In the year 1700, Father Denis O'Mahony took up his residence on the Island, where he fitted up a chapel, and
more in Musgry Mitain, after getting a
banner there, and Nathi and Brogan they
offered their church to Bairri, namely, there led a very mortified life.
more in Musgry Mitain, after getting a
banner there, and Nathi and Brogan they
offered their church to Bairri, namely, there led a very mortified life.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
Hall's Ireland : its, scenery,
some time in Kilkenny and the Queen's County, and founded twelve churches before
coming to Cork. It was during this period he established the school in question, which
character," &c, vol. i. , pp. 113 to 117.
12
The modern restorations and improve- ments there effected are due to the zeal and good taste of the Very Rev. Patrick Hurley,
P. P. , who has still the features of preserved
the former ancient ruins. A part of the enclosure is now called the Shrine, good Photos of which, with other illustrations of Gougane Barra, may be seen in the useful hand-book issued by the managers of the Cork and Macroom Direct Railway, " The Tourist's Route to Glengariffand Killarney," pp. 25 to 30.
13 One of these legends states, that the saint's servant Linin, while fishing in his Corougheen, was seized by a Peist, which infested the lake. Seeing the bottom of the boat turned upwards, Finbarr suspecting the cause called the inhabitants of the surround- ing district to come armed with pikes and forks. Having prayed, the Peist came bellowing from the bottom of the lake, and then following the course of the river for a mile, he threw up Linin's dead body at a place still called Linin's cascade. Finally the monster was killed by the country people at a place called Inchinaneab or " Inch of the Saints," about 15 miles east- ward. It is said so many were with the saint on that occasion, that having forgot his book which was at Gougane Barra, Bran was sent back for it, and the book was
handed from one to another of those who were present until Finbar received it.
is described as at '
Lough
Eirce, in Eadar-
gabhail. ' The last name, which occurs
frequently in Ireland, is Anglicised Adder-
goole, or Adrigole ; but the only one which answers the conditions required is that in
the south of the Queen's County adjoining Kilkenny. It is situated, as the name implies (eadar), between the fork (gabhal), formed by the junction of two rivers, which here are the Gaul and Erkina, tributaries to the Nore. Between them, near the monas- tery of Aghmacart, on the bank of the Gaul, is a ruin known as the College, near which is a depression, now a marsh, which was evidently once a lake. There is every reason to believe that this is the spot, especially as adjoining it, in the County of Kilkenny, is the parish of Eircke. The writers of the three Latin Lives, published by Dr. Caulfield, though concurring with the Irish Life as to his labours in Leinster, suppress all mention of this school, probably for fear of lessening the importance ol that at Cork, which has in a great measure eclipsed the earlier one. The cave or grotto at Gougane Barra, called in the Irish Life Cuas Barra, was a her- mitage, and there never could have been a school at the place. "—Rev. T. Olden's " History of the Church of Ireland. " Ap- pendix, p. 424.
560 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 25.
that lustrous and deep lake called Lough Allua. In the middle of the seventeenth century, the surrounding country was all a forest, consisting of
large oak, birch, alder, ash, and yew trees of great size. The woods were stored with red and fallow deer, and abounded with great ayries of excellent hawks. On the summits of the mountains around the Lough, eagles and
1
other birds of prey breed and live in great security. * Within two miles of
Gougane Barra, there is a large and curious stone, called by the country-people Clough Barra ; whether it had any connection with our saint is not known,15 yet it is associated with him by tradition.
It is related, that our saint gathered several distinguished scholars around him in those romantic wilds. They probably formed the nucleus of that
16
in or near Cork. It is probable he went to Gougane Barra, towards the close of the sixth century. Disciples flocked to him from all quarters, and to his school, as to a hive of wisdom and a domicile for all Christian virtues. Such had been the number and zeal of those followers, 1 ? that a former desert was soon changed into a populous locality. From the school then instituted, many persons, eminent for learning and sanctity, afterwards issued. The following
larger school attached to the monastery of St. Finn Barr,
Saints mentioned as his
LifeofS—t.
Eulogius Garbhan,»3
are said, in the
Bnrgundian Manuscript
one of Bart's — The
disciples. following
the volume, Art. iii. present
The other is
list different from that given in the text—is thus inserted, from a Life of our saint, in Colgan's possession: "inter quos enituere S. Eulangius seu Eulogius, ipsius alioquin S. Barrii institutor, S. (Jolmanus de Dordhuncon, (aliter, Doiror- Dhuncon,) S. Baitaeenus, (aliter, Baithinus,) S. Nessanus, S. Garbanus, (aliter, Garb- hanus) filius Finbarrii, S. Talmachus, S.
of Lecain in and venerated Meath,
of these holy men
Eolaing
on the 29th of December.
20 Among the many saints called Colman
on the Irish Calendars, we do not find one
thus distinguished ; but, I am informed by
Very Rev. Patrick Hurley, P. P. , that Derry
Dunaoi was the land on the right of the
Pass of Keimaneagh leading to Bantry.
81
disciples
1' tohavelivedtherewithhim
1? Eolang
—
Bairre,
his tutor, and Colman of Derry Dunaoi,
viz,
Latinized
and Donoughmore,
son of 2« Talmhach2' and Findchua26 of Findbar,
14 See Dr. Charles Smith's " Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork," vol. i. , book ii. , chap, ii. , pp. 191,
192.
'5 Letter of the Very Rev. Patrick Hurley,
P. P. , to the writer and dated Inchigeela,
County Cork, March 15th, 1889.
16 See Gibson's "History of the County
and City of Cork," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , n. P- 341.
*7 Colgan enumerates twenty-one of these disciples, in his acts of St. Nessan, at the 17th of March. See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xvii. Martii, De S. Nessano Praesbytero. This latter saint is regarded as
readings within brackets, are to be found when quoting the same extract in another place. See ibid. , xxvii. Martii. De S. Garvano, Abbate, pp. 750, 751. Some of these, however, are evidently mistakes in the printing.
Under this form of name, he does not Finchadius de Domnachmor, S. Fachua appear in our Calendars.
(aliter Fachna) seu Facundus de Ria, S.
Facundus de Ros-alithir, S. Lucerus, S.
Cumanus, S. Lochinus de Achadairaird, S.
Carinus, S. Fintanus de Roscoerach, S.
Euhell (aliter S. Euchel) de Ros-coerach,
S. Trellanus (aliter S. Frellanus) de Druim
draighnighe, S. Coelehus, S. Mogenna, him in the Third volume of this work, S. Medimocus, S. Sanctanus (aliter S. Art. iii.
24 Whether this name is to determine his
natural or spiritual father may be a question
for enquiry.
25 An account of him may be found at the
et S. filius Columbi. " Lugerius
Sanctanis)
See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xvii.
Martii, De S. Nessano Praesbytero Corca- giensi Patrono, pp. 629, 630. The different
:
20
21
Nesan,"
Baichin,
18
living with him in Gougane Barra or at Achad Durbcon, in the Liber Kilkenniensis, Bodleian, or Trinity College Lives of our saint.
