,,irish ,,texts ,,society4 ,,comann ,,na ,,sgribeann ,,gaedilge4 ,vol4 ,,xvi4 #aiad4 ,,life ,,of ,,st4 ,,declan ,,of ,,ardmore1 7,edited from ,,ms4 in ,bibliotheque ,royale1 ,brussels71 and ,,life ,,of ,,st4 ,,mochuda ,,of ,,lismore1 7,edited from ,,ms4 in the ,library of ,royal ,irish ,academy71 ,with ,introduction1 ,translation1 and ,notes1 by ,rev4 ,p4 ,power1 ,m4,r4,i4,a41 ,university ,college1 ,cork4 #aiad4 ,,contents4 ,preface ,introduction - ,general - ,st4 ,declan - ,st4 ,mochuda - ,map of ,ireland ,life of ,declan ,life of ,mochuda ,transcriber's ,note ,,preface4 ,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 ,the present editor was studying the ,life of ,declan 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 ,,introduction4 ,i4--,,general4 ,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 ,,ii4--,,st4 ,,declan4 ,if thou hast the right1 ,o ,erin1 to a champion of battle to aid thee thou hast the head of a hundred thousand1 ,declan of ,ardmore4 7,martyrology of ,oengus74 ,five miles or less to the east of ,youghal ,harbour1 on the southern ,irish coast1 a short1 rocky and rather elevated promontory juts1 with a south-easterly trend1 into the ocean4 ,maps and admiralty charts call it ,ram ,head1 but the real name is ,ceann-a-,rama and popularly it is often styled ,ardmore ,head4 ,the material of this inhospitable coast is a hard metamorphic schist which bids defiance to time and weather4 ,landwards the shore curves in clay cliffs to the north-east1 leaving1 between it and the iron headland beyond1 a shallow exposed bay wherein many a proud ship has met her doom4 ,nestling at the north side of the headland and sheltered by the latter from ,atlantic storms stands one of the most remarkable groups of ancient ecclesiastical remains in ,ireland--all that has survived of ,st4 ,declan's holy city of ,ardmore4 ,this embraces a beautiful and perfect round tower1 a singularly interesting ruined church commonly called the cathedral1 the ruins of a second church beside a holy well1 a primitive oratory1 a couple of ogham inscribed pillar stones1 c41 c4 ,no ,irish saint perhaps has so strong a local hold as ,declan or has left so abiding a popular memory4 ,nevertheless his period is one of the great disputed questions of early ,irish history4 ,according to the express testimony of his ,life1 corroborated by testimony of the ,lives of ,,ss4 ,ailbhe and ,ciaran1 he preceded ,st4 ,patrick in the ,irish mission and was a co-temporary of the national apostle4 ,objection1 exception or opposition to the theory of ,declan's early period is based less on any inherent improbability in the theory itself than on contradictions and inconsistencies in the ,life4 ,beyond any doubt the ,life does actually contradict itself2 it makes ,declan a cotemporary of ,patrick in the fifth century and a cotemporary likewise of ,st4 ,david a century later4 ,in any attempted solution of the difficulty involved it may be helpful to remember a special motive likely to animate a tribal histrographer1 scil43--the family relationship1 if we may so call it1 of the two saints2 ,david was bishop of the ,deisi colony in ,wales as ,declan was bishop of their kinsmen of southern ,ireland4 ,it was very probably part of the writer's purpose to call attention to the links of kindred which bound the separated ,deisi2 witness his allusion later to the alleged visit of ,declan to his kinsmen of ,bregia4 ,possibly there were several ,declans1 as there were scores of ,colmans1 ,finians1 c41 and hence perhaps the confusion and some of the apparent inconsistencies4 ,there was certainly a second ,declan1 a disciple of ,st4 ,virgilius1 to whom the latter committed care of a church in ,austria where he died towards close of eighth century4 ,again we find mention of a ,st4 ,declan who was a foster son of ,mogue of ,ferns1 and so on4 ,it is too much1 as ,delehaye 7,legendes ,hagiographiques7 remarks1 to expect the populace to distinguish between namesakes4 ,great men are so rare6 ,is it likely there should have lived two saints of the same name in the same country6 ,the latest commentators on the question of ,st4 ,declan's period--and they happen to be amongst the most weighty--argue strongly in favour of the pre-,patrician mission 7,cfr4 ,prof4 ,kuno ,meyer1 ,learning ,ireland in the ,fifth ,century74 ,discussing the way in which letters first reached our distant island of the west and the causes which led to the proficiency of sixth-century ,ireland in classical learning ,zimmer and ,meyer contend that the seeds of that literary culture1 which flourished in ,ireland of the sixth century1 had been sown therein in the first and second decades of the preceding century by ,gaulish scholars who had fled from their own country owing to invasion of the latter by ,goths and other barbarians4 ,the fact that these scholars1 who were mostly ,christians1 sought asylum in ,ireland indicates that ,christianity had already penetrated thither1 or at any rate that it was known and tolerated there4 ,dr4 ,meyer answers the objection that if so large and so important an invasion of scholars took place we ought have some reference to the fact in the ,irish annals4 ,the annals1 he replies1 are of local origin and they rarely refer in their oldest parts to national events3 moreover they are very meagre in their information about the fifth century4 ,one ,irish reference to the ,gaulish scholars is1 however1 adduced in corroboration2 it occurs in that well known passage in ,st4 ,patrick's ,confessio where the saint cries out against certain rhetoricians in ,ireland who were hostile to him and pagan1--,you rhetoricians who do not know the ,lord1 hear and search ,who it was that called me up1 fool though ,i be1 from the midst of those who think themselves wise and skilled in the law and mighty orators and powerful in everything4 ,who were these rhetorici that have made this passage so difficult for commentators and have caused so various constructions to be put upon it8 ,it is clear1 the professor maintains1 that the reference is to pagan rhetors from ,gaul whose arrogant presumption1 founded on their learning1 made them regard with disdain the comparatively illiterate apostle of the ,scots4 ,everyone is familiar with the classic passage of ,tacitus wherein he alludes to the harbours of ,ireland as being more familiar to continental mariners than those of ,britain4 ,we have references moreover to refugee ,christians who fled to ,ireland from the persecutions of ,diocletian more than a century before ,st4 ,patrick's day2 in addition it is abundantly evident that many ,irishmen--,christians like ,celestius the lieutenant of ,pelagius1 and possibly ,pelagius himself1 amongst them--had risen to distinction or notoriety abroad before middle of the fifth century4 ,possibly the best way to present the question of ,declan's age is to put in tabulated form the arguments of the pre-,patrician advocates against the counter contentions of those who claim that ,declan's period is later than ,patrick's3-- ,for the ,pre-,patrician ,mission4 ,i4--,positive statement of ,life1 corroborated by ,lives of ,,ss4 ,ciaran and ,ailbhe4 ,,ii4--,patrick's apparent avoidance of the ,principality of ,decies4 ,,iii4--,the peculiar ,declan cult and the strong local hold which ,declan has maintained4 ,against ,theory of ,early ,fifth ,century period4 ,i4--,contradictions1 anachronisms1 c41 of ,life4 ,,ii4--,lack of allusion to ,declan in the ,lives of ,st4 ,patrick4 ,,iii4--,prosper's testimony to the mission of ,palladius as first bishop to the believing ,scots4 ,,iv4--,alleged motives for later invention of ,pre-,patrician story4 ,in this matter and at this hour it is hardly worth appealing to the authority of ,lanigan and the scholars of the past4 ,much evidence not available in ,lanigan's day is now at the service of scholars4 ,we are to look rather at the reasoning of ,colgan1 ,ussher1 and ,lanigan than to the mere weight of their names4 ,referring in order to our tabulated grounds of argument1 pro and con1 and taking the pro arguments first1 we may 7,i47 discard as evidence for our purpose the ,life of ,st4 ,ibar which is very fragmentary and otherwise a rather unsatisfactory document4 ,the ,lives of ,ailbhe1 ,ciaran1 and ,declan are however mutually corroborative and consistent4 ,the ,roman visit and the alleged tutelage under ,hilarius are probably embellishments2 they look like inventions to explain something and they may contain more than a kernel of truth4 ,at any rate they are matters requiring further investigation and elucidation4 ,in this connection it may be useful to recall that the ,life 7,latin7 of ,st4 ,ciaran has been attributed by ,colgan to ,evinus the disciple and panegyrist of ,st4 ,patrick4 ,patrick's apparent neglect of the ,decies 7,,ii47 may have no special significance4 ,at best it is but negative evidence3 taken1 however1 in connection with 7,i47 and its consectaria it is suggestive4 ,we can hardly help speculating why the apostle--passing as it were by its front door--should have given the go-bye to a region so important as the ,munster ,decies4 ,perhaps he sent preachers into it2 perhaps there was no special necessity for a formal mission1 as the faith had already found entrance4 ,it is a little noteworthy too that we do not find ,st4 ,patrick's name surviving in any ecclesiastical connection with the ,decies1 if we except ,patrick's ,well1 near ,clonmel1 and this ,well is within a mile or so of the territorial frontier4 ,moreover the southern portion of the present ,tipperary ,county had been ceded by ,aengus to the ,deisi1 only just previous to ,patrick's advent1 and had hardly yet had sufficient time to become absorbed4 ,the whole story of ,declan's alleged relations with ,patrick undoubtedly suggests some irregularity in ,declan's mission--an irregularity which was capable of rectification through ,patrick and which de facto was finally so rectified4 7,,iii47 ,no one in ,eastern ,munster requires to be told how strong is the cult of ,st4 ,declan throughout ,decies and the adjacent territory4 ,it is hardly too much to say that the ,declan tradition in ,waterford and ,cork is a spiritual actuality1 extraordinary and unique1 even in a land which till recently paid special popular honour to its local saints4 ,in traditional popular regard ,declan in the ,decies has ever stood first1 foremost1 and pioneer4 ,carthage1 founder of the tribal see1 has held and holds in the imagination of the people only a secondary place4 ,declan1 whencesoever or whenever he came1 is regarded as the spiritual father to whom the ,deisi owe the gift of faith4 ,how far this tradition and the implied belief in ,declan's priority and independent mission are derived from circulation of the ,life throughout ,munster in the last few centuries it is difficult to gauge1 but the tradition seems to have flourished as vigorously in the days of ,colgan as it does to-day4 ,declan's pattern at ,ardmore continues to be still the most noted celebration of its kind in ,ireland4 ,a few years ago it was participated in by as many as fourteen thousand people from all parts of ,waterford1 ,cork1 and ,tipperary4 ,the scenes and ceremonies have been so frequently described that it is not necessary to recount them here--suffice it to say that the devotional practices and1 in fact1 