O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
"
an and the founder of a Abbot,
monastery
in the isle of
Drimlen,
between Hi-Cinselach and the Decies of Munster, whose memory is cele-
brated July 4th ; another Finbar, abbot of Kilconga, celebrated on the 9th
of September " but the ihird Finbar, the first bishop of Cork, whose festival
j
is recorded at the of is the most celebrated. 2 An admirable 25th September,
gift of working miracles, seldom witnessed or related, the Almighty is said to have bestowed on the latter St. Barrus. His ancient biographers briefly enumerate some of those miracles ; yet, too many of them seem to rest only on popular tradition, and are of a character to create a well-founded suspicion regarding their authenticity.
His name is variously written Barr, Barre, Barra, Barry, Finbarr, Fynbarry and Fynd-Barr. The latter composite appellations are supposed to have been derived from the beautiful colour of his hair. 3 This holy man's name
Article xi. —' At this date he writes :—
"24 Die. Sanctus Lolanus Episcopus et
ConfessorapudDuncanumScotoru—mRegem
magna in auctoritate et gratia. " Bishop
"
Article l—Chapter
—
i. See "Acta
Scottish Entries in the Kalendar of David
Camerarius, p. 240.
2
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. Sep- tembris, xxiv. Among the pretermitted feasts, p. 660.
3 See also at that date, in the present
Volume, Art. viii. —
Article xii.
'
" Bishop "
Kalendars of Scottish Saints. " logium Scoticum," p. 212.
Meno-
See Forbes'
Sanctorum Hiberniae," xiii. Martii. Vita S.
Mochoemoci,n. 14,p. 597.
2
He
St. David, published by John Capgrave, and in that written by Giraldus Cambrensis,
as well as by John of Teignmouth. Bibl.
MS. Stowensis, vol. i. , p. 158. See entry "
in John Windale's Irish Researches, or
Antiquarian Gleanings," vol. vi. , p. 763, Cork, i860. MS. in the Royal Irish Aca- demy, Dublin.
3 This also to have been the appears
opinion of Bernard Mede, and as the Bol- landist editor observes, on Fynbarrus : "ea
is mentioned in the ancient Life of
54» LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September25.
is Latinized Barrus, Find-Barrus and Barrocus. * Also, he is styled Barreus,
Barrius, Finbarrus, Fynbarrus, and Fymbareus. Colgan had prepared the ActsofthisSaintforpublication,atthe25thofSeptember. * IntheManu- script, known as Codex Kilkenniensis, and to be seen in Marsh's Library, Dublin, we find a Latin Life of St. Barrus. 6 It is much to be regretted, that this tract abounds in fables, some of which are so scandalous in character,? as to afford great disedification to pious readers. In the MS. Book of Fermoy, there is an Irish Life of St. Barre of Cork ; but it is imperfect.
8
There appears a considerable defect, which had taken place before the folios
were numbered. Four pages at least must be wanting. Some paper copies
of this life are extant. 9 There is a Life of St. Finnbarr, to be found in the
old Irish Manuscript, known as the Book of Lismore. There is an Irish
10 11 of him among the Burgundian Manuscripts in the Bruxelles Library.
Life
The present writer has been favoured with an Irish copy of the latter,"
transcribed for the Very Rev. Patrick Hurley,^ P. P. of Inchigeela, County
1
of Cork, and this has been literally translated into English, * by Patrick
1
Stanton, Cork, in 1896. In his History of Cork, * Dr. Charles Smith refers
to a Life of St. Finbar among the Manuscripts in Trinity College, Dublin, and which begins with u Sanctus dilectus. " 16 However, Mr. Hitchcock, who held a situation connected with the Library, assured Mr. John Windale of
1
Blair's Castle, Cork, that no such Manuscript was in that Library. 7 Never-
theless, among the Trinity College Manuscripts, Dublin, there is a Vita S. Finbarri. 18 Other Manuscript Lives of St. Finbar are in the Royal Irish
Academy. 10 Among John Windale's Manuscripts, now preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, there are some notices regarding St. Finbar. 20
vox composita Candidum-verticem Hibernis sonet. "—Vita S. Barri, sect, i. , n. i. , p. 142. 4 See Bishop Challoner's "Britannia
Sancta," part ii. , pp. 142, 143.
s In the Franciscan Convent, Dublin, in
" Vitse Sanctorum," ex Cod. Inisensi, is yet preserved his copy of this
Vita S. Barri, pp. 124 to 130.
6 At fol. 132.
7 In other Lives of our Saint, these fables
are omitted.
Cork, 1 87 1, 8vo. This book has now be-
come very scarce, and it has been written
by Richard Caulfield, LL. D. , Trinity Col- lege, Dublin.
