Her prayers and these of her nuns were
continually
offered to heaven in their behalf.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
,
p. 66. Other accounts tend to prove her extraordinary virtues.
and, impelled by the Divine spirit, she
204 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 15.
soughtaninterviewwithhermother. Thenexpatiatingontheexcellenceof Divine counsels, Ita procured her mother's consent to communicate to her
father, Kennfoelad, the substance of his daughter's most earnest desires, to consecrate herself to God, in a state of holy virginity. Incensed at this her
declaration, about to destroy ill-judged paternal ambition, Kennfoelad denied with an oath, that he would give consent to the accomplishment of her virtuous resolutions. Whereupon, filled with the spirit of prophecy, Ita
" Bear with
said to those who were
although he now forbids me to consecrate myself to Christ, yet hereafter he shall persuade and even command me to go whithersoever I desire, in order to serve God, he being impelled to act in this manner by our Lord Jesus Christ. "' A short time subsequent to this occurrence, St. Ita fasted con- tinuously three days and three nights. During this time, she was constantly assaulted by temptations of the Devil, whose wiles our pious virgin success- fully resisted. On the last of those nights, the enemy of her salvation ap- peared in a mournful and dejected guise. He vanished, at dawn of day,
present :
my
father for a because while,
"
othersfromme. " Duringthissamenight,anangeloftheLordappearedto
saying sorrowfully :
Alas ! Ita, not only will you withdraw yourself, but many
our saint's " in the name of do father, saying : Why, Christ,
you prevent your daughter from taking the veil of virginity ? For, Ita shall be a great and holy virgin before God and His saints, and she shall become an advocate for manyonthedayofjudgment. Notonlyshouldyouallowhertoassume the habit of virginity, but you ought permit her wheresoever she pleases to follow Christ. In another part of the country shall she serve our Lord, and become patron over the race that inhabits it. " Immediately, Kinnfoelad
sought his daughter, and told her what had occurred. Moreover, according to her prediction, he not only gave her permission to assume the veil, but he even counselled her on that very day to depart for whatever place she chose. '
Having obtained this permission, the virgin instantly proceeded on her way to a church, which was situated in the Nan-desii country. During this journey, she was encountered by demons, who endeavoured to obstruct her passage; buttheangelsofGodaffordedherprotection,andputthosead- versaries to flight. The evil spirits were heard proclaiming their discomfiture,
be able to
and " Woe to for henceforth we shall no saying : us,
longer
against this virgin. We have desired to avenge our injuries on her to-day, and the angels of God afforded her assistance : she shall destroy our influence in various places, and she shall snatch many souls from our dominion, both in this world and in the next ! " Having received consolation from angels,
she proceeded to the church, where she took a vow of virginity, and received her veil at the hands of venerable ecclesiastics,3 who were already aware of those miraculous favours she had received. * Then, she besought the guidance
Chap. ii. —' See
torum Hibemise," xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itse, cap. iv. , p. 66.
" See Bishop Challoner's
Sancta," part i. , jS. 39. "
Lanigan,
"
that St. Declan of Ardmore was
Colgan's
" Acta Sane-
garding
the exact time and term for St.
" Britannia 3 It is not improbable," says Dr.
Declan's exercising ecclesiastical functions,
we may well question this conjecture. In
the first place, we are not told that a bishop conferred the veil on St. Ita, in any of her Lives or Acts ; and secondly, it is not to be supposed, if she received the veil from a bishop so renowned as Declan, that the re- lation of such a circumstance would have been concealed by her biographer,
* See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
nise," xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itce, cap. v. , p. 66.
the bishop from whom she received the
veil. The time of her receiving it seems to
have been in the early part of the sixth
and when Declan over century, presided
the Nandesi country. " See "Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , § i. , ^ 5> P- 83. Not to speak of doubts, re-
prevail
January 15. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 205
of heaven, to conduct her towards a place where she might best serve God,
in the promotion of his greater glory. An angel appeared, directing her to leave her native country, and proceed towards the western parts of Hy-Conaill territory, at the foot of a mountain called Luachra,5 where she should be shown a place for the erection of her nunnery, and where she was destined finally to repose. It was declared, also, that in conjunction with St. Senan,^ sheshouldberegardedaspatronofthatcountry. ? Takingsomecompanions with her, she sought the place indicated f and having arrived in the present county of Limerick, within that portion of it now designated the barony of Glenquin, an angel appeared to her, and pointed out the exact spot on which herestablishmentshouldbeerected. ^ ThisplacewascalledCluain-Credhuel. '° Thither numbers of holy maidens flocked, to place themselves under this virgin's guidance. Her virtues these pious ladies endeavoured to imitate, and her instructions they laboured to practise. The fame of St. Ita, in a short time, became widely dffused ; while the place of her retirement was
opened with the greatest joy and alacrity to those of her sex who sought protection within its cloisters. "
The situation of St. Ita's old church, and near it her well, may be found at the burial-ground of Killeedy," a little to the north of Ballagh and Gort- naclohy mountains. It is a curious remnant of antiquity, although much in- jured and partly remodelled. As standing in 1840, it consisted of a nave and choir ; the former measuring forty-seven feet three inches in length by twenty-nine feet two inches in breadth, on the inside ; while the latter mea- sured thirty-seven feet by eighteen feet. '3 The choir had been modernized, and used as a Protestant church, until about the beginning of this century. '4 The choir arch was in tolerable preservation ; but it contained no part of the
ance, had been formed already in her own
country, particularly as St. Brigid had been there for some time. See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. ,
chap, xi. , § i. , n. 7, p. 84.
