In the Lives of the Saints, nothing engages more our human
sympathies
than a fall from grace and a subsequent return to its DivineAuthor; whileouro\vntremblinghopesofsalvationareencouraged, when so many feeble mortals have bravely resisted the assaults of Satan and escaped from his wiles.
O'Hanlon - Lives of the Irish Saints - v1
Prostrating himself, with outstretched arms before Ihe altar, while "Alleluia, O Gemma pastoralis
"
Salve splendor firmamenti," were in the course of being sung, the patient, in his fervour of soul, applied these words in devotion to St. Erard. From that moment a new vigour seemed to enliven his body, and gradually he recovered the use of his limbs. This miraculous recovery urged him to write a compendious Life of St. Erard for the edifica- tion of his readers, to give glory to God, and to honour his faithful servant. ^4 St. Erard is said to have been canonized by Pope Leo IX. , about the year 1052. ^5 This celebration took place in the time of Henry III. , sur-
named the Black, Emperor of Germany, who died in the year 1057. ^^ On the occasion of Pope Leo IX. visiting Germany, and staying at Ratisbon, the relics of St. Erard were transferred to a new place of sepulture. It is probable an account of the whole proceeding had been written soon after- wards by Pope Leo IX. , in that history contained in the Roman Library, to which Paul alludes. ^? This is presumed to have been a Bull issued by the Sovereign Pontiff, in reference to the elevation and translation of St. Wolf- gang's and of St. Erard's relics. ^^ In an old sarcophagus, containing the rehcs of St. Hildulph, and thought to have been fashioned in the twelfth
century, St. Erard and St. Hildulph are represented as bearing archiepiscopal palliums. ^9 One of the writers^" of Erard's acts, commenting on the deriva- tion of his name, declares, that as God fashioned and elected such an ark of sanctity, so did He place there treasures of honour; and as the noble saint had preserved innocence, during the whole course of his life, he was justly regarded, as chosen solely by and looking constantly on his great Maker. From his earliest years, in the sight of man, he bloomed as a spring flower, breathing fragrance around, owing to his chaste deportment and sincerity of disposition. His prayers were soul-felt and fervent when a child; his obedience and docility at school were grateful to his masters; while he willingly aided his class-fellows, less advanced in ability and knowledge, to overcome the difficulties of study. This happy life-time of youth, Hke the new vine in spring, began to expand its tendrils, to shoot forth its leaves, and to gather its blushing weight of fruit, which ripened at a later season. Among the less accomplished and cultivated of his companions, he was the purple rose growing amid brakes and brambles. In his native Scotia, the odour of his virtues soon became diffused. As he reached the prime of life, holiness increased within him. As life itself declined, his glory shone the more beautiful and gorgeous, like the sun sinking down behind the western waves, leaving a glittering brightness and variety over the myriad billows, surging and chafing on the troubled ocean.
Article III. —St. Ergnat, Virgin, of Tamlacht, County of Ar- magh,ANDOFDuneane,CountyOFANTRIM. \FifthCentury^ Welearn
^®See"ChronicaAustralis"subanno, 440, " Rerum Germanicamm Scriptores
lucida," and the sequence,
"ActaSanctorumHiber-
^*' See
nise," viii. Januarii. Vita S. Erardi, authore
Paulo, lib. ii,, cap. i. , ii. , pp. 26, 27, and aliquot insignes," tomus i. Editio tertia
Colgan's
p,
Conrad's Vita S. Erardi, cap. iii. , pp. 31, 32.
curante Burcardo Gotthelffio Struvio,
^7 In his Life of St. Erard, lib. i. , cap. ii. It seems to have included notices of St.
^s This Sovereign Pontiff died A. D. 1054.
See Sigeberti Gemblacensis Coenobitae Hildulph.
"Chronographia," p. 599, in Johannes Pis- torius Nidanus, "Illustrium Veterum Scrip- torum, qui rerum a Germanis per multas setates Gestarum Historias vel Annales poste« risreliquerunt," tomus i.
"^
See "Acta Sanctorum Januarii," tomus
i,, viii. Januarii, n. (b), p. 536.
="9 See Mabillon's "Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , § xv. , p. 507. 30 Conrad de Montepuellarum, chap. i.
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 125
from the Homilies of St. Gregory the Great, as also from some of the early canons of the Irish Church, that as a physician cannot apply his remedy, unless he happens to know the malady of his patient, so cannot sins be healed without confession. Althoughwithourheartswebelieveuntojustice,withourmouth confession is made unto salvation. It serves to restrain, also, evil temptations, and it represses the force of passion. They who conceal sin cannot be directed ; but persons who with penitent minds confess and relinquish all those sins,
^
entertained or committed, will obtain mercy.
