Tuir an Dia), or of the Sept, Clan, or Tribe of the O'Kellys of the Tower of God,
by
it hope may
Memorials of Clan-Kellae (an
September 17.
by
it hope may
Memorials of Clan-Kellae (an
September 17.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v9
vii.
, n.
30, pp.
337 and 339; also xxiii.
Februarii. Vita S. Finniani seu Finneni,
cap. xxviii. , and n. 33, p. 396 and 399.
of Hy-Many," pp. 8 to j8, Dublin, 1843, 4to.
4 Edited by William Smith, D. C. L ,
LL. D. , and Henry Wace, M. A. , vol. ii. , p. 801.
s See "The Topographical Poems of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla na Naomh O'Huidhrin," edited by John O'Donovan, LL. D. , M. R. I. A. In this work may be found O'Dubhagain's poetical description of this territory, in the original Irish, with the editor's translation, at pp. 68 to 73, with
the explanatory notes, 338 to 362, pp. xliv to xlvi.
"
3 See his edition of " Tribes and Customs
Also in
Trias Thaumaturga," pp. 206-208.
42o LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September17.
these last-mentioned localities are situated within the of 6 County Galway.
The earliest noted aboriginal inhabitants of this great extent of country were the Firbolgs, who were also a race of people tributary to the Kings of Connaught. 7 These are thought to have been the successors of Partholan and his followers, who are regarded as being the earliest colonists of Ireland s
;
but all of whom perished in a great plague that came into the islands Before this occurred, however, their rule had been disturbed by the Fomorians, thought to have been pirates from Africa. The northern as well as eastern nations most generally commenced their historic pedigree with a deity ; or, at least, they ascribe to their first founders heroic qualities or virtues, closely borderingonthepossessionofsupernaturalpowers. Sohaveweavarietyof bardic stories, giving very circumstantial accounts, regarding the migrations of our ancient colonists ; but, we have good reasons for supposing those narratives are largely mythological in character. Legends are framed for the acts of our earlier heroes, as history fails to shed light on their period, now so remote from our own times.
or
places,
Aboutthe
year
oftheworld
" the
I0a 11 hero,knownasNemed 2029, Scythian
a number of colonists with him into Ireland. He is said to have been remotely related to Partholan, if not a direct descendant. His name has been Latinized in latter days into Nemethus or Nemidius. With four sons, and a fleet of thirty-four ships, each containing thirty persons, he arrived in Ireland, from the Euxine Sea. Finding the island without inhabitants, these took possession and settled therein ; at the same time, they began to clear away the thick woods in many
Nenidh, signifying
holy one," brought
and to
improve
the soil
by
cultivation. 12 We are likewise, that told,
Nemed employed master-builders, distinguished by the name of Fomhoraicc,
to erect royal seats for his purpose. After a time, his people were much
annoyed by pirates called Fomorians. These wasted the coasts by their
inroads, and the interior they even harassed. Nemed fought four battles
with them he was successful in the first three but he was defeated in the
j;
last battle, when his son Art, who had been born in Ireland, was slain with
1
most of his people. 13 This so afflicted the king that he died of grief. * Should
we follow the authority of bardic history, the Nemedians were exterminated.
1
Ireland was again left to its native woods, and a wilderness * during two
hundred years or more ; while, according to certain computations, four
16
hundred and twelve years passed away, before it was again inhabited.
6 According to an accurate map of this Psalter of Cashel and Ninus, gives an district, prefixed to the "Tribes and Cus- account of this expedition. See Dermod
tonis of Hy-Manjv' by Mr. O'Donovan, the foregoing lines and places designated the
The
7 It was supposed, by Tohn O'Donovan, that the Book of Hy-Many was in the
possession of a private collector in England. a. d. 1843, and that it was a distinct com-
pilation from what had been published,
O'Connor's Keating's Ireland," part i.
"
General History of
former boundaries of tljat
Irish tract in question was edited by him,
from a copy in the Book of Lecan, fol. 90
to 92. An English translation, with notes, Antiquitatibus ejus Disquisitiones," cap. he has also given.
8
According to the O'Clerys, following the
ii. , p. 6.
n According to Dr. Jeoffrey Keating,
,3 See L'Abbe1 MacGeoghegan's " His-
toire de l'lrlande," tome i. , chap, iii. , p, 60.
'* See Sir William Betham's "The Gael and Cymbri," p. 427.
chronology of the Septuagint, Partholan
arrived, A. M. 2520 years. See Dr. O'Dono-
J
5See William F. Skene's "Celtic Scot-
van's
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. ,
book i. , chap, iv. , p. 173.
,6 "
"
land : a History ©f Ancient Alban," vol. i. ,
pp. 4, 5.
9 Dr. Jeoffrey Keating, who quotes the
See Roderick O'Flaherty's Ogygia," pars ii. , p. 73.
territory.
I0 See Roderick
" O'Flaherty's Ogygia,"
pars ii. , p. 65.
"See Sir James Ware's " De Hibernia et
September 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 421
does not
some confounded with the Fomorians, and by others distinguished from them. After a succession of ages, the Scuits, Scythians, or Scots, who had migrated to Ireland, are also called Gaidelians and Phenians while these
;
appellations denote a mixture of Celts, Scythians, and Phoenicians from that
partoftheContinentwhencethesearrived. 18 Intheremoteperiodsdialectic
incorporations were common among the Celts and Scythians, especially in Spain, where the latter settled, and whence the Scoto-Milesian colony came. Frequent mention of the Firbolgs, or Bolgae, occurs in our ancient Irish poems and annals. Whether they preceded or followed the Celts in Ireland
has been a matter of controversy among modern historians. ^
The Firbolgs are called also Sial m Bolgae, and Slioght m Bealidh. These people were invaded by the Ttiatha De Danann, known as the People of the Gods of Danann, daughter of Dalbaoit, and said to have been descended from Nemed. Her sons are thought to have been famous for sorceries and necromatic powers, which arts were communicated to their descendants.