'° Now known as an ancient Killeedy,
church in a parish having the same name,
in the territory of Upper Connello, and tinguished by the additional name Gaura, county of Limerick. It is situated about
5 This was rather a name of the district in
which that mountain is situated. A part of
Hy-Conaill was so called, apparently from its abounding in rushes. The barony of Connello or Connillo, in the county of
is the ancient or at Limerick, Hy-Conaill,
least a part of it. The southern division of
this barony, or Upper Connello, was dis-
being called Hy-Conaill Gaura. In a western part of this tract, St. Ita formed her estab-
* See his Life at the 8th day of March.
7 "Hence it is said [ib. , cap. 6), that the entire nation of Hy-Conaill was to belong
^It was called Cluain Chreadhail, "the religious retirement. " See "Letters Con- taining Information relative to the Antiqui- ties of the County of Limerick, Collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Sur- vey in 1840," vol. i. , p. 75. The foregoing is Dr. O'Donovan's interpretation of the name.
9 We may be allowed to suppose, that the
want of a similar institution in those western
parts was, in the order of Providence, the cause of St. Ita having been directed to settle there. Nunneries and establishments
five miles to the south of Newcastle. This monastery is described in the Life of St. Ita, and also in that of St. Brendan, as having been situated at the foot of Sliabh- Luachra, in the west of Ui-Conaill-Gabhra territory. The writer of the Life of St. Brendan states, that it was Kill-Ite, in his own time. See O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. n. 184.
"
lishment. See Dr.
tical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , § i. , n. 6, pp. 83, 84.
for the education of to all females,
appear-
xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itae, cap. vi. , pp. 66,
67.
" See " Ordnance Survey Townland
Maps for the County of Limerick. " Sheet
44.
^3 See John O'Donovan's description, in
" Letters containing Information relative to
the Antiquities of the County of Limerick, Collected during the Progress of the Ord-
nance Survey in 1840," vol. i. , pp. 77 to
79.
^* Since then the services were disused.
Lanigan's
to these two saints. " Dr.
clesiastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , § iii. , n. 24, p. 89.
i. , (1), p. History of Limerick," part iii. , chap, iii. , p. 188, incorrectly identifies
" Ecclesias-
Lanigan's
" Ec-
Ferrar, in his
Cluan Credhail with a place called Clarina.
''
Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum HibcrniEe,"
206 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[January 15.
ancientwork. Itwasconstructedwithchiselledlime-stones,inthepointed
and it measured ten feet nine inches in width. It was about thirteen feet to the vertex, from the level of the floor. This choir contained three modem windows ; one Avindow was in the middle of the south wall, and an other was opposite to it in the north wall, while a third was in the east gable. 'S Its walls were fairly preserved, but these contained no part of the ancient work. The nave of this church is in the primitive Irish style ; and, in all probability, it is thought to have formed a part of St. Ita's primitive church. The west gable is now destroyed down to its very fovmdation ; but, in the last century, people saw it standing, and some of these asserted, that it contained a door-way, consisting of concentric arches. '^ Of the north wall on this nave only a fragment remained, which connected with the middle gable : this measured eighteen feet six inches in length, by about nineteen feet six inches in height.
style,
Saint Ita's Church at Killeedy.
The Irish historian O'Halloran has mistaken the extent of Hy-Conaill Gabhra, supposing it to have been only a part of the present barony of Conello. ^7 It included, however, not alone the modern baronies bearing that name, but even the entire barony of Glenquin. '^ Archdall'9 was led astray by this statement, and Gough,^" likewise, for they have placed Cluain Chredail or Kilita at Castle Mac Eneiry, in the barony of Conillo.
'5 Not being much more than a century
old, these objects are not worth the anti-
quary's attention.
relative to the Antiquities of the County of
Limerick, Collected during the Progress of
the Ordnance Survey in 1840," vol. i. , p.
75. Dr. O'Donovan's statement in this in-
stance differs from one in his edition of
'*
Liice the door-way in the west gable of
Clonfert church, county of Galway. The ac-
companying engraving by George A. Hanlon, was drawn on wood by William F. Wake-
man, from an elegant crayon sketch, procured through the kindness of Aubrey De Vere, Esq.
'7 See O'Halloran's " General History of
Ireland," vol. ii. , book xiii. , chap, v. , p. 390.
*'
The Topographical Poems
'8
See "Letters containing Information
Cough's
of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla na Naomh
Here he makes Ui-Conaill only commensurate with the baronies of Upper and Lower Connello. '5 See " Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 419,
O'Huidhrin," n, 664, p. Ixxv.
and note (d).
" Camden's Britannia,"
»° See
vol. iii. , p. 519.
January 15. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 207
A chieftain, who ruled over Hy-Connaill, at the period of our saint's ar- rival, together with the inhabitants of this country, waited on Ita, and offered her some land, which immediately surrounded her establishment ; in order thus to afford herself and her community certain means of living, free from the solicitude of all worldly cares. The people naturally supposed, that want of sufficient support must necessarily distract the thoughts of those pious in- mates, during their first struggles, in the foundation of an unendowed religious house. To the people's and the chieftain's great regret and disappointment, our saint refused to accept a larger tract of land than four acres. ^' These she converted into a garden. In it were cultivated vegetables, necessary for the subsistence of her sisters in religion. The chieftain declared, however, that after the death of the abbess, her nunnery should be more richly endowed withlandsandsubstance. Thispredictioninduecourseoftimewasfulfilled. The Hy-Connaill inhabitants thenceforth placed themselves under the patron- age and intercession of this holy virgin.
