Saint Mirren of Paisley, September 15

September 15 is the commemoration of Saint Mirren (Mirin, Mirinus, Meadhran), to whom Paisley Abbey in Scotland is dedicated. I have previously posted the account from Bishop Alexander Forbes's 1872 work, Scottish Kalendars, here but we revisit the saint today in the company of Canon O'Hanlon. September 15 in Volume IX of his Lives of the Irish Saints opens with an account of Saint Mirren as the lead article for the day. In a footnote we learn that Canon O'Hanlon visited the site of Paisley Abbey in 1874 and made one of his splendid sketches. In the Abbey's dedication Saint Mirren shared the honours with a seventh-century Anglo-Saxon abbess, Saint Milburga, as well as with Saint James and the Blessed Virgin. Our knowledge of Saint Mirren is derived from the Lessons for his Feast as preserved in the Aberdeen Breviary of 1510. It depicts him as a disciple of Saint Comgall of Bangor, who worked a number of miracles at Bangor, where he was elected as prior, before going to Scotland. The editor of the 2012 edition of the Aberdeen Breviary, Alan Macquarrie, makes the point that the Irish vitae of Saint Comgall do not allude to any relationship with Mirren. The miracles attributed to Saint Mirren in the Breviary are also found in the Lives of Comgall but without reference to Mirren. Lesson Three in the office of Saint Comgall in the Breviary, however, upholds the idea that the pair were teacher and pupil as it says that 'St Mirren was sent to him by his noble parents to be nurtured'. Modern consensus seems to be that there is no compelling reason to challenge the idea that Saint Mirren may have undertaken his Scottish mission under the auspices of Bangor as did Saint Maelrubha, who was also a monk from Saint Comgall's famous foundation. Canon O'Hanlon's account ends with a gazetteer of place names associated with Saint Mirren, but here modern scholarship is less confident about some of these identifications. Dr Macquarrie notes:

Some places have been doubtfully connected with him: Forbes mentions 'St Mirren's Chapel' at Kilmarnock in Lennox and St Mirren's Well at Kilsyth. In fact the name Kilmaronock Cill mo Rónóic, from Rónán .. is unconnected with Mirren. It is sometimes said that Inchmurrin in Loch Lomond contains his name; but it is more likely that this is from the female name Muirenn. 

Alan Macquarrie, ed., Legends of Scottish Saints: Readings, hymns and prayers for the commemorations of Scottish saints in the Aberdeen Breviary (Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2012), p. 393.

So, below is Canon O'Hanlon's account from the 1870s of both Saint Mirren and the history of the Abbey at Paisley which once held his tomb. Since the Lessons found in the Office for the feast day of Saint Mirren are our sole source of information, I have also appended a nineteenth-century translation of these from another contemporary source:

ARTICLE I.—ST. MIRINUS OR MEADHRAN, PATRON OF PAISLEY, SCOTLAND.

[SIXTH CENTURY.)

ALTHOUGH chiefly venerated in Scotland, St. Mirinus—also called Meadhran—seems to have been born in Ireland. Whatever is related regarding him, we find chiefly contained in the Breviary of Aberdeen, where there is an Office of Five Lessons for St. Mirinus; all of which seems to have been taken from the Life of St. Comgall, Abbot of Bangor, in Ireland. At an early age, his parents entrusted their son to the care of St. Comgall, to be trained in his school. In Bangor Monastery he assumed the religious habit, and subsequently he there became prior. The gentleness of his rule was admired by all, and he was especially loved by the monks over whom he presided. When St. Finian, Abbot of Maghbile, came to visit Bangor during the absence of St. Comgall, he asked for milk, which was not to be had, as the strict observance of the monastery required the inmates to live only on bread and herbs. However, Merinus desired the cellarer to bring from the buttery some milk, which was miraculously procured and distributed, through favour of St. Finian, to the other monks at table. On a certain occasion, one of the brethren saw Merinus surrounded with a heavenly light, while sitting in his cell. At length, St. Mirinus left Ireland in order to spread the faith in Scotland, then newly evangelized by the great St. Columkille, Abbot of Iona. The chief establishment of Mirin was at Passelet—now Paisley—one of the most busy commercial towns of Scotland. Here tradition states, that he built a religious house. Besides, St. Mirin is said to have been Abbot over the Monastery in Paisley. Here, too, he lived for a very considerable time. It is related, that one of his monks, owing to hunger and thirst, had fallen dead in a valley, called Colpdasch. However, through the merits of holy Merin, he was again restored to life. Having wrought many miracles, and having passed a life of great holiness, he slept in the Lord at Paisley. There, too, in his honour the church of that place was dedicated to God, and he is the recognised local patron.

At the 15th of September, the Martyrology of Aberdeen enters a festival for St. Mirin, Bishop and Confessor, at Paisley, in Scotland. Adam King’s Kalendar has. a notice of St. Mirine, at the 15th of September. In his “Menologium Scoticum,” Thomas Dempster records him at the same date. The memory of St. Merinus, Abbot, is recorded in two late Manuscript Catalogues of Irish Saints, as the Bollandists remark; besides, in Greven’s additions to the Martyrology, he is called a bishop in Scotia, while Ferrarius sets him down as an Abbot. The Bollandists notice this festival of St. Merinus or Mirinus, Abbot of Paisley, at the 15th day of September.

When the Rule of Cluny had been introduced from Wenlock in Shropshire, England, after a temporary resting place at Renfrew, the Abbey of Paisley was founded for monks of the Cluniac Order, about 1163, by Walter, High Steward of Scotland. Finding a church at Paisley already dedicated to St. Mirren or Mirinus, they combined his name with the titles of St. James and of their patroness of Wenlock, St. Milburga, when their own church and monastery were dedicated. At first, Paisley was only a Priory; but, in 1216, a Bull of Pope Honorius III. detached it from Wenlock, and had it constituted an Abbacy. The buildings then existing were burned by the English, in 1307, during the War of Independence, and the monastery seems to have been almost entirely destroyed.

In 1406, Robert III., King of Scotland, was interred in Paisley Abbey. Little seems to have been done towards a restoration of the building, until the Abbot Thomas Tervas, who died a.D. 1459, commenced the good work, which was completed by his successor, the Abbot George Shaw. He ruled from 1472 to 1499. During the troublous times of the Reformation in Scotland, the last Abbot, John Hamilton, had ceased to exercise jurisdiction in 1545; yet, by consent of Queen Mary, he retained the abbacy in trust for his nephew, Lord Claud Hamilton. However, in the year 1557, a body of the Reformers attacked the abbey, drove the monks out of the building, and “burnt all the ymages and ydols and popish stuff in the same.” Having been present in the Queen’s interest, at the battle of Langside, 13th May, 1568, John Hamilton attended her during her flight to England, so far as the Solway. Afterwards he was declared a traitor by Regent Murray. On the 2nd of April, 1571, he was captured in the Castle of Dumbarton. His possessions were forfeited, and the abbey lands of Paisley were bestowed on William Lord Sempil. Since that period, the glorious Abbey Church of Paisley has become a venerable ruin, the traces of which reveal to the beholder its former magnificence. When entire, it consisted of a nave, choir, and north transept. The chapel of St. Mirren and St. Columba occupies the place where the south transept should have been. The total outside length of the building, in its perfect state, had been 265 feet. The chapel of St. Mirran and St. Columba, better known as the “Sounding Aisle,” is on the south side, and on the site of the south transept. The nave is the only part now roofed, and it is still used as the Presbyterian church for Abbey Parish. The chapel of St. Mirren, or “the sounding aisle,” was erected about the end of the fifteenth century.

In Scotland are various localities, associated with the name of this saint. Thus, in the south-east boundary of the parish of Kelton in Kirkcudbright is Kirk Mirren, where the vestige of an ancient chapel and churchyard may be found. In the parish of Kilmarnock is St. Mirren’s ruined Chapel upon Inch Murryn, the largest Island of romantic Loch Lomond. Owing to the name and to the patron, some former connexion with the Abbey of Paisley may be traced. In Kilsyth, on the south of Woodend, there is a remarkable spring called St. Mirrin’s Well. In the parish of Coylton, there is a farm called Knock Murran. On the south side of the North Esk is the Burn of Murran. There are no distinct traces of this Saint’s memory anywhere on the east coast of Scotland. 

Rev John O'Hanlon, Lives of the Irish Saints: with special festivals, and the commemorations of holy persons, compiled from calendars, martyrologies, and various sources, relating to the ancient church history of Ireland, Volume IX, (Dublin, n.d.),  377-381. 

APPENDIX: THE OFFICE FOR SAINT MIRREN FROM THE ABERDEEN BREVIARY

Note: This author has rendered the name of the saint as Mirin and that of Comgall as Congal, which is the practice in Scotland.

The following is the complete office in the Breviary of Aberdeen for St. Mirin's day :— 

PRAYER. 

Oh God who art merciful in Thy nature, and the ruler of our desires : graciously hear the prayers of Thy suppliants, that by the intercession of Thy blessed Pontiff Mirin we may be enabled to obtain the remission of our sins: through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

FIRST LESSON. 

Mirin, the bishop, was entrusted by his parents, at an early age, through the Divine inspiration, to St. Congal, to be brought up in the Monastery of Bangor: not only that he might instruct him in all polite learning*, but that he might likewise carefully train him in all knowledge of holiness, humility, chastity, and other virtues.  Mirin committed the precepts of eternal life and all pertaining to salvation to a retentive memory with all the ardour of his soul. 

[* Literally, " that he might teach him in the perfection of letters."]

SECOND LESSON. 

With increasing years, deeming his ancestral halls, riches, landed possessions, and other earthly goods fleeting and delusive, he resolved to carry the yoke of the Lord from his youth, and asked and received the habit of Holy Religion from St. Congal in the Monastery of Bangor. Not long afterwards, the office of Prior of the Monastery having become vacant, he was elected Prior, against his will, by Congal and his brethren. Having entered upon the duties of his office, he reproved the Brethren more from a cordial love of charity than indiscreet zeal, and the one whom he outwardly chastised he inwardly loved. 

THIRD LESSON. 

