OMNIUM SANCTORUM HIBERNIAE

ALL THE SAINTS OF IRELAND

  • Saint Sinchell of Killeigh, March 26


    March 26 is the feast of an early monastic founder, Saint Sinchell (Sincheall, Sinell, Senchell) associated with Killeigh, County Offaly. Tradition records that there were two saints of this name, the younger Sinchell being nephew to the elder. The Martyrologies preserve two separate feast days for Sinchell of Killeigh, that of the elder on March 26 and that of the younger on June 25. Below is an account of the saint’s life and locality from the Father M. Comerford’s Collections relating to the Dioceses of Kildare and Leighlin:

    The parish of Killeigh is situated partly in the barony of Upper Philipstown, but chiefly in that of Geashill. It consists of the union of the former parishes or ecclesiastical districts of Killeigh, Ballykeane and Geashill. This district is noted in both the secular and still more in the ecclesiastical annals of Ireland. The name of Killeigh is common with another ecclesiastical establishment which, according to Colgan, was situated in East Breifny. The Killeigh with which we are at present concerned is situated in Ofalia, and is always distinguished from the other by the addition droma foda. Achadh-droma-foda signifies the field of the long ridge, and Cill was prefixed after St. Sinchell had erected his church there. The name, as Dr. O’Donovan adds (Note to Four Masters) is very descriptive of the locality, for a remarkable, long, low druim or ridge extends south-west-wards, immediately over the village of Killeigh. The entire of the ancient Ofalia, from Slieve Bloom to the Hill of Allen, and from the Sugar-loaf hill to the Great Heath is a plain nearly as level as the surface of a tranquil sea, and the droma-foda, though not high, becomes a remarkable feature in so level a district.

    St. Sinell, or Senchell, one of the most distinguished ecclesiastics of his time, founded a Monastery of Killeigh at the beginning of the sixth century. This monastery became afterwards known as the Priory of the Holy Cross of Canons Regular of St. Augustine. St. Senchell, who is stated to have been St. Patrick’s first convert, was the son of Kennfinnain, and grandson of Inchad, or Finchada, of the royal blood of Leinster (Colgan, Trias. Thaum.) The father of the saint was ninth in descent from Cathair Mor, monarch of Ireland. In both the Martyrology of Tallaght and the Feiliré, St. Aengus notes the 5th of April as the Feast of the first Baptism conferred by St. Patrick in Ireland: —“Baptisma Patricii venit ad Hiberniam.” (Mart. Tall.) “Excellent Patrick’s baptism was kindled in Ireland.” (Feiliré.) On this latter the gloss in the Leabhar Breac adds, “i. Sinell, son of Finchad of the Ui-Garrchon, he is the first person Patrick baptised in Ireland.” It is related that St. Ailbe, of Emly, presented him a cell, in which he had himself lived for some time, at Cluain Damh (now Clane, County Kildare). We find St. Senchell afterwards at Killeigh, where he founded a monastery, which in course of time became very celebrated. In order to distinguish him from another St. Senchell, a relative of his, who lived with him at Killeigh (and who is styled Bishop in the litany of St. Aengus), he is usually called senior. Having lived to a good old age, he died on the 26th of March, AD 549, in his monastery at Killeigh, and was interred there. Petrie states that St Kieran and the two Senchells died of the Plague which raged in 549. In the litany of St. Aengus Ceile De, written in AD. 799, we have evidence of the celebrity and holiness to which this religious establishment had attained. “Thrice fifty holy bishops with twelve pilgrims, under Senchell the elder, a priest; Senchell the younger, a bishop; and the twelve bishops who settled in Cill Achaidh Dromfota in Hy Failghi. These are the names of the bishops of Cill Achaidh: —Three Budocis, three Canocis, Morgini, six Vedgonis, six Beaunis, six Bibis, nine Glonalis, nine Ercocinis, nine Grucimnis, twelve Uennocis, twelve Contumanis, twelve Onocis, Senchilli, Britanus from Britain, Cerrui, from Armenia. All these I invoke unto my aid through Jesus Christ.” And again: —“ The twelve Conchennaighi, with the two Senchells in Cill Achaidh, I invoke unto my aid through Jesus Christ.” (IE. Record, May, 1867.) The learned editor of this litany (which he copied from a MS. in the archives of St. Isidore’s at Rome), in a note on the eight monastic rules of the early Irish Saints extant, writes as follows “We may add that we have ourselves discovered another, some-what different from these, in the St. Isidore MS. from which this litany is published, and we regret that want of space alone prevents us from laying it before our readers. It is entitled— The Pious Rules and Practices of the School of Senchil. This was Senchil, surnamed the Elder. The Rules and Practices are 38 in number. When we say that an ardent desire of hearing, and offering up the holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and frequent confession were amongst the rules and practices of a school which was celebrated in the first half of the sixth century, we have said enough to prove under what system of education Ireland became ‘another name for piety, and learning in most of the languages of Europe.”

