OMNIUM SANCTORUM HIBERNIAE

Tag: Irish Saints

  • Saint Curnan Beg, January 6

    January 6 is the feast day of a County Limerick holy man, Saint Curnan Beg. Canon O’Hanlon brings us the few details that he has been able to assemble:

    St. Curnan Beg, Patron of Kilcornan, Diocese and County of Limerick

    The present St. Curnan, styled Becc or Beg, “little”, – probably owing to his small stature – is found recorded in the Martyrology of Tallagh with a festival to his honour, at the 6th day of January. The later Martyrology of Donegal, while noting the veneration paid to St. Curnan Beg on this day, is more precise in giving his genealogy, and the exact place where he was reverenced as patron. The writer of this Calendar, O’Clery, remarks, that we find a Curnan – it is to be assumed the present holy man – a son of Sinell, belonging to the race of Condri, son of Fearghus, son to Ross Ruadh, who was son of Rudhraige. From this latter was derived the Clann-Rudhraighe. St. Curnan Beg is said to have belonged to Cill-Churnain, a place which doubtless derived its denomination from a church or cell there founded by him. There is a parish, known as Kilcornan or Kilcoran, in the barony of Clanwilliam, and county of Tipperary. There an old church in ruins may yet be seen within an ancient burial-ground. The Cill-Churnan, with which our saint was connected, however, seems to be represented in the etymon of Kilcornan parish, situated within the ancient district of Caenraighe, now the barony of Kenry in the diocese and county of Luimneach or Limerick. Within this parish, and quite close to the beautiful demesne of Curragh Chase, are the ruins of an ancient church at Killeen. These vestiges and the old burial-ground most probably mark the former site of St. Curnan Beg’s religious establishment. At all events, the writer is assured by Aubrey De Vere, Esq., that he had never heard any tradition regarding any other church-site wthin the bounds of Kilcornan parish.

    The following are very nearly the dimensions of this old church. In length, it measures about forty-five feet; in breadth, it is about twenty-four feet; the height of the side-walls reaches to about fourteen feet; while the height of the gables is about twenty-two feet. The walls are about two feet nine inches in thickness. There are windows at both sides, three feet high, and six inches wide. There is a window at the east end. Under the gable, at the west end, there is a space about six feet by two – probably a window, or possibly the space for hanging a bell. The church does not appear to lie exactly east and west. In the northern wall, opposite the entrance, there is an arch, nearly filled up with masonry. This appears to have been, at one time, a second entrance: it is about seven feet and a half-foot in height by about three feet in width. The entrance is at the southern side, and it consists of an arched opening, six feet by three feet. It stands on a gentle, grassy slope, about six feet high, and in a rough green field, with a few bushes and brambles overgrowing. The walls slant externally from about four feet near the foundations, while this circumstance imparts a character of solidity and dignity to the antique structure. It stands on an elevated slope of about twenty feet over the adjoining grounds….

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  • Saint Cera of Kilkeary, January 5

    January 5 is one of the feast days of Saint Ceara, patroness of Kilkeary, County Tipperary. The account below has been taken from Volume I of Canon O’Hanlon’s Lives of the Irish Saints:

     

    ST. CEARA, CIAR, CYRA, CIOR, OR CERA, VIRGIN, PATRONESS OF KILKEARY PARISH, COUNTY OF TIPPERARY.

    [SEVENTH CENTURY.]

    We find the name of this holy virgin variously written Ceara, Ciar, Cior, Cyra, and Cera in the Irish Menologies. Our national hagiographist, Colgan, has endeavoured to compile acts of this saint for the 5th of January; but it is probable he fell into mistakes during the process. According to his computation, she must have been born sometime about the middle of the sixth century. It seems more likely, however, that her birth took place about or after the commencement of the century succeeding. The father of this holy virgin was named Duibhre. Her origin is derived from the royal race of Conor, King of Ireland. Both in this island and in Scotland many royal and saintly descendants from this monarch flourished. As founders of families and religious houses many of those personages are distinguished.