On a certain occasion, Finian, Bishop of Moville, a man of great sanctity, came on a friendly visit to the Monastery of Bangor during the absence of St. Congal, and was kindly received by blessed Mirin, the prior, of whom, on account of delicate health, he asked a drink of milk. Now, there was no milk in the Monastery, but the cellarer, by order of the blessed Mirin, going into the cellar, found a dish filled with the best of milk, which having brought, at a nod from him, he presented to blessed Finian. Thereafter, he kindly sent it round the company, sitting according to their rank. 

FOURTH LESSON. 

Mirin afterwards proceeded to the camp of a certain king of Ireland, for the purpose of establishing the Catholic faith upon a firmer footing, where, the wife of the king at the time being near her confinement, was sorely distressed by various pains and sufferings. The king having heard of Mirin's arrival, would not permit him to enter his camp; but, [on the contrary,] treated him with utter contempt; which the blessed Mirin perceiving, he prayed God that that accursed king might feel the pains and pangs of the suffering wife, which immediately happened, as he had besought the Lord ; so that for three days and as many nights he ceased not to shout* before all the chiefs of his kingdom. But the king seeing himself so ignominiously humbled by God, and that no remedy was of any avail, sought Mirin's lodging, and most willingly granted all that he had previously desired. Then blessed Mirin by his holy prayers freed the king entirely from his pains. 

[* With pain (to howl).]

FIFTH LESSON. 

On a certain occasion the blessed Mirin remaining in his cell past the usual time, the brother who waited upon him went to ascertain the cause of the delay. On approaching the cell he instantly stood in rapt amazement, for through the chinks and fissures he beheld a celestial splendour. That night the blessed Mirin did not join the brethren at the psalmody in the church according to their wont. But understanding by Divine inspiration that the brother had been witness to such stupendous wonders, he took him apart in the morning, and charged him to tell no one during his life what he had seen on the previous night, and that in the meantime he should not presume to approach his cell. 

SIXTH LESSON. 

On another occasion likewise, whilst the brethren of St. Mirin were at work near the valley of Colpdasch, one of them quite overpowered by fatigue and thirst, falling down upon the ground, expired, and lay lifeless from noon till none [i.e, 12—3 P.M.]. But blessed Mirin was very much grieved that the Brother should have been removed by such an untoward and sudden death. He besought the Lord, and immediately the dead man was restored to his former life. At length, full of sanctity and miracles, he slept in the Lord at Paisley. The Church there is dedicated to God, under his invocation.*

[*The last sentence is literally, in cujus honore, &c., " in whose honour the said Church is dedicated to God," &c.]

Rev. J. Cameron Lees, The abbey of Paisley, from its foundation till its dissolution: with notices of the subsequent history of the church and an appendix of illustrative documents (Paisley, 1878), 42-44.

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Saint Muiredach of Killala, August 12

 

August 12 is the feast of Saint Muiredach (Muireadhach, Muredach) of Killala. Genealogical sources describe him as son of Eachaidh of the Cenél Lóegaire of Meath, a great-grandson of Lóegaire, King of Tara, after whom the tribal grouping was named. Despite his standing as diocesan patron of Killala, the Connacht diocese which takes in parts of the modern counties Mayo and Sligo, surprisingly little information has survived on Killala's founder. The ninth-century Tripartite Life depicts Saint Patrick as having founded Cell Alaid (Killala) where he left 'a high-ranking person of his household, that is Bishop Muiredach' in charge. However, the seventh-century Collectanea of Tírechán, presents another church, 'the Great Church by the Wood of Foclut' as the area's chief foundation. The saint of this Great Church (Domnach Mór), Mucnoe, seems to have been eclipsed by Muiredach to the point where his name is not found on the calendars of the saints. Yet for all that Saint Muiredach remains an elusive figure. Along with two female Mayo saints, Deirbhile and Géidh, he is said to have been among those who met with Saint Colum Cille at  the Synod of Ballysadare in County Sligo in 575. This, plus the fact that his famous royal ancestor Lóegaire was also supposed to be alive during the Patrician mission, suggests that Muiredach was a sixth century saint, who could not have been placed in charge of Killala by Saint Patrick as the Tripartite Life claims. The only other tradition connected with Saint Muiredach is that he gave his name to the island of Inishmurray (Inis Muireadheach) off the Sligo coast and may perhaps have been a hermit there. It is worth noting, however, that despite lending his name to the island, it was a Saint Molaisse who was the focus of devotion. Even more interestingly, Saint Muiredach shares his August 12 feast day with Saint Molaisse of Inishmurray, something I will need to research further. In his account of the saint below, Canon O'Hanlon lets us see that that earlier writers were aware of both the chronological contradictions and the general paucity of sources for the life of Saint Muiredach:

ARTICLE I.—ST. MUREDACH, FIRST BISHOP AND PATRON OF KILLALA DIOCESE. 

[PROBABLY IN THE SIXTH CENTURY.]

CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—PERIOD OF ST. MUREDACH—HIS FAMILY AND DESCENT—HIS RECORDED PRESENCE AT EASDARA OR BALLYSODARE—HE BLESSES THE PORT OF KILLALA.

WHEN giving an account of our great Apostle’s progress through the province of Connaught, the author of St. Patrick’s Tripartite Life tells us, that on coming to a pleasant spot, where the River Muadius, or Moy empties into the ocean, the saint built a noble church, called Kill-Aladh, now Killala. It stood on the south bank of the Moy River. Over this church, he placed one of his disciples, named Muredach, as its first bishop. As he had been consecrated by St. Patrick, according to the account, this present holy man should have flourished during the fifth century. However, such statement has been contradicted. In a few meagre notices respecting our saint, by the Rev. Alban Butler, he follows what Harris had already written. 

 In his journey towards Connaught, about A.D. 434, St. Patrick is thought to have continued there for the ensuing seven years, namely to A.D. 441. Therefore, it is supposed, the erection of Killala church may safely be referred to some one of those intermediate years. It has been advanced, that St. Muredach, the first bishop of Killala, had not been born at such an early period, and that he did not flourish until the sixth century. Moreover, his recorded pedigree refutes the supposition of his having been contemporaneous with St. Patrick. The generally accurate historian, Rev. Dr. Lanigan, states it to be an error, that St. Muredach’s appointment over the See of Killala should be ascribed to the earlier time. He was rather contemporaneous with St. Columkille, who flourished during the sixth century. The holy Muredach is stated to have been son of Eochaid, son to Alild, son of Guaire, son to Lugid, son of Laoighaire, son to Niall of the Nine Hostages, &c., according to the Sanctilogium Genealogicum, which thus weaves his pedigree. Wherefore, in tracing his descent from Leogaire, King of Ireland, Muredach appears the sixth in generation. Such a place in order may well synchronize with the middle and close of the sixth century. 

He is spoken of as being one of those persons, assembled at Easdara or Ballysodare, in Sligo County, for the purpose of paying respect to the Apostle of the Picts. This was on the occasion of St. Columba being at that place, soon after the dissolution of a celebrated assembly held at Drumceat. Already, an account of the synod convened at Easdara has been given, in connexion with the Acts of St. Farannan; and among the notables named, as assisting thereat, is Muredach of Killala, in Tyr-Amhalgaidh. Therefore it would seem, that towards the close of St. Columba’s life, our saint had been bishop there, and that he had the honour and pleasure of greeting the great Apostle of Caledonia. However, we have no reliable account, regarding the exact period of St. Muredach’s promotion, nor is there any statement to fix those years, during which he ruled over the See of Killala. Nevertheless, we read in the Life of St. Corbmac, that St. Patrick, St. Brigid, St. Columkille, St. Cannech, and St. Muredach, bishop, had blessed the port of Killala. It does not seem probable, that Muredach should have been placed so low down in the list of these names, had he been contemporaneous with St. Patrick. 

CHAPTER II. 

SITUATION OF KILLALA—THE NATALIS AND COMMEMORATIONS OF ST. MUREDACH— THE PERIOD OF HIS DEATH UNRECORDED—BRIEF HISTORIC NOTES REGARDING THE SEE OF KILLALA—CONCLUSION. 

THE town of Killala is situated on the River Muad or Moy, in Mayo County, and it lies very near to the Atlantic Ocean. Our ancient annalists sometimes called the prelates over this See the Bishops of Tirawley. They were likewise called Bishops of O’Fiacra-mui, or Hy-Fiachrach, on the River Moy, from a territory distinguished by that name. This is said to have extended along the river in question. This territory was distinct from another, in the province of Connaught, and southwards in the County of Galway. The latter was known as O'Fiacra-Aidne.

As the Natalis of a saint is understood to coincide with the day of his death, the 12th of August apparently commemorates the anniversary of St. Muredach’s demise, as of his festival; but, we cannot find any date or year to determine the period for his existence. St. Muredach’s Natalis was celebrated in Killala Church and See, on the 12th of August, according to the Tallaght Martyrology. At this date, according to Marianus O’Gorman, the feast of St. Muredach is celebrated in the diocese and church of Killala. The continuator of Aengus also notes his festival at this day. In the Irish Calendar belonging to the Irish Ordnance Survey, on the day before the August Ides—12th of the month—there is a festival to honour Muireadhach, Bishop of Cille Haladh.

After the rule of St. Muredach over the See of Killala, the names of only two or three bishops can be found, as his. successors, before the Anglo- Norman Invasion of Ireland. After that period, we find the church of Killala —or as it is usually written Cill-Alaidh—had its special canon-choristers and herenachs. The “Annals of Loch Cé" contain entries of their deaths. The engraved arms of this See—prefixed to the account of its bishops in Harris’ Ware—are: bearing sapphire, a crozier in pale, topaz, suppressed in the fess point by a Bible expanded, and with clasps proper.  In Killala diocese, this saint’s memory is recorded and honoured with the celebration of a First- Class festival and an octave. An indulgence commences also on the day already named, and it continues during that octave.

