It separates the
counties
of Armagh
and Monaghan.
and Monaghan.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v6
Columba is stated to have founded a
200 and here too tradition
in Scotland, after his leaving Ireland. 201
the first of the Abbot landing holy
It is probable, there had been an
monastery,
places
ancient church on that Island, and which has now disappeared; but still a
Church, Chapel, and Priory, in ruins, may there be seen, and these were
dedicated to St. 202 the most entire and extensive remains of Columba, being
20 ancient monastic establishments found in the Western Isles. ^
off by the fairies to a beautiful region of their 196 There may be some vestige of this own in Wales. Among other matters, he name, also, in Braddan Head, on the north- related certain words they used, very con- east shore. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adam-
"
formable to the Greek idiom, and this word nan's Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap.
closely resembling the British. Thus when 33, and nn. (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h), pp. 62
the fairies wanted water, they cried out
to 64.
197 See "Trias Colgan's
" Thaumaturga,
rendered in Latin "
Ydor
offer. " Giraldus adds
eorum lingua, sicut et Graeca dicebatur : unde et vasa aquatica Ydrice dicuntur : et
ydorum,
aquam " Ydor enim aqua
:
Dtnir— Britannicasimiliter lingua aqua
Prima Vita S. Columbaa, cap. xxiv. , p. 324 Quarta Vita S. Columbse, lib. ii. , cap. xxvi. ,
tur. " "Opera," vol. vi. , edited by James ""
198
F. Dimock, M. A. , Itinerarium Kambriae, lib. i. , cap. viii. , pp. 75 to 77.
190 The Welsh Dictionaries have the word,
spelled Dywr ; also, the Irish Dobhar-chu, in Cymric Dywr-gi, "an otter. " See the
learned Edward "
Lhuyd's Archreologia
Life of St. Columba," lib. ii. , cap. 26, pp. 138 to 140.
199 It is separated from the Island of Colonsay only by the flood-tide, and their geographical connexion is not less intimate than their structure is identical.
in O'Brien's and Irish O'Reilly's
pounds,
Dictionaries, also Aifjbei|\, in the latter.
194 A stream, in the west of Donegal, was
called Dobhar. This probably was the mo-
dern Gweedore (i. e. , gaec "oobAiri, or "es- tuary of the Dobhar. ") It was the northern
boundary of Tir Boghaine, or Banagh. See "Battle of Magh Rath," edited by John O'Donovan, at pp. 156, 158.
201
See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's
195 This is a and not a spring only,
203 See Macculloch's " of river, John Description
as mentioned by Adamnan, and the name seems to have a different derivation.
the Western Islands of Scotland," &c,
vol. 260. ii. , p.
dici-
p. 356. ii. , cap.
p. 425.
Bri-
tannica," vol. i. , Glossography, pp. 436, Some small remains of a monumental and
207^, 288f, 290a. and an Irish-English Dic- tionary sub voce Dobhar.
191 See Zeuss' "Grammatica Celtica,"
vol. i. , pp. 156, 160, 163.
12 Dour is much commoner in British
religious order are to be seen in Colonsay,
a hilly island, about three miles in breadth
where widest, and having a fresh water lake
extending a considerable space in the direc-
tion of its length. See Dr. John Macculloch's
';
topography than its cognate word in Irish.
193 See the word'OobAn, and its com- land," &c, vol. ii. , p. 259.
200 to Fordun's " Scotichroni- According
con," lib. i. , cap. iv. This old writer calls it Hornesay. See Bower's edition, p. 5.
;
Also Quinta Vita S. Columbae, lib.
lxxxiii. ,
See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's
physical
Description of the Western Islands of Scot-
" Life of St. Columba," Additional Notes
H, p. 293.
202
There is an Oronsay off North Uist, and another off South Uist, but neither of these possessed ecclesiastical distinction.
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 439
CHAPTER XII.
FOREKNOWLEDGE OF ST. COLUMBA REGARDING THE DEATHS OF TWO IRISH CHIEFS— ORDINATION OF AEDH DUBH —PROPHECY OF ST. COLUMBA IN RESPECT OF jENGUS BRONBACHALL—VARIOUS MIRACLES OF THE HOLY MAN IN DRUIM ALBAN—HE SEES IN SPIRIT THE DESTRUCTION OF A ROMAN CITY—HIS PROPHECIES—THE NAVIGATOR ST. CORMAC UA LIATHAIN—ST. COLUMBA AIDS A POOR MAN.
Some time after the middle of the sixth two chiefs * century, distinguished
in Ireland, one named Colman,2 surnamed Cu,3 or Canis,4 son of Ailene, and the other called Ronan,s son of Aedh,6 had a quarrel. They belonged to
the Colla Dachrich ' known as the tribe, generally
death is thus recorded
8 Both were
descended from the 9 of
Kings Airthear,
times
Anteriores,
12 a radical
equivalent
Chapter xii. — * In the
Adamnan's chapter, recording the subse- quent narrative, the persons mentioned in it
of
are referred to thus " De duobus Tigernis,"
:
which epithet seems derived from the Irish
noun " a lord. " This that cijermA, proves 5
mc Colggen regis na nAirthir. See Rev. Dr.
