His Family
The early medieval monastery of Lynally was founded by St. Colmán.  He lived towards the end of the sixth century, dying in 611.  However while there is agreement in the sources as to the year of his death there is some ambiguity as to his age when he died.  The Annals of Tigernach give his age as fifty-six making his year of birth 555, while the Martyrology of Donegal states that he was only fifty-two, making his year of birth 559 [1] .  So who was St. Colmán, how and why did he come to found a monastery at Lynally and what can be found out about its subsequent history?

For Colmán there are two genealogies.  According to the corpus of Irish saints he was of the Dál Sailni family who ruled the land in County Antrim centred on Connor [2] .  Also of the same family was MacNissi, the founder of the church of Connor whose death is recorded in 514 where he is styled Bishop of Condaire (Connor).  A third member of the Dál Sailni family was St. Senan, the founder of the church of Laragh Bryan in County Kildare.  These family connections are of importance in the subsequent history of Lynally [3] .  Adomnán in his Life of St. Columba gives a similar genealogy where Colmán is styled “Colmán moccu Sailni”.  The Annals of Tigernach, in their obituary notice, also call him “Colmán Elo moccu Selli”  (i.e., moccu Sailni). [4]  

An alternative genealogy is provided in the two Latin lives of Colmán that have survived.  Here he is described as “de nepotibus Neill”, i.e., of the race of Niall of the Nine Hostages. [5]   Niall, the eponymous ancestor referred to, should have lived in the middle of the fifth century, and by the second half of the sixth century those claiming descent from him, the Uí Neill, were the dominant dynasty in the northern half of Ireland, including the kingdom of Mide. [6]

So which genealogy is correct? The weight of evidence suggests that it is the Dál Sailni genealogy.  Besides the evidence outlined above from independent sources as to his Dál Sailni genealogy, two other facts stand out.  Adomnán was himself of the Uí Neill dynasty and so would surely have been aware if Colmán was of the same clann.  Secondly which genealogy is more likely to have been invented? There were clear political advantages for his subsequent biographers in inventing an Uí Neill genealogy for their founder, given their dominant political position in Mide and elsewhere, but there was little to be gained from inventing  a Dál Sailni genealogy.  The Dál Sailni were a family in political decline. Probably sometime before the middle of the seventh century, the Uí Chóelbad, their kinsmen and neighbours to the south, began to expand northwards into their territory.  As a result the Dál Sailni lost their status as rí tuatha or kings of their own kingdom. . However a settlement was reached by which while the family lost their political status, they retained control of their church, Connor, with its associated episcopal office.  So while the Uí Chóelbad supplied the kings, the Dál Sailni continued to control the principal church.  Since the status of bishop was equal to that of rí tuatha, both families continued to enjoy equal positions, one political,  the other ecclesiastical. [7]

Before proceeding further a note of explanation is needed.  As pointed out by Mc Cone the so-called ‘lives of the saints’ are of little value in reconstructing the history or life of the saint they purport to tell.  What they do reflect is the political circumstances prevailing at the time of their composition. [8] .  For St. Colmán three lives have been published, two in Latin and one in Irish. [9]  

The longest and most detailed of the Latin lives was edited by Heist and in a recent study by Sharpe has been dubbed as part of the ‘O’Donohue’ group of lives of early origin, i.e., c.A.D.800. [10]   Plummer edited a second later Latin life while a life in Irish was also edited and translated by him. These lives are later and so less reliable.

The Foundation of Lynally
With these comments in mind, what are we told about the foundation of Lynally, and more important, what can we deduce from these stories? According to the early Latin life of Colmán, it was St. Columcille who requested, at an assembly of the leading nobles and clergy of Ireland, that a site be granted for a monastery to Colmán.  In response to this the king of Mide, Aed Sláine (ob.604) granted him a site at Lynally (Lann Elo). [11]    The kingdom of Mide, (approximately co-terminus with the modern diocese of Meath) was a relatively new creation, carved out of the old kingdom of Leinster whose territory was driven south by the southern Uí Neill. This conquest was not completed until the first half of the sixth century. [12]   As a result a number of families or dynasties, all claiming descent from Niall, were established in various parts of the new kingdom.  The overall provincial kingship alternated between these families depending what branch were the most powerful at any given time.  In the seventh century this was the descendants of  Aed Sláine referred to above. In the eight century this  changed  with the emergence of the Cland Cholmáin, (descendents of Colmán Mar, brother of Aed Sláine, whose lands centred around Lough Ennell) as the dominant branch of the family. [13] It’s likely therefore that the story of the donation of the site for the monastery is authentic, or at least pre-dates the eight century as a subsequent rewriting of the story would have changed the donor to one of the Cland Cholmáin.

