"
From the dawning perceptions of childhood, ^Engus felt an earnest desire of devoting himself to a religious life.
From the dawning perceptions of childhood, ^Engus felt an earnest desire of devoting himself to a religious life.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
iENGUSIUS HAGIOGRAPHUS, OR ST.
^NGUS THE CULDEE, BISHOP AND ABBOT AT CLONENAGH, AND ANCHORET, AT DYSARTENOS, OR AT DYSARTBEAGH, QUEEN'S COUNTY.
lEIGHTH AND NINTH CENTURIES. \
CHAPTER L
INTKODUCTION—SOURCES OF BIOGRAPHY TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACTS OF ST. ^NGUS—HIS PEDIGREE AND EARLY LIFE—HE STUDIES AT THE MONASTERY OF CLONENAGH— MONASTIC TRAINING AND LEARNING—ST. ^NGUS RETIRES TO DYSARTBKTAGH OR TO UYSART ENOS—HIS AUSTERITIES—HE VISITS THE CHURCH OF COOLBANAGHER— A VISION OF ANGELS—THE PURPOSE IT EVOKED.
value of a national literature, especially of the religious type, is the
THE
true and to
to touch the
to
or the sympathies, to inform the minds, to Unk itself closely to the hearts of
the people, who find lessons in the past, to guide their course for the present, and for a definite future. In our early monasteries, the cultivation of learn- ing was ever based on the soundest of |)rinciples, for man's supernatural con- cerns were held to be paramount. We find, that the study of the Scriptures was universal, and their transcription was a passion. Manuscripts still remain, in sufficient numbers, to attest the taste and learning of those early monks.
Article XVII. —' In the Scottish entries Article xviii. —'See "Menologium
of his Kalendar.
3 As
Arturi in Monasterio.
Gynecoeo
3 See "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
tliey state,
lasting power
suggest,
awaken,
imagination,
Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
=" See
Scottish Saints," p. 235.
" memoratur in "
» See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii x. Among the pretermitted saints, p; 3-
Bisliop
p. 194.
"
See his Life, at the 21st of November.
Scoticum. " Bislaop Forbes'
Kalendars of
^
il. , Martii x. De S. Attala Abbate Bobiensi in
Italia Ordinis S. Columbani, pp. 42 to 45.
In five paragraphs.
s In two
chapters
and twelve
paragraphs.
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 295
As pious and patriotic themes employed their thoughts and pens, a love for religion, for country, and for race, was perpetuated ; while, our devotional and historic literature has been enriched with their contributions, and we are
brought by links of fond sympathy, to commune intelligently with the spirit and society of ages, removed by over a thousand years, from that stand- point, which is occupied by the men of our time. —
It seems not at all certain—indeed it is extremely doubtful that the Feast and Acts of this very celebrated St. ^ngusius Hagiographus, called also St. ^ngus the Culdee, should be assigned to this day, and not rather to the i6th of February, where there is a St. ^-nghas or CEngus, called Bishop of Rath-na n Epscop, or perhaps to the i8th of February, where we have already set down notices of a St. ^ngus, or St. Oengus, called Bishop ofDrum-Rathe. ' Inthe"Felire"ofSt. ^ngus,^atthisdate,andbyafair inference, the entry occurring, which refers to Oengus, may throw his festival upon one or other of the saints' days just noticed ; since, both ^nguses are omitted there, in the metrical Calendar of the Hagiographer, thus leaving an open for the introduction of his own name, by later compilers. However,
the Martyrologies of Tallagh,3 of Marianus O'Gorman,-* and of Donegal,s record our Saint's Feast, at this date, and so do most of the Hagiographical writers, who give his Life. Wherefore, we seem to have no other option, than accordance with so general an arrangement.
The Acts of this illustrious saint, known generally to Irish scholars, as
. ^ngus the Hagiologist, have been pubhshed by Colgan, at the nth of March. ^ The Bollandists,? Bishop Challenor,^ the Rev. Alban Butler,^ the
5. tl. I'D.
hlC COimCl A|\ pATJAC Oengui' ici^\ |:LAichib Libpen, SenAn y'uchAin ConfCAncm pg RAchm.
15, p. 583. Perhaps, our suggestion is the better one, and it saves tne authenticity of the
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xviii. The only entry regarding him found in the Martyroiogy of Taliagh, at the same date, is Aenghus, Eps. h Ailileni. This, of course, must have been an addition, or interpola- tion, to the original Calendar, said, at least in part, to have been composed by St. ^ngus himself ; and, the notice may have been inserted, long after his death.
* Marianus there calls our
iEngus, the descendant of Hobien, Bishop.
" '" Acta Sanctorum Hiber* See Colgan s
niae,'' xi. Muriii. De S. ^iigus^io Hagio- grapho Episcopo et Confesbore, pp. 579 to
7 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xi. De B. /Engussio Keledeo Ab- bate et Episcopo in liioernia. A short pre- fatory notice, with Colgan's accoiuit, is here
'°havetheActsofSt. atthesamedate. Col- ^Engus,
Rev. S.
gan doubted not, that the Life of Saint . ^ngus had been written, at full length, and that it had been accessible, at a more remote period ; but, he complains, also, that this Life was not available, at the time he had been en-
Baring-Gould,
gaged, in publishing the Acts of our Irish Saints.
However, the virtues of
Article i. —Chapter i. —' The reader may revert, to what we have already written regarding both, at the respective dates specified.
" In ipso etiam iEngussii
^
"" LeabharBreac copy,has
:
bus non reperitur. "
The following stanza, taken from the
"Acta Sanctorum Hi-
—been translated also by Professor O'Looney
xi. Martii. Hagiographo Episcopo
De S.
et
^ngussio
n.
:
Contessore,
saint,
the
great
" See " Lives of the vol. Saints,"
217, 218.
iii. , pp.
Colgan adds
Festilogio in quibusdam exemplaribus poni- tur natalis hac die : sed ilia msulsa additio est : qu(£ idcirco in—vetustioribus exemplari-
bernias,"
"
Feilire," in all its parts.
5 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 72, 73. At tire nth ot March, is there entered Aenghus Ua h Eblen, Bishop, who
They a—re companions of our is called Aenghus Cele-de. It was lie, we Lord ""
Oenjjus amidst chieftains, Libren, and Senan, the everlast-
ing,
Constantine King of Rathin.
are told, that comp(x-,cd the Feilue.
given, pp. 85 to 88. ^ '*
See Britannia Sancta," part i. , pp. 167 to 1 69.
9 See " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. iii. , March xi.
296 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
iEngus have been specially recorded, by some old writer, who prefixes an argument or introduction to this saint's existing writings. Another Irish poet, likewise bearing the name of ^ngus, has celebrated the Culdee's praises, in certain verses, sufficiently indicative of great antiquity. The author of this Metrical Life, in the penultimate verse of his panegyric on the saint, prays,
that he may enjoy with his namesake the bliss of eternal life.
