His
festival
was kept on the 4th of June.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
Unholy bark, ere morning smile ; For on thy deck, though dark it be,
A female form I see ;
It
And I have sworn this sainted sod
Shall ne'er by woman's feet be trod. " "
Duffy's Hibernian Magazine," vol. i. , No.
464 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 28.
January is the day assigned for her feast. The Martyrology of Tallagh," Marianus O'Gorman, and the schoHast on ^ngus, place her festival at this
day. "*' Somewhat differently noticed is Cainder, daughter of Cruithneachan, at Cill-Chuilinn, in Cairbre. ^* Her celebration occurs in the Martyrology
of Donegalj^s on this day. This place, Kilcullen,^^ is said to have been situatedinCairbre^^ofMunster. Wearetold,thatSt. Abban^^erectedacell
at a place called Cillcruimthir,'9 near the city of Culcolling or Gill Culen, in theterritoryofHuathLiathain. 3° ASt. Canera,virgin,isalsosaidtohave
been venerated at other places. 3^ According to the Martyrology of Tallagh, the present saint is noted to have been held in veneration at Fail Fobhar. 3»
There is a Kilkellane or KilcuUane, a parish in the barony of Small County, and in the county of Limerick. 33 There is a still more celebrated KilcuUen, a parish within a barony of the same name, in the county of Kildare. 34 The Book on the " Mothers of Irish Saints " of Killchannere
Church, which had been dedicated to St. Canneria. But Colgan confesses himself
ignorant of its situation, if it were not some cell, which this virgin occupied in the territory of Bentraighe. 35 It is probable, that St. Cannera's tomb was to be seen in the island of Iniscathy, at the time when the author of St. Senan's prose life wrote ;36 and we learn from the same authority, that navi- gators were accustomed to visit it, in order to procure favourable voyages, before proceeding out to sea. 37 Such touching and firm evidences of trust
death of St. Senan, which took place about A. D. 544, on the very day and year when
St. David, Bishop of Menevia, died, accord- ing to Pitzeus and other writers. See the life of St. Senan and notes thereto at the 8th of March. Colgan says, that besides St. Senan, this virgin was a contemporary with St. Kieran of Clonmacnoise, who died A. D. 548, and of St. Brendan of Clonfert,
"
who died A. D. 576. See
Hibemiae," xxviii. Januarii, n. 5, 176.
"In Dr. Kelly's edition, p. xiv. , we read " Cainech (Cainer) ingen Cruithnechain mic. Laighne i. Fail Fobhair. " In the Francis-
at the 27th of October. The " Leabhar
na g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," edited by Dr. O'Donovan, gives the fullest notices of the Ui Liathain territory. See n. (s), pp, 72, 73. It lay within the present county of Cork.
"
3' See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nise," xxviii. Januarii. Vita S. Cannerae, p. 175, and nn, 6, 7, p. 176.
3» Colgan alludes to this circumstance, also, of a St. Caimeria, daughter to Cruith- nechan, being venerated near Fobhair or Fore, in Meath. He thinks, from her pa- rentage and race, that a Cannera, daughter
'3 See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nire," xxviii. Januarii, n. 6, p. 176. *'
=** In his index to the Acta Sanctorum
Hibernise," Colgan tells us, this place is in Munster.
"5 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
28, 29.
-^ This is the account given by Marianus
"
O'Gorman. the
Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for
Acta Sanctorum
can copy the entry runs: CAine|\ ingen of Foillan, must be recognised as that per-
son, for her parents were natives of Meath, and that she cannot ^be the St. Cannera reverenced at the 28th of January. See n. 6, p. 176, ibid.
33 This parish and a townland bearing the
same name is represented on the " Ordnance
Survey Townland Maps for the County of Limerick. " Sheet32.
3^ The parish of KilcuUen, is shown on
chi\tichnechAin mACt&ijne1 -p^ibfrobAiiv "
"
berry, see Smith's "History of the County 32, 33. The round tower and church at
=*' For an account of the territory of Car-
the County of Kildare.
Sheets 23, 28, 29,
and City of Cork," vol. i. , book i. , chap, i. ,
pp. 23 to 32, and book ii. , chap, iv. , pp.
250 to 283.
=8 See his life at the 27th of October.
'^ There is a parish called Kilcrumper, situated in the baronies of Condons and
KilcuUen, County Kildare, drawn by Lieu- tenant Daniel Grose, is engraved in Grose's
"
Antiquities of Ireland," vol. iL, pp. 27, 28.
35 See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae,"
xxviii. Januarii, n. 7, p. 176.
3*' See viii. Martii. Vita S. Senani, ibid. ,
cap. xl. , p. 536 (reck), 532.