19 There are two saints in the Irish Calen- dars thus named : viz, Eolang of Achadh Bo, venerated at the 5th of September, at which date notices of him may be found in
22
There is no account of the disciples
Otherwise called Neassan of Corcach or Cork, venerated at the 1st of December, where notices of him may be found.
23 Supposed to have been the St. Garbhan of Dungarvan, whose feast is at the 26th of March, at which date there are notices of
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. S«i
2 28 2 ° Fachtna Ria ? and Fachtna of Ross Ailithir, Luicer, ^ Cuman3 and
Loichin31 of Achadh on Aird Cairne,32 Findtan33 and Cothuil,3* who are at
Ross Cacrach,35 Treallan,36 who is at Drom Druighnighe,3? Caolchu,38 MoGenna,39 MoDimog40andSantan,4' asalsoLuiger,*2 sonofColum. It would seem as if an institution for female religious had been there estab- lished under the direction of St. Finn Barre,*3 since we are told in his Life that there were with him likewise, in partnership, the sister of Bairri,** and Crothru,4* daughter of Conall, and the three daughters of Mc Cairthann & and Coch Caille of Ross Benchuir,*? and Mo Shillan*8 of Rathmore, Scothnat w of Cluain Beg, and Lassar of Achadh Durbcon 5° besides these the three
;
daughtersofLughadhs1 ofDun,s2andHer53andBrigid54inchargeofthem.
14th day of March in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
76 Finnchua of Brigoon, venerated on the 25th of November, is the only saint so named in the Irish Calendar. Can Donoughmore be another name for Brigoon ?
27 There are four saints bearing the name
of Fachtna, but to none of these is the
bishop of Cill-dumha-gluinn, venerated at the 26th of December.
40 There is a Mo-Dimoc or Mo-Diommog venerated at the 3rd of March, and notices of him may be found at that date, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. vii.
41 Two Sanctins are in the Irish Calendar ;
one venerated as a Bishop at Cill-da-les, May 9th, at which date are notices of him in
little church of Fachtna," in Muscraighe- other is venerated as Sanctin simply, at Chuirc ; but we know not a saint of the September 17th, where notices are to be
epithet Ria affixed. We learn, however,
there had been a Cillin-Fachtna, or the the Fifth Volume of this work, Art. i. ; the
"
name to whom it had been dedicated.
Volume of this work, Art. i.
29 Under this form the name is not found
in the Irish Calendar, but there is a Luachair
of Cill-Elgraighe venerated on the 23rd of December.
30 There are many saints bearing the name of Cummein noted in the Irish Calendar, and for the most part distinguished by their patro-
nymics or places.
31 There are four saints named Loichen in
the Irish Calendar, and venerated respec-
tively at January 12th, 20th, April 17th, and June 12th, at which dates notices of them may be found in previous volumes of this work. There is a St. Laidgen vene- rated at a place called Achadh-raithin, in the country of the Decies, on the 28th of November.
32 Not identified.
33 Many saints called Fintan, Findtan or Fionntain are mentioned at different days in tho Irish Calendar.
34 No such name appears in any of the Iiish Calendars.
found in the present volume, Art. x.
42 No saint this name is in the Irish bearing
Calendar, but there is a saint called Lughair the Leper, venerated at the nth of May.
: 43Mr. RichardCaulfieldstates "AnIrish
life, kindly lent me by Mr. Windale, men- tions a school of female saints, which was
28 St. Fachnan, "
styled Sapiens,"
who founded the see of Ross. His festival is celebrated on the 14th of August, at which date are notices regarding him in the Eighth
3s Not identified.
36 This name does not Calendar.
37 Not identified.
in appear any
Irish
50 In the Irish Calendars there are many Lassars, but none described as belonging to Achaidh Durbchon. This is supposed to have been the place of St. Finn Barr's birth. See Leslie " of Na-
38 There is a Caolchu of Lui-airthir vene- rated on the 24th of September. See notices of him at the previous day in the present
volume, Art. v.
39 No saint of this name appears on the
Irish Calendar, but there is a Mo-Gheanog,
51 No such denomination is found in the Irish Calendar.
52 Singly and in composition this local denomination is often found in Irish topo-
graphy.
s3 This name is not in the Irish Calendar.
54 Many Irish saints bearing the name of IN
also at this Barre," p. v.
place. "—
" Life of Saint Fin
44 Not otherwise named.
45 Not found in the Irish Calendar.
46 Not found in the Irish Calendar.
47 There is a Cocha of Ros-Bennchair,
thought to have been the nurse of St. Ciaran
of venerated at the 6th of Saighir,
June,
acoording to one conjecture, but according to another at the 29th of June.
48 No such designation is in the Irish Calendar, but there are many saints named Sillan or Siollam.
49 This form of name is not in the Irish
Calendar, but there is a Sgoth, virgin, of Cluain-grencha—Latinized Flora—vene- rated at the 1 8th of January, and a Sgoth, virgin, venerated at Cluain-mor-Mocsena, on the 16th of July.
Stephens' Dictionary tional Biography," vol. xix. , p. 35.
5 62 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 25.
Moreover, it is stated, that all this company offered their churchesss to God
and to Bairre in perpetual fidelity ; by which we are to understand, that they accepted him as their spiritual and temporal superior in affairs ecclesiastical. How long Fin Barre remained at Gougane Barra is not known ; but certain it is, that since his time, popular veneration for the saint and his locality has continued to the 6 an immense concourse of
present day. s Formerly, pilgrims and other visitors used to frequent the Holy Island ; especially on the Eve of St. John the Baptist's Nativity, as also on the Eve and Day of St. Fin Barr's feast. The place had been dedicated to St. Finbar and to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ; and on these days pilgrimages were very generally made, but as such were not under any proper supervision, abuses prevailed which caused the ecclesiastical authorities to intervene, and they were prohibited under penalty of excommunication. However, the late Rt. Rev. Bishop Delaney of Cork removed this bann, and the devotions have since been conducted in a manner which is both edifying and religious. At the present time, a Mass is celebrated on the Island, on the Sunday within the Octave of St. Finbar's festival, and a sermon on the Saint is preached, while great numbers of people come—and many from long distances—to assist at the celebration. 57 On other Sundays, when distance from church or other
Ireland's great Patroness are noted in our Calendars ; but the present Brigid cannot be identified among them.
55 The narrative continues : viz. , Bail neach
s* We are informed, that after the Refor- mation, certain enemies of the Catholic Faith threw crosses of St. Finbar's stations into the lake.