Of greater importance is the question as to why the donation was made in the first place.  The site granted, Lynally, was in the seventh century part of the lands of the Cénel Fiachach maic Neill whose territory extended from the hill of Uisneach in Co. Westmeath to the Slieve Bloom, and from Birr to the Leinster frontier near Tullamore.  By the late sixth century this branch of the Uí Neills were excluded from the provincial kingship. [14]   However all branches of the Uí Neills were potential rivals and so it was in the interests of whichever was dominant to reduce the lands and power of their rivals.  One way of doing so was to grant their lands to the church.  Such a policy had the added advantage in that these establishments allegiance would then be to the provincial rather than the local king.  This policy appears to have been carried out in the southern regions of Cenél Fiachach to such an extent, (with such establishments as Lynally, Durrow and Rahan), that by the early ninth century the region came to be referred to as ‘Fir Chell’ or ‘the men of the churches’ and the term Cenél Fiachach confined to the lands further north. [15]   This would help explain the story related in the later Irish life of Colmán of the initial opposition to him of the local king, Donnchad, that the saint  only overcame by slaying a monster. [16]

The granting of the lands of Lynally to the church would have had one further political advantage. Cenél Fiachach was newly conquered land from Leinster, the frontier of which, as stated earlier, ran approximately where the boundary of the dioceses of Meath and Kildare and Leihlin runs today.  As such it was, at least in the seventh century, frontier lands still in dispute.  One way of securing newly conquered lands was to give them to the church to secure protection  by sanctuary (not always respected).  It thus, along with the other monastic establishments of the area, formed a buffer between the newly conquered lands and their former overlord, the kings of Leinster.

The site chosen was not an isolated one but rather formed part of one of the major corridors of communications in early medieval Ireland.  The corridor constituted a stretch of fertile land, some twenty miles long and approximately two to four miles wide, that extended from Tyrrellspass in Westmeath to Eli Tuaiscert in Munster. On both sides of this corridor were large expanses of bog.  This then was the route  linking the Uí Neill lands of the north with the kingdom of Munster.  As such it would have been the route used by  men, armies and  ideas moving from the south to the midlands and vice-versa. [17]

Not that the Leinstermen had given up all hope of recovering some at least of their lost lands.  Brandub mac Echach, the king of Leinster (ob. 605) appears in particular to have made a determined effort to halt or indeed reverse the Uí Neill advance into Leinster lands.  In 598 he defeated and killed Aed mac Ainmirech, the high –king at the battle of Dún Bolg.  In rolling back the Uí Neill conquests he may even have had some temporary success as the Uí Dublaige rulers of Fir Thulach (Fartullagh, Co. Westmeath) claimed descent from him though later again subject to Uí Neill overlordship.  More significant from the perspective of the history of Lynally is that his main efforts appear to have been directed against Brega, with the Book of Leinster recording his ‘seven blows against Brega’. [18] Brega comprised the lands of eastern modern Co. Meath, and its ruler was  Aed Sláine, the patron of Colmán referred to earlier.  It is  not surprising therefore that Brandub figures in two stories concerning Colmán, and not in very favourable terms.  In the early Latin life of Colmán he is referred to as ‘ rex Lagenensium, nomine Brandub, occissus est’, i.e., the king of Leinster, named Brandub, a murderer he is. [19] The second reference to Brandub and Colmán is in Manus O’Donnell’s ‘Betha Columb Chille’, a much later composition.  Here we find Colmán confronting Brandub after he has invaded Mide and offering him terms.  These he refuses and as a result is killed. [20]   Again the point must be emphasised.  These are fictitious stories told long after Colmán’s death and cast no light on the real life of the man himself.  Rather they reflect the desire of those who came after him to relate their political affiliations and to justify them with mythical events in their founders’ life. Brandub was the enemy of their patron, Aed Sláine, and so must be shown to have been the enemy of Colmán as well. Later the political climate was to change. With the emergence of the Chlann Cholmáin branch of the southern Uí Neills as the dominant group in Mide,  Leinster became an important ally against their rivals the Sil Aed Sláine (descendents of Aed Sláine).  This may explain why in the second and later Latin life of Colmán the sections referring to Brandub are omitted. [21]   

