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Saint Sinell, Son of Tighernach, January 12

January 11, 2015, 10:30 pm
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January 12 is the feastday of a Saint Sinell about whom not a great deal is known as Canon O'Hanlon explains:

St. Sinell, Son of Tighernach.

The Martyrology of Donegal mentions, on this day, Sineall, son of Tighernach, son of Alild, belonging to the race of Eoghan, son to Niall. Again, he is entered simply in the Martyrology of Tallagh on the 12th of January, as Sinell. A conjecture has been offered by Colgan, that the present holy man may be the same as Sinell or Senell, Senior, a disciple of St. Patrick. An alternative guess, however, assigns his possible feast to the 12th of November. But as the disciple of St. Patrick, to whom allusion is made, was the son of Findchath, and one of St. Patrick's earliest converts in Leinster, it must appear that Sinell, the son of Tighernach, was altogether a distinct person.
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The Teaching and Sanctity of Saint Ite

January 14, 2015, 10:30 pm
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Some fascinating glimpses of the teachings of Saint Ite and of the sanctity she manifested have been preserved in her Life. Here are a few examples taken from Dorothy Africa's translation of Vita Sanctae Ite from Plummer's Vitae Sanctorum Hiberniae.

Saint Ite is transfigured

2. One day the blessed girl Ita was asleep alone in her chamber (cubiculum); and that whole chamber appeared to people to be burning. But when the men approached it to help her, that room was not burned; and all marveled greatly at this, it was said to them from above, what grace of God burned around that comrade of Christ, who was asleep there. And when holy Ita had arisen from sleep, her entire form appeared as if it were angelic. For then she had beauty such as she had neither before or after. So also her aspect appeared then so that her friends could scarcely look at her. And then all recognized what grace of God burned around her. And after a short interval the virgin of God was restored to her own appearance, which was certainly pretty enough.

An Angel appears to Saint Ite and Testifies to the Holy Trinity

3. On another day when the blessed Ita slept, she saw an angel of the Lord coming toward her, and giving her three very precious stones. And when the handmaiden of Christ had arisen from sleep, she did not know what this vision signified. And the blessed (girl) had a question in her heart about this. Then an angel of the Lord came down to her, saying "What are you searching for concerning this vision? Those three very precious stones which you saw given to you, signify the holy trinity that came to you and visited you; that is a visitation of the Father, Christ his Son, and the Holy Spirit. And always in sleep and in vigils, the angels of God and holy visions will come to you. For you are the temple of the Deity, body and soul." And speaking these things, he departed from her.

Saint Ite Struggles against the evil one

5. Not long afterward, the blessed virgin Ita fasted for three days and three nights. But in those days and nights through sleeping and vigils the devil openly (evidenter) fought against the virgin of God in many battles. And the most blessed virgin most wisely opposed him in all, as much sleeping as waking. On the second (posteriori) night, then, the devil appeared sad and wailing, and at day break, he departed from the familiar of God, saying in a grieving tone, "Alas, Ita, not only will you free yourself from me, but many others to boot."

7. And while the blessed Ita was on her way, behold, many demons came against her along the road, and began to contend (litigare) cruelly against her. Then angels of God from above arrived, and fought very hard with the demons for the bride of Christ. And when the demons had been conquered by the angels of God, they fled away through the byways, crying out and saying: "Alas for us, for from this day we will not be able to contend against this virgin. And we wished today to put our claim on her for our injuries; and the angels of God have freed her from us. For she will root up our habitation from many places and will snatch many from us in this world and from the nether regions." But the virgin of the Lord, with the consolation of the angels of God, meanwhile advanced to the church; and in it was consecrated by the churchmen at angelic order on the spot, and took the veil of virginity.

Saint Ite's Asceticism

10. The most blessed Ita made great efforts to keep two and three day fasts, and frequently four days. But the angel of the Lord, on a day when she was exhausted by fasting, came to her, and said to her "You afflict your body without measure by these fasts, and you ought not to do so." But the bride of Christ (was) unwilling to ease her burden, (so) the angel said to her "God has given such grace to you, that from this day until your death you shall have the refreshment of celestial food. And you will not have the power not to eat at whatever hour the angel of the lord will come to you, bringing you food." Then the blessed Ita prostrated herself and gave thanks to God, and from that bounty (prandium) the holy Ita gave to others to whom she knew it was worthy to be given. And without any doubt she lived thus until her death on the heavenly allotment administered by the angel.

Saint Ite Demonstrates The Gift of Prophecy

12. God even bestowed upon the holy Ita such great grace in prophecy that she knew whether the sick would survive their illness or die.

Saint Ite Heals the Sick and Raises the Dead

14. Then the most glorious virgin of God returned to her cell. And when the familiar of God was nearing her community, she heard from nearby a great and immense wailing. For three dead nobles were there, who had died on that day; and their friends were wailing and mourning for them. And they, knowing that holy Ita was passing by, came down,and asked the familiar of God in a doleful tone that she might come and pray for their souls at least. Holy Ita then said to them: "That thing more that you wish beyond prayer for their souls, in the name of Christ may it happen for you." They did not know what to make of this speech at that point. The blessed Ita made the statement because she knew, being full of the spirit of prophecy, that it (or she?) in the name of God would revive them from death. Then the holy one went with them to where the dead were, and while praying she marked the prone bodies with the sign of the holy cross; and they arose living at her command. And the bride of Christ asserted (assignavit) that they lived before everyone.

15. In that place there was then a certain paralyzed man in the clutches of a very great illness, and his friends, having beheld the revival of the dead, took him up and brought him to the holy Ita, that she might cure him. For they had no doubt that one who could revive dead men could cure a sick one. Then the familiar of God, observing the great misery of that man, looked to heaven, and said to him: "May God pity you". And as she spoke, the made the sign of the holy cross on him. Most marvelous to say; when the familiar of God marked the hitherto paralyzed man, he stood up whole and unharmed on the spot before all, as if he had never been seized by paralysis. Then the shout of the whole people was lifted to heaven, praising God, and giving thanks tohim, and glorifying his familiar with deserved honor. Afterward, the familiar of God went on with her companions to her cell.

The Teaching of Saint Ite on What is Pleasing to God

22. At one time the holy Brendan (Clonfert) was asking the blessed Ita about the three works which are fully pleasing to God, and the three which are fully displeasing, the servant of God replied: "True belief in God in a pure heart, the simple life with religion, generosity with charity; these three please God fully. However, a mouth vilifying people (detestans homines), and a tenacious love of evil in the heart, confidence in wealth; these three fully displease God. Holy Brendan and all who were there, hearing such a statement, glorified God in his familiar.

The Teaching of Saint Ite to her Nuns on the Holy Trinity

11. One day a certain holy devout virgin came to the holy Ita, and spoke with her about divine precepts. And while they were conversing, that virgin said to the holy Ita: "Tell us in God's name, why you are held in higher esteem by God than the other virgins whom we know to be in the world. For to you sustenance from heaven is given by God; you cure all the feeble with your prayer; you speak of past and future events; everywhere you drive out the demonic, daily God's angels speak with you; you carry on in meditation on and prayer to the holy Trinity without hindrance." Then the holy Ita said to her: "You answered your own question by saying ‘Without hindrance you carry on in prayer to and meditation on the holy Trinity.' For who ever shall have done so, will always have God with him, and if I was such a one from infancy, all these things, as you have said, properly pertain to me." That holy virgin, having heard this speech from the blessed Ita about prayer and meditation on God, departed rejoicing for her cell.

23. A certain holy virgin, wishing to discover in what manner the most holy Ita was living in her most secret place, in which she was accustomed to be free for God alone, went out at a certain hour, in order to see her. She, then reaching there, saw three very bright suns, just as the natural (mundiali) sun lighting up the whole spot and surrounding area. And she was not able to enter out of terror, but at once turned back. The mystery of this portent would be hidden from us, but for the gifts of the holy Trinity, which made everything from nothing, which the most holy Ita assiduously served in body and soul.

The Repose of Saint Ite

36. Afterwards the most blessed patroness Ita was broken by illness; and she undertook to bless and advise her settlement (civitatem), and the clerics and people of Ua Conaill, who had taken her as their patroness. And having been visited by many holy persons of both sexes, amid the choirs of saints, with rejoicing angels in the path of her soul, after the greatest numbers of virtues, in the sight of the holy Trinity, the most glorious virgin Ita passed on most happily 18 days before the Kalends of February. The most blessed body of whom, with many persons having gathered from all around (per circuitum), with many miracles performed, which still have not ceased to be displayed there, most gloriously, after the solemnities of masses, in her monastery which she the very holy Ita, a second Brigit in her merits and morals, established, from the field, was taken (traditum est) to the tomb, reigning with our Lord Jesus Christ, who with God the Father and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, God in the age of ages. Amen.

http://monasticmatrix.osu.edu/cartularium/life-saint-ita
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Inismacsaint

January 17, 2015, 10:30 pm
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January 18 is the feast of a County Fermanagh saint who is also one of the lesser-known Twelve Apostles of Ireland, Ninnidh of Inismacsaint. An earlier post on his life can be found here, but below is a paper on his island home from an early twentieth century edition of the Ulster Journal of Archaeology:

Inismacsaint
By the Rev. J. E. MacKenna, M.R.I.A.

INISMACSAINT "the island of the plain of the sorrel") is an island in Lower Lough Erne, about ten miles from Enniskillen. From a scenic standpoint, it is one of the least attractive of Lough Erne's many islands. The tourist is quite satisfied with what he sees of it from the passing steamer; and the sportsman, lured through its waving grass by the chance of a shot, stands before its massive cross and crumbling ruins and asks in vain for their history. Had he or his guide a copy of the Martyrology of Donegal, he might read there, under the 18th of January, "Ninnidh, Bishop of Inis-Muighe-Samh, in Loch Erne; he was Ninnidh Saebhruise, who was of the race of Enda, son of Niall. It was he who was usually called Ninnidh." Cathal Maguire says of him: "A sage, a bishop, and a king was Ninnidh Mac Laoighaire. He went to heaven with his monks."