Her prayers and these of her nuns were continually offered to heaven in their behalf. Numberless blessings as a consequence were showered upon this favoured people. In honour of St. Ita, many gifts and oblations were made by inhabitants of that district to her nunnery, and to its community, as well during the life-time of their patroness,
^-
The fasts of Ita were so rigorous and excessive, that she frequently spent two, three, and even four days, without taking any kind of nourishment. To moderate this austerity, an angel of the Lord appeared to her, and com- manded her to relax in some measure those practices, which reduced her to great bodily weakness and exhaustion. He also declared, that from this time forward she should be supplied with heavenly food, which she must of necessity use when brought to her. Having promised a compliance with this supernal request, thenceforward she was miraculously supplied with food from
A
certain religious female, who often discoursed with our saint on pious subjects,
made enquiries regarding this miraculous benefit, and many other great spiri-
tual favours she received ; such, for instance, as gifts of prophecy, a power or healing the sick, and of expelling demons, besides many intercommunications sheheldwiththeangelsofGod. St. Itareplied,becausefromherinfancy, she was accustomed to meditate on Divine things, and to invoke frequently the Three Persons of the Most Adorable Trinity, therefore, she had been favoured with such supernatural powers. Being thus informed, the nun re- tired joyfully to her cell ; and, no doubt, she endeavoured afterwards to put in practice those virtues and incentives, which were received from St. Ita's life and conversation. The holy virgin was peculiarly gifted with a spirit of prophecy, which enabled her to foretel whether persons in sickness should recover or be called away from life. ^3
Many miracles of an extraordinary character are related, in our sainfs acts ; such as the restoring of sick and infirm persons to health and strength, and even raising the dead to life. ^+ She is said, also, to have had a know- ledge of transgressions, which were thought to have been secrets known only
as after her assumption to the beatitude of life eternal.
heaven to the day of her death, as the author of her life conjectures.
"The text has
hortorum. " According to a vulgar mode of
this be rendered four translation, might
acres, &c. But I am not able to define the quantity of ground contained in the ancient
^^
"Acta Sanctorum
Vita S. Itas, cap. vii. , p. 67.
"quatuor jugera
in usus
Colgan's xv. Januarii.
Hibernias,"
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," xv. Januarii, cap. viii. -ix. , p. 67.
^'' These miracles are found in the Vita S.
or acre. " Dr. " Ecclesias- in "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Lanigan's Itse, Colgjn's
juger
tical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , § ii. , n, 8, p. 86.
nise," xv. Januarii, cap. xii. , xiii. , xiv. , xv. , xvii. , xxii. , xxiii. , xxvii. , &c.
^3 See
Colgan's
2o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[January 15.
to God, and to the perpetrators of those hidden crimes. ^5 Qn a certain oc- casion, a wise man lost the use of speech, and having visited St. Ita, with. some of his companions, she offered up her prayers to God in his behalf.
The first use made of his Then he returned to his
CHAPTER III.
MARRIAGE OF BEVAN WITH ST. ITA's SISTER, NESSA—THE HOLY ITA's CONTEMPT FOR RICHES—HER INTIMACY WITH ST. BRENDAN—HER PRAYERS AND CONTEM- PLATION—HER INTERNAL ILLUMINATION—HER SUPERNATURAL COMMUNION— VISIT OF THE CLONMACNOIS CLERICS TO ST. ITA.
An artificer in wood and stone-work, named Beoanus,' came from the pro-
vinceofConnaughttoCorcobhaiscin,inHy-Connaillterritory. Hehadbeen driven from his o\vti country, by certain powerful enemies. While sojourn- ing in this place, he built some addition to our sainfs monastery. ^
Becoming captivated with the beauty and virtues of Nessa,3 a sister to St.
Ita, he besought that lady to give her consent to a proposal of marriage. Nessa had formed an idea of devoting herself to a life of celibacy, but St. Ita induced her to become the wife of Boeanus. Afterwards, through her prayers, Ita procured for this married couple that choicest blessing of Heaven, the birth a son, predestined to become a great saint in the Irish Church. This infant was called Mochoemoc* or Pulcherius. s He is vene- rated at the 13th of March. ^
A rich man, at one time, brought a great sum of money to the self- denying servant of Christ, and laid it at her feet ; when having removed it, in order to show her contempt for the mammon of this world, Ita ordered her female attendants to bring water, and wash her hands which had been defiled, as it were, by coming in contact with such treasure. Surprised at this action,
Mochoemoc, Caomhoc or Caomhan, in Irish, corresponds with the Latin word Pulcherius.
s See *' Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
Immediately afterwards he was enabled to speak. voice was to give thanks to God for this favour.
^^ These bounded respect and admiration from all people.
own filled with people,
and
far and wide our saint's reputation ; while they caused her to receive un-
Colgan's
joy
gratitude.
repeated
miracles
spread
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
*5 See
nise," XV. Januarii. Vita S. Itas, cap. xiii. , p. 67.
