OMNIUM SANCTORUM HIBERNIAE

Author: Michele Ainley

  • Saint Declan of Ardmore, July 24

     

     

     

     

    July 24 sees the feastday of Saint Declan of Ardmore, County Waterford. Hagiographical tradition remembers him as one of the four pre-Patrician saints, credited with having been active in Munster, prior to the coming of Saint Patrick. His feastday on July 24 is marked in the Martyrology of Oengus thus:

    24. If thou hast a right,
    O Erin,    to a champion of battle to aid thee,
    thou hast the head of a hundred thousands,
    Declan of Ardmore.

    and in the later Martyrology of Donegal, where reference is made to some of the miracles surrounding him:

    24. B. NONO KAL. AUGUSTI. 24.

    DECCLAN, of Ard-mor, son of Erc, son of Maicniadh, Bishop and Confessor. He was of the race of Eochaidh Finn Fuathairt, from whom Brighit descended, and Deitsin was the name of his mother. Colman, a holy bishop, baptized him. Life of Declan, chap. 3.

    On one occasion, as he was coming from Rome, he forgot a bell (which had been sent him from Heaven,) upon a rock which was in the port, and the rock swam after him, so that it arrived before the ship in Erin, and Declan said that where the rock should touch land, there God would permit him to erect a church, and this was afterwards fulfilled. This church is situated in Deisi of Munster, where he performed many signs and miracles.

    The Life of Saint Declan is available from a number of online sources, including CELT.

    Below is a 19th-century summary of his life, written by Irish Anglican writer, the Rev. Thomas Olden:

    DECLAN, SAINT (fl. 600-650), bishop, of Ardmore, co. Waterford, was son of Erc, a chieftain of the Desii, who was descended from Fiacha Suidhe, son of Fedlimidh Rechtmar, king of Ireland (164-174). The three sons of Fiacha had been banished from their original territory, the barony of Deece, co. Meath, and had settled in the districts in the county of Waterford still called Decies after the name of their clan. Here St. Declan was born. His parents, converted from heathenism by Colman, son of Lenin [q. v.], presented their child to him for baptism, and he gave him the name of Declan. According to the ‘Book of Munster,’ St. Colman was converted to Christianity in 570, and died in 600. Declan’s birth must be placed between these limits. The unauthentic story accepted by Colgan, and apparently by Ussher, is that Declan was one of four bishops who preceded St. Patrick in Ireland. Having been consecrated a bishop at Rome, he was commissioned to evangelise the Irish. Afterwards, when in Ireland, these four bishops refused to obey St. Patrick on the ground that ‘ they were sent from Rome as he was.’ In the end, however, a compromise was effected which was embodied in an Irish stanza supposed to have been uttered by St. Patrick, and which it was strictly forbidden to translate from the vernacular. In this it is said, ‘ Declan is the Patrick of the Desii, the Desii are Declan’s for ever.’ But Dr. Todd has shown that this story has no better authority than a legend which chronology summarily condemns as false.

    For seven years he remained in the house of Dobran, where he was born, and was then placed in charge of Dimma, a learned Christian, afterwards bishop of Connor (d. 658). We next hear of his building a ‘ cell ‘ on ground given by Dobran in the south of the territory of the Desii, in the east of the plain called Magh Sceithi, ‘the plain of the shield,’ not far from Lismore. Here several persons whom he had converted to Christianity, and who afterwards became well-known saints, were placed by him.

    Declan was probably at some time in Gaul, with which the Irish clergy in early times had some communication. It was while abroad that he became possessed of the article known as the duibhin. According to an early manuscript, while Declan was ‘ offering’ in a certain town on his journey, there was sent to him out of heaven from God a small black cymbalum, which came through the window and ‘ stood on the altar before him, which St. Declan, receiving with joy, gave thanks to Christ and was strengthened by it against the barbarous ferocity of the heathen.’ He then gave it in charge to one of his followers, ‘ Lunanus, son of the king of the Romans. The Scoti (Irish) called it the duibhin Declain (small black object of Declan), terming it so from its blackness, and ascribing it to St. Declan. From that day to this many wonders have been wrought by it, and it remains and is honoured in his city, i.e. Ardmore.’ The duibhin is still known by the name mentioned, and there is some reason to think that it is a genuine relic of the saint. It is a small black slab of stone measuring about two inches by one and a half, and three quarters of an inch thick, on which is an incised cross. Originally of rectangular shape, it is much worn and chipped at the edges. It is believed to have been found in St. Declan’s tomb, and is still credited with many marvellous cures. The statement in the ‘ Life’ that it ‘ stood on the altar,’ and that the sight of it encouraged the saint in his labours among the heathen, implies that it represented an altar-cross. The missionary altar of that age was a wooden slab about eight inches square. Placed on edge this slab represented the cross in a position where one with a shaft would be impossible. Cymbalum in Low Latin interchanges with symbolum, from the Greek sumbolon ton staurou, the term by which Sozomen (A..D. 440) describes an altar-cross (BlNGHAM).