 

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Saint Bláán of Bute, August 10

August 10 is the feast of Saint Bláán of Bute, also known as Blane of Dunblane. The earliest written record of this saint is found in our own early ninth-century Martyrology of Oengus, where on August 10 he is recorded as “fair Blane of Kingarth”. In the late twelfth-century Martyrology of Gorman he is hailed as Bláán buadach Bretan - victorious Bláán of the Britons. Modern scholars wonder when and why the cultus of Saint Blane moved from Kingarth to Dunblane and why Kingarth's church leaders stopped being described as bishops and were instead designated as abbots. Unfortunately, there are few surviving historical sources to answer these and other questions and the hagiographical record is also sparse. The seventeenth-century hagiologist Father John Colgan had access to a Life of the saint written a century earlier at Dunblane but this has now been lost, and Colgan's summary of it in the Acta Sanctorum is all that remains. The only surviving account of the saint's Life is to be found in the Lessons for the Feast of Saint Blane in the Aberdeen Breviary, one of the few saints to have a complete office preserved within it. There he is portrayed as a member of a noble Irish family who, after seven years of study with Saints Comgall and Cainnech, ends up in Bute where his mother's brother Saint Cattán completes Blane's monastic education. After his ordination, first to the priesthood and then to the episcopate, Bláán makes a pilgrimage to Rome where he undertakes further study and with the Pope's blessing sets out for home once again. Returning via the north of England he restores the dead son of a local petty-king to life and the grateful father grants the saint some lands in his territory. The Annals do not record a date of death for Saint Bláán and since all the surviving sources regarding him were written centuries later, it is difficult to establish a reliable chronology for the saint's life and career. Modern scholarly consensus seems to be that he is a sixth-century saint, a view shared by Canon O'Hanlon in his account of Saint Blane in Volume VIII of his Lives of the Irish Saints: 

ARTICLE I.-ST. BLANE, OR BLAAN, BISHOP OF CEANN-GARADH, NOW KINGARTH, IN BUTE, SCOTLAND.

[SUPPOSED TO HAVE LIVED IN THE SIXTH CENTURY.]

CHAPTER I.

INTRODUCTION- SOURCES FOR BIOGRAPHY-THE PARENTAGE AND BIRTH OF BLAAN HIS EARLY EDUCATION—HIS CONNECTION WITH THE ISLAND OF BUTE- FOUNDATION OF DUNBLAINE.

FROM the accounts which have come down to our time, Blan, or Blaan, was illustrious among the Scottish saints. As we have already stated, while some of the Scottish Calendarists-notably Camerarius and Dempster have placed his festival at the 19th of July, most authorities assign the 10th day of August as that for his principal feast. As in so many other cases, we have greatly to regret, that various contradictory and fabulous accounts have been transmitted to us, regarding this holy bishop, and which contribute so much to obscure his personal history.

From the Aberdeen Breviary, the Acts of this saint are chiefly drawn. The life of St. Blane was written by G. Newton, Archdeacon of Dunblaine, in 1505. Some accounts of him may be found, in the works of Thomas Dempster, of John Leland, and of Bishop Tanner. Some particulars regarding him are to be found, likewise, in the Bollandists. These remarks are contained in eleven paragraphs. Interesting notices of St. Blane are given by Bishop Forbes, in les Petits Bollandistes, and in the "Dictionary of Christian Biography." He is noticed, also, in the Works of Bishop Challoner, of Rev. Alban Butler, and of Rev. S. Baring-Gould.

While some writers place the time of St. Blane so early as the fifth, it is more generally thought, that he lived in the sixth century. However, his period of life has given rise to great differences of opinion. That he lived earlier than the beginning of the ninth century is certain, since we find him commemorated in the "Felire" of St. Aengus, on this day. His mother was Ercha, or Erca, of Irish birth; but, her name is written Ertha, in the Breviary of Aberdeen. She was a sister of St. Catan, and thus he was allied to a distinguished Irish family. Far different is the account of Dempster, who calls her Bertha. King Aidan, the son of Gauran, is stated to have been his father or grandfather, and he died in A.D. 604. Wherefore, our saint was probably born at the end of the sixth or beginning of the seventh century. St. Blaan is said to have been uncle to St. Laserian, Bishop and Patron of Leighlin.

St. Blaan was born in the Island of Bute, which lies off the south-western shore of Scotland. In his youth, Blaan was instructed by his uncle, the Blessed Cathan, who lived there, and who is thought to have built the original church of Kingarth, the parish of which seems to have originally included the whole of that Island. The ruins of its ancient church are still to be seen, near the centre of the parish, about two miles north from the head of Kilchatan Bay. The highest elevation in that parish is known as Suidhe Chatain, or St. Chathan's seat, about 520 feet above the sea level.

Afterwards, St. Blane went over to Ireland, for his education in piety and learning. From the Acts of St. Catan, or Caddan, we learn some particulars regarding St. Blaan. He is said to have been a disciple to St. Congall, the celebrated Abbot of Bangor, and also to St. Kenneth -otherwise Cainnech during the seven years he lived in Ireland. From his connexion with these holy men, St. Blane could hardly have been born before the middle of the sixth century. Some notices, concerning the present holy man, may be found in the Life of St. Laserian, at the 18th of April.

Having remained in Ireland for seven years, under the discipline of most holy masters, St. Blane returned with his mother in a boat without oars to the island of his nativity. On reaching Bute, they were joyfully received by St. Cathan. Under his direction, St. Blann began to cultivate those pious dispositions, which directed his aspirations towards the ecclesiastical state. His master, too, had a Divine inspiration, that he was destined to become a great man in the service of the Church, and this he also predicted. Accordingly, Blaan was promoted to sacred orders, and he was raised to the rank of priesthood. His virtues were so recognised, that certain bishops insisted he should be consecrated like themselves. Although unwilling to assume such an office, yet he was obliged to comply with their wishes. Having been engaged one night to tend the lamps, while the choir had been singing psalms, suddenly the lights went out. He had recourse to prayer for a time. Then, he is said to have struck fire from the ends of his fingers, as when flint is struck with steel. This miracle was wrought on his behalf, so that the brethren could not impute such accident to his idleness or negligence. After his return into Scotland, he entered among the Scottish Religious, called Culdees, or worshippers of God. These were famous in his day for their sanctity. With them, he behaved in so holy a manner, as to be chosen their Abbot or Superior. Like his uncle, St. Cathan, he appears to have been connected with the Island of Bute, and there St. Blane is reputed to have formerly enclosed land, extending from sea to sea, by certain and apparent boundaries. Near the centre of the southern peninsula, the ruins of St. Blane's church are pointed out on an artificial mound, the level top of which is enclosed by a wall, composed of large stones rudely piled together, and 500 feet in circumference. The whole of this space, which was used as a cemetery, is arched with masonry about two feet beneath the surface.

A rude built passage, which seems to have been underground, runs from it to a smaller and lower enclosure of 124 feet in circumference, and locally known as the Nunnery. This was used, apparently, as a burial ground for females. On the north, the Church is approached by a flight of steps leading from a neighbouring wood, in which there is a circular building. This stands at the base of a rocky ridge, about 50 feet high.

Afterwards, St. Blane was judged worthy of being promoted to the episcopal dignity. Being consecrated a bishop, he remitted nothing of his former habits; but, still he continued to live in the midst of his Religious, as one of themselves, practising all the exercises of regular discipline. He is thought to have selected a site for a monastery, on the banks of the River Allan, and nearly equidistant from the German and Atlantic Oceans. It was sheltered on most sides by the Grampian and Ochils hills. The River flows beautifully clear, through a rocky channel, in a rapid and turbulent stream.His convent was afterwards erected into a Bishop's See; but, when this occurred has not been ascertained. From him, that place was called Dunblane, or, as sometimes written, Dumblaine. Its Cathedral was dedicated to God in his name; and, he was honoured of old, as a patron of that whole diocese. The See comprehended portions of Perthshire and Sterlingshire. The medieval cathedral is said to have been founded by a great benefactor of the Church, David I., King of Scotland, in 1142, and the same monarch is supposed to have nominated its first bishop. It was restored, however, or rather rebuilt, by Clemens, Bishop of Dunblane, about the year 1240.

The greater part of the cathedral has been unroofed, and it is otherwise in a ruinous state. However, the chancel is tolerably preserved, and it is still used as a parish church. The eastern window and a few of the entrances have been partially renewed. 

Some of the choristers' seats, with those of the bishop and dean, are yet to be seen. These are of oak and quaintly carved. In the nave, most of the prebendal stalls are entire; the entrance and the fine western window have suffered little injury. The roof has fallen in, however, and the building is otherwise much decayed.


CHAPTER II.

THE MISSIONARY CAREER OF ST BLANE -HIS MIRACLES -HIS DEATH- FESTIVALS AND COMMEMORATIONS- CONCLUSION.

THE Church of St. Blaan in Cenngaradh is described in that commentary, attached to the Leabhar Breac copy of the Feilire Aengus, at the 10th of August, as being in Gallgaedelaib, or Galloway, in Alba or Scotland; while Dumblane is there stated to have been his chief city. It has been stated, that St. Blaan laboured among the Picts in Scotland. Having been raised to the episcopal dignity, he undertook a pilgrimage to Rome, to obtain a greater knowledge of Christian discipline, and an accumulation of spiritual graces. When he had been thus instructed and exercised, receiving the Pontifical blessing, he returned homewards, taking his way through England. On this journey, he did not use horses, but he travelled on foot. During his progress, he is said to have entered a city in the northern part of Anglia, where men and women were lamenting the death of a certain ruler's son. Moved to compassion, St. Blaan offered up prayers, and the youth was miraculously restored to life. For this miraculous benefit, he received the lordships of Appleby, Troclyngham, Congere, and Malemath, in England. These manors remained the property of the See of Dunblane, to the fourteenth century.

At length, St. Blaan most holily and most happily ended his days among the Scots. Some writers assert, that he died during the time of King Kenneth III., in the tenth century. Other accounts, however, place him at a much earlier period. Thus, it has been stated, that St. Blann died A.D. 446. This, however, is far antecedent to his time.

