It
likewise
has poems on other saints.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v3
Columba," lib.
iii,, cap, 2, p.
191.
* See his Life, at the 9th ofJune.
s He is mentioned, also, in Prince O'Don-
nell's or Quinta Vita S. Columbce, lib. i. , "
cap. XXV. to xxxiv. See Colgan's Trias
Thaumaturga," pp. 393, 394.
*
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
7 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 68, 69.
Article
hi. '
following
:
March 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 209
suffering, at Carthage, they gained a victorious crown, on the 7th day of March, a. d. 302. Their bodies were preserved, in the great Church of Car-
3
Article IV. —Feast of St. Colman, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Eng-
land. [Seventh Century. '] According to Camerarius, this saint, regarded as an Apostle in Northumbria and in the Hebride Islands, had a festival, on the 7thofMarch. TheBollandists'andBishopForbes^havenoticesofhim; but, his feast seems more properly referable to the 8th of August, where we have entered the particulars of his life.
ArticleV. —St. MetanorMeattan,Virgin,ofTuaim-atha. The
entry, Metan o Thuaim athi, appears in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ at the 7th of March. Marianus O'Gorman has a like notice, while the Bollandists allude to the circumstance, that her place and history are unknown. ^ The Martyrology of Donegal3 mentions, likewise, Meattan, Virgin of Tuaim-atha, as having a festival on this day. The word, Tuaim, usually Anglicised, Toora, enters into the composition of many local denominations, in Ireland.
Article VI. —Reputed Festival of St. Willeic, at Kaiserwert,
on the Rhine. [Seventh and Eighth Centuries^ In the Martyrology of Usuard, edited by Hermann Greuen, and in the ancient Martyrology of
Cologne, there is an entry, on this day, of St. Willeicus, Confessor and Priest
of St. Suitbert, the Bishop. ^ Already have we given his Acts, at the 2nd of this month.
Article VII. —Reputed Festival of St. Senan of Inse Cathaigh,
OR Inniscattery, County of Clare. [Fifth and Sixth Centuries^ Vene- ration was given to Senan Inse Cathaigh, at the 7 th of March, as we read in
the Martyrology of Tallagh. ^ This, however, must be regarded as the vigil of his principal feast, at the day succeeding ; if the present entry be not the mistake of a transcriber, as indeed it appears to have been, for we do not meet the name of this very celebrated saint, at the 8th of March in the published work. At this date, the Bollandists only notice this entry. ^
Article VIII. —St. Neastor. The festival, in honour of Neastor, is entered in the Martyrology of Donegal on this day.
Article IX. —^St. Beoaedh, Bishop of Airdcarne, County of Ros- common. [Fifth and Sixth Centuries. ] At the 7th of March, the Martyr- ology of Tallagh' mentions, that veneration was given to Beoaedh, of
thage, during the fifth century.
from a Monte Casino MS. , by Lucas Hoi- stenius, wall a Sermon of St. Augustine, found by the same, among the Vatican Manuscripts, pp. 630 to 638. Notes are aiso appended.
3 Such is the —
statement of Victor of Utica.
'
Martii vii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 629.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
68, 69,
Article vi. —' See the Bollandists'
"Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Martii vii.
Among the pretermitted saints, p. 629. Article vii. —' Edited by Rev. Dr.
Article iv.
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Martii vii. Among the preter-
mitted
saints, pp. 629, 630.
See "Kalendars of Scottish
Kelly, p. xvii.
== See "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
'
Saints," pp.
i. ,
302, 303,
Article v. —' Edited by Rev. Dr. p. 629.
'
Kelly, p. xvii. . Article viii. — Edited by Drs. Todd
, 'See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , and Reeves, pp. 68, 69.
Martii vii. Among the pretermitted saints,
O
210 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 8.
Airdcarne. As, in the former case, this must be considered only, as the vigil of his Natahs, observed at the day succeeding. But, we rather suspect, as
no corresponding entry regarding him is there found, that the present regis- tration must have been ante-dated, by one day, and through some oversight, on the part of a transcriber. For further notices, the reader is referred to the next day.
€is6tl) 2Bai) of ilarrl)*
ARTICLE I. - ST. SENAN, OR SENANUS, BISHOP AND ABBOT OF INIS- CATTERY, COUNTY OF CLARE.
\_FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—MANUSCRIPT AND PUBLISHED AUTHORITIES FOR ST. SENAN'S ACTS— HIS BIRTH AND FUTURE GREATNESS, FORETOLD BY ST. PATRICK—HIS PARENTAGE AND NATIVITY—ANECDOTES OF HIS YOUTH—VOCATION FOR THE RELIGIOUS STATE —HE STUDIES UNDER THE ABBOT CASSIDUS OR CASSIDANUS.
the Gospel of Christ has been proclaimed for many cen-
the world is ALTHOUGH
in a
large proportion,
heathen.
t
idolaters ; but, mainly by the spread and migration of those races, whose conversionwascompleted,intheearlycenturiesoftheChurch. Converts are made here and there, in our own time ; and, occasionally, whole tribes and communities of heathens, are brought over to the true faith, by apostolic men. Yet, nowhere, perhaps, do we find such wonderful and great results effected, in this providential way, as had been, through the zealous labours of our ancient Irish saints.