O'Flaherty
say
a word
respecting
the fate of the 1 ? Foghmoruicc, by
The Tuatha De Danann are to have invaded Ireland a. m. thought
20
2737. Regarding the origin of the name Bolgae, however, the learned are far from agreeing in their opinions ; but various statements have been ventured upon by different writers, from the early to our own days. A received opinion is, that they came from Britain ; but, from what particular part of it has not beendetermined. ABelgicoriginhasbeenassignedtothem,likewise,and it has been supposed originally they were of German or Gothic extraction. 21 If such were the case, their previous manners and customs are best revealed in the descriptions left us by the early classic writers, aided by
modern 22 Some think that investigators.
by
Britain, who, having passed over from Belgium, or from Lower Germany,
spread themselves over the countries of Somerset, Wilton, and the interior of Haverford ; and that the British language, which they made use of in
Ireland, was eloquently and expressively designated Belgaid, intimating it to be a Belgic idiom. Another supposition has it, that the name Firbolg is connected with superstition, and derived from the worship which this people paid their gods. For, in the language of the Celts, the Germans, and all the northern nations, it is thought, that Bel stood for Sol or Apollo, the sun j and this deity was indiscriminately called Bal, Beal, and Sol, intimating his dominion as lord of the world. This idea they are said to have received from the Phoenicians, the authors of such superstition, who in the excess of their false zeal scrupled not to offer human sacrifices to their Baal, though he afterwards condescended to acquiesce in the substitution of brute immola-
tion. 2 3 Others would have them called from Bolgae,
bolg,
" a as if quiver,"
17 See Wood's "Inquiry concerning the the French, Napoleon III. , has left us a Primitive Inhabitants of Ireland. " Intro- very interesting account of the Belgse and
duction, p. 17.
18
See Mr. Charles O'Conor's "Disserta- tions on the Origin and Antiquities of the Ancient Scots," p. xxx.
19 See Thomas Moore's " History of Ire- land," vol. i. , chap, i. , pp. 2
Histoire de
20
According to Keating and O'Flaherty.
The Four Masters'-computation have it at
A. M. 3303.
21 "
on Irish History, by a learned Spaniard, Doctor Joachimus Laurentius Villaneuva, chap, xxii. , pp. 209, 212. Henc—e the first of May is called in Irish, La' Beal
Sir William Wilde's Beauties of the
Boyne and its Tributary Blackwater," chap.
ix. , p. 218.
that
is, the
22 "
In this connexion the late Emperor of day of the fire Beal. "
Clan Bolus are meant the of Belgse
"
of the Gaulish Celt*, in his
Jules Cesar," tome ii. , liv. iii. , chap, ii. , pp. 13, 14.
23 See that insipid, ill-digested, and ridi- culously pedantic compilation called
"
Phenician Ireland," edited by Henry O'Brien, Esq. , A. B. , and which professes to be the translation of some Latin papers
422 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 17 excelling in archery ; others state bol% means a " leathern pouch," or " bag ;'
" a they were eminent in these respective characters.
or " as sage,"
others deduce their name from the Irish word
bol,
poet,"
Another ingenious derivation of the name,2* found in the Irish -version of Nennius,25 Viri
Bullorutn, suggests a possibility of their having been so designated, because
26
If we follow the accounts of certain writers, those people were
or 3? 28 and tribes, viz. , Firbolgae, Firdomnan,
they carried shepherds' crooks.
distinguished 2
into three
nations,
Firgalion, 9 generally interpreted, Clan Bolus, Clan Domnan, and Clan
Gallon. These are said to have been of Nemed's race. The Firbolg, or Bolgae, are thought to have established themselves at first in the neighbour- hood of Wexford and Wicklow, on the south-east of Ireland. These Teutonic people are said to have divided the whole island into five great provinces, over which they established a sort of royal s\vay. 3°
A colony of Firbolgs, it would appear, had been settled in the district
of Hy-Many, province of Connaught, long before the introduction of the
Christian religion, and probably for a long time previous to the beginning of
the fifth century. The Firbolgs, as also the Tuatha De Danann tribes of
Ireland, were accustomed to build not only their fortresses and sepulchres,
but also their houses of stone, without cement, and in the style, now usually
1 The
during the reign of Duach Gallach, who was supreme ruler over these
parts.
It has been said, that the literal meaning of lath Maine is the
country or inheritance of Maneus, who first gave it a distinctive appellation ;
called and Cyclopean
Pelasgic. 3
Firbolgs
were
certainly
in
Hy-Many
as we are this
and, told, territory
takes its
origin
from — or Maney-Mor,
Maneus the
one of the Milesian who Great, race,
conquered
about the
—
year of Christ, 450 the former inhabitants of that very considerable por-
tion of Connaught. This extent of country from him afterwards
retained the name of Imaney. That celebrated chieftain was the first of
his race, who embraced the Christian faith, in the western parts of Ireland.
Kellach, King of Imaney, was a prince, renowned for his valour and
deedsofarms. OneofhislinealdescendantswasManey-Mor,whoflourished
towards the year 920. From his proper name was formed the patronymic
name of 2 which
or descendant of Kellach
24
O'Kellys
signifies grandson
-p for,
ByRev. Dr. JamesHenthornTodd.
25 The *' Historia Britonum," so well
Monkstovvn, County Dublin, with the perusal of a very interesting family Manu-
known. This version was edited Todd and the Hon. Algernon Herbert.
Dr.
It is " Gone of I intituled, Days
36 See p. 44, note (r). Du Cange asserts
that Btdlum, in the Latinity of the middle "
baculum pastoris. "
whose chiefs were successively styled Kings, Princes,andChieftains,orL—ordsofImaney or South Connact in Ireland present county
ages, signified 2? AlsocalledbyNenniusViriBullorum. '"Also called by Nennius Viri Domini-
orum.
2? Also called by Nennius Viri Armormn. 30 See Elias Regnault's "Histoire de
l'lrlande," chap, ii. , p. 20.
31 See Dr. George Petrie's " Ecclesiastical
Architecture and Round Towers of Ireland," part ii. , sect, ii. , p. 127.
3*The most complete account of this family we possess is that contained in the
— Marshals of the of Galway Hereditary
"
Tribes and Customs of Ily-Many. " "
Province of Connact. Drawn up from the National Records of Ireland and family papers of the Branch of Skryne, or Ath- lone Branch, Chief of the Name. By Charles Denis Count O'Kelly Farrell, 1850. " This work is learnedly and laboriously com- piled, while it contains coloured drawings of the O'Kellys' armorial devices, with a very complete history of the family, and
33 The writer has been favoured Thomas A. Kelly, Esq. , St. (irellan's,
from the earliest times. We
be published, as a valuable record of men
by
script.
Maney.
Tuir an Dia), or of the Sept, Clan, or Tribe of the O'Kellys of the Tower of God,
by
it hope may
Memorials of Clan-Kellae (an
September 17. ] LIVES OI< THE IRISH SAINTS. 423
as we are informed, about the eleventh century, Irish chiefs began to adopt
family names in order to distinguish more exactly their posterity, and the particular scions of each family.