^ See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itae, cap. xvi. , niae," xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itae, cap. xv. ,
68. 68.
p. — p. '*
Chap. hi. There was another Beoanus, or,asothershaveit, Beoadus,intheprovince of Connaught. He was an artisan, likewise, and father to St. Keiran of Clonmacnoise ; but a different person from the Beoanus here mentioned. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xv. Januarii, n. 15, p. 71.
*
There is an account, both in the Life of St. ItaandofSt. Mochoemoc,regardinganevent preceding the birth of this latter saint. It would seem almost incredible, if there were not some grounds for supposing the author of either Life to have been cotemporaneous. at least with St. Mochoemoc. However, as the event referred to had a more particular relation towards St. Mochoemoc, it may be
This narrative proves the proficiency of
our native artisans in carpentry and ma- better to defer its insertion until the acts of
sonry, at a very early period.
3 This holy woman was a saint of Mun-
gret. Professor O'Looney has informed the writer, that in an Irish manuscript, it is stated, she procured the use of sight for St. Colnian, a Bishop of Lismore.
* In another Life of St. Ita, he is called the father of many monks. The name,
this saint are given, in accordance with a
system generally observed in the compila- tion of this work, viz. , to refer incidents to their natural place, and to avoid unneces- sary repetitions of similar narratives, which may be found in different Lives of Irish Saints, or in the other records which il- lustrate their acts,
p.
xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itse, cap. xix. , p. 68.
10 See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itae, cap. xx. , pp. 68, 69.
" This place does not appear to have been yet identified.
January 15. ] LIVES OF 7HE IRISH SAINTS. 209
the man asked our saint whether riches should be given to the wealthy and
powerful, or to the poor and strangers whereupon she replied, that they —;
belongedtoboth totherichandpowerful,tomaintaintheirworldlyhonours,
and to and
poor strangers,
to attain a reward in Heaven. " said the But,"
"if I cannot to
give both,
"It is in
of a heart to pure
"Acountenance —men hating ;
simple religious
;
magnanimity
an affection of depravity in the heart an ;
absorbing
love of riches these
whatamI to do? " Ita
man,
your power to apply your substance in the pursuit of worldly honours ; or to bestow it on the Lord, from whom it has been received, and who for tem- poral treasure will accord everlasting life. " Much edified iDy her disinterested- ness, this man received her blessing and departed. ? At another time, St. Brendan of Clonfert, with whom she was on very intimate terms of friend- ship, had asked her, what three works were most pleasing to God's sight. ^
The of Christ answered spouse
weremost
" :
Confident
resignation
God a ;
— charity
these three works
with aremostagreeabletotheLord. " Hereuponshewasasked,whatthreethings
life
toGod. She displeasing replied :
three things are very displeasing in God's sight. " St. Brendan and those who
werepresentadmiredtheholyvirgin'swisdom; andtheygavepraisetoGod,
who appeared to have spoken through the lips of his gifted servant. s The
saint was accustomed to retire frequently into some secret place, where she gave herself up entirely to prayer and Divine contemplation ; especially re-
volving in mind mysteries of the Holy Trinity, which nearly always formed
the subject of her sublime meditations, and which excited devotional fervoiu:
within her soul. Desirous of beholding her during these moments of trans-
port and rapt adoration, a holy virgin stole upon her unawares, and beheld
three brilliant globes of light, radiant as the sun. These shed an intense and
a lustrous glare over the whole space surrounding her. Alarmed at this
vision, the virgin felt unable to approach St. Ita. She returned, however,
filled with admiration at this unexpected apparition, which appeared emble-
matic of the usual subject matter occupying our saint's contemplative aspira-
^°
tions.
It happened that a theft had been committed in some nunnery, at a place
called Direo-Chuisgrigh. " In the narrative of our saint's life, it would seem to have been situated at no great distance from her enclosure, and it wasprobablyoneofherownaffiliatedestablishments. " Inordertodiscover the offender, their abbess questioned her nuns. These were unanimous in denying all knowledge of this crime. However, as one among the number was undoubtedly guilty, suspicion fell upon a nun, who, as the sequel proved, was unjustly accused of this offence. But the abbess, knowing St. Ita's pro- phetic inspiration, proposed to the nuns that they should all visit her in a
body. Having a fore-knowledge of their approach, our saint had baths and a banquet prepared for her visitors. The abbess with her nuns approached St. Ita. Each rehgious saluted her in turn with a kiss of peace, excepting
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
68.
* To her St. Brendan is said to have been
^ " Acta Sanctorum Colgan's
7 See
nise/'xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itse, cap. xviii. ,
HibernizE,"
Colgan's
indebted for his education. While devot- ing herself to teaching the young, she also assisted the poor around her by finding em-
forthemin her
erecting monastery,
ployment
and in prosecuting other virorks.
"Dr. '' Ecclesiastical Lanigan's
See Miss Kingdom 10, p.
History
M. F. Cusack's "
of the
of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , sec. ii. , n. 86.
History
of Kerry," chap, iii. , pp. 45, 46.
Vol. I.
P
replied,
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. that nun who rested under an unjust suspicion of her sisters. '3
" Come
[January 15.
