No More Learning

'Thus reads that entry: Si Haw mac
fitrochAm epf Agur 4bb mobile, "See his Life at the 17th March, in the Third Volume of this work, Art. i. , chap. xiv. 4 So called from a stream that enters Lough Foyle, in that place. This territory comprised about the eastern half of the barony of Inishowen, and County of Donegal. This little river and Bredach-Glyn still retain the former name. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four Masters," vol. ii. , n.
ii. , chap. xxvi. ,p. 193.
(t), p. 1015.
« See Micheas, vii.
Article II. —
r ** Sillani mac Finncoin Ep. ocus Abb. Maighi Bile. " See Rev. Dr.
August 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 379
church should be built. There, also, the Apostle initiated iEngus,* the son of Oilill, to Holy Orders. Afterwards, that place was known as Domnach bile f but, who the first pastor of this Church had been is not recorded. The pre- sent holy man must have been born about the middle of the sixth century. Where his birth took place does not seem to be known, but probably it was in the northern part of Ireland, and most likely he was trained in a school established in Moville, County of Donegal, at a very early date. However, others consider him to have been connected with Magh-bile, or Moville, in theCountyofDown. ByonewellconversantwiththelanguageofIreland, it is stated, that Magh Bhile signifies the plain of the ancient tree, and as he believes, the early Christians in this island always took advantage of some site of pagan worship, at or near which to erect their churches ; it is con-
on account of some sanctuary of trees that grew on the plain, regarded as a Fidh-nemhedh or " sacred wood. " ' A modern and local writer conjec- tures, that this saint must have been Bishop over Inishowen. There is strong intrinsic evidence, in some archaeological remains found within the grave-yard of Donagh, to indicate that this locality had been formerly the seat of an episcopal church and a residence. Besides many other curious monuments of art, ancient and modern, a stone is pointed out, whereon the figure of a bishop, clothed in pontifical dress, with a crozier in his hand, is
jectured, that the church site of Magh-bhile was selected for such a purpose, ""
represented.
8 A monster
appears ready
to devour him. Behind this
figure
are two angels, bearing a cross, which is surmounted by a crown. These
figures are allegorical. Another figure resembles a round-tower. There
is also an Irish Cross, with four points deeply indented within a circle.
Thismonumentseemsofremoteantiquity,andit is thoughttodatesofar
back as the fifth or sixth century. 9 It would seem that St. Sillan flourished
towards the close of the sixth and the beginning of the seventh century.
About this time, he lived in or presided over the ancient monastery founded
10
at Moville.
The Annals of the Four Masters" and of Inisfallen, at 613, call him both bishop and abbot ; but the territory in which he actually lived has not been indicated. In our Calendars, Martyrologies, and Annals, Maghbile is often mentioned, and in a general and an absolute manner, without any allusion to a
Tighernach and the Annals of Ulster simply style him abbot.
second monastery of that name.
12
However, Harris has the two Movilles or
5 He is said to have been venerated as a probably set here before the Roman alphabet
Saint, on the 18th of February, at Druim was used in Ireland, as there are no
Bearta. See a further account of him, at characters upon it. It is 3^ feet long,
that date, in the Second Volume of this 11 inches broad, and a foot thick. " It lies
work, Art. ix. opposite the south side wall, and not far from
6
See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," the corner of a Protestant church, within the
Septima Vita S. Patricii, pars, ii. , cap. cxxii , p. 145.
old grave-yard. Itis shaded by giant ash trees,
"
Inishowen : Its Histoiy, Traditions and Antiquities," "A tract in the "Book of Ballymote" chap, xi. , pp. 1 12, 113, and chap, xviii. ,
7 Thus writes William James Doherty :
referring to the Argonautic expedition, the sacred shrine, where Polites and Priam were
killed by Pyrrhus, is called by the name of
p. 196.
10 It is stated hy William James Doherty,
that the patron Saint of Maghbile in Innis-
Fidh-nemhedh by the Irish translator, as owen is Finnian, or Finianus, abbot and
'' equivalent for the very aged laurel that spreads its branches over the altar, an—d which
owen and Tir-connell :
bishop, and that he is venerated in the Irish calendar on the nth of February. See
lI See Dr. O'Donovan's vol. edition,
embraced the Penates in its shades. "
"Innis-owen and Tirconnell
and sect, topographical,"
iv. , pp. 14, 15.
. "The Inishowen anonymous antiquarian states: "It is most likely the oldest-Christian monument in the North of Ireland, and was
i. ,
"Inis- Notes, antiquarian
anti- quarian and topographical," sect, iv. , p. 15.