O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scripto-
res," tomus iv. , p. 38. Again, at a. d. 610,
we have the following entry in the Annals
nnais. See ibid. , tomus ii. , p. 180.
7 They were represented in the Middle
Ages, by the Mac Mahons, Maguires, O'Hanlons, and Mac Canns.
8 The Colla Dachrich are said to have de-
in the word is a radical letter, and pointing to '*
C0I50 nigh 4ir\5iALl ocup tii ti<Mnchen [mors Aedhi filii Colgae, regis Argialliae, et tQ>v Orientalium] inperegrinacione Cluain mic-
C15 a house," as the derivation, likedomi-
nus from domus, rather than to rvpawos,
which O'Brien proposes.
2
The annalists make no mention of him but, the obit of his brother is recorded at 611 : thus bAry 1T\AiLer)Uin m -Aline 1lei5hirnio5hA,in Tighernachi Annales. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores,"tomusii. ,p. 181. The death of this same Maelduin,—son of Ailen, chief of Mugh- dorn Maighean supposed to have derived the latter addition from Domhnach-Maig-
hen, now Donaghmoyne church— placed at a. d. 606, in Dr. O' Donovan's " Annals of
the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 232, 233, and n. (e).
leAbliAp tia 5-CeApc or the Book of Rights, pp. 140, 141, and n. (p).
9 When St. Patrick founded the church
heading
;
3 The term cu, canis, is of very frequent
occurrence in Irish names, both as an which formed the eastern margin of Airg-
epithet and in composition.
4 The individual, to whom the term Canis
is applied, most usually derives it, not from the baser, but from the nobler properties of the animal.
5 Ronan's father, named Aedh, was lord of the territory of Airthear, in St. Columba's time. Subsequently this name underwent limitation ; the district round Armagh be- came appropriated to that family, in which the Primacy grew to be hereditary ; the Ua Niallain, who were also a branch, obtained a severalty, and gave name to that portion of the original territory, now known as the baronies of Oneilland.
6 The Latin word " Aido" is used by Adamnan, as the genitive of Aedh. It is evident, he was a chief of high distinction, from the style in which his death is men- tioned, at A. D. 606, in Dr. O'Donovan's
"Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 232, 233. In the Annales Ultonienses, his
hilla, as it still does of the county and dio-
cese of Armagh, and retaining the old ap- pellation, under the slightly modified form of Orior.
10 This name was applied to the eastern section of the Airghialla or inhabitants of the territory, afterwards called Oriel or Uriel.
11
The church of Armagh is placed by Tirechan " in regionibus Orientalium. " He represents the Orientales as striving to ob- tain possession of St. Patrick's remains, in Liber Armacanus, fol. 6bb, Sba. The Tri- partite Life of St. Patrick also represents
Daire, as king of that region, called, " Oirthir, id est, Orientalis. " See " Trias
"
Thaumaturga, Septima Vita S. Patricii,
lib. iii. , cap. lxxi. , p. 162.
12 In this use oi the word, the writers had
reference to the primary notion entertained by the Irish of the cardinal points, which supposed the face turned to the East, "con-
10 Latinized
for the Irish term. 13
11 and some- Those chieftains
at " Mors Aedo 609,
Airghialla. Orientales,
of •Ae'oViA mc Tighernach : bAfp
rived their name from Oir\ or " 51AIIA,
gol- den hostages. " See John O'Donovan's
is of a descendant of Colla was
Armagh,
of Airtheara, whose territory contained the
greater part of the present county of Armagh . The genericiname Airthear subsequently be- came confined to that strip of country,
King
44Q LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[June 9
1
killed each other, near the boundaries of their respective places, * on the borders
counties of Armagh and of Monaghan. 1 * It happened about this time, in the Island of Hy, as St. Columba was at his book reading, that he sent forth deep and sorrowful sighs. Lugbeus Mocublai, 16 who was pre-
Our saint made this answer " In :
of the
present
sent,
asked the cause for his sudden
grief.
Ireland, two noblemen ? of the blood royal have killed one another, at a
•3 Adamnan employs these expressions, "de Anteriorum genere," &c. This is the
instead of Orientales. Pinkerton introduces Anterio- rum, which is both unmeaning and unau-
thorized.
18 Now a in the Magheross, parish
of Anteriores
genitive employed
county of Monaghan, better known by the name of its town Carrickmacross, which derives its name from the same source the former
x
18
in the province of the Maugdorni,^ and the eighth day hence, after this week's ending, there shall come one out of Ireland a man from beyond the strait, who will report the truth of all these things. " However, Columba enjoined, that Lugbeus Mocu- blai was not to reveal this information to any one, so long as himself lived. The man, who was coming as the saint foresaw, arrived on the very day he
"
This is the aged traveller, to whom I alluded, and who now cries aloud from beyond the strait, go over and conduct him to our presence. " Among other news he reported, that Colman Canis 2° son of Ailin, and Ronan son of Aedh,21 both descended
place, not far distant from the monastery of Cellarois,
presaged. St. Columba quietly said to Lugbeus :
tra ortum solis,"as in the Liber Armacanus,
fol. 12a a, and this point, which constituting
Book of Rights, pp. 134 to 155, with notes.