In the year 1700, Father Denis O'Mahony took up his residence on the Island, where he fitted up a chapel, and
more in Musgry Mitain, after getting a
banner there, and Nathi and Brogan they
offered their church to Bairri, namely, there led a very mortified life. It is said he Bairneachmoie, and Bairri left with them a
chalice for lay Communion, and four Books
of the Gospels. Lughadh, son of Findtan,
who desired him to go to the country of
Cliach, it was he the same who got control
of a community at Cam Tighearna, in the arched recess like those in the enclo-
sure and facing the island. He wrote his
own " Hoc sibi et successoribus epitaph :
suis in eadem locatione monumentum lay Communion. Baetan, son of Eoghan, imposuit Reverendus Dominus Doctor who got Glen Cain in the country of Lein- Dyonisius O'Mahony Presbyter licet indig- ster Ely, and Mo Diomog, were disciples of nus, a. d. 1700. " The letters having been
Bairri, and both were bishops, the two effaced— time, the
by Very
country of Fer Muigh Feine, or Fermoy, he
offered his church to and Bairri,
Lughadh took from Bairri a chalice of white metal for
offered their churches to Bairri in
fidelity, namely, Glen Cain Druimeidhneach
in the country of Leinster Ely. Saran got
it, and he offered his church to Bairri, and
he got from Bairri a copper lay chalice for
the Sacrament. Goban Corr, who took
Fan Lobus, offered his church to Bairri,
and Bairri gave him a lay chalice of silver
and an altar chalice of gold. Findtan and
Domhangein, likewise, who took Cluain the late Mr. Townsend, with a view of Fotai and Tulach Meen, offered their
churches to Bairri, and Bairri gave them a
lay chalice and an altar chalice of glass.
There Barri performed miracles, namely,
the healing of a son who was deaf and
dumb, as also the healing of lepers. In
fine, we learn, that Brogan, son of Senan, coming to Gougane Barra, the site was a foster-son to Bairee, acted as guide for
him daily until his ordination, and lastly
offered his church of Cluain Cairne in per-
petual fidelity to Bairre. Chap. x.
built the causeway leading to the spot, and that he planted the trees which are now on the Island. There he lived for twenty-eight years, and erected his tomb on the southern mainland in an
pure Hurley appointed
had a new stone placed over the former one, and the inscription was renewed ; with the
addition anno 85 .
:
" Obiit anno 1728. a;tatis sute
Praesbyteratus 54 . R. I. P. "
57 It may be well to state, that the Very Rev. Patrick Hurley, P. P. , succeeded in getting a lease for 999 years of the Island, and at a nominal rent, from the landlord,
having the Carthusian monks to found a branch of their Order at the spot, as in the year 187 1 the Rt. Rev. Dr. Delaney visited the Grand Chartreuse, and obtained a pro- mise from the Abbot, that a colony should be sent to his diocese. However, on
objected to by the monks, who afterwards settled down in Sussex, England, at Park-
minster, where at present they have a magnificent establishment. The Rev.
Rev. Patrick
P. P. in the 1888— year
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. S63
reasons may happen to prevent their attendance, the people assemble at
Gougane Barra and offer the prayers prescribed on its Holy Island.
We are told an Angel conducted Bairre to his own country, where the Church of Achaidh Durbchon s 8 was built. There was a cavern known as Barry's Cave, and there was a pool of water, out of which a salmon was taken every night in a one-meshed net for him. However, the Angel told him, that was not to be the place of hi—s resurrection. Accordingly he crossed the river
5*
and '. vent to Cill na Cluaine said to have been the present Cloyne, in the
County of Cork. Here St. Colman founded a see so early as a. d. 580, and
60 61 he died on the 24th of November, a. d. 604.
St. Finbar visited the cell of Cluain,
62
It is stated, also, that and that he founded a church in the
place. However, quite a different locality has been assigned for Cill na Cluain,63 We are told, that Finbarr remained at Cluain, until two of St. Ruadan's6* alumni came to him, seeking a place where they might dwell. These are respectively named Corbmac 6s and Bachin. 66 St. Ruadhan said to them, " Go, with a blessing, to the place where its tongue shall touch your bell, and where the cause of religion shall be in your good books, it is there your resurrection shall be. " Afterwards they travelled to Ciil na Cluaine, where they found Bairre, to whom they related the object they had in view. Then St. Barr left them his habitation, with all he possessed there, saying : " Remain you here, and I will go to seek another dwelling, because myresur-
Father Hurley deserves the greatest credit, for the expense and labour he has under- taken to restore and preserve the ancient remains on the Holy Island. He has erected, likewise, a cenotaph for J. J. Callanan, who wrote the beautiful lines on Gougane Barra, with an inscription on the cross, that he was born in Cork, 1795, and that he died in Lisbon, where he was buried in 1823, with a harp and pen sculptured as emblems. The cross is pro- tected by an ash and a willow, not far from Father O'Mahony's tomb.
ancient Irish Litany, it is stated, that as many saints as there are leaves on the trees repose at " Loch Irce in finibus Muscragiae
''
or CloyneoftheCave; anotherisCluain
mac nois (Clonmacnoisj ; another Cluain Tibret (Clontibret), and so on. But the chroniclers of those places in describing
their own churches seldom use the addition,
simply referring to them as Cloyne. In the present instance that the place meant cannot
be Cloyne in County Cork appears from Colgan's note (p. 15 in Dr. Caulfield's edition of the Life), from which it appears that it was between the Galtees (Slieve Grot) and the Slieve Margy hills in the Queen's County. The Cloyne there was Cluain-
be the case appears also from the Irish Life (p. 68 of Staunton's Translation, chap, xii. ), where we read that St. Fin Barre came over the river (or the Avon, as the word is, for it may be intended for the name of the Black- water, which is the Avon-mor) to Cloyne. The way to Cloyne in Cork would be down the
river Lee, but if he, when leaving Gougane Barra, went across a river it must have been the Blackwater, w—hich he should cross to
"
reach the Galtees Rev. Andrew C. Robin-
son's "St. Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork,
Historical and descriptive," Appendix A. ,
5* to some According
eidnech afterwards the (Clonenagh),
this
was identical with Gougane Barra, In an monastery of St. Finbarr. That this must
et nepotum Eochodii Cruodhae," &c. See "
Ward's Vita Sancti Rumoldi, Martyris inclyti," &c, Dissertatio Historica dePatria S. Rumoldi, sect. 10, par. 24 p. 204.
59 The parish of Cloyne, in the barony of Imokilly, is noted on the "Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the County of Cork,"
Sheets 76, 77, 88, 89, 100. The town of
Cloyne is found on Sheet 88.
60
At that date his Acts are contained in the Eleventh Volume of this work.
61 See Rev. M. A. Brenan's " Ecclesias-
p.
80.
64The Life of St. Ruadan has been
accounts,
place
tical of sixth —at the of the History Ireland," century, alreadygiven 15th April— day
chap, ii. , p. 77.
62 " Ad cellam Cluain," is to be found in
the Codex Kilkenniensis Life.
63 The Rev. T. Olden, has the following
note, under the heading of The Cloyne in St. Fin Barre's Life : "All the places called Cloyne have an addition to identify them ; thus Cloyne in County Cork is Cluain uamha,
for his feast in the Fourth Volume of this work, Art. i.
