OMNIUM SANCTORUM HIBERNIAE

ALL THE SAINTS OF IRELAND

  • Irish Saints in August

    Below is an article by Irish writer Magdalen Rock on some of the saints whose feasts we will be commemorating in the month of August. Once again the author includes an impressive range of saints, she begins with the two saints from the end of the month and works her way back. We meet those who laboured not only in Ireland but in Britain and Europe, all I have added is the name of the patron saint of Derry city, Eugene/Eoghan, as it seems to have been omitted.

    Irish Saints in August.
    MAGDALEN ROCK.

    THE little islet of Lindisfarne lies two miles off the coast of Northumberland, and some nine miles or more south-east of the border-town of Berwick. At low-water the island is joined to the mainland, and twice in the course of the twenty-four hours it is accessible by means of a track across the sands. The resemblance of the isle in the Northern Sea to the island from whence Saint Aidan went to re-evangelise the pagan people of old Northumbria has obtained for Lindisfarne the name of the Iona of England. Perhaps it was this resemblance, perhaps the instinctive love of the Irish monks for solitude, that induced Aidan to set up his bishop’s stool at Lindisfarne in 635. The island became the centre of great missionary activity, and was the seat of sixteen successive bishops.

    The erudite pen of the Venerable Bede tells much of Saint Aidan as a priest, a bishop, and an indefatigable missionary, but nothing of his lineage or place of birth, save that he was an Irish monk.

    The saint whose memory is commemorated on the last day of August was of the race of Columba, and he probably entered the monastery of Iona at an early age. When Oswald of Northumbria was an exile from his native land he had received much kindness from the Irish monks, and he had imbibed the traditions of Iona. On the eve of the battle that was to decide the fate of the northern realm, Oswald, tradition says, had a vision of Columba, who informed him of his victory of the next day and of his restoration to the throne of his ancestors. Oswald set up on the battle ground a huge wooden cross to hearten his small army, and ere nightfall the forces of Cadwallon, the last of the British warriors, was defeated.

    Safely established on the throne of his fathers, Oswald turned, not to Canterbury, but to Iona, for missionaries to re-Christianise his far-spreading kingdom. The first who came at his call found the task difficult, and went back to the island monastery to report his failure. “Was it their stubbornness or your severity?” Aidan asked. ” Did you give them the milk first and then the meat?” In obedience to the command of his superior Aidan departed to become first bishop of Lindisfarne. Missionaries came to his help both from Iona and Ireland, and the work of instructing the people began.

    Green tells how the bishop and the king worked at first side by side, Oswald translating the words of the missionary to his rude thanes. Soon the Irish monks learned the Northumbrian dialect,and Boisil led a little band of workers to the valley of the Tweed, while Aidan wandered on foot among the peasantry of Bernicia.

    From the first the saint tried, and not ineffectually, to check the reckless manner of life of the Northumbrian nobles, and many of the gifts bestowed on him by his converts did Aidan pass on to the poor and afflicted. In barren Lindisfarne the saint and his monks observed the austerities practised by the founder of Iona. Slavery was as prevalent in Northumbria as in the other kingdoms of the Saxons, and not a few of the king’s gifts went in procuring the freedom of some poor slaves.

    Over and over again has the story been told of how the saint, much against his custom, sat one Easter day beside the king. A sumptuous repast had been prepared, but ere the viands were touched word came that a hungry multitude waited at the castle gates. Oswald at once ordered the untasted food to be carried to the crowd, and gave directions that the silver dishes should be broken up and divided among them. Aidan blessed the royal hand “May this hand never grow old” and when all else of the saintly monarch had perished the white hand of Oswald remained firm and incorrupt in the church of Bamborough.

    All too soon Oswald died, praying with his last breath for his men, but Aidan exercised the same beneficent influence over his successor. Once when the pagan king of Mercia tried to burn Barnborough, Aidan raised his eyes to heaven: “Oh, God, see what ill Penda is doing” he cried, and instantly the wind shifted, and the royal residence was saved.

    Aidan was overtaken by his last illness on one of his journeys, and at his own desire he was borne back to the monastery. A tent was erected for him on the west side of the church, and there he died. On the night of his decease a shepherd lad on the hills of Lammermoor saw his soul borne to Heaven by angels. This boy was Cuthbert, destined long after to be Bishop of Lindisfarne.