16 We find this in the patronymic, entering
is Air\ ante, the Aijvcir\ anterior, like the composition of 'Or\riim-mic-liU&bl4e, the
Hebrew Q~\p, which from antrorsum comes to signfy oriens, that is the East ; the 1-Aj\
plagapostica, HebrewninKretro,thenoc- cidens, the West ; that on the •oery dextra, Hebrew »Q» dexter, then meridies, the
name of a place in the barony of Slane, county of Meath. See Dr. O'Donovan's
dextralis or South and that plaga, ;
are called "
viri " and " nobi- In the Lives of the Irish Saints,
•oercejvc
on the cuAf; sinistra, the cuAi^cer\C plaga sinistralis, or North. But the use of right
and left for south and north is much more frequent in the Latin of Celtic writers than nach, fore or rear.
regii generis
;
14 Near Cellarois monastery. The sur- beng m<5. cA|\e Hoif, Latinized Campus rounding territoiy was formerly called Ros Rossiotujn : the latter Ca]vj\aic niACAirve or Crich Rois, and the inhabitants Feara 1loip or Rupes ranipi Rossiorum. See it
Rois. The monastery spoken of in Adam-
described, on the " Ordnance Survey Town-
Annals of
15 The Fane River bounds Donoghmoyne,
the old limit of the Maugdorni on the north-
east.
It separates the counties of Armagh
and Monaghan. In this portion, these re- present the ancient territories of the Anterio-
res and Maugdorni. See Colgan's "Trias "
Thaumaturga, Septima Vitae S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap, xii. , xiii,, p. 151, and nn. 21, 22, p.
"
"
nan's text is mentioned in the
Ulster, at the dates A. C 826, 846, and in
the " Annals of the Four Masters," at A. D.
825, 845, under the tribe name Fer Rois. of Monaghan. It occupied the south- There, the obits of two Priors are re-
corded. Subsequently, it became a parish
church, and it appears in the Ecclesiastical
Taxation of Clogher, circiter 1300, as Eccle-
sia de Ros, in the Exchequer Records,
Carlton Ride.
Acta Sanctorum Hi- Februarii xv. , Supplementum Vitre S. Berachi, &c, cap. vi. , p. 345. See also John O'Donovan's Leabridr* ha 5-CeAnc or
chiefs, a—t the year 706 :
Annals of the Four Masters, under Cu
184 ; also, Colgan's "
bernian,
*'
AnnalsoftheFourMasters,"atA. D. 830,
vol. i. , pp. 444, 445, and n. (f).
17 In Adamnan's narrative, these princes
les viri. "
Dux is the usual representative of the word.
The founder of Clones was called Tigher-
Sanctorum," tomus i. , Aprilis v. , De Sancto Tigernaco in Hibernia, p. 401.
"
nepos est," See the Bollandists' "Acta
quia multorumdominorum et regum
land Maps for the County of Monaghan," sheet 31.
x » The people of Cremorne, in the county
western portion of the barony of Farney, in a district impracticable by w—oods and marsh. To which Barbour alludes
"
-Brus, lib. x. , pp. 251, 252.
20
Thus, in the Annals of the Four Mas- ters, we find the word cu entering, in diffe- rent combinations, into the names of two
"
.
21
The Life of . St. Mochta commits a serious error, in making " Aidus filius Col-
Quhill till a gret forest come thai Kylrose it hat as ik hard say. "
Cucuaran [Cam's Cuaran Ann. Ult. ] King of the Cruithne and of Ulldia was killed by Finnchu [albus canus] h Ua Ronain. " See the Index No- minum, in Dr. O'Donovan's edition of the
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 441
from the of 22 had slain one another. 23 The saint answered Kings Airthear,
"
I cannot acquaint you with anything touching this subtile matter
Lugbeus :
about which you inquire, unless you first make an engagement on your bended
2
knees, never to speak of this secret mystery, * all the days of my life/' Lug-
beusvowedonhisknees,asthesainthaddesiredhim. Thenhearose,and
the saint spoke as follows " There are some, albeit they are but few in
:
number, that by God's special grace clearly contemplate with one single view, and in one moment the compass of this whole world, the heavens, the sea, and the land, by reason of that marvellous expansion of their minds, as if illumination from a sunbeam took place/' Though the saint seemed to report this of others, for the avoidance of all vain-glory and self-esteem ; yet, that he meant it, regarding himself indirectly, is clear to anyone that hath perused the writings of St. Paul, that vessel of election, in his Epistle to the Corinthians. For discoursing about rapturous visions happening to himself, he did not
" I know that but " I know a write, I,"
that was to the rapt
man,
third Heavens. "25 Which, though he seems to recount this of another, yet
none can doubt, but he spoke concerning himself, and that he used such ex- pressions through humility. Such was St. Columba's manner, likewise, in
26
relating his inspired visions.
