,,life ,,of ,,st4 ,,mochuda ,,of        
,,lismore  7,edited from ,,ms4 in       
,library of ,royal ,irish ,academy74    
,translated from the ,irish ,with       
,introduction  by  ,,rev4 ,p4 ,,power1  
,m4,r4,i4,a4 ,university ,college1      
,cork4     ,,preface   ,it is solely the
 historical aspect and worth of the two 
tracts herewith presented that appealed 
to their edition and first suggested to 
him their preparation and publication4  
,had preparation in question depended   
for its motive merely on considerations 
of the texts' philologic interest or    
value it would1 to speak frankly1 never 
have been undertaken4  ,the editor1 who 
disclaims qualification as a            
philologist1 regards these ,lives as    
very valuable historical material1      
publication of which may serve to light 
up some dark corners of our ,celtic     
ecclesiastical past4  ,he is egotist    
enough to hope that the present blazing 
of the track1 inadequate and feeble     
though it be1 may induce other and      

better equipped explorers to follow4    
,etext #hbc for quite another purpose   
when1 some years since1 the zealous     
,hon4 ,secretary of the ,irish ,texts   
,society suggested to him publication of
 the tract in its present form1 and     
addition of the ,life of ,carthach      
,mochuda4  ,whatever credit therefore is
 due to originating this work is ,miss  
,hull's1 and hers alone4  ,the editor's 
best thanks are due1 and are hereby most
 gratefully tendered1 to ,rev4 ,m4      
,sheehan1 ,d4,d41 ,d4,ph41 ,rev4 ,paul  
,walsh1 ,rev4 ,j4 ,mac,erlhean1 ,s4,j41 
,m4,a41 as well as to ,mr4 ,r4          
,o',foley1 who1 at much expense of time 
and labour1 have carefully read the     
proofs1 and1 with unselfish prodigality 
of their scholarly resources1 have made 
many valuable suggestions and           
corrections4  ,p4,p4                    
,,introduction--,,general  ,a most      
distinctive class of ancient ,irish     
literature1 and probably the class that 
is least popularly familiar1 is the     

hagiographical4  ,it is1 the present    
writer ventures to submit1 as valuable  
as it is distinctive and as well worthy 
of study as it is neglected4  ,while    
annals1 tales and poetry have found     
editors the ,lives of ,irish ,saints    
have remained largely a mine unworked4  
,into the causes of this strange neglect
 it is not the purpose of the present   
introduction to enter4  ,suffice it to  
glance in passing at one of the reasons 
which has been alleged in explanation1  
scil43--that the ,lives are uncritical  
and romantic1 that they abound in wild  
legends1 chronological impossibilities  
and all sorts of incredible stories1    
and1 finally1 that miracles are         
multiplied till the miraculous becomes  
the ordinary1 and that marvels are      
magnified till the narrative borders on 
the ludicrous4  ,the ,saint as he is    
sketched is sometimes a positively      
repulsive being--arrogant1 venomous1 and
 cruel2 he demands two eyes or more for 
one1 and1 pucklike1 fairly revels in    

mischief6  ,as painted he is in fact    
more a pagan deity than a ,christian    
man4  ,the foregoing charges may1 or    
must1 be admitted partially or in full1 
but such admission implies no denial of 
the historical value of the ,lives4     
,all archaic literature1 be it          
remembered1 is in a greater or less     
degree uncritical1 and it must be read  
in the light of the writer's times and  
surroundings4  ,that imagination should 
sometimes run riot and the pen be       
carried beyond the boundary line of the 
strictly literal is perhaps nothing much
 to be marvelled at in the case of the  
supernatural minded ,celt with religion 
for his theme4  ,did the scribe believe 
what he wrote when he recounted the     
multiplied marvels of his holy patron's 
life8  ,doubtless he did--and why not6  
,to the unsophisticated monastic and    
mediaeval mind1 as to the mind of       
primitive man1 the marvellous and       
supernatural is almost as real and near 
as the commonplace and natural4 ,if     

anyone doubts this let him study the    
mind of the modern ,irish peasant2 let  
him get beneath its surface and inside  
its guardian ring of shrinking reserve2 
there he will find the same material    
exactly as composed the mind of the     
tenth century biographers of ,declan and
 ,mochuda4 ,dreamers and visionaries    
were of as frequent occurrence in ,erin 
of ages ago as they are to-day4  ,then  
as now the supernatural and marvellous  
had a wondrous fascination for the      
,celtic mind4 ,sometimes the attraction 
becomes so strong as seemingly to       
overbalance the faculty of              
distinguishing fact from fancy4  ,of    
,st4 ,bridget we are gravely told that  
to dry her wet cloak she hung in out on 
a sunbeam6  ,another ,saint sailed away 
to a foreign land on a sod from his     
native hillside6  ,more than once we    
find a flagstone turned into a raft to  
bear a missionary band beyond the seas6 
,st4 ,fursey exchanged diseases with his
 friend ,magnentius1 and1 stranger      

still1 the exchange was arranged and    
effected by correspondence6  ,to the    
saints moreover are ascribed lives of   
incredible duration--to ,mochta1 ,ibar1 
,seachnal1 and ,brendan1 for instance1  
three hundred years each2 ,st4          
,mochaemog is credited with a life of   
four hundred and thirteen years1 and so 
on6  ,clan1 or tribe1 rivalry was       
doubtless one of the things which made  
for the invention and multiplication of 
miracles4  ,if the patron of the ,decies
 is credited with a miracle1 the        
tribesmen of ,ossory must go one better 
and attribute to their tribal saint a   
marvel more striking still4 ,the        
hagiographers of ,decies retort for     
their patron by a claim of yet another  
miracle and so on4  ,it is to be feared 
too that occasionally a less worthy     
motive than tribal honour prompted the  
imagination of our ,irish               
hagiographers--the desire to exploit the
 saint and his honour for worldly gain4 
,the ,lives of the ,irish ,saints       

contain an immense quantity of material 
of first rate importance for the        
historian of the ,celtic church4        
,underneath the later concoction of     
fable is a solid substratum of fact     
which no serious student can ignore4    
,even where the narrative is otherwise  
plainly myth or fiction it sheds many a 
useful sidelight on ancient manners1    
customs and laws as well as on the      
curious and often intricate operations  
of the ,celtic mind4  ,by ,lives are    
here meant the old ,,ms4 biographies    
which have come down to us from ages    
before the invention of printing4       
,sometimes these ,lives are styled      
,acts4  ,generally we have only one     
standard ,life of a saint and of this   
there are usually several copies1       
scattered in various libraries and      
collections4 ,occasionally a second     
,life is found differing essentially    
from the first1 but1 as a rule1 the     
different copies are only recensions of 
a single original4  ,some of the ,,mss4 

are parchment but the majority are in   
paper2 some ,lives again are merely     
fragments and no doubt scores if not    
hundreds of others have been entirely   
lost4  ,of many hundreds of our ,irish  
saints we have only the meagre details  
supplied by the martyrologies1 with     
perhaps occasional reference to them in 
the ,lives of other saints4 ,again1     
finally1 the memory of hundreds and     
hundreds of saints additional survives  
only in place names or is entirely lost4
  ,there still survive probably over a  
hundred ,lives--possibly one hundred and
 fifty2 this1 however1 does not imply   
that therefore we have ,lives of one    
hundred or one hundred and fifty saints1
 for many of the saints whose ,acts     
survive have really two sets of the     
latter--one in ,latin and the other in  
,irish2 moreover1 of a few of the ,latin
 ,lives and of a larger number of the   
,irish ,lives we have two or more       
recensions4 ,there are1 for instance1   
three independent ,lives of ,st4        

,mochuda and one of these is in two     
recensions4  ,the surviving ,lives      
naturally divide themselves into two    
great classes-- the ,latin ,lives and   
the ,irish1--written in ,latin and      
,irish respectively4 ,we have a ,latin  
,life only of some saints1 and ,irish   
,life only of others1 and of others     
again we have a ,latin ,life and an     
,irish4  ,it may be necessary to add the
 ,acts which have been translated into  
,latin by ,colgan or the ,bollandists do
 not of course rank as ,latin ,lives4   
,whether the ,latin ,lives proper are   
free translations of the ,irish ,lives  
or the ,irish ,lives translations of    
,latin originals remains still1 to a    
large extent1 an open question4         
,plummer 7,vitae ,s,sm4 ,hib41 ,introd47
 seems to favour the ,latin ,lives as   
the originals4  ,his reasoning here     
however leaves one rather unconvinced4  
,this is not the place to go into the   
matter at length1 but a new bit of      
evidence which makes against the theory 

of ,latin originals may be quoted2 it is
 furnished by the well known collection 
of ,latin ,lives known as the ,codex    
,salmanticensis1 to which are appended  
brief marginal notes in mixed middle    
,irish and ,latin4 ,one such note to the
 ,life of ,st4 ,cuangus of ,lismore     
7recte ,liathmore7 requests a prayer for
 him who has translated the ,life out of
 the ,irish into ,latin4  ,if one of the
 ,lives1 and this a typical or          
characteristic ,life1 be a translation1 
we may perhaps assume that the others1  
or most of them1 are translations also4 
,in any case we may assume as certain   
that there were original ,irish         
materials or data from which the formal 
,lives 7,irish or ,latin7 were compiled4
  ,the ,latin ,lives are contained      
mainly in four great collections4 ,the  
first and probably the most important of
 these is in the ,royal ,library at     
,brussels1 included chiefly in a large  
,,ms4 known as ',codex ,salmanticensis' 
from the fact that it belonged in the   

seventeenth century to the ,irish       
,college of ,salamanca4  ,the second    
collection is in ,marsh's ,library1     
,dublin1 and the third in ,trinity      
,college ,library4  ,the two latter may 
for practical purposes be regarded as   
one1 for they are sister ,,mss4--copied 
from the same original4  ,the ,marsh's  
,library collection is almost certainly1
 teste ,plummer1 the document referred  
to by ,colgan as ,codex ,kilkenniensis  
and it is quite certainly the ,codex    
,ardmachanus of ,fleming4  ,the fourth  
collection 7or the third1 if we take as 
one the two last mentioned17 is in the  
,bodleian at ,oxford amongst what are   
known as the ,rawlinson ,,mss4  ,of     
minor importance1 for one reason or     
another1 are the collections of the     
,franciscan ,library1 ,merchants' ,quay1
 ,dublin1 and in ,maynooth ,college     
respectively4  ,the first of the        
enumerated collections was published 'in
 extenso1' about twenty-five years      
since1 by the ,marquis of ,bute1 while  

recently the gist of all the ,latin     
collections has been edited with rare   
scholarship by ,rev4 ,charles ,plummer  
of ,oxford4  ,incidentally may be noted 
the one defect in ,mr4 ,plummer's great 
work--its author's almost irritating    
insistence on pagan origins1 nature     
myths1 and heathen survivals4 ,besides  
the ,marquis of ,bute and ,plummer1     
,colgan and the ,bollandists have       
published some ,latin ,lives1 and a few 
isolated ,lives have been published from
 time to time by other more or less     
competent editors4  ,the ,irish ,lives1 
though more numerous than the ,latin1   
are less accessible4  ,the chief        
repertorium of the former is the        
,burgundian or ,royal ,library1         
,brussels4  ,the ,,ms4 collection at    
,brussels appears to have originally    
belonged to the ,irish ,franciscans of  
,louvain and much of it is in the       
well-known handwriting of ,michael      
,o',clery4  ,there are also several     
collections of ,irish ,lives in         

,ireland--in the ,royal ,irish ,academy1
 for instance1 and ,trinity ,college    
,libraries4  ,finally1 there are a few  
,irish ,lives at ,oxford and ,cambridge1
 in the ,british ,museum1 ,marsh's      
,library1 c41 and in addition there are 
many ,lives in private hands4  ,in this 
connection it can be no harm1 and may do
 some good1 to note that an apparently  
brisk1 if unpatriotic1 trade in ,irish  
,,mss4 7including of course ,lives of   
,saints7 is carried on with the ,united 
,states4  ,wealthy1 often ignorant1     
,irish-,americans1 who are unable to    
read them1 are making collections of    
,irish ,,mss4 and rare ,irish books1 to 
,ireland's loss4  ,some ,irish ,,mss4   
too1 including ,lives of ,saints1 have  
been carried away as mementoes of the   
old land by departing emigrants4  ,the  
date or period at which the ,lives      
7,latin and ,irish7 were written is     
manifestly1 for half a dozen good       
reasons1 a question of the utmost       
importance to the student of the        

subject4  ,alas1 that the question has  
to some extent successfully defied quite
 satisfactory solution4  ,we can1 so    
far1 only conjecture--though the        
probabilities seem strong and the       
grounds solid4  ,the probabilities are  
that the ,latin ,lives date as a rule   
from the twelfth and thirteenth         
centuries1 when they were put into      
something like their present form for   
reading 7perhaps in the refectory7 in   
the great religious houses4  ,they were 
copied and re-copied during the         
succeeding centuries and the scribes    
according to their knowledge1 devotion  
or caprice made various additions1      
subtractions and occasional             
multiplications4  ,the ,irish ,lives are
 almost certainly of a somewhat earlier 
date than the ,latin and are based      
partly 7i4e4 as regards the bulk of the 
miracles7 on local tradition1 and partly
 7i4e4 as regards the purely historical 
element7 on the authority of written    
materials4 ,they too were1 no doubt1    

copied and interpolated much as were the
 ,latin ,lives4  ,the present copies of 
,irish ,lives date as a rule from the   
sixteenth and seventeenth centuries     
only1 and the fact that the ,latin and  
the ,irish ,life 7where there is this   
double biography7 sometimes agree very  
perfectly may indicate that the ,latin  
translation or ,life is very late4  ,the
 chief published collections of ,irish  
,saints' ,lives may be set down as      
seven1 scil43--five in ,latin and one   
each in ,irish and ,english4  ,the      
,latin collections are the              
,bollandists'1 ,colgan's1 ,messingham's1
 ,fleming's1 and ,plummer's2 the ,irish 
collection is ,stokes' 7,lives of       
,saints from the ,book of ,lismore7 and 
the ,english is of course ,o',hanlon's4 
,most striking1 probably1 of the        
characteristics of the ,lives is their  
very evident effort to exalt and glorify
 the saint at any cost4  ,with this end 
of glorification in view the            
hagiographer is prepared to swallow     