This noble lady flourished in the very dawn of Christianity in our island,
and about the year of Christ, 460. The places of her veneration are called Clauin-da-en or Dun-da-en, in the Feevah or wood of Dalaradia, and also in theChurchofTamlacht-bo. TheparishofDuneaneissituatedinthediocese of Connor. Its church was an ancient one, standing within Lisnaclosky townland. ^ We, find in the Martyrology of Donegal,3 as having a feast on this day, Eargnat, Virgin, of Dun-da-en, in Dal-Araidhe. This holy penitent's acts have been written by Colgan. * Her place is now called Duneane, in the county of Antrim,s There is a St. Herenat, Virgin, of this same locality, entered at the 30th of October. It appears most probable, they are iden- tical ; in which case, this virgin had a double festival in the year. One of the Irish saints introduced to us this day, in the Felire of St. ^ngus, is the present St. Erenait. ^ The etymology of Dun-da-en, contracted to Duneane,? has been
to " the fort of the two birds. " The four towns interpreted signify
of Duneane—on one of which the Protestant church stands^—are surrounded by that part of Lord O'Neill's property, known as " the estate of Feevah. "9 From the Irish Apostle's Lives, it would seem, that Ercnata was the daughter of and that she flourished as a
of St. Patrick. '° sumamed Derga, was the son of Finchod, son to Eugene, son to Niell. " This latter seems to have been the distinguished founder, from whom the family and territory of Hy-Niellain, near Armagh, derived origin. Colgan thinks the charming and celebrated locality, known as Drumsailech'^ belonged to him, and that afterwards it was made over to the great Irish Apostle, St. Patrick, to found the noble city of Armagh, the Ecclesiastical Metropolis of Ireland.
Among the noble ladies, who received the veil from St. Patrick, St. Ercnata
Darius,
contemporary
Darius,
Art. III. —' "Collectio Hibemorum Can- onnum," xlviii. 3.
^
See Rev. William Reeves' "Ecclesiasti- cal Antiquities of Down, Connor, and Dro- more," p. 86, n. (h), and Appendix DD. pp. 300, 301, Calendar LL. p. 376.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. "
10, II.
* See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemite," viii.
Januarii. Vita S. Ergnata, pp. 41, 42.
Colgan mistakes, however, in assigning Dun- There she is said to rest in Tamlachta-bo. da-en to the diocese and county of Down. Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xcvii. , pp. 87,
5 According to William M. Hennessy's 88. Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap.
MS. note.
* The
nished by Professor O'Looney A. ui. IT). ec]'echc ecimoni
son of sumamed
Cassan, Colla, Dacrioch,
as mentioned in the "Menologic Genealogy," chap. ix.
A. ui.
sounded Drumhillagh, of frequent occurrence
in some of the Ulster counties, and it means
" the ridge of sallows. " It takes the modem
spelling Drumsillagh. See Dr. P. W.
rann from the
Ixxii. , pp. 162, 163.
" thinks he must have been Neil-
following
with the English translation, h—as been fur-
Colgan
Ian, the son of Fedhlim, son to Fiachrius
:
e-pfcop ecl>A AiixTJAe e-i\cnAiu UA5 Ano^AbA nechcAn nAi|\ •oeAbbAe.
d. " The death of Ecimon,
A bishop chaste and noble, Ercnat chosen to the inheritance
'^
This is a townland name, sometimes
[of heaven], Joyce's Nectan the noble of Alba. "
Origin and History of Irish Names
original,
"
? See "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps
of the County of Antrim," sheets 42, 43,
48, 49.
^
It measures 54 by 26 feet, and is thought to be ancient. See Rev. William Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Con-
nor, and Dromore," p. 86, n. (h).
"
See ? (^/i/. Appendix DD. , pp. 300, 301. '° See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Quarta Vita S. Patricii, cap. Ixxxvii. , p. 46.
"
of Places," part i. , chap, ii. , p. 21
126 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
or Ergnata is enumerated. ^3 Her love of God was earnest and sedulous.
Her pure-mindedness and observance of charitable and pious works served to
single her out from among other pious women, to make and keep in repair, as also to wash, the sacred vestments. These offices accorded with the tastes and zeal of St. Ergnat, while nothing on her part was left undone to promote that splendour and decency becoming the Divine Mysteries. At these she attended Avith rapt devotion. ^4 But her love for sacred music furnished an opportunity to the enemy of her soul to excite a momentary feeling, which soon developed into a strong temptation. Her admiration for the exquisite voice of St. Benignus, who sang sacred music with great pathos, presented a dangerousoccasionofsin. Thus,eventheholiestmortalsmayhavereasonto fear the imguardedness of a spiritual friendship, contracted through the purest motives. But, the Almighty saves from the iDlast of temptation those who fondly love Him, and so was the holy virgin Ergnat rescued from a tempo- ral's and spiritual death, through the instrumentality of St. Patrick'^ and St. Benignus. '? Renderedmorecautiousbyherescapefromagreatdanger,and increasing her labours with sole trust in the sustaining grace of God, she be- wailed with abundance of tears in after-life the frailty of a short time. As a penitent, she afterwards obtained that Divine aid, which caused her perfectly to regard only the love of God and to despise that towards created beings. Her closing years were rendered illustrious by signs and miracles. About the middle of the fifth century she is thought to have flourished ; but the exact year when or place where she died does not appear to have been discovered. She wasburiedatTamlachta-Bo. '^ Probablyherdeathtookplaceabouttheclose of the fifth century. Our hagiographers assign two different festivals to honour her. One of these occiirred on the 8th of January, and the other on the 30thofOctober. '^ Thefirstdenotesthedayofhernatalis;^°theotherfeast probably marks some particular event during her life, or a translation of her relics after death.