The acts of a number of different saints of this name are so confused and intermingled that it is very difficult, if not impossible, to determine to which particular individual certain acts, that are attributed indiscriminately to each, should really be assigned. According to Lanigan, Ninnidh was surnamed Lamhdearg, to distinguish him from Ninnidh Lamhglan ("the pure-handed"), who was converted by St. Brigid, and who administered the last sacraments to her on her deathbed. Colgan confounds the two saints, and falls into a number of errors, which have been copied by many modern writers. Shearman tries to identify Ninnidh of Inismacsaint with St. Mounenius, the founder of the famous school of Candida Casa, who obtained the release from slavery of St. Tigernach, in Wales.

Ninnidh was a cotemporary of Sinell and Columba, a pupil of St. Finnian of Clonard, and a school-fellow of St. Ciaran of Clonmacnoise, St. Molaisse of Devenish, St. Aiden of Ferns, etc. He was one of the twelve bishops supported on the milk of St. Ciaran's Dun Cow, and who took their day in turn at the quern grinding corn for the community. As he was a cotemporary of St. Ciaran (born A.D. 507), he must have been born about the end of the fifth or the beginning of the sixth century. King Leogaire was his grandfather (on his father's side), and he was killed by lightning on the plain of Kildare, A.D. 463.

An intimate friendship sprung up between Ciaran and Ninnidh at Clonard, which ripened with years and lasted till death. We have everywhere the most convincing proofs that these old saints, in their wild and laborious career, loved each other with a passionate tenderness, which is certainly not the least touching feature in their character. When studying the gospel of St. Matthew, Ninnidh had no book of his own: he went round amongst his schoolfellows to borrow one, but failed until he met St. Ciaran, who gave him his. Ciaran, when leaving the school of Clonard, left his Dun Cow with Ninnidh, saying that her hide would return to him. This cow had followed Ciaran when he fled from his father's house to enter a monastery. He tended her with the greatest care and veneration. When she died of old age, he had her hide prepared for writing upon. On it he wrote the work which has come down to us with the title “the book of the Dun Cow”.

After leaving Clonard, Ninnidh seems to have settled down in Inismacsaint. Ussher says that he was dwelling in a certain wood in Lough Erne about the year 530. St. Ciaran resided for some time with Ninnidh in Inismacsaint, about the year 534, whence he proceeded to visit St. Enda of Arran. Colgan quotes an old Irish distich which represents him as having been both a bishop and a doctor :

" Doctor et Antistes, rex, stirps Laogaria,
Proles Erhach, cum monachis Nennius astra petit."

Confounding him with his namesake, who was cotemporary with St. Brigid, he says he was a bishop as early as 522 A.D. It is more probable that it was only after he had been many years abbot of Inismacsaint that he was raised to the episcopal dignity, and charged with the administration of the extensive district extending from the confines of Devenish to Bundoran, in County Donegal. This district embraced "Domnachmor in Maghene"; that is the present Moy, lying between the rivers Erne and Drowes, in the south of Donegal. And in the Acta Sanctorum, pp. 113-1 15, Ninnidh is said to have been bishop of " Domnach Mor in Maghene.""Domnachmor" has not been identified. It may be identical with Tigh Tunny, in the townland of Cloyhore, on the south bank of the Erne, about half a mile from Belleek, and in the County Donegal. Here there is a small graveyard surrounded by a wall that is said to have been built out of the ruins of an old abbey. In the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, p. 432, it is said that Ninnidh founded the church of Domnachmor.

While Shearman is clearly wrong in identifying Ninnidh of Inismacsaint with the wandering bard of the same name, our saint seems to have gone about the country very much. The hill of Knockninny, on Upper Lough Erne, is said to owe its name to him. A holy well is pointed out there, but no tradition connects it with St. Ninnidh. It is enclosed in a double structure of stone, the outer one measuring 5 ft. 7 in. by 6 ft. 1 in. There are no ecclesiastical remains about the hill, but it is literally covered with most interesting souvenirs of paganism. They furnish us with fine specimens of pre-Christian burials, from the utilization of the natural cave dwelling to the carefully packed up cromleac and the exposed tumulus.

It is hard to see how Ninnidh came to be connected with Knockninny; for although the Erne furnished him with a convenient highway by which he could reach it from Inismacsaint, it was not exactly the kind of land that a prince would be likely to bestow upon a neighbouring ecclesiastic. It is a barren mountain, but its commanding position affording, as it does, a view of seven counties probably recommended it to the pagan Irish, who loved to honour their worthy dead by interring their remains in the most conspicuous place in their locality. Their warriors frequently expressed, during life, a desire to be buried, armed as for battle, in a position to face their enemies.

"Spear in hand and helm on head, they tomb'd him stern and tall,
Brass-armed complete for standing fight, in Cahir Leary's wall,
With his gray angry countenance turned towards the hated race
Of Brasil Brec. Sun rises and sinks; but Leary from his place
Turns never; though its frown have dropped off from the fleshless brow,
The gaunt hand still sustains the spear; and still the angry vow
Sustains him. "

The mountain may have been, in the days of Ninnidh, a theatre of pagan worship, to combat which he secured it.

The date of St. Ninnidh's death is unknown. Dr. Lanigan, correcting a conjecture of Colgan, says it must have been long after 530 A.D. The Cloc Ninnidh, a small quadrangular bronze bell presented to him by Senach, the smith saint of Derrybrusk, was, in Colgan's time, preserved on the island. It is probably the bell referred to by Dr. Kelly, in his edition of the Martyrology of Tallagh, as having been preserved in his time at Castlecaldwell.

An extensive rath, or cashel, of mixed earth and stone surrounded the monastery. Its outlines are still distinctly traceable. No portion of the original monastery remains.

The Church. The small quadrangular church, measuring 60 ft. by 23 ft. 6 in., is not older than the fourteenth or fifteenth century. W. F. Wakeman assigns it to the twelfth century. The side walls are in a fair state of preservation, but both the gables have fallen. Its only feature of interest is a small window in the southern wall, measuring 4 ft. by 6 in. on the exterior, and splayed on the interior to 3 ft. A well-defined bead moulding is cut on two stones of the right jamb: all the others are perfectly plain. It would appear that this work was executed after the stones were placed in situ, and that the sculptor was interrupted before his work was completed. The church was taken possession of by the Reformers, and used down till the reign of Queen Anne, when, on account of its inconvenient insular position, it was abandoned for a new church at Drumenagh, on the mainland, and it soon fell into ruins.

The Cross. Adjacent to the ruins of the church is an ancient and interesting stone cross standing 14 feet high. The shaft is a massive block of hammered stone measuring 6 ft. by 2 ft. 2 in. Its arms are not confined by the circle characteristic of the Irish cross, but it exhibits unmistakable leanings towards that ideal that reached the climax of perfection in the crosses of Clonmacnoise. Its sculptor's name was probably enshrined in the traditions of Inismacsaint for centuries, when the oldest of our now famous Irish crosses was sculptured. It is an ideal illustration for the evolutionist a link in the chain of Irish artistic development. Its massive shaft and arms are plain and unadorned; no attempt at tracery or figure subjects merely a symbol of Christianity, with an evident craving after the circle that symbolises eternity. Du Noyer, who examined it, was of opinion that it is very old. It may have been set up in the days of St. Ninnidh.

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Saint Fechin of Fore, January 20

January 19, 2015, 10:30 pm
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January 20 is the feast of Saint Fechin of Fore. An earlier post on his life, taken from the work of Archdeacon O'Rorke, can be found here.  This year we can look at the account of Saint Fechin's life given by Father John Lanigan, as quoted by Father Cogan in his diocesan history of County Meath:

FORE is a parish in the barony of Demifore, county of Westmeath. A monastery was founded here in the seventh century by St. Fechin, which in process of time became the centre of an episcopal see. The life of the distinguished founder is thus given by Dr. Lanigan:

St. Fechin, who is the first named among the priests of the third class of Irish saints, was a native of the territory in which St. Athracta had her nunnery, that is, of Lugne. Bile, or afterwards called Bile-Fechin, in the barony of Leney, is stated to have been the place of his birth. His father was Coelcharna, a descendant of Eochad Fionn, brother to the famous King Con of the Hundred Battles, and his mother Lassair, of the royal blood of Munster. When fit to be sent to school, Fechin was placed under St. Nathy of Achonry, in whose monastery he remained until he made a considerable progress in learning and piety. How long he continued there we are not correctly informed. According to one account, he staid with Nathy until he was ordained priest; but according to another, which appears more consistent, he left that school several years before he was ordained, and went to that of some other holy man. Having finished his studies, and being raised to the priesthood, he left his own country for the purpose of leading a retired life, and arriving at Fobhar, now Fore, in the county of Westmeath, stopped there, being very kindly received by the proprietors of that place. Here he erected a monastery, to which such numbers of persons were attracted by his reputation, that after some time his community consisted of about three hundred monks, who, as well as their holy abbot, subsisted on their own labour, and were sometimes reduced to great penury. Some other monasteries or churches are attributed to St. Fechin, but, with the exception of one or two of them, I greatly doubt whether they were of his foundation. That he established a religious house in the island of Immagh, near the coast of Galway, cannot be questioned. The inhabitants were still pagans when Fechin, taking with him some of his monks of Fore, undertook their conversion. At first he met with great opposition, and the people were so obstinate that they refused to supply him and his companions with even the necessaries of life, so that two of them died of want of food, whom, however, the Almighty was pleased, through the saint's intercession, to bring again to life. But Guaire, King of Connaught, being apprised of their distress, sent them abundance of provisions. When setting about the construction of a monastery, the islanders threw their implements and utensils into the sea, which, it is said, were driven back on land. At length Fechin succeeded in bringing all of them over to the Christian faith, and baptized them. Their zeal became so fervent that they consigned themselves and their island to him as their master and superior.

