26 September is the feast day of an important early saint – Colman founder of Lann-Elo (Lynally, County Offaly). The genealogy of Saint Colman links him to both the family of Saint MacNissi of Connor and also to Saint Columba of Iona. Indeed, he features twice in the Life of Columba by Saint Adamnan. Saint Colman has a reputation as a great monastic scholar whose name is associated with a number of important early writings. I hope to explore some of these works in future posts. Below is an account of his life from Volume 9 of Canon O’Hanlon’s Lives of the Irish Saints. For a more recent comprehensive account please read the paper by Dr Rory Masterson on the website of the Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society here. Dr Masterson suggests that Colman may be the author of the earliest hymn to Saint Patrick, Audite omnes amantes, which is traditionally ascribed to Saint Secundinus. Canon O’Hanlon begins his account with a summary of the commemorations of Saint Colman in the early Irish calendars:

St. Colman Eala or Elo, Abbot of Lann Elo, now Lynally, King’s County

[Sixth and Seventh Centuries]

…From a very early period this pious coenobiarch was venerated in the Irish Church. At the vi. of the October Kalends, or 26th of September, we find entered in the published Martyrology of Tallagh, a festival to honour Colman of Lainn Ela. It is also found recorded in the Book of Leinster copy. At the 26th of September, the Feilire of St. OEngus commemorates St. Colman of Lann Ela with a distinguished eulogy:

“Colman of Lann Ela, with perfection
of high readings, so that he is
splendid (and) praiseworthy,
the great John of Ireland’s sons!”

To this a commentator has appended explanatory notes relating to his pedigree and to his place:

“Colman Ela, son of Beogna, son of Mochta, son of Cuinned, of Land Ela.” Then is added in Latin, that Ela was the name of a woman who lived there before St. Colman, or Ela was the proper name of a river near to his church. Then we have the Scriptural verse: “Colman ela dixit exsurgam diluculo, confitebor Domino, quia non est inane sperare in Domino.” In a second note there is a repetition of the conjecture regarding the local nomenclature. In Irish there is an added note, thus translated into English: “A John was he, i.e., like is he unto John for wisdom and virginity.”

Several Manuscript Acts of this holy man are extant. In Dublin, Trinity College Library and Marsh’s Library have Manuscript Lives. There is a Vita S. Colmani Ela, among the Franciscan Records, Dublin. This is the Life, we have chiefly consulted in compiling the present memoir, but it abounds with fables. Among the manuscripts belonging to the Burgundian Library at Bruxelles, there is an Irish Life of St. Colman Elo, transcribed by Brother Michael O’Clery. There is also a Latin Life of St. Colman Elo among the Burgundian Library Manuscripts, Bruxelles. The Bodleian Library at Oxford, has Manuscript Lives of St. Colman. At the 26th of September, Colgan intended to publish the Acts of this holy Abbot…

This saint’s parents belonged to Meath and were of a noble race. They were known as the family of Mocusailni. St. Colman was the son of Beognai, sometimes written Beagni. He belonged to the race of Eochaidh, Eocho Mairedha, son to Muireadh. and he sprang from the descendants of Heremon. His mother was Mor, daughter to Feidhlimidh, and sister of St. Columba, according to the O’Clerys. Feidhlemidh was twenty-second in descent from Fedhlim Saillne, the head of the Dal-Selli, and -from whom this Colman derived his tribe name, Mac-U-Sailni, but from a nearer progenitor. In some cases, our saint is called Colmanus Episcopus Mac-U-Sailne, or Mocusailni from his tribe name. He is called also Columbanus Filius Beogni, from his father Beogna. ..

We are told in the Franciscan Life, that when distinguished for holiness, Colman built a monastery, but it is not stated where, and in it he desired to spend his days in heavenly contemplation. Afterwards he left it in charge of four disciples. He requested them to remain there, and such injunction they fulfilled, although suffering from dire want. The total privation of food at last caused their death. It is related, that he restored dead persons to life, and among these was a youth who afterwards devoted himself to the saint’s service, in which he continued to his old age. His intervention also restored peace to hostile clans. When travelling one day in a chariot, Colman came to a river, called Dabhall or Dabul, which at the time had been swollen to a torrent, yet he drove forward and passed it in safety. Again, he visited the cell of a holy virgin, named Lasara, and there an incredible miracle is recorded as having taken place.