In the Lives of the Saints, nothing engages more our human sympathies than a fall from grace and a subsequent return to its DivineAuthor; whileouro\vntremblinghopesofsalvationareencouraged, when so many feeble mortals have bravely resisted the assaults of Satan and escaped from his wiles. The remote occasions of guilt are to be dreaded, since the fires of deceitftil passion are seldom wholly extinguished. Some- times transforming himself into an angel of light, the devil designs our destruc- tion the more dangerously, because his approaches are insidious. He does not desire to sound the note of alarm, when his unseen snares are dra^vn closely
around us.
'3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. ,p. 269. Colgan refers to a very ancient Irish Life of St. Patrick, lib. iii. , cap. vi. , and the last, for confirmation of this fact, as likewise to Jocelyn, cap. xcvii.
'* The place where she seems to have lived
was at Tamlaght, in the parish of Eglish, west of Armagh City. See " Ordnance Sur- vey Townland Maps of the County of Ar- magh," sheet 12.
'5 Her temporal death on this occasion is stated in St. Patrick's Fourth Life. Joceline only remarks that she was on her sick-bed, when St. Benignus procured her health of mind and body.
'* See his Acts at the 17th of March.
'^ See his Acts at the 9th of November. This holy bishop is said to have been only
seven years of age, when St. Patrick came to Ireland, about A. D. 432. The death of St. Benignus is entered in the Annals of Ulster and of the Four Masters at A. D. 467. See Dr. O'Donovan's edition of the latter, vol. i. , pp. 146, 147, and n. (t), ibid.
'^ See Colgan's "Trias Thaumatiu-ga," Quarta Vita S. Patricii, cap. Ixxxvii. , p. 47, and n. 68, p. 50. Tamlacht, a towiiland in Eglish, near Armagh, is the modem name of this place. See Rev. William Reeves' "Ec- clesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor, and Dromore," Appendix DD. , n. (h), p. 300.
'« See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise,"viii. Januarii. Vita S. ErgnatK, and nn. 9, 10, 11, p. 42.
^ See " Kalendarium Drummondiense," in Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. i.
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, 127
Article IV. —St. Neachtain or Nechtanan, of Dungiven, County OF Londonderry. {Probably the Seventh Century^ The venerable anti- quary,^ who has rendered such services to Irish Hterature, wrote over forty years ago, that no ruin, equal in interest and importance to the Abbey ChurchofDungiven,couldbefoundinthecountyofLondonderry. Norper- haps in all Ireland is there any ecclesiastical relic, more remarkable for the romantic beauty and fitness of its situation. ^ Dungiven Abbey ruins are seated upon a bold and projecting rock, about 200 feet perpendicularly over the River Roe, whence sounds the torrent from its deep channel. It is diffi- cult to imagine anything more singularly wild and striking. The grandeur of the surrounding mountains, and the stillness of the spot, the crowded monu- ments of mortality near, and seclusion from the busy haunts of men, make it a scene which contemplation must love, and which devotion may claim as peculiarly her own. 3 Reflections such as these, and a desire for solitude, most probably drew St. Nechtanan to its site many centuries ago. 4 He is commemorated in the Martyrology of Tallagh,s on the 8th of January. Most likely he was bom about the beginning of the seventh century. Whether or not he was the founder of the first religious establishment here can hardly now be ascertained, with any great degree of certainty.
There is a very obvious mistake of Colgan, when the present saint is classed among the disciples of St. Patrick,^ since more than a century inter- vened between the time of both. However, a Life of St. Benignus, the dis- ciple of the Irish Apostle, and his successor in the See of Armagh, is cited, toprovethathehadacontemporaryandcompanioninNectan. 7 Wemay take it for granted the latter preceded our saint in point of time, and that he must have been quite a different person. The present holy man was probably the first founder of a church here, and he seems to have been taken as the local patron. The Martyrology of Donegal^ enters the festival of St. Nechtain of Dun Geimhim,9 in Cianachta Glinne Geimhin, at this date. This place is now to be found in the barony of Keenaght,^° and it is called Dungiven, aparishinthecountyofLondonderry. " Withoutthevillage,theoldchurch and a round tower stood. ^^ This latter fell to the ground in 1784. The Abbey Church at Dungiven^3 is said to have been founded by O'Cathan or O'Kane, a lord of the district, Oireacht-ui-Chathain, about a. d. i 100, for Augus-
Art. IV. —^ Petrie, LL. D. George Esq. ,
^ See his article in "The Dublin Penny
Journal" of June 15th, 1833, vol i. , No. 51,
pp. 404, 405, with two interesting wood cuts.
The subjects are, first, the chancel of the to say, belong to the Skinners' Company.
Abbey of Dungiven, and secondly, the tomb of Con-ey-na-gall, in the interior of this chancel. Both were drawn by A. Nicholl, Esq. The first was engraved by Branston and Wright, and the second by Clayton.
3 See Mason's " Parochial Survey of Ire- land," vol. i. , p. 302.
See Rev. William Reeves Colton's "Visi- tation of the Diocese of Derry, 1397," P-
41, n. (s). The accompanying engravmg of Dungiven Church Ruins, by Mrs. Millard, Dublin, is from a drawing by Geo. Du Noyer, preserved among the Ordnance Survey sketches in the Royal Irish Academy.
