0
false
18 pt
18 pt
0
0
false
false
false
/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin:0cm;
mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:12.0pt;
font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-ansi-language:EN-US;}
On January 13 we commemorate the memory of Saint Ailill, an early Archbishop of Armagh. Canon O’Hanlon’s account of the saint is rather heavy-going and indeed, he sounds somewhat weary by the final paragraph. The problem is that the sources appear to suggest that our saint may have had a previous association with the monastery of Moville, County Down. Other writers, particularly Father John Lanigan who wrote about the Irish saints in the 1820s, were convinced that Ailill of Armagh and Ailill of Moville were two distinct individuals. Furthermore, it appeared that if the Archbishop of Armagh was the same person as the monastic of Moville, then there was also the tradition that Ailill had been married to deal with. A final source of confusion was that Saint Ailill’s successor bore the same name and this is why our saint is referred to as Saint Ailill I in the Lives of the Irish Saints. Actually, his name is rendered in various forms in Canon O’Hanlon’s account, including Ailild, Alild as well as Ailill:
St Ailild
I., Archbishop of Armagh. [Fifth
and Sixth Centuries.]
At the
13th day of January, Colgan has
drawn up some accounts
regarding this
holy prelate, from the Acts
of St. Patrick, and from
other sources, while he
has added some comments of his own
to solve difficulties which
are presented. Before St.
Patrick’s arrival in
Ireland, about
A.D. 432, a chieftain named Trichem lived in an eastern
part of Ulster. This
assertion is
capable of proof, from the
circumstance of
Dichuo, son to
this Trichem, having bestowed
on St. Patrick the site for
Saul Monastery. Besides this, it
is known that Magbile, Killchlethe, Down, and Neddrum,
where the sons of
this Trichem had their possessions,
are all situated in the eastern and maritime parts
of Ulster.
Trichem, or as the name is
Latinized, Trichemius,
was the descendant of a respectable ancestral pagan line;
but he was likewise the parent of children no less
distinguished in
the early history of
our Irish Church. This chieftain
is stated to have been a
scion of the noble
Dalfiatacian family, from which race
were derived many kings, not
only of the Ultonian
province, but even some
who had been monarchs over Ireland. St. Ailild
was the son of Trichem,
son to Fieg, son of Imchad,
son to Breassal, son of Sinchad, son to Fiatach, surnamed Finn. We find
the holy archbishop, in after
time, classed among
the disciples of St. Patrick
and if he deserve
such a distinction, it must
have been at
rather a late period of
the Apostle’s life,
and while Ailild himself was very young.
It has
been very positively asserted, that our saint
was not Trichem’s son, and Dr.
Lanigan considers him to have
been a different person from Ailill of
Magbile, with whom,
it is said, he was confounded. The only
grounds on which the former
opinion seems formed are,
that Dichuo, the elder brother of Ailill, must have had
a settled family, and have been at least forty years of age in
the year 433, when he
had been converted by
St. Patrick. Hence, as argued,
it could not have been probable he had a brother capable of assuming
episcopal functions in
the year 513.
Although Trichem had not the
happiness of
embracing the
Christian faith, yet,
through God’s holy providence, he was the father of
a numerous and saintly offspring. He
became the parent of six sons,
who were not only distinguished
for being among the first
fruits of St. Patrick’s apostolic labours
and preaching, owing to their reception of the baptismal and regenerating sacrament, but,
moreover, they acquired a reputation for being enrolled among
the early saints of Ireland’s Church. They are thus named, according
to the order of their respective
births, viz., Rius, or Rossius, Dichuo, Durthact, Eugenius, Niell, and Alill. In
the Life of St.
Patrick we are told, that
Dichuo was not alone the first
of his family, but of his
whole nation, who embraced the Christian faith, when
our great Apostle’s mission commenced.
This example was
afterwards followed
by members of his
household. The
elder brother, Rossius, at
first resisted the grace of conversion; and
he even sought to interpose every obstacle
to the success of
St. Patrick’s mission. But his
obstinacy and
infidelity were
finally overcome.