    St. Cera is said to have been a native of Muscraidhe Thire but in what particular part of the present baronies of Upper and Lower Ormond, in Tipperary county, she was born has not transpired. As she grew, however, the fame of her sanctity and miracles became widely known. A miracle having reference to her is introduced by Colgan, in which it is stated, that at the request of St. Brendan, patron of Clonfert, this holy virgin, St. Cera, by her prayers extinguished a pestiferous fire which had broken out in the region of Muscraidhe Thire.” Her reputation for piety soon drew many virtuous persons to imitate her example. She was then induced to erect a nunnery, which took the name of Cill Ceire from her. It is now known as Kilkeary, near Nenagh, in the barony of Upper Ormond, county Tipperary. Here she governed a community of nuns, but not so early as the sixth century.

    There appears to be no sufficient reason for supposing she lived contemporaneously with St. Brendan of Clonfert; and the story to which allusion has been already made may rest only on popular rumour, or have reference to some other St. Cera. Perhaps, indeed, as we shall see hereafter, she may have lived in the time of a St. Brendan, who was quite a different person; and in the case of homonymous saints, it may often be doubted, if legends prevailing and attributed to one of them may not rather be ascribed to some other, and to a totally distinct person.

    Having ruled over her religious establishment in Muscraighe Thire for some time with great prudence and sanctity, Cera found the number of her postulants daily on the increase. She then resolved on seeking another location where she might erect a second house. Accordingly, the holy woman left Kilkeary, in company with some of her religious. She directed her course, it is said, towards Heli, or Ely O’Carroll country – but it would appear she went beyond its bounds to the northern part of the King’s County. From St. Fintan Munnu she is said to have obtained the site for a nunnery, and at a place called Tech Telle. It is now known as Tehelly. There St. Fintan Munnu lived; but to St. Cera and to the five nuns who accompanied her he resigned that site. Here she is thought to have remained for some time – afterwards she returned to Kilkeary.

    A learned writer supposes St. Cera’s establishment was not formed at Kilkeary until after she had left Tech Telle; but for this opinion he assigns no valid reason. At all events, in Kilkeary she spent many years, which were devoted to the exercises of penance and of a holy life. To reconcile his conjecture that St. Cera lived before the death of St. Brendan the Navigator, Colgan maintains that she must have attained the extraordinary age of 120 or 130 years. This holy virgin resigned her pure soul to the Creator on the 5th day of January, A.D. 679,- but another festival to her memory is held on the 16th of October. The following stanza, from the Leabhar Breac copy of the Feilire of St. Oengus, in Irish, at the Nones of January, with its English translation, was obligingly furnished by Mr. O’Longan : —

    ” The call of Semeoin, the sage,
    To Christ of purest form ;
    A new transitory gentle sun was
    Ciar, the daughter of Duibrea. ”

    According to this translation, the probable inference to be drawn from the foregoing would be that Ciar lived for a short time only, and yet her virtues shone brightly; while it is right to observe the commentator on this passage seemed to think she lived only a short time before St. Oengus wrote, for in a gloss he thus states:

    “not long since, or short since, she was, i.e., in Cill Chen, in Muscraidhe Thire, and she is of the race of Conaire.”

    The Semeoin alluded to in the text was St. Simeon Stylites, venerated at the 5th of January. The “Martyrology of Tallagh,” the “Calendar of Cashel,” Marianus O’Gorman, and the “Martyrology of Donegal,” commemorate a Ceara on both these days. This latter feast, however, may have reference to a different saint of the name, for we find her called Ceara, of Maghascadh. Yet it is expressly stated by Marianus O’Gorman and Charles Maguire that the present St. Cera’s body was buried in the Church of Magh-ascadh. It seems doubtful enough if this can be identical with the Church of Kill-chere, where the “Calendar of Cashel” and other authorities state that her remains repose. Some confusion seems to have arisen, for there are different saints of this name represented as having been assigned to various days in our Menologies. It is conjectured by Colgan that the 5th of January must have been her natalis, or the date for St. Cera’s death – while the 16th of October must refer to some other commemoration or solemnity, probably to a translation of her relics.

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  • Saint Aed of Kildare, January 4

     

    There is a certain amount of confusion around the feast day of Saint Aed (Aidus in Latin), Bishop of Kildare, as both January 4 and May 10 are mentioned in the sources. This saint is interesting as Canon O’Hanlon, following the seventeenth-century hagiologist Father John Colgan,  suggests that he is not only an ecclesiastical but also a royal figure. Given that Aed is such a common name amongst Irish saints and that there is this confusion, I will add his name to the list of saints who require some further research in the hope that more recent writers can make his identity clearer:

    ST. AIDUS, BISHOP OF KILDARE.

