No More Learning

'^ See John xii. 35. '^ See "Psalms ex. 10.
" See the BoUandists' " Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Februarii vii. De S. Tresano, cap. viii. , ix , p. 54.
" See John x. 38.
*3 See Rev. S. Baring- Gould's " Lives of
the Saints," vol. ii. , February vii. , p. 193. '< The author of his Acts tells us, this tree
flourished to the time ol his
writing,
which
holy well," while several persons,
382 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS [February 7.
beginning of wisdom. " He afterwards asked for Holy Viaticum. Rising
from the bed, and lying prostrate on the ground, he exclaimed with heartfelt
of Christ, mercifully shed for our sins, and given as the price of our redemp- tion. Hail ! Jesus Christ, son of God, may thy power defend me from the snares of my old enemy, and may the prince of darkness meet me not. As thy strvant, I pray you make me appear the last in order among your saints. " Saying these words, he received the Body and Blood of Christ. ^^ Then, when lifted into bed, with eyes and heart directed towards Heaven, where all his hopes were centred, his happy soul flew to bliss. There for ever his spirit shall enjoy the beatific vision of God. '9
Tressan seems to have spent a great part of his life, in the diocese of Rheims,neartheRiverMarne. And,attheverymoment,whenhisspirit was exhaled to Heaven, a most fragrant odour spread around, so that those who were present declared, nothing they had a sense of before could be compared to it. As those, vvho live a real life in this world, by beautiful works, are the good odour of Christ ; so was it fitting, that holy Tressan should depart from this world, and in the manner related, since his works had continued freshly-smelling to the end.
Having thus distinguished himself by his great piety and various miracles, on the Ides or 7th day of February,'° the priest of Christ, Tressan, finished his temporal agony, to receive a good and an eternal reward, from the SupremeRemunerator. =' Thepriestsandothers,whowerepresentathis
death, began to arrange for his interment. It was proposed to deposit his remains in the Church of St. 'Hilary, at Mareville, as he had so long served the Lord in that place. Yet, when the attempt was made to lift his corpse, alleffortsprovedvain. Again,itwasthoughtwelltohavethecoffinbrought to the monastery of Altovillarense^* or Haultvilliers -p yet, the trial proved unavailing. Then, it was resolved, to yoke a pair of bullocks to a waggon, and to leave the disposal of Tressan's holy remains to the direction of Pro- vidence. We read in the Old Testament, that the satraps of the Philistines placed the Ark of the Lord on a new waggon, and then yoked kine to it that had sucking calves. The Ark was brought thus in a direct line to Bethsames. '* Mow, as the Ark represents the Church of Christ, and the
"healthy" — thus Tres-sain or Tre-sain, "most healthy ;" or again, by making him Tres-sainct^ in Latin Sanctissimus,ox "most holy. " By such titles he was said to be known in Brabant, but Father John Boland
denies his knowledge of this statement, as being at all correct.
" devotion :
Hail, our most happy Hope ! hail, our holy Redemption ! hail, most holy Body of Christ, more precious and dear to me than gold or topaz, andsweeterthanthehoneyorthehoneycomb. Hail! mostadorableBlood
*" See Rev. S.
" Lives of
Baring-Gould's
the Saints," vol. ii. , February vii. , p. 193.
'' In Colgan's copy of St. Tressan's Acts, a very strange error is admitted at the pas- sage "finiens agonem Cofnucii—as if the latter were the proper name of a place ; whereas, in the Bollandist version we find the co—rrect reading "finiens agonem cosmi-
to his cum" having reference solely ending
worldly agony.
" Such is the almost unanimous opinion
of the calendarists and writers of his—Acts.
="
'*
Here there was a Benedictine monas- ItwasinthedioceseofRheims. See
Ferrarius, at the 7th of February while
incorrectly assigning Rheims—to be the place Bercharius was appointed its abbot. The
has admitted Bollandists to state more regarding of this holy man's departure promised
another singular mistake, in calling him St. both saints, at the 1st of September, and at Sanissimus, confessor, an;! in notes, he the i6th of October, the dates for their festi- adds, that some have called him Sanctissi* vals. See Sif Harris Nicolas' "Chronology mus. From Tresain, however, it is thought, of History. " Alphabetical Calendar of
some may have compounded the French Saints' Days, &c. , pp. 137, 164.
" '*
superlative form ires very," with saittj See i Kings vi.
tery.
Flodoardus'
lib. ii. , cap. vii. and x.