the whole celebration is of a purely popular character receiving no approbation1 and but bare toleration1 from church or clergy4 ,even to the present day ,declan's name is borne as their praenomen by hundreds of ,waterford men1 and1 before introduction of the modern practice of christening with foolish foreign names1 its use was far more common1 as the ancient baptismal registers of ,ardmore1 ,old ,parish1 and ,clashmore attest4 ,on the other hand ,declan's name is associated with comparatively few places in the ,decies4 ,of these the best known is ,relig ,deaglain1 a disused graveyard and early church site on the townland of ,drumroe1 near ,cappoquin4 ,there was also an ancient church called ,killdeglain1 near ,stradbally4 ,against the theory of the pre-,patrician or citra-,patrician mission we have first the objection1 which really has no weight1 and which we shall not stop to discuss1 that it is impossible for ,christianity at that early date to have found its way to this distant island1 beyond the boundary of the world4 ,an argument on a different plane is 7,i471 the undoubtedly contradictory and inconsistent character of the ,life4 ,it is easy however to exaggerate the importance of this point4 ,modern critical methods were undreamed of in the days of our hagiographer1 who wrote1 moreover1 for edification only in a credulous age4 ,most of the historical documents of the period are in a greater or less degree uncritical but that does not discredit their testimony however much it may confuse their editors4 ,it can be urged moreover that two mutually incompatible genealogies of the saint are given4 ,the genealogy given by ,mac,firbisigh seems in fact to disagree in almost every possible detail with the genealogy in #bc ,m4 #ej ,r4,i4,a4 ,that however is like an argument that ,declan never existed4 ,it really suggests and almost postulates the existence of a second ,declan whose ,acts and those of our ,declan have become mutually confused4 7,,ii47 ,absence of ,declan's name from the ,acts of ,patrick is a negative argument4 ,it is explicable perhaps by the supposed irregularity of ,declan's preaching4 ,declan was certainly earlier than ,mochuda and yet there is no reference to him in the ,life of the latter saint4 ,ailbhe however is referred to in the ,tripartite ,life of ,patrick and the cases of ,ailbhe and ,declan are a pari2 the two saints stand or fall together4 7,,iv47 ,motives for invention of the pre-,patrician myth are alleged1 scil43--to rebut certain claims to jurisdiction1 tribute or visitation advanced by ,armagh in after ages4 ,it is hard to see however how resistance to the claims in question could be better justified on the theory of a pre-,patrician ,declan1 who admittedly acknowledged ,patrick's supremacy1 than on the admission of a post-,patrician mission4 ,that in ,declan we have to deal with a very early ,christian teacher of the ,decies there can be no doubt4 ,if not anterior to ,patrick he must have been the latter's cotemporary4 ,declan however had failed to convert the chieftain of his race and for this--reading between the lines of the ,life--we seem to hear ,patrick blaming him4 ,the monuments proper of ,declan remaining at ,ardmore are 7a7 his oratory near the ,cathedral and ,round ,tower in the graveyard1 7b7 his stone on the beach1 7c7 his well on the cliff1 and 7d7 another stone said to have been found in his tomb and preserved at ,ardmore for long ages with great reveration4 ,the ,life refers moreover to the saint's pastoral staff and his bell but these have disappeared for centuries4 ,the ,oratory is simply a primitive church of the usual sixth century type3 it stands #ac' #d x #h' #i in the clear1 and has1 or had1 the usual high-pitched gables and square-headed west doorway with inclining jambs4 ,another characteristic feature of the early oratory is seen in the curious antae or prolongation of the side walls4 ,locally the little building is known as the beannacan1 in allusion1 most likely1 to its high gables or the finials which once1 no doubt1 in ,irish fashion1 adorned its roof4 ,though somewhat later than ,declan's time this primitive building is very intimately connected with the ,saint4 ,popularly it is supposed to be his grave and within it is a hollow space scooped out1 wherein it is said his ashes once reposed4 ,it is highly probable that tradition is quite correct as to the saint's grave1 over which the little church was erected in the century following ,declan's death4 ,the oratory was furnished with a roof of slate by ,bishop ,mills in #agaf4 ,st4 ,declan's ,stone is a glacial boulder of very hard conglomerate which lies on a rocky ledge of beach beneath the village of ,ardmore4 ,it measures some #h' #f x #d' #f x #d' #j and reposes upon two slightly jutting points of the underlying metamorphic rock4 ,wonderful virtues are attributed to ,st4 ,declan's ,stone1 which1 on the occasion of the patronal feast1 is visited by hundreds of devotees who1 to participate in its healing efficacy and beneficence1 crawl laboriously on face and hands through the narrow space between the boulder and the underlying rock4 ,near by1 at foot of a new storm-wall1 are two similar but somewhat smaller boulders which1 like their venerated and more famous neighbour1 were all wrenched originally by a glacier from their home in the ,comeragh ,mountains twenty miles away4 ,st4 ,declan's ,well1 beside some remains of a rather large and apparently twelfth century church on the cliff1 in the townland of ,dysert is diverted into a shallow basin in which pilgrims bathe feet and hands4 ,set in some comparatively modern masonry over the well are a carved crucifixion and other figures of apparently late mediaeval character4 ,some malicious interference with this well led1 nearly a hundred years since1 to much popular indignation and excitement4 ,the second ,st4 ,declan's ,stone was a small1 cross-inscribed jet-black piece of slate or marble1 approximately--#b or #c x #a #a_/b4 ,formerly it seems to have had a small silver cross inset and was in great demand locally as an amulet for cattle curing4 ,it disappeared however1 some fifty years or so since1 but very probably it could still be recovered in ,dungarvan4 ,far the most striking of all the monuments at ,ardmore is1 of course1 the ,round ,tower which1 in an excellent state of preservation1 stands with its conical cap of stone nearly a hundred feet high4 ,two remarkable1 if not unique1 features of the tower are the series of sculptured corbels which project between the floors on the inside1 and the four projecting belts or zones of masonry which divide the tower into storeys externally4 ,the tower's architectural anomalies are paralleled by its history which is correspondingly unique3 it stood a regular siege in #afdb1 when ordnance was brought to bear on it and it was defended by forty confederates against the ,english under ,lords ,dungarvan and ,broghil4 ,a few yards to north of the ,round ,tower stands ,the ,cathedral illustrating almost every phase of ecclesiastical architecture which flourished in ,ireland from ,st4 ,patrick to the ,reformation--,cyclopean1 ,celtic-,romanesque1 ,transitional and ,pointed4 ,the chancel arch is possibly the most remarkable and beautiful illustration of the ,transitional that we have4 ,an extraordinary feature of the church is the wonderful series of ,celtic arcades and panels filled with archaic sculptures in relief which occupy the whole external face of the west gable4 ,st4 ,declan's foundation at ,ardmore seems 7teste ,moran's ,archdall7 to have been one of the ,irish religious houses which accepted the reform of ,pope ,innocent at the ,lateran ,council and to have transformed itself into a ,regular ,canonry4 ,it would however be possible to hold1 on the evidence1 that it degenerated into a mere parochial church4 ,we hear indeed of two or three episcopal successors of the saint1 scil43--,ultan who immediately followed him1 ,eugene who witnessed a charter to the abbey of ,cork in #aagd1 and ,moelettrim ,o ,duibhe-rathre who died in #acjc after he had1 according to the annals of ,inisfallen1 erected and finished the ,church of ,ardmore4 ,the ,wars of the ,gaedhil and ,gall have reference1 circa #hbd or #hbe1 to plunder by the ,northmen of ,disert ,tipraite which is almost certainly the church of ,dysert by the ,holy ,well at ,ardmore4 ,the same fleet1 on the same expedition1 plundered ,dunderrow 7near ,kinsale71 ,inisshannon 7,bandon ,river71 ,lismore1 and ,kilmolash4 ,regarding the age of our ,life it is difficult with the data at hand to say anything very definite4 ,while dogmatism however is dangerous indefiniteness is unsatisfying4 ,true1 we cannot trace the genealogy of the present version beyond middle of the sixteenth century1 but its references to ancient monuments existing at date of its compilation show it to be many centuries older4 ,its language proves little or nothing1 for1 being a popular work1 it would be modernised to date by each successive scribe4 ,colgan was of opinion it was a composition of the eighth century4 ,ussher and ,ware1 who had the ,life in very ancient codices1 also thought it of great antiquity4 ,papebrach1 the ,bollandist1 on the other hand1 considered the ,life could not be older than the twelfth century1 but this opinion of his seems to have been based on a misapprehension4 ,in the absence of all diocesan colour or allusion one feels constrained to assign the production to some period previous to ,rathbreasail4 ,we should not perhaps be far wrong in assigning the first collection of materials to somewhere in the eighth century or in the century succeeding4 ,the very vigorous ecclesiastical revival of the eleventh century1 at conclusion of the ,danish wars1 must have led to some revision of the country's religious literature4 ,the introduction1 a century and-a-half later1 of the great religious orders most probably led to translation of the ,life into ,latin and its casting into shape for reading in refectory or choir4 ,only three surviving copies of the ,irish ,life are known to the writer3 one in the ,royal ,library at ,brussels1 the second in the ,royal ,irish ,academy ,collection 7,m4 #bc1 #ej1 pp4 #aji-abj71 and the third in possession of ,professor ,hyde4 ,as the second and third enumerated are copies of one imperfect exemplar it has not been thought necessary to collate both with the ,brussels ,,ms4 which has furnished the text here printed4 ,m4 #bc1 #ej 7,r4,i4,a47 has however been so collated and the marginal references initialled ,b are to that imperfect copy4 ,the latter1 by the way1 is in the handwriting of ,john ,murphy na ,raheenach1 and is dated #agdj4 ,it has not been thought necessary to give more than the important variants4 ,the present text is a reproduction of the ,brussels ,,ms4 plus lengthening of contractions4 ,as regards lengthening in question it is to be noted that the well known contraction for ea or e has been uniformly transliterated e4 ,otherwise orthography of the ,,ms4 has been scrupulously followed--even where inconsistent or incorrect4 ,for the division into paragraphs the editor is not responsible2 he has merely followed the division originated1 or adopted1 by the scribe4 ,the ,life herewith presented was copied in #afbi by ,brother ,michael ,o',clery of the ,four ,masters' staff from an older ,,ms4 