He extols
^ngus with surpassing encomium, stating that the saint was often engaged in colloquies with celestial spirits. He styles St. ^ngus, the Sun of Western Europe. On account of those things related, which regard the studies of his youthful days, his daily and wonderful exercises, his rare humility and auste- rity, the day of his death, htingferia sexla, the place of his burial, and such like notices, Colgan is under an impression, that the writer must have been a friend of St. ^ngus, and that they must have lived contemporaneously. Whereiore, owing to the concurrences of time, of neighbourhood, and of great erudition, it is supposed, that the writer had been no other than y£ngus, AbbotofCluain-fearta-Molua,whodiedintheyear858. " Fromthemetrical panegyric, and from that Scholiast, who wrote a preface to the Festilogy of ^ngus, Colgan derived all his materials for the Life of this saint. A few particulars only are excepted, and these were drawn from other sources. '^
^ngus the Culdee, sometimes named ^ngusius Hagiographus, or j^neas, is said to have been descended from Coelbach, King of Ireland. A very ancient pedigree of this saint is still preserved, among our old Irish Manu-
'3
scripts. According this,
told,
to we are
that St. was the son of Oen- ^ngus
goba, son to Oblen, son of Fidru, son to Diarmuit, son of Ainmire, son to
Cellar, son of Oengus, son to Natsluagh, son of Caelbad,'-* son to Cruinba-
drai, son of Eochaidh Cobai. 's Such is St. Angus' pedigree,'" recorded
"
in a preface to his
of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. In Harris' Ware,'^ his father is called Oengobhan; and,wemayalsonotice,thatthereisanaccountleftusfroman
anonymous Scholiast, on the Fesiilogium of St. ^ngus, as mentioned by Col- gan, and who, in a somewhat different form, weaves this holy man's pedigree. '^
He
the "
as an he authority. Thus, sprung
quotes royal
Sanctilogic Genealogy,"'^ race of the Dalaradians in
from the
Ulster,
born,
about
Felire," as contained in the Leabhar Breac, a Manuscript
^° and he was
on the brink of the Eoir, in Laoighis, he was fostered ; there he read his
the middle of the eighth century. At Cluain-eidhneach, state the O'Clerys,^*
" See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the FourMasters,"vol. i. , pp. 492,493.
'3 See Leabhar Breac, fol. 8, a col. — 5,
of
F. Diermitii, F. Anmirechi, F. Cellarii, F. ^ngussii, F. Natsluagii, F. Coeibadii, F.
" See
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," xi. Martii, n, 5, p. 582.
Crunnii Badhrai, F. Eochadii
F. Lugadii, F. Rossii, F. Imchadii, F. Fethlemidii, F. Cassii, F. Fiach Aradii, a
'* He
p. 609.
to the race of Irial, son of
' ' to sit here around Delightful
Colgan's
Cobhae,
1.
30. "Catalogue Irish MSS. in the quo Dalaradiorum familia nominatur. " See
Royal Irish Academy," p. 598.
' He was of the Kudiician or Ultonian
race, and he was monarch of Erinn, having been slain, A. D. 357, by Eochaidh Muigh- mheadhoin. See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 124, 125.
"
Acta Sanctorum Hibernioe," xi.
^5 See Professor
tures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History," lect. xvii. , p. 363, and Ap- pendix, No. cxi. ,
Eugene O'Curry's
belonged
Conall Cearnach, according to the O'Clerys.
him,
By the side of the cold clear Eoir," &c.
'' See vol. ii. "The Writers of Ireland,"
book i. , p. 51.
'* "
" It is at Cluain eidhneach he was nursed ;
It is given in these words
sius filius ^ngavani, F. Hoblenii, F. Fidrai,
:
S.
iEngus-
many crosses,
" Lee-
" as "accord- They superadd, authority,
Colgan's
Martii, nn. I, 3, p. 582.
'* Chapter xxiii.
^ See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- niae," xi. Martii. De S. ^ngussio Hagiogra- pho Episcopo et Confessore, cap. i. , p. 579.
ing to th—is verse, which is in a poem. " It
begins
:
At Cluain-eidhneach he was buried
At Cluain-eidhneach of He read his psalms first. "
;
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 297
psalms first, and there he was afterwards buried. Thus, we may probably infer, that his birth took place, near the celebrated monastery, founded by St. Fintan.
"
From the dawning perceptions of childhood, ^Engus felt an earnest desire of devoting himself to a religious life. He practised mortification, to an ex- traordinary degree, even in his youth ; and, he conceived most exalted ideas of Christian perfection, the attainment of which was an object, ever upper- most in his mind. Almost from infancy, he deserved the appellation Culdee,'3 or worshipper of God, which surname he afterwards bore. It has been stated,^* that the surname Ceile De, given to y5i)ngus, indicated an office, or a particular sort of profession, and that he was one of that clerical body, who had been afterwards called Culdees. ^5 However, according to Rev. Dr.
Lanigan, the title, Ceile De, as applied to ^ngus, had nothing to do with them ; and, he thinks, it is more than probable, about that time, there was
not as yet any such institution as the Culdees, in their corporate capacity. Dr. Lanigan maintains, that the Culdees were the secular canons of cathedral
or collegiate churches, such as those we call prebendaries. He thinks it a palpable mistake to suppose, that they were a monastic o—rder. ^^
About this time, the great Monastery of Clonenagh incorrectly said to have been in East Meath, by Bishop Challenor,='7 a—nd by others to have been in Ossory, but rather it should be stated, in Leix then under direction of
the saintly Abbot Malathgenius,^^ enjoyed a high reputation, both for the numberandsanctityofitsinmates. ^9 ^nguspreterredhissuitforadmission within its enclosure, and his request was favourably received. But his early novitiate, in the exercise of all virtues, had preceded the care bestowed by that holy abbot, on his youthful disciple. His daily progress in the paths of Christian sanctity, and his advancement in sacred learning, were aided by application and capacity, to such an extraordinary degree, that in a short time, ^ngus bore the reputation of being one among the most sanctified and erudite men, of whom Ireland could then boast. Our saint must have been his disciple belore the year 767,3° since this is the period, to which the demise of Maelaithgen has been referred. 3'
" See his Life, at the 17th of February.
"3 The Keledei, Cele de, Caelicolae, or Colidei, first appear as "Culdees," in the eighth century. They were the socii, mariti,
brought under the canonical rule along with
the secular clergy, retaining, however, to some extent the nomenclature of the monas-
tery, until at length the name of Keledeus,
or servi of God, which is the meaning of the or Culdee, became almo—st synonymous with ""
word Ceile. "
that of secular canon. " Celtic Scotland :
=* By Toland, in "Nazarenus," Letter ii,, sect. 3.