    ANNALS OF KILLEIGH

    AD. 548. St. Senchell the Elder, son of Ceanannan, Abbot of Cill-Achaidh-Droma-foda, died on the 26th day of March. Thirty and three hundred years was the length of his life. (Four Masters.) Colgan (AL SS., p. 747), thinks this number should be one hundred and thirty. In the Mart. Tal. we find at 26th March, “Sinchelli, Abb. Chilli Achaidh; and at 25th June, “Sinchell Cilli Achaidh.” The former refers to St. Senchell, Senior, the latter to St. Senchell, Junior.

    The Feiliré makes the 26th of March the “Feast of the two perennial Sinchells of vast Cill Achid;” to which entry the gloss in the Leabhar Breac adds

    “Three hundred years—fine satisfaction!
    That was (the elder) Sinchell’s lifetime
    And thrice ten years brightly
    Without sin, without sloth.”

    26 March. Sincheall, Abbot of Cill-achaidh-dromfota, i.e., the old Sincheall. It was of him this character was given after his death: –

    “The men of heaven, the men of earth,
    A surrounding host,
    Thought that the day of judgment
    Was the Death of Seancheall.

    There came not, there will not come from Adam,
    One more austere, more strict in piety;
    There came not, there will not come, all say it,
    Another Saint more welcome to the men of heaven.”

    —(Mart. Don)


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  • An Ancient Irish Prayer to Our Lady?

    The month of May in Catholic tradition is dedicated to Our Lady and over past weeks I have been praying what the old prayer book, At Our Lady’s Altar, describes as an ‘Ancient Irish Prayer to Our Lady’. But I found myself wondering just how ‘ancient’ this prayer actually was since to me it felt more representative of later medieval or early modern praises of the Blessed Virgin. As you will see from the scans from the prayer book, we are told that it is in use among the Irish-speaking communities of Connacht. I wondered, therefore, if it might have been one of those gathered by Ireland’s first President, Douglas Hyde (1860-1949), in his 1906 collection The Religious Songs of Connacht, and so it proved to be. Dr Hyde recorded that he got this prayer from two separate sources, first from a friend of his who took it down from an old man called Hegarty from Claremorris, County Mayo, but he goes on to say:

    I got it a great deal better in a beautiful manuscript book that Seóirse Giolla an-Chloig, or Bell, had in Claremorris, and which Dr. Maguire has since very kindly given to me. This book was written by one Edmond O’ Conor in the year 1740. I put down hero the prayer exactly as he wrote it, and since I am changing nothing in the orthography, not even a dot, the reader will see how excellent and exact the book is.

    A PRAYER TO THE VIRGIN MARY.

    O glorious Virgin, Mother of God, Woman above all rank, praiseworthy in all praising no matter how great, make intercession on my behalf to thine own beloved Only-Son. O honourable Woman, thou art the mother of the King of the Angels and of the Archangels relieve me and save me from every hardship and evil.

    O blossom of the patriarchs, of the Virgins and of the angels; O Hope of Glory, O Beauty of the Virgins, O Higher Thought of the angels and of the archangels, remember me, and I pray thee not to forsake me in the fearsome time of my death. O star of the sea, O door of Paradise, O temple of God, O Palace of Jesus Christ, O Harbour of health, O blossom of all nations, O pearl of all sweetness. O Queen sheltering the guilty, O Hope of the Faithful, O upper Brightness of the Virgins and of the Angels; verily it is thy conversation with the angels and with the archangels that is for them a delight.

    Therefore, O Mother of Mercy, I place in the protection of thy own blessed hands my going out and my coming in, my lying-down and my rising-up, the sight of my eyes, the touch of my hands, the speech of my mouth, the hearing of my ears, so that they may be pleasing to thine own beloved Son. Amen.