14 This MS. has been largely availed of in
a
the present biography. It is here quoted as the Bruxelles Manuscript
Life of St. Fin Bairre.
s See " Ancient and Present State of the
County and City of Cork," vol. i. , book ii. , chap, ix. , p. 371, n. 9. A new edition, Cork, 1815, 8vo.
Manuscript,
composing
B
9 See Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," vol. i. , part i. , Irish Manuscript Series, p. 29.
It occurs between fol. 59, and fol. 60.
" 16
10 Rather it must be
in the nature
O'Curry had a copy of St. Finbar's Life in a small paper 410 vol. of about 40 or 50 pages, and that he knew of no other. See
regarded
of a Panegyric or Discourse pronounced on
Eugene
some occasion—perhaps on the anniversary of his Festival.
" It was transcribed by Michael O'Clery from an older vellum MS. book belonging to Daniel Dineen. It was written out 24th of June, 1629, in the Friar's Convent, Cork, and it is now classed among the Burgundian MSS. , vol. iv. , part ii. , p. 16.
John Windale's
M
Irish Researches or Anti-
tion, a small 4to paper MS. , (No. 12,) is 12 It bears for title : beat* baipae found in the K. I. A. , and it contains a Life
o Cor»cai§. It is comprised in twenty-seven of St. Finbarr, Bishop of Cork. Messrs.
chapters.
13 To this rev. gentleman, the author is
indebted for many other useful notes, which serve to illustrate the Life of St. Finbar ;
"
besides for the very interesting
St. Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork," compiled from Records in the British Museum, &c,
Hodges' and Smith's quarto paper MS. , (No. 150), contains a Lile of St. Barr, alias Finbarr, of Cork. Messrs. Hodges' and Smith's small quarto paper MS. , (No. 168), in the R. I. A. , contains a Life of St. Finbar,
Bishop of Cork.
20
Annals of
In Smith's time among the Manuscripts it was numbered 37.
•» Mr. Hitchcock told Mr. Windale, that
quarian Gleanings," vol. vi. Notes on Life of St. Finbar, p. 751. MS. in R. I. A.
18
In the Manuscript, classed E. 3. 11.
fol. 109.
19 In Messrs. Hodges' and Smith's collec-
The Manuscript in question has the
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 549
An Office for our Saint bad been recited in the Cathedral Church of Cork,
some time previous to the 19th of April, 1624," and whilst Irish Catholic affairs
were in a tolerably prosperous state. This Office had nine proper Lessons,
and it is deserving of attention, chiefly because it shows in what veneration
our Saint had been held in that diocese, of which he is the reputed patron.
There is also a proper Mass for the feast of our Saint, set down at the 25th
of 22 and from which some extracts are in the "Acta Sanc- September, given
torum. " WearetoldbytheeditorSuyskens,thatitdoesnotaboundinany of those extravagancies related in the Office. ^ In the Bollandists' "Acta
Sanctorum,* at the 25th of September, Father Constantine Suyskens has edited a Life of this Saint, so far as he had been able to procure materials from various sources. 25 The editor remarks that a Life of our Saint, the commencement of which he quotes, is filled with those fables, common in the Acts of our national Saints, so that it becomes impossible to separate what is truthful from what is false. Moreover, the Bollandists appear to have possessed a Manuscript copy of St. Barr's Life, similar to that in the Codex Kilkenniensis. It belonged to Father Hugh Ward, the celebrated Irish Minorite friar. But, Suyskens did not regard it as worthy of being printed, on account of the many fables it contained. This same Bollandist
father had another Manuscript Life, from the collection of Henry Fitzsimons,
with an additional 26 In this St. Barr is called Macu- copy.
S. J. , together
linus. 2? It would seem, however, that the Life to which he refers was
different, in many respects, from the Manuscript preserved in Marsh's
28 The Bollandist editor would not several fables in the Library. publish
Life to which he had access. Therefore, he is contented with giving a brief summary of it. This appears to have been transcribed literally from an Office of St. Barr. Some later writers have given us lives or memorials of the present Saint. Thus, Archbishop Ussher,29 Sir James Ware,3° and his
12
editor Walter Harris^ also Philip O'Sullivan Beared Roderick 0'Flaherty,33
"
title, Irish Researches," vol. vi. , see p. the Bollandists.
Colgan promised to pub-
731. 21
At this date, Bernard Mede, an Irish
lish this Life, at the 25th of September, but he did not live to fulfil that engagement.
