No More Learning

day.
° Inthe "
vol. at iv. ,
Lanigan's
Sanctilogium Genealogicum. " "> MetuswasthebrothertoSt. Coiumba,
Vitis,"
Vol. III. —No. 15.
3 xN
" Ecclesiastical His-
'° At the of
13th August,
August 13th.
930 LIVES OF THE lEISH SAINTS. [March 23.
wrote her Acts, and who also calls her his mother. Besides the surname,
Mionn Gaoidhel, which he bore, Maidoc was also called Mionn-Albain,
which " the sacred of the Albanian Scots. " " From these signifies, pledge
foregoing circumstances, Colgan infers, that he spent some time in Scotland, wherehewasgreatlyhonoured,asinhisnativecountry;'3 and,thathemust
also have lived in Gaul, perhaps as a guest of St. Radegundis, the queen. '* Whether or not our saint had befen the first founder of a monastery, at
Fiddown, we have no means of discovering, at present. This place, anciently
called Fidh-duin, or Feadh-duin, and which means, " wood of the Fort," is
situated in Iverk barony, county of Kilkenny. '^ Without the least authority
for his statement, except perhaps, the account given by Colgan, Archdall tells
us, that his reputed mother Radegundis died in 590, our saint being Abbot
of Fiddown, in the same year. '^ Besides the usual relation of our saint
having been abbot over this monastery, Marianus O'Gorman, and the
Martyrology of Donegal, style him Bishop of Fedh-duin, in Ossory, when re- cording his festival, at the i8th of May. '7 Again, our saint's festival is placed
at this day, by St. ^'Engus, and by the Martyrology of Tamlacht,'^ by the CalendarofCashel,andbyCatkaldMaguire. Thisappearstohavebeenhis
principal feast.
Yet, there were three other days dedicated to his memory, according to
our Irish Martyrologists or Hagiologists. St. . ^ngus the Culdee,'9 the Tallagh Martyrology,^" the Calendar of Cashel, Cathald Maguire, the Martyrologies of Marianus O'Gorman, and of Donegal," as edited by Rev,
" After commenting on this double sur- name, which he shows to have been applied
tnm, juramentum, vel pignus sacram aliquando per translationem rem—in magno pretio, vel veneratione habitam. " Colgan's
May, or xv. of the Kalends of June. See "Calendar of Irish Saints," &c. , p. xxiv.
to our saint, the by
'9 In the " Feilire " of St.
" Lca-
*'
Acta Sanctorum Hibernire," xxiii. Martii,
Ingen
^ei%AT)Ai5 If Apt)<iin
:
copy,
occurs
following
Martyrologists, Colgan " Ubi adverte dictionem Hibemicam
. lEngus,
adds
Mionn, significare rem sacram, sacramen-
bhar Breac "
stanza, kindly transcribed, and trans—lated
nn. 5, 6, p. 727.
•5 See Bishop Forbes' "Kalendar of
Scottish Saints," p. 7. There we read :
O ChiMfc Ai\ fee op'OAn momoexjoc mint) xXlbAti.
In Hibernia, the
Confessor Momedoc
with a host mighty
Holy
and the Holy Daughter Virgin Feradig, on
this day went to Heaven, states the Kalen-
Daughter
Of Feradach who was exalted. From Christ whose dignity is
dar of Drumniond.
to him, at p. 411. '» SceColgan's
Also, allusion is made
"
niae," xxiii. Martii. Vita S. Maidoci, p.
cum," p. 351.
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
'7 See
Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
; et into
English, by
kL
* '
Professor
ing foot-note :
's See Dr. O'Donovan's " Annals of the saint or ecclesiastic, whose dignity was
727.
Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (u), p. 443. '* "
established and duly recognised, and whose viinda, or relics, were held in veneration,
and regarded as inviolable. Thus he was a
diadem, and his feast was celebrated with
See Archdall's Monasticon Hiberni-
Colgan's
nise," xxiii. Martii, p. 727. In the Irish honour. "
=~
Calendar, at the xv. of the Calends of June, In the Rev. Dr. Kelly's edition of the
(May i8th), I find, "mAiiiAO-oos Q&. \\> Tallagh Martyrology, we find the festival of VeAtJA "Ouin in 0|^Ai§ib. See Ordnance "Momedoc Fedha Duin, i. Midhui mac
Office Survey Copy
Common Place Book
" at the of March, or
F. , p. 47,
now in the
Royal
Irish
Academy.
