William Reeves supposes, that about the period of the
twelfth century, the Abbey de Deserto Connerice^ or Kells, became an independent establishment, when another church had been founded for cathedral or parochial purposes.
twelfth century, the Abbey de Deserto Connerice^ or Kells, became an independent establishment, when another church had been founded for cathedral or parochial purposes.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
It is said, while
performing his journeys, through reverence for the Gospels, this holy man
was accustomed to bear books containing its text, on his stooped shoulders,
they being secured by no kind of fastening. These, with such like virtues,
and also miracles, distinguished our holy bishop, during his sojourn upon
6
earth.
We are told, that St. Colman of Dromore,? after the year 500, established
anoblemonastery,byadviceofSt. Macnessius,BishopofConnor. Itwas situated on the banks of the river Locha,8 a former name for the Lagan, which flows through Dromore. 9 This place was also called Druim Mocholmog,10 after the patron saint. It must have been erected, before a. d. 514, when, at the very latest, Macnessius died. 11 Most incorrectly has Archbishop Ussher, by a mere conjecture, assigned the erection of Dromore
monastery to the year 550.
I2
In doing so, he has fallen into the prevalent
maturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. ,
in composition.
4 The Bollandist editor remarks in a note,
that a nearly similar vision of St. Patrick is related by Joceline, in which it is stated,
in a place where he saw much light and heard the canticles of an angelic choir, the Irish Apostle predicted that a Son of Life named Colmanellus should there build a
this work, at the 7th of June, Art i.
8 "The River which was also Locha,
called CAfAri-l/me, is the modern La°an, upon which Dromore is built. "—Rev. Wm. Reeves' " Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore," n. (c), pp. 104, 105.
9 In the Ecclesiastical Taxation of the
Diocese of Dromore, compiled A. D. 1306, the Church of Drummore is rated at three marks, the Tenth amounting to —2s. and 8d.
n. In 219, p. 183.
at the
time, many local denominations have Lann
and
church, gather many
Sons of
to The church of the — also the Light, parish
Wales,
present
becompanionsoftheAngels. SeeColgan's cathedral of the diocese was antiently "Trias Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. styled ''Ecclesia Sancti Colmani," or Patricii, cap. xcvi. , p. 87. Father Veldius "Colmoci;" but under the charter of
"
suspects, that the vision there related had James I. , in 1609, Ecclesia Christi Re-
been transferred to St. Macniscius, with the addition of the sixty years term elapsing in the case of Colman Ela. A doubt has been expressed by Colgan, as to whether St. Patrick alluded to St. Colman, the future
of — or to St. Colman Ela bishop Dromore,
ofLynally oftenstyledColmanellus. Both
are said to have been disciples of Mac- ridge or hill of Mocholmeg," instead of niscius, while both flourished at the same "0|unm mop, "the great ridge or hill. " The time, and in that part ot Ulster called word "orvuim is cognate to the Latin
is mentioned at the 7th of June, where his
dorsum; thus, Adamnan Latinizes Drium- cheat by Dorsum Cete. In the present instance, it refers either to the rising ground
"
over the town, or to the
which is near the town on the east side.
11 "
See Rev Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol i. , chap, ix. , sect i,, Septembris hi. De Sancto Macniscio p. 432, and vol ii. , cap. xiv. , sect. , ii. , n. 26,
Dalnardia, or more properly Dal-aradia. Seeidid. , n. 106, p. 113.
5 The feast of St. Colman, of Lynally, is kept on the 26th of September, at which day notices of him may be found, in the present volume.
Great Fort,"
6 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Episcopo, Vita auctore incerto, sect. 9, p. 665. p. 308.
12 "
7 See his Acts, in the Sixth Volume of See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum
demptoris de Drumore. " It was originally attached to a monastic institution, and it was founded by St. Colman or Colmac, its first bishop and abbot.
10
In the calendar of the Four Masters, he
is called "Dmum "the church mocoltnoS,
if it do please you,
72 LI VES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 3.
error of confounding Colman-Eala, of Lynally and Muckamore, with Colaian or Colmanellus of Dromore. ^ He seems to have paid no attention to the date of Macnessius's death, although he had before him the Annals of Innis- fallen. These records assign it to as early as the year 506. He also confounded ** the monastery near the Locha, viz. , of Dromore, with that of Muckmore, a place in the County of Antrim. 15
It has been stated, that St. Macnessius became the superior of a religious community, which he established at Connor, and that he continued to govern it until his death. '6 we do not find ancient in
Although any authority, confirmation of such a statement ; yet, considering the usual customs in the
foundation of early missions in this country, we may regard the account as
fairly probable. There is reason also for a supposition, that the original establishment of St. Macnessius was not situated at Connor, but at a place not far distant, and formerly known as the Desert of Connor. 1 ? It is now called Kells, 18 in the parish, and about one half mile west from the church, of Connor. There is some foundation for the supposition, that this monas- tery,^ and not Connor,20 is the representative of those churches founded by
Antiquitates," Index Chonologicus, ad of Connor, appears from the Annals of that
annum dl. , p. 531. Also cap. xvii. , pp. 45 ! » 497-
13 In the Life of St. Colman, published by the Bollandists, at the 7th of June, several clues are given to the discovery of the real date, for the foundation of Dromore, and
about the year 500 may be assigned. That it took place before 513, the following passage proves, because St. MacNissi died
" Deinde saepe venerabilem
place, in the same work. —Ibid. , pp. 239 to 243. The first recorded death of an Abbot over Connor occurs at a. d. 773 [778], more than 200 years after the death of St. Mac- nessius.