At Connor, it is stated, St. Colman Ela made some stay. In such a manner were his virtues and miracles manifested, that in following ages he was honoured and esteemed as second patron of that city… After some time, giving his blessing to that people, Colman Eala left Connor, it is said, and came into his own ancestral country of Meath, It seems likely, that he had there established for himself a mission, and a character for great sanctity, before he resolved on visiting his near relative St. Columba in the Island of Iona. In Adamnan’s Life there are two distinct accounts of our saint having been on a voyage to that Island, and again of having departed from it, on the very year of St. Columba’s death. …the great Abbot of that place being one day in his church, and having the gift of second sight, broke forth in a joyous exclamation : “Columbanus, the son of Beognai, who started on his voyage to us, is now imperilled in the turbulent waters of Brecan’s Charybdis ; but sitting on the prow of his ship and lifting both his hands to Heaven, he blesses the formidable waves. Nor doth the Lord thus affright him, as if he dreaded shipwreck, but to cause him more fervently to pray, and that he may come providentially to us having escaped that danger.” … The “Vita Sanctissimi Colmani Ela” adds to the foregoing account, that when Colman and his brethren safely arrived in Iona, the monks on that Island greatly rejoiced, and Columba said to him, ” Brother Colman, do not feel dissatisfied, that you go not to teach distant nations, but return again to Hybernia, the land of your birth, and feed your nation by word and example with the grace given you by God. For of necessity, I have been brought hither, but I beseech you not to absent yourself and deprive your land of your teaching.” Having received such admonition, Colman returned with a favouring wind to Ireland.

In the order of narrative as contained in the Franciscan Life, we read after St. Colman’s return to Ireland from Iona, that a great convention was held, and it was attended by Aedh Slaine and Aedh the son of Ainmirech, as also by St. Columcille, St. Kynecus and St. Colman. It is stated, that our saint returned to the County of Meath about the year 590, and attended a meeting at which St. Columkille, St. Cannich, and the monarch of Ireland were present. All received our saint with great joy. St. Columkille proposed a motion, that they should give Colman a proper place to found a monastery for his disciples. When all the nobles and clergy had agreed to this resolution, Aedus, the son of Slane, Prince of Meath, proffered a large forest in the southern part of his dominions called Fidh-Elo, in the territory of Fergall. This Colman accepted, and then foretold, that there should be his place of resurrection. It was declared likewise, from that place he should take his name. Then accompanied by Lasrianus the minister of St. Columba, Colman went to the place, and they selected a site for the religious foundation. In the middle of that forest, and in a place well watered, and encompassed with fair fields, Colman raised the famous monastery of Land or Lann-Elo. There in after time a great number of holy disciples served the Lord with fidelity…

At last, Colman was favoured with a foreknowledge of his approaching dissolution, which he ardently wished for, so that he might resign his soul into the hands of his Redeemer. He felt a great desire to be dissolved and to be with Christ. Then he went to Clonard, that his petition might be preferred before the relics of St. Finian. When he had come to that monastery, and while the monks were asleep, he went to the church in which their founder had been buried, and knocking at the door, he cried out : ” O holy Finian, open thy church to me.” Immediately either the holy Patron or an Angel came and opened the door, when our saint said : ” I beseech you, O Finian, to pray the Lord for me, that I may depart from life this very year and go to Him.” Then Finian replied :” The Lord hath heard your prayers ; for this very year you shall ascend to the Kingdom of Heaven. When both saints had fraternally saluted each other, Colman returned to his brethren. As the time of his decease now approached, the miraculous sign of a fiery cross appeared in the heavens. This the monks interpreted to mean, that their holy superior was destined soon to close his career upon earth. They were in a state of desolation and grief, when he said to them : ” Fear not, my children, because this is the sign of my passage from this life.”

When in his infirmity, the day of his departure approached, St. Kartaius, also called Mochuda, who lived in Rathen,and other monks in the adjoining country, came to visit him. On their arrival, St. Colman said to them : “Know, my brothers, that I have preferred my prayers to God, and have obtained from Him, that whosoever shall pray to me in his last moments shall have life eternal, and whosoever shall observe religiously the day of my departure shall obtain mercy.” Saying these words, his spirit passed into the keeping of Angels who brought it to the mansions of everlasting happiness.