    Saint Fiacre is honoured by the Church one day earlier than Aidan. In his own country little is known of him, but in France he is greatly venerated and esteemed, particularly by gardeners, whose patron he is. He was the son of an Irish prince, and born towards the end of the sixth century. He received his education from Saint Conan in the Isle of Man, and when ordained priest he retired to a little oratory on the banks of the River Nore, where the townland Kilfiachra still perpetuates his memory. Crowds of disciples flocked to his retreat, and at length, to find more complete solitude, he left his native land for France. He arrived at Meaux about the year 627, and was welcomed by Saint Faro, who ruled the diocese, and who recollected the graces which he and his kin had received through Saint Columbanus. The bishop gave the Irish exile a site for an oratory at Breuil out of his own patrimony, and this oratory Fiacre dedicated to the Mother of God.

    In time the sanctity of the holy hermit became known, and many men sought out his place of abode. In the little garden, beside his cell the saint cultivated vegetables with which to feed his visitors, and simple blooms to decorate his church. In obedience to an order of the bishop, Fiacre erected a sort of hospice for the convenience of those visiting him, but in course of time the accommodation was not sufficient for those seeking the hermit’s retreat, and the saint unwillingly asked the bishop for further ground in the forest and additional facilities for strangers. Saint Faro at once granted a further gift of land. Its extent was to be the ground round which the saint could erect an earthern rampart in the course of a single day. Fiacre went out with his staff, and as he walked he drew the staff along the ground. Instantly an earthen fortification rose. An evil-minded lady complained to the bishop that this had been done through magic, and an order was despatched to Fiacre to stop all work until the bishop could visit him. The saint obeyed, and sat down on a hard rock to wait Faro’s coming, and the hard rock became soft and yielding, and was fashioned into a comfortable chair. In the new ground wondrous blossoms had miraculously appeared, and when the bishop arrived he implored Fiacre’s pardon, and enabled him to erect a larger hospice.

    The years passed tranquilly on till a pilgrim from Rome called at Fiacre’s retreat. The pilgrim was a close relative to the saint, and through him the news spread to Ireland that Fiacre still lived. His father was dead, and his younger brother had been deposed for taking part in the Pelagian heresy. Ambassadors from Ireland sought the French king’s intervention to induce Fiacre to take his place as head of the tribe. The poor anchorite prayed God that he might remain in the forests of Breuil, and his prayer was answered. When the ambassadors came they found Fiacre covered with leprosy, and he was not urged to visit his native land. Saint Fiacre died on the thirtieth of August, 670, and was interred in the forest church not far from his cell. Miracles took place at his tomb, and centuries after a beautiful basilica was erected in his honour.

    To the shrine of the Irish hermit Anne of Austria came on foot to pray Heaven for a son, and that son later came with his wife on a pilgrimage. Two English royalties interfered to their own disaster with Saint Fiacre. The Black Prince when ravaging the district gave orders to have his shrine opened, and he, himself, extracted a portion of the holy relics with the intention of taking them to England. When passing through Normandy he left the relics temporarily on the altar of a church in Montloup, and not all the efforts of men could remove them. Shortly afterwards the Black Prince died.

    The victor of Agincourt permitted his troops to pillage the district of Meaux. An ancient Scotch historian tells: “He invaded the lands of Sanct Fiacre, and by the vengeance of God he was stricken with sic infirmitex that na nigine of man micht cure him.” Henry was attacked by a fistula called the malady of Saint Fiacre and died at the early age of thirty-four.

    Among the modern saints who visited the tomb of the hermit were Saints Francis de Sales and Vincent de Paul.