=^5 After citing various proofs and illustra-
tions, William F. Skene arrives at the con-
elusion, "that the Culdees originally sprang
from that ascetic order who adopted a soli-
tary service of God in an isolated cell as the
highest form of religious life, and who were
then became as-
a History of Ancient Alban," vol. ii. , chap,
Dr. Lanigan adds : ^Engus's surname was peculiar to himself, unless it should be supposed that all that is said of his having been a monk, etc. , is false. Many Irish names began with Ceile, Cele, or with the
corresponding word Gila, follow—ed by that
termed Deicolae
sociated in communities of anchorites, or
hermits ; that they were clerics, and might
be called monks, but only in the sense in
which anchorites were monks ; that they
made their appearance in the eastern dis-
tricts of Scotland at the same time as the
secular clergy were introduced, and sue-
ceeded the Columban monks who had been
driven across the great mountain range of Kelly's Dissertations chiefly on Irish Drumalban, the western frontier of the Church History. " Edited by Rev. D. Pictish kingdom 5 and that they were finally M'Carthy, D. Y),, pp. 209 to 219.
;
that
they
vi. , p. 277.
** "
of our Saviour or some Saint. "
siastical History of Ireland," vol. iii,, chap, xx. , sect, x. , n. 96, p. 248.
^? See "Britaimia Sancta," part i. , p. 167.
*^ The feast of St. Malathgenius is ob- served, on the 21st of October,
*9 See an excellent memoir, chiefly taken
from Colgan, and publisned in Rev. Dr. "
" Eccle-
298 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii
An ingenious and a distinguished French writer, 3* capable from his pecu- liar line of study to pronounce opinions on this subject, has ably vindicated the progress made in sacred learning and science, among the pupils ot our early schools. When the Celt became a Christian and a monk, his love of
numbers still remained, and liis conceptions becoming spiritualized by aspira- tions after pericciion, which he daily breathed heavenward, poetic inspiration was the happy result. Study with manual labour divided cloistral occupa- tions, and through study, this inspiration became fruitful. The saints ol Ire-
land, intent only on making their disciples spiritual men, one day found to their surprise they had created poets. The genms of these poets was varied,
as the crowd of strangers that thronged the schools. Their compositions may be reduced, under the heads of didactic poetry, lyrical poetry, Ainras or
panegyrics, legends strictly so called, Felires or Festilogies, visions, and navigations or voyages. All these have their special features of interest and edification. However, owuig to various causes, facts were now and then changed into fictions. But M. de la Villemarque is far from agreeing with those, who consider romances regarding the samts as worthless. According to him, the portraits of saints simply underwent the tate of all heroes belong- ing to early ages ; and yet, between the sacred and profane legends, there exists a great difference. In what profane ley,end do we ever find an express caution to the reader, that, beside the literal and historical sense, there is also a spiritual meaning to be drawn from the narrative . -* 33 That delicate and sound morality, which marks the legends of the Breton and Irish Saints, has beenspeciallydweltonbyamoderncritic. Forfreshness,richnessofinven- tion, and national characteristics, no Church has aught to compare with them. And all Celtic scholars will acknowledge this high degree of praise to be fully deserved.
Accounts which are given, respecting the miracles and sanctity of ^ngus, and the evidences of his learning that yet remain, are more than equalled by
that profound humility, which led him to form a most abject opinion regard- ing his own deserts. The manner, in which he renounced this world and the
applause of mankind, must deserve unbounded admiration, although it may fail to induce the imitation of all protessing Christians. His mind was re- plenished with heavenly graces, and he was favoured with celestial visions. He combmed the rare gifts of profound wisdom and ot singular zeal, in all his actions and affections; while, it would be a difficult question to deciiie, whether his virtues were greater than his miracles, in sight both of God and ofman. Onething,however,iscertain,thattlienobilityofhisdescentwas more than surpassed by tlie lustre 01 his virtues.
After spending a course of religious training, and of sacred study, at
3= M. de la of the French Villemarque,
In^tiiute, has publislieu a most interesiing article, on the Poetry ol the Celtic Lioi-lers. It appeared, in the November number of Le Correspondant, tor ii^03.
33 jyi. jg la Viileinarque shows, that Dante fully realized this double nature of the
ancient legends,
" Ye of intellect,
Sound and entire, mark well the lore con-
ceal'd
Under close texture of the mystic strain. "
3° The death of "
Abbot of Cluain-Eidhiieach," occurred, in the year
767. See Dr. O'Donovan's
'"
Annals ol tae
Maelaithgen,
Four Masters," vol. i , pp. 370, 371.
3' Thai otiier ^ngus, who wrote the
eulogy 01 our saint in elegant metre, has told us, ^ngus the Cuidee studied from
boyhood in the monastery of Cloneiiagh ; and, afterwards, when he had been cele- brated for his miracles, he lived in the mon- asteiy of Tallagh, before St. Melruan's death, A. D. 787. It is supposed, thereiore, to tollow, that he studied in the monastery of Clonenagh, under the aforesaid abbot. See Colgan's " Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xi. Martii. De S. ^ngussio Hai;iographo Episcopo et Confessore, n. 4, p. 582.
—
3« The old church in this parish of Dysart-
—Inferno, canto ix. , 62. lation.
Gary's
Trans-
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 299
Clonenagh, the holy disciple felt called, by Heaven, to a state of higher per- fection. Some six or seven miles trom Clonenagh, and at a place, since called after hun Dysartenos,^* it is stated, that ^ngus had built a cell3s for himself. Thither he frequently retired, to put in practice, unknown and un- noticed, those rigorous observances which he followed. However, it may not be improbable, that the place of his first retreat was much nearer to Clonenagh, and that it was not tar from the River Nore. The anonymous Scholiast, already mentioned, calls it Disert Unguis ; and, the other ^ngus, who wrote our saint's eulogy, writes it down as Disert-Bethech. 36 He Uke- wise indicates, that it lay very near to Clonenagh ; and, indeed, the present townland of Dysartbeytagh, or Dysartbeagh,37 on which the town of Mount- rath stands, must furnish this site, now apparently lost. Colgan, in a very
shrewd conjecture, supposed it was not distinct from Clonenagh 38
; ygt,
it was separated by the distance of a mile, or perhaps two miles, and he allows, that St. yEngus died perchance, and had been buried, at Disert Be-
' thech. our Annals39 Again,
that another Desertum
differed trom Cluain-edhneach, and, even from Disert Bethech, or from
Dysart-Enos, in the Queen's County.
The locality of this holy coenobite's cell hence derived its name, Dysart-
enos, or the desert of ^ngus, which it yet retains, supposing we are correct in assigning the habitation there, to the present, and not to a different, St.
. ^ngus. Abrokenrangeoflimestonehills,ofromanticandruggedoutline, probably suggested to him the idea of its suitableness as a place for seclusion and retreat. At this day, the scenes of his retirement present an aspect of solitude and grandeur, the effect of which must have been considerably
heightened in that early age. '*" At present, on a slope of those hills, the old graveyard of Dysart, thickly studded over with headstones, tombs, and graves, may be seen there ; and, even yet, it is much resorted to tor the interment of
enos lay within the townland of Dysart, barony of Maryborough West. The parish
Castletown, yet on the north bank of the Nore.
37 This townland, in the united parishes of Clonenagh and Clonagheen, barony of Mary- borough West, is shown, on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the Queen's Couniy," Sheets 16, 17.
is shown, on the
"
Ordnance Survey 'I'own-
land Maps for the Queen's County," Sheets 13, 14, 18, 19. The townland is on Sheets
13, 18.