    Douglas Hyde , Abhrain diadha chúige Connacht -The Religious Songs of Connacht, a collection of poems, stories, prayers, satires, ranns, charms, etc., Volume II (London, 1906), 291-295.

    So it seems that this prayer was known from at least the middle of the eighteenth century. I would suspect there is an even older Latin original behind it. This type of litany-style prayer seems to have translated very readily into Gaelic tradition, there is another at the blog here which was similarly labelled ‘ancient’, but which is later medieval. One which may fairly be described as ‘ancient’, the Hymn of the eighth-century monk Cú Chuimne of Iona, is also available at the blog here.

  • A Litany of Irish Female Saints

    Marking International Women’s Day with The Litany of the Virgins, a lorica-type prayer which invokes the protection of twenty-eight Irish women medieval saints. Among them are the four female saints with written Lives – Brigid, Íte, Moninne and Samthann. I note that Our Lady, the Holy Virgin of Virgins, heads the list followed by her Irish equivalent, Saint Brigid, the Mary of the Gael. This Litany is number eleven in the collection Irish Litanies published by the Rev. Charles Plummer a century ago. The original was preserved in the twelfth-century Book of Leinster. Below is the Irish text followed by Plummer’s translation.

    Litany of the Virgins

    [1] [No]m churim ar commairge
    Maire ogi ingini,
    Brigti báne bruthmaire,
    Cua[che] mor-glaine,
    Moninni is Midnatan,
    Scire, Sinchi, Samchaine,
    Caite, Cuacae, Coemilli,
    [C]raine, Coppe, Cocnatan,
    Nessi ane Ernaigthi,
    Derbfhalen is Becnatan,
    Ceire is Chrone, is Chailainne
    Lasrae, Lochae, is Luathrinni,
    Ruind, Ronnait, [R]ignaige,
    Sarnat, Segnat, Sodeilbe,
    Is na nóg i noen-baile,
    Tuaid, tess, tair, tiar.

    [2} Nom churim ar commairgi
    Na Trinoite togaide,
    Na fádi, na fir-apstal,
    Na mmanach, na mmartirech,
    Na fedb is na foismidech,
    Na nog is na nirisech,
    Na noem is na noem-aingel,
    Ar cach nolc dom anacul,
    Ar demnaib, ar droch-doenib,
    Ar dornom, ar droch-aimsir,
    Ar galar, ar gu-belaib,
    Ar uacht is ar accorus,
    Ar anaeb, ar escuni,
    Ar dígail, ar dairmitin,
    Ar dinsem, ar dercháine,
    Ar mi-rath, ar merugud,
    Ar theidm bratha borrfadaig,
    Ar olc iffirn il-phiastaig
    Co nilur a phian.

    Translation

    I place myself under the protection
    Of Mary the Pure Virgin
    Of Brigit, bright and glowing,
    Of Cúach of great purity,
    Of Mo-ninne and Midnat,
    Of Scíre, Sinche and Samthann,
    Of Caite, Cúach and Coímell,
    Of Craine, Cop and Cocnat,
    Of Ness the glorious of Ernaide,
    Of Derfáilind and Becnat,
    Of Ciar and Cróine and Coílfhind,
    Of Lasair, Lóch and Luaithrinn,
    Of Ronn, Rónnat, and Rígnach,
    Of Sarnat, Segnat, and Soidelb,
    And of the Virgins all together
    North, South, East, West.

    I place myself under the protection
    Of the excellent Trinity,
    Of the prophets, of the true apostles,
    Of the monks, of the martyrs,
    Of the widows, and the confessors,
    Of the virgins, of the faithful,
    Of the saints and the holy angels;
    To protect me against every ill,
    Against demons and evil men,
    Against thunder (?)and bad weather,
    Against sickness and false lips,
    Against cold and hunger,
    Against distress and dishonour,
    Against contempt and despair,
    Against misfortune and wandering,
    Against the plague of the tempestuous doom,
    Against the evil of hell with its many monsters.
    And its multitude of torments.

    Rev. C. Plummer, ed. and trans., Irish Litanies: text and translation. Edited from the manuscripts. (Henry Bradshaw Society, London, 1925)92-3; 121-3.