9 S,ee Maghtochair's
pp. 240, 241.
" In consideration of such omission, and
as a faithful chronicler, Ware was right in
:
Notes,
380 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 25,
Maghbiles, while he attributes the foundation of both these to St. Finnian. ^ Archdall goes further, and pretends to give the names of some of the abbots of Moville in Donegal? * It seems very probable, that he was led
The of that Index1* was deceived compiler
astray by
Topographicus
abbot over it.
22
There can be no question, however, but this excellent
to " Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Colgan's
the Index
niae," in which Finian is mentioned as having been at both Maghbiles.
by
Some difficulty has been presented, in ascertaining Siollan's exact place.
Archdall
16
places this saint over Moville, on Lough Foyle, in Inisowen. This
monastery of Domnach-bile, commonly called Maghbile, he says was founded by St. Patrick. On other and apparently more reliable authority, the St. Sillan or Siollan commemorated at this day was placed over Maghbile or
Moville,
neartheheadof
Strangford Lough,
inthe ofDown. 1? How- County
ever, that writer is supposed to have confounded Maghbile or Movill in
Donegal with the former place, owing to a similarity of names. Indeed,
Archdall seems to have been led a statement of 18 that astray by Colgan,
Donnaghbile was afterwards called Magh-bile, and that a monastery was 1
there placed. * It would be still more incorrect to state, that St. Patrick placed over it, ^Lngus, son of Olild. 20 It might be more probable, that
after arriving at mature age, ^Engus founded Donnaghbile, in Bredach,21
some years after the visit of St. Patrick to Inishowen. Some doubts are
expressed,astowhetherMovilleinDonegalhadbeeneveramonastery; for,
although adopting the affirmative opinion, Colgan could not make any person
topographer and antiquary had a perfect local knowledge of the spot ; and, even later, tradition and old monuments existing serve an important purpose, in giving more than probability to his opinion. Moville in Down was a well-knownmonastery,governedbySt. FinianorSt. Finnena3 inthesixth
century. It continued to flourish, until the period of the Reformation, when 2
in 1542 it was suppressed. * Formerly Moville, in Inishowen, formed but one parish, until the year 1788, when it was divided into two Protestant parishes. TheseweredenominatedUpperandLowerMoville. Accordingto
making but one Maghbile or Movill, vix. : that of Down. See " De Hibernia et
Antiquitatibus ejus," cap xxvi. , p. 181.
13 Not having in his day any better guide, Harris as editor should have adhered to Sir
James Ware, his author.
14 There we find an entry of such names
to clerical orders, by St. Patrick. Such
form of expression implies simply receiving tonsure. See the Vita Tripartita S. Patricii,
par. ii. , cap. cxxii. , p. 145.
2l ** In the Leabhar-Lcacan is set forth the
genealogies of the Kinel Owen, with the families belonging to the tribe called Ha- Bredach, from their ancestor, Eoghain Bre-
as Finian, Siollan, Aengus M'Lonigsy, &c.
Now these are the same identical persons, dach. The O'Duibhdarmas, or collateral
whom with many others he reckons at Moville, in Down.
'5 It does not appear to be established,
that this person could have been Colgan
himself.
branch of the tribe of na- Bredach, of the race of Owen (pronounced De-year-ma) anglicized
MacDermott, were ancient chiefs of Bredach,
and formerly a numerous tribe in the south-
east of Innisowen. The name is still extant
16
17 See Dr. Reeves' Ecclesiastical Anti- centuries. " William James Doherty's
See "Monasticon Hibernicum," u
p. 103.
in the — after a of peninsula, lapse many
of Down, Connor and Dromore," quities pp.
151, 152.
18
See "Trias Thaumaturga," Septima 15. Vita S. Patricii, n. 177, p. 181.
nicum," ppTl24, 125.
2s See Maghtochair's " Inishowen : Its
'9 This erection, however, Colgan does not
ascribe to St. Patrick, who probably only
fixed on the site when he visited that part of
the country. On that spot, a church and tember. monastery might have been afterwards built.
80
Eugene, is merely said to have been initiated
This yEngus, grandson of the dynast
the of names. identity
" Inis-owen and Tirconnell Ami- : Notes,
quarian and Topographical," sect, iv. , p.
See Rev. Dr. Lanigan's
"
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. I, chap, vi. , sec.
ii. and n. 17, pp. 262 to 265.