The founder of a monastery denominated Artchain 2 ? was Findchan, 28 who
is called a priest and a soldier of Christ. 29 His subsequent history is very interesting, as related by Adamnan. 3° Findchan dwelt in Tiree Island, among the Hebrides. This was a sanctuary of considerable importance ; and, in
1
early times, it was greatly resorted to by Irish ecclesiastics. 3
Tiree is also known, as Ethica terra,3 in Latin ; but, the denomination of Ardchaoin has
can " a contemporary of that saint. See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," Martii xxiv. , Vita S. Mochtei Episcopi Lugmaden- sis, cap. xvi. , p. 730, and n. 15, p. 732.
" Hoe de
22 The name is read
Colgan, and by the Bollandists ; but, it is evident from the note of the former on this passage, as also from the note of the latter on the name, at lib. iii. , cap. vii. , of Adam- nan, and from the reading of both in the latter place, that neither understood the word Anteriorum. See
Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Columbse, lib. i. , cap. xxxxiii. , p. 348, and nn. 91, 92, 93. P- 379. arid lib- J"-, cap. vii. , p. 365, and n. 11. , p. 386. See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii ix. , Vita Secunda S. Columbse Abbatis, lib. i. , cap. v. , num. 34, p. 210, and n. (m), p. 212 ; also, lib. iii. , cap. i. , num. 87, p. 229, and n.
(m), p. 230.
23 See an account of this transaction, in
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Columbae, lib. i. , cap. xxxxiii. , p. 348, as also Quinta Vita S. Columbse, lib.
ii. , cap. xxxvi. , p. 415.
24 The Latin word used is " sacramen-
''6 Even the Abbot's Lugbeus,
tum. " Here the word
signifies
" a solemn
secret," or "deposit. " Thus, in St. Bren- "
dan's Life—: Veni et vide sacramentum hujus rei. " Codex Marsh's Library, Dublin, cap. xviii. , fol. 58^ b.
2s See 2 Cor. xiii. 2. Sedulius, St. Co- lumba's countryman, commenting on the
2
correctly here, by
special friend, could hardly induce him to tell these
Colgan's
" Trias
wonderful revelations, although urging the request with much entreaty. After St Co- lumba's decease, however, Adamnan learned these facts from Lugbeus himself, who attested them, and the writer was fully con- vinced of their truth. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Vita S. Columbae," lib. i. , cap. xliii. , pp. 80 to 85, and nn. (a, b, c, d, e,f,g,h,i,k,1),ibid.
27 The denomination of Ayx> caohi, in Irish, has been Latinized, altitudo amcena. The name exists, in Ireland, as belonging to
a parish, in the county of Down, There, it occurs, in the form of Ardheen.
28 Some writers have a festival for placed
him, at the nth of March. See at that date
in vol. iii. of this work, a notice of a St.
Finchanus, &c, Art. v.
29 By Adamnan.
30 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Edition of his
"Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 36, pp.
66 to with nn. , ibid. 71,
31 Besides the immediate followers of St. Columba, it was visited by St. Brendan, by St. Cainnech, by St. Comgall, and by St. Colmanela.
32 Father Innes seems to have been satis- fied, notwithstanding, about his correctness of
words Scio hominem, observes
se humilita—tis causa, quasi in alterius persona loquitur. " Annotationes in S. Tauli Epis- tolis, p. 276. Editio Basil. 1538.
:
442 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
been there lost. In Tiree, however, a chapel and a cemetery are known to have formerly existed, on the north side of that island. 33 The spot is called
Ardkirknish. Again,thereisarockyspace,calledKilfinnian,havingsome
faint vestiges of a small building, which lies east and west. This is on the
farm of Kenoway, south-west of Balphetrish. 3 * At either of these places, it is
probable, the old monastic establishment of St. Findchan stood. St. Find-
chan brought with him, from Ireland 35 to Britain,36 Aedh, surnamed Dubh,
or " the black. "37 He was descended from a royal family of the Dalaraidian 38
tribe. Aedh wore the clerical habit, and he intended to reside in the monas-
tery, for some years. However, he had hitherto often stained his hands in
human blood,39 and he had cruelly murdered many persons, amongst others,
in a. d. or rather 1 Diarmid Mac Cearbhall,42 monarch of Ireland. *3 558,4° 565,*
ThefatherofDiarmaid44 wasFergusCerbhall,sonofConallCrimthann,and grandsontoNialloftheNineHostages. Diarmaidwasheadofthesouthern HyNeill. Hisdescendantswererepresented,inafterages,bytheO'Melagh- lins of Meath. His reign is remarkable, in the civil history of the country, as the one in which Tara ceased to be a regal abode, and in the ecclesiastical, for his patronage of St.