17 According to the Ecclesiastical Taxa-
tion of the Diocese of Connor, compiled in
the year 1306, temporalities belonging to the Abbot of the Desert of Connor are set down at £8 6s. 8d. The tenth of this was 16s. 8d.
in that year
—Macnyseum Conderensem Episcopum petit.
:
Illuc perveniens,
ceptus est : ibique paucis diebus mansit. Deinde inito consilio, venerabilem senem, ubi locum, serviendi Deo fundare deberet consulit. Qui respondit : Voluntas Dei est, ut in finibus campi Coda tibi construas monasterium. Beatus igitur Colmanus secundum verbum Sancti Fontificis, fines illas adiit : ibique in valle, sancto Patricio
18 It is shown on the " Ordnance Townland Maps for the County of Down," sheet 38.
19 It is called Ecclesia Beatae Marias de
"
in the old Terrier.
20 At the Dissolution, Connor benefice
was but a vicarage, the rectory and advow- son being vested in the Abbot of Kells. St. Mac Nissi's Church was a conventual one, like most of the early episcopal seats
in omni hilaritate
sus-
Survey
quondumprseostensa super fluvium vocabulo
Locha,sedemsibiconstituit,inquasi—bi oftheprimitiveIrishChurch;anditisa
which cannot be accounted for, otherwise than by supposing the episcopal and abbatial offices to have been early combined in the persons of St. Mac Nissi's successors, that the rectories
and advowsons of the principal parishes of Connor diocese, wherein the bishop had
property, belonged, at the Dissolution, to the Abbot of Kells. Such an arrangement
would naturally follow from a partition of 15 Harris very wisely, and after him the two functions, and the appointment of
discipulorum multitude brevi exeravit. '"' very
curious
fact,
easily
"
Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii, p. 26. The Campus Coba here mentioned is called rtiAJ Cooa in the Irish Annals, and it belonged to a district of Iveagh, which ex- tended to the neighbourhood of Newry, according to the taxation of the Diocese of Dromore, at Domnachmore.
14 At a. d. 550, compared -with a. d. 456,
in Index Chronologicus. See pp. 521, 531.
Archdall, assign the foundation of Muck-
more to about 550. See Rev. Dr. Lani- "
two officers to discharge the duties and en-. joy the privileges hitherto combined in one. Thus, while the Bishop of Connor was seised
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland,"
gan's
vol. i. , chap, ix. , sect, i. , n. io, pp. of the temporalities ot the sixteen towns of
433, 434-
16 See Rev. Wm. Reeves' " Ecclesiastical
Antiquities of Down and Connor and
Dromore," Appendix n. (T), p. 238. That a succession of Abbots, after the death of
St. Macnessius, continued in the Monastery
Connor, the eight towns of Glynn, the four towns of Duneane, the four towns of Drum- maul, the four towns of Kilroote, and the manor of Kilkenan, the Abbot of Kells en- joyed the advowsons of the churches built on these lands, and the rectorial tithes of
Deserto
September 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 73
St. MacNissi, the first bishop. Its ancient church appears to have been
22
attached to the monastery," at this spot, while the founder of the See
fulfilled in person the united offices of abbot and bishop. From undoubted annalistic records, the junction of both these dignities in the same person can be traced down to the eleventh century. A well-informed writer,23 dis- tinguished for his great erudition and research on the subject of Irish Ecclesiastical History, is unable to pronounce when those offices became
permanently separated. He thinks it likely, however, such a partition took
place during the twelfth century.
Beside a river, called Curi, St. MacNissi established a religious house,
2
and it may be inferred from a passage of his Latin Life, * that some asylum
for aged and infirm persons was near it. At present, it flows through the
it is noticed as the
called 2s and in the Ulster valley, Glenwherry,
(i rivus
on the south, it winds round what is locally styled the Abbey of Kells, on the north. There are still considerable remains of an ancient building, at
the
spot.
River Main, at a place called Ballyandraid. It is related, that in order to save those who were infirm at that place from the sound of murmuring water, St. MacNissi removed the current from his abode. 2? Still are traces of an
Glan-curry. "
It enters the
parish
leaving
its church
See " De Hibernia et Antiquitatibus ejus Disquisitiones," cap.
25 Shown on the " Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the County of Down,"
sheets 38, 39.
Virgin Mary. xxvi. , p. 183.
2<5
The accompanying illustration, from a
22
It was founded here, before the year 828, by Kelloch, an anchorite, according to
photograph of Mr. T. C. Erwin, Pho-
tographer, Ballymena, taken June, 1897, has been reproduced on the wood, and en-
van's exquisite map of Hy-Many, prefixed to"TheTribesandCustomsofHy-Many,
commonly called O'Kelly's Country. "
23 The Rev. Dr. Reeves.
24 As published by the Bollandists :
"Fluvio nomine Curi, monasterium ejus quod Latine Desertum dicitur, praeterfluenti, ne sonitus ejus tarn prope transeuntis
note.
3°Headds "ThisChurch,whichisnow :
only parochial, is situate half an English mile S. E. of the Abbey of Kells. It is probable, also, that about the same time that arrangement was entered into whereby the Abbot became seised of the rectorial tithes and ad vowsons of all the neighbouring
"
Antiquities of Ire-
Harris' Ware, vol. ii,
land," chap, xxxviii. , p. 265. This state-
ment is gathered from the following entry
in the "Annals of the Four Masters," at
the year 828: " Ce^llac mc Cont>tfiAi5
•Anjcoi|\e t)ifi]\c CeAlUvij. " See Dr.