The lives of the saints also provide insights into the various alliances that existed between the monastic institutions.  Foremost of these was the close alliance of Lynally with the Columban federation, one of whose major foundations, Durrow, was only a short distance away, while in Scotland a number of churches were dedicated to St.Colmán where St.Columcille’s major foundation of Iona was. [22] This close relationship is recognised in both the various lives of Colmán and of Columcille.  As already stated, the earliest Latin life of Colmán credits the founding donation to the request of Columcille.  In the later Irish life a close family relationship is claimed, with Columcille’s sister designated as Colmán’s aunt.  [23] Colmán is also twice referred to in Adonman’s life of Columcille.   In the first story we hear that when Colmán had set sail from Ireland to visit Iona he encountered  a storm.  Columcille in a vision sees what has happened and through his prayers calms the waves. [24] In the second story by Adomnán we again are told how Columcille secured a calm sea for Colmán on a return journey from Iona.  We are also told that after his departure (Colmán’s), Columcille foretold that he would never see him again. Within a year he (Columcille) was dead.  As Columcille died in 597, this suggests  that  the final visit, if it really took place, was in 596 [25] This story is also recounted in less detail in the early Latin life of Colmán as well as in the later Betha Columb Chille, where it is Colmán who dies within the year not Columcille. [26] The stories are of course totally unreliable in themselves, and while its possible that Colmán may indeed have visited Iona, what they do demonstrate is the close alliance between Lynally and the Columban monasteries.

Literary Works
Of the real Colmán we know little except that he was a man of some learning.  This is evidenced by the number of literary works ascribed to him.  The ancient devotional work ‘Apgitir Chrábaid’ or ‘Alphabet of Piety’ is traditionally attributed to him.  No definite proof of this can be provided but scholars who have examined the work accept that the text is compatible with a date of around the early seventh century, i.e., contemporary with Colmán. [27] Of even greater historical importance is his probable authorship of the Latin hymn to St.Patrick, ‘Audite Omnes Amantes’ (see appendix).  The political context of this work is profound, not just for Lynally, but for the history of the church in the midlands as a whole.

It is now accepted that St.Patrick was not the sole missionary active in Ireland. Charles-Edwards has concluded that a successful evangelisation of Leinster had taken place by such missionaries as Palladius, Auxilius, Iserninus and Secundinus in the middle of the fifth century.  In contrast Patrick’s efforts appear to have been centred on the northeast. [28]   The process by which the cult of St.Patrick as the ‘national’ apostle of Ireland spread and was accepted throughout the country was a gradual one. What is clear is that the hymn ‘Audite Omnes’ was of major importance in the spread of the Patrican cult amongst the midlands churches.

The hymn is an abecedarian poem with each stanza beginning with the consecutive letter of the alphabet.  Traditionally attributed to St. Secundinus, a fifth –century missionary, today most scholars date its composition to the sixth or seventh century and accept that it was probably written by Colmán. [29] This is based on a gloss (a gloss was a marginal note inserted by a subsequent reader of a manuscript) in the Book of Armagh, which refers to Audite Omnes as ‘ ymnus Colmán Alo’ i.e., either that the hymn was written in honour of St.Colmán, which is evidently not the case, or that Colmán was the author of the hymn.  [30] Colmán, as pointed out earlier, was a native of Connor.  His tribe, the Dál Sailni, were closely related to and neighbours of the Dál mBúain.  These appear in Muirchú’s story of Patrick as the tribe of Miluic, his master while he was in captivity.  So Colmán was reared in the very heart of ‘Patrick’s country’ where his cult was strongest. It was this veneration of Patrick that he brought with him to Lynally.  [31] From here it was to spread to the other midland churches. The     Patrick of the hymn is that of a gentler and more spiritual figure than  later writers, such as Muirchú, were to depict.  Unlike later stories of his life, in this poem we find references to his humility and  to a man who despises worldly glory. [32]

The hymn was very popular in Ireland and in Muirchú’s ‘Life of Patrick’ we are told that shortly before his death, Patrick was granted the favour that all persons who sang his hymn on their last day would be saved.  In another hymn (Genair Patraic) there is reference to the special powers of this (Audite Omnes) hymn. We also find reference in the early Latin life of Colmán to him and his monks at Lynally singing it  when Colmán had a vision of St. Patrick. [33]  

