7/30/2019 Picard - St Senan 1993

1/8

~ a r t h ~ n n 5 t t t ~ n t t q n a r i a nJournal

IRISLEABHAR SEANDALUfoCHTA TUADH-MHUMHAN

VOLUME XXXV1993-94

ContentsEditorial, 1993-94 .................................................................................. ........................ ............ .Some Unrecorded Bronze Age Gold Ornaments from Co. LimerickMary Cahill ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ......................................The Hunt Museum - a Review ArticleHoward E. Kilbride-Jones and Erienne Rynne ........ ........ ..................................... .The Archaeology and History of Saint Patrick: a Review Articlex John BradJey ....... .... .. .. ................................ .......... .......... ........................... ............. .. ......................La Vie de S. Sane: a Seventeenth Century Life of Saint SenanAlben le Grand (1629) - Translated by Jean-Michel Picard (1993) .............. .An Early Historic Period Fishweir on the Fergus Estuary, Co. ClareAidan 0'Sullivan ...................................................................................................... ..................... .The Thirteenth--.=entury Remains of Cahir Castle, Co. TipperaryParrick Holland .......................................... ........................................... .........A Fifteenth-Century Precentor of LimerickBrian J. Hodkinson ..................... .................................... .. .. .... .. ................. .Begley' s Diocese of Limerick: a Review ArticleLiamlrwin ............... ..... .. .. ......... .. ........ ................................................ . .............. . ...................... .Students from County Clare at Trinity College, Dublin, in the Eighteenth Century

5

24

29

45

52

62

72

76

Brian 0 Ddlaigh .... .. .... ........ .. .. .................................... ......... ........ .. .... .. ............................. ....... 81&monn agus N6ra de h-Oir: sceal faoi Em Amach na CasgaNora de h-Oir .. .. ........ ................. ... .. ...................................... ..MagicA.T. Lucas ...................... .. .................. .MISCELLANEAA 13th-Century Hall House at Clohaskin, Co. Limerick .... ..Caimin 0 'BrienSome Limerick Peruke-Makers .............. .. ........ .................... . ...... Paul DuffyTurf, Steam and the Stein Brown Distillery Chimney ........... . . Paul DuffyThe Burren and Burgundy Pitch .................... ....................... .. .. P.B. LysaghtScythes and Mowing in North Kerry ............. ......................... .. P.B. LysaghtOld Country Houses: Two Comments ............................. P.B . Lysaght and E. RynneBook Reviews .................. .ObituariesProceedings. 1993Proceedings, 1994

92

98

104106107108109109113135141143

7/30/2019 Picard - St Senan 1993

2/8

La Vie de S. Sane: A Seventeenth-Century Life ofSaint Senan

ALBERT LE GRAND (1629) - Translated by JEAN-MICHEL PICARD (1993)In 1978 Jean Franfois Simon, an author and historian from Plouzane, a town innorth-western Brittany, discovered a link between his birthplace and Kilrush, Co.Clare, when he came to translating Plouzane into English - Plou is the Bretonword for Parish and Zane, he discovered, was the equivalent for Senan, name ofthe Irish 6th-century saint associated with Inis Cathaigh or, as it is known inEnglish, Scattery, the island in the Shannon Estuary just off Kilrush. That sameyear, in consequence of his discovery, Monsieur Simon and three companionstravelled to Kilrush to check out the St. Senan connection, and also with a view tohaving their town, Plouzane, twinned with Kilrush for historical, cultural andsocial reasons. Their mission was successful, and in October 1982 the twinningcharter was signed. Since then the bond between the two towns has gone fromstrength to strength, and over 1,000 Bretons have visited Kilrush, with a visit toScattery as a sine qua non for each visitor.