2? It would seem to have been a
scribed it for his brother Doctor Gerard of our Saint, pronounced on his feast, from
Minorite would seem to have tran- friar,
panegyric
Mede. Afterwards, this copy found its way to the Bollandist collection of Manuscripts. 22 Taken from " Missae Propriae Sanctorum Patronorum ac Tutelarium Franciseet Hiber- nise," dementis XII. Papae jussu edita,
the exordium quoted by Suyskens: yet we are also informed, it was full of fables, and
not worth publishing.
28 He " habere me Vitam MS. says : ejus
ex Sectionario sive Officio Corcagiensi a Ber- A. D. 1734. It was printed in Paris, and nardo Medo Corcagice descriptam, cu/us
sanctioned by the Archbishop of that city, Charles Gaspar William de Vintimille, as also by Luke, Archbishop of Dublin.
initium est : Erat quidam rex in Hibernia, nomine Tegernacus, qui ancillam habuit pulchram nimis ; a quo edictum exiit per ejus dominium universum, ut nemo predi—c-
23 See, ibid. , sect, i. , nn. 8 to 12, p. 143.
24 See tomus vii. Septembris xxv. De tarn virginem praesumeret deflorare, &c. "
S. Barro vel Finbarro Ep. Corcagiensi in Hibernia, et forte alio Episcopo Cathenensi in Scotia.
25 It is issued in a Commentarius Histo- rico-Criticus, containing four distinct sec- tions, having sixty-one paragraphs, pp. 142
Ibid. , sect, ii. , p. 144.
2? See " Hritannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xvii. , p. 493. Also p. 503. 3° See " De Hibernia et Antiquitatibus
to 151. 26
Colgan possessed
a Life of St.
Barr,
of Cork,'' p. 556.
32 See " Historiae Catholicae Iberniae Com-
which from quotations given in "Acta pendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 51. 33 "
Sanctorum Hibernias," Suyskens deems to See Ogygia," pais iii. , cap. lxxix have been different from Lives in custody of p. 376.
ejus," cap. xxvi. , pp. 196, 197. 3I See Harris' Ware, vol. i.
"Bishops
550 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September25.
and Bishop Challoner34 mention him. The Rev. Alban Butler 35 has some notices of St. Barr or Finbar, first bishop of Cork, at the 25th of September.
"
The Rev. Dr. Lanigan has a memoir of this Saint in his
Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland,"36 illustrated as it is with accompanying notes. Richard
Caulfield, B. A. , has more recently edited with notes, etc. , "The Life of
Saint Fin Barre, first Bishop and Founder of the See of Cork. "37 Also, in
the works of Rev. M. J. Brenan,38 Bishop Forbes,39 Professor Eugene
40 Rev S. 1 and Alfred Webb/2 St. Bairre is recorded O'Curry, . Baring-Gould,*
in brief biographies.
The Manuscript Lives inform us, that the holy Saint and worthy pontiff
Barrus derived his origin from the Hy-briun Ratha,43 of the Connacian race. Hy Briun Ratha was situated in West Connaught. 44 It comprised the present Barony of Athenry/s and it was a sub-territory of the Briuin Seola on the extreme coast of Iar-Connacht. 46 According to a legendary Life of our Saint, a chief of Hy-bruin district is said to have had a son, named Amergin. 4 ? Another son is said to have been born, and to have been thrown into a
the desert. 4? But, a she-wolf is said to have suckled him, until he was fully grown. The infant was remarkable for his beautiful form. Some swine- herds, making their rounds through the desert, found this child in the woods, andbroughthimtotheirhome. Theyafterwardscarriedhimtotheirchief- tain, who recognized the child as his own son. The father, as stated in this strangely contradictory narrative, dearly loved the child, and took him into his household. Yet, being ashamed of a crime previously committed, the father with his son is stated to have sought a dwelling in the territory of
1
There his posterity afterwards increased in number, so that they could not remain in one place. They separated themselves throughout divers territories of
34 In "Britannia Sancta," part ii. , pp. Connaught, and that it contained fourteen 142, 143, and also in "A Memorial of villages or townlands. Within it is the site
——
river/8 Amergin was left so runs the story to be devoured by beasts in
Hualiathain,s° in the southern part of the Minister provinces
ancient British Piety," p. 135.
35 See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs,
and other principal Saints," vol. ix. Sep- tember xxv.
36 See vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , sect, iv. , pp.
313 to 319.
37 From MSS. , in the Bodleian Library,
Oxford, Archbishop Marsh's Library, and Trinity College Library, Dublin. Published in London, 1864, 8vo.
3* See " Ecclesiastical History of Ireland,"
Seventh Century, chap, i. , pp. 96, 97.
39 See "Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
48 According to the Codex Kilkenniensis 40 See " Lectures on the Manuscript MS. and the Bodleian MS. the two sons
pp. 275, 276.
Materials of Ancient Irish History," Lect.
xvi. , p. 340.