The chiefs of the tribe of Imaney were successively styled kings, princes, or chieftains, or simply O' Kelly or O'Maney-Mor. These two names, held as titles, denoted the chief of the clan or tribe of the O'Kellys. They served as war-cries in the field, when called to active service. Independent
in all their rights of jurisdiction^ they, however, acknowledged the priority of the provincial King of Connanght, in conformity with the federative system of Ireland. When the province was engaged in a general
war, the chief, O'Kelly, exercised the hereditary office of Marshal, or General of the Connaught armies. In the national wars against the Danes and
Northmen, as afterwards against the English, the O'Kellys signalised them- selves by their patriotism and intrepidity. For their patron saint, they manifested a singular devotion.
It is to be regretted, that so few biographical particulars have been given in the only brief accounts we can find, regarding the Patron of Hy- Many. A very ancient copy of St. Grellan's Life is quoted by Duald Mac Firbis in his Genealogical Book, as a proof of the existence of the Firbolgs in the province of Connaught, after the period of the introduction of Christianity ;
"
Cambrensis Eversus," as a proof of the fact, which he thinks it establishes, namely, that the ancient Irish paid tithes 3 5. No vellum copy of this Life is now in Dublin. There is an Irish Life of St. Grellan in paper, and transcribed by Brother Michael
O'Clery. It is kept in a thick quarto volume, among the Manuscripts of
and, also, it is cited, by Gratianus Lucius, in his
the Burgundian Library, at Bruxelles. 3
Royal Irish Academy, among its manuscripts. The Life of St. Grellan is in a quarto Miscellany of 352 written pages, copied by James Maguire, a
good and faithful scribe,38 according to Eugene O'Curry. This transcript was finished in the year 1721, and in some place called Dubhbhaile (Black- Town). The pages are written in double columns, and chiefly Lives of Saints are to be found in it. The Life of St. Greallan is contained there, from page 235 to 240. 39
The usual name given to this holy man is Grellan, or Greallain, in Irish, and this has been Latinized into Grellanus. Dr. Lynch writes of him as Grillan,4° when alluding to the Patron of Hy-Many, in his celebrated work. According to the accounts we have of the saint, he was a contemporary with St. Patrick, and he must have flourished about the close of the fifth
——
of his Life3? probably containing similar- matter and preserved
in
the
century.
Heisclassed
among
theIrish 1 andthistoois Apostle's disciples,*
and deeds, almost as yet buried in oblivion, years 1628 and 1629. It contains 270
but deserving a niche among our national archives.
folios.
3 ? The'quarto paper MS. , classed No. 33. 5.
38 This from an appears
34 Of
"supreme lord" in Roderick O'Flaherty's
Hy-Maine
we find
at 100. p.
"
H-Iar Connaught," written in 1684, arid
on the 10th day of January, 1720, as an appended Irish notice declares.
4°See "Cambrensis Eversus," edited by
Rev. Dr. Kelly, vol. ii. , chap, xv. , pp. 260
to 263.
4I Letter of Very Rev. Canon Ulick
Chorographical Description of West or
edited by James Hardiman, M. R. I,A. Additional Notes, A, p 146.
35 See John O'Donovan's Translation of " Tribes and Customs of Hy-Many," p. 8,
O'Kelly styled
entry
39 The transcript of this Life was finished,
note (v).
script appears to have been written in the Monkstown, and dated 7th March, 1879.
6
Besides this, there is a paper copy
J. Bourke, P. P. , Claremorris, Co. Mayo, to 36 Classed Vol. XL, fol. 83. The Manu- Thomas A. Kelly, Esq. , St. Grellan's,
424 LIVES OF THE IRISH SA/JV7S. [September 17.
in the tenth of his own Life. *2 He also obtained the stated, chapter
episcopal rank, being renowned for his sanctity and miracles.
His father's name was drilling son of Cairbre Cluaisderg,** of the
Lagenians, while Eithne was the name of his mother.
time of St. Patrick,** as the first of his Irish Life chapter
He was born in the
6 and a
is there introduced, as serving to illustrate the prognostications of his subse-
quent distinguished career, and especially accompanying the event of his
birth.
In the time of Lugaidh*7 Mac Laoighaire Mac Neill, a great thunder- storm was heard by all the men of Erinn, and they were astonished at its unusualloudness. TheyaskedPatrick,thesonofAlpin,whatitportended. He answered, that Greallan was then born, and that he had been only six months in his mother's womb, at the time. Hence, we should infer, that he came into the world towards the close of the fifth century. *8 Wars and commotions are said to have prevailed in Ireland, at the advent of our saint's birth. We are told, likewise, that Greallan had been fostered by one named Cairbre, probably a relation among his family connexions.
Among the many other cares of his mission, St. Patrick took charge of
Greallan'seducation,andmadehimacompanion. Heenrolledthisyoung
disciple amongst his brethren, taking him to Ath-Cliath, Dublinne/9 when he went there. This must have been after the middle of the fifth century. Then is quoted a poem, in which St. Patrick said, that a noble person should be in the land of Leinster. This promise was an allusion to our saint, whose purity and virtues are there praised.
A kinsman to the celebrated Colla da Chrioch chieftain in Ulster
possessed great influence in Hy-Many, a territory of the Firbolgs, in the time of St. Patrick, when he is said to have visited Echin, the son of Brian,s°
sonofEachach,KingofConnaught. Eachinrefusedtobeconverted,51but all his brothers embraced the faith. Eoghan, who was son to Duach Gallach,52 one of Eachin's brothers, was afterwards baptised by St. Grellan. On this occasion a great miracle was wrought, at a place called Achadh Fionnabhrach. When only a child, Eoghan had died, to the inexpressible grief of his parents. However, when St. Grellan beheld this afflicting state of affairs, he raised his staff, and then applied it to the body of their child.
This touch caused him to be resuscitated, and it impressed a mark on their
son, which was afterwards visible. As a consequence, he bore the name, by
,;
which he was best known, namely, Eoghan Scriabh, or Owen the
47 See " of edited Martyology Donegal,"
by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, at the loth
of November, pp. 302, 303.
43 Another account has his name Nat-
fraich, as may afterwards be seen.
44 Or as Anglicised, Cairbre of the Red
Ears.
45 See his Life, at the 17th of March, in
the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 302, 303, at the ioth of November.
hurdles of the black This is said to pool. "
have been the ancient name for the present Metropolis of Ireland, and since known as Dublin.
s°He is said to have had four-and-twenty sons. Among these, we find the names of Echin, or Echenus, Duach Gallach, Fer- gussius, Eochad, Ercus Derg, ^Engussius, Ball-Derg, Tenedus, and Muchitius.
479 to 503, or twenty-five years, according Benignus. See this whole account, taken
46 See " of edited Martyrology Donegal,"
SI His wife and children also refused
bap- tism ; yet, afterwards, she sought to be reconciled with the Irish Apostle, and her 47 His reign over Ireland was from A. n. husband, Echen. was baptised by St.
to the chronology of the Four Masters.