37 Sublimely has this spirit found metrical
expression in the Gaelic language, from a nite," xvi. Martii. Vita S. Abbani, cap. Fitzgerald of Queen Elizabeth's time, and XX. , p. 615, n. 20, p. 622. See his life who addressed a majestic ode to his ship.
and of in the East Fermoy,
Clangibbon
Riding of Cork County. It is represented on Sheets 19, 27, 28, 35, 36.
3° See Colgan's "Acta Sanctonmi Hiber-
speaks
January 28. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 465
and faith in God, and in the intercession of His saints, have often in past times protected pious mariners from shipwreck and disaster: even at the present time, it is the rehgious practice of our Irish fishermen to prepare themselves by prayer and an approach to the sacraments, before braving the perils of the deep.
ArticleIL—St. Meallan,ofKilrushorofCloncraff. {Possibly
in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries? ^ It has been justly observed, that the
Catholic Church loves the truth wherever it is to be found. She loved it in
science; sheiscalledspeciallytoteachitinfaith,andwefindthatthedis-
coveries of science, wherever they are universally proved, are in harmony with the dictates of faith. ^ At what particular era this saint flourished is not
at present discoverable ; but a conjecture has been offered,^ that he may have lived in the fourth and fifth centuries,3 and have been a disciple of the illustrious St, Patriclc^ When setting out from the Isle of Man,5 or accord- ing to other accounts going to or coming from Rome,^ for Ireland, he accosted six Irish clerical youths—one of whom was named Meldan,7 or Mellan^—de- sirous of visiting holy places and fired with a thirst for science, especially withthatforscripturalleaming. 9 Thosestudentsfellontheirkneestoask the holy pontiff's blessing, while this he bestowed most courteously and affectionately on them, predicting at the same time that all should afterwards become bishops. Noticing that the oldest of those students carried the
'° booksofalltheotherswithgreatinconveniencetohimself, St. Patrickgave
them a seal-skin, on which he was accustomed to stand while celebrating Mass,sothatitmightbeconvertedintoasatchelfortheiruse. " Indue
This lyric may well compare with that of
Horace, " Ad navem qua vehebatur Virgi-
lius Athenas proficiscens," Odse, lib. i. ,
ode iii. In almost every respect it equals
the pagan poet's, and more than surpasses it, in elevation and grandeur of sentiment.
Into English it has been nearly literally and mostcharminglyrendere—dbythegiftedMiss Brooke. Itthusopens:
" Bless my good ship, protecting Pow'r of grace!
And o'er the winds, the waves, the des-
present St. Meallan of Kilrush be identical with St. Meldan or Mellan of Cluain-
Creamha, it seems inferentially probable, he was bom towards the close of the fourth
century.
See "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Ap-
pendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 266.
tin'd coast,
—
Breathe, benign spirit host
!
Let the radiant
7
According to Jocelyn.
Spread their angelic shields !
Before us, the bright bulwark let them
place,
And fly beside us, through their azure
fields I"
^ tothe Life. Here According Tripartite
he is said, however, to be of Cluain-cremha, now Clooncraif, Anglicized, "wild garlic meadow. "
9 See ibid. Jocelyn's or Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xciii. , p. 86.
—See Reliques of Irish Poetry," p. 181. The Tripartite Life relates differently, '• — "
'
Article ii. The Right Rev. Bishop that each one of the clerics had a boy carry-
Vaughan's Sermon in the Church of the ing his books, which were tied together with
Sacred Heart, Accrington, on Sunday, straps
September 13th, 1874.
'
By Colgan.
3 According to Ussher's " Index Chrono-
logicus," the meeting of St. Patrick v/ith the six Irish clerics in Italy happened A. D.
"
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , pp. 413 and 513. If this chronology be allowed, and if the
" This seal-skin satchel was perfectly well preserved to the time of Jocelyn, and kept as a relic of St. Patrick. This writer states, also, that many miracles were wrought through it. In the Tripartite Life, we are told, that a question raised by the students regarding its absolute ownership, was solved by St. Patrick, who advised them to bring
402. See
Vol. I.
2 H
s ^
See ibid. Vita Tripartita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. ix. , p. 130. The students are said to have been travelling to Rome, whence they were to receive doctrine and religion at a true source.
Such is Jocelyn's statement.
466 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 28.
course their studies were finished, and they returned to Ireland. According
to the Irish Apostle's prediction, these holy men, Lugacius," Columban, or Columba,'3 Meldan, or Mellan,'+ Lugad or Lugadius,'^ Cassanus'^ and Ceranus,'7 when they had been promoted to the sacerdotal grade afterwards became bishops. Their respective places are to be found within the ancient
territory of Delbhna-Assuil or Magh-Assuil,^^ a part of the Royal Meathian province. '9 Jocelyn purposely omitted to give the names of their sees; for, as he remarks, he found it frequently very difficult to render the Irish names
ofpersonsandplacesafteramannersufficientlyeuphonicin Latin. ^° The
it to their several cells, and that it should be left in that church, where it remained immovable and undisturbed.