O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. , p. 442. The
learned editor omitted the translation of
this passage into English. It may be
objected, however, that such refers, not to
this place, but to Isertkelly, in the county of James O'Laverty. See Historical Account Galway, and diocese of Kilmacduach. It is of the Diocese of Down and Connor, marked "Oir-ervc Cellaij on Mr. O'Dono- Ancient and Modern," vol. iii. , p. 272,
inquisitions of Connor, and
26 Under the name of the Kells Water, that stream falls into the
28
church. 29 The Rev.
William Reeves supposes, that about the period of the
twelfth century, the Abbey de Deserto Connerice^ or Kells, became an independent establishment, when another church had been founded for cathedral or parochial purposes. Subsequently, it was called the Church of Connor. 3° Thus we find, that the foundation of what is called Disertum or
the parishes which contained them. To the same origin may be traced, also, the economy of the Cathedral of Down, where the Bishop was Abbot, and the Dean was Prior.
21
According to Sir James Ware, a house of Regular Augustine Canons, called Kells, or Disert, was here dedicated to the Blessed
earlier river-bed visible,
and which are nearer to the site of the ancient
infirmos loci molestaret, per ulteriorem viam currere prsecepit : quod continuo, ut ei
imperatum est, fecit. "—"Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Septembris iii. Vita auctore in- certo, sect. 7, p. 665.
graved by Gregor Grey.
s7 The Rev. William Reeves conjectures
that the rationale for such change may have been, that he shifted his monastery—no difficult matter for a house built more Scotorum—or that he deepened the bed of the River.
28
In the Bleach Green.
29 This information was communicated by
Mr. Robert Brown, of Kildrum, to Rev. "
74
LIVES OF THE LRLSH SAINTS. [September
x
Kells, in mediaeval times,3 must be relegated to the very earliest ages of
Christianity, and it had a succession of abbots to the period of its dissolution. 3' During the reign of King Charles I. the mediaeval abbey was still to be seen under roof ;33 but, at present, the west gable is almost the only part of the
The Abbey of Kells, County Antrim.
building which remains. It stands at the entrance of the burial ground,
whichisentirelyusedbytheRomanCatholicsofthatneighbourhood. Itis
commonly called Templemurry or Templemoyle. 34
It is related, in the Bollandists' Acts of our saint, that through the effect
of his prayers, St. Macnessius obtained the birth of a son for a woman advanced in age, and who for fifteen years previously had not given birth
parishes wherein the bishop had property. The Church of Connor stands on see land, yet the advowson of the vicarage and the rectorial tithes of the bishop's sixteen towns of Connor belonged to the Abbot of Kells. The Church of Glynn stands on see land, and yet the advowson of the vicarage and the rectorial tithes were vested in the Abbot of Kells. So also with respect to the parishes and bishop's lands of Drurnmaul, Dunean, Killroot, and Kilkenan, in Island Magee. The Castle and certain land at Glenarm were antiently held under the Bishop of Connor ; and, accordingly, the advowson of the vicarage of Templeoughter, with the rectory, w—as appendant on the abbacy of Kells. "
"
the Prior of Neddrum [circiter A. D. 1190]. This is attested by "F. Abbas de Dissert. " —Cotton Charters, No. 40, in the British Museum.
32 Murtogh Mac Annullowe, the last Abbot, was seised in 1542 of eight adjacent townlands in temporals and spirituals, of the tithes of ten other townlands, and the rectories and advowsons of nine churches.
33 In 1808, a bill was filed by Lord Mountcashell for the recovery of the im- propriate tithes of Kells, in which was the deposition of Daniel Monaghan, who de- clared that he recollected to have heard his maternal grandfather, Murtogh Dillon, say, that he was eleven years at the wars of Ire-
34 See Rev. Wm. Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor, and
Rev. Wm. Reeves' Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Con- nor and Dromore. '' Appendix n. (T),
the rebellion of 1, and 164
p. 261.
31 The ancient name of this Abbey is in
a deed of confirmation from the Primate to
land, namely,
that he had seen the Monastery of Kells after its dissolution, and before it was entirely unroofed.
September 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 75
to any offspring. Again, we are told, the father to the great St. Comgall of Bangor,35 who was named Setna, had been on a journey, accompanied by his wife Brig, occupying a seat in a chariot. Seeing our saint travelling on foot,
Setna said to his wife :
4C
woman, descend that the Bishop may take a
on
not disturb her, for she shall give birth to a king, who will rule over many. "*6
place
in this chariot. "
But,
hearing
these
words,
This was a prediction referring to St. Comgall's future eminence. n As it is s
probable, that St. Comgall of Bangor had been born, in the year 510,3 and as it is said our saint delivered a prophecy regarding him the day before his
birth, we may most probably conclude, St. Macniscius, Bishop of Connor, had been living in that year. Our saint did not survive the birth of St. Comgall for many years. Other miracles are recorded in his Acts. A town that refused hospitality to our saint was immediately consumed, as a punish- ment from on high. 39
St. Macnessius is said to have been advanced in years, when the time of
his death arrived. This was in the early part of the sixth century, although
the exact date has not been ascertained. 40 However, he departed this life,
on the 3rd day of September,41 and in the year 514,42 according to the most
probable accounts 43 although the Annals of Innisfallen name the year 506, ;
as a date for his death, with the words, "
Quies
Macnisse Condire. " The
"Chronicum Scotorum" places his death at a. d. 508. 44 Others have it during
the year 507 45 the Annals of Tigernach at a. d. 510 j and Colgan, on the
;
3rd of November,*6 a. d. 513. The Annals of the Four Masters state, that
in a. c. 5T3, the tenth year of Muircheartach's reign, St. Macnisi, i. e. , Aengus,
:'
Dromore, Appendix, n. (f), pp. 95 to 97.
