OMNIUM SANCTORUM HIBERNIAE

ALL THE SAINTS OF IRELAND

  • The Litany of Aengus, Céile Dé

    On March 11 we commemorate Saint Aengus (Oengus) the Martyrologist, a saint associated with the Céle Dé monastery of Tallaght. The story of how Saint Aengus came to Tallaght and of how he came to compose his famous Félire can be found in last year’s post here. The name of Saint Aengus is also associated with a number of other writings, including the litany below, which is one of a number of hagiographical tracts preserved in the Book of Leinster. The attribution to Saint Aengus the Martyrologist was made by the 17th-century hagiologist, Father John Colgan, and followed by writers ever since. However, Wesley Follet, a modern scholar who has cast a critical eye over the Céli Dé movement, argues that Colgan’s grounds for doing so are not well-founded. They seem to rest on nothing more than the fact that in the Book of Leinster these tracts come immediately after the Martyrology of Tallaght. Colgan therefore concluded that they too had been produced by Saint Aengus, not knowing that the Book of Leinster does not preserve the original order of these texts. Follet argues that when correctly assembled, according to the medieval foliation, these hagiographical tracts stand apart from the Martyrology of Tallaght and there is no reason to link them either to that text or to Saint Aengus. He also makes the point that ‘Recalling Mael Ruain’s disapproval of anyone who ‘deserts his country’ (déreich a tír) it seems doubtful that a litany of pilgrim saints who either arrived from abroad or who left Ireland for foreign lands has anything to do with Céli Dé. ‘ (Céli Dé in Ireland: monastic writing and identity in the early Middle Ages (Boydell, 2006), 157). Whoever authored this litany, however, which Follet characterizes as ‘more learned in tone than devotional’, it remains a wonderful listing of saints and of the practice of pilgrimage and the presence in Ireland of Saxon saints, of Romans, of Gauls and perhaps most interestingly, of ‘seven Egyptian monks’. Saint Brigid gets a mention too as do a number of other famous Irish saints including Brendan and Kevin. The translation below is of the first part of the litany, which featured in the May 1867 edition of the Irish Ecclesiastical Record. I have not attempted to reproduce either the Irish text or the introduction and accompanying notes, but you can find both in the original volume. The piece is signed B.M.C., the initials I assume of the scholarly priest Bartholomew Mac Carthy (1843-1904), who was a contributor to the journal.

    The Litany of Aengus Céile Dé.

    [From the Book of Leinster.]

    Note: The words which we have put in brackets are written in the original handwriting as a gloss over the names which they follow in the text. Many of them are almost defaced.

    Seventeen holy bishops, and seven hundred favoured servants of God, who lie in Cork with Barri and Nessan, whose names are written in the heavens; all these I invoke unto my aid, through Jesus Christ.

    Seven times fifty holy bishops, with three hundred priests whom St. Patrick ordained, and three hundred alphabets in consecrating churches, of which was sung:

    Seven times fifty holy senior bishops
    The Saint consecrated ;
    With three hundred pure priests,
    Upon whom he conferred orders.
    Three hundred alphabets he wrote,
    Good was the colouring of his hand ;
    Three hundred beautiful churches he left
    Which he raised from the ground:
    All those I invoke unto my aid, through Jesus Christ.

    Thrice fifty holy bishops who lie in the island of Ard Nemhid, I invoke, etc.

    Three hundred and fifty holy bishops, three hundred and fifty priests, three hundred and fifty deacons, three hundred and fifty subdeacons, three hundred and fifty exorcists, three hundred and fifty lectors, three hundred and fifty ostiarii, and all the saints, with the blessing of God, in Loch Irchi, in the territory of Muscraighe, and Hy-Eachach Cruadha. As is said :

    The protection of Loch Irchi,
    In which is a sweet-toned bell :
    Numerous as leaves upon trees,
    Are the saints who around it dwell :
    All these I invoke unto my aid, through Jesus Christ.

