s° See "The
Martyrology
of Donegal," edited by Drs.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
Secunda Vita S.
however are greatly weather-worn. The
western face of this cross is equally profuse
indecoration. Atthebaseisafinespecimen
of interlacing lines and knots, surmounted
by a group of three figures, apparently en- nuarii, n. 32, p. 142. Yet, it seems to the gaged in consultation. Above these, there
IS a nondescript animal, surmounted by a second group of figures, one of which seems to be armed with a sword, on the right-hand side, as if about to seize or attack the central figure, while the hands of the figure to the left seem raised, as if in the attitude of prayer or supplication. The next panel contains two seated figures, one of which holds something upon its lap. Judging from a similar, but well-preserved sculpture upon a cross at Monasterboice, this would seem intended for the infant Saviour. The head of the cross represents the crucifixion, with the sponge and spear bearers, the latter of unusually small size. Here, also, in the arms and circle are exquisite carvings in the Irish style of ornamentation. The sides or edges of the cross are richly worked, and
in chaste patterns, some of which inter-
J'et while others to the
ace, belong divergent
\vriter, that the place must rather be identified with Crioch na g-Ceadach, said by Dr. O'Donovan to have been situated in the north-east of the King's County. See " Leabhar na g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," n. (o), p. 2C».
" the ter-
^ At Cuil Fabhar, a place near Fore in
the county of Westmeath, a sept of the Hy Fiacha or Hy Fiachrach was located. This clan descended from Fiachra Mac Dathi, who was detained as a hostage by Niall of
the Nine See Dr. O'Donovan's Hostages.
Fechini, cap. xl. , and n. 30, pp. 138, 142. 's This is said by Colgan to have lain in the southern part of Roscommon county. See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," xx. Ja-
»* The Crich na
ritory of the Cedachs was formerly in Meath, but is now a part of the King's County on the Westmeath side. It was so called from belonging to a sept descended from OilioU Cedach, son to Cathair Mor, monarch of Ireland in the second century. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. ii. , n. (i), p. 1019.
g-Cedach, i. e. ,
January 20] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 375
another time, the saint visited a church, called Teagh Mhac Neamhain,"^ in thedistrictofHyFoelan,=^9andintheprovinceofLugemne. 3° Thesituation of that church was in a spot so narrow, that no room remained near it for a cemetery. 31 A great mass of stone proved a particular impediment, but by prayer he is said to have removed this obstruction. 3^
Taking a journey into Leinster, during the afternoon of a Sunday, the
holy Fechin visited that romantic waterfall now called Poulaphoka,33 in the
countyofWicklow. 34 Heretheremainsofanancienthighwayarestilltrace-
able. 3s The saint on this occasion manifested his keen appreciation, how the
beautiful external works of nature insensibly lift the soul to a consideration
ofwhatisduetotheLordofnature. Foralthoughweariedafterhisjoimiey,
Fechin would fain kneel before a cross, at this place. His disciples re-
minded him, that at least he should rest from labour on the Lord's day.
""
If," said the loving servant of God, by the continual downpour of its
waters, and by the sublime melody of its sonorous roaring, the cataract3'5 near us never ceases to praise the Divine Creator, no less should I be a debtor in the purchasing a heavenly country. " Wherefore he resolved to spend the whole of that Sunday afternoon by the waterfall, blending the human voices of sacred song, with the deeper diapason of the turbulent eddies, that whirled from the upper rocks into the gulf beneath. But, the Almighty, to reward his devout client, caused a suspension of the laws of nature in his be- half, and to the third hour of the day, the cataract ceased to flow, while the servants of God chaunted their h)nnns on this romantic site. The silence of the grave now reigned around them. St. Fechin at length considered this miraculous event as an intimation, that his good-will was accepted by God for the duty of praise, and he too ceased from the sacred psalmody, which he had commenced. 37
Thence probably the holy abbot went direct to Naas. It is said, that a religious establishment had been founded at Tulachfobhair,38 near Naas
"Genealogies, Tribes and Customs of Hy- Fiachrach," p. 33 and n (p). Most pro- bably this is the district of Hy-Fiachrach, to which allusion is here made.
Liffey, was Eas-Duthaire.
35 See Rev, John Francis Shearman's
"Loca Patriciana," p. 490. "Journal of the Historical and Archaeological Associa- tion of Ireland," vol. ii. Fourth series, July, 1873, No. 15.
3* "This cataract is formed by the descent of the River Liffey, whose accumulated
"Beauties of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 340.
37 «<The Second Life," chap, xxxviii. , p.
138.
38 Jq the Life of St. Fechin, as published
by Colgan, this place is incorrectly printed Fulach Tobhuir ; but in other instances, and in a note annexed to the passage, it is written
"favour," because of the royal bounty he had received, or it was so called from Fore, in Westmeath, where St, Fechin had his principal establishment.
^^
It is thought, the name of this place has
been derived from the three sons of Nem-
hain, who are said to have been venerated
on the 19th of February.
^"^ This
them half of the present county of Kildare. It included the baronies of Clane and Salt, with the greater part, if not the entire, of Ikeath and Oughteranny baronies. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Leabharna g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," n. (a), p. 206.
3^ This is probably a misspelling for La- genia.
3' This same miracle apparently as related
in the
"
First Life" gives us to understand,
territory comprised
about the nor-
waters here in fall,
that Fechin had a monastery there. See
3= See " The Second Life of St. Fechin," cap. xlii. , xliii. , p. 138.
"
Scenery and Antiquities of Ire- land," vol. i.
3'» The ancient name of this remarkable cataract, near the head waters of the River
chap, xxi. , p. 132.