In 1992, Michael Aiden Donnelian, the Office ofPublic Works' official caretakerof Scattery, accompanied the Kilrush twinning association 's party on its visit toPlouzane. When there, they visited the local St. Senan's Well which MonsieurChristian Poullaquec, President of Plouzane twinning group, told them that in itshistory and curative powers it closely resembles Tobair Seanain on Scattery.The Kilrush group also met the parish priest of Plouzane, l' abbe Albert, whohad sculpted a fine statue ofSt. Senanfor his parish church. Mr. Donnellan askedhim if there were any local records pertaining to St. Senan and Plouzane. Thereply was in the affirmative, and Mr. Donnellan was presented with a photocopyof "La Vie de S. Sane, Evesque Hybernois , Titulaire de la paroisse de Plousaneen Leon, le 6 Mars" ,from Les Vies des Saints de la Bretagnes Armorique, writtenin 1629 by Albert Le Grand, de Morlaix, hagiographe.Through the good offices of Paul McMahon, Architect in the National Parksand Monuments Branch, Office of Public Works, Mr. Donnellan was able to getthe 1629 account expertly translated by Dr . Jean-Michel Picard, of theDepartment of French, University College, Dublin. The Thomond ArchaeologicalSociety is grateful to all the above for permission to publish the translation in ourJournal, and to our longtime member Liam de Paor for his introductory commentsoutlining the importance of his newly brought-to-light Life ofSaint Senan.E.R., Hon. Editor.

* * * *INTRODUCTION

St. Senan of Inis Cathaigh (Scattery Island) is one of the more elusive early Irish saints.The medieval accounts of his life (one, in metrical form, in Latin, found in the SalamancaCodex and elsewhere, another in Irish), together with shorter anecdotes preserved here andthere, give us nothing that could be termed historical. They are collections of legends andmythological tales, with a few standard hagiographical wonder-stories. He was, like his nextdoor neighbour St. MacCreiche of Liscannor, or like St. George of England, (both equally45

7/30/2019 Picard - St Senan 1993

3/8

fabulous characters), a dragon- or monster-slayer. St. Patrick too, with whom St. Senan isassociated in the legends, ultimately acquired a reputation for hostility to serpents. The Lifeof St. Senan became extremely popular, especially in Thomond (although he is reckoned aNorth Kerry saint - from Aireacht Ui Chochubhair, the "Arakt" of the text which follows),and was much copied in the modem manuscripts that circulated widely in Munster in theeighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. John L1oyd, the Limerickman who taught school inthe parish of Dunaha and who wrote a guide to Co. Clare, made a translation into English,which in turn was much copied. The scribe Antony O'Brien, who also taught school inDunaha and was a friend of Eugene O'Curry's father, copied this as part of his first exercisein producing a manuscript book, and noted on the last page:

"Finished by me Anthony O'Brien, September 25th 1780 at Querrin in the west ofCounty Clare, and Parish of Dunaha, it being a wet morning."(R.LA. MS 25 E 11)The Life here translated from the French differs considerably from these versions,although it draws in part on them, and is of great interest as a specimen of Counter-Reformation hagiography, embodying a considerable element of the Irish tradition andshowing a knowledge of early-seventeenth century Thomond and North Kerry. This is notsurprising, since it was written on the Breton coast at Plouzane, where the cult of St. Senanhad been brought, no doubt by seafarers from the Shannon mouth. It is too much to say thatSt. Senan himself, as the story would have it, spent some time at Plouzane, since we knownothing whatever about him, or even if he ever existed. However, it is not impossible.

LIAM DEPAOR

Translation Life of Saint SenanIrish bishop and patron saint of the parish of Plouzane, diocese of Leon.Feast day: 6 march.I. Saint Senan, one of the patron saints of our diocese of Leon, was from the Irish nationand was given by God to complete what Saint Patrick had begun in that island, as SaintPatrick himself had prophesied long before. One day, several lords from the future country ofIreland had asked him about religious matters and Patrick replied that soon a child would beborn, named Sanus, a holy child given by God, who would achieve the conversion of thewhole island and would succeed him as bishop. Some time later this prophecy was fulfilled,for Senan was born in a territory called by the natives Arakt, near the famous river namedShannon which flows t h ~ o u g h the city of Limerick; this territory of Arakt was in the province

of Munster, County of Kerry, Diocese of Ardfert; even now, in spite of the rage of the Englishheretics, the saint is still greatly revered there and people still use the fearful oath called intheir language An neorannach Sheanan. This oath comes from the fact that in their countrythere was a sort of iron circle or collar, formerly used by Saint Senan, which was put aroundthe neck of people called to take an oath at a trial. If their oath was truthful no harm was doneto them, but if they perjured themselves, the iron collar immediately strangled them.Although the Breviary ofLeon says he was born in Scotland, it must be pointed out that atthat time and long after Hibernia and Scoria were synonymous and one term was used for theother and vice versa. This is clearly shown by Bede in Book Three of his English History, by

