OMNIUM SANCTORUM HIBERNIAE

Tag: Irish Saints

  • Saint Affine of Killaffan, June 3

     

    June 3 is the feastday of one of the most famous of the Irish saints, Kevin of Glendalough. Saint Kevin shares this day with a number of lesser-known Irish saints, one of whom is another County Wicklow saint, Affine of Killaffan, with whose foundation Saint Kevin is linked. What the relationship of the Wicklow Affine is to the saint who gave his name to a locality in County Galway, Killafeen, I am unsure. The website of the Galway Library quotes Joyce’s classic study of Irish place names as saying:

    Killafeen in Galway; St. Aiffen’s church. There was a Killafiein near Glendalough, but its name and position are forgotten. See Effin [reproduced below].Effin in Limerick; St. Eimhín or Effin, who had his church here, was a contemporary of St. Kevin of Glendalough (sixth century), and had another church near Glendalough. The full name of this place was Cill-Eimhín or Killeffin; but the “Kill” was dropped out and the patron’s name alone remained, like “Columkill”, parishes in Kilkenny and Longford.

    In his account of Saint Affine, Canon O’Hanlon brings us the details only of the saint’s link with Glendalough. He also brings an account of a miracle of Saint Kevin involving some ungracious travelling harpers, some details of which I have transferred from the footnotes into the main text:

    St. Affine, Effinus, or Iiffen, of Cill Aiffein, or Killaffan, County of Wicklow.
    [Probably Sixth or Seventh Century]

    This day, the Martyrology of Tallagh simply enters Affine, at the 3rd of June. His locality is not even mentioned, in this record. In an Irish Life of St. Kevin, it is stated, that St. Effinus or Ifinus had a convent of monks, at Killeffin, under St. Kevin; and, in it, two legends are given connected with his church. The latter of these is thus rendered into English, by John O’Donovan: One day, minstrels came with their harps to Killeffin, where St. Kevin had a convent of monks. They asked entertainment from them, but the convent had no food. For that reason, St. Kevin and inmates of the convent became very much ashamed. It happened, however, that a small quantity of seed remained; yet, this not being sufficient to entertain the strangers, St. Kevin bethought him of an expedient, to prevent his getting the name of being inhospitable. He sent a party of the monks to dig plots,in which the small quantity of seed they had might be sown, and in order that the produce might be prepared for the strangers’ dinner towards evening. In the meantime, St. Kevin himself and another party of the monks remained to entertain the minstrels, and to kill time by kind and friendly conversation; but, this was of no avail to them, for the minstrels began pressingly to demand refreshments. These not being at hand, they took their leave of St. Kevin against his will, muttering their disapprobation, because the convent had not satisfied their requirements. [Afterwards, Saint Kevin is said to have prayed, that the harps which they bore might be turned into stones; and when they were crossing a river, which lies to the south of the church, their harps were metamorphosed into stones, and they fell into the stream. There they remained in the ford, under the feet of all, from that day to the time of the written legend.]   The legend relates, furthermore, that the seed, which St. Kevin had sown at Killeffin, grew up before evening, and of its produce the monks were fed that same night. There is more tillage, and the land is more fertile around Our Lady’s Church than any other in the valley; wherefore it is thought to be more than probable that it is the Kill Effin above mentioned.

    [We are told, that Solomon, the disciple of St. Kevin, states this occurrence, in the following translation of an Irish Rann:
    “The seed which was sown in the morn
    At Kill Effin of divine prosperity,
    Of its produce flourishing at night
    Sages were respectively fed.”]

    …A festival in honour of Aiffen of Cill Aiffein—now Killaffan—near Gleann-da-loch, is entered in the Martyrology of Donegal, as having been celebrated on this day… In the posthumous List of Colgan’s Manuscripts, the Acts of a St. Alphinus had been prepared for publication, at this date. He may possibly be identical with the present St. Affine or Aiffen.

     

    Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2015. All rights reserved.

  • Saint Cronan of Lismore, June 1

    Among the saints commemorated on June 1 is Cronan, Abbot of Lismore, whose repose is recorded in the early eighth century. A diocesan historian gives this summary of the history of his monastery:
    The church and monastery of Lismore, which grew to be one of the renowned centres of ancient Irish learning and piety, owed its foundation to St. Mochuda of the 7th century. Mochuda, otherwise Carthage, was a native of Kerry, and he had been abbot of Rahan in Offaly. It is probable that there had been a Christian church at Lismore previous to the time of Mochuda, for in the Saint’s Life there is an implied reference to such a foundation. Be this as it may, Mochuda, driven out of Rahan, with his muintir, or religious household, migrated southward, and, having crossed the Blackwater at Affane, established himself at Lismore in 630. In deference to Mochuda’s place of birth the saint’s successor in Lismore was, for centuries, a Kerryman. Lismore grew in time to be a great religious city, and a school of sacred sciences, to which pilgrims from all over Ireland and scholars from beyond the seas resorted. The rulers of the great establishment were all, or most of them, bishops, though they are more generally styled abbots by the Annalists. Among the number are several who are listed as Saints by the Irish Martyrologies, scil:
    Cronan, abbot of Lismore … … June 1.
    [He died, 717.]
    Patrick Power, Waterford & Lismore – A Compendious History of the United Dioceses (Cork, 1937), 5-6.