The spouse of
innocent
and kiss me, for certain it is that you are not guilty of this theft. " The other nuns requested Ita to declare who had been the delinquent. Our saint
virgin's character remained pure and unsullied after this trying ordeal. 's On—a great festival, St. Ita besought the Almighty to grant a favour, namely that on a particular holiday, she might receive Christ's Body and Blood from the hands of a most . worthy priest.
p. 66. Other accounts tend to prove her extraordinary virtues.
and, impelled by the Divine spirit, she
204 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 15.
soughtaninterviewwithhermother. Thenexpatiatingontheexcellenceof Divine counsels, Ita procured her mother's consent to communicate to her
father, Kennfoelad, the substance of his daughter's most earnest desires, to consecrate herself to God, in a state of holy virginity. Incensed at this her
declaration, about to destroy ill-judged paternal ambition, Kennfoelad denied with an oath, that he would give consent to the accomplishment of her virtuous resolutions. Whereupon, filled with the spirit of prophecy, Ita
" Bear with
said to those who were
although he now forbids me to consecrate myself to Christ, yet hereafter he shall persuade and even command me to go whithersoever I desire, in order to serve God, he being impelled to act in this manner by our Lord Jesus Christ. "' A short time subsequent to this occurrence, St. Ita fasted con- tinuously three days and three nights. During this time, she was constantly assaulted by temptations of the Devil, whose wiles our pious virgin success- fully resisted. On the last of those nights, the enemy of her salvation ap- peared in a mournful and dejected guise. He vanished, at dawn of day,
present :
my
father for a because while,
"
othersfromme. " Duringthissamenight,anangeloftheLordappearedto
saying sorrowfully :
Alas ! Ita, not only will you withdraw yourself, but many
our saint's " in the name of do father, saying : Why, Christ,
you prevent your daughter from taking the veil of virginity ? For, Ita shall be a great and holy virgin before God and His saints, and she shall become an advocate for manyonthedayofjudgment. Notonlyshouldyouallowhertoassume the habit of virginity, but you ought permit her wheresoever she pleases to follow Christ. In another part of the country shall she serve our Lord, and become patron over the race that inhabits it. " Immediately, Kinnfoelad
sought his daughter, and told her what had occurred. Moreover, according to her prediction, he not only gave her permission to assume the veil, but he even counselled her on that very day to depart for whatever place she chose. '
Having obtained this permission, the virgin instantly proceeded on her way to a church, which was situated in the Nan-desii country. During this journey, she was encountered by demons, who endeavoured to obstruct her passage; buttheangelsofGodaffordedherprotection,andputthosead- versaries to flight. The evil spirits were heard proclaiming their discomfiture,
be able to
and " Woe to for henceforth we shall no saying : us,
longer
against this virgin. We have desired to avenge our injuries on her to-day, and the angels of God afforded her assistance : she shall destroy our influence in various places, and she shall snatch many souls from our dominion, both in this world and in the next ! " Having received consolation from angels,
she proceeded to the church, where she took a vow of virginity, and received her veil at the hands of venerable ecclesiastics,3 who were already aware of those miraculous favours she had received. * Then, she besought the guidance
Chap. ii. —' See
torum Hibemise," xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itse, cap. iv. , p. 66.
" See Bishop Challoner's
Sancta," part i. , jS. 39. "
Lanigan,
"
that St. Declan of Ardmore was
Colgan's
" Acta Sane-
garding
the exact time and term for St.
" Britannia 3 It is not improbable," says Dr.
Declan's exercising ecclesiastical functions,
we may well question this conjecture. In
the first place, we are not told that a bishop conferred the veil on St. Ita, in any of her Lives or Acts ; and secondly, it is not to be supposed, if she received the veil from a bishop so renowned as Declan, that the re- lation of such a circumstance would have been concealed by her biographer,
* See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
nise," xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itce, cap. v. , p. 66.
the bishop from whom she received the
veil. The time of her receiving it seems to
have been in the early part of the sixth
and when Declan over century, presided
the Nandesi country. " See "Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , § i. , ^ 5> P- 83. Not to speak of doubts, re-
prevail
January 15. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 205
of heaven, to conduct her towards a place where she might best serve God,
in the promotion of his greater glory. An angel appeared, directing her to leave her native country, and proceed towards the western parts of Hy-Conaill territory, at the foot of a mountain called Luachra,5 where she should be shown a place for the erection of her nunnery, and where she was destined finally to repose. It was declared, also, that in conjunction with St. Senan,^ sheshouldberegardedaspatronofthatcountry. ? Takingsomecompanions with her, she sought the place indicated f and having arrived in the present county of Limerick, within that portion of it now designated the barony of Glenquin, an angel appeared to her, and pointed out the exact spot on which herestablishmentshouldbeerected. ^ ThisplacewascalledCluain-Credhuel. '° Thither numbers of holy maidens flocked, to place themselves under this virgin's guidance. Her virtues these pious ladies endeavoured to imitate, and her instructions they laboured to practise. The fame of St. Ita, in a short time, became widely dffused ; while the place of her retirement was
opened with the greatest joy and alacrity to those of her sex who sought protection within its cloisters. "
The situation of St. Ita's old church, and near it her well, may be found at the burial-ground of Killeedy," a little to the north of Ballagh and Gort- naclohy mountains. It is a curious remnant of antiquity, although much in- jured and partly remodelled. As standing in 1840, it consisted of a nave and choir ; the former measuring forty-seven feet three inches in length by twenty-nine feet two inches in breadth, on the inside ; while the latter mea- sured thirty-seven feet by eighteen feet. '3 The choir had been modernized, and used as a Protestant church, until about the beginning of this century. '4 The choir arch was in tolerable preservation ; but it contained no part of the
ance, had been formed already in her own
country, particularly as St. Brigid had been there for some time. See Dr. Lanigan's "Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. ,
chap, xi. , § i. , n. 7, p. 84.