Carney has also pointed out the similarity between this hymn and another in praise of St. Camelacus and has suggested the likelihood of common authorship. [34]   Camelacus is the saint mentioned by Tirechán (writing c.688-693) as appointed by Patrick to Rahan where we are told that ‘ he sent Camelacus of the Comienses to Mag Cumi and with his finger pointed out to him the place from the hill of Granard, that is the church of Raithen’. [35] Earlier he is listed as a bishop. [36]   Rahan is only a short distance from Lynally and clearly in both Colmán’s time and Tirechán’s, it was St. Camelacus who was considered the major saint associated with Rahan.  Later his place was reassigned to St. Mochutu. [37]   The hymn, ‘Audite Bonum Exemplum’, is similar in style and language to the Audite Omnes; both are alphabetical, both begin with Audite, as well as many other parallel expressions of eulogy.  The only significant differences are that the hymn to Camelacus is only one-eight as long as that to Patrick and the praise less elaborate.  Again the poem characterises Camelacus as a man of humility, gentleness and joyful service of God.  There are also a number of references to his poverty. Carney has also discovered a single stanza of another Latin hymn also attributed to Colmán in the commentary of the Calendar of Óengus. [38]

Evidently then Colmán was a figure of major literary importance in his time and so it is not surprising that the Calendar of Oengus (ninth-century) eulogised him as 

Colmán ó Laind Elo

La hoge alt légent,

Conid he, án núallán,

Iohain mar macc nÉreann.

 

i.e., Colmán from Lann Elo with perfection of high studies, so that he is, a splendid cry, the great John of Ireland’s sons. [39]

Layout and Life in the Monastery
In terms of layout, an early monastery would appear different to what most people today  would imagine a monastic structure to be.  The main buildings were separate and the great defining feature of an early monastery was the circular bank that enclosed the structure. Evidence for the enclosure at Lynally has been identified by aerial photography to the west of the church. The evidence was however in the form of a crop mark and no visible remains could be found at ground level. [40]

Within the enclosure was located most of the religious structures. Besides the church, these included such buildings as the monks beehive huts and communal facilities such as a kitchen, a refectory and probably also a school.  The early cemetery was also here and several grave slabs, now housed n the National Museum, were discovered in a mound to the south of the motte.  The early church would have been built of timber, and even the oldest section of the present remains (the western end) is probably of post-eleventh century construction. [41] To the southwest of the church is a late medieval grave slab that tradition believes to be the grave of St. Colmán. [42] Certainly the early Latin life of Colmán has him responding to the gift of Lynally with the words ‘Illic erit monasterium meum et resurectio mea’- this will be my monastery and my place of resurrection (where my body will rise from on the last day). [43]  

The various lives of Colmán also provide us with glimpses of what life was like in the monastery, if not in Colmán’s time, then at least from the early ninth century.  Manual labour constituted an important part of the communities activities, with the labour of the ‘monachi’ or ‘fratres’ referred to more often in his life than in any other of the early ‘O’Donohue’ group. In one instance we even find reference to the saint himself participating in this work. [44] More directly religious activities also took place and we find Colmán residing at Lynally with his monks ‘orationibus et ieiuniis et lectioni vacantes’ i.e., attending to prayers, fasts and readings. [45] We also have the previously cited example of Colmán and his ‘fratres’ singing his  hymn in honour of St. Patrick.  [46] However another story in the same life tells of how Dimma Dub (future bishop of Connor) was exempted from labour following a prediction of his future greatness.  This suggests that certain members of the community were exempt from labour, perhaps to enable them to pursue their studies, especially if future high office was envisaged for them. [47]

Besides the monachi or fratres residing within the monastery the life of Colmán also refers to another type of monk.  Monastic communities were composed of more than what we would today consider ‘monks’.  As pointed out by Charles-Edwards, the best guide as to who was part of the community and who was not was not as much who was present in the church to sing the office as who was buried in the monastic cemetery, a privilege granted to monks, monastic tenants and benefactors.  [48] A manach (monk) could be anyone who had subjected himself to the rule of an abbot.  He was not always a monk in the sense of someone who had taken monastic vows of celibacy and poverty.  A monastic community would have an inner core of those who had taken such vows. [49]   In many instances we find individuals and whole families offering their lands and persons to a particular monastery. They continued to reside with their wives and children and to cultivate the lands that now belonged to the abbot and his successors and to give a share of the produce to them.  In return they received the spiritual benefits of the prayers of the community and could be buried with them. Likewise not just ordinary laymen could offer their land and labour to a monastery, craftsmen could offer their hereditary skills as well, not just for themselves but for their lineage. In this way a monastery could become a centre where  a range of crafts could find a market and also be produced.  [50]