6s There are several saints so named in the Irish Calendar, but the present Corbmac cannot be identified.
66 There are several saints called Becan or Beccan in the Irish Calendar, but the present Bachin has not been identified.
564 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September25.
rection shall not be here. " The strangers felt sorrowful, as they did not expect such a sacrifice to be made by our saint as to abandon his church and habitation, until assured by him that such was the will of God. 6? According
68 and
Cork,
1
disciples, from the aforesaid locality to Corchaid,? otherwise called Corcagh-
Mor. ? a This was a marshy spot, near the mouth of the River Lee. Afterwards,
it became his own City of Cork. 73 There, the angel told him, should be the
place of his resurrection. Before coming to Cork, however, it is related, that
he had constructed twelve churches ; and yet through his spirit of charity and
humility, he bestowed all of these on other persons. ? 4 A certain plebeian,
named s sonof 6ofUibhMcIar,77camewherethemanof Aed,? Congall,?
Godandhisdisciplesresided. Thisplebeianwasinquestofacow,whichhad strayed from his herd. It so happened, that this cow had brought forth a calf, at the time she was found. This was a matter of surprise to Aed, who asked the holy men what they were doing there. St. Barry answered, " We are here seeking a locality, in which we may pray to God for ourselves and for him, and who would give it to us for God's honour. " This very land having belonged to the man, who came to seek his cow, he felt inspired to
address St. Barr in the following words " O Saint of God, I offer this place
:
to you in God's honour, and take also that cow, which the Lord has sent to
you. " The man and his posterity then received our saint's blessing.
Rejoicing, he returned home. St. Barrus fasted and prayed incessantly for
8
three whole days,? thus wishing to sanctify the spot he had selected for his
habitation. There he afterwards dwelt, and filled the first episcopal see. ? 9 It is related, that Hugh, son of Miandach, came and offered the saint nine wooded tracts of open country, with his own service and that of his children, and Hugh, the son of Comgall, came also to offer himself and children in perpetuity for his service. However, his Guardian Angel again visited Bairre, and asked if he desired thereto remain, when the saint replied if it pleased God it was his wish. Then said the Angel u If you stay here,
:
few pure souls shall pass from it to Heaven. But move aside rather to the
to some accounts, St. Barr sat for seventeen
to others about fifteen miles. 7° We are told, that the Angel of God came to conduct our saint, with his
for seven 6? at years,
Cloyne,
67 The Codex Kilkenniensis Life of St. Fin Barre and the Bodleian have respectively inversions of the narrative; this renders it the more difficult to attempt a chronological order for those incidents recorded in both
versions.
68 "
and even that shortened to one in
years, which is distant from
according
the present name of Cork. "
— syllable Dr. P. W.
Joyce's "Origin and History of Irish Names of Places," part iv. , chap, vi. , p. 446.
73 It is universally called Corcach by those who speak Irish ; and the memory of the old swamp is still preserved in a portion of
The Codex Kilkenniensis, however, has
Spatium enim 17 annorum erat a the city, and at present called the Marsh,
it,
tempore quo beatus Barrus ecclesiam Corcae aedificavit usque ad obitum suum. "—"The Life of St Fin Barre," by Richard Caulfield, p- SI.
69 See Sir James Ware, " De Praesulibus
7<s " De nepotibus in hyer" is added, in the Codex Kilkenniensis. In seeming allu- dium Annalium Ecclesiasticorum Regni sion to this incident, Hanmer calls him, "one Edo, a noble man. "—"Chronicle of
Hiberniae Commentarius," p. 206.
70 See Father Francis Porter's "Compen-
Hiberniae. " Sectiov. , cap. vii. , p. 197.
71 Thus is the name old documents.
"
spelled
in various
Ireland," p.
108.
The swampy place was known for
many hundred years afterwards by the name
of Corcach-mor or Corcach-mor-Mumhan sanctus Barri triduo
[Mooan], the great marsh of Munster ; of Dominum, ut suum locum benedicere dig- which only the first part has been retained, naretur. "
72
See ibid.
74 to the Manu- According Burgundian
script Life of St. Bairre, chap. xii.
75 Other accounts have it, that he was a
chief or nobleman.
77 According to the Bruxelles Manuscript Life of Fin Bairre, chap. xiii.
78 The Bodleian copy states: "Tunc
jejunans,
oravit ad
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 565
waters which are near, with a sufficiency of fertile land, and with the Lord's recommendation it shall be your abode, and many pure lives and learned menshallgofromittoHeaven. " AccordinglytheAngelconductedhimto the place destined for his resurrection, and marked out the site for a church with a
blessing.
We are told, that Bairre erected a monastery and school80 near Loch Erie,
on the south bank of the Lee, having obtained that site from a nobleman
named PM0. 81
stands on
part
According to a local tradition, the Queen's College now
Ratha,°3 Bishop Libheadhan,
Ia,°s Bishop
of that
ground,
83 and it is said83 that the former Gill
Abbey
which was there had been the oldest ecclesiastical foundation in Cork.
However, it is not correct to quote Colgan for the statement, that eight
hundredmonkswereinBarr'smonasteryatLochEirce; asheonlygivesan extract from an old Life of St. Barr, which tells us, that so great was the number of disciples that flocked to his school, and such was the number of
8
their cells, that they turned the desert place into a considerable city. * In the
very old book, which contains the Martyrology of Tamlacht, and the History of the Female Saints, it is said there were seventeen holy bishops and seven hundred prosperous monks, together with Bairre and St. Nessan, at Corcach- Mor of Munster. 8* We find it stated, in the same book, that Bairre, bishop of Minister and of Connacht, bore a likeness, in habits and in life, to Augustin, bishop of the Saxons. 86 There can hardly be a doubt of some
exaggeration, regarding the number of St. Barr's disciples; but we are
8
informed, ? that among them was Fachtna, who took Kill Ria,
88 80 Eltin, son
01 who took Findabair of the Kings, Conner,02 son of Fontcheren, who took Tulaigh
be found at that date in the Sixth Volume ofthiswork; theotherEltinofChennsaile, venerated at the nth of December,
9° This place has not been identified.
9I There are several Saints called Fergus,
Ferghus or Ferghass in the Irish Calendar,
but none of them distinguished as Fergus the Fairspoken, or in connexion with Fin- dabhair of the Kings,
92 No saint bearing this name appears in the Irish Calendars, unless Conodhar, abbot of Fobhar, venerated November 3rd, be a substitute for it.
93 Tulaigh Ratha has not been identified ; although among the townland denominations of Ireland, Tulla, Tullo, Tullach and Tully
of Cobhthach, who took Cill na h-Indse,°° the
Fergus Fairspoken,
* who took Cill
took Cluain Bruiches, ? Fingen08 and Trean,00 who took Donoughmore ,<x>
79 See Archdeacon Cotton's " Fasti Eccle-
six Hibernicse," vol. i. , p. 215.