everything and record anything4  ,he    
has1 in fact1 no critical sense and     
possibly he would regard possession of  
such a sense as rather an evil thing and
 use of it as irreverent4  ,he does not1
 as a consequence1 succeed in presenting
 us with a very life-like or convincing 
portrait of either the man or the saint4
  ,indeed the saint1 as drawn in the    
,lives1 is1 as already hinted1 a very   
unsaintlike individual--almost as ready 
to curse as to pray and certainly very  
much more likely to smite the aggressor 
than to present to him the other cheek4 
,in the text we shall see ,st4 ,mochuda1
 whose ,life is a specially sane piece  
of work1 cursing on the same occasion1  
first1 ,king ,blathmac and the ,prince  
of ,cluain1 then1 the rich man ,cronan  
who sympathised with the eviction1 next 
an individual named ,dubhsulach who     
winked insolently at him1 and finally   
the people of ,st4 ,columba's holy city 
of ,durrow who had stirred up hostile   
feeling against him4 ,even gentle female

 saints can hurl an imprecation too4    
,st4 ,laisrech1 for instance1 condemned 
the lands of those who refused her      
tribute1 to--nettles1 elder shrub1 and  
corncrakes6  ,it is pretty plain that   
the compilers of the lives had some     
prerogatives1 claims or rights to       
uphold--hence this frequent insistence  
on the evil of resisting the ,saint and 
presumably his successors4  ,one        
characteristic of the ,irish ascetics   
appears very clear through all the      
exaggeration and all the biographical   
absurdity2 it is their spirit of intense
 mortification4  ,to understand this we 
have only to study one of the ancient   
,irish ,monastic ,rules or one of the   
,irish ,penitentials as edited by       
,d',achery 7,spicilegium7 or            
,wasserschleben 7,irische               
,kanonensamerlung74 ,severest fasting1  
unquestioning obedience and perpetual   
self renunciation were inculcated by the
 ,rules and we have ample evidence that 
they were observed with extraordinary   

fidelity4 ,the ,rule of ,maelruin       
absolutely forbade the use of meat or of
 beer4  ,such a prohibition a thousand  
years ago was an immensely more grievous
 thing than it would sound to-day4      
,wheaten bread might partially supply   
the place of meat to-day1 but meat was  
easier to procure than bread in the     
eighth century4  ,again1 a thousand     
years ago1 tea or coffee there was none 
and even milk was often difficult or    
impossible to procure in winter4  ,so   
severe in fact was the fast that        
religious sometimes died of it4 ,bread  
and water being found insufficient to   
sustain life and health1 gruel was      
substituted in some monasteries and of  
this monastic gruel there were three    
varieties3--7a7 gruel upon water in     
which the liquid was so thick that the  
meal reached the surface1 7b7 gruel     
between two waters in which the meal1   
while it did not rise to the surface1   
did not quite fall to the bottom1 and   
7c7 gruel under water which was so weak 

and so badly boiled that he meal easily 
fell to the bottom4  ,in the case of    
penitents the first brand of gruel was  
prescribed for light offences1 the      
second kind for sins of ordinary        
gravity1 and the gruel under water for  
extraordinary crimes 7vid4 ,messrs4     
,gwynne and ,purton on the ,rule of     
,maelruin1 c47  ,the most implicit1     
exact and prompt obedience was          
prescribed and observed4  ,an overseer  
of ,mochuda's monastery at ,rahen had   
occasion to order by name a young monk  
called ,colman to do something which    
involved his wading into a river4       
,instantly a dozen ,colmans plunged into
 the water4  ,instances of extraordinary
 penance abound1 beside which the       
austerities of ,simon ,stylites almost  
pale4  ,the ,irish saints' love of      
solitude was also a very marked         
characteristic4 ,desert places and      
solitary islands of the ocean possessed 
an apparently wonderful fascination for 
them4  ,the more inaccessible or        

forbidding the island the more it was in
 request as a penitential retreat4      
,there is hardly one of the hundred     
islands around the ,irish coast which1  
one time or another1 did not harbour    
some saint or solitary upon its rocky   
bosom4  ,the testimony of the ,lives to 
the saints' love and practice of prayer 
is borne out by the evidence of more    
trustworthy documents4  ,besides private
 prayers1 the whole psalter seems to    
have been recited each day1 in three    
parts of fifty psalms each4 ,in         
addition1 an immense number of ,pater   
,nosters was prescribed4 ,the office and
 prayers were generally pretty liberally
 interspersed with genuflexions or      
prostrations1 of which a certain        
anchorite performed as many as seven    
hundred daily4 ,another penitential     
action which accompanied prayer was the 
'cros-figul4'  ,this was an extension of
 the arms in the shape of a cross2 if   
anyone wants to know how difficult a    
practice this is let him try it for1    

say1 fifteen minutes4  ,regarding       
recitation of the ,divine ,office it was
 of counsel1 and probably of precept1   
that is should not be from memory       
merely1 but that the psalms should all  
be read4  ,for this a good reason was   
given by ,maelruin1 i4e4 that the       
recitation might engage the eye as well 
as the tongue and thought4  ,an ,irish  
homily refers to the mortification of   
the saints and religious of the time as 
martyrdom1 of which it distinguishes    
three kinds--red1 white1 and blue4  ,red
 martyrdom was death for the faith2     
white martyrdom was the discipline of   
fasting1 labour and bodily austerities2 
while blue martyrdom was abnegation of  
the will and heartfelt sorrow for sin4  
,one of the puzzles of ,irish hagiology 
is the great age attributed to certain  
saints--periods of two hundred1 three   
hundred1 and even four hundred years4   
,did the original compilers of the ,life
 intend this8 ,whatever the full        
explanation be the writers of the ,lives

 were clearly animated by a desire to   
make their saint cotemporary and1 if    
possible1 a disciple1 of one or other of
 the great monastic founders1 or at any 
rate to prove him a pupil of one of the 
great schools of ,erin4  ,there was     
special anxiety to connect the saint    
with ,bangor or ,clonard4  ,to effect   
the connection in question it was       
sometimes necessary to carry the life   
backwards1 at other times to carry it   
forwards1 and occasionally to lengthen  
it both backwards and forwards4  ,dr4   
,chas4 ,o',connor gives a not very      
convincing explanation of the           
three-hundred-year ,lives1 scil43-- that
 the saint lived in three               
centuries--during the whole of one      
century and in the end and beginning    
respectively of the preceding and       
succeeding centuries4 ,this explanation1
 even if satisfactory for the           
three-hundred-year ,lives1 would not    
help at all towards the ,lives of four  
hundred years4  ,a common explanation is

 that the scribe mistook numerals in the
 ,,ms4 before him and wrote the wrong   
figures4  ,there is no doubt that       
copying is a fruitful source of error as
 regards numerals4 ,it is much more easy
 to make a mistake in a numeral than in 
a letter2 the context will enable one to
 correct the letter1 while it will give 
him no clue as regards a numeral4  ,on  
the subject of the alleged longevity of 
,irish ,saints ,anscombe has recently   
been elaborating in ',eriu' a new and   
very ingenious theory4  ,somewhat       
unfortunately the author happens to be a
 rather frequent propounder of ingenious
 theories4 ,his explanation is          
briefly--the use and confusion of       
different systems of chronology4  ,he   
alleges that the original writers used  
what is called the ,diocletian ,era or  
the ,era of the ,martyrs as the         
'terminus a quo' of their chronological 
system and1 in support of his position1 
he adduces the fact that this1 which was
 the most ancient of all ecclesiastical 

eras1 was the era used by the           
schismatics in ,britain and that it was 
introduced by ,st4 ,patrick4  ,as       
against the contradiction1 anachronisms 
and extravagances of the ,lives we have 
to put the fact that generally speaking 
the latter corroborate one another1 and 
that they receive extern corroboration  
from the annals4  ,such disagreements as
 occur are only what one would expect to
 find in documents dealing with times so
 remote4  ,to the credit side too must  
go the fact that references to ,celtic  
geography and to local history are all  
as a rule accurate4  ,of continental    
geography and history however the       
writers of the ,lives show much         
ignorance1 but scarcely quite as much as
 the corresponding ignorance shown by   
,continental writers about ,ireland4    
,the missionary methods of the early    
,irish ,church and its monastic or      
semi-monastic system are frequently     
referred to as peculiar1 if not unique4 
,a missionary system more or less       

similar must however have prevailed     
generally in that age4  ,what other     
system could have been nearly as        
successful amongst a pagan people       
circumstanced as the ,irish were8  ,the 
community system alone afforded the     
necessary mutual encouragement and      
protection to the missionaries4  ,each  
monastic station became a base of       
operations4 ,the numerous diminutive    
dioceses1 quasi-dioceses1 or tribal     
churches1 were little more than         
extensive parishes and the missionary   
bishops were little more in jurisdiction
 than glorified parish priests4  ,the   
bishop's 'muintir1' that is the members 
of his household1 were his assistant    
clergy4  ,having converted the chieftain
 or head of the tribe the missionary had
 but to instruct and baptise the        
tribesmen and to erect churches for     
them4  ,land and materials for the      
church were provided by the ,clan or the
 ,clan's head1 and lands for support of 
the missioner or of the missionary      

community were allotted just as they had
 been previously allotted to the pagan  
priesthood2 in fact there can be but    
little doubt that the lands of the pagan
 priests became in many cases the       
endowment of the ,christian             
establishment4  ,it is not necessary1 by
 the way1 to assume that the ,church in 
,ireland as ,patrick left it1 was       
formally monastic4 ,the clergy lived in 
community1 it is true1 but it was under 
a somewhat elastic rule1 which was      
really rather a series of ,christian and
 ,religious counsels4  ,a more formal   
monasticism had developed by the time of
 ,mochuda2 this was evidently influenced
 by the spread of ,st4 ,benedict's      
,rule1 as ,patrick's quasi-monasticism1 
nearly two centuries previously1 had    
been influenced by ,pachomius and ,st4  
,basil1 through ,lerins4  ,the real     
peculiarity in ,ireland was that when   
the community-missionary system was no  
longer necessary it was not abandoned as
 in other lands but was rather developed

 and emphasised4                        
,,introduction--,,st4 ,,mochuda   ,it   
was he 7,mochuda7 that had the famous   
congregation consisting of seven hundred
 and ten persons2 an angel used to      
address every third man of them4        
7,martyrology of ,donegal74  ,in some   
respects the ,life of ,mochuda here     
presented is in sharp contrast to the   
corresponding ,life of ,declan4  ,the   
former document is in all essentials a  
very sober historical                   
narrative--accurate wherever we can test
 it1 credible and harmonious on the     
whole4  ,philologically1 to be sure1 it 
is of little value1--certainly a much   
less valuable ,life than ,declan's2     
historically1 however 7and question of  
the pre-,patrician mission apart7 it is 
immensely the more important document4  
,on one point do we feel inclined to    
quarrel with its author1 scil43  that he
 has not given us more specifically the 
motives underlying ,mochuda's expulsion 
from ,rahen--one of the three worst     

counsels ever given in ,erin4  ,reading 
between his lines we spell1             
jealousy--'invidia religiosorum4'       
,another jealousy too is suggested--the 
mutual distrust of north and south which
 has been the canker-worm of ,irish     
political life for fifteen hundred      
years1 making intelligible if not       
justifying the indignation of a certain 
distinguished ,irishman who wanted to   
know the man's name1 in order to curse  
its owner1 who first divided ,ireland   
into two provinces4  ,three different   
,lives of ,mochuda are known to the     
present writer4 ,two of them are        
contained in a ,,ms4 at ,brussels       
7,c_/r4 ,bindon1 p4 #h1 #ac7 and of one 
of these there is a copy in a ,,ms4 of  
,dineen's in the ,royal ,irish ,academy 
7,stowe ,collection1 ,a4 ,,iv1 ,i47     
,dineen appears to have been a ,cork or 
,kerry man and to have worked under the 
patronage of the rather noted           
,franciscan ,father ,francis ,matthew   
7,o',mahony71 who was put to death at   

,cork by ,inchiquin in #afdd4  ,the bald
 text of ,dineen's ,life was published a
 few years since1 without translation1  
in the ',irish ,rosary4' ,the           
corresponding ,brussels copy is in      
,michael ,o',clery's familiar hand4 ,in 
it occurs the strange pagan-flavoured   
story of the ,british ,monk             
,constantine4  ,o',clery's copy was made
 in ,january1 #afbg1 at the ,friary of  
,drouish from the ,book of ,tadhg       
,o',ceanan and it is immediately        
followed by a tract entitled--,do       
,macaib ,ua ,suanac4  ,the bell of      
,mochuda1 by the way1 which the saint   
rang against ,blathmac1 was called the  
'glassan' of ,hui ,suanaig in later     
times4  ,the ,life here printed1 which  
follows the ,latin ,life so closely that
 one seems a late translation of the    
other1 is as far as the editor is aware1
 contained in a single ,,ms4 only4      
,this is ,m4 #bc1 #ej1 ,r4,i4,a41 in the
 handwriting of ,john ,murphy1 na       
,raheenach4 ,murphy was a ,co4 ,cork    

schoolmaster1 scribe1 and poet1 of whom 
a biographical sketch will be found     
prefixed by ,mr4 ,r4 ,a4 ,foley to a    
collection of ,murphy's poems that he   
has edited4  ,the sobriquet1 na         
,raheenach1 is really a kind of tribal  
designation4  ,the ,life is very full   
but is in its present form a            
comparatively late production2 it was   
transcribed by ,murphy between #agdj and
 #agej4  ,it is much to be regretted    
that the scribe tells us nothing of his 
original4  ,murphy1 but the way1 seems  
to have specialised to some extent in   
saint's ,lives and to have imbued his   
disciples with something of the same    
taste4  ,one of his pupils was ,maurice 
,o',connor1 a scribe and shipwright of  
,cove1 to whom we owe the ,life of ,st4 
,ciaran of ,saighir printed in ,silva   
,gadelica4  ,the reasons of choice for  
publication here of the present ,life   
are avowedly non-philological2 the      
motive for preference is that it is the 
longest of the three ,lives and for     

historical purposes the most important4 
,the ,life presents considerable        
evidence of historical reliability2 its 
geography is detailed and correct2 its  
references to contemporaries of ,mochuda
 are accurate on the whole and there are
 few inconsistencies or none4  ,moreover
 it sheds some new light on that chronic
 puzzle-- organisation of the ,celtic   
,church of ,ireland4  ,mochuda1 head of 
a great monastery at ,rahen1 is likewise
 a kind of pluralist ,parish ,priest    
with a parish in ,kerry1 administered in
 his name by deputed ecclesiastics1 and 
other parishes similarly administered in
 ,kerrycurrihy1 ,rostellan1 ,west       
,muskerry1 and ,spike ,island1 ,co4     
,cork4  ,when a chief parishioner lies  
seriously ill in distant ,corca         
,duibhne1 ,mochuda himself comes all the
 way from the centre of ,ireland to     
administer the last rites to the dying  
man1 and so on4  ,the relations of the  
people to the ,church and its ministers 
are in many respects not at all easy to 

understand4  ,oblations1 for instance1  
of themselves and their territory1 c41  
by chieftains are frequent4 ,oblations  
of monasteries are made in a similar    
way4  ,probably this signifies no more  
than that the chief region or monastery 
put itself under the saint's            
jurisdiction or rule or both4  ,that    
there were other churches too than the  
purely monastic appears from offerings  
to ,mochuda of already existing         
churches1 v4g4 from the ,clanna ,ruadhan
 in ,decies1 c4  ,lismore1 the most     
famous of ,mochuda's foundations1 became
 within a century of the saint's death1 
one of the great monastic schools of    
,erin1 attracting to his halls1 or      
rather to its boothies1 students from   
all ,ireland and even--so it is         
claimed--from lands beyond the seas4    
,king ,alfrid ,aldfrith of ,northumbria1
 for instance1 is said to have partaken 
of ,lismore's hospitality1 and certainly
 ,cormac of ,cashel1 ,malachy and       
,celsus of ,armagh and many others of   

the most distinguished of the ,scots    
partook thereof4 ,the roll of ,lismore's
 calendared saints would require1 did   
the matter fall within our immediate    
province1 more than one page to itself4 
,some interesting reference to ,mochuda 
and his holy city occur in the ,life of 
one of his disciples1 ,st4 ,colman ,maic
 ,luachain1 edited for the ,r4,i4,a4 by 
,professor ,kuno ,meyer4  ,there are    
many indications in the present ,life   
that1 at one period1 and in the time of 
,carthach1 the western boundary of      
,decies extended far beyond the line at 
present recognised4 ,similar indications
 are furnished by the martyrologies1 c42
 for instance1 the martyrology of       
,donegal under ,november #bhth records  
of the three sons of ,bochra that they  
are of ,archadh ,raithin in ,ui ,mic    
,caille in ,deisi ,mumhan and ,ibid1 p4 
xxxvii1 it is stated i ccondae ,corcaige
 ataid na ,desi ,muman4  ,not only      
,imokilly but all ,co4 ,cork1 east of   
,queenstown ,cobh and north to the      

