It may be doubted, how- ever, that this is a genuine
composition
of St.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v7
, p.
7.
19 The accompanying illustration, drawn Dublin, 1864, 4I0.
This remarkably re- on the spot by William F.
Wakeman, and searched and learned Treatise seems to ex- by him transferred to the wood, has been haust all that can be known regarding the
Cormac's "
Stokes, LL. D. , p. 160.
'' translated and anno- tated by the late John O'Donovan, LL. D. Edited with Notes and Indices, by Whitley
18
Glossary,
See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters, "vol. i. , pp. 8, 9, andn. (c), ibid,
unity-folk
Topographical Dictionary
July 7. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
101
mate union—is to be
Book of Leinster. 24 A stanza 2 * on the same men, is attributed to Cormac Mac Cuillanain.
ancient Culdees.
33 At the end of column
24 Now preserved in the Franciscan Con-
vent, Merchants' Quay, Dublin.
County of Dublin," p. 761.
3° See Professor " Lec- Eugene O'Curry's
tures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History," Lect. xvii. , p. 364.
25 At the end of column
3I See Dr. O'Donovan's vol. edition,
i. ,
26
5.
The same stanza is copied in the lower
margin, apparently in Colgan's handwriting.
pp. 272, 273.
32 In 817, a new rule and additional regu-
found,
in the detached ten 2*
folia, belonging
to the
Few personal anecdotes, regarding this holy Abbot Maelruain have been pre- served. A commentator on the " Feilire " of St. yEngus, at this date, has an account of a certain thief, who stole the only cow, belonging to the Ostiarius of Mailruain of Tallaght. The latter 2 ? was urgent on his patron saint to avenge the theft ; but, Maelruain advised the door-keeper to bide his time, and that the devil should inflict on the thief still greater evil, while his punishment in hell
should be the 28 because the heavier,
transgressor
more bad actions the longer he continued in this life. There is extant a
romantic Irish poem, entitled u Legendary Story of St. Maelruan, first bishop
of 2 ? From the character of the we well it is Tallagh. " heading, may suppose,
not a genuine account of any incident in his career.
It is stated, that St. Maelruan there founded a church, in honour of God
and of St. Michael the Archangel, in the year 769. 3° This, likewise, is the date given for the first erection of Tamlacht-Mailruain, in the u Annals of the
1
Four Masters. "*
years after the institution by Chrodegang of the order of Canons in his church of Metz, and to whom the title of Fratres Dominici had been given. It was subsequentlychangedtothatofCanonici. Theywereanintermediateclass, between monks and secular priests. They adopted to a great extent the dis- cipline without the vows of monks, while they discharged the office of minis- ters in various churches. *2 St. Maelruain's institution have
27 He said " I me not thankful for the lations had been enacted for the order of
of St. Maelruain
:
" "
:
patron that avengeth not my cow on the
thief, for we see him without want of cattle
or of children or of health. "
28
This is represented as having been expressed in an Irish rami, the composition
—
SeAnj; hiperiMm 1/m-o jroruiech 1nichiAH CAingen ocuf bj\ech SechmAlL alerTA Ar\cech 16
Sir*ifiur»tt nihimApgo.
Canons, at the Council of Aix-la-Chapelle. 33 See Rev. Dr. Reeves on " The Cul-
dees of the British Islands," &c, part ii. ,
It is thus translated into English by Dr. Whitley Stokes: "Seng t sessam (? ) have we for every one, afar offtrial and judgment, oblivion of their
on — advantage every day,
tain. "
See ibid. ,
p. 362^.
eternal hell (it is) not a falsehood. "
3
A
of this is
in a
Parch-
"
copy
given,
Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy,"
Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. Notes from the Lebar Brecc, pp. 91, 92, p. cxvii.
29 See D'Alton's " of the John History
page,'
6 and
enumerating
these
This church of Tamlacht was founded, about twenty-four
Possibly, may been borrowed from, or may have had some features in common with, the
order of Canons. It seems to be pretty well established, that both the Keledei of Scotland, as well as the Colidei of Ireland, exhibited the main characteris- tics of secular canons in their discipline, during the ages that succeeded this
period.
33
3.
sect, ii. , pp. 9, 1—0. ii.
was to commit permitted
x
Chapter copy
of the
of " found in the Martyrology Tallagh
Book of Leinster," as edited by Dr. Robert
Atkinson, we read at that date, the follow-
"
ing entry: iiii. Idus Augusti Maelruain
cum suis reliquiis Sanctorum martyrum et virginum ad Tamlachtain venit. " See
c.
2 On a 6th of September, as we find it set
down thus : "hi. Non. Sep. Adventus reli- quiarum Scethi filiae Mechi ad Tamlach-
p. 361
large
ment 4to Manuscript, No. 223, belonging to the Messrs. Hodges and Smith collection,
preserved in the Royal Irish Academy.
4 For a fuller account of this valuable his-
In that
io2 LIVES 01 7HE IRISH SAINTS.
[July 7.
CHAPTER II.
THE LITERARY COMPOSITIONS OF ST. MAELRUAIN—DEATH OF CEALLACH, AND HIS BURIAL AT TAMLACHT—ST. /ENGUS THE CULDEE JOINS THAT COMMUNITY—THE CULDEES—RULE OF ST. MAELRUAIN.
Already have we alluded to the date for St. Maelruain's establishment at Tallagh ; and, if we may draw an inference from a Festival set down in its Calendar, the 10th of August was a day on which the holy founder brought to
1
or deposited at that place the relics of venerated Martyrs and Virgins, with
suitable rites and ceremonies. It is probable, that on the occasion, the church there and its altar had been consecrated ; for we know, that the con- tinuous practice, in the case of such ceremonials, is to place relics of the saints within the altar-stone on which the holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered. Another supposition may be arrived at, however, that those relics had been conveyed in procession, and had been placed in shrines, which were placed probably over the high altar ; for we know, likewise, that at a period sub- sequent, other sacred relics 2 had arrived at Tallaght, and that the annual commemoration of both events was regarded as matter for observance there, both by the monks- and by the people, who annually assembled to pray before those sacred remains.