His name and festival are entered in most of the Scottish kalendars at this day, viz. : in the Kalendarium Drummondiense, in the Martyrology of Aberdeen, in Adam King's Kalendar, in the Menologium Scoticum of Thomas Dempster, as also in the Scottish Entries in the Calendar of David Camerarius. The Martyrology of Tallaght registers, at the 10th of August, Blaan, Bishop of Cinngaradh, in Gallghaedelaibh Udnochtan. This latter word is evidently a misplaced addition to the original text. In the anonymous Calendar of Irish Saints, as published by O'Sullivan Beare, the name of Blanius occurs, at the 10th of August. On the authority of Floratius, a Blavius, Bishop -identical with the present saint- is given at this same day. His name is entered in the Martyrology of Donegal, at this date, as Blaan, Bishop, of Ceann-garadh. It is added, likewise, in Gall Ghavidhelu, Dubblann was his chief city. In the Table postfixed to this Martyrology, it is observed, that no notice had been taken of him in the Roman Martyrology. Under the head of Cind-Garad, Duald MacFirbis records Blaan, Bishop, from Cinn Garad in Gall Gaeidhela, Dunblane, its chief city. He is named Blaan, and called the virtuous of Britain, at August 10th.

Several churches were dedicated to St. Blane, in Bute and Argyleshire. One of these was known as Kilblane, a parish in the diocese of Argyle, and Deanery of Kintyre. The bell of St. Blane-a small hand-bell-is still preserved at Dunblane. It is marked H. + B. It was customary to ring it formerly, at the head of all funeral processions in the parish. This holy bishop lived to perform works, which gave edification to those subjects placed under his rule, while he laboured to render himself deserving of the responsibilities unwillingly assumed as superior.

To his flock, he broke the bread of life, and preached the words of wisdom, so that when called from earth his virtues were eternally rewarded in the companionship of God's faithful servants.


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Saint Kevin of Glendalough, June 3

Míl Críst i crích nÉrenn,

ard na-ainm tar tuind tretan,

Cóemgen cáid cáin cathair,

i nGlinn dá lind lethan.

 

A soldier of Christ into the border of Erin,

a high name over the sea’s wave:

Coemgen the chaste, fair warrior,

in the Glen of two broad loughs. 

 

Thus does the Martyrology of Oengus record the feast of Saint Coemgen (Coemghen, Caoimhghin, Kevin) of Glendalough on June 3rd. Whilst Saint Oengus has devoted his entire quatrain for the day to Saint Kevin, the prose Martyrology of Tallaght simply records Caemgin ab Glinne da Locha, Kevin,  abbot of Glendalough. Saint Marianus O'Gorman starts his entries for the day with just the saint's name Caemgen, but the entry in the seventeenth-century Martyrology of Donegal incorporates many of the traditions which had grown up around Saint Kevin in the intervening centuries. It also references the saint's genealogy which places Saint Kevin among the people of the Dál Messin Corb, who controlled the Leinster kingship in the fifth century.

 

Despite being one of the most well-known and well-loved of Irish saints, remarkably little historical information has survived about Saint Kevin. In his classic study of the sources for early Irish Christianity, J.F. Kenny wrote: 

GLENN-DÁ-LOCHO (GLENDALOUGH) AND ST. COEMGEN 

Glenn-dá-locho,"Valley of two lakes" (Glendalough), a lonely and picturesque valley in the midst of the mountains of Wicklow, contains some of the most noteworthy monuments of pre-Norman ecclesiastical architecture in Ireland. These, and the many references in the annals and elsewhere indicate that Glendalough was an important centre of Irish religious life from the sixth to the twelfth century.
 

The reputed founder of the monastery of Glendalough was Coemgen, or Coemghen (anglice Kevin), who was, we are told, of the royal race of Leinster. He retired to the glen to lead a hermit's life, and the disciples who gathered around him formed the monastery. The death of Coemgen is entered in the Annals of Ulster under 618 and 622, but the record is doubtful. He is given an age of one hundred and twenty or one hundred and thirty years, which may be a misunderstood chronological datum.

There are five versions of the Life of Coemgen. The first, in Latin, is quite extensive. The second is much shorter, being an abbreviated text prepared at a late date for lectionary or homiletic use in some monastery. The Irish texts are late, and are not closely related to the Latin. 

Plummer's conclusions regarding these documents may be summarised as follows: Version iii is an incomplete and somewhat careless summary of an earlier Life; Version iv is a composite production, based in part on material similar to that used by iii; Version v is derived mainly, but not entirely, from iv. The date of the first version seems to be the tenth or eleventh century.

 

J F Kenny, The Sources for the Early History of Ireland: Ecclesiastical (1929), 403-4.

The three Irish Lives of Coemgen translated by the Rev. Charles Plummer in his Bethada Náem Nérenn collection are available to read through the Internet Archive here. His edition of the Latin text of the Vita Sancti Coemgeni can also be found there. All of the surviving Lives portray Saint Kevin as a strict ascetic in the tradition of the Desert Fathers who relishes solitude, subsists on herbs and follows a strict programme of ascetical practices, praying whilst up to his waist in the waters of the lough, praying crois-fhigill, 'cross-vigil', where the arms are outspread in imitation of Christ's position on the cross and sleeping in a cave. Scholar A.P. Smyth also notes:

The hagiographical lore relating to Kevin living in the tree-tops and praying in the trees owes something to the motif of the wild man in early Irish literature, as well as to the stylite movement among ascetics in Syria  and elsewhere in the Near East. 

A.P. Smyth, 'Kings, Saints and Sagas' in K. Hannigan and W. Nolan eds., Wicklow - History and Society - Interdisciplinary Essays on the History of an Irish County (Dublin, 1994), 52.

Given these connections to the traditions of the Desert Fathers, it is perhaps no surprise to see that on the twelfth-century List of Parallel Saints, which equates Irish saints with those of the Universal Church, Saint Kevin is given as the equivalent of Saint Paul the Hermit. This third-century Egyptian saint, hailed as the first hermit, actually made his way onto the Irish calendars at January 25 as well as having a cameo role in the Navigatio of Saint Brendan. I have previously written about this here.  Saint Kevin's ascetical reputation is also reflected in the hymn of Saint Cuimin of Connor on the characteristic virtues of the Irish saints. In telling us what Saint Kevin loved he wrote: 

 

Caoimhghin loved a narrow cell,
It was a work of mortification and religion,
In which perpetually to stand,
It was a great shelter against demons.

 

The temptation of a hermit by a demon in female form is also a topos found in the traditions of the Desert Fathers. The Latin Life depicts Saint Kevin as repelling the unwanted advances of his temptress by arming himself with the sign of the cross and then striking her with bundles of nettles, after which, in true hagiographical fashion, she sees the error of her ways and commits to a life of sanctity.

 

In time however, the solitary ascetic of the Upper Lake attracted a community around him and moved to the Lower Valley to found his monastic civitas. As is usual in hagiography, the establishment of any new monastic site requires some supernatural intervention. Canon O'Hanlon, in Volume V of his Lives of the Irish Saints, narrates the story of how Saint Kevin was persuaded to make this move, according to the Latin Life:

An Angel of the Lord came to St. Kevin and said: "O saint of God, the Lord hath sent me with a message, that you may be induced to go to a place he hath appointed for you, eastwards from the lesser Lake. There you shall be among your brethren, and it shall be the place of your resurrection."

Saint Kevin, however, is initially reluctant to move saying:

"If it would not displease the Lord,  I should wish to remain to the day of my death in this place, where I have toiled for Christ." 

So the angel adds a further inducement:

The Angel answered: "If  you, with your  monks, go to that place  indicated,  many sons of light shall  be always in it and after your time, the monks shall have a sufficiency of earthly possessions, and many thousands of happy souls shall arise with you, from that place, to the kingdom of Heaven."

 After further reassurance about the future fame and prosperity that Glendalough will enjoy and with his objections to the stoniness of the new proposed site dealt with by the angel, Saint Kevin and his heavenly advisor 'walked upon the waters of the Lake, towards a locality indicated'. Then:

Not long afterwards, the same Angel appeared to St. Kevin. He said: "In the name of our Lord Jesus  Christ, arise with thy monks, and go to that place, which the Lord  hath ordained for thy resurrection." After pronouncing these words, the Angel departed.

The move to the Lower Lough does not signify any lessening of Saint Kevin's commitment to the ascetical life, as this verse from the Metrical Irish Life, the second in Plummer's list, confirms:

Coemgen was among stones

On the border of the lake on a bare bed,

With his slender side on a stone,

In his glen without a booth over him. 

He may no longer have been sleeping in the original 'Kevin's Bed' cave site on the Upper Lough, but the new site still saw the saint committed to a hard and stony resting place and still at the mercy of the elements. None of the Lives date to the lifetime of the saint but instead reflect the realities of succeeding centuries when Glendalough had expanded to become an important site of both pilgrimage and burial. The moving away from the original sites on the Upper Lough associated with Saint Kevin is dealt with in this later hagiography by having the saint persuaded by an angel that this relocation is God's will. It may well be though that in the discussions between Saint Kevin and the angel we can discern an echo of the actual discussions that would have taken place within the community at Glendalough about the expansion of their monastic 'city'. When exactly the move from the Upper Lough to the Lower took place is not known, but Smyth suggests that it may have been in the eighth century.

 

Saint Kevin died in 622 and his ultimate resting place is still debated. In between the original site at the Upper Lough and that of the monastic city on the Lower lies the church of Reefert, Ríg Ferta, 'the Cemetery of the Kings'. Saint Oengus the Martyrologist in the Prologue to his calendar of the saints declares 'the cemetery of the west of the world is multitudinous Glendalough'. Reefert is one possible location for Saint Kevin's tomb, although his remains may well have been translated from their original burial place and enshrined with great ceremony in the monastic church at a later period. The Annals of Ulster record at the year 790 the comotatio of the relics of Saint Kevin. This term refers to the taking of relics on circuit, most likely to other churches associated with Glendalough and would support the likelihood that the founder's relics were housed in a richly-decorated shrine for public veneration. 