41 See "Lives of the Saints," vol. ix. ,
September 25, pp. 377, 378.
42 See "Compendium of Irish Biography,"
p. 178.
43 "Hewas of the race of — son of Brian,
of Knocktiia, where a battle was fought be- tween Kildare and Clanrickard, in 1504. This was about six miles to the east of Gal-
way town. See lxxix. , p. 376.
"
Ogygia," pars iii. , cap.
45See Harris' Ware, vol. ii. "Antiquities of Ireland," cliap. vii. , p. 50.
46 See " Chorographical Description of Iar-Connaught," edited by James Hardi- man, p. 369, and Map facing the Title- page.
47 In some Manuscripts called Amargenus, and in others Amyrgenus.
were twins.
49 The Burgundian Manuscript Life of St.
Fin Bairre altogether omits this silly legend. so This territory was nearly co-extensive
with the present barony of Barrymore, in the County of Cork. See leabhAp ti4
or the Book of edited 5-Ce^fc, Rights, by
—"
44 We are told by Roderick O'Flaherty, giensi. " Roderick O'Flaherty's Ogygia,"
•• Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin. " Martyr-
John O'Donovan, pp. 72, 73, n. (s. ).
ology of Donegal," edited by Drs. Todd 5 ' " Darius Kearb, &c, genuit Achaum and Reeves, pp. 258, 259. Liathanach, ex quo Hyliathan in agro Corca-
that Hy Briun Ratha was situated in West pars iii. , p. 381.
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
Minister. A certain division of them came to the chief of Rathluyn's terri-
2 From this of the tory. s portion
account has The Scottish —
St. Barr is said to have—
tribe, descended.
that St. Finbar or
is found written was born in the Island of Cathania,S3 which was on the
Amergin,s
8 the father of our
Saint,
came from
Connaught
and took a
He became the
at Achadh Durbeon,59 in the country of Musgry Mitine. 6°
—
53 Now Caithness the shire of this deno-
it,
Fymbarrus
as his
name
western side of Scotia, having Rossia54 on the south and the Orkadesss or Orkney Islands to the east. However, there are no true historic grounds for the statement, that our Saint had been a native of Scotland, although after death, his memory was held there in veneration. At what exact time he was born in Ireland has not transpired, but it was probably after the middle of the sixth century. It is contended, moreover, that his real name was LochaiV6 and that Finbarr, i. e. " white-haired"—contracted into Barr— must be considered only as his acquired surname. *? It is related, that
chief blacksmith to the Chief of Rathluin. This latter was called Tyager-
61
nach, the son of Cas, and descended from the race of Echach. The
Scottish account, as contained in the Breviary of Aberdeen, calls him
Tigrinatus.
62 In his
territory
lived a
girl
of rare
beauty,
whom the
chief
wishedtoretainashiscompanion. Heordered,thatnomanshouldtake
her as a wife. But Amergin disobeyed his order, for he became passionately
in love with that female. In due course of time, Bairre was conceived. 63 Hearing about this matter, the chief fell into a violent fit of anger. He
reproached the young woman with her disobedience, and she acknowledged to whom she had been married. Filled with rage, the chief ordered both
52 Rathluin was the name of O'Magh-
59 This place has not been identified. In the Codex Kilkenniensis the denomination is spelled Dunteon.
60 Now the Barony of Muskerry, County of Cork.
61 "— Called by Hanmer Tegernatus. "
thamna's or O'Mahony's district, extending on both sides of the River Bandon. See Richard Caulfield's note, attached to his Life of St. Fin Barre, p. 8, n. (b).
mination being in the extreme north-eastern
part of the Scottish mainland. An Island
of the name is not to be found on the Map to Eachach, son of Cas, son of Core, of Scotland, and the position here assigned
to it is a geographical mistake.
54 Now Ross—the shire of that name is
separated from Caithness by Sutherland, and it lies across the whole of Scotland in the northern part from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
62 It is curious to compare the different versions of a tradition, which may be traced to a common—even if not reliable—historic source, and in places so far apart as the extreme northern parts of Scotland and the
ss See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of extreme southern parts of Ireland. Both
Scottish Saints," p. 275.
56 The Bollandist editor Suyskens says,
have reference to our Saint. A legend in Torfteus describes a feud between two northern chiefs, in which the one carries off the daughter of the other. Being worsted in a sea-fight, the abductor swims ashore with her, and marries her in an irregular manner, in the cottage of a poor man. The couple had a son named Bard, who tra-
that he was called, in the first instance.