Evidence for this type of monk can be found for Lynally in the early life of Colmán.  Here we find a  ‘monachus’ of Colmán described as a ‘ laicus fidelis et iustus et vir bonus, i.e., a faithful an upright lay person and a good man. [51] Elsewhere we find a ‘vir sanctus, simplex valde et innocens, adherebat sancto Colmáno’- a holy man, very guiltless and innocent was attached to holy Colmán, yet ‘sub sub reula sancti Colmáni non constringebatur’- was not bound under Colmán’s rule and was wont to visit ‘plebem suam’- his community and gens-community. [52]

More secular activities also took place at a monastery.   In another story we are told how the brewer, unable to make the wort ferment appealed to Colmán for help. The result was a gushing geyser of miraculous beer without end! [53]

Evidence of the granting of lands and lineage also comes from the later less reliable Irish life of Colmán. Here the king, Cuiniugan, who initially opposed Colmáns arrival, promised that if he killed the monster ‘I myself will give him the place in which it (the monster) is, and I will give my seed after me and  (any of) my assistants that he prefers to have given to him’. Later in the same life Colmán says to Cuineda, the kings son ‘Thou and thy seed shall be with me till doom as stewards; and my relics shall be with you.’ [54]

Lynally after St. Colmán
For the subsequent history of the monastery we must rely on the annals.  After Colmán’s death in 611, there is a silence for one hundred years until 711(A.F.M. 709=711), when Tethghal, bishop of Lann Elo (Lynally) died.  This is O’Donovan’s translation but an examination of the Irish text reads ‘Tethghal, epscop ó Lainn Ela, d’écc. In my opinion this could equally read in  English ‘ Tethghal, bishop from Lynally…’ and could mean that he was from Lynally and not necessarily bishop of Lynally.  A similar ambiguity relates to an entry in 887  that states  that ‘Eochaidh, son of Comhgal, bishop of Lann Eala, ended his life at an advanced age. (A.F.M.884=887) The more authentic Ulster annals record that ‘ Bishop Echaid of Lann (Lynally), Comgans son, ended his life as an old man’.  (A.U. 887) Here the words do not state that he was bishop of Lynally but rather a bishop who was from Lynally, i.e., probably studied or had been  a member of the community there but not that his  episcopal office was there. If such was the case then where was their diocese?

This raises one of the most controversial issues of early medieval church organisation.  The traditional view is that the  diocesan structure set up at the time of the initial conversion of the Irish gave way to one of abbatial rule with dispersed ‘monastic paruchia’. This change was believed to have been complete by the end of the seventh century.  In this scenario the early territorial diocese were superseded into the lordships of the great monastic federations. [55]  

This view has been increasingly challenged by such historians as Sharpe and Etchingham who have argued for the continued existence of a viable functioning episcopacy with territorial jurisdiction, all be it that the dioceses were generally smaller than today. [56] Un-  fortunately a major difficulty is that the annals refer to bishops either by name only or by the church to which they were attached, without reference to the extent of their episcopal jurisdiction. In the case of the two bishops cited above in relation  to Lynally, it appears that what may be referred to is their place of origin or the monastery they studied at and not the seat of their episcopacy.  If such is the case then where were they bishops of?

The possible answer is Connor.  We have already seen the case of Dimma Dub who is referred to in the early Latin life of Colmán as a member of the community at Lynally. Yet in his obit in 659 (A.U) he is referred to as bishop of Condaire (Connor).  Connor was founded by Mac Nissi, whose obit in 514(A.U.) calls him bishop of Condaire.  He was also of the same fine as Colmán.  In fact the annals reveal a continued close relationship between Lynally and Connor that shall be examined later.  For now, if we confine ourselves to the issue of the episcopacy of Connor, we find that the inclusion of the two named bishops from Lynally as bishops of Connor fill in significant gaps in the records of its episcopal succession.  Another possible inclusion as a bishop of Connor associated with Lynally is Colmán himself.  In his life of St. Columba, Adomnán first refers to Colmán as a ‘holy bishop’, but in his second reference to him calls him a priest. [57]   This second reference to Colmán (as a priest) took place one year  before Columcille’s death. Reeves took the reference to Colmán as a bishop to be a mistake. [58]

