| Saint Colman mac Duagh | |
|---|---|
| Born | 550 Corker, Kiltartan, County Galway, Ireland |
| Died | 632 (aged 81–82) |
| Honored in | Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy |
Saint Colman mac Duagh was born at Corker, Kiltartan, County Galway, Ireland, c. 550 (died 632), the son of the Irish chieftain Duac (and thus, in Irish, mac Duach). He was educated at Saint Enda's monastery in Inishmore/Árainn, the largest of the Aran Islands. Thereafter he was a recluse, living in prayer and prolonged fastings, first on Inismore, then in a cave at the Burren in County Clare, an area bordering the southern border of county Galway and thus close to what is today the village of Kilmacduagh. With King Guaire Aidne mac Colmáin (d. 663) of Connacht he founded the monastery of Kilmacduagh, ("the church of the son of Duac"), and governed it as abbot-bishop. His associates included Surney of Drumacoo. The "leaning tower of Kilmacduagh," 112 feet high, is almost twice as old as the famous tower in Pisa. The Irish round tower was restored in 1880. Such limestone constructed round towers were erected to serve as a refuge in times of attack (usually by marauding Vikings in search of gold — something Ireland had in great quantity).
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St Colman was the son of Queen Rhinagh and her husband the chieftain Duac; and while still in the womb had a prophecy that he would surpass all others of his lineage.[1] Rhinagh, fearing her husband would seek to harm the child, fled from him while still pregnant. However, the kings men caught up to her and tried to drown her in the Kiltartin river by tying a stone around her neck; it is said a miracle saved her for the rock floated to the surface and she was able to get back to land.[2] The rock with the rope marks is on display by the Kiltartin river.
Not long after she gave birth to Colman in Corker, Ireland (circa 605).[3] She took her newborn and waited under an ash tree for a priest to come through the town to baptize her child. When a monk finally did come through they realized there was no water with which to baptize Colman.[4] After a prayer a fountain bubbled up from the earth and Colman was baptized. That fountain is now the miraculous well of Colman mac duagh. Rhinagh gave the monk her child to raise.[5]
He was educated at the school of Holy Virtue and there ordained a priest.[6]
After his ordination, Colman went to Aranmore and lived as a hermit, after a few years there, and building two churches there, he moved to Burren Forest where he stayed for seven years.[7]
| “ | "Aingil De dar gcoimhdeacht
's dar sabhail aris go fuin; ar coimri De is Mhuire, Mhic Duach is Mhic Daire agus Colm Cille aris go fuin." |
” |
|
— Prayer to St. Colman[8] |
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Although reluctant to accept the title, Colman was ordained a bishop.[9]
Colman's virtues and holiness earned him the king's attention and King Guarie bade him to build a monastery.[10] Colman wanted God to show him where to build the monastery, and so asked God to give him a sign; later while walking through Burren woods, his cincture fell off. He took this to be God's sign and built the monastery on the place his cincture fell.
He died October 29, 632
There is a legend that angels brought King Guaire to him by causing his festive Easter dinner to disappear from his table. The king and his court followed the angels to the place where Colman had kept the Lenten fast and now was without food. The path of this legendary journey is called the "road of the dishes."
It is said that that St. Colman declared that no person nor animal in the dioceses of Kilmacduagh would ever die of lightning strike, something that appears true to this day.
As with many relics, Saint Colman's abbatial crozier has been used through the centuries for the swearing of oaths. Although it was in the custodianship of the O'Heynes of Kiltartan (descendants of King Guaire) and their relatives, the O'Shaughnessys, it can now be seen in the National Museum in Dublin (Attwater, Benedictines, Carty, D'Arcy, Farmer, MacLysaght, Montague, Stokes).
Other tales are recounted about Saint Colman, who loved birds and animals. He had a pet rooster who served as an alarm clock at a time before there were such modern conveniences. The rooster would begin his song at the breaking of dawn and continue until Colman would come out and speak to it. Colman would then call the other monks to prayer by ringing the bells.
But the monks wanted to pray the night hours, too, and couldn't count on the rooster to awaken them at midnight and 3:00 a.m. So Colman made a pet out of a mouse that often kept him company in the night by giving it crumbs to eat. Eventually the mouse was tamed and Colman asked its help:
It was a long time before Colman tested the understanding of the mouse. After a long day of preaching and travelling on foot, Colman slept very soundly. When he did not awake at the usual hour in the middle of the night for Lauds, the mouse pattered over to the bed, climbed on the pillow, and rubbed his tiny head against Colman's ear. Not enough to awaken the exhausted monk. So the mouse tried again, but Colman shook him off impatiently. Making one last effort, the mouse nibbled on the saint's ear and Colman immediately arose—laughing. The mouse, looking very serious and important, just sat there on the pillow staring at the monk, while Colman continued to laugh in disbelief that the mouse had indeed understood its job.
When he regained his composure, Colman praised the clever mouse for his faithfulness and fed him extra treats. Then entered God's presence in prayer. Thereafter, Colman always waited for the mouse to rub his ear before arising, whether he was awake or not. The mouse never failed in his mission.
The monk had another strange pet: a fly. Each day Colman would spend some time reading a large, awkward parchment manuscript prayer book. Each day the fly would perch on the margin of the sheet. Eventually Colman began to talk to the fly, thanked him for his company, and asked for his help:
So, as with the mouse, it was a long time before Colman put the understanding of the fly to the test. He probably provided the insect with treats as he did the mouse—perhaps a single drop of honey or crumb of cake. One day Colman was called to attend a visitor. He pointed the spot on the manuscript where he had stopped and asked the fly to stay there until he returned. The fly did as the saint requested, obediently remaining still for over an hour. Colman was delighted. Thereafter, he often gave the faithful fly a little task that it was proud to do for him. The other monks thought it was such a marvel that they wrote it done in the monastery records, which is how we know about it.
But a fly's life is short. At the end of summer, Colman's little friend was dead. While still mourning the death of the fly, the mouse died, too, as did the rooster. Colman's heart was so heavy at the loss of his last pet that he wrote to his friend Saint Columba. Columba responded:
Colman then realized that one can be rich without any money (Curtayne-Linnane).
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed (1913). Catholic Encyclopedia. Robert Appleton Company.