4 One of the most complete and interesting
descriptions of this place, we have met with,
is that by the Rev. Alexander Ross, Rector,
in WilUam Shaw Mason's " Statistical Ac-
count or Parochial Survey of Ireland," vol.
i. . No. xiv. —"TheparishofDungiven,dio- son's"StatisticalSurveyoftheCountyof
ceseof Derry, and county of Londonderry,"
Samp-
Londonderry," p. 328.
'2 The town of Dungiven and its beautiful
surroundings are represented on the "Ord-
nance Townland of London- Survey Maps
derry County," sheets 24 and 25.
to
s Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xii.
"
Quinta Ap- pendix ad Acta S, Patricii, cap. xxiii,, p.
268.
pp. 283
348.
^ " See
Trias Thaumaturga,
7 Vita S. Benigni, cap. xi.
^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, p. II.
9 Dungiven and Glengiven, the Munitio Pellium and the Vallis Pellium, now, strange
"See Archdall's "Monasticon Hibemi-
cum," p. 92.
" See J. B. Doyle's "Tours m Ulster,
chap, xiii. , pp. 269 to 273. m '^ See representations of both
128 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, [January 8.
tinians,'-* There are few remains of the most ancient ecclesiastical buildings at Dungiven knowoi at present to be visible.
It seems to be doubtful, whether the present holy man had been bom in
*'
Ireland or in Scotland. In a gloss to the Feilire of St. ^ngus, we read,
anair from the east, from Alba," apphed to the name of Nechtan. It may be probable, he was born in the latter country, or at least that he came over from it into Ireland. He has been identified with the great saint of Deeside, called Nathalan, in the Breviary of Aberdeen. 'S This holy man is called Nachlan or Naughlan, by the common people. '^ According to the
"
Aberdeen Breviary, he is thought to have been born in the northern parts of the Scoti, in ancient times, and at Tul- licht, within the dio- cese of Aberdeen. He was a man of great sanctity and devotion. Afterhe had come to man's estate, and had been imbued with the liberal arts, Nech- tain devoted himself wholly to Divine c o nte mplation. Though educated as the member of a noble family, when he learned that turn- ing the soil ap- proached nearest to the
meditation, he aban- doned all other pur- suits to cultivate fields. Thus he wished" the body to be industriously oc- cupied, so that he might never allow
de Albain," i. e. ,
occupation which favoured holy
Ruins at Dungiven, Co. Londonderry.
his mind to be overborne in a struggle with dangerous temptations.
While he thus waged warfare against the devil and a perishing world, a terrible famine broke out among his neighbours, relations, and friends. Most of the people were nearly lost, owing to hunger and want of food. But the singularly disinterested Nathalan, moved by the highest spirit of charity, distributed all his grain and stores, in the name of Christ, to the poor. At the spring time, no seed was left him, even to sow his lands ; yet, God
'^ See Harris' Ware. " The Antiquities of '* See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of
Ireland," chap, xxxviii. , p. 265. Scottish Saints," pp. 417 to 419. 'S Pars HyemaUs, xxv. (b).
January 8. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 129
wrought a miracle, which produced an abundant harvest. When this time came, however, and when a great multitude of both sexes had been collected to gather in the crop, a tremendous tempest of rain and a whirlwind prevented the husbandmen and women from pursuing their labours. For a moment losing patience, and being excited to anger, along with other reapers, the saint murmured a Httle against God. The tempest soon ceased. But, on second thought, Nathalan, feeling he had offended the Divine Majesty, was induced to bind himself by vow to continue a rigid course of penance. This ended, it is stated, and in a miraculous way, after he had visited the thresholds of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, in the city of Rome. There, too, he sought the monuments of the saints, so thickly placed on every side. Hearing a report of his extraordinary miracles and sanctity, the Supreme
Pontiif summoned him into his presence. Notwithstanding the saint's reluct-
ance, he was persuaded, at length, to assume the episcopal dignity. If we are to place implicit faith in these accounts, probably either before his going to Rome or after he had left it, the saint visited Ireland, and then he must have founded Dungiven, or at least he spent some time there. But, it must be allowed, we feel at a loss to determine the period.
In the practice of Divine contemplation, having rendered himself very acceptable to all at Rome, by permission of the Sovereign Pontiff, as we are informed, Nathalan got permission for returning to that part of Scotia, whence
hespnmg. Inextremeoldage,hevisitedhisnatalsoil.
He then built the
churches of Tullicht, Bothelim, and Colle,'7 at his own expense. He also dedicated them to the Almighty, and long aftenvards they existed in those provinces, as monuments of his zeal.
The death of St. Nechtain occurred A. d. 677,'^ according to the Annals of the Four Masters,^9 but we find the rest of Neachtain Neir recorded a. d. 678, in the Annals of Ulster. We meet no less than four different saints of this name recorded in our calendars. *" It would seem that this holy man died in Britain, on the 8th of January,*' after the performance of many won- derful miracles. He is said to have been buried with great reverence at Tul- licht. St. Nachlan is patron of TuUich. ** There in after time he often afforded health to the sick, who came to seek it piously and devoutly. At TulHcht a cross of very early type, incised on a rude granite slab, once lay in the parish church. It now forms the top Hntel to one of the doors of the old kirk there. *3 He is also the patron of Balthelney, or rather Bothelney.