But it is possible that Colmán was a bishop, a bishop of Connor, which office he could have resigned when he moved to the midlands to establish his monastery.  Again this cannot be taken as proven but certainly is not in conflict with the information we have concerning the episcopal succession at Connor as outlined below:

507. Repose of Mac Nissi, bishop of Condaire. (A.U.)

514. Mac Nise i.e., Aengus, bishop of Condaire, rested. (A.U.)

611. Repose of Colmán of Lann Ela. (A.U.)

659. Dima Dub, bishop of Condaire…. died. (A.U.)

711. Tethghal, bishop ‘of’ (from?) Lann Ela died…. (A.F.M.709)

726. Do-Chonna the devout, bishop of Condaire, died. (A.U.)

867. Oegedchar, abbot of Condaire and Lann Ela, fell asleep in Christ. The F.M. describe him         as a bishop and scribe without specifying of where. (A.U., A.F.M. 865)

887. Bishop Echaid of Lann, Cogans son, ended his life as an old man. (A.U.)

1038. Cuinnen, bishop, abbot, and lector of Condaire, successor of Mac Nisi and Colmán Eala….died.

For Lynally the abbots listed in the annals are the following:

611 Repose of Colmán of Lann Ela. (A.U.)

778. The falling asleep of Ainfchellach, abbot of Condaire and Lann Ela. (A.U.)

817. Death of the scribe Cú Chruithne, superior of Lann Ela. (A.U.)

867. Oegedchar, abbot of Condaire and Lann Ela, fell asleep in Christ. (A.U.)

901. Tipraite, son of Nuada, superior of Condaire and other monasteries, i.e.., Lann Ela and Lathrach Briúin, died. (A.U.)

917. Maelene, son of Maelbrighde, abbot of Lann-Eala and Connor, and the glory of Ireland, died. (A.F.M.)

954. Flannacan, son of Allchu, successor of Mac Nise and Colmán of Ela, died. (A.U.)

956. Mael Brigte, son of Erudán, successor of Mac Nise and Colmán of Ela.. died. (A.U.)

963. Joseph, successor of MacNise and Colmán-Eala..died. (A.F.M.)

976. Conaing Ua Fínáin, successor of Mac Nise and  Colmán of Ela, rested. (A.U.)

1038. Cuinnidén of Condaire, successor of MacNissi and Colmán of Ela…rested in Christ. (A.U.)

What these entries  reveal is the continued close ties between Connor and Lynally, with only one entry (817) referring to a superior of Lynally alone.  In all other cases they shared a common headship. Nor is any inference to be drawn from the change from abbot to ‘successor of.’ As pointed out by Etchingham the change in vocabulary is more likely to have been dictated by local usage and convention than by any evidence of increased secularisation of the monastery. [59]   It should also be noted that two scribes are referred to in the annals (A.F.M.-865=867; A.U.817). A scribe was not a person particularly concerned with writing manuscripts. Rather the term is used in the biblical sense of ‘ Scribes and Pharisees’ i.e., someone learned in the law and in particular the law of the Bible.  [60]

Lynally, like many of the more successful Gaelic monasteries, accumulated property and became  rich.  It’s easy to decry this process, and bemoan the passing of a purer simpler religion while still taking pride in the great works of art produced in this era. Yet as pointed out by Ó Cróinín it was this very wealth that enabled the monasteries to produce such fine works of art.  Lynally was no exception. 

Some idea of the extent of these possessions is gauged from the later Irish life of Colmán. This is in fact not really a life at all but an attempt to enumerate the property claims of the monastery in a poem supposedly spoken by Colmán himself.  Here we find listed;

 

‘The help of the Uí Duibhginn (is) mine;

Long will be their service;

Nor more shall fall to the ground,

The help brought (me) by the Ua Bracain. 

They brought two full hundred of milch cows

To my great church,

So that it was they who served me;

With me they shall be of my freemen. 