48
This early period for his biith seems in- consistent with other statements in reference to him.
from a Life of the latter, in Colgan's, "Trias
Thaumaturga," Appendix iii. ad Acta S. Patricii, pp. 203, 204.
S2 He is called "frater junior de filiis Briain. "
49
In English it means, "the ford of the
states,*
legend
September 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 425
Striped. "" Themiraculouscrozierwasthenceforwardheldingreatvenera- tion. It is said, that Duach Gallach was a Christian, having been baptised by St. Patrick, while the wife of Echin, called Fortrui, was aunt to St. Benignus,54 a favourite disciple of the Irish Apostle. The latter proclaimed that he should be a king, and that from his race kings should proceed. In fine, Eachin was baptised at Kilbennin, near Tuam. ss
CHAPTER II.
A TRACT OF LAND BESTOWED ON ST. GRELLAN BY DUACH GALLACH. AND AFTER- WARDS KNOWN AS CRAOBH GREALLAIN—WAR BETWEEN THE FIRBOLGS AND MAINE MOR—ST. GRELLAN SETTLES AT KILCLOONEY—DESTRUCTION OF THE FIRBOLG HOST—THE Hif-MAINE OCCUPY THEIR TERRITORY, AND BIND THEM- SELVES TO PAY AN ANNUAL TRIBUTE TO ST. GRELLAN—FESTIVAL—HIS CROZIER PRESERVED BY THE O'CRONELLYS—FORTUNES OF THE o'KELLYS, OR HOUSE OF HY-MAINE—CONCLUSION.
At Achadh Fionnabhrach, Duach Gallach bestowed a tract of land, a—nd he gave possession of it to St. Grellan. The name was even changed owing to this peculiarity of circumstance—from Achadh Fionnabhrach to that of Craobh Greallain, which signifies, the " Branch of Grellan. " This name is said in his Irish Life to have been owing to a branch, which Duach and St. Patrick gave our saint in token of possession. Here, east of Magh- Luirg, this saint is said to have built a Church, before the arrival of Maine-Mor in Connaught. When alluding to Craobh Ghreallain, Mr. O'Curry remarks, that he believed its precise situation was not known. 1 As a token of the veneration for our saint, Duach required that every chieftain's wife should give seven garments as a tribute to Grellan j and, for payment of this ecclesiastical assessment, the guarantee of St. Patrick had been asked and obtained afterwards by the local Patron.
tionable narrative of particulars regarding the conquest of Hy-Many by Maine-Mor and the Colla da Chrioch's race is given, in the Life of our
Saint. We are there told, that Eochaidh Ferdaghiall, father to Maine-Mor, took counsel with his son as to how their Colla da Chrioch tribe, over whom they ruled, should be able to procure a sufficient scope of territory for their numerous and increasing population, A greed for conquest furnished the motive. Then they held possession of Oirghialla, with the hostages of this place,andofUlidia. Itwasgenerallyallowed,thatquarrelsmightbreakout amongst the chiefs of this ascendant tribe, were they to be confined within any one province. But, considering the Firbolgic territory of Hy-Many as a fair object for a predatory excursion, and as it had been thinly inhabited, they resolved on securing a considerable portion of it by conquest.
Under the leadership of Maine-Mor, the enterprising Colla da Crioch
See
A romantic and—as there are good reasons for supposing—a very ques-
5? "St. Greallan's Irish Life," chap. iii.
"
"Aryan Origin of the Gaelic Race and
of
Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 302,303.
edited —xiii. , Donegal," by Language," chap, pp.
Leinster. O'Curry, First Series, vol. ii. , pp. 445, ss See Very Rev. Ulick J. Bourke's 446.
408, 409. Chapter ii. 'See a brief description of this specified Life of St. Greallain in the of St. Patrick ; and his mother was called " Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts of the Sadeliua, descended from Cather, King of Royal Irish Academy," by Eugene
Martyrology
54 He was the son of Sesonean, a disciple
426 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September17.
assembled their forces at Clogher, in the* county of Tyrone, and then they
proceeded in battle array, towards the territory of Hy-Many. This nomadic tribe —for such it had now become—collected the herds and flocks, which belonged to them j and these animals were driven on their line of march by the invading host, who set out in quest of new settlements. Crossing the Shannon, they came to Drain) Clasach, and plundered all that district of country, lying between Lough Ree and the River Suck. They also despatched messengers to Cian, Chief of the Firbolgs, who dwelt at a place called
length and breadth of the plain was from Dun-na-riogh to the river of Bairrduin, and from Ath-n-fasdoig to Ath-dearg-duin, which was afterwards called Ath-an-Chorrdhaire. 2 They required from him tribute and territory. This unjust demand he refused, and he also prepared to resist. He raised a force of 3,000,3 or, as some accounts have it, of 4,000 Firbolgs,* armed with swords, bucklers, and helmets. s These dwelt in the plain of Magh Seincheineoil. 6 At their head, Cian marched to meet the invaders.
About this time, St. Grellan, who had journeyed over the territory of Hy- Many, came to a place, denominated Cill Cluaine, and now called Kilclooney,
in the neighbourhood of Ballinasloe, and in the present barony of Clon- macnoon, County of Galway.
Thus, in a manner, he was placed between the contending forces ; and his name and influence seem to have been respected, by chieftains on both
sides. He was waited upon by Cian, who, in all probability, gave the saint an exaggerated account, regarding his means for defence against the invaders. However this may be, Grellan induced the Colla da Crioch race to enter into articles of truce with the Firbolgs, and to deliver twenty-seven chiefs of the invading host, as hostages for the observance of peace. Amhalgaidh, son to Maine, was one of these hostages, and he was delivered for keeping to Cian's Brehon. But the Brehon's wife conceived an unlawful passion for
this young prince. The particulars of that affair becoming known to the lawgiver, he was filled with jealousy and resentment. Having great influence over the mind of Cian, this latter was persuaded to murder all his hostages.
It is, indeed, a difficult matter to understand that mixture of generosity and ferociousness, which has been known to characterise the manners of our forefathers. The wild excesses of barbarity owe their origin to ungovernable fits of passion, whch overcharge man's nature with the ripe growth of licentiousness. Innate generosity is overshadowed or extinguished, where customsanctionsactionsoftreacheryandbloodshed. Thebarbarousdeed it was designed to put into execution during the cover of night and darkness.
However, the most awful punishments are inflicted by Divine Provi- dence, on the crimes of perfidy and cruelty, as happened in this case. To complete his perfidious proceeding, Cian invited the Colla da Crioch chiefs to a feast which was prepared, as he said, for them. His real intention was to surprise them, and at a moment when they should be least on their guard
•The limits of this plain are given, in s See Rev.