36 For a fuller account of this incident, the
reader is referred by the Bollandist editor to
the Acts of St. Comgall, published at the 10th of May, in their great collection.
37 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Septembris, iii. Acta S. Macnescii, sect. 7, 8, p. 665.
38 In his previous Commentary, to the Acts of St. Macnescius, the Bollandist
"
p. &cen] iTobrvaech -oiccurerc, cuiurtnacep
ChomcAi'oe -oe -oaiL — Cnerrittge-n, Cecepen,
A <\u& normriAcuf ere mac Cneirre. "
Cneisse. "
See his Life, in the Fifth Volume
35
this work, at the 10th of May, the date for his festival, Art. i.
39 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Sep- tembris iii. Acta S. Macnescii, sect. 6, p. 665.
40 Porter states
:
" Evivis hie cessit senex
venerabilis, 3 Septembris, Anno Domini 507: vel secundum alios, 514. "—"Com- pendium Annalium Ecclesiasticorum Regni Hiberniae," cap. vii. , p. 173.
41 He died on the 3rd day of September, and under this day of the month his festival
:
is placed in the Martyrology of -dingus the
Culdee —
He alluded to the Four Masters and
"nuc msse co rmli-o
o chotiDetub m<\n<\ib. "
" Mac Nisse with thousands From the great Condere. "
42 His death is recorded in the Annals of
as follows :—" 10 [recte 514]. Tigernach 5
of
sect, xiv. , p. 422, ibid.
44 See William M. Hennessy's edition,
PP- 36, 37-
45 •« Ware, following these Annals, has
(Ant. , cap. 29) the year 507. Harris, with his usual sagacity, observes (Bishops at Connor), that this date does not agree with that of the Innisfallen Annals, which have 506. But," writes Rev. Dr. Lanigan, "Ware knew what Harris did not, viz. , that said 506 was the same as our 507. Archdall (at Conner) left a. d. 506, as he found it. But Ware (in Bishops) adds that, according to some, Macnisse died A. D.
514.
Colgan, who have (A. A. S. S. p. 190) a. d. 513, 514. " See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , sect, ii. , p. 435, and n. 31, p. 439.
46 This is an error of the printer, as Sep- tember was evidently intended. See "Acta Kl iiii. true mr-p. . 1. <\enj;ur< erpuc Sanctorum Hiberniae," Januarii xxix. Vita
Conx>er\e <juieuic ; cuiuf j? r\4cer* [recte S. Gildse Badonici, n. 13, p. 190.
ut habent ejus Acta, torn, ii. , Maii, pag. 583. "
editor observes, regarding St. Comgall,
"s
514 Kal iiii.
our saint " Do replied :
Mac Nissi, i. e. , ^Engus, Bishop of Connor, rested ; whose father was called Fobraech ; whose mother, Cness, was daughter of Comchaide of the Dal Ceteren, from whom he was named Mac
43 of See "Ecclesiastical History
Ireland," vol. i. , chap, viii. , sect, ix. , p. 403, and
76 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September3.
Bishop of Coinnere, or Connor, departed on the 3rd day of November. 4 * The insertion of November for September is an error, on the part of those annalists. 48 The Bollandists inform us, that Castellanus refers the death of St. Macniscius, Bishop over Connor, to about the year 600, or 589. But, they state, that by protracting his life to either of these years, Castellanus *9 appears to have confounded our saint with the Abbot Macniscius. The holy Bishop and founder of the see was buried in the city of Connor. 5°
The festival of St. Macnessius was celebrated on the 3rd of September, according to the Martyrology of Aengus, and all the Irish Calendars. In the Kalendar. of Drummond, he is recorded at the same date. 51 Also, Castellanus,52 and the more recent Martyrologists place it at the 3rd of September. In the Diocese of Connor, his festival is celebrated with a Double Office of the first-class, and with an Octave; in conjunction with St. Malachy O'Morgair, he is esteemed as the principal patron over that ecclesiastical division of Ireland. Nicholas Anthony O' Kenny, the Protono- tary Apostolic, published Proper Masses for the Patron Saints of France and of Ireland, in the year 1734. 53 Those were edited and printed by order of Clement XII. 54 Among them is to be found a Mass, at the 3rd day of September,55 and proper for the feast of St, Macnessius, Bishop and Con- fessor, as likewise general Patron over the Church and Diocese. The Bollandist editor has inserted this Mass ; or at least the proper portions of it, in a previous commentary. 56
47 See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. , pp. 168, 169.
48
Dr. Lanigan is at fault, in his conjecture, as not having examined, probably, a copy of the Annals of the Four Masters. After
vincia Hiberniae, S. Magnissius episcopus Connerensis. " In the supplement to ids
work, he more rightly adds : ". Macniseus, id est filius Nisae, quod erat nomen matris
ejus-'' See p. 705.
53 Bishop de Burgo has unaccountably
omitted St. in the " Officia Macnessius,
Propria Sanctorum Hibernise," published in Dublin, 1751.