" He belonged to Kill-airthir, and his feast is thought to have been held on the 2nd of March or on the i6th of June.
'3 He belonged to Kill-Emain or Cluain- Ernain. His feast was held on the 4th of June. ' He is called of Cluain-Creamha, and Colgan assigns his feast to this day, thus ap- parently confounding him with St. Meallan of Kilrush. His feast is also noted at the
26th of October.
'5 He is called the son of Ere, and he is
said to have been of Fordhruim. His feast belongs to the 17th of April.
'* He belonged to Donoughmore in the territory of Mag-Echnach.
His festival was kept on the 4th of June. The five foregoing saints are regarded as disciples of the great St. Patrick. To each of those saints, the holy Apostle presented a valuable patena, as his gift.
'7 Otherwise St. Kieran, of Saigir, whose festival is celebrated on the 5th of March. This saint asked the Irish Apostle, on this occasion of their meeting, where he should settle in Ireland, and build his cell. He was told to erect his monastery near the rivulet Huar, where after a lapse of thirty
years St. Patrick would visit him. See "
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. Sexta Vita S. Patricii, n. 104, p. 113, and Sep- tima Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. ix. , p. 130, and nn. 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, p. 174, It is much to be regretted, that in the Irish version of St. Patrick's Tripartite Life, so admirably translated by William M. Hen- nessy, M. R. I. A. , and published in Sister Mary Francis Cusack's elegantly illustrated and very valuable "Life of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," p. 397, we are told, that "a folio of the original MS. is missing here," and this if recoverable ought to give us an additional version of the portion of matter contained in our text, which is drawn solely from Colgan. The reader is further referred to the dates for their respective festivals in this work, when further notices will be found.
'9 Dr. O'Donovan has defined the extent of the various Dealbna territories, so far as it is kno^vn, in his notes to "The Topo- graphical Poems of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla na Naomh O'Huidhrin," p. vii. , nn. 26, 28, p. ix. , n. 34, p. xii. , n. 50. See likewise pp. 2 to 5 and 8 to 13. It would appear, that the Dealbna descended from Lughaidh Dealbhaedh, son to Cas, who was ancestor of the Dal-cais in Thomond. Be- yond the limits of Thomond, Lugaidh's de- scendants acquired seven contiguous terri- tories in Meath and Connaught : viz. , I. Dealbna Mor, or the Large. 2. Dealbna Beg, i. e. , the little. 3. Dealbna Eathra. 4. Dealbna Teannmaigh. These are all in Meath. 5. Dealbna Nuadhat. 6. Dealb- na Cuilefabhair. 7. Dealbna Feadha in Connaught. Dealbna Mor or the Great Delvin is now the barony of Delvin in the eastern part of Westmeath County. Dealb- na Beg or Little Delvin is thought to be the barony of Demi-Fore in East Meath. Dealb- na Eathra comprised the entire of the pre- sent Garrycastle barony, except the parish of Lusmagh, in the King's County. The boundaries of Dealbna Teannmaigh or Wes- tern Dealbna have not been fixed. Dealb- na Nuadhat lay between the rivers Suck and Shannon. Dealbna Cuile Fabhair, other- wise called Muintir Fathaidh was situated on the east side of Ix)ugh Corrib, and it comprised fourteen bailes or townlands, whichbelongedtotheO'Flahertys. Dealb- na Feadha comprised the present barony of Moycullen in the county of Galway ; it also bore the name of Tire-da-lough from its si- tuation between Loch Oirbsen or Corrib and LochLurgan,onthebayofGalway. See O'Flaherty's Ogygia, Pars, iii. , cap. Ixxxii. Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , A. D. 751, 816, vol. ii. , A. D. 1 142, and vol. iii. , A. n. 1174. The genealogical work of Duald Mac Firbisigh, PP- 75> 345 (Marquis of Drogheda's copy), with "The Tribes and Customs of Hy- Many," edited by Dr. O'Donovan, n. (v), p. 83, as also the " Leabhar na g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," edited by Dr. O'Donovan, n. (n), p. 105, and n. (k), pp. 182, 183. In this latter work there are further allusions to the Dealbna or Delvins, at pp. 97, 106,
107, III, 177.
*°
•"
Colgan does not define its situation more
particularly than to state it was in Meath.
See n. iii to Jocelyn's Life, cap. xcix. , pp. 88, 113.