    Twenty saints in Glendalough with Caemghin, the illustrious priest; Mochoe of Nairid; Melanfis; Molua of Cluandalough; Morioc of Inisbofin; Affinus, (a Franc) and priest; Cellach, a Saxon and archdeacon; Dagan, (of Inbhir Dalia); Moshenoc, (of Mughna); Mochonoc, (of Gaainm) ; Mosinu, (of Glen Munaire); Mobai, (son of Ui Allae); Rufin, (an anchorite); Mogoroc (of Derghne); Silan (a bishop); Darchell (an abbot); Molibha, (Mac Araidhe); Guaire, (Mac Daill); Glunfal, (of Sletty); Murdebur, (brother of Caeman), a wise man and scribe; Corconutan, (brother of Muadha); Aedan Mac Congnaid, (brother of Caeman); Lochan from Cill Manach Escrach; Enna; Petrain (of Cill Lainn); Mothemmoc and Menoc, etc., I invoke, etc.

    Seven and twenty holy bishops in Cill Manach Escrach, with Lochan and Enna, I invoke, etc.

    Two thousand nine hundred and ten priests in Cluanraor, with Moedhoc and Mac Ineicis (son of the Sage), I invoke, etc.

    Three thousand three hundred, with bishop Gerold, and fifty saints of Luighni in Connaught, who settled in Mayo of the Saxons, I invoke, etc.

    Seventeen holy bishops in Gill Ailech, in Hy-Echach; two holy bishops in Durthach Hy-Briuin, in Cualgne; and seven pilgrims in Imlech Mor, I invoke, etc.

    Thrice fifty holy bishops, with twelve pilgrims under Sinchell the elder, a priest; Sinchell the younger, a bishop; and the twelve bishops who settled in Gill Achidh Dromfota, in Hy-Falghi. These are the names of the bishops of Cill Achidh:

    Three Budocis. Nine Grucimnis. Three Conocis. Twelve Uennocis. Morgini. Twelve Contumanis. Six Vedgonis. Twelve Onocis. Six Beuanis. Senchilli. Six Bibis. Britanus, from Britain. Nine Glonalis. Cerrui, from Armenia. Nine Ercocinis.

    All these I invoke unto my aid, through Jesus Christ.

    Thrice fifty crews of Roman pilgrims, who settled in Hy-Imele, under Notal, Neman the chaste, and Corconutan, I invoke,
    etc.

    Three thousand confessors who assembled in Munster to discuss one question along with bishop Ibar, to whom the angels of God carried the great feast which St. Brigid had prepared for Jesus in her heart, I invoke, etc.

    Thrice fifty rule observant ecclesiastics, every one of them a Gaedhil, who went together on pilgrimage, under Abban, son of Ui Cormaic, I invoke, etc.

    Thrice fifty other pilgrims, descendants of the men of Rome and Letha, who went with Abban, I invoke, etc.

    Seven hundred true monks who were buried in Rathiun, before the coming of Mochuda, upon being expelled thence to Lismore, I invoke, etc.

    Eight hundred monks who settled in Lismore with Mochuda, every third of them a favoured servant of God, I invoke, etc.

    Thrice fifty true monks under the direction of bishop Ibar, I invoke, etc.

    The monks of Fintan, son of Ui Echach. They partook not, save of the herbs of the earth and water; it was impossible to count them because of their great number. Amongst them were eight Fintans, I invoke, etc.

    Four thousand monks, with the blessing of God, under the direction of Comgall of Bangor, I invoke, etc.

    Thrice fifty true martyrs under the direction of Munna, son of Tulchan, upon whom no one is ever buried, I invoke, etc.

    Thrice fifty true pilgrims who went with bishop Buti beyond the sea; and ten holy virgins, with God’s blessing, I invoke, etc.

    The twelve pilgrims who went beyond the sea with Moedhog of Ferns, I invoke, etc.

    Twelve youths who went to heaven with Molasse without sickness, the reward of their obedience, I invoke, etc.

    Twelve youths who went with Colum-Cille on a pilgrimage to Scotland, I invoke, etc.

    The twelve youths of whom Brendan found the survivor in the island of the Cat, I invoke, etc.