of ,eochy ,o',heffernan's dated #aehb4 ,the ,,ms4 of ,o',heffernan is referred to by our scribe as seinleabar1 but his reference is rather to the contents than to the copy4 ,apparently ,o',clery did more than transcribe2 he re-edited1 as was his wont1 into the literary ,irish of his day4 ,a page of the ,brussels ,,ms41 reproduced in facsimile as a frontispiece to the present volume1 will give the student a good idea of ,o',clery's script and style4 ,occasional notes on ,declan in the martyrologies and elsewhere give some further information about our saint4 ,unfortunately however the alleged facts are not always capable of reconciliation with statements of our ,life1 and again the existence of a second1 otherwise unknown1 ,declan is suggested4 ,the introduction of rye is attributed to him in the ,calendar of ,oengus1 as introduction of wheat is credited to ,st4 ,finan ,camm1 and introduction of bees to ,st4 ,modomnoc1--,it was the full of his shoe that ,declan brought1 the full of his shoe likewise ,finan1 but the full of his bell ,modomnoc 7,cal4 ,oeng41 ,april #gth74 ,more puzzling is the note in the same ,calendar which makes ,declan a foster son of ,mogue of ,ferns6 ,this entry illustrates the way in which errors originate4 ,a former scribe inadvertently copied in1 after ,declan's name1 portion of the entry immediately following which relates to ,colman ,hua ,liathain4 ,successive scribes re-copied the error without discovering it and so it became stereotyped4 ,,iii4--,,st4 ,,mochuda4 ,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 king4444 #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 ,,map ,,of ,,ireland4 ---------------------------------------- --- --- 1- _/ 1_/ _/1 _/ _/ _/ _/- _/ _/ _/ 1' _/ ,tara 99 '- ,rahen _/ 4- 1_/ 99 _/ _/ _/1_/ _/ ,cashel _/ 1-- 99 _/--- ,lismore -_/ 1- 99-1- -_/ _/ 99 1-_/ _/ ,ardmore --_/--_/' ---------------------------------------- --- ,,life ,,of ,,st4 ,,declan4 ,,betha ,,decclain4 #a4 ,the most blessed ,bishop ,declan of the most noble race of the kings of ,ireland1 i4e41 the holy bishop who is called ,declan was of the most noble royal family of ,ireland--a family which held the sceptre and exacted tribute from all ,ireland at ,tara for ages4 ,declan was by birth of noble blood as will appear from his origin and genealogy1 for it was from ,eochaidh ,feidhleach1 the powerful ,ardrigh of ,ireland for twelve years1 that he sprang4 ,eochaidh aforesaid1 had three sons1 scil43--,breas1 ,nar1 and ,lothola1 who are called the three ,finneavna2 there reigned one hundred and seven kings of their race and kindred before and after them1 i4e4 of the race of ,eremon1 king of ,ireland1--before the introduction of ,christianity and since4 ,these three youths lay one day with their own sister ,clothra1 daughter of the same father1 and she conceived of them4 ,the son she brought forth as a consequence of that intercourse was marked by three red wavy lines which indicated his descent from the three youths aforesaid4 ,he was named ,lugaidh ,sriabhdearg from the three lines sriabaib in question1 and he was beautiful to behold and of greater bodily strength in infancy than is usual with children of his age4 ,he commenced his reign as king of ,ireland the year in which ,caius ,caesar ,caligula died and he reigned for twenty-six years4 ,his son was named ,criomthan ,nianair who reigned but sixteen years4 ,criomthan's son was named ,fearadach ,finnfechtnach whose son was ,fiacha ,finnolaidh whose son again was ,tuathal ,teachtmhar4 ,this ,tuathal had a son ,felimidh ,reachtmhar who had in turn three sons--,conn ,ceadcathach1 ,eochaidh ,finn1 and ,fiacha ,suighde4 ,conn was king of ,ireland for twenty years and the productiveness of crops and soil and of dairies in the time of ,conn are worthy of commemoration and of fame to the end of time4 ,conn was killed in ,magh ,cobha by the ,ulstermen1 scil43--by ,tiopruid ,tireach and it is principally his seed which has held the kingship of ,ireland ever since4 ,eochaidh ,finn was second son to ,felimidh ,reachtmhar and he migrated to the latter's province of ,leinster1 and it is in that province his race and progeny have remained since then4 ,they are called ,leinstermen1 and there are many chieftains and powerful persons of them in ,leinster4 ,fiacha ,suighde moreover1 although he died before he succeeded to the chief sovereignty1 possessed land around ,tara4 ,he left three sons--,ross1 ,oengus1 and ,eoghan who were renowned for martial deeds--valiant and heroic in battle and in conflict4 ,of the three1 ,oengus excelled in all gallant deeds so that he came to be styled ,oengus of the poisonous javelin4 ,cormac ,mac ,art ,mac ,conn it was who reigned in ,ireland at this time4 ,cormac had a son named ,ceallach who took by force the daughter of ,eoghan ,mac ,fiacha ,suighde to dwell with him1 i4e4 ,credhe the daughter of ,eoghan4 ,when ,oengus ,gaebuaibhtheach 7of the poisonous javelin7 heard this1 viz41 that the daughter of his brother had been abducted by ,ceallach he was roused to fury and he followed ,ceallach to ,tara taking with him his foster child1 scil43--,corc ,duibhne1 the son of ,cairbre1 son of ,conaire1 son of ,mogha ,lamha whom ,cormac held as a hostage from the ,munstermen1 and whom he had given for safe custody to ,oengus4 ,when ,oengus reached ,tara he beheld ,ceallach sitting behind ,cormac4 ,he thrust his spear at ,ceallach and pierced him through from front to back4 ,however as he was withdrawing the spear the handle struck ,cormac's eye and knocked it out and then1 striking the steward1 killed him4 ,he himself 7,oengus7 with his foster child escaped safely4 ,after a time ,cormac1 grieving for the loss of his son1 his eye and his steward at the hands of ,oengus of the poisonous javelin and of his kinsmen1 ordered their expulsion from their tribal territory1 i4e4 from the ,decies of ,tara1 and not alone from these1 but from whole northern half of ,ireland4 ,however1 seven battles were fought in which tremendous loss was inflicted on ,cormac and his followers before ,oengus and his people1 i4e4 the three sons of ,fiacha ,suighde1 namely1 ,ross and ,oengus and ,eoghan1 as we have already said1 were eventually defeated1 and obliged to fly the country and to suffer exile4 ,consequent on their banishment as above by the king of ,ireland they sought hospitality from the king of ,munster1 ,oilill ,olum1 because ,sadhbh1 daughter of ,conn ,ceadcathach was his wife4 ,they got land from him1 scil43 the ,decies of ,munster1 and it is to that race1 i4e4 the race of ,eoghan ,mac ,fiacha ,suighde that the kings and country of the ,decies belong ever since4 #b4 ,of this same race of ,eoghan was the holy bishop ,declan of whom ,i shall speak later scil43 ,declan son of ,eirc1 son of ,trein1 son of ,lughaidh1 son of ,miaich1 son of ,brian1 son of ,eoghan1 son of ,art ,corp1 son of ,moscorb1 son of ,mesgeadra1 son of ,measfore1 son of ,cuana ,cainbhreathaigh1 son of ,conaire ,cathbuadhaigh1 son of ,cairbre1 son of ,eoghan1 son of ,fiacha ,suighde1 son of ,felimidh ,reachtmhar1 son of ,tuathal ,teachtmhar4 ,the father of ,declan was therefore ,erc ,mac ,trein4 ,he and his wife ,deithin went on a visit to the house of his kinsman ,dobhran about the time that ,declan's birth was due4 ,the child she bore was ,declan1 whom she brought forth without sickness1 pain or difficulty but in being lifted up afterwards he struck his head against a great stone4 ,let it be mentioned that ,declan showed proofs of sanctification and power of miracle-working in his mother's womb1 as the prophet writes3--,de vulva sanctificavi te et prophetam in gentibus dedi te ,jeremias #a3e 7,before thou camest forth out of the womb ,i sanctified thee and made thee a prophet unto the nations74 ,thus it is that ,declan was sanctified in his mother's womb and was given by ,god as a prophet to the pagans for the conversion of multitudes of them from heathenism and the misery of unbelief to the worship of ,christ and to the ,catholic faith1 as we shall see later on4 ,the very soft apex of his head struck against a hard stone1 as we have said1 and where the head came in contact with the stone it made therein a hollow and cavity of its own form and shape1 without injury of any kind to him4 ,great wonder thereupon seized all who witnessed this1 for ,ireland was at this time without the true faith and it was rarely that any one 7therein7 had shown heavenly ,christian signs4 ,declan's ,rock is the name of the stone with which the ,saint's head came into contact4 ,the water or rain which falls into the before-mentioned cavity 7the place of ,declan's head7 dispels sickness and infirmity1 by the grace of ,god1 as proof of ,declan's sanctity4 #c4 ,on the night of ,declan's birth a wondrous sign was revealed to all1 that is to the people who were in the neighbourhood of the birthplace2 this was a ball of fire which was seen blazing on summit of the house in which the child lay1 until it reached up to heaven and down again1 and it was surrounded by a multitude of angels4 ,it assumed the shape of a ladder such as the ,patriarch1 ,jacob saw ,genesis #bh3ab4 ,the persons who saw and heard these things wondered at them4 ,they did not know 7for the true faith had not yet been preached to them or in this region7 that it was ,god who 7thus7 manifested ,his wondrous power 7works7 in the infant1 ,his chosen child4 ,upon the foregoing manifestation a certain true ,christian1 scil43--,colman1 at that time a priest and afterwards a holy bishop1 came1 rejoicing greatly and filled with the spirit of prophecy1 to the place where ,declan was2 he preached the faith of ,christ to the parents and made known to them that the child was full of the grace of ,god4 ,he moreover revealed to them the height of glory and honour to which the infant should attain before ,god and men1 and it was revealed to him that he 7,declan7 should spend his life in sanctity and devotion4 ,through the grace of ,god1 these1 i4e4 ,erc and ,deithin1 believed in ,god and ,colman1 and they delivered the child for baptism to ,colman who baptised him thereupon1 giving him the name of ,declan4 ,when1 in the presence of all1 he had administered ,baptism1 ,colman spoke this prophecy concerning the infant ,truly1 beloved child and lord you will be in heaven and on earth most high and holy1 and your good deeds1 fame1 and sanctity will fill all 7the four quarters of7 ,ireland and you will convert your own nation and the ,decies from paganism to ,christianity4 ,on that account ,i bind myself to you by the tie of brotherhood and ,i commend myself to your sanctity4 #d4 ,colman thereupon returned to his own abode2 he commanded that ,declan should be brought up with due care1 that he should be well trained1 and be set to study at the age of seven years if there could be found in his neighbourhood a competent ,christian scholar to undertake his tuition4 ,even at the period of his baptism grace and surpassing charity manifested themselves in the countenance of ,declan so that it was understood of all that great should be the goodness and the spiritual charm of his mature age4 ,when ,dobhran had heard and seen these things concerning his kinsman ,erc he requested the latter and ,deithin to give him the child to foster1 and with this request ,erc complied4 ,the name of the locality was ,dobhran's ,place