See the translation of Jocelin by Ed-
January 28. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 467
pious men already named, both by word and example, greatly extended the Kingdom of Christ ; and all ended their lives in the odour of sanctity. "' In the Franciscan copy of the Martyrology of Tallagh, there is a notice, at the 28th of January', regarding Mellian, of Cill Rois. "^ In the published copy there is no notice whatever of this saint. Meallan, of Cill-Ruis, or Kilrush, is recorded in the Martyrology of Donegap3 as being venerated on this day. There are many parishes and townlands bearing the name of Kilrush, in
"
various parts of Ireland. ^'^ Kilreisk is Anglicized
the church of the morass ;"
""
and Kilrush is rendered, the church of the wood," or peninsula. ""^ it is
somewhat remarkable, that there is a Kilrush townland, divided into two
denominations, lower and upper, in the parish of Killua, in the barony of Delvin. "^ Now it lies within the bounds of ancient Dealbna ; but, I cannot traceanysignofanancientchurchorburialgroundwithinitsextent. How- ever some local tradition of one may exist. Perhaps the present saint had been connected with a Cloncraff or Cloon-craff or Clon-crave, not far distant fromKilrush. ThereisaparishofClooncraff,inthebaronyofRoscommon,^? while there is another Clooncraff townland,^^ in Kilteevan parish, barony of
Ballintober South ; both are in the county of Roscommon. But there is a Cloncraff townland^9 in the parish of Ardnurchar or Horseleap in the barony of Kilcoursey. There is also a Cloncraff or Bloom-hill townland,3° in the parish of Clonmacnoise, and barony of Garrycastle, in the same county. Again, there is a Cloncrave townland3' in the parish of Killucan, and barony of Farbill. So far as we can judge, these latter three may have been severally situated in one or other of the ancient Dealbnas.
Article III. —St. Commain or Comman Lobhar, Son of Laighne. Commain's name, without any other description, is found in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 28th of January. From the compound name entered in a
"
later calendar, Lobhar or
*'
Leper," it may be assumed he had been afflicted
mund L. Swift.
The Life and Acts of St. Patrick, the Archbishop, Primate and Apostle of Ireland," chap, xciii. , pp. 131,
132.
^' See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
vicarage in the diocese of Ossory. See for a notice of all the foregoing places, Lewis'
"
Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," vol. ii. , pp. 204 to 206.
-= See Dr. Joyce's "Origin and History of the Irish Names of Places," part iv. , chap.
Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xciii. , p. 86.
^ It reads thus: meLLiAni . 1. 1 CiLL vi. , p. 417, and index p. 505.
|\oif.
^3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
28,29.
^* Among the parishes denominated Kil-
=* It is shown on the "Ordnance
Survey
rush, there is one in the barony of West-
Offaly, which is represented on the " Ord- mon. " Sheets 16, 17, 18, 23. The town-
nance Survey Townland Maps for the County
of Kildare," Sheets 27, 28, 31, 32 : ihere is one in the barony of Decies without Drum, shown on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Waterford," Sheets 30, 31 ; while there is one in the barony of Scarawalsh, which is noted down on the
'^
however represents St. Meldan or Mellan's
'" 3°
Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the See ibid. Sheet 6.
County of Wexford," . Sheets 4, 5, 9, 10, 3' This is depicted on the "Ordnance 15. There is another Kilrush, or Cloman- Survey Townland Maps for the County of
Westmeath," She—ets 27, 28.
tagh, a parish in the barony of Cranagh,
and shown on the " Ordnance
land Maps for the County of Kilkenny," Sheets 8, 9, 12, 13. This is a rectory and
Article
In the Franciscan copy it is likewise simply CotnniAin.
Survey
Town-
hi. ' Edited Rev. Dr. by
Townland Maps for the County of Westr
meath," Sheet 9.
^? It is shown on the "Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the County of Roscom- land is described on Sheet 17.
See ibid. . Sheet 40. Neither of these
place.
=9 It is to be seen on the
"
Ordnance Sur-
vey Townland Maps for the King's County,"
Sheet 2.
Kelly, p. xiv.
468 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 28.
with leprosy. On this day, Comman Lobhar, son of Laighne, is entered in the Martyrology of Donegal. ^^
ArticleIV. —St. AedhlughofAirdorEridh-Cassain. Wefind registered in the pubHshed' and in the unpubUshed^ Martyrology of Tallagh, as also in the Martyrology of Donegal,3 on this day, an Aedhlugh, of Aird or of Eridh Cassain.
ArticleV. —St. Eochaidh,BishopandAbbotofTallagh. Inthe
Martyrology of Donegal' we read of Eochaidh, Bishop of Tamlacht, as having been venerated on this day. It would seem he also united to the episcopal
officethechargeofpresidingoverareligiouscommunity. Wefindhimen-
tered in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ on the 28th of January, as Eochaidh,
bishopandabbot,Tamlaghtan. Therewasaholycompanionanddisciple of St. Columkille named Eochod ;3 but he seems different from the present
saint. There are two parishes bearing the name of Tallagh* and Tamlaght? in Ireland. We are unable to assign his exact locality. At this date, under
its proper topographical head, Duald Mac Firbis enters Eochaidh, bishop and abbot of Tamlacht, at this particular date. ^
Article VI.