80 See a Paper on the "Permanent In-
fluence of the Religious Orders," by the Rev. James A. Dwyer, O. P. , in the "Jour- nal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological
Society," vol. iii. , second series, No. 31-33, July-September, 1897, p.
some time in Kilkenny and the Queen's County, and founded twelve churches before
coming to Cork. It was during this period he established the school in question, which
character," &c, vol. i. , pp. 113 to 117.
12
The modern restorations and improve- ments there effected are due to the zeal and good taste of the Very Rev. Patrick Hurley,
P. P. , who has still the features of preserved
the former ancient ruins. A part of the enclosure is now called the Shrine, good Photos of which, with other illustrations of Gougane Barra, may be seen in the useful hand-book issued by the managers of the Cork and Macroom Direct Railway, " The Tourist's Route to Glengariffand Killarney," pp. 25 to 30.
13 One of these legends states, that the saint's servant Linin, while fishing in his Corougheen, was seized by a Peist, which infested the lake. Seeing the bottom of the boat turned upwards, Finbarr suspecting the cause called the inhabitants of the surround- ing district to come armed with pikes and forks. Having prayed, the Peist came bellowing from the bottom of the lake, and then following the course of the river for a mile, he threw up Linin's dead body at a place still called Linin's cascade. Finally the monster was killed by the country people at a place called Inchinaneab or " Inch of the Saints," about 15 miles east- ward. It is said so many were with the saint on that occasion, that having forgot his book which was at Gougane Barra, Bran was sent back for it, and the book was
handed from one to another of those who were present until Finbar received it.
is described as at '
Lough
Eirce, in Eadar-
gabhail. ' The last name, which occurs
frequently in Ireland, is Anglicised Adder-
goole, or Adrigole ; but the only one which answers the conditions required is that in
the south of the Queen's County adjoining Kilkenny. It is situated, as the name implies (eadar), between the fork (gabhal), formed by the junction of two rivers, which here are the Gaul and Erkina, tributaries to the Nore. Between them, near the monas- tery of Aghmacart, on the bank of the Gaul, is a ruin known as the College, near which is a depression, now a marsh, which was evidently once a lake. There is every reason to believe that this is the spot, especially as adjoining it, in the County of Kilkenny, is the parish of Eircke. The writers of the three Latin Lives, published by Dr. Caulfield, though concurring with the Irish Life as to his labours in Leinster, suppress all mention of this school, probably for fear of lessening the importance ol that at Cork, which has in a great measure eclipsed the earlier one. The cave or grotto at Gougane Barra, called in the Irish Life Cuas Barra, was a her- mitage, and there never could have been a school at the place. "—Rev. T. Olden's " History of the Church of Ireland. " Ap- pendix, p. 424.
560 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 25.
that lustrous and deep lake called Lough Allua. In the middle of the seventeenth century, the surrounding country was all a forest, consisting of
large oak, birch, alder, ash, and yew trees of great size. The woods were stored with red and fallow deer, and abounded with great ayries of excellent hawks. On the summits of the mountains around the Lough, eagles and
1
other birds of prey breed and live in great security. * Within two miles of
Gougane Barra, there is a large and curious stone, called by the country-people Clough Barra ; whether it had any connection with our saint is not known,15 yet it is associated with him by tradition.
It is related, that our saint gathered several distinguished scholars around him in those romantic wilds. They probably formed the nucleus of that
16
in or near Cork. It is probable he went to Gougane Barra, towards the close of the sixth century. Disciples flocked to him from all quarters, and to his school, as to a hive of wisdom and a domicile for all Christian virtues. Such had been the number and zeal of those followers, 1 ? that a former desert was soon changed into a populous locality. From the school then instituted, many persons, eminent for learning and sanctity, afterwards issued. The following
larger school attached to the monastery of St. Finn Barr,
Saints mentioned as his
LifeofS—t.
Eulogius Garbhan,»3
are said, in the
Bnrgundian Manuscript
one of Bart's — The
disciples. following
the volume, Art. iii. present
The other is
list different from that given in the text—is thus inserted, from a Life of our saint, in Colgan's possession: "inter quos enituere S. Eulangius seu Eulogius, ipsius alioquin S. Barrii institutor, S. (Jolmanus de Dordhuncon, (aliter, Doiror- Dhuncon,) S. Baitaeenus, (aliter, Baithinus,) S. Nessanus, S. Garbanus, (aliter, Garb- hanus) filius Finbarrii, S. Talmachus, S.
of Lecain in and venerated Meath,
of these holy men
Eolaing
on the 29th of December.
20 Among the many saints called Colman
on the Irish Calendars, we do not find one
thus distinguished ; but, I am informed by
Very Rev. Patrick Hurley, P. P. , that Derry
Dunaoi was the land on the right of the
Pass of Keimaneagh leading to Bantry.
81
disciples
1' tohavelivedtherewithhim
1? Eolang
—
Bairre,
his tutor, and Colman of Derry Dunaoi,
viz,
Latinized
and Donoughmore,
son of 2« Talmhach2' and Findchua26 of Findbar,
14 See Dr. Charles Smith's " Ancient and Present State of the County and City of Cork," vol. i. , book ii. , chap, ii. , pp. 191,
192.
'5 Letter of the Very Rev. Patrick Hurley,
P. P. , to the writer and dated Inchigeela,
County Cork, March 15th, 1889.
16 See Gibson's "History of the County
and City of Cork," vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , n. P- 341.
*7 Colgan enumerates twenty-one of these disciples, in his acts of St. Nessan, at the 17th of March. See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xvii. Martii, De S. Nessano Praesbytero. This latter saint is regarded as
readings within brackets, are to be found when quoting the same extract in another place. See ibid. , xxvii. Martii. De S. Garvano, Abbate, pp. 750, 751. Some of these, however, are evidently mistakes in the printing.
Under this form of name, he does not Finchadius de Domnachmor, S. Fachua appear in our Calendars.
(aliter Fachna) seu Facundus de Ria, S.
Facundus de Ros-alithir, S. Lucerus, S.
Cumanus, S. Lochinus de Achadairaird, S.
Carinus, S. Fintanus de Roscoerach, S.
Euhell (aliter S. Euchel) de Ros-coerach,
S. Trellanus (aliter S. Frellanus) de Druim
draighnighe, S. Coelehus, S. Mogenna, him in the Third volume of this work, S. Medimocus, S. Sanctanus (aliter S. Art. iii.
24 Whether this name is to determine his
natural or spiritual father may be a question
for enquiry.
25 An account of him may be found at the
et S. filius Columbi. " Lugerius
Sanctanis)
See "Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xvii.
Martii, De S. Nessano Praesbytero Corca- giensi Patrono, pp. 629, 630. The different
:
20
21
Nesan,"
Baichin,
18
living with him in Gougane Barra or at Achad Durbcon, in the Liber Kilkenniensis, Bodleian, or Trinity College Lives of our saint.