The sources, from which we purpose giving the Acts of the present holy man, are derived from a variety of Manuscripts, copies of which are yet extant, and some of these have been published. Thus, Colgan^ and the Bollandists^ have issued two of the chief Acts, which are intermingled with muchlegendarymatter. Besides,therearespecialbiographicalaccountsofthis illustrious abbot : thus, Albert le Grand,3 Bishop Challenor,-* Rev. Alban
Article ix. —' Edited by Rev. Dr. while, an Appendix, in Latin, gives the ex-
uri
es,
Christianity
still,
is, indeed, still making advances, and still spreading, among benighted
Kelly, p. xvii. —Chapter —' " Article i. i. See Acta
chapters, pp. 537 to 540 {rec/e).
= See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Martii viii. De Sancto Senano Episcopo et Abbate in Hibernia. A previous commen- lary, in ten paragraphs, is prefixed to the
same Acts, which Colgan had already pub- lished ; special notes are added to their text ;
tracts, from Albert le Grand's notices of St.
Senan, pp. 760 to 779.
3 See "Les Vies des Saints de la Bre-
tagne Armorique, avec un ample Catalogue des Evesques d'icelle. " By this writer, St. Senan is called St. Sane, in French; he being considered one, among the chief patrons of St. Pol de Leon diocese. This Life was chiefly compiled, from the nine Lessons of the Leon Breviary, and from monuments or acts of Iniscathy Church, in Ireland, which, we are told, had been dedi- cated to the Blessed Virgin. St. Sane is called the Patron of Plausensis and of Guic- Sanensis churches, in this work, and, he is said to have died, about the year 480. But, Colgan remarks, that as he had not seen the
Sanctorum HiberniK," Martii viii.
Vita S. Senani Episcopi et Confessoris. Ex Vetusto Codice Kilkenniensi collato cum alio Sal- maticensi, pp. 512 to 525 (? r<r/(»), with notes. Secunda Vita, sive Supplementum Vitro S. Senani. Ex Hibernico transumptum, pp. 526 to 537 (rccte), with notes. Then follows an Appendix ad Vitam S. Senani, in six
March 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 211
Butler,5 and Rev. S. Baring-Gould^ have their respective accounts of him.
There is an Enghsh translation, by John Lloyd, of an Irish Life of St. Senan
of Scattery Island, with poems on his miracles, conversations and prophecies,
in the Royal Irish Academy collection. 7 The Metrical Life of St. Senan,^
together with the second prose Life,9 called a supplement to the former, by Colgan, are the most accessible authorities we are able to find. These are
further illustrated, by the judicious remarks of more recent Irish historian? , and writers. The Metrical Life of St. Senan was taken'° from an old parch- ment Manuscript, called the Codex Kilkenniensis ; having been collated with a Salamancan copy. In this latter were wanting stanzas, from the sixth chapter or series of verses, to the twentieth. " Even, in the Codex Kilkenni- ensis, after the thirteenth chapter or series, Colgan is of opinion, that a leaf at least is wanting ; and, as a matter of course, a lacuna occurs, in the Metri- calLife,aspublished. " Itsauthorispraised,however,forhisexactitude. '3 Besides the Metrical Life, Colgan had in his possession another biography of our saint, and written in Irish. ^'^ It belonged to a Leinster gentleman, called WilliamDeorodan,orDerodan. 'S Thismanuscriptwasmorelengthyand copious than the other ; but, it appears to have been interpolated, by some
lessons of this Leon Breviary, nor learned what these churches of Armoric Britain
" He refers to notes 10 and i6, for proof of this assertion ; but the^e, no doubt, are tical with St. Senan of Iniscathy, more errors of the press, as in neither of the pub-
observed, regarding their patron, he could not decide whether their St. Sane was iden-
especially, as there were many other saints, bearing this latter name, in Ireland, differ- ing in point of time and dignity, from the subject of our memoir. In any case, if St. Sane be not different from St. Senan of Inis- cathy, he must have lived to a period, much
*'
later than a. d. 480. See Colgan's Acta
Sanctorum Hibernise," viii. Martii. Vita Metrica S. Senani, n, I, p. 228, rede 524.
* See "Britannia Sancta," part i. , pp. 163 to 166.
5 See " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. iii. , March viii.
* See "Lives of the Saints," vol. iii. , pp.
159 to 163.
7 Among the Messrs. Hodges and Smith
MSS. No. 9. A small 4to paper MS.
It likewise has poems on other saints.
® Although occasionally a defective measure may be found, in some lines, yet this occurs very rarely ; while the Latin is evidently formed on classic models, and the phraseology by no means assumes a rude cast.
5 As published by Colgan and the Bollan- dists. The former we shall have frequent occasion to quote as the First or Metrical Life, and the latter as the Second or Prose Life. The paging, as corrected f—rom the printer's mistakes, —has reference unless otherwiseexpressed toColgan'swork.
'" By Colgan.
" To me, the author appears to have been conversant with local features of the country around Iniscattery ; and, it might not be
improbable, that he was a monk belonging to the monastery there established. That he lived many centuries ago appears from
lished Lives do we find corresponding notes, referring to his present statement. The notes, which he really seems to have re- ferred to, are numbered 20 and 21, in the Metrical Life.