** His festival is kept on the loth Sep-
'* See Archdall's "Monasticon Hiber-
August 25. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
381
the Catholic 2* even the whole forms but one arrangement, yet,
con- taining over 35,000 acres. At the year 613, the Annals of Innisfallen call this saint, a bishop and an abbot, when recording his death. This event is placed at 618, by the O'Clerys, both in the Martyrology of Donegal, and in the Annals of the Four Masters. 26 According to the statements of Tigernach, the Chronicon Scotorum, and the Annals of Ulster, his demise is recorded at
2* at this Duald Mac Firbis enters date,
6 2? Under the head of it).
Magh-Bile,
Siollan, who is called the son of Fionchan. He is, likewise, styled bishop
and abbot of Magh, or Maigh-Bile. Without particularizing his locality, at 2
this same date, the Martyrology of Donegal 9 designates him, Siollan, Bishop and Abbot of Magh-bile. The Irish Calendar, belonging to the Irish Ordnance Survey Records 3° and that at present preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, has a notice of this saint, at the 25th of August. At
x a station on the Waterford and Limerick not far from Railway,
Kilsheelan,3 Clonmel,thepatronsaint'sdayisonthelastSundayofAugust. Thereare
2
two belfry-opes in the west gable of the old ruins. It has been conjectured,3 that the present saint may have been the patron. It seems difficult, however, to connect him with this distant spot in the south of Ireland. Probably it had been some other saint, and bearing a like name.
ArticleIII. —St. BroccanofMaighin,orBroganofIomdan. St. 1
BrocanofMaighinoccursinthepublishedMartyrologyofTallagh, ashav- ing a festival on this day. Somewhat divergent is the entry of his festival, on the viii. of the September Kalends, in that copy contained in the Book of Leinster. 2 The form of name Maighin or Moyne is very common in Irish topographical designations ; and it is often compounded with other terms. The present Maighin is probably identical with Moyne, near the mouth of the River Moy, and in the northern part of Mayo County. The name Brogan of Iomdan3 is set down in the Martyrology of Donegal/ as having been venerated at the 25th of August.
History, Traditions and Antiquities," chap. xv. , xvi. , pp. 158, 170.
'6 See Dr. O'Donovan's Edition, vol. i. ,
pp. 240, 241.
27 See Rev. William Reeves' " Ecclesias-
tical Antiquities of Down, Connor and
Dromore. " Appendix A. , p. 152, and Ap-
pendix LL. , p. 379.
a8 See ' '
Proceedings
Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. ,
so called, in which it is situated, is shown on sheets 77, 78, 83, 84, ibid.
It also ex- tends into the barony of Upperthird, and
"
this latter portion is noted on the
nance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Waterford," sheets 2, 6.
3* By the Rev. D. B. Mulcahy, C. C. , Loughgiel, Pharis, Co. Antrim, that the place may have received its name from this saint. He says that CilX-c-SilL&n is called
Kilteelan by the Irish-speaking people.
ofthe —
Letter 17th October, 1874.
part i. , pp. 120, iai.
»
Todd and
Edited by Drs.
Reeves, pp.
226,227.
30 In this Irish Calendar, at the viii. of the
Kalends of September (August 25th), we find, "S10IW1 efp. -A5Uf Abb moijebile A°. "Oi. ,618. " SeeOrdnanceSurveyOffice Copy, Common Place Book, F. , p. 73.
2 There he is thus noticed : Onoccam in 5-Ain—probably an error of the scribe.
3AnotebyDr. ToddsaysatIomdan:
"So says the gloss in Mar. O'Gorman ; the ''
of the Royal Irish
i
31 A townland so named, in the barony of M. Taml calls him Broccanus Maighin ;
Iffaand Offa East. It is described on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the County of Tipperary," sheet 84. The parish
i. e. , Broccan in Maighin. "
4 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeres, pp.
226,227.
Article hi. Kelly, p. xxxiii.
'
Edited by Rev. Dr.
parish,
Ord-
382 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 26.
ArticleIV. —"ReputedFeastofSt. Bareas. Intheanonymouslist of Irish Saints, published by O'Sullevan Beare,1 we find a St. Bareus, at the 25thofAugust. Wethinkthistohavebeenamistakeofentry,asnoother warrant for it can be discovered in our Calendars.