"
Salve splendor firmamenti," were in the course of being sung, the patient, in his fervour of soul, applied these words in devotion to St. Erard. From that moment a new vigour seemed to enliven his body, and gradually he recovered the use of his limbs. This miraculous recovery urged him to write a compendious Life of St. Erard for the edifica- tion of his readers, to give glory to God, and to honour his faithful servant. ^4 St. Erard is said to have been canonized by Pope Leo IX. , about the year 1052. ^5 This celebration took place in the time of Henry III. , sur-
named the Black, Emperor of Germany, who died in the year 1057. ^^ On the occasion of Pope Leo IX. visiting Germany, and staying at Ratisbon, the relics of St. Erard were transferred to a new place of sepulture. It is probable an account of the whole proceeding had been written soon after- wards by Pope Leo IX. , in that history contained in the Roman Library, to which Paul alludes. ^? This is presumed to have been a Bull issued by the Sovereign Pontiff, in reference to the elevation and translation of St. Wolf- gang's and of St. Erard's relics. ^^ In an old sarcophagus, containing the rehcs of St. Hildulph, and thought to have been fashioned in the twelfth
century, St. Erard and St. Hildulph are represented as bearing archiepiscopal palliums. ^9 One of the writers^" of Erard's acts, commenting on the deriva- tion of his name, declares, that as God fashioned and elected such an ark of sanctity, so did He place there treasures of honour; and as the noble saint had preserved innocence, during the whole course of his life, he was justly regarded, as chosen solely by and looking constantly on his great Maker. From his earliest years, in the sight of man, he bloomed as a spring flower, breathing fragrance around, owing to his chaste deportment and sincerity of disposition. His prayers were soul-felt and fervent when a child; his obedience and docility at school were grateful to his masters; while he willingly aided his class-fellows, less advanced in ability and knowledge, to overcome the difficulties of study. This happy life-time of youth, Hke the new vine in spring, began to expand its tendrils, to shoot forth its leaves, and to gather its blushing weight of fruit, which ripened at a later season. Among the less accomplished and cultivated of his companions, he was the purple rose growing amid brakes and brambles. In his native Scotia, the odour of his virtues soon became diffused. As he reached the prime of life, holiness increased within him. As life itself declined, his glory shone the more beautiful and gorgeous, like the sun sinking down behind the western waves, leaving a glittering brightness and variety over the myriad billows, surging and chafing on the troubled ocean.
Article III. —St. Ergnat, Virgin, of Tamlacht, County of Ar- magh,ANDOFDuneane,CountyOFANTRIM. \FifthCentury^ Welearn
^®See"ChronicaAustralis"subanno, 440, " Rerum Germanicamm Scriptores
lucida," and the sequence,
"ActaSanctorumHiber-
^*' See
nise," viii. Januarii. Vita S. Erardi, authore
Paulo, lib. ii,, cap. i. , ii. , pp. 26, 27, and aliquot insignes," tomus i. Editio tertia
Colgan's
p,
Conrad's Vita S. Erardi, cap. iii. , pp. 31, 32.
curante Burcardo Gotthelffio Struvio,
^7 In his Life of St. Erard, lib. i. , cap. ii. It seems to have included notices of St.
^s This Sovereign Pontiff died A. D. 1054.
See Sigeberti Gemblacensis Coenobitae Hildulph.
"Chronographia," p. 599, in Johannes Pis- torius Nidanus, "Illustrium Veterum Scrip- torum, qui rerum a Germanis per multas setates Gestarum Historias vel Annales poste« risreliquerunt," tomus i.
"^
See "Acta Sanctorum Januarii," tomus
i,, viii. Januarii, n. (b), p. 536.
="9 See Mabillon's "Annales Ordinis S.
Benedicti," tomus i. , lib. xvi. , § xv. , p. 507. 30 Conrad de Montepuellarum, chap. i.
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 125
from the Homilies of St. Gregory the Great, as also from some of the early canons of the Irish Church, that as a physician cannot apply his remedy, unless he happens to know the malady of his patient, so cannot sins be healed without confession. Althoughwithourheartswebelieveuntojustice,withourmouth confession is made unto salvation. It serves to restrain, also, evil temptations, and it represses the force of passion. They who conceal sin cannot be directed ; but persons who with penitent minds confess and relinquish all those sins,
^
entertained or committed, will obtain mercy.
This noble lady flourished in the very dawn of Christianity in our island,
and about the year of Christ, 460. The places of her veneration are called Clauin-da-en or Dun-da-en, in the Feevah or wood of Dalaradia, and also in theChurchofTamlacht-bo. TheparishofDuneaneissituatedinthediocese of Connor. Its church was an ancient one, standing within Lisnaclosky townland. ^ We, find in the Martyrology of Donegal,3 as having a feast on this day, Eargnat, Virgin, of Dun-da-en, in Dal-Araidhe. This holy penitent's acts have been written by Colgan. * Her place is now called Duneane, in the county of Antrim,s There is a St. Herenat, Virgin, of this same locality, entered at the 30th of October. It appears most probable, they are iden- tical ; in which case, this virgin had a double festival in the year. One of the Irish saints introduced to us this day, in the Felire of St. ^ngus, is the present St. Erenait. ^ The etymology of Dun-da-en, contracted to Duneane,? has been
to " the fort of the two birds. " The four towns interpreted signify
of Duneane—on one of which the Protestant church stands^—are surrounded by that part of Lord O'Neill's property, known as " the estate of Feevah. "9 From the Irish Apostle's Lives, it would seem, that Ercnata was the daughter of and that she flourished as a
of St. Patrick. '° sumamed Derga, was the son of Finchod, son to Eugene, son to Niell. " This latter seems to have been the distinguished founder, from whom the family and territory of Hy-Niellain, near Armagh, derived origin. Colgan thinks the charming and celebrated locality, known as Drumsailech'^ belonged to him, and that afterwards it was made over to the great Irish Apostle, St. Patrick, to found the noble city of Armagh, the Ecclesiastical Metropolis of Ireland.