Besides his other excellent virtues and accomplishments, St. Maelruain
is traditionally regarded as having indulged in literary work, and he is credited with having been a poet. Yet of his genuine metrical compositions, we doubt if many of them have been preserved. An Irish poem is said to have been composed by St. Maelruan of Tallagh. 3 A much more important compilation has come down to our times, and it is known as the Martyrolo-
gium Tamlactense, or the " Maityrology of Tallaght. "* It has been supposed, that the conception and authorship of this work were due, in the first instance, to St. Maelruain ;5 although, it is thought, he received assistance in its pre- paration, from the celebrated St. /Engus the Culdee, 6 who was a subject and an inmate of his monastery. That we have not the original draft of St. Mael- ruain's composition is proved from the fact, that his own name has been entered in the preserved and published copies, at this same day. However, it seems most probable, that St. ^ngus added to the work, after St. Mael- ruain's death ; and, even after the death of the former, we find the insertion of St. /Engtis'* own name, so thatthere must have been interpolations, in nearly all thelatercopies. Indeed,itwasnounusualcustomforunauthorizedpersonsto tamper with records of this character, by introducing items of information on their own responsibility, and to complete what they deemed to be defects or omissions. This was especially the case, with regard to copies of Annals or ofCalendars, preserved in our monasteries. 7
It should seem, that the temporal patron of Tallaght must have preserved very close personal relations with St. Maelruain and his community. This
torical and ecclesiastical record, the reader
is referred to the First Volume of this work.
Introduction, sect. ii. Also to the Third et Moelruaiii. " Volume, at the nth of March, Ait. i. , in the
Life of St. /Engusius Hagiographus or St.
. /Engus the Culdee, chap. iii.
s See Kev. Dr.
History of Ireland," vol. iii. , sect, vi. , n. 47, p. 224.
who inserted
such comments, as well as on
Lanigan's
" Ecclesiastical
chap, xx. ,
some writers have done—on those illogically
"
6 On its title lias been found, also. , Martyrologium Aengussii filii Ilua-obhlenii
1 1t should be very unwarrantable to charge
these additions as attempted forgeries—as
the monks, who preserved such records, and who transmitted them to posterity.
July 7. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
103
may fairly be inferred, from the simple entry which remains to us of an Irish dynast's closing career. According to the "Annals of the Four Masters/'8 Cellach died a. d. 771. He is said to have been buried at the church in Tal-
laght ; and, no doubt, for many long succeeding generations, the pious com- munity there offered up Masses and prayers for their deceased benefactor.
We believe the following story to be apocryphal, as it seems unchronological.
10
Saighir, and she was desirous of going to the Island of Doiinhle. This is held
12 who have As we have seen already,^ the greater probability is, that it lay between the counties of Wex-
Mainnsena,9 the mother of Brenaiun,
of Biorr, as we are told,
11
came to
to have been the Clear well-known present Cape Island, by
writers,
was the admis- then little known to fame and wishing himself to be altogether unnoticed as an humble postulant. The celebrity of St. Maelruin's institute, and the congeniality of its discipline to his peculiar habits, probably induced St. ^Engus to leave Dysart Enos and to visitTamlacht. Foralongtime,heservedthereasamerefarmlabourer, and only an accident brought him prominently under the observation of the Abbot St. Maelruan. Afterwards they became bosom friends, while their
tastes in literature and sympathies in holy exercises continued to the close of St. Maelruan's career. Elsewhere, this narrative has been written, and it is only necessary to refer the reader to those pages, which serve to illustrate the biography of both saints.
Those religious, known as the Culdees, were at Tallagh, during the time
furnished some description and illustrations of that place.
ford and Waterford. " Go said Ciaran of not,"
1 * " it is in but,
Saighir,
Tamhlacht thy own resurrection and the resurrection of thy son Brenaiun shall be. " It does not appear, that Tamlacht had a cemetery before the eighth century. One of the most interesting and instructive incidents of the
while Maelruain ruled over the — at this period monastery place,
sion of the celebratedSt.
^Engusthe
15 Culdee—
ofSt. Melruan. 16 fromtheLivesofSt. Patrickandofother Although
very early Irish saints, we find the designation Culdee applied to holy servants of
God ; yet, it has been thought, this term was not in vogue in their time, but
thatitwas
subsequently applied.
x? Sofaraswecan thebrothers understand,
8
See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. ,
^Engussius Hagiographus or St. /Engus the Culdee, in the Third Volume of this work
pp. 376, 377.
9 A note by Dr. Todd says, at the fore-
"
at the nth of March, Art. i. , chaps, ii. , going word, Mainnsena. This paragraph iii. , iv.
seems intended as a note on Tamlachta, not as putting Mainnsena as a saint on this day. Her name does not occur in the other Calen- dars. "
10 The death of St. Brendan of Birr oc- curred, on the 29th of November, a. d. 571.
l6 See notices of the Cele De or Culdees, in the Leabhar Breac, fol. 5, a, b, Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts in the Royal Irish Aca-
demy, p. 597.
t? There is a poem, ascribed t—o St. Cart-
hach or St. Mochuda of Lismore who died
—
a. d. 636 and which gives a metrical Rule
of the Celi De, to be found in a Manuscript,
belonging to Trinity College, Dublin, and which is classed II 2, 16, cols. 224, 225. It is headed "Do chelm "Oe mpo np, and it is comprised in twelve stanzas. It forms the seventh division in a metrical composition of 145 stanzas, and it immediately succeedsa di- vision containing nineteen stanzas, on the duties of a monk.
It may be doubted, how- ever, that this is a genuine composition of St. Carthach. The Irish ranns, with an English translation, may found in '. ' The Culdees of the British Islands, as they appear in History," &c, by the Very Rev. William
11 12
"
By the O'Clerys.
In the ancient ecclesiastical books it is
Insula Sancta Clara," and in the old
called
Irish MS. , " Inish Domhly. " See Mr. and Mrs. Hall's " Ireland : its Scenery, Charac- ter," &c, vol. i. , pp. 137, 138.