200 and here too tradition
in Scotland, after his leaving Ireland. 201
the first of the Abbot landing holy
It is probable, there had been an
monastery,
places
ancient church on that Island, and which has now disappeared; but still a
Church, Chapel, and Priory, in ruins, may there be seen, and these were
dedicated to St. 202 the most entire and extensive remains of Columba, being
20 ancient monastic establishments found in the Western Isles. ^
off by the fairies to a beautiful region of their 196 There may be some vestige of this own in Wales. Among other matters, he name, also, in Braddan Head, on the north- related certain words they used, very con- east shore. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adam-
"
formable to the Greek idiom, and this word nan's Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap.
closely resembling the British. Thus when 33, and nn. (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h), pp. 62
the fairies wanted water, they cried out
to 64.
197 See "Trias Colgan's
" Thaumaturga,
rendered in Latin "
Ydor
offer. " Giraldus adds
eorum lingua, sicut et Graeca dicebatur : unde et vasa aquatica Ydrice dicuntur : et
ydorum,
aquam " Ydor enim aqua
:
Dtnir— Britannicasimiliter lingua aqua
Prima Vita S. Columbaa, cap. xxiv. , p. 324 Quarta Vita S. Columbse, lib. ii. , cap. xxvi. ,
tur. " "Opera," vol. vi. , edited by James ""
198
F. Dimock, M. A. , Itinerarium Kambriae, lib. i. , cap. viii. , pp. 75 to 77.
190 The Welsh Dictionaries have the word,
spelled Dywr ; also, the Irish Dobhar-chu, in Cymric Dywr-gi, "an otter. " See the
learned Edward "
Lhuyd's Archreologia
Life of St. Columba," lib. ii. , cap. 26, pp. 138 to 140.
199 It is separated from the Island of Colonsay only by the flood-tide, and their geographical connexion is not less intimate than their structure is identical.
in O'Brien's and Irish O'Reilly's
pounds,
Dictionaries, also Aifjbei|\, in the latter.
194 A stream, in the west of Donegal, was
called Dobhar. This probably was the mo-
dern Gweedore (i. e. , gaec "oobAiri, or "es- tuary of the Dobhar. ") It was the northern
boundary of Tir Boghaine, or Banagh. See "Battle of Magh Rath," edited by John O'Donovan, at pp. 156, 158.
201
See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's
195 This is a and not a spring only,
203 See Macculloch's " of river, John Description
as mentioned by Adamnan, and the name seems to have a different derivation.
the Western Islands of Scotland," &c,
vol. 260. ii. , p.
dici-
p. 356. ii. , cap.
p. 425.
Bri-
tannica," vol. i. , Glossography, pp. 436, Some small remains of a monumental and
207^, 288f, 290a. and an Irish-English Dic- tionary sub voce Dobhar.
191 See Zeuss' "Grammatica Celtica,"
vol. i. , pp. 156, 160, 163.
12 Dour is much commoner in British
religious order are to be seen in Colonsay,
a hilly island, about three miles in breadth
where widest, and having a fresh water lake
extending a considerable space in the direc-
tion of its length. See Dr. John Macculloch's
';
topography than its cognate word in Irish.
193 See the word'OobAn, and its com- land," &c, vol. ii. , p. 259.
200 to Fordun's " Scotichroni- According
con," lib. i. , cap. iv. This old writer calls it Hornesay. See Bower's edition, p. 5.
;
Also Quinta Vita S. Columbae, lib.
lxxxiii. ,
See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's
physical
Description of the Western Islands of Scot-
" Life of St. Columba," Additional Notes
H, p. 293.
202
There is an Oronsay off North Uist, and another off South Uist, but neither of these possessed ecclesiastical distinction.
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 439
CHAPTER XII.
FOREKNOWLEDGE OF ST. COLUMBA REGARDING THE DEATHS OF TWO IRISH CHIEFS— ORDINATION OF AEDH DUBH —PROPHECY OF ST. COLUMBA IN RESPECT OF jENGUS BRONBACHALL—VARIOUS MIRACLES OF THE HOLY MAN IN DRUIM ALBAN—HE SEES IN SPIRIT THE DESTRUCTION OF A ROMAN CITY—HIS PROPHECIES—THE NAVIGATOR ST. CORMAC UA LIATHAIN—ST. COLUMBA AIDS A POOR MAN.
Some time after the middle of the sixth two chiefs * century, distinguished
in Ireland, one named Colman,2 surnamed Cu,3 or Canis,4 son of Ailene, and the other called Ronan,s son of Aedh,6 had a quarrel. They belonged to
the Colla Dachrich ' known as the tribe, generally
death is thus recorded
8 Both were
descended from the 9 of
Kings Airthear,
times
Anteriores,
12 a radical
equivalent
Chapter xii. — * In the
Adamnan's chapter, recording the subse- quent narrative, the persons mentioned in it
of
are referred to thus " De duobus Tigernis,"
:
which epithet seems derived from the Irish
noun " a lord. " This that cijermA, proves 5
mc Colggen regis na nAirthir. See Rev. Dr.