Among the noble ladies, who received the veil from St. Patrick, St. Ercnata
Darius,
contemporary
Darius,
Art. III. —' "Collectio Hibemorum Can- onnum," xlviii. 3.
^
See Rev. William Reeves' "Ecclesiasti- cal Antiquities of Down, Connor, and Dro- more," p. 86, n. (h), and Appendix DD. pp. 300, 301, Calendar LL. p. 376.
3 Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, pp. "
10, II.
* See " Acta Sanctorum Hibemite," viii.
Januarii. Vita S. Ergnata, pp. 41, 42.
Colgan mistakes, however, in assigning Dun- There she is said to rest in Tamlachta-bo. da-en to the diocese and county of Down. Sexta Vita S. Patricii, cap. xcvii. , pp. 87,
5 According to William M. Hennessy's 88. Septima Vita S. Patricii, lib. iii. , cap.
MS. note.
* The
nished by Professor O'Looney A. ui. IT). ec]'echc ecimoni
son of sumamed
Cassan, Colla, Dacrioch,
as mentioned in the "Menologic Genealogy," chap. ix.
A. ui.
sounded Drumhillagh, of frequent occurrence
in some of the Ulster counties, and it means
" the ridge of sallows. " It takes the modem
spelling Drumsillagh. See Dr. P. W.
rann from the
Ixxii. , pp. 162, 163.
" thinks he must have been Neil-
following
with the English translation, h—as been fur-
Colgan
Ian, the son of Fedhlim, son to Fiachrius
:
e-pfcop ecl>A AiixTJAe e-i\cnAiu UA5 Ano^AbA nechcAn nAi|\ •oeAbbAe.
d. " The death of Ecimon,
A bishop chaste and noble, Ercnat chosen to the inheritance
'^
This is a townland name, sometimes
[of heaven], Joyce's Nectan the noble of Alba. "
Origin and History of Irish Names
original,
"
? See "Ordnance Survey Townland Maps
of the County of Antrim," sheets 42, 43,
48, 49.
^
It measures 54 by 26 feet, and is thought to be ancient. See Rev. William Reeves' "Ecclesiastical Antiquities of Down, Con-
nor, and Dromore," p. 86, n. (h).
"
See ? (^/i/. Appendix DD. , pp. 300, 301. '° See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga,"
Quarta Vita S. Patricii, cap. Ixxxvii. , p. 46.
"
of Places," part i. , chap, ii. , p. 21
126 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. [January 8.
or Ergnata is enumerated. ^3 Her love of God was earnest and sedulous.
Her pure-mindedness and observance of charitable and pious works served to
single her out from among other pious women, to make and keep in repair, as also to wash, the sacred vestments. These offices accorded with the tastes and zeal of St. Ergnat, while nothing on her part was left undone to promote that splendour and decency becoming the Divine Mysteries. At these she attended Avith rapt devotion. ^4 But her love for sacred music furnished an opportunity to the enemy of her soul to excite a momentary feeling, which soon developed into a strong temptation. Her admiration for the exquisite voice of St. Benignus, who sang sacred music with great pathos, presented a dangerousoccasionofsin. Thus,eventheholiestmortalsmayhavereasonto fear the imguardedness of a spiritual friendship, contracted through the purest motives. But, the Almighty saves from the iDlast of temptation those who fondly love Him, and so was the holy virgin Ergnat rescued from a tempo- ral's and spiritual death, through the instrumentality of St. Patrick'^ and St. Benignus. '? Renderedmorecautiousbyherescapefromagreatdanger,and increasing her labours with sole trust in the sustaining grace of God, she be- wailed with abundance of tears in after-life the frailty of a short time. As a penitent, she afterwards obtained that Divine aid, which caused her perfectly to regard only the love of God and to despise that towards created beings. Her closing years were rendered illustrious by signs and miracles. About the middle of the fifth century she is thought to have flourished ; but the exact year when or place where she died does not appear to have been discovered. She wasburiedatTamlachta-Bo. '^ Probablyherdeathtookplaceabouttheclose of the fifth century. Our hagiographers assign two different festivals to honour her. One of these occiirred on the 8th of January, and the other on the 30thofOctober. '^ Thefirstdenotesthedayofhernatalis;^°theotherfeast probably marks some particular event during her life, or a translation of her relics after death.
In the Lives of the Saints, nothing engages more our human sympathies than a fall from grace and a subsequent return to its DivineAuthor; whileouro\vntremblinghopesofsalvationareencouraged, when so many feeble mortals have bravely resisted the assaults of Satan and escaped from his wiles. The remote occasions of guilt are to be dreaded, since the fires of deceitftil passion are seldom wholly extinguished. Some- times transforming himself into an angel of light, the devil designs our destruc- tion the more dangerously, because his approaches are insidious. He does not desire to sound the note of alarm, when his unseen snares are dra^vn closely
around us.
