Below is an account of a saint commemorated on this day, Airennan, a successor at the monastery of Tallagh to its founder Maelruain. Canon O’Hanlon tells us what is known of him and speculates that Saint Airennan may even have been known to Saint Oengus the Martyrologist himself. He also refers to the confusion between our saint and the famous sapiens of Clonard, Saint Aireran, whose feast day falls in December, but both appear to be distinct learned holy men:

St. Airennan, Bishop of Tallagh, County of Dublin.

[Eighth Century.]

The Martyrology of Tallagh enters Airendan, Bishop of Tallaghta, at the 10th of February, and in the Martyrology of Donegal, we find entered, on this day, the name of Airennan, Bishop of Tamhlacht, now Tallagh, in the county of Dublin. He was born, most probably, during the earlier part of the eighth century; and, it is also likely, that he made his religious profession at, or soon after, the foundation of Tallagh, in the year 769. Under the head of Tamlacht, Duald Mac Firbis places Airennan, or Erennan, Bishop of Tamlacht, at February 10th. In the Dublin extracts, belonging to the Irish Ordnance Survey, and at the same date, in the Irish Calendar, we have this holy man’s name occurring, as connected with Tamlacht. This, too, agrees with Ward’s statement. As St. Melruan, the founder died, A.D. 787, or recte 792 the promotion of St. Airennan must be deferred to a subsequent period; and, accordingly, we find his death announced as Airfhindan, Abbot of Tamhlacht-Maeleruain (Tallaght), at A.D. 798, or recte 803. He therefore seems to have been the immediate successor of St. Melruan, whom he survived in office, only for a few years. He must, also, have been the companion of St. Oengus the Culdee, at Tallagh. In our calendars, we find the name of a St. Aireran, also called Aileran, surnamed “the Wise,” Abbot of Clonard. The present saint’s name is not very dissimilar. He is also known as Airenan, and called ” the Wise.” ” He appears to have exercised the duties of a bishop, in addition to those of abbot. So far as we know, he is not distinguished as a writer.

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On November 17 we remember an early saint of County Dublin, Duilech (Doulach) of Clochar. The scholarly Anglican Bishop William Reeves read a paper to the Royal Irish Academy in 1859 on the church of Saint Duilech, and as he brings together the evidence from the Irish calendars and genealogies I have excerpted the following from his work:

MEMOIR OF THE CHURCH OF ST. DUILECH.

St. Duilech is one of those early Irish ecclesiastics whose memory is preserved in the Calendar and local association, but of whose history, and even date, almost all documentary evidence has perished. Ledwich, indeed, refers to a statement, that a life of the saint was preserved at Malahide; but such a record, if it ever existed, is now unknown; and in the absence of any mention of the saint’s name in our Annals, we are obliged to fall back upon his pedigree as the only available material even for conjecture as to the age in which he lived. He is set forth in the sacred genealogies as the son of Malach, or Amhalgaidh, son of Sinell, and eighth in descent from Fergus Mac Rosa, whose date is referred to the Christian era. But, allowing thirty years to a generation, this would only bring him down to the year of our Lord 240; so that several generations are manifestly omitted. However, there are other saints of the same race, the dates of whose obits, or the names of whose contemporaries are recorded, and whose relative distance from a common head will measure that of St. Duilech. St. Mochoemhog, or Pulcherius, who was ten degrees, died in 656 ; Cruimther Fraech, who was nine degrees, was a contemporary of St. Columcille, who died in 597 ; St. Iarlath of Tuam, who was eight degrees, was a little senior to St. Brendan, and flourished about 540 ; and lastly, St. Mobhi, surnamed Mac Ui Alda (from Alia, a common ancestor with St. Duilech), was uncle to St. Duilech, and seven degrees, and his obit is recorded by Tighernach at 630. We may, therefore, taking an average of the dates of these ecclesiastics, all of whom were of the race of Conmaicne, son Fergus mac Rosa, assign the year 600 as about the age in which St. Duilech flourished.

His festival is the 17th of November; and in the calendar of Christ Church he is styled ” Sanctus Dulech Episcopus et Confessor,” though in the Martyrology simply ” Sanctus Dulech Confessor.” But whatever may have been his ecclesiastical rank, his patronage was very limited, for, besides the church under consideration, I know of none other where he was commemorated, unless Cillduleg, which was the Irish name of Grange Gorman, was derived from him.

That there was an early local veneration of his memory appears from the Feilire of Oengus (a composition of the commencement of the ninth century), where at his festival, November 17, he is introduced in the verse:—

la Duilech cain clochair.
With Duilech the beautiful, of Clochar.

After him, in 1171, Maelmuire, or Marian O’Gorman, in his metrical Calendar, at same day, notices

Duilech craibdech clochain.
Duilech the devout, of Clochar.

Upon the former of which is the gloss :—’of Clochar Duiligh, by Faeldrum on the south, i. e. beside Sord of Columcille.’
And upon the latter:—’by Faeldrum on the south, in Fingull.’

Or, as O’ Clery, more fully, in the Calendar of Donegall:—’ Duilech of Clochar by Feldruim, on the south, in Fingal; and Clochar-Duiligh is the name of his town, beside Swords of Columcille. He was of the race of Conmac, son of Fergus, son of Ros, son of Rughraidhe.’

Thus, Clochar is given as the Irish name of his church in native documents, ranging from 800 to 1600.