"
Loanus seu Luanus,"
57 See, Dr. Lanigan's " Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol. ii.
an and the founder of a Abbot,
monastery
in the isle of
Drimlen,
between Hi-Cinselach and the Decies of Munster, whose memory is cele-
brated July 4th ; another Finbar, abbot of Kilconga, celebrated on the 9th
of September " but the ihird Finbar, the first bishop of Cork, whose festival
j
is recorded at the of is the most celebrated. 2 An admirable 25th September,
gift of working miracles, seldom witnessed or related, the Almighty is said to have bestowed on the latter St. Barrus. His ancient biographers briefly enumerate some of those miracles ; yet, too many of them seem to rest only on popular tradition, and are of a character to create a well-founded suspicion regarding their authenticity.
His name is variously written Barr, Barre, Barra, Barry, Finbarr, Fynbarry and Fynd-Barr. The latter composite appellations are supposed to have been derived from the beautiful colour of his hair. 3 This holy man's name
Article xi. —' At this date he writes :—
"24 Die. Sanctus Lolanus Episcopus et
ConfessorapudDuncanumScotoru—mRegem
magna in auctoritate et gratia. " Bishop
"
Article l—Chapter
—
i. See "Acta
Scottish Entries in the Kalendar of David
Camerarius, p. 240.
2
See Acta Sanctorum," tomus vi. Sep- tembris, xxiv. Among the pretermitted feasts, p. 660.
3 See also at that date, in the present
Volume, Art. viii. —
Article xii.
'
" Bishop "
Kalendars of Scottish Saints. " logium Scoticum," p. 212.
Meno-
See Forbes'
Sanctorum Hiberniae," xiii. Martii. Vita S.
Mochoemoci,n. 14,p. 597.
2
He
St. David, published by John Capgrave, and in that written by Giraldus Cambrensis,
as well as by John of Teignmouth. Bibl.
MS. Stowensis, vol. i. , p. 158. See entry "
in John Windale's Irish Researches, or
Antiquarian Gleanings," vol. vi. , p. 763, Cork, i860. MS. in the Royal Irish Aca- demy, Dublin.
3 This also to have been the appears
opinion of Bernard Mede, and as the Bol- landist editor observes, on Fynbarrus : "ea
is mentioned in the ancient Life of
54» LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September25.
is Latinized Barrus, Find-Barrus and Barrocus. * Also, he is styled Barreus,
Barrius, Finbarrus, Fynbarrus, and Fymbareus. Colgan had prepared the ActsofthisSaintforpublication,atthe25thofSeptember. * IntheManu- script, known as Codex Kilkenniensis, and to be seen in Marsh's Library, Dublin, we find a Latin Life of St. Barrus. 6 It is much to be regretted, that this tract abounds in fables, some of which are so scandalous in character,? as to afford great disedification to pious readers. In the MS. Book of Fermoy, there is an Irish Life of St. Barre of Cork ; but it is imperfect.
8
There appears a considerable defect, which had taken place before the folios
were numbered. Four pages at least must be wanting. Some paper copies
of this life are extant. 9 There is a Life of St. Finnbarr, to be found in the
old Irish Manuscript, known as the Book of Lismore. There is an Irish
10 11 of him among the Burgundian Manuscripts in the Bruxelles Library.
Life
The present writer has been favoured with an Irish copy of the latter,"
transcribed for the Very Rev. Patrick Hurley,^ P. P. of Inchigeela, County
1
of Cork, and this has been literally translated into English, * by Patrick
1
Stanton, Cork, in 1896. In his History of Cork, * Dr. Charles Smith refers
to a Life of St. Finbar among the Manuscripts in Trinity College, Dublin, and which begins with u Sanctus dilectus. " 16 However, Mr. Hitchcock, who held a situation connected with the Library, assured Mr. John Windale of
1
Blair's Castle, Cork, that no such Manuscript was in that Library. 7 Never-
theless, among the Trinity College Manuscripts, Dublin, there is a Vita S. Finbarri. 18 Other Manuscript Lives of St. Finbar are in the Royal Irish
Academy. 10 Among John Windale's Manuscripts, now preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, there are some notices regarding St. Finbar. 20
vox composita Candidum-verticem Hibernis sonet. "—Vita S. Barri, sect, i. , n. i. , p. 142. 4 See Bishop Challoner's "Britannia
Sancta," part ii. , pp. 142, 143.
s In the Franciscan Convent, Dublin, in
" Vitse Sanctorum," ex Cod. Inisensi, is yet preserved his copy of this
Vita S. Barri, pp. 124 to 130.
6 At fol. 132.
7 In other Lives of our Saint, these fables
are omitted.
Cork, 1 87 1, 8vo. This book has now be-
come very scarce, and it has been written
by Richard Caulfield, LL. D. , Trinity Col- lege, Dublin.