"
Historia Ecclesiae Remensis,"
'3 There a monastery had been built by St. Nivard, Bishop of Rheims, and St.
FEBRUARY 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 383
kine its doctors, so was a holy son, and servant of the Church, brought with tears and requiem psalms, by doctors of the Church, to the very spot the
Lord Himself had designated. When the yoked oxen brought that waggon to a certain spot, they were not able to proceed further, and there it was de- termmed to inter the remains of St. Tressan. He died curate of Mareuil,=5 and he was buried at Avenay,'^ in Champagne. This the attendants re- garded as decreed by supernatural agency. The Bollandists justly observe, certain writers are wrong in saying, that the bodies of St. Tressan and of his holybrothersandsistersrestinRheims. '^ TheActsofoursaintplacehis relics at Avenay ; and, there is no authentic account of their having been removed.
While in one article, Dempster states, he was not able to discover, if St. Tesanus had been a writer ; yet, a few lines afterwards he declares, that all
his writings perished, through the injury wrought by time. '^ He and his brothersaresaidtohaveflourishedintheyear509or522. Tressanwasvene-
rated on the 3rd of December,"^9 according to Saussay, Ferrarius3° and
Dempster ; but, these statements appear to be incorrect. Francisca Marcana,
or De la Marck, Abbess of Avenay, procured the printing of an office relating to this saint,3' at Kheuns, in the year 1600. 3^ This was chiefly taken from the ancient Acts of St. Tressan, preserved in the archives of that city. The oftice had been drawn up to suit the Roman Breviary, and it has the sanc- tion of Pope Clement VIII. and that of Philip, Archbishop of Rheims.
The relics ot this holy man are said to be in Pont-aux-Dames, in Brie. In art, he is represented with a budding stafr,33 to indicate the miracle con- tained in his Acts. All that remains of our early missionaries belonging to the Irish Church abroad, the decrees of national synods, the penitentials, their legends and Acts, present us with everything, which the enemies of Rome have rejected. We tind therein recorded, the Eucharistic Sacrifice, Extreme Unction, Viaticum, the invocation of saints, the Hturgies of our Church, prayers lor the dead, the practice of confession, of fasting, of vigil, and of abstmence.
Article II. —St. Lomman, of Portloman, County of Westmeath. [Sixth Century. ] Among the many beautiful lakes of Westmeath, some may be found to rival Lough Owel,' in depth, extent and variety of adjacent
-s See Rev. Alban Butler's "Lives of the and the other a monk, who flourished A. D. Fathers, Martyrs and other Principal 651.
Saints," vol. ii. , February vii.
3t it is arranged for an octave, and it pre- cedes the offices of St. Gumbert and of St.
"*•
Here a canobium for pious f—emales had
been established —St. Bertha venerated by
whose remains were Bertha, kept
in the
on the 1st of May in the time of King Church of Avenay.
"
Childeric, son of Clodovasus II. , and in a spot called the Golden Valley,
3= In the preface to the "
she had the assistance of learned men,
the task of compilation, while there it is also stated, many and great miracles took place daily, before the shrines of the local patrons. See the Bollandists' "Acta Sanctorum," tomus ii. , Februarii vii. De S. Tresano. Commentarius historicus, num. i. , p. 53.
33 See Rev. S. Baring-Gould's "Lives of
'7 See "Acta Sancturum," tomus
ii. ,
during
Februarii vii. De S. Tresano Presbytero.
Commentarius historicus, num. 5, p. 53. '^ "
See Historia Ecclesiastica Gentis
Scotorum," tomus ii. , lib. xviii. , num. 1112,
II13, pp. 609, 610.
'^'^ Ibid. , num. 11 13, p. 610. Also, lib.
viii. , num. 629, p. 335, at a notice of his brother St. Helanus.