at that time1 but since then it has been ,declan's ,place4 ,dobhran presented the homestead to ,declan and removed his own dwelling thence to another place4 ,in after years1 when ,declan had become a bishop1 he erected there a celebrated cell in honour of ,god1 and this is the situation of the cell in question3--,in the southern part of the ,decies1 on the east side of ,magh ,sgiath and not far from the city of ,mochuda i4e4 ,lismore4 ,for the space of seven years ,declan was fostered with great care by ,dobhran 7his father's brother7 and was much loved by him4 ,god wrought many striking miracles through ,declan's instrumentality during those years4 ,by aid of the ,holy ,spirit dwelling in him he 7,declan7--discreet ,christian man that he was--avoided every fault and every unlawful desire during that time4 #e4 ,on the completion of seven years ,declan was taken from his parents and friends and fosterers to be sent to study as ,colman had ordained4 ,it was to ,dioma they sent him1 a certain devout man perfect in the faith1 who had come at that time by ,god's design into ,ireland having spent a long period abroad in acquiring learning4 ,he 7,dioma7 built in that place a small cell wherein he might instruct ,declan and dwell himself4 ,there was given him also1 to instruct1 together with ,declan1 another child1 scil41 ,cairbre ,mac ,colmain1 who became afterwards a holy learned bishop4 ,both these were for a considerable period pursuing their studies together4 #f4 ,there were seven men dwelling in ,magh ,sgiath1 who frequently saw the fiery globe which it has been already told they first beheld at the time of ,declan's birth4 ,it happened by the ,grace of ,god that they were the first persons to reveal and describe that lightning4 ,these seven came to the place where ,declan abode and took him for their director and master4 ,they made known publicly in the presence of all that1 later on1 he should be a bishop and they spoke prophetically3--,the day1 ,o beloved child and servant of ,god1 will come when we shall commit ourselves and our lands to thee4 ,and it fell out thus 7as they foretold71 for1 upon believing1 they were baptised and became wise1 devout 7and7 attentive and erected seven churches in honour of ,god around ,magh ,sgiath4 #g4 ,declan remained a long time with ,dioma1 the holy man we have named1 and acquired science and sanctity and diversity of learning and doctrine1 and he was prudent1 mild1 and capable so that many who knew his nobility of blood came when they had heard of the fullness of his sanctity and grace4 ,moreover they submitted themselves to him and accepted his religious rule4 ,declan judged it proper that he should visit ,rome to study discipline and ecclesiastical system1 to secure for himself esteem and approbation thence1 and obtain authority to preach to the 7,irish7 people and to bring back with him the rules of ,rome as these obtained in ,rome itself4 ,he set out with his followers and he tarried not till he arrived in ,rome where they remained some time4 #h4 ,at the same period there was a holy bishop1 i4e4 ,ailbe1 who had been in ,rome for a number of years before this and was in the household of ,pope ,hilary by whom he had been made a bishop4 ,when ,declan with his disciples arrived in ,rome ,ailbe received him with great affection and gladness and he bore testimony before the ,roman people to his 7,declan's7 sanctity of life and nobility of blood4 ,he 7,declan7 therefore received marks of honour and sincere affection from the people and clergy of ,rome when they came to understand how worthy he was1 for he was comely1 of good appearance1 humble in act1 sweet in speech1 prudent in counsel1 frank in conversation1 virtuous in mien1 generous in gifts1 holy in life and resplendent in miracles4 #i4 ,when ,declan had spent a considerable time in ,rome he was ordained a bishop by the ,pope1 who gave him church-books and rules and orders and sent him to ,ireland that he might preach there4 ,having bidden farewell to the ,pope and received the latter's blessing ,declan commenced his journey to ,ireland4 ,many ,romans followed him to ,ireland to perform their pilgrimage and to spend their lives there under the yoke and rule of ,bishop ,declan1 and amongst those who accompanied him was ,runan1 son of the king of ,rome2 he was dear to ,declan4 #aj4 ,on the road through ,italy ,bishop ,declan and ,patrick met4 ,patrick was not a bishop at that time1 though he was 7made a bishop7 subsequently by ,pope ,celestinus1 who sent him to preach to the ,irish4 ,patrick was truly chief bishop of the ,irish island4 ,they bade farewell to one another and they made a league and bond of mutual fraternity and kissed in token of peace4 ,they departed thereupon each on his own journey1 scil43--,declan to ,ireland and ,patrick to ,rome4 #aa4 ,declan was beginning mass one day in a church which lay in his road1 when there was sent him from heaven a little black bell1 7which came7 in through the window of the church and remained on the altar before ,declan4 ,declan greatly rejoiced thereat and gave thanks and glory to ,christ on account of it1 and it filled him with much courage to combat the error and false teaching of heathendom4 ,he gave the bell for safe keeping and carriage1 to ,runan aforesaid1 i4e4 son of the king of ,rome1 and this is its name in ,ireland--,the ,duibhin ,declain1 and it is from its colour it derives its name1 for its colour is black dub4 ,there were manifested1 by grace of ,god and ,declan's merits1 many miracles through its agency and it is still preserved in ,declan's church4 #ab4 ,when ,declan and his holy companions arrived at the ,sea of ,icht ,english ,channel he failed1 owing to lack of money1 to find a ship1 for he did not have the amount demanded1 and every ship was refused him on that account4 ,he therefore struck his bell and prayed to ,god for help in this extremity4 ,in a short time after this they saw coming towards them on the crest of the waves an empty1 sailless ship and no man therein4 ,thereupon ,declan said3--,let us enter the ship in the name of ,christ1 and ,he who has sent it to us will direct it skilfully to what harbour soever ,he wishes we should go4 ,at the word of ,declan they entered in1 and the ship floated tranquilly and safely until it reached harbour in ,england4 ,upon its abandonment by ,declan and his disciples the ship turned back and went again to the place from which it had come and the people who saw the miracles and heard of them magnified the name of the ,lord and ,declan1 and the words of the prophet ,david were verified3--,mirabilis ,deus in ,sanctis ,suis ,psalm #fg7fh73cf 7,god is wonderful in ,his ,saints74 #ac4 ,after this ,declan came to ,ireland4 ,declan was wise like a serpent and gentle like a dove and industrious like the bee1 for as the bee gathers honey and avoids the poisonous herbs so did ,declan1 for he gathered the sweet sap of grace and ,holy ,scripture till he was filled therewith4 ,there were in ,ireland before ,patrick came thither four holy bishops with their followers who evangelized and sowed the word of ,god there2 these are the four3--,ailbe1 ,bishop ,ibar1 ,declan1 and ,ciaran4 ,they drew multitudes from error to the faith of ,christ1 although it was ,patrick who sowed the faith throughout ,ireland and it is he who turned chiefs and kings of ,ireland to the way of baptism1 faith and sacrifice and everlasting judgment4 #ad4 ,these three1 scil43--,declan1 ,ailbe and ,bishop ,ibar made a bond of friendship and a league amongst themselves and their spiritual posterity in heaven and on earth for ever and they loved one another4 ,,ss4 ,ailbe and ,declan1 especially1 loved one another as if they were brothers so that1 on account of their mutual affection they did not like to be separated from one another--except when their followers threatened to separate them by force if they did not go apart for a very short time4 ,after this ,declan returned to his own country--to the ,decies of ,munster--where he preached1 and baptized1 in the name of ,christ1 many whom he turned to the ,catholic faith from the power of the devil4 ,he built numerous churches in which he placed many of his own followers to serve and worship ,god and to draw people to ,god from the wiles of ,satan4 #ae4 ,once on a time ,declan came on a visit to the place of his birth1 where he remained forty days there and established a religious house in which devout men have dwelt ever since4 ,then came the seven men we have already mentioned as having made their abode around ,magh ,sgiath and as having prophesied concerning ,declan4 ,they now dedicated themselves and their establishment to him as they had promised and these are their names3--,mocellac and ,riadan1 ,colman1 ,lactain1 ,finnlaoc1 ,kevin1 c4 ,mobi4 ,these therefore were under the rule and spiritual sway of bishop ,declan thenceforward1 and they spent their lives devoutly there and wrought many wonders afterwards4 #af4 ,after some time ,declan set out to visit ,aongus ,mac,natfrich1 king of ,cashel1 to preach to him and to convert him to the faith of ,christ4 ,declan however had two uterine brothers1 sons of ,aongus1 scil43 ,colman and ,eoghan4 ,the grace of the ,holy ,ghost inspiring him ,colman went to ,ailbe of ,emly and received baptism and the religious habit at the latter's hands1 and he remained for a space sedulously studying science until he became a saintly and perfect man4 ,eochaid however remained as he was 7at home7--expecting the kingdom of ,munster on his father's death1 and he besought his father to show due honour to his brother ,declan4 ,the king did so and put no obstacle in the way of ,declan's preaching but was pleased with ,declan's religion and doctrine1 although he neither believed nor accepted baptism himself4 ,it is said that refusal 7of baptism7 was based on this ground3 ,declan was of the ,decies and of ,conn's ,half1 while ,aongus himself was of the ,eoghanacht of ,cashel of ,munster--always hostile to the ,desii4 ,it was not therefore through ill will to the faith that he believed not1 as is proved from this that1 when the king heard of the coming to him of ,patrick1 the archbishop of ,ireland1 a man who was of ,british race against which the ,irish cherished no hate1 not only did he believe but he went from his own city of ,cashel to meet him1 professed ,christianity and was immediately baptised4 #ag4 ,after this ,declan1 having sown the word of ,god and preached to the king 7although the latter did not assent to his doctrines71 proceeded to his own country and they 7the ,desii7 believed and received baptism except the king alone and the people of his household who were every day promising to believe and be baptised4 ,it however came about through the ,devil's agency that they hesitated continually and procrastinated4 #ah4 ,other authorities declare that ,declan went many times to ,rome1 but we have no written testimony from the ancient biographers that he went there more than three times4 ,on one of these occasions ,declan paid a visit to the holy bishop of the ,britons whose name was ,david at the church which is called ,killmuine ,menevia where the bishop dwelt beside the shore of the sea which divides ,ireland from ,britain4 ,the bishop received ,declan with honour and he remained there forty days1 in affection and joy1 and they sang ,mass each day and they entered into a bond of charity which continued between themselves and their successors for ever afterwards4 ,on the expiration of the forty days ,declan took leave of ,david giving him a kiss in token of peace and set out himself and his followers to the shore of the sea to take ship for ,ireland4 #ai4 ,now the bell which we have alluded to as sent from heaven to ,declan1 was1 at that time1 in the custody of ,runan to carry as we have said1 for ,declan did not wish1 on any account1 to part with it4 ,on this particular day as they were proceeding towards the ship ,runan entrusted it to another member of the company4 ,on reaching the shore however the latter laid the bell on a rock by the shore and forgot it till they were half way across the sea4 ,then they remembered it and on remembrance they were much distressed4 ,declan was very sorrowful that the gift sent him by the ,lord from heaven should have been forgotten in a place where he never expected to find it again4 ,thereupon raising his eyes heavenward he prayed to ,god within his heart and he said to his followers3--,lay aside your sorrow for it is possible with ,god who sent that bell in the beginning to send it now again by some marvellous ship4 ,very fully and wonderfully and beautifully the creature without reason or understanding obeyed its creator1 for the very heavy unwieldy rock floated buoyantly and without deviation1 so that in a short time they beheld it in their rear with the bell upon it4 ,and when his people saw this wondrous thing it filled them with love for ,god and reverence for their master4 ,declan thereupon addressed them prophetically3--,permit the bell to precede you and follow it exactly and whatsoever haven it will enter into it is there my city and my bishopric will be whence ,i shall go to paradise and there my resurrection will be4 ,meantime the bell preceded the ship1 and it eased down its great speed remaining slightly in advance of the ship1 so that it could be seen from and not overtaken by the latter4 ,the bell directed its course to ,ireland until it reached a harbour on the south coast1 scil43--in the ,decies of ,munster1 at an island called1 at that time1 ,high ,sheep ,island ,aird na g,ccaorac and the ship made the same port1 as ,declan declared4 ,the holy man went ashore and gave thanks and praise to ,god that he had reached the place of his resurrection4 ,now1 in that island depastured the sheep belonging to the wife of the chieftain of ,decies and it is thence that it derives its ,irish name--,ard-na- ,ccaorac1 scil43--there was in it a high hill and it was a promontory beautiful to behold4 ,one of the party1 ascending the summit of the hill1 said to ,declan3--,how can this little height support your people8 ,declan replied3--,do not call it little hill1 beloved son1 but 'great height' ard mor1 and that name has adhered to the city ever since1 scil43--,ardmore-,declain4 ,after this ,declan went to the king of the ,desii and asked of him the aforesaid island4 ,whereupon the king gave it to him4 #bj4 ,declan next returned to ,ait-m,breasail where1 in a haven at the north side1 were the shipping and boats of the island1 plying thither and backwards4 ,the people of the island hid all their boats not willing that ,declan should settle there2 they dreaded greatly that if ,declan came to dwell there they themselves should be expelled4 ,whereupon his disciples addressed ,declan3--,father1 said they1 ,many things are required 7scil43 from the mainland7 and we must often go by boat to this island and there will be 7crossing7 more frequently when you have gone to heaven and we pray thee to abandon the place or else to obtain from ,god that the sea recede from the land so that it can be entered dry shod1 for ,christ has said3--',whatsoever you shall ask of the ,father in my name ,he will give it to you' ,john #ae3af2 the place cannot be easily inhabited unless the sea recede from it and on that account you cannot establish your city in it4 ,declan answered them and said3--,how can ,i abandon the place ordained by ,god and in which ,he has promised that my burial and resurrection shall be8 ,as to the alleged inconvenience of dwelling therein1 do you wish me to pray to ,god 7for things7 contrary to ,his will--to deprive the sea of its natural domain8 ,nevertheless in compliance with your request ,i shall pray to ,god and whatever thing be ,god's will1 let it be done4 ,declan's community thereupon rose up and said3--,father1 take your crosier as ,moses took the rod ,exodus #ad3af and strike the sea therewith and ,god will thus show ,his will to you4 ,his disciples prayed therefore to him because they were tried and holy men4 ,they put ,declan's crosier in his hand and he struck the water in the name of the ,father and of the ,son and of the ,holy ,ghost and made the sign of the cross over the water and immediately1 by command and permission of ,god1 the sea commenced to move out from its accustomed place--so swiftly too that the monsters of the sea were swimming and running and that it was with difficulty they escaped with the sea4 ,however1 many fishes were left behind on the dry strand owing to the suddenness of the ebb4 ,declan1 his crosier in his hand1 pursued the receding tide and his disciples followed after him4 ,moreover the sea and the departing monsters made much din and commotion and when ,declan arrived at the place where is now the margin of the sea a stripling whose name was ,mainchin1 frightened at the thunder of the waves and the cry of the unknown monsters with gaping mouths following the 7receding7 water1 exclaimed3--,father1 you have driven out the sea far enough2 for ,i am afraid of those horrid monsters4 ,when ,declan heard this and 7saw7 the sea standing still at the word of the youth it displeased him and turning round he struck him a slight blow on the nose4 ,three drops of blood flowed from the wound on to the ground in three separate places at the feet of ,declan4 ,thereupon ,declan blessed the nose and the blood ceased immediately 7to flow74 ,then ,declan declared3--,it was not ,i who drove out the sea but ,god in ,his own great power who expelled it and ,he would have done still more had you not spoken the words you have said4 ,three little wells of clear sweet water burst forth in the place where fell the three drops of blood at the feet of ,declan1 and these wells are there still and the colour of blood is seen in them occasionally as a memorial of this miracle4 ,the shore1 rescued from the sea1 is a mile in width and is of great length around 7the island7 and it is good and fertile land for tillage and pasture--lying beneath the monastery of ,declan4 ,as to the crosier which was in ,declan's hand while he wrought this miracle1 this is its name--the ,feartach ,declain1 from the miracles and marvels fertaib wrought through it4 ,i shall in another1 subsequent1 place relate some of these miracles 7narrated74 #ba4 ,after the expulsion of the sea by this famous ,saint1 scil43 ,declan1 whose name and renown spread throughout ,erin because of his great and diverse miracles1 he commenced to build a great monastery by the south side of the stream which flows through the island into the sea4 ,this monastery is illustrious and beautiful and its name is ,ardmor ,declain1 as we have said4 ,after this came many persons to ,declan1 drawn from the uttermost parts of ,ireland1 by the fame of his holy living2 they devoted themselves1 soul and body to ,god and ,declan1 binding themselves beneath his yoke and his rule4 ,moreover he built himself in every place throughout the territory of the ,decies1 churches and monasteries and not alone in his own territory 7did he build7 but in other regions of ,ireland under tribute to him4 ,great too were the multitudes 7thousands7 of men and women who were under his spiritual sway and rule1 in the places we have referred to1 throughout ,ireland1 where happily they passed their lives4 ,he ordained some of his disciples bishops and appointed them in these places to sow the seed of faith and religion therein4 ,gentleness and charity manifested themselves in ,declan to such an extent that his disciples preferred to live under his immediate control and under his direction as subjects than to be in authority in another monastery4 #bb4 ,after this the holy renowned bishop1 head of justice and faith in the ,gaelic island came into ,ireland1 i4e4 ,patrick sent by ,celestinus1 the ,pope4 ,aongus ,mac ,nathfrich went to meet him soon as he heard the account of his coming4 ,he conducted him 7,patrick7 with reverence and great honour to his own royal city--to ,cashel4 ,then ,patrick baptised him and blessed himself and his people and his city4 ,patrick heard that the prince of the ,decies had not been baptised and did not believe1 that there was a disagreement between the prince and ,declan and that the former refused to receive instruction from the latter4 ,patrick thereupon set out to preach to the prince aforesaid4 ,next1 as to the four bishops we have named who had been in ,rome3 ,except ,declan alone they were not in perfect agreement with ,patrick4 ,it is true that subsequently to this they did enter into a league of peace and harmonious actions with ,patrick and paid him fealty4 ,ciaran1 however1 paid him all respect and reverence and was of one mind with him present or absent4 ,ailbe then1 when he saw the kings and rulers of ,ireland paying homage to ,patrick and going out to meet him1 came himself to ,cashel1 to wait on him and he also paid homage to him 7,patrick7 and submitted to his jurisdiction1 in presence of the king and all others4 ,bear in mind it was ,ailbe whom the other holy bishops had elected their superior4 ,he therefore came first to ,patrick1 lest the others1 on his account1 should offer opposition to ,patrick1 and also that by his example the others might be more easily drawn to his jurisdiction and rule4 ,bishop ,ibar however would on no account consent to be subject to ,patrick1 for it was displeasing to him that a foreigner should be patron of ,ireland4 ,it happened that ,patrick in his origin was of the ,britons and he was nurtured in ,ireland having been sold to bondage in his boyhood4 ,there arose misunderstanding and dissension between ,patrick and ,bishop ,ibar at first1 although 7eventually71 by intervention of the angel of peace1 they formed a mutual fellowship and brotherly compact and they remained in agreement for ever after4 ,but ,declan did not wish to disagree at all with ,patrick for they had formed a mutual bond of friendship on the ,italian highway and it is thus the angel commanded him to go to ,patrick and obey him3-- #bc4 ,the angel of ,god came to ,declan and said to him ,go quickly to ,patrick and prevent him cursing your kindred and country1 for to-night1 in the plain which is called ,inneoin1 he is fasting against the king1 and if he curses your people they shall be accursed for ever4 ,thereupon ,declan set out in haste by direction of the angel to ,inneoin1 i4e4 the place which is in the centre of the plain of ,femhin in the northern part of the ,decies4 ,he crossed ,slieve ,gua ,knockmaeldown and over the ,suir and arrived on the following morning at the place where ,patrick was4 ,when ,patrick and his disciples heard that ,declan was there they welcomed him warmly for they had