19 There are two saints in the Irish Calen- dars thus named : viz, Eolang of Achadh Bo, venerated at the 5th of September, at which date notices of him may be found in
22
There is no account of the disciples
Otherwise called Neassan of Corcach or Cork, venerated at the 1st of December, where notices of him may be found.
23 Supposed to have been the St. Garbhan of Dungarvan, whose feast is at the 26th of March, at which date there are notices of
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. S«i
2 28 2 ° Fachtna Ria ? and Fachtna of Ross Ailithir, Luicer, ^ Cuman3 and
Loichin31 of Achadh on Aird Cairne,32 Findtan33 and Cothuil,3* who are at
Ross Cacrach,35 Treallan,36 who is at Drom Druighnighe,3? Caolchu,38 MoGenna,39 MoDimog40andSantan,4' asalsoLuiger,*2 sonofColum. It would seem as if an institution for female religious had been there estab- lished under the direction of St. Finn Barre,*3 since we are told in his Life that there were with him likewise, in partnership, the sister of Bairri,** and Crothru,4* daughter of Conall, and the three daughters of Mc Cairthann & and Coch Caille of Ross Benchuir,*? and Mo Shillan*8 of Rathmore, Scothnat w of Cluain Beg, and Lassar of Achadh Durbcon 5° besides these the three
;
daughtersofLughadhs1 ofDun,s2andHer53andBrigid54inchargeofthem.
14th day of March in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
76 Finnchua of Brigoon, venerated on the 25th of November, is the only saint so named in the Irish Calendar. Can Donoughmore be another name for Brigoon ?
27 There are four saints bearing the name
of Fachtna, but to none of these is the
bishop of Cill-dumha-gluinn, venerated at the 26th of December.
40 There is a Mo-Dimoc or Mo-Diommog venerated at the 3rd of March, and notices of him may be found at that date, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. vii.
41 Two Sanctins are in the Irish Calendar ;
one venerated as a Bishop at Cill-da-les, May 9th, at which date are notices of him in
little church of Fachtna," in Muscraighe- other is venerated as Sanctin simply, at Chuirc ; but we know not a saint of the September 17th, where notices are to be
epithet Ria affixed. We learn, however,
there had been a Cillin-Fachtna, or the the Fifth Volume of this work, Art. i. ; the
"
name to whom it had been dedicated.
Volume of this work, Art. i.
29 Under this form the name is not found
in the Irish Calendar, but there is a Luachair
of Cill-Elgraighe venerated on the 23rd of December.
30 There are many saints bearing the name of Cummein noted in the Irish Calendar, and for the most part distinguished by their patro-
nymics or places.
31 There are four saints named Loichen in
the Irish Calendar, and venerated respec-
tively at January 12th, 20th, April 17th, and June 12th, at which dates notices of them may be found in previous volumes of this work. There is a St. Laidgen vene- rated at a place called Achadh-raithin, in the country of the Decies, on the 28th of November.
32 Not identified.
33 Many saints called Fintan, Findtan or Fionntain are mentioned at different days in tho Irish Calendar.
34 No such name appears in any of the Iiish Calendars.
found in the present volume, Art. x.
42 No saint this name is in the Irish bearing
Calendar, but there is a saint called Lughair the Leper, venerated at the nth of May.
: 43Mr. RichardCaulfieldstates "AnIrish
life, kindly lent me by Mr. Windale, men- tions a school of female saints, which was
28 St. Fachnan, "
styled Sapiens,"
who founded the see of Ross. His festival is celebrated on the 14th of August, at which date are notices regarding him in the Eighth
3s Not identified.
36 This name does not Calendar.
37 Not identified.
in appear any
Irish
50 In the Irish Calendars there are many Lassars, but none described as belonging to Achaidh Durbchon. This is supposed to have been the place of St. Finn Barr's birth. See Leslie " of Na-
38 There is a Caolchu of Lui-airthir vene- rated on the 24th of September. See notices of him at the previous day in the present
volume, Art. v.
39 No saint of this name appears on the
Irish Calendar, but there is a Mo-Gheanog,
51 No such denomination is found in the Irish Calendar.
52 Singly and in composition this local denomination is often found in Irish topo-
graphy.
s3 This name is not in the Irish Calendar.
54 Many Irish saints bearing the name of IN
also at this Barre," p. v.
place. "—
" Life of Saint Fin
44 Not otherwise named.
45 Not found in the Irish Calendar.
46 Not found in the Irish Calendar.
47 There is a Cocha of Ros-Bennchair,
thought to have been the nurse of St. Ciaran
of venerated at the 6th of Saighir,
June,
acoording to one conjecture, but according to another at the 29th of June.
48 No such designation is in the Irish Calendar, but there are many saints named Sillan or Siollam.
49 This form of name is not in the Irish
Calendar, but there is a Sgoth, virgin, of Cluain-grencha—Latinized Flora—vene- rated at the 1 8th of January, and a Sgoth, virgin, venerated at Cluain-mor-Mocsena, on the 16th of July.
Stephens' Dictionary tional Biography," vol. xix. , p. 35.
5 62 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 25.
Moreover, it is stated, that all this company offered their churchesss to God
and to Bairre in perpetual fidelity ; by which we are to understand, that they accepted him as their spiritual and temporal superior in affairs ecclesiastical. How long Fin Barre remained at Gougane Barra is not known ; but certain it is, that since his time, popular veneration for the saint and his locality has continued to the 6 an immense concourse of
present day. s Formerly, pilgrims and other visitors used to frequent the Holy Island ; especially on the Eve of St. John the Baptist's Nativity, as also on the Eve and Day of St. Fin Barr's feast. The place had been dedicated to St. Finbar and to the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary ; and on these days pilgrimages were very generally made, but as such were not under any proper supervision, abuses prevailed which caused the ecclesiastical authorities to intervene, and they were prohibited under penalty of excommunication. However, the late Rt. Rev. Bishop Delaney of Cork removed this bann, and the devotions have since been conducted in a manner which is both edifying and religious. At the present time, a Mass is celebrated on the Island, on the Sunday within the Octave of St. Finbar's festival, and a sermon on the Saint is preached, while great numbers of people come—and many from long distances—to assist at the celebration. 57 On other Sundays, when distance from church or other
Ireland's great Patroness are noted in our Calendars ; but the present Brigid cannot be identified among them.
55 The narrative continues : viz. , Bail neach
s* We are informed, that after the Refor- mation, certain enemies of the Catholic Faith threw crosses of St. Finbar's stations into the lake.