3° Ferrarius has insinuated in his " Gene-
ralis Cataiogus Sanctorum," at the 3rd of December, that there were two saints called
Tressan; one a priest, who lived a. d. 509,
the Saints," vol. ii. , February vii. , p. 193. '
Officia Propria Sanctorum, of Avenay, the abbess declares,
Article ii. — The River Brosna rises at Bunbrosna, county ot Westmeaih. and passes through Lough Owel and Lough Ennell. It enters the River Shannon, a short distance
3«4 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [February 7'.
scenery ; yet, none to surpass it in historic and topographical interest. Anciently was it called Loch Uair,' and here, sometime in the sixth century, did the Blessed Lomman select a charming site for the foundation of a re- ligious establishment, on its western banks. Lomman Locha Uair3 is an entry found in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ at the 7th of February. Port-
^
lomon or Portlemon is now a parish, in the barony of Corkaree, and in the county of Westmeath. 5 Within its limits is Frum Hill, on the summit of which there is a remarkable rath. Portlemon House, formerly the residence of Lord De Blaquiere, is situated within a finely wooded demesne. ^ This, likewise,enclosestheancientchurch,andthesurroundinggraveyard-^ both of these rise on a gently sloping green ridge, immediately over the waters of
iS^|ii^f»|p^M^
Portloman Old Church and Cemetery, Cu. WesUneaili.
Lough Owel. ^ The ruins, about three and a-half miles north-west of
MuUingar,measureseventy-sevenfeet,bytwentyfeetfourinches. ^ Astone, deeplyembeddedintheclay,wasdisinterredsomeyearsago. Itwasshaped like a coffin-lid, and it had a cross inscribed. Probably, it marked the grave of some ecclesiastic, in former times. A tourist or pilgrim, visiting Portloman, must linger long at a place, endeared by so venerable an auti-
to the north of Banagher. See Dr. 0' Dono-
- Edited by Rev. Matthew Kelly, D. D. , p. XV.
sit is represented on the "Ordnance
"
Rights," n. (s), pp. 9, 10.
van's
Leabhar na g-Ceart, or the Book of
"
It is now corruptly called in Irish, Loch
Survey Townland Maps for the County of "
Uail, anglice Lough Owel. It is situated
near Mulliiigar. See Dr. O'Donovan's
"
Annals of the Four Masters," vol. i. , n. (o), p. 40.
3 It is related, that Loch Uair, in Meath, with eight other noted Irish lakes, burst forth over the land, in the time of Tighern- mas, Ard-Righ, from A. M. 2816 to A. M.
Westmeath. Sheets ii, 12, 18, 19.
2866.
See O'Maliony's Keating's
*'
*
See Lewis' "Topographical Dictionary of Ireland," voL ii. , p. 466.
^ The accompanying view, sketched by
the writer on the spot, in June, 1876, has
been transferred to the wood and engraved
by Mrs. Millard.
^
It is sometimes found written Lough Hoyle. See ibid.
"* buch appears to have been the Rev. Anthony Cogan's measurement, on the out-
oi Ireland," book i. , part ii. , chap, vii. , p. 222.
History
February 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 385
quity, and by so many religious associations. Especially from the old con- secrated walls, where the resting-place of so many dead contributes to sacred
andsolemnremembrances,enchantingsceneryis presentedoneveryside. '° A vast sheet of water spreads far away, to the east and south. The ancient name of the church here seems to have been derived from the present saint,
"
the Church of Lomman. " It is likely, a monastery had been established by him, in connexion with it ; yet, not at a period so far back, as might be in- ferred from the statement of those, who would make our saint the- son of Darerca,"sistertotheIrishApostle. " Inthiscase,St. Lommanshouldbe regarded as nephew to the latter. But, St. Lomman's family and pedigree are assigned to altogether a different stock. He sprang from the race of ConallGulban. St. LomanwasthesonofErnan,sontoCesperius,sonof Lathimius, son of Fergus, son to Conall Gulban. ^3 This saint, who was the
fifth, in descent, must have been a relation of the great St. Columkille ; but, he appears to have flourished after the time of the latter. At least, a difference
who, probably, was the founder. It was called TempuU Lommain, or
oftwo is generations
down as
in their — We respective pedigrees.
he
there-
have
noted,
may might
that St. Loma—n
fore set it
beenborntowardsthecloseofthesixthcentury yet,didnottakeanactive partintheaffairsoflife,untiltheseventhagehadsomewhatadvanced. As we have mentioned,^"* in another place, on the island of Inishmore, in Lough Gill, county of Sligo, a St. Loman is said to have founded a church, in the time of St. Columkille. 's it may well be questioned, if he were not iden- tical with the present holy man. Perhaps, it might be said, St. Loman of Lough Ovvel migrated to Lough Gill, at some period of his life ; or, it might be, that St. Loman of Lough Gill chose afterwards to live near or on Lough Owel. Yet,ourpreviouscalculations,andthedataalreadygiven,seemto establish a different case. ^^ We must observe, however, the similarity of a coincidence in taste, when a St, Loman of the seventh century chose to live near the lake scenery of a loch, lovely as any could be found elsewhere in the ancient province of Meath, while a St. Loman of the sixth age selected
highly probable,
although
his lake-island, in the ancient province of Connaught. As the church and residence of St. Loman, at Lough Gill, were completely insulated, so did we
find a very low-lying green dot, far away from Portloman, and on the surface of Lough Owel. It was greatly our wish to visit it, and happily the oppor-
tunity was presented. '7 After a pleasant row of two miles, in a direct course,
Thaumaturga.
