Waterbury evening Democrat., 1907-06-13

was the guest for two days of st Christian. But, how sad 1t Is to chronicle that the Norman king mere- ly beheld in the magnificent mon- astery and schools an ideal site whereon to erect a castle as protec. tion for the invaders. The character of the new visitors to Lismore may we'll be estimated from the sober en- try under date of December, 1173,
 from which 1t appears that those
 "freebooters" ravaged the sanctuary
 lands of Lismore. and extorted a
 large sum of money from St Christian for forbearing to burn his cathedral. l No wonder that the venerable
 Bishop of Lismore resigned his see,
 in ITS, and retired to the Cistercian
 Abbey of Odorney County Kerry, l where he died in 11S6. His successor.
 Felix O'Hea, attended the third
 Lateran council, 1179. and on his re- turn found Lismore made an append
 age of the English crown And, oh! the
 pity of 1t! In the early summer of 11S5, Prince John had the Abbey and
 schools levelled to the ground, and on
 the site was founded the present
 Castle of Lismore, rising boldly from
 a rock overhanging the Blackwater. With the death of St Christian, on
 March IS 11S6, and of his successor.
 Felix O'Hea, In 12O6, whilst on .
 visitation at Sliab g-Cua" or Slievs-
 que, the old order of things passed
 away. Scholars no longer came to
 Lismore, the chant of, the monks was
 no longer heard in the valley of the
 Blackwater, and the famous schools
 were replaced with towering strong hold, where mail-clad warriors kept
 watch and ward against the encroach-
 ments of the mere Irish." From th5 year, 1925, negotiations We're entered
 into regarding the union of the an- cient see of Carthage win that of
 Waterford; and finally, on June 16.
 1863, Pope Urban V formally united
 the sees of Lismore and Waterford. a
 union which still exists. Thomas
 Reeve, last bishop of Lismore. and
 first of the united sees, died at the close of the year 1893.
 ! The celebrated Book of Lismore" dates from 1462, was compiled by Aengus, son of Cellach for Finghin MacCarthy and his wife. Catherine, daughter of Thomas, Ear of Desmond. It was preserved in the Franciscan convent of Timoleague from 1504 to 1929. and in 1645, it was secreted in Lismore castle. with the crozier of Bishop MacEgan. As has been said, l it was discovered In 1874, and was transcribed by Eugene O'Curry in | 1S39 Among It's contents are: Lives of the Saints," 'The Dialogue of the Sages," Travels of Marco Polo,' ''The Hill of Believing Oxen,' etc.
 The "Black Book of Lismore" was compiled by John Russell, in 1iSI, under the direction of Bishop Purcell. a transcription of which is In Trinity college, Dublin, among the Stearne manuscripts. It was fortunate that l transcript was made of it because the original was burned In sune, i619, regarding which Miller McGraugh, then protestant archbishop of cashel, as- serted that "the burning of the Codex, called the "Black Book of Lismore'' was greater loss to the church than if all the protestant bishops in Mum ster were drowned
 James Butler, last Cistcran Abbot of Inislounaght. was appointed Denn of Lismore, in 1531. and ne died In 1540. Ours Is not the tnsk to treat of the sad period of t.le so-called reformation, but Is is sufficient to note that at the close of the sixteenth century, the fine cathedral of St Carthage, which had been rebuilt and decorated in 1861 by Bishop Reeve, became rulnous. The dozen or so churches in the neighbornood were also allowed to go to decay and In 1640, there were only three churches left, namely, the cathedral Christ church and St Mary's.
 Yet when the penal days had we'll nigh plotted out all memories of st Carthage's school. no sooner had em- ancipation come than in the marvel ous dispensations of Providence, the schools were again restored. Wonder full to relate almost exactly as hap pened to the founder of Lismore when he was exiled from Rahan. in 635. it pleased Almighty God to di- rect colony of exiled Cistercians. under the guidance of the saintly abbot. Vincent Ryan. in 1892, to settle near Knockmealdown, a few miles from Lismore The rugged bar renness of the "bare brown hill" h~1 become smiling arden. thoroughly accentuating its honeyed name ot Mount, Melleray;" and the present writer recalls vividly his boyish feel ings at the interment of the last of the eighty pioneer Cistercians who had been expelled from France by its infldel Brother Similian who ended his days almost centen- arlan. at Mount Melleray, in 1874.
 No sooner had the Cistercians built a church. in 1883. than they set about building a school. Sixty years ago the now world-famed seminary was started: and thus connecting link was made with the twelfth cen- tury school of which St Christian was president Truly does the present Mount Melleray seminary fttingly represents. in these degenerate days, the ancient schools of Lismore; and 1t Is indeed.a matter for congratulation, that a cirriculum is at this day taught by the sons of St Bernard-the white robed Cistercians-that cannot be surpassed by any college in the world. The old schools of Lismore are gone forever: but their lineal rep the schools of Mount MeIleray, are to-day the repositories of piety and learning. where tn fuxfa