OMNIUM SANCTORUM HIBERNIAE

Year: 2017

  • Saint Anci, September 19

    Canon O’Hanlon flags up an obscure entry in some of the Irish calendars at September 19 for a saint Anci. The name first appears in the Martyrology of Tallaght and then later in the Martyrology of Donegal. It is missing however from the Martyrology of Oengus and from the Martyrology of Gorman.

    St. Anci or Ainchi.

     In the published and Book of Leinster copies of the Martyrology of Tallagh, we find the simple entry, Anci, without further designation, and at the 19th of September. The Martyrology of Donegal has Ainchi, at the 19th of September. We cannot find any further account of him.Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2017. All rights reserved.

  • Saint Gema of Riacc Innse, September 18

    The name of an obscure Irish female saint is found in some of the Irish calendars at September 18. As Canon O’Hanlon explains below, the name of Gema of Riacc Innse is found in the Martyrology of Tallaght and in the Martyrology of Gorman. Her name is absent though from the Martyrology of Oengus and from the Martyrology of Donegal:

    St. Gema, Virgin, of Riacc Innse. 

    We find a festival registered in the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 18th of September, in honour of Gema, Virgin, of Riacc Innse.  In the Martyrology of Marianus O’Gorman, at the same date, the entry of Gemma is found. Her place and period seem to be unknown.
    Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2017. All rights reserved.

  • 'His Cross is our saving herb…'

    September 14 is the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, and to mark the feast below is a short excerpt from an Irish bardic poem translated by Irish Jesuit, Father Lambert Mc Kenna (1870-1956):

    His Cross is our saving herb, our flower of blessing, our bond of perfect peace; it is the daily protection of Eve’s race, the seal of our covenant, the roof above us.
    L. McKenna, Some Irish Bardic Poems, Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review Vol. 24, No. 94 (June 1935), pp. 313-318.

    Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2017. All rights reserved.