13 In the present volume, at the 4th day of July, in the Acts of St. Fionnbarr, Abbot of Inis Doimhle, county of Wexford, Art. i.
14 This saint flourished in the fifth cen- tury, according to the common belief. See his Life, at the 5th of March, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
15 See these and the following particulars more fully set forth, in the Life of St.
io
4
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. -
[July
of this ancient Irish monastic order were chiefly clerical recluses,
a distinctive habit of living from other monks. Perhaps we should include among this fraternity some—if not all—of those who are called the folk of the unity of Maelruain, namely : Maelruain of Tallagh, Maeltuile, son of Noec- huire, Maelanfaid of Dairinis mor (County Waterford) ; Fland the fair, son of Fairchellach, in Daire na fland (Derrynavlan, County Tipperary); Fland,
son of Duibthinne, in Daire na fland
lua (Killaloe) ; Maeldithrub, namely, the anchorite of Tir da glass (Terry- glass, County Tipperary) j Dimman of Ara (Aran Island) j Dalbach of Cul callach ; Feidlimid, son of Crimthain (King of Munster) ; Diarmaid of Desert Diarmada (Castledermot, County Kildare) ; Eochaid, bishop of Tallagh ;
;
Flannan, son of Tairdelbach, in Cill da
Ua Oiblein. 1 ? The list has been versified in the Irish lan- foregoing
Oengus
guage, and the lines are attributed to the celebrated Cormac Mac Cuillenan
of Cashel, 20 who flourished near enough to that time, when Maelruain lived, to have procured authentic details.
One of the eight Ecclesiastical and Religious Rules established in Erinn, and the sixth in chronological order, was that of St. Maelruain. It is known as the general Rule of the Celidhe' D£, vulgarly called the Culdees. It contains a minute series of regulations for their lives, their prayers, their preachings, their conversations, their confessions, their communions, their ablutions, their fastings, their abstinences, their relaxations, their sleep, their celebrations of
A copy of this is contained in a prose tract
2
appear to be older than the twelfth or thirteenth century. 3 It may be
regarded as a modernized, or perhaps amplified, version of a much earlier document. The length of the Tract admits great variety in the subjects of which it treats, while its contents are greatly deficient in arrangement, and
Mass and their other duties. 21
of nine small 22 quarto pages.
The " Rule for the Celi De" was
composed by St. Maelruan, and it is said, about the year 780. However, we are inclined to think, that the date must be placed, at an earlier period. The original of this is not known to exist, and the version of it which remains does not
in many passages they are obscure. 2* Reeves, D. D. , Evidences, G, pp. 82, 83.
It is said, that Moelruain originally
18
them, in an Irish Poem of twelve quatrains in Leabhar Breac, fol. 261, beginning with the heading Do Cell "Oe, no x>i clej\ech
pecterw.
*9 And this is verified by the poem com-
"
mencing with The hillock," of which
At least, such is the description given of
Cat thy, D. D. , who kindly furnished English translations of the Irish text from the Book of Leinster for the writer, states, there is no reason for calling the authenticity of Cormac Mac Cuillenan's poem in question. At the bottom of that page in which it is, a modern version is given in the handwriting of
Michael the chief of the Four O'Cleiy,
Masters, in whose possession the Manuscript once had been.
Cormac Mac Culenain " sang :
Hillock, green-topped," etc. See Dr. Robert Atkin- son's edition of the Book of Leinster, p. 370^. Moreover, we are told, that Cormac Mac Culena—in sang (in the poem mentioned, inter
M See Professor
Eugene O'Curry's
" Lec-
alia)
tures on the Manuscript Materials of
Ancient Irish History," Lect. xviii. , p. 375.
ibid.
23 This is inferred from its orthography
and grammatical structure.
*•» See "The Culdees of the British
Islands, as they appear in History," &c. By Very Rev. William Reeves, D. D. , part ii. , sect, ii. , p. 7.
as A version of this Rule to prose purports
be its translation in the Leabhar Breac, at
fol. 9. It begins with these words : Incipic
TI1A541I, na Celco tVOe, o ffloelpUAin cearuc.
: "
Maelruain, Mea'tuile, glorious in deed, Maelantiad of Dairinis,
The three Elands, Maeldithrub zeal-
ous,
Dimman, Dalbach, Feidlimid.
Diarmuid, Eochaid, sublime the tale,
And Ua
Oengus Oibleim,
The folk of that unity all
(Are) round Maelruain, round Mael- tuile. "
—Ibid. , p. 370^.
20
The Very Rev. Bartholomew Mac
18
observing
July 7. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. io-
composedhisRulefortheCeleDeinmetre. 25 Thishasbeenrenderedinto Irish prose, and it has been printed, with an English translation, by Dr. John O'Donovan,26towhichnotesareannexed,byRev. Dr. Reeves. TheRule of St. Maelruain was remarkably rigorous. Meat was not eaten, nor was ale drank,byhismonks,duringtheirAbbot'sowntime2? although,bothappear
to have been allowed—subject to certain conditions—in that copy of the Rule, which has come down to us. It is interesting to know, what formed the chief articles of food in the monastic establishment, at this early period. The dietary of the Tallagh community seems to have consisted of bread, thick milk, honey, skimmed milk, beer, butter, kale, biestings, curds, fish, cheese, eggs, apples, leeks, cheese-whey, and gruel, for these are specially mentioned, as being in daily use. There seems to have been a relaxation at Easter, when eggs, lard and the flesh of wild deer and wild hogs, with other flesh-meats, in case of sickness or scarcity of other nutriment, were allowed. There was a fast every month among the congregation of Maelruan, on half a meal of bread, and on half a meal of diluted whey. This Rule has precepts
for bishops, pastors, confessors, virgins in religion, and lay people. It con- tains several regulations, connected with the sacrament of penance. It regards
"
any divulging
confession,
say,
;
so as to " this is what the mandid," as a
of
very heinous crime. It is added, that this is not penanced in the land of Erinn. "28 Ontheeveofthechief all is "because
festivals, feasting prohibited,
of going under the hand to-morrow. "2^ Frequent confession is also incul-
cated. "^ Yet, it is not profitable, when the transgressions are frequent. We are informed again, that it is not necessary to delay in case of minute confessions thoughts and idle notions, and abuse and anger, until Sunday, but to confess them immediately as they occur. He who makes his confession to a soul-friend—if he perform the penance according to his directions—need not confess them to another soul-friend, but only what has subsequently occurred. Some instructions are for of the confessor. 3 1
given, also, guidance
It is right to refuse the confession of a person, who does not perform penance according to the soul-friend's direction, unless there happens to be a soul- friend near, who is considered more learned in rules, in the ways of the scripture, and in the practices of the saints. Let the penitent heed what he receives from the learned soul-friend, whom he first met, to whomsover he may reveal his confession each time, and let penance be enjoined him, according to the rules of frequent confession. In fine, it is also decreed, that the bishop, who confers noble orders upon any one, who is not instructed in religion and reading and rules, as also regarding the proper remedy for all sins
26 Both are to be found in "The Culdees would be too long to wait till the Sunday
of the British Islands, as they appear in following, for the person who habitually goes History," &c. By Very Rev. William to hand every Sunday, because these two
Reeves, D. D. Evidences, H, pp. 84 to 97.