Midgnai entered,
X. of the Kalends of
23rd April. See,
" Calendar
In a marginal note, jTeA-OA "Ouin is trans-
lated into English, by Mr. O'Donovan, as
"
meaning, Fidown,Kilkenny. "
''
Tallagh Martyrology, we find the festival of "Momedoc Feda Duin," at the 18th of
of Irish Saints," &c. , p. xix. In the Fran-
ciscan copy, we read : momAroocuf t)e
•peoh-'Ouin
='
Here he is simply called Momhaedog ; but, in a note,iDr. Todd says, "Colgan seems to have had a different copy of this
In the Rev. Dr. Kelly's Edition of the
e. oc.
co
fluAg t)ej\niAi\
:
known,
Momoedoc, the diadem of Alba. "
To the word diadem is attached the follow-
"
the
O'Looney
(a). J\iind here means a
March 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 931
Drs. Todd and Reeves,'" assign his feast to the 23rd of March. 's The Calendar of Cashel, when placing his festival at the loth of April,'"* calls our saint, Mumonius, which would seem to indicate, that he dwelt in Munster,
although his family undoubtedly belonged to Leinster. ^5 Another day, dedi- cated to the memory of our saint, is said to have been the 13th of August, when, according to those authorities already quoted, his name had been venerated. ''^ At this day, also, Marianus calls him son of St. Radegundis the queen, whose Natalis is celebrated on the 13th of August. '^^ It is not possible, however,—if all these festivals were intended to honour him,— todecide,onwhichoftheabove-mentioneddaysoursaintdied; forhisActs, which might probably throw some light on this subject, are not now known to be extant.
Article II. —St. Trianus, a Roman Bishop. \Ftfth Centiiry? [ Con-
structing some Acts, from passages in the old Lives of St. Patrick, Colgan noticesthissaint,atthe23rdofMarch. ^ Itappears,therefrom,thathewas a Roman bishop, who arrived in Ireland, at an early period of our Christian history. HeissaidtohavebeenadiscipleofSt. Patrick,andheflourished, consequently, about the middle of the fifth century. At a place, called Croebheach,^ near the River Brosna, he presided over a community of monks; and,afterwards,heseemstohavebeencreatedabishop,havingjuris- diction over an adjoining extent of country. He was remarkable for his dis- tinguished virtues. The name of Trian, without any other distinguishing epithet,occursintheMartyrologyofTallagh,3atthe23rdofMarch. The year for his death has not been ascertained. A conjecture has been hinted, by the Rev. Dr. Lanigan, that the present holy man may not have been different from St. Trena, of Kill-Elga, in Meath, and who flourished, early in the sixth century. * Colgan s sets the present holy man down, as one of St. Patrick's disciples. The Bollandists have merely a brief entry of his name,
at this day. ^
work, for he tells us (Actt. SS. , p. ^2. ']^n.
Acta Sanctorum Hiber- niae," xxiii. Martii, n. 10, p. 727. See her Momoedocus, de Fedh-duin, i. e. , Mida, Life, at this day, in Rev. Alban Butler's
7), that the 'Mart. Dungallen' has the
=7 See Colgan's
following notice of this saint on 23 Mart. ,
'
filius
These
Midgnas. ' words, however,
"
Livesofthe— vol. viii. Saints,"
'
Article ii. See, "Acta Sanctorum
occur in the Mart. Taml. , and it is possible,
that Colgan may have attributed them to
the Mart. Dung, by mistake. It is evident,
that the compilers of the present work did
not (with Colgan) identify Momhaedog with
the saints of the same name, who are com-
Hibernioe," xxiii. Martii. Vita S. Triani, pp. 725, 726.
^
One Daluan of Croebheach is spoken of, as a disciple of St. Patrick. See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga. " Septima Vita S.
niemorated April II, May 18, and August Patricii, lib. ii. , cap. xii. , p. 131. How-
13. " ever, although the Tripartite Life is silent
*^
At pp. 84, 85. on the subject, Colgan makes St. Patrick °5 See Colgan's " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- erect a church for Daluan. See ibid.
nice," xxiii. Mariii, n. 7, p. 727.
"" Such is Colgan's statement, but I rather
suspect, the Calendarium Cassdense must have meant, the x. of the Kalends of April,
Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiv. , p. 271. Afterwards, Archdall trans- ferred that supposed church into an abbey, founded by St. Patrick, in his " Monasticon
which should correspond with the 23rd of Hibernicum. "
^ Edited Rev. Dr. xix. In says, by Kelly, p.
March. Withsuch
healso
account,
the Martyrology of Donegal coincides.
the Franciscan copy, we find C^iAnu|'.
» See notices of him, at the 22nd of
'S See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
March.
=* "
nias," xxiii. Martii, n. 8, p. 727.
In the Rev. Dr. Kelly's edition of the
Martyrology of Tallagh, the feast of " Mo-
s See Trias Thaumaturga. " Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. , p. 265.