33 An steel exquisite
as in our text. Tulach means ' ' a given
of this
will be found on the title page of W. H. hill" or "hillock. " Fobhair %\gM. i^QZ either
Bartlett's
engraving
spot
ponderous magnificence, down several progressive ledges of craggy precipice ; huge masses of rock impending on both sides, with much variety of pictu- resque effect. The great body of precipi- tated water eddies round the abyss into which it descends, forming a vortex, of frightful aspect and prodigious depth. " Brewer's
376 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 20. ^
town, by St. Fechin in the seventh century. It was endowed by the King of
Leinster, consequent on a special favour granted to St. Fechin, and in com- memoration of that remarkable miracle,^? which is found related in his acts. '*" St. Fechin was accompanied by some of his monks. At this time, the king and his chiefs held a public assembly, at a place called Aonach Carman. Here the prayer of our saint was rejected. But being obliged to hold a more important convention, the holy man prosecuted his suit. Although the king persisted in his refusal, and would even not permit the saint to see him, on the object of his mission ; yet, in a miraculous manner, Fechin succeeded by entering into his castle at Naas. Within this stronghold, certain captives undersentenceofdeathhadbeendetained; but,attheentreatyofSt. Fechin, they were released from captivity, and he predicted that thenceforward, no other prisoners should be kept there in chains. ' To commemorate these events, very near the old castle of Naas, and in the market-place of this ancient town, a remarkable and large stone monument, known as the " Cross of St. Fechin," had been afterwards erected. In the seventeenth century,
Colgan says, this venerable object was to be seen in the middle of Naas. It
fiows
Road" extends. -^-^
Naas,
and towards which the " present Friary
through
Lauds. See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xx. Januarii. Also Secunda Vita S. Fechini, pp. 132, 133.
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- 136. I37> I4i» 142.
'° See
nise," XX. Januarii. Vita Secunda S. Fechini, cap. xxxii. , xxxiii. , and nn. 20, 21, 22, pp.
on the where the
right, Friary
*'
Coigan remarks, that this only could be
Colgan's
marked,
Road enters the town of Naas. Colond Eustace resided here, and took an active part with the Volunteers in his time. He was descended from the old family, founder of St. Eustacius' at Naas.
—which stood on the site of the present moat ; but
predicated of the old royal castle
Priory,
« This he states had St. Fechin for its
in the more modern castle or prisonersweredetained—inhistime. Indeed, the former — of Naas now converted into
regal citadel and the cross of St. Fechin, within the market-place.
jail
a town-hall lay nearly between the ancient
*' "
See Monasticon
Hibernicum," p.
"The Life of St.
Arch-
345.
''^ See notices of this saint at the nth of
January.
*^ This almost to have appears invariably
been the adjunct of our early Irish monastic houses.
David, bishop of Menevia, Chief Patron of Wales, and Titular Patron of Naas Church and
Parish, in Ireland, "chap. xiv. ,pp. l38toi40.
_*'See
nor is there even tradition — any popular regarding
has
its former existence or removal, at the present day. -'^ The King of Leinster so the old record states —to manifest his gratitude and atone for his former insensibility, granted in perpetuity to St. Fechin a tract of land, known as Tulach Fobhuir, with tenants living on it. A mill formed part of this grant. ^ That place was doubtless situated near or aroufid the principal stream, which
long
since
disappeared
the town of
;
Although the acts of St. Fechin do not allude to his erection of Tulach Fobhuir monastery, Harris has placed a religious house there. +s He has been followed by Archdall. But this writer was not able to give any account regarding it, nor can he even determine the site, except by placing it near the town of Naas, in the county of Kildare. *^ After this St. Fechin went to visit St. Ernan,47 who lived in the monastery of Cluain Deochra. Here there was a mill, the sound of which had been a constant source of annoyance to those who lived in the guest-house. *^
Townland Maps for the County of Kildare. " Sheet 19. At Simday's Well a patron was formerly held.
•* The site of Eustace's Castle is also
founder. See Harris' vol. " An- Ware, ii. ,
tiquities of Ireland," chap, xxxviii. , p. 262.
39 To this miracle allusion is made, in the
First Life of St. Fechin. It is related in
some Latin metrical lines. Afterwards, we as indicated on the "Ordnance Survey
find a more detailed account, in a hymn for "
prison many
Fechin, however, by his prayers re-
*3 This spot is probably identical with the com mill, at Mill Brook, near Sunday Well,
January 20. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 377
moved this noise, and he effected the reform of another discomfort, while stopping at this reUgious estabUshment. 49 This holy abbot was greatly ad- dicted to penitential exercises. In a poem, attributed to St. Cuimin of Connor, and which begins with the words " Patrick of the city of Macha
the —to this saint's
loves," following account, relating extraordinary austerities,
thus runs in the English translation
:
" Fechin the generous of Fobhar loved, It was no hypocritical devotion,
To place his meagre rib
Upon a hard bed without clothes. "
This is interpreted to mean, that he used no covering for his side, when re- posing on a hard bed in his cell. s° And in his Second Life, we are told, he scarcely allowed himself any refreshing sleep. To the devotional and peni- tential exercises of the day, he added others during the night. This he divided into three parts for his sanctification : the first portion he spent at
hymns, canticles, stations and genuflexions \ the second was passed in holy meditation and ecstasy under a tree near his monastery ; while the third part of the night was endured in a vessel of cold water, his mind only bent on
prayer, while his body was subjected to this process. To prevent his falling asleep through fatigue, it is said, he had one foot fastened by a chain to the tree ; while he had a vessel filled with cold water between his feet, and his hands folded on his breast supported a large stone, which if it chanced to fall into the water must serve to awaken him, by its consequent splash and sound. In the practice of these and many other wonderful corporal macera- tions, he prepared his soul by purification for the future joys of heaven. s^ St. Fechin sought from the simultaneously reigning monarchs of Ireland, Diermit II. and Blaithmaic,^^ the liberation of one Aedus or Aedan, a brave soldier. S3 This favour he obtained with great difficulty. On being dismissed from prison and given up to Fechin, the soldier went with him to Fore, where he became a monk. After further instruction, having received tonsure, he was promoted to the grade of priest, and serving God faithfully during life, he died a faithful minister. S4 The monks at his principal monastery experi- enced much inconvenience and labour in preparing food by the hand-quern for so large a community. Therefore, Fechin intended to relieve them, by engagingintheconstructionofamill,tobeworkedbywaterpower. Among the miracles of this holy abbot, his biographers take particular notice of one relating to this mill. For its working he is said to have procured a miraculous supply of water. 55 Giraldus Cambrensis \1^ites, that at Foure, in Meath, there was a mill, which St. Fechin miraculously hewed with his own hands out on
9 " Second Life," chap, xxxix. , p, 138.
