From the
secluded
place in which it had been written, this Chronicle is usually titled, " Annales Insulenses" or " Annals of the Island.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
Erard Mac Coisi is distinguishable from Urard.
Also Harris' Ware, vol.
iii.
"Writers of Ireland,"
book i. , chap, viii. , pp. 65 to 67.
'54 See his Life at the i6th of Januaiy.
'47 See Edward O'Reilly's
'^9 See Drs. Todd's and Reeves' tyrology of Donegal," Introduction, p. xvi.
»5o ggg Sir James Ware, *' De Scriptoribus Hibernise," lib. i. , cap. viii. , pp. 49, 50.
»5' See his Life at the 30th of January.
'saxhe finest edition of Marianus Scottus'
" Chronicon" is that edited Professor by
; balancing their authorities against each other manifests a degree of criticism uncom-
this " De subject.
of Patron of Armagh,
in which he flourished. He
mon in that
quotes Eusebius, Orosius, Julius Africanus,
Bede, Josephus, St. Jerome, and other writers,
'57 See the remarks of Sir James Ware on
age
ii. , pp. 1136, 1137.
Scriptoribus Hibemiae," lib. i. , cap. vii. , pp. 51, 52.
Connor, Archbishop
these several Dioceses, and Delegate Apos- tolic of the Holy See for the Kingdom of Ireland. " Dublin : 1859. 8vo.
's^See "Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts in the Library at Stowe," p. 192.
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
'59 See
nise," i. Januarii. Vita S. Fanchese. Sup-
Colgan's
piementum, sec. xi. , p. 5, and xvi. Januarii. Vita B. Moelisa Brolchani, p. 108.
'*° " It is stated in the Dublin copy of the Annals of Innisfallen, at A. D. 1088, that
INTR OD UCTION. XXXI
wrote many works ; while Tigernach O'Braoin, Abbot of Clonmacnoise,^ss an excellent and a judicious antiquary, ^ss collected the Annals of Ireland, which were brought down by him to the very year of his death. 'S7 Various copies of his work are still in existence. 'ss These are generally called in
in Latin " Annales and in Cluanenses,"
English
" The Annals of Clonmac-
noise. "'S9 His Annals have been ably edited by Rev. Charles O'Conor,
D. D. ^^ The foregoing digest presents only a brief and a very imperfect
enumeration of ecclesiastical writers and their works, as serving to illustrate the hagiology and Church history of four consecutive centuries.
Section III. —Irish Hagiologists of the Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Centuries.
In the twelfth century, the best known ecclesiastical, biographical, and historical writers were Gilda Modhude O'Cassidy,^ Gille or Gillebert,' Bishop of Limerick and the Pope's Legate in Ireland, Giolla na Naomh 0'Dunn,3 St. Celsus, or Cellach Mac ^d Mac Mcelisa,'' and St. Malachy 0'Morgair,s Archbishop of Armagh, Abbot Congan,^ Concubrann,' Tundal or Tungal,^
•55 At the year 1088, we read, that " Ti- ghemach Ua Braein, chief successor of Ciaran and Coman, died at Imdhaidh Chia- rain ; he was a paragon of learning and history. "
vol. ii. , part ii. Third Period, p. 249.
^ See Sir James Ware's ' ' De Scriptoribus
Hibemiae," lib. i. , cap. viii. , p. 53.
3 He died on the 17th of December, A. D. 1 160. He was a lector of Inis-Clothran and "a paragon in history and poetry. "—
Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four
" vol
Masters,
* See Sir James Ware, ' ' De Scriptoribus
Hiberniae," lib. i. , cap. viii. , p. 53, 54.
''
5 See the present writer's
Malachy O'Morgair, Bishop of Down and
* See Dr. Meredith Hanmer's * * Chronicle of Ireland," pp. 209, 210.
7 See Sir James Ware, " De Scriptoribus Hibemiae," lib. i. , cap. viii. , p. 57.
* " The Vision of Tundal" was very cele-- brated, and several MS. copies of it are yet
'5* He questions the veracity of all the
most ancient documents relating to Ireland,
while he makes the true historical epoch begin
from Cimbaeth, and the founding of the
palace of Eamhain Macha, about the Illustrious and Distinguished Irishmen,"
eighteenth year of Ptolomy Lagus, before Christ 305. Thus he writes: "Omnia monumenta Scotorum usque Cinbaeth in- certa erant. " His quotations from Latin and Greek authors are numerous and his
this remarkable man was of the tribe of the Sil-Muireadhaigh; andDr. O'Conorboasts in a note that he was of the same race as the O'Conors of Connaught, who were the prin- cipal family of the Sil-Muireadhaigh. "— Dr. O'Donovan's '* Annals of the Four Masters," vol. ii. , pp. 930 to 932, andn. (o). Ibid.