'3 St. Colman, son of Lenin, also wrote our saint's Acts, in verse ; and, reference is made to one of his narratives, in the Supple- mental or Second Life, which Colgan has published.
'• The Manuscript, sometimes called Codex Kilkenniensis, iDelonging to Marsh's Library, Dublin, has a Vita S. Senani, fol. 77 to 80.
'S Probably, it was the copy of a small translated pamphlet, intituled, "The Life, Miracles, and Prophetical Predictions of the Blessed St. Senan, Bishop of Inniscahy, first written by Odranus, successor to St. Senan in the Bishoprick, and now faithfully translated out of the original Irish into English, by M. G. , 1689. " The edition, which I have seen, purports to be issued at Limerick ; George M, Goggin, Printer, 34 George's-street, a. d. 1848. It has 36 pages closely printed in i8mo. This little chap- book is divided into six chapters. The nar- ratives contained in it, although agreeing in various particulars, with those published by Colgan, yet, in other respects, materially differ. The last chapter professes to treat on the last Will and Testament of this saint. As a conclusion, we find some dog- grel English metrical lines, which contain certain predictions, began with a colloquy between St, Senan and St. Comgallus cf Banagher, and in shape of a Dialogue. Then follows a colloquy, between St. Senan and St. Brandon of Birr, in the same style.
this fact, of Iniscatthy Church, in his day, not having lost its episcopal character.
212 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 8.
ignorant transcriber, who undertook the insertion of a iew particulars, shadowing forth his own erroneous impressions, or inventions. ^^ On this account, and for the sake of brevity, Colgan would not translate this entire Life into Latin, especially as he had not a correct copy of it. '? But, as several chapters were to be found in this Irish MS. , and as the latter threw additional light on many circumstances, more obscurely related in the former, besides serving to illustrate the antiquities of the country, he deemed it right to present that portion, which he has published. '^ In addition to the fore- going, to which he refers, in different notes subjoined, Colgan gives an Ap- pendix to St. Senan's Life ; in which he treats, regarding various writers of his Acts, and of those who refer to him, in their works. The learned Irish hagiologist tells us, that, in addition to St. Senan's Irish Life, he found some
verses, in a manuscript, belonging to Iniscathy j but, which he did not con- sider worth the trouble of translating, because these were the production of a
modern pen. Besides, they abounded in fables, and were even badly written. '9
Among the O'Longan Manuscripts,^" preserved in the Royal Irish Academy's collection, Dublin, are various copies of St. Senan's Life. One of these begins, with the words, " Mirabilis Deus in Sanctis," &c. , which shows, it must have been distinct from his published Acts. ^' This, it is sup- posed,"^ had been transcribed from the Book of Lismore. =3 Again, the folio
These supposed predictions are evidently clumsy and comparatively modern fabrica- tions.
'*
found one, referring to a friendship, said to have existed, between our saint and the Blessed Martin of Tours, with assistance, which this latter is said to have rendered St. Senan, during his last agony. But, the falsity of this supposition is apparent. St. Martin died in the year 367, according to St. Gregory of Tours ; or, in the year 402, according to Sulpicius Severus. See the latter data, agreed to by Baronius, in his notes on the Roman Martyrology, at the lith of November. St. Senan was not born for many years subsequent to 432, when St. Patrick hrst came to Ireland ; for, after this period, our Irish Apostle had predicted this saint's future birth. This should also appear, from the names of those Irish saints, who are said in his Life to have been contempo- raneous with him, such as, Kieran of Clon- macnoise, Brendan of Birr, Deirmit of Inis Clothran, &c. Hence, our saint must have flourished in the sixth century.
'* See
Colgan's
niae," viii. Martii, p. 611 {nrte 525). Vita Metrica S. Senani, n. 21, and Secunda Vita
S. Senani, n. i, p. 539 (n-cle 535). Hence- forth, it must be understood, while referring to the Lives of St. Senan, that in citing Colgan's pages, the numbers have been cor-
rected. Unfortunately, not only in this portion of his work, but almost, if not alto- gether, throughout the remainder of his volume, the paging is erroneous. Yet, to correct these errors, in other places, might
entirely mislead the reader, by giving more particular references.
'9 Our Irish hagiologist adds a note, for Among these interpolations is to be. the instances which he furnishes, in support
'7 See the Metrical Life, n. 21, p. 525 {recte).
of this position. Thus, it is absurdly stated, that St. Senan had no less than fifty-six brothers, all of whom were saints : his mother is sometimes called Finnmathia, the daughter of Beodan, and sometimes she is called Cumaina, the daughter of Dalbro- nius : among her holy sons are named Mo- lassius, Carthage or Mochudda, Grellan, Ruan, Cronan, Mochiamoc, Mochua, Camin, Caimgin, Colman Macduach, Uasu- anach, Luctigem, Maccretius, Mainchin of Limerick, and many others, if not belonging to a different father, at least respectively re- moved by race and period. Colgan shows, that not only do such statements conflict, with the most genuine Acts of St. Senan ; but, they are even repugnant to other accounts, histories and saints' Acts, as also to reason itself. He then refers more in detail to those saints enumerated, and to their paternal and maternal parentage, ac- cordingto their respective Lives, and . Angus's tract, lib. iv. See note 37, postfixed to the Second Life, p, 537.