'° Now known as an ancient Killeedy,
church in a parish having the same name,
in the territory of Upper Connello, and tinguished by the additional name Gaura, county of Limerick. It is situated about
5 This was rather a name of the district in
which that mountain is situated. A part of
Hy-Conaill was so called, apparently from its abounding in rushes. The barony of Connello or Connillo, in the county of
is the ancient or at Limerick, Hy-Conaill,
least a part of it. The southern division of
this barony, or Upper Connello, was dis-
being called Hy-Conaill Gaura. In a western part of this tract, St. Ita formed her estab-
* See his Life at the 8th day of March.
7 "Hence it is said [ib. , cap. 6), that the entire nation of Hy-Conaill was to belong
^It was called Cluain Chreadhail, "the religious retirement. " See "Letters Con- taining Information relative to the Antiqui- ties of the County of Limerick, Collected during the Progress of the Ordnance Sur- vey in 1840," vol. i. , p. 75. The foregoing is Dr. O'Donovan's interpretation of the name.
9 We may be allowed to suppose, that the
want of a similar institution in those western
parts was, in the order of Providence, the cause of St. Ita having been directed to settle there. Nunneries and establishments
five miles to the south of Newcastle. This monastery is described in the Life of St. Ita, and also in that of St. Brendan, as having been situated at the foot of Sliabh- Luachra, in the west of Ui-Conaill-Gabhra territory. The writer of the Life of St. Brendan states, that it was Kill-Ite, in his own time. See O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. n. 184.
"
lishment. See Dr.
tical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , § i. , n. 6, pp. 83, 84.
for the education of to all females,
appear-
xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itae, cap. vi. , pp. 66,
67.
" See " Ordnance Survey Townland
Maps for the County of Limerick. " Sheet
44.
^3 See John O'Donovan's description, in
" Letters containing Information relative to
the Antiquities of the County of Limerick, Collected during the Progress of the Ord-
nance Survey in 1840," vol. i. , pp. 77 to
79.
^* Since then the services were disused.
Lanigan's
to these two saints. " Dr.
clesiastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , § iii. , n. 24, p. 89.
i. , (1), p. History of Limerick," part iii. , chap, iii. , p. 188, incorrectly identifies
" Ecclesias-
Lanigan's
" Ec-
Ferrar, in his
Cluan Credhail with a place called Clarina.
''
Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum HibcrniEe,"
206 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[January 15.
ancientwork. Itwasconstructedwithchiselledlime-stones,inthepointed
and it measured ten feet nine inches in width. It was about thirteen feet to the vertex, from the level of the floor. This choir contained three modem windows ; one Avindow was in the middle of the south wall, and an other was opposite to it in the north wall, while a third was in the east gable. 'S Its walls were fairly preserved, but these contained no part of the ancient work. The nave of this church is in the primitive Irish style ; and, in all probability, it is thought to have formed a part of St. Ita's primitive church. The west gable is now destroyed down to its very fovmdation ; but, in the last century, people saw it standing, and some of these asserted, that it contained a door-way, consisting of concentric arches. '^ Of the north wall on this nave only a fragment remained, which connected with the middle gable : this measured eighteen feet six inches in length, by about nineteen feet six inches in height.
style,
Saint Ita's Church at Killeedy.
The Irish historian O'Halloran has mistaken the extent of Hy-Conaill Gabhra, supposing it to have been only a part of the present barony of Conello. ^7 It included, however, not alone the modern baronies bearing that name, but even the entire barony of Glenquin. '^ Archdall'9 was led astray by this statement, and Gough,^" likewise, for they have placed Cluain Chredail or Kilita at Castle Mac Eneiry, in the barony of Conillo.
'5 Not being much more than a century
old, these objects are not worth the anti-
quary's attention.
relative to the Antiquities of the County of
Limerick, Collected during the Progress of
the Ordnance Survey in 1840," vol. i. , p.
75. Dr. O'Donovan's statement in this in-
stance differs from one in his edition of
'*
Liice the door-way in the west gable of
Clonfert church, county of Galway. The ac-
companying engraving by George A. Hanlon, was drawn on wood by William F. Wake-
man, from an elegant crayon sketch, procured through the kindness of Aubrey De Vere, Esq.
'7 See O'Halloran's " General History of
Ireland," vol. ii. , book xiii. , chap, v. , p. 390.
*'
The Topographical Poems
'8
See "Letters containing Information
Cough's
of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla na Naomh
Here he makes Ui-Conaill only commensurate with the baronies of Upper and Lower Connello. '5 See " Monasticon Hibernicum," p. 419,
O'Huidhrin," n, 664, p. Ixxv.
and note (d).
" Camden's Britannia,"
»° See
vol. iii. , p. 519.
January 15. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 207
A chieftain, who ruled over Hy-Connaill, at the period of our saint's ar- rival, together with the inhabitants of this country, waited on Ita, and offered her some land, which immediately surrounded her establishment ; in order thus to afford herself and her community certain means of living, free from the solicitude of all worldly cares. The people naturally supposed, that want of sufficient support must necessarily distract the thoughts of those pious in- mates, during their first struggles, in the foundation of an unendowed religious house. To the people's and the chieftain's great regret and disappointment, our saint refused to accept a larger tract of land than four acres. ^' These she converted into a garden. In it were cultivated vegetables, necessary for the subsistence of her sisters in religion. The chieftain declared, however, that after the death of the abbess, her nunnery should be more richly endowed withlandsandsubstance. Thispredictioninduecourseoftimewasfulfilled. The Hy-Connaill inhabitants thenceforth placed themselves under the patron- age and intercession of this holy virgin.