'3 See Colgan's "Trias Thaumaturga," Quinta Appendix ad Acta S. Patricii, cap. xxiii. ,p. 269. Colgan refers to a very ancient Irish Life of St. Patrick, lib. iii. , cap. vi. , and the last, for confirmation of this fact, as likewise to Jocelyn, cap. xcvii.
'* The place where she seems to have lived
was at Tamlaght, in the parish of Eglish, west of Armagh City. See " Ordnance Sur- vey Townland Maps of the County of Ar- magh," sheet 12.
'5 Her temporal death on this occasion is stated in St. Patrick's Fourth Life. Joceline only remarks that she was on her sick-bed, when St. Benignus procured her health of mind and body.
'* See his Acts at the 17th of March.
'^ See his Acts at the 9th of November. This holy bishop is said to have been only
seven years of age, when St. Patrick came to Ireland, about A. D. 432. The death of St. Benignus is entered in the Annals of Ulster and of the Four Masters at A. D. 467. See Dr. O'Donovan's edition of the latter, vol. i. , pp. 146, 147, and n. (t), ibid.
'^ See Colgan's "Trias Thaumatiu-ga," Quarta Vita S. Patricii, cap. Ixxxvii. , p. 47, and n. 68, p. 50. Tamlacht, a towiiland in Eglish, near Armagh, is the modem name of this place. See Rev. William Reeves' "Ec- clesiastical Antiquities of Down, Connor, and Dromore," Appendix DD. , n. (h), p. 300.
'« See Colgan's "Acta Sanctorum Hiber- nise,"viii. Januarii. Vita S. ErgnatK, and nn. 9, 10, 11, p. 42.
^ See " Kalendarium Drummondiense," in Bishop Forbes' "Kalendars of Scottish Saints," p. i.
January 8. ] LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, 127
Article IV. —St. Neachtain or Nechtanan, of Dungiven, County OF Londonderry. {Probably the Seventh Century^ The venerable anti- quary,^ who has rendered such services to Irish Hterature, wrote over forty years ago, that no ruin, equal in interest and importance to the Abbey ChurchofDungiven,couldbefoundinthecountyofLondonderry. Norper- haps in all Ireland is there any ecclesiastical relic, more remarkable for the romantic beauty and fitness of its situation. ^ Dungiven Abbey ruins are seated upon a bold and projecting rock, about 200 feet perpendicularly over the River Roe, whence sounds the torrent from its deep channel. It is diffi- cult to imagine anything more singularly wild and striking. The grandeur of the surrounding mountains, and the stillness of the spot, the crowded monu- ments of mortality near, and seclusion from the busy haunts of men, make it a scene which contemplation must love, and which devotion may claim as peculiarly her own. 3 Reflections such as these, and a desire for solitude, most probably drew St. Nechtanan to its site many centuries ago. 4 He is commemorated in the Martyrology of Tallagh,s on the 8th of January. Most likely he was bom about the beginning of the seventh century. Whether or not he was the founder of the first religious establishment here can hardly now be ascertained, with any great degree of certainty.
There is a very obvious mistake of Colgan, when the present saint is classed among the disciples of St. Patrick,^ since more than a century inter- vened between the time of both. However, a Life of St. Benignus, the dis- ciple of the Irish Apostle, and his successor in the See of Armagh, is cited, toprovethathehadacontemporaryandcompanioninNectan. 7 Wemay take it for granted the latter preceded our saint in point of time, and that he must have been quite a different person. The present holy man was probably the first founder of a church here, and he seems to have been taken as the local patron. The Martyrology of Donegal^ enters the festival of St. Nechtain of Dun Geimhim,9 in Cianachta Glinne Geimhin, at this date. This place is now to be found in the barony of Keenaght,^° and it is called Dungiven, aparishinthecountyofLondonderry. " Withoutthevillage,theoldchurch and a round tower stood. ^^ This latter fell to the ground in 1784. The Abbey Church at Dungiven^3 is said to have been founded by O'Cathan or O'Kane, a lord of the district, Oireacht-ui-Chathain, about a. d. i 100, for Augus-
Art. IV. —^ Petrie, LL. D. George Esq. ,
^ See his article in "The Dublin Penny
Journal" of June 15th, 1833, vol i. , No. 51,
pp. 404, 405, with two interesting wood cuts.
The subjects are, first, the chancel of the to say, belong to the Skinners' Company.
Abbey of Dungiven, and secondly, the tomb of Con-ey-na-gall, in the interior of this chancel. Both were drawn by A. Nicholl, Esq. The first was engraved by Branston and Wright, and the second by Clayton.
3 See Mason's " Parochial Survey of Ire- land," vol. i. , p. 302.
See Rev. William Reeves Colton's "Visi- tation of the Diocese of Derry, 1397," P-
41, n. (s). The accompanying engravmg of Dungiven Church Ruins, by Mrs. Millard, Dublin, is from a drawing by Geo. Du Noyer, preserved among the Ordnance Survey sketches in the Royal Irish Academy.