days were always special with them at Mass. "
:
3I After this form Difficult, indeed, is
the duty of the soul-friend, because if he give the proper remedy, it is oftener violated than observed; but, if the soul-friend does not
27 See "
Proceedings
of the Irish Royal
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. ,
part i. , pp. 128, 129.
28
29 To these words Dr. Reeves adds the fol-
AccordingtotheO'Curry'sMSS. , sect. 60.
lowing note :
"
The priest raises his hand in
several are satisfied with making the con-
fession, without doing the penance, but it is
better to proclaim their welfare to them,
though they do not respond to the penance enjoined by the confessor. Another soul-
friend may be gone to, if necessary, after the permission of the first soul-friend has been obtained.
32 See Reeves' work "On the Culdees. "
the absolution, whence the modern expres- "
sion, T>ul fa iAim fa^ai^c going under the hand of the priest," denotes going to confession. " See "The Culdees of the British Islands," &c, Evidences H. , p. 84.
30 This Rule enacts : "When they do not
go to hand (meaning to confession) on Sun^ day, they go on the Thursday after ; it
give it,
its
liability
falls himself; because upon
ic6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[July 7.
in general, is an enemy to God and to man ; for, that bishop has offered an insult to Christ and to his Church, and hence he shall do penance for six
32 years.
CHAPTER III.
EULOGIES AND SAYINGS OF ST. MAKLRUAIN—ONLY ABBOT AT TALLAGH—HISTORIC NOTICES OF THE PLACE—DEATH AND BURIAL OF THE HOLY ABBOT THERE- LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS—CONCLUSION.
In the Prologue to the " Feilire" of St. ^ngus, St. Maelruain is styled "the
religious migrations from Ireland to the Continent, which prevailed in the eighth and following centuries. 3
That St. Maelruain had only been regarded as abbot,* and not as bishop,s
in Tallagh, seems most probable, from the fact, that his apparently immediate
6
successorthere,Airerain, surnamedtheWise,? isonlystyledanAbbotofthat
Sun of the South Plain of Meath. ''' 1 In the Book of 2 there is Leinster,
great
an incident of his history related, from which the holy Abbot concludes, that it is better for a man to give his offering to the Lord than to earthly men. Into the version of St. Maelruain's Rule, which has been published, is ad- mitted the following account, that what Moelruain heard from learned men concerning the desertion of the land was : That Patrick, and the faithful whom he brought into Erin, will be repulsive in Heaven to any man who deserts his land, except so far as to remove from the east of it to the west, and from the north to the south. This seems to have reference to the great
place. However, it cannot be denied, that even in the time of Maelruain therewasabishopatTallagh andweknow,thatataperiod,notlongsub-
—— united in his own person the offices of bishop and abbot. 9 Nay more ; it is almost certain, that St. Maelruain himself would not assume the functions of
;
sequent, there had been a St. Eochaidh 8 successor of Maelruain who
the episcopate through humility, while he enjoined on Eochaidh the duty of
receiving consecration, to serve the purposes of the community, according to the custom of that time.
it —he is entered as a bishop. This addition to his name was probably a late interpolation,
6
l in
Chapter hi. See "Transactions of Martyrclogy, the "Book of Leinster,"
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript edited by Robert Atkinson, M. A. , LL. D. , Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of the following entry at iii. Idus Februarii,
The "cumhal " in the Latin documents is expressed by " ancilla. " Its literal meaning
is "bondmaid," whose equivalent was
reckoned at three cows. See Dr. O'Dono-
van's LeAbharv ha 5-CeArtf;, or "Book of
Rights," p. 139, —n. (n). 7 Thus we find in that copy of the Tallagh
^Engus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. xx.
"
Airerain Sapientis et Abbatis Tamlactan
2
LL. D. , fol. 286a.
lagh,
bishop,
Edited by Robert Atkinson, M. A. ,
post Maelruain. " Seep. 356. 8"
See "The Culdees of the British Islands,
as they appear in History," &c. By Very Rev. WilliamReeves,D. D. Evidences,H, p. 91, and note.
4
Kl. Eochaid Eps. — Februarii,
See ibid. , p. 356^'.
et abb. Tamlac. "
3
In the list of the community-folk of
9 His feast occurs at the 28th January, where some notices of him occur, in Firsl Tal- Volume v. —how-
he is not called a
Poem of Cormac Mac Cuillenan.
nor in the
ever, we did not ass—
ign his place which
5 However, in Rev. Dr. Kelly's version of
corded in Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the Four Masters," at A. D. 807, recle 8 1 2, vol. i. f pp. 418, 419.
the "Martyrologyof Tallagh"—whichwefind to have been drawn from the earliest copy of
See an account of him, in the Second V—olumeofthiswork,atthe10thofFebruary
the date for his feast, Art. i.
Thus entered, at the 28th of January : iii.
of this work, Art. There,
undoubtedly was here whilejhis deatli is re- "
July 7.