 

In the centuries following Saint Kevin's death Glendalough became an important centre of pilgrimage, his Latin Life claiming that it was one of the four main pilgrimage sites in Ireland. His monastery found a place in a Litany of Irish saints preserved in the twelfth-century Book of Leinster and published in the 1925 collection Irish Litanies also translated by the Rev. Charles Plummer. Litany I invokes 'Forty saints in Glen da Loch with Coemgen, noble priest'. In our own times Saint Kevin has become something of a poster boy for the 'Celtic Christianity' movement which attributes to our native holy men and women a special relationship with nature and the animal creation. Whilst I do not share this movement's interpretation of our native saints, nevertheless the animal stories associated with Saint Kevin are perhaps specially appropriate, since they too owe their origins to the Desert Fathers. I have looked at a couple of the legends involving birds and the founder of Glendalough here.  Finally, since there is no translation of the Vita Sancti Coemgeni available, I have posted some selections from Canon O'Hanlon's reading of it here.  This is how he describes the ending of Saint Kevin's Life:

When St. Kevin had consoled his monks and imparted his benediction, his thoughts were solely devoted to preparation for his departure from that place, so endeared to him by religious associations; and, he now turned his mind, on the abiding home he sought for in Heaven. He then received Christ's most Sacred Body and Blood, from the hands of St. Mocherog. His monks stood around, in tears and lamentations, when their venerable superior breathed his last. Having lived, in this world, according to common report, for the extraordinary and lengthened period of one hundred and twenty years, he departed to join choirs of Angels and Archangels, in the Heavenly Jerusalem. The Third of June Nones is the date assigned for his death; and on the 3rd of June, accordingly, his festival is celebrated.

Rev J. O'Hanlon, Lives of the Irish Saints, Vol. VI (Dublin, 1875),  p.71.

Note: This post, first published in 2024, replaces the former blog entry on Saint Kevin from 2014.

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Saint Colman of Oughaval, May 15

May 15 is the feast of Saint Colmán of Oughaval in County Laois.  I have previously published a short account of this holy man by diocesan historian Bishop Michal Comerford here, but below is the entry from Volume 5 of Canon O'Hanlon's Lives of the Irish Saints. Canon O'Hanlon was born in Stradbally,  County Laois, the same parish in which Oughaval is situated and of which Saint Colmán is the patron. In his account of the local saintly hero Canon O'Hanlon makes a couple of basic points to bear in mind: First, that our knowledge of this saint is derived from his appearance in the Lives of two other Irish saints - Colum Cille and Fintan of Clonenagh; secondly, that his name Colmán also appears in some sources as Columbanus, which is not surprising since both are derived from the name Colum.  He also discusses the various ways in which the place name Oughaval is rendered and shows his customary irritation at the attempts of the later Scottish martyrologist, David Camerarius, to ignore the reality that in early medieval Europe Scotia was the name applied to Ireland and that 'Scottish' saints were actually Irishmen. One of the most interesting sections of Canon O'Hanlon's account is when he quotes Adomnán's Vita Columbae concerning the death of Colmán of Oughaval and the addition of a prayer composed on the spot by Saint Colum Cille to the existing commemoration of Saint Martin of Tours in the liturgy.  Canon O'Hanlon concludes by noting that Saint Colmán died on May 15, that would be the date of his own death in the year 1905. I am very grateful to blog reader Seán for sending me the photograph above of the commemorative plaque at Stradbally in honour of Canon O'Hanlon's many achievements:

Article IV. — St. Colman, or St. Columban, Mac Ua Laoighse, of Oughaval, Queen's County. [Sixth Century.]

His relations with the great Abbot of Iona, St. Columkille, and with St. Fintan, Abbot of Clonenagh, have given special celebrity to the present holy man. In the Martyrology of Tallagh, the name of Colman Mac h Laighsi, is simply inserted, at the 15th of May, or at the Ides of this same month. From the foregoing record, the Bollandists have given insertion to his feast, at the same date, in their collection, calling him Colmanus, filius Hua-Laigsi, seu Mac-ua-Laigse. He belonged to the race of Laoighsigh Ceannmoir, son of Conall Cearnach, a celebrated Ultonian hero, living in the first century. His pedigree occurs, in the Genealogies of Irish Saints; and, it serves to show, how Colman derived the tribe-name Mac Ua Loighse. According to this authority, he was son to Lugna, son of Eugene, son to Guaire, the son of Ere, son to Bracan, son of Lugad Eaighsech, son to Laigisius Cenn-mor, son of Conall Kearnach, who belonged to the noble Roderician family. This pedigree is evidently defective, however, in several generations as nine degrees are quite insufficient to fill five centuries. His kinsman, Oennu Ua Laighse, who died about the same time, is thirteen generations removed from Conall Cearnach. Besides the name of Colman, he is known by that of Columbanus — an exchange of names often occurring in the Lives of our Irish Saints, and applying to the same individual. Thus, we find Colman-Eala - called Colmanellus Colman, or Columbanus; again, the Colman Mor of Irish history, is also called Columbanus; while, the Colman of Bede is called Columbanus, in the Annals of Ulster, at A.D. 667, 675, and in those of Tighernach, at A.D. 676. In the Life of St. Fintan, Abbot of Clonenagh, whose Acts have been already published, at the 17th of February, we are told, that this religious youth, who is there called Columbanus, was a native of Leix, in the Leinster province. For the sake of making a pilgrimage, and of engaging in prayer, this Columbanus directed his course to the island of Iona, in order to visit St. Columba. Here, he remained for some time, and he lived with this latter holy Abbot. When Colman wished to return again to his own country, he asked Columba, how he should live there, not being able to confess his sins to the holy Abbot. St. Columba said, "Go to that pious man, whom I see standing among the Angels and before the tribunal of Christ, on each Sunday night." The holy youth asked, who and what sort of man he was. St. Columba answered, "There is a certain saintly and handsome man, in your part of the country, whose complexion is florid, whose eyes are brightly sparkling, and whose white locks of hair are thinly scattered on his head." The young man then said, "I know of no man answering to this description, in my country, except St. Fintan." Then St. Columba joyfully said to him: "He it is, my son, whom I see before the tribunal of Christ, as I have already told you. Go to him, for he is a good shepherd of Christ's flock, and he shall bring many souls with him to the kingdom of God.” St. Colman or Columbanus — as he is here called — having received permission to revisit Ireland, and having the benediction of St. Columba, afterwards set out for his own country. Coming to St. Fintan, Columban told him all that the saintly Abbot of Iona had said. The holy old man, Fintan, hearing these words, blushed deeply, so that his face seemed as if on fire. He told the young man to be careful and not to relate these circumstances to any other person, at least, during his own lifetime. This condition imposed a great restraint on Colman; for, St. Fintan, shortly after their interview, departed this life.

From the foregoing account, we may infer, that St. Colman, after his return from Iona, was still a young man, who had probably learned the rudiments of monastic discipline, under that great master of a spiritual life, St. Columkille. The date regarding St. Fintan's death is questioned. Colgan says, he died long before the close of the sixth century, and allows him to have flourished in the year 560; while Dr. Lanigan maintains it as probable, that he reached the age of about seventy, thus departing towards the year 595, or two years before the death of St. Columkille, in 597. It seems evident, that St. Colman must have commenced the foundation of a religious establishment, at Oughaval, shortly before or after the death of St. Fintan; unless we admit Dr. Lanigan's other conjecture. This historian thinks it more probable, the bishop Columbanus, mentioned in St. Fintan's Life, was a different person from the Leinster bishop, Columbanus Mac-loigse. He admits, however, that the term juvenus may be applied to a person near thirty years of age, and that Colman or Columbanus might have became a bishop, soon after the death of St. Fintan. Again, he may have died not long afterwards; that is to say, before the death of St. Columkille, Abbot of Iona. Our saint is called a Leinster Bishop, by Cumineus, and by Adamnan; and not a Bishop of Lagena, in Lagenia, as Mabillon misapprehends. Nor must we confound him with another visitor of St. Columba, and who was named Columbanus, son of Beognai. The present holy man was surnamed Mocu-Loigse, owing to his having been descended from the family of a prince, named Laigis. From him was derived the name of Leix, a large district of Leinster. There, St. Columban was bishop, and at place, called Tulach-mac-Comguile. A certain Columbanus is mentioned, with others, who made Scotland famous, for their holy lives, good example, and solid learning. This was sufficient to cause David Camerarius, to enrol him a Saint and Bishop, in his Menology, as the Bollandists remark, when setting a Feast for him, at this day. It seems probable, he may have been confounded, with the present holy man; however, on this matter, we cannot presume to offer any safe opinion. Unwilling to admit an Irish name, Dempster perverts Lageniensis into Longinensis; while he states, that the place was unknown, and that the day for St. Columbanus adtus was uncertain, being known only to God. The Scottish writer in question has treated Columbanus' Acts and memory, in his familiar style of fiction and of imagination. Colgan takes him severely to task, for his misstatements, regarding that saint, and then he proceeds to examine and to produce reasons, for the information of his readers, that so they may be enabled to judge for themselves, concerning the amount of credit due to such falsehoods. No insuperable difficulty exists, in resolving that religious young man, named Columbanus from the province of Leinster, as mentioned in the Acts of St. Fintan, into Columbanus bishop in Leinster, as found in Adamnan's Life of St. Columba. The recollection, that Leix is given, as the common country, and Columkille, as a contemporary, with the person named in either record, prevents us doubting much the identity of one and the same Columbanus. He was yet a comparatively young man, not much — if at all — exceeding thirty years of age. Admitting the supposition, it is therefore probable, that soon after Columban or Colman returned from Iona, he selected Nuachcongbail, as a site for his church. Shortly afterwards, it is probable, he was constituted a chorepiscopus or a rural bishop. The exact site for this place of settlement was at Ougheval, a townland within the parish of Stradbally, in the eastern part of the Queen's County. That church was built, also, within the ancient territory of Leix, and in the province of Leinster. The old graveyard in which Colman's church once stood, is even yet, a favourite place for interment. Oughaval is universally pronounced Ochval — but written Oakvale — in the neighbourhood. It is quite possible, that some portions of St. Columban's old church remain there; but, if so, only the foundations can lay claim, to very remote antiquity. An extraordinary pile of rubble-stone building, intended to represent an old ruined church or a monastery, now occupies the site of a medieval structure, which served for parochial services, down to the seventeenth century. It was erected by Pole Cosby, Esq., about the beginning of the last century, to serve for a family place of interment. A crypt is beneath; and, it rests on a rock-foundation. The subsoil of this cemetery is naturally a dry mould, covering a fine limestone formation. The coffins of the dead are long preserved from total decay, while the decomposition of corpses proceeds rather slowly. On the west side of this churchyard, few corpses are interred, except those of unbaptized infants. A low wall, surmounting a deep and almost circular fosse, once surrounded the graveyard; but, this has been completely obliterated, within the past few years. The burial-ground itself was considerably elevated, above the level of adjoining fields. It is possible, St. Colman combined the episcopal with the abbatial functions, at Oughaval; but, regarding this matter, we have no certain record. 