54 See, also, the Rev.
performing his journeys, through reverence for the Gospels, this holy man
was accustomed to bear books containing its text, on his stooped shoulders,
they being secured by no kind of fastening. These, with such like virtues,
and also miracles, distinguished our holy bishop, during his sojourn upon
6
earth.
We are told, that St. Colman of Dromore,? after the year 500, established
anoblemonastery,byadviceofSt. Macnessius,BishopofConnor. Itwas situated on the banks of the river Locha,8 a former name for the Lagan, which flows through Dromore. 9 This place was also called Druim Mocholmog,10 after the patron saint. It must have been erected, before a. d. 514, when, at the very latest, Macnessius died. 11 Most incorrectly has Archbishop Ussher, by a mere conjecture, assigned the erection of Dromore
monastery to the year 550.
I2
In doing so, he has fallen into the prevalent
maturga," Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. ,
in composition.
4 The Bollandist editor remarks in a note,
that a nearly similar vision of St. Patrick is related by Joceline, in which it is stated,
in a place where he saw much light and heard the canticles of an angelic choir, the Irish Apostle predicted that a Son of Life named Colmanellus should there build a
this work, at the 7th of June, Art i.
8 "The River which was also Locha,
called CAfAri-l/me, is the modern La°an, upon which Dromore is built. "—Rev. Wm. Reeves' " Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore," n. (c), pp. 104, 105.
9 In the Ecclesiastical Taxation of the
Diocese of Dromore, compiled A. D. 1306, the Church of Drummore is rated at three marks, the Tenth amounting to —2s. and 8d.
n. In 219, p. 183.
at the
time, many local denominations have Lann
and
church, gather many
Sons of
to The church of the — also the Light, parish
Wales,
present
becompanionsoftheAngels. SeeColgan's cathedral of the diocese was antiently "Trias Thaumaturga," Sexta Vita S. styled ''Ecclesia Sancti Colmani," or Patricii, cap. xcvi. , p. 87. Father Veldius "Colmoci;" but under the charter of
"
suspects, that the vision there related had James I. , in 1609, Ecclesia Christi Re-
been transferred to St. Macniscius, with the addition of the sixty years term elapsing in the case of Colman Ela. A doubt has been expressed by Colgan, as to whether St. Patrick alluded to St. Colman, the future
of — or to St. Colman Ela bishop Dromore,
ofLynally oftenstyledColmanellus. Both
are said to have been disciples of Mac- ridge or hill of Mocholmeg," instead of niscius, while both flourished at the same "0|unm mop, "the great ridge or hill. " The time, and in that part ot Ulster called word "orvuim is cognate to the Latin
is mentioned at the 7th of June, where his
dorsum; thus, Adamnan Latinizes Drium- cheat by Dorsum Cete. In the present instance, it refers either to the rising ground
"
over the town, or to the
which is near the town on the east side.
11 "
See Rev Dr. Lanigan's Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol i. , chap, ix. , sect i,, Septembris hi. De Sancto Macniscio p. 432, and vol ii. , cap. xiv. , sect. , ii. , n. 26,
Dalnardia, or more properly Dal-aradia. Seeidid. , n. 106, p. 113.
5 The feast of St. Colman, of Lynally, is kept on the 26th of September, at which day notices of him may be found, in the present volume.
Great Fort,"
6 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Episcopo, Vita auctore incerto, sect. 9, p. 665. p. 308.
12 "
7 See his Acts, in the Sixth Volume of See Britannicarum Ecclesiarum
demptoris de Drumore. " It was originally attached to a monastic institution, and it was founded by St. Colman or Colmac, its first bishop and abbot.
10
In the calendar of the Four Masters, he
is called "Dmum "the church mocoltnoS,
if it do please you,
72 LI VES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 3.
error of confounding Colman-Eala, of Lynally and Muckamore, with Colaian or Colmanellus of Dromore. ^ He seems to have paid no attention to the date of Macnessius's death, although he had before him the Annals of Innis- fallen. These records assign it to as early as the year 506. He also confounded ** the monastery near the Locha, viz. , of Dromore, with that of Muckmore, a place in the County of Antrim. 15
It has been stated, that St. Macnessius became the superior of a religious community, which he established at Connor, and that he continued to govern it until his death. '6 we do not find ancient in
Although any authority, confirmation of such a statement ; yet, considering the usual customs in the
foundation of early missions in this country, we may regard the account as
fairly probable. There is reason also for a supposition, that the original establishment of St. Macnessius was not situated at Connor, but at a place not far distant, and formerly known as the Desert of Connor. 1 ? It is now called Kells, 18 in the parish, and about one half mile west from the church, of Connor. There is some foundation for the supposition, that this monas- tery,^ and not Connor,20 is the representative of those churches founded by
Antiquitates," Index Chonologicus, ad of Connor, appears from the Annals of that
annum dl. , p. 531. Also cap. xvii. , pp. 45 ! » 497-
13 In the Life of St. Colman, published by the Bollandists, at the 7th of June, several clues are given to the discovery of the real date, for the foundation of Dromore, and
about the year 500 may be assigned. That it took place before 513, the following passage proves, because St. MacNissi died
" Deinde saepe venerabilem
place, in the same work. —Ibid. , pp. 239 to 243. The first recorded death of an Abbot over Connor occurs at a. d. 773 [778], more than 200 years after the death of St. Mac- nessius.