4 One of the most complete and interesting
descriptions of this place, we have met with,
is that by the Rev. Alexander Ross, Rector,
in WilUam Shaw Mason's " Statistical Ac-
count or Parochial Survey of Ireland," vol.
i. . No. xiv. —"TheparishofDungiven,dio- son's"StatisticalSurveyoftheCountyof
ceseof Derry, and county of Londonderry,"
Samp-
Londonderry," p. 328.
'2 The town of Dungiven and its beautiful
surroundings are represented on the "Ord-
nance Townland of London- Survey Maps
derry County," sheets 24 and 25.
to
s Edited by Rev. Dr. Kelly, p. xii.
"
Quinta Ap- pendix ad Acta S, Patricii, cap. xxiii,, p.
268.
pp. 283
348.
^ " See
Trias Thaumaturga,
7 Vita S. Benigni, cap. xi.
^ Edited by Drs. Todd and Reeves, p. II.
9 Dungiven and Glengiven, the Munitio Pellium and the Vallis Pellium, now, strange
"See Archdall's "Monasticon Hibemi-
cum," p. 92.
" See J. B. Doyle's "Tours m Ulster,
chap, xiii. , pp. 269 to 273. m '^ See representations of both
128 LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS, [January 8.
tinians,'-* There are few remains of the most ancient ecclesiastical buildings at Dungiven knowoi at present to be visible.
It seems to be doubtful, whether the present holy man had been bom in
*'
Ireland or in Scotland. In a gloss to the Feilire of St. ^ngus, we read,
anair from the east, from Alba," apphed to the name of Nechtan. It may be probable, he was born in the latter country, or at least that he came over from it into Ireland. He has been identified with the great saint of Deeside, called Nathalan, in the Breviary of Aberdeen. 'S This holy man is called Nachlan or Naughlan, by the common people. '^ According to the
"
Aberdeen Breviary, he is thought to have been born in the northern parts of the Scoti, in ancient times, and at Tul- licht, within the dio- cese of Aberdeen. He was a man of great sanctity and devotion. Afterhe had come to man's estate, and had been imbued with the liberal arts, Nech- tain devoted himself wholly to Divine c o nte mplation. Though educated as the member of a noble family, when he learned that turn- ing the soil ap- proached nearest to the
meditation, he aban- doned all other pur- suits to cultivate fields. Thus he wished" the body to be industriously oc- cupied, so that he might never allow
de Albain," i. e. ,
occupation which favoured holy
Ruins at Dungiven, Co. Londonderry.
his mind to be overborne in a struggle with dangerous temptations.
While he thus waged warfare against the devil and a perishing world, a terrible famine broke out among his neighbours, relations, and friends. Most of the people were nearly lost, owing to hunger and want of food. But the singularly disinterested Nathalan, moved by the highest spirit of charity, distributed all his grain and stores, in the name of Christ, to the poor. At the spring time, no seed was left him, even to sow his lands ; yet, God
'^ See Harris' Ware. " The Antiquities of '* See Bishop Forbes' " Kalendars of
Ireland," chap, xxxviii. , p. 265. Scottish Saints," pp. 417 to 419. 'S Pars HyemaUs, xxv. (b).
January 8. ]
LIVES OF THE IRISH SAINTS. 129
wrought a miracle, which produced an abundant harvest. When this time came, however, and when a great multitude of both sexes had been collected to gather in the crop, a tremendous tempest of rain and a whirlwind prevented the husbandmen and women from pursuing their labours. For a moment losing patience, and being excited to anger, along with other reapers, the saint murmured a Httle against God. The tempest soon ceased. But, on second thought, Nathalan, feeling he had offended the Divine Majesty, was induced to bind himself by vow to continue a rigid course of penance. This ended, it is stated, and in a miraculous way, after he had visited the thresholds of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, in the city of Rome. There, too, he sought the monuments of the saints, so thickly placed on every side. Hearing a report of his extraordinary miracles and sanctity, the Supreme
Pontiif summoned him into his presence. Notwithstanding the saint's reluct-
ance, he was persuaded, at length, to assume the episcopal dignity. If we are to place implicit faith in these accounts, probably either before his going to Rome or after he had left it, the saint visited Ireland, and then he must have founded Dungiven, or at least he spent some time there. But, it must be allowed, we feel at a loss to determine the period.
In the practice of Divine contemplation, having rendered himself very acceptable to all at Rome, by permission of the Sovereign Pontiff, as we are informed, Nathalan got permission for returning to that part of Scotia, whence
hespnmg. Inextremeoldage,hevisitedhisnatalsoil.
He then built the
churches of Tullicht, Bothelim, and Colle,'7 at his own expense. He also dedicated them to the Almighty, and long aftenvards they existed in those provinces, as monuments of his zeal.
The death of St. Nechtain occurred A. d. 677,'^ according to the Annals of the Four Masters,^9 but we find the rest of Neachtain Neir recorded a. d. 678, in the Annals of Ulster. We meet no less than four different saints of this name recorded in our calendars. *" It would seem that this holy man died in Britain, on the 8th of January,*' after the performance of many won- derful miracles. He is said to have been buried with great reverence at Tul- licht. St. Nachlan is patron of TuUich. ** There in after time he often afforded health to the sick, who came to seek it piously and devoutly. At TulHcht a cross of very early type, incised on a rude granite slab, once lay in the parish church. It now forms the top Hntel to one of the doors of the old kirk there. *3 He is also the patron of Balthelney, or rather Bothelney.