Her prayers and these of her nuns were continually offered to heaven in their behalf. Numberless blessings as a consequence were showered upon this favoured people. In honour of St. Ita, many gifts and oblations were made by inhabitants of that district to her nunnery, and to its community, as well during the life-time of their patroness,
^-
The fasts of Ita were so rigorous and excessive, that she frequently spent two, three, and even four days, without taking any kind of nourishment. To moderate this austerity, an angel of the Lord appeared to her, and com- manded her to relax in some measure those practices, which reduced her to great bodily weakness and exhaustion. He also declared, that from this time forward she should be supplied with heavenly food, which she must of necessity use when brought to her. Having promised a compliance with this supernal request, thenceforward she was miraculously supplied with food from
A
certain religious female, who often discoursed with our saint on pious subjects,
made enquiries regarding this miraculous benefit, and many other great spiri-
tual favours she received ; such, for instance, as gifts of prophecy, a power or healing the sick, and of expelling demons, besides many intercommunications sheheldwiththeangelsofGod. St. Itareplied,becausefromherinfancy, she was accustomed to meditate on Divine things, and to invoke frequently the Three Persons of the Most Adorable Trinity, therefore, she had been favoured with such supernatural powers. Being thus informed, the nun re- tired joyfully to her cell ; and, no doubt, she endeavoured afterwards to put in practice those virtues and incentives, which were received from St. Ita's life and conversation. The holy virgin was peculiarly gifted with a spirit of prophecy, which enabled her to foretel whether persons in sickness should recover or be called away from life. ^3
Many miracles of an extraordinary character are related, in our sainfs acts ; such as the restoring of sick and infirm persons to health and strength, and even raising the dead to life. ^+ She is said, also, to have had a know- ledge of transgressions, which were thought to have been secrets known only
as after her assumption to the beatitude of life eternal.
heaven to the day of her death, as the author of her life conjectures.
"The text has
hortorum. " According to a vulgar mode of
this be rendered four translation, might
acres, &c. But I am not able to define the quantity of ground contained in the ancient
^^
"Acta Sanctorum
Vita S. Itas, cap. vii. , p. 67.
"quatuor jugera
in usus
Colgan's xv. Januarii.
Hibernias,"
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise," xv. Januarii, cap. viii. -ix. , p. 67.
^'' These miracles are found in the Vita S.
or acre. " Dr. " Ecclesias- in "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Lanigan's Itse, Colgjn's
juger
tical History of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , § ii. , n, 8, p. 86.
nise," xv. Januarii, cap. xii. , xiii. , xiv. , xv. , xvii. , xxii. , xxiii. , xxvii. , &c.
^3 See
Colgan's
2o8 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[January 15.
to God, and to the perpetrators of those hidden crimes. ^5 Qn a certain oc- casion, a wise man lost the use of speech, and having visited St. Ita, with. some of his companions, she offered up her prayers to God in his behalf.
The first use made of his Then he returned to his
CHAPTER III.
MARRIAGE OF BEVAN WITH ST. ITA's SISTER, NESSA—THE HOLY ITA's CONTEMPT FOR RICHES—HER INTIMACY WITH ST. BRENDAN—HER PRAYERS AND CONTEM- PLATION—HER INTERNAL ILLUMINATION—HER SUPERNATURAL COMMUNION— VISIT OF THE CLONMACNOIS CLERICS TO ST. ITA.
An artificer in wood and stone-work, named Beoanus,' came from the pro-
vinceofConnaughttoCorcobhaiscin,inHy-Connaillterritory. Hehadbeen driven from his o\vti country, by certain powerful enemies. While sojourn- ing in this place, he built some addition to our sainfs monastery. ^
Becoming captivated with the beauty and virtues of Nessa,3 a sister to St.
Ita, he besought that lady to give her consent to a proposal of marriage. Nessa had formed an idea of devoting herself to a life of celibacy, but St. Ita induced her to become the wife of Boeanus. Afterwards, through her prayers, Ita procured for this married couple that choicest blessing of Heaven, the birth a son, predestined to become a great saint in the Irish Church. This infant was called Mochoemoc* or Pulcherius. s He is vene- rated at the 13th of March. ^
A rich man, at one time, brought a great sum of money to the self- denying servant of Christ, and laid it at her feet ; when having removed it, in order to show her contempt for the mammon of this world, Ita ordered her female attendants to bring water, and wash her hands which had been defiled, as it were, by coming in contact with such treasure. Surprised at this action,
Mochoemoc, Caomhoc or Caomhan, in Irish, corresponds with the Latin word Pulcherius.
s See *' Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
Immediately afterwards he was enabled to speak. voice was to give thanks to God for this favour.
^^ These bounded respect and admiration from all people.
own filled with people,
and
far and wide our saint's reputation ; while they caused her to receive un-
Colgan's
joy
gratitude.
repeated
miracles
spread
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
*5 See
nise," XV. Januarii. Vita S. Itas, cap. xiii. , p. 67.