    Saint Andrew, whose feast occurs on the twenty-second day of the month, spent but a short, part of his life in his native country. He is supposed -to have been born about the beginning of the eighth century, but in what part of Ireland is not known. From early youth he and his sister Brigid honoured in Irish rnartyrologies on the same date as her namesake of Kildare were devoted to prayer and works of charity . A distinguished teacher of Divine philosophy came into the neighbourhood where Andrew lived. This teacher was Saint Donatus, afterwards bishop of the old-world diocese of Fiesole in Italy. Donatus had been educated in the monastery of Iniscaltra in an island of the Shannon, and it was his great desire to visit the Eternal City. When he set out on his journey Andrew accompanied him despite the opposition of his friends. After many adventures they reached Rome and, after visiting its tombs and churches, set out on the return journey. They halted at Fiesole and found the city distracted and without a bishop; Donatus was reluctantly obliged to take charge of the district, and in time appointed Andrew his archdeacon. The two friends laboured assiduously to reorganise the diocese, and with great success. Once as they walked outside the town they came upon a ruined church which had been dedicated to Saint Martin. Both lamented over the ruin, and Andrew humbly offered to make its restoration his business. The bishop accepted the offer, and Andrew founded a society for priests something like the Missionary Oblates of the Blessed Sacrament. He and his small band of helpers cleared the ground and procured new building material, and finally the church was restored. The people of the neighbourhood were generous with alms, which was used entirely for charitable purposes, the little community earning their scanty subsistence by the labour of their hands.

    Even a brief enumeration of the many miracles attributed to Saint Andrew would cover many pages; the afflicted who only touched his garments were relieved. At length, after a holy and tranquil life, death came. The dying saint longed to see once more his beloved sister, Brigid. And Brigid came, some authorities say miraculously, to comfort his last hours. She never returned to Ireland. Close to the source of the River Liece she founded an oratory, and dedicated it to Saint Martin; it is yet a place of pilgrimage, and the peasants of the Appenines never forget to invoke the intercession of Saints Donatus, Andrew, and Brigid.

    Saint Blane, whose memory survives in the town of Dunblane, was born of Irish parents in the Isle of Bute. His uncle was Saint Cathan, and this holy man attended to the early education of his nephew. Afterwards the youthful Blane studied at Bangor, in Ireland, under Saint Comgall. On his return to Bute, where his uncle still lived, he decided to become a priest, and soon after his ordination he was raised to episcopal dignity. He continued his former austere mode of life in this position, and many miracles are credited to him, and among them is the restoration to life of a dead youth. The pious bishop selected the site for his monastery at a place equidistant from the German and Atlantic oceans, and this monastery was later created an episcopal See.

    After a laborious life Saint Blane died, but authorities differ as to the date of his death. Butler’s date 446 is manifestly incorrect, and the most reliable writers say he died towards the end of the sixth century. His feast is kept on the tenth of August.

    The patron of Derry city [Eugene] was born in Leinster towards the close of the fifth century, and he received part of his religious education at the monastery of Clones, from which school he was captured by British pirates. On his release he studied under Saint Ninnian. He founded the monastery of Kilnamanagh in Wicklow, and resided rhere till, following a Divine inspiration, he proceeded northward to preach the Faith. In Tyrone, at Ardstraw, he founded a monastery, and soon after was raised to a bishopric. Authorities differ as to the time of his death, but he passed to his reward at an advanced age fortified by the last rites of the Church. He is honoured on the twenty-third of the month. A beautiful cathedral in Derry bears his name.

    Saint Bernard is the authority for saying that Saint Luanus founded no less than one hundred monasteries in his native land. He was educated at Bangor. The rule he gave his monks was very stringent and enjoined complete silence and recollection and hard manual labour. No women were permitted to approach the confines of the monasteries. When dying he received the Holy Viaticum from the hand of one of his monks, and his death is supposed to have occurred in the seventh century. Persons afflicted with ague were in the past accustomed to visit one or other of his holy wells in order to obtain relief.

    Saints Nathy and Felimy are honoured on the ninth of August. The former was a priest to whom it is said Finian, Bishop of Clonard, gave the charge of a church at Achonry. By some writers the saint is said to have been a bishop. Saint Felimy lived in the sixth century, and was Bishop of Kilmore, where his festival is still kept with an octave and indulgence.

    The patron and first bishop of Killala was Saint Muredach, a descendant of Leogaire, the high-king of Ireland at the time of Patrick’s coming. Little is told regarding him; some writers assert that he was a contemporary of Saint Columba. His feast is observed on the twelfth of the month.

    Saint Mac Cartan, titular saint of the diocese of Clogher, was appointed to that See by Saint Patrick, and governed it long. Tradition ascribes many miracles to him. He died in 506, and is honoured on the Feast of the Assumption.

