No More Learning

*5 St. Kiaran's Day (March 5th), appears
to have been kept as a special holyday of the early Irish Church. In an old Anti-
the
phonarium, kept amongst
MSS. , Dublin, and which formerly be- longed to the ancient church of Clondalkin, there is a calendar, in which it is noted, that no servile work should be performed on the Feast Day of our saint. It is classed, B.
I. 3' '°
See the First Life of St. Kieran, taken from Codex Kilkenniensis, cap. xxxviii. , in Colgan's work.
lady
with that of St. Kieran having been identical
"
with St. Piran,
church of Piranzabuloe or Piran-in-the- Sands, has been covered and so preserved for centuries by the sands, which ha—ve gained on that part of the English coast. "
Sirs. M. C. " of the Irish Ferguson's Story
before the Conquest," chap, v. , p. 165.
32<«It is rather singular that, notwith-
standing all that is said in the tracts, called
his Lives, in praise of Kieran, he is not
much spoken of in the accounts of our saints,
who were his contemporaries, and that none
of our annalists or hagiologists have marked
the year of his death. "—Dr. Lanigan's
sceptics
supposition,
Trinity College
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
Ecclesiastical History of Ireland," vol. ii. ,
"
chap, x. ,
an Irish saint, whose little
March 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS 143
whom he had ordained, departed to the mansions of bhss with him, on the very day of his own decease. This occurrence is said to have taken place, in accordance with a manifestation of his desires, which were approved by the AhTiighty. 33
According to his ancient biographers, Kieran's hfe was prolonged to the extraordinary term of almost three hundred years. 34 This extraordinary age was even exceeded, according to an account we find in the Martyrology of Donegal,3s as follows : Sixty years and three hundred was his age, when he
yielded his spirit. However, rather doubtful narratives, regarding our saint's recorded miracles and Acts, have given rise to much controversy among
writers, who endeavour to reconcile them with chronological probability. While he furnishes instances of many long-lived persons, from Scriptural, as also from ancient and mediseval history, proving the possibility of such an age as three hundred years being attained,3^ Colgan nevertheless holds an opinion, that our saint had not even reached two hundred years of age, at the time of his death. The conclusion at which he arrives is, that our Kieran lived in part of the fourth century, during the whole of the fifth, aijd that he probably died in the sixth, before a. d. 540. 37 So that, instead of Kieran's
old biographers being understood, as meaning his life had been prolonged, foi* almost three hundred years, which would appear from their text ; it is
thought, they had only read of his having lived, during three different ages or
centuries. 3^ But, this explanation is not very satisfactory ; especially, when we take into account, the apparent fact, that he who wrote the first Life had been a contemporary with our saint, and must have survived him. Those saints, who are mentioned as Kieran's contemporaries, in his Life, might in- deed be found existing, within the time specified by Colgan \ and, their intervention in matters pertaining to our saint might also be included in his Acts, with the single exception of St. Ruadhan, of Lothra, who is described as abbot of that place, before the death of Kieran. Now, it is thought, the Abbey of Lothra had been founded, about the year 550, and from the first Life of our saint, we may infer with Dr. Lanigan, that Kieran must have died, after the middle of the sixth century. In his account of the Bishops of Ossory, it is incorrectly stated, 39 that Ware confounds our saint with his name-
" Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
33 See
ni£e," V. Martii. Vita S. Kierani, ex Codice Kilkenniensi, cap. xl. , p. 463. St. ^ngus,
the more for in that remarkable,
Colgan's
Catalogue are to be found many other names, inferior to his, both with respect to age and to cele-
however, only mentions fifteen saints, who ""
brity. This will appear, by referring to the departed with St. Kieran. Qtiindecim list, in Ussher's Primordia Ecclesiarum
cum S. Kierano
per Jesum Christitm invoco in auxilium
"
qui
meiim," lib. 5, Opuscula, c. 65. Colgan
and
pages, where this author fully treats about
:
reperio
from the Cannech, Colman-Elo, Mo- chudda, Fintan of Clonenagh, Ruadan and others, who, from A. D. 540, flourished in adjoining monasteries, and when no mention of our saint occurs, whereas certain names of the principal saints, who lived, not alone in the surrounding country, but even saints of greatest renown, in more distant parts of
Ireland, are there distinctly noted.
38 This can be collected, as Colgan thinks, not only from five different Lives of this saint, but also from the Acts of other Irish saints. From such accounts, it may be in- ferred, that he did not live to be quite two
hundred years of age.