,blackwater1 seems to have acknowledged 
,mochuda's jurisdiction4  ,at           
,rathbreasail accordingly 7teste        
,keating1 on the authority of the ,book 
of ,cloneneigh7 the ,diocese of ,lismore
 is made to extend to ,cork1--probably  
over the present baronies of ,imokilly1 
,kinatallon1 and ,barrymore4  ,that     
part1 at least1 of ,condons and         
,clangibbon was likewise included is    
inferrible from the fact that1 as late  
as the sixteenth century visitations1   
,kilworth1 founded by ,colman ,maic     
,luachain1 ranked as a parish in the    
diocese of ,lismore4  ,further evidence 
pointing in the same direction is       
furnished by ,clondulane1 c41           
represented in the present ,life as     
within ,carthach's jurisdiction4  ,the  
,rule of ,st4 ,carthach is one of the   
few ancient ,irish so-called monastic   
,rules surviving4  ,it is in reality    
less a rule1 as the latter is now       
understood1 than a series of ,christian 
and religious counsels drawn up by a    

spiritual master for his disciples4  ,it
 must not be understood from this that  
each religious house did not have it    
formal regulations4  ,the latter however
 seem to have depended largely upon the 
abbot's spirit1 will or discretion4     
,the existing ,rules abound in allusions
 to forgotten practices and customs and1
 to add to their obscurity1 their       
language is very difficult--sometimes1  
like the language of the ,brehon ,laws1 
unintelligible4  ,the rule ascribed to  
,mochuda is certainly a document of     
great antiquity and may well have       
emanated from the seventh century and   
from the author whose name it bears4    
,the tradition of ,lismore and indeed of
 the ,irish ,church is constant in      
attributing it to him4  ,copies of the  
,rule are found in numerous ,,mss4 but  
many of them are worthless owing to the 
incompetence of the scribes to whom the 
difficult ,irish of the text was        
unintelligible4  ,the text in the       
,leabhar ,breac has been made the basis 

of his edition of the ,rule by ,mac     
,eaglaise1 a writer in the ',irish      
,ecclesiastical ,record' 7#aiaj74  ,mac 
,eaglaise's edition1 though it is not   
all that could be desired1 is far the   
most satisfactory which has yet         
appeared4  ,previous editions of the    
,rule or part of it comprise one by ,dr4
 ,reeves in his tract on the ,culdees1  
one by ,kuno ,meyer in the ',gaelic     
,journal' 7,vol4 ,v47 and another in    
',archiv fuer ,c4,l4' 7#c ,bund4 #aije71
 and another again in ',eriu' 7,vol4 #b1
 p4 #agb71 besides a free translation of
 the whole rule by ,o',curry in the ',i4
 ,r4 ,record' for #ahfd4  ,the text of  
the ',record' edition of #aiaj is from  
,leabhar ,breac collated with other     
,,mss4  ,the order in the various copies
 is not the same and some copies contain
 material which is wanting in others4   
,the ,rule commences with the ,ten      
,commandments1 then it enumerates the   
obligations respectively of bishops1    
abbots1 priests1 monks1 and culdees     

anchorites4 ,finally there is a section 
on the order of meals and on the        
refectory and another on the obligations
 of a king4  ,the following excerpt on  
the duties of an abbot 7',i4 ,e4        
,record' translation7 will illustrate   
the style and spirit of the ,rule3  ,of 
the ,abbot of a ,church4     #a4--;,if  
you be the head man of a ,church noble  
is the power1 better for you that you be
 just who take the heirship of the king4
     #b4--;,if you are the head man of a
 ,church noble is the obligation1       
preservation of the rights of the       
,church from the small to the great4    
#c4--,what ,holy ,church commands preach
 then with diligence2 what you order to 
each one do it yourself4     #d4--;,as  
you love your own soul love the souls of
 all4  ,yours the magnification of every
 good and banishment of every evil4     
#e4--;,be not a candle under a bushel   
,luke #aa3cc4  ,your learning without a 
cloud over it4  ,yours the healing of   
every host both strong and weak4        

#f4--,yours to judge each one according 
to grade and according to deed2 he will 
advise you at judgment before the king4 
4    4    4    4    4    4    4    4    
4    4    4    4    4     #aj4--,yours  
to rebuke the foolish1 to punish the    
hosts1 turning disorder into order      
restraint of the stubborn1 obstinate1   
wretched4  ,reservation of the          
,coarbship of ,mochuda at ,lismore in   
favour of ,kerrymen is an extremely     
curious if not unique provision4  ,how  
long it continued in force we do not    
know4  ,probably it endured to the      
twelfth century and possibly the rule   
was not of strict interpretation4       
,christian ,o',connarchy1 who was bishop
 of ,lismore in the twelfth century1 is 
regarded as a native of ,decies1 though 
the contrary is slightly suggested by   
his final retirement to ,kerry4  ,the   
alleged prophecy concerning ,kerry men  
and the coarbship points to some rule1  
regulation or law of ,mochuda4          
,,life ,,of ,,st4 ,,mochuda or ,,beata  

,,mocuda  ,the renowned bishop1         
,carthach1 commonly called ,mochuda1 was
 of the territory of ,ciarraighe        
,luachra ,north ,kerry and of the race  
of ,fergus ,mac ,roigh4  ,the           
illustrious bishop1 who is generally    
known as ,mochuda1 was of the           
,ciarraighe ,luachra2 to be exact--he   
was of the line of ,fergus ,mac ,roigh1 
who held the kingship of ,ulster1 till  
the time that he gave the kingship to a 
woman for a year and did not get it back
 when the year was over4 ,his           
descendants are now to be found         
throughout various provinces of         
,ireland4  ,he fell himself1 through the
 treachery of ,oilioll1 king of         
,connaght1 and the latter's jealousy of 
his wife1 ,meadbh1 daughter of ,eochaid 
,feidhleach4  ,finghen ,mac ,gnaoi of   
,ciarraighe ,luachra was father of      
,mochuda1 and his mother was ,mead1     
daughter of ,finghin1 of ,corca         
,duibhne1 in the vicinity of the stream 
called ,laune in the western part of    

,ireland4  ,the forthcoming birth of    
,mochuda was revealed to ,st4 ,comhghall
 by an angel1 announcing--,there will be
 conceived a child in the western part  
of ,erin1 and ,carthach will be his     
baptismal name and he will be beloved of
 ,god and men--in heaven and on earth4  
,he will come to you seeking direction  
as to a proposed pilgrimage to          
,rome--but you must not permit the      
journey for the ,lord has assigned him  
to you2 but let him remain with you a   
whole year4  ,all this came to pass1 as 
foretold4  ,in similar manner the future
 ,mochuda was foretold to ,st4 ,brendan 
by an angel who declared3  ,there will  
come to you a wonder-working brother who
 will be the patron of you and your     
kindred for ever2 the region of         
,ciarraighe will be divided between you 
and him1 and ,carthach will be his name2
 to multitudes his advent will be cause 
for joy and he will gain multitudes for 
heaven4  ,his first city will be        
,raithen ,rahen or ,rahan in the region 

of ,fircheall1 territory of ,meath and  
central plain of ,ireland2 this will    
become a place revered of men1 and      
revered and famous will be his second   
city and church1 scil43--,lismore1 which
 shall possess lordship and great       
pre-eminence4  ,one day when there was a
 large meeting of people at a certain   
place in ,kerry1 the men and women who  
were present saw descending a fiery     
globe1 which rested on the head of      
,mochuda's mother1 at that time pregnant
 of the future saint4  ,the ball of fire
 did no one any injury but disappeared  
before it did injury to anyone4 ,all    
those who beheld this marvel wondered   
thereat and speculated what it could    
portend4  ,this is what it did          
mean3--that the graces of the ,holy     
,spirit had visited this woman and her  
holy child unborn4  ,mochuda's father   
was a rich and powerful chieftain owning
 two strong lioses--one1 on the south   
side of ,slieve ,mish1 and the other1 in
 which ,mochuda first saw the light1    

beside the ,river ,maing ,maine4  ,both 
places were blessed for sake of the     
,saint1 who was conceived in one of them
 and born in the other2 it is even said 
that no evil disposed or vicious person 
can live in either4  ,carthage in due   
course was sent to be baptised1 and1 on 
the way1 the servant who bore the       
infant1 meeting a saintly man named     
,aodhgan1 asked him to perform the      
ceremony4  ,there was however no water  
in the place1 but a beautiful well1     
which burst forth for the occasion and  
still remains1 yielded a supply4  ,with 
the water of this well the infant was   
baptised and ,carthach1 as the angel had
 foretold1 was the name given him4      
,nevertheless ',mochuda' is the name by 
which he was commonly known1 because he 
was so called1 through affection and    
regard1 by his master 7,st4 ,carthach   
,senior74  ,many scarcely know that he  
has any other name than ,mochuda and it 
is lawful to write either ,mochuda or   
,carthach4  ,speaking prophetically     

,aodhgan said of him3--,this child whom 
,i have baptised will become famous and 
he will be beloved by ,god and men4     
,that prophecy has been fulfilled1 for  
,mochuda was graceful of figure and     
handsome of features as ,david1 he was  
master of his passions as ,daniel1 and  
mild and gentle like ,moses4  ,his      
parents however despised him because he 
valued not earthly vanities and in his  
regard were verified the words of       
,david3--,pater meus et mater mea       
derliquerunt me1 ,dominus autem         
assumpsit me ,psalm #bf7bg73aj 7,for my 
father and my mother have left me and   
the ,lord hath taken me up74  ,like     
,david too--who kept the sheep of his   
father--,mochuda1 with other youths1    
herded his father's swine in his        
boyhood4  ,on a certain day as ,mochuda1
 with his companion swineherds and their
 charges1 was in the vicinity of the    
,river ,maing1 he heard that the king of
 ,ciarraighe ,luachra was at his        
residence called ,achadh-di2 he waited  

on the king by whom he was kindly and   
politely received4  ,the king1 whose    
name was ,maoltuile and who wished to   
see ,mochuda frequently1 invited the    
youth to come every day to the royal    
lios and to bring with him his          
companions1 who would be made welcome   
for his sake4  ,one evening as ,mochuda 
sate in the king's presence ,maoltuile  
gazed so long and so intently at the    
youth that the queen 7,dand1 daughter of
 ,maolduin ,mac ,aodha ,beannan1 king of
 ,munster7 reproved her husband asking  
why he stared every evening at the boy4 
,o wife1 answered the king1 if you but  
saw what ,i see1 you would never gaze at
 anything else1 for ,i behold a wondrous
 golden chain about his neck and a      
column of fire reaching from his head to
 the heavens1 and since ,i first beheld 
these marvels my affection for the boy  
has largely increased4  ,then1 said the 
queen1 let him sit there beside you4    
,thenceforth the youth sate as          
suggested4  ,sometimes ,mochuda herded  

the swine in the woods and at other     
times he remained with the king in his  
court4  ,one day as ,mochuda was keeping
 his herd as usual beside the river     
already alluded to1 he heard the bishop 
and his clerics pass by1 chanting psalms
 as they went along4  ,the ,spirit of   
,god touched the boy's heart and leaving
 his pigs ,mochuda followed the         
procession as far as the monastery      
called ,tuaim ,druim ,fertain into which
 the clerics entered4 ,and as the bishop
 and his household sate down to eat1    
,mochuda1 unknown to them1 concealed    
himself--sitting in the shadow of the   
doorway4 ,meanwhile the king1           
,maoltuile1 was troubled about the boy1 
noticing his absence from the homestead 
at ,achaddi that evening and not knowing
 the cause thereof4  ,he immediately    
sent messengers to seek the youth       
throughout the country1 and one of these
 found him sitting1 as indicated1 in the
 shadow of the doorway of the bishop's  
house4 ,the messenger took ,mochuda with

 him back to the king4  ,the latter     
questioned him3--,my child1 why have you
 stayed away in this manner8  ,mochuda  
replied1 ,sire1 this is why ,i have     
stayed away--through attraction of the  
holy chant of the bishop and clergy2 ,i 
have never heard anything so beautiful  
as this2 the clerics sang as they went  
along the whole way before me2 they sang
 until they arrived at their house1 and 
thenceforth they sang till they went to 
sleep4  ,the bishop however remained by 
himself far into the night praying by   
himself when the others had retired4    
,and ,i wish1 ,o king1 that ,i might    
learn their psalms and ritual4  ,hearing
 this the king at once sent a message to
 the bishop requesting the latter to    
come to him4  ,about this time          
,mochuda's father gave a feast in the   
king's honour and as the company were at
 supper the king calling ,mochuda before
 him offered him a shield1 sword1       
javelin1 and princely robe1 saying3     
,take these and be henceforth a knight  

to me as your father has been4  ,but    
,mochuda declined the offer4  ,what is  
it1 asked the king1 that you will       
accept1 so that whatever it be ,i may   
give it to you8  ,mochuda answered3--,i 
do not long for anything of earth--only 
that ,i be allowed to learn the psalms  
of the clerics which ,i heard them sing4
  ,in this answer the king discerned the
 working of divine grace1 whereupon he  
promised the youth the favour he asked  
for4  ,shortly afterwards the bishop1   
,carthach1 whom we have mentioned as    
sent for by the king1 arrived1 and to   
him the latter entrusted ,mochuda to be 
instructed in reading and writing4      
,with great joy the bishop undertook his
 charge for he saw that his pupil was   
marked by grace1 and under the bishop's 
guidance and tutelage ,mochuda remained 
till his promotion to the priesthood4   
,mochuda was very handsome of features  
with the result that at different times 
during his youth maidens to the number  
of thirty were so enamoured of him that 

they could not conceal their feeling4   
,but ,mochuda prayed for them1 and      
obtained for them by his prayers that   
their carnal love should be turned into 
a spiritual4  ,they afterwards became   
consecrated religious and within what   
to-day is his parish he built them cells
 and monasteries which the holy virgins 
placed under his protection and         
jurisdiction4  ,finntan ,mac ,cartan1   
bringing with him an infant for baptism 
came to ,bishop ,carthach4  ,the latter 
said to him3--,let the young priest     
there who was ordained to-day baptise   
the child4 ,whereupon ,finntan handed   
the infant to the young priest4         
,mochuda enquired the name he was to    
impose1 and the father                  
answered--,fodhran4  ,having            
administered baptism ,mochuda taking the
 infant's hand prophesied concerning the
 babe--,this hand will be strong in     
battle and will win hostages and        
submission of the ,clan ,torna whose    
country lies in mid-,kerry from ,sliabh 

