OMNIUM SANCTORUM HIBERNIAE

Category: Saints of Louth

  • Saint Suairleach of Linn Duachaille, April 23

    April 23 is the commemoration of an eighth-century abbot of the monastery of Linn Duachaille, Saint Suairleach. The locality of this monastery has been the subject of some dispute; in the mid-nineteenth century the Anglican Bishop William Reeves was confident that Linn Duachaille was to be identified with Magheralin in County Down but at the beginning of the twentieth century this thesis was challenged by another Anglican cleric in favour of Annagassan, County Louth. In his entry for today’s saint, Canon O’Hanlon, writing in the 1870s, follows the thinking of Bishop Reeves and describes the saint as being from Magheralin, County Down. I will bring that account first and then the evidence in favour of Annagassan. Whatever the truth of the location of this monastery, it was a sufficiently well-known foundation that the passing of some of its abbots were recorded in the Irish Annals. Saint Suairleach is among these, with his death being recorded in the year 770. Sadly, Linn Duachaille monastery features even more heavily in the Annals thanks to the frequency of the Viking attacks upon it beginning in the ninth century.

    St. Suairleach, Abbot of Magheralin, County of Down.

    According to one account, this holy man is said to have belonged to the northern province, and to the parish of Magheralin. This lies, partly in the barony of Oneilland East, county of Armagh, but chiefly in that of Lower Iveagh, county of Down. However, the entry in the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 23rd of April, for the saint of this day, is Soardlech ind Edhnen. There he seems to be associated in locality, with the holy man, of whom a notice succeeds. One townland in the parish of Magheralin is yet called Linn Huachuille, where the old monastery stood. It was so called, from St. Colman, or Mocholmoc, the founder, who died in 699. On this day, the Martyrology of Donegal, registers a festival in honour of Suairleach, Abbot of Linn Duachaille. According to some accounts, this holy abbot died, A.D. 770; while A.D. 774 is set down for that event, in the Annals of Ulster. Subsequently to this date, that place was frequently ravaged by the Danish invaders, as recorded in our chronicles.

    Rev John O’Hanlon, Lives of the Irish Saints , Volume IV, (Dublin, 1875), 465.


    Monastery of Linn Duachaill.—It is in the townland of Linns, close to the village of Annagassan, that we find the first trace of an ecclesiastical establishment in the Parish of Gernonstown. St. Colman MacLuachan is said to have founded a church or monastery here in the seventh century. It was known by the name of Linn Duachaill (i.e.. Duachaill’s pool), or Linn Uachaill from a demon named Duachaill, who is said to have infested the place and terrified the neighbourhood until destroyed by St. Colman. Duachaill’s pool is still pointed out at the junction of the Clyde and Dee before they enter the sea at Annagassan. Dr. O’Donovan once thought that Linn Duachaill was Magheralin. Co. Down, and at first Bishop Reeves seems to have had the same opinion. But both those antiquaries found it necessary to correct their opinion on becoming acquainted with the topography and traditions of Annagassan. For Linn Duachaill was on the banks of the river called Casan Linne (Martyr. Doneg., Mar. 30, p. 91, cp Colgan Acta SS., pp. 792-703), and this river is mentioned in the “Circuit of Ireland ” as lying between the Vale of Newry, or Glen Righe, and Ath Gabhla on the Boyne. The name ” Casan”=”paths” survives in Annagassan. According to Joyce (Names of Places, p. 373) “Casan ” was originally joined with “Linne Duachaill” and became shortened to ” Casan linne,” which is preserved in Annagassan=Ath-na-gcasan, “the ford of the paths.” Dr. Todd, who has an important note on the subject in ” Wars of the Gaedhil with the Gall,” p. lxii., says, Annagassan=Aonach g Casain, i.e., the ” Fair of Casan.” Joyce’s interpretation is, I think, to be preferred, as the people still speak of the “Pass of Linns ” and this pass, as pointed out, lay further up the River Glyde, about a quarter of a mile from Duachaill’s pool, and near the spot where the monastery founded by St. Colman is believed to have stood.

    The Four Masters and Annals of Ulster do not tell very much about the Monastery of Linn Duachaill. The following entries in the former refer to it : —

    699. — Colman of Linn Duachaill died on 30 March.

    752. — Siadhail, Abbot of Linn Duachaill, died.

    758.— Anfadan, Abbot of Linn Duachaill, died.

    770. — Suairlech, Abbot of Linn Duachaill, died.

    803. — Thomas, Bishop, Scribe, and Abbot of Linn Duachaill, died.

    826. — Clemens, Abbot of Linn Duachaill, died.

    Rev. J. B. Leslie, History of Kilsaran Union of Parishes in the County of Louth, (Dundalk, 1908), 89-91.