It is most probable, that he did not attain an advanced age, as he died before St. Columkille, and previous to the close of the sixth century. In Adamnan's Life of the great Abbot of Iona, he gives an account, regarding that vision of blessed Angels, who had conducted the soul of the holy bishop Columban Mocu Loigse to Heaven. There, it is stated, that on the morning of a certain day, while the monks of Iona were putting on their shoes, to engage in various labours of the monastery, St. Columkille had resolved, that it should be observed as a holiday, and that preparations should be made, for offering up the "Clean Oblation." That holy Abbot likewise ordered some addition to their breakfast, as on a Sunday. "And, to-day," said he, "however unworthy I may be, it behoves me to celebrate the mysteries of the Holy Eucharist, through veneration for the spirit of Him, who hath ascended beyond the starry vault of Heaven into Paradise, during the past night, being borne thither among holy choirs of Angels. In obedience to orders received from the saint, his monks spent the day as one of rest; and, having prepared everything for a celebration of the Divine Mysteries, with white vestments, as if it were a solemn festival, they proceeded with their Abbot to the church. But, it happened, that while the usual prayer had been chaunted, during the  progress of the holy offices, and in a measured strain, St. Martin's name was commemorated. On a sudden the holy Abbot called to his choristers, and said: "To-day you should sing for the holy bishop Columbanus," when they had come to the aforesaid name of St. Martin. The nature of this commemoration we learn, from an ancient Liturgy, and from a form prescribed by St. Aurelianus;, for the church of Arles. According to the Rev. Dr. Reeves, St. Columba seems to have composed on the spot a proper Preface for the occasion and thus, in virtue of his abbatial authority, to have instituted a festival for the church of Hy, in commemoration of the bishop's death. St. Martin was held in special veneration, by the Irish; and, therefore, we are not surprised at finding his name on the Missal, then used at Iona. And, after a short interval, certain persons that came from Leinster province to Iona brought an account, how the bishop had died on that very same night, when his departure had been revealed to the holy Abbot. The foregoing account is amplified, from the ancient Life of St. Columkille, attributed to Cummian. He also calls our saint, Episcopus Lagenensis. Then all the monks understood, that Columbanus, a bishop in Leinster and a dear friend of St. Columkille, had departed to the Lord. We think it probable, the present St. Colman or Columban died, early on the morning of the 15th of May. There can be no doubt, that in former times, this holy man was greatly venerated. The festival of Colman Mac Ua Laigse, or Columbanus Mcocu Laigse, is placed at the 15th of May, by Marianus O'Gorman, and by Charles Maguire. In the Martyrology of Donegal, at this same day, he is commemorated, as Colman, son of Ua Laoighse, of Tulach-mic-Comghaill, in Druimne Togha, i.e., Nua Congbail, in Laoighis of Leinster. There he led a holy life, and passed away to taste the waters of eternal life.

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Feast of the Translation of the Relics of Saint Laurence O'Toole, May 10

On May 10 Canon O'Hanlon concludes his entries for the day with this short notice: 

 Article XIV. Translation of the Relics of St. Laurence O'Toole, Archbishop of Dublin. 

The anniversary for the translation of St. Laurence O'Toole's relics is observed, with great solemnity, at Eu, in Normandy. The translation itself, which took place, on the 10th of May, A.D. 1226, will be found treated at much greater length, in the Life of St. Laurence O'Toole, at the 14th of November. The present feast was celebrated, with an office of Nine Lessons.

Sadly, the November volume of Lives of the Irish Saints remained unpublished at the time of O'Hanlon's death on May 15, 1905, but fortunately his Life of St. Laurence O'Toole had been issued as a separate publication in 1877. We can therefore enjoy Canon O'Hanlon's detailed account of the translation of the relics of Dublin's archbishop  on May 10, 1226. Saint Laurence died in Normandy on November 14, 1180 whilst on his final diplomatic mission and so it was in continental Europe, where so many Irish saints of the earlier medieval period had laboured, that he was laid to rest. Hagiographers record that the deaths of saints are accompanied by signs and wonders, and in the case of Saint Laurence:

On the night of the departure of our saint, it is related, that many persons observed a wonderful brightness surrounding the abbey of Eu, and to so great a degree of brilliancy, they were at first of opinion that either the monastery or some other house in its vicinity was in flames. And at the same time, a citizen of Dublin, named Innocent, whilst in the cathedral church of the Holy Trinity, saw in a vision during sleep, a most wonderful portent. For, on a sudden, the high altar seemed to fall down and immediately disappear. On the following day,  he related this vision in public to the citizens of Dublin, solemnly asserting, that their holy archbishop must have departed from amongst the living; an event which was exactly verified, on the arrival of the messengers who brought the account of his death.*

*Surius De Probatis Sanctorum Vitis, vol.vi. p. 339; Messingham's Florilegium Insulæ Sanctorum, p. 387; Vita S.Laurentii, cap. xxxiv.

Canon O'Hanlon takes up the story of the translation of the relics of Saint Laurence, using a manuscript source preserved in Marsh's Library in Dublin:

The body of the holy man having remained deposited for the space of five years and five months,* in the place where it had been committed to the earth, some persons who were afflicted with fever having prayed over the tomb, felt confident that they should be restored to health through the intercession of the saint, who had wrought so many miracles and who had effected so many cures during his life. About the same time, the old church in which the body of the saint lay, having become quite ruinous, it had been resolved to remove the walls, so that the grave of the saint would thenceforth be disturbed by the ravages of the beasts of the field and the fowls of the air. A heavenly-inspired design was then conceived, of removing the body of the saint under these circumstances

*Then it was discovered, that the body was preserved in the coffin, not only free from corruption, but that it even emitted an agreeable odour. The flesh and hair were found to have been preserved, and the joints of the thighs, legs, and arms were flexible, as if moved by a person in the full enjoyment of life. It is even said, that blood was found in the veins of the inanimate body, MS. Etat des Reliques de St. Laurent d'Eu. p. 3.

It was exhumed, and placed before the altar of St. Leodagarius, on the xv. of the kalends of May (April 17th), and on the feria quinta, or Thursday, of the year 1186. The abbot, monks, and numbers of other persons were in attendance at the time. Thenceforward the Omnipotent was pleased to work so many and such great miracles through his holy servant, that, as the MS. expresses it, the fame of his sanctity diffused itself throughout the entire country, like a broken alabaster vase of precious ointment. Many infirm persons, who came from villages and places remote, obtained favours through the intercession of the saint. Through his prayers the blind were restored to the use of vision, the deaf to the faculty of hearing, and the dumb to the exercise of speech. Lepers were cleansed, the weak recovered strength, paralytics and demoniacs were restored to the use of reason, and safety was accorded to those in danger. Health was imparted to the infirm, and even life to those whose souls had departed from their bodies. A partial account of these miracles was committed to writing, with a view to procure his canonization.

Whilst the memory of our saint was rendered illustrious by the performance of so many and such great miracles, the faithful were led to believe that by obtaining a decree for his canonization, the glory and triumphs of the Church of God would be more diffused, as a light placed upon a candelabrum would the more widely extend its rays. Wherefore, the Church of Eu sent messengers to the sovereign pontiffs, Popes Celestine III. and Innocent III. of happy memory, to whom they brought many letters, bearing testimony to the sanctity and virtues of the holy confessor. In these it was prayed that the decree of his canonization might be pronounced by the authority of the apostolic see. The examination consequent on the number of letters received, caused some procrastination, during which many despaired of the early enrolment of Laurence amongst the number of the beatified. But, the various miracles and virtues manifested by God through his servant, and the increasing devotion of the people towards his memory, would not admit of an indefinite postponement. Whence it happened, that in the ninth year of the pontificate of Honorius III., the venerable Abbot Guido, [ the seventh Abbot of Eu] as the representative of the people of Eu, resolved to remove the difficulties, labours, and expenses of the investigation, so long undecided, and the happy issue of which was earnestly expected by the faithful. He exerted all his energies, and laboured with the most anxious solicitude, to effect the object of his mission. It would be impossible to relate all the varied particulars of the labours endured and the journeys made by the venerable abbot, or the solicitude he felt throughout the whole proceedings. However, he succeeded in obtaining the decree for our saint's canonization…

....This happy event being accomplished, the Abbot Guido, bearing with him the letters and bulls, which were enclosed in a silk covering, arrived at Eu, on the feast of the conversion of St. Paul, and was joyfully and publicly received by the citizens of the place. The whole city was in a delirium of joy, and gave thanks and praises to God; for the inhabitants expected the continued manifestation of those miracles which had already distinguished their holy patron, from the additional circumstance of his having been enrolled amongst the company of the blessed in heaven. All the people began frequently and devoutly to invoke his intercession, that they might obtain the favourable issue of their several petitions, and be relieved under their various necessities. The Lord was pleased to work many signs and miracles through his servant, some of which are subjoined by the author of our saint's life, and which are here substantially reproduced. The venerable Archbishop Theobald, who then ruled over the metropolitan see of Rouen, having arrived at Eu, to the great joy of its inhabitants, a day within the octave of the former translation of the holy confessor's remains was fixed for the renewed and solemn transference of his relics. With great honour and solemnity, it had been resolved to remove the body to a more conspicuous and elevated position in the church. Wherefore, the time appointed being arrived, the tomb was approached with lights borne by the attendants, and it was intended to remove the remains with as little disturbance as possible. The Abbot Guido and his community of monks at Eu were present, as also the prior of the canons of St. Victor of Paris, and his attendant canon, with two canons who were sent by Theobald, archbishop of Rouen. In a private manner, the remains were removed from the earth to a shrine prepared for them, and being reposed in a covering of silk, they were placed in a leather case. The right arm, the head of the holy confessor, and a few other particles of his sacred remains, were reserved from this inclosure. In the year of our Lord 1226, on the vi. of the ides, or 10th day of May, at the dawn of a Sunday morning, a great number of ecclesiastics and secular persons were in attendance. Amongst others, Theobald, archbishop of Rouen, and Galfrid, bishop of Amiens, were present. The remains were removed with great honour and reverence, at an early hour in the morning.* About the third hour of the day of this festival, an immense multitude of persons of every rank, sex, and age, attended from all parts of the surrounding country. The church and streets were literally blocked up to such a degree, during the time of the public procession, that even with the aid of barons and soldiers who preceded the sacred relics, it was found a matter of great difficulty to gain access to the church. A suitable discourse having been pronounced, the shrine in which the sacred body was placed, with the shrines containing the head and arm of the saint, were borne in a public manner through the streets, the devout faithful pressing from all sides to witness these imposing ceremonies, and to manifest their devotion towards their holy patron. Then the sacred relics were brought to the church, and placed within the sanctuary; and from this time forward many and great miracles were constantly wrought through the intercession of St. Laurence. The author of our saint's life, in the MS. preserved in Marsh's Library, says that he would satisfy the curiosity of his readers by recounting only a few of the many miracles wrought for the edification of the faithful. These relations, he says, were drawn from the written records of the inquisitions taken on the authority of sworn witnesses, and are given by him, if not in the precise words, at least in that order in which they were presented for the audience of the Sovereign Pontiff and the College of Cardinals.