Februarii. Vita S. Finniani seu Finneni,
cap. xxviii. , and n. 33, p. 396 and 399.
of Hy-Many," pp. 8 to j8, Dublin, 1843, 4to.
4 Edited by William Smith, D. C. L ,
LL. D. , and Henry Wace, M. A. , vol. ii. , p. 801.
s See "The Topographical Poems of John O'Dubhagain and Giolla na Naomh O'Huidhrin," edited by John O'Donovan, LL. D. , M. R. I. A. In this work may be found O'Dubhagain's poetical description of this territory, in the original Irish, with the editor's translation, at pp. 68 to 73, with
the explanatory notes, 338 to 362, pp. xliv to xlvi.
"
3 See his edition of " Tribes and Customs
Also in
Trias Thaumaturga," pp. 206-208.
42o LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September17.
these last-mentioned localities are situated within the of 6 County Galway.
The earliest noted aboriginal inhabitants of this great extent of country were the Firbolgs, who were also a race of people tributary to the Kings of Connaught. 7 These are thought to have been the successors of Partholan and his followers, who are regarded as being the earliest colonists of Ireland s
;
but all of whom perished in a great plague that came into the islands Before this occurred, however, their rule had been disturbed by the Fomorians, thought to have been pirates from Africa. The northern as well as eastern nations most generally commenced their historic pedigree with a deity ; or, at least, they ascribe to their first founders heroic qualities or virtues, closely borderingonthepossessionofsupernaturalpowers. Sohaveweavarietyof bardic stories, giving very circumstantial accounts, regarding the migrations of our ancient colonists ; but, we have good reasons for supposing those narratives are largely mythological in character. Legends are framed for the acts of our earlier heroes, as history fails to shed light on their period, now so remote from our own times.
or
places,
Aboutthe
year
oftheworld
" the
I0a 11 hero,knownasNemed 2029, Scythian
a number of colonists with him into Ireland. He is said to have been remotely related to Partholan, if not a direct descendant. His name has been Latinized in latter days into Nemethus or Nemidius. With four sons, and a fleet of thirty-four ships, each containing thirty persons, he arrived in Ireland, from the Euxine Sea. Finding the island without inhabitants, these took possession and settled therein ; at the same time, they began to clear away the thick woods in many
Nenidh, signifying
holy one," brought
and to
improve
the soil
by
cultivation. 12 We are likewise, that told,
Nemed employed master-builders, distinguished by the name of Fomhoraicc,
to erect royal seats for his purpose. After a time, his people were much
annoyed by pirates called Fomorians. These wasted the coasts by their
inroads, and the interior they even harassed. Nemed fought four battles
with them he was successful in the first three but he was defeated in the
j;
last battle, when his son Art, who had been born in Ireland, was slain with
1
most of his people. 13 This so afflicted the king that he died of grief. * Should
we follow the authority of bardic history, the Nemedians were exterminated.
1
Ireland was again left to its native woods, and a wilderness * during two
hundred years or more ; while, according to certain computations, four
16
hundred and twelve years passed away, before it was again inhabited.
6 According to an accurate map of this Psalter of Cashel and Ninus, gives an district, prefixed to the "Tribes and Cus- account of this expedition. See Dermod
tonis of Hy-Manjv' by Mr. O'Donovan, the foregoing lines and places designated the
The
7 It was supposed, by Tohn O'Donovan, that the Book of Hy-Many was in the
possession of a private collector in England. a. d. 1843, and that it was a distinct com-
pilation from what had been published,
O'Connor's Keating's Ireland," part i.
"
General History of
former boundaries of tljat
Irish tract in question was edited by him,
from a copy in the Book of Lecan, fol. 90
to 92. An English translation, with notes, Antiquitatibus ejus Disquisitiones," cap. he has also given.
8
According to the O'Clerys, following the
ii. , p. 6.
n According to Dr. Jeoffrey Keating,
,3 See L'Abbe1 MacGeoghegan's " His-
toire de l'lrlande," tome i. , chap, iii. , p, 60.
'* See Sir William Betham's "The Gael and Cymbri," p. 427.
chronology of the Septuagint, Partholan
arrived, A. M. 2520 years. See Dr. O'Dono-
J
5See William F. Skene's "Celtic Scot-
van's
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. ,
book i. , chap, iv. , p. 173.
,6 "
"
land : a History ©f Ancient Alban," vol. i. ,
pp. 4, 5.
9 Dr. Jeoffrey Keating, who quotes the
See Roderick O'Flaherty's Ogygia," pars ii. , p. 73.
territory.
I0 See Roderick
" O'Flaherty's Ogygia,"
pars ii. , p. 65.
"See Sir James Ware's " De Hibernia et
September 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 421
does not
some confounded with the Fomorians, and by others distinguished from them. After a succession of ages, the Scuits, Scythians, or Scots, who had migrated to Ireland, are also called Gaidelians and Phenians while these
;
appellations denote a mixture of Celts, Scythians, and Phoenicians from that
partoftheContinentwhencethesearrived. 18 Intheremoteperiodsdialectic
incorporations were common among the Celts and Scythians, especially in Spain, where the latter settled, and whence the Scoto-Milesian colony came. Frequent mention of the Firbolgs, or Bolgae, occurs in our ancient Irish poems and annals. Whether they preceded or followed the Celts in Ireland
has been a matter of controversy among modern historians. ^
The Firbolgs are called also Sial m Bolgae, and Slioght m Bealidh. These people were invaded by the Ttiatha De Danann, known as the People of the Gods of Danann, daughter of Dalbaoit, and said to have been descended from Nemed. Her sons are thought to have been famous for sorceries and necromatic powers, which arts were communicated to their descendants.
O'Flaherty
say
a word
respecting
the fate of the 1 ? Foghmoruicc, by
The Tuatha De Danann are to have invaded Ireland a. m. thought
20
2737. Regarding the origin of the name Bolgae, however, the learned are far from agreeing in their opinions ; but various statements have been ventured upon by different writers, from the early to our own days. A received opinion is, that they came from Britain ; but, from what particular part of it has not beendetermined. ABelgicoriginhasbeenassignedtothem,likewise,and it has been supposed originally they were of German or Gothic extraction. 21 If such were the case, their previous manners and customs are best revealed in the descriptions left us by the early classic writers, aided by
modern 22 Some think that investigators.
by
Britain, who, having passed over from Belgium, or from Lower Germany,
spread themselves over the countries of Somerset, Wilton, and the interior of Haverford ; and that the British language, which they made use of in
Ireland, was eloquently and expressively designated Belgaid, intimating it to be a Belgic idiom. Another supposition has it, that the name Firbolg is connected with superstition, and derived from the worship which this people paid their gods. For, in the language of the Celts, the Germans, and all the northern nations, it is thought, that Bel stood for Sol or Apollo, the sun j and this deity was indiscriminately called Bal, Beal, and Sol, intimating his dominion as lord of the world. This idea they are said to have received from the Phoenicians, the authors of such superstition, who in the excess of their false zeal scrupled not to offer human sacrifices to their Baal, though he afterwards condescended to acquiesce in the substitution of brute immola-
tion. 2 3 Others would have them called from Bolgae,
bolg,
" a as if quiver,"
17 See Wood's "Inquiry concerning the the French, Napoleon III. , has left us a Primitive Inhabitants of Ireland. " Intro- very interesting account of the Belgse and
duction, p. 17.
