No More Learning

Article III. —St. Eoghan, Bishop of Cremhcaille, or Abbot of MoviLLE, County of Down. At this date, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' we find noticed, Eoghan, a bishop and a wise man, of Maigh Cremhcaille. The Bollandists,^ who follow this authority, have entered his festival, at the 31st of May, in this form : Eugenius Episcopus et Sapiens de Magh-Creainb- Chaill. Thissaint'splaceseemstobeidenticalwithCreamchoill,nowCran-
field,3 in the barony of Upper Toome, and in the deanery of Hy-Turtre, diocese of Connor, and county of Antrim. 4 Under the head of Magh-cremhchoille,5 Duald Mac Firbis enters, Eoghan, bishop, and sage of Magh-Cremhchoille, at May the 31st. The name Magh-cremhchoille, signifies " the plain of the wild garlic wood ;" but, it has not been clearly identified. ^ Likewise, on this day, theMartyrologyofDonegal^ recordsthefestivalofEoghan,AbbotofMagh- bile. ^ From the year 731 forward, this place, now called Moville, in the county of Down, is noticed in our Annals, only, as being under the govern- ment of Abbots.
Article IV St. Maelodhrain, of Slane, County of Meath. At the 31st of May, the Martyrology of Tallagh ^ records an entry, regarding Moelodran of Slaan. The BoUandists ^ have as a festival, at this date, Moeldranus Slanensis, and following the same authority. This place deriving its name from Slanius a former monarch of Ireland 3 —was situated near the River Boyne, and in the County of Meath. It is now known as Slane, where it is said St. Here, or St. Erc,^ became its first bishop, in the time of St. Patrick,s by whom he had been consecrated. To St. Ere is attri- buted the foundation of a hermitage near the beautiful Hill of Slane, over the winding and picturesque course of the Boyne River. It is situated to the south of the town, and it is said, but incorrectly, that Regular Canons of St. Austin were here established. It was celebrated during the early ages of Christianity, and according to tradition, Dagobert,^ King of Austrasia, was
Article iit. — ' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. XXV.
^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 418.
County of Antrim," sheets 49, 54. The p. 418.
more," Appendix A, p. 152, and Appendix LL, p. 378. —
Article iv. ' Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xxv.
^ See "Acta Sanctormn," tomus vii. , nance Survey Townland Maps for the Maii xxxi. Among the pretermitted saints,
3 This parish is described, on the " Ord-
townland proper is on sheet 49.
" See Rev. Dr. Reeves' " Antiquities of
Down, Connor, and Dromore," p. 82, n. (a).
5 See "Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish MSS. Series, vol. i. , part i. , pp. 122, 123.
° See note of William M. Hennessy.
7 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeve? , pp. 140, 141.
^ His name, as abbot of Moville, I have not been able to find in the " Annals of the Four Masters. "
' See Rev. William Reeves' " Ecclesias- tical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dro-
^ See William Robert Wilde's " Beauties of the Boyne, and its Tributary, the Black- water," cliap. i. , p. 14.
* His feast is referred to the and of November.
^ See his Life, in the Third Volume of this work, at the 17th of March, Art. i. , chap. ix.
^ He flourished in the seventh centurj', being son to Sigebert III. , and on the death of his father, Grimoald, Mayor of the Palace, seized on his young son, who was only three years of age, while Dido Bishop of Poitiers conducted him to Ireland. Here, it is said, the young prince resided for many years, and
620 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAWTS. [May 31.
here educated. ? Slane was frequently pillaged, by the Northmen. ^ The Franciscans seem to have occupied the hermitage of St. Ere during the middle ages. The hermitage 9 lies within the Marquis of Conyngham's Demesne, on the northern bank of the river, and immediately below the castle, embosomed within the dark shadows, in a grove of ancient yews. Considerable portions of this picturesque building still exist. '° Near the site of his original church are the ruins of afineold Franciscan monastery, founded a. d. 1512," erected by Christopher Fleming, Lord of Slane,'=^ and by his wife, on behalf of two
Hermitage of St. Ere, Slane.