A female form I see ;
It
And I have sworn this sainted sod
Shall ne'er by woman's feet be trod. " "
Duffy's Hibernian Magazine," vol. i. , No.
464 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 28.
January is the day assigned for her feast. The Martyrology of Tallagh," Marianus O'Gorman, and the schoHast on ^ngus, place her festival at this
day. "*' Somewhat differently noticed is Cainder, daughter of Cruithneachan, at Cill-Chuilinn, in Cairbre. ^* Her celebration occurs in the Martyrology
of Donegalj^s on this day. This place, Kilcullen,^^ is said to have been situatedinCairbre^^ofMunster. Wearetold,thatSt. Abban^^erectedacell
at a place called Cillcruimthir,'9 near the city of Culcolling or Gill Culen, in theterritoryofHuathLiathain. 3° ASt. Canera,virgin,isalsosaidtohave
been venerated at other places. 3^ According to the Martyrology of Tallagh, the present saint is noted to have been held in veneration at Fail Fobhar. 3»
There is a Kilkellane or KilcuUane, a parish in the barony of Small County, and in the county of Limerick. 33 There is a still more celebrated KilcuUen, a parish within a barony of the same name, in the county of Kildare. 34 The Book on the " Mothers of Irish Saints " of Killchannere
Church, which had been dedicated to St. Canneria. But Colgan confesses himself
ignorant of its situation, if it were not some cell, which this virgin occupied in the territory of Bentraighe. 35 It is probable, that St. Cannera's tomb was to be seen in the island of Iniscathy, at the time when the author of St. Senan's prose life wrote ;36 and we learn from the same authority, that navi- gators were accustomed to visit it, in order to procure favourable voyages, before proceeding out to sea. 37 Such touching and firm evidences of trust
death of St. Senan, which took place about A. D. 544, on the very day and year when
St. David, Bishop of Menevia, died, accord- ing to Pitzeus and other writers. See the life of St. Senan and notes thereto at the 8th of March. Colgan says, that besides St. Senan, this virgin was a contemporary with St. Kieran of Clonmacnoise, who died A. D. 548, and of St. Brendan of Clonfert,
"
who died A. D. 576. See
Hibemiae," xxviii. Januarii, n. 5, 176.
"In Dr. Kelly's edition, p. xiv. , we read " Cainech (Cainer) ingen Cruithnechain mic. Laighne i. Fail Fobhair. " In the Francis-
at the 27th of October. The " Leabhar
na g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," edited by Dr. O'Donovan, gives the fullest notices of the Ui Liathain territory. See n. (s), pp, 72, 73. It lay within the present county of Cork.
"
3' See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nise," xxviii. Januarii. Vita S. Cannerae, p. 175, and nn, 6, 7, p. 176.
3» Colgan alludes to this circumstance, also, of a St. Caimeria, daughter to Cruith- nechan, being venerated near Fobhair or Fore, in Meath. He thinks, from her pa- rentage and race, that a Cannera, daughter
'3 See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nire," xxviii. Januarii, n. 6, p. 176. *'
=** In his index to the Acta Sanctorum
Hibernise," Colgan tells us, this place is in Munster.
"5 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
28, 29.
-^ This is the account given by Marianus
"
O'Gorman. the
Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for
Acta Sanctorum
can copy the entry runs: CAine|\ ingen of Foillan, must be recognised as that per-
son, for her parents were natives of Meath, and that she cannot ^be the St. Cannera reverenced at the 28th of January. See n. 6, p. 176, ibid.
33 This parish and a townland bearing the
same name is represented on the " Ordnance
Survey Townland Maps for the County of Limerick. " Sheet32.
3^ The parish of KilcuUen, is shown on
chi\tichnechAin mACt&ijne1 -p^ibfrobAiiv "
"
berry, see Smith's "History of the County 32, 33. The round tower and church at
=*' For an account of the territory of Car-
the County of Kildare.
Sheets 23, 28, 29,
and City of Cork," vol. i. , book i. , chap, i. ,
pp. 23 to 32, and book ii. , chap, iv. , pp.
250 to 283.
=8 See his life at the 27th of October.
'^ There is a parish called Kilcrumper, situated in the baronies of Condons and
KilcuUen, County Kildare, drawn by Lieu- tenant Daniel Grose, is engraved in Grose's
"
Antiquities of Ireland," vol. iL, pp. 27, 28.
35 See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae,"
xxviii. Januarii, n. 7, p. 176.
3*' See viii. Martii. Vita S. Senani, ibid. ,
cap. xl. , p. 536 (reck), 532.
37 Sublimely has this spirit found metrical
expression in the Gaelic language, from a nite," xvi. Martii. Vita S. Abbani, cap. Fitzgerald of Queen Elizabeth's time, and XX. , p. 615, n. 20, p. 622. See his life who addressed a majestic ode to his ship.
and of in the East Fermoy,
Clangibbon
Riding of Cork County. It is represented on Sheets 19, 27, 28, 35, 36.