" Acta Sanctoram Hiber-
*° See vol. viii. of this to 149.
collection, pp. 123
'^
Life commences with the foregoing words.
-''
By Professor Eugene O'Curry, in his I Manuscript Catalogue.
^^ It is described, by the copyist, as an old vellum book, written as was thought 800 years, before his time. In it are the Lives of Patrick, of Colum Cille, of Bridget of Kil- dare, of Ciaran of Clonmacnois, of Fionn- chu of Brigobhoun, of Finen of Clonard, of
Neither the Metrical, nor the Prose,
March 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 213
paper MS. in the R. I. x\. , No. 39, b. , contains an Irish Life of St. Senan, of ScatteryIsland. TheBodleianLibrary,atOxford,hastheActsofthissaint,^'' and they are found also in Irish, among the Stowe Manuscripts. ^5 There is a Vita S. Senani, Inis-catha, among the Manuscripts,^*^ now preserved in the Franciscan Convent, Dublin. Among the Irish MSS. of Michael O'Clery, preserved in the Burgundian Library, at Bruxelles, is a fragment of St. Senan's Life, while there are Poems of Dellanus, upon this saint. ^? Besides, other copies of Senan's Acts are in the Burgundian Library, at Bruxelles. ''^
In our saint's second Life, we are told, when St. Patrick^? came to preach
the Faith of Christ, in that part of the country, called Hy-Fidhgente,3° he predictedthefuturebirthandgreatnessofSt. Senan. Thisterritorywasin- habited by a tribe, from which its name had been derived. The Shannon is said to have been its northern boundary, and Sliabh Luachra confined it, on thesouth; eastward,theRiverMaigueandtheMorningStarRiverran,and on the west, the County of Kerry formed its boundary. ^' While St. Patrick brought over many from the errors of idolatry, in this part of the country,32 ^ report of his extraordinary success and great virtues circulated amongst the people of Corcobaschind,33 in Clare County, on the northern bank of the Shannon. The people of this territory,34 with their prince, felt a most earnest
and from Kerry to Limerick, according to
John O'Donovan, Thus, Bruree parish is
situated, partly in Coshma barony, and
partly in that of Upper Connello, in the
county of Limerick ; and, its name was
derived from a Fort, in which the King of
Hy-Figeinte resided, and near which the original parish church of Bruree had been
See Sir Thomas Dufifus " which Hardy's Descrip- righ,
Brenuinn, son of Finlough, of Mochua, &c.
Devonshire. It is a paper transcript, 8vo. ,
xix. Cent. It is in MS. Phillips, 10294. siastical in origin ; but, it is called Brugli-
See p. 149. — *• Thus described :
Vita S. Senani Insy Gathi MS. Bodl. Rawl. B. 505 , pp. 223, 231, veil. fol. xiv. Cent. A similar Life is found in MS. Bodl. Rawl. B. 485, f. 249, veil. 4to. xiv. cent. There is also a Life of St. Senan, a MS. , belonging to the Duke of
" the fort of the
tive Catalogue of Materials relating to the or Burgum regis, in Latin. In all the
History of Great Britain and Ireland," vol.
i. , part i. , pp. 125, 126. —
ancient Irish histories, it is celebrated, as a chief seat of the senior representatives of
^5 It is thus described
Vita S.
Fiacha who assumed the Figeinte,
surname,
Senani, transcribed by Donall O'Duinin, MS. Stowe
36, s. 244 to 287, 4to paper. See Stowe Catalogue," p. 162.
3' See Dr. O' Donovan's Annals of the Four Masters," vol. v. , n. 6, p. 1580. The
3^ Colgan makes Hy-Fidhgente a part of Kerry County, and he refers to the Life of
St. Molua, who belonged to the country, in-
habited " Fidhgente. " It is said by nepotes
to have been situated, "in media planitie Mummonise, usque ad medium montis Lua- chrre in Occidente ad Australem plagam
"
^* In the large folio paper MS. intituled,
" When Brian Borumha was
Vitae Sanctorum," ex Codice Inisensi, pp. 244 to 250.
*' A folio MS. Collectanea, classed Vol.
viii. . No. 3201, contains a Life of St. Senan,
taken from the Irish Manuscript of the
Jesuit Salamancan College, and collated
with a MS. belonging to R. P. Ward ;
while, there is also a long Poem, and a
to this saint. In Vol. xxii. , containing Nos.
7672, 7673, 7674, there is a Vita S. Senani,
fol. 186.
="8
=*» See his Life, at the 17th of March.
30 The country of the Hy-Figeinte em- braced the greater and better part of the county of Limerick ; it extended from the Shannon to the middle of Slieve Loughra,
belonging to Trinity College, Dublin, classed E. 2, 14 ; namely, from Inishmore in the
:
placed. Hence, then, its name is not eccle-
signifies,
king,"
O'Donovan, after the reign of Brian Boru. ""
Hymn
In a MS. Vol. iv. part ii. there is an fluminis Sinna. "—" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Irish Life of St. Senan, p.