Franciscan Friars, who then dwelt in St. Erc's hermitage, and foj the order to which they belonged. This Priory was suppressed, in the 38th year of King Henry VIII. , and it was re-granted to the Flemings, whose possessions were forfeited to the crown, after the Insurrection of i64i. '3 On this day, a festival to honour Maelodhrain, of Slane, was celebrated, as we read in the Martyr- ology of Donegal. '4 With his parentage and period, we are not acquainted.
here, too, he married a " Princess Matilda," by whom he liad several children. In theyear 673, after the assassination of Childeric II. , and a revolution accomplished in Fiance, the Austrasinns called Dagohcrt II. , from his exile in Ireland to become their sovereign. See M. Michelet's " Histoire de France," tomei. , liv. i. , chap. i. ,])]! . 27310 278.
^ See F"iancis Grose's "Antiquities of Ire- land," vol. ii. , p. I.
® See ibid.
' The accompanying illustration, drawn originally on the spot, by William F. Wake- man, was transferred i)y him to the wood, engraved by Mrs. Millard.
'"See William R. Wilde's "Beauties of
the Boyne, and its Tributary, the Black- water," chap, vii. , pp. 174. 175.
" Two views, one by B. nralet, and the other by T. Cocking, A. D. 1791, are found in Grose's "Antiquities ol Ireland," with an article by Rev. Edward Ledwich, vol. ii. , I'P- I to 3.
" In Robert O'Callaghan Newenham's " Picturesque Views of the Antiquities of Ireland," there are two interesting dr. usings on stone, by James D. Harding, of the Castle and Churcli at Slane, as also of Slane Castle, vol. i.
'3 See ibid pn. 18, 19. y
^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 140, 141.
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May 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 621
ArticleV. St. ErninofCranfieldParish,CountyofAntrim. According to tlie Martyralogy of Donegal/ Ernin, of Cremchoill, was vene- rated on this day. This place is now identified with Cranfield parish, in the diocese of Connor, and county of Antrim. Its name ^ appears in a variety of forms. It has been denominated Crewill, Croghill, Cramchill, Cremchoill, Cremhcaille, Cranghill, Crawnkill, and Creamchoill. Although the whole parish is laid down on the Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the county of Antrim,3 as containing only one townland yet, formerly, there were
;
undoubtedly four townlands within it. These were known as Ballykeel,
Ballyharvine,BallynarryandTamnaderry. InBallykeel,thereisalargeand much frequented burial ground, surrounding the ruins of an old church. This is in a very perfec^ condition, and it measures 37 feet 4 inches, by 15 feet g inches, in the clear. About one half mile to the north stands the shaft of an ancient black oak cross, probably set there as a termon mark. *
Article VI. St. Coirpre, Abbot of Moville, County of Down. In the Calendar of Saints, compiled by the Rev. William Reeves,^ we find a saint of this name, not noticed in the published Martyrologies of Tallagh or of Donegal. Nor elsewhere do we discover this saint's name, for the present date.
Article VII. Feast of St. Chrysogenus, Martyr, at Aquileia. In the Irish Church, according to the "Feilire"' of St. iEngus, the Festival of St. Chrysogenus was celebrated, at the 31st of May. From ancient Manuscripts,^theBollandists3 noticethefeastofChrysogonus,aMartyrat Aquileia, joining with him Saints Cantius, Cantianus, and Cantianilla, but,
they refer his proper festival or Natalis, to the 24th of November.
Article VIII. St. Petronilla, Virgin. The feast of St. Petronilla was held in the early Irish Church, on the 3tst of May, as we learn from the " Feilire " of St. ^ngus. ' The commentator to the copy in the " Leabhar Breac " states,^ that she was the daughter 3 of the Apostle St. Peter, and that
Article v. — ' Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 140, 141.
"" It has been AngUcized "a wild-garlic wood. "
3 See sheet 49.
* See Rev. William Reeves' " Ecclesias- tical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dro- more," pp. 87, 88. And, Appendix LL, p. 378.
Article vi. — ' See "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor and Dromore," Appendix LL, p. 378.
Article viz. —' From the "Leabhar Breac" copy, the following quatrain and its English translation by Dr. Whitley Stokes are given :
Cefit) C-pifogini
LApAif pecT\onibbA
tni triAi coniec mile DiApiMtnpieb fO|^cn1<i•o<ie.
"Chrysogenus' suffering, with Petronilla's passion. May's month protection of thou-
" Trans actions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, by Whitley Stokes,
LL. D. p. Ixxxii.
= That of St. Jerome, of Aquisgranensis,
and one belonging to the Queen of Sweden. 3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. , Mali xxxi.