" Non
Sagirensi migravet'tcnt
p. 914,
following
adds
die ab ullo Martyrologio celebrari. " Ibid. , n. 44, p. 467.
tamen tot nata—les hac
matter is rendered more
^•^ Vita S. Kierani, ex Codic Kilkenniensi, cap. xl. , p. 463. Vita S. Kierani, ex MS. Salmanticensi, Officium, lect. 12, p. 469.
35 Edited by Rev. Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 64, 65.
3* See "Acta Sanctorum Hibernise," Martii v. , n. 42, p. 466.
37 That he did not live after A. D. 540, would seem to be indicated, from the circum- stance, of his name not being found, in the very ancient Catalogue of the principal saiuts of the second order, who flourished in Ireland, from a. d. 540 to A. D. 598. This is
Britannicarum,
those saints therein mentioned. Again, this
Lives of Saints
probable,
144 L2VBS OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 5.
sakeofClonmacnois',^° and,evenelsewhere,heconjectures,asDr. Lanigan asserts,^' that our saint might have been living, in the time of Pope Gregory
the Great. 42 Dempster absurdly places his death in 665, on the authority of the Breviary of Dunblane ; while, he is made to suffer death by martyrdom, having been murdered by robbers/s It is stated, too, that his memory was
visits of pilgrims. 44
St. Ciaran was buried, it is said, near the relics of St. Martin, distin-
guished as the Elder, a remarkable Patrician missionary, left to evangelize the Ossorians. t5 It is supposed, he lived a recluse, on Tory Island, which was called " Tor inis Martain. "^^ A relic, which was denominated the Socela Martain, and which had been preserved in Derry down to the thirteenth century,'*7 is said to have had relation to this ancient saint.
The illustrious bishop, Ciaran, is revered, as principal patron of Ossory diocese, where his festival is celebrated on the 5 th of March, as a double of
the first class. On that day, or on the Sunday immediately following, per- mission is granted to the priests and people to reverence St. Kieran, with suitable devotion at these places, where he has been regarded as special
"
Kyran's Cell," and that it was remarkable for miracles performed, and for the
famous in Kyntyre, where was the lake, called Lochkilkeran, or
the lake of
In the Cathedral Church ; in Kill-Kieran, belonging to St. John's parish ; in Rathkieran ;48 in Clashacrow j'tg in Stamcarty ; in Glashecron ; in
Fartagh ;So in Knocksciragh ; in Johnstown ^si in Kilmacow ;52 in Moon- coin ;S3 in Errill ;54 in Kilkieran ;55 in Tullaherin ;56 but, it must be re-
marked, that where those numerous deep ditches and high ramparts, encom- passing nearly ten acres,57 are to be found at Seir-Kieran,s^ the site of his
The itself is parish
patron.
39 See Dr.
tory of Ireland," vol. ii. , chap, x. , sect. 2, n. 28, p. 9.
4° He is said to have died A. D. 548. Sir
James Ware expressly distinguishes them. See " De Prsesulibus Lagenias," p. 68.
4' See "Ecclesiastical History of Ire-
Sheet
defined on Sheets 39, 40, 42, 43.
Lanigan's
Kilkenny,"
42,
vol.
the Antiquities of Ireland, which is incor- rect, as the twenty-eighth is the last. Else- where, I must confess myself unable to verily such a statement.
4* He sat in the chair of St. Peter, from A. D. 590 to A. D. 604. See Sir Harris
s' In the Galmoy.
of
See Sheet 8, ibtd.
and ot barony
sect,
33. He quotes the twenty-ninth chapter of
land,"
i. , chap, i. ,
xiv. ,
124, p.
parish
Fertagh,
Nicolas' " of Chronology
54 In the parish of Rathdowney and
History," p. 209. 43 See " Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
of See "Oixlnance barony Clandonagh.
Scotorum," tomus ii. , No. 774, p. 420.
44 For this, Dempster cites Gilbert. Brun.
Histor. , pag. xxcix.
45 His churches or places there are said to
be Temple Martin, Dysert Martin, and Kyledelig.
4* His feast is assigned to the nth of November, the same day as that on which St. Martin, Bishop —of Tours—with whom he isoftenconfounded wasvenerated.
47 For the previous particulars, the writer is indebted to the Rev. John Francis Shear- man, who permits reference to his "Loca Patriciana," part xii.
48 In the parish of Rathkieran, and barony of Iverk. It is noted on the "Ordnance
Survey Townland Maps for the County of
Survey Townland Maps of the Queen's County," Sheet 27.