Among the many transactions in which Fechin is said to have been engaged, it is related that, on occasion of Donald the Second, King of all Ireland, having marched with a great army into the country of the Southern or Meath Nialls, for the purpose of fixing the boundaries of their principality, they applied for protection to the saint, who happened to be then at a place called Tibrada, where, perhaps he had some small establishment. Fechin complied with their request, and acted so powerfully on the king's mind as to induce him to desist from any further proceeding against the Southern Nialls, between whom and the king he procured a perfect reconciliation. His influence was very great with the kings and princes of his time. An instance of this is given in the case of a young man named Erlomhan, whom Moenach, King of Munster, immediately discharged from prison on perceiving that Fechin wished for this act of grace. Erlomhan afterwards embraced the monastic state under Fechin. In like manner he obtained from the joint kings of Ireland, Diermit the Second and Blaithmac, the liberation of one Aedus or Aedan, a brave military man, who, on being dismissed from prison and given up to Fechin, went with him to Fore, where he became a monk. Several holy men are mentioned as united in friendship with Fechin, for instance, Coeman or Comain Breac, abbot of Roseach, in Meath, Ultan of Ardbraccan, Fintan Munnu, Ronan, son Berach, and particularly Mochua, Abbot of Ardslaine. Fechin's life was one continued course of austerity, and he was so fond of solitude that he often used to retire from his monastery, either of Fore or Immagh, to lonesome situations, passing his time in prayer, fasting, and other mortifications, and taking no food except now and then a little bread and water. Many miracles have been attributed to him. This great saint died on the 20th of January, A.D. 665, of the dreadful pestilence that raged all over Ireland. His memory has been most highly respected, and the monastery of Fore, which continued down to the time of the general suppression, was greatly celebrated, and in the course of ages became very splendid and wealthy.

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Saint Flann of Finglas, January 21

January 20, 2015, 10:30 pm
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January 21 is the commemoration of a County Dublin saint, Flann, Bishop of Finglas. Canon O'Hanlon tells us what is known of him:

Flann Mac Laich, or Mac Lughdach, Bishop of Finglas, County of Dublin

A considerable share of misunderstanding has prevailed—while even distinguished Irish historians and topographers appear to have fallen into errors —in reference to the special Patron Saint of Finglas. The original name of this village seems to have been derived from the small, rapid, and tortuous "bright stream" that runs through a sort of ravine, beside the present cemetery. Towards the close of the eighth, or in the beginning of the ninth century—as we find in the "Feilire Aengusa"— this place had been denominated Finnghlais-Cainnigh, after some earlier patron, called Cainnigh or Canice. He is generally thought to have been the patron saint of Ossory, as no other one bearing such a name can be found in connection with this spot. Whether or not a monastery had been founded by Cainneach, while under the tuition of Mobhi Clairenech, abbot, of Glasnevin, and who died in 544, can scarcely be determined. It seems probable, at least, that a cell, or monastic institute, had been here erected by St. Canice before the close of the sixth century. Archdall evidently confounds this saint with a Kenicus or Keny, whose feast is assumed to have been on the 12th of October. The life of this saint had been preserved in the church of Finglas. How long after his time the present holy man lived does not appear to be known. However, a monastic institution, and an ancient bishop's see, seem to have distinguished Finglas, in the early part of the eighth century. We read in the Martyrology of Donegal how Flann, bishop, of Finnghlais, had a festival on this day. In the table superadded to this work, the commentator interprets his name Flann, as meaning "red" or "crimson." He is entered in the published Martyrology of Tallaght on the 21st of January, under the designation of Flann mac Lughdach, abbot, of Finnglaise. The Franciscan copy, however, calls him "the son of Laich." The present village of Finglas, near Dublin city, and to the north of it, has the ruins of an ancient—but not its oldest—church, within an enclosed graveyard of very great antiquity. The parish of Finglas is situated partly in the barony of Castleknock and partly in that of Nethercross. Under the head of Finnglais, Duald Mac Firbis enters Flann, bishop, of Finnglais. January the 21st is also set down for his feast.
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Saint Guaire Mór of Aghadowy, January 22

January 21, 2015, 10:30 pm
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January 22 is the commemoration of a northern saint, Guaire Mór of Aghadowy, County Derry. Canon O'Hanlon has this to tell us:

St. Goar, Guarius, or Guaire Mór, of Aghadowy, County of Londonderry. [Probably in the Seventh or Eighth Century.]

In the days of early youth, most probably this holy man had fought his way into the sanctuary of God as a young priest, and had arrived at distinction in the Church. We read in the Martyrology of Donegal, as having been venerated on this day, Guaire Mór, of Achadh Dubhthaigh, now the parish of Aghadowy or Aghadoey, county of Londonderry, on the banks of the Lower Banna, or River Bann. He was the son of Colman, son to Fuactage, son to Ferguss, son to Leogaire, son to Fiachre, son to Colla Uais, who was Monarch of Ireland. He is styled abbot of the foregoing place, in the plain of Li. The Martyrology of Tallaght records him on the 22nd of January, under the simple designation of Guaire. It does not seem probable this saint was the original founder of the monastery at this place, nor does his epithet of Mór, "great," seem equivalent to "elder." He was first cousin, yet removed by a later generation, to the saint, bearing this same name, whose feast occurs on the 9th of this month; and our present Guaire Mór probably succeeded the other in order of time. Perhaps, indeed, notwithstanding such a probability, and his apparently junior age, this Guaire Mór may have founded Aghadowey Church singly, or in conjunction with his cousin; and the term applied to the present saint might indicate superiority, celebrity, or position. Perhaps simply a difference of stature may have caused the distinction in names between Guaire Mór and Guaire Beg.
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A Seminar on the Shrine of Saint Manchan

January 23, 2015, 10:30 pm
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24 January is the feast of Saint Manchan of Lemanaghan, a saint whose memory still flourishes today and whose name is most famously associated with the splendid shine preserved for veneration at the parish church in Boher, County Offaly. Below is an account of a 2003 Irish Studies Seminar held at Columbia University when Professor Karen Overbey spoke on the topic of Saint Manchan's shrine. She helps to place this relic into an historical context, particularly interesting is the political dimension and the relationship between the monastery of Lemanghan and its much more famous neighbour at Clonmacnoise.

Speaker: Professor Karen Overbey
Title: “Holy Ground: Politics, Patronage, and Iconography of St Manchan’s Shrine”

Prof. Overbey presented a talk with slides. St Manchan’s Shrine, which is kept in the parish church in Boher, Co. Offaly, very near to the site of St Manchan’s medieval monastry at Lemanaghan, is the largest surviving Irish reliquary—the richly decorated, containers for the remains of a saint. Holy relics, and even their reliquaries, were the prized possessions of medieval monasteries; the presence of the saint guaranteed the sanctity of the monastic space, and allowed a connection between the earthly inhabitants and the world of the divine.

Many of the shrines features mark it as exceptional. Professor Overbey noted, however, that the oddities of the shrine—its size, its form, its decoration, its figures—rather than spurring exploration, has spurred categorization. Prof. Overbey suggested that through a re-evaluation of the literary, folkloric, political and geographic contexts, St Manchan’s shrine would become less “bewildering.”

St Manchan’s shrine was clearly intended to be carried and displayed—at each junction of base and leg there is a stout brass ring through which a pole could be slid, allowing the shrine to be hoisted and carried. St Manchan’s shrine is approximately five times larger than the tomb-shaped shrines, and its display, on the shoulders of four monks presumably in a procession—would have been public and communal. The small tomb-shaped shrines in contrast were designed to be carried individually, and perhaps somewhat privately or protectively, as on a journey.

St Manchan himself was a founder of monastry approximately twelve miles east of the community of Clonmacnois; the site was called Lemanaghan. Despite its small size, Lemanaghan appears to have had a close relationship with the nearby prominent monastery of Clonmacnois. While the story does not survive in any medieval hagiography, a legend, recorded in the early twentieth century by a local historian, suggests a folkloric “sibling rivalry” between Sts Ciaran (the founder of Clonmacnois) and Manchan, in the tale of a dispute about the boundaries of the respective territories. This may well have some historical basis. In the early eleventh century, King Maelsechnaill donated several more parcels of land in the parish of Lemanaghan to the community of St. Ciaran, specifically as a payment for rights of royal burial in the Clonmacnois graveyard. Seen in this context, the form of St Manchan’s shrine takes on a new possible resonance, which may help to explain the differences from the earlier tradition of tomb-shaped reliquaries. Instead of a fixed burial site located in a bounded graveyard or at the side of a church, St Manchan’s tomb was moveable. It could travel around the boundaries not only of the church, but of the territory, allowing an extension of the sacred and protected space of the monastic graveyard. Prof. Overbey suggested that the burial space of St Manchan’s Shrine functioned to dilate the boundary of the Clonmacnois graveyard, extending the sacred space to the edges of Clonmacnois’s territory.

Prof. Overbey also suggested that the form of St Manchan’s Shrine, coupled with its historical context, imply a strategic political function for the reliquary. In its fusion of divine protection and political expansion, St Manchan’s Shrine proclaims that it was the destiny of Ua Conchobair, Clonmacnois’ patron in the twelfth century, to occupy the province of Meath forever, and that the saint and the king would be dual guardians of the territory and its people.

The Annals of the Four Masters tells us that, in 1166, “The shrine of Manchan…was covered by Ruaidhri Ua Conchobair, a prime contender for high-kingship of the whole island. Ruaidhri’s bid for military and political dominance in Ireland was contested. So it wouldn’t be unusual for Ruaidhri to become an ecclesiastical patron, enchancing his position with grants and gold. We might therefore view the figures on St Manchan’s shrine as having not religious, but military significance. The figures might represent a particularly valuable type of warrior: one with experience, prowess, and identifiable status. Yet, these warriors are not poised to strike. This symbolic troop may function as a kind of visual reminder, or even visual surrogate, of a military exchange of vassals and soldiers between Ruaidhri and his Connacht and Breffney rivals. St Manchan’s shrine is both the site and visualization of the political contract that allowed these rivals to join forces under the protection and assurance of St Manchan, their co-patron. Prof. Overbey answered questions from the floor. A sampling follows.

Q: What are the figures wearing around their necks?
A: They don’t have anything on their necks. That’s actually the nail pole. Those rings were used for carrying the shrine.

Q: How is Jesus depicted? Is Jesus depicted as a warrior?
A: He wears similar clothing: he wears a loin cloth but he has insized ribs.