s° See "The Martyrology of Donegal," edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 22,
23.
5' See " The Second Life," chap, xxiv. ,
p. 136.
s^ Their joint reigns began A. D. 657, and
assigned to the 13th of September.
54 gee the "Second Life," chap, xxvii. ,
p. 136, and n. 16, p. 141.
55 This mill was built on an eminence, and
it is stated, that the builder, a carpenter, ex- pressed his doubts if water could be procured at a sufficiently high level to turn its wheel,
"
The Lord is
vailed A. D. 664 the same year, and owing procure water for his servants. " Then he to the same mortality, St. Fechin departed. went towards a lake, about one mile distant. The events of their reign will be found in on the other side of the hill. Soon after- Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four wards a passage was made for water through this hill, and it flowed in a copious stream. See "The First Life," chap, xiv. , pp. 131,
by a St. Noeman, whose feast Colgan has
—e which they died of th great plague, pre-
But the saint said,
potent
to
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 268 to 277.
S3 On this occasion he was accompanied
132.
378 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 20.
the side of a rock. s^ Into this, as also into the church of that saint, women do not enter. Nor is that mill less respected by the natives, than if it were one of this sainfs churches. Giraldus relates several miracles, also, that were wroughtinhistime. SomeofHughDeLac/ssoldierspaidthepenaltyoftheir crimes, because they had desecrated that place. s? The miracle of this mill, is supposed to consist in a fact that the water by which it is turned, owing to the prayers of Saint Fechin, had been derived from a neighbouring lake, brought through that high mountain, at the foot of which his monastery stood. As this incident was beyond the power and order of nature, so it is called a standing and a visible miracle. On a hill near Fore, an oratory of St. Fechin was to be seen, and within it there was a large and smooth stone, on which it is said the saint was accustomed to kneel in prayer. This relic a French Seneschal had resolved on removing, and for the purpose had sent a cart with horses to the place. His neighbours endeavoured to reprove him for irreverence towards the saint ; but he disregarded their admonitions. On the following night a sudden illness brought him to the grave, and his corpse was laid on that very waggon which had been used for removing the stone. Again, when the English had arrived in Ireland, one of that nation, who possessed the vicarage of St. Fechin's church, and yet who held the patron in littleestimation,5^waspunishedinaverymiraculousmanner. Afterathree days' illness he expired. 59
Towards the close of holy Fechin's life, a Welsh saint, known as Mochoe- moc Cruthnech, or " the Cambrian," paid him a visit. The Welsh saint inquired to whom the abbot intended to leave the government of his mo- nastery after death. " To some fit person among my monks," replied Fechin. "But in case you do not find a suitable successor among them," asked Mochoe-
moc,
my
Ajid,
eligible,"
"what do " said "I shall leave it to
you purpose doing? " Then,"
Fechin,
if none of these be
masters and to their successors. " "
urged Mochoemoc," what must be done? " "Why, if such a misfortune should happen," returned Fechin, "my successors must be taken without partiality from other Irishmen, suited for the office, but by no means from among the Welsh. "^ After these words, the holy abbot, knowing that the hour of his death was fast approaching, called together his disciples, in the monastery at Fore. He exhorted them to despise the things of earth, and to ambition only heavenly delights; he entreated them to remit none of their accustomed contemplative and penitential exercises, while considering how short was their race in life, and contrasting it with the eternity and greatness of celestial rewards. Then, imparting his benediction to them, and fortified with the holy sacrament of the ! Qpdy and Blood of Christ, the chains of his body were loosed, and his soul was free. At this time, too, a St. Mochua had sent one of his servants to the monastery of Fore, to learn in what state
the holy abbot continued. On the way, this servant saw a fiery column of
great splendour reaching to the very heavens, and throwing a wonderful brilliancy over the atmosphere surrounding Fore. He returned with news of
5* Philip O' Sullivan Beare states, that this was regarded as an inviolable asylum by the Irish. "Patricianas Decadis," lib. x. , cap. vii.
57SeeGiraldusCambrensis'" Hibemise. " Dist. iv. , cap. 52, 53.
5® Moreover, he is said to have been a con- stant hater of the Irish nation.
59 See "The First Life," chap, xviii. , xix. , p. 132.
*° We have fair reason for suspecting, that this popular story had its origin, after the Welsh-Norman adventurers under De Lacy settled at Fore, and when the invaders' in- fluence had succeeded in the
Topographia
depriving native Irish of their just share of benefices. See the history of Fore, in Archdall's "Monasticon Hibemicum," p. 713. The anecdote as found in the text seems to con- vey a veritable sally of Irish satiric humour.