    After this, ‘Declan came with his disciples to the sea of Ycht, which separates Gaul from Britain.’ This is one of the few passages which identify muir n-Icht, or the sea of Icht, so often mentioned by Irish writers, as the English Channel. It was the sea of the Portus Iccius supposed to have been the village of Vissent or Witsand. Applying for a passage, he found the terms demanded by the sailors too high, but an empty vessel having been miraculously supplied to him, he passed over. It may have been when crossing England on this occasion that he visited St. David at Menevia. On his voyage to Ireland he was divinely guided to a spot called Ard na-gcaorach, ‘the hill of the sheep,’ to which he afterwards gave the name of Ardmore, ‘the great height,’ which it still retains. Here he fixed his church and monastery. The story of his attempt to convert Oengus, king of Munster, is disposed of by the fact that the king died in 489, nearly a century before Declan was born. Towards the close of his life he visited the original seat of his clan in Meath, where he founded a monastery and left a remarkable copy of the gospels, which was held in great honour and believed to possess miraculous powers. Here he probably placed his disciple St. Ultan of Ardbraccan (d. 657). Among the buildings at Ardmore that known as the Dormitory of St. Declan is believed by Dr. Petrie to be his primitive oratory. The year of his death is uncertain, but he seems to have lived far on into the seventh century. His day is 24 July.

    [MS. E. 3, 11, Trin. Coll. Dublin ; Bollandist’s Act, Sanct. torn. v. Julii, p. 590; Todd’s St. Patrick, 205-14, 219 ; Irish Xennius, p. 31 ; Bingham, book viii. ch. vi. sec. xx. note; Petrie’s Round Towers, p. 353 ; Ussher’s Works, vi. 332, 343, 344, 355; Lanigan’s Eccl. Hist. i. 25; Ducange, art. ‘ Cymbalum , ‘Book of Munster, MS. 23, E. 26, Royal Irish Academy ; Journal of the Kilkenny Archaeological Society, iii. 48.]

    T.O.

    Dictionary of National Biography edited by Leslie Stephen, Vol. XIV, (London, 1888), 267-8.

     

     
    Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2015. All rights reserved.

  • Saint Caencomhrac of Inchenagh, July 23

     

    23 July is the feastday of a 10th-century holy man who, like many other of the saints, struggled to reconcile the demands of ecclesiastical office with the desire to pursue an eremitical life. Canon O’Hanlon tells us what is known of Saint Caencomhrac:

    ST. CAIN COMRAC OR CAENCOMHRAC, BISHOP AND ABBOT OF LOUTH, AND SOLITARY ON INIS ENDAIMIH, NOW INCHENAGH OR INISHENAGH, LOUGH REE.

    The Martyrology of Tallagh, registers a festival in honour of Cain Comrac, Innsi Oendaimh, at the 23rd of July. Whether, as written, there be a composite meaning attaching to the present proper name, or whether it be a simple denomination, we cannot determine. He was born, most probably, in the beginning of the ninth century. This holy man, however, belonged to the Muinter Degha race, according to the O’Clerys. However, in the Annals of the Four Masters, we are informed, that this same Caenchomrac was Bishop and Abbot of Lughmhadh— now Louth—the tutor of Aenegan, son to Eigeartach, and also of Dunadhach, son of Eigeartach, from whom are descended the Ui-Cuinn na mBocht. This account seems to agree with that in the Annals of Ulster and in the Chronicum Scotorum. We may therefore doubt, if Caencomhrac had been bishop, at Cluain-mic-Nois, in the first instance, as we are informed. At what time such an event took place does not appear from any entry in our Irish Annals, so that we are inclined to believe the O’Clerys have been mistaken in their statement. As we are informed by them, Caencomhrac left Cluain, in consequence of the veneration in which he was held there; for, the neighbouring inhabitants reverenced him as a prophet. Then, he went to seek solitude on an Island, at the head of Loch Ribh. This Island of Inse Oendaimh is now known as Inchenagh, or Inishenagh. It is near Lanesborough, in the parish of Rathcline, and in the county of Longford…

    The present holy man departed this life, on the 23rd day of July, A.D. 898, according to the “Annals of the Four Masters; in the year 902, according to those of Ulster; and at A.D. 903, according to the “Chronicum Scotorum.” The Martyrology of Donegal, at this same day, records Caencomhrac, Bishop, of Inis Endaimh, in Loch Ribh. Under the head of Inis-Eundaimh, Duald Mac Firbis enters, likewise, Caoncomrac, bishop, at July 23rd. The foregoing are the few particulars that can be recorded, in reference to the position and career of this holy bishop and solitary.

    Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2015. All rights reserved.

  • Saint Mobiu of Inis-Cooscry, July 22

     

     

     

    A northern abbot, Mobiu of Inis-Cooscry, is commemorated on 22 July. Canon O’Hanlon has an account of the abbot and of the locality in which he flourished, right in the heart of Saint Patrick country in County Down. He begins with some reflections on the use of personal pronouns in relation to the names of the saints and ends by lamenting the state of the historic ruins of Irish monasteries:

    ST BITEUS OR MOBIU, CALLED ALSO DOBI, OR DAVID, ABBOT OF INIS-COOSCRY, COUNTY OF DOWN.