35 That he built a cell for himself at Dy-
sart Euos may be inferred, not only from the ""
expression of Colgan, coluit eremum," but also from a statement that he recited the
first fifty psalms "in oratorio," and the
second " sub diu arbo- fiity, juxia proceram
rem oratorio ad|accntem. " See "Acta
Sanctorum Hibernise," xi. Martii. De S.
^ngussio Hagiographo Episcopo et Con- fessore, cap. iii. , p. 579.
3* The site of this old church is
known, with any degree of accuracy, at present; although the student and topo- grapher may see it marked, on Sir William Petty's Map of the district. The writer has been shown a spot, near the Brigitine Con- vent, at Mountraih, where tradition has it, that a church formerly stood ; but, he is in- clined to believe, that Disert-Bethech lay still nearer to the River Nore, as the Map seems to indicate. However, from the most careiul enquiries prosecuted among the people there, every trace of its existence appears to be lost. To the writer's concep- tion, its site was quite near the present
certainly show,
^ngussii
hardly
^s ^Hmjing jq ^^g Scholiast's statement, as Colgan adds, vel forte ab ipso non esse diversum, in quatenus ait in S. ^ngussium esse in jam memorato deserto (et non addit
non m et educatum quod Cluain-edhneach),
et sepultum. "
39 Tiiese record, that Conn, son of Mael-
padraig, Archinnech ot Disert-Oenghusa and of Mungauit, dietl A. D. 1033. See
" Acta Sanctorum
Colgan's fiibemiae," xi.
Martii, n. 6, p. 582 ; and O . bonovan's
"
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. ii. , pp. 820, 627. In a note (y) ibid. , I am certain, Dr. ODonovan fell into an error, by iden-
titying ihe latter Disert- Aengusa, with Dy- sart-Eno,>, in the Queen's Couniy. I feel
satisfied, the Disert-Aengussa and Mungai- rit, already named, were both situated with- in the present county of Limerick. The former lay near Ballingarry, and the latter near Limerick city.
''° Near the Dysart Hills lies a beautiful demesne, called Lamberton Park. Here, during the Wizard of the North's tour
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii. deceased Catholics. No doubt, the very old parish church occupied this
" seven
churches " are clearly visible under favouring circumstances. In what part of
Dysartenos parish the cell of ^Engus, or monastery, if such, was situated, the
300
site. From or near this elevated position, the ruins of Clonenagh's antiquary is not likely to discover. Many remains of curious old monuments,
'rri*Pr<'^^J{
Dysart church and Graveyard, Queen's County.
however, are yet standing in the immediate neighbourhood. If I might be allowed to offer a conjecture, St. ^ngus possibly selected for his cell the site, on which the former Protestant Church of Dysart, erected during the last century,maynowbeseen,asacomparativelymodernruin. -*^ Unroofedand desolate, yet surrounded by a serviceable cemetery wall, the tourist can pene- trate to its interior j^z and, there, he will find the projecting foundations of a former and of a smaller building, which was probably of a very ancient type. An extensive tract of morass and bog now intervenes, between the ruins of Clon- enagh's old monastery and Dysartenos. This moorland must formerly have rendered access, between both places, a matter of some difficulty. In this favourite retreat, we are told by his biographers, . ^ngus was in the habit of
through Ireland, in 1825, he was hospitably- entertained, by a former proprietor, the Right Hon. Judge Moore, as may be seen,
"
by consulting Lockhart's Life of Sir
Walter Scott," chap. Ixiii. What Lockhart
forgets to state, however, is yet traditionally remembered in this neighbourhood. Sir Walter is said to have expressed himself, as being highly gratified, by the scenic beauty of all this surrounding locality ; and, it must be allowed, few persons had truer percep- tions of taste and judgment, in reference to an opinion or a thought about such matters.
"
Queen's County," in 1801, he describes Dy-
^' Not many years back, and within the writer's memory, the few Protestant parish- ioners here were accustomed to hold their meetings within it.
When Sir Charles
Coote wrote his
Statistical Survey of the
"
hills of the same name, with a square tower
or steeple, which has a very picturesque ap- pearance. " Chap, ix. , sect, iv. , p. 117.
*^ In his boyhood years, often had the
writer, quite unaware of Dysart's historical interest, visited the spot, and on more than one occasion attended at funerals there. During his last visit, in July, 1873, he took the accompanying sketch, transferred to the wood, and engraved by Gregor Grey, Dublin. The Devil's Bit Mountain, Tippe- rary, looms in the distance. It formerly went by the name of Barnane Ely.
sart church, as standing
on one of the lofty
March II. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 301
making three hundred genuflections, each day, and of reciting the entire Psalter. This latter office he divided into three separate portions : the first was said within the cell ; the second under a spreading tree of large growth, that cast its branches over his rude habitation ; and the third he repeated, whilst tied by the neck to a stake, with half of his body plunged in a tub of cold water. Besides these extraordinary practices, he was continually em- ployed in singing the praises of God, and in acquiring such an ascendency over his passions, that to all, save himself, ^ngus seemed to be an angel, concealed in human form. Another and a learned authority has stated, that after leaving Clonenagh, St. ^ngus travelled into Munster, and that he founded the church of Disert Aengusa, at a place situated near Ballingarry,'t3 in the present county of Limerick. 44 We are told, also, that the primitive belfry, or round tower of this church, yet remains. There are good reasons for believing, however, that the latter church must have had its name, from
man is known to have settled, not far from Clonenagh in fact, so very near, that the localities Clonenagh and Dysartenos have been confounded, by ancient scholiastsonhisworks. ^s Othercircumstances,relatingtohisActsandinci- dents of his Life, probably serve to confirm our conclusions, that he lived, for some short time, at least, in Dysartenos, a parish so denominated, near the celebrated Rock and Castle of Dunamase,-*^ and a few miles from the
county town of Maryborough. ^?
The fame of his sanctity diffused itself, to most distant parts of the
country. Numbers flocked towards his retreat, to enjoy the pious conversa- tion and exhortations of this holy anchorite, and to derive from his example and instructions those lessons of virtue, which he could so well inculcate.
Fearing the suggestions of vain-glory, and finding it a matter of utter impossi- bihty to enjoy, in his present abode, that perfect seclusion desired, in the practice of his austerities and devotions, . ^ngus took the resolution of departing in a secret manner, towards some other place of retirement.
Before his departure, however, and on the route to his selected retreat, it was his intention to visit the church of Coolbanagher,'*^ for the purpose of
"•3 There are two
name in Limerick County. One is situated, in the barony of Upper Connello, and it is
some other saint, or person, named . ^ngus
—the
; for, present holy
defined on the
"
this
Ordnance Survey Town-
we take it for may
parishes, bearing
pp. 316, 317. Hence,
granted, this writer had a good local know-
ledge respecting Clonenagh and DysartEnos. But, because he did not advert to the pos- sible identity of the later denomination with Desart ^ngus, he thought this place where St. . ^ngus resided could not then be identified.