Cormac's "
Stokes, LL. D. , p. 160.
'' translated and anno- tated by the late John O'Donovan, LL. D. Edited with Notes and Indices, by Whitley
18
Glossary,
See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters, "vol. i. , pp. 8, 9, andn. (c), ibid,
unity-folk
Topographical Dictionary
July 7. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
101
mate union—is to be
Book of Leinster. 24 A stanza 2 * on the same men, is attributed to Cormac Mac Cuillanain.
ancient Culdees.
33 At the end of column
24 Now preserved in the Franciscan Con-
vent, Merchants' Quay, Dublin.
County of Dublin," p. 761.
3° See Professor " Lec- Eugene O'Curry's
tures on the Manuscript Materials of Ancient Irish History," Lect. xvii. , p. 364.
25 At the end of column
3I See Dr. O'Donovan's vol. edition,
i. ,
26
5.
The same stanza is copied in the lower
margin, apparently in Colgan's handwriting.
pp. 272, 273.
32 In 817, a new rule and additional regu-
found,
in the detached ten 2*
folia, belonging
to the
Few personal anecdotes, regarding this holy Abbot Maelruain have been pre- served. A commentator on the " Feilire " of St. yEngus, at this date, has an account of a certain thief, who stole the only cow, belonging to the Ostiarius of Mailruain of Tallaght. The latter 2 ? was urgent on his patron saint to avenge the theft ; but, Maelruain advised the door-keeper to bide his time, and that the devil should inflict on the thief still greater evil, while his punishment in hell
should be the 28 because the heavier,
transgressor
more bad actions the longer he continued in this life. There is extant a
romantic Irish poem, entitled u Legendary Story of St. Maelruan, first bishop
of 2 ? From the character of the we well it is Tallagh. " heading, may suppose,
not a genuine account of any incident in his career.
It is stated, that St. Maelruan there founded a church, in honour of God
and of St. Michael the Archangel, in the year 769. 3° This, likewise, is the date given for the first erection of Tamlacht-Mailruain, in the u Annals of the
1
Four Masters. "*
years after the institution by Chrodegang of the order of Canons in his church of Metz, and to whom the title of Fratres Dominici had been given. It was subsequentlychangedtothatofCanonici. Theywereanintermediateclass, between monks and secular priests. They adopted to a great extent the dis- cipline without the vows of monks, while they discharged the office of minis- ters in various churches. *2 St. Maelruain's institution have
27 He said " I me not thankful for the lations had been enacted for the order of
of St. Maelruain
:
" "
:
patron that avengeth not my cow on the
thief, for we see him without want of cattle
or of children or of health. "
28
This is represented as having been expressed in an Irish rami, the composition
—
SeAnj; hiperiMm 1/m-o jroruiech 1nichiAH CAingen ocuf bj\ech SechmAlL alerTA Ar\cech 16
Sir*ifiur»tt nihimApgo.
Canons, at the Council of Aix-la-Chapelle. 33 See Rev. Dr. Reeves on " The Cul-
dees of the British Islands," &c, part ii. ,
It is thus translated into English by Dr. Whitley Stokes: "Seng t sessam (? ) have we for every one, afar offtrial and judgment, oblivion of their
on — advantage every day,
tain. "
See ibid. ,
p. 362^.
eternal hell (it is) not a falsehood. "
3
A
of this is
in a
Parch-
"
copy
given,
Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy,"
Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. Notes from the Lebar Brecc, pp. 91, 92, p. cxvii.
29 See D'Alton's " of the John History
page,'
6 and
enumerating
these
This church of Tamlacht was founded, about twenty-four
Possibly, may been borrowed from, or may have had some features in common with, the
order of Canons. It seems to be pretty well established, that both the Keledei of Scotland, as well as the Colidei of Ireland, exhibited the main characteris- tics of secular canons in their discipline, during the ages that succeeded this
period.
33
3.
sect, ii. , pp. 9, 1—0. ii.
was to commit permitted
x
Chapter copy
of the
of " found in the Martyrology Tallagh
Book of Leinster," as edited by Dr. Robert
Atkinson, we read at that date, the follow-
"
ing entry: iiii. Idus Augusti Maelruain
cum suis reliquiis Sanctorum martyrum et virginum ad Tamlachtain venit. " See
c.
2 On a 6th of September, as we find it set
down thus : "hi. Non. Sep. Adventus reli- quiarum Scethi filiae Mechi ad Tamlach-
p. 361
large
ment 4to Manuscript, No. 223, belonging to the Messrs. Hodges and Smith collection,
preserved in the Royal Irish Academy.
4 For a fuller account of this valuable his-
In that
io2 LIVES 01 7HE IRISH SAINTS.
[July 7.
CHAPTER II.
THE LITERARY COMPOSITIONS OF ST. MAELRUAIN—DEATH OF CEALLACH, AND HIS BURIAL AT TAMLACHT—ST. /ENGUS THE CULDEE JOINS THAT COMMUNITY—THE CULDEES—RULE OF ST. MAELRUAIN.
Already have we alluded to the date for St. Maelruain's establishment at Tallagh ; and, if we may draw an inference from a Festival set down in its Calendar, the 10th of August was a day on which the holy founder brought to
1
or deposited at that place the relics of venerated Martyrs and Virgins, with
suitable rites and ceremonies. It is probable, that on the occasion, the church there and its altar had been consecrated ; for we know, that the con- tinuous practice, in the case of such ceremonials, is to place relics of the saints within the altar-stone on which the holy Sacrifice of the Mass is offered. Another supposition may be arrived at, however, that those relics had been conveyed in procession, and had been placed in shrines, which were placed probably over the high altar ; for we know, likewise, that at a period sub- sequent, other sacred relics 2 had arrived at Tallaght, and that the annual commemoration of both events was regarded as matter for observance there, both by the monks- and by the people, who annually assembled to pray before those sacred remains.