been told he would not come4 ,moreover ,patrick and his people received him with great honour4 ,but ,declan made obeisance to ,patrick and besought him earnestly that he should not execrate his people and that he should not curse them nor the land in which they dwelt1 and he promised to allow ,patrick do as he pleased4 ,and ,patrick replied3--,on account of your prayer not only shall ,i not curse them but ,i shall give them a blessing4 ,declan went thereupon to the place where was the king of ,decies who was a neighbour of his4 ,but he contemned ,patrick and he would not believe him even at the request of ,declan4 ,moreover ,declan promised rewards to him if he would go to ,patrick to receive baptism at his hands and assent to the faith4 ,but he would not assent on any account4 ,when ,declan saw this1 scil43--that the king of the ,decies1 who was named ,ledban1 was obstinate in his infidelity and in his devilry--through fear lest ,patrick should curse his race and country--he 7,declan7 turned to the assembly and addressed them3--,separate yourselves from this accursed man lest you become yourselves accursed on his account1 for ,i have myself baptised and blessed you1 but come you1 said he1 with us1 to ,patrick1 whom ,god has sent to bless you1 for he has been chosen ,archbishop and chief ,patron of all ,erin2 moreover1 ,i have a right to my own patrimony and to be king over you as that man 7,ledban7 has been4 ,at this speech they all arose and followed ,declan who brought them into the presence of ,patrick and said to the latter3--,see how the whole people of the ,deisi have come with me as their ,lord to thee and they have left the accursed prince whose subjects they have been1 and behold they are ready to reverence you and to obey you for it is from me they have received baptism4 ,at this ,patrick rose up with his followers and he blessed the people of the ,deisi and not them alone1 but their woods and water and land4 ,whereupon the chiefs and nobles of the ,deisi said3--,who will be ,king or ,lord over us now8 ,and ,declan replied3--,i am your lord and whomsoever ,i shall appoint offer you as lord1 ,patrick and all of us will bless1 and he shall be king over you all4 ,and he whom ,declan appointed was ,feargal ,mac,cormac a certain young man of the nation of the ,deisi who was a kinsman of ,declan himself4 ,he 7,declan7 set him in the midst of the assembly in the king's place and he was pleasing to all4 ,whereupon ,patrick and ,declan blessed him and each of them apart proclaimed him chieftain4 ,patrick moreover promised the young man that he should be brave and strong in battle1 that the land should be fruitful during his reign4 ,thus have the kings of the ,deisi always been4 #bd4 ,after these things ,declan and ,feargal ,mac ,cormac 7king of the ,deisi7 and his people gave a large area of land to ,patrick in the neighbourhood of ,magh ,feimhin and this belongs to his successors ever since and great lordship there4 ,and the place which was given over to him is not far from the ,suir4 ,there is a great very clear fountain there which is called ,patrick's ,well and this was dear to ,patrick4 ,after this1 with blessing1 they took leave of one another and ,patrick returned to ,cashel to ,aongus ,mac ,natfrich and ,declan went with him4 #be4 ,a miracle was wrought at that time on ,declan through the intercession and prayers of ,patrick for as ,declan was walking carelessly along he trod upon a piece of sharp iron which cut his foot so that blood flowed freely and ,declan began to limp4 ,ailbe of ,emly was present at this miracle and ,sechnall a bishop of ,patrick's and a holy and wise man1 and he is said to be the first bishop buried in ,ireland4 ,the wound which ,declan had received grieved them very much4 ,patrick was informed of the accident and was grieved thereat4 ,he said3--,heal1 ,o ,master 7i4e4 ,god71 the foot of your own servant who bears much toil and hardship on your account4 ,patrick laid his hand on the wounded foot and made over it the sign of the cross when immediately the flow of blood ceased1 the lips of the wound united1 a cicatrix formed upon it and a cure was effected4 ,then ,declan rose up with his foot healed and joined in praising ,god4 ,the soldiers and fighting men who were present cried out loudly1 blessing ,god and the saints4 #bf4 ,as ,patrick and the saints were in ,cashel1 i4e4 ,ailbe and ,declan with their disciples1 in the territory of ,aongus ,mac ,nathfrich1 they made much progress against paganism and errors in faith and they converted them 7the pagans7 to ,christianity4 ,it was ordained by ,patrick and ,aongus ,mac ,natfrich in presence of the assembly1 that the ,archbishopric of ,munster should belong to ,ailbe1 and to ,declan1 in like manner1 was ordained 7committed7 his own race1 i4e4 the ,deisi1 whom he had converted to be his parish and his episcopate4 ,as the ,irish should serve ,patrick1 so should the ,deisi serve ,declan as their patron1 and ,patrick made the rann3-- ,humble ,ailbe the ,patrick of ,munster1 greater than any saying1 ,declan1 ,patrick of the ,deisi--the ,decies to ,declan for ever4 ,this is equivalent to saying that ,ailbe was a second ,patrick and that ,declan was a second ,patrick of the ,decies4 ,after that1 when the king had bidden them farewell and they had all taken leave of one another1 the saints returned to their respective territories to sow therein the seed of faith4 #bg4 ,declan and ,ferghal ,mac ,cormac1 king of the ,deisi1 with his army and followers1 met one another at ,indeoin and they made still more strong on the people the bond of ,christian obligation4 ,the king we have already mentioned1 scil43--,ledban1 the recusant to the ,christian name1 was rejected of all and he came to nothing1 leaving no knowledge 7memory7 of his history1 as is written of the enemies of the faith3--,their memory perisheth like a sound ,psalm #i3g4 ,moreover ,declan and ,fergal and the chief men of the ,deisi decreed this as the place where the king of the ,deisi should be inaugurated for ever thenceforward1 because it was there ,patrick and ,declan blessed the king1 ,fergal2 moreover tradition states that it was there the kings were crowned and ruled over the ,deisi in pagan times4 #bh4 ,at that time there broke out a dreadful plague in ,munster and it was more deadly in ,cashel than elsewhere4 ,thus it affected those whom it attacked3 it first changed their colour to yellow and then killed them4 ,now ,aongus had1 in a stone fort called ,rath na n,irlann1 on the western side of ,cashel1 seven noble hostages4 ,it happened that in one and the same night they all died of the plague4 ,the king was much affected thereat and he gave orders to have the fact concealed lest it should bring disgrace or even war upon him1 for the hostages were scions of the strongest and most powerful families in ,munster4 ,on the morrow however ,declan came to ,cashel and talked with ,aonghus4 ,the king welcomed him heartily and addressing him said to him in presence of persons of his court1 ,i pray you1 ,declan1 servant of ,god1 that in the name of ,christ you would raise to life for me the seven hostages whom ,i held in bondage from the chieftains of ,munster4 ,they have died from the plague of which you hear1 and ,i fear their fathers will raise war and rebellion against me1 for they are men of strength and power1 and indeed we are ashamed of their death1 for they will say that it is we ourselves who killed them4 ,declan answered the king1 saying to him3--,such a matter as this--to raise one to life from death--belongs to ,omnipotence alone--but ,i shall do whatever is in my power4 ,i go where the bodies lie and pray to ,god for them and let ,him do in their regard what seems best to ,him4 ,next1 ,declan1 with a multitude and his disciples together with the king's councillors1 went to the place where the corpses of the young men lay4 ,the king followed after them until he came in sight of the bodies4 ,declan1 full of divine faith1 entered the house wherein they lay and he sprinkled holy water over them and prayed for them in the presence of all1 saying3--,o ,lord ,jesus ,christ1 only ,son of the living ,god1 for thine own name's sake wake the dead that they may be strengthened in the ,catholic faith through our instrumentality4 ,thereupon1 at ,declan's prayer1 the group 7of corpses7 revived and they moved their eyelids and ,declan said to them ,in the name of ,christ1 our ,saviour1 stand up and bless and glorify ,god4 ,and at his words they rose up immediately and spoke to all4 ,declan then announced to the king that they were alive and well4 ,when people saw this remarkable miracle they all gave glory and praise to ,god4 ,the fame of ,declan thereupon spread throughout ,erin and the king rejoiced for restoration of his hostages4 #bi4 ,after this the people of ,cashel besought ,bishop ,declan to bless their city and banish the plague from them and to intercede with ,god for those stricken with sickness who could not escape from its toils4 ,declan seeing the people's faith prayed to ,god and signed with the sign of ,redemption the four points of the compass4 ,as he concluded1 there was verified the saying of ,christ to ,his disciples when leaving them and going to heaven3--,super aegros imponent manus et bene habebunt ,mark #af3ah 7,i shall place my hands on the sick and they shall be healed74 ,soon as ,declan had made the sign of the cross each one who was ill became well and not alone were these restored to health but 7all the sick7 of the whole region round about in whatsoever place there were persons ailing4 ,moreover the plague was banished from every place and all rejoiced greatly thereat as well as on account of the resurrection of the dead men we have narrated4 ,the king thereupon ordered tribute and honour to ,declan and his successors from himself and from every king who should hold ,cashel ever after4 ,upon this the glorious bishop ,declan blessed ,aongus together with his city and people and returned back to his own place4 #cj4 ,one night ,declan was a guest at the house of a wealthy man who dwelt in the southern part of ,magh ,femhin2 this is the kind of person his host was1 scil43--a pagan who rejected the true faith1 and his name was ,dercan4 ,he resolved to amuse himself at the ,christians' expense2 accordingly he ordered his servants to kill a dog secretly1 to cut off its head and feet and to bury them in the earth and then to cook the flesh properly and to set it before ,declan and his company as their meal4 ,moreover he directed that the dog should be so fat that his flesh might pass as mutton4 ,when1 in due course1 it was cooked1 the flesh1 together with bread and other food1 was laid before ,declan and his following4 ,at that moment ,declan had fallen asleep but he was aroused by his disciples that he might bless their meal4 ,he observed to them3--,indeed ,i see1 connected with this meat1 the ministry of the devil4 ,whereupon he questioned the waiters as to the meat--what kind it was and whence procured4 ,they replied3 ,our master ordered us to kill a fat ram for you and we have done as he commanded4 ,declan said1 ,our ,master is ,jesus ,christ and may ,he show us what it is that connects the ministry of ,satan with this meat and preserve thy servants from eating forbidden food4 ,as he spoke thus ,declan saw in the