^^ Here stand the ruined walls of the fortress of the O'Moores, formerly Chiefs of Leix. A more particular account of the place will be found, in the " Legend Lays of Ireland," by Lageniensis, No. x.
lEIGHTH AND NINTH CENTURIES. \
CHAPTER L
INTKODUCTION—SOURCES OF BIOGRAPHY TO ILLUSTRATE THE ACTS OF ST. ^NGUS—HIS PEDIGREE AND EARLY LIFE—HE STUDIES AT THE MONASTERY OF CLONENAGH— MONASTIC TRAINING AND LEARNING—ST. ^NGUS RETIRES TO DYSARTBKTAGH OR TO UYSART ENOS—HIS AUSTERITIES—HE VISITS THE CHURCH OF COOLBANAGHER— A VISION OF ANGELS—THE PURPOSE IT EVOKED.
value of a national literature, especially of the religious type, is the
THE
true and to
to touch the
to
or the sympathies, to inform the minds, to Unk itself closely to the hearts of
the people, who find lessons in the past, to guide their course for the present, and for a definite future. In our early monasteries, the cultivation of learn- ing was ever based on the soundest of |)rinciples, for man's supernatural con- cerns were held to be paramount. We find, that the study of the Scriptures was universal, and their transcription was a passion. Manuscripts still remain, in sufficient numbers, to attest the taste and learning of those early monks.
Article XVII. —' In the Scottish entries Article xviii. —'See "Menologium
of his Kalendar.
3 As
Arturi in Monasterio.
Gynecoeo
3 See "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
tliey state,
lasting power
suggest,
awaken,
imagination,
Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
=" See
Scottish Saints," p. 235.
" memoratur in "
» See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii x. Among the pretermitted saints, p; 3-
Bisliop
p. 194.
"
See his Life, at the 21st of November.
Scoticum. " Bislaop Forbes'
Kalendars of
^
il. , Martii x. De S. Attala Abbate Bobiensi in
Italia Ordinis S. Columbani, pp. 42 to 45.
In five paragraphs.
s In two
chapters
and twelve
paragraphs.
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 295
As pious and patriotic themes employed their thoughts and pens, a love for religion, for country, and for race, was perpetuated ; while, our devotional and historic literature has been enriched with their contributions, and we are
brought by links of fond sympathy, to commune intelligently with the spirit and society of ages, removed by over a thousand years, from that stand- point, which is occupied by the men of our time. —
It seems not at all certain—indeed it is extremely doubtful that the Feast and Acts of this very celebrated St. ^ngusius Hagiographus, called also St. ^ngus the Culdee, should be assigned to this day, and not rather to the i6th of February, where there is a St. ^-nghas or CEngus, called Bishop of Rath-na n Epscop, or perhaps to the i8th of February, where we have already set down notices of a St. ^ngus, or St. Oengus, called Bishop ofDrum-Rathe. ' Inthe"Felire"ofSt. ^ngus,^atthisdate,andbyafair inference, the entry occurring, which refers to Oengus, may throw his festival upon one or other of the saints' days just noticed ; since, both ^nguses are omitted there, in the metrical Calendar of the Hagiographer, thus leaving an open for the introduction of his own name, by later compilers. However,
the Martyrologies of Tallagh,3 of Marianus O'Gorman,-* and of Donegal,s record our Saint's Feast, at this date, and so do most of the Hagiographical writers, who give his Life. Wherefore, we seem to have no other option, than accordance with so general an arrangement.
The Acts of this illustrious saint, known generally to Irish scholars, as
. ^ngus the Hagiologist, have been pubhshed by Colgan, at the nth of March. ^ The Bollandists,? Bishop Challenor,^ the Rev. Alban Butler,^ the
5. tl. I'D.
hlC COimCl A|\ pATJAC Oengui' ici^\ |:LAichib Libpen, SenAn y'uchAin ConfCAncm pg RAchm.
15, p. 583. Perhaps, our suggestion is the better one, and it saves tne authenticity of the
3 Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xviii. The only entry regarding him found in the Martyroiogy of Taliagh, at the same date, is Aenghus, Eps. h Ailileni. This, of course, must have been an addition, or interpola- tion, to the original Calendar, said, at least in part, to have been composed by St. ^ngus himself ; and, the notice may have been inserted, long after his death.
* Marianus there calls our
iEngus, the descendant of Hobien, Bishop.
" '" Acta Sanctorum Hiber* See Colgan s
niae,'' xi. Muriii. De S. ^iigus^io Hagio- grapho Episcopo et Confesbore, pp. 579 to
7 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Martii xi. De B. /Engussio Keledeo Ab- bate et Episcopo in liioernia. A short pre- fatory notice, with Colgan's accoiuit, is here
'°havetheActsofSt. atthesamedate. Col- ^Engus,
Rev. S.
gan doubted not, that the Life of Saint . ^ngus had been written, at full length, and that it had been accessible, at a more remote period ; but, he complains, also, that this Life was not available, at the time he had been en-
Baring-Gould,
gaged, in publishing the Acts of our Irish Saints.
However, the virtues of
Article i. —Chapter i. —' The reader may revert, to what we have already written regarding both, at the respective dates specified.
" In ipso etiam iEngussii
^
"" LeabharBreac copy,has
:
bus non reperitur. "
The following stanza, taken from the
"Acta Sanctorum Hi-
—been translated also by Professor O'Looney
xi. Martii. Hagiographo Episcopo
De S.
et
^ngussio
n.
:
Contessore,
saint,
the
great
" See " Lives of the vol. Saints,"
217, 218.
iii. , pp.
Colgan adds
Festilogio in quibusdam exemplaribus poni- tur natalis hac die : sed ilia msulsa additio est : qu(£ idcirco in—vetustioribus exemplari-
bernias,"
"
Feilire," in all its parts.
5 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 72, 73. At tire nth ot March, is there entered Aenghus Ua h Eblen, Bishop, who
They a—re companions of our is called Aenghus Cele-de. It was lie, we Lord ""
Oenjjus amidst chieftains, Libren, and Senan, the everlast-
ing,
Constantine King of Rathin.
are told, that comp(x-,cd the Feilue.
given, pp. 85 to 88. ^ '*
See Britannia Sancta," part i. , pp. 167 to 1 69.
9 See " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs and other principal Saints," vol. iii. , March xi.
296 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii.
iEngus have been specially recorded, by some old writer, who prefixes an argument or introduction to this saint's existing writings. Another Irish poet, likewise bearing the name of ^ngus, has celebrated the Culdee's praises, in certain verses, sufficiently indicative of great antiquity. The author of this Metrical Life, in the penultimate verse of his panegyric on the saint, prays,
that he may enjoy with his namesake the bliss of eternal life.