* See his Life, at the 9th ofJune.
s He is mentioned, also, in Prince O'Don-
nell's or Quinta Vita S. Columbce, lib. i. , "
cap. XXV. to xxxiv. See Colgan's Trias
Thaumaturga," pp. 393, 394.
*
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
7 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. 68, 69.
Article
hi. '
following
:
March 7. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 209
suffering, at Carthage, they gained a victorious crown, on the 7th day of March, a. d. 302. Their bodies were preserved, in the great Church of Car-
3
Article IV. —Feast of St. Colman, Bishop of Lindisfarne, Eng-
land. [Seventh Century. '] According to Camerarius, this saint, regarded as an Apostle in Northumbria and in the Hebride Islands, had a festival, on the 7thofMarch. TheBollandists'andBishopForbes^havenoticesofhim; but, his feast seems more properly referable to the 8th of August, where we have entered the particulars of his life.
ArticleV. —St. MetanorMeattan,Virgin,ofTuaim-atha. The
entry, Metan o Thuaim athi, appears in the Martyrology of Tallagh,^ at the 7th of March. Marianus O'Gorman has a like notice, while the Bollandists allude to the circumstance, that her place and history are unknown. ^ The Martyrology of Donegal3 mentions, likewise, Meattan, Virgin of Tuaim-atha, as having a festival on this day. The word, Tuaim, usually Anglicised, Toora, enters into the composition of many local denominations, in Ireland.
Article VI. —Reputed Festival of St. Willeic, at Kaiserwert,
on the Rhine. [Seventh and Eighth Centuries^ In the Martyrology of Usuard, edited by Hermann Greuen, and in the ancient Martyrology of
Cologne, there is an entry, on this day, of St. Willeicus, Confessor and Priest
of St. Suitbert, the Bishop. ^ Already have we given his Acts, at the 2nd of this month.
Article VII. —Reputed Festival of St. Senan of Inse Cathaigh,
OR Inniscattery, County of Clare. [Fifth and Sixth Centuries^ Vene- ration was given to Senan Inse Cathaigh, at the 7 th of March, as we read in
the Martyrology of Tallagh. ^ This, however, must be regarded as the vigil of his principal feast, at the day succeeding ; if the present entry be not the mistake of a transcriber, as indeed it appears to have been, for we do not meet the name of this very celebrated saint, at the 8th of March in the published work. At this date, the Bollandists only notice this entry. ^
Article VIII. —St. Neastor. The festival, in honour of Neastor, is entered in the Martyrology of Donegal on this day.
Article IX. —^St. Beoaedh, Bishop of Airdcarne, County of Ros- common. [Fifth and Sixth Centuries. ] At the 7th of March, the Martyr- ology of Tallagh' mentions, that veneration was given to Beoaedh, of
thage, during the fifth century.
from a Monte Casino MS. , by Lucas Hoi- stenius, wall a Sermon of St. Augustine, found by the same, among the Vatican Manuscripts, pp. 630 to 638. Notes are aiso appended.
3 Such is the —
statement of Victor of Utica.
'
Martii vii. Among the pretermitted saints, p. 629.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp.
68, 69,
Article vi. —' See the Bollandists'
"Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Martii vii.
Among the pretermitted saints, p. 629. Article vii. —' Edited by Rev. Dr.
Article iv.
See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , Martii vii. Among the preter-
mitted
saints, pp. 629, 630.
See "Kalendars of Scottish
Kelly, p. xvii.
== See "Acta tomus Sanctorum,"
'
Saints," pp.
i. ,
302, 303,
Article v. —' Edited by Rev. Dr. p. 629.
'
Kelly, p. xvii. . Article viii. — Edited by Drs. Todd
, 'See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. , and Reeves, pp. 68, 69.
Martii vii. Among the pretermitted saints,
O
210 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 8.
Airdcarne. As, in the former case, this must be considered only, as the vigil of his Natahs, observed at the day succeeding. But, we rather suspect, as
no corresponding entry regarding him is there found, that the present regis- tration must have been ante-dated, by one day, and through some oversight, on the part of a transcriber. For further notices, the reader is referred to the next day.
€is6tl) 2Bai) of ilarrl)*
ARTICLE I. - ST. SENAN, OR SENANUS, BISHOP AND ABBOT OF INIS- CATTERY, COUNTY OF CLARE.
\_FIFTH AND SIXTH CENTURIES. ]
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION—MANUSCRIPT AND PUBLISHED AUTHORITIES FOR ST. SENAN'S ACTS— HIS BIRTH AND FUTURE GREATNESS, FORETOLD BY ST. PATRICK—HIS PARENTAGE AND NATIVITY—ANECDOTES OF HIS YOUTH—VOCATION FOR THE RELIGIOUS STATE —HE STUDIES UNDER THE ABBOT CASSIDUS OR CASSIDANUS.
the Gospel of Christ has been proclaimed for many cen-
the world is ALTHOUGH
in a
large proportion,
heathen.
t
idolaters ; but, mainly by the spread and migration of those races, whose conversionwascompleted,intheearlycenturiesoftheChurch. Converts are made here and there, in our own time ; and, occasionally, whole tribes and communities of heathens, are brought over to the true faith, by apostolic men. Yet, nowhere, perhaps, do we find such wonderful and great results effected, in this providential way, as had been, through the zealous labours of our ancient Irish saints.