Section in. —' See Wills' " Lives of
Life of St.
narrator to another writer. It is
usually
'° A is in the copy preserved
the
Burgundian
known as " Suarum," lib. i. Apparitionum
INTRODUCTION.
and Eugene, Bishop of Ardmore. 5 But the Martyrologist, Maolmurry or Marianus O'Gorman, who composed a Martyrology in very original and
elegant Irish metre/° about the year 1 167, in the time of Gelasius, Arch- bishop of Armagh, contributed more especially to elucidate Irish hagiology, in this age. In it, Marianus includes, with those of Ireland, the principal saints ofothercountries. " Anancientscholiastdeclares,thatmostoftheIrishpor- tionofthisworkhadbeencompiledfromtheMartyrologyofTallagh. For its faithful execution and singular felicity of style, the Martyrology of Marianus was held in deserved estimation. The author was Abbot over Cnoc-na- napstol, or " Hill of the Apostles," now Knock, near Louth. He is said , by Sir James Ware, to have published a supplement to the Martyrology of ^ngus, or ^neas, a. d. 1171. " The only copy of Marianus O'Gorman 's Martyrology, known to Dr. Todd, was that preserved among the Burgundian Library MSS. at Bruxelles. '3 Scholia, written in the manner of a gloss, are
found in it, and add considerably to its value as historical authority. '"^
In the thirteenth century, Matthew O'Heney, Archbishop of Cashel, author of the Annals of Innisfallen, the author of the Annals of Multifernan, Gelasy or Gillisa Mac Firbissy, a historian and a poet, with the author of an Office of St. Finian, Bishop of Clonard, and Donogh Mor O'Daly, Abbot of
extant. This was written in the third per- son, so that Tundal was probably only its
ris' Ware, vol. iii. "Writers of Ireland," book i. , chap, ix. , pp. 68 to 72.
MSS. ,
See Harris' Ware, vol. iii. "Writers of xvii. . No. 5103. In the copy this piece is
"
Ireland," book i. , pp. 70, 71. It was ge- entitled Mariani Gormani Sancti de qui-
nerally known in the middle ages, and it
probably furnished the Italian poet Dante
with hints for some of his most inspired
passages and conceptions of plan. There
is a copy of this vision, attributed to the
close of the thirteenth century, in the Bur-
gundian Library at Bruxelles. The MS. is
beautifully written on vellum, in eighteen
small 8vo sheets. There is no name for
the no — nor trace of Irish scribe, illumination,
bus dubito, an sint Hibemi an alij, quid non reperiantur in aliis Martyrologiis iis quibus
characters in it.
"
Inventaire," vol. xiii. ,
by Ware, under the name of a supplement,
No. 4531. There is another copy described
in vol. xxiv. , No. 7960. It occupies, in
double columns, 20 vellum folios, written
upon both sides, and ascribed to the four-
teenth century. There is even a third copy
described in vol. ii. , No. 1161. See a fur-
ther description, in Mr. Bindon's paper,
read " of the May24th, 1847. Proceedings
Royal Irish Academy," vol. iii. , pp. 478, 479, 486, 499, 500.
9 See Edward *'
O'Reilly's Chronological
Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish Writers," pp. Ixxxiii. to Ixxxvi. Also Har-
which Colgan calls a Martyrology, notwith- standing the difference in the dates, which
"
is but small.
"Writers of Ireland," book i. , chap, ix. , p. 71.
" See " De Scriptoribus HiberaiiB," lib.
i. , cap. viii. , p. 56.
'3 From this he a
procured transcript, pre-
pared by Professor Eugene O'Curry. It is now in Rev. Dr. Reeves' possession.
'^ See Drs. Todd's and Reeves' edition of
the Martyrology of Donegal," Introduction, pp. xvii. , xviii.
Library, Bruxelles, among
vol.
denotantur diebus.
"
It is in the Irish lan-
guage, as well as a testimonial which pre-
cedes it, and bearing date August i8th, 1633,
signed Fearfeassa O Maoliconaire and Cu-
coiccrice O Clerig. This Martyrology is in short metre, and its contains 141 pages.
" " Onecarmot doubt," says Harris, " but
that this is the same treatise mentioned
See Harris' Ware, vol iii.
'S See Edward "
O'Reilly's Chronological plished
in A. D.
1627, by
INTRODUCTION.
Boyle, called the Ovid of Ireland, for the rhythmical flow of his dulcet verses,'5 are regarded as the chief hagio graphical and reHgious writers. '^
In the fourteenth century, Malachy Mac ^da, Archbishop of Tuam, Richard Fitz Ralph, Archbishop of Armagh ,"^7 John Clyn, a Franciscan Friar of Kilkenny, and Magraith Mac Gowan,^^ John O'Dugan, chief poet of Hy Many, and Siodruadh O'Cuirnin, a poet of Breifne, were the chief literary men, whose works are very serviceable in the compilation of a na-
tional Saint History/9
Augustine Magraidain, an Augustinian canon, lived in a monastery on All Saints' Island, in Lough Ree, and near the western boundary of Longford
He wrote a " Vitas Sanctorum Hibernise. " He book, intituled,
county.
also compiled a Chronicle, which other can ons of his monastery had com- menced, and which he then continued down to his o\vn time.
From the secluded place in which it had been written, this Chronicle is usually titled, " Annales Insulenses" or " Annals of the Island. " Magraiden died on Wednesday,followingtheFestivalofAllSaints,andintheyear1405. The original of his Lives of the Irish Saints now seems to be lost ; but under a parchment cover, a paper copy, folio size,^° has been transcribed by Fr. John Golde, a Cork religious of the order of Friars Minor, belonging to the regular observance, and Guardian of the Franciscan Convent at Cashel. ^^ The manuscript from whic—h it was compiled—said to be from an authentic transcript of the originaP'^ was in the careful keeping of a nobleman, the initial letters of whose name, G. F. , are only given. The copy made from
it is the authority so frequently used and quoted by Colgan,^3 under the title,
" Vitas Sanctorum ex Cod.
or '' Insulensis. " This is now
Inisensi,"^^
pre-
command of Rev. Father Francis Matthew, Minister Provin- cial over the Irish Province, as attested on
the last page.