He extols
^ngus with surpassing encomium, stating that the saint was often engaged in colloquies with celestial spirits. He styles St. ^ngus, the Sun of Western Europe. On account of those things related, which regard the studies of his youthful days, his daily and wonderful exercises, his rare humility and auste- rity, the day of his death, htingferia sexla, the place of his burial, and such like notices, Colgan is under an impression, that the writer must have been a friend of St. ^ngus, and that they must have lived contemporaneously. Whereiore, owing to the concurrences of time, of neighbourhood, and of great erudition, it is supposed, that the writer had been no other than y£ngus, AbbotofCluain-fearta-Molua,whodiedintheyear858. " Fromthemetrical panegyric, and from that Scholiast, who wrote a preface to the Festilogy of ^ngus, Colgan derived all his materials for the Life of this saint. A few particulars only are excepted, and these were drawn from other sources. '^
^ngus the Culdee, sometimes named ^ngusius Hagiographus, or j^neas, is said to have been descended from Coelbach, King of Ireland. A very ancient pedigree of this saint is still preserved, among our old Irish Manu-
'3
scripts. According this,
told,
to we are
that St. was the son of Oen- ^ngus
goba, son to Oblen, son of Fidru, son to Diarmuit, son of Ainmire, son to
Cellar, son of Oengus, son to Natsluagh, son of Caelbad,'-* son to Cruinba-
drai, son of Eochaidh Cobai. 's Such is St. Angus' pedigree,'" recorded
"
in a preface to his
of the Royal Irish Academy, Dublin. In Harris' Ware,'^ his father is called Oengobhan; and,wemayalsonotice,thatthereisanaccountleftusfroman
anonymous Scholiast, on the Fesiilogium of St. ^ngus, as mentioned by Col- gan, and who, in a somewhat different form, weaves this holy man's pedigree. '^
He
the "
as an he authority. Thus, sprung
quotes royal
Sanctilogic Genealogy,"'^ race of the Dalaradians in
from the
Ulster,
born,
about
Felire," as contained in the Leabhar Breac, a Manuscript
^° and he was
on the brink of the Eoir, in Laoighis, he was fostered ; there he read his
the middle of the eighth century. At Cluain-eidhneach, state the O'Clerys,^*
" See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the FourMasters,"vol. i. , pp. 492,493.
'3 See Leabhar Breac, fol. 8, a col. — 5,
of
F. Diermitii, F. Anmirechi, F. Cellarii, F. ^ngussii, F. Natsluagii, F. Coeibadii, F.
" See
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," xi. Martii, n, 5, p. 582.
Crunnii Badhrai, F. Eochadii
F. Lugadii, F. Rossii, F. Imchadii, F. Fethlemidii, F. Cassii, F. Fiach Aradii, a
'* He
p. 609.
to the race of Irial, son of
' ' to sit here around Delightful
Colgan's
Cobhae,
1.
30. "Catalogue Irish MSS. in the quo Dalaradiorum familia nominatur. " See
Royal Irish Academy," p. 598.
' He was of the Kudiician or Ultonian
race, and he was monarch of Erinn, having been slain, A. D. 357, by Eochaidh Muigh- mheadhoin. See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 124, 125.
"
Acta Sanctorum Hibernioe," xi.
^5 See Professor
tures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History," lect. xvii. , p. 363, and Ap- pendix, No. cxi. ,
Eugene O'Curry's
belonged
Conall Cearnach, according to the O'Clerys.
him,
By the side of the cold clear Eoir," &c.
'' See vol. ii. "The Writers of Ireland,"
book i. , p. 51.
'* "
" It is at Cluain eidhneach he was nursed ;
It is given in these words
sius filius ^ngavani, F. Hoblenii, F. Fidrai,
:
S.
iEngus-
many crosses,
" Lee-
" as "accord- They superadd, authority,
Colgan's
Martii, nn. I, 3, p. 582.
'* Chapter xxiii.
^ See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- niae," xi. Martii. De S. ^ngussio Hagiogra- pho Episcopo et Confessore, cap. i. , p. 579.
ing to th—is verse, which is in a poem. " It
begins
:
At Cluain-eidhneach he was buried
At Cluain-eidhneach of He read his psalms first. "
;
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 297
psalms first, and there he was afterwards buried. Thus, we may probably infer, that his birth took place, near the celebrated monastery, founded by St. Fintan.
"
From the dawning perceptions of childhood, ^Engus felt an earnest desire of devoting himself to a religious life. He practised mortification, to an ex- traordinary degree, even in his youth ; and, he conceived most exalted ideas of Christian perfection, the attainment of which was an object, ever upper- most in his mind. Almost from infancy, he deserved the appellation Culdee,'3 or worshipper of God, which surname he afterwards bore. It has been stated,^* that the surname Ceile De, given to y5i)ngus, indicated an office, or a particular sort of profession, and that he was one of that clerical body, who had been afterwards called Culdees. ^5 However, according to Rev. Dr.
Lanigan, the title, Ceile De, as applied to ^ngus, had nothing to do with them ; and, he thinks, it is more than probable, about that time, there was
not as yet any such institution as the Culdees, in their corporate capacity. Dr. Lanigan maintains, that the Culdees were the secular canons of cathedral
or collegiate churches, such as those we call prebendaries. He thinks it a palpable mistake to suppose, that they were a monastic o—rder. ^^
About this time, the great Monastery of Clonenagh incorrectly said to have been in East Meath, by Bishop Challenor,='7 a—nd by others to have been in Ossory, but rather it should be stated, in Leix then under direction of
the saintly Abbot Malathgenius,^^ enjoyed a high reputation, both for the numberandsanctityofitsinmates. ^9 ^nguspreterredhissuitforadmission within its enclosure, and his request was favourably received. But his early novitiate, in the exercise of all virtues, had preceded the care bestowed by that holy abbot, on his youthful disciple. His daily progress in the paths of Christian sanctity, and his advancement in sacred learning, were aided by application and capacity, to such an extraordinary degree, that in a short time, ^ngus bore the reputation of being one among the most sanctified and erudite men, of whom Ireland could then boast. Our saint must have been his disciple belore the year 767,3° since this is the period, to which the demise of Maelaithgen has been referred. 3'
" See his Life, at the 17th of February.
"3 The Keledei, Cele de, Caelicolae, or Colidei, first appear as "Culdees," in the eighth century. They were the socii, mariti,
brought under the canonical rule along with
the secular clergy, retaining, however, to some extent the nomenclature of the monas-
tery, until at length the name of Keledeus,
or servi of God, which is the meaning of the or Culdee, became almo—st synonymous with ""
word Ceile. "
that of secular canon. " Celtic Scotland :
=* By Toland, in "Nazarenus," Letter ii,, sect. 3.
=^5 After citing various proofs and illustra-
tions, William F. Skene arrives at the con-
elusion, "that the Culdees originally sprang
from that ascetic order who adopted a soli-
tary service of God in an isolated cell as the
highest form of religious life, and who were
then became as-
a History of Ancient Alban," vol. ii. , chap,
Dr. Lanigan adds : ^Engus's surname was peculiar to himself, unless it should be supposed that all that is said of his having been a monk, etc. , is false. Many Irish names began with Ceile, Cele, or with the
corresponding word Gila, follow—ed by that
termed Deicolae
sociated in communities of anchorites, or
hermits ; that they were clerics, and might
be called monks, but only in the sense in
which anchorites were monks ; that they
made their appearance in the eastern dis-
tricts of Scotland at the same time as the
secular clergy were introduced, and sue-
ceeded the Columban monks who had been
driven across the great mountain range of Kelly's Dissertations chiefly on Irish Drumalban, the western frontier of the Church History. " Edited by Rev. D. Pictish kingdom 5 and that they were finally M'Carthy, D. Y),, pp. 209 to 219.