,luachra ,slieve ,lougher to the sea4   
,from his seed1 moreover1 will spring   
kings to the end of time1 unless indeed 
they refuse me due allegiance1 and if1  
at any time1 they incur displeasure of  
my successors their kingship and        
dominion will come to an end4 ,this     
prophecy has been fulfilled4  ,sometime 
afterwards ,mochuda with his master1    
,carthach1 visited ,king ,maoltuile1    
whom they found at a place called       
,feorainn1 near ,tralee1 from which the 
lords and kings of ,kerry take their    
name4 ,said ,bishop ,carthach3--,here1  
,sire1 is the youth you gave me to      
train2 he is a good scholar and he has  
studied the holy writings with much     
success4  ,i have ordained him a priest 
and 7his7 grace is manifest in many     
ways4  ,what recompense do you desire   
for your labour8 asked the king4  ,only1
 replied ,carthach1 that you would place
 yourself and your posterity under the  
spiritual jurisdiction of this young    
priest1 the servant of ,god4  ,the king1

 however1 hesitated--because of         
,mochuda's youth4  ,soon as ,carthach   
perceived this he himself inclined to   
,mochuda and bending his knee before him
 exclaimed3--,i hereby give myself1 my  
parish and monastery to ,god and to     
,mochuda for ever4  ,touched by the     
bishop's example the king prostrated    
himself before ,mochuda and pledged to  
,god and to him1 his soul and body and  
posterity to the end of time4  ,then    
,mochuda placed his foot upon the king's
 neck and measured the royal body with  
his foot4  ,against this proceeding of  
,mochuda's a member of the king's party 
protested in abusive and insulting      
terms--,it is a haughty act of yours1   
laying your foot upon the king's neck1  
for be it known to you the body on which
 you trample is worthy of respect4  ,on 
hearing this ,mochuda ceased to measure 
the king and declared3--,the neck upon  
which ,i have set my heel shall never be
 decapitated and the body which ,i have 
measured with my foot shall not be slain

 and but for your interference there    
would not be wanting anything to him or 
his seed for ever4  ,addressing         
7specially7 the interrupter1 he         
prophesied3--,you and your posterity    
will be for ever contemptible among the 
tribes4 ,blessing the king he promised  
him prosperity here and heaven hereafter
 and assured him3--,if any one of your  
posterity contemn my successors refusing
 me my lawful dues he will never reign  
over the kingdom of ,kerry4  ,this      
prophecy has been fulfilled4  ,next1    
,mochuda1 at the suggestion of his      
master1 the bishop1 and the ,king       
,maoltuile1 built a famous cell called  
,kiltulach ,kiltallagh at a place       
between ,sliabh ,mis and the ,river     
,maing in the southern part of ,kerry4  
,here his many miracles won him the     
esteem of all4  ,in that region he found
 two bishops already settled before him1
 scil43--,dibhilin and ,domailgig4      
,these became envious of the honour paid
 him and the fame he acquired1 and they 

treated him evilly4  ,whereupon he went 
to ,maoltuile and told him the state of 
affairs4  ,soon as the king heard the   
tale he came with ,mochuda from the     
place where he then was on the bank of  
the ,luimnech and stayed not till they  
reached the summit of ,sliabh ,mis1 when
 he addressed ,mochuda3  ,leave this    
confined region for the present to the  
envy and jealousy of the bishops and    
hereafter it will become yours and your 
coarbs' to the end of time4  ,the advice
 commended itself to ,mochuda and he    
thanked the king for it4  ,thereupon he 
abandoned his cell to the aforesaid     
bishops and determined to set out alone 
as a pilgrim to the northern part of    
,ireland4  ,in the meantime an angel    
visited ,comghall and repeated to him   
what had been foretold him already--that
 there should come to him a young priest
 desirous for ,christ's sake of         
pilgrimage beyond the seas--that        
,comghall should dissuade him and1      
instead1 retain the stranger with him   

for a year at ,bangor4  ,and how am ,i  
to recognise him8 asked ,comghall4  ,the
 angel answered3--,whom you shall see   
going from the church to the guest-house
 7for it was ,mochuda's custom to visit 
the church first74 ,see note #a4        
,comghall announced to his household    
that there was coming to them a         
distinguished stranger1 well-beloved of 
,god1 of whose advent an angel had twice
 foretold him4  ,some time later        
,mochuda arrived at ,comghall's         
establishment1 and he went first to the 
monastery and ,comghall recognised him  
and bade him welcome4  ,in that place   
,mochuda remained a whole year1 as the  
angel had said1 and at the end of the   
year he returned to his own country     
where he built many cells and churches  
and worked many wonders1 winning many   
souls to religion and to good works4    
,many persons moreover placed           
themselves1 their children1 and their   
kindred under his jurisdiction1 and the 
great parishes of their own territory   

were assigned to him1 and finally the   
episcopate of ,kerry became his4        
,subsequent to this ,mochuda1 having    
committed the care of his cell and      
parish to certain pious and suitable    
persons1 set out himself1 accompanied by
 a few disciples1 through the south of  
,munster to visit the ,monastery of     
,ciaran ,mac ,fionntan at ,rosgiallan   
,rostellan4  ,from ,ciaran ,mochuda     
enquired1 where--in south ,munster 7as  
the angel had mentioned to              
,comghall7--the chief and most          
distinguished of these churches should  
be4  ,ciaran1 who possessed the spirit  
of prophecy1 replied--,you shall go     
first to ,meath where you will found a  
famous church in the territory of ,ibh  
,neill and there you will remain for    
forty years4  ,you shall be driven      
thence into exile and you will return to
 ,munster wherein will be your greatest 
and most renowned church4 ,mochuda      
offered to place himself under the      
patronage and jurisdiction of ,ciaran3  

,not so1 shall it be1 said ,ciaran1 but 
rather do ,i put myself and my church   
under you1 for ever1 reserving only that
 my son1 ,fuadhran1 be my successor in  
this place4  ,this ,mochuda assented to 
and ,fuadhran governed the monastic city
 for twenty years as ,ciaran's successor
 in the abbacy4  ,next1 ,mochuda entered
 the territory of the ,munster ,decies  
where dwelt the ,clanna ,ruadhain who   
placed themselves and all their churches
 under him1 and one ,colman ,mac        
,cobhthaigh a wealthy magnate of the    
region donated extensive lands to       
,mochuda who placed them under devout   
persons --to hold for him4  ,proceeding 
thence ,mochuda took his way across     
,sliabh ,gua looking back from the      
summit of which he saw by the bank of   
the ,nemh ,blackwater angels ascending  
towards heaven and descending thence4   
,and they took up with them to heaven a 
silver chair with a golden image        
thereon4  ,this was the place in which  
long afterwards he founded his famous   

church and whence he departed himself to
 glory4  ,hence ,mochuda travelled to   
,molua ,mac ,coinche's monastery of     
,clonfert ,kyle1 on the confines of     
,leinster and ,munster4  ,he found      
,molua in the harvest field in the midst
 of a 'meitheal' team of reapers4       
,before setting out on this present     
journey of his ,mochuda had1 with one   
exception1 dismissed all his disciples  
to their various homes for he1 but with 
a single companion1 did not wish to     
enter the strange land ostentatiously4  
,the single follower whom ,mochuda had  
retained wishing to remain at ,clonfert1
 said to ,st4 ,molua3  ,holy father1 ,i 
should wish to remain here with you4    
,molua answered3--,i shall permit you1  
brother1 if your pious master consents4 
,mochuda1 having dismissed so many1     
would not make any difficulty about an  
individual1 and so he gave the monk his 
freedom4  ,mochuda thereupon set out    
alone1 which1 ,molua's monks observing1 
they remark3--,it were time for that    

aged man to remain in some monastery1   
for it is unbecoming such a 7senior7    
monk to wander about alone4  ,they did  
not know that he1 of whom they spoke1   
was ,mochuda1 for it was not the custom 
of the latter to make himself known to  
many4  ,say not so1 said ,molua 7to the 
censorious brethren71 for the day will  
come when our community and city will   
seem but insignificant beside           
his--though now he goes alone2 you do   
not know that he is ,mochuda whom many  
obey and whom many more will obey in    
times to come4  ,as ,mochuda went on his
 lonely way he met two monks who asked  
him whither he was bound4  ,to ,colman  
,elo1 he answered4  ,then said one of   
them to him3--,take us with you as monks
 and subjects1 for they judged him from 
his countenance to be a holy man4       
,mochuda accepted the monks and they    
journeyed on together till they came to 
,colman's monastery ,lynally4 ,mochuda  
said to ,colman3  ,father ,i would      
remain here with you4  ,not so1 replied 

,colman1 but go you to a place called   
,rahen in this vicinity2 that is the    
place ordained by ,god for your dwelling
 and you shall have there a large       
community in the service of ,god and    
from that place you will get your first 
name--,mochuda of ,rahen4 ,having said  
farewell to ,colman and obtained his    
blessing ,mochuda1 with his two monks1  
set out for the place indicated and     
there in the beginning he built a small 
cell and ,colman and he often afterwards
 exchanged visits4  ,colman had in the  
beginning--some time previous to        
,mochuda's advent-- contemplated        
establishing himself at ,rahen and he   
had left there two or three bundles of  
rods remarking to his disciples that    
another should come after him for whom  
and not for himself ,god had destined   
this place4 ,it was with this material  
that ,mochuda commenced to build his    
cell as ,colman had foretold in the     
first instance4  ,he erected later a    
great monastery in which he lived forty 

years and had eight hundred and eighty  
seven religious under his guidance and  
rule4  ,subsequent to ,mochuda's        
foundation of ,rahen his miracles and   
the marvels he wrought spread his fame  
far and wide through ,ireland and       
through ,britain1 and multitudes came to
 him from various parts of those        
countries to give themselves to the     
service of ,god under his guidance4 ,in 
the beginning he refused worldly gifts  
from others although his church was     
honoured and patronised by neighbouring 
kings and chieftains who offered him    
lands and cattle and money and many     
other things4 ,mochuda kept his monks   
employed in hard labour and in ploughing
 the ground for he wanted them to be    
always humble4  ,others1 however1 of the
 ,saints of ,erin did not force their   
monks to servile labour in this fashion4
  ,mochuda was consecrated bishop by    
many saints and from time to time he    
visited his parish in ,kerry1 but as a  
rule he remained at ,rahen with his     

monks1 for it is monks he had with him  
not clerics4  ,on a certain day in the  
7early7 springtime there came to tempt  
him a druid who said to him3--,in the   
name of your ,god cause this apple-tree 
branch to produce foliage4  ,mochuda    
knew that it was in contempt for divine 
power the druid proposed this1 and the  
branch put forth leaves on the instant4 
,the druid demanded ,in the name of your
 ,god1 put blossom on it4  ,mochuda made
 the sign of the cross over the twig and
 it blossomed presently4  ,the druid    
persisted3--,what profits blossom       
without fruit8 said the druid4          
,mochuda1 for the third time1 blessed   
the branch and it produced a quantity of
 fruit4  ,the druid said3-- ,follower of
 ,christ1 cause the fruit to ripen4     
,mochuda blessed the tree and the fruit1
 fully ripe1 fell to the earth4  ,the   
druid picked up an apple off the ground 
and examining it he saw it was quite    
sour1 whereupon he objected3--,such     
miracles as these are worthless since it

 leaves the fruit uneatable4  ,mochuda  
blessed the apples and they all became  
sweet as honey1 and in punishment of his
 opposition the magician was deprived   
for a year of his eyesight4 ,at the end 
of a year he came to ,mochuda and did   
penance1 whereupon he received his sight
 back again and he returned home        
rejoicing4  ,on another occasion there  
came to ,mochuda a secular who brought  
with him his deaf and dumb son whom he  
besought the saint to heal4  ,mochuda   
prayed to ,god for him and said1 ,my    
son1 hear and speak4  ,the boy answered 
immediately and said1 ,man of ,god1 ,i  
give myself and my inheritance to you   
for ever1 and thenceforth he possessed  
the use of all his senses and members4  
,another day a young man who had        
contracted leprosy came to ,mochuda     
showing him his misery and his wretched 
condition4  ,the saint prayed for him   
and he was restored to health4  ,at     
another time there came to ,mochuda a   
man whose face was deformed4  ,he       

besought the saint's aid and his face   
was healed upon the spot4  ,on yet      
another occasion in the springtime a    
poor man who dwelt some distance from   
the monastery of ,rahen1 came to        
,mochuda1 and asked the loan of two oxen
 and a ploughman to do a day's ploughing
 for him4  ,but ,mochuda1 as we have    
already said1 had no cattle1 for it was 
the monks themselves who dug and tilled 
the soil4  ,mochuda summoned one of his 
labourers named ,aodhan whom he ordered 
to go into the nearest wood to bring    
back thence a pair of deer with him and 
go along with them to the poor man to do
 the spring work for him4  ,aodhan did  
dutifully all that ,mochuda bade him--he
 found the two deer1 went with the poor 
man and ploughed for him till the work  
was completed when the deer returned to 
their habitat and ,aodhan to ,mochuda4  
,on another day there came to ,mochuda a
 man troubled by the devil4 ,mochuda    
cured him at once1 driving the demons   
from him and the man went his way       

thanking ,god and ,mochuda4  ,once1 when
 the brethren were at work in the fields
 and in the kitchen1 ,mochuda went to   
the mill to grind meal for the monk's   
use1 and nine robbers1 who hated him1   
followed with the intention of murdering
 him4 ,the chief of the band sent each  
member of the gang to the mill in turn4 
,not one of them however could enter the
 mill because of a violent flame of fire
 which encircled the building round     
about1 through the goodness of ,god     
protecting ,mochuda from the robbers4   
,the latter1 through the mill door1     
watched ,mochuda who slept portion of   
the time and was awake another portion4 
,and while he slept the mill stopped of 
itself1 and while he was awake it went  
of its own accord4  ,the gang thereupon 
returned to the chief and told him all  
they had seen1 which1 when he heard1 he 
became enraged4  ,then he hastened      
himself to the mill to kill ,mochuda4   
,but he experienced the same things as  
all the others and he was unable to hurt