January 20. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 379
this portent. Mochua, having received Holy Communion, and calHng his disciplesaroundhim,exhortedandblessedthem. Thenhissouldeparted
and, according to a foregone prediction, he accompanied St. Fechin to Heaven. ^'
After a life of great penitence and extraordinary holiness this saintly abbot was called to a happy eternity, on the 20th of January,^^ a. d. 664. He died of that dreadful pestilence, the Buidhe Connail,^3 which raged all over Ireland at the time. His zeal and labours were so excelling, that notably Fechin was numbered among the twelve apostles of Ireland. ^4 A special office seems to have been composed for him and recited in the early IrishChurch. ^5 AtthetimeofSt. Fechin'sdeath,St. Moling^^issaidtohave had a vision, and to have compelled Satan to declare, that all the demons had been terrified with the preternatural brightness that had been diffused over Ireland, from which island they fled for a time. ^7
All our calendarists agree in assigning St. Fechin's feast to the 20th of
January. Thus in the published^^ and unpublished^9 Martyrology of Tallagh Fechin of Fobhair occurs. In the Festilogy of St. ^ngus,7° it is said, his name is to be discovered under the form of Moecca, or Eccanus. 7' Here, however, we think some mistake must have occurred, and that Ecca, or Eccanus, may possibly be distinguished from Fechin. 7^ Notwithstanding, it must be admitted, that the Calendar of Cashel,73 and the Commentator on St. ^ngus,74asserttheiridentity; whilethelatteradducessomeweaketymo-
logical reasons for reconciling the apparent discrepancy. 75 The Martyrology
*'See the "Second Life of Fechin," chap, xliv. , xlviii. , xlix. , pp. 138, 139.
^^
According
nals of the Four Master," vol. i. , pp. 276, 277, this saint died on the 14th of February. But Dr. O'Connor says, this is the intro- duction of a more modern hand in the
F. xiii. kl. " The four whom I invoke
On the one day they are most
holy
Molaca [and] Moeca Sapaist and Oenu. "
7' See Colgan's " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- niae," xx. Januarii. Vita Prima S. Fechini,
to Dr. O'Donovan's "An-
Stowe copy. See ibid. , n (s).
*3 See an account of it in- the previous n. 2, p. 140. Colgan agrees in this opinion.
Life of St. Molagga, on this day. 7^ According to Dr. O'Donovan, Fechin
**He is also classed first as " Presbyter," in the third order of Irish saints.
"
"a little and he thinks this raven,"
See Ussber's
Antiquitates, cap. xvii. , p. 474.
hair. —"Galway Letters of I. O. S. ," vol.
iii. , p. 75.
73 This record states, at the 20th of Janu-
ary, that St. Mo-acca, or Mo-ecca is the same as Fechin, the son of Maelchama, son to Killin, of the Mhic-Airt-Choirbrace, and
"
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum
^5 The hymn at Lauds, and one preceding it, in rhymed Latin metre, have been pub- lished by Colgan. Antecedent to these, there is a succinct account of his miracles in Latin hexameter verses. See "First
Life," pp. 132, 133.
^ See notices of this holy man at the 17th
of June.
"7 See "The Second Life," chap. 1. , p.
139.
^ See Rev. Dr. Kelly's edition, p. xiii.
*9 In the Franciscan copy we find, tTech-
ltii i:obAi|\, at this date,
7° The following stanza, at this day, is extracted from the Leabhar Breac copy of the "Felire," and tran—slated into English
who was the disciple of St. Kyeran. ""
by Professor O'Looney
t^. 5C111. kl. ^n ceclnMi|\ co n-UAige y:o\\ oen tic Af neebu
ITJoLaca tn oecA SApAifCACAfOeriti.
of conjecture, worthy any
:
Feckinus, signifies
saint was so called from the colour of his
74 In the Feilire copy belonging to the Franciscans.
75 Thus, it is said, Fiech signifies "a raven," and Fechin, or more properly Fiechin, means "a little raven:" again it is averred, that Feccadh or Eccadh has the
signification of "a turning back," because when St. Fechin wished to leave his home
when a boy, he was brought back, and hence he is supposed to have been called Ecca or Mo-Ecca. This seems a very far-
fetched nor is it
serious consideration. See ibid. But, we
find quite a different account, regarding the imposition of his [name, in a note on the
margin pf the "Feilire," in the "Leabhar Breac,"atthe20thofJanuary. Thishas
38o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 20.
of Donegal? *^ enters Feichin, Abbot of Fobhar, of Baile-Fhobhair, in Meath. Richard Whitford, in the Martyrology of Salisbury,? ? has a notice of this holy man and his miracles, on the 20th of January. The feast of St. Fechin, abbot, is found on this day in the Circle of the Seasons. ? ^ In Scotland he was venerated, under the form Vigean or Fechin,? ? and also at this date. ^ Although in none of his Irish lives does it appear that he visited Scotland, yet it would seem that this St. Vigean gave name to a parish near Arbroath. ^^ Locally close to the abbey here, St. Vigean's fair^^ is said to have been held
at a place near Smithy Croft, beyond the burgh of Arbroath, about the beginning of the last century. ^3 St. Fechin also occurs as patron of Eccle- fechan. ^+
Our saint is said to have erected a monastery at Tibrada or Tibraid, in the
county of Westmeath. ^s Regarding this place, being unable to give any sufficient account, Colgan^^ conjectures that it might be Tibrad-Ultain in that part of the country. ^? There a church existed in his time. Yet nothing is stated in Fechin's Lives to warrant a supposition that this saint founded
a monastery at that spot, except some allusion to a person there, who had
of certain ^^ Harris has attributed the erection of a mon- provisions.
charge
asteryatTibraid,^9inWestmeath,toSt. Fechin; andbyArchdallitiscalled
Tippert in the half-barony of Fore. 9° Hence it could not have been far removed from Fore Monastery.