;
that
they
vi. , p. 277.
** "
of our Saviour or some Saint. "
siastical History of Ireland," vol. iii,, chap, xx. , sect, x. , n. 96, p. 248.
^? See "Britaimia Sancta," part i. , p. 167.
*^ The feast of St. Malathgenius is ob- served, on the 21st of October,
*9 See an excellent memoir, chiefly taken
from Colgan, and publisned in Rev. Dr. "
" Eccle-
298 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii
An ingenious and a distinguished French writer, 3* capable from his pecu- liar line of study to pronounce opinions on this subject, has ably vindicated the progress made in sacred learning and science, among the pupils ot our early schools. When the Celt became a Christian and a monk, his love of
numbers still remained, and liis conceptions becoming spiritualized by aspira- tions after pericciion, which he daily breathed heavenward, poetic inspiration was the happy result. Study with manual labour divided cloistral occupa- tions, and through study, this inspiration became fruitful. The saints ol Ire-
land, intent only on making their disciples spiritual men, one day found to their surprise they had created poets. The genms of these poets was varied,
as the crowd of strangers that thronged the schools. Their compositions may be reduced, under the heads of didactic poetry, lyrical poetry, Ainras or
panegyrics, legends strictly so called, Felires or Festilogies, visions, and navigations or voyages. All these have their special features of interest and edification. However, owuig to various causes, facts were now and then changed into fictions. But M. de la Villemarque is far from agreeing with those, who consider romances regarding the samts as worthless. According to him, the portraits of saints simply underwent the tate of all heroes belong- ing to early ages ; and yet, between the sacred and profane legends, there exists a great difference. In what profane ley,end do we ever find an express caution to the reader, that, beside the literal and historical sense, there is also a spiritual meaning to be drawn from the narrative . -* 33 That delicate and sound morality, which marks the legends of the Breton and Irish Saints, has beenspeciallydweltonbyamoderncritic. Forfreshness,richnessofinven- tion, and national characteristics, no Church has aught to compare with them. And all Celtic scholars will acknowledge this high degree of praise to be fully deserved.
Accounts which are given, respecting the miracles and sanctity of ^ngus, and the evidences of his learning that yet remain, are more than equalled by
that profound humility, which led him to form a most abject opinion regard- ing his own deserts. The manner, in which he renounced this world and the
applause of mankind, must deserve unbounded admiration, although it may fail to induce the imitation of all protessing Christians. His mind was re- plenished with heavenly graces, and he was favoured with celestial visions. He combmed the rare gifts of profound wisdom and ot singular zeal, in all his actions and affections; while, it would be a difficult question to deciiie, whether his virtues were greater than his miracles, in sight both of God and ofman. Onething,however,iscertain,thattlienobilityofhisdescentwas more than surpassed by tlie lustre 01 his virtues.
After spending a course of religious training, and of sacred study, at
3= M. de la of the French Villemarque,
In^tiiute, has publislieu a most interesiing article, on the Poetry ol the Celtic Lioi-lers. It appeared, in the November number of Le Correspondant, tor ii^03.
33 jyi. jg la Viileinarque shows, that Dante fully realized this double nature of the
ancient legends,
" Ye of intellect,
Sound and entire, mark well the lore con-
ceal'd
Under close texture of the mystic strain. "
3° The death of "
Abbot of Cluain-Eidhiieach," occurred, in the year
767. See Dr. O'Donovan's
'"
Annals ol tae
Maelaithgen,
Four Masters," vol. i , pp. 370, 371.
3' Thai otiier ^ngus, who wrote the
eulogy 01 our saint in elegant metre, has told us, ^ngus the Cuidee studied from
boyhood in the monastery of Cloneiiagh ; and, afterwards, when he had been cele- brated for his miracles, he lived in the mon- asteiy of Tallagh, before St. Melruan's death, A. D. 787. It is supposed, thereiore, to tollow, that he studied in the monastery of Clonenagh, under the aforesaid abbot. See Colgan's " Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xi. Martii. De S. ^ngussio Hai;iographo Episcopo et Confessore, n. 4, p. 582.
—
3« The old church in this parish of Dysart-
—Inferno, canto ix. , 62. lation.
Gary's
Trans-
March ii. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 299
Clonenagh, the holy disciple felt called, by Heaven, to a state of higher per- fection. Some six or seven miles trom Clonenagh, and at a place, since called after hun Dysartenos,^* it is stated, that ^ngus had built a cell3s for himself. Thither he frequently retired, to put in practice, unknown and un- noticed, those rigorous observances which he followed. However, it may not be improbable, that the place of his first retreat was much nearer to Clonenagh, and that it was not tar from the River Nore. The anonymous Scholiast, already mentioned, calls it Disert Unguis ; and, the other ^ngus, who wrote our saint's eulogy, writes it down as Disert-Bethech. 36 He Uke- wise indicates, that it lay very near to Clonenagh ; and, indeed, the present townland of Dysartbeytagh, or Dysartbeagh,37 on which the town of Mount- rath stands, must furnish this site, now apparently lost. Colgan, in a very
shrewd conjecture, supposed it was not distinct from Clonenagh 38
; ygt,
it was separated by the distance of a mile, or perhaps two miles, and he allows, that St. yEngus died perchance, and had been buried, at Disert Be-
' thech. our Annals39 Again,
that another Desertum
differed trom Cluain-edhneach, and, even from Disert Bethech, or from
Dysart-Enos, in the Queen's County.
The locality of this holy coenobite's cell hence derived its name, Dysart-
enos, or the desert of ^ngus, which it yet retains, supposing we are correct in assigning the habitation there, to the present, and not to a different, St.
. ^ngus. Abrokenrangeoflimestonehills,ofromanticandruggedoutline, probably suggested to him the idea of its suitableness as a place for seclusion and retreat. At this day, the scenes of his retirement present an aspect of solitude and grandeur, the effect of which must have been considerably
heightened in that early age. '*" At present, on a slope of those hills, the old graveyard of Dysart, thickly studded over with headstones, tombs, and graves, may be seen there ; and, even yet, it is much resorted to tor the interment of
enos lay within the townland of Dysart, barony of Maryborough West. The parish
Castletown, yet on the north bank of the Nore.
37 This townland, in the united parishes of Clonenagh and Clonagheen, barony of Mary- borough West, is shown, on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the Queen's Couniy," Sheets 16, 17.
is shown, on the
"
Ordnance Survey 'I'own-
land Maps for the Queen's County," Sheets 13, 14, 18, 19. The townland is on Sheets
13, 18.