I give to them in return

A place in the choir of my church,

A little way from the bed (grave) of the kings

Without disturbance assuredly. [61]

In these verses we see the typical picture of the lay manaig (monk) giving their lands to the monastery in return for the prayers of the community and burial rights within the monastery. A burial right amongst the saints was of prime importance and often carried a high fee.  It was believed that on the last day when all the bodies would raise from their graves the saint or saints amongst them would intercede for those buried amongst them.  Hence the importance in all the saints lives of establishing that the founding saint of the monastery was actually buried there. 

Both families mentioned in the poem can be identified.  The Uí Duihginn were in north Uí Maine (a territory located in what is today east Co. Galway). In the early Latin life of Colmán it is recounted that he  travelled on at least two occasions into Connacht. [62] The second family, the Ua Bracain (Uí Braccáin), were in Fir Chell itself.  [63]   Further on in the Irish Life a number of other families are mentioned as allied to the monastery including Ua Gallgan, Uí Gruccain and Uí Corracáin, but their identities could not be established.

Besides lands, areas of tribute were also claimed in both Ireland and Scotland. [64] Nearer home in Fir Chell a long list of dire disasters are threatened on those of the area ‘ from whom is not received (the dues of) my bachall in that land’.  [65] How much of these claims were actually collected and how much was aspirations is not clear but clearly the compilers were pitching their claims high enough anyway. 

The  Óenach of Lynally
In ancient Ireland one of the most important annual events of the calendar was the ‘óenach’.  An óenach was the occasion for the who’s who of society to display their power and wealth. Here business was transacted and leading kings and churchmen could be seen.  Relics of the various saints would also have been on display for popular veneration and the occasion was often used for synods where major issues concerning the church were resolved.

The area of the óenach was protected by immunity from any act of violence. For ordinary lay people it was also a major festival.  

The principal óenach was that of Tailtiu and by the ninth century the third most important óenach in Ireland was said to be that of Colmán Ela of Lynally.  The event probably took place between the saints feast day, 26th September, and the feast of his nativity, 3rd October. [66] Not surprisingly the importance of the event in stressed in the later Irish Life where we are told that; 

‘ The fair of Cluain which is the noblest of them;

The fair of Teltown on the king’s day;

The third fair is my own fair

Both a near and afar.

I obtained from the high King of the stars,

As to every man who comes there,

The power of defending him in heaven,

As his reward for seeing the day of my fair. [67]

Maintaining order during an óenach was considered a sign of a king’s authority and any disruption an affront to it.  In 827 such a disruption did take place at Lynally when an attack was made by Muiredach mac Ruadrach, king of Leinster, on the Laigin Desgabair, i.e.., the Leinstermen of the south.  Again the incident gives us a glimpse of the variety of personages who attended the óenach. [68]

The last abbot or superior of Lynally is recorded in 1038. Subsequently it’s likely that the monastic property became secularised, as did most monastic property at this time.  Later the church was to emerge as a chapel of the parish of Ardnurcher (Moate) and later still to be receive parish status for itself. All this is beyond the scope of this paper.

Today all that remains of Colmán’s church are ruins, while his writings are now consigned  to obscure academic publications. But perhaps his greatest legacy to the present is not his foundation or his literary works. It is the annual celebration on the 17th March, when in Ireland and indeed all over the world, St. Patrick is hailed as ‘Easpag mor na hEireann’.

Appendix

HYMN ON ST. PATRICK, TEACHER OF IRISH

Hear ye all, lovers of God, the holy merits

Of the man blessed in Christ, Patrick the bishop,

How for his good ways he is likened to the angels,

And because of his perfect life is deemed equal to the apostles.

Christ's holy precepts he keeps in all things,

His works shine bright among men,

And they follow his holy and wondrous example,

And thus praise God the Father in heaven.

Constant in the fear of God and steadfast in his faith,

On him the Church is built as on Peter;

And his apostleship has he received from God –

The gates of Hell will not prevail against him.

The Lord has chosen him to teach the barbarian tribes,

To fish with the nets of his teaching,

And to draw from the world unto grace the believers,

Men who would follow the Lord to His heavenly seat.

He sells the choice talents of Christ's Gospel

And collects them among the Irish heathens with usury;

As a reward for the great labour of his journey,

His will be the joy of heaven's kingdom in union with Christ.

God's faithful servant and His distinguished ambassador,

He gives the good an apostolic example and model,

Preaching as he does to God's people in words as well as  in deeds,

So that him whom he converts not with words he inspires with good conduct.