^ See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
"
13th day of August. See, "Calendar of
medoc Feda duin
occurs, at the Ides, or
Irish Saints," &c. , p. xxxii.
"
932 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, [March 23.
ArticleIII. —St. Trenan,ofKill-daelen,Monk. {Supposedtobe- long to the Sixth Century.
"[ Jealous of its honours, ambitious for its dignity, proud of his profession, and always anxious for the improvement of its moral tone, our saints felt equally gratified, discharging humble duties, when members of religious bodies, as when elevated to a position of dignity or power, in any monastic institute. Some notices of this holy man are con- tained in Colgan's work;^ however, the Bollandists^—regarding them as somewhat doubtful—seem to think, he may not be a different person from the St. Trien, or Trienan, Abbot of Killelga, and son to Dedius, venerated
in Rev. Dr. " Calendar Kelly's
on the However this preceding day.
may be,
of Irish Saints," 3 the present holy man is noted, at the 23rd of March, as S.
Treno Cilli Daelen. '' St. Trenan or Trena s is said to have sprung from the race of Mocu-ruintir,^ and to have lived as a monk, under St. Columkille's rule, and under that of his successor, St. Baithen,7 in the Island of Hy. ^ Hence, he must have flourished, after the middle of the sixth century. 9 In St. Columba's Acts, as written by Adamnan, our saint is said to have been sent onamissiontoIreland,byhisabbot. Whenpreparingtosailfromlona, he complained to St. Columkille, that he needed a sailor, to bear him
" I cannot find the sailor
but go in peace, you will arrive in Ireland, with prosperous and favouring gales ; and, you shall see a man, coming towards you from afar, who will direct the prow of your bark, towards Scotia. '° He shall be the companion
company. Hereupon,
Columba
said,
you desire,
of — for some your journey, days
he shall come to us he will be a man approved by God, and he shall spend the remain- ing part of his time with us in good conversation. " When Trenan and his sailors approached the port, having received St. Columkille's blessing, they recognisedthatman,promisedtothembytheirabbot. " Oursaintwasalso cured of a dropsy, by St. Baithen, who strictly enjoined it on him, as an obliga- tion, to keep this miracle concealed, so long as Baithen lived. Little more is knownregardingoursaint, but that his memory had been revered, in Kill-daelen church, on the 23rd of March, according to our Martyrologies. We find a Kildallan, enumerated among those hospitals in the county of Cavan, which were endowed with Termonlands. " Whether this place was identical with
Martii xxiii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 440. —
Article hi. 'See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xxiii. Martii. Vita S. jTrenani, p. 726.
"See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
^ A Trenanus is mentioned, in the BoUan-
dists' Acts of St. Baithenus. See, "Acta
Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii ix. , p. 237.
^
Martii xxiii.
saints, p. 440. 3 See his "
Among
the
pretermitted Tallagh," p.
* See, " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
Martjnrology -
of
nice," xxiii. Martii. Vita S. Trenani, p.
726.
" In Rev. Dr. Reeves' version of Adam-
nan, the epithets, Hibernia and Scotia are
found indiscriminately used, in giving this narrative.
" In the narrative we read: "appropin- quanti ad portum naviculse Laisranus Mocu- moie citior ceteris occurrit tenetque proram. " This individual is styled Hortulanus, in the
title of the We are told this tribe- chapter.
xix.
* In the Franciscan copy, he is thus
entered, Ci\eno feu C]\eniu]' •oe CiLt x>& Olen.
5 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's
"Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 18, p. 74. There Adamnan calls this saint Trena- nus.
* In
The three
Irish, mAC-Ui-Tlunri^.
Magi, who opposed St. Patrick, arc said to have been Generis Runtir, according to Tirechan's account in Liber Ardmachanus, fol. 10 aa. The Dal-Ruinniir occupied Cluaoin-Chaoin, now Clonkeen, in the western part of Louth County. See ibid. ^ note (c).
name is also applied, to a Saint Fintan, previously mentioned. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Life of St. Columba," pp. 47. 48, note (e).
in Ireland
; and, returning
with
you,
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumatiirga. " Quarta Appendix ad Acta S. Columbse, cap. x. , p. 492.