17 According to the Ecclesiastical Taxa-
tion of the Diocese of Connor, compiled in
the year 1306, temporalities belonging to the Abbot of the Desert of Connor are set down at £8 6s. 8d. The tenth of this was 16s. 8d.
in that year
—Macnyseum Conderensem Episcopum petit.
:
Illuc perveniens,
ceptus est : ibique paucis diebus mansit. Deinde inito consilio, venerabilem senem, ubi locum, serviendi Deo fundare deberet consulit. Qui respondit : Voluntas Dei est, ut in finibus campi Coda tibi construas monasterium. Beatus igitur Colmanus secundum verbum Sancti Fontificis, fines illas adiit : ibique in valle, sancto Patricio
18 It is shown on the " Ordnance Townland Maps for the County of Down," sheet 38.
19 It is called Ecclesia Beatae Marias de
"
in the old Terrier.
20 At the Dissolution, Connor benefice
was but a vicarage, the rectory and advow- son being vested in the Abbot of Kells. St. Mac Nissi's Church was a conventual one, like most of the early episcopal seats
in omni hilaritate
sus-
Survey
quondumprseostensa super fluvium vocabulo
Locha,sedemsibiconstituit,inquasi—bi oftheprimitiveIrishChurch;anditisa
which cannot be accounted for, otherwise than by supposing the episcopal and abbatial offices to have been early combined in the persons of St. Mac Nissi's successors, that the rectories
and advowsons of the principal parishes of Connor diocese, wherein the bishop had
property, belonged, at the Dissolution, to the Abbot of Kells. Such an arrangement
would naturally follow from a partition of 15 Harris very wisely, and after him the two functions, and the appointment of
discipulorum multitude brevi exeravit. '"' very
curious
fact,
easily
"
Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii, p. 26. The Campus Coba here mentioned is called rtiAJ Cooa in the Irish Annals, and it belonged to a district of Iveagh, which ex- tended to the neighbourhood of Newry, according to the taxation of the Diocese of Dromore, at Domnachmore.
14 At a. d. 550, compared -with a. d. 456,
in Index Chronologicus. See pp. 521, 531.
Archdall, assign the foundation of Muck-
more to about 550. See Rev. Dr. Lani- "
two officers to discharge the duties and en-. joy the privileges hitherto combined in one. Thus, while the Bishop of Connor was seised
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland,"
gan's
vol. i. , chap, ix. , sect, i. , n. io, pp. of the temporalities ot the sixteen towns of
433, 434-
16 See Rev. Wm. Reeves' " Ecclesiastical
Antiquities of Down and Connor and
Dromore," Appendix n. (T), p. 238. That a succession of Abbots, after the death of
St. Macnessius, continued in the Monastery
Connor, the eight towns of Glynn, the four towns of Duneane, the four towns of Drum- maul, the four towns of Kilroote, and the manor of Kilkenan, the Abbot of Kells en- joyed the advowsons of the churches built on these lands, and the rectorial tithes of
Deserto
September 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 73
St. MacNissi, the first bishop. Its ancient church appears to have been
22
attached to the monastery," at this spot, while the founder of the See
fulfilled in person the united offices of abbot and bishop. From undoubted annalistic records, the junction of both these dignities in the same person can be traced down to the eleventh century. A well-informed writer,23 dis- tinguished for his great erudition and research on the subject of Irish Ecclesiastical History, is unable to pronounce when those offices became
permanently separated. He thinks it likely, however, such a partition took
place during the twelfth century.
Beside a river, called Curi, St. MacNissi established a religious house,
2
and it may be inferred from a passage of his Latin Life, * that some asylum
for aged and infirm persons was near it. At present, it flows through the
it is noticed as the
called 2s and in the Ulster valley, Glenwherry,
(i rivus
on the south, it winds round what is locally styled the Abbey of Kells, on the north. There are still considerable remains of an ancient building, at
the
spot.
River Main, at a place called Ballyandraid. It is related, that in order to save those who were infirm at that place from the sound of murmuring water, St. MacNissi removed the current from his abode. 2? Still are traces of an
Glan-curry. "
It enters the
parish
leaving
its church
See " De Hibernia et Antiquitatibus ejus Disquisitiones," cap.
25 Shown on the " Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the County of Down,"
sheets 38, 39.
Virgin Mary. xxvi. , p. 183.
2<5
The accompanying illustration, from a
22
It was founded here, before the year 828, by Kelloch, an anchorite, according to
photograph of Mr. T. C. Erwin, Pho-
tographer, Ballymena, taken June, 1897, has been reproduced on the wood, and en-
van's exquisite map of Hy-Many, prefixed to"TheTribesandCustomsofHy-Many,
commonly called O'Kelly's Country. "
23 The Rev. Dr. Reeves.
24 As published by the Bollandists :
"Fluvio nomine Curi, monasterium ejus quod Latine Desertum dicitur, praeterfluenti, ne sonitus ejus tarn prope transeuntis
note.
3°Headds "ThisChurch,whichisnow :
only parochial, is situate half an English mile S. E. of the Abbey of Kells. It is probable, also, that about the same time that arrangement was entered into whereby the Abbot became seised of the rectorial tithes and ad vowsons of all the neighbouring
"
Antiquities of Ire-
Harris' Ware, vol. ii,
land," chap, xxxviii. , p. 265. This state-
ment is gathered from the following entry
in the "Annals of the Four Masters," at
the year 828: " Ce^llac mc Cont>tfiAi5
•Anjcoi|\e t)ifi]\c CeAlUvij. " See Dr.