The sources, from which we purpose giving the Acts of the present holy man, are derived from a variety of Manuscripts, copies of which are yet extant, and some of these have been published. Thus, Colgan^ and the Bollandists^ have issued two of the chief Acts, which are intermingled with muchlegendarymatter. Besides,therearespecialbiographicalaccountsofthis illustrious abbot : thus, Albert le Grand,3 Bishop Challenor,-* Rev. Alban
Article ix. —' Edited by Rev. Dr. while, an Appendix, in Latin, gives the ex-
uri
es,
Christianity
still,
is, indeed, still making advances, and still spreading, among benighted
Kelly, p. xvii. —Chapter —' " Article i. i. See Acta
chapters, pp. 537 to 540 {rec/e).
= See "Acta Sanctorum," tomus i. ,
Martii viii. De Sancto Senano Episcopo et Abbate in Hibernia. A previous commen- lary, in ten paragraphs, is prefixed to the
same Acts, which Colgan had already pub- lished ; special notes are added to their text ;
tracts, from Albert le Grand's notices of St.
Senan, pp. 760 to 779.
3 See "Les Vies des Saints de la Bre-
tagne Armorique, avec un ample Catalogue des Evesques d'icelle. " By this writer, St. Senan is called St. Sane, in French; he being considered one, among the chief patrons of St. Pol de Leon diocese. This Life was chiefly compiled, from the nine Lessons of the Leon Breviary, and from monuments or acts of Iniscathy Church, in Ireland, which, we are told, had been dedi- cated to the Blessed Virgin. St. Sane is called the Patron of Plausensis and of Guic- Sanensis churches, in this work, and, he is said to have died, about the year 480. But, Colgan remarks, that as he had not seen the
Sanctorum HiberniK," Martii viii.
Vita S. Senani Episcopi et Confessoris. Ex Vetusto Codice Kilkenniensi collato cum alio Sal- maticensi, pp. 512 to 525 (? r<r/(»), with notes. Secunda Vita, sive Supplementum Vitro S. Senani. Ex Hibernico transumptum, pp. 526 to 537 (rccte), with notes. Then follows an Appendix ad Vitam S. Senani, in six
March 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 211
Butler,5 and Rev. S. Baring-Gould^ have their respective accounts of him.
There is an Enghsh translation, by John Lloyd, of an Irish Life of St. Senan
of Scattery Island, with poems on his miracles, conversations and prophecies,
in the Royal Irish Academy collection. 7 The Metrical Life of St. Senan,^
together with the second prose Life,9 called a supplement to the former, by Colgan, are the most accessible authorities we are able to find. These are
further illustrated, by the judicious remarks of more recent Irish historian? , and writers. The Metrical Life of St. Senan was taken'° from an old parch- ment Manuscript, called the Codex Kilkenniensis ; having been collated with a Salamancan copy. In this latter were wanting stanzas, from the sixth chapter or series of verses, to the twentieth. " Even, in the Codex Kilkenni- ensis, after the thirteenth chapter or series, Colgan is of opinion, that a leaf at least is wanting ; and, as a matter of course, a lacuna occurs, in the Metri- calLife,aspublished. " Itsauthorispraised,however,forhisexactitude. '3 Besides the Metrical Life, Colgan had in his possession another biography of our saint, and written in Irish. ^'^ It belonged to a Leinster gentleman, called WilliamDeorodan,orDerodan. 'S Thismanuscriptwasmorelengthyand copious than the other ; but, it appears to have been interpolated, by some
lessons of this Leon Breviary, nor learned what these churches of Armoric Britain
" He refers to notes 10 and i6, for proof of this assertion ; but the^e, no doubt, are tical with St. Senan of Iniscathy, more errors of the press, as in neither of the pub-
observed, regarding their patron, he could not decide whether their St. Sane was iden-
especially, as there were many other saints, bearing this latter name, in Ireland, differ- ing in point of time and dignity, from the subject of our memoir. In any case, if St. Sane be not different from St. Senan of Inis- cathy, he must have lived to a period, much
*'
later than a. d. 480. See Colgan's Acta
Sanctorum Hibernise," viii. Martii. Vita Metrica S. Senani, n, I, p. 228, rede 524.
* See "Britannia Sancta," part i. , pp. 163 to 166.
5 See " Lives of the Fathers, Martyrs, and other principal Saints," vol. iii. , March viii.
* See "Lives of the Saints," vol. iii. , pp.
159 to 163.
7 Among the Messrs. Hodges and Smith
MSS. No. 9. A small 4to paper MS.
It likewise has poems on other saints.
® Although occasionally a defective measure may be found, in some lines, yet this occurs very rarely ; while the Latin is evidently formed on classic models, and the phraseology by no means assumes a rude cast.
5 As published by Colgan and the Bollan- dists. The former we shall have frequent occasion to quote as the First or Metrical Life, and the latter as the Second or Prose Life. The paging, as corrected f—rom the printer's mistakes, —has reference unless otherwiseexpressed toColgan'swork.
'" By Colgan.
" To me, the author appears to have been conversant with local features of the country around Iniscattery ; and, it might not be
improbable, that he was a monk belonging to the monastery there established. That he lived many centuries ago appears from
lished Lives do we find corresponding notes, referring to his present statement. The notes, which he really seems to have re- ferred to, are numbered 20 and 21, in the Metrical Life.