In the year 1700, Father Denis O'Mahony took up his residence on the Island, where he fitted up a chapel, and
more in Musgry Mitain, after getting a
banner there, and Nathi and Brogan they
offered their church to Bairri, namely, there led a very mortified life. It is said he Bairneachmoie, and Bairri left with them a
chalice for lay Communion, and four Books
of the Gospels. Lughadh, son of Findtan,
who desired him to go to the country of
Cliach, it was he the same who got control
of a community at Cam Tighearna, in the arched recess like those in the enclo-
sure and facing the island. He wrote his
own " Hoc sibi et successoribus epitaph :
suis in eadem locatione monumentum lay Communion. Baetan, son of Eoghan, imposuit Reverendus Dominus Doctor who got Glen Cain in the country of Lein- Dyonisius O'Mahony Presbyter licet indig- ster Ely, and Mo Diomog, were disciples of nus, a. d. 1700. " The letters having been
Bairri, and both were bishops, the two effaced— time, the
by Very
country of Fer Muigh Feine, or Fermoy, he
offered his church to and Bairri,
Lughadh took from Bairri a chalice of white metal for
offered their churches to Bairri in
fidelity, namely, Glen Cain Druimeidhneach
in the country of Leinster Ely. Saran got
it, and he offered his church to Bairri, and
he got from Bairri a copper lay chalice for
the Sacrament. Goban Corr, who took
Fan Lobus, offered his church to Bairri,
and Bairri gave him a lay chalice of silver
and an altar chalice of gold. Findtan and
Domhangein, likewise, who took Cluain the late Mr. Townsend, with a view of Fotai and Tulach Meen, offered their
churches to Bairri, and Bairri gave them a
lay chalice and an altar chalice of glass.
There Barri performed miracles, namely,
the healing of a son who was deaf and
dumb, as also the healing of lepers. In
fine, we learn, that Brogan, son of Senan, coming to Gougane Barra, the site was a foster-son to Bairee, acted as guide for
him daily until his ordination, and lastly
offered his church of Cluain Cairne in per-
petual fidelity to Bairre. Chap. x.
built the causeway leading to the spot, and that he planted the trees which are now on the Island. There he lived for twenty-eight years, and erected his tomb on the southern mainland in an
pure Hurley appointed
had a new stone placed over the former one, and the inscription was renewed ; with the
addition anno 85 .
:
" Obiit anno 1728. a;tatis sute
Praesbyteratus 54 . R. I. P. "
57 It may be well to state, that the Very Rev. Patrick Hurley, P. P. , succeeded in getting a lease for 999 years of the Island, and at a nominal rent, from the landlord,
having the Carthusian monks to found a branch of their Order at the spot, as in the year 187 1 the Rt. Rev. Dr. Delaney visited the Grand Chartreuse, and obtained a pro- mise from the Abbot, that a colony should be sent to his diocese. However, on
objected to by the monks, who afterwards settled down in Sussex, England, at Park-
minster, where at present they have a magnificent establishment. The Rev.
Rev. Patrick
P. P. in the 1888— year
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. S63
reasons may happen to prevent their attendance, the people assemble at
Gougane Barra and offer the prayers prescribed on its Holy Island.
We are told an Angel conducted Bairre to his own country, where the Church of Achaidh Durbchon s 8 was built. There was a cavern known as Barry's Cave, and there was a pool of water, out of which a salmon was taken every night in a one-meshed net for him. However, the Angel told him, that was not to be the place of hi—s resurrection. Accordingly he crossed the river
5*
and '. vent to Cill na Cluaine said to have been the present Cloyne, in the
County of Cork. Here St. Colman founded a see so early as a. d. 580, and
60 61 he died on the 24th of November, a. d. 604.
St. Finbar visited the cell of Cluain,
62
It is stated, also, that and that he founded a church in the
place. However, quite a different locality has been assigned for Cill na Cluain,63 We are told, that Finbarr remained at Cluain, until two of St. Ruadan's6* alumni came to him, seeking a place where they might dwell. These are respectively named Corbmac 6s and Bachin. 66 St. Ruadhan said to them, " Go, with a blessing, to the place where its tongue shall touch your bell, and where the cause of religion shall be in your good books, it is there your resurrection shall be. " Afterwards they travelled to Ciil na Cluaine, where they found Bairre, to whom they related the object they had in view. Then St. Barr left them his habitation, with all he possessed there, saying : " Remain you here, and I will go to seek another dwelling, because myresur-
Father Hurley deserves the greatest credit, for the expense and labour he has under- taken to restore and preserve the ancient remains on the Holy Island. He has erected, likewise, a cenotaph for J. J. Callanan, who wrote the beautiful lines on Gougane Barra, with an inscription on the cross, that he was born in Cork, 1795, and that he died in Lisbon, where he was buried in 1823, with a harp and pen sculptured as emblems. The cross is pro- tected by an ash and a willow, not far from Father O'Mahony's tomb.
ancient Irish Litany, it is stated, that as many saints as there are leaves on the trees repose at " Loch Irce in finibus Muscragiae
''
or CloyneoftheCave; anotherisCluain
mac nois (Clonmacnoisj ; another Cluain Tibret (Clontibret), and so on. But the chroniclers of those places in describing
their own churches seldom use the addition,
simply referring to them as Cloyne. In the present instance that the place meant cannot
be Cloyne in County Cork appears from Colgan's note (p. 15 in Dr. Caulfield's edition of the Life), from which it appears that it was between the Galtees (Slieve Grot) and the Slieve Margy hills in the Queen's County. The Cloyne there was Cluain-
be the case appears also from the Irish Life (p. 68 of Staunton's Translation, chap, xii. ), where we read that St. Fin Barre came over the river (or the Avon, as the word is, for it may be intended for the name of the Black- water, which is the Avon-mor) to Cloyne. The way to Cloyne in Cork would be down the
river Lee, but if he, when leaving Gougane Barra, went across a river it must have been the Blackwater, w—hich he should cross to
"
reach the Galtees Rev. Andrew C. Robin-
son's "St. Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork,
Historical and descriptive," Appendix A. ,
5* to some According
eidnech afterwards the (Clonenagh),
this
was identical with Gougane Barra, In an monastery of St. Finbarr. That this must
et nepotum Eochodii Cruodhae," &c. See "
Ward's Vita Sancti Rumoldi, Martyris inclyti," &c, Dissertatio Historica dePatria S. Rumoldi, sect. 10, par. 24 p. 204.
59 The parish of Cloyne, in the barony of Imokilly, is noted on the "Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the County of Cork,"
Sheets 76, 77, 88, 89, 100. The town of
Cloyne is found on Sheet 88.
60
At that date his Acts are contained in the Eleventh Volume of this work.
61 See Rev. M. A. Brenan's " Ecclesias-
p.
80.
64The Life of St. Ruadan has been
accounts,
place
tical of sixth —at the of the History Ireland," century, alreadygiven 15th April— day
chap, ii. , p. 77.
62 " Ad cellam Cluain," is to be found in
the Codex Kilkenniensis Life.
63 The Rev. T. Olden, has the following
note, under the heading of The Cloyne in St. Fin Barre's Life : "All the places called Cloyne have an addition to identify them ; thus Cloyne in County Cork is Cluain uamha,
for his feast in the Fourth Volume of this work, Art. i.
6s There are several saints so named in the Irish Calendar, but the present Corbmac cannot be identified.
66 There are several saints called Becan or Beccan in the Irish Calendar, but the present Bachin has not been identified.