Q: Was the touching of relics and bones common?
A: It appears that early on they were readily touchable, but they regularly get stolen and traded. For instance, St Manchan’s is sealed. This starts happening in the tenth century. Viewing crystals appear in the fourteenth century.

Q: Is there a change in making reliquaries after the arrival of the Normans?
A: Unfortunately, we don’t have enough evidence to say. There does appear to be subtle changes in the representation of saints. There are only three or four examples of post-Norman shrines.

Q: Is the bone house in Clare identified?
A: No, I actually had to go and track it down in the Burren.

Q: You say that these figures are mature warriors but they’re not dressed for battle and they’re shirtless. Might they not just be peasants?
A: I guess I’d want to know why they have axes and sticks. This depiction of beard tugging is a common attribute of warriors. It might be just enough to indicate that they are warriors.
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The Meeting of Paul and Brendan

January 24, 2015, 10:30 pm
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In 2013 I looked at an Irish Saint Paul, assigned January 25 as a feast day by Colgan because this date was the commemoration of the baptism of Saint Paul the apostle. This Irish Paul was said to have been a disciple of Saint Patrick who later pursued the eremitical life on a lonely island. There the intrepid voyager, Saint Brendan, discovers him, an encounter related in chapter twenty-six of the Navigatio. The episode appears to be a retelling of the famous ‘meeting of Paul and Anthony’ from the Life of Saint Paul of Thebes. I remain fascinated by the translation of the eastern Saint Paul the Hermit into an Irish context, and have been enjoying a paper on the subject by scholar Éamonn Ó Carragáin. He begins by discussing the place of honour held by the two saints in the Irish church:
When the saints are mentioned in the Irish sources, it is primarily as the exemplars and prototypes of the eremitic life, and hence of monasticism. Thus the Life of St Columcille in the Book of Lismore gives the monastic life as the first way by which men are summoned to knowledge of God; and the monastic vocation is described as ‘the urging and kindling of men by the divine grace to serve the Lord after the manner of Paul, and of Anthony the monk, and of the other faithful monks who used to serve God in Egypt.’ In the Stowe Missal, likewise, Paul and Anthony are named as the exemplars of the eremitic life.
Ó Carragáin goes on to contrast this appreciation for the pair among the Irish with the attitude of the Anglo-Saxons:
Saints Paul and Anthony seem to have been popular in Celtic lands because the Irish, and their Scottish settlements, revered them as prototypes of monasticism. For Anglo-Saxon monks, St Benedict of Nursia would usually have occupied this position of pre-eminent reverence. Wandering anchorites who met, however providentially, in the desert could not be honoured with unqualified reverence by communities founded on a vow of ‘stabilitas loci’. For later Anglo-Saxon homilists, ‘instability of place and wandering from place to place’ was a product of sleacnes (sloth), one of the eight capital sins.
Saint Brendan finds ‘Paul the Spiritual Hermit’ living on a small circular-shaped island. For thirty years he has been fed by an otter, which brings him a fish and firewood for cooking every three days. When Saint Brendan arrives, however, the hermit has moved to occupy ‘two caves, the entrance of one facing the entrance of the other, on the side of the island facing east’. The otter no longer brings food, as the hermit now subsists entirely on the waters of ‘ a miniscule spring, round like a plate, flowing from the rock before the entrance to the cave…when this spring overflowed, the rock immediately absorbed the water’.

Ó Carragáin comments:
We clearly have here, not another version of the life of Saint Paul the First Hermit, but a different figure, set in a new landscape which develops in an original way the themes of the desert scene in the Vita Sancti Pauli. This Irish Spiritual Hermit inhabits a landscape which is entirely symbolic; and its symbolism is primarily eucharistic. We have already seen the eucharistic significance of the symbol ‘fish’. The eucharistic significance of water that is miraculously given from a rock is equally central to Christian tradition. St. Paul’s gloss on the ‘wandering rock’ which accompanied the Israelites in the desert [1 Corinthians 10:1-4] is relevant to the island-rock which sustains this Spiritual Hermit. [In a footnote the author also says: in his use of the spring as an image for Christ’s giving of himself as drink, the author of the Navigatio is probably thinking also of such texts such as John 7:37-8 and John 19:34.]
The writer argues that the point of all this eucharistic imagery is revealed at the end of the chapter when the hermit gives Brendan and his crew a supply of water from the spring to act as the sole sustenance for their next forty-day voyage. The symbolism is further brought into focus when we note that Saint Brendan’s voyage comes to an end on Holy Saturday and thus the meeting with the hermit must have taken place on or close to the first Sunday of Lent.

Ó Carragáin has many more interesting points to make on the meeting of Paul and Brendan, but for now I will conclude with his tribute to the writer of the Navigatio and his use of the Vita Sancti Pauli:
The wit of the Navigatio depends on an unobtrusive mastery of paradox: the author demonstrates that the famous scene of the meeting of Saints Paul and Anthony can be re-enacted, not with bread alone, but with other images of how man is fed by God’s word. He transforms the famous scene in the Vita in such a way as to suggest that fasting gives sustenance to the spirit, and that the contemplative vocation (the vita theorica) can provide fulfillment even on stony ground.

The details of chapter xxvi of the Navigatio can thus be seen to interact, as it were in a form of counterpoint, with the corresponding details in the Vita Sancti Pauli; and it can be seen that to appreciate the sophisticated virtuosity of the Navigatio it is necessary to have some recollection of the Vita. No doubt the author of the Navigatio felt he could depend on his monastic readership for such a recollection. In the scene in which St Brendan meets St Paul the Spiritual Hermit, the author clearly was just as preoccupied with the eucharistic themes of the recognition of and union with Christ as Jerome had been in the Vita Sancti Pauli. The Navigatio therefore provides strong confirmatory evidence that for Irish audiences the meeting of St Paul and St Anthony had primarily a eucharistic significance. The way in which the Spiritual Hermit is made to greet St Brendan with the verse ‘ecce quam bonum et quam iocundum habitare fratres in unum’ suggests that the author of the Navigatio is making explicit another theme which he saw Jerome’s account of the meeting of Paul and Anthony to imply: that friendship and community could, miraculously, be found even in the desert. This theme may also be relevant to the ‘Paul and Anthony’ panels on the high crosses, those monastic scenes of courteous friendship which the sculptors consistently placed in eucharistic contexts.

Éamonn Ó Carragáin ‘The Meeting of Saint Paul and Saint Anthony: visual uses of a Eucharistic motif’ in G. Mac Niocaill and P.F. Wallace, eds. Keimelia – studies in medieval archaeology and history in memory of Tom Delaney (Galway University Press, 1988), 1-58.
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Saint Croine, January 27

January 26, 2015, 10:30 pm
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January 27 is the feastday of an early female saint, Croine, one of many Irish saints to have been recorded on the Irish calendars, but who has left no Vita to give further details of her life. As Canon O'Hanlon explains, there is even no certainty as to the locality in which she may have flourished, the Martyrology of Tallaght identifying her with Inuse Lochacrone which may suggest a County Sligo location, and the 19th-century scholar John O'Donovan placing her at Kilcroney, County Wicklow. The latest work on the Irish saints, Pádraig Ó Riain's 2011 Dictionary of Irish Saints, places her instead at the County Carlow location of Ardnehue (Ceall Inghean nAodha) and sees her as one of three daughters of Aodh. Ó Riain acknowledges the confusion of this holy lady with others of the same name, including Cróine of Inis Cróine, who may be one of a number of possible doubles.

St. Croine, Virgin, of Kill-Crony, in the County of Wicklow, or at Inishcrone, County of Sligo.

A festival in honour of Croni of Inuse Lochacrone is entered in the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 27th of January. The locality named is possibly identical with the present Inishcrone, near the River Moy, in Tireragh barony, county of Sligo. A strong castle of Eiscir-Abhann, stood here. Inishcrone town, with the ruined church and graveyard, is in the parish of Kilglass, and near the rocky shore, at Killala Bay. Again, there was a Cill-Cruain, now Kilcrone, an old church, giving name to a townland and parish in the barony of Ballymoe, in the county of Galway. We find that Croine, virgin, of Cill Croine, is recorded, likewise, in the Martyrology of Donegal, on this day. She is of the race of Máine, son of Niall. Her place has been identified with Kill-crony, in the county of Wicklow, and as giving no name to a modern parochial district, it may have been denominated from the establishment of a cell or nunnery here, by the present saint, while possibly clerical ministrations had been supplied by the religious community or pastor, living at Kilmacanoge, in remote times. More we cannot glean regarding this holy woman yet, we may conjecture, she must have flourished at a very early period.
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Saint Acobran of Kilrush, January 28

January 27, 2015, 10:30 pm
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January 28 is the feast of Saint Acobran of Kilrush, about whom not a great deal appears to be known. We have already met this saint, for in a post on a trio of saintly brothers commemorated on 28 November, I mentioned the contention of the English writer, Sabine Baring-Gould, that one of these brothers, also called Acobran, was to be identified with today's saint. If our Acobran did indeed go off to Cornwall and later on to France as Baring-Gould claims, Canon O'Hanlon knows nothing of it, and it would not be like the good Canon to fail to claim such a career for an otherwise obscure Irish saint. On the contrary, in the Lives of the Irish Saints Acobran is depicted as a shadowy figure whose very location is the subject of doubt, with the Martyrology of Donegal initially identifying him with Kilrush, County Clare but then suggesting in the table appended to the Martyrology that this particular Kilrush is to be found in County Kildare. In the late 1830s when O'Donovan and his co-workers were carrying out their Ordnance Survey work in the parish of Kilrush, County Clare a letter noted 'According to the Irish Calendar the Saints Mellan and Occobran were venerated at Cill Rois in the Termon of Inis Cathaigh on the 28th of January, but neither of them is now remembered in the Parish'. It may be that the cult of the most famous saint of Inis Cathaigh, Saint Senan, overshadowed and eventually displaced that of Saint Acobran. Canon O'Hanlon, as he often does when there is not much to say about a saint, goes into a description of church ruins associated with Saint Senan, but below are the essentials of what he has to tell us of Saint Acobran:

St. Acobran of Kilrush, Probably in the County of Clare.