Article V. —Festival of St. Bartholomew, Martyr. The festival
25th of August, as may be found in the Feilire of St. iEngus. There his name takes the Irish form Parrthalon. To this, the scholiast has added an explanatory note in Latin. 2 Wherefore it seems we are to regard him as St. Bartholomew, the Apostle, and whose Acts are fully set forth by the Bolland- ists,3 at this date. These Acts have a previous learned commentary* by the editor, Father John Stilting, SJ. ; and they are followed by a narratives of the posthumous honours, translations, relics and miracles of this celebrated Apostle of the Indies.
CtoentMtjrtl) JBap of august
ARTICLE I. —ST. AIREID, OR EREAD, OF ARDRINNIGH. [POSSIBLY IN THE SIXTH OR SEVENTH CENTURY. }
Almighty and Omniscient Lord of Heaven, of Earth, and of the
THEis toaidusHis and as Universe, always ready by strength graces,
also to know how far we are able to fulfil his designs in regard to our own
true interests and capabilities ; and so recognising His power and wisdom, with the division of labour allotted, His faithful servants in this world are careful to imitate the example of workmen, who toil from day to day, in order to carry out the designs of an accomplished Architect, who alone under- stands the whole plan of that edifice He intends to raise. Therefore, has time been divided into days, which are to be spent in cheerful and trusting toil, with a proportionate reward ; while patience and perseverance must increase the latter, and diminish the former, until the last day arrives and
of St. Bartholomew, Martyr, was observed in the early Irish Church, on the "';1
Article iv. —" See " Historic Catholic*
Ibernise Compendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. ,
p. cxxv.
'Thus: "Apostolus, i. e. uiuus sepultus et in India passus. In India Parthalomeus
cap xi. , p. 50. —
Article v. • It is thus entered in the apostolus. Apud Cartaginem sanctorum
Irish verse, and the English translation is
martirum tricentorum qui beams exercitus massa'candida nuncupatur eo quod in cliba-
: by Whitley Stokes, LL. D. —
num — calcisaccensidispVersisunt. "
_ 1 « . . norneuhrceWcherc*
cechWhcor^r^^h Upmotxcrmoich wwo 1n p^puhAton bu^ch.
"The story, of his suffering was spread out on every side to the streamy sea : after a great cross—the victorious Bartholomew was crowned. " " Transactions of the Royal Irish Academy," Irish Manuscript Series, vol. i. , part i. On the Calendar of Oengus,
p^. cxxxiii. ,
„
Set ibid. ,
tomus
A
ti xxv De s< Bartholomceo Apostolo,
3See <Acta Sanct
Albanopoli in Armenia vel Albania, pp. 7
to 108.
4 This is in eleven sections and 1 13 para-
graphs.
5 This is comprised in several Parts,
Chapters, and Sections, containing in all
282 paragraphs,
•
August 26. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 383
theworkhasbeencompleted. Thus,werethesaintsaccustomedtospend
their period of probation on earth, not in despair or discouragement at the labour to be undertaken and accomplished, but seeking only to begin and end each day for His glory, without anxious ponderings on the future. They knew, however, that their burden of succeeding days and seasons should find change and rest, so that for them the morning of eternity must dawn, and at no distant date. With such reflections to afford them abundant
consolation, so many of our holy men innocently and unobtrusively passed their barely recorded existence, full of gratitude for the mercy and goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ, who marked them for His own, when they had with humble trustfulness and fidelity devoted themselves wholly to His service. As in so many other cases, much uncertainty prevails, in the effort to discover
particulars relating to the present saint. The name of Aread or Eread, a Priest, occurs, as Colgan tells us, in the Martyrologies of Tallagh, and of
Marianus O'Gorman, at the 26th of August.
1
However, it must be observed,
that in Dr. Kelly's edition of the Tallagh Martyrology, no mention of St.
Aireid or Eread is found at this day. Nor is there such an entry, in that
copy contained in the Book of Leinster. In a Life of St. Maidoc, Bishop
of Ferns, contained in the collection of British Saints by John Capgrave and
John of Tinmouth, allusion is made to a St. Aired. He is said to have lived
at a called 2 some distance from the mountain Beatha or
place Ardrinnigh,
Betha,3 on the confines of Cavan and Monaghan counties. Nevertheless, in
the Life of St. Maidoc, published by Colgan, although that place is named, there is no mention made of Aired, in connection with it/ He is thought to
have been miraculously visited there by St. Maidoc,s Bishop of Ferns, with whomheispresumedtohavelivedcontemporaneously. Still,thisisbyno means certain, from any evidence we have been able to procure. Again,
6
Colgan guesses this saint may be identical with Egreas, a reputed brother
to St. Gildas the Wise. 7 However, such a conjecture is rather far-fetched, and apparently relying only on the chance of the name Egreas being
resolvable into or Egred
Eread,
and a
supposition,
that
Egred
8 a being
disciple of St. Ailbe,? the time should well synchronize with that of Glidas
Badonicus. The feast of Aireid, Priest, is met with in the Donegal Martyr-
10
ology, but, further light is wanting to establish his period and even
identity.