55 There is a place so called in the parish
of Inistioge. See " Ordnance Survey Town-
land Maps for the County of Kilkenny," Sheet 29. There is another, in a parish of the same name. See Sheets 14, 15. Both
are in the barony of Galmoy.
5* In the parish so called and barony of
Galmoy. See Sheet 24, ibid. The parish is on Sheets 24, 28.
" Ecclesiastical His-
n.
49 In the parish of Clashacrow, and barony of Crannagli. See ibid. . Sheet 13.
5° This parish, in the baronies of Cran- nagh and Galmoy, is shown on Sheets 8, 9, 12, 13. Ibid.
5^ In the parish so named, in the barony of Iverk. See Sheet 43, ibid. The parish itself is on Sheets 40, 42, 43, 46.
53 In the parish of Pollrone and barony of Iverk. See Sheet 42, ibiti.
57 See Thomas Lalor Cooke's "Early History of the Town of Birr," &c. , chap, x. , p. 167.
58 See the " Statuta Dioecesis Ossorien- sis," edita Kilkenni. ie, in Synodo Dioece- sana, die 3 Junii, 1 873. Monita, sect. 8, pp. 22 to 29,
March 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 145
celebrated monastery,S9 that the memory of om* samt v/as most revered. ^° Knockseera,^^ said to be dedicated to St. Kyran, of Seir Kyran, and founded
by him, according to tradition, is an ancient burial place, on the very summit of a rounded, rocky, and elevated site, unrivalled for the picturesque views it commands, "on every side. The foundations of an old church, here, are levelled with the ground. The church appears to have consisted formerly of a nave and chancel. The nave was about 30 feet in length, by 20 in width. The chancel was about 9 feet, in addition to the nave. The present notes were taken on the spot, August, 1872, and about 70 years previously, the people there stated, the old church was almost perfect, two gables standing and a vestry attached. The cross wall was broken down, however, but a round arched-doorway entered it. A small end window was in one gable, while the side walls were then somewhat broken and defaced. Westwards extended this chancel, preserving the aforesaid width, following the side- walls. On the north side, there appear to have been few interments, but as the subsoil is limestone, much of the surface on this direction has been ex- cavated for material, probably used in building the ancient church, or for moremodernhouses,abouttheneighbourhood. Thereareseveraltombs
and headstones, yet none presenting a very antique appearance, on the south and east of the old building. Formerly, there were no defined boundaries around the graveyard ; but, of late years, it has been enclosed with a stone- wall.
A solitary hawthorn bush crowned the eminence, and served with some upright headstones, to mark the spot, from a very considerable distance. Knockseera lies one mile south-east from Borris-in-Ossory. '-"' From its top extends a magnificent landscape range of vision, bounded by the SUeve Bloom mountains, tlie hills of Dysart, the SHevenamon and northern Kilkenny heights, the distant haze-covered Galtees and the nearer Keeper mountains, in Tipperary. Popular tradition, regarding the old church founder, seems all but lost; nor is the patron's name remembered, by people of the present generation. Still, some hallowed remembrances are connected with the place ; and, deceased persons are brought by their friends from remote distances to be interred, on this lonely eminence. There can be no doubt whatever, regarding the extreme antiquity of Knockseera church, for a visit to the site will impress the initiated in Irish antiquarian lore, with evidences sufficiently convincing, that long ages must have rolled over, since the very primitive structure had been first built, on its present scarcely traceable foundations. Immediately near, and in the hollow of an adjoining field, St. Kieran's well may be seen, issuing from beneath a venerable hawthorn tree. ^3 Formerly the spring was frequented by devout pilgrims, on the 5th of March. Besides this, a St. Kieran's well may be seen, near the ruined churches of Gill
S9 See, also, Rt. Rev. Patrick Francis County Letters, of the Ordnance Survey, "
Moran's Spicilegium Ossoriense : being a vol. ii. , p. 98. Mr. O'Donovan's letter,
Collection of Original Letters and Papers dated Birr, Pebruaiy 3rd, 1838. In this
illustrative of the Histoiy of the Irish Church
from the Reformation to the year 1800. "
First Series, sect, ii. , pp. 6 to 10.
'°
Mi\ O'Donovan, in writing from this neighbourhood, remarks, that the present wall is exceedingly ancient, and that there are two round towers, on a small scale, standing in the churchyards of Seirkieran and of Killyon ; the establishments of St. Kieran and his mother Liedania. They seem to have been attached to other build- ings, and to have been used as Sacristies or Deartheachs. They are about 17 feet high, and rather of rude masonry. See the King's
letter, Mr. O'Donovau also gives a rough map tracing, in which Sierkieran occupies a central position. The names of ancient places and territories are marked thereon, according to their supposed former relative positions. Ibid. , p. 95.