^^
Belonging to Inis na naomh, on Lough Ree.
=3 He has made some divisions into chap- ters, on the margins of this manuscript, and in his own handwriting.
^'* On the cover, this title is inscribed, and
Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish
"
Writers, pp. Ixxxviii. to xcii.
'* "
See Harris' Ware, vol. iii. , Writers of
Ireland," book i. , chap, x. , pp. 72 to 78.
'7 See his Life at the i6th November.
'^ Sir James Ware is said to have had this
writer's works in manuscript. Magraith Mac Gowan is the reputed author of works
in the Irish language, On the Genealogies of the Saints of Ireland, and On the Succession
some other miscellanies. He is thought to this Index is headed " Index Sanctorum in
immediately under, "Vide Indicem post of the Kings and Chiefs of Ireland, with Vitam Stse. Athractse, seu folio. " Again,
have been a member of the community of St. Ruadan, at Lurrah, county of Tipperary.
:
hoc extracto Codicis Insulse Sanctorum Con- tentorum. " From this, I infer that the pre- served MS. is not a complete copy of that " Book of the Island. " Under an inverted but alphabetical order of paging, reference is made in the Index to the several saints' lives, in Latin. There are thirty-three Acta. The Index fairly enough describes the contents of this manuscript.
See Harris' Ware, vol iii.
'*
land,"
book
Writers of Ire- i. , chap, xi. , p. 87.
'9 See Edward O'Reilly's "Chronologi- cal Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish
"
Writers, pp. xcvi. to cxi.
^° It contains 304 pages.
"'
This he diligently and faithfully accom-
tiquteLectiones. "
»7 Such a date, with the author's name and
title, written by himself, is in the beginning of this codex.
"
vol. iii. , booki. , chap, xii. , p. 90.
Hiberni*," lib.
'*
This 4to manuscript is written in a fine
Scriptoribus i-j cap. xi. , p. 77.
Gothic character on vellum. It is likewise
illuminated.
^^ See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- niae," i. Januarii. Vita S. Fancheae, Sup« plementum, §§ v. , xii. , pp. 5, 6.
""*
Harris says it was classed A. 4. 8. in
INTRonUCTION.
served in the library of the Convent of St. Francis, Merchant's-quay, Dublin.
Again, Barrett, Bishop of Ferns, wrote a catalogue of his predecessors in the see of Ferns ; Coll Deoran, a native of Leinster, wrote Annals of Ire-
land f^ an Irish monk belonging to the Abbey of St. James, at Ratisbon, in Bavaria, is said to have written about the Saints of Ireland, but in a very credulousfashion; TatheusorThaddeus,AbbotovertheScots,atRatisbon, also drew up certain fragments,^^ extracted from the chronicles of this foun- dation in 1457. Many other fifteenth century writers are known to have been engaged on various historical works. It is stated, that Malachy O'Lachnayn, a secular priest of Killaloe Diocese, a. d. 1489,^7 transcribed a Missal in Latin. '^^ This contains divers prayers and lessons from Holy Scripture, a Kalendar, the Psalms of David, with many prayers and hymns intermixed. AfterthePsalms,severalhymns,prayersandshortsermons,with offices and short Lives of Saints, are written. ^9 Besides the foregoing, Charles or Cathal Maguire, a canon of Armagh and Dean of Clogher, about the year 1470, composed a tract on the Irish Saints. This writer only en- larges on the Martyrology of St . ^ngus, adding, from Marianus O'Gorman,
and from other sources, some Irish Saints not found in the work of ^ngus . His compilation is intituled "vEugussius Auctus," and it is often quoted by Colgan, under such title. Maguire was a pious, patriotic, and > learned man, well versed in antiquarian studies. 3° He was a native of Fermanagh, and he died, according to Sir James Ware,3^ on the 23rd of March, a. d. 1498, in the sixtieth year of his age. He drew up a valuable compilation of Irish
Annals, which he brought down to his own period. These are frequently
"
called
Annales Senatenses," from a place called Senadh, otherwise, Senat
Mac-Magnus, in the county of Fermanagh, where they had been composed. Most modern writers, however, usually describe them as " Annales Ulton- ienses," or the " Annals of Ulster," because their contents chiefly relate to the northern province of Ireland. 3'
The best known hagiographical and annalistic writers the sixteenth cen-
tury produced were Nicholas Maguire, Bishop of Leighlin,33 Thomas Fitch, a canon of Christ's Church Cathedral, Dublin, Magnus or Manus Fitz-
^5 See Sir " De James Ware,
" Writers of book Ireland,"
Scriptoribus Hibemiae," lib, i. , cap. xi. , p. 75,
i. , chap, xii. ,
=* These are contained in
Canisius,
"An-
pp. 89, 90.
^o Scholia or Annotations on the"Re-
gistry of Clogher" are also ascribed to him.