side of this The site of this ruin ** building.
and
was visited by the writer, who noticed two chap, i,, as quoted in Colgan's "Trias
apartment.
merely
periods, of both saints, clearly distinguish both these
divisions,
interiorly,
separated
It now top of a side wall.
S. Columbse, cap. iii. , p. 481, and cap. x. ,
p. 491.
'* See Article iii. at the 4th of February, ^s Some beautiful church ruins on Church
"
Island are engraved in Grose's Antiquities
of Ireland," vol. i. , pp. 58, 59. The view was taken by Bigari, and descriptive letter-
press accompanies it.
completely matted over with ivy.
holy men, bearing the name Loman.
^7 Through the kind offer of Mr. De
'°
See Rev. A. Cogan's "Diocese of Blaquiere, who, on casually learning a
clergyman's desire to see the old church there, with the ready courtesy of an Irish gentleman sent his pleasure boat and servant for the purpose, with instructions, that both were to be at the writer's disposal whatever
and
The church proper, as
" ad Acta Quarta Appendix
distinct
by a cross-wall.
measured within, was found to be thirty- eight feet in length, by twenty-one feet in width. What might be deemed a priest's dwelling was attached, and it measured thirty-five feet in length, by seventeen feet in width, allowing for a stone stair-way,
which appeared leading to a former upper
conducts to the Like all other parts of the ancient building, this appears now to be
'^ The as well as the pedigrees,
Meath, Ancient and Modem," vol. iii. , chap. Ixxiv. , p. 601.
" See her Acts at the 22nd of March.
^~
See his Life at the 1 7th of March.
'3 See his genealogy, taken from the
Vol. II. —No. 7.
2 c
Sanctilogic Genealogy,"
Seluacius,
386 LIVES OF 2HE IRISH SAINTS. [February 7.
over the still waters of the lough, and on a exceptionally warm day, the writer was landed on Church Island. '^ Here, indeed, were found subjects for solemn consideration. A very interesting old church stands, but in a ruinous state, on the small islet. '9 It was built of fine limestone. Interiorly, it measured thirty-five feet in length, by eighteen feet in width. The walls were three feet in thickness. An end eastern and circularly-headed window was in the gable, as yet tolerably perfect. A window can be seen in the
Chi d, Lough Owel.
north sidewall, while a door was in the southern side wall. 2° The west
gable has completely disappeared. Elder trees grow within and around the ruins, which are also covered with ivy. An old cemetery extended without
the church, and about fifty years before, the last corpse had been conveyed toitbyboatsandattendantsfromthemainland. Twodistinctlymarked
piles of building stones are to be seen, on the very margin of the lake, and formerly these were more elevated over its surface than at present. ^' They,
however, are the debris of old anchoretical houses, now completely dilapi- dated, but apparently resembling, in former times, the beehive-shaped houses to be found in the west and south of Ireland. ''* It is said, St.
time he might deem necessary for explora- tion on Lough Owel.
Edited by Aquilla Smith. See "Tracts relating to Ireland," vol. ii. , pp. i. -viii. , 1-26. Dublin, 1842, 4to.
=^ the water-level has been Probably high
caused by drainage extended around the shores, or storage of water for the Royal Canal, which is largely supplied from Lough Owel.
==
Some illustrations and references to these objects, wil—l be found in a Paper by the writer, XVI. On the Identification of
'^
The aspect of Church Island, as
sketched from the
shore, south-east,
in
June, 1876, has been represented by Mrs.
Millard in the engraving, which illustrates the text.
*9 These are prominent objects, as the railway train from Mullingar to Longford passes along the east-shore of Lough Owel.
"°
This old church lies half way between
Mullingar, to the south, and Multifamham,
to the north. The Irish Archaeological
vSociety has published the Annales de Monte
Femandi. {Annals of Multifamham. ) Irish Academy," vol. i. , series ii.