18
See Mr. Charles O'Conor's "Disserta- tions on the Origin and Antiquities of the Ancient Scots," p. xxx.
19 See Thomas Moore's " History of Ire- land," vol. i. , chap, i. , pp. 2
Histoire de
20
According to Keating and O'Flaherty.
The Four Masters'-computation have it at
A. M. 3303.
21 "
on Irish History, by a learned Spaniard, Doctor Joachimus Laurentius Villaneuva, chap, xxii. , pp. 209, 212. Henc—e the first of May is called in Irish, La' Beal
Sir William Wilde's Beauties of the
Boyne and its Tributary Blackwater," chap.
ix. , p. 218.
that
is, the
22 "
In this connexion the late Emperor of day of the fire Beal. "
Clan Bolus are meant the of Belgse
"
of the Gaulish Celt*, in his
Jules Cesar," tome ii. , liv. iii. , chap, ii. , pp. 13, 14.
23 See that insipid, ill-digested, and ridi- culously pedantic compilation called
"
Phenician Ireland," edited by Henry O'Brien, Esq. , A. B. , and which professes to be the translation of some Latin papers
422 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [September 17 excelling in archery ; others state bol% means a " leathern pouch," or " bag ;'
" a they were eminent in these respective characters.
or " as sage,"
others deduce their name from the Irish word
bol,
poet,"
Another ingenious derivation of the name,2* found in the Irish -version of Nennius,25 Viri
Bullorutn, suggests a possibility of their having been so designated, because
26
If we follow the accounts of certain writers, those people were
or 3? 28 and tribes, viz. , Firbolgae, Firdomnan,
they carried shepherds' crooks.
distinguished 2
into three
nations,
Firgalion, 9 generally interpreted, Clan Bolus, Clan Domnan, and Clan
Gallon. These are said to have been of Nemed's race. The Firbolg, or Bolgae, are thought to have established themselves at first in the neighbour- hood of Wexford and Wicklow, on the south-east of Ireland. These Teutonic people are said to have divided the whole island into five great provinces, over which they established a sort of royal s\vay. 3°
A colony of Firbolgs, it would appear, had been settled in the district
of Hy-Many, province of Connaught, long before the introduction of the
Christian religion, and probably for a long time previous to the beginning of
the fifth century. The Firbolgs, as also the Tuatha De Danann tribes of
Ireland, were accustomed to build not only their fortresses and sepulchres,
but also their houses of stone, without cement, and in the style, now usually
1 The
during the reign of Duach Gallach, who was supreme ruler over these
parts.
It has been said, that the literal meaning of lath Maine is the
country or inheritance of Maneus, who first gave it a distinctive appellation ;
called and Cyclopean
Pelasgic. 3
Firbolgs
were
certainly
in
Hy-Many
as we are this
and, told, territory
takes its
origin
from — or Maney-Mor,
Maneus the
one of the Milesian who Great, race,
conquered
about the
—
year of Christ, 450 the former inhabitants of that very considerable por-
tion of Connaught. This extent of country from him afterwards
retained the name of Imaney. That celebrated chieftain was the first of
his race, who embraced the Christian faith, in the western parts of Ireland.
Kellach, King of Imaney, was a prince, renowned for his valour and
deedsofarms. OneofhislinealdescendantswasManey-Mor,whoflourished
towards the year 920. From his proper name was formed the patronymic
name of 2 which
or descendant of Kellach
24
O'Kellys
signifies grandson
-p for,
ByRev. Dr. JamesHenthornTodd.
25 The *' Historia Britonum," so well
Monkstovvn, County Dublin, with the perusal of a very interesting family Manu-
known. This version was edited Todd and the Hon. Algernon Herbert.
Dr.
It is " Gone of I intituled, Days
36 See p. 44, note (r). Du Cange asserts
that Btdlum, in the Latinity of the middle "
baculum pastoris. "
whose chiefs were successively styled Kings, Princes,andChieftains,orL—ordsofImaney or South Connact in Ireland present county
ages, signified 2? AlsocalledbyNenniusViriBullorum. '"Also called by Nennius Viri Domini-
orum.
2? Also called by Nennius Viri Armormn. 30 See Elias Regnault's "Histoire de
l'lrlande," chap, ii. , p. 20.
31 See Dr. George Petrie's " Ecclesiastical
Architecture and Round Towers of Ireland," part ii. , sect, ii. , p. 127.
3*The most complete account of this family we possess is that contained in the
— Marshals of the of Galway Hereditary
"
Tribes and Customs of Ily-Many. " "
Province of Connact. Drawn up from the National Records of Ireland and family papers of the Branch of Skryne, or Ath- lone Branch, Chief of the Name. By Charles Denis Count O'Kelly Farrell, 1850. " This work is learnedly and laboriously com- piled, while it contains coloured drawings of the O'Kellys' armorial devices, with a very complete history of the family, and
33 The writer has been favoured Thomas A. Kelly, Esq. , St. (irellan's,
from the earliest times. We
be published, as a valuable record of men
by
script.
Maney.
Tuir an Dia), or of the Sept, Clan, or Tribe of the O'Kellys of the Tower of God,
by
it hope may
Memorials of Clan-Kellae (an
September 17. ] LIVES OI< THE IRISH SAINTS. 423
as we are informed, about the eleventh century, Irish chiefs began to adopt
family names in order to distinguish more exactly their posterity, and the particular scions of each family.
The chiefs of the tribe of Imaney were successively styled kings, princes, or chieftains, or simply O' Kelly or O'Maney-Mor. These two names, held as titles, denoted the chief of the clan or tribe of the O'Kellys. They served as war-cries in the field, when called to active service. Independent
in all their rights of jurisdiction^ they, however, acknowledged the priority of the provincial King of Connanght, in conformity with the federative system of Ireland. When the province was engaged in a general
war, the chief, O'Kelly, exercised the hereditary office of Marshal, or General of the Connaught armies. In the national wars against the Danes and
Northmen, as afterwards against the English, the O'Kellys signalised them- selves by their patriotism and intrepidity. For their patron saint, they manifested a singular devotion.