Among the pretermitted samts,
P- 420.
Article viil—' See "Transactions of
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus, by Whitley Stokes. LL. D. , p. Ixxxii.
* See ibid. , p. xci.
^ in the lower margin are these words: "Petronilla filia Petri apostoli uirgo fuit quae grigorio atestante absque ferri incisione
sands, two chief feasts close it. "
—
622
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 31.
——
she found the head of St. Paul the Apostle, after it had been forty years con- cealed from Nero. In the Kalendar of Driimmond 4 her feast is entered, likewise, at the same date. s In like manner, on this day, the BoUandists, quotmg from old Acts, and from various sources, have a historical disquisi- tion on this holy Roman Virgin. There, in ten paragraphs, Father Godefrid Henschen endeavours to investigate those particulars recorded, about her death, about the relationship borne to her spiritual father St. Peter, as also, about tlie traces of her ailtiis and relics. He instances, likewise, the names of other female saints similarly designated. ^
ArticleIX. TheBlessedJohnMeagh,S. J. ,Martyr,nearPrague, Bohemia. \Seventeenth Century. '] A peculiarly religious interest connected with the Life of a holy servant of Christ, and as serving to illustrate the devo- tion of an Irish martyr towards St. Dympna, Virgin and Martyr,' deserves to be recorded. His career closed, also, with the victorious laurel of martyr- dom. John Meagh, a native of Cork, in Ireland, having voluntarily exiled himself from a country, then suffering from dire calamities, travelled through France, Spain and Italy. ' While this pious man lived at Naples, he hap- pened to meet a book, which contained an account of the lives and acts of various saints. Touched with a sudden inspiration, he besought the Almighty to guide him, whilst casually opening this book, to the life of some saint, whose example might become the model by which his own future course should be guided. On opening the leaves, he first met with the Life of St. Dympna, the Martyr. Thinking, however, that tlie biography of this youthful virgin was somewhat inapplicable to the purpose had in view, he was about to try again, if a more suitable subject for reading should be presented. Yet, on considering for a moment, the pious man resolved—still with some degree of reluctance—on studying the lessons to be derived from a perusal of St. Dympna's acts. While passing over the pages, his interest in the subject gradually increased ; especially when he found, that this noble virgin, when persecuted by the dreaded and unnatural solicitations of her father, fled as an exile from her friends and country, to avoid idolatry, and as a consequence of her heroic resolutions, she obtained the crown of martyrdom, in reward for her virtues of faith and holy purity. The following train of reflections then took possession of his mind : " How, if God should desire me, flying from the heresy now introduced into Ireland, to resolve on a farther flight from sinful occasions, by embracing a religious state ? And, afterwards, when I am ordered to return, might I not obtain a share in St. Dympna's crown of martyrdom? " We are next informed, that this good Irishman was induced to
in pace quieuit. Petronilla filia Petri apos- Romana. Commentarius historicus. De ejus toli iiirgo luit qu? e post multa miracula obitu, spirituali Patre S. Petro, cuitu, Keli-
ieiunis et orationibus necnon cleemosynaiio cseterisque Sanctis actibus dedita cum sancta uirgine fclicula collectanea sua post sacra- mentum corporis et sanguinis Chirsti suscep- turn se reclinans in lectulo emisit spiritum et sic flaccum coniugem eius potentem euasit. " Ibid.
* Thus : " Rome Natale Sanctae Petro- nille Virginis filie Beati Petri Apostoli. "
s See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendarsof Scot- tish Saints," p. 14.
* See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. , Maii xxxi. De Sancta Petronilla Virgine
quiis quarum variii; aliaruin synonyniarum sint, pp. 420 to 422.
Article ix. —'
volume, at 15th of May, Art. i.
See lier Life in this
^ This narrative taken from a work written by the Jesuit Father Matthias Tanner, entituled : " Societas Jesu usqueaJ sanguinis et vita; profusionem militans in Europa, Africa, et America, contra Gentiles, Mahometanos, Judccos, Ilxreticos, Impios, pro Deo, Fide, Ecclesia, Pietate. "—Pragoe, A. D. 1675.