Besides his other excellent virtues and accomplishments, St. Maelruain
is traditionally regarded as having indulged in literary work, and he is credited with having been a poet. Yet of his genuine metrical compositions, we doubt if many of them have been preserved. An Irish poem is said to have been composed by St. Maelruan of Tallagh. 3 A much more important compilation has come down to our times, and it is known as the Martyrolo-
gium Tamlactense, or the " Maityrology of Tallaght. "* It has been supposed, that the conception and authorship of this work were due, in the first instance, to St. Maelruain ;5 although, it is thought, he received assistance in its pre- paration, from the celebrated St. /Engus the Culdee, 6 who was a subject and an inmate of his monastery. That we have not the original draft of St. Mael- ruain's composition is proved from the fact, that his own name has been entered in the preserved and published copies, at this same day. However, it seems most probable, that St. ^ngus added to the work, after St. Mael- ruain's death ; and, even after the death of the former, we find the insertion of St. /Engtis'* own name, so thatthere must have been interpolations, in nearly all thelatercopies. Indeed,itwasnounusualcustomforunauthorizedpersonsto tamper with records of this character, by introducing items of information on their own responsibility, and to complete what they deemed to be defects or omissions. This was especially the case, with regard to copies of Annals or ofCalendars, preserved in our monasteries. 7
It should seem, that the temporal patron of Tallaght must have preserved very close personal relations with St. Maelruain and his community. This
torical and ecclesiastical record, the reader
is referred to the First Volume of this work.
Introduction, sect. ii. Also to the Third et Moelruaiii. " Volume, at the nth of March, Ait. i. , in the
Life of St. /Engusius Hagiographus or St.
. /Engus the Culdee, chap. iii.
s See Kev. Dr.
History of Ireland," vol. iii. , sect, vi. , n. 47, p. 224.
who inserted
such comments, as well as on
Lanigan's
" Ecclesiastical
chap, xx. ,
some writers have done—on those illogically
"
6 On its title lias been found, also. , Martyrologium Aengussii filii Ilua-obhlenii
1 1t should be very unwarrantable to charge
these additions as attempted forgeries—as
the monks, who preserved such records, and who transmitted them to posterity.
July 7. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
103
may fairly be inferred, from the simple entry which remains to us of an Irish dynast's closing career. According to the "Annals of the Four Masters/'8 Cellach died a. d. 771. He is said to have been buried at the church in Tal-
laght ; and, no doubt, for many long succeeding generations, the pious com- munity there offered up Masses and prayers for their deceased benefactor.
We believe the following story to be apocryphal, as it seems unchronological.
10
Saighir, and she was desirous of going to the Island of Doiinhle. This is held
12 who have As we have seen already,^ the greater probability is, that it lay between the counties of Wex-
Mainnsena,9 the mother of Brenaiun,
of Biorr, as we are told,
11
came to
to have been the Clear well-known present Cape Island, by
writers,
was the admis- then little known to fame and wishing himself to be altogether unnoticed as an humble postulant. The celebrity of St. Maelruin's institute, and the congeniality of its discipline to his peculiar habits, probably induced St. ^Engus to leave Dysart Enos and to visitTamlacht. Foralongtime,heservedthereasamerefarmlabourer, and only an accident brought him prominently under the observation of the Abbot St. Maelruan. Afterwards they became bosom friends, while their
tastes in literature and sympathies in holy exercises continued to the close of St. Maelruan's career. Elsewhere, this narrative has been written, and it is only necessary to refer the reader to those pages, which serve to illustrate the biography of both saints.
Those religious, known as the Culdees, were at Tallagh, during the time
furnished some description and illustrations of that place.
ford and Waterford. " Go said Ciaran of not,"
1 * " it is in but,
Saighir,
Tamhlacht thy own resurrection and the resurrection of thy son Brenaiun shall be. " It does not appear, that Tamlacht had a cemetery before the eighth century. One of the most interesting and instructive incidents of the
while Maelruain ruled over the — at this period monastery place,
sion of the celebratedSt.
^Engusthe
15 Culdee—
ofSt. Melruan. 16 fromtheLivesofSt. Patrickandofother Although
very early Irish saints, we find the designation Culdee applied to holy servants of
God ; yet, it has been thought, this term was not in vogue in their time, but
thatitwas
subsequently applied.
x? Sofaraswecan thebrothers understand,
8
See Dr. O'Donovan's edition, vol. i. ,
^Engussius Hagiographus or St. /Engus the Culdee, in the Third Volume of this work
pp. 376, 377.
9 A note by Dr. Todd says, at the fore-
"
at the nth of March, Art. i. , chaps, ii. , going word, Mainnsena. This paragraph iii. , iv.
seems intended as a note on Tamlachta, not as putting Mainnsena as a saint on this day. Her name does not occur in the other Calen- dars. "
10 The death of St. Brendan of Birr oc- curred, on the 29th of November, a. d. 571.
l6 See notices of the Cele De or Culdees, in the Leabhar Breac, fol. 5, a, b, Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts in the Royal Irish Aca-
demy, p. 597.
t? There is a poem, ascribed t—o St. Cart-
hach or St. Mochuda of Lismore who died
—
a. d. 636 and which gives a metrical Rule
of the Celi De, to be found in a Manuscript,
belonging to Trinity College, Dublin, and which is classed II 2, 16, cols. 224, 225. It is headed "Do chelm "Oe mpo np, and it is comprised in twelve stanzas. It forms the seventh division in a metrical composition of 145 stanzas, and it immediately succeedsa di- vision containing nineteen stanzas, on the duties of a monk.
It may be doubted, how- ever, that this is a genuine composition of St. Carthach. The Irish ranns, with an English translation, may found in '. ' The Culdees of the British Islands, as they appear in History," &c, by the Very Rev. William
11 12
"
By the O'Clerys.
In the ancient ecclesiastical books it is
Insula Sancta Clara," and in the old
called
Irish MS. , " Inish Domhly. " See Mr. and Mrs. Hall's " Ireland : its Scenery, Charac- ter," &c, vol. i. , pp. 137, 138.
13 In the present volume, at the 4th day of July, in the Acts of St. Fionnbarr, Abbot of Inis Doimhle, county of Wexford, Art. i.