O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. , p. 442. The
learned editor omitted the translation of
this passage into English. It may be
objected, however, that such refers, not to
this place, but to Isertkelly, in the county of James O'Laverty. See Historical Account Galway, and diocese of Kilmacduach. It is of the Diocese of Down and Connor, marked "Oir-ervc Cellaij on Mr. O'Dono- Ancient and Modern," vol. iii. , p. 272,
inquisitions of Connor, and
26 Under the name of the Kells Water, that stream falls into the
28
church. 29 The Rev.
William Reeves supposes, that about the period of the
twelfth century, the Abbey de Deserto Connerice^ or Kells, became an independent establishment, when another church had been founded for cathedral or parochial purposes. Subsequently, it was called the Church of Connor. 3° Thus we find, that the foundation of what is called Disertum or
the parishes which contained them. To the same origin may be traced, also, the economy of the Cathedral of Down, where the Bishop was Abbot, and the Dean was Prior.
21
According to Sir James Ware, a house of Regular Augustine Canons, called Kells, or Disert, was here dedicated to the Blessed
earlier river-bed visible,
and which are nearer to the site of the ancient
infirmos loci molestaret, per ulteriorem viam currere prsecepit : quod continuo, ut ei
imperatum est, fecit. "—"Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Septembris iii. Vita auctore in- certo, sect. 7, p. 665.
graved by Gregor Grey.
s7 The Rev. William Reeves conjectures
that the rationale for such change may have been, that he shifted his monastery—no difficult matter for a house built more Scotorum—or that he deepened the bed of the River.
28
In the Bleach Green.
29 This information was communicated by
Mr. Robert Brown, of Kildrum, to Rev. "
74
LIVES OF THE LRLSH SAINTS. [September
x
Kells, in mediaeval times,3 must be relegated to the very earliest ages of
Christianity, and it had a succession of abbots to the period of its dissolution. 3' During the reign of King Charles I. the mediaeval abbey was still to be seen under roof ;33 but, at present, the west gable is almost the only part of the
The Abbey of Kells, County Antrim.
building which remains. It stands at the entrance of the burial ground,
whichisentirelyusedbytheRomanCatholicsofthatneighbourhood. Itis
commonly called Templemurry or Templemoyle. 34
It is related, in the Bollandists' Acts of our saint, that through the effect
of his prayers, St. Macnessius obtained the birth of a son for a woman advanced in age, and who for fifteen years previously had not given birth
parishes wherein the bishop had property. The Church of Connor stands on see land, yet the advowson of the vicarage and the rectorial tithes of the bishop's sixteen towns of Connor belonged to the Abbot of Kells. The Church of Glynn stands on see land, and yet the advowson of the vicarage and the rectorial tithes were vested in the Abbot of Kells. So also with respect to the parishes and bishop's lands of Drurnmaul, Dunean, Killroot, and Kilkenan, in Island Magee. The Castle and certain land at Glenarm were antiently held under the Bishop of Connor ; and, accordingly, the advowson of the vicarage of Templeoughter, with the rectory, w—as appendant on the abbacy of Kells. "
"
the Prior of Neddrum [circiter A. D. 1190]. This is attested by "F. Abbas de Dissert. " —Cotton Charters, No. 40, in the British Museum.
32 Murtogh Mac Annullowe, the last Abbot, was seised in 1542 of eight adjacent townlands in temporals and spirituals, of the tithes of ten other townlands, and the rectories and advowsons of nine churches.
33 In 1808, a bill was filed by Lord Mountcashell for the recovery of the im- propriate tithes of Kells, in which was the deposition of Daniel Monaghan, who de- clared that he recollected to have heard his maternal grandfather, Murtogh Dillon, say, that he was eleven years at the wars of Ire-
34 See Rev. Wm. Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor, and
Rev. Wm. Reeves' Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Con- nor and Dromore. '' Appendix n. (T),
the rebellion of 1, and 164
p. 261.
31 The ancient name of this Abbey is in
a deed of confirmation from the Primate to
land, namely,
that he had seen the Monastery of Kells after its dissolution, and before it was entirely unroofed.
September 3. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 75
to any offspring. Again, we are told, the father to the great St. Comgall of Bangor,35 who was named Setna, had been on a journey, accompanied by his wife Brig, occupying a seat in a chariot. Seeing our saint travelling on foot,
Setna said to his wife :
4C
woman, descend that the Bishop may take a
on
not disturb her, for she shall give birth to a king, who will rule over many. "*6
place
in this chariot. "
But,
hearing
these
words,
This was a prediction referring to St. Comgall's future eminence. n As it is s
probable, that St. Comgall of Bangor had been born, in the year 510,3 and as it is said our saint delivered a prophecy regarding him the day before his
birth, we may most probably conclude, St. Macniscius, Bishop of Connor, had been living in that year. Our saint did not survive the birth of St. Comgall for many years. Other miracles are recorded in his Acts. A town that refused hospitality to our saint was immediately consumed, as a punish- ment from on high. 39
St. Macnessius is said to have been advanced in years, when the time of
his death arrived. This was in the early part of the sixth century, although
the exact date has not been ascertained. 40 However, he departed this life,
on the 3rd day of September,41 and in the year 514,42 according to the most
probable accounts 43 although the Annals of Innisfallen name the year 506, ;
as a date for his death, with the words, "
Quies
Macnisse Condire. " The
"Chronicum Scotorum" places his death at a. d. 508. 44 Others have it during
the year 507 45 the Annals of Tigernach at a. d. 510 j and Colgan, on the
;
3rd of November,*6 a. d. 513. The Annals of the Four Masters state, that
in a. c. 5T3, the tenth year of Muircheartach's reign, St. Macnisi, i. e. , Aengus,
:'
Dromore, Appendix, n. (f), pp. 95 to 97.