...Without any other distinction, he is mentioned in the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 28th of January, But we are not left in doubt regarding his locality, if we depend on the succeeding statement. According to the Martyrology of Donegal, we find Accobhran, of Cill-Ruis, in the Termon of Inis-Cathaigh, as having a festival celebrated on this day. In a table postfixed to this Martyrology, his place is thought to have been Kilrush, in the county of Kildare. He is said to have been otherwise called Occobhran, whence Ocobrus, Ocoras [Desiderius). The place usually designated for this saint is the present Kilrush, a parish in the barony of Moyarta and county of Clare. The present saint, to whatever place he belonged, appears to have lived in or before the eighth century. This is proved from the "Feilire" of St. Aengus the Culdee. With its English translation, Professor O'Looney has furnished the following stanza from the Leabhar Breac copy in the R. I. A.

G. u. kl. With Acobran we celebrate
The passion of eight noble virgins;
They gained a triumph of righteousness,
The great Miserian host.

These latter seem to have been martyrs in Africa, and to have been part of a band, commemorated in St. Jerome's ancient Martyrology....
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Saint Brigid, The Holy Patroness of Ireland, February 1

January 31, 2015, 10:30 pm
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As February 1 is the commemoration of Ireland's national patroness, Saint Brigid of Kildare, below is  a nineteenth-century article on her life, taken from a volume published in the United States in 1880. As with the account by Father Albert Barry posted here, the author has drawn on the hagiographical tradition to bring us a stirring account of Saint Brigid's virtues and miracles. If you would like to read an account of Saint Brigid from the 1930s, then please visit my other site dedicated to our three national patrons here. There I will be publishing new daily posts on Saint Brigid throughout the octave of her feast.




ST. BRIDGET [1], the holy Patroness of Ireland, was born at Faughart, [2] a village in the present county of Louth, soon after the light of faith began to illumine her lovely native isle. Her parents were Catholics and persons of rank. [3] Bridget's early life was surrounded by the supernatural. It is said that, when a child, angelswere her constant companions, and even aided her in erecting a little altar, at which she amused herself. On reaching girlhood, whatever she touched or had charge of in the way of food multiplied under her hand. Once when her old nurse was suffering from a burning fever the fair young Saint cured her by making the sign of the cross on some water, which was turned into mead — then the common drink of the country.

She resolved to consecrate her virginity to heaven, but met with much trouble on account of her rare beauty and the opposition of her parents. Many sought her hand. But finding that the eagerness of a multitude of suitors might, perhaps, hinder her from devoting herself entirely to God, she prayed that her beauty might be changed to ugliness. Her prayer was heard. One of her eyes became greatly enlarged, and her angelic face so altered that both parents and suitors soon left her free to embrace the religious state. Taking with her seven young ladies, Bridget went to Bishop Maccelle, [4] a disciple of St. Patrick, and requested him to give them the veil.

He hesitated for a time, but the lovely Saint re-doubled her prayers. At length, seeing a pillar of fire over her head, he clothed her in the mantle of religion, and received her profession and that of her fair companions.

During the ceremony, as Bridget bent her head to receive the holy veil, she placed her hand on the wooden altar-step ; and in a moment the dry wood became green and fresh, her eye was cured, and all the radiance of her former beauty returned.

On one occasion, as the Saint and her nuns were enjoying the hospitality of good Bishop Maccelle, she begged him to give them some spiritual instruction. He complied in a short discourse on the Eight Beatitudes. When he concluded she turned to her Sisters and said: " We are eight virgins, and eight virtues are offered to us as a means of sanctification. It is true that whoever practises one virtue perfectly must possess every other; yet let each of us now choose a virtue for special devotion."

The Sisters, through courtesy and respect, requested St. Bridget, as superioress, to take the first choice. She at once took the beatitude of "Mercy " as the beautiful virtue to which she especially wished to devote herself. It was, in truth, a happy choice — one in which she has had many followers in " the Isle of Saints and Sages."


Of the many convents founded by this illustrious lady Kildare became the most renowned. " As it was erected under the shelter of the oak," writes the Nun of Kenmare, "it obtained the name of Cell of the Oak, or Kildare. The great plain of the Curragh was her pasture-ground, donated to her by some famous chief. Bishop Mel assisted her in her arrangements, and Ailill, the King of Leinster, gave her the wood for her building. This establishment was erected some time between the years 480 and 490." [5] 

St. Bridget's whole life was love in action. The wants of others touched her pure, noble, and affectionate heart. A good mother once brought her little daughter to see the Saint. The girl was about twelve years of age, and had been born dumb. Not knowing her infirmity, however, the Abbess caressed her, asking her if she intended to be a nun. There was no reply. The mother explained her child's condition ; but St. Bridget remarked that she could not let the girl's hand go until she received an answer. She repeated the question. "I will do whatever you desire," said the child, who, thus wonderfully cured, remained with her dear benefactress ever after. 

The holy Abbess took the most tender care of her religious. One of the Sisters was very ill and asked for some milk. But there was none. The Saint, however, ordered some water to be given to the patient. It was suddenly changed into rich, warm milk, and the miraculous draught cured the sick Sister. 

During one of her journeys a man came to her and related his domestic troubles. His wife, he said, hated him for some unknown reason, and peace had fled from his home. The Saint gave the poor fellow some water, directing him to sprinkle it through the house in his wife's absence. He did so, and his wife's dislike was turned into the most tender affection — an affection that lasted for life. 

On one occasion a leper came to the convent and asked to have his clothes washed; but as he was only master of what was on his back, it became necessary to provide him with clothing while this act of charity was in the course of accomplishment. St. Bridget desired one of her nuns to give the afflicted son of Adam a second habit which she did not use. But the nun was unwilling to obey, and as a swift punishment she was then and there struck with leprosy. At the end of an hour, however, she repented of her disobedience, and was cured by the intercession of the tender- hearted Saint. 

Another nun, happy in possessing the true spirit of obedience, provided the leper with clothing; and when his tattered rags were washed and returned to him he was healed of his terrible disease. " Thus," exclaims the Nun of Kenmare, from whose excellent work [6] we have gathered these details — "thus was God glorified; for the miracles of the saints are not for their own glory."

"Her only thought was heaven and God, 
Her only joy was pure;
She sought bright mansions in the skies, 
And life for e'er secure." 

Our Saint enjoyed the most intimate friendship of St. Patrick. She foretold the date of his departure from this world, was present at his holy death, and supplied the winding-sheet — which she had long kept for the purpose — in which his blessed remains were wrapped. 

One of the most touching and beautiful incidents in the life of St. Bridget was her meeting with the young student, Nenedius. As she was leaving her convent on the plains of the Liffey, she met him running along with boyish impetuosity. The holy Abbess requested one of her religious to call him to her; but Nenedius was in such a hurry that he could scarcely be prevailed upon to stay a moment. 

The Saint enquired why he ran with such speed. " I am running to heaven," answered the boy. 

" Would to God," said Bridget, " that I were worthy to run with you to that blessed place! Pray for me that I may one day enter there." 

"O holy Virgin!" exclaimed Nenedius, "pray for me that I may persevere in the path that leads to heaven." 

And the Saint prayed for the dear boy, telling him, in prophetic language, that on the day of her death she would receive the Holy Viaticum from his hands. 

St. Nenedius — for he became a saint — took the most special care of that hand which would one day be so honored ; and in the kindness and humility of his heart, which ardently hoped that the life of St. Bridget would be prolonged to extreme old age, he allowed many years to roll away before he was ordained priest. He left Ireland and wandered as a pilgrim in other countries. But at length he was raised to the sacred dignity of the priesthood, turned his steps homewards, and as he reached the shores of his native isle he was called to the bedside of Ireland's holy Patroness. She was preparing for heaven. Nenedius administered the Holy Sacraments to the dying Saint, and on the 1st of February, in the year 523, St. Bridget, borne by angels, passed to the bosom of God. [7]

Footnotes

1  Bridget is from the Irish, and signifies strength. The name is sometimes written Brigit and Bride. 

2  Faughart is in no way remarkable except as the birthplace of the Saint. It is near the town of Dundalk. The ruins of St. Bridget's old church are still here. The situation is very picturesque, looking out on the bay of Dundalk, the scene of many a notable event in Irish history. — Sister Cusack, Life of St. Bridget. 

3  Her mother, Broeseach, was an O'Connor, and was of noble birth; both her parents were Christians. — Sister Cusack. 

4  The celebrated Archbishop MacHale is directly descended from Bishop Maccelle, who received the profession of St. Bridget. 
— Sister M. F. Cusack, Life of Daniel O'Connell. 

5  The little conventual building in Kildare was soon surrounded by a great city. We have said little, for such it was in its first beginnings, but it soon became a vast building and contained many hundred inhabitants. — Nun of Kenmare. 

6  "Life of St. Bridget." 

7 St. Columbkille wrote a poem in praise of St. Bridget. Its first stanza may be rendered : 

"Bridget, the good and the virgin, 
Bridget, dear lady without sin, 
Bridget, the bright and God-given, 
May she lead us to beautiful heaven." 

There are churches dedicated to divine worship under the patronage of St. Bridget in Buffalo, Rochester, Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Philadelphia, San Francisco, St. Louis, New York, and countless other places in our country. 

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Saint Lomman of Portloman, February 7

February 6, 2015, 10:30 pm
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February 7 sees the commemoration of a saint associated with the locality of Lough Owel, County Westmeath - Lomman of Portloman. Canon O'Hanlon gives a particularly charming account of his own visit to a small island in the Lough in the course of his research into the saint's life, saying in a footnote:

Through the kind offer of Mr. De Blaquiere, who, on casually learning a clergyman's desire to see the old church there, with the ready courtesy of an Irish gentleman sent his pleasure boat and servant for the purpose, with instructions, that both were to be at the writer's disposal whatever time he might deem necessary for exploration on Lough Owel.

Weren't those the days when a gentleman would send his servant and pleasure boat to accommodate a clergyman? Page 386 of Volume II of the Lives of the Irish Saints contains a sketch of the servant rowing the Canon to the island.