    Thrice twenty men who went with Brendan to seek the land of promise, I invoke, etc.

    Thrice fifty true monks, with the blessing of God, in Dairiu Chonaid, I invoke, etc.

    Four-and-twenty from Munster, who went with Ailbi upon the sea, to reach the land in which Christians ever dwell. The confessor whom Brendan met in the promised land, with all the saints who perished in the isles of the ocean, I invoke, etc.

    Colman the Fair with twelve companions in the great house of Cortnae, I invoke, etc.

    The Romans in Achudh Galma, in Hy-Echach, I invoke, etc.

    The Romans in Letar Erca, I invoke, etc.

    The Romans and Cairsech, daughter of Brocan, in Cill Achudh Dallrach, I invoke, etc.

    Cuan, a Roman, in Achill, I invoke, etc.

    The innocent youths in Gill Ailche, that is, thrice fifty youths,

    Alfinus, a holy pilgrim, Moehonoc, Mochasco, and Anfegen, with all their companions in Teach Na Commairge, I invoke, etc.

    The Romans in Cluan Caincumni, I invoke, etc.

    The pilgrims in Cluan Cainmor, I invoke, etc.

    The Romans with Aedan in Cluan Dartada, I invoke, etc.

    The twelve Conchennaighi with the two Sinchells in Cill Achidh, I invoke, etc.

    The Conchennaighi with Manchan of Leithmor, I invoke, etc.

    Seven Egyptian monks in Desert Uilaigh, I invoke, etc.

    The pilgrims with Mochua, son of Luscan, in Domhnach Resen, I invoke, etc.

    The pilgrims in Beluch Forcitail, I invoke, etc.

    The pilgrims in Cuil Ochtar, I invoke, etc.

    The Gauls in Saillidu, I invoke, etc.

    The Gauls in Magh Salach, I invoke, etc.

    The Gauls in Achudh Ginain, I invoke, etc.

    The Saxons in Rigar, I invoke, etc.

    The Saxons in Cluan Mucceda, I invoke, etc.

    The pilgrims in Innis Puinc, I invoke, etc.

    The twelve pilgrims in Lethglas Mor, I invoke, etc.

    The twelve monks of the Community of Finnio in Ard Brendomhnaig I invoke, etc.

    ‘The Litany of Aengus Céile Dé’ in The Irish Ecclesiastical Record, Volume 3 (1867), 385-397.

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  • Saint Kessog of Lennox, March 10

    On March 10, we commemorate a Scottish saint, Kessog (Kessoc) of Lennox, also known as Kessog of Luss . It is claimed that this saint was a native of Cashel and related to the ruling family of Munster. One of the sources, the lessons from the Aberdeen Breviary, begins: ‘Kessog, the noble confessor of Christ, drew his origin and name from the state of Munster and the stock of illustrious Irish kings…’ However, the saint appears to be unattested in Irish sources, his name is not found on the Irish calendars of the saints, nor in the Irish genealogies or Annals. It was suggested by W.J.Watson in his 1926 study of Scottish place names that our saint may be the same as a Saint Cessán who acted as a chaplain to Saint Patrick:

    Cessóc, Ceaság, March 10, is stated by the Aberdeen Breviary to have been born in Cashel in Munster, of royal family, a statement which would be of much interest if it were confirmed. He is perhaps the same as Cessán, who is styled ‘son of the king of Alba, and a chaplain of Patrick.’ His name is a reduced form of some compound beginning with cess, a spear. He is specially connected with Luss on Loch Lomond. In 1566 (RMS) mention is made of ‘the lands of Buchquhannan, with the bell and alms of St. Cassog’ (cum campana et elimosina S. Cassogi). On the east he is the patron of Auchterarder, ‘ecclesia Sancti Mechesseoc de Kohterardeuar,’ 1200 (Chart. Inch.), ‘ Sancti Mahessoc de huctherardouer,’ 1211, 2b. Tom mo Cheasaig, ‘my-Kessock’s knoll,’ and Féill mo Cheasaig, ‘St. Kessock’s  fair,’ are at Comrie and Callander in Perthshire. Cladh nan Ceasanach in Glenfinglas, near Glen Main Burn, seems to mean ‘graveyard of St. Kessock’s people.’ In Strathearn there is ‘ Barrnakillis (Church-hill) with the chapel and holy bell of St. Kessog,’ 1538, 1542 (RMS). Port Cheiseig, Kessock Ferry on the Beauly Firth, is probably named after the saint. In 1270 (Reg. Pasl.) ‘Mauricius filius Gilmekesseoch ’ was witness at Paisley.