^3 See Harris' served. See Harris' Ware,| vol. iii. Leighlin," p. 460.
vol. i. of "Bishops
Trinity College Library,
where it is
pre-
Ware,
See Harris' Ware,
Writers of Ireland,"
^i See "De
37 See Harris' Ware, vol. i.
*'
Section iv. —'A second and a much more accurate edition has appeared at Dublin, A. D. 1868, edited by the Very Rev. Mon-
INTRODUCTION. xxxv
Hugh O'Donnell, Prince of Tyrconnell,3'> who wrote an Irish Life of St. Columkille, Patrick Culin, Bishop of Clogher,3s and Roderick O'Cassidy, Archdeacon of Clogher, John Bale,3^ Richard Creagh, Archbishop of Ar-
magh, Richard Stanihurst, Thady DowHng, Chancellor of Leighlin, John Alan or Allen, Archbishop of Dublin,37 and Dr. Meredith Hanmer. s^ He
"
is said to have written an
lections of Irish Saints' Lives of this or of an antecedent period were then in the possession of Irish families. '^"
We next approach an epoch when enlightened learning and criticism first began to dissolve those mists, which had so long obscured the Legends, re- lating to our former religious life.
Section IV. —Irish Hagiologists of the Seventeenth Century.
It was principally during the seventeenth centur)', that the best efforts were made to give a systematic and permanent commemoration to the Acts and FestivalsofIrishSaints. Earlyinthiscentury,theMostRev. PeterLombard,
" De
national saints, distinguished in our Island, or as missionaries in many other countriesontheContinentofEurope. Thiswasfirstprintedandpublished at Louvain, a. d. 1632,' some few years after his death. The Catalogue of holy Irishmen, and an enumeration of their respective missionary labours, are well worth the Irish hagiographist's study, because this narrative, in point of issue, takes precedence of many seventeenth century Catholic works, that have seen the light on similar subjects. Those chapters, treating on the saints, have been consulted with great advantage for this special theme.
About the commencement of this century, the celebrated Scottish writer,
Ephemeris of the Irish Saints. "39 Various col-
a
Hibernige, Sanctorum Insulse, Commentarius. " In it, allusion is made to the
Archbishop
of
Armagh, composed
work,
intituled,
Regno
* See " Trias Colgan's
as we find to Michael by referring
Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbas, pp. 389 to 453.
O'Clery's manuscript. See vol. iv. , No. 2324-2340,
35 See Harris' Ware, vol. i,, "Bishops of fol. 12, of the Burgundian Library Cata- Clogher," p. 187. logue at Bruxelles. In this same codex w^e
*' "
3^ See Wills' Lives of Illustrious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. ii. , part i. , Ec- clesiastical Series, Period iii. , pp. 218, 219.
find noticed fol. loi.
Scriptores Antiqui Hib. ,"
Archbishops
of Dublin," pp. 34610348.
3* See Harris' Ware, vol. , iii. "Writers signor Patrick F. Moran, D. D. , since con-
of Ireland," book i. , chap, xiii. , pp. 91 to secrated Bishop of Ossory. An interesting 100. Also, book ii. , chap, v. , pp. 32410 Memoir of the Author is found prefixed.
328.
39 See " The Irish Ecclesiastical Record,"
Before its publication, the first edition had
been often quoted throughout this work ;
but, as being a far more valuable one, the *° Among others, a gentleman, named second edition is that to which reference is
vol. viii. , p. 560.
Simon Barnwell, had "Vitse Sanctorum," most generally made.
which is
C
XKXvi INTRODUCTION.
Thomas Dempster, a zealous but a very unscrupulous and intemperate patriot, wrote several books, relating to Scottish history, especially referring to its ecclesiastical, hagiographical and literary aspects. He contrived, in very many instances, to extol the fame of Scotland,^ while depreciating that of Ireland. 3 David Camerarius, a Scotch priest, was a contemporary, and engaged in the like pursuits. This naturally raised a host of literary Irish- men and controvertists, anxious to vindicate their country's fair claims to the honour of having given birth to many holy and very distinguished men. Among those champions were John Wadding, a secular priest of Wexford, who wrote " Historia Ecclesiastica Hibemise,"s D. G. , the anonymous author
of " and Donatus Brigida Thaumaturga,"^
"
a tract, intituled,
Morsum Serj)entis antiqui. "^ These latter anonymous works are attributed to David Roth, Bishop of Ossory. This learned man was bom in Kilkenny
A. D. 1572, became an alumnus of Douay and Salamanca, was ordained
priest, and returned to Ireland in 16 10. 9 Afterwards, he was promoted to
the see of Ossory, and took an active part in the civil and ecclesiastical affairs
of the Confederation. Besides the works to which allusion has been made,
he wrote others ; and especially one on the history of the Irish saints inti-
"
tuled,
' He
took of the advantage
At the end he
a small tract, in- Nomenclaturre
especially
Scotia and Scoticus, as
applied by
Svo.
tituled,
gives " Prsecidaneum
tcrms,
ancient writers to Ireland and to individual
Dempsteri. "
Roirk,7
Hibernia Resurgens, sive Refrigerium antidotale adversus
Hierographige Sacrae Insulas Hibernise Lineamenta adumbrata (sine arrhabo) et praegustus Tripartitae Descriptionis Ecclesiae Regni et Gentis Hibernorum, ex variis Scriptoribus, tam veteribus, quam neoteris delibatus. Industria et studio Analectae et Anagnestse Catholici H. . . collectore et dygestore Philadelpho cui adjuncta est in antecessum largioris defensionis
decertatio apolegetica adversus Conaeum,^" Camerarium," Dempsterum, de
^ This is supposed to have been a name, assumed by David Roth, Bishop of Ossory. venture Baron has penned a Latin Epigram See Ussher's " Primordia," p. 737. Dr.
Irishmen.
3 The versatile and learned Father Bona-
in reference to his erratic Opuscula, Prosa et Metra. " ArgumentoetiamVaria. Tomusi.
book i. , chap, viii. , pp. 65 to 67.