The foundation of a monastery at Tulach Fobhair, supposed to be near Naas, is ascribed to St. Fechin.
however are greatly weather-worn. The
western face of this cross is equally profuse
indecoration. Atthebaseisafinespecimen
of interlacing lines and knots, surmounted
by a group of three figures, apparently en- nuarii, n. 32, p. 142. Yet, it seems to the gaged in consultation. Above these, there
IS a nondescript animal, surmounted by a second group of figures, one of which seems to be armed with a sword, on the right-hand side, as if about to seize or attack the central figure, while the hands of the figure to the left seem raised, as if in the attitude of prayer or supplication. The next panel contains two seated figures, one of which holds something upon its lap. Judging from a similar, but well-preserved sculpture upon a cross at Monasterboice, this would seem intended for the infant Saviour. The head of the cross represents the crucifixion, with the sponge and spear bearers, the latter of unusually small size. Here, also, in the arms and circle are exquisite carvings in the Irish style of ornamentation. The sides or edges of the cross are richly worked, and
in chaste patterns, some of which inter-
J'et while others to the
ace, belong divergent
\vriter, that the place must rather be identified with Crioch na g-Ceadach, said by Dr. O'Donovan to have been situated in the north-east of the King's County. See " Leabhar na g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," n. (o), p. 2C».
" the ter-
^ At Cuil Fabhar, a place near Fore in
the county of Westmeath, a sept of the Hy Fiacha or Hy Fiachrach was located. This clan descended from Fiachra Mac Dathi, who was detained as a hostage by Niall of
the Nine See Dr. O'Donovan's Hostages.
Fechini, cap. xl. , and n. 30, pp. 138, 142. 's This is said by Colgan to have lain in the southern part of Roscommon county. See "Acta Sanctorum Hibemiae," xx. Ja-
»* The Crich na
ritory of the Cedachs was formerly in Meath, but is now a part of the King's County on the Westmeath side. It was so called from belonging to a sept descended from OilioU Cedach, son to Cathair Mor, monarch of Ireland in the second century. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. ii. , n. (i), p. 1019.
g-Cedach, i. e. ,
January 20] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 375
another time, the saint visited a church, called Teagh Mhac Neamhain,"^ in thedistrictofHyFoelan,=^9andintheprovinceofLugemne. 3° Thesituation of that church was in a spot so narrow, that no room remained near it for a cemetery. 31 A great mass of stone proved a particular impediment, but by prayer he is said to have removed this obstruction. 3^
Taking a journey into Leinster, during the afternoon of a Sunday, the
holy Fechin visited that romantic waterfall now called Poulaphoka,33 in the
countyofWicklow. 34 Heretheremainsofanancienthighwayarestilltrace-
able. 3s The saint on this occasion manifested his keen appreciation, how the
beautiful external works of nature insensibly lift the soul to a consideration
ofwhatisduetotheLordofnature. Foralthoughweariedafterhisjoimiey,
Fechin would fain kneel before a cross, at this place. His disciples re-
minded him, that at least he should rest from labour on the Lord's day.
""
If," said the loving servant of God, by the continual downpour of its
waters, and by the sublime melody of its sonorous roaring, the cataract3'5 near us never ceases to praise the Divine Creator, no less should I be a debtor in the purchasing a heavenly country. " Wherefore he resolved to spend the whole of that Sunday afternoon by the waterfall, blending the human voices of sacred song, with the deeper diapason of the turbulent eddies, that whirled from the upper rocks into the gulf beneath. But, the Almighty, to reward his devout client, caused a suspension of the laws of nature in his be- half, and to the third hour of the day, the cataract ceased to flow, while the servants of God chaunted their h)nnns on this romantic site. The silence of the grave now reigned around them. St. Fechin at length considered this miraculous event as an intimation, that his good-will was accepted by God for the duty of praise, and he too ceased from the sacred psalmody, which he had commenced. 37
Thence probably the holy abbot went direct to Naas. It is said, that a religious establishment had been founded at Tulachfobhair,38 near Naas
"Genealogies, Tribes and Customs of Hy- Fiachrach," p. 33 and n (p). Most pro- bably this is the district of Hy-Fiachrach, to which allusion is here made.
Liffey, was Eas-Duthaire.
35 See Rev, John Francis Shearman's
"Loca Patriciana," p. 490. "Journal of the Historical and Archaeological Associa- tion of Ireland," vol. ii. Fourth series, July, 1873, No. 15.
3* "This cataract is formed by the descent of the River Liffey, whose accumulated
"Beauties of Ireland," vol. i. , p. 340.
37 «<The Second Life," chap, xxxviii. , p.
138.
38 Jq the Life of St. Fechin, as published
by Colgan, this place is incorrectly printed Fulach Tobhuir ; but in other instances, and in a note annexed to the passage, it is written
"favour," because of the royal bounty he had received, or it was so called from Fore, in Westmeath, where St, Fechin had his principal establishment.
^^
It is thought, the name of this place has
been derived from the three sons of Nem-
hain, who are said to have been venerated
on the 19th of February.
^"^ This
them half of the present county of Kildare. It included the baronies of Clane and Salt, with the greater part, if not the entire, of Ikeath and Oughteranny baronies. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Leabharna g-Ceart, or Book of Rights," n. (a), p. 206.
3^ This is probably a misspelling for La- genia.
3' This same miracle apparently as related
in the
"
First Life" gives us to understand,
territory comprised
about the nor-
waters here in fall,
that Fechin had a monastery there. See
3= See " The Second Life of St. Fechin," cap. xlii. , xliii. , p. 138.
"
Scenery and Antiquities of Ire- land," vol. i.
3'» The ancient name of this remarkable cataract, near the head waters of the River
chap, xxi. , p. 132.