14 This MS. has been largely availed of in
a
the present biography. It is here quoted as the Bruxelles Manuscript
Life of St. Fin Bairre.
s See " Ancient and Present State of the
County and City of Cork," vol. i. , book ii. , chap, ix. , p. 371, n. 9. A new edition, Cork, 1815, 8vo.
Manuscript,
composing
B
9 See Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy," vol. i. , part i. , Irish Manuscript Series, p. 29.
It occurs between fol. 59, and fol. 60.
" 16
10 Rather it must be
in the nature
O'Curry had a copy of St. Finbar's Life in a small paper 410 vol. of about 40 or 50 pages, and that he knew of no other. See
regarded
of a Panegyric or Discourse pronounced on
Eugene
some occasion—perhaps on the anniversary of his Festival.
" It was transcribed by Michael O'Clery from an older vellum MS. book belonging to Daniel Dineen. It was written out 24th of June, 1629, in the Friar's Convent, Cork, and it is now classed among the Burgundian MSS. , vol. iv. , part ii. , p. 16.
John Windale's
M
Irish Researches or Anti-
tion, a small 4to paper MS. , (No. 12,) is 12 It bears for title : beat* baipae found in the K. I. A. , and it contains a Life
o Cor»cai§. It is comprised in twenty-seven of St. Finbarr, Bishop of Cork. Messrs.
chapters.
13 To this rev. gentleman, the author is
indebted for many other useful notes, which serve to illustrate the Life of St. Finbar ;
"
besides for the very interesting
St. Fin Barre's Cathedral, Cork," compiled from Records in the British Museum, &c,
Hodges' and Smith's quarto paper MS. , (No. 150), contains a Lile of St. Barr, alias Finbarr, of Cork. Messrs. Hodges' and Smith's small quarto paper MS. , (No. 168), in the R. I. A. , contains a Life of St. Finbar,
Bishop of Cork.
20
Annals of
In Smith's time among the Manuscripts it was numbered 37.
•» Mr. Hitchcock told Mr. Windale, that
quarian Gleanings," vol. vi. Notes on Life of St. Finbar, p. 751. MS. in R. I. A.
18
In the Manuscript, classed E. 3. 11.
fol. 109.
19 In Messrs. Hodges' and Smith's collec-
The Manuscript in question has the
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 549
An Office for our Saint bad been recited in the Cathedral Church of Cork,
some time previous to the 19th of April, 1624," and whilst Irish Catholic affairs
were in a tolerably prosperous state. This Office had nine proper Lessons,
and it is deserving of attention, chiefly because it shows in what veneration
our Saint had been held in that diocese, of which he is the reputed patron.
There is also a proper Mass for the feast of our Saint, set down at the 25th
of 22 and from which some extracts are in the "Acta Sanc- September, given
torum. " WearetoldbytheeditorSuyskens,thatitdoesnotaboundinany of those extravagancies related in the Office. ^ In the Bollandists' "Acta
Sanctorum,* at the 25th of September, Father Constantine Suyskens has edited a Life of this Saint, so far as he had been able to procure materials from various sources. 25 The editor remarks that a Life of our Saint, the commencement of which he quotes, is filled with those fables, common in the Acts of our national Saints, so that it becomes impossible to separate what is truthful from what is false. Moreover, the Bollandists appear to have possessed a Manuscript copy of St. Barr's Life, similar to that in the Codex Kilkenniensis. It belonged to Father Hugh Ward, the celebrated Irish Minorite friar. But, Suyskens did not regard it as worthy of being printed, on account of the many fables it contained. This same Bollandist
father had another Manuscript Life, from the collection of Henry Fitzsimons,
with an additional 26 In this St. Barr is called Macu- copy.
S. J. , together
linus. 2? It would seem, however, that the Life to which he refers was
different, in many respects, from the Manuscript preserved in Marsh's
28 The Bollandist editor would not several fables in the Library. publish
Life to which he had access. Therefore, he is contented with giving a brief summary of it. This appears to have been transcribed literally from an Office of St. Barr. Some later writers have given us lives or memorials of the present Saint. Thus, Archbishop Ussher,29 Sir James Ware,3° and his
12
editor Walter Harris^ also Philip O'Sullivan Beared Roderick 0'Flaherty,33
"
title, Irish Researches," vol. vi. , see p. the Bollandists.
Colgan promised to pub-
731. 21
At this date, Bernard Mede, an Irish
lish this Life, at the 25th of September, but he did not live to fulfil that engagement.
2? It would seem to have been a
scribed it for his brother Doctor Gerard of our Saint, pronounced on his feast, from
Minorite would seem to have tran- friar,
panegyric
Mede. Afterwards, this copy found its way to the Bollandist collection of Manuscripts. 22 Taken from " Missae Propriae Sanctorum Patronorum ac Tutelarium Franciseet Hiber- nise," dementis XII. Papae jussu edita,
the exordium quoted by Suyskens: yet we are also informed, it was full of fables, and
not worth publishing.