*I find additional particulars regarding this translation, in the following account, taken from another source. In the year 1226, the body of St. Laurence was exhumed by the abbot Guy, in the presence of all the religious, the abbot of St. Victor of Paris, then at Eu, two nobles and two canons of Rouen, who had been sent by the archbishop and chapter of the latter city. The body, however, was not found in the same perfect state of preservation, as it had appeared to those who opened the coffin, forty years before, but the remains exhaled an agreeable odour, which gave the greatest possible delight and satisfaction to all those who were present. The head which was yet covered with hair, and the right arm were then removed and placed in separate reliquaries. The other remains were deposited in their resting place, after having been enveloped in fine linen, until the day appointed for the public and solemn translation of the relics. The 10th day of May, 1226, having arrived, Thibaut, archbishop of Rouen, Godfrey, bishop of Amiens, the abbot Guy, the prior of St. Victor and other ecclesiastics entered the vault where the remains of the saint reposed. Matins were then sung, before the remains were removed. The coffin or old shrine bearing the relics was then solemnly borne in procession to the church, on an ornamented bier. On the opening of the shrine, the remains were exposed for the veneration of the people, and afterwards deposited in a new shrine that had been prepared for their reception. The head and right arm of the saint were also exposed. In fine, the shrine having been closed and sealed, it was carried processionally through the city. All the inhabitants wept tears of joy on witnessing these ceremonies, and in reflecting that their city had been enriched by such a treasure. On the return of the processionists, the shrine was placed on a large table covered with rich tapestry, and it rested within the choir, before the great altar of the church. A white canopy covered the shrine. The people were enabled to satisfy their devotion during the Mass which was then sung, and towards its close, the archiepiscopal blessing was imparted to them. The annual celebration of this festival of the translation of our saint's relics continues to the present time in the city of Eu, and a numerous concourse of the citizens and people of the surrounding districts always assist at the solemnity.-MS, Etat des Reliques de St. Laurent d'Eu, pp. 4, 5.

After the solemn translation of our saint's relics in 1226, they were placed within the choir of the church of Notre-Dame at Eu, and were preserved as the richest treasures of the church and city, until the end of the last century, when the French Revolution took place. The sacred remains, in detatched portions, were enclosed within four different reliquaries. The first case contained the cranium or upper part of the head, which was affixed to an artificial bust, but placed in its natural position. The head was crowned with a mitre, and seemed to incline in the attitude of salutation and benediction, when carried in solemn procession. There is a picture in the chapel of St. Laurence O'Toole at Eu, which is placed under the organ, and which represents the ancient bust, which was encased in a shrine of massive silver, given by the canons regular of St. Laurence, towards the year 1650. In the latter shrine it was placed by Monsignore François de Harley, archbishop of Rouen, it having been contained before that time within a round reliquary of wood, ornamented with silver and gilding, and which rested on four pedestals. The second case enclosed the right arm of the saint, and was shaped in conformation with the relic it contained. It is not known with certainty, that this relic is preserved; but it is said, that amongst the old furniture of the church there is an arm contained in wood, which is gilt and hollowed within; this covering, it is supposed, most probably contained the precious remains of our saint. The third case enclosed another bone of St. Laurence, which probably formed the upper part of the right arm already mentioned. This relic was placed in a chrystal vase, and was enclosed in a box of silver, which is also richly gilt. Finally, the fourth case or shrine contained the whole body of the saint, with the exception of the parts already mentioned, and some small portions which were given to several religious houses, and among others, to the abbey of St. Victor of Paris. The Jesuit fathers, Briard and Edmond Massé, when setting out on their American mission, carried with them some of the bones of St. Laurence O'Toole, and a portion of his garments; and they are said to have performed miracles, the dead being even raised to life when touched by these relics. The last named reliquary is of wood, richly covered with plates of gold and silver, and studded with precious stones.

In course of time, the feast of the translation of the holy confessor's relics became a great solemnity at the abbey of Eu, which, by degrees, took the name of the venerable guest that had formerly visited it. However, the abbey reverted to its original title of Notre-Dame, whilst the parish in which it stands is named, La paroisse de Saint Laurent, in honour of the saint, who is the special patron of Eu. At the present day, the people of this city celebrate the festivals of St. Laurence O'Toole and of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin with equal solemnity. The body of the holy confessor, reposing in its rich shrine, was placed upon four columns of red marble. The ravages of the Huguenots of Dieppe, in 1562, most probably destroyed these sacred objects of art; for, at the period of the French revolution, they no longer existed. In the archives of the department, and in an inventory of the abbey made by the Prior Campanon, in 1790, it is said, that the shrine of St. Laurence was placed behind the high altar, and protected by a balcony of iron. The head of the saint was kept in a shrine of wood of a dark colour, and the two arms were in wood, covered with some plates of silver.

For a long time, a relic of St. Laurence, was preserved in the abbey of Eu: this was the chalice with which the blessed archbishop had been accustomed to celebrate the divine mysteries. For some centuries after his death, those afflicted patients who made a pilgrimage to his tomb, were in the habit of drinking from it. In 1408, this relic was stolen, but shortly afterwards recovered. A second time, however, it was taken away by the Huguenots of Dieppe, in the month of July, 1562, and afterwards was not restored.

Rev. John O’Hanlon, The Life of St. Laurence O'Toole, Archbishop of Dublin and Delegate Apostolic of the Holy See, for the Kingdom of Ireland, (Dublin, 1877).

Finally, I might add that Canon O'Hanlon dedicated his Life of St. Laurence O'Toole to the then Archbishop of Dublin, Paul Cullen, D.D. An anonymous reviewer of a novena to Saint Laurence described how the Irish prelate was left in no doubt about the strength of the devotion to Saint Laurence in Normandy:

Cardinal Cullen, who filled the double office which the patron-saint of Dublin filled in his day -Archbishop of Dublin and Apostolic Delegate -  made a pilgrimage once to his predecessor's shrine at Eu, in Normandy. The Archbishop of Rouen expressed his willingness to transfer the relics of St. Laurence to Dublin; but he added, "when your Grace comes to translate them from Eu, you will require at least two regiments of infantry, a few squadrons of cavalry, and a small park of artillery; for my good people have such a veneration for your saint, who is the protector of their city, that they will only yield up his relics to superior force."

The Irish Monthly, Volume 8, No. 89 (November 1880), p. 628.

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Saint Comgall of Bangor, May 10

 

May 10 is the feast of Saint Comgall of Bangor, founder of the great monastic school at Bangor, County Down. An account of Saint Comgall and his monastic school by Archbishop John Healy is also available at the blog here, but below is a reminder of his career from a post first published at my previous blog in 2009:

Into the other world's realm of peace,
wherein is every temple's noise,
may the hostful one convey us,
Comgall the gifted, of Bangor.

 Thus does the Martyrology of Oengus record the feast of Saint Comgall, in its entry for May 10. The later Martyrology of Donegal also pays this master of the ascetic life a handsome tribute:

10. D. SEXTO IDUS MAII 10.

COMHGALL, Abbot of Bennchor-Uladh. He is of the race of Irial, son of Conall Cearnach. A man full of the grace of God and of His love was this man. A man who fostered and educated very many other saints, as he kindled and lighted up an unquenchable fire of the love of God in their hearts, and in their minds, as is evident in the old books of Erin. Cuimin, of Condoire, says that it was every Sunday only that Comhgall used to eat food. Thus, he says, in the poem which begins “Patrick of the fort of Macha loves, & etc:

“Comhgall, head of Uladh, loves,
Noble is every name that he named,
A blessing on the body of the sage,
Every Sunday he used to eat.”

The Life of Ciaran, of Cluain, states, that the order of Comhgall was one of the eight orders that were in Erin.

A very old vellum book, which is already referred to at Brighit (1st of February), states, that Comhgall, of Bennchor, had a similarity in habits and life to James the Apostle, &c.

He sat ten days and three months and fifty years in the abbacy. His whole age was ninety years, A.D. 600.