It is generally held, that St. Colman Eala died on the 26th of September, a.d. 610, in the fifty-sixth year of his age. Such is the year assigned for it by the Annals of Ulster and of the Four Masters, while Tigernach has a.d. 611. After the death of St. Colman, one of his monks, who served those building his church, was murdered by certain robbers, but when his body had been brought for interment, some of his religious brothers laid the crozier of their founder over his remains, when he immediately arose living and unharmed. When the sacred remains of St. Colman had crumbled to dust and only his bones remained in the grave, the holy man appeared in a vision to some of his brethren, desiring that his relics should be raised from earth to be deposited in a shrine. Accordingly this command was complied with ; a suitable shrine was prepared, and into it the remains were transferred with great solemnity and honour. The clergy and people assembled on this occasion in great numbers. In the seventeenth century the staff of St. Colman Eala was still to be found.

This holy Abbot is commemorated in our Irish Calendars, at the present day. We have already seen, that he had been commemorated in the Martyrology of Tallagh and in the Festilogy of Oengus. At the 26th of September, Marianus O’Gorman records the festival of St. Colman Ela with an eulogy ” beautiful Colman Ela, whom I meet protecting me like a bush.” He is also recorded in the Martyrology of Donegal, at the same date, as Colman Eala, Abbot of Lann Elo, in Fir-Ceall, in West Meath. St. Colman Elo had an Office of Nine Lessons.

Like so many other Irish religious, this holy Abbot founded a monastery and school for other men who aspired to perfection, and as their superior his life led among them was so perfect a model of all virtues, that they needed no other rule for their guidance. In his countenance, as in his training and habits, in his speech, as in his whole behaviour, his disciples saw what they were to embrace, and what they were to avoid, in order to acquire the theory and practice of their holy state. His monastery, to which many resorted from all parts, attracted by the fame of his sanctity, and desiring to consecrate themselves to the love and service of God, observing his conduct and discipline, continued to flourish long after his time, under a succession of devout superiors and their monks habituated to regular rules.

On June 10 we commemorate the memory of an Irish abbot/bishop of Rathlihen, County Offaly. Illadan, like many of the early Irish saints, boasts an impressive aristocratic pedigree and whilst he has left no written Life of his own, he features in the hagiography of another saint, Aéd of Killaire. In the Life of Saint Aéd he acts as a mentor to the boy Aéd and discerns that he is destined for greatness. Canon O’Hanlon’s entry for Saint Illadan tells us something of the locality where the saint flourished and includes a description of the sad fate of its church ruins. Today such remains would come under the protection of the law but then they were seen as fair game for reuse. O’Hanlon is unimpressed by this 19th-century recycling initiative and censures the local people for allowing this act of Vandalism (spelt with a capital ‘V’ in those days!) to take place. I have reproduced the sketch of the church ruins at Rathlihen, from page 613 of Volume 6 of the Lives of the Irish Saints. We also learn that in the 17th century, the Irish hagiologist, Father John Colgan, saw a statue of Saint Illadan, which depicted him in episcopal splendour but which had since disappeared:

ST. ILLADAN OR IOLLADHAN, SON OF EOCHAIDH, BISHOP OF RATHLIPHTHEN, NOW RATHLIHEN, KING’S COUNTY.

A few particulars only are recorded of this holy man, and these are to be found chiefly in the Life of St. Aidus, Bishop of Killare. The pedigree as given in the Irish Genealogies refers his origin to the pagan Monarch of Ireland Laoighre, who was contemporaneous with St. Patrick, and whose death is- recorded with curious incidents, at A.D. 458. To the latter, he was great grandson, being third in descent. This holy man called Illadan or Iolladhan was son to Damen, son of Ennius, who was son to Laoghaire, King of lreland. He is also named Illand or Illandus. He was descended from the race of Niall of the Nine Hostages, as we can glean from the foregoing pedigree. It is not improbable, he had been born in that particular part of Meath province, with which his memory is especially connected, and in the earlier period of the sixth century. According to Ussher, our saint flourished, in the year 540.