46

7/30/2019 Picard - St Senan 1993

4/8

Thomas Messingham, a modem author, in his Preamble to the Lives of Irish Saints; by HughCavello, Archbishop of Armagh, Primate of Ireland, and by several other authors.II. His father was named Herkan and his mother Cogella, and were respectable and rich

people. The prodigies which surrounded his birth made it plainly obvious that he would someday be a great saint. Among other signs, when his mother was in labour, as she was in thegreatest sufferings, she grasped a staff in her hands to relieve the pain and suddenly the staff,which was dry and half rotten, started to sprout in her hands, producing green leaves andfruit, to the utter amazement of everyone there. The most clever and judicious among themdrew the conclusion that the child who was being delivered would flower some day like thepalm and would develop in the garden of the Church like the cedar of Lebanon.As soon as he was weaned and although still a child, he started to welcome and practiceabstinence, which he especially cherished throughout his life. One day, as he saw his motherhaving a meal early in the morning, he reprimanded her, with due respect and modesty,saying that God had ordered precise hours for giving oats to that donkey - he meant forfeeding our mortal body - and that our first duty was to feed our soul as the most noble partof ourselves. His mother accepted this reprimand with good grace and put it to good use.

III. On seeing his good nature, his intelligence, and his taste for virtue, his parents decidedthat he should study and they sent him to school. There, combining piety and the study of theHoly Scriptures, he quickly became so renowned for his holiness and wisdom that the wholecountry revered him more as an angel than as a man. When he had completed his studies, hecame back to his parents where he lived in silence and meditation and spent all his time inprayers, contemplation of divine matters and reading of the Holy Scriptures. But his fatherand mother who, as is the way of the world, looked unfavourably on God's affairs, did notlike this way of life and accused him of being a weakling and a coward.Once, among other instances, as his parents were moving house and found themselves indifficulty about carrying the household furniture, Saint Senan did not bother to help them butkept on with his holy exercises. His mother, greatly upset, came to him and scolded himbitterly because, while his father, herself and all the other members of the household worked,he alone, although young and strong, did nothing and kept his arms folded and useless. Theyoung holy man was not troubled by this outburst and replied softly that they should leavebehind his share of furniture to carry and that, when he finished his prayers, he wouldwithout fail carry his share to the appointed place. So they did and they left him a pile offurniture and utensils to carry. Meanwhile he went on saying his prayers, persisting in hiscustomary prolixity. In the evening, in order to appease his parents, he decided to carrywhatever had been left to him. But God spared him this burden for all the furniture wasmiraculously transported to the appointed place. On seeing this, his parents gave thanks toGod and were careful not to worry him anymore in this way, leaving him in peace to carry onwith his religious exercises.

IV. Once, as he travelled in the country with his mother and other relations and friends,they were overtaken by nightfall and bad weather and had to find shelter in the nearestvillage. But they lost their way and after going in all directions, they found themselves at thedoor of a castle. They asked the inhabitants if they could spend the night there but -contrary to the usual practice among this nation which is most hospitable - the people insidewere not charitable and refused. Cogella and her companions were much saddened by thisbut Saint Senan consoled them, predicting that they would shortly witness a horrible

47

7/30/2019 Picard - St Senan 1993

5/8

punishment for this lack of grace and hospitality. Suddenly, when they were some distanceaway, the castle with its outbuildings, woods, forests, canals and other properties disappearedunderground and became a big lake.Another day, as he reached the banks of the Shannon with his mother in order to pass tothe Province of Thomond - in the territory which was then the county of the lords countsO'Brien, the ancient royal family of Thomond - they were unable to find any boat in whichto cross the water. The nearest bridge was that at Limerick, some twelve to fourteen leaguesaway, but he miraculously crossed this large river, or rather this sea strait for at this point it isfour to five leagues wide, and arrived with his mother, safe and sound on the other side.

