, that Cormac, King of Ireland, had reigned forty-two years at this time. Being afflicted at the death of his son, and of the governor over Tara, as likewise at the loss of his own sight, Cormac collected a considerable force, with which he expelled yEneas and his brothers from the territory of Temoria, to that which was called Nan Desi. 81 He would not even suffer them to remain in northern territory, for he feared them greatly, as the kingdom rightly devolved on them, and they having as just a claim to it as himself. What might be expected from their high birth and military spirit happened ; since, those chiefs resisted their attempted expulsion for some time, and they fought seven battles, in which ^Eneas and his brothers slaughtered a multitude of their enemies. They were finally overpowered, and with the loss of a great number of their adherents. In fine, not being able to oppose the monarch's numerous armies, in various parts of Ireland, they left the lands of their native country Meath, and entered the Leinster province. Thence, after a year's delay, they went towards Munster. The people of Ossory, who lived on the western bounds of the Leinster province, and adjoining that of Munster, inflicted some injury on them, while passing through their territories. At this time, Oilill
genuine facts of our ancient history have been grcatly obscured by the wild and tasteless inventions of the bards and shenachies, who have drawn largely on the credulity of their patrons, and whose accounts have been too frequently incorporated in our books of an- nals, and into the acts of many among our . ^aints.
7? The epithet applied to this man in our saint's Acts is " Comes civitatis Themo- riae. "
in a previous passage it is written Cenl- lach.
79 According to Roderick O'Flaherty, this happened to King Cormac when lie had reigned twenty-three years at Tara. See "Ogygia," pars iii. , cap. lxix. , p. 340.
78 The Bollandist
passage, observes, thut the prince's name, in this instance, is written Ceallach, although
of the Desies " enim ilia : gens
editor,
in a note at this
8o
The writer of St. Declan's Life here "
Finding that the prince
any
adds: ipsi enim tunc gentiles erant, colentes deos, imo idola, secundum velle snum. "
' ' Na nDesi has the
English signification
tunc et
hodie vocatur gens Desiorum. "—Colgan's
"
ActaSanctorumHibernise. " VitaS. Itre
July 24. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 315 Oluim,82 King of Munster, had been married to an excellent and a beautiful
named 8* toCuinnCedchath. Hewasuncletothe Soidhb, daughter
wife,
tive brothers, and they were received by him with distinguished honour. Oilill
Oluim permitted them to acquire any territory in Munster by force of arms ; or if they preferred it, he allowed them to wage war against the Connacians, 84 or against the Lagenians, or against their native Meathian province. He even allowed them, to acquire a part of Munster, and a part of any other dis- trict they could obtain. The brothers would not receive any territory, how- ever, but that in which they might be enabled to draw their swords with some semblance of justice. Whereupon, they selected the Ossorian people as meet subjects for their vengance, because they had carelessly inflicted injury upon
two against the people of Munster, and two against the Ossorians, who dwelt within the Leinster province. ^Eneas was victorious in these battles. We are ;then told, that the people of Ossory were driven from the middle of
88 8
formerly called Tyrfene, but afterwards called Firmuighe, 9 towards a small
plain, in which a city, denominated Brighdband,9° was situated. After having
1 conquered them in war, the people dwelling in Liuthuin district,? were
2
expelled from the river, which was formerly called Nemh,9 but when our
saint's Acts had been written, it was named Obhann Mhor. They were driven to the River Kille Cobhtuig which ran along the confines of Na n Desi and Traliathuin. 93 After those four battles, the brothers thus acquired a great and fertile country, in the interior and on the coast. 94 From north to south, it reached from the River Luase 9S to the sea ; from east to west, it extended from Cill Cobhtuig 96 towards a strait 97 separating the Na n Desi people
and fertile
on the confines of Munster and Leinster in which they fought four battles ;
fugitives.
There was a
great
territory, adjoining
86 towards the and as far as the River Cinnan. 8? At the east,
Femhyn plain,
time St. Declan's Acts were written, this river constituted a boundary line between Leinster and Munster in that part, where the Na n Desii and Ossory territories were separated. With the strong hand uppermost, those brothers destroyed the inhabitants of a country extending from the midst of that plain,
alias Midae Virginis et Abbat. ex Codice Kilkenniensi, n. 7, p. 71.
82 The son of Mogh Nuadhat, and progeni- tor of the chief Iberian families of Munster.
8g At the time when St. Declan's Life had been written. NowFermoy.
9° Not identified.
See Roderick O'Flaherty's Ogygia," pars iii. , cap. lxv. , p. 326.
from the Irish word 1/iAch, meaning gray. " Their territory was nearly co-extensive with the modern barony of Barrymore, in the
the
present
9<5 This place must be sought for in the western part of Waterford county ; but, at present, it seems to be unknown,
97 Apparently, the present entrance to the harbour of Waterford city is meant.
9I This may probably have been so called ""
83 She is also called Saba, the sister of
King Airt, and who at first married Magnet, county of Cork. It probably reached even son to Lughaidh. After the death of her first to the coast in the south-west part of that husband, she married Oilill Oluim. See county.
Gratianus Lucius' "Cambrensis Eversus,"
vol. i. , cap. viii.