    Saint Crumin, whom Butler credits with writing a long and erudite letter to the fourth abbot of Iona urging him and his monks to conform to the Roman usage regarding Easter, is venerated on the nineteenth of August. He was consecrated bishop in some part of Ireland, but resigned his See to become a monk at Bobbio, where he died at an advanced age. The inscription on his tomb has been translated by Miss Stokes, and it begins: “Here the sacred members of Cunniam are dissolved.”

    Alban Butler does not mention, among the saints of the eighth of August, Saint Coleman, Bishop of Lindisfarne, who assisted at the famous Synod of Whitby. When the Assembly decided to adopt the Roman custom of the tonsure and the Roman method of observing Easter, Colman resigned his bishopric and retired to Mayo, where he founded a new monastery for the Irish and Saxon monks who had followed him across the sea. Later it became necessary to found a separate monastery for the Saxon monks.

    Nor does the same ecclesiastical writer make mention of Attracta, on the eleventh day of the month. This holy virgin desired to become a nun, and though opposed by her family, she and a female attendant journeyed to Boyle where Saint Patrick was preaching. Patrick consented to receive her vows; and when he raised his hands to heaven to implore the Divine benediction for the young novice a veil of dazzling whiteness fell from the skies for Attracta. She founded her first convent near Lough Gara, and during her life often acted as peacemaker among the surrounding tribes.

    Irish Rosary, Volume 25 (1921), 625-630.

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  • Saint Berchán of Clúain Sosta, August 4

    The Martyrology of Tallaght at 4th August records the commemoration of Berchán of Clúain Sosta (Cloonsast, County Offally). Canon O’Hanlon has a very sparse entry for this saint, perhaps he intended to write a fuller entry on the saint’s other reputed feast day of 4th December. For there is a fascinating story behind Saint Berchán who is credited with being not only an important poet but also one of the four chief prophets of Ireland. Benjamin T. Hudson has examined the life and work of this saint in his book Prophecy of Berchán – Irish and Scottish High-kings of the Early Middle Ages. The Prophecy is a two-part historical poem, part one dealing with the history of Berchán’s own monastery and the Viking attacks upon it, plus details of the reigns of a number of Irish high-kings. Part two deals with Scottish kings and includes a description of Macbeth. Hudson gives a useful summary of the possible candidates for the identity of the poet:

    A saint named Berchán is not celebrated before the 10th century. No Berchán is found in the uninterpolated text of the 9th-century ecclesiastical calendar Féilire Oengusso. By the 12th century when notes were added to the text, two Bercháns are common. Berchán of Eigg (10 April) and Berchán of Clúain Sosta (4 December)… In the Martyrology of Tallaght there are four individuals named Berchán: Berchán of Eigg (10 April), Berchán of Clúain Caon (24 May), Berchán (5 June) and Berchán of Clúain Sosta (4 August)….

    Hudson then goes on to identify Berchán of Clúain Sosta as the best fit for the reputed authorship of the poem and offers some further information on his genealogy:

    Among these holy men, Berchán of Clúain Sosta was the best known in the Middle Ages. His name is not found in the original text of the Féilire Oengusso, but it is in the notes in Rawlinson B.505 where he is described as fer dá leithe (“man of two halves”) who lived half his life in Scotland and half in Ireland. He is identified as a native of Britain who is settled at Clúain Sosta in the territory of the Kingdom of Uí Failge (now Cloonsast, Co. Offally). Among the bishops listed in the Book of Leinster is included Berchán i Clúain Sasta. The list of bishops of Ireland compiled by the celebrated 17th-century antiquarian Dubhaltach mac Firbisigh on 17 March 1666 includes a ‘Berchán, bishop and prophet from Clúain Sosta, and his feast day is 4 December’… The full name of the bishop from Clúain Sosta was Berchán mac Muiredaich who is identified as Berchán of Clúain Sosta in the Book of Leinster’s version of his mother’s genealogy. Her name was Fiaman ingen Diarmata, from the northern branch of the powerful Uí Neill dynasty. Berchán mac Muiredaich’s paternal genealogy is also preserved in the Book of Leinster, where he is described as prophet, bishop and poet.