V. As one of his uncles, a brother of his father, and several other noble persons werecrossing the Shannon - a very dangerous and impetuous river - their boat, although near thebank, was beaten furiously by the waves and sank, drowning all on board. When he heard thenews, Saint Senan prayed God and brought them back to life. But, as they feared to sin againand fall from God's grace, they said they preferred to forgo the pleasures of staying in this liferather than to return to face the dangers and the risks to their eternal salvation . So they beggedthe saint to allow them to die immediately. He granted their request and buried them. Howwonderful that God bestowed on his servant such complete power over life and death!Since he wanted to serve God perfectly, he fully renounced the world and gatheringtogether a number of equally devoted young men he retired to the wilderness. There, he built asmall monastery and devoted himself to his Maker's service. When he had served God therefor a number of years, Saint Patrick recalled him and conferred on him all the holy ordersincluding the priesthood. When Saint Patrick saw his death approaching, he convoked hiscanons and reminded them of the revelation he had had and of the prophecy which he hadonce made about Saint Senan, exhorting them to choose him as bishop and his successor. Theycomplied with this and they all elected him as bishop and worthy successor of Saint Patrick.VI. As soon as he was consecrated, to the great joy of the whole island, he immediately setto work and did so much that he eradicated all idolatry from Ireland, most scrupulouslyvisiting his diocese and removing any abuse which may have developed among the newChristian communities . In order to get more help and support in this holy crusade, hefounded several fine monasteries in which he settled many great and wise persons whohelped him to carry the weight of his episcopal duties. I f I wanted to make a list of all hisvirtues, it would never be finished since he had them all and in such quality and perfectionthat he seemed to be more an angel come down from heaven than a mere mortal. Also, Godmade him illustrious and famous by the great miracles which he wrought through him.VII. In time of drought in the episcopal house, he miraculously provided a good spring inwhich a woman was bolq enough to bathe her small child. A monk, a disciple of Saint Senan,passed by and reprimanded this woman, praying God that such a bold action be punished.His wish was granted for she let the child fall from her hands and he was swept along into apond below the spring where he drowned. The poor mother , utterly distraught, went tocomplain to Saint Senan about the wrong done to her by the monk. The holy bishop calledthe monk and ordered him to go to the pond and recover the child alive or else to jump intoit. He obeyed and, most strangely, as he was testing the depth of the water with his staff, hediscoverd that it was as firm and solid as earth. He walked on the water and in the middle ofthe pond, found the child playing there. He carried him back to the land without the childgetting wet in any way and Saint Senan returned him to his mother, thus performing three

48

7/30/2019 Picard - St Senan 1993

6/8

great miracles at the same time: the punishment of the mother's lack of respect, the monkwalking on the water and the resurrection of the dead child.VIII. Saint Senan, carefully considering the most true saying of our Lord that one must

leave everything in order to serve Him well and perfectly, resolved to go into voluntary exilefrom his country for the love of the One who had exiled Himself from Heaven in order toredeem him, and had remained on this earth among men for thirty-three years. He resignedfrom the bishopric, making sure that it was well provided for, and set out to sea with a few ofhis monks. Fortunately, he landed on the coast of Lean, at the tip of Perzell, parish ofPlougonvelin, near Le Conquet, not far from the point and abbey of Saint Mathieu, alsocalled Loum Mahe Traoun; from there, they walked inland to the place where the parish ofPlouzane now stands. On this site, there was then a temple dedicated to pagan gods, as I havediscovered. The circular gable of the church, built as a half lantern, makes this a likelyconjecture for one can indeed see that, although a very ancient building, the church hasnevertheless been joined, as if attached, to that lantern. I have also discovered from localtradition that the tower of the sub-parochial Church of Loc-Maria, 700 yards distant fromGuic-Sane, was formerly an oratory dedicated to their false and pagan deities and was at thattime located in the middle of a thick forest which they called Lucos. And in front of thischurch one can see on both sides of the main road two big stone crosses which are said tohave been erected by Saint Senan once he had converted the local people to the Christianfaith. In acknowledgement of this, the crosses have been held in great reverence ever sinceand have served as places of sanctuary and immunity for wrongdoers. Once they reached thepoint on the main road between these two crosses, they could not be apprehended by the lawand this is why the place was called Menehy Sant Sane l IX. Saint Senan stopped in this place and began to preach and teach the people who untilthen were mostly pagan. Having converted them in a short time, he purified their temple and