Below is the account of Saint Lomman and his locality from that same volume. It is interesting to note the survival of some of the relics associated with the saint - a bachall and chain - until the mid-seventeenth-century. The chain was used as an aid to women in childbirth and would be placed around the belly of a labouring women to ensure a safe delivery. I saw an example of one of these chains or girdles in the National Museum recently. There is also at least one other Saint Lomman, said to have been a disciple of Saint Patrick and connected with Ath-Trim, but his feastday is commemorated on 11 October. Inevitably, however, there was some confusion in the sources between the two, which O'Hanlon mentions in passing.

St. Lomman, of Portloman, County of Westmeath. [Sixth Century.]
Among the many beautiful lakes of Westmeath, some may be found to rival Lough Owel, in depth, extent and variety of adjacent scenery; yet, none to surpass it in historic and topographical interest. Anciently was it called Loch Uair, and here, sometime in the sixth century, did the Blessed Lomman select a charming site for the foundation of a religious establishment, on its western banks. Lomman Locha Uair is an entry found in the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 7th of February.

Portlomon or Portlemon is now a parish, in the barony of Corkaree, and in the county of Westmeath. Within its limits is Frum Hill, on the summit of which there is a remarkable rath. Portlemon House, formerly the residence of Lord De Blaquiere, is situated within a finely wooded demesne. This, likewise, encloses the ancient church, and the surrounding graveyard – both of these rise on a gently sloping green ridge, immediately over the waters of Lough Owel. The ruins, about three and a-half miles north-west of Mullingar, measure seventy-seven feet, by twenty feet four inches. A stone, deeply embedded in the clay, was disinterred some years ago. It was shaped like a coffin-lid, and it had a cross inscribed. Probably, it marked the grave of some ecclesiastic, in former times. A tourist or pilgrim, visiting Portloman, must linger long at a place, endeared by so venerable an antiquity, and by so many religious associations. Especially from the old consecrated walls, where the resting-place of so many dead contributes to sacred and solemn remembrances, enchanting scenery is presented on every side.

A vast sheet of water spreads far away, to the east and south. The ancient name of the church here seems to have been derived from the present saint, who, probably, was the founder. It was called Tempull Lommain, or " the Church of Lomman." It is likely, a monastery had been established by him, in connexion with it; yet, not at a period so far back, as might be inferred from the statement of those, who would make our saint the- son of Darerca," sister to the Irish Apostle." In this case, St. Lomman should be regarded as nephew to the latter. But, St. Lomman's family and pedigree are assigned to altogether a different stock. He sprang from the race of Conall Gulban. St. Loman was the son of Ernan, son to Cesperius, son of Lathimius, son of Fergus, son to Conall Gulban. This saint, who was the fifth, in descent, must have been a relation of the great St. Columkille; but, he appears to have flourished after the time of the latter. At least, a difference of two generations is noted, in their respective pedigrees. We may therefore set it down as highly probable, that St. Loman—although he might have been born towards the close of the sixth century—yet, did not take an active part in the affairs of life, until the seventh age had somewhat advanced. As we have mentioned, in another place, on the island of Inishmore, in Lough Gill, county of Sligo, a St. Loman is said to have founded a church, in the time of St. Columkille. It may well be questioned, if he were not identical with the present holy man. Perhaps, it might be said, St. Loman of Lough Owel migrated to Lough Gill, at some period of his life; or, it might be, that St. Loman of Lough Gill chose afterwards to live near or on Lough Owel. Yet, our previous calculations, and the data already given, seem to establish a different case. We must observe, however, the similarity of a coincidence in taste, when a St, Loman of the seventh century chose to live near the lake scenery of a loch, lovely as any could be found elsewhere in the ancient province of Meath, while a St. Loman of the sixth age selected his lake-island, in the ancient province of Connaught. As the church and residence of St. Loman, at Lough Gill, were completely insulated, so did we find a very low-lying green dot, far away from Portloman, and on the surface of Lough Owel. It was greatly our wish to visit it, and happily the opportunity was presented. After a pleasant row of two miles, in a direct course, over the still waters of the lough, and on a exceptionally warm day, the writer was landed on Church Island. Here, indeed, were found subjects for solemn consideration. A very interesting old church stands, but in a ruinous state, on the small islet. It was built of fine limestone. Interiorly, it measured thirty-five feet in length, by eighteen feet in width. The walls were three feet in thickness. An end eastern and circularly-headed window was in the gable, as yet tolerably perfect. A window can be seen in the north sidewall, while a door was in the southern side wall. The west gable has completely disappeared. Elder trees grow within and around the ruins, which are also covered with ivy. An old cemetery extended without the church, and about fifty years before, the last corpse had been conveyed to it by boats and attendants from the mainland. Two distinctly marked piles of building stones are to be seen, on the very margin of the lake, and formerly these were more elevated over its surface than at present. They, however, are the debris of old anchoretical houses, now completely dilapidated, but apparently resembling, in former times, the beehive-shaped houses to be found in the west and south of Ireland. It is said, St. Lomman built a small house, in an island of Loch Uair, near Portlomain, and this seems most likely to have been the identical place. Except at the landing-place, and on the higher earth, near the old church and its graveyard, lake-flaggers and reedy-grass lift their tops amid the waters on the islet's margins. St. Lomman is said to have lived on Alexandric herbs, of which there was a great abundance on his island. This was the Smyrnium Olus-atrum, commonly called Alexanders, which was probably a corruption of Olus-atrum. The Irish name, Alistrin, for them, is certainly a corruption of Alexandrine.

The Martyrology of Donegal enters the festival of St. Lomman, of Loch h Uair, in Ui-Mac-Uais, in Midhe, at the 7th of February. At the vii. ides of this month, we find, likewise, Lomman, confessor, in Hibernia, is set down [in the Kalendarium Drummondiense] as having departed to Christ. We are informed, that he had another festival, at the 11th of October; this, however, is a mistake. In the seventeenth century, there was a holyday to honour this saint at Portloman, near Multi-Farannain, or Multyfarnham. Then, too, his bachall or crozier was held by Walter Mac Edward [Fitzward?] in Portlommain. His chain, too, was preserved there, towards the middle of the seventeenth century. What has become of both these objects cannot at present be ascertained.


Finally, you can see a picture of the inscribed stone referred to in the text here.
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Saint Airennan of Tallagh, February 10

February 9, 2015, 10:30 pm
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Below is an account of a saint commemorated on this day, Airennan, a successor at the monastery of Tallagh to its founder Maelruain. Canon O'Hanlon tells us what is known of him and speculates that Saint Airennan may even have been known to Saint Oengus the Martyrologist himself. He also refers to the confusion between our saint and the famous sapiens of Clonard, Saint Aireran, whose feast day falls in December, but both appear to be distinct learned holy men:

St. Airennan, Bishop of Tallagh, County of Dublin.

[Eighth Century.]

The Martyrology of Tallagh enters Airendan, Bishop of Tallaghta, at the 10th of February, and in the Martyrology of Donegal, we find entered, on this day, the name of Airennan, Bishop of Tamhlacht, now Tallagh, in the county of Dublin. He was born, most probably, during the earlier part of the eighth century; and, it is also likely, that he made his religious profession at, or soon after, the foundation of Tallagh, in the year 769. Under the head of Tamlacht, Duald Mac Firbis places Airennan, or Erennan, Bishop of Tamlacht, at February 10th. In the Dublin extracts, belonging to the Irish Ordnance Survey, and at the same date, in the Irish Calendar, we have this holy man's name occurring, as connected with Tamlacht. This, too, agrees with Ward's statement. As St. Melruan, the founder died, A.D. 787, or recte 792 the promotion of St. Airennan must be deferred to a subsequent period; and, accordingly, we find his death announced as Airfhindan, Abbot of Tamhlacht-Maeleruain (Tallaght), at A.D. 798, or recte 803. He therefore seems to have been the immediate successor of St. Melruan, whom he survived in office, only for a few years. He must, also, have been the companion of St. Oengus the Culdee, at Tallagh. In our calendars, we find the name of a St. Aireran, also called Aileran, surnamed "the Wise," Abbot of Clonard. The present saint's name is not very dissimilar. He is also known as Airenan, and called " the Wise."" He appears to have exercised the duties of a bishop, in addition to those of abbot. So far as we know, he is not distinguished as a writer.
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Saint Gobnait of Ballyvourney, February 11

February 10, 2015, 10:30 pm
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February 11 is the feastday of Saint Gobnait (Gobnet, Gobnata) of Ballyvourney. A previous post on her life can be found here. Below is a charming account of the saint and her locality, taken from the pioneering work on Irish pilgrimage by Daphne Pochin-Mould:

St. Gobnet is one of many early Irish saints about whom there is no written record, only a continuing and deep love and devotion amongst the people of the countryside that she had travelled, and a handful of traditional stories. Her connection with St. Abban puts her in the 6th century but there is no further definition to be had about her dates. She was on the Aran Islands and founded a church there and the islanders still honour her on her day, February 11th. The tradition is that she came seeking shelter on the islands from some enemy in Co. Clare. But she was not to remain there permanently, for an angel appeared and told her that that she must go and seek a place where nine white deer were grazing. There she would found a convent and settle permanently, there she would die and there would be, in the Irish phrase, the ‘place of her resurrection’.

So Gobnet went back to the mainland and travelled over southern Ireland seeking the white deer. There are a number of old Celtic church sites and holy wells bearing her name, and most of these still seem to be venerated and visited. They include a site at Dungarvan, in Co. Waterford, and at Ballyagran near Charleville, the Kerry sites of Dunquin, looking out to the Blasket Islands, and of Cahirciveen. Not till she came to Clondrohid in Co. Cork did she meet any deer, but there she found three white ones grazing. Here is a special stone still venerated in her name, Cloch Ghobnatan, Gobnet’s stone, and it is traditional to carry a coffin deiseal once round this before the burial takes place. Next the saint met six white deer, at Ballymakeera, the next hamlet to Ballyvourney; finally at the latter place she found the full complement of deer.