33 An steel exquisite
as in our text. Tulach means ' ' a given
of this
will be found on the title page of W. H. hill" or "hillock. " Fobhair %\gM. i^QZ either
Bartlett's
engraving
spot
ponderous magnificence, down several progressive ledges of craggy precipice ; huge masses of rock impending on both sides, with much variety of pictu- resque effect. The great body of precipi- tated water eddies round the abyss into which it descends, forming a vortex, of frightful aspect and prodigious depth. " Brewer's
376 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 20. ^
town, by St. Fechin in the seventh century. It was endowed by the King of
Leinster, consequent on a special favour granted to St. Fechin, and in com- memoration of that remarkable miracle,^? which is found related in his acts. '*" St. Fechin was accompanied by some of his monks. At this time, the king and his chiefs held a public assembly, at a place called Aonach Carman. Here the prayer of our saint was rejected. But being obliged to hold a more important convention, the holy man prosecuted his suit. Although the king persisted in his refusal, and would even not permit the saint to see him, on the object of his mission ; yet, in a miraculous manner, Fechin succeeded by entering into his castle at Naas. Within this stronghold, certain captives undersentenceofdeathhadbeendetained; but,attheentreatyofSt. Fechin, they were released from captivity, and he predicted that thenceforward, no other prisoners should be kept there in chains. ' To commemorate these events, very near the old castle of Naas, and in the market-place of this ancient town, a remarkable and large stone monument, known as the " Cross of St. Fechin," had been afterwards erected. In the seventeenth century,
Colgan says, this venerable object was to be seen in the middle of Naas. It
fiows
Road" extends. -^-^
Naas,
and towards which the " present Friary
through
Lauds. See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hibemise," xx. Januarii. Also Secunda Vita S. Fechini, pp. 132, 133.
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- 136. I37> I4i» 142.
'° See
nise," XX. Januarii. Vita Secunda S. Fechini, cap. xxxii. , xxxiii. , and nn. 20, 21, 22, pp.
on the where the
right, Friary
*'
Coigan remarks, that this only could be
Colgan's
marked,
Road enters the town of Naas. Colond Eustace resided here, and took an active part with the Volunteers in his time. He was descended from the old family, founder of St. Eustacius' at Naas.
—which stood on the site of the present moat ; but
predicated of the old royal castle
Priory,
« This he states had St. Fechin for its
in the more modern castle or prisonersweredetained—inhistime. Indeed, the former — of Naas now converted into
regal citadel and the cross of St. Fechin, within the market-place.
jail
a town-hall lay nearly between the ancient
*' "
See Monasticon
Hibernicum," p.
"The Life of St.
Arch-
345.
''^ See notices of this saint at the nth of
January.
*^ This almost to have appears invariably
been the adjunct of our early Irish monastic houses.
David, bishop of Menevia, Chief Patron of Wales, and Titular Patron of Naas Church and
Parish, in Ireland, "chap. xiv. ,pp. l38toi40.
_*'See
nor is there even tradition — any popular regarding
has
its former existence or removal, at the present day. -'^ The King of Leinster so the old record states —to manifest his gratitude and atone for his former insensibility, granted in perpetuity to St. Fechin a tract of land, known as Tulach Fobhuir, with tenants living on it. A mill formed part of this grant. ^ That place was doubtless situated near or aroufid the principal stream, which
long
since
disappeared
the town of
;
Although the acts of St. Fechin do not allude to his erection of Tulach Fobhuir monastery, Harris has placed a religious house there. +s He has been followed by Archdall. But this writer was not able to give any account regarding it, nor can he even determine the site, except by placing it near the town of Naas, in the county of Kildare. *^ After this St. Fechin went to visit St. Ernan,47 who lived in the monastery of Cluain Deochra. Here there was a mill, the sound of which had been a constant source of annoyance to those who lived in the guest-house. *^
Townland Maps for the County of Kildare. " Sheet 19. At Simday's Well a patron was formerly held.
•* The site of Eustace's Castle is also
founder. See Harris' vol. " An- Ware, ii. ,
tiquities of Ireland," chap, xxxviii. , p. 262.
39 To this miracle allusion is made, in the
First Life of St. Fechin. It is related in
some Latin metrical lines. Afterwards, we as indicated on the "Ordnance Survey
find a more detailed account, in a hymn for "
prison many
Fechin, however, by his prayers re-
*3 This spot is probably identical with the com mill, at Mill Brook, near Sunday Well,
January 20. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 377
moved this noise, and he effected the reform of another discomfort, while stopping at this reUgious estabUshment. 49 This holy abbot was greatly ad- dicted to penitential exercises. In a poem, attributed to St. Cuimin of Connor, and which begins with the words " Patrick of the city of Macha
the —to this saint's
loves," following account, relating extraordinary austerities,
thus runs in the English translation
:
" Fechin the generous of Fobhar loved, It was no hypocritical devotion,
To place his meagre rib
Upon a hard bed without clothes. "
This is interpreted to mean, that he used no covering for his side, when re- posing on a hard bed in his cell. s° And in his Second Life, we are told, he scarcely allowed himself any refreshing sleep. To the devotional and peni- tential exercises of the day, he added others during the night. This he divided into three parts for his sanctification : the first portion he spent at
hymns, canticles, stations and genuflexions \ the second was passed in holy meditation and ecstasy under a tree near his monastery ; while the third part of the night was endured in a vessel of cold water, his mind only bent on
prayer, while his body was subjected to this process. To prevent his falling asleep through fatigue, it is said, he had one foot fastened by a chain to the tree ; while he had a vessel filled with cold water between his feet, and his hands folded on his breast supported a large stone, which if it chanced to fall into the water must serve to awaken him, by its consequent splash and sound. In the practice of these and many other wonderful corporal macera- tions, he prepared his soul by purification for the future joys of heaven. s^ St. Fechin sought from the simultaneously reigning monarchs of Ireland, Diermit II. and Blaithmaic,^^ the liberation of one Aedus or Aedan, a brave soldier. S3 This favour he obtained with great difficulty. On being dismissed from prison and given up to Fechin, the soldier went with him to Fore, where he became a monk. After further instruction, having received tonsure, he was promoted to the grade of priest, and serving God faithfully during life, he died a faithful minister. S4 The monks at his principal monastery experi- enced much inconvenience and labour in preparing food by the hand-quern for so large a community. Therefore, Fechin intended to relieve them, by engagingintheconstructionofamill,tobeworkedbywaterpower. Among the miracles of this holy abbot, his biographers take particular notice of one relating to this mill. For its working he is said to have procured a miraculous supply of water. 55 Giraldus Cambrensis \1^ites, that at Foure, in Meath, there was a mill, which St. Fechin miraculously hewed with his own hands out on
9 " Second Life," chap, xxxix. , p, 138.
