OMNIUM SANCTORUM HIBERNIAE

Category: Groups of saints

  • The Twelve Pilgrims of Inis Uachtair, December 23

     

    Among the saints commemorated on December 23 is a group of twelve pilgrims from an island in Lough Sheelin, County Westmeath. The Martyrology of Gorman describes them as:

    Pilgrims whom thou shouldst know, two hexads, with a vigorous career.

    whilst the Martyrology of Donegal records them quite simply as:

    THE TWELVE PILGRIMS, of Inis Uachtair.

    The Irish name Inis Uachtair translates as ‘Upper Island’ and as Father Anthony Cogan’s diocesan history of Meath explains, a monastery had existed on the Lough Sheelin site since the sixth century:

    Inisvachtuir.

    This is an island in Lough Sheelin (upper island), bordering on the half barony of Fore. St. Carthagh the elder, grandson of Aengus, King of Cashel, erected an abbey here in the sixth century. In the Martyrology of Donegal the festival of St. Carthach, bishop, is marked at the 5th of March, and it is stated there that “Inis-Uachtair, in Loch-Sileann, belongs to him.” The festival of the “Seven Sons of Dreitell, of Inis-Uachtair”, is set down in the Martyrology of Tallaght at December the 21st, and in the Martyrology of Donegal at December the 22nd. The festival of “The Twelve Pilgrims of Inis-Uachtair” is commemorated in the Martyrology of Donegal at December the 23rd.

    Rev. A. Cogan, The Diocese of Meath Ancient and Modern, Vol. III, (Dublin and London, 1870), 572-573.

    Unfortunately, I have not been able to find out any more about our saintly pilgrims. It would have been interesting to know of the purpose of their pilgrimage and especially of their destination. Although we hear of Irish saints going on pilgrimage to places like Rome or Tours, many Irish pilgrimages were undertaken to less exotic destinations here at home. Peter Harbinson’s book ‘Pilgrimage in Ireland – The Monuments and the People’ is packed with fascinating details about this subject, one which I hope to post about in the future.

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  • The Seven Virgins of Armagh, October 8

     On October 8 the Irish calendars commemorate a group of holy women within the diocese of Armagh. The entry in the Martyrology of Oengus does not specify the number of these saints but the (rather unfortunate) translation by Whitley Stokes describes them as ‘a bevy of virginal girls’:

    A. viii. idus Octobris.

    Lécsit lúth co nani
    ar bithaittrib rígi
    trét ingen co nógi
    la paiss find Faustíni.

    8. They left power with splendour
    for eternal possession of the Kingdom,
    a bevy of virginal girls
    at the white passion of Faustinus.

    The scholiasts’ notes, however, introduce the idea of ‘septem filiae’, seven girls:

    8. a bevy of girls, i.e. in Cell na nóebingen ‘ the Church of the holy girls’ in the precinct of Armagh, i.e. septem filiae. Or maybe they are the holy virgins who are in Cell na n-ingen to the east of Armagh.

    The later Martyrology of Donegal refers on this day to:

    THE SEVEN HOLY VIRGINS, of the Termon of Ard-Macha.

    This is but one instance of saints occurring in sevens within the Martyrology, there are, for example, commemorations of the Seven Bishops of Cluaincua on October 3 and of the Seven Sons of Stiallan, on October 27.

    I assumed that the present seven virgins of Armagh are connected to the hagiography of Saint Patrick and wondered if they may be connected to this episode from the Tripartite Life:

    Once on a time there came nine daughters of the King of the Lombards, and a daughter of the King of Britain on their pilgrimage to Patrick. They stayed at the east of Armagh in the place where Coll na n-Ingen (the Maidens’ Hazel) stands to-day. They sent to Patrick to ask if they might go to see him (to Armagh). Patrick said to the messengers, ‘Three of the virgins will go to heaven, and do ye bury them in the place where they are — namely, at Coll na n-Ingen. Let the rest of the virgins go to Druim Fendeda (or the Champion’s Ridge), and let one of them go as far as the hillock in the east.’ – and this thing was done.

    Most Rev. J. Healy, The Life and Writings of Saint Patrick (Dublin, 1905), 513.

    The reference in the Martyrology of Oengus that they ‘left power with splendour for eternal possession of the Kingdom’ would certainly seem to tie in with the idea of princesses becoming nuns. Although the Tripartite Life talks of nine daughters of the King of the Lombards plus a daughter of the King of Britain, Saint Patrick prophecies that three will go to heaven which would reduce their number to seven. I will have to do some further research and see if recent scholarship can cast any more light on this enigmatic group.

     

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  • The Daughters of Carpre, August 15

    The earliest of the Irish calendars commemorates a group of holy women known collectively as the daughters of Carpre on August 15. How many sisters this group comprised is not recorded, indeed apart from a notice in The Martyrology of Tallaght appended to the name of the male saint Saran, also commemorated on this day, nothing more is known of them as Canon O’Hanlon explains:
    Feast of Carpre’s Daughters.
    In addition to the Festival and veneration observed at this date, as we read in the published Martyrology of Tallaght, for Firdacrioch et St. Saran, the Daughters of Carpre are likewise commemorated. In that copy, contained in the Book of Leinster, they are also noticed, at the 15th of August. Further light we cannot obtain, regarding these holy women, who are not mentioned at this date, in the Martyrology of Donegal.
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