3° See Colgan's "Acta Sanctonmi Hiber-
speaks
January 28. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 465
and faith in God, and in the intercession of His saints, have often in past times protected pious mariners from shipwreck and disaster: even at the present time, it is the rehgious practice of our Irish fishermen to prepare themselves by prayer and an approach to the sacraments, before braving the perils of the deep.
ArticleIL—St. Meallan,ofKilrushorofCloncraff. {Possibly
in the Fourth and Fifth Centuries? ^ It has been justly observed, that the
Catholic Church loves the truth wherever it is to be found. She loved it in
science; sheiscalledspeciallytoteachitinfaith,andwefindthatthedis-
coveries of science, wherever they are universally proved, are in harmony with the dictates of faith. ^ At what particular era this saint flourished is not
at present discoverable ; but a conjecture has been offered,^ that he may have lived in the fourth and fifth centuries,3 and have been a disciple of the illustrious St, Patriclc^ When setting out from the Isle of Man,5 or accord- ing to other accounts going to or coming from Rome,^ for Ireland, he accosted six Irish clerical youths—one of whom was named Meldan,7 or Mellan^—de- sirous of visiting holy places and fired with a thirst for science, especially withthatforscripturalleaming. 9 Thosestudentsfellontheirkneestoask the holy pontiff's blessing, while this he bestowed most courteously and affectionately on them, predicting at the same time that all should afterwards become bishops. Noticing that the oldest of those students carried the
'° booksofalltheotherswithgreatinconveniencetohimself, St. Patrickgave
them a seal-skin, on which he was accustomed to stand while celebrating Mass,sothatitmightbeconvertedintoasatchelfortheiruse. " Indue
This lyric may well compare with that of
Horace, " Ad navem qua vehebatur Virgi-
lius Athenas proficiscens," Odse, lib. i. ,
ode iii. In almost every respect it equals
the pagan poet's, and more than surpasses it, in elevation and grandeur of sentiment.
Into English it has been nearly literally and mostcharminglyrendere—dbythegiftedMiss Brooke. Itthusopens:
" Bless my good ship, protecting Pow'r of grace!
And o'er the winds, the waves, the des-
present St. Meallan of Kilrush be identical with St. Meldan or Mellan of Cluain-
Creamha, it seems inferentially probable, he was bom towards the close of the fourth
century.
See "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Ap-
pendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 266.
tin'd coast,
—
Breathe, benign spirit host
!
Let the radiant
7
According to Jocelyn.
Spread their angelic shields !
Before us, the bright bulwark let them
place,
And fly beside us, through their azure
fields I"
^ tothe Life. Here According Tripartite
he is said, however, to be of Cluain-cremha, now Clooncraif, Anglicized, "wild garlic meadow. "
9 See ibid. Jocelyn's or Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xciii. , p. 86.
—See Reliques of Irish Poetry," p. 181. The Tripartite Life relates differently, '• — "
'
Article ii. The Right Rev. Bishop that each one of the clerics had a boy carry-
Vaughan's Sermon in the Church of the ing his books, which were tied together with
Sacred Heart, Accrington, on Sunday, straps
September 13th, 1874.
'
By Colgan.
3 According to Ussher's " Index Chrono-
logicus," the meeting of St. Patrick v/ith the six Irish clerics in Italy happened A. D.
"
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum Antiquitates," cap. xvi. , pp. 413 and 513. If this chronology be allowed, and if the
" This seal-skin satchel was perfectly well preserved to the time of Jocelyn, and kept as a relic of St. Patrick. This writer states, also, that many miracles were wrought through it. In the Tripartite Life, we are told, that a question raised by the students regarding its absolute ownership, was solved by St. Patrick, who advised them to bring
402. See
Vol. I.
2 H
s ^
See ibid. Vita Tripartita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. ix. , p. 130. The students are said to have been travelling to Rome, whence they were to receive doctrine and religion at a true source.
Such is Jocelyn's statement.
466 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 28.
course their studies were finished, and they returned to Ireland. According
to the Irish Apostle's prediction, these holy men, Lugacius," Columban, or Columba,'3 Meldan, or Mellan,'+ Lugad or Lugadius,'^ Cassanus'^ and Ceranus,'7 when they had been promoted to the sacerdotal grade afterwards became bishops. Their respective places are to be found within the ancient
territory of Delbhna-Assuil or Magh-Assuil,^^ a part of the Royal Meathian province. '9 Jocelyn purposely omitted to give the names of their sees; for, as he remarks, he found it frequently very difficult to render the Irish names
ofpersonsandplacesafteramannersufficientlyeuphonicin Latin. ^° The
it to their several cells, and that it should be left in that church, where it remained immovable and undisturbed.