O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scripto-
res," tomus iv. , p. 38. Again, at a. d. 610,
we have the following entry in the Annals
nnais. See ibid. , tomus ii. , p. 180.
7 They were represented in the Middle
Ages, by the Mac Mahons, Maguires, O'Hanlons, and Mac Canns.
8 The Colla Dachrich are said to have de-
in the word is a radical letter, and pointing to '*
C0I50 nigh 4ir\5iALl ocup tii ti<Mnchen [mors Aedhi filii Colgae, regis Argialliae, et tQ>v Orientalium] inperegrinacione Cluain mic-
C15 a house," as the derivation, likedomi-
nus from domus, rather than to rvpawos,
which O'Brien proposes.
2
The annalists make no mention of him but, the obit of his brother is recorded at 611 : thus bAry 1T\AiLer)Uin m -Aline 1lei5hirnio5hA,in Tighernachi Annales. See Rev. Dr. O'Conor's " Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores,"tomusii. ,p. 181. The death of this same Maelduin,—son of Ailen, chief of Mugh- dorn Maighean supposed to have derived the latter addition from Domhnach-Maig-
hen, now Donaghmoyne church— placed at a. d. 606, in Dr. O' Donovan's " Annals of
the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 232, 233, and n. (e).
leAbliAp tia 5-CeApc or the Book of Rights, pp. 140, 141, and n. (p).
9 When St. Patrick founded the church
heading
;
3 The term cu, canis, is of very frequent
occurrence in Irish names, both as an which formed the eastern margin of Airg-
epithet and in composition.
4 The individual, to whom the term Canis
is applied, most usually derives it, not from the baser, but from the nobler properties of the animal.
5 Ronan's father, named Aedh, was lord of the territory of Airthear, in St. Columba's time. Subsequently this name underwent limitation ; the district round Armagh be- came appropriated to that family, in which the Primacy grew to be hereditary ; the Ua Niallain, who were also a branch, obtained a severalty, and gave name to that portion of the original territory, now known as the baronies of Oneilland.
6 The Latin word " Aido" is used by Adamnan, as the genitive of Aedh. It is evident, he was a chief of high distinction, from the style in which his death is men- tioned, at A. D. 606, in Dr. O'Donovan's
"Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , pp. 232, 233. In the Annales Ultonienses, his
hilla, as it still does of the county and dio-
cese of Armagh, and retaining the old ap- pellation, under the slightly modified form of Orior.
10 This name was applied to the eastern section of the Airghialla or inhabitants of the territory, afterwards called Oriel or Uriel.
11
The church of Armagh is placed by Tirechan " in regionibus Orientalium. " He represents the Orientales as striving to ob- tain possession of St. Patrick's remains, in Liber Armacanus, fol. 6bb, Sba. The Tri- partite Life of St. Patrick also represents
Daire, as king of that region, called, " Oirthir, id est, Orientalis. " See " Trias
"
Thaumaturga, Septima Vita S. Patricii,
lib. iii. , cap. lxxi. , p. 162.
12 In this use oi the word, the writers had
reference to the primary notion entertained by the Irish of the cardinal points, which supposed the face turned to the East, "con-
10 Latinized
for the Irish term. 13
11 and some- Those chieftains
at " Mors Aedo 609,
Airghialla. Orientales,
of •Ae'oViA mc Tighernach : bAfp
rived their name from Oir\ or " 51AIIA,
gol- den hostages. " See John O'Donovan's
is of a descendant of Colla was
Armagh,
of Airtheara, whose territory contained the
greater part of the present county of Armagh . The genericiname Airthear subsequently be- came confined to that strip of country,
King
44Q LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS.
[June 9
1
killed each other, near the boundaries of their respective places, * on the borders
counties of Armagh and of Monaghan. 1 * It happened about this time, in the Island of Hy, as St. Columba was at his book reading, that he sent forth deep and sorrowful sighs. Lugbeus Mocublai, 16 who was pre-
Our saint made this answer " In :
of the
present
sent,
asked the cause for his sudden
grief.
Ireland, two noblemen ? of the blood royal have killed one another, at a
•3 Adamnan employs these expressions, "de Anteriorum genere," &c. This is the
instead of Orientales. Pinkerton introduces Anterio- rum, which is both unmeaning and unau-
thorized.
18 Now a in the Magheross, parish
of Anteriores
genitive employed
county of Monaghan, better known by the name of its town Carrickmacross, which derives its name from the same source the former
x
18
in the province of the Maugdorni,^ and the eighth day hence, after this week's ending, there shall come one out of Ireland a man from beyond the strait, who will report the truth of all these things. " However, Columba enjoined, that Lugbeus Mocu- blai was not to reveal this information to any one, so long as himself lived. The man, who was coming as the saint foresaw, arrived on the very day he
"
This is the aged traveller, to whom I alluded, and who now cries aloud from beyond the strait, go over and conduct him to our presence. " Among other news he reported, that Colman Canis 2° son of Ailin, and Ronan son of Aedh,21 both descended
place, not far distant from the monastery of Cellarois,
presaged. St. Columba quietly said to Lugbeus :
tra ortum solis,"as in the Liber Armacanus,
fol. 12a a, and this point, which constituting
Book of Rights, pp. 134 to 155, with notes.