    W.J. Watson, The History of the Celtic place-names of Scotland (Edinburgh, 1926), 277-78.

    Watson also records the traditions preserved in the twelfth-century Book of Leinster that the Eoganacht dynasty of Munster were the forbears of the mormaer (mormáir) or Earl of Lennox. Doctor Alan Macquarrie, editor of the 2012 edition of the Aberdeen Breviary, suggests that this may provide a context for the claims that Cashel was the birthplace of Saint Kessog:

    Perhaps an exotic Munster origin has been constructed for a local saint of Lennox to parallel the Munster origin claimed for the mormáir of Lennox. This may have lifted material from the vita of a Munster saint, but the source has not been traced.

    A. Macquarrie, ed., Legends of Scottish Saints – Readings, Hymns and Prayers for the Commemorations of Scottish Saints in the Aberdeen Breviary (Dublin, 2012), 376.

    So it seems that, as Watson remarked, the statement in the Aberdeen Breviary that Saint Kessog was born in Cashel in Munster, of royal family ‘would be of much interest if it were confirmed’, such confirmation still eludes us. Canon O’Hanlon, brings in all of the traditional sources in his account of the saint found in Volume III of his Lives of the Irish Saints:

    St. Kessog, Mackessog, or Makkessagus, Bishop, and Confessor, Patron of Lennox, Scotland.
    [Sixth Century]

    This holy bishop is venerated, and not unmeritedly, in the church of Scud, on his natal day, as elsewhere in Scotland. There, while living on earth, he sought out the true way of living for ever in heaven. The Bollandists have the Acts of St. Kessog, at the 10th of March. These consist of two preliminary sections, with the lection of his Life, as found in the Breviary of Aberdeen. From this we learn, that it had been compiled, from a special Life of St. Kessog. Bishop Forbes gives an interesting account of this Scottish bishop. The Rev. S. Baring-Gould has some notices about St. Kessog. He was born,as we are told, in Cashel, the capital city of Munster, while his name and family were derived from the royal race of Irish Kings. From early youth, his virtues were remarkable, and he was distinguished for his miracles. His father was King of Cashel; and, in that station, he not only desired to cultivate the friendship of other Irish kings, but he hospitably invited them to banquets, and he even desired, that his noble guests should be accompanied by their sons. We learn, from the Aberdeen Breviary, that the King of Cashel was accustomed to receive his visitors, in great state, when trumpets and musical instruments welcomed them to his royal city. On one of those occasions, while Kessog, still a child, played with two other handsome young princes, who were sons of a visitor, near a lake, or pond, all fell into it, and Kessog alone escaped with life. He told the tale in secret to his father. A certain Elinthus, a citizen of Cashel, feared that such intelligence should cause a great commotion among the kings; and, he endeavoured, as best he could, to relate all the circumstances of the sad accident, so as to excuse Kessog, who, in some manner, seems to have been blamed, in connexion with its occurrence. Filled with grief and indignation, the strange kings vowed they would burn the city of the King of Cashel, and that they should devastate all his province. But, after a night spent in prayer by Kessog, at the request of his aftrighted father, the boy heard an angel of the Lord say to him, towards morning, “Kessog, rise at once from prayer, for the Lord hath heard you, since the kings’ sons, for whom you prayed, have come to life and are restored.” Soon were their parents satisfied on the matter, and their rejoicing was very great. Many other miracles were wrought by him, as related in his special Life. According to their National Breviary, St. Makkessagus ruled over the Scots, as a bishop. His feast occurs, on the 10th of March, and he flourished, it is said, A.D. 520. According to Dempster’s conjecture, he was elected from the Culdee order. His church was in Levinia, near the county of Menteth, and, it was called, “Templum Portus.” Celebrated for its fair, the place was much resorted to by crowds. He is stated to have written “Manipulum Precum,” lib. i., and ” Catechesin ad Neophytos,” lib. i. He is thought to have lived, in the Island of Inchta-vanach, where he devoted himself to prayer and to evangelizing the neighbourhood.