" He belonged to Kill-airthir, and his feast is thought to have been held on the 2nd of March or on the i6th of June.
'3 He belonged to Kill-Emain or Cluain- Ernain. His feast was held on the 4th of June. ' He is called of Cluain-Creamha, and Colgan assigns his feast to this day, thus ap- parently confounding him with St. Meallan of Kilrush. His feast is also noted at the
26th of October.
'5 He is called the son of Ere, and he is
said to have been of Fordhruim. His feast belongs to the 17th of April.
'* He belonged to Donoughmore in the territory of Mag-Echnach.
His festival was kept on the 4th of June. The five foregoing saints are regarded as disciples of the great St. Patrick. To each of those saints, the holy Apostle presented a valuable patena, as his gift.
'7 Otherwise St. Kieran, of Saigir, whose festival is celebrated on the 5th of March. This saint asked the Irish Apostle, on this occasion of their meeting, where he should settle in Ireland, and build his cell. He was told to erect his monastery near the rivulet Huar, where after a lapse of thirty
years St. Patrick would visit him. See "
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. Sexta Vita S. Patricii, n. 104, p. 113, and Sep- tima Vita S. Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. ix. , p. 130, and nn. 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, p. 174, It is much to be regretted, that in the Irish version of St. Patrick's Tripartite Life, so admirably translated by William M. Hen- nessy, M. R. I. A. , and published in Sister Mary Francis Cusack's elegantly illustrated and very valuable "Life of St. Patrick, Apostle of Ireland," p. 397, we are told, that "a folio of the original MS. is missing here," and this if recoverable ought to give us an additional version of the portion of matter contained in our text, which is drawn solely from Colgan. The reader is further referred to the dates for their respective festivals in this work, when further notices will be found.
'9 Dr. O'Donovan has defined the extent of the various Dealbna territories, so far as it is kno^vn, in his notes to "The Topo- graphical Poems of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla na Naomh O'Huidhrin," p. vii. , nn. 26, 28, p. ix. , n. 34, p. xii. , n. 50. See likewise pp. 2 to 5 and 8 to 13. It would appear, that the Dealbna descended from Lughaidh Dealbhaedh, son to Cas, who was ancestor of the Dal-cais in Thomond. Be- yond the limits of Thomond, Lugaidh's de- scendants acquired seven contiguous terri- tories in Meath and Connaught : viz. , I. Dealbna Mor, or the Large. 2. Dealbna Beg, i. e. , the little. 3. Dealbna Eathra. 4. Dealbna Teannmaigh. These are all in Meath. 5. Dealbna Nuadhat. 6. Dealb- na Cuilefabhair. 7. Dealbna Feadha in Connaught. Dealbna Mor or the Great Delvin is now the barony of Delvin in the eastern part of Westmeath County. Dealb- na Beg or Little Delvin is thought to be the barony of Demi-Fore in East Meath. Dealb- na Eathra comprised the entire of the pre- sent Garrycastle barony, except the parish of Lusmagh, in the King's County. The boundaries of Dealbna Teannmaigh or Wes- tern Dealbna have not been fixed. Dealb- na Nuadhat lay between the rivers Suck and Shannon. Dealbna Cuile Fabhair, other- wise called Muintir Fathaidh was situated on the east side of Ix)ugh Corrib, and it comprised fourteen bailes or townlands, whichbelongedtotheO'Flahertys. Dealb- na Feadha comprised the present barony of Moycullen in the county of Galway ; it also bore the name of Tire-da-lough from its si- tuation between Loch Oirbsen or Corrib and LochLurgan,onthebayofGalway. See O'Flaherty's Ogygia, Pars, iii. , cap. Ixxxii. Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , A. D. 751, 816, vol. ii. , A. D. 1 142, and vol. iii. , A. n. 1174. The genealogical work of Duald Mac Firbisigh, PP- 75> 345 (Marquis of Drogheda's copy), with "The Tribes and Customs of Hy- Many," edited by Dr. O'Donovan, n. (v), p. 83, as also the " Leabhar na g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," edited by Dr. O'Donovan, n. (n), p. 105, and n. (k), pp. 182, 183. In this latter work there are further allusions to the Dealbna or Delvins, at pp. 97, 106,
107, III, 177.
*°
•"
Colgan does not define its situation more
particularly than to state it was in Meath.
See n. iii to Jocelyn's Life, cap. xcix. , pp. 88, 113.