^ See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itae, cap. xvi. , niae," xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itae, cap. xv. ,
68. 68.
p. — p. '*
Chap. hi. There was another Beoanus, or,asothershaveit, Beoadus,intheprovince of Connaught. He was an artisan, likewise, and father to St. Keiran of Clonmacnoise ; but a different person from the Beoanus here mentioned. See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xv. Januarii, n. 15, p. 71.
*
There is an account, both in the Life of St. ItaandofSt. Mochoemoc,regardinganevent preceding the birth of this latter saint. It would seem almost incredible, if there were not some grounds for supposing the author of either Life to have been cotemporaneous. at least with St. Mochoemoc. However, as the event referred to had a more particular relation towards St. Mochoemoc, it may be
This narrative proves the proficiency of
our native artisans in carpentry and ma- better to defer its insertion until the acts of
sonry, at a very early period.
3 This holy woman was a saint of Mun-
gret. Professor O'Looney has informed the writer, that in an Irish manuscript, it is stated, she procured the use of sight for St. Colnian, a Bishop of Lismore.
* In another Life of St. Ita, he is called the father of many monks. The name,
this saint are given, in accordance with a
system generally observed in the compila- tion of this work, viz. , to refer incidents to their natural place, and to avoid unneces- sary repetitions of similar narratives, which may be found in different Lives of Irish Saints, or in the other records which il- lustrate their acts,
p.
xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itse, cap. xix. , p. 68.
10 See " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
niae," xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itae, cap. xx. , pp. 68, 69.
" This place does not appear to have been yet identified.
January 15. ] LIVES OF 7HE IRISH SAINTS. 209
the man asked our saint whether riches should be given to the wealthy and
powerful, or to the poor and strangers whereupon she replied, that they —;
belongedtoboth totherichandpowerful,tomaintaintheirworldlyhonours,
and to and
poor strangers,
to attain a reward in Heaven. " said the But,"
"if I cannot to
give both,
"It is in
of a heart to pure
"Acountenance —men hating ;
simple religious
;
magnanimity
an affection of depravity in the heart an ;
absorbing
love of riches these
whatamI to do? " Ita
man,
your power to apply your substance in the pursuit of worldly honours ; or to bestow it on the Lord, from whom it has been received, and who for tem- poral treasure will accord everlasting life. " Much edified iDy her disinterested- ness, this man received her blessing and departed. ? At another time, St. Brendan of Clonfert, with whom she was on very intimate terms of friend- ship, had asked her, what three works were most pleasing to God's sight. ^
The of Christ answered spouse
weremost
" :
Confident
resignation
God a ;
— charity
these three works
with aremostagreeabletotheLord. " Hereuponshewasasked,whatthreethings
life
toGod. She displeasing replied :
three things are very displeasing in God's sight. " St. Brendan and those who
werepresentadmiredtheholyvirgin'swisdom; andtheygavepraisetoGod,
who appeared to have spoken through the lips of his gifted servant. s The
saint was accustomed to retire frequently into some secret place, where she gave herself up entirely to prayer and Divine contemplation ; especially re-
volving in mind mysteries of the Holy Trinity, which nearly always formed
the subject of her sublime meditations, and which excited devotional fervoiu:
within her soul. Desirous of beholding her during these moments of trans-
port and rapt adoration, a holy virgin stole upon her unawares, and beheld
three brilliant globes of light, radiant as the sun. These shed an intense and
a lustrous glare over the whole space surrounding her. Alarmed at this
vision, the virgin felt unable to approach St. Ita. She returned, however,
filled with admiration at this unexpected apparition, which appeared emble-
matic of the usual subject matter occupying our saint's contemplative aspira-
^°
tions.
It happened that a theft had been committed in some nunnery, at a place
called Direo-Chuisgrigh. " In the narrative of our saint's life, it would seem to have been situated at no great distance from her enclosure, and it wasprobablyoneofherownaffiliatedestablishments. " Inordertodiscover the offender, their abbess questioned her nuns. These were unanimous in denying all knowledge of this crime. However, as one among the number was undoubtedly guilty, suspicion fell upon a nun, who, as the sequel proved, was unjustly accused of this offence. But the abbess, knowing St. Ita's pro- phetic inspiration, proposed to the nuns that they should all visit her in a
body. Having a fore-knowledge of their approach, our saint had baths and a banquet prepared for her visitors. The abbess with her nuns approached St. Ita. Each rehgious saluted her in turn with a kiss of peace, excepting
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
68.
* To her St. Brendan is said to have been
^ " Acta Sanctorum Colgan's
7 See
nise/'xv. Januarii. Vita S. Itse, cap. xviii. ,
HibernizE,"
Colgan's
indebted for his education. While devot- ing herself to teaching the young, she also assisted the poor around her by finding em-
forthemin her
erecting monastery,
ployment
and in prosecuting other virorks.
"Dr. '' Ecclesiastical Lanigan's
See Miss Kingdom 10, p.
History
M. F. Cusack's "
of the
of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, xi. , sec. ii. , n. 86.
History
of Kerry," chap, iii. , pp. 45, 46.
Vol. I.
P
replied,
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. that nun who rested under an unjust suspicion of her sisters. '3
" Come
[January 15.
The spouse of
innocent
and kiss me, for certain it is that you are not guilty of this theft. " The other nuns requested Ita to declare who had been the delinquent. Our saint
virgin's character remained pure and unsullied after this trying ordeal. 's On—a great festival, St. Ita besought the Almighty to grant a favour, namely that on a particular holiday, she might receive Christ's Body and Blood from the hands of a most . worthy priest.