16 We find this in the patronymic, entering
is Air\ ante, the Aijvcir\ anterior, like the composition of 'Or\riim-mic-liU&bl4e, the
Hebrew Q~\p, which from antrorsum comes to signfy oriens, that is the East ; the 1-Aj\
plagapostica, HebrewninKretro,thenoc- cidens, the West ; that on the •oery dextra, Hebrew »Q» dexter, then meridies, the
name of a place in the barony of Slane, county of Meath. See Dr. O'Donovan's
dextralis or South and that plaga, ;
are called "
viri " and " nobi- In the Lives of the Irish Saints,
•oercejvc
on the cuAf; sinistra, the cuAi^cer\C plaga sinistralis, or North. But the use of right
and left for south and north is much more frequent in the Latin of Celtic writers than nach, fore or rear.
regii generis
;
14 Near Cellarois monastery. The sur- beng m<5. cA|\e Hoif, Latinized Campus rounding territoiy was formerly called Ros Rossiotujn : the latter Ca]vj\aic niACAirve or Crich Rois, and the inhabitants Feara 1loip or Rupes ranipi Rossiorum. See it
Rois. The monastery spoken of in Adam-
described, on the " Ordnance Survey Town-
Annals of
15 The Fane River bounds Donoghmoyne,
the old limit of the Maugdorni on the north-
east.
It separates the counties of Armagh
and Monaghan. In this portion, these re- present the ancient territories of the Anterio-
res and Maugdorni. See Colgan's "Trias "
Thaumaturga, Septima Vitae S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap, xii. , xiii,, p. 151, and nn. 21, 22, p.
"
"
nan's text is mentioned in the
Ulster, at the dates A. C 826, 846, and in
the " Annals of the Four Masters," at A. D.
825, 845, under the tribe name Fer Rois. of Monaghan. It occupied the south- There, the obits of two Priors are re-
corded. Subsequently, it became a parish
church, and it appears in the Ecclesiastical
Taxation of Clogher, circiter 1300, as Eccle-
sia de Ros, in the Exchequer Records,
Carlton Ride.
Acta Sanctorum Hi- Februarii xv. , Supplementum Vitre S. Berachi, &c, cap. vi. , p. 345. See also John O'Donovan's Leabridr* ha 5-CeAnc or
chiefs, a—t the year 706 :
Annals of the Four Masters, under Cu
184 ; also, Colgan's "
bernian,
*'
AnnalsoftheFourMasters,"atA. D. 830,
vol. i. , pp. 444, 445, and n. (f).
17 In Adamnan's narrative, these princes
les viri. "
Dux is the usual representative of the word.
The founder of Clones was called Tigher-
Sanctorum," tomus i. , Aprilis v. , De Sancto Tigernaco in Hibernia, p. 401.
"
nepos est," See the Bollandists' "Acta
quia multorumdominorum et regum
land Maps for the County of Monaghan," sheet 31.
x » The people of Cremorne, in the county
western portion of the barony of Farney, in a district impracticable by w—oods and marsh. To which Barbour alludes
"
-Brus, lib. x. , pp. 251, 252.
20
Thus, in the Annals of the Four Mas- ters, we find the word cu entering, in diffe- rent combinations, into the names of two
"
.
21
The Life of . St. Mochta commits a serious error, in making " Aidus filius Col-
Quhill till a gret forest come thai Kylrose it hat as ik hard say. "
Cucuaran [Cam's Cuaran Ann. Ult. ] King of the Cruithne and of Ulldia was killed by Finnchu [albus canus] h Ua Ronain. " See the Index No- minum, in Dr. O'Donovan's edition of the
June 9. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 441
from the of 22 had slain one another. 23 The saint answered Kings Airthear,
"
I cannot acquaint you with anything touching this subtile matter
Lugbeus :
about which you inquire, unless you first make an engagement on your bended
2
knees, never to speak of this secret mystery, * all the days of my life/' Lug-
beusvowedonhisknees,asthesainthaddesiredhim. Thenhearose,and
the saint spoke as follows " There are some, albeit they are but few in
:
number, that by God's special grace clearly contemplate with one single view, and in one moment the compass of this whole world, the heavens, the sea, and the land, by reason of that marvellous expansion of their minds, as if illumination from a sunbeam took place/' Though the saint seemed to report this of others, for the avoidance of all vain-glory and self-esteem ; yet, that he meant it, regarding himself indirectly, is clear to anyone that hath perused the writings of St. Paul, that vessel of election, in his Epistle to the Corinthians. For discoursing about rapturous visions happening to himself, he did not
" I know that but " I know a write, I,"
that was to the rapt
man,
third Heavens. "25 Which, though he seems to recount this of another, yet
none can doubt, but he spoke concerning himself, and that he used such ex- pressions through humility. Such was St. Columba's manner, likewise, in
26
relating his inspired visions.