'54 See his Life at the i6th of Januaiy.
'47 See Edward O'Reilly's
'^9 See Drs. Todd's and Reeves' tyrology of Donegal," Introduction, p. xvi.
»5o ggg Sir James Ware, *' De Scriptoribus Hibernise," lib. i. , cap. viii. , pp. 49, 50.
»5' See his Life at the 30th of January.
'saxhe finest edition of Marianus Scottus'
" Chronicon" is that edited Professor by
; balancing their authorities against each other manifests a degree of criticism uncom-
this " De subject.
of Patron of Armagh,
in which he flourished. He
mon in that
quotes Eusebius, Orosius, Julius Africanus,
Bede, Josephus, St. Jerome, and other writers,
'57 See the remarks of Sir James Ware on
age
ii. , pp. 1136, 1137.
Scriptoribus Hibemiae," lib. i. , cap. vii. , pp. 51, 52.
Connor, Archbishop
these several Dioceses, and Delegate Apos- tolic of the Holy See for the Kingdom of Ireland. " Dublin : 1859. 8vo.
's^See "Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts in the Library at Stowe," p. 192.
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
'59 See
nise," i. Januarii. Vita S. Fanchese. Sup-
Colgan's
piementum, sec. xi. , p. 5, and xvi. Januarii. Vita B. Moelisa Brolchani, p. 108.
'*° " It is stated in the Dublin copy of the Annals of Innisfallen, at A. D. 1088, that
INTR OD UCTION. XXXI
wrote many works ; while Tigernach O'Braoin, Abbot of Clonmacnoise,^ss an excellent and a judicious antiquary, ^ss collected the Annals of Ireland, which were brought down by him to the very year of his death. 'S7 Various copies of his work are still in existence. 'ss These are generally called in
in Latin " Annales and in Cluanenses,"
English
" The Annals of Clonmac-
noise. "'S9 His Annals have been ably edited by Rev. Charles O'Conor,
D. D. ^^ The foregoing digest presents only a brief and a very imperfect
enumeration of ecclesiastical writers and their works, as serving to illustrate the hagiology and Church history of four consecutive centuries.
Section III. —Irish Hagiologists of the Twelfth, Thirteenth, Fourteenth, Fifteenth, and Sixteenth Centuries.
In the twelfth century, the best known ecclesiastical, biographical, and historical writers were Gilda Modhude O'Cassidy,^ Gille or Gillebert,' Bishop of Limerick and the Pope's Legate in Ireland, Giolla na Naomh 0'Dunn,3 St. Celsus, or Cellach Mac ^d Mac Mcelisa,'' and St. Malachy 0'Morgair,s Archbishop of Armagh, Abbot Congan,^ Concubrann,' Tundal or Tungal,^
•55 At the year 1088, we read, that " Ti- ghemach Ua Braein, chief successor of Ciaran and Coman, died at Imdhaidh Chia- rain ; he was a paragon of learning and history. "
vol. ii. , part ii. Third Period, p. 249.
^ See Sir James Ware's ' ' De Scriptoribus
Hibemiae," lib. i. , cap. viii. , p. 53.
3 He died on the 17th of December, A. D. 1 160. He was a lector of Inis-Clothran and "a paragon in history and poetry. "—
Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four
" vol
Masters,
* See Sir James Ware, ' ' De Scriptoribus
Hiberniae," lib. i. , cap. viii. , p. 53, 54.
''
5 See the present writer's
Malachy O'Morgair, Bishop of Down and
* See Dr. Meredith Hanmer's * * Chronicle of Ireland," pp. 209, 210.
7 See Sir James Ware, " De Scriptoribus Hibemiae," lib. i. , cap. viii. , p. 57.
* " The Vision of Tundal" was very cele-- brated, and several MS. copies of it are yet
'5* He questions the veracity of all the
most ancient documents relating to Ireland,
while he makes the true historical epoch begin
from Cimbaeth, and the founding of the
palace of Eamhain Macha, about the Illustrious and Distinguished Irishmen,"
eighteenth year of Ptolomy Lagus, before Christ 305. Thus he writes: "Omnia monumenta Scotorum usque Cinbaeth in- certa erant. " His quotations from Latin and Greek authors are numerous and his
this remarkable man was of the tribe of the Sil-Muireadhaigh; andDr. O'Conorboasts in a note that he was of the same race as the O'Conors of Connaught, who were the prin- cipal family of the Sil-Muireadhaigh. "— Dr. O'Donovan's '* Annals of the Four Masters," vol. ii. , pp. 930 to 932, andn. (o). Ibid.