 ,mochuda4  ,he returned to his         
followers and said to them--,let us stay
 here till he comes out of the mill1 for
 we need not fear that he will call help
 nor need we fear his arm4  ,shortly    
afterwards ,mochuda came out carrying   
his load4  ,the robbers rushed on him1  
but they were unable to do him any      
injury for as each man of them tried to 
draw his weapon his hands became        
powerless1 so he was unable to use them4
  ,mochuda requested them to allow him  
pass with his burden and he promised    
them on his credit and his word that he 
should return to them when he had       
deposited the sack in safety4 ,they took
 his word and he went1 deposited his bag
 of meal in the kitchen1 and returned   
meekly to martyrdom4  ,the brethren     
imagined he had gone to a quiet place   
for prayer as was his custom4  ,when he 
returned to the robbers they drew their 
weapons several times to kill him but   
they were unable to do so4 ,seeing this 
wonder they were moved to repentance and

 they gave themselves to ,god and to    
,mochuda for ever and1 till the time of 
their death1 they remained under his    
guidance and rule and many subsequent   
edifying and famous acts of theirs are  
recorded4  ,an angel came to ,mochuda at
 ,rahen on another occasion announcing  
to him the command of ,god that he      
should go that same day to ,mac         
,fhiodaig1 king of his own region of    
,kerry ,luachra1 and administer to him  
,holy ,communion and ,confession as he  
was on the point of death4  ,mochuda    
asked the angel how he could reach      
,kerry that day from ,rahen4  ,the angel
 thereupon 7for reply7 took him up      
through the air in a fiery chariot until
 they arrived at the king's residence4  
,mochuda administered ,holy ,communion  
and ,confession and the king having     
bestowed generous alms upon him departed
 hence to glory4  ,mochuda returned that
 same day to ,rahen where he found the  
community singing vespers4  ,on another 
occasion ,mochuda visited ,colman ,elo  

at the latter's monastery of ,lynally   
and requested ,colman to come with him  
to consecrate for him his cemetery at   
,rahen1 for ,colman1 assisted by angels1
 was in the habit of consecrating       
cemeteries and ,god gave him the        
privilege that no one should go to hell 
who was interred in a grave consecrated 
by him4 ,colman said to him3--,return   
home and on the fifth day from now ,i   
shall follow4  ,mochuda returned home1  
where he remained till the fifth day1   
when1 seeing that ,colman had not       
arrived he came again to the latter4    
,father1 said he1 why have you not kept 
your promise8  ,to which ,colman        
replied1 ,i came and an angel with me   
that day and consecrated your cemetery4 
,return now and you will find it marked 
7consecrated7 on the south side of your 
own cell4  ,lay it out as it is there   
indicated and think not that its area is
 too small1 because a larger will be    
consecrated for you later1 by the       
angels1 in the southern part of ,erin1  

namely--in ,lismore4 ,mochuda returned  
and found the cemetery duly marked as   
,colman had indicated4  ,about the same 
time clerics came across ,slieve        
,luachra in the territory of ,kerry to  
the church of ,ita1 honoured abbess of  
,conall ,gabhra4  ,they had with them a 
child upon seeing whom ,ita wept        
bitterly4  ,the clerics demanded why she
 cried at seeing them4  ,blessed1 she   
answered1 is the hour in which that     
youth in your company was born1 for no  
one shall ever go to hell from the      
cemetery in which he will be buried1    
but1 alas1 for me1 that ,i cannot be    
buried therein4  ,the clerics asked what
 cemetery it was in which he should be  
buried4  ,in ,mochuda's cemetery1 said  
she1 which though it be as yet          
unconsecrated will be honoured and      
famous in times to come4  ,this all came
 to pass1 for the youth afterwards      
became a monk under ,mochuda and he is  
buried in the monastic cemetery of      
,lismore as ,ita had foretold4  ,a child

 on another occasion fell off the bridge
 of ,rahen into the river and was       
drowned4  ,the body was a day and a     
night in the water before it was        
recovered4  ,then it was brought to     
,mochuda who1 moved with compassion for 
the father in his loss of an only son1  
restored the boy to life4  ,moreover he 
himself fostered the child for a        
considerable time afterwards and when   
the youth had grown up1 he sent him back
 to his own country of ,delbhna4        
,mochuda's foster son begat sons and    
daughters and he gave himself and them1 
as well as his inheritance1 to ,god and 
,mochuda1 and his descendants are to    
this day servile tenants of the         
monastery4  ,once as ,mochuda1 with     
large offerings1 was returning from     
,kerry to ,rahen he passed through the  
confines of ,delbhna ,lemanaghan8 by the
 lake called ,muincine ,lough ,gur8     
where he and his party were overtaken by
 night4  ,they found here before them by
 the roadside revolving wheels1 which an

 artisan1 who was erecting a mill on the
 stream from the lake1 had set up for a 
joke4  ,as the wheels revolved they made
 a terrific noise which was heard by the
 whole neighbourhood4  ,many of the     
inhabitants of the neighbouring villages
 aroused by the noise rushed out1 with  
appeals for help and loud cries1 to     
investigate the matter4 ,mochuda's      
people were frightened by the din and   
their pack and riding horses stampeded  
and lost their loads and it was not     
without difficulty that they were caught
 again4  ,mochuda knew what caused the  
noise and he told the workmen who had   
played this mischievous trick that they 
should be scattered throughout the      
different provinces of ,ireland1 that   
they should be always worthless and     
unprofitable1 that the mill they were   
engaged on should never be finished and 
that their progeny after them should be 
valueless race of mischief-makers4  ,the
 latter are called the ,hi-,enna ,ui    
,enna ,aine ,aulium to-day4  ,one day   

,mochuda came to a place called         
,cluain-,breanainn where apples         
abounded4  ,his followers asked some    
apples for him but the orchard owner    
refused them4  ,said ,mochuda3--,from   
this day forward no fruit shall grow in 
you orchard for ever1 and that prophecy 
has been fulfilled4  ,mochuda had in his
 monastery twelve exceedingly perfect   
disciples1 scil43--,caoinche ,mac       
,mellain ,mochua ,mac ,mellain or       
,cronan1 who was the first monk to enter
 ,rahen2 ,mucoinog ,mochoemog2 the three
 sons of ,nascainn--,goban1 ,srafan1 and
 ,laisren2 ,mulua ,molua2 ,lugair2      
,mochomog ,eile2 ,aodhan ,aedhan2       
,fachtna ,coinceann ,fiachna or         
,fiochrae2 ,fionnlog and ,mochomog who  
became a bishop later4  ,the virtue of  
these monks surpassed belief and        
,mochuda wished to mitigate their       
austerities before their death4  ,he    
therefore built separate cells for them 
that they might have some comfort in    
their old age as a reward for their     

virtue in youth2 moreover he predicted  
blessings for them4 ,he made a prophecy 
for one of them1 mentioned above1       
scil43--,mochua ,mac ,mellain1 for whom 
he had built a comfortable cell at a    
place called ,cluain-,da-,chrann4  ,he  
said to him3  ,your place of            
resurrection will not be here but in    
another place which ,god has given you4 
,that prediction has been verified4  ,to
 a second disciple1 scil43--,fiachna1   
,mochuda said3--,your resurrection will 
not be in this place though ,i have made
 you a cell here2 you will have three   
further abiding places1 nevertheless it 
will be with your own companion1        
,aodhan1 that your remains will rest and
 your resurrection will be in the       
territory of ,ui ,torna1 and it is from 
you that the place will get its name4   
,for this ,aodhan alluded to ,mochuda   
likewise built another cell in the land 
of ,ui ,torna close by ,slieve ,luachra1
 and speaking prophetically he said to  
him3  ,the remains of your              

fellow-disciple1 ,fiachna1 will be      
carried to you hither and from him will 
this place be named4  ,that statement   
has been verified1 for the church is now
 called ,cill-,fiachna and it was first 
called ,cill-,aeghain4  ,concerning     
other persons1 ,mochuda prophesied      
various other things1 all of them have  
come to pass4  ,a child born of secret  
adultery was abandoned close by the     
monastery of ,rahen and ,mochuda        
fostered the child until he became a    
bishop1 though no one knew his name or  
his progenitors4 ,mochuda said3--,this  
child's name is ,dioma and his father is
 ,cormac of the race of ,eochaidh       
,eachach4  ,all thereupon magnified the 
foreknowledge of ,mochuda1 which he had 
from no other than the ,holy ,spirit4   
,having consecrated him bishop1 ,mochuda
 instructed him3  ,go in haste to your  
own native region of ,hy-,eachach in the
 southern confines of ,munster for there
 will your resurrection be4 ,war and    
domestic strife shall arise among your  

race and kinsfolk unless you arrive     
there soon to prevent it4  ,dioma set   
out1 accompanied by another bishop1     
,cuana by name1 who was also a disciple 
of ,mochuda's4 ,they travelled into ,ibh
 ,eachach and ,dioma preached the word  
of ,god to his brethren and tribesmen4  
,he made peace between them and they    
built a monastery for him and he placed 
himself1 his kindred1 and parish under  
his chosen master1 ,mochuda1 and he     
ended his life 7there7 in peace4  ,on   
another occasion ,mochuda travelled from
 ,rahen to the provinces of ,munster and
 entered ,ciarraighe ,corca4  ,it       
happened that ,cairbre ,mac             
,criomhthain1 who was king of ,munster1 
was at that time in ,magh-,cuirce1 the  
place to which ,mochuda came4  ,at the  
same time there fell a fire ball which  
destroyed one of the king's residences1 
killing his wife1 many of his people and
 his son1 ,aodh ,mac ,cairbre1 who were 
buried in the falling ruin4 ,there were 
killed there moreover two good carriage 

horses of the king's4  ,cairbre besought
 ,mochuda that he would restore the     
queen and his son to life1 and when the 
saint saw the king's faith he prayed for
 him to ,god and then addressing the    
dead he said1--,arise4  ,they arose     
thereupon and he gave them safe to the  
king and they all gave glory and thanks 
to ,god and ,mochuda4 ,the king moreover
 made large offerings of land and       
servile tenants to ,mochuda4  ,but one  
of the tenants1 through pride and       
jealousy1 refused to obey ,mochuda1     
notwithstanding the king's command4     
,mochuda said3  ,your posterity will die
 out and their inheritance1 for sake of 
which you 7mis7behave towards me1 shall 
become mine for ever2 whosoever takes   
from me that which another has given me 
shall be deprived of heaven and earth4  
,that man and his posterity soon came to
 nought4  ,on another occasion ,mochuda 
sent a golden belt to ,fergus ,mac      
,criomhthan who suffered from           
uncleanness of skin arising from kidney 

disease and upon application of the     
girdle1 by the blessing of ,mochuda he  
recovered4  ,another time again a king  
of ,munster1 ,cathal ,mac ,aodha1 in the
 region of ,cuirche1 was a sufferer from
 a combination of complaints--he was    
deaf1 lame1 and blind1 and when ,mochuda
 came to see him the king and his       
friends prayed the saint to cure him4   
,mochuda therefore prayed for him and   
made the sign of the cross on his eyes  
and ears and immediately he was healed  
of all his maladies--he heard and saw   
perfectly1 and ,cathal gave extensive   
lands to ,god and ,mochuda for ever1    
scil3--,oilean ,cathail and ,ros-,beg   
and ,ros-,mor and ,inis-,pic ,spike     
,island4  ,mochuda placed a religious   
community in ,ros-,beg to build there a 
church in honour of ,god4 ,mochuda      
himself commenced to build a church on  
,inis-,pic and he remained there a whole
 year4  ,on his departure ,mochuda left 
there--in the monastery of              
,inis-,pic--to watch over it1 in his    

stead1 and to keep it in perfect        
order--the three disciples whom we have 
already named 7scil3-- the three sons of
 ,nascon1 i4e4 ,goban a bishop1 ,srafan 
a priest1 and holy ,laisren7 together   
with the saintly bishop1 ,dardomaighen  
,domangenum1 7who had conferred orders  
on them in presence of ,mochuda7 and    
forty monks4  ,thereupon ,mochuda       
returned to ,rahen4  ,that island we    
have mentioned1 scil43--,inis-,pic1 is a
 most holy place in which an exceedingly
 devout community constantly dwell4     
,mochuda next directed his steps        
eastward through ,munster and he crossed
 the river then called ,nemh1 and now   
named the ,abhainn ,more4  ,as he       
crossed he saw a large apple floating in
 the middle of the ford4  ,this he took 
up and carried away with him in his     
hand4  ,hence 7that ford is named7      
,ath-,ubhla in ,fermoy ,ballyhooley4    
,his attendant asked ,mochuda for the   
apple1 but the latter refused to give it
 saying--,god will work a miracle by    

that apple and through me to-day3  we   
shall meet ,cuana ,mac ,cailcin's       
daughter whose right hand is powerless  
so that she cannot move it from her     
side4  ,but she shall be cured by the   
power of ,god through this apple4  ,this
 was accomplished4 ,mochuda espied the  
child playing a game with the other     
girls in the faithche lawn of the ,lios4
  ,he approached and said to her3--,take
 this apple4  ,she1 as usual1 put forth 
her left hand for the fruit4  ,you shall
 not get it in that hand1 but take it in
 the other4  ,the girl full of faith    
tried to put out the right hand1 and on 
the instant the hand became full of     
strength and blood and motion so that   
she took the apple in it4  ,all rejoiced
 thereat and were amazed at the wonder  
wrought4  ,that night ,cuana said to his
 daughter3  ,choose yourself which you  
prefer of the royal youths of ,munster  
and whomsoever your choice be ,i shall  
obtain in marriage for you4  ,the only  
spouse ,i shall have1 said she1 is the  

