¹ Here begins the life of Saint Cainnech. Saint Cainnech was born of the race of Corco Dalann, from the northern part of this island. His father was a venerable poet named Laidcenn mac Lecerd, and his mother was of the descendants of MacGuais, and her name was Meld. The parents of Saint Cainnech were poor, as were the parents of Christ, having no cow from whose milk they could feed their newborn child. Therefore, the Lord worked this miracle: on the night of Saint Cainnech’s birth, a cow without a calf came from a distant place, from the island of Imlige—where his family originated—emerging from the waters of a lake, guided by none but God, until it stood before the door of the house where Saint Cainnech was born. The next day, the cow’s calf followed after its mother and came to the same place, and there they remained.

² At that time, in the region of Connacht, no priest could be found to baptize the infant. Therefore, the Lord brought a certain bishop named Lurech from a distant place to baptize him, for this reason: one day, the holy bishop’s cows had strayed, and twelve of them were missing. He carefully followed their tracks and found them near the house of Laidcenn. After he baptized the infant, he returned home with his cows.

³ Saint Cainnech was born among his own people, in the Valley of Pellis, but he was raised in the land of the descendants of MacGuais, in a place called Kenn Buge. In that place, the holy boy Cainnech tended the flocks, together with another boy named Albus Mendax, who was the son of a king. But the nature of these boys was very different. For when Cainnech played, he built small churches, while Albus Mendax made shields and spears. Moreover, Albus Mendax would mix stolen fruit among the lawful ones and give them to the holy boy, who, not knowing they were forbidden, would eat them but immediately vomit them out. At last, when the Lord revealed the truth to him, he recognized the unlawful fruit, rejected them, and ate only what was permitted

⁴ When Saint Cainnech had grown up and become mature in understanding, he desired to study wisdom and learn the religious life. He crossed the sea into Britain, to a wise and devout man named Docc. There he studied diligently under him and learned good conduct, being very humble and obedient. One day, as Saint Cainnech was sitting and writing, he heard the sound of the bell calling the brethren to their work, and in his haste to fulfill obedience, he left half of the letter “O” written, leaving the other half unfinished and incomplete. The master loved his pious and obedient disciple.

⁵ When a certain fellow monk saw that the abbot greatly loved the boy, he was moved by the devil’s prompting to hate Saint Cainnech and began to persecute him. One day, this unmerciful and angry man came to Cainnech as he sat reading, and rebuked him, saying, “The whole community has gone across the strait with the oxen and carts to bring back some necessary materials. You must go after them as well.” Then Saint Cainnech, in obedience, rose up. The envious man gave him two wild and untamed oxen, but they became gentle and submissive. When he reached the strait, he found it filled with a great flood, the waves swelling high, for it had been dry when the brethren had crossed. Then the Lord divided the strait into two parts, and Saint Cainnech passed through on dry ground with his empty cart and returned the same way with it loaded. When the holy abbot saw this, he was greatly afraid and honoured his obedient disciple, and he rebuked the envious man.

⁶ After this, when Saint Cainnech had studied both the Scriptures and the ecclesiastical rules under his master, he wished first to go to Rome and afterwards return to Ireland, so that he might lead his people from paganism to the Lord. This plan pleased his master. Then Saint Cainnech, having received the priestly order, set out for Italy, where he performed many miracles.

⁷ One day, while Saint Cainnech was traveling through that area, he fell into the hands of twelve robbers who wanted to kill him. But the holy man began to preach to them the word of God. They refused to listen and raised their hands to strike him down. Immediately, they became like twelve stones, dried up and unable to move. Then, repenting of their sin, they believed, and were released from their immobility.

⁸ Another time, while Saint Cainnech was traveling in Italy, he came upon a royal herdsman in a deserted place. The man rejoiced at his arrival and looked kindly upon him. Then Saint Cainnech gave him a small gift of gold that he had with him. But when the cruel and merciless king heard from others that Saint Cainnech had given gold to a servant and a peasant, he became very angry, displeased that a gift suitable for a king had been given to a lowly man, and he said, “He deserves death who dared to do such a strange thing.” The king then ordered a great fire to be lit and Saint Cainnech to be thrown into it. This was done as he commanded, but immediately the fire, by the power of God, went out and did not dare to touch the saint of God.

⁹ Seeing this, the king ordered that the saint be punished again and thrown into boiling pitch. But when the servants did this, Saint Cainnech came out unharmed from the seething liquid. Then they tied a great stone around his neck and threw him into the depths of the sea. But the Lord lifted His servant up upon the water and brought him safely to a peaceful shore.

¹⁰ Then all the people cried out with one voice, “He is a wondrous man, whom fire cannot burn and the sea cannot drown.” Then all, together with the king, fell to their knees and believed. The king offered to God and to Cainnech great gifts—land stretching as far as the eye could see on a clear day, along with his own city—and there, even to this day, as learned men attest, the name of Cainnech is held in honor.

¹¹ Cainnech therefore promised that his burial and resurrection would take place in that city, together with the aforementioned king. But the angel of God, who often visited the saint, rebuked him for this careless promise—for he had foretold that his resurrection would occur in Ireland. Saint Cainnech was then deeply troubled, torn between keeping his promise and obeying the angel’s word. But the Lord, the true judge, came to his aid. For a fiery dragon descended from heaven and cut off the tip of the saint’s right toe. The holy man Cainnech, fulfilling his promise, left his toe behind, and