    According to tradition, St. Kessog suffered martyrdom for the truth, at Bandry. There a cairn, and a large stone, on which an ecclesiastic’s effigy is carved, were erected to his memory. Another account has it, that he was martyred in a foreign land, and that, embalmed in sweet herbs, his body was brought to the church of Luss, his native place. There he was buried, according to the Breviary of Aberdeen. These herbs, called Luss, in Gaelic, germinated, and gave name to the parish. At the place of his burial is Carn-ma-cheasaig. Malcolm, Earl of Lennox, granted a charter to John of Luss, “for the reverence and honour of our patron the most holy man, the blessed Kessog.” In 1313, Robert Bruce granted a sanctuary-girth of three miles, to the church of Luss, in a charter, which is preserved at Buchanan. In the Lennox, a bell of St. Kessog was held in reverence, during the seventeenth century. The church of Auchterarder is dedicated to him, and he was honoured at Callander. In this latter place was a curious conical hill, or mound, which seems to be artificial. It is called Tom-ma-chessaig, and there an old church stood. In like manner, the fair of Fel-ma-chessaig is held, on the 21st of March, the 10th, old style. There is a Kessog’s fair, in Cumbrae, on the 3rd Wednesday in March, and there is a Kessog Ferry, at Inverness.

    The Rev. Dr. Todd identifies this saint with Moshenoc, of Beitheach, at the 11th of March. According to the Kalendar of Arbuthnott, we find, at the 10th of March, or vi. Ides, St. Kessog, Bishop, and Confessor; while, the same notice occurs, in the Kalendar of the Breviary of Aberdeen, having the addition, that his Office was celebrated with Nine Lessons. Adam King’s Kalendar, at the 10th of this month, enters S. Makkessage bisch. and cof. in Scotl. Dempster, in his “Menologium Scoticum,” at this same date, has in Levinia, Makkessag, bishop, who is depicted in a military habit, and whose intercession is earnestly implored by soldiers. Also, in the Scottish entries, as found in the Kalendar of David Camerarius, we have, at the 10th of March, St. Makkessog, who is also called Kessog, Confessor and Bishop “in Boina Scotie provincia,” celebrated for the lustre of his miracles. The “Circle of the Seasons” has its note of St. Kessog, at this date. In art, it is said, he was represented as a soldier, with a stretched bow and arrows in his hand, and a quiver at his back.

    Note: This post, first published in 2014 has been revised in 2025.

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  • Saint Tosa of Druim-Ladhgein, March 9

    March 9 is the commemoration of an obscure saint, Tosa of Druim-Ladhgein. His name is recorded on the earliest of the surviving Irish calendars, the Martyrology of Tallaght and on the later Martyrology of Donegal. It was picked up by the Bollandists who Latinized the name as Tossanus. As Canon O’Hanlon explains below, however, identifying the locality associated with the saint is rather more problematic:

    St. Tosa, or Tossanus, of Droma Laidcinn, or, of  Druim-Ladhgein.

    The Bollandists’ record Tossanus de Druim-Ladhgein, at the 9th of March. It is possible, his place may be identified with Drumline, a parish in the barony of Lower Bunratty, county of Clare.  Or, it may have been Drumlayne, in the parish of Moybolgue, barony of Lower Kells, and county of Meath. Again, there is a Drumlaydan in the parish of Templeport, barony of Tullyhaw, and county of Cavan. According to the Martyrology of Tallagh, veneration was given to Tosa, of Droma Laidcinn, at the 9th of March.
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