s° See "The Martyrology of Donegal," edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 22,
23.
5' See " The Second Life," chap, xxiv. ,
p. 136.
s^ Their joint reigns began A. D. 657, and
assigned to the 13th of September.
54 gee the "Second Life," chap, xxvii. ,
p. 136, and n. 16, p. 141.
55 This mill was built on an eminence, and
it is stated, that the builder, a carpenter, ex- pressed his doubts if water could be procured at a sufficiently high level to turn its wheel,
"
The Lord is
vailed A. D. 664 the same year, and owing procure water for his servants. " Then he to the same mortality, St. Fechin departed. went towards a lake, about one mile distant. The events of their reign will be found in on the other side of the hill. Soon after- Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four wards a passage was made for water through this hill, and it flowed in a copious stream. See "The First Life," chap, xiv. , pp. 131,
by a St. Noeman, whose feast Colgan has
—e which they died of th great plague, pre-
But the saint said,
potent
to
Masters," vol. i. , pp. 268 to 277.
S3 On this occasion he was accompanied
132.
378 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 20.
the side of a rock. s^ Into this, as also into the church of that saint, women do not enter. Nor is that mill less respected by the natives, than if it were one of this sainfs churches. Giraldus relates several miracles, also, that were wroughtinhistime. SomeofHughDeLac/ssoldierspaidthepenaltyoftheir crimes, because they had desecrated that place. s? The miracle of this mill, is supposed to consist in a fact that the water by which it is turned, owing to the prayers of Saint Fechin, had been derived from a neighbouring lake, brought through that high mountain, at the foot of which his monastery stood. As this incident was beyond the power and order of nature, so it is called a standing and a visible miracle. On a hill near Fore, an oratory of St. Fechin was to be seen, and within it there was a large and smooth stone, on which it is said the saint was accustomed to kneel in prayer. This relic a French Seneschal had resolved on removing, and for the purpose had sent a cart with horses to the place. His neighbours endeavoured to reprove him for irreverence towards the saint ; but he disregarded their admonitions. On the following night a sudden illness brought him to the grave, and his corpse was laid on that very waggon which had been used for removing the stone. Again, when the English had arrived in Ireland, one of that nation, who possessed the vicarage of St. Fechin's church, and yet who held the patron in littleestimation,5^waspunishedinaverymiraculousmanner. Afterathree days' illness he expired. 59
Towards the close of holy Fechin's life, a Welsh saint, known as Mochoe- moc Cruthnech, or " the Cambrian," paid him a visit. The Welsh saint inquired to whom the abbot intended to leave the government of his mo- nastery after death. " To some fit person among my monks," replied Fechin. "But in case you do not find a suitable successor among them," asked Mochoe-
moc,
my
Ajid,
eligible,"
"what do " said "I shall leave it to
you purpose doing? " Then,"
Fechin,
if none of these be
masters and to their successors. " "
urged Mochoemoc," what must be done? " "Why, if such a misfortune should happen," returned Fechin, "my successors must be taken without partiality from other Irishmen, suited for the office, but by no means from among the Welsh. "^ After these words, the holy abbot, knowing that the hour of his death was fast approaching, called together his disciples, in the monastery at Fore. He exhorted them to despise the things of earth, and to ambition only heavenly delights; he entreated them to remit none of their accustomed contemplative and penitential exercises, while considering how short was their race in life, and contrasting it with the eternity and greatness of celestial rewards. Then, imparting his benediction to them, and fortified with the holy sacrament of the ! Qpdy and Blood of Christ, the chains of his body were loosed, and his soul was free. At this time, too, a St. Mochua had sent one of his servants to the monastery of Fore, to learn in what state
the holy abbot continued. On the way, this servant saw a fiery column of
great splendour reaching to the very heavens, and throwing a wonderful brilliancy over the atmosphere surrounding Fore. He returned with news of
5* Philip O' Sullivan Beare states, that this was regarded as an inviolable asylum by the Irish. "Patricianas Decadis," lib. x. , cap. vii.
57SeeGiraldusCambrensis'" Hibemise. " Dist. iv. , cap. 52, 53.
5® Moreover, he is said to have been a con- stant hater of the Irish nation.
59 See "The First Life," chap, xviii. , xix. , p. 132.
*° We have fair reason for suspecting, that this popular story had its origin, after the Welsh-Norman adventurers under De Lacy settled at Fore, and when the invaders' in- fluence had succeeded in the
Topographia
depriving native Irish of their just share of benefices. See the history of Fore, in Archdall's "Monasticon Hibemicum," p. 713. The anecdote as found in the text seems to con- vey a veritable sally of Irish satiric humour.
