,,life ,,of ,,st4 ,,declan ,,of         
,,ardmore  7,edited from ,,ms4 in       
,bibliotheque ,royale1 ,brussels74      
,translated from the ,irish ,with       
,introduction  by ,rev4 ,p4 ,power1     
,m4,r4,i4,a4  ,university ,college1     
,cork4     ,,introduction        ,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 ,ardmore           
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 ocean about #ea deg4 #eg
 min4 ,n _/ #g deg4 #dc min4 ,w4 ,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               

,against ,theory of ,early              
,fifth ,century period4                 
,i4--,positive statement of ,life1      
,i4--,contradictions1 anachronisms1     
corroborated by ,lives of ,,ss4         
c41 of ,life4       ,ciaran and ,ailbhe4
               ,,ii4--,lack of allusion 
to ,declan in   ,,ii4--,patrick's       
apparent avoidance        the ,lives of 
,st4 ,patrick4       of the             
,principality of ,decies4               
,,iii4--,prosper's testimony to the     
,,iii4--,the peculiar ,declan cult and  
mission of ,palladius as first       the
 strong local hold which          bishop
 to the believing ,scots4       ,declan 
has maintained4                         
,,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     ,,life ,,of 
,,st4 ,,declan  or ,,betha ,,decclain   
#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 #i3g1 i4e4 the       
dwellings of the unmerciful are laid    
waste4  #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 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  ,and this ,life
 of ,st4 ,declan was transcribed        
electronically for the public domain by 
,dennis ,mc,carthy1 a layman1 in the    
city of ,atlanta in ,georgia of the     
,united ,states of ,america4 ,he copied 
this life from the #aiad translation    
from the ,irish to the ,english tongue  
by ,rev4 ,p4 ,power of ,university      
,college1 ,cork4 ,dennis has completed  
this work on ,february #bg in the year  

of ,our ,lord #aiig1 and prayerfully    
dedicated it to the memory of his       
deceased siblings4     ,,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           
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---    ,,transcriber',s ,,note  ,the    
source for this text includes an        
introduction1 ,irish text  ,english     
translation on facing pages1 and notes4 
,the introduction and the notes are     
quite lengthy and should take longer to 
transcribe than the ,english text4      
,except for the part of the introduction
 specific to the ,life of ,declan and 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        
alphabet_/font ,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 is full of variant      
spellings of names and words sometimes  
inconsistently applied4