The Irish standard., 1893-12-09
sam T BRENDAN. N
The Life Of the Irish Voyager In
Story and Legend by Rev. /:
Denis ODonoghue. q
THE COLUMBUS OF IRELAND,

THE COLUMBUS OF IRELAND.
In "Brendaniana'' the Learned Au-
thor Revives an Interest In
the Irish Monk.
During the last year or two, says
United Ireland, we have published q
good deal of literary matter with refer
ence to St. Brendan, the great Irish
saint who is supposed to have crossed
the Atlantic and discovered America III
the 9th century. Readers of these arti
cles and addresses must have surely
wished that all this information, and
whatever information in addition to it
was available, could be put into the form
Of q book. Well, their wishes, we are
very glad to say, have now been gratifed
| |-gratified, too, we think, beyond the
most sanguine expectati ms. Father
| IO'Donoghue has faced his subject with
the determination and holy zeal even OF
monk Of st. Brendan's own day. We
do not claim any special knowledge on
this topic, but judging his book from an
ordinary intelligent point of view, we
are decidedly of opin on that it contains
| very nearly all that we can possibly
know about the Columbus OF ireland.
Father O'Donoghue has Drawn largely
! on the text edited some years ago by
Cardinal Moran, and published in his
Acta Sti Brendani and has translated
them from the medieval Latin "as liter
ally as he could" The most important
of these documents is the account Of the
Saints life, (which records many inter
esting facts Of his authentic history at
ter his famous voyages, as we'll as Of she
histories Of many Of his contemporary
Irish saints, that cannot now be found
elsewhere y Very wisely, Father O'Don.
oghue does not give the Latin account Of
the. saints early lite. for, a. be says, thia
must have been based on portions Of the
Irish life in the book of Lismore. This
he translates direct from the Gaelic.
The book of Lismore is now the property
Of the Duke of Devonshire, and is kept
in Lismore Castle, county Waterford,
| where it was discovered in 1914 by
some workmen in walledup door or
passage, concealed in wooden box,
along with a beautifully worked anc1ent
crozier." 1t was compiled in the latter
half of the fifteenth century, from the
lost book OF Monasterboice, and from
other ancient MSS, for Finghin Mac
Oarthy Riabhah and his wife Catherine,
daughter Of Thomas, eighth earl OF Des.
mond. . Tie portion Father O'Doneg-
hue translates forms about one half Of
the book, and describes Brendan's life up
to the time of his setting sail for the
| s'Land Of Promise of the Saints" OF the
remainder, which deals with the voyages,
he gives q summary, as an introduction
to his translation Of 'the most perfect
and accurate text Of the Latin version
| lot the voyages) namely, the Navigatio
Brendania, edited some years ago by
Cardinal Moran in his Acta Sti Bren-
/ dani.
This Irish Life from the Book Of Lis
more is very curious reading. "It was
in the time Of Hnguis, son of Nath
fraech, King Of Munster = it says, "that
this great st. Brendan was born; of
Kerry Lauohra was he, within the dis
trict of Autraighe- Guile. His father
Finnlugh, was a freeman, Of noble birth,
devout and religious, who, with his law
full wife, lived in obedience and religious
discipline under the rule Of Bishop Fro.
The mother Of Brendan, before he was
born, saw in q vision her bosom full OF
pure gold, and her breasts glistening like
snow. When she told her vision to
Bishop Ere, he said: "There shall be
born to thee a child Of power, who will
Ibe full Of the grace Of the Holy Ghost.
that is Brendan.D z And hereis how the
chronicle describes him: 5s 81
"a chief leader in the faith and piety
which throughout most Of the world was
this holy Brendan; just was he, like unto
Abraham; 3 prophetic psalm lmist, like unto
David, son OF Jesse; an eminent sage,
like unto Solomon, son Of David; : law
giyer, like unto Moses, son of Amram;
Ian inspired interpreter, like unto Saint
4 - "a A. - S7N .S - n