564 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September25.
rection shall not be here. " The strangers felt sorrowful, as they did not expect such a sacrifice to be made by our saint as to abandon his church and habitation, until assured by him that such was the will of God. 6? According
68 and
Cork,
1
disciples, from the aforesaid locality to Corchaid,? otherwise called Corcagh-
Mor. ? a This was a marshy spot, near the mouth of the River Lee. Afterwards,
it became his own City of Cork. 73 There, the angel told him, should be the
place of his resurrection. Before coming to Cork, however, it is related, that
he had constructed twelve churches ; and yet through his spirit of charity and
humility, he bestowed all of these on other persons. ? 4 A certain plebeian,
named s sonof 6ofUibhMcIar,77camewherethemanof Aed,? Congall,?
Godandhisdisciplesresided. Thisplebeianwasinquestofacow,whichhad strayed from his herd. It so happened, that this cow had brought forth a calf, at the time she was found. This was a matter of surprise to Aed, who asked the holy men what they were doing there. St. Barry answered, " We are here seeking a locality, in which we may pray to God for ourselves and for him, and who would give it to us for God's honour. " This very land having belonged to the man, who came to seek his cow, he felt inspired to
address St. Barr in the following words " O Saint of God, I offer this place
:
to you in God's honour, and take also that cow, which the Lord has sent to
you. " The man and his posterity then received our saint's blessing.
Rejoicing, he returned home. St. Barrus fasted and prayed incessantly for
8
three whole days,? thus wishing to sanctify the spot he had selected for his
habitation. There he afterwards dwelt, and filled the first episcopal see. ? 9 It is related, that Hugh, son of Miandach, came and offered the saint nine wooded tracts of open country, with his own service and that of his children, and Hugh, the son of Comgall, came also to offer himself and children in perpetuity for his service. However, his Guardian Angel again visited Bairre, and asked if he desired thereto remain, when the saint replied if it pleased God it was his wish. Then said the Angel u If you stay here,
:
few pure souls shall pass from it to Heaven. But move aside rather to the
to some accounts, St. Barr sat for seventeen
to others about fifteen miles. 7° We are told, that the Angel of God came to conduct our saint, with his
for seven 6? at years,
Cloyne,
67 The Codex Kilkenniensis Life of St. Fin Barre and the Bodleian have respectively inversions of the narrative; this renders it the more difficult to attempt a chronological order for those incidents recorded in both
versions.
68 "
and even that shortened to one in
years, which is distant from
according
the present name of Cork. "
— syllable Dr. P. W.
Joyce's "Origin and History of Irish Names of Places," part iv. , chap, vi. , p. 446.
73 It is universally called Corcach by those who speak Irish ; and the memory of the old swamp is still preserved in a portion of
The Codex Kilkenniensis, however, has
Spatium enim 17 annorum erat a the city, and at present called the Marsh,
it,
tempore quo beatus Barrus ecclesiam Corcae aedificavit usque ad obitum suum. "—"The Life of St Fin Barre," by Richard Caulfield, p- SI.
69 See Sir James Ware, " De Praesulibus
7<s " De nepotibus in hyer" is added, in the Codex Kilkenniensis. In seeming allu- dium Annalium Ecclesiasticorum Regni sion to this incident, Hanmer calls him, "one Edo, a noble man. "—"Chronicle of
Hiberniae Commentarius," p. 206.
70 See Father Francis Porter's "Compen-
Hiberniae. " Sectiov. , cap. vii. , p. 197.
71 Thus is the name old documents.
"
spelled
in various
Ireland," p.
108.
The swampy place was known for
many hundred years afterwards by the name
of Corcach-mor or Corcach-mor-Mumhan sanctus Barri triduo
[Mooan], the great marsh of Munster ; of Dominum, ut suum locum benedicere dig- which only the first part has been retained, naretur. "
72
See ibid.
74 to the Manu- According Burgundian
script Life of St. Bairre, chap. xii.
75 Other accounts have it, that he was a
chief or nobleman.
77 According to the Bruxelles Manuscript Life of Fin Bairre, chap. xiii.
78 The Bodleian copy states: "Tunc
jejunans,
oravit ad
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 565
waters which are near, with a sufficiency of fertile land, and with the Lord's recommendation it shall be your abode, and many pure lives and learned menshallgofromittoHeaven. " AccordinglytheAngelconductedhimto the place destined for his resurrection, and marked out the site for a church with a
blessing.
We are told, that Bairre erected a monastery and school80 near Loch Erie,
on the south bank of the Lee, having obtained that site from a nobleman
named PM0. 81
stands on
part
According to a local tradition, the Queen's College now
Ratha,°3 Bishop Libheadhan,
Ia,°s Bishop
of that
ground,
83 and it is said83 that the former Gill
Abbey
which was there had been the oldest ecclesiastical foundation in Cork.
However, it is not correct to quote Colgan for the statement, that eight
hundredmonkswereinBarr'smonasteryatLochEirce; asheonlygivesan extract from an old Life of St. Barr, which tells us, that so great was the number of disciples that flocked to his school, and such was the number of
8
their cells, that they turned the desert place into a considerable city. * In the
very old book, which contains the Martyrology of Tamlacht, and the History of the Female Saints, it is said there were seventeen holy bishops and seven hundred prosperous monks, together with Bairre and St. Nessan, at Corcach- Mor of Munster. 8* We find it stated, in the same book, that Bairre, bishop of Minister and of Connacht, bore a likeness, in habits and in life, to Augustin, bishop of the Saxons. 86 There can hardly be a doubt of some
exaggeration, regarding the number of St. Barr's disciples; but we are
8
informed, ? that among them was Fachtna, who took Kill Ria,
88 80 Eltin, son
01 who took Findabair of the Kings, Conner,02 son of Fontcheren, who took Tulaigh
be found at that date in the Sixth Volume ofthiswork; theotherEltinofChennsaile, venerated at the nth of December,
9° This place has not been identified.
9I There are several Saints called Fergus,
Ferghus or Ferghass in the Irish Calendar,
but none of them distinguished as Fergus the Fairspoken, or in connexion with Fin- dabhair of the Kings,
92 No saint bearing this name appears in the Irish Calendars, unless Conodhar, abbot of Fobhar, venerated November 3rd, be a substitute for it.
93 Tulaigh Ratha has not been identified ; although among the townland denominations of Ireland, Tulla, Tullo, Tullach and Tully
of Cobhthach, who took Cill na h-Indse,°° the
Fergus Fairspoken,
* who took Cill
took Cluain Bruiches, ? Fingen08 and Trean,00 who took Donoughmore ,<x>
79 See Archdeacon Cotton's " Fasti Eccle-
six Hibernicse," vol. i. , p. 215.
80 See a Paper on the "Permanent In-
fluence of the Religious Orders," by the Rev. James A. Dwyer, O. P. , in the "Jour- nal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological
Society," vol. iii. , second series, No. 31-33, July-September, 1897, p.