It is to be regretted, that so few biographical particulars have been given in the only brief accounts we can find, regarding the Patron of Hy- Many. A very ancient copy of St. Grellan's Life is quoted by Duald Mac Firbis in his Genealogical Book, as a proof of the existence of the Firbolgs in the province of Connaught, after the period of the introduction of Christianity ;
"
Cambrensis Eversus," as a proof of the fact, which he thinks it establishes, namely, that the ancient Irish paid tithes 3 5. No vellum copy of this Life is now in Dublin. There is an Irish Life of St. Grellan in paper, and transcribed by Brother Michael
O'Clery. It is kept in a thick quarto volume, among the Manuscripts of
and, also, it is cited, by Gratianus Lucius, in his
the Burgundian Library, at Bruxelles. 3
Royal Irish Academy, among its manuscripts. The Life of St. Grellan is in a quarto Miscellany of 352 written pages, copied by James Maguire, a
good and faithful scribe,38 according to Eugene O'Curry. This transcript was finished in the year 1721, and in some place called Dubhbhaile (Black- Town). The pages are written in double columns, and chiefly Lives of Saints are to be found in it. The Life of St. Greallan is contained there, from page 235 to 240. 39
The usual name given to this holy man is Grellan, or Greallain, in Irish, and this has been Latinized into Grellanus. Dr. Lynch writes of him as Grillan,4° when alluding to the Patron of Hy-Many, in his celebrated work. According to the accounts we have of the saint, he was a contemporary with St. Patrick, and he must have flourished about the close of the fifth
——
of his Life3? probably containing similar- matter and preserved
in
the
century.
Heisclassed
among
theIrish 1 andthistoois Apostle's disciples,*
and deeds, almost as yet buried in oblivion, years 1628 and 1629. It contains 270
but deserving a niche among our national archives.
folios.
3 ? The'quarto paper MS. , classed No. 33. 5.
38 This from an appears
34 Of
"supreme lord" in Roderick O'Flaherty's
Hy-Maine
we find
at 100. p.
"
H-Iar Connaught," written in 1684, arid
on the 10th day of January, 1720, as an appended Irish notice declares.
4°See "Cambrensis Eversus," edited by
Rev. Dr. Kelly, vol. ii. , chap, xv. , pp. 260
to 263.
4I Letter of Very Rev. Canon Ulick
Chorographical Description of West or
edited by James Hardiman, M. R. I,A. Additional Notes, A, p 146.
35 See John O'Donovan's Translation of " Tribes and Customs of Hy-Many," p. 8,
O'Kelly styled
entry
39 The transcript of this Life was finished,
note (v).
script appears to have been written in the Monkstown, and dated 7th March, 1879.
6
Besides this, there is a paper copy
J. Bourke, P. P. , Claremorris, Co. Mayo, to 36 Classed Vol. XL, fol. 83. The Manu- Thomas A. Kelly, Esq. , St. Grellan's,
424 LIVES OF THE IRISH SA/JV7S. [September 17.
in the tenth of his own Life. *2 He also obtained the stated, chapter
episcopal rank, being renowned for his sanctity and miracles.
His father's name was drilling son of Cairbre Cluaisderg,** of the
Lagenians, while Eithne was the name of his mother.
time of St. Patrick,** as the first of his Irish Life chapter
He was born in the
6 and a
is there introduced, as serving to illustrate the prognostications of his subse-
quent distinguished career, and especially accompanying the event of his
birth.
In the time of Lugaidh*7 Mac Laoighaire Mac Neill, a great thunder- storm was heard by all the men of Erinn, and they were astonished at its unusualloudness. TheyaskedPatrick,thesonofAlpin,whatitportended. He answered, that Greallan was then born, and that he had been only six months in his mother's womb, at the time. Hence, we should infer, that he came into the world towards the close of the fifth century. *8 Wars and commotions are said to have prevailed in Ireland, at the advent of our saint's birth. We are told, likewise, that Greallan had been fostered by one named Cairbre, probably a relation among his family connexions.
Among the many other cares of his mission, St. Patrick took charge of
Greallan'seducation,andmadehimacompanion. Heenrolledthisyoung
disciple amongst his brethren, taking him to Ath-Cliath, Dublinne/9 when he went there. This must have been after the middle of the fifth century. Then is quoted a poem, in which St. Patrick said, that a noble person should be in the land of Leinster. This promise was an allusion to our saint, whose purity and virtues are there praised.
A kinsman to the celebrated Colla da Chrioch chieftain in Ulster
possessed great influence in Hy-Many, a territory of the Firbolgs, in the time of St. Patrick, when he is said to have visited Echin, the son of Brian,s°
sonofEachach,KingofConnaught. Eachinrefusedtobeconverted,51but all his brothers embraced the faith. Eoghan, who was son to Duach Gallach,52 one of Eachin's brothers, was afterwards baptised by St. Grellan. On this occasion a great miracle was wrought, at a place called Achadh Fionnabhrach. When only a child, Eoghan had died, to the inexpressible grief of his parents. However, when St. Grellan beheld this afflicting state of affairs, he raised his staff, and then applied it to the body of their child.
This touch caused him to be resuscitated, and it impressed a mark on their
son, which was afterwards visible. As a consequence, he bore the name, by
,;
which he was best known, namely, Eoghan Scriabh, or Owen the
47 See " of edited Martyology Donegal,"
by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, at the loth
of November, pp. 302, 303.
43 Another account has his name Nat-
fraich, as may afterwards be seen.
44 Or as Anglicised, Cairbre of the Red
Ears.
45 See his Life, at the 17th of March, in
the Third Volume of this work, Art. i.
by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 302, 303, at the ioth of November.
hurdles of the black This is said to pool. "
have been the ancient name for the present Metropolis of Ireland, and since known as Dublin.
s°He is said to have had four-and-twenty sons. Among these, we find the names of Echin, or Echenus, Duach Gallach, Fer- gussius, Eochad, Ercus Derg, ^Engussius, Ball-Derg, Tenedus, and Muchitius.
479 to 503, or twenty-five years, according Benignus. See this whole account, taken
46 See " of edited Martyrology Donegal,"
SI His wife and children also refused
bap- tism ; yet, afterwards, she sought to be reconciled with the Irish Apostle, and her 47 His reign over Ireland was from A. n. husband, Echen. was baptised by St.
to the chronology of the Four Masters.