    Canon O’Hanlon is unable to add much further detail but does discuss the sources:
    …The death of an Abbot Ronan is entered, on the authority of the Annals of Munster, at A.D. 703. Soon after him, the present St. Cronan succeeded. The Annals of Ulster state, that he belonged to the Hi Ecain family. Nearly similar to this is the statement of Tigernach, who calls him Cronan h. Hecain. It is difficult, at present, to ascertain his race; but, under this form of name, it seems to resemble O h-Aedhagain, Anglicized sometimes O’Hegan or Egan. He is said to be of the Ua Eoan, according to the Annals of the Four Masters. We may fairly infer, however, that he was born, sometime about the middle of the seventh century. The date for his birth certainly fell sometime within that age; but, the exact year has not been ascertained. It seems probable enough, that his early education had not been neglected, and that he had been trained to a religious life in Lismore; for, it was usual to single out some domesticated monk, to succeed as Abbot, in that house where he had been living. On this day, the Martyrology of Tallagh has an entry, regarding St. Cronan of Lismore; but, furthermore, it seems to furnish little to elucidate his history….The Martyrology of Donegal registers the name of Cronán, Abbot of Lismor Mochuda, at the 1st of June. However, in the great Collection of Saints, by the Bollandists, at this day, we find no mention of St. Cronan made.
    The silence of our Annals, on the subject of those pious inmates of the religious establishments erected at Lismore, from the death of Abbot Ronan, until the obituary record of St. Cronan Hua Ecain, appears to favour a belief, that from at least twelve to fourteen years, the latter holy personage had been superior over the large community, which had been there congregated, during the period of his rule. About the beginning of the eighth century, likewise, the schools of Lismore were in the zenith of their reputation… 
    The Irish Annals of the Four Masters assign his death, to the 1st day of June, A.D. 716; but, the Annals of Ulster record his decease, under the following year. The death of Cronan n-Hecain, Abbot of Lismore, is entered at A.D. 718, in the Annals of Tighernach…The present holy man lived, at a glorious period in the history of our Irish Church.

    Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2015. All rights reserved.

  • Saint Feradacius of Iona, May 31

     

    We close the month of May with the commemoration of a ninth-century abbot of Iona, Saint Feradacius, although as Canon O’Hanlon admits, we have only the authority of the 17th-century hagiologist, Father John Colgan, for this feast day as a saint of this name is also commemorated on May 18:

    ST. FERADACIUS, ABBOT OF IONA, SCOTLAND.
    [NINTH CENTURY.]

    FOR centuries after the time of St. Columkille, our Island sent several holy men as colonists and missionaries to his greatly frequented monastery at Iona. The place had a renown for holiness; and, from Ireland, from Scotland, as also from distant Norway, there came, during successive centuries, many royal funerals to its shores. At this day, by far the most interesting remains upon the Island are those curious and beautiful tombstones, which lie in Reilig Odhrain, They belong, even the most ancient of them, to an age removed by many hundred years from Columba’s time. But, they represent that lasting reverence, which his name has inspired during so many generations, and that desire of along succession of chiefs and warriors through the Middle Ages, and down almost to our own time, to be buried in the soil where he had trod. However, it is only in the past ages we can seek for its historic greatness.

    St. Feredacius was son to Corbmac, and we may assume he was of northern Irish descent, as of birth. He is supposed to have been born, about the beginning of the ninth century; but, where he was educated or by whom does not appear. Yet, it seems very probable, that stirred by the celebrity of that flourishing institute established by St. Columba, at Iona, he went thither at an early age to embrace the rule and conform to the discipline of that monastery. Of his earlier career, little seems to be known. He became Abbot of Iona; most probably, on the death of Abbot Cellach. This took place, A.D. 863, according to the Annals of the Four Masters, or in the year 864 according to those of Ulster. However, in that valuable “Chronicon Hyense,” postfixed to the Rev. Dr. Reeves’ work, the death of this Abbot is referred to the year 865. If such were the case, it must have been during our saint’s presidency, the shrine of St. Columkille was removed to Ireland, lest it should become a prey to the Danes. This removal happened, as variously stated, in the year, 875, 877, or 878. Our saint only survived such an occurrence, for one or two years. However, if we are to credit the Annals of Inisfallen, Ferediach Abbot of Iae Columkille died A.D. 866; but, these Annals are known to be ante-dated. He died, during the year 877, 879, or 880, according to the other Irish Annals. It must be confessed, we have no authority for assigning this saint’s festival, to the 31st, in preference to the 18th of May, as Colgan only says, that a different St. Feradachrichus was venerated on both days. He is of opinion, that either was perhaps identical with St. Feradacius Abbot of Iona.

    Content Copyright © Omnium Sanctorum Hiberniae 2012-2015. All rights reserved.