Section in. —' See Wills' " Lives of
Life of St.
narrator to another writer. It is
usually
'° A is in the copy preserved
the
Burgundian
known as " Suarum," lib. i. Apparitionum
INTRODUCTION.
and Eugene, Bishop of Ardmore. 5 But the Martyrologist, Maolmurry or Marianus O'Gorman, who composed a Martyrology in very original and
elegant Irish metre/° about the year 1 167, in the time of Gelasius, Arch- bishop of Armagh, contributed more especially to elucidate Irish hagiology, in this age. In it, Marianus includes, with those of Ireland, the principal saints ofothercountries. " Anancientscholiastdeclares,thatmostoftheIrishpor- tionofthisworkhadbeencompiledfromtheMartyrologyofTallagh. For its faithful execution and singular felicity of style, the Martyrology of Marianus was held in deserved estimation. The author was Abbot over Cnoc-na- napstol, or " Hill of the Apostles," now Knock, near Louth. He is said , by Sir James Ware, to have published a supplement to the Martyrology of ^ngus, or ^neas, a. d. 1171. " The only copy of Marianus O'Gorman 's Martyrology, known to Dr. Todd, was that preserved among the Burgundian Library MSS. at Bruxelles. '3 Scholia, written in the manner of a gloss, are
found in it, and add considerably to its value as historical authority. '"^
In the thirteenth century, Matthew O'Heney, Archbishop of Cashel, author of the Annals of Innisfallen, the author of the Annals of Multifernan, Gelasy or Gillisa Mac Firbissy, a historian and a poet, with the author of an Office of St. Finian, Bishop of Clonard, and Donogh Mor O'Daly, Abbot of
extant. This was written in the third per- son, so that Tundal was probably only its
ris' Ware, vol. iii. "Writers of Ireland," book i. , chap, ix. , pp. 68 to 72.
MSS. ,
See Harris' Ware, vol. iii. "Writers of xvii. . No. 5103. In the copy this piece is
"
Ireland," book i. , pp. 70, 71. It was ge- entitled Mariani Gormani Sancti de qui-
nerally known in the middle ages, and it
probably furnished the Italian poet Dante
with hints for some of his most inspired
passages and conceptions of plan. There
is a copy of this vision, attributed to the
close of the thirteenth century, in the Bur-
gundian Library at Bruxelles. The MS. is
beautifully written on vellum, in eighteen
small 8vo sheets. There is no name for
the no — nor trace of Irish scribe, illumination,
bus dubito, an sint Hibemi an alij, quid non reperiantur in aliis Martyrologiis iis quibus
characters in it.
"
Inventaire," vol. xiii. ,
by Ware, under the name of a supplement,
No. 4531. There is another copy described
in vol. xxiv. , No. 7960. It occupies, in
double columns, 20 vellum folios, written
upon both sides, and ascribed to the four-
teenth century. There is even a third copy
described in vol. ii. , No. 1161. See a fur-
ther description, in Mr. Bindon's paper,
read " of the May24th, 1847. Proceedings
Royal Irish Academy," vol. iii. , pp. 478, 479, 486, 499, 500.
9 See Edward *'
O'Reilly's Chronological
Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish Writers," pp. Ixxxiii. to Ixxxvi. Also Har-
which Colgan calls a Martyrology, notwith- standing the difference in the dates, which
"
is but small.
"Writers of Ireland," book i. , chap, ix. , p. 71.
" See " De Scriptoribus HiberaiiB," lib.
i. , cap. viii. , p. 56.
'3 From this he a
procured transcript, pre-
pared by Professor Eugene O'Curry. It is now in Rev. Dr. Reeves' possession.
'^ See Drs. Todd's and Reeves' edition of
the Martyrology of Donegal," Introduction, pp. xvii. , xviii.
Library, Bruxelles, among
vol.
denotantur diebus.
"
It is in the Irish lan-
guage, as well as a testimonial which pre-
cedes it, and bearing date August i8th, 1633,
signed Fearfeassa O Maoliconaire and Cu-
coiccrice O Clerig. This Martyrology is in short metre, and its contains 141 pages.
" " Onecarmot doubt," says Harris, " but
that this is the same treatise mentioned
See Harris' Ware, vol iii.
'S See Edward "
O'Reilly's Chronological plished
in A. D.
1627, by
INTRODUCTION.
Boyle, called the Ovid of Ireland, for the rhythmical flow of his dulcet verses,'5 are regarded as the chief hagio graphical and reHgious writers. '^
In the fourteenth century, Malachy Mac ^da, Archbishop of Tuam, Richard Fitz Ralph, Archbishop of Armagh ,"^7 John Clyn, a Franciscan Friar of Kilkenny, and Magraith Mac Gowan,^^ John O'Dugan, chief poet of Hy Many, and Siodruadh O'Cuirnin, a poet of Breifne, were the chief literary men, whose works are very serviceable in the compilation of a na-
tional Saint History/9
Augustine Magraidain, an Augustinian canon, lived in a monastery on All Saints' Island, in Lough Ree, and near the western boundary of Longford
He wrote a " Vitas Sanctorum Hibernise. " He book, intituled,
county.
also compiled a Chronicle, which other can ons of his monastery had com- menced, and which he then continued down to his o\vn time.
From the secluded place in which it had been written, this Chronicle is usually titled, " Annales Insulenses" or " Annals of the Island. " Magraiden died on Wednesday,followingtheFestivalofAllSaints,andintheyear1405. The original of his Lives of the Irish Saints now seems to be lost ; but under a parchment cover, a paper copy, folio size,^° has been transcribed by Fr. John Golde, a Cork religious of the order of Friars Minor, belonging to the regular observance, and Guardian of the Franciscan Convent at Cashel. ^^ The manuscript from whic—h it was compiled—said to be from an authentic transcript of the originaP'^ was in the careful keeping of a nobleman, the initial letters of whose name, G. F. , are only given. The copy made from
it is the authority so frequently used and quoted by Colgan,^3 under the title,
" Vitas Sanctorum ex Cod.
or '' Insulensis. " This is now
Inisensi,"^^
pre-
command of Rev. Father Francis Matthew, Minister Provin- cial over the Irish Province, as attested on
the last page.
^^
Belonging to Inis na naomh, on Lough Ree.