28 He " habere me Vitam MS. says : ejus
ex Sectionario sive Officio Corcagiensi a Ber- A. D. 1734. It was printed in Paris, and nardo Medo Corcagice descriptam, cu/us
sanctioned by the Archbishop of that city, Charles Gaspar William de Vintimille, as also by Luke, Archbishop of Dublin.
initium est : Erat quidam rex in Hibernia, nomine Tegernacus, qui ancillam habuit pulchram nimis ; a quo edictum exiit per ejus dominium universum, ut nemo predi—c-
23 See, ibid. , sect, i. , nn. 8 to 12, p. 143.
24 See tomus vii. Septembris xxv. De tarn virginem praesumeret deflorare, &c. "
S. Barro vel Finbarro Ep. Corcagiensi in Hibernia, et forte alio Episcopo Cathenensi in Scotia.
25 It is issued in a Commentarius Histo- rico-Criticus, containing four distinct sec- tions, having sixty-one paragraphs, pp. 142
Ibid. , sect, ii. , p. 144.
2? See " Hritannicarum Ecclesiarum Anti-
quitates," cap. xvii. , p. 493. Also p. 503. 3° See " De Hibernia et Antiquitatibus
to 151. 26
Colgan possessed
a Life of St.
Barr,
of Cork,'' p. 556.
32 See " Historiae Catholicae Iberniae Com-
which from quotations given in "Acta pendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 51. 33 "
Sanctorum Hibernias," Suyskens deems to See Ogygia," pais iii. , cap. lxxix have been different from Lives in custody of p. 376.
ejus," cap. xxvi. , pp. 196, 197. 3I See Harris' Ware, vol. i.
"Bishops
550 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September25.
and Bishop Challoner34 mention him. The Rev. Alban Butler 35 has some notices of St. Barr or Finbar, first bishop of Cork, at the 25th of September.
"
The Rev. Dr. Lanigan has a memoir of this Saint in his
Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland,"36 illustrated as it is with accompanying notes. Richard
Caulfield, B. A. , has more recently edited with notes, etc. , "The Life of
Saint Fin Barre, first Bishop and Founder of the See of Cork. "37 Also, in
the works of Rev. M. J. Brenan,38 Bishop Forbes,39 Professor Eugene
40 Rev S. 1 and Alfred Webb/2 St. Bairre is recorded O'Curry, . Baring-Gould,*
in brief biographies.
The Manuscript Lives inform us, that the holy Saint and worthy pontiff
Barrus derived his origin from the Hy-briun Ratha,43 of the Connacian race. Hy Briun Ratha was situated in West Connaught. 44 It comprised the present Barony of Athenry/s and it was a sub-territory of the Briuin Seola on the extreme coast of Iar-Connacht. 46 According to a legendary Life of our Saint, a chief of Hy-bruin district is said to have had a son, named Amergin. 4 ? Another son is said to have been born, and to have been thrown into a
the desert. 4? But, a she-wolf is said to have suckled him, until he was fully grown. The infant was remarkable for his beautiful form. Some swine- herds, making their rounds through the desert, found this child in the woods, andbroughthimtotheirhome. Theyafterwardscarriedhimtotheirchief- tain, who recognized the child as his own son. The father, as stated in this strangely contradictory narrative, dearly loved the child, and took him into his household. Yet, being ashamed of a crime previously committed, the father with his son is stated to have sought a dwelling in the territory of
1
There his posterity afterwards increased in number, so that they could not remain in one place. They separated themselves throughout divers territories of
34 In "Britannia Sancta," part ii. , pp. Connaught, and that it contained fourteen 142, 143, and also in "A Memorial of villages or townlands. Within it is the site
——
river/8 Amergin was left so runs the story to be devoured by beasts in
Hualiathain,s° in the southern part of the Minister provinces
ancient British Piety," p. 135.
35 See "Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs,
and other principal Saints," vol. ix. Sep- tember xxv.
36 See vol. ii. , chap, xiv. , sect, iv. , pp.
313 to 319.
37 From MSS. , in the Bodleian Library,
Oxford, Archbishop Marsh's Library, and Trinity College Library, Dublin. Published in London, 1864, 8vo.
3* See " Ecclesiastical History of Ireland,"
Seventh Century, chap, i. , pp. 96, 97.
39 See "Kalendars of Scottish Saints,"
48 According to the Codex Kilkenniensis 40 See " Lectures on the Manuscript MS. and the Bodleian MS. the two sons
pp. 275, 276.
Materials of Ancient Irish History," Lect.
xvi. , p. 340.