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May 31. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 623
join the Society of Jesus, in which he was advanced to the sacred order of priesthood. While preparing himself for a return to Ireland, being destined by the Superior-General to labour on that mission, he was sent to Bohemia. In the year 1639, the Jesuit College of Guttenberg, near Prague, having been destroyed by the Swedes, Father John Meagh was obliged with his com- panions to fly elsewhere for safety, on the 31st of May. They had hardly proceeded one mile from this place, however, when they were suddenly attackedbysomeProtestantpeasants,whoissuedfromawood. Allthefugi- tives escaped, excepting Meagh, who, while reciting the Litany of Loretto with another companion, fell, having been pierced through the breast with a leaden bullet. At the same time, two Jesuit lay brothers shared this crown of martyr- dom, which their Reverend Father had expected *o meet in Ireland. They carried many sacred relics with them at the time, intending to remove these precious treasures to a place of greater security. Thus, in another respect, also, the devoted priest resembled his patroness, St, Dympna, who shed her blood for the faith, in a country far distant from the land of her nativity.
Article X. Reputed Feast of St. Silanus, a Pilgrim and Bishop. Thomas Dempster, in his "Menologium Scotorum,"' at the 31st of May, has a notice of Silanus, named as Pilgrim and Bishop ; however, in his Ecclesiastical History of Scotland, there is no notice of him. The BoUan- dists accredit to Dempster this entry, at the same date ; while, they remark, that some Irish saints called Silan are noticed by them during this month, but they are classed among the pretermitted saints. ^
Article XI. Reputed Feast of Findocha, Virgin, in Scotland. In his Scottish Entries, Camerarius has Findocha,^ a Virgin in Scotia, citing aBreviary. TheBollandists,^whohavethesamerecordedfeast,3atthe31st of May, remark, that in the Aberdeen Breviary, no such notice occurs. Allu- sion is made to her, by Thomas Dempster, -^ and quoting the Calendar of Adam King, he states, that her commemoration is properly at the J3th of October. He tells us, she was a virgin of great sanctity, who is said to have flourished under King Conran. s To her, also, he attributes a Treatise, "De Vita Con- templativa Commentariolus. " This appears to be the Fyndocha, Virgin, whose feast has been remitted, by Bishop Forbes^^ to the 13th of October.
Article XII. Reputed Feast of St. Frudocha, Virgin. In the Scottish Menology of Camerarius, who cites the Scottish Breviary, there is an entry of Frudocha, Virgin; and, the Bollandists,' on such warrant, have
Article x. — ' Thus at May xxxi " Silani cognomento Peregrini et episcopi. M. A,"—Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 201.
Maii xxxi. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 419.
^ Onlyonhisauthority.
» See "Historia Ecelesiastica Gentis ^ They add :" Interim quia scimus Ferra- Scotorum," tomus i. , lib. vi. , num. 50S,
rium a Dempstero inductum in plures errores, suspicamur hunc esse Silaum, quem ipse ad XXX Maii retulit, nos autem xxi. Maii"
" Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. , Maii xxxi. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 418.
p. 276.
^ He adds : " nescio an non una ea ex S.
Donevaldi filiabus, si vera est quorundam supputatio. "
^ See "Kalendars of Scottish Saints" Article xi. —' Thus at 31 Die: p. 352.
"SanctaFindochavirgo. "—BishopForbes' " Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. 237,
•See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus vii. ,
Article xii. —' See "Acta Sancto- rum," tomus vii. , Maii xxxi. , p. 419.
' By Camerarius. See preceding Article.
624 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [May 31.
inserted a feast for her, at the 31st of May, where she is placed among the pretermitted saints. However, we do not consider, that she is a different personfromtheSt. Findocha,whoisentered,^atthe31stofMay. Thisno- tice closes the record of our Irish Saints, for the present month and, these
;
holy servants of God have passed us in review, with the traditions and glories of by-gone ages more or less revealed, in connexion with their lives and acts. While persons in the world had grown up their contemporaries, but de- clining also into the ways of evil, and void of conscientious or pious promp- tings, we learn the better to admire as we should try to profit by such examples of holiness. Those saints served to atone for the wickedness of other men. In our own time should we endeavour, likewise, to repair by lives of goodness and of self-sacrifice the spirit of depravity and of irreligion, that unfortunately surrounds us on every side, and that works so frequently the spiritual ship- wreck of many souls.