St. Gobnet’s little settlement is in a place where one might indeed expect to find nine white deer grazing. The River Sullane, a tributary of the Cork Lee, takes origin in the moorland and rock of the Derrynasaggart mountains, flowing from them into a deep but spacious valley, its flanks checkered with fields, broken with woodland and coppice. Even today one can realize the kind of place it was in the 6th century, little fields amongst trees and grassy stretches of sunlit turf amongst the woods of birch and hazel and oak, where one would come upon deer grazing peacefully. Gobnet’s convent was high up on the slope of the valley, set well above the river, amongst this bosky country where the rock begins to show through the grass, and the fields end against moor and wood; from it there is a great outlook down the river valley.

There are some pleasant traditions about St. Gobnet and her nuns at Ballyvourney. How a robber tried to build a castle in the glen and how Gobnet resisted him, throwing a stone ball at his constructions as soon as he had begun them and knocking them down. The ball returned to Gobnet of itself; eventually the man tired of his fruitless labour and went away; but the miraculous stone ball is still venerated at Ballyvourney, preserved in a niche in the wall of the old church. Again, another robber came to drive off all the Ballyvourney people’s cattle. St. Gobnet was a great bee-keeper; she turned the bees onto him and he, not unnaturally, fled, leaving behind his prey of beasts. One account makes the rather unnecessary addition of each bee turning into an armed soldier for the attack. St. Gobnet is always represented in art with her bee skip, or beachaire.

The saint also stopped the plague spreading into the district, by her prayers; when illness did come she was a good nurse. One of her nuns was sick and Gobnet took her to a sequestered glen to recover, praying God that no noise or disturbance would worry the nun. Ever since not even the loudest thunder has been heard in this place. The saint was also noted for her kindness and generosity to the poor; when she was very young she was taking meat to give to the poor. She met her father, who objected violently to these practices, and demanded to know what she was carrying. She was forced to produce her basket, but it was full of flowers into which the meat had been miraculously changed.

Out of the traditions something emerges; the little community of women on the hillside, with their bees and their garden and a little farm; Gobnet helping the Ballyvourney people and curing their sicknesses. The convent is no longer there but the saint’s help remains, and to ask her assistance the crowds still come both on February 11th and on Whitsunday, when a second big pilgrimage takes place…..

D.D.C. Pochin Mould, Irish Pilgrimage (Dublin, 1955), 93- 95.
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Saint Forannan of Clonard, February 12

February 11, 2015, 10:30 pm
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February 12 sees the feast of an eighth-century abbot at the monastery of Clonard, County Meath - Saint Forannan. O'Hanlon has a brief entry on what is known of him:
St. Forannan, Abbot of Clonard, County of Meath.
[Eighth Century.]

We read on this day, in the Martyrology of Donegal, that Forannan, Abbot of Cluain Eraird, was venerated. He is said, also, to have been Abbot of Kildare, and to have died, on the 12th of February, A.D. 740, according to the Annals of the Four Masters,- or according to those of Ulster, A.D. 744.

In his diocesan history of Meath, Anglican rector John Healy recorded something of the context for the lives of the successors to Saint Finian:
The establishment at Clonard continued to exist down to the time of the Anglo-Norman invasion. It produced a long succession of men who were eminent in their day, but whose names now sound unfamiliar — such is the evanescent character of all human greatness. The annalists for the most part record for us simply their parentage and their decease. Sometimes, however, they give us small details that make us wish that they had not been so concise in all their statements, but had given us some particulars of the lives of these remarkable men . Thus they tell us of Bishop Tola, who was " a worthy soldier of Christ," and of Faelgus, who was " a wise man of Clonard." They tell of Suairleach, " bishop, anchorite, and abbot of Clonard, doctor in divinity and in spiritual wisdom, in piety and good deeds, so that his name spread over all Ireland : " and
yet again of Ruman the amiable, a bishop who was " a shrine of wisdom, illustrious, acute, a man of virgin purity," and " loved by the hosts of the assembled people." Then we have Colman, the " wise doctor," and Maelmochta, " the head of the piety and wisdom of Ireland ; " Tuathal, the bishop, who " died after a good life," and Oengus, lord of Laeghaire, who, after a life of turmoil, retired to spend at Clonard his declining days, but was followed thither by his foes, and slain by the lord of Delvin. Such entries suggest many thoughts, but it is left to the imagination to fill in the picture. They tell, however, that the place was the abode of learning and piety, where good and learned men served their generation by the will of God.
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Saint Ossan of Rathossain, February 17

February 16, 2015, 10:30 pm
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17 February is a date on which many saints are commemorated in the Irish calendars of whom Saint Ossan of Rathossain in County Meath is one of the lesser-known . In O'Hanlon's account below I find it curious that there are supposed to be two different saints of this name commemorated on the same day, but the earlier, Patrician saint is not as well-attested as the seventh-century Ossan whose repose is recorded in various Irish Annals.

St. Ossan, Bishop of Rathossain, County of Meath. [Seventh Century.]

Colgan has some notices, regarding this saint, at the 17th of February. He was born, most probably about, or after, the beginning of the seventh century. According to Duald Mac Firbis, we find a Bishop Ossan, from Rath-Ossain, to the west of Ath Truim. It is thought,that he died on the 17th of February, A.D. 686. He is considered to have lived, at a period, somewhat earlier, than another homonymous saint venerated here, and on the same day. Colgan thinks, that a St. Ossan, at or near Trim, is alluded to, as one of the makers of sacred vessels for St. Patrick, under the name of Essa. Yet, this is clearly irreconcilable with chronology. However this be, Ossan, Bishop, is the only mention made of him, in the Martyrology of Tallagh. The Martyrologist, Marianus O'Gorman, calls him "candidus." In a moral sense, this word indicates his character for intergrity or innocence. If it refer to his physical appearance, we may assume that he was a man of clear or fair complexion. We read, as entered in the Martyrology of Donegal, on this day, Ossan, Bishop, of Rath Ossian. His place is particularly pointed out, as being near the western gate of the ancient borough or city of Trim. The " Annals of the Four Masters " place his death at A.D. 685, while calling him Bishop of Mainistir, or "of the Monastery." The "Annals of Ulster" have his demise at A.D. 686.
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Saint Nuad of Armagh, 19 February

February 18, 2015, 10:30 pm
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A ninth-century Archbishop of Armagh, Saint Nuad (Nuada or Nodtat), is commemorated on February 19. Canon O'Hanlon records:

St. Nuad, St. Nuada or Nodtat, Archbishop of Armagh

[Eighth and Ninth Centuries.]

At the 19th of February, Colgan and the Bollandists have entered some biographical notices of this holy archbishop, who enjoyed the supreme ecclesiastical dignity in Ireland for a brief period. Nodtat or Nuada, bishop, is mentioned in the Martyrologies of Tallagh, of Marianus O'Gorman, and of Donegal, on this day. He was at first a monk, and also an anchorite. From this state of life, and even against his own will, he had been promoted to the abbatial, and thence translated to the archiepiscopal dignity. His birth-place or residence is said to have been situated at Lough Uama. This signifies the "lake of the cave," the water being said to rise out of a cavern, and the position is also assigned to Breiffny. Here, it is thought, he led the life of an anchoret. The lough, to which allusion has been made, was in the present county of Leitrim. It sometimes flowed back into that cave, whence it issued ; and, the people living on its borders especially believed, that this was an indication of the Dynast's approaching death, or that of his children. Ancient Breffny comprehended the present counties of Cavan and of Leitrim. It was divided into Upper and Lower, or East and West Brefiny. In the latter division, called Brefiny Hy-Ruairc, our saint must have lived, until he was called to a higher dignity, on the death of St. Torbach Mac Gorman. This event took place, on the 16th of July, A.D. 812. Archbishop Nuad visited Connaught, A.D. 810 or 815; and, he is there reported, to have made a reformation of some abuses, which had crept into the churches. The Catalogue of the Armagh Primates allows three complete years, for the presidency of Nuad ; but, these must be understood, with the addition of some months, reckoning from the death of Torbach, on the 16th of July, A.D. 812, to the 19th of February, A.D. 816. Other authorities, however, place his demise before this date, viz., at the year 811 or 812. Under the year 811, this passage occurs in the Annals of Ulster, "Nuad of Loch-Huama, bishop, anchorite, and Abbot of Armagh, fell asleep."

Lanigan's Ecclesiastical History of Ireland says that 'in 811 Nuad made a visitation of some part of Connaught and on that occasion relieved some churches there from an annual offering, which used to be made to that of Armagh' (Vol 3, p.252).

The Ancient List of the Coarbs of Patrick lists Nuada as the 33rd holder of the episcopal see of Armagh.
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A Prayer to Saint Odhran

February 18, 2015, 10:30 pm
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February 19 is the commemoration of Saint Odhran, whom tradition remembers as Saint Patrick's charioteer and as a martyr who sacrificed his life for his master. Below is a prayer to Saint Odhran, taken from the 1941 edition of the Catholic prayerbook, Saint Anthony's Treasury. The prayer to Saint Odhran sounds like a product of the 19th-century nationalist revival, there is a strong emphasis on the land of Ireland but combined with an appreciation of the saint's heroism and a desire that his 'noble sacrifice' should not be forgotten:

Prayer to St. Odran

(St. Patrick's Charioteer)

(Who gave his own life to save that of his master)

Blessed Saint Odran, faithful and loyal to God and man! you whose name is almost forgotten by those who owe you an everlasting debt of gratitude, accept our poor thanksgiving, offered in the name of all Ireland, for your noble sacrifice of your life to save that of Ireland's Apostle. You had toiled in his service long and devotedly; you had learned what priceless service he could render to God and the Irish land and, when the moment came when he or you should die, by pagan hands, quickly and resolutely you laid down your life, that your master might live and labour for the Divine Master of all.

By your crown of martyrdom so gloriously won, by your centuries of endless peace and joy, we beseech you to look down on the toiling sons of Ireland and on those who try to guide them to their eternal rest. Look down on us all, O blessed Saint! for the love of him whose heart burned with love for Ireland, and pray that the blessing of the Triune God - Father, Son and Holy Ghost - may descend on us and remain with us for ever. Amen.