man who cured my hand4  ,do you hear    
what she says ,o ,mochuda8 said the     
king4 ,entrust the child to me1 answered
 ,mochuda1 ,i shall present her as a    
bride to ,god who has healed her hand4  
,whereupon ,cuana gave his daughter     
,flandnait1 together with her dowry and 
lands on the bank of ,nemh1 to ,god and 
to ,mochuda for ever4  ,cuana was almost
 incredibly generous4 ,mochuda took the 
maiden with him to ,rahen where she     
passed her years happily with the       
religious women there till ,mochuda was 
expelled by the kings of ,tara as you   
may hear4  ,he took ,flandnait with him 
7from ,rahen7 in his party to her own   
native region that she might build      
herself a cell there4  ,she did build a 
famous cell at ,cluain ,dallain in      
,mochuda's own parish4  ,previous to his
 expulsion 7from ,rahen7 ,mochuda       
visited the place where 7later7 he built
 ,lismore and he heard the voice of     
persons reading at ,rahen1 wherefore he 
said to his followers3  ,i know that    

this is the place where ,god will permit
 us to build our monastery4  ,this      
prophecy was subsequently verified4  ,on
 a certain occasion ,columcille came to 
,rahen where ,mochuda was and asked     
him3--,is this place in which you now   
are dear to you8 ,it is1 indeed1        
answered ,mochuda4  ,columcille said3   
,let not what ,i say to you trouble     
you--this will not be the place of your 
resurrection1 for the king of ,erin and 
his family will grow jealous of you     
owing to machinations of some of the    
,irish clergy1 and they shall eventually
 drive you hence4  ,mochuda questioned  
,columcille who had a true prophetic    
gift--,in what other place then will my 
resurrection be8 ,columcille told       
him--,the place where from the summit of
 ,slieve ,gua you saw the host of angels
 building a chair of silver with a      
statue of gold therein on the bank of   
the ,nemh--there will your resurrection 
be1 and the chair of silver is your     
church in the midst of them 1and you are

 truly the golden statue in its midst4  
,mochuda believing what he heard thanked
 and glorified ,god4  ,as ,mochuda on   
another day was at ,rahen there came to 
him a priest and monk of his own        
community from the northern part of     
,munster2 he made a reverence as was the
 custom of the monks1 in ,mochuda's     
presence and said to him1 ,father1 ,i   
have complied with all your commands and
 the precepts of ,god from the day ,i   
left ,rahen till now--except this--that1
 without your permission1 ,i have taken 
my brother from the secular life4       
,verily ,i say to you1 answered         
,mochuda1 if you were to go to the top  
of a high hill and to shout as loudly as
 you could and were to bring to me all  
who heard the cry ,i should not refuse  
the habit of religion to one of them4   
,hearing these words all realised the   
character and extent of ,mochuda's      
charity and returned thanks to ,god for 
it4  ,on a certain day about vesper     
time1 because of the holiness of the    

hour1 ,mochuda said to his monks3--,we  
shall not eat to-day till each one of   
you has made his confession1 for he knew
 that some one of them had ill will in  
his heart against another4  ,all the    
brethren thereupon confessed to him4    
,one of them in the course of his       
confession stated3  ,i love not your    
miller and the cause of my lack of      
charity towards him is this1 that when  
,i come to the mill he will not lift the
 loads off the horses and he will       
neither help me to fill the meal sacks  
nor to load them on the horse when      
filled4  ,and not this alone but he does
 everything that is disagreeable to me2 
moreover ,i cannot tell1 but ,god knows1
 why he so acts4  ,often ,i have thought
 of striking him or even beating him to 
death4  ,mochuda replied1 ,brother dear1
 the prophet says--',declina a malo et  
fac bonum' ,psalm #cf7cg73bg4 ,avoid    
evil and do good4  ,following this      
precept let you act kindly towards the  
miller and that charity of yours will   

move him to charity towards you and ye  
shall yet be steadfast friends4 ,things 
went on thus for three days--the monk   
doing all he could to placate the       
miller4  ,nevertheless the miller did   
not cease his persecution1 nor the      
brother his hate of the miller4  ,on the
 third day ,mochuda directed the brother
 to confess to him again4 ,the brother  
said3 --,this is my confession1 ,father1
 ,i do not yet love the miller4         
,mochuda observed3--,he will change     
to-night1 and to-morrow he will not     
break fast till you meet him and you    
shall sit on the same seat1 at the same 
table1 and you shall remain fast friends
 for the rest of your lives4 ,all this  
came to pass2 for that monk was1 through
 the instruction of ,mochuda1 filled    
with the grace of the ,divine ,spirit4  
,and he glorified and praised ,mochuda1 
for he recognised him as a man favoured 
by the ,holy ,ghost4  ,on another       
occasion two ,british monks of          
,mochuda's monastery had a conversation 

in secret4  ,mochuda1 they said1 is very
 old though there is no immediate       
appearance of approaching death--and    
there is no doubt that his equal in     
virtue or good works will never be      
found--therefore if he were out of the  
way one of us might succeed him4  ,let  
us then kill him as there is no         
likelihood of his natural death within a
 reasonable time4 ,they resolved        
therefore to drown him in the river     
towards close of the following night and
 to conceal all traces so that the crime
 could never be discovered4  ,they found
 him subsequently in a lonely place     
where he was accustomed to pray4  ,they 
bound him tightly and carried him       
between them on their shoulders to the  
water4  ,on their way to the river they 
met one of the monks who used to walk   
around the cemetery every night4 ,he    
said to them3  ,what is that you carry8 
,they replied that it was portion of the
 monastic washing which they were taking
 to the river4  ,he however1 under the  

insistent suggestion of the ,holy       
,spirit1 believed them not4 ,he said3   
,put down your load till we examine it4 
,they were constrained to obey and the  
burden proved to be--,mochuda4  ,the    
monk who detected the proposed murder   
was the overseer of the homestead4  ,he 
said mournfully1 ,my ,god1 it is a      
dreadful work you are about4  ,mochuda  
said gently3--,son1 it were well for me 
had that been done to me for ,i should  
now be numbered among the holy martyrs4 
,and it were bad for them 7the two      
wicked monks7 for it is with ,judas the 
betrayer of his ,lord they should be    
tortured for ever1 who had desired my   
death for their own advancement4        
,neither these wretched men themselves  
nor anyone of their nation shall be my  
coarb for ever1 but my successors shall 
be of his race through whom ,god has    
rescued me4  ,moreover my city shall    
never be without men of the ,british    
race who will be butts and              
laughing-stocks and serve no useful     

purpose4  ,the person who saved ,mochuda
 was of the ,ciarraighe race and it is  
of that same people that the coarbs and 
successors of ,mochuda have commonly    
been ever since4  ,see note #b4         
,mochuda refused for a long while1 as we
 have already said1 to accept cattle or 
horses from anyone2 it was the monks    
themselves who dug and cultivated the   
land and they did all the haulage of the
 monastery on their own backs4  ,st4    
,fionan however who was a kinsman of    
,mochuda and had just returned from     
,rome1 came at this time on a visit to  
the monastery4  ,he reproached ,mochuda 
saying3 ,mochuda1 why do you impose the 
burden of brute beasts upon rational    
beings8  ,is it not for use of the      
latter that all other animals have been 
created8  ,of a truth ,i shall not taste
 food in this house till you have       
remedied this grievance4 ,thenceforth   
,mochuda--in honour of                  
,fionan--permitted his monks to accept  
horses and oxen from the people and he  

freed them from the hardship alluded to4
  ,sometime later the holy abbot1       
,lachtaoin ,st4 ,lachten1               
compassionating ,mochuda and his monks  
because of their lack of cattle paid a  
visit to ,rahen bringing with him a gift
 of thirty cows and a bull1 also a      
couple of cattlemen and two dairymaids4 
,coming near ,rahen he left the cattle  
in a secluded place1 for he did not wish
 them to be seen4  ,thereupon he went   
himself to the monastery and simulating 
illness requested a drink of milk4  ,the
 house steward went to ,mochuda to tell 
him that ,lachtaoin was ill and required
 milk4  ,mochuda ordered the steward to 
fill a pitcher with water and bring it  
to him--and this order was executed4    
,mochuda blessed the water which        
immediately was changed into sweet new  
milk apparently of that day's milking4  
,he sent the milk to ,lachtaoin but the 
latter identified it as milk            
miraculously produced2 he in turn       
blessed it with the result that it was  

changed back again into water4  ,he     
complained3--,it is not water but milk  
,i have asked for4  ,the messenger      
related this fact publicly4  ,lachtaoin 
declared3-- ,mochuda is a good monk but 
his successors will not be able to      
change water to milk1 and to the        
messenger he said--,go to ,mochuda and  
tell him that ,i shall not break bread  
in this house until he accept the alms  
which ,i have brought to the community4 
,on ,mochuda agreeing to accept them he 
handed over the cattle and dairymen to  
the monks of ,rahen and the stewards    
took charge of them4  ,mochuda said     
thereupon1 that he should not have      
accepted the cattle but as a compliment 
to ,lachtaoin4 ,lachtaoin               
replied3--,from this day forward there  
will be plenty cattle and worldly       
substance in your dwelling-place and    
there will be a multitude of holy people
 in the other place whence you are to   
depart to heaven 7for you will be exiled
 from your present home74  ,after they  

had mutually blessed and taken leave and
 pledged friendship ,lachtaoin departed4
  ,once1 at harvest time1 the farm      
steward came to ,mochuda complaining    
that1 though the crop was dead ripe1 a  
sufficient number of harvesters could   
not be found4  ,mochuda answered3  ,go  
in peace1 dear brother1 and ,god will   
send you satisfactory reapers4  ,this   
promise was fulfilled1 for a band of    
angels came to the ripest and largest   
fields1 reaped and bound a great deal   
quickly1 and gathered the crop into one 
place4  ,the monks marvelled1 though    
they knew it was ,god's work and they   
praised and thanked ,him and ,mochuda4  
,the spirit of obedience amongst        
,mochuda's monks was such that if any   
senior member of the community ordered  
another to lie in the fire he would be  
obeyed4  ,as an instance of this1--some 
of the brethren were on one occasion    
baking bread in an oven when one the    
monks said to another younger than      
himself1 ,the bread is burning3  take it

 out instantly4 ,there was an iron      
shovel for drawing out the bread but the
 brother could not find it on the       
instant4  ,he heeded not the flames     
which shot out of the oven's mouth but  
caught the hot bread and shifted it with
 his hands and suffered no hurt         
whatever4  ,on another day the monks    
were engaged in labour beside the river 
which runs through the monastery4  ,one 
of the senior monks called upon a young 
monk named ,colman to do a certain piece
 of work4  ,immediately1 as he had not  
named any particular ,colman1 twelve    
monks of the name rushed into the water4
  ,the readiness and exactness of the   
obedience practised was displayed in    
this incident4  ,great moreover was     
their meekness and patience in sickness 
or ill-health as appears from the case  
of the monk out of the wounds of whose  
body maggots fell as he walked2 yet he  
never complained or told anyone or left 
his work for two moments although it was
 plain from his appearance that his     

health was declining1 and he was growing
 thinner from day to day4  ,the brothers
 pitied him very much4  ,at length      
,mochuda questioned him--putting him    
under obedience to tell the truth--as to
 the cause of his decline4  ,the monk   
thereupon showed him his sides which    
were torn by a twig tied fast around    
them4  ,mochuda asked him who had done  
that barbarous and intolerable thing to 
him4  ,the monk answered3--,one day     
while we were drawing logs of timber    
from the wood my girdle broke from the  
strain1 so that my clothes hung loose4  
,a monk behind me saw this and cutting a
 twig tied it so tightly around my sides
 that it has caused my flesh to mortify4
  ,mochuda asked--,and why did you not  
loosen the twig8  ,the monk             
replied--,because my body in not my own 
and he who tied it 7the withe7 has never
 loosed it4  ,it was a whole year since 
the withe had been fastened around him4 
,mochuda said to him3--,brother1 you    
have suffered great pain2 as a reward   

thereof take now you choice--your       
restoration to bodily health or         
spiritual health by immediate departure 
hence to eternal life4  ,he answered1   
deciding to go to heaven3--,why should  
,i desire to remain in this life8       
,having received the ,sacrament and the 
,holy ,communion he departed hence to   
glory4  ,there came to ,mochuda on      
another occasion with her husband1 a    
woman named ,brigh whose hand lay       
withered and useless by her side3  she  
besought the saint to cure her hand4    
,moreover she was pregnant at the time4 
,mochuda held out an apple in his hand  
to her as he had done before to         
,flandnait1 the daughter of ,cuana1     
saying--,alleluia1 put forth your       
nerveless hand to take this apple4  ,she
 did as she was told and took the apple 
from his hand and was cured2 moreover as
 she tasted the fruit parturition came  
on--without pain or inconvenience1 after
 which the pair returned to their home  
rejoicing4  ,in fulfilment of the       

prophecy of ,columcille and other holy  
men that ,mochuda should be expelled    
from ,rahen the king of ,tara1          
,blathmac1 the son of ,aodh ,slaine1 and
 his brother ,diarmuid came1 together   
with some clergy of the ,cluain ,earaird
 ,clonard community1 to carry out the   
eviction in ,a4,d4 #fce4  ,they said to 
him1 ,leave this monastery and region   
and seek a place for yourself elsewhere4
  ,mochuda replied--,in this place ,i   
have desired to end my days4  ,here ,i  
have been many years serving ,god and   
have almost reached the end of my life4 
,therefore ,i shall not depart unless ,i
 am dragged hence by the hands against  
my will1 for it is not becoming an old  
man to abandon easily the place in which
 he has spent great part of his life4   
,then the nobles returned to ,blathmac  
and they made various complaints of     
,mochuda1 accusing him falsely of many  
things2 finally they asked the king to  
undertake the expulsion personally1 for 
they were themselves unequal to the     

task4  ,the king thereupon came to the  
place accompanied by a large retinue4   
,alluding prophetically to the king's   
coming1 previous to that event1 ,mochuda
 said1 addressing the monks3--,beloved  
brothers1 get ready and gather your     
belongings1 for violence and eviction   
are close at hand3 the chieftains of    
this land are about to expel and banish 
you from your own home4  ,then the king1
 with his brothers and many of the chief
 men1 arrived on the scene4  ,they      
encamped near ,rahen and the king sent  
his brother ,diarmuid with some others  
to expel ,mochuda and to put him out by 
force--which ,diarmuid pledged his word 
he should do4  ,it was in the choir at  
prayer that ,diarmuid found ,mochuda4   
,mochuda1 though he knew his mission1   
asked ,diarmuid why he was come and what
 he sought4 ,diarmuid replied that he   
came by order of ,king ,blathmac to take
 him by the hand and put him out of that
 establishment and to banish him from   
,meath4  ,do as you please1 said        