dedicated it to God and there he celebrated the sacred mysteries of the Mass. At one end ofthe graveyard of Guic-Sane, one can see a large cross cut from a single piece of green stoneand in front of it stands a stone altar table raised on four pilasters made of granite. Localtradition holds that this is the altar on which Saint Senan celebrated his first mass after theirconversion. Going out of the church, on the left side of the porch, there is a large cross madeof granite, with unknown characters written on it, which, if they could be read, would throwmuch light on the matter. So, Saint Senan settled with his monks on a site not far from GuicSane, which is still called Ar Cloastr, i.e. the Cloister, where, with the help of localinhabitants, he built little cells to make up a small monastery2. As there was no water, heobtained a good spring which even now is called Feunteun ar Cloastr, i.e. the Cloister'sfountain, a very good and plentiful spring. I studied this fountain carefully in 1624 andnoticed that its coping made from a cross of red stone, cut in the ancient fashion, withsome unknown characters.

'These two crosses still exist. They are 0.80 m high, placed on bases of 2 m and 1.85 m high. There are IO metres between them andthey are situated on both sides of the little square at the west entrance of the village. Formerly there were only three metres belweenthem and they were in a little wood which was called Coat ar c'hras (i.e. wood of grace or refuge). Any criminal or wrongdoer couldfind refuge between the two crosses and was immune from proseculion, being under the proteclion of St. Senan.2This cloisler is slill known by this name. It is located a short kilomelre away from the village. Every year, on Whil Sunday, beforeHigh Mass, the procession of Loc-Maria joins that of Plouzane to conduct together Ihe "Round" of Ihe Cloister, which is called Trosant Salle. Many faithful do the same "Round" individually, wilh Iheir beads in Iheir hands, eilher on the same day or during theoctave (Communication from the Reverend Father Minganl , parish prieS! of Loc-Maria-Plouzane).

49

7/30/2019 Picard - St Senan 1993

7/8

X. Having for some years shone the light of his admirable holiness over the district of Leonand feeling that his end was near, he crossed back to Ireland , to the great regret of the people ofLeon and the joy of the Irish. There, he fell ill and died around AD 480 . His comprovincials,bishops, abbots, canons, monks and other church people' attended his funeral in his cathedraland from there they transported his body and buried it in the island of Inis-Kaha [i.e. InisCathaigh, or Scattery] , situated in the river or the gulf of Sinennen [i .e. Shannon]. There, Godperformed several miracles at his grave, as infallible testimony to his holiness.

XI. In that country, local tradition holds that whoever chooses to be buried in the Church ofOur Lady in Inis Cathaigh, where Saint Senan's body lies, will be buried there, no matterwhere he dies. A powerful lord from the province of Thomond, who lived on the banks of theShannon, stole a cow belonging to a farmer from Inis Cathaigh and had it killed and salted.Saint Senan avenged this outrage and insult to his sanctuary by making it impossible to cookthe meat of this animal, no matter how much wood was put on the fire. On seeing this, theunfortunate man reflected on his act, begged mercy from God and Saint Senan, and gave thefarmer a fair price for his cow. A very similar miracle happened to another in the same manner.On this island, there is the miraculous spring of Saint Senan, which the Irish of theprovinces of Munster and Thomond hold in great reverence and devotion. In particular, the .merchants of Limerick, when they go down the Shannon, if they do not have a favourablewind for their journey, go on pilgrimage to Inis Cathaigh and , in honour of Saint Senan, drawwater from the spring. Local tradition holds that the wind always becomes favourable withintwenty-four hours after this pilgrimage through the merits of this glorious saint.

XII. From the tomb of this holy bishop people collect certain small stones, olive greenishin colour, which are held in much esteem as precious relics. They protect against the plagueand other contagious diseases when one drinks water in which these stones have beensteeped. They also protect against drowning when they are carried with faith and devotion.The proof of this was recently shown when the boat of an important person was overturnedby violent wind on the high seas. Caught in this danger, he commended himself to SaintSenan, whose stones he was carrying, and without a boat or any help, he was miraculouslybrought to shore. The same merchant and one of his brothers, carrying these little stones ofSaint Senan, set out to sea with nine other persons who did not carry any . As the ship wassailing on the high seas, it was wrecked and the nine others died, but two brothers, devoted toSaint Senan, were miraculously saved through the merits of the saint to whom they hadcommended their lives.