    Saint Berchán’s reputation as a prophet is referred to by Gerald of Wales in his book, The Topography of Ireland. He lists the saint as one of the four prophets of Ireland, the other three being Saints Patrick, Colum Cille and Moling. Gerald is especially interested in Berchán as he is credited with a prophecy that the English would prevail in Ireland until they were subdued by a king from Uí Fáeláin. In a later Irish manuscript of Gerald’s other work, The Conquest of Ireland, this prophecy has become a prediction of the conquering Anglo-Norman Richard de Clare, or Strongbow, whom we last encountered on the blog being given a deathbed lesson in the proper respect for the Irish saints by Saint Brigid herself (see here.)
    Saint Berchán is also mentioned in a number of other medieval sources including the Book of Howth and the Book of Fenagh. His prophecies were also supposedly collected and published in 1317 by Walter de Islip, the royal custos of Kilkenny. The prophecies continued to be of interest to the Irish in their later struggles against the English, they are credited, for example with contributing to the Irish victory over the English forces at the Battle of Yellow Ford in 1598.
    Finally, Saint Berchán is also associated with a book, produced at his monastery of Clúain Sosta. There is a note in the Leabhar Breac that its version of a history of Alexander the Great came from the Book of Berchán and that its copy had been made in the monastery of Clúain Sosta. Hudson records that the book was still extant in the 16th century, when the Earl of Kildare listed a ‘Saint Beraghan’s boke’ in his library catalogue. It has since disappeared and its fate remains unknown.
    In the 19th century, the scholar John O’Donovan recorded in his Ordnance Survey Letters that the local people of Clonsast kept the memory of their patron saint alive. He wrote ‘the Patron is vividly remembered to be St. Brachan (Brochan?) (perhaps a contradiction for Berachan) whose memory was annually celebrated with great devotion at his well called Tobar-Brachain on the third of December’. O’Donovan’s letter of 1837, which includes an interesting account of the suppression of the traditional pattern days at Clonsast can be read in full here.
    It would thus seem that the December date may have the better claim to be the feastday for Saint Berchán. Whatever the case, I find him to be a fascinating and compelling figure, this ‘man of two halves’ and will explore some of the works associated with him in future posts.

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  • A Chronology of Irish Saints: R-W

    We conclude the series of biographies of Irish saints linked to this nineteenth-century chronological list with those whose names come under the letters R, S, T and W:

    RUMOLD ST., bishop of Dublin and afterwards of Malines in Brabant. He was the son of an Irish prince and was baptized by Gualafir, bishop of Dublin under whom he was also educated. He embraced a religious life and was nominated bishop of Dublin. He set out for Rome but his zeal led him to preach the gospel everywhere on the way. He was received by the Pope with great kindness. On leaving Rome he started to return by the way of France, and stopping at Malines he was received with great respect by Count Odo who prevailed on him to stay among them and gave him some ground on which to build a monastery. Sometime afterwards Malines being raised to a bishopric, Rumold was named as first bishop. He was assasinated by two wretches, one of whom he had repremanded for leading a scandalous life, and his body thrown into a river, 775. Count Odo recovered the body and had it interred in the church of St. Stephen. A splendid church was built in honor of him, in which his relics were deposited in a silver shrine and which became the metropolitan church of the Low Countries. Alex.IV transferred his festival from June 24, the day of his death to July 1, on account of St. John’s day.

    SEDULIUS, ST., Abbot and Bishop of Dublin, was honored for his learning as well as virtues. Died in the year 785, February 12, on which day his feast is kept.