St. Anthony's Treasury - A Manual of Devotions (Anthonian Press, Dublin, 12th edition, 1941), 285-286.
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Saint David and Naas

February 28, 2015, 10:30 pm
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March 1 is the feast of Saint David, the patron of Wales. Ireland, however, can also claim to have a long tradition of devotion to the Welsh patron and the parish church at Naas, County Kildare, is dedicated to Saint David. As diocesan historian, Father Michael Comerford explains, the dedication can be traced back to the influence of Cambro-Norman settlers, many of whom had links to the Pembrokeshire area:

The parochial church of Naas, since the Norman invasion, has been dedicated to St. David. It is supposed that the present Protestant church occupies the site of the church of the olden time, and that portions of the walls of the ancient structure are built into the modern church. There are strong reasons for judging that the parish church of Naas, in the early Christian era, was dedicated to St. Patrick. The Egerton Tripartite (quoted by Father Shearman), recounting the miracles of our national Apostle makes mention of the Dominica of Naas. This would, in itself, go far to prove that the original church was under the invocation of St. Patrick. Dr. Joyce (Irish Names of Places), would deduce additional proof of this from the fact that the great fair of Naas was (until a few years ago) held on St. Patrick's Day. It is conjectured that William Fitzmaurice, on whom Naas was bestowed by Henry II,, finding the old church of St. Patrick either ruinous or destroyed, rebuilt it, and on the occasion, substituted St. David, the patron of his father's native country, Wales, as the Titular. (Loca Patr).

Rev. M. Comerford, 'Naas: An Historical Sketch', in Transactions of the Ossory Archaeological Society, Vol. II (1880-1883), 111-112.

Canon O'Hanlon, who has a lengthy entry for Saint David in Volume III of his Lives of the Irish Saints, also comments on the link between Saint David and the patronage of Naas, starting with the old parish church and then moving on to the building of the Church of Our Lady and Saint David, which commenced just two years before Catholic Emancipation:

"It was only natural, the ancient Welsh colonists should desire their chief patron, St. David, to be regarded as titular of Naas, in Ireland. Accordingly, at an early period, no doubt, such an honour awaited the church first raised there, to the invocation of this beloved and venerated patron. The site of the old church of St. David, at Naas, is in the centre, and on the east side of the town. It is popularly agreed, that the present walls of this church, with an ancient tower on the south-west end, are repaired portions of the old parochial church of St. David. There were three chantries formerly within it, viz. : that of the Holy Trinity, of St. Mary, and of St. Catherine. The Church of St. David is surrounded by a cemetery, where Catholic families still continue to bury their dead. Some remains of old tombs and armorial bearings, carved in stone, are found within this graveyard enclosure. The soil seems to have accumulated to a considerable height over the foundations, owing chiefly to interments continued for centuries past. No very ancient monuments, however, can be found there at present.

The old parish church, now appropriated and re-modelled for the purposes of Protestant worship, appears to rest on a part only of its original foundations. Near the side walls, traces of extension may be discovered, so as to indicate, that it had probably been cruciform in design. The foundations of one lateral transept are visible. It was known as the Lady Chapel. Another transept probably corresponded with it, on the opposite side, where a poorly-designed porch now extends. Internally, as well as externally, it is an easy matter for the antiquarian and architect to discover alterations, from a much purer type of building. Hardly in any one instance can the more recent modifications be regarded as improvements. The walls are of extreme thickness. The interior contains some tablet memorials, a rich stained glass window, an organ, &c.; but, it is deformed with a cumbersome gallery, high pews, and other unsightly obstructions and designs.

The present building has evidently undergone many alterations. It is near the site of an old castle, which, in a great measure, has been modernized, and at present serves to form a rectorial residence. It is still known as St. David's castle. The adjoining grounds and accessories are ornamental. Not far removed, an endowed grammar school is entered, through the cemetery gate. Where the steeple once stood, a huge unfinished tower was erected, nearly one hundred years since, by an Earl of Mayo. It has within it, on a slab, the following inscription :—" Ruinam invent, Pyramidem reliqui, Mayo." ["I found a ruin,"—the old Catholic erection then in ruins.—"I left this steeple in its place, Mayo." In the tower, is a bell, bearing the following inscription: "Os meum laudabit Dominum in Ecclesia S. Davidis de Naas." ("My mouth shall praise the Lord in the Church of St. David of Naas.") R. P. W. C, 1674.] Some time after the Catholics were deprived of this church, they built another, where the Moat School now is, and which served until the present building was erected.

The first stone of this commodious edifice was laid, August 15th, 1827.This church is dedicated, under the joint patronage of our Lady and of St. David. The church itself is divided into nave and aisles, by two rows of columns, the nave being 30 feet wide, and the aisles 15 feet, each. The total length, from the eastern wall, behind the high altar, to the western wall of the tower, is 138 feet; and, the height of the nave to the ridge plate 52 feet, a good and beautiful proportion. Forty years after the opening, the interior began to be finished. About twenty years after the opening, a steeple, modelled after that of Ewerby, in Lincolnshire, set up in the 14th century, was commenced, and was finished on the last day of the year 1858. It is 200 feet high. The style is what is called the transitional; that is, what prevailed between "the early English" and "the decorated" periods. The tower consists of three stages. The Priory of Great Connell, within a few miles of Naas, was dedicated to our Lady and to St. David. Canons Regular of St. Augustine occupied this religious establishment, and the Prior had a seat in the Upper House. Great Conall was founded by Meyler Fitz-Henry, Lord Justice of Ireland, in the beginning of the thirteenth century. Although St. Kieran of Clonniacnoise seems to have been the first patron saint of Ardnurcher, a parish located partly in the barony of Kilcoursey, but chiefly in that of Moycashel, county of Westmeath; yet, St. David—most likely the present one—has been patron saint for many centuries back, and there is a holy well dedicated to him, at Ballinlaban. It is still much frequented. In Mulrankin parish, county of Wexford, a patron was formerly held, on the 1st of March. Probably this was in honour of St. David. A Ballydavid Townland and Head are to be found, on an extremely remote shore of western Kerry, in the barony of Corkaguiny, not far from the old ruined church, in Kilquane parish".

Canon O'Hanlon concludes with a final reminder that there are good reasons why the Irish people should not hesitate to seek the intercession of the patron of Wales:

"It must always constitute a pleasing and truly Christian state of society,to find international kindness and courtesies, with charitable and religious offices, exchanged between the people of different countries. Such kindly relationship appears to have prevailed, on the part of our Irish ancestors and the Cambro-Britons, except on rare occasions, when ambitious, adventurous, and unprincipled leaders conducted marauding expeditions, against those exposed to their predatory incursions. The bad passions of men, thus mutually excited, led oftentimes to bloody reprisals. Nor can we doubt, but the period and contemporaries of St. David witnessed many of those devastating raids. Yet, it is consoling to find, that the holy men of Hibernia and Cambria maintained an intimacy, strengthened by bonds of mutual friendship and religious associations, even from opposite shores. Intercommunication by sea voyages brought Menevia within easy reach of Irish students, many of whom were proud to acknowledge St. David as their master in sacred and secular learning. Again, the schools of Ireland were not less celebrated, about the same time, and had been resorted to by numbers of Cambro-Britons, who spent precious years in the acquisition of similar knowledge.We have already seen, that several renowned Irish ecclesiastics are specially named, as having sought the companionship and guidance of holy David. Some of their Acts are recorded, in connexion with him, and these even serve to illustrate his biography. Encouraged by his example and emulating his piety, while cultivating their natural mental faculties. Almighty God was pleased to reserve them for a career of further usefulness, when returning once more to their native Isle beyond the waves. Hence, in life, St. David was honoured and venerated by some of our most distinguished saints, and it is only just, therefore, when he has passed from life to the happiness of immortality, that in our Island, as within his specially privileged principality, the name of this great and good bishop should be well remembered and invoked. Through his ministry, blessings descended on our forefathers, and so may his protection secure other spiritual favours for those people, who have adopted him as their special patron".
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Saint Foila of Killeely, March 3

March 2, 2015, 10:30 pm
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A female saint of the west, Foila of Killeely, County Galway is commemorated on March 3. Canon O'Hanlon has this account of her:

St. Foila or Foilenna, Virgin, and Patroness of Kill-faile now Killeely Parish, County of Galway.

Colgan could not procure any special Acts of this saint, who was venerated in the southern parts of Connaught, in his own time. However, he and the Bollandists have short notices of her, at this day. St. Foilenna, Failenna, or Fallenda, or as more commonly called, St. Foila or Faila, also denominated Foilend, or Faoileann, is thought to have been daughter to Aidan, surnaraed Draignech, son to Lugadius, son to Dathy, King of Ireland; and, her mother, Cuillenn, or Cullenda, was likewise descended from a distinguished family. She had three brothers, Colgeus, or Colga, Aldus and Sorarius, who are numbered amongst the saints of our country. At what particular time St. Foila was born, we are not informed ; but, it was thought, probably, in an early part or towards the middle of the sixth century. It seems probable, she lived in Kill-faile. This place is identical with the present parish of Killeely, in the barony of Dunkellin, county of Galway. The old church there is yet in good preservation, being, in the opinion of Dr. O'Donovan, modernized during the 14th or 15th century. Measured on the inside, it is 63 feet long by 21 broad. The pointed or Gothic style there prevails. It is remarkable, that this parish joins Kilcolgan, where St. Faile's brother, Colga or Colgan had been venerated. Both churches were near Ath cliath Medhruidhe, the ancient name for Clarinbridge. Both saints also belonged to the race of the Hy Fiachrach Aidhne. The church of Kill-faile derives its name from St. Foila, and it is situated within the diocese of Kilmacduagh. During her lifetime, St. Foila performed many miracles. The day and year of her death is not recorded ; but, the former probably fell on the 3rd of March, when her festival was kept, in the church of Kill-faile. It is commemorated on this day, according to the Martyrologies of Tamlacht, of Marianus O'Gorman, of Maguire and of Donegal. After her death, frequent pilgrimages were made to St. Foila's tomb, from distant parts of the country, by persons afflicted with various maladies. For the cure of these, they reposed great confidence, in her merits and intercession.
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