*'
St. Malachy O'Morgair's Monasterium
Ibracense," read February 26th, 1872, pp. 107 to 113. "Proceedings of the Royal
February 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 387
Lomman built a small house, in an island of Loch Uair, near Portlomain, andthisseemsmostlikelytohavebeentheidenticalplace. ^3 Exceptatthe landing-place, and on the higher earth, near the old church and its grave-
yard, lake-flaggers and reedy-grass lift their tops amid the waters on the islet's margins. St. Lomman is said to have lived on Alexandric'* herbs, of which there was a great abundance on his island. ''s The Martyrology of Donegal*^ enters the festival of St. Lomman, uf Loch h Uair, in Ui-Mac- Uais,=*7 in Midhe, at the 7th of February. At the vii. ides of this month, we find, likewise, Lomman, confessor, in Hibernia, is set down^^ as having de- parted to Christ. ='9 We are informed, that he had another festival, at the i ith of October j3o this, however, is a mistake. 3' In the seventeenth century, there was a holydays^ to honour this saint at Portloman, near Multi-Faran- nain,33 or Multyfarnham. 34 Then, too, his bachall or crozier was held by
WalterMacEdward
become of both these objects cannot at present be ascertained.
inPortlommain. 35 Hischain,3^too,was preservedthere,towardsthemiddleoftheseventeenthcentury,37 Whathas
Dr. O' Donovan makes this identical
Father Luke " Annalium Mino- Wadding's
y
with the barony of Moygoish, in the county ofWestmeath. TheUiMac-Uaiswerea tribe of the race of Colla Uais, Monarch of
rum," tomus i. 34Intheyear1460,thishousewastrans-
ferred by the Conventual Fathers to the
Monks of the Strict Observance. See Sir
James Ware, " De Hibernia et Antiquita- "
teenth The name is still extant century.
of Done- gal," edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 434,435. ItISremarkedinthisconnexion,
[Fitzward ? ]
Article IIL—St. Augulus, Augurius, or Augulius, Bishop of Augusta, in Britain. {Third or Foui-th Century^ The light of the Gospel seems to have illuminated the souls of many among our countrymen, at a period much earher than most students of antiquuy have supposed.
•'
'3 See the
edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves. Appen- dix to the Introduction, p, xlii.
"* This was the Smyrnium Olus-atrum,
commonly called Alexanders, which was
^robably a corruption of Olus-atrum. See ^9 See Bishop Forbes' Kalendars of
"
thering's Botany," vol, ii. , n. , p. 392.
Seventh edition.
"5 The Irish name, Alistrin, for them, is
certainly a corruption of Alexandrine. Hip- poselinum seu Smyrmium vulgare is the name given to this plant in Dr. Threlkeld's
"" SynopsisStirpiumHibernias, printedat
Dublin, in 1727.
=^
Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 40, 41.
Ireland, in the fourth century. According to John O'Dugan's Poem, the 0'Coni|\Ai'6e was the head chief of this tribe in the four-
; but, tor many centuries, the family has been reduced to poverty and obscurity. It was Anglicised (Jowry, in the sixteenth century ; yet, now it is more usually Corry or Curry. This form is to be distinguished, however,
Martyrology of Donegal,"
LL. D. From what is—stated in the text, the barony of Corkaree or some portions of it—was probably a part of this ancient
3° It was believed, that women labouring from O Corra of Ulster, as well as from in child-birth, when girt with it, should
O'Comhraidhe of Thomond, and from
O'Comhraidhe of Corca-Laighe, in southern
Cork. See " The Topographical Poems of
John O'Dubhagain and GioUa na Naomh it seems far more probable, they had re- O'Huidhrin," pp. 12, 13, and n. 51, p. xiii. ference to the present St. Lomman. See Also, 5eineAlAc Co|\ca LAi-oe, n. (h), p. "Martyrology of Donegal," edited by Drs. 54. Tlie "Miscellany of the Celtic So- Todd and Reeves. Appendix to the Intro- ciety," edited by John O'Donovan, Esq. , duction, p. xiii.
territory.
^^ *'
In the Kalendarium Drummondiense. " "
Scottish
3° See Rev. Anthony Cogan's
Saints," p. 4.
"
Diocese of Meath, Ancient and Modern," vol. iii. ,
chap. Ixxiv. , p. 601.
3* St. Lomman, the reputed nephew of
St. Patrick, was venerated at that date. 3^Mostprobablyatthepresentdate.
33 There a Franciscan Monastery had been
founded by William Delamer, in the reign
of Henry III. , a.