^'
This townland, in the parish of Agha- boe, and barony of Clandonagh, is shown on the "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for
the Queen's County," Sheet 22.
^^
This town, in the parish of Aghaboe, and barony of Clandonagh, is shown on the
"
Queen's County," Sheets 21, 22.
Ordnance Survey Townland Maps for the K
146 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 5.
Ossory and Stonecarthy, not far from an old road of some historic impor- tance. ^4 There is a'townland, called Saint Kieran's, in the parish of Tintern, andbaronyofShelburne,countyofWexford. ^s IntheKing'sCounty,there is a Kilkeeran,^^ in the parish of Cloneyhurk, and barony of Upper PhiUps- town. In the Island
of Cape Clear^7 and on the mainland
coasts adjoining, his name is, also, held in veneration, by people living there, even to the present day. Kilkieran, an ancient church, and a part of the coast, called Kieran's
Strand, are even yet mementoes of his ^^
celebrity.
This saint's festi-
val is commemo-
rated, throughout Ireland, as a double, and, in the diocese
of Ossory, as a double of the First
Class. Formerly it was celebrated, with an Office, contain- ing Nine Lessons. ^^ Abstinence from ser- vile works was en- joined, in the olden times, when his feast
_ ^ : :, . --r^;eH3=:^. . jj^-^^^^gjEfk^
^3 The accompanying sketch, by the writer, was taken on the spot, in August, 1872. It was transferred to the wood, by William F.
Wakeman, and engraved, by George A. Hanlon.
•^^ See the "Journal of the Kilkenny and South-East of Ireland Archaeological So-
Kieran, i. e. " St. Kieran's Strand," on
which is a pillar stone, with a cross rudely cut towards the top, that, they say, was the workmanship of St. Kieran ; and near it stand the walls of a ruined church, dedicated to the same saint. This stone they hold in great veneration, and assemble round it
of March, on which — every 5th day, they
celebrate the festival of their patron. "
ciety," 385.
vol, iii.
New Series,
part ii. , p.
"5 It is
on the " Ordnance marked, Survey
"
of the
of
vol.
Well of St. Kieran, under Knockseera, Queen's County
occurred, as we learn
from the Antiphonary, supposed to have belonged to Clondalkin Church. 7° In the diocese of Ossory, it is thought, that St. Ciaran's feast formerly ranked
Cork," Townland Maps for the County of Wex- book ii. , chap, iv. , p. 279. After describing
ford," Sheet 45.
^ See it defined, on the " Ordnance Sur-
vey Townland Maps for the King's County," Sheet 33.
^
western point, we are told by Smith, that
this island. Smith enters these following re-
marks " to Clear, between : Adjoining Cape
it and the mainland, is the island of Inishir-
can, which I take to be Iniskieran, or the
— former. " island of St. Kieran, rather than the
On this
island,
towards
the
north-
the ruins of a called castle,
Ibid. , p. 281.
<* See Thomas Lalor Cooke's "
Dunanore, Ang- lice, the "Golden fort," stand on a rock, which extends into the sea. "Alittle to the east of the castle, is ? crvc cnlled Tra-
Early History of the Town of Birr," &c. , chap, x. ,
History
County
i. ,
p. 167.
''The Trinity College, Dublin, MSS.
March 5. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 147
as high as St. Patrick's day, or as a festival equally remarkable. In fact, the learned bishop of the diocese, Thomas De Burgo,? ' in 1 761, directs the Easter duty there to commence on St. Ciaran's day, and to end on Ascension day. 7^ The same direction is to be found, in a Pastoral of his successor, MostRev. Dr. Troy,anddateda. d. 1778. 73 Theformermemorialsofthe saint, throughout ancient Ossory, before the dark Penal Days, have been largely increased since, by the erection of St. Ciaran's College, the fine new Cathedral,aslikewiseotherchurches,chapelsandreligiousinstitutions. 74 It is remarkable, also, that to about the year 1838, the people kept the feast of St. Kieran, on the 5th of March, as a local holiday, and long afterwards, no works were there carried on. Wc rejoice to learn, that the old celebration has been lately revived, with great religious solemnity, and we trust, it shall never more fall into disuse. 75 St. ^ngus the Culdee? ^ and the Calendar of Cashel have this holy bishop's festival set down, for the 5th day of March. In the Martyrology of Tallagh,77 at the same date, he is simply recorded as Ciaran Saighre. In the Martyrologics of Marianus O'Gorman, of Maguire, of Salisbury, and in the Martyrologium Anglicanum, he is also recorded. 7^ This saint's name is frequently written Piran or Piranus,79 and under this form, he is commemorated, at the present date, in an anonymous list of Irish Saints, published by O'Sullevan Beare^° In the list of our saints, published by Henry Fitzsimon, on the authority of Floratius, at the 5th of March, this saint is commemorated as Kirianus, Epis. et Mart. ^' The Martyrology of DonegaF^ records, as being venerated on this day, Ciaran, of Saighir, Bishop
classedB. i. 3. ,B. 3. i. ,B,3. 10. ,B. 3. 12. have in their Calendars, at March 5th, or Nones iii. , Sancti Kerani Epis. or Abb. et Conf. , ix. lect.