'3 St. Colman, son of Lenin, also wrote our saint's Acts, in verse ; and, reference is made to one of his narratives, in the Supple- mental or Second Life, which Colgan has published.
'• The Manuscript, sometimes called Codex Kilkenniensis, iDelonging to Marsh's Library, Dublin, has a Vita S. Senani, fol. 77 to 80.
'S Probably, it was the copy of a small translated pamphlet, intituled, "The Life, Miracles, and Prophetical Predictions of the Blessed St. Senan, Bishop of Inniscahy, first written by Odranus, successor to St. Senan in the Bishoprick, and now faithfully translated out of the original Irish into English, by M. G. , 1689. " The edition, which I have seen, purports to be issued at Limerick ; George M, Goggin, Printer, 34 George's-street, a. d. 1848. It has 36 pages closely printed in i8mo. This little chap- book is divided into six chapters. The nar- ratives contained in it, although agreeing in various particulars, with those published by Colgan, yet, in other respects, materially differ. The last chapter professes to treat on the last Will and Testament of this saint. As a conclusion, we find some dog- grel English metrical lines, which contain certain predictions, began with a colloquy between St, Senan and St. Comgallus cf Banagher, and in shape of a Dialogue. Then follows a colloquy, between St. Senan and St. Brandon of Birr, in the same style.
this fact, of Iniscatthy Church, in his day, not having lost its episcopal character.
212 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [March 8.
ignorant transcriber, who undertook the insertion of a iew particulars, shadowing forth his own erroneous impressions, or inventions. ^^ On this account, and for the sake of brevity, Colgan would not translate this entire Life into Latin, especially as he had not a correct copy of it. '? But, as several chapters were to be found in this Irish MS. , and as the latter threw additional light on many circumstances, more obscurely related in the former, besides serving to illustrate the antiquities of the country, he deemed it right to present that portion, which he has published. '^ In addition to the fore- going, to which he refers, in different notes subjoined, Colgan gives an Ap- pendix to St. Senan's Life ; in which he treats, regarding various writers of his Acts, and of those who refer to him, in their works. The learned Irish hagiologist tells us, that, in addition to St. Senan's Irish Life, he found some
verses, in a manuscript, belonging to Iniscathy j but, which he did not con- sider worth the trouble of translating, because these were the production of a
modern pen. Besides, they abounded in fables, and were even badly written. '9
Among the O'Longan Manuscripts,^" preserved in the Royal Irish Academy's collection, Dublin, are various copies of St. Senan's Life. One of these begins, with the words, " Mirabilis Deus in Sanctis," &c. , which shows, it must have been distinct from his published Acts. ^' This, it is sup- posed,"^ had been transcribed from the Book of Lismore. =3 Again, the folio
These supposed predictions are evidently clumsy and comparatively modern fabrica- tions.
'*
found one, referring to a friendship, said to have existed, between our saint and the Blessed Martin of Tours, with assistance, which this latter is said to have rendered St. Senan, during his last agony. But, the falsity of this supposition is apparent. St. Martin died in the year 367, according to St. Gregory of Tours ; or, in the year 402, according to Sulpicius Severus. See the latter data, agreed to by Baronius, in his notes on the Roman Martyrology, at the lith of November. St. Senan was not born for many years subsequent to 432, when St. Patrick hrst came to Ireland ; for, after this period, our Irish Apostle had predicted this saint's future birth. This should also appear, from the names of those Irish saints, who are said in his Life to have been contempo- raneous with him, such as, Kieran of Clon- macnoise, Brendan of Birr, Deirmit of Inis Clothran, &c. Hence, our saint must have flourished in the sixth century.
'* See
Colgan's
niae," viii. Martii, p. 611 {nrte 525). Vita Metrica S. Senani, n. 21, and Secunda Vita
S. Senani, n. i, p. 539 (n-cle 535). Hence- forth, it must be understood, while referring to the Lives of St. Senan, that in citing Colgan's pages, the numbers have been cor-
rected. Unfortunately, not only in this portion of his work, but almost, if not alto- gether, throughout the remainder of his volume, the paging is erroneous. Yet, to correct these errors, in other places, might
entirely mislead the reader, by giving more particular references.
'9 Our Irish hagiologist adds a note, for Among these interpolations is to be. the instances which he furnishes, in support
'7 See the Metrical Life, n. 21, p. 525 {recte).
of this position. Thus, it is absurdly stated, that St. Senan had no less than fifty-six brothers, all of whom were saints : his mother is sometimes called Finnmathia, the daughter of Beodan, and sometimes she is called Cumaina, the daughter of Dalbro- nius : among her holy sons are named Mo- lassius, Carthage or Mochudda, Grellan, Ruan, Cronan, Mochiamoc, Mochua, Camin, Caimgin, Colman Macduach, Uasu- anach, Luctigem, Maccretius, Mainchin of Limerick, and many others, if not belonging to a different father, at least respectively re- moved by race and period. Colgan shows, that not only do such statements conflict, with the most genuine Acts of St. Senan ; but, they are even repugnant to other accounts, histories and saints' Acts, as also to reason itself. He then refers more in detail to those saints enumerated, and to their paternal and maternal parentage, ac- cordingto their respective Lives, and . Angus's tract, lib. iv. See note 37, postfixed to the Second Life, p, 537.