See the translation of Jocelin by Ed-
January 28. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 467
pious men already named, both by word and example, greatly extended the Kingdom of Christ ; and all ended their lives in the odour of sanctity. "' In the Franciscan copy of the Martyrology of Tallagh, there is a notice, at the 28th of January', regarding Mellian, of Cill Rois. "^ In the published copy there is no notice whatever of this saint. Meallan, of Cill-Ruis, or Kilrush, is recorded in the Martyrology of Donegap3 as being venerated on this day. There are many parishes and townlands bearing the name of Kilrush, in
"
various parts of Ireland. ^'^ Kilreisk is Anglicized
the church of the morass ;"
""
and Kilrush is rendered, the church of the wood," or peninsula. ""^ it is
somewhat remarkable, that there is a Kilrush townland, divided into two
denominations, lower and upper, in the parish of Killua, in the barony of Delvin. "^ Now it lies within the bounds of ancient Dealbna ; but, I cannot traceanysignofanancientchurchorburialgroundwithinitsextent. How- ever some local tradition of one may exist. Perhaps the present saint had been connected with a Cloncraff or Cloon-craff or Clon-crave, not far distant fromKilrush. ThereisaparishofClooncraff,inthebaronyofRoscommon,^? while there is another Clooncraff townland,^^ in Kilteevan parish, barony of
Ballintober South ; both are in the county of Roscommon. But there is a Cloncraff townland^9 in the parish of Ardnurchar or Horseleap in the barony of Kilcoursey. There is also a Cloncraff or Bloom-hill townland,3° in the parish of Clonmacnoise, and barony of Garrycastle, in the same county. Again, there is a Cloncrave townland3' in the parish of Killucan, and barony of Farbill. So far as we can judge, these latter three may have been severally situated in one or other of the ancient Dealbnas.
Article III. —St. Commain or Comman Lobhar, Son of Laighne. Commain's name, without any other description, is found in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 28th of January. From the compound name entered in a
"
later calendar, Lobhar or
*'
Leper," it may be assumed he had been afflicted
mund L. Swift.
The Life and Acts of St. Patrick, the Archbishop, Primate and Apostle of Ireland," chap, xciii. , pp. 131,
132.
^' See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. "
vicarage in the diocese of Ossory. See for a notice of all the foregoing places, Lewis'
"
Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," vol. ii. , pp. 204 to 206.
-= See Dr. Joyce's "Origin and History of the Irish Names of Places," part iv. , chap.
Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xciii. , p. 86.
^ It reads thus: meLLiAni . 1. 1 CiLL vi. , p. 417, and index p. 505.
|\oif.
^3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
28,29.
^* Among the parishes denominated Kil-
=* It is shown on the "Ordnance
Survey
rush, there is one in the barony of West-
Offaly, which is represented on the " Ord- mon. " Sheets 16, 17, 18, 23. The town-
nance Survey Townland Maps for the County
of Kildare," Sheets 27, 28, 31, 32 : ihere is one in the barony of Decies without Drum, shown on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Waterford," Sheets 30, 31 ; while there is one in the barony of Scarawalsh, which is noted down on the
'^
however represents St. Meldan or Mellan's
'" 3°
Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the See ibid. Sheet 6.
County of Wexford," . Sheets 4, 5, 9, 10, 3' This is depicted on the "Ordnance 15. There is another Kilrush, or Cloman- Survey Townland Maps for the County of
Westmeath," She—ets 27, 28.
tagh, a parish in the barony of Cranagh,
and shown on the " Ordnance
land Maps for the County of Kilkenny," Sheets 8, 9, 12, 13. This is a rectory and
Article
In the Franciscan copy it is likewise simply CotnniAin.
Survey
Town-
hi. ' Edited Rev. Dr. by
Townland Maps for the County of Westr
meath," Sheet 9.
^? It is shown on the "Ordnance Survey
Townland Maps for the County of Roscom- land is described on Sheet 17.
See ibid. . Sheet 40. Neither of these
place.
=9 It is to be seen on the
"
Ordnance Sur-
vey Townland Maps for the King's County,"
Sheet 2.
Kelly, p. xiv.
468 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 28.
with leprosy. On this day, Comman Lobhar, son of Laighne, is entered in the Martyrology of Donegal. ^^
ArticleIV. —St. AedhlughofAirdorEridh-Cassain. Wefind registered in the pubHshed' and in the unpubUshed^ Martyrology of Tallagh, as also in the Martyrology of Donegal,3 on this day, an Aedhlugh, of Aird or of Eridh Cassain.
ArticleV. —St. Eochaidh,BishopandAbbotofTallagh. Inthe
Martyrology of Donegal' we read of Eochaidh, Bishop of Tamlacht, as having been venerated on this day. It would seem he also united to the episcopal
officethechargeofpresidingoverareligiouscommunity. Wefindhimen-
tered in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ on the 28th of January, as Eochaidh,
bishopandabbot,Tamlaghtan. Therewasaholycompanionanddisciple of St. Columkille named Eochod ;3 but he seems different from the present
saint. There are two parishes bearing the name of Tallagh* and Tamlaght? in Ireland. We are unable to assign his exact locality. At this date, under
its proper topographical head, Duald Mac Firbis enters Eochaidh, bishop and abbot of Tamlacht, at this particular date. ^
Article VI.