The founder of a monastery denominated Artchain 2 ? was Findchan, 28 who
is called a priest and a soldier of Christ. 29 His subsequent history is very interesting, as related by Adamnan. 3° Findchan dwelt in Tiree Island, among the Hebrides. This was a sanctuary of considerable importance ; and, in
1
early times, it was greatly resorted to by Irish ecclesiastics. 3
Tiree is also known, as Ethica terra,3 in Latin ; but, the denomination of Ardchaoin has
can " a contemporary of that saint. See Colgan's Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," Martii xxiv. , Vita S. Mochtei Episcopi Lugmaden- sis, cap. xvi. , p. 730, and n. 15, p. 732.
" Hoe de
22 The name is read
Colgan, and by the Bollandists ; but, it is evident from the note of the former on this passage, as also from the note of the latter on the name, at lib. iii. , cap. vii. , of Adam- nan, and from the reading of both in the latter place, that neither understood the word Anteriorum. See
Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Columbse, lib. i. , cap. xxxxiii. , p. 348, and nn. 91, 92, 93. P- 379. arid lib- J"-, cap. vii. , p. 365, and n. 11. , p. 386. See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Junii ix. , Vita Secunda S. Columbse Abbatis, lib. i. , cap. v. , num. 34, p. 210, and n. (m), p. 212 ; also, lib. iii. , cap. i. , num. 87, p. 229, and n.
(m), p. 230.
23 See an account of this transaction, in
Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quarta Vita S. Columbae, lib. i. , cap. xxxxiii. , p. 348, as also Quinta Vita S. Columbse, lib.
ii. , cap. xxxvi. , p. 415.
24 The Latin word used is " sacramen-
''6 Even the Abbot's Lugbeus,
tum. " Here the word
signifies
" a solemn
secret," or "deposit. " Thus, in St. Bren- "
dan's Life—: Veni et vide sacramentum hujus rei. " Codex Marsh's Library, Dublin, cap. xviii. , fol. 58^ b.
2s See 2 Cor. xiii. 2. Sedulius, St. Co- lumba's countryman, commenting on the
2
correctly here, by
special friend, could hardly induce him to tell these
Colgan's
" Trias
wonderful revelations, although urging the request with much entreaty. After St Co- lumba's decease, however, Adamnan learned these facts from Lugbeus himself, who attested them, and the writer was fully con- vinced of their truth. See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Adamnan's "Vita S. Columbae," lib. i. , cap. xliii. , pp. 80 to 85, and nn. (a, b, c, d, e,f,g,h,i,k,1),ibid.
27 The denomination of Ayx> caohi, in Irish, has been Latinized, altitudo amcena. The name exists, in Ireland, as belonging to
a parish, in the county of Down, There, it occurs, in the form of Ardheen.
28 Some writers have a festival for placed
him, at the nth of March. See at that date
in vol. iii. of this work, a notice of a St.
Finchanus, &c, Art. v.
29 By Adamnan.
30 See Rev. Dr. Reeves' Edition of his
"Life of St. Columba," lib. i. , cap. 36, pp.
66 to with nn. , ibid. 71,
31 Besides the immediate followers of St. Columba, it was visited by St. Brendan, by St. Cainnech, by St. Comgall, and by St. Colmanela.
32 Father Innes seems to have been satis- fied, notwithstanding, about his correctness of
words Scio hominem, observes
se humilita—tis causa, quasi in alterius persona loquitur. " Annotationes in S. Tauli Epis- tolis, p. 276. Editio Basil. 1538.
:
442 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [June 9.
been there lost. In Tiree, however, a chapel and a cemetery are known to have formerly existed, on the north side of that island. 33 The spot is called
Ardkirknish. Again,thereisarockyspace,calledKilfinnian,havingsome
faint vestiges of a small building, which lies east and west. This is on the
farm of Kenoway, south-west of Balphetrish. 3 * At either of these places, it is
probable, the old monastic establishment of St. Findchan stood. St. Find-
chan brought with him, from Ireland 35 to Britain,36 Aedh, surnamed Dubh,
or " the black. "37 He was descended from a royal family of the Dalaraidian 38
tribe. Aedh wore the clerical habit, and he intended to reside in the monas-
tery, for some years. However, he had hitherto often stained his hands in
human blood,39 and he had cruelly murdered many persons, amongst others,
in a. d. or rather 1 Diarmid Mac Cearbhall,42 monarch of Ireland. *3 558,4° 565,*
ThefatherofDiarmaid44 wasFergusCerbhall,sonofConallCrimthann,and grandsontoNialloftheNineHostages. Diarmaidwasheadofthesouthern HyNeill. Hisdescendantswererepresented,inafterages,bytheO'Melagh- lins of Meath. His reign is remarkable, in the civil history of the country, as the one in which Tara ceased to be a regal abode, and in the ecclesiastical, for his patronage of St.