48
This early period for his biith seems in- consistent with other statements in reference to him.
from a Life of the latter, in Colgan's, "Trias
Thaumaturga," Appendix iii. ad Acta S. Patricii, pp. 203, 204.
S2 He is called "frater junior de filiis Briain. "
49
In English it means, "the ford of the
states,*
legend
September 17. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 425
Striped. "" Themiraculouscrozierwasthenceforwardheldingreatvenera- tion. It is said, that Duach Gallach was a Christian, having been baptised by St. Patrick, while the wife of Echin, called Fortrui, was aunt to St. Benignus,54 a favourite disciple of the Irish Apostle. The latter proclaimed that he should be a king, and that from his race kings should proceed. In fine, Eachin was baptised at Kilbennin, near Tuam. ss
CHAPTER II.
A TRACT OF LAND BESTOWED ON ST. GRELLAN BY DUACH GALLACH. AND AFTER- WARDS KNOWN AS CRAOBH GREALLAIN—WAR BETWEEN THE FIRBOLGS AND MAINE MOR—ST. GRELLAN SETTLES AT KILCLOONEY—DESTRUCTION OF THE FIRBOLG HOST—THE Hif-MAINE OCCUPY THEIR TERRITORY, AND BIND THEM- SELVES TO PAY AN ANNUAL TRIBUTE TO ST. GRELLAN—FESTIVAL—HIS CROZIER PRESERVED BY THE O'CRONELLYS—FORTUNES OF THE o'KELLYS, OR HOUSE OF HY-MAINE—CONCLUSION.
At Achadh Fionnabhrach, Duach Gallach bestowed a tract of land, a—nd he gave possession of it to St. Grellan. The name was even changed owing to this peculiarity of circumstance—from Achadh Fionnabhrach to that of Craobh Greallain, which signifies, the " Branch of Grellan. " This name is said in his Irish Life to have been owing to a branch, which Duach and St. Patrick gave our saint in token of possession. Here, east of Magh- Luirg, this saint is said to have built a Church, before the arrival of Maine-Mor in Connaught. When alluding to Craobh Ghreallain, Mr. O'Curry remarks, that he believed its precise situation was not known. 1 As a token of the veneration for our saint, Duach required that every chieftain's wife should give seven garments as a tribute to Grellan j and, for payment of this ecclesiastical assessment, the guarantee of St. Patrick had been asked and obtained afterwards by the local Patron.
tionable narrative of particulars regarding the conquest of Hy-Many by Maine-Mor and the Colla da Chrioch's race is given, in the Life of our
Saint. We are there told, that Eochaidh Ferdaghiall, father to Maine-Mor, took counsel with his son as to how their Colla da Chrioch tribe, over whom they ruled, should be able to procure a sufficient scope of territory for their numerous and increasing population, A greed for conquest furnished the motive. Then they held possession of Oirghialla, with the hostages of this place,andofUlidia. Itwasgenerallyallowed,thatquarrelsmightbreakout amongst the chiefs of this ascendant tribe, were they to be confined within any one province. But, considering the Firbolgic territory of Hy-Many as a fair object for a predatory excursion, and as it had been thinly inhabited, they resolved on securing a considerable portion of it by conquest.
Under the leadership of Maine-Mor, the enterprising Colla da Crioch
See
A romantic and—as there are good reasons for supposing—a very ques-
5? "St. Greallan's Irish Life," chap. iii.
"
"Aryan Origin of the Gaelic Race and
of
Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 302,303.
edited —xiii. , Donegal," by Language," chap, pp.
Leinster. O'Curry, First Series, vol. ii. , pp. 445, ss See Very Rev. Ulick J. Bourke's 446.
408, 409. Chapter ii. 'See a brief description of this specified Life of St. Greallain in the of St. Patrick ; and his mother was called " Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts of the Sadeliua, descended from Cather, King of Royal Irish Academy," by Eugene
Martyrology
54 He was the son of Sesonean, a disciple
426 LIVESOFTHEIRISHSAINTS. [September17.
assembled their forces at Clogher, in the* county of Tyrone, and then they
proceeded in battle array, towards the territory of Hy-Many. This nomadic tribe —for such it had now become—collected the herds and flocks, which belonged to them j and these animals were driven on their line of march by the invading host, who set out in quest of new settlements. Crossing the Shannon, they came to Drain) Clasach, and plundered all that district of country, lying between Lough Ree and the River Suck. They also despatched messengers to Cian, Chief of the Firbolgs, who dwelt at a place called
length and breadth of the plain was from Dun-na-riogh to the river of Bairrduin, and from Ath-n-fasdoig to Ath-dearg-duin, which was afterwards called Ath-an-Chorrdhaire. 2 They required from him tribute and territory. This unjust demand he refused, and he also prepared to resist. He raised a force of 3,000,3 or, as some accounts have it, of 4,000 Firbolgs,* armed with swords, bucklers, and helmets. s These dwelt in the plain of Magh Seincheineoil. 6 At their head, Cian marched to meet the invaders.
About this time, St. Grellan, who had journeyed over the territory of Hy- Many, came to a place, denominated Cill Cluaine, and now called Kilclooney,
in the neighbourhood of Ballinasloe, and in the present barony of Clon- macnoon, County of Galway.
Thus, in a manner, he was placed between the contending forces ; and his name and influence seem to have been respected, by chieftains on both
sides. He was waited upon by Cian, who, in all probability, gave the saint an exaggerated account, regarding his means for defence against the invaders. However this may be, Grellan induced the Colla da Crioch race to enter into articles of truce with the Firbolgs, and to deliver twenty-seven chiefs of the invading host, as hostages for the observance of peace. Amhalgaidh, son to Maine, was one of these hostages, and he was delivered for keeping to Cian's Brehon. But the Brehon's wife conceived an unlawful passion for
this young prince. The particulars of that affair becoming known to the lawgiver, he was filled with jealousy and resentment. Having great influence over the mind of Cian, this latter was persuaded to murder all his hostages.
It is, indeed, a difficult matter to understand that mixture of generosity and ferociousness, which has been known to characterise the manners of our forefathers. The wild excesses of barbarity owe their origin to ungovernable fits of passion, whch overcharge man's nature with the ripe growth of licentiousness. Innate generosity is overshadowed or extinguished, where customsanctionsactionsoftreacheryandbloodshed. Thebarbarousdeed it was designed to put into execution during the cover of night and darkness.
However, the most awful punishments are inflicted by Divine Provi- dence, on the crimes of perfidy and cruelty, as happened in this case. To complete his perfidious proceeding, Cian invited the Colla da Crioch chiefs to a feast which was prepared, as he said, for them. His real intention was to surprise them, and at a moment when they should be least on their guard
•The limits of this plain are given, in s See Rev.