But, like many primitive foundations, it lost its local importance in the twelfth century, when superseded, on account of position, family interest, or some other cause, by the parish church. In the Bull of Pope Alexander III., which confirmed to St. Laurence O’Toole, in 1179, the possession of his see, mention is made of many ancient churches in the county, both north and south of the city, but none of St. Duilech’s: there is, however, a denomination called Tertia Pars de Clochair [trian Clochair], which may have denoted the site and land of this ancient church, then waste.

The parish that absorbed St. Duilech’s cell was Ballygriffin, which probably first obtained its severalty, as it got the name of Griffinstown, under a Welsh settler. The new parish church was founded close to the manorial castle of Balgriffin, and its outline is still discernible on the sward at the left-hand side entering the avenue of Balgriffin Park. It is not marked on the Ordnance Survey, and might escape any eye but one accustomed to the shades of extinct churches. It consisted of a nave and chancel, about eighteen yards long. The churchyard also is under meadow, but a faint outline of its precincts remains. This church was under the patronage of St. Sampson, a Cambrian saint, and thus the parochial name and the dedication agree in indicating a Welsh occupant about the time of the English Invasion.

Rev. W. Reeves, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy , Vol. 7 (1857 – 1861), pp. 141-147.

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12 October sees the feastday of another one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland, Saint Mobhi of Glasnevin, famed as the founder of a monastic school and as a teacher of some famous saints, among them Saints Colum Cille and Saint Cannice, whose feast falls the day before that of his former master. Saint Mobhi is famous also for having the rather curious adjective ‘clarinech’ appended to his name, this is usually translated as ‘flat-faced’. The earliest Irish calendar, the Martyrology of Oengus, attempted to explain why. The entry for today reads:

12. Declare Fiacc and Fiachra, at the same time —
great is that treasure!
my Bi, strong that triumph!
that fair flatfaced one.

The notes for this entry read:

Mobi, i.e. of Glasnevin on the brink of the river Liffey on the north side. Mobi son of Beoan, of Corco tri of the Luigni of Connaught. Uaine, Findbarr’s daughter, was his mother. In Cell maic Taidg was he conceived and brought forth, and of a dead woman he was begotten.

Table-faced was he, for the earth pressed him down, so that he was one flat board. Mobi the Table-faced of Glasnevin in (the country occupied by) the Danes. Berchan was Mobi’s name. Beoaith son of Senach was his father’s name, and Huanir the Fair, daughter of Finnbarr, his mother’s name. Mobi etc.

The later Martyrology of Marianus O’Gorman records the saint as ‘Clarenech (‘table-face’), from Glasnevin in Fingal on the river Liffey’s brink, on the north side, and Berchan was another name of his.’

The 17th-century Martyrology of Donegal refers to Saint Mobhi’s famous Glasnevin foundation and to some of its notable students:

MOBHI CLAIRENECH, [Abbot], of Glas Naoidhen in Fine-Gall, on the brink of the river Life, on the north side; and Bearchan was another name for him. The year of the Lord when he resigned his spirit was 544. He was of the race of Eochaidh Finn Fuathairt, of whom Brighit is descended; and Uanfinn, daughter of Finnbarr, was his mother. The Life of Colum Cille, chap. 35, states that Colum Cille went to Glas Naoidhen, where Mobhi Clairenech was with two score and ten persons at his school ; and among them were Cainneach, Ciaran of Cluain, and Comgall; and after the dispersion of the school, Mobhi requested of Colum Cille not to accept of any land till he should give him leave. The same life states, chap. 39, that when Colum Cille was at Doire, where the king of Erin, Aedh, son of Ainmire, was, Aedh offered that town to Colum Cille, and that Colum refused to accept of the town because he had not the permission of Mobhi, and that on his coming forth from the town, two of Mobhi’s people met him, bringing the girdle of Mobhi with them to him, after Mobhi’s own death, together with his permission to him to accept of land. When Colum received the girdle he said: “Good was the man who had this girdle,” said he, “for it was never opened for gluttony, nor closed on falsehood.” On which occasion he composed the quatrain:

“Mobhi’s girdle, [Mobhi’s girdle],
Nibhdar sibhne im lo,
It was not opened for satiety,
It was not closed on a lie.”

In his classic work on the monastic schools of Ireland, Archbishop John Healy recounts the time spent by Saint Columba at Glasnevin:

It was the custom in those days for the students to visit the various saints of Erin, who were celebrated for holiness and learning; and so we find that Columba, when he had finished his studies under Finnian of Clonard, directed his steps to the school of another great master of the spiritual life, St. Mobhi Clarainech of Glasnevin.

The students’ cells at Glasnevin were situated on one side of the River Tolka, and Mobhi’s church was on the other, at or near the spot where the Protestant church now stands. The light-footed youngsters of those days, however, found no difficulty in crossing the rapid and shallow stream at ordinary times. But when the river was swollen with heavy rains, it was no easy task to breast the flood; yet such was Columba’s zeal in the service of God that on one such occasion, to his master’s admiration and surprise, he crossed the angry torrent, that he might be present as usual at the exercises in the church. “May God be praised,” said Columba, when he had crossed safely over, “and deliver us from these perils in future.” It is said that his prayer was heard ; and that all the cells, with their occupants, were suddenly transferred to the other side of the stream, and remained there ever after.

Columba had for companions at Glasnevin St. Cannech, St. Ciaran, and St. Comgall—and during their entire lives a tender and ardent friendship united these holy men together. A pestilence which broke out in A.D. 544, and of which St. Ciaran appears to have died, scattered the holy disciples of St. Mobhi’s School; so Columba resolved to return home to his native territory.

Insula Sanctorum et Doctorum or Ireland’s Ancient Schools and Scholars by the Most Rev. John Healy (6th edition, Dublin, 1912),296-297.

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