41 See "Lives of the Saints," vol. ix. ,
September 25, pp. 377, 378.
42 See "Compendium of Irish Biography,"
p. 178.
43 "Hewas of the race of — son of Brian,
of Knocktiia, where a battle was fought be- tween Kildare and Clanrickard, in 1504. This was about six miles to the east of Gal-
way town. See lxxix. , p. 376.
"
Ogygia," pars iii. , cap.
45See Harris' Ware, vol. ii. "Antiquities of Ireland," cliap. vii. , p. 50.
46 See " Chorographical Description of Iar-Connaught," edited by James Hardi- man, p. 369, and Map facing the Title- page.
47 In some Manuscripts called Amargenus, and in others Amyrgenus.
were twins.
49 The Burgundian Manuscript Life of St.
Fin Bairre altogether omits this silly legend. so This territory was nearly co-extensive
with the present barony of Barrymore, in the County of Cork. See leabhAp ti4
or the Book of edited 5-Ce^fc, Rights, by
—"
44 We are told by Roderick O'Flaherty, giensi. " Roderick O'Flaherty's Ogygia,"
•• Eochaidh Muighmheadhoin. " Martyr-
John O'Donovan, pp. 72, 73, n. (s. ).
ology of Donegal," edited by Drs. Todd 5 ' " Darius Kearb, &c, genuit Achaum and Reeves, pp. 258, 259. Liathanach, ex quo Hyliathan in agro Corca-
that Hy Briun Ratha was situated in West pars iii. , p. 381.
September 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
Minister. A certain division of them came to the chief of Rathluyn's terri-
2 From this of the tory. s portion
account has The Scottish —
St. Barr is said to have—
tribe, descended.
that St. Finbar or
is found written was born in the Island of Cathania,S3 which was on the
Amergin,s
8 the father of our
Saint,
came from
Connaught
and took a
He became the
at Achadh Durbeon,59 in the country of Musgry Mitine. 6°
—
53 Now Caithness the shire of this deno-
it,
Fymbarrus
as his
name
western side of Scotia, having Rossia54 on the south and the Orkadesss or Orkney Islands to the east. However, there are no true historic grounds for the statement, that our Saint had been a native of Scotland, although after death, his memory was held there in veneration. At what exact time he was born in Ireland has not transpired, but it was probably after the middle of the sixth century. It is contended, moreover, that his real name was LochaiV6 and that Finbarr, i. e. " white-haired"—contracted into Barr— must be considered only as his acquired surname. *? It is related, that
chief blacksmith to the Chief of Rathluin. This latter was called Tyager-
61
nach, the son of Cas, and descended from the race of Echach. The
Scottish account, as contained in the Breviary of Aberdeen, calls him
Tigrinatus.
62 In his
territory
lived a
girl
of rare
beauty,
whom the
chief
wishedtoretainashiscompanion. Heordered,thatnomanshouldtake
her as a wife. But Amergin disobeyed his order, for he became passionately
in love with that female. In due course of time, Bairre was conceived. 63 Hearing about this matter, the chief fell into a violent fit of anger. He
reproached the young woman with her disobedience, and she acknowledged to whom she had been married. Filled with rage, the chief ordered both
52 Rathluin was the name of O'Magh-
59 This place has not been identified. In the Codex Kilkenniensis the denomination is spelled Dunteon.
60 Now the Barony of Muskerry, County of Cork.
61 "— Called by Hanmer Tegernatus. "
thamna's or O'Mahony's district, extending on both sides of the River Bandon. See Richard Caulfield's note, attached to his Life of St. Fin Barre, p. 8, n. (b).
mination being in the extreme north-eastern
part of the Scottish mainland. An Island
of the name is not to be found on the Map to Eachach, son of Cas, son of Core, of Scotland, and the position here assigned
to it is a geographical mistake.
54 Now Ross—the shire of that name is
separated from Caithness by Sutherland, and it lies across the whole of Scotland in the northern part from the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.
62 It is curious to compare the different versions of a tradition, which may be traced to a common—even if not reliable—historic source, and in places so far apart as the extreme northern parts of Scotland and the
ss See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of extreme southern parts of Ireland. Both
Scottish Saints," p. 275.
56 The Bollandist editor Suyskens says,
have reference to our Saint. A legend in Torfteus describes a feud between two northern chiefs, in which the one carries off the daughter of the other. Being worsted in a sea-fight, the abductor swims ashore with her, and marries her in an irregular manner, in the cottage of a poor man. The couple had a son named Bard, who tra-
that he was called, in the first instance.
"
Loanus seu Luanus,"
57 See, Dr. Lanigan's " Ecclesiastical
History of Ireland," vol. ii.