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  • Saint Lughaidh Mac Garbain, April 17

    April 17 is the commemoration of a saint with alleged Patrician links, Lughaidh Mac Garbain, as Canon O’Hanlon explains:

    St. Lughaidh Mac Garbain, possibly of Teglaisreann, County of Louth.
    At this date, a festival is set down, in the Martyrology of Tallagh in honour of Lughaidh Mac Garbain. He is thought, by Colgan, to have been brother to St. Bega, whose feast occurs at the 10th of February. The Bollandists have entered Lugadius filius Garvani, at the 17th of April. They notice, likewise, a particular Lugadius Praesbyter, who is mentioned in the Tripartite Life of St. Patrick, and who is thought, by Colgan, to have been one of those saints, so-called, in the Irish Calendars, at this date. In our account of St. Meallan, the name of that Lugadius occurs, as a companion. He was one of those six students, who, it has been stated, met St. Patrick on his going to Rome. To them, St. Patrick gave a hide, which he had under his side, for twelve years. Of it, they made a satchel, for their books. This custom of keeping books in cases or satchels seems to have been prevalent in the early times. Those circumstances, connected with the foregoing incident, are more fully detailed, in the First Volume of this work. [See the entry for Saint Meallan on January 28, pp. 465-467.]
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  • Saint Buite of Monasterboice, December 7

    The monastic site at Monasterboice, County Louth is most famous today as the home of the Cross of Muiredach, one of the finest examples of a High cross to be found in Ireland. Less well-known perhaps is the founder of the monastery, Saint Buite, who flourished in the sixth century. His feast on December 7 is well attested in the Irish calendars. The Martyrology of Oengus records for this day:

    7. With the passion of Polycarp
    with his noble, streamy train,
    the bright feast of victorious Buite,
    from treasurous Monaster(boice).

     to which the later scholiast has added some notes attempting an etymology for the saint’s name:

    of Buite, from Manistir in Mag Breg. Buite, i.e. living. Or bute, i.e. fire as is said in the proverb bot fo Bregaib ‘fire throughout Bregia,’ whence is now said butelach, i.e. where there has been a great fire.- Or bute quasi bete, from beatus. Beatus autem dicitur quasi bene auctus, for fair was his aggrandizement, a star manifesting his conception, as happened at the manifestation of Christ. Or bute quasi beo De, for unto God (Dia) he was alive (beo), as hath been written’ ‘they which live shall not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose again,’ doing in this world, not their own will, but His who suffered for them. 

    Bute son of Bronach, son of Balar, son of Cass, son of Nia, son of Airmedach, son of Fergus, son of Isinchan, son of Fiacc.

    The Martyrology of Donegal follows the attempts to explain the derivation of the saint’s name, but adds that in the list of parallel saints Buite is likened to the Venerable Bede:

    7. E. SEPTIMO IDUS DECEMBRIS. 7. 

    BUITE, i.e., Boetius, Bishop of the Monastery. It was in the year of our Lord 520 that he died, i.e., the day on which Colum Cille was born, as stated in the Life of Buite himself. Buite, son of Bronach of Mainister-Buithe, was of the race of Connla, son of Tadhg, son of Cian, son of Oilioll Oluim. A very ancient old-vellum-book, mentioned at Brighit, 1st of February, states that Buite, son of Bronach, and Beda the Wise, had a resemblance to each other in habits and life. 

    “The bright festival of Buite the Victorious” 

    Buite that is, he is called Beo or Buite, which signifies ‘fire’ ut in proverbio dicitur, & etc. Bot fo breghaibh, (Fire under liars), unde dicitur hodie ‘Butelach’, i.e., ubi fit magnus ignis. Buite, however, is quasi Beti ab eo, quod est beatus. Beatus autem dicitur, quasi bene auctus vel aptus for it was a great increase of honour to him that a star manifested his birth, as it manifested the birth of Christ. Or Buite, quasi Beode, because God was life to him : sicut scriptum est, “Qui vivunt jam non sibi vivant sed ei qui pro ipsis mortuus est, et resurrexit; non suam seculi in hoc mundo voluntatem [facientes], sed ejus qui pro ipsis passus est.”

    So there is much to discover about ‘Buite the fair and vigorous’ as the Martyrology of Marianus O’Gorman calls him. He has thus joined the long list of saints about whom I need to undertake more research. In the meantime though, here is a short introduction to his life from an early guide book to the area:

    MONASTERBOICE

     Home of Ireland’s Crosses

    The story of Monasterboice dates back to the sixth century, but like so many other settlements of that period, the facts available regarding its construction and inhabitants are few. It is known, however, that the monastery was founded by an ecclesiastic named Buite, a descendant of one of the chieftains of Munster.


    He lived until the year 520 A.D. so it is considered more than likely that he, at some stage of his youth, came into direct contact with St. Patrick. He travelled extensively through Italy, Germany and England before beginning work on the Monasterboice monastery on his return to Ireland.

    In the course of his travels throughout Ireland Buite is said to have cured many people, sometimes in the strangest ways. Once, a blind man, carrying a cripple, pleaded with Buite to cure them of their infirmities and were told to anoint themselves in the water through which his carriage had passed. They did so and were cured.

    On another occasion while hastening to save the life of a captive of the High King he found the river Boyne, which he had to cross, swollen in flood. But when he struck the water with his staff a passage was cleared for him and, like another Moses, he crossed safely.

    To his dismay he found the prisoner had already been beheaded. But, Buite proceeded to replace the head and restore the man to life. Legend has it that thereafter the restored man spent the remainder of his days tending the monastic garden at Monasterboice.

    Many other stories are told of his works which resulted in cures for people and animals. But, perhaps the strangest of all was the manner in which Buite is reputed to have died. Walking one day in the monastery cemetery he was filled with a desire for death and he is said to have ascended a ladder provided by angels.

    The other monks watched in amazement, but Buite returned with a disc of glass in front of his face which enabled him to see without being seen. He remained with his monks for several more months and before he died foretold of the coming of St. Colmcille, who it is thought, was born on the same day.

    K. MacGowan, The Boyne Valley (Dublin, n.d.), 23-4.

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