,mochuda1 for we are prepared to undergo
 all things for ,christ's sake4  ,by my 
word1 answered ,diarmuid1 ,i shall never
 be guilty of such a crime2 let him who 
chooses do it4 ,mochuda said3--,you     
shall possess the kingdom of ,god and   
you shall reign in your brother's stead 
and your face which you have turned from
 me shall never be turned from your     
enemies4  ,moreover the reproaches which
 the king will presently cast upon you  
for not doing the work he has set you1  
will be your praise and your pride4  ,at
 the same time as a penalty for your    
evil designs toward me and your greater 
readiness to drive me out1 your son     
shall not succeed you in the            
sovereignty4 ,diarmuid returned to the  
king and told him that he could do no   
injury to ,mochuda4 ,the king retorted  
sarcastically and in anger1 ,what a     
valiant man you are1 ,diarmuid4         
,diarmuid replied3--,that is just what  
,mochuda promised --that ,i should be a 
warrior of ,god4  ,he was known as      

,diarmuid ,ruanaidh thenceforth1 for the
 whole assembly cried out with one      
voice--truly he is ,valiant 7,ruanaidh74
  ,next1 the nobles present cast lots to
 decide which one of them should go with
 the king to lay hands on ,mochuda and  
expel him from the monastery4 ,the lot  
fell upon the ,herenach hereditary      
steward of ,cluain ,earaird4 ,he and the
 king accompanied by armed men went to  
the monastery where they found ,mochuda 
and all the brethren in the church4     
,cronan1 a certain rich man in the      
company1 shouted out1 ,make haste with  
the business on which you are come4     
,mochuda answered him--,you shall die   
immediately1 but on account of the alms 
which you gave me for the love of       
,christ and on account of your uniform  
piety heretofore your progeny shall     
prosper for ever4  ,that prophecy has   
been fulfilled4 ,another man1 ,dulach by
 name1 winked mockingly with one of his 
eyes2 moreover he laughed and behaved   
irreverently towards ,mochuda4  ,mochuda

 said to him3 --,thus shall you be--with
 one eye closed and a grin on your      
countenance --to the end of your life2  
and of your descendants many will be    
similarly afflicted4  ,yet another      
member of the company1 one ,cailche1    
scurrilously abused and cursed ,mochuda4
  ,to him ,mochuda said3-- ,dysentery   
will attack you immediately and murrain 
that will cause your death4  ,the       
misfortune foretold befell him and      
indeed woeful misfortune and ill luck   
pursued many of them for their part in  
the wrong doing4 ,when the king saw     
these things he became furious and1     
advancing--himself and the abbot of     
,cluain ,earaird--they took each a hand 
of ,mochuda and in a disrespectful1     
uncivil manner1 they led him forth out  
of the monastery while their followers  
did the same with ,mochuda's community4 
,throughout the city and in the country 
around there was among both sexes       
weeping1 mourning1 and wailing over     
their humiliating expulsion from their  

own home and monastery4  ,even amongst  
the soldiers of the king were many who  
were moved to pity and compassion for   
,mochuda and his people4  ,one of       
,mochuda's monks had gout in his foot   
and for him ,mochuda besought the king  
and his following that he1 as he was    
unable to travel1 might be allowed to   
remain in the monastery2 the request    
was1 however1 refused4 ,mochuda called  
the monk to him and1 in the name of     
,christ1 he commanded the pain to leave 
the foot and to betake itself to the    
foot of ,colman ,colman mac hua         
,telduib1 abbot1 or perhaps erenach     
only1 of ,cluain ,earaird1 the chieftain
 who was most unrelenting towards him4  
,that soreness remained in ,colman's    
foot as long as he lived4  ,the monk    
however rose up and walked and was able 
to proceed on his way with his master4  
,there was an aged monk who wished to be
 buried at ,rahen2 ,mochuda granted the 
request1 and he received ,holy          
,communion and sacred rites at the      

saint's hands4  ,then he departed to    
heaven in the presence of all and his   
body was buried at ,rahen as he had     
himself chosen that it should be4       
,leaving ,rahen ,mochuda paid a visit to
 the monastic cemetery weeping as he    
looked upon it2 he blessed those        
interred there and prayed for them4 ,by 
the permission of ,god it happened that 
the grave of a long deceased monk opened
 so that all saw it1 and1 putting his   
head out of the grave1 the tenant of the
 tomb cried out in a loud voice3  ,o    
holy man and servant of ,god1 bless us  
that through thy blessing we may rise   
and go with you whither you go4         
,mochuda replied3--,so novel a thing ,i 
shall not do1 for it behoves not to     
raise so large a number of people before
 the general resurrection4  ,the monk   
asked--,why then father1 do you leave   
us1 though we have promised union with  
you in one place for ever8 ,mochuda     
answered3--,brother1 have you ever heard
 the proverb--necessity is its own law  

necessitas movet decretum et consilium8 
,remain ye therefore in your resting    
places and on the day of general        
resurrection ,i shall come with all my  
brethren and we shall all assemble      
before the great cross called ',cross of
 the ,angels' at the church door and go 
together for judgement4 ,when ,mochuda  
had finished1 the monk lay back in his  
grave and the coffin closed4  ,mochuda1 
with his following1 next visited the    
cross already mentioned and here1       
turning to the king1 he thus addressed  
him3--,behold the heavens above you and 
the earth below4  ,the king looked at   
them3  then ,mochuda continued3--,heaven
 may you not possess and even from your 
earthly principality may you soon be    
driven and your brother whom you have   
reproached1 because he would not lay    
hands on me1 shall possess it instead of
 you1 and in your lifetime4  ,you shall 
be despised by all--so much so that in  
your brother's house they shall forget  
to supply you with food4  ,moreover     

yourself and your children shall come to
 an evil end and in a little while there
 shall not be one of your seed          
remaining4  ,then ,mochuda cursed him   
and he rang his small bell against him  
and against his race1 whence the bell   
has since been known as ,the ,bell of   
,blathmac's ,extinguishing1 or ,the     
,bell of ,blathmac's ,drowning1 because 
it drowned or extinguished ,blathmac    
with his posterity4 ,blathmac had a     
large family of sons and daughters but1 
owing to ,mochuda's curse1 their race   
became extinct4  ,next to the prince of 
,cluain ,earaird who also had seized him
 by the hand1 he said3  ,you shall be a 
servant and a bondman ere you die and   
you shall lose your territory and your  
race will be a servile one4  ,to another
 of those who led him by the hand he    
said3--,what moved you to drag me by the
 hand from my own monastery8  ,the other
 replied3--,it pleased me not that a    
,munster man should have such honour in 
,meath4  ,i wish1 said ,mochuda1 that   

the hand you laid on me may be accursed 
and that the face you turned against me 
to expel me from my home may be         
repulsive and scrofulous for the        
remainder of your life4  ,this curse was
 effective for the man's eye was        
thereupon destroyed in his head4        
,mochuda noticed that some of           
,columcille's successors and people from
 ,durrow1 which was one of ,columcille's
 foundations1 had taken part in his     
eviction4  ,he thus addressed           
them3--,contention and quarrelling shall
 be yours for ever to work evil and     
schism amongst you--for you have had a  
prominent part in exciting opposition to
 me4  ,and so it fell out4  ,the king   
and his people thereupon compelled      
,mochuda to proceed on his way4         
,mochuda did proceed with his disciples1
 eight hundred and sixty seven in number
 7and as many more they left buried in  
,rahen74  ,moreover1 many more living   
disciples of his who had lived in       
various parts of ,ireland were already  

dead4  ,all the community abounded in   
grace3  many of its members became      
bishops and abbots in after years and   
they erected many churches to the glory 
of ,god4  ,understand1 moreover1 that   
great was the charity of the holy       
bishop1 as the following fact will      
prove3--in a cell without the city of   
,rahen he maintained in comfort and     
respectability a multitude of lepers4   
,he frequently visited them and         
ministered to them himself--entrusting  
that office to no one else4  ,it was    
known to all the lepers of ,ireland how 
,mochuda made their fellow-sufferers his
 special care and family1 and the result
 was that an immense number of lepers   
from all parts flocked to him and he    
took charge and care of them4  ,these on
 his departure from ,rahen he took with 
him to ,lismore where he prepared       
suitable quarters for them and there    
they have been ever since in comfort and
 in honour according to ,mochuda's      
command4  ,as ,mochuda and his people   

journeyed along with their vehicles they
 found the way blocked by a large tree  
which lay across it4 ,owing to the      
density of underwood at either side they
 were unable to proceed4  ,some one     
announced3--,there is a tree across the 
road before us1 so that we cannot       
advance4  ,mochuda said3  ,in the name  
of ,christ ,i command thee1 tree1 to    
rise up and stand again in thy former   
place4  ,at the command of ,mochuda the 
tree stood erect as it was originally   
and it still retains its former         
appearance1 and there is a pile of      
stones there at its base to commemorate 
the miracle4  ,it was necessary to      
proceed2 the first night after          
,mochuda's departure from ,rahen the    
place that he came to was a cell called 
,drum ,cuilinn ,drumcullen1 on the      
confines of ,munster1 ,leinster1 and    
,clanna ,neill1 but actually within     
,clanna ,neill1 scil43--in the territory
 of ,fearceall in which also is ,rahen4 
,in ,drum ,cuilinn dwelt the holy abbot1

 ,barrfhinn1 renowned for miracles4 ,on 
the morrow ,mochuda arrived at ,saighir 
,chiarain ,seirkieran and the following 
night at the establishment where ,cronan
 is now1 scil43--,roscrea4  ,that night 
,mochuda remained without entertainment 
although it was offered to them by      
,cronan who had prepared supper for him4
  ,mochuda refused however to go to it  
saying that he would not go out of his  
way to visit a man who avoids guests and
 builds his cell in a wild bog far from 
men and that such a man's proper guests 
are creatures of the wilderness instead 
of human beings4  ,when ,cronan heard   
this saying of ,mochuda he came to the  
latter1 by whose advice he abandoned his
 hermitage in the bog and he1 with      
,mochuda1 marked out the site of a new  
monastery and church at ,roscrea4 ,there
 he founded a great establishment and   
there he is himself buried4 ,mochuda    
took leave of ,cronan and1 travelling   
through ,eile ,ely ,o',carroll1 came to 
the royal city named ,cashel4  ,on the  

following day the king1 scil43--,failbhe
 ,failbhe ,flann1 came to ,mochuda      
offering him a place whereon to found a 
church4  ,mochuda replied3--,it is not  
permitted us by ,god to stay our journey
 anywhere till we come to the place     
promised to us by the holy men4  ,about 
the same time there came messengers from
 the king of ,leinster to the king of   
,munster praying the latter1 by virtue  
of league and alliance1 to come to his  
assistance as ,leath-,chuinn and the    
north were advancing in great force to  
ravage ,leinster4 ,this is how ,failbhe 
was situated at the time3  he had lost  
one of his eyes and he was ashamed to go
 half-blind into a strange territory4   
,as soon as ,mochuda realised the extent
 of the king's diffidence he blessed the
 eye making on it the sign of the cross 
and it was immediately healed in the    
presence of all4  ,the king and ,mochuda
 took leave of one another and went each
 his own way4 ,the king and his hosting 
went to the aid of ,leinster in the     

latter's necessity4  ,mochuda journeyed 
on through ,muscraige ,oirthir the chief
 of which territory received him with   
great honour4  ,aodhan was the chief's  
name and he bestowed his homestead      
called ,isiol ,athassel on ,mochuda1 who
 blessed him and his seed4  ,next he    
came into the ,decies4  ,he travelled   
through ,magh ,femin where he broke his 
journey at ,ard ,breanuinn ,ardfinnan on
 the bank of the ,suir4 ,there came to  
him here ,maolochtair1 king of the      
,decies1 and the other nobles or one    
noble1 ,suibhne of his nation who were  
at variance with him concerning land4   
,mochuda by the grace of ,god made peace
 amongst them1 and dismissed them in    
amity4 ,maolochtair gave that land to   
,mochuda who marked out a cell there    
where is now the city of ,ardfinnnan1   
attached to which is a large parish     
subject to ,mochuda and bearing his     
name4  ,the wife of ,maolochtair1       
scil3--,cuciniceas1 daughter of ,failbhe
 ,flann1 king of ,munster1 had a vision1

 viz43--a flock of very beautiful birds 
flying above her head and one bird was  
more beautiful and larger than the rest4
  ,the other birds followed this one and
 it nestled in the king's bosom4  ,soon 
as she awoke she related the vision to  
the king2 the king observed3  ,woman you
 have dreamed a good dream and soon it  
will be realised2 the flock of birds you
 have seen is ,mochuda with his monks   
coming from ,rahen and the most         
distinguished bird is ,mochuda himself4 
,and the settling in my bosom means that
 the place of his resurrection will be  
in my territory4  ,many blessings will  
come to us and our territory through    
him4  ,that vision of the faithful woman
 was realised as the faithful king had  
explained it4  ,subsequently ,mochuda   
came to ,maolochtair requesting from him
 a place where he might erect a         
monastery4  ,maolochtair replied3 ,so   
large a community cannot dwell in such a
 narrow place4 ,mochuda said3  ,god1 who
 sent us to you1 will show you a place  

suited to us4  ,the king answered3--,i  
have a place1 convenient for fish and   
wood1 beside ,slieve ,gua on the bank of
 the ,nemh but ,i fear it will not be   
large enough4 ,mochuda said3--,it will  
not be narrow2 there is a river and fish
 and that it shall be the place of our  
resurrection4  ,thereupon1 in the       
presence of many witnesses1 the king    
handed over the land1 scil43-- ,lismore1
 to ,god and ,mochuda and it is in that 
place ,mochuda afterwards founded his   
famous city4  ,mochuda blessed the king 
and his wife as well as the nobles and  
all the people and taking leave of them 
and receiving their homage he journeyed 
across ,slieve ,gua till he came to the 
church called ,ceall ,clochair          
,kilcloher4  ,the saint of that church1 
scil43-- ,mochua ,mianain1 prepared a   
supper for ,mochuda to the best of his  
ability1 but he had only a single barrel
 of ale for them all4  ,although        
,mochuda with his people remained there 
three days and three nights and although

 the holy abbot 7,mochua7 continued to  
draw the ale into small vessels to serve
 the company1 according to their needs1 
the quantity in the barrel grew no less 
but increased after the manner of the   
oil blessed by ,elias #c ,kings #ag3af4 
,then one of the monks said to ,mochuda1
 ,if you remain in this place till the  
feast ends your stay will be a long one 
for it 7the entertainment7 grows no     
smaller for all the consumption4  ,that 
is true1 brother1 said ,mochuda1 and it 
is fitting for us to depart now4  ,they 
started therefore on their way and      
,mochua ,mianain gave himself and his   
place to ,god and ,mochuda for ever4    
,on ,mochuda's departure the ale barrel 
drained out to the lees4  ,mochuda      
proceeded till he reached the river     
,nemh at a ford called ,ath-,mheadhon   
,affane which no one could cross except 
a swimmer or a very strong person at low
 water in a dry season of summer heat1  
for the tide flows against the stream   
far as ,lismore1 five miles further up4 