Soon afterwards,
having received the sacraments of the Church,
he happily departed this life. The four
younger brothers to these converts, already
named, moved by the example
of their seniors, and by miracles, manifested at the
time of their conversion, were not left
without those graces which enabled them to receive
the light of Faith. They choose
also that better part,
by aspiring to the attainment
of practices which
render faith perfect. They
were favoured from above with those
Divine inspirations, which induced them to
exercise virtues
becoming the
saints of Christ. Our martyrologists
state that,
whilst Dichuo had been venerated at Saul, St. Durthact
was honoured
at Nendrum, St Eugenius and
St. Niell at Kil-cleith, and St.
Ailild, at Maghile. This latter place
is now known as Moville, situated in the barony
of Ards, county
of Down.
St. Ailild,
it has been remarked, is thought to
have obtained the graces of all the
sacraments. For, not only did he receive those
graces which are common to
all Christians, but, moreover, Holy Orders
and Matrimony, which are
distinctive ones,
usually constituting a line
of demarcation existing between clergy and laity.
It has even been stated, that after St. Ailild had been married,
he became the father of
Carbre. This latter
in time was parent to the celebrated St.
Finnian, Abbot
of Magbile.
After his
wife’s death, most
probably, Ailild
abandoned all
secular cares by
devoting himself entirely
to God’s holy service. When speaking
about this
saint, Harris remarks, that he was
a married man
at the time of his conversion. In
order to account for a married man taking Holy
Orders, this writer states,
that Colgan tells us, he
put away his wife first.
Now Harris has shamefully
perverted the meaning
of Colgan, in
reference to
this subject. The Irish
hagiologist is
misrepresented and
made to say, that Ailill put
away his wife before taking Holy Orders. Now Colgan’s
statement is, that the wife was dead,
before he became a clergyman. Harris then goes on to show,
that the Irish clergy were
not bound to celibacy in
those times; but
Dr. Lanigan takes him to task
and roundly asserts, that in the whole history
of the ancient Irish Church,
there is no instance of
any bishop having been exempt
from the law of celibacy.
In addition
to what has been urged with so much force,
it may be stated, in reply
to what Harris has advanced, when trying to
support his false position, that, as
in the present instance, it is extremely
probable some priests
of the
early Irish Church
had been married previous to their ordination. Yet, in this case,
either their wives died before they assumed
orders, or they had
consented to
a voluntary separation
from their husbands, so that
these might enter upon
a religious state. To persons
thus circumstanced, the canon in
question had
reference;
and, as at the present
time, we are able to furnish many instances
for illustration, especially as regard married converts to the
Catholic religion,
so at a period when St.
Patrick commenced his mission in Ireland, it might have been deemed
expedient to
recruit the clerical
ranks from persons who had
been previously married, and who felt
disposed to comply with
established ecclesiastical
discipline, before their
reception of
the higher orders.
From the
circumstance of this
saint, as named
in our Irish Menologies, having been venerated at Magbile, it
has been assumed, by Colgan, that
he might
have been abbot over that
place. This grave author,
however, would not undertake to assert,
whether from having
been abbot there,
St. Ailild had been assumed to Armagh’s
archiepiscopal see,
or whether having ruled over
this latter church, he laid
down the honours and responsibilities
of pontifical
dignity, to seek
repose in Magbile
Monastery.
From all
evidence adduced
by Colgan, we might feel
unable to arrive at any other
conclusion, than that
Ailild resided tor
some time in Maghbile
Monastery, as
a simple monk.
It is likely enough, that he received
Holy Orders,
and was afterwards promoted to Armagh see,
without having previously or subsequently
exercised the function of an abbot. But
so far as the chronology
of his episcopacy is
concerned, no
abbey of Maghbile was in existence, until after his death. Perhaps he
was venerated there
after having been called away
from life. On the death
of Duach or Dubtach I.,
which took place in
the year 512
St. Alild I. was appointed
to succeed, as Archbishop of Armagh
and Primate of Ireland. Our
saint sustained the honours of this exalted station
for a continuance of thirteen
years. During this period, his merits and virtues were found fully equal
to that great trust reposed
in his keeping.