=3 He has made some divisions into chap- ters, on the margins of this manuscript, and in his own handwriting.
^'* On the cover, this title is inscribed, and
Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish
"
Writers, pp. Ixxxviii. to xcii.
'* "
See Harris' Ware, vol. iii. , Writers of
Ireland," book i. , chap, x. , pp. 72 to 78.
'7 See his Life at the i6th November.
'^ Sir James Ware is said to have had this
writer's works in manuscript. Magraith Mac Gowan is the reputed author of works
in the Irish language, On the Genealogies of the Saints of Ireland, and On the Succession
some other miscellanies. He is thought to this Index is headed " Index Sanctorum in
immediately under, "Vide Indicem post of the Kings and Chiefs of Ireland, with Vitam Stse. Athractse, seu folio. " Again,
have been a member of the community of St. Ruadan, at Lurrah, county of Tipperary.
:
hoc extracto Codicis Insulse Sanctorum Con- tentorum. " From this, I infer that the pre- served MS. is not a complete copy of that " Book of the Island. " Under an inverted but alphabetical order of paging, reference is made in the Index to the several saints' lives, in Latin. There are thirty-three Acta. The Index fairly enough describes the contents of this manuscript.
See Harris' Ware, vol iii.
'*
land,"
book
Writers of Ire- i. , chap, xi. , p. 87.
'9 See Edward O'Reilly's "Chronologi- cal Account of nearly Four Hundred Irish
"
Writers, pp. xcvi. to cxi.
^° It contains 304 pages.
"'
This he diligently and faithfully accom-
tiquteLectiones. "
»7 Such a date, with the author's name and
title, written by himself, is in the beginning of this codex.
"
vol. iii. , booki. , chap, xii. , p. 90.
Hiberni*," lib.
'*
This 4to manuscript is written in a fine
Scriptoribus i-j cap. xi. , p. 77.
Gothic character on vellum. It is likewise
illuminated.
^^ See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- niae," i. Januarii. Vita S. Fancheae, Sup« plementum, §§ v. , xii. , pp. 5, 6.
""*
Harris says it was classed A. 4. 8. in
INTRonUCTION.
served in the library of the Convent of St. Francis, Merchant's-quay, Dublin.
Again, Barrett, Bishop of Ferns, wrote a catalogue of his predecessors in the see of Ferns ; Coll Deoran, a native of Leinster, wrote Annals of Ire-
land f^ an Irish monk belonging to the Abbey of St. James, at Ratisbon, in Bavaria, is said to have written about the Saints of Ireland, but in a very credulousfashion; TatheusorThaddeus,AbbotovertheScots,atRatisbon, also drew up certain fragments,^^ extracted from the chronicles of this foun- dation in 1457. Many other fifteenth century writers are known to have been engaged on various historical works. It is stated, that Malachy O'Lachnayn, a secular priest of Killaloe Diocese, a. d. 1489,^7 transcribed a Missal in Latin. '^^ This contains divers prayers and lessons from Holy Scripture, a Kalendar, the Psalms of David, with many prayers and hymns intermixed. AfterthePsalms,severalhymns,prayersandshortsermons,with offices and short Lives of Saints, are written. ^9 Besides the foregoing, Charles or Cathal Maguire, a canon of Armagh and Dean of Clogher, about the year 1470, composed a tract on the Irish Saints. This writer only en- larges on the Martyrology of St . ^ngus, adding, from Marianus O'Gorman,
and from other sources, some Irish Saints not found in the work of ^ngus . His compilation is intituled "vEugussius Auctus," and it is often quoted by Colgan, under such title. Maguire was a pious, patriotic, and > learned man, well versed in antiquarian studies. 3° He was a native of Fermanagh, and he died, according to Sir James Ware,3^ on the 23rd of March, a. d. 1498, in the sixtieth year of his age. He drew up a valuable compilation of Irish
Annals, which he brought down to his own period. These are frequently
"
called
Annales Senatenses," from a place called Senadh, otherwise, Senat
Mac-Magnus, in the county of Fermanagh, where they had been composed. Most modern writers, however, usually describe them as " Annales Ulton- ienses," or the " Annals of Ulster," because their contents chiefly relate to the northern province of Ireland. 3'
The best known hagiographical and annalistic writers the sixteenth cen-
tury produced were Nicholas Maguire, Bishop of Leighlin,33 Thomas Fitch, a canon of Christ's Church Cathedral, Dublin, Magnus or Manus Fitz-
^5 See Sir " De James Ware,
" Writers of book Ireland,"
Scriptoribus Hibemiae," lib, i. , cap. xi. , p. 75,
i. , chap, xii. ,
=* These are contained in
Canisius,
"An-
pp. 89, 90.
^o Scholia or Annotations on the"Re-
gistry of Clogher" are also ascribed to him.
^3 See Harris' served. See Harris' Ware,| vol. iii. Leighlin," p. 460.
vol. i. of "Bishops
Trinity College Library,
where it is
pre-
Ware,
See Harris' Ware,
Writers of Ireland,"
^i See "De
37 See Harris' Ware, vol. i.
*'
Section iv. —'A second and a much more accurate edition has appeared at Dublin, A. D. 1868, edited by the Very Rev. Mon-
INTRODUCTION. xxxv
Hugh O'Donnell, Prince of Tyrconnell,3'> who wrote an Irish Life of St. Columkille, Patrick Culin, Bishop of Clogher,3s and Roderick O'Cassidy, Archdeacon of Clogher, John Bale,3^ Richard Creagh, Archbishop of Ar-
magh, Richard Stanihurst, Thady DowHng, Chancellor of Leighlin, John Alan or Allen, Archbishop of Dublin,37 and Dr. Meredith Hanmer. s^ He
"
is said to have written an
lections of Irish Saints' Lives of this or of an antecedent period were then in the possession of Irish families. '^"
We next approach an epoch when enlightened learning and criticism first began to dissolve those mists, which had so long obscured the Legends, re- lating to our former religious life.