January 20. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 379
this portent. Mochua, having received Holy Communion, and calHng his disciplesaroundhim,exhortedandblessedthem. Thenhissouldeparted
and, according to a foregone prediction, he accompanied St. Fechin to Heaven. ^'
After a life of great penitence and extraordinary holiness this saintly abbot was called to a happy eternity, on the 20th of January,^^ a. d. 664. He died of that dreadful pestilence, the Buidhe Connail,^3 which raged all over Ireland at the time. His zeal and labours were so excelling, that notably Fechin was numbered among the twelve apostles of Ireland. ^4 A special office seems to have been composed for him and recited in the early IrishChurch. ^5 AtthetimeofSt. Fechin'sdeath,St. Moling^^issaidtohave had a vision, and to have compelled Satan to declare, that all the demons had been terrified with the preternatural brightness that had been diffused over Ireland, from which island they fled for a time. ^7
All our calendarists agree in assigning St. Fechin's feast to the 20th of
January. Thus in the published^^ and unpublished^9 Martyrology of Tallagh Fechin of Fobhair occurs. In the Festilogy of St. ^ngus,7° it is said, his name is to be discovered under the form of Moecca, or Eccanus. 7' Here, however, we think some mistake must have occurred, and that Ecca, or Eccanus, may possibly be distinguished from Fechin. 7^ Notwithstanding, it must be admitted, that the Calendar of Cashel,73 and the Commentator on St. ^ngus,74asserttheiridentity; whilethelatteradducessomeweaketymo-
logical reasons for reconciling the apparent discrepancy. 75 The Martyrology
*'See the "Second Life of Fechin," chap, xliv. , xlviii. , xlix. , pp. 138, 139.
^^
According
nals of the Four Master," vol. i. , pp. 276, 277, this saint died on the 14th of February. But Dr. O'Connor says, this is the intro- duction of a more modern hand in the
F. xiii. kl. " The four whom I invoke
On the one day they are most
holy
Molaca [and] Moeca Sapaist and Oenu. "
7' See Colgan's " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- niae," xx. Januarii. Vita Prima S. Fechini,
to Dr. O'Donovan's "An-
Stowe copy. See ibid. , n (s).
*3 See an account of it in- the previous n. 2, p. 140. Colgan agrees in this opinion.
Life of St. Molagga, on this day. 7^ According to Dr. O'Donovan, Fechin
**He is also classed first as " Presbyter," in the third order of Irish saints.
"
"a little and he thinks this raven,"
See Ussber's
Antiquitates, cap. xvii. , p. 474.
hair. —"Galway Letters of I. O. S. ," vol.
iii. , p. 75.
73 This record states, at the 20th of Janu-
ary, that St. Mo-acca, or Mo-ecca is the same as Fechin, the son of Maelchama, son to Killin, of the Mhic-Airt-Choirbrace, and
"
Britannicarum Ecclesiarum
^5 The hymn at Lauds, and one preceding it, in rhymed Latin metre, have been pub- lished by Colgan. Antecedent to these, there is a succinct account of his miracles in Latin hexameter verses. See "First
Life," pp. 132, 133.
^ See notices of this holy man at the 17th
of June.
"7 See "The Second Life," chap. 1. , p.
139.
^ See Rev. Dr. Kelly's edition, p. xiii.
*9 In the Franciscan copy we find, tTech-
ltii i:obAi|\, at this date,
7° The following stanza, at this day, is extracted from the Leabhar Breac copy of the "Felire," and tran—slated into English
who was the disciple of St. Kyeran. ""
by Professor O'Looney
t^. 5C111. kl. ^n ceclnMi|\ co n-UAige y:o\\ oen tic Af neebu
ITJoLaca tn oecA SApAifCACAfOeriti.
of conjecture, worthy any
:
Feckinus, signifies
saint was so called from the colour of his
74 In the Feilire copy belonging to the Franciscans.
75 Thus, it is said, Fiech signifies "a raven," and Fechin, or more properly Fiechin, means "a little raven:" again it is averred, that Feccadh or Eccadh has the
signification of "a turning back," because when St. Fechin wished to leave his home
when a boy, he was brought back, and hence he is supposed to have been called Ecca or Mo-Ecca. This seems a very far-
fetched nor is it
serious consideration. See ibid. But, we
find quite a different account, regarding the imposition of his [name, in a note on the
margin pf the "Feilire," in the "Leabhar Breac,"atthe20thofJanuary. Thishas
38o LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 20.
of Donegal? *^ enters Feichin, Abbot of Fobhar, of Baile-Fhobhair, in Meath. Richard Whitford, in the Martyrology of Salisbury,? ? has a notice of this holy man and his miracles, on the 20th of January. The feast of St. Fechin, abbot, is found on this day in the Circle of the Seasons. ? ^ In Scotland he was venerated, under the form Vigean or Fechin,? ? and also at this date. ^ Although in none of his Irish lives does it appear that he visited Scotland, yet it would seem that this St. Vigean gave name to a parish near Arbroath. ^^ Locally close to the abbey here, St. Vigean's fair^^ is said to have been held
at a place near Smithy Croft, beyond the burgh of Arbroath, about the beginning of the last century. ^3 St. Fechin also occurs as patron of Eccle- fechan. ^+
Our saint is said to have erected a monastery at Tibrada or Tibraid, in the
county of Westmeath. ^s Regarding this place, being unable to give any sufficient account, Colgan^^ conjectures that it might be Tibrad-Ultain in that part of the country. ^? There a church existed in his time. Yet nothing is stated in Fechin's Lives to warrant a supposition that this saint founded
a monastery at that spot, except some allusion to a person there, who had
of certain ^^ Harris has attributed the erection of a mon- provisions.
charge
asteryatTibraid,^9inWestmeath,toSt. Fechin; andbyArchdallitiscalled
Tippert in the half-barony of Fore. 9° Hence it could not have been far removed from Fore Monastery.
The foundation of a monastery at Tulach Fobhair, supposed to be near Naas, is ascribed to St. Fechin.