35 That he built a cell for himself at Dy-
sart Euos may be inferred, not only from the ""
expression of Colgan, coluit eremum," but also from a statement that he recited the
first fifty psalms "in oratorio," and the
second " sub diu arbo- fiity, juxia proceram
rem oratorio ad|accntem. " See "Acta
Sanctorum Hibernise," xi. Martii. De S.
^ngussio Hagiographo Episcopo et Con- fessore, cap. iii. , p. 579.
3* The site of this old church is
known, with any degree of accuracy, at present; although the student and topo- grapher may see it marked, on Sir William Petty's Map of the district. The writer has been shown a spot, near the Brigitine Con- vent, at Mountraih, where tradition has it, that a church formerly stood ; but, he is in- clined to believe, that Disert-Bethech lay still nearer to the River Nore, as the Map seems to indicate. However, from the most careiul enquiries prosecuted among the people there, every trace of its existence appears to be lost. To the writer's concep- tion, its site was quite near the present
certainly show,
^ngussii
hardly
^s ^Hmjing jq ^^g Scholiast's statement, as Colgan adds, vel forte ab ipso non esse diversum, in quatenus ait in S. ^ngussium esse in jam memorato deserto (et non addit
non m et educatum quod Cluain-edhneach),
et sepultum. "
39 Tiiese record, that Conn, son of Mael-
padraig, Archinnech ot Disert-Oenghusa and of Mungauit, dietl A. D. 1033. See
" Acta Sanctorum
Colgan's fiibemiae," xi.
Martii, n. 6, p. 582 ; and O . bonovan's
"
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. ii. , pp. 820, 627. In a note (y) ibid. , I am certain, Dr. ODonovan fell into an error, by iden-
titying ihe latter Disert- Aengusa, with Dy- sart-Eno,>, in the Queen's Couniy. I feel
satisfied, the Disert-Aengussa and Mungai- rit, already named, were both situated with- in the present county of Limerick. The former lay near Ballingarry, and the latter near Limerick city.
''° Near the Dysart Hills lies a beautiful demesne, called Lamberton Park. Here, during the Wizard of the North's tour
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March ii. deceased Catholics. No doubt, the very old parish church occupied this
" seven
churches " are clearly visible under favouring circumstances. In what part of
Dysartenos parish the cell of ^Engus, or monastery, if such, was situated, the
300
site. From or near this elevated position, the ruins of Clonenagh's antiquary is not likely to discover. Many remains of curious old monuments,
'rri*Pr<'^^J{
Dysart church and Graveyard, Queen's County.
however, are yet standing in the immediate neighbourhood. If I might be allowed to offer a conjecture, St. ^ngus possibly selected for his cell the site, on which the former Protestant Church of Dysart, erected during the last century,maynowbeseen,asacomparativelymodernruin. -*^ Unroofedand desolate, yet surrounded by a serviceable cemetery wall, the tourist can pene- trate to its interior j^z and, there, he will find the projecting foundations of a former and of a smaller building, which was probably of a very ancient type. An extensive tract of morass and bog now intervenes, between the ruins of Clon- enagh's old monastery and Dysartenos. This moorland must formerly have rendered access, between both places, a matter of some difficulty. In this favourite retreat, we are told by his biographers, . ^ngus was in the habit of
through Ireland, in 1825, he was hospitably- entertained, by a former proprietor, the Right Hon. Judge Moore, as may be seen,
"
by consulting Lockhart's Life of Sir
Walter Scott," chap. Ixiii. What Lockhart
forgets to state, however, is yet traditionally remembered in this neighbourhood. Sir Walter is said to have expressed himself, as being highly gratified, by the scenic beauty of all this surrounding locality ; and, it must be allowed, few persons had truer percep- tions of taste and judgment, in reference to an opinion or a thought about such matters.
"
Queen's County," in 1801, he describes Dy-
^' Not many years back, and within the writer's memory, the few Protestant parish- ioners here were accustomed to hold their meetings within it.
When Sir Charles
Coote wrote his
Statistical Survey of the
"
hills of the same name, with a square tower
or steeple, which has a very picturesque ap- pearance. " Chap, ix. , sect, iv. , p. 117.
*^ In his boyhood years, often had the
writer, quite unaware of Dysart's historical interest, visited the spot, and on more than one occasion attended at funerals there. During his last visit, in July, 1873, he took the accompanying sketch, transferred to the wood, and engraved by Gregor Grey, Dublin. The Devil's Bit Mountain, Tippe- rary, looms in the distance. It formerly went by the name of Barnane Ely.
sart church, as standing
on one of the lofty
March II. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 301
making three hundred genuflections, each day, and of reciting the entire Psalter. This latter office he divided into three separate portions : the first was said within the cell ; the second under a spreading tree of large growth, that cast its branches over his rude habitation ; and the third he repeated, whilst tied by the neck to a stake, with half of his body plunged in a tub of cold water. Besides these extraordinary practices, he was continually em- ployed in singing the praises of God, and in acquiring such an ascendency over his passions, that to all, save himself, ^ngus seemed to be an angel, concealed in human form. Another and a learned authority has stated, that after leaving Clonenagh, St. ^ngus travelled into Munster, and that he founded the church of Disert Aengusa, at a place situated near Ballingarry,'t3 in the present county of Limerick. 44 We are told, also, that the primitive belfry, or round tower of this church, yet remains. There are good reasons for believing, however, that the latter church must have had its name, from
man is known to have settled, not far from Clonenagh in fact, so very near, that the localities Clonenagh and Dysartenos have been confounded, by ancient scholiastsonhisworks. ^s Othercircumstances,relatingtohisActsandinci- dents of his Life, probably serve to confirm our conclusions, that he lived, for some short time, at least, in Dysartenos, a parish so denominated, near the celebrated Rock and Castle of Dunamase,-*^ and a few miles from the
county town of Maryborough. ^?
The fame of his sanctity diffused itself, to most distant parts of the
country. Numbers flocked towards his retreat, to enjoy the pious conversa- tion and exhortations of this holy anchorite, and to derive from his example and instructions those lessons of virtue, which he could so well inculcate.
Fearing the suggestions of vain-glory, and finding it a matter of utter impossi- bihty to enjoy, in his present abode, that perfect seclusion desired, in the practice of his austerities and devotions, . ^ngus took the resolution of departing in a secret manner, towards some other place of retirement.
Before his departure, however, and on the route to his selected retreat, it was his intention to visit the church of Coolbanagher,'*^ for the purpose of
"•3 There are two
name in Limerick County. One is situated, in the barony of Upper Connello, and it is
some other saint, or person, named . ^ngus
—the
; for, present holy
defined on the
"
this
Ordnance Survey Town-
we take it for may
parishes, bearing
pp. 316, 317. Hence,
granted, this writer had a good local know-
ledge respecting Clonenagh and DysartEnos. But, because he did not advert to the pos- sible identity of the later denomination with Desart ^ngus, he thought this place where St. . ^ngus resided could not then be identified.
^^ Here stand the ruined walls of the fortress of the O'Moores, formerly Chiefs of Leix. A more particular account of the place will be found, in the " Legend Lays of Ireland," by Lageniensis, No. x.