Glory has he with Christ, honour in the world,

He who is venerated by all as an angel of God.6

God has sent him, as He sent Paul, an apostle to the gentiles,

To offer men guidance to the kingdom of God.

Humble is he of mind and body because of his fear of God;

The Lord has pleasure in him because of his good deeds;

In his holy body he bears the marks of Christ;

In His Cross alone, his sole comfort, he glories.

Untiringly he feeds the faithful from the heavenly banquet,

Lest those who are with Christ faint on the way;

Like bread he gives to them the words of the Gospel,

Which are multiplied like manna in his hands.

He preserves his body chaste for love of the Lord;

This body he has made a temple for the Holy Spirit,

And he keeps it such by purity in all his actions;

He offers it as a living sacrifice, acceptable to the Lord.

The great Gospel light of the world is he,

Lifted up on a candlestick, shining over all the earth –

The fortified city of the King, seated on a mountain,

Wherein there is great abundance of the Lord.

Greatest indeed will be called in the kingdom of heaven

The man who fulfils with good deeds the holy words he  teaches,

Who by his good example is a leader and model to the faithful,

Who in sincerity of heart has confidence in God.

Boldly he proclaims the name of the Lord to the heathens,

And gives them eternal grace in the bath of salvation.

He prays to God daily for their sins,

For them he offers sacrifices, worthy in the eyes of God!

For the sake of God's law he despises all worldly glory;

Compared to His table he considers all else as trifling;

He is not moved by the violence of this world,

But, suffering for Christ, he rejoices in adversity !

A good and faithful shepherd of the flock won for the Gospel,

God has chosen him to watch over God's people

And to feed with divine teaching His folk,

For whom, following Christ's example, he gives his life.

For his merits the Saviour has raised him to the dignity of a bishop,

That he may spur the clergy in their heavenly service,

Providing them with heavenly rations, besides vestments –

 The rations of divine and sacred words.

He is the King's herald, inviting the faithful to the wedding.

He is richly clad in a wedding garment,

He drinks heavenly wine from heavenly cups

And gives God's people the spiritual cup to drink.

He finds a holy treasure in the Sacred Volume

And perceives the Saviour's divinity in His flesh.

It is a treasure he purchases with holy and perfect works.

ISRAEL his soul is called -" seeing God."

A faithful witness of the Lord to the Catholic Law,

His speech is spiced with divine words,

That the human flesh may not decay, eaten by worms,

But be salted with heavenly savour for sacrifice.

A true and renowned tiller of the Gospel field,

His seeds are Christ's Gospels.

These he sows from his God-inspired mouth into the ears of the wise,

And cultivates their hearts and minds with the Holy Spirit.

Christ chose him to be His vicar on earth.

He frees captives from a twofold servitude:

The great numbers whom he liberates from bondage to men,

These countless ones he frees from the yoke of the devil.

Hymns, and the Apocalypse, and the Psalms of God he sings,

And explains them for the edification of God's people.

What he tells them he believes in the Trinity of the holy  Name,

And teaches that there is only one substance in Three Persons.

Girt with the Lord's girdle day and night,

He prays unceasingly to God the Lord.

He will receive the reward for his immense labour –

With the Apostles will he reign, holy, over Israel.

Abbreviations.

A.T:    Annals of Tigernach, ed. and tr. W.Stokes, Reprinted in two vols.       (Felinfach, 1993)

A.U:    Annals of Ulster (to A.D. 1131), eds. S Mac Airt and G. Mac Niocaill (with the corrected dates), Dublin, 1983.

CGSH:   Corpus Genealogiarum Sanctorum Hiberniae, ed. P. Ó Riain (Dublin, 1985)

Fél:      The Martyrology of Oengus the Culdee, ed and tr. W.Stokes, (London, 1905;repr. Dublin, 1979)

Heist, Vitae:   Vitae Sanctorum Hiberniae e Codice olim Salmanticensi nunc Bruxellensi, ed. W.W.Heist, (Brussels, 1965)

Hogan, Onom:     E.Hogan, Onomasticon Goedelicum Locorum et Tribuum Hiberniae et Scotiae (Dublin, 1910)

Plummer, Vitae:    Vitae Sanctorum Hiberniae, ed. C.Plummer, 2 vols. (Oxford, 1910)

Plummer, Bethada: Bethada náem nÉrenn, Lives of the Irish saints, 2 vols. (Oxford 1922)

Adomnán:   R.Sharpe, tr., Adomn&aac