? ° It is now classed B. i. 3. , among the
patron. Among his clergy and people has he also revived a taste and research, in local and general Irish and ecclesiastical studies, which must be fraught with the most happy results, and which must redound creditably to his own future celebrity, and to the best interestsofournationalChurch.
^^ The following extract, from the " Fei- lire," in the " Leabhar Breac," with its English translatio—n, was furnished by Pro-
T. C. D. Manuscripts. 7'Authorofthoseinvaluableworks—now
so rarely met with—the " Hibernia Domi-
nicana," and " Supplementum Hiberniae "
privately printed in Kilkenny,
Dominicana;,
but, for concealment of existing publication
fessor O'Looney
disabilities, published Colonise Agrippinse, A. D. MDCCLXII.
T^ In 1773, the same prelate issued a Pas-
toral to the clergy of his diocese, stating that among the other holydays retrenched by
Pope Clement XIV. , in his lately published Indult, the obligation of hearing Mass, on St. Ciaran's day, and on St. Kenny's day, as
also on the festival days of parochial patrons,
A. 111. 11.
77 Edited
7^ See
:
tlo beblAmg in bAl. b'OA
CAyVCACh tMS'OA 1\UAniAC1l CiAjxAn ^LuAgAcn fAig^e.
The Balbda bounding sent
His fame across the eastern sea, Carthach the kingly of Rome, Ciaran
Saiger
''
had been removed. "From this
' St.
Ciaran's
of in popular estimation. " John Hogan's
of hosts.
"
Kelly, p.
day
sight
'
was — lost gradually being
St. Ciaran, Patron of
Ossory," part iii. ,
chap, viii. , pp. 217, 218. '3 Instructions for Lent.
7* See the work already quoted, for further details and historic particulars than our dis- posable space will permit us to introduce.
75 In connexion with this subject, how-
ever, it is only just to observe, the present learned and distinguished successor of St. Kyran, the Most Rev. Patrick Francis Moran, consecrated Bishop of Ossory on St. Ciaran's Day, A. D. 1872, has taken every care possible to perpetuate the religious and popular veneration due to his illustrious
nise," Martii v. , n. 43, p. 467.
79 St. Kiaran is called Kenerin, in the
*' Circle of the Seasons," p. 65, and there too he seems to have been distinguished from St. Piran, in Cornwall.
**° See"HistoriceCatholicseIbemigeCom- pendium," tomus i. , lib. iv. , cap. xi. , p. 49.
*' See ibid. , chap, xii. , p. 55.
^^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
64, 65.
*3 The same notice appears in that copy,
preserved in the Royal Irish Academy, and formerly belonging to the Irish Ordnance
date,
by Colgan's
xvii. Acta Sanctorum Hiber-
Rev. Dr.
148 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [^Iarch 5.
and Confessor. ^3 Again, under the head of Saighir, Uuald Mac Firbis enters, Ciaran of Saighir, a bishop avIio was in Erinn before Patrick. ^* The Scottish people venerated the memory of this renowned bishop. Thus, we read, in the Kalendar of Dnmimond, at the 5th or iii. Nones of INIarch, that in Ireland the holy Confessors, Ciaran and Cartac, who were devout servants, went to Christ. The feast of St. Ciarain Saigre is noted, in the " Kalendarium Celticum,"attheii. Nones,or6thofMarch: this,however,mustbeamistake
ing the eloquent and eulogistic words of a devout client,^^ and which may serve to warm our affectiofts for the subject of his panegyric, on this heavenly
for the In his " 5th,
the feast of our saint, in this manner : "Kiriani episcopi. " Florarius is quoted as his authorit)'. ^^ We cannot better conclude this account of St. Kieran, than by reproduc-
birthday
of
Ossory's great patron.