meat the claw of a dog1 for1 without intending it1 they had boiled one quarter of the dog with its paw adhering2 they thought they had buried it 7the incriminating limb7 with the other paws4 ,declan exclaimed1 ,this is not a sheep's but a dog's foot4 ,when the attendants heard this they went at once to their master and related the matter to him4 ,then ,dercan came to ,declan1 accepted his faith and received ,baptism at his hands1 giving himself and his posterity to ,declan for ever4 ,moreover he gave his homestead to ,declan and his people were baptised4 ,after this ,dercan requested that ,declan should bless something in his homestead which might remain as a memorial of him 7,dercan7 for ever4 ,then ,declan blessed a bell which he perceived there and its name is ,clog-,dhercain 7,dercan's ,bell72 moreover1 he declared3 ,i endow it with this virtue 7power7 that if the king of ,decies march around it when going to battle1 against his enemies1 or to punish violation of his rights1 he shall return safely and with victory4 ,this promise has been frequently fulfilled1 but proud 7men7 undertaking battle or conflict unjustly even if they march around it do not obtain victory but success remains with the enemy4 ,the name of that homestead was ,teach-,dhercain 7,dercain's ,house7 and its name now is ,coningean1 from the claw con of the hound or dog aforesaid4 ,to this place came the saintly concourse1 scil3--,coman and ,ultan1 ,mac,erc and ,mocoba and ,maclaisren1 who dedicated themselves to 7the service of7 ,god and placed themselves under the spiritual rule and sway of ,declan4 #ca4 ,thereupon ,declan established a monastery in that place1 scil4--in ,coningin--and he placed there this holy community with a further band of disciples4 ,ultan however he took away with him to the place whither he went4 #cb4 ,on another 7subsequent7 occasion ,declan visited ,bregia1 i4e4 the original territory which belonged to his race previous to the expulsion of his ancestors4 ,there he was treated with particular honour by the king of ,tara and by the chieftains of ,meath by whom he was beloved1 since it was from themselves 7their tribe and territory7 that his forbears had gone out1 for that region was the patrimony of his race and within it lies ,tara4 ,declan instituted therein a monastery of ,canons1 on land which he received from the king1 and it is from him the place is named4 ,moreover he left therein a relic or illuminated book and a famous gospel which he was accustomed to carry always with him4 ,the gospel is still preserved with much honour in the place and miracles are wrought through it4 ,after this again he turned towards ,munster4 #cc4 ,declan was once travelling through ,ossory when he wished to remain for the night in a certain village4 ,but the villagers not only did not receive him but actually drove him forth by force of arms4 ,the saint however prayed to ,god that it might happen to them what the ,sacred ,scripture says1 ,vengeance is mine ,i will repay ,deuteronomy #cb3ce4 ,the dwellers in the village1 who numbered sixty1 died that same night with the exception of two men and ten women to whom the conduct of the others towards the saint had been displeasing4 ,on the morrow these men and women came humbly to the place where ,declan was and they told him--what he himself foreknew--how miserably the others had died4 ,they themselves did penance and they bestowed on ,declan a suitable site whereon he built a monastery and he got another piece of land and had the dead buried where he built the monastery4 ,the name of that monastery is ,cill-,colm-,dearg4 ,this ,colm-,dearg was a kind1 holy man and a disciple of ,declan4 ,he was of ,east ,leinster1 i4e4 of the ,dal ,meiscorb1 and it is from him that the monastery is named4 ,when he 7,declan7 had completed that place he came to his own territory again1 i4e4 to the ,decies4 #cd4 ,on a certain day ,declan came to a place called ,ait-,breasail and the dwellers therein would not allow him to enter their village2 moreover they hid all their boats so that he could not go into his own island1 for they hated him very much4 ,in consideration however of the sanctity of his servant1 who prayed in patience1 ,god the ,all-,powerful turned the sea into dry land as you have already heard4 ,declan passed the night in an empty stable out in the plain and the people of the village did not give him even a fire4 ,whereupon1 appropriately the anger of ,god fell on them1 who had not compassion enough to supply the disciple of ,god with a fire4 ,there came fire from heaven on them to consume them all together with their homestead and village1 so that the place has been ever since a wilderness accursed1 as the prophet writes3 civitates eorum destruxisti ,psalm #i3g 7the dwellings of the unmerciful are laid waste74 #ce4 ,on yet another occasion ,declan was in his own region--travelling over ,slieve ,gua in the ,decies1 when his horse from some cause got lame so that he could proceed no further4 ,declan however1 seeing a herd of deer roaming the mountain close to him1 said to one of his people3 ,go1 and bring me for my chariot one of these deer to replace my horse and take with you this halter for him4 ,without any misgiving the disciple went on till he reached the deer which waited quietly for him4 ,he chose the animal which was largest and therefore strongest1 and1 bringing him back1 yoked him to the chariot4 ,the deer thereupon obediently and without effort carried ,bishop ,declan till he came to ,magh ,femhin1 where1 when he reached a house of entertainment1 the saint unloosed the stag and bade him to go free as was his nature4 ,accordingly1 at the command of the saintly man and in the presence of all1 the stag returned on the same road back 7to the mountain74 ,dormanach is the name of the man aforesaid who brought the stag to ,declan and him ,declan blessed and gave him a piece of land on the north of ,decies close by the ,eoghanacht and his posterity live till now in that place4 #cf4 ,on another occasion1 ,declan1 accompanied1 as usual1 by a large following1 was travelling1 when one member of the party fell on the road and broke his shin bone in twain4 ,declan saw the accident and1 pitying the injured man1 he directed an individual of the company to bandage the broken limb so that the sufferer might not die through excess of pain and loss of blood4 ,all replied that they could not endure to dress the wound owing to their horror thereof4 ,but there was one of the company1 ,daluadh by name1 who faced the wound boldly and confidently and said3 ,in the name of ,christ and of ,declan our patron ,i shall be surgeon to this foot2 and he said that jestingly4 ,nevertheless he bandaged the foot carefully and blessed it aright in the name of ,god and ,declan1 and in a little while the wound healed and they all gave praise to ,god4 ,then ,declan said to ,daluadh3 ,you promised to be surgeon to that foot in ,christ's name and in mine and ,god has vouchsafed to heal it at these words3 on this account you will be a true physician for ever and your children and your seed after you for ever shall also possess the healing art1 and whomsoever they shall practise healing upon in ,god's name and mine1 provided there be no hatred in their hearts nor too great covetousness of a physician's fee to him1 ,god and myself shall send relief4 ,this promise of ,declan has been fulfilled in the case of that family4 #cg4 ,on another occasion1 as ,declan was travelling in the northern part of ,magh ,femhin beside the ,suir1 he met there a man who was carrying a little infant to get it baptised4 ,declan said to the people his muinntear1 or following3 ,wait here till ,i baptise yonder child1 for it was revealed by the ,holy ,ghost to him that he the babe should serve ,god4 ,the attendant replied to him that they had neither a vessel nor salt for the baptism4 ,declan said3 ,we have a wide vessel1 the ,suir1 and ,god will send us salt1 for this child is destined to become holy and wonderful in his works4 ,thereupon ,declan took up a fistful of earth and1 making prayer in his heart to ,god1 he signed the clay with the sign of the cross of redemption4 ,it 7the handful of earth7 became white1 dry salt1 and all1 on seeing it1 gave thanks and honour to ,god and ,declan4 ,the infant was baptised there and the name of ,ciaran given him4 ,declan said3 ,bring up my spiritual son carefully and send him1 at a fitting age1 for education to a holy man who is well instructed in the faith for he will become a shining bright pillar in the ,church4 ,and it was this child1 ,ciaran ,mac ,eochaidh1 who founded in after years a famous monastery 7from which he migrated to heaven7 and another place 7monastery7 besides4 ,he worked many miracles and holy signs and this is the name of his monastery ,tiprut ,tubrid and this is where it is3--in the western part of the ,decies in ,ui ,faithe between ,slieve ,grot ,galtee and ,sieve ,cua and it is within the bishopric of ,declan4 #ch4 ,on another day there came a woman to ,declan's monastery not far from the city where she dwelt4 ,she committed a theft that day in ,declan's monastery as she had often done previously1 and this is the thing she stole--a habellum possibly an item of tribute2 she departed homewards taking it with her and there met her a group of people on the highway1 and the earth1 in their presence1 swallowed her up1 and she cast out the tabellum from her bosom and it was quickly turned into a stone which the wayfarers took and brought with them to ,declan4 ,declan himself had in supernatural vision seen all that happened to the woman in punishment of her theft1 and the name of ,declan was magnified owing to those marvels so that fear took possession of all-those present and those absent4 ,the stone in question remains still in ,declan's graveyard in his own town of ,ardmore-,declain1 where it stands on an elevated place in memory of this miracle4 #ci4 ,a rich man named ,fintan was childless1 for his wife was barren for many years4 ,he himself1 with his wife1 visited ,declan and promised large alms and performance of good works provided he 7,declan7 would pray that they might have children3 they held it as certain that if ,declan but prayed for them ,god would grant them children4 ,declan therefore1 praying to ,god and blessing the pair1 said3 ,proceed to your home and through ,god's bounty you shall have offspring4 ,the couple returned home1 with great joy for the blessing and for the promise of the offspring4 ,the following night1 ,fintan lay with his wife and she conceived and brought forth twin sons1 scil43 ,fiacha and ,aodh1 who1 together with their children and descendants were under tribute and service to ,god and ,declan4 #dj4 ,when it was made known to a certain holy man1 scil43--,ailbe of ,emly ,iubar1 chief bishop of ,munster1 that his last days had come1 he said to his disciples3 ,beloved brethren1 ,i wish1 before ,i die1 to visit my very dear fellow worker1 scil43--,declan4 ,after this ,ailbe set out on the journey and an angel of ,god came to ,declan notifying him that ,ailbe was on his way to visit him4 ,on the angel's notification ,declan ordered his disciples to prepare the house for ,ailbe's coming4 ,he himself went to meet ,ailbe as far as the place which is called ,druim ,luctraidh ,luchluachra4 ,thence they came home together and ,ailbe1 treated with great honour by ,declan and his people1 stayed fourteen pleasant days4 ,after that the aged saint returned home again to his own city1 scil43--to ,emly ,iubar4 ,declan came and many of his people1 escorting ,ailbe1 to ,druim ,luchtradh1 and ,ailbe bade him return to his own city4 ,the two knew they should not see one another in this world ever again4 ,in taking leave of one another1 therefore1 they shed plentiful tears of sorrow and they instituted an everlasting compact and league between their successors in that place4 ,ailbe moreover blessed the city of ,declan1 his clergy and people and ,declan did the same for ,ailbe and they kissed one another in token of love and peace and each returned to his own city4 #da4 ,on a certain day the ,castle of ,cinaedh1 ,king of the ,deisi1 took fire and it burned violently4 ,it happened however that ,declan was proceeding towards the castle on some business and he was grieved to see it burning2 he flung towards it the staff to which we have referred in connection with the drying up of the sea1 and it 7the staff7 flew hovering in the air with heavenly wings till it reached the midst of the flame and the fire was immediately extinguished of its own accord through the grace of ,god and virtue of the staff and of ,declan to whom it belonged4 ,the place from which ,declan cast the staff was a long mile distant from the castle and when the king1 i4e4 ,cinaedh1 and all the others witnessed this miracle they were filled with amazement and gave thanks to ,god and to ,declan when they came to know that it was he who wrought it4 ,now the place where the castle stands is not far from the ,suir1 i4e4 on the south side of it and the place from which ,declan cast the staff is beside a ford which is in the ,suir or a stream which flows beside the monastery called ,mag ,laca ,molough which the holy virgins1 daughters of the king of ,decies1 have built in honour of ,god4 ,there is a pile of stones and a cross in the place to commemorate this miracle4 #db4 ,on another occasion there approached a foreign fleet towards ,declan's city and this was their design--to destroy and to plunder it of persons and of cattle1 because they 7the foreigners7 were people hostile to the faith4 ,many members of the community ran with great haste to tell ,declan of the fleet which threatened the town and to request him to beg the assistance of ,god against the invaders4 ,declan knew the man amongst his own disciples who was holiest and most abounding in grace1 scil41 ,ultan1 already mentioned1 and him he ordered to pray to ,god against the fleet4 ,ultan had pity on the ,christian people and he went instantly1 at the command of ,declan1 in front of the fleet and he held his left hand against it1 and1 on the spot1 the sea swallowed them like sacks full of lead1 and the drowned sailors were changed into large rocks which stand not far from the mouth of the haven where they are visible 7standing7 high out of the sea from that time till now4 ,all ,christians who witnessed this rejoiced and were glad and they gave great praise and glory to ,god and to ,declan their own patron who caused the working of this miracle and of many other miracles besides4 ,next there arose a contention between ,ultan and ,declan concerning this miracle1 for ,ultan attributed it to ,declan and ,declan credited it to ,ultan2 and it has become a proverb since in ,ireland when people hear of danger or jeopardy3--,the left hand of ,ultan against you 7the danger74 ,ultan became1 after the death of ,declan1 a miracle-working abbot of many other holy monks4 #dc4 ,the holy and glorious archbishop1 i4e4 ,patrick1 sent one of his own followers to ,declan with power and authority 7delegation7 from the archbishop4 ,and proceeding through the southern part of ,decies he was drowned in a river the ,lickey there1 two miles from the city of ,declan4 ,when ,declan heard this he was grieved and he said3 ,indeed it grieves me that a servant of ,god and of ,patrick who sent him to visit me1 having travelled all over ,ireland1 should be drowned in a river of my own territory4 ,get my chariot for me that ,i may go in haste to see his corpse1 so that ,patrick may come to hear of the worry and the grief ,i have undergone because of his disciple's death4 ,the body had been recovered before the arrival of ,declan by others who were close at hand and it had been placed on a bier to be carried to ,ciaran for interment4 ,declan however met them on the way1 when he ordered the body to be laid down on the ground4 ,they supposed he was about to recite the ,office for the ,dead4 ,he 7,declan7 advanced to the place where the bier was and lifted the sheet covering the face4 ,it 7the face7 looked dark and deformed as is usual in the case of the drowned4 ,he prayed to ,god and shed tears1 but no one heard aught of what he said4 ,after this he commanded3--,in the name of the ,trinity1 in the name of the ,father and of the ,son and of the ,holy ,ghost whose religious yoke ,i bear myself1 arise to us for ,god has given your life to me4 ,he 7the dead man7 rose up immediately at the command and he greeted ,declan and all the others4 ,whereupon ,declan and his disciples received him with honour4 ,at first he was not completely cured but 7was7 like one convalescent until 7complete7 health returned to him by degrees again4 ,he however accompanied ,declan and remained some time with him and there was much rejoicing in ,declan's city on account of the miracle and his 7,declan's7 name and fame extended over the country generally4 ,this disciple of ,patrick was named ,ballin2 he returned with great joy and he told him 7,patrick7 that ,declan had raised him from the dead4 ,to many others likewise he related what had happened to him4 ,patrick1 in presence of many persons1 hearing of the miracle gave glory and thanks to ,god and the name of ,declan was magnified4 #dd4 ,with this extraordinary miracle wrought by ,declan we wish to conclude our discourse4 ,the number of miracles he wrought1 but which are not written here1 you are to judge and gather from what we have written4 ,and we wish moreover that you would understand that he healed the infirm1 that he gave sight to the eyes of the blind1 cleansed lepers1 and gave their walk to cripples2 that he obtained hearing for the deaf1 and that he healed many and various diseases in many different places throughout ,ireland--7things7 which are not written here because of their length and because they are so numerous to record1 for fear it should tire readers to hear so much said of one particular person4 ,on that account we shall pass them by4 #de4 ,when ,declan realised that his last days were at hand and that the time remaining to him was very short he summoned to him his own spiritual son1 scil41 ,mac,liag 7residing7 in the monastery which is on the eastern side of the ,decies close to the ,leinstermen in order that1 at the hour of death1 he might receive the ,body and ,blood of ,christ and the ,sacraments of the ,church from his hands4 ,thereupon he foretold to his disciples the day of his death and he commanded them to bring him to his own city1 for it was not there he dwelt at the time but in a small venerable cell which he had ordered to be built for him between the hill called ,ardmore ,declain and the ocean--in a narrow place at the brink of the sea by which there flows down from the hill above a small shining stream about which are trees and bushes all around1 and it is called ,disert ,declain4 ,thence to the city it is a short mile and the reason why ,declan used go there was to avoid turmoil and noise so that he might be able to read and pray and fast there4 ,indeed it was not easy for him to stay even there because of the multitude of disciples and paupers and pilgrims and beggars who followed him thither4 ,declan was however generous and very sympathetic and on that account it is recorded by tradition that a great following 7of poor1 c471 generally accompanied him and that moreover the little cell was very dear to him for the reason we have given1 and many devout people have made it their practice to dwell therein4 #df4 ,when ,declan fell ill and became weak in body1 but still strong in hope and faith and love of ,god1 he returned to his own city--his people and disciples and clergy surrounding him4 ,he discoursed to them on the commands of ,god and he enjoined on them to live holily after his death1 to be submissive to authority and to follow as closely as possible the way he had marked out and to preserve his city in a state of piety and under religious rule4 ,and when they had all heard the discourse it grieved them greatly to perceive1 from what he had said1 he realised that in a short time he would go away to heaven from them4 ,but they were consoled by his gentle words and then there came to him the holy man1 to wit1 ,mac,liag1 at his own request1 already referred to4 ,he ,declan received the ,body and ,blood of ,christ and the ,sacraments of the ,church from his ,mac,liag's hand--surrounded by holy men and his disciples1 and he blessed his people and his dependents and his poor1 and he kissed them in token of love and peace4 ,thus1 having banished images and the sacrifices to idols1 having converted multitudes to the true faith1 having established monasteries and ecclesiastical orders in various places1 having spent his whole life profitably and holily1 this glorious bishop went with the angels to heaven on the ninth day of the ,kalends of ,august ,july #bd and his body was blessed and honoured with ,masses and chanting by holy men and by the people of the ,decies and by his own monks and disciples collected from every quarter at the time of his death4 ,he was buried with honour in his own city--in ,declan's ,high-,place--in the tomb which by direction of an angel he had himself indicated--which moreover has wrought wonders and holy signs from that time to now4 ,he departed to the ,unity of the ,father and the ,son and the ,holy ,ghost in ,saecula ,saeculorum2 ,amen4 ,,finis4 ,the poor brother1 ,michael ,o',clery originally copied this life of ,declan in ,cashel1 from the book of ,eochy ,o',heffernan4 ,the date1 ,a4,d41 at which that ancient book of ,eochy was written is #aehb4 ,and the same life has now been re-written in the ,convent of the ,friars at ,druiske1 the date1 ,a4,d41 #bgth ,february1 #afbi4 ,,note ,the ,irish text of the rann from paragraph #bf reads3 ,ailbe umal2 ,patraicc ,muman1 mo gacrath1 ,declan1 ,patraicc na n,deisi3 na ,deisi ag ,declan gan brat4 ,and the ,latin rendering3 ,albeus est humilis dixit ,caephurnia proles2 ,patriciusque esto hinc ,ailbee ,momonia4 ,declanus pariter patronus ,desius esto2 ,inter ,desenses ,patriciusque suos4 ,,life ,,of ,,st4 ,,mochuda4 ,,beata ,,mocuda4 ,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 1 and 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 #cf7cg73bg 7,avoid evil and do good74 ,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--'necessitas movet decretum et consilium' 7necessity is its own law78 ,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 ,,transcriber',s ,,note ,the source for this text includes the ,irish text and ,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 ,please note that this text contains variant spellings of names and words sometimes inconsistently applied4