,on this particular occasion it happened
 to be high tide4  ,the two first of    
,mochuda's people to reach the ford were
 the monks ,molua and ,colman1 while    
,mochuda himself came last4 ,they turned
 round to him and said that it was not  
possible to cross the river till the    
ebb4  ,mochuda answered3 --,advance     
through the water before the others in  
the name of your ,lord ,jesus ,christ   
for ,he is the way the truth and the    
life ,john #ad3f4  ,as soon as they     
heard this command of ,mochuda's ,molua 
said to ,colman1 ,which of the two will 
you hold back--the stream above or the  
sea below8  ,colman answered3--,let each
 restrain that which is nearest to      
him--for ,molua was on the upper1 or    
stream1 side and ,colman on the lower1  
or sea1 side4  ,molua said to           
,colman--,forbid you the sea side to    
flow naturally and ,i shall forbid the  
stream side4  ,then with great faith    
they proceeded to cross the river2 they 
signed the river with the sign of       

,christ's cross and the waters stood on 
either hand and apart1 so that the dry  
earth appeared between4  ,the side banks
 of water rose high because there was no
 passage up or down1 so that the ridges 
were very elevated on both the sea and  
stream sides4  ,the waters remained thus
 till such time as all ,mochuda's people
 had crossed4 ,mochuda himself was the  
last to pass over and the path across   
was so level that it offered no obstacle
 to foot-passengers or chariots but was 
like a level plain so that they crossed 
dryshod1 as the ,jordan fell back for   
,josue the son of ,nun ,josue #c3ag4    
,soon as ,mochuda had crossed over he   
blessed the waters and commanded them to
 resume their natural course4  ,on the  
reuniting again of the waters they made 
a noise like thunder1 and the name of   
the place is ,the ,place of             
,benedictions1 from the blessings of    
,mochuda and his people4  ,next the     
glorious bishop1 ,mochuda1 proceeded to 
the place promised to him by ,god and   

the prophets1 which place is the plain  
called ,magh-,sciath4  ,mochuda1 with   
the holy men1 blessed the place and     
dedicated there the site of a church in 
circular form4 ,there came to them a    
holy woman named ,caimell who had a cell
 there and she asked1 ,what do you      
propose doing here1 ye servants of ,god8
  ,we propose1 answered ,mochuda1       
building here a little ',lios' enclosure
 around our possession4  ,caimell       
observed1 ,not a little ,lios will it be
 but a great 'mor' one 7,lis-mor74 ,true
 indeed1 virgin1 responded ,mochuda1    
,lismore will be its name for ever4     
,the virgin offered herself and her cell
 to ,god and ,mochuda for ever1 where   
the convent of women is now established 
in the city of ,lismore4  ,as ,colman   
,elo1 alluded to already1 promised1     
,mochuda found his burial place marked  
out 7consecrated87 by angels2 there he  
and a multitude of his disciples are    
buried and it was made known to him by  
divine wisdom the number of holy persons

 that to the end of the world would be  
buried therein4  ,lismore is a renowned 
city1 for there is one portion of it    
which no woman may enter and there are  
within it many chapels and monasteries1 
and in which there are always multitudes
 of devout people not from ,ireland     
alone but from the land of the ,saxons  
and from ,britain and from other lands  
as well4  ,this is its situation--on the
 south bank of the ,avonmore in the     
,decies territory4  ,on a certain day   
there came a druid to ,mochuda to argue 
and contend with him4  ,he said3--,if   
you be a servant of ,god cause natural  
fruit to grow on this withered branch4  
,mochuda knew that it was to throw      
contempt on the power of ,god that the  
druid had come4  ,he blessed the branch 
and it produced first living skin1 then1
 as the druid had asked--leaves1 blossom
 and fruit in succession4  ,the druid   
marvelled exceedingly and went his way4 
,a poor man came to ,mochuda on another 
occasion with an ill timed request for  

milk1 and beer along with it4  ,mochuda 
was at the time close by the well which 
is known as ,mochuda's ,well at the     
present time2 this he blessed changing  
it first into milk then into beer and   
finally to wine4 ,then he told the poor 
man to take away whatever quantity of   
each of these liquids he required4  ,the
 well remained thus till at ,mochuda's  
prayer it returned to its original      
condition again4  ,an angel came from   
heaven to ,mochuda at the time and told 
him that the well should remain a source
 of health and virtues and of marvels1  
and it still1 like every well originally
 blessed by ,mochuda1 possesses power of
 healing from every malady4  ,mochuda1  
now grown old and of failing powers and 
strength1 was wearied and worried by the
 incessant clamour of building          
operations--the dressing of stones and  
timber--carried on by the multitude of  
monks and artisans4  ,he therefore by   
consent and counsel of the brethren     
retired to a remote1 lonely place       

situated in a glen called ,mochuda's    
,inch below the great monastery4  ,he   
took with him there a few monks and     
built a resplendent monastery2 he       
remained in that place a year and six   
months more leading a hermitical life4  
,the brethren and seniors of the        
community visited him 7from time to     
time7 and he gave them sound1           
sweetly-reasoned advice4  ,he received a
 vow from each to follow his ,rule1 for 
he was the support of the aged1 the     
health-giver to the weak1 the consoler  
of the afflicted1 the hope-giver to the 
hopeless1 the faith-giver to the        
doubting1 the moderator and uniter of   
the young4  ,as soon as ,mochuda saw the
 hardship to the visiting brothers and  
elders of the descent from ,lismore and 
the ascent thereto again--knowing at the
 same time that his end was             
approaching--he ordered himself to be   
carried up to the monastery so that the 
monks might be saved the fatigue of the 
descent to him4  ,then it pleased ,god  

to call to ,himself ,his devoted servant
 from the troubles of life and to render
 to him the reward of his good works4   
,he opened the gates of heaven then and 
sent to him a host of angels1 in glory  
and majesty unspeakable4  ,when ,mochuda
 saw the heavens open above him and the 
angel band approaching1 he ordered that 
he be set down in the middle of the glen
 and he related to the seniors the      
things that he had seen and he asked to 
receive the ,body of ,christ and he gave
 his last instruction to the monks--to  
observe the ,law of ,god and keep ,his  
commands4  ,the place was by the cross  
called ,crux ,migrationis1 or the cross 
from which ,mochuda departed to ,glory4 
,having received the ,body and ,blood of
 ,christ1 having taught them divine     
doctrines1 in the midst of holy choirs  
and of many brethren and monks to whom  
in turn he gave his blessing and the    
kiss of peace according to the rule1 the
 glorious and holy bishop departed to   
heaven accompanied by hosts of angels on

 the day before the ,ides of ,may ,may  
#ad1 in his union with the ,holy        
,trinity--,father1 ,son1 and ,holy      
,ghost1 for ever and ever4 ,amen4       
,finit #g;ber ,september #dth1 #agda4   
,,note #a  ,one of our scribe's         
predecessors omitted a word or two from 
the text here1 with disastrous results  
to the sense4  ,the ,latin ,life comes  
to our aid however and enables us to    
make good the omission2 the latter1 by  
the way1 puzzles our scribe who is like 
a man fighting an invisible enemy--     
correcting a text of which he does not  
know the defect4  ,insertion of the     
words walking backwards immediately     
after church1 in the angel's answer1    
will enable us to see the original      
writer's meaning4  ,the text should     
probably read3  ,the angel              
answered3--,whom you shall see going    
from the church walking backwards to the
 guest-house 7for it was ,mochuda's     
custom to walk backwards from the door  
of the church74  ,comghall announced to 

his household that there was coming to  
them a distinguished stranger1          
well-beloved of ,god1 of whose advent an
 angel had twice foretold him4 ,some    
time later ,mochuda arrived at          
,comghall's establishment1 and he went  
to the monastery first and he did just  
as the angel foretold of him and        
,comghall recognised him and bade him   
welcome4    ,,note #b   ,the obits of   
,mochuda's successors1 down to          
,christian ,o',conarchy1 are chronicled 
as follows3--  ,a4,d4 #fej4  ,cuanan1   
maternal uncle and immediate successor  
of ,mochuda 7,lanigan74 ,a4,d4 #fih4    
,iarnla1 surnamed ,hierologus 7,four    
,masters74  ,in his time ,king ,alfrid  
was a student in ,lismore4 ,a4,d4 #gjb4 
,colman1 son of ,finnbhar 7,acta        
,sanctorum74  ,during his reign the     
abbey of ,lismore reached the zenith of 
its fame4 ,a4,d4 #gaf4  ,cronan ,ua     
,eoan 7,f4 ,masters74 ,a4,d4 #gai4      
,colman ,o',liathain 7,annals of        
,inisfallen74 ,a4,d4 #gda4  ,finghal    

7,f4 ,masters74 ,a4,d4 #gdf4  ,mac      
h,uige 7,ibid74 ,a4,d4 #gdg4            
,ihrichmech 7,a4 of ,inisf47 ,a4,d4     
#gdh4  ,maccoigeth 7,f4 ,m47 ,a4,d4     
#geb4  ,sinchu 7,f4 ,m47 ,a4,d4 #gee4   
,condath 7,ibid74 ,a4,d4 #gef4  ,fincon 
7,annals of ,ulster74 ,a4,d4 #gfa4      
,aedhan 7,f4 ,m47 ,a4,d4 #gfc4  ,ronan  
7,ware74 ,a4,d4 #gfi4  ,soairleach ,ua  
,concuarain 7,f4 ,m47 ,a4,d4 #gga4      
,eoghan 7,ibid74 ,a4,d4 #ggf4  ,orach   
7,ibid74 ,a4,d4 #gii4  ,carabran        
7,ibid74 ,a4,d4 #hja4  ,aedhan ,ua      
,raichlich 7,a4 of ,inisf47 ,a4,d4 #hbc4
  ,flann 7,f4 ,m47 ,a4,d4 #hdi4         
,tibrade ,ua ,baethlanaigh 7,f4 ,m47    
,at this period the town was plundered  
and burned by the ,danes who had sailed 
up thither on the ,blackwater4 ,a4,d4   
#hdi4  ,daniel 7,a4 of ,inisf47 ,a4,d4  
#hed4  ,suibne ,ua ,roichlech 7,f4 ,m4  
and ,a4 of ,ulster74  ,what is probably 
his gravestone is one of five           
,irish-inscribed slabs built into the   
west gable of the ,cathedral4 ,a4,d4    

#hfa4  ,daniel ,ua ,liaithidhe 7,f4 ,m47
 ,a4,d4 #hgh4  ,martin ,ua ,roichligh   
7,ibid74  ,another of the inscribed     
stones above referred to asks ,a prayer 
for ,martan4 ,a4,d4 #hhj4  ,flann ,mac  
,forbasaich 7,a4 ,i47 ,a4,d4 #hii4      
,maelbrighte ,mac ,maeldomnaich 7,ibid74
 ,a4,d4 #iah4  ,cormac ,mac ,cuilennan  
7,a4 ,i47  ,he is to be distinguished   
from his more famous namesake of        
,cashel4 ,a4,d4 #icf4  ,ciaran 7,f4 ,m47
 ,a4,d4 #iea4  ,diarmuid 7,ibid74 ,a4,d4
 #ieg4  ,maenach ,mac ,cormaic 7,ibid74 
,a4,d4 #ieh4  ,cathmog 7,ibid74  ,he was
 also bishop of ,cork4 ,a4,d4 #ifc4     
,cinaedh 7,f4 ,m47 ,a4,d4 #ajbe4        
,omaelsluaig 7,cotton's ,fasti74 ,a4,d4 
#ajcd4  ,moriertach ,o',selbach1 bishop 
of ,lismore 7,cotton74 ,a4,d4 #ajfd4    
,mac ,airthir1 bishop 7,cotton74 ,a4,d4 
#ajij4  ,maelduin ,o',rebhacain 7,ibid74
 ,a4,d4 #aaab4  ,gilla ,mochuda         
,o',rebhacain 7,a4 of ,i47 ,a4,d4 #aaac4
  ,nial ,macgettigan4  ,his episcopal   
staff1 possibly enclosing the venerable 

oaken staff of the founder of the abbey1
 is still preserved at ,lismore ,castle4
  ,also known as the ',lismore          
,crozier1' in #bjjd it is housed in     
',the ,treasury' exhibit at the         
,national ,museum of ,ireland1 ,kildare 
,st41 ,dublin #b4 ,a4,d4 #aacd4         
,malchus4  ,most probably he is         
identical with the first bishop of      
,waterford4  ,during his term both ,st4 
,malachy and ,king ,cormac ,mac,carthy  
dwelt as fugitives1 guests or pilgrims1 
at ,lismore4 ,a4,d4 #aadb4  ,ua         
,rebhacain4 ,a4,d4 #aahf4  ,st4         
,christian4  ,he had however resigned   
the bishopric4                          
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1_/                                     
_/1                   _/                
_/                             _/ _/-   
_/                                      
_/                                      
_/                 1'                   

_/                ,tara                 
99                     '-     ,rahen    
_/                  4- 1_/         99   
_/                   _/                 
_/1_/                                   
_/         ,cashel         _/           
1--             99                      
_/---         ,lismore   -_/            
1-               99-1-                  
-_/           _/                        
1-_/        _/                          
--_/--_/'                               
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---               ,,map ,,of ,,ireland  
----------------------------------------
---     ,,transcriber',s ,,note   ,the  
source for this text includes the ,irish
 text  ,english translation on facing   
pages and notes4  ,the notes are quite  
lengthy and should take longer to       
transcribe than the ,english text4      
,except for a few notes transplanted in 
brackets to the body of the text ,i have
 not transcribed them4  ,due to         
inexperience with the ,irish language   

and its script ,i have decided not to   
attempt to transcribe the ,irish text4  
,hopefully someone with the appropriate 
talent and interest will undertake that 
task some day4  ,i have corrected the   
errata as indicated in the source and a 
few obvious printer errors4