Full of years and of
virtues, he
passed out of this
life, on the 13th day of January, in the
year of salvation, 525.
He was
succeeded in the
Archiepiscopal See of
Armagh, by St. Ailild II.
– and from the concurrent
circumstances of both distinguished
persons bearing
the same name, claiming the same family
origin, and
coming in an immediate order as regards succession in the
same see, they have been incorrectly confounded. But the distinction
of days, months and years, having reference to
their departure from
this life, will tend to correct
such an error. Our
annalists and
hagiologists assign the second
Ailild’s death
to the 1st day of July,
A.D. 535.
As already
observed, those dates referring
to the decease of St. Alild I.,
are altogether different.
The Natalis of Alild I.
is held on the Ides
or 13th of January,
and that of Ailild II., on
the 1st of July. For
these statements,
we may cite as authorities,
the Martyrology of Tallagh, Marianus O’Gorman, the
Commentator on St.
Aengus, and the Irish Martyrology
of Donegal.
Despite a positive assertion of the learned and researchful Colgan, who appears
to have had ample materials before him on which he might ground an opinion,
a learned Irish
historian presumes
to question the statement, that
Ailild I, Archbishop of Armagh,
was the identical person, named Alild of Magbile. The
latter writer asserts, that
in Colgan’s acts
of our saint, which he
designates a
strange and an incoherent medley,
the Irish hagiologist has
confounded into
one person two saints, who ought to
have been regarded
as distinct
in identity, and as
living at different periods.
While allowing Alild of
Magbile to have been one of Prince
Trichem’s sons, and
a grandfather to St. Finnian
of Magbile, Dr. Lanigan
considers this
St. Alild to have been
always a layman. From
confounding the
latter with St. Alild, Archbishop
of Armagh, this historian asserts an impression
was thence derived that the metropolitan prelate had been
married before his ordination. Again Dr.
Lanigan maintains, that Alild, Archbishop of Armagh, was not
nearly connected with Dichuo, St.
Patrick’s early
convert, while the
prelate in question was a
native of Clanbrassil, this being
a district, far distant
from Lecale, in which Dichuo’s family resided. This writer will
not allow there
is any foundation for
a statement, that Alild, Archbishop of Armagh, or
even Dichuo,
came from a princely extraction.
But the argument he principally urges, to sustain his opinion, is the assumption
of Dichuo having had a
settled family in the year
432, when in all probability
he could not have been less than forty years
of age, and consequently
the improbability of
his having had a brother
capable of discharging
episcopal duties in
513. The objections of Dr. Lanigan are sufficiently
plausible and
pertinent, but
not entirely convincing nor unanswerable,
especially when
weighed with received accounts regarding
our saint. According to his usual
theory of computation, this
historian says, Ailill
I. died about, or in the
year 526, after having
governed Armagh
See nearly thirteen years. The same writer supposes, that Ailill I., dying so
early in the
year as the 13th of January, it is very
probable, his
incumbency did not last
fully thirteen years, although
having its commencement in 513.
In the body of his
text, to which the above observation
is appended, the learned
Doctor tells us, that the first Alild died
on the 13th of January,
A.D. 526, after an incumbency
of thirteen years.
No doubt
much remains to be discovered
regarding the Life of St.
Alilid I., under these peculiar circumstances; and probably,
at some future time, certain
involutions of facts
now presented may receive adequate solution. For the
present, therefore,
too much unwarranted assertion or mere speculation might be
risked, were the writer of this notice
to enter upon further
details concerning him, and
the contemporary events of his
period.
Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2015. All rights reserved.
OMNIUM SANCTORUM HIBERNIAE 