Article i. —' See " Acta Sanctorum
Hiberniae," Januarii xxix. Vita S. Gildse Badonici Abbatis et Confessoris, ex Biblio-
theca \ loriacensi, edita a Joanne de Bosco, Cselestino Lugdunensi, n. 5, p. 188.
2
s See his Life, at the 31st of January, in the First Volume of this work, Art. i.
6"
See Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae," xxix.
Januarii. Vita S. Gildse Badonici Abbatis et Confessoris, ex Bibliotheca Floiiacensi, edita a Joanne de Bosco, Caelestino Lug-
See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
nise," Januarii xxxi. Vila S. Maidoci seu dunensi, cap. ii. , p. 181.
Moedocii Archiepiscopi Fernensis seu Lageniae, ex Codice Kilkenniensi, cap. viii. , p. 209.
7 See his Life, at the 29th of January, in the First Volume of this work, Art. i.
3 It extends across a
of Clones, belonging to the County of Fer-
"
edited O'Suillevan: "Cum Albius in by
Prato Bovis esset, vir quidem sanctus cum ut ibi construendae cellae locum sibi donet, prsecatur. Albius, re ad discipulum suum Egredium relata, quam ipse ibi conditam habebat, cum omnibus supellectilibus et
managh. Slieve Beatha is rendered Mountain," from the belief that an ancient colonist of Ireland so named is buried within
a earn which still surmounts it. See Dr. O'Donovan's "Annals of the Four •
portion
of the
parish
vol. i. , pp. I, 2, and nn. (f, g), ibid.
4
Hiberniae," Januarii by xxxi. Vita S. Maidoci, &c, n. 13, p. 216. 228, 229.
Bith's
Masters," possessionibus
suis totis viro sancto relin-
Colgan says he fears Capgrave incorrectly
substituted Aired for Ardrinnigh ; or at least,
that Ardrinnigh was put for Aid—Airidh. tember.
See "Acta Sanctorum ,0 Edited Drs. Todd and
8
This is drawn from a Life of St. Ailbe,
quens, alio cum discipulis migrat. "—Cap. xiv.
9 His festival occurs on the 12th of Sep-
Reeves, pp.
384 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [August 26.
Article II. —St. Foilan or Faelan, of Cluain-Mhaoscna PROBABLY CLONMASKILL, IN FEATULLAGH, COUNTY OF WESTMEATH. Reference has already been made to St. Foillan or Faelan, Abbot, at the 9th of 1 He
find recorded in the published Martyrology of Tallagh. copyofthisCalendarcontainedintheBookofLeinsteris foundasimilar
3 whileinamarginalnote,thecommentatorhasstatedinmoredetail, that place with which he had been connected/ The Calendars of Cashei and of Marianus O'Gorman have his commemoration this day. When the monastery was founded at Cluain Mecsna, in the barony of Fertullagh,
County of Westmeath, does not appear to be clearly known. 5 In the 6
Martyrology of Donegal, this present saint is designated in like manner, Faelan, of Cluain Moescna, in Fir-Tulach, in West Meath. 7 Whether the present saint is identical with, or distinct from, the Faelan venerated at the 9th of January, cannot be very clearly ascertained, inasmuch as the name has been associated with the same place, although on different days. It is probable, however, we may have only one saint of the name, connected with this place, while two distinct festivals may have been assigned to him. 8
Article III. —St. Comgall Ua Sarain. The Book of Leinster and
2
the published Martyrologies of Tallagh record a festival in honour of
Comgall H. Sarain, at the 26th of August. His place and period are unknown. At the same date, in the Martyrology of Donegal,3 is the entry of Comhgall Ua Sarain.
Article IV. —Festival of St. Quintus and of His Companions,
Martyrs. ThefeastofSt. Quintusandofhiscompanionswascelebrated
""1 in Ireland, on the 26th of August, as entered in the Feilire of St. ^Engus.
There is also a commentary annexed. 2 An account of St. Quintus or
entry ;
Article ii. —l See the First Volume of this work, at that date, Art. iv.
* Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p.