    SENAN, SAINT, an abbot and bishop, founder of a number of religious houses, honored as one of the greatest Saints of Ireland and whose birth and work were foretold by St. Patrick. He was born in Corcobaskin, Thomond, now Moyarte, County Clare. His parents were Christians, his father’s name Ercan, of a distinguished family. Senan had all the advantages which a liberal Christian education could impart, besides his mother was said to be a woman of more than ordinary piety and virtue, who did not fail to instil into his youthful mind the most sublime ideas of the holiness and grandeur of a truly religious life. Young Senan was made prisoner in an expedition into a neighboring territory, having to accompany his father who was chief of a clan. He was, however, soon released and became a pupil of the abbot Cassidan with whom he studied until he became noted both for learning and piety, and afterwards took from him the monastic vow and habit. He then visited other religious houses perfecting himself in wisdom and every Christian perfection. He, after some time, made a journey to Rome, then as now, the great heart of the Christian world, out from which the warm purified blood of Christian faith and zeal is poured over the whole earth. It is supposed that he received consecration while in Rome. On his return he stopped for some time with St. David at his monastery of Menevia in Wales, and ever afterwards kept with him an active interchange of friendship. On his return he employed himself in propagating the gospel among, the remaining heathens and made many conversions. His first religious house was at Inniscarra on the Lee, five miles from Cork, and here he also erected a church. Some idea may be formed of the fame and liberality of the schools of Ireland even at this time, when it is incidently, stated that a vessel arrived in the harbor from the continent with fifty religious students on board, who came to enter the Irish schools. Our saint took ten of them, and the remainder quickly found retreats in like institutions. Our saint did not prosecute his work without some trouble and vexation. The chieftain of the territory in which he established his monastery, whose name was Lugadius attempted to burthen him with a tax, and that acknowledgement of dependency which the retainer paid to his chief. This the Saint resisted, and the chief threatened to root out the community, and sent some of his adherents for that purpose. The holy abbot met them at the gate of his monastery dressed in full canonicals and threatened the vengeance of God on the first man that would dare to put violent hands on God’s annointed. These men, knowing from common report the power and wonders that the holy men everywhere around them were daily doing, were afraid to proceed, and the chief, himself relenting, our saint was troubled by him no more.

    Senan shortly after this, taking some of his disciples with him, established a new community at Inislurnge, supposed to be an isle between Limerick and Iniscathy, and also built a church after converting many heathens. He also gave the veil to two daughters of Bundan the dynast of Hyfiginite. In those days maidens often took the veil and remained at home. They gradually afterwards for their greater protection were formed into communities. He also founded an establishment at Inis Tuaiscert supposed to be an isle off the coast of Kerry and also at Inis-Mor, supposed to be Deer Isle at the junction of the Fergus and Shannon, and also at Inis Coarach, an isle off the County Clare, besides many others and lastly he founded his celebrated monastery and school of Iniscatery about the year 537. Here the great St. Kiaran became his pupil and wonderful things are related of the two holy men. Here also, he had trouble with a petty chief, named Mactalius, who was a pagan, and who laid some claim to the island. He was instigated by the Druids to take it by force and kill the Saint, but their efforts were all baffled, although the Druids used all their evil magic, but the visible vengeance of God fell upon them, and the chief, alarmed for his own safety, interfered no more with the Spirit. This isle was covered with wood when our Saint commenced his work, but among his conventional rules, manual labor for certain hours was one, and the isle soon became highly cultivated and adorned, and its school became one of the largest and most celebrated in Ireland. These were indeed the perfection of free schools, in comparison to which our boasted system of free schools are a fraud. They were open alike to all, rich or poor, who not only received tuition, but were taken care of. The rich were expected to give from their abundance to support the school, the poor received all the advantages, perhaps only helping by a little beneficial labor, either intellectual or manual. This was a free school system which filled Ireland with holy men and with educational advantages which no government institution may hope to equal. The rules of all those monasteries and schools rigidly excluded women, even from entrance to the grounds.

    St. Senan converted many pagans and seems to have worked many miracles in attestance of the Divine power and authority of Christianity. He opposed to the diabolical power of the Druids, which they used to blind their dupes, the Divine power which Christ placed in the hands of his disciples to confound the devil and his works, and he succeeded, before he died, in eradicating the last vestiges of paganism from the territory over which he was placed. He died in the odor of sanctity, about the year 550 and his festival is kept on the 1st of March.

    TIGERNACH, or TIERNE, ST., bishop of Cluanois or Chines, and apostolic legate of Ireland, was successor of St. Macartin, but made his cathedral at Clunes. He founded an abbey at Clunes, in Monaghan, for regular cannons, under the title of St. Peter and Paul. He died about A. D. 550.

    WIRO, SAINT, was born in Ireland of noble parents and was educated in the most famous schools of his country. He soon distinguished himself, not less by his virtues than learning, and having embraced a religious life was made a bishop at an early age. He went to Rome and was consecrated by the pope and after returning governed his diocese for many years and became eminent for sanctity. He at length resigned his see and went to France, where he caused an oratory and monastery to be built, called St. Peters, into which he retired, and lived to a great age. He died A.D., 650, May 8, on which day his feast is kept.

    James O’Brien, Irish Celts: a cyclopedia of race history, containing biographical sketches of more than fifteen hundred distinguished Irish Celts, with a chronological index, (Detroit, 1884).

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