" In the Addenda to Archdall's " Monas-
ticon Hibernicum," p. 784, there is a notice
of Killdallan, with
"
two cartrons of land,
March 23. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
933
the present church of Kill-daelen, we have no means for ascertaining with accuracy. All traces of the ancient church there have long since disappeared, and only a large ash tree remains, so as almost entirely to overshadow this oldandsequesteredcemetery. 's Theyearofhisdeathisnotknown; yet, it is probable, he survived until the beginning of the seventh century. That this saint was a distinct person from St. Trien, Abbot of Kill-Elga,** is mani-
Kildallan Graveyard, County Cavan.
fest, because of the different periods at which they flourished,'S the different places in which they were venerated,^^ and the different families from whom they respectively descended. ^^
ArticleIV. —St. Darerca,aVirgin. Wefind,writtenintheMartyr-
ology of Tallagh,^ that Darerca, a Virgin, had veneration paid her, at the 23rd of March. However, we consider this to have been an entry by mistake, for Darerca, a Widow, and which rather refers to the previous day, as we have already seen. Yet, the supposition of Colgan may be adopted, that the present holy woman is possibly identical, with a St. Derfroechia, or Darercha," the daughter of Echu, or Eochod, King of Orgiall. If so, she was sister to St. Kinnia, or Cinnia,^ who lived in the time of St. Patrick,*
annual value 28s. ," under the Inquisition, taken the 9th September, 1590.
'3 The accompanying illustration, drawn on the wood by William F. Wakeman, and
engraved by Mrs. Millard, was sketclied by the vyrriter, from the interior of the grave-
yard.
' See his Life, at the 22nd of March.
'S St. Trenan of Kill-daelen lived after, or
towards,thecloseofthesixthcentury. St.
Trien of Kill-Elga flourished, about theclose of the fifth and the beginning of the sixth
century.
"5
The one at Kill-Daelen, the other at
Kill-Elga.
'7 St. Trenan of Kill-Daelen descended,
"de gente Mocu-ruinter. " St. Trien, Abbot of Kill-Elga, belonged to the Dal-Aradian
family. Article iv.
—
In the Franciscan copy, we
Kelly, p. xix.
find '6A|\ey\CA Uipjo.
' Dr. Edited by Rev.
*See"ActaSanctorumHibemise,"xxi.
Martii. Acta S. Endsei. Appendix, cap.
iv. , p. 713.
3 See her Life, at the jst of February.
934 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 23.
ArticleV. —TheDaughterorDaughtersofFeradhach. Inthe " Feilire " of St. ^ngus, the daughter of Feredach is commemorated, on the
ofMarch the of "^ Fera- ; while, Martyrology Tallagh registers Inghena
23rd
daigh, or "the daughters of Feradach. " One of these most probably was
St. Kentigerna, whose Acts have already appeared, at the 7th of January. A festival, in honour of the Daughter of E'eradhach, was celebrated on this day, as we read from the Martyrology of Donegal. ^ The Filise Feradachi are noticed, merely, at this date, by the Bollandists. 3
Article VI. —St, Lassair, or Lassar, Daughter of Fintain. An entry appears, in the Martyrology of Tallagh,' at the 23rd of March, regard- ing St. Lassair, daughter of Fintain. On this day is registered, likewise, in the Martyrology of Donegal,^ Lassar, daughter of Fionntan. The Bollandists notice Lassara filia Fintani. 3
Article VII. —St. Mocholla, Virgin. This day, the Martyrology of Donegal,' as also the Bollandists,'^ have on record a festival, in honour of St. Mocholla, Virgin.
Article VIII. —St. Mainchain, or Manchen. A saint, bearing the
name of Mainchein, is entered on this day, in the Martyrology of Donegal. ^ The Bollandists notice him as Manchenus. '
ArticleIX. —St. Fergusa,orFergass. TheMartyrologyofTallagh records,atthe23rdofMarch,asaintcalledFergusa;' or,asintheFrancis- can copy, Fergusius. * Under this latter name, his record is contained in the Bollandists' vvork. 3 On this day, likewise, we find mentioned, in the Martyr- ologyofDonegal,*Fergass,ashavingvenerationpaidhim. Underthehead of Daimhlaig, or Duleek, Duald Mac Firbis enters, Fergus, Bishop of Daimh- laig, quiant ii2j> The Annals of the Four Masters,^ however, place his demise at A. D. 778, and those of Ulster at a. d. 782, but Dr. O'Donovan states a. d.
783tobethecorrectyearforsuchanentry. Wecannotbesure,however, that he was the holy man, noticed in our Calendars, at this day.
Article X. —St. Cairlain, or Cairlanus. Veneration was given to
Martii xxiii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 440.
* See his Life, at the 17th of March.
'
Article v. — Edited by Rev. Dr.
— and Reeves, pp. 84, 85.
Kelly,p. xix. Also,theFranciscancopy,at this date, has pliAe pe)\A'OAchi.
Martii xxiii.
Articleviii. " See " Acta
Edited
by
Drs. Todd
^ Edited 84, 85.
Drs. Todd and
3 See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus iii. ,
tomus
by
Reeves, pp.
Sanctorum,"
Among the pretermitted
saints, p. 440. — Article IX.
'
As edited
Rev. Dr.