XIII. I shall end the narration of the miracles which God wrought through the merits of theglorious Saint Senan with a recent miracle that happened in our own times. Queen Elizabeth ,daughter of Henry VIII, King of England, when she had taken Ireland by force and expelledthe Princes O'Neill and O'Donnell who, for the defence and upkeep of the Faith, had takenarms against this schismatic princess, she spared no effort in exterminating the Catholic faithin this island as she had done in England. To this end, she expelled the Catholic bishops fromtheir sees and replaced them by heretics. From their number she sent one to Limerick namedBernardulus , on account of his extremely small size. As he was visiting his diocese, thispseudo-bishop resolved to cross to Inis Cathaigh in order to have the islanders renounce theprimacy of the Holy See and acknowledge the Queen as Pope in his territory. But, havingheard stories about the exemplary punishments incurred by those seeking to profane the landunder the protection of Saint Senan, he did not dare to go himself but sent one of his more

50

7/30/2019 Picard - St Senan 1993

8/8

prominent ministers to reduce the islanders to the Queen's will. This minister took with him aminister of lesser class and, together with their retinue and soldiers, crossed to Inis Cathaigh.As soon as they arrived, he had it announced to the sound of the horn throughout the islandthat on the morrow all the islanders must come to the Church of Our Lady to renounce theprimacy of the Pope and pledge an oath to the Queen. The whole population, extremelysaddened by this order, went to the Church of Our Lady to ask for her help and the protectionof Saint Senan, their patron saint. They were not disappointed in their expectation. As theminister, who had finished a good supper, went to bed and began to fall asleep, Saint Senanarrived in the room and, remaining invisible, started to give him a good beating with the backof his staff, rolling him all over the bed like a ball of wool. The unfortunate man, feeling theblows raining oyer his body without seeing the person who was beating him so hard, criedout loudly for help and that he was being killed. When he heard the cry, the innkeeper got up,lit a candle, and entered the room where the other minister (who had already seen thismystery in a dream) and the whole retinue were standing around the bed, and they watchedhim being thrashed for two good hours.

XIV. When the saint had finished, the minister was so battered and broken that he couldnot leave the bed for the whole day and was thus unable to go to the church to carry out hispernicious and damnable plan. After dinner, some of the notables in the island came to seehim and told him plainly that it was a punishment of Saint Senan and they advised him tohumble himself, beg mercy from the saint and renounce his sacrilegious mission. Instead oflistening to them and putting their good advice to profit, the wretch got angry andblasphemed against the saint, saying that neither their Saint Senan nor anybody else wouldprevent him from going to the Church the next day in order to accomplish the Queen's willand at the same time he would eradicate all Roman idolatry from the whole island before hisdeparture. But the unfortunate's outburst was a vain effort. For, the following night, as he waslying in one bed and the other minister in a second bed in the same room, Saint Senan cameinto the room, no longer invisible but surrounded by a bright light which made the roombrighter than in the midday sun. He was wearing his pontifical garments, his mitre on his headand his crozier in his hand. Approaching the minister's bed he raised the curtain and, with hisstrong and majestic voice, he reprimanded him for his temerity and lack of belief. Then hedragged him from the bed on to the floor and gave him a thrashing with his staff so that hisbody was covered with wounds. The unfortunate man cried out in vain, for none could openthe door, nor even break it down, and the other minister, his companion, took good care not tohelp him, expecting at any moment the same treatment. When the saint disappeared, theothers entered the room and the minister was found on the floor, all battered and broken, halfdrowned in his own blood. So, without any more thought for his mission, he had himselftransported to his ship and went back with his retinue to Limerick where he vomited his soulto the devil, still ensconced in his heresy, on the fourth day after his arrival. This punishment,which was so exemplary, was divulged throughout Ireland and frightened the ministers somuch that no one has since dared to undertake the submission of the islanders.

This Life has been gathered by us from the Breviary of Leon, where the story is told innine lessons, on 6 March, and from a genuine extract of a manuscript in the Archives ofOurLady of Inis Cathaigh and Kill Senan, in the territory of Aruest in the County of Kerry,Diocese of Ardfert, Province of Munster in Ireland, communicated to me by the ReverendFather, Brother Vincent Du-Val de Sainte Marie, Vicar-Provincial of Ireland, in the year1629, and from the tradition held in the parish ofPlouzane.

51