The Irish standard., 1886-09-25
g ARRAN OF THE SAINTS. y

An Interesting Essay From the Pei
Of Rev. William Ganly,
G. O.. Oastlebar.
WHO WERE THE SEVEN ROMANS
That They Were Romans, and Seven
in Number, is All We Know
With Certainty.
The Irish Ecclesiastical Record
contains the following interesting es-
say from Rev William Ganly, q. c.,
Castlebar:--''ln picturesque valley on
the northern side of Arranmore, the
famous ''Arran Of the Saints of Irish
history, in the midst of a most interest
ing group of ruins known as the
s'Seyen Churches of St. Brecan,'' is to
be seen an upright, sculptured stone,
bearing, interlaced with a curiously
carved CROSS, the inscription ''VII
Romani,'' or s'The Seven Romans. .
During the month of August q few
summers ago I spenta fortnight in Ar
ran. Circumstances had previously
made me acquainted with the numer-
Gus objects Of antiquarian interest in
which the islands abound. This curious
monument had, however, hitherto. es-
capped my attention. Robed in a man
tIeo of sweet brier and wild roses, which
twined themselves around it, as il in
loving embrace, it might we'll evade
the notice Of the uninitiated. Natural
ly enough [ found myself asking:-'
s'Who are the Seven Romans, and what
strange destiny induced them to leave
their own sun-lit Italy to find home
and last resting place in this desolate
island? Neither history nor tradition
has unfortunately left us any direct
record of their existence. They belong
to the countless host of hidden saints
whose names are known to God alone.
That they We're Romans, and seven in
number, is all we know with certainty.
Everything else regarding them is more
or less involved in mystery. Whether
they were obscure Or distinguished in
the world; whether great ascetics or
great penitents; whether plebelan born
OF descended from long line of patri-
clan ancestors are questions which
must be left to the merest conjecture.
Not even Aengus, the Culdee, in his
famous litany makes any illusion to
these na1neless strangers, This soli-
tary monun1ent-cast on tie shore OF
time, a relic of the shipwreck of ages
is the only evidence possessed by pos
terity that such persons ever lived. 1t
is extremely meagre and proyokingly
laconic. It serves to excite our curios-
ity, without satisfying it. AND yet it
is the clue which helps to conduct us
through the maze in which is involved
the history Of the Seven Romans.
The eminent scholar and antiquarian
Doctor Petrie, In his admirable work
OH the EARLY Ecclesiastical Architec-
ture of Ireland refers to this stone, of
which he gives a description and a
drawing. From the intrinsic eyiden-
ces afforded from che slab itself, he be-
lieves it to have been erected in the
earliest Christian ages. The absence
of any record nakei it impossible to de-
termine the exact date. But from a
comparison of the cross and the form
of the letters Oh this stone, with the
cross and the inscription on the tomb
stone of ST. Brecan, to be seen in the
same group, it is at least highly pro-
bable that the "Seven Romans" were
contemporary with that saint. So
strikingly similar, indeed, is the scu]p-
ture on both slabs that the learned anti
quarian believes them to have been
carved by the same person--probably
one of those very Romans whose dust
lies mouldering beneath. St. Brecan
died early in the sixth century. From
the scanty accounts of his life which
have been left to us, we learn that he
was no less kingly by his descent than
he was by his virtues. A scion Of the
proud Dalcassian race, he could boast
of a line of ancestors i'll comparison
with which the oldest royal houses of
Europe are but as yesterday. Cartnan
Fionn, one of the monarchs of the
race, and the grandfather Of our saint,
reigned IN Munster about the year 439.
We read in the Tripartite life that he
was baptised by st. Patrick at Sangul,
now Singland, near Limerick. One Of
the sons Of this king was named Eochu
Balldearg, or Eochu Of the ''Red Spot. F"
He was born hopelessly disfgured and
diseased. The Apostle performed a
miracle in his favor by completely re-
storing him to health, This prince
was father Of st. Brecan. Like many
other Irish saints, no details of this
Saints life have been handed down to
us. In Arran there still exists few
dim traditions concerning him, one of
u-hinh ic hara uivon for what IL ia