    THE original name of the present holy man was apparently Biu; for, we have to admit, that the adjunct of affection mo was but a colloquial addition. Formerly, in Ireland, it was not, and even yet it is not, always customary to use the title of “saint.” With a simple reverence, the people called the holy men and women among them merely by their names, often affectionately prefixing Mo, “my,” or Do, “thy.” Thus, we have in general use the phrase “Patrick’s Day,” or “Stephen’s Green,” applied as the usual forms in reference to times and places. In the early period, the Irish did not call their children by a saint’s name, without prefixing Gilla, “servant,” as Gilpatrick, Gilbride, &c. These observations prepare us for a better understanding of changes occurring, also, in the personal etymons, applied to holy persons in our Calendars. In the published Martyrology of Tallagh, we meet at the xi. of the Kalends of August, or at the 22nd of July, this entry, “Dobi Innse Cumscraidh.” It would seem, that our saint had been known under different names, as we find him variously designated, by our ancient and modern writers, Mo-biu, Do-biu, Dabius, David, Movean, and Bite, or Bitheus. He is called St. Movean or Dabius, of Ireland, in some of the Scottish Calendars. Thus, in Bishop Forbes’ “Kalendars of Scottish Saints,” some notices of this holy Abbot are to be found.

     
    According to Colgan, St. Dabius was born of a mother who had been childless, until St. Mochua, then at Bangor, had prayed for her, as mentioned in his Life. The Sanctilogy of the Irish Saints states his father to have been Comgell, son of Erc, son to Arad, son of Columb, son to Cunneth, son of Buan, from whom the Dal-Buan family sprang, and this was a celebrated tribe in Ultonia, although now extinct or unknown. If the genealogical line be complete in the foregoing pedigree, it would be possible to form an approximate calculation of that period at which he flourished. In the Irish Calendar, he is said to have borne the name of Bitheus, also and to have been Abbot of Inse Cumsgraidhe. Sometimes the place is called Inis Cooscry; and this name it obtained, probably from some former owner, named Cosgraidh. It is now known simply as Inch, a parish in Lower Lecale barony, and county of Down.
     
    The first church here is said to have stood near Erynach; but, we know not by whom it had been erected. This was situated in the barony of Lecale, about one mile and a-half south from Downpatrick. It it is said, that Magnell Makenlese, King of Ulster, had founded an Abbey here, and we are told,that a St. Evodius had been its first Abbot. On the day of his decease, Evodius prophesied, that his own Abbey should be destroyed in after times, but that an Abbey should be built in the Island, now known as Iniscooscry or Inch. Therefore, he gave directions that his corpse should be interred in it.
     
    A monastery appears to have been erected on this peninsula—which exhibits at present some picturesque ruins—long before the arrival of the English in Ireland. As had been justly thought by some writers, Iniscooscry was not called after John de Courcey; for, its ancient name was Inniscumhscraigh, pronounced Iniscooscry. Tigernach, Abbot of Clonmacnoise, who died in 1088, records, that in the year 1002, Sitric, King of the Danes, arrived with a fleet in Uladh and at Kilclief and Iniscooscry; while the Annals of the Four Masters, and Keating, at the reign of Brian Boru, concur in recording the same occurrence, and in almost the same words that Tigernach uses. Under the year 1061, is recorded the death of Hogan O’Cormacan, Abbot of Inniscumscraigh, and Hugh Maglanha, Abbot of Iniscumscray, was a subscribing witness to the charter of Newry.
     
    To what exact period we should refer the abbatial functions of St. Mobhius, we have no means of ascertaining. He must have flourished before the ninth century, when he had a connexion with this place, as we learn from the “Feilire” of St. Oengus. …
     
    St. Mobiu is commemorated at the 22nd of July, by St. Oengus the Culdee, in the “Feilire.” A comment on this notice remarks in Irish, that Thy-Biu, son of Comgall, was in Ferann Duin, equivalent to the district of Down. A St. Mobhius, son to Comgell, is venerated at the 22nd of July, according to Marianus O’Gorman and others. In Scotland, this holy man was venerated, as we learn from the Kalendar of Drummond, at the 22nd of July. Again, in the “Circle of the Seasons,” we find entered at the 22nd of July, St. Dabius of Ireland.It is melancholy to reflect, as one discovers frequently in travelling through Ireland, that so many temples and monasteries of her ancient Church are now crumbling into ruin. Here, in the times of primitive faith, the good religious tended the lamp of the sanctuary, and while engaged in praise and prayer themselves, their example and instructions were not lost even upon world- lings. These were exhorted to consecrate the beginning and end of the day, and not to allow their worldly concerns to interfere with or to prevent such holy occupations. Those who could not attend the public assemblies of the faithful were always careful to pray at home, at certain appointed times. So was perpetual adoration preserved, while blessings in return flowed on themselves and on their families.Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2015. All rights reserved.