Having left the cares of this world, Illand became Abbot over some monks, at a place called Rathlibhthen, in a part of ancient Meath, called Feara Ceall. This now comprises Ballycowen and Ballyboy baronies, in the King’s County. The place called Rath Liphthen, in Firceall, Meath, where he was venerated, has been identified with Rathlihen, or Rathlin, a part of Killoughey parish, barony of Ballyboy, in the King’s County. This place is Latinized Arx Libteni; and doubtless, it was so called from an ancient Fort, which rose near the site of the old monastery, and probably at a much earlier period than the erection of the latter building. It has been known as Rathlibhthen, a townland denomination a few miles from the town of Frankfort, in the King’s County. It is also written, Ralihin, and Rath-Jihin, but locally pronounced Rawleen. We have no means for knowing if our saint had been the original founder of the first monastery in this locality; yet, it appears highly probable, as he lived in an age so remote from the present time. Here, there was a school, in which the Sacred Scriptures were taught, as also where secular learning was cultivated. It is supposed, this saint founded his monastery, about the middle of the sixth century.

St. Illand was a principal instrument, in the hands of God, for determining the ecclesiastical vocation of St. Aidus, Bishop of Killare, whom he instructed, and sent on his mission. Our saint, besides being Abbot, exercised episcopal jurisdiction, also, as we find him called Bishop, in the Life of St. Aidus. The ruins of an old church yet lie within Rathlihin townland, in Killoughy parish. An enclosed cemetery now surrounds them. Only a few years back, the plan and form of the old chapel were distinguishable. But the stones—excepting some of those in the west end—were torn down, and used in building a wall round the cemetery. The church was twenty two feet six inches in width; and it measured about 60 feet in length, so far as could be calculated by the writer. At the western gable, on the inside, there was an apartment, with a coved stone roof, extending the whole breadth of this edifice. Mortar still remaining on the roof shows, that it had been built over wicker-work. However, it is now greatly injured, owing to an act of Vandalism which the people of that neighbourhood allowed to be perpetrated over twenty years ago. A pious person having bequeathed a small sum of money to have a wall erected round the exposed graveyard, a stonemason contracted for its erection, and he at once proceeded to pull down the old church walls—then tolerably perfect —so that their materials were used for his purpose. Excepting the coved-roof chamber or cell, nearly every other part of the church has been removed, and even a considerable portion of that has been destroyed, as we were assured on the spot by a guide, who was cognizant of the facts we have already related. The east gable has been pulled down to within a few feet of the soil on the outside; interiorly, it supports one side of the coved-roof. A small fragment of the north side wall stands. The fine limestone of the district had been used in constructing the entire building. Immediately south of the churchyard, there is a very remarkable moat, which like so many of its class in Ireland appears to to have been in great part the work of human hands. Advantage had been taken of a natural eminence, to scarp it into an artificial and a symmetrical shape, probably to place a fortification on the upper surface. About a quarter of a mile to the same side of it, Lady Well is seen, towards the east by south of this church. It was dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, and it used to be frequented, on the 8th of September, one of her festivals. On an eminence near the old church stands a castle in ruins, which tradition says had been built by O’Molloy, to whom also the erection of the church is ascribed.

The memory of the Patron Saint Illadan was held in great veneration, at Rathlibhthen church, for many centuries after his death, and even until the time of Colgan; who tells us, that the statue of St. Illand, with a mitre on its head, and a crozier in hand, was to be seen there in his day. This image, however, shared the fate of many other venerable remains of Christian art, it having been broken by modern sectaries, before the middle of the seventeenth century. The saint’s statue, with an episcopal mitre on its head and a crozier in its hand, long remained in this church, and it was to be seen there towards the close of the last century, but the head had been broken off by sacrilegious hands. In 1838, Thomas O’Conor could obtain no information about the statue of St. Iolladhan, and as may supposed still less can any tradition about it be recovered at the present time. The year of this saint’s death is not known; but, his festival was kept, on the 10th day of June, probably that of his death. We find a feast set down, in the Martyrology of Tallagh, at the 10th of June, in honour of Illadan mac Eucdoch o Raith Liphiten. We are told, moreover, that Marianus O’Gorman and a commentator on St. Aengus have the festival of Illand Hua Eochaidh, on the same day. The Martyrology of Donegal records him, at the same date, under the title of lolladhan son of Eochaidh. Under the head of Rath-Libhthen, Duald Mac Firbis enters Iolladan, descendant—rather should he be styled son—of Eochaidh, and a bishop, at June 10th. His festival is entered in that copy of the Irish Calendar compiled for use of the Irish Ordnance Survey, at the iv. of the June Ides, or 10th of this month.