    [SIXTH AND SEVENTH CENTURIES.]

    NOTHING appears more remarkable in Irish Church history than the fact, that so many scions of royal and noble houses voluntarily abdicated their worldly rank to assume the humble garb of the monk; thus choosing to be governed rather than to rule. Some account of this saint has been given by Colgan, at the 4th of January; but these short notices are very unsatisfactory. The obscurity of his acts, however, is not the fault of this writer. Most probably St. Aidus was born about the middle or towards the close of the sixth century. From the data afforded us, it appears a matter of great difficulty to unveil the chief incidents of his life. In the “Martyrology of Tallagh,” at the 4th of January, we find the entry of Aedin, a bishop.

    Various saints, bearing the names Aedh, or Aedhan, appear at different dates in our calendars. In the Feilire of Oengus not only is the present but every other native saint excluded at this date. By Marianus O’Gorman our saint is denominated Aidus; while by other calendarists and writers he is styled indifferently Aedinus, Aedus, and Aedius. According to some accounts St. Aidus is stated to have been King of Leinster ; yet this hardly seems reconcilable with our annalistic chronology. Following the pedigree of the Genealogic Menology, St. Aidus, the bishop, was son to Moelodran, son of Brocan, son to Corbmac, son of Diermeit, son to Eochad Guinech, son of Ere, son to Brecan, son of Fieg, son to Daire Barrigh, son of Catheir the Great. From all we are able to ascertain, it does not seem probable the present saint ever occupied the throne of Leinster although Colgan thinks Aedh Cerr, who ruled over that province, and whose death is noted at A.D. 591, may have only died politically, to have lived forty-seven years subsequently in the religious state. But, besides the usual accurate phraseology of our annalists, and other irreconcilable circumstances, the different fathers of Aedh Cerr and of St. Aidan, the bishop, ought to have shown Colgan how improbable must have been an identity between both. Another conjecture has been ventured upon, that perhaps Aedh Cerr had been a different person from this Saint Aldus, whose name perchance has been omitted from the catalogue of Leinster kings, because he reigned only for a short time, and abdicated a throne to the regret of his people. It seems more than likely, however, that as the present saint was descended from a right regal Leinster line, he may have been some minor potentate connected with that province rather than its chief ruler. It is said, that having abandoned his exalted position, he became a monk in Kildare Monastery. He seems to have been denominated “Dubh,” “black,” probably from some peculiarity of complexion.

    Greatly distinguished for his virtues and merits in the monastic profession, he was afterwards called to preside over the religious as abbot; but, furthermore, he was elevated to the episcopal dignity, and he ruled for some time over the see of Kildare. Although this see maintained a constant succession of zealous and pious prelates from the time of St. Conleth, yet until we come to this St. Aidus’s they do not figure on the pages of history with sufficient distinctiveness. Thus he was advanced to spiritual honours, having escaped from royal dignities. He died in the year 638, but we cannot ascertain the duration of his episcopacy. Whether the demise of St. Aidus occurred on a 4th of January, or on a 10th of May, is thought to be uncertain. Colgan has a few notices regarding him at the former date, yet he states, that it might be possible, the memory of St, Aidus had been celebrated on both days. At the 4th of January the “Martyrology of Donegal” simply enters Aedh, bishop. It has been well remarked, that the world knows little of its greatest men; and it seems strange that they should be almost forgotten or not sufficiently honoured, especially in their own country.

    A St. Aidus, bishop, is venerated on the 4th of January, according to the Martyrologies of Tallagh and Marianus O’Gorman. According to the same authorities, a St. Aidus, son to Cormac, was venerated on the 10th of May. The great-grandfather to Aidus, King of Leinster, who died A.D. 591, was named Cormac. As the name and Episcopal dignity at the 4th of January would seem to indicate our saint, and as the name of Aidus, the aforesaid Cormac being his ancestor, is found at the 10th of May, hence Colgan confesses himself unable to decide whether the festival of this present saint should be kept on the 4th of January or on the 10th of May. See “Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae,” 4 Januarii, nn. 5, 6, p. 14.

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