" Acta Sanctoram Hiber-
*° See vol. viii. of this to 149.
collection, pp. 123
'^
Life commences with the foregoing words.
-''
By Professor Eugene O'Curry, in his I Manuscript Catalogue.
^^ It is described, by the copyist, as an old vellum book, written as was thought 800 years, before his time. In it are the Lives of Patrick, of Colum Cille, of Bridget of Kil- dare, of Ciaran of Clonmacnois, of Fionn- chu of Brigobhoun, of Finen of Clonard, of
Neither the Metrical, nor the Prose,
March 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 213
paper MS. in the R. I. x\. , No. 39, b. , contains an Irish Life of St. Senan, of ScatteryIsland. TheBodleianLibrary,atOxford,hastheActsofthissaint,^'' and they are found also in Irish, among the Stowe Manuscripts. ^5 There is a Vita S. Senani, Inis-catha, among the Manuscripts,^*^ now preserved in the Franciscan Convent, Dublin. Among the Irish MSS. of Michael O'Clery, preserved in the Burgundian Library, at Bruxelles, is a fragment of St. Senan's Life, while there are Poems of Dellanus, upon this saint. ^? Besides, other copies of Senan's Acts are in the Burgundian Library, at Bruxelles. ''^
In our saint's second Life, we are told, when St. Patrick^? came to preach
the Faith of Christ, in that part of the country, called Hy-Fidhgente,3° he predictedthefuturebirthandgreatnessofSt. Senan. Thisterritorywasin- habited by a tribe, from which its name had been derived. The Shannon is said to have been its northern boundary, and Sliabh Luachra confined it, on thesouth; eastward,theRiverMaigueandtheMorningStarRiverran,and on the west, the County of Kerry formed its boundary. ^' While St. Patrick brought over many from the errors of idolatry, in this part of the country,32 ^ report of his extraordinary success and great virtues circulated amongst the people of Corcobaschind,33 in Clare County, on the northern bank of the Shannon. The people of this territory,34 with their prince, felt a most earnest
and from Kerry to Limerick, according to
John O'Donovan, Thus, Bruree parish is
situated, partly in Coshma barony, and
partly in that of Upper Connello, in the
county of Limerick ; and, its name was
derived from a Fort, in which the King of
Hy-Figeinte resided, and near which the original parish church of Bruree had been
See Sir Thomas Dufifus " which Hardy's Descrip- righ,
Brenuinn, son of Finlough, of Mochua, &c.
Devonshire. It is a paper transcript, 8vo. ,
xix. Cent. It is in MS. Phillips, 10294. siastical in origin ; but, it is called Brugli-
See p. 149. — *• Thus described :
Vita S. Senani Insy Gathi MS. Bodl. Rawl. B. 505 , pp. 223, 231, veil. fol. xiv. Cent. A similar Life is found in MS. Bodl. Rawl. B. 485, f. 249, veil. 4to. xiv. cent. There is also a Life of St. Senan, a MS. , belonging to the Duke of
" the fort of the
tive Catalogue of Materials relating to the or Burgum regis, in Latin. In all the
History of Great Britain and Ireland," vol.
i. , part i. , pp. 125, 126. —
ancient Irish histories, it is celebrated, as a chief seat of the senior representatives of
^5 It is thus described
Vita S.
Fiacha who assumed the Figeinte,
surname,
Senani, transcribed by Donall O'Duinin, MS. Stowe
36, s. 244 to 287, 4to paper. See Stowe Catalogue," p. 162.
3' See Dr. O' Donovan's Annals of the Four Masters," vol. v. , n. 6, p. 1580. The
3^ Colgan makes Hy-Fidhgente a part of Kerry County, and he refers to the Life of
St. Molua, who belonged to the country, in-
habited " Fidhgente. " It is said by nepotes
to have been situated, "in media planitie Mummonise, usque ad medium montis Lua- chrre in Occidente ad Australem plagam
"
^* In the large folio paper MS. intituled,
" When Brian Borumha was
Vitae Sanctorum," ex Codice Inisensi, pp. 244 to 250.
*' A folio MS. Collectanea, classed Vol.
viii. . No. 3201, contains a Life of St. Senan,
taken from the Irish Manuscript of the
Jesuit Salamancan College, and collated
with a MS. belonging to R. P. Ward ;
while, there is also a long Poem, and a
to this saint. In Vol. xxii. , containing Nos.
7672, 7673, 7674, there is a Vita S. Senani,
fol. 186.
="8
=*» See his Life, at the 17th of March.
30 The country of the Hy-Figeinte em- braced the greater and better part of the county of Limerick ; it extended from the Shannon to the middle of Slieve Loughra,
belonging to Trinity College, Dublin, classed E. 2, 14 ; namely, from Inishmore in the
:
placed. Hence, then, its name is not eccle-
signifies,
king,"
O'Donovan, after the reign of Brian Boru. ""
Hymn
In a MS. Vol. iv. part ii. there is an fluminis Sinna. "—" Acta Sanctorum Hiber- Irish Life of St. Senan, p.