Canon O'Hanlon records that there are a number of surviving Vitae of the saint in manuscripts in Irish, English and Belgian libraries. He summarized a variety of sources in his lengthy account of Saint Comgall in Volume V of his Lives of the Irish Saints, from which the following has been distilled:

Although of humble parentage, yet, it seems that St. Comgall descended from the race of Irial, son to Conall Cearnach. His father Sethna was a soldier attached to the Prince of Dailnariade. He was a descendant from Aradius, the founder of that renowned family. Following the family pedigree, he was ninth in descent from Fiacha Araidhe. According to some accounts, St. Comgall was born, A.D. 506, 510, or 511; others have A.D. 513 ; while some writers place his birth, at A.D. 516, or 517. His birth occurred, in a northern part of the province of Ulster in a region known as Dailnaraidhe, or Dalaradia.. in the territory of Magheramorne in the eastern part of Antrim County. At a time, when his father was advanced in years, this birth is stated to have occurred. Being an only son, Comgall was much loved by his parents, from the very moment of his birth. The boy's parents dedicated him to God's service, thus imitating the action of Anna, with regard to Samuel, and from the very moment of his birth, he seemed to grow in grace and wisdom. One day, while our saint reposed near a heap of stones, and in a field where he laboured, a deep slumber ensued. Then his mother, who came to the place, saw a pillar of fire, resting on the boy, and extending towards Heaven. She was alarmed at this portent, and knew not what she should do; she feared to approach, and yet she felt very unwilling to leave her son. While waiting to learn the result, her child awoke, his face emitting an extraordinary brilliancy. Then, Comgall said to his anxious guardian, " Fear not, mother, for I am in no manner injured, by this celestial fire. Yet, take care, you do not relate this vision to any person, during these days". This command his mother observed, for a time; but, she related what she had seen, at a subsequent period. Another time, Comgall is related, to have said to his father, while they were walking, through a field, "Father, we should leave this land with its cares." His father, not agreeing in such opinion, the boy said, " Do you, dear father, cultivate this little farm, but I will go and seek from the Lord another portion of land, larger and more productive." It is said, that St. Comgall was required as a substitute for his father, who was already old, in a war, which the Dailnaraidian prince was about to wage against his enemies. Although, unwilling to engage in warfare, our saint took up arms, to satisfy the desire of his parents ; but, willing to save his servant's hands and eyes from participating in scenes of bloodshed, so distasteful to the young conscript, the Almighty effected peace between both parties, thus preserving the soul and body of his chosen one from every danger.

When St. Comgall resolved on abandoning the secular habit, and on assuming that of an ecclesiastic, he received the rudiments of learning from a cleric, who lived in a country house. However, the life of this tutor did not tend to edification. The pupil undertook to correct the irregularities of his master, in the following symbolical manner. While the professor spent one of his nights in the commission of sin, Comgall betook himself to prayer, and practised other pious exercises he then met his teacher, on the following day, with a garment purposely soiled. On being reproved for this want of cleanliness, he returned the following reply: "Is it more dangerous, master, to have our garment soiled, than our soul? That defilement of soul and body, in which you spent last night, is worse than the condition of this habit." Although it silenced, this reproof, however, did not correct the vices of his master ; and, hence, our saint resolved on leaving him, and those scenes of his early youth. Comgall wished to place himself under the direction of a most holy instructor. Having directed his course toward Leix territory, in a northern part of the southern Leinster province, he there found an asylum, in the celebrated monastery of Clonenagh... There, St. Fintan ruled over that monastery, at the foot of the Slebh Bloom Mountain range. Having placed himself under direction of St. Fintan, Comgall entered upon a course of penance and labour. But, the devil tempted him strongly, to regret the choice he had made, in embracing this course of life, and in leaving his own part of the country. However, he related this temptation to St. Fintan, and the latter prayed for his disciple, who at that time stood near a cross, on the western side of Clonenagh monastery. Tears fell down his cheeks, and while intent on prayer, suddenly a light from Heaven surrounded him. Comgall's heart was filled with spiritual joy, and from that time forward, he felt no recurrence of his former temptation.

He spent a considerable time in Clonenagh. At length, St. Fintan required our saint to revisit his own part of the country, that he might found religious cells, or houses, and preside over their inmates. St. Comgall remained without sacred orders for many years, he being unwilling through humility to receive them. Having obtained St. Fintan's benediction and prayers, with some companions, he set out on a visit to St. Kieran of Clonmacnoise. With him, it is said, Comgall remained for some time, and while there, he was greatly distinguished for his sanctity. Afterwards, St. Comgall directed his course homewards, where he was ordained a deacon, with the advice of numerous clerics, by St. Lugid, whose identity has not been discovered. After some interval, our saint, having been advanced to the sacerdotal grade, went around his own part of the country. Everywhere he preached the Gospel among the people. Wishing to lead a life of greater perfection, St. Comgall became the inhabitant of an Island, in Lough Erne, where he led a most austere life. Placing themselves under his direction, certain monks endeavoured to emulate his austerities. But, in this effort, seven of them died, through the effects of cold and hunger. Hearing of such circumstance, other religious men entreated our saint, to relax his excessive rigours, towards himself and those monks under his charge. Yet, while he permitted his monks to live, after the manner of other religious, Comgall refused to indulge personally in like relaxations, thus continuing his usual austerities. After remaining for some time in this place, the holy Abbot felt a desire to pass over into Britain, with the intention of remaining there ; but, the earnest entreaties of St. Lugidus, from whom he had received ordination, with those recommendations, given by other holy saints, induced him to abandon this design. Thus he remained in Ireland, to continue that great work of monastic propagandism, on which his thoughts had been earnestly engaged.

Those pious persons brought St. Comgall forth, from the place of his retreat, that he might commence a work, for which he seemed specially destined. The pious servant of God began to found cells and monasteries, in different parts of the country. Especially did he regard that beautiful site, where the Inver-Beg, or the "Little River Beg," falls into Belfast Lough, at its opening towards the sea. On its banks did St. Comgall resolve to found his great establishment, which in after times became so renowned as the monastery of Bennchor. This was the place, now known as the town of Bangor, situated at the indentation of a bay, bearing the same name. In a short time, so great a number of monks flocked to his establishment, that they could not find accommodation in this monastery. Our saint thereupon was obliged to build other houses, not only in the northern province, but, even in other provinces of Ireland. Many thousand monks are said to have lived, under his rule and discipline. Of all these houses, however, Bangor monastery was the most celebrated, and the largest ; and here, in course of time, a city grew around this hive of religious wisdom and sanctity.According to some accounts, St. Comgall commenced the foundation of a monastic institute and church, at this place, in the year 551 or 552; others have it, at 554, 559, and 561. Here, for fifty years, the holy superior ruled over his large community, with great sanctity, and keeping a most perfect monastic discipline. He wrought many miracles, and some of these are given, in different Acts, as published by the Bollandists...

As the time of our saint's death approached, he was afflicted with much suffering. He specially laboured under a total deafness. He also endured much pain, from retention of urine. In such a state of suffering he continued, from the commencement of winter to the time of Pentecost, in the year following. Some were of opinion, that God thus afflicted him, on account of the intolerable and austere rule, he had imposed on his monks. Others said, that these pains were unwillingly endured by him now, owing to the excessive and insensate rigour he had formerly imposed on himself, by choice; and again, other conjectures of a different kind were hazarded. In the meantime, St. Meldan, an Abbot, who was descended from the Scots' nation, was sent from Heaven, to a certain holy monk, named Colman. Meldan spoke to him as follows, and while he was asleep: "Not for the reasons men assign are so many pains inflicted on St Comgall, however real their causes, but for his love of Christ has he suffered, that he may receive an increase of merit. For, as he innocently suffers pain with men, so in the sight of Angels shall he rejoice, being crowned with many unfading joys and rewards. As the last days of our saint were evidently fast approaching, the monks frequently requested him, to receive Holy Eucharist, and other necessary sacraments. Comgall replied to these requests: " I shall receive the Holy Sacrament from the hands of no person, until St. Fiachra's arrival. He is an Abbot of the Leinster province, who is sent to me, by God." At this time, the Angel of the Lord visited St. Fiachra, whose monastery was situated on the banks of the River Barrow, and this holy Abbot was sent to our saint, then suffering great pain, to administer to him the Body and Blood of Christ. According to other accounts, our saint received the Holy Viaticum from St. Fiachra, Abbot of Clonard. Having arrived at Bangor, he immediately administered Holy Communion to the venerable Abbot, who had now attained the eightieth—or according to some accounts the ninetieth—year of his age. According to other accounts, he was then in the eighty-fifth year. Then, Fiachra asked St. Comgall for some relics. This request the holy Abbot's disciples promised should be complied with; when, in the presence of many venerable men, St. Comgall yielded up his spirit to the great Creator. His demise occurred, on the sixth of the May Ides, about the year 600 or 601. The Rev. Dr. Reeves places his death, at A.D. 602. Yet, do we find a different account in the "Chronicum Scotorum," under A.D. 602 ; in which year, it is stated, that he rested on the 6th of the Ides of May, in the fiftieth year, third month, and tenth day, of his government, as also, in the ninety-first year of his age. In the first of St. Comgall's Lives, as published by the Bollandists, he is said to have died, in the eightieth year of his age.

With much honour, he was interred in his own renowned monastery at Bangor. Sometime having elapsed, after St. Comgall's death,the St. Fiachra, already named, came to the monastery of Bangor. The remains of Comgall having been disentombed with much reverence, Fiachra removed an arm of our saint, which he brought with him, proceeding on towards the province of Leinster. While pursuing his journey through this province, he stopped at the castle of a chief, who was named Aedus. He requested the saint, to baptize one of his children. Fiachra opened his wallet, to remove a book containing the Baptismal rite. Immediately, the arm of St. Comgall was raised towards Heaven. After Fiachra's fasting and prayer, offered on bended knees, it then descended, and disappeared beneath the earth. For three days, the soil was searched, by digging over this spot; but, the relic could not be discovered. On seeing this, the chieftain Aedus gave in perpetuity a donation of his castle and lands; and here, St. Fiachra built a large monastery, in honour of St. Comgall, and of the Most Holy Trinity. On the plundering of Bangor, by the Danes, in the year of our Lord 822, the oratory there was broken, and the relics of St. Comgall were shaken from the shrine, in which they had been preserved. They were afterwards removed to Antrim.

The ancient office for St. Comgall's feast was one of Nine Lessons, as we find entered, in the Antiphonary of the Culdees, belonging to the Armagh Metropolitan Church, where the calendar list occurs, at the vi. Of the May Ides. There is an office, with Proper Lessons, and set down as a Duplex Majus, in Bishop De Burgo's "Officia Propria Sanctorum Hiberniae."

In all our ancient calendars, we find notices of St. Comgall set down for the 10th of May... In Scotland, the Abbot St. Comgall was held in great veneration, on the 10th of May, as we find recorded, in the Martyrology of Aberdeen, and his merits have been extolled with high eulogy. This was the case, especially at the monastery of Drumcongal, which doubtless derived its denomination from him. The churches of Dercongal, or Holywood, and of Durris, were dedicated to this saint. His feast is also entered in the Kalendars of Drummond, de Nova Farina, of Aberdeen, and of Dempster.

 

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