36 For a fuller account of this incident, the
reader is referred by the Bollandist editor to
the Acts of St. Comgall, published at the 10th of May, in their great collection.
37 See " Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Septembris, iii. Acta S. Macnescii, sect. 7, 8, p. 665.
38 In his previous Commentary, to the Acts of St. Macnescius, the Bollandist
"
p. &cen] iTobrvaech -oiccurerc, cuiurtnacep
ChomcAi'oe -oe -oaiL — Cnerrittge-n, Cecepen,
A <\u& normriAcuf ere mac Cneirre. "
Cneisse. "
See his Life, in the Fifth Volume
35
this work, at the 10th of May, the date for his festival, Art. i.
39 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Sep- tembris iii. Acta S. Macnescii, sect. 6, p. 665.
40 Porter states
:
" Evivis hie cessit senex
venerabilis, 3 Septembris, Anno Domini 507: vel secundum alios, 514. "—"Com- pendium Annalium Ecclesiasticorum Regni Hiberniae," cap. vii. , p. 173.
41 He died on the 3rd day of September, and under this day of the month his festival
:
is placed in the Martyrology of -dingus the
Culdee —
He alluded to the Four Masters and
"nuc msse co rmli-o
o chotiDetub m<\n<\ib. "
" Mac Nisse with thousands From the great Condere. "
42 His death is recorded in the Annals of
as follows :—" 10 [recte 514]. Tigernach 5
of
sect, xiv. , p. 422, ibid.
44 See William M. Hennessy's edition,
PP- 36, 37-
45 •« Ware, following these Annals, has
(Ant. , cap. 29) the year 507. Harris, with his usual sagacity, observes (Bishops at Connor), that this date does not agree with that of the Innisfallen Annals, which have 506. But," writes Rev. Dr. Lanigan, "Ware knew what Harris did not, viz. , that said 506 was the same as our 507. Archdall (at Conner) left a. d. 506, as he found it. But Ware (in Bishops) adds that, according to some, Macnisse died A. D.
514.
Colgan, who have (A. A. S. S. p. 190) a. d. 513, 514. " See "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. i. , chap, ix. , sect, ii. , p. 435, and n. 31, p. 439.
46 This is an error of the printer, as Sep- tember was evidently intended. See "Acta Kl iiii. true mr-p. . 1. <\enj;ur< erpuc Sanctorum Hiberniae," Januarii xxix. Vita
Conx>er\e <juieuic ; cuiuf j? r\4cer* [recte S. Gildse Badonici, n. 13, p. 190.
ut habent ejus Acta, torn, ii. , Maii, pag. 583. "
editor observes, regarding St. Comgall,
"s
514 Kal iiii.
our saint " Do replied :
Mac Nissi, i. e. , ^Engus, Bishop of Connor, rested ; whose father was called Fobraech ; whose mother, Cness, was daughter of Comchaide of the Dal Ceteren, from whom he was named Mac
43 of See "Ecclesiastical History
Ireland," vol. i. , chap, viii. , sect, ix. , p. 403, and
76 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September3.
Bishop of Coinnere, or Connor, departed on the 3rd day of November. 4 * The insertion of November for September is an error, on the part of those annalists. 48 The Bollandists inform us, that Castellanus refers the death of St. Macniscius, Bishop over Connor, to about the year 600, or 589. But, they state, that by protracting his life to either of these years, Castellanus *9 appears to have confounded our saint with the Abbot Macniscius. The holy Bishop and founder of the see was buried in the city of Connor. 5°
The festival of St. Macnessius was celebrated on the 3rd of September, according to the Martyrology of Aengus, and all the Irish Calendars. In the Kalendar. of Drummond, he is recorded at the same date. 51 Also, Castellanus,52 and the more recent Martyrologists place it at the 3rd of September. In the Diocese of Connor, his festival is celebrated with a Double Office of the first-class, and with an Octave; in conjunction with St. Malachy O'Morgair, he is esteemed as the principal patron over that ecclesiastical division of Ireland. Nicholas Anthony O' Kenny, the Protono- tary Apostolic, published Proper Masses for the Patron Saints of France and of Ireland, in the year 1734. 53 Those were edited and printed by order of Clement XII. 54 Among them is to be found a Mass, at the 3rd day of September,55 and proper for the feast of St, Macnessius, Bishop and Con- fessor, as likewise general Patron over the Church and Diocese. The Bollandist editor has inserted this Mass ; or at least the proper portions of it, in a previous commentary. 56
47 See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. , pp. 168, 169.
48
Dr. Lanigan is at fault, in his conjecture, as not having examined, probably, a copy of the Annals of the Four Masters. After
vincia Hiberniae, S. Magnissius episcopus Connerensis. " In the supplement to ids
work, he more rightly adds : ". Macniseus, id est filius Nisae, quod erat nomen matris
ejus-'' See p. 705.
53 Bishop de Burgo has unaccountably
omitted St. in the " Officia Macnessius,
Propria Sanctorum Hibernise," published in Dublin, 1751.
54 See, also, the Rev.
