Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1916-03-17
Greater Than Has Ever Been Wit
messed in ANY Other
Country.
Gathered Around Great APOSTLE
Were Many Holy and
Earnest Men.
TWO Industrious SUCCESSORS.


rick there was extraordinary re-
| ligious fervor in Ireland, which
lasted for several centuries, such
as probably has never been wit
messed in any other country. There
gathered round the great apostle a
crowd of holy and earnest men,
who when they passed away were
succeeded by others as holy and as
earnest, and the long succession
continued unbroken for centuries.
We have the lives of those men pic
tured in minute detail in our old
writings, and it is impossible to
look on them without feelings of
wonder and admiration. They were
wholly Indifferent to bodily COM
| fort or to worldly advancement.
They traversed the country on foot
and endured without flinching pri-
vations and dangers of every kind
for the one object of their lives
to spread religion and civilization
among their countrymen. When at
home in their monasteries many
lived and slept in poor, comfortless
little houses, the remains of which
may be seen to this day-places
we should now hesitate to house
animals in. The lot of the poorest
and hardest worked laboring man
of our time is luxury itself COM
pared with the life led by many of
those noble men. But even these
were surpassed by those resolute
Irishmen who went in crowds, in
the seventh and eighth centuries, |
to preach the gospel to the half
savage. feroeious and vicious people
who then inhabited Gaul North |
Italy and Germany.
1t must not be supposed that all |
the people of Ireland were con-
verted by st. Patrick and his COM
panions. There were large dis
tricts never visited by them. Much |
pagan superstition remained; the
Druids still retained great influ-
ence, and for more than a century |
after st. Patrick's death Chris
tianity had a hard struggle with |
paganism; so that there was
plenty of work for his successors.
OF these the two most illustrious |
were st. Brigid and st. Columkille.
st. Brigid of Kildare was born |
about the year ASS, at Faughart,
near Dundalk. but her father, who
was a powerful chief, belonged to
Leinster. She became a nun when
very young, and soon the fame of
her sanctity spread through the
whole country. Having founded
converts in various parts of Ire
land, she finally settled-about the
year 4S0-at place in Leinster,
where she built her little wooden
cell under the shade of great oak
tree, whence it got the name of
Kildara the church of the oak, now
Kildara This became the greatest
and most famous nunnery ever es-
tablished in Ireland. st. Brigid
died on February /, 523.
st. COLUMBIA or Columkille was
horn in 521 at Gartan in Donegal.
He gave up all the worldly advan-
tages of his princely birth for re-
Iigion. In the year SAG he built
presented to him by Prince Aed Mac
Ailnure, afterward King of Ire
land. During the next sixteen years
he travelled and preached and
founded a great number of churches
and monasteries all over the coun-
try. In the year 563 COLUMBIA
went with twelve companions to
the little island of Iona on the west
coast of Scotland, which had been
granted to him by his relative, the
King of that part of Scotland. Here
he settled and founded the monas-
terry which afterward became so
illustrious. He converted the Picts,
and he travelled the Hebrides,
preaching TO the people and found
ing churches wherever he went.
After life of incessant activity
in the services of religion his death
sickness came upon him at Iona in
the year 597. His biographer, st.
Adamnau, has left a full account
of the manner of his death. Though |
feeling his end approaching, he
continued as long as he was able
copying the Scriptures, with one
of his disciples constantly beside
him. When at last he could write
no more, he laid down his pen and
said, LET Baithen write the rest"
AT the toll of the midnight bell he
rose from his bed, which was moth
ing but a bare flagstone, and went
TO the church hard by, followed |
Immediately after by his attendant
Dermot. He arrived there before
the others had time to bring in
the lights, and Dermot losing sight |
of him in the darkness, called out,
'sWhere are you, father?" Receiv-
ing no reply, he felt his way till
he found his master before the
altar kneeling and leaning forward
on the steps, and raising him up a
little, supported his head on his
breast. The monks now came up
with the lights. and seeing their
beloved master dying. began TO
weep. He looked at them with his !