14 This saint flourished in the fifth cen- tury, according to the common belief. See his Life, at the 5th of March, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
15 See these and the following particulars more fully set forth, in the Life of St.
io
4
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. -
[July
of this ancient Irish monastic order were chiefly clerical recluses,
a distinctive habit of living from other monks. Perhaps we should include among this fraternity some—if not all—of those who are called the folk of the unity of Maelruain, namely : Maelruain of Tallagh, Maeltuile, son of Noec- huire, Maelanfaid of Dairinis mor (County Waterford) ; Fland the fair, son of Fairchellach, in Daire na fland (Derrynavlan, County Tipperary); Fland,
son of Duibthinne, in Daire na fland
lua (Killaloe) ; Maeldithrub, namely, the anchorite of Tir da glass (Terry- glass, County Tipperary) j Dimman of Ara (Aran Island) j Dalbach of Cul callach ; Feidlimid, son of Crimthain (King of Munster) ; Diarmaid of Desert Diarmada (Castledermot, County Kildare) ; Eochaid, bishop of Tallagh ;
;
Flannan, son of Tairdelbach, in Cill da
Ua Oiblein. 1 ? The list has been versified in the Irish lan- foregoing
Oengus
guage, and the lines are attributed to the celebrated Cormac Mac Cuillenan
of Cashel, 20 who flourished near enough to that time, when Maelruain lived, to have procured authentic details.
One of the eight Ecclesiastical and Religious Rules established in Erinn, and the sixth in chronological order, was that of St. Maelruain. It is known as the general Rule of the Celidhe' D£, vulgarly called the Culdees. It contains a minute series of regulations for their lives, their prayers, their preachings, their conversations, their confessions, their communions, their ablutions, their fastings, their abstinences, their relaxations, their sleep, their celebrations of
A copy of this is contained in a prose tract
2
appear to be older than the twelfth or thirteenth century. 3 It may be
regarded as a modernized, or perhaps amplified, version of a much earlier document. The length of the Tract admits great variety in the subjects of which it treats, while its contents are greatly deficient in arrangement, and
Mass and their other duties. 21
of nine small 22 quarto pages.
The " Rule for the Celi De" was
composed by St. Maelruan, and it is said, about the year 780. However, we are inclined to think, that the date must be placed, at an earlier period. The original of this is not known to exist, and the version of it which remains does not
in many passages they are obscure. 2* Reeves, D. D. , Evidences, G, pp. 82, 83.
It is said, that Moelruain originally
18
them, in an Irish Poem of twelve quatrains in Leabhar Breac, fol. 261, beginning with the heading Do Cell "Oe, no x>i clej\ech
pecterw.
*9 And this is verified by the poem com-
"
mencing with The hillock," of which
At least, such is the description given of
Cat thy, D. D. , who kindly furnished English translations of the Irish text from the Book of Leinster for the writer, states, there is no reason for calling the authenticity of Cormac Mac Cuillenan's poem in question. At the bottom of that page in which it is, a modern version is given in the handwriting of
Michael the chief of the Four O'Cleiy,
Masters, in whose possession the Manuscript once had been.
Cormac Mac Culenain " sang :
Hillock, green-topped," etc. See Dr. Robert Atkin- son's edition of the Book of Leinster, p. 370^. Moreover, we are told, that Cormac Mac Culena—in sang (in the poem mentioned, inter
M See Professor
Eugene O'Curry's
" Lec-
alia)
tures on the Manuscript Materials of
Ancient Irish History," Lect. xviii. , p. 375.
ibid.
23 This is inferred from its orthography
and grammatical structure.
*•» See "The Culdees of the British
Islands, as they appear in History," &c. By Very Rev. William Reeves, D. D. , part ii. , sect, ii. , p. 7.
as A version of this Rule to prose purports
be its translation in the Leabhar Breac, at
fol. 9. It begins with these words : Incipic
TI1A541I, na Celco tVOe, o ffloelpUAin cearuc.
: "
Maelruain, Mea'tuile, glorious in deed, Maelantiad of Dairinis,
The three Elands, Maeldithrub zeal-
ous,
Dimman, Dalbach, Feidlimid.
Diarmuid, Eochaid, sublime the tale,
And Ua
Oengus Oibleim,
The folk of that unity all
(Are) round Maelruain, round Mael- tuile. "
—Ibid. , p. 370^.
20
The Very Rev. Bartholomew Mac
18
observing
July 7. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. io-
composedhisRulefortheCeleDeinmetre. 25 Thishasbeenrenderedinto Irish prose, and it has been printed, with an English translation, by Dr. John O'Donovan,26towhichnotesareannexed,byRev. Dr. Reeves. TheRule of St. Maelruain was remarkably rigorous. Meat was not eaten, nor was ale drank,byhismonks,duringtheirAbbot'sowntime2? although,bothappear
to have been allowed—subject to certain conditions—in that copy of the Rule, which has come down to us. It is interesting to know, what formed the chief articles of food in the monastic establishment, at this early period. The dietary of the Tallagh community seems to have consisted of bread, thick milk, honey, skimmed milk, beer, butter, kale, biestings, curds, fish, cheese, eggs, apples, leeks, cheese-whey, and gruel, for these are specially mentioned, as being in daily use. There seems to have been a relaxation at Easter, when eggs, lard and the flesh of wild deer and wild hogs, with other flesh-meats, in case of sickness or scarcity of other nutriment, were allowed. There was a fast every month among the congregation of Maelruan, on half a meal of bread, and on half a meal of diluted whey. This Rule has precepts
for bishops, pastors, confessors, virgins in religion, and lay people. It con- tains several regulations, connected with the sacrament of penance. It regards
"
any divulging
confession,
say,
;
so as to " this is what the mandid," as a
of
very heinous crime. It is added, that this is not penanced in the land of Erinn. "28 Ontheeveofthechief all is "because
festivals, feasting prohibited,
of going under the hand to-morrow. "2^ Frequent confession is also incul-
cated. "^ Yet, it is not profitable, when the transgressions are frequent. We are informed again, that it is not necessary to delay in case of minute confessions thoughts and idle notions, and abuse and anger, until Sunday, but to confess them immediately as they occur. He who makes his confession to a soul-friend—if he perform the penance according to his directions—need not confess them to another soul-friend, but only what has subsequently occurred. Some instructions are for of the confessor. 3 1
given, also, guidance
It is right to refuse the confession of a person, who does not perform penance according to the soul-friend's direction, unless there happens to be a soul- friend near, who is considered more learned in rules, in the ways of the scripture, and in the practices of the saints. Let the penitent heed what he receives from the learned soul-friend, whom he first met, to whomsover he may reveal his confession each time, and let penance be enjoined him, according to the rules of frequent confession. In fine, it is also decreed, that the bishop, who confers noble orders upon any one, who is not instructed in religion and reading and rules, as also regarding the proper remedy for all sins
26 Both are to be found in "The Culdees would be too long to wait till the Sunday
of the British Islands, as they appear in following, for the person who habitually goes History," &c. By Very Rev. William to hand every Sunday, because these two
Reeves, D. D. Evidences, H, pp. 84 to 97.
days were always special with them at Mass. "
:
3I After this form Difficult, indeed, is
the duty of the soul-friend, because if he give the proper remedy, it is oftener violated than observed; but, if the soul-friend does not
27 See "
Proceedings
of the Irish Royal
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. ,
part i. , pp. 128, 129.
28
29 To these words Dr. Reeves adds the fol-
AccordingtotheO'Curry'sMSS. , sect. 60.
lowing note :
"
The priest raises his hand in
several are satisfied with making the con-
fession, without doing the penance, but it is
better to proclaim their welfare to them,
though they do not respond to the penance enjoined by the confessor. Another soul-
friend may be gone to, if necessary, after the permission of the first soul-friend has been obtained.
32 See Reeves' work "On the Culdees. "
the absolution, whence the modern expres- "
sion, T>ul fa iAim fa^ai^c going under the hand of the priest," denotes going to confession. " See "The Culdees of the British Islands," &c, Evidences H. , p. 84.
30 This Rule enacts : "When they do not
go to hand (meaning to confession) on Sun^ day, they go on the Thursday after ; it
give it,
its
liability
falls himself; because upon
ic6 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[July 7.
in general, is an enemy to God and to man ; for, that bishop has offered an insult to Christ and to his Church, and hence he shall do penance for six
32 years.
CHAPTER III.
EULOGIES AND SAYINGS OF ST. MAKLRUAIN—ONLY ABBOT AT TALLAGH—HISTORIC NOTICES OF THE PLACE—DEATH AND BURIAL OF THE HOLY ABBOT THERE- LOCAL ASSOCIATIONS—CONCLUSION.
In the Prologue to the " Feilire" of St. ^ngus, St. Maelruain is styled "the
religious migrations from Ireland to the Continent, which prevailed in the eighth and following centuries. 3
That St. Maelruain had only been regarded as abbot,* and not as bishop,s
in Tallagh, seems most probable, from the fact, that his apparently immediate
6
successorthere,Airerain, surnamedtheWise,? isonlystyledanAbbotofthat
Sun of the South Plain of Meath. ''' 1 In the Book of 2 there is Leinster,
great
an incident of his history related, from which the holy Abbot concludes, that it is better for a man to give his offering to the Lord than to earthly men. Into the version of St. Maelruain's Rule, which has been published, is ad- mitted the following account, that what Moelruain heard from learned men concerning the desertion of the land was : That Patrick, and the faithful whom he brought into Erin, will be repulsive in Heaven to any man who deserts his land, except so far as to remove from the east of it to the west, and from the north to the south. This seems to have reference to the great
place. However, it cannot be denied, that even in the time of Maelruain therewasabishopatTallagh andweknow,thatataperiod,notlongsub-
—— united in his own person the offices of bishop and abbot. 9 Nay more ; it is almost certain, that St. Maelruain himself would not assume the functions of
;
sequent, there had been a St. Eochaidh 8 successor of Maelruain who
the episcopate through humility, while he enjoined on Eochaidh the duty of
receiving consecration, to serve the purposes of the community, according to the custom of that time.
it —he is entered as a bishop. This addition to his name was probably a late interpolation,
6
l in
Chapter hi. See "Transactions of Martyrclogy, the "Book of Leinster,"
the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript edited by Robert Atkinson, M. A. , LL. D. , Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of the following entry at iii. Idus Februarii,
The "cumhal " in the Latin documents is expressed by " ancilla. " Its literal meaning
is "bondmaid," whose equivalent was
reckoned at three cows. See Dr. O'Dono-
van's LeAbharv ha 5-CeArtf;, or "Book of
Rights," p. 139, —n. (n). 7 Thus we find in that copy of the Tallagh
^Engus, by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. , p. xx.
"
Airerain Sapientis et Abbatis Tamlactan
2
LL. D. , fol. 286a.
lagh,
bishop,
Edited by Robert Atkinson, M. A. ,
post Maelruain. " Seep. 356. 8"
See "The Culdees of the British Islands,
as they appear in History," &c. By Very Rev. WilliamReeves,D. D. Evidences,H, p. 91, and note.
4
Kl. Eochaid Eps. — Februarii,
See ibid. , p. 356^'.
et abb. Tamlac. "
3
In the list of the community-folk of
9 His feast occurs at the 28th January, where some notices of him occur, in Firsl Tal- Volume v. —how-
he is not called a
Poem of Cormac Mac Cuillenan.
nor in the
ever, we did not ass—
ign his place which
5 However, in Rev. Dr. Kelly's version of
corded in Dr. O'Donovan's Annals of the Four Masters," at A. D. 807, recle 8 1 2, vol. i. f pp. 418, 419.
the "Martyrologyof Tallagh"—whichwefind to have been drawn from the earliest copy of
See an account of him, in the Second V—olumeofthiswork,atthe10thofFebruary
the date for his feast, Art. i.
Thus entered, at the 28th of January : iii.
of this work, Art. There,
undoubtedly was here whilejhis deatli is re- "
July 7.