Section IV. —Irish Hagiologists of the Seventeenth Century.
It was principally during the seventeenth centur)', that the best efforts were made to give a systematic and permanent commemoration to the Acts and FestivalsofIrishSaints. Earlyinthiscentury,theMostRev. PeterLombard,
" De
national saints, distinguished in our Island, or as missionaries in many other countriesontheContinentofEurope. Thiswasfirstprintedandpublished at Louvain, a. d. 1632,' some few years after his death. The Catalogue of holy Irishmen, and an enumeration of their respective missionary labours, are well worth the Irish hagiographist's study, because this narrative, in point of issue, takes precedence of many seventeenth century Catholic works, that have seen the light on similar subjects. Those chapters, treating on the saints, have been consulted with great advantage for this special theme.
About the commencement of this century, the celebrated Scottish writer,
Ephemeris of the Irish Saints. "39 Various col-
a
Hibernige, Sanctorum Insulse, Commentarius. " In it, allusion is made to the
Archbishop
of
Armagh, composed
work,
intituled,
Regno
* See " Trias Colgan's
as we find to Michael by referring
Thaumaturga," Quinta Vita S. Columbas, pp. 389 to 453.
O'Clery's manuscript. See vol. iv. , No. 2324-2340,
35 See Harris' Ware, vol. i,, "Bishops of fol. 12, of the Burgundian Library Cata- Clogher," p. 187. logue at Bruxelles. In this same codex w^e
*' "
3^ See Wills' Lives of Illustrious and Distinguished Irishmen," vol. ii. , part i. , Ec- clesiastical Series, Period iii. , pp. 218, 219.
find noticed fol. loi.
Scriptores Antiqui Hib. ,"
Archbishops
of Dublin," pp. 34610348.
3* See Harris' Ware, vol. , iii. "Writers signor Patrick F. Moran, D. D. , since con-
of Ireland," book i. , chap, xiii. , pp. 91 to secrated Bishop of Ossory. An interesting 100. Also, book ii. , chap, v. , pp. 32410 Memoir of the Author is found prefixed.
328.
39 See " The Irish Ecclesiastical Record,"
Before its publication, the first edition had
been often quoted throughout this work ;
but, as being a far more valuable one, the *° Among others, a gentleman, named second edition is that to which reference is
vol. viii. , p. 560.
Simon Barnwell, had "Vitse Sanctorum," most generally made.
which is
C
XKXvi INTRODUCTION.
Thomas Dempster, a zealous but a very unscrupulous and intemperate patriot, wrote several books, relating to Scottish history, especially referring to its ecclesiastical, hagiographical and literary aspects. He contrived, in very many instances, to extol the fame of Scotland,^ while depreciating that of Ireland. 3 David Camerarius, a Scotch priest, was a contemporary, and engaged in the like pursuits. This naturally raised a host of literary Irish- men and controvertists, anxious to vindicate their country's fair claims to the honour of having given birth to many holy and very distinguished men. Among those champions were John Wadding, a secular priest of Wexford, who wrote " Historia Ecclesiastica Hibemise,"s D. G. , the anonymous author
of " and Donatus Brigida Thaumaturga,"^
"
a tract, intituled,
Morsum Serj)entis antiqui. "^ These latter anonymous works are attributed to David Roth, Bishop of Ossory. This learned man was bom in Kilkenny
A. D. 1572, became an alumnus of Douay and Salamanca, was ordained
priest, and returned to Ireland in 16 10. 9 Afterwards, he was promoted to
the see of Ossory, and took an active part in the civil and ecclesiastical affairs
of the Confederation. Besides the works to which allusion has been made,
he wrote others ; and especially one on the history of the Irish saints inti-
"
tuled,
' He
took of the advantage
At the end he
a small tract, in- Nomenclaturre
especially
Scotia and Scoticus, as
applied by
Svo.
tituled,
gives " Prsecidaneum
tcrms,
ancient writers to Ireland and to individual
Dempsteri. "
Roirk,7
Hibernia Resurgens, sive Refrigerium antidotale adversus
Hierographige Sacrae Insulas Hibernise Lineamenta adumbrata (sine arrhabo) et praegustus Tripartitae Descriptionis Ecclesiae Regni et Gentis Hibernorum, ex variis Scriptoribus, tam veteribus, quam neoteris delibatus. Industria et studio Analectae et Anagnestse Catholici H. . . collectore et dygestore Philadelpho cui adjuncta est in antecessum largioris defensionis
decertatio apolegetica adversus Conaeum,^" Camerarium," Dempsterum, de
^ This is supposed to have been a name, assumed by David Roth, Bishop of Ossory. venture Baron has penned a Latin Epigram See Ussher's " Primordia," p. 737. Dr.
Irishmen.
3 The versatile and learned Father Bona-
in reference to his erratic Opuscula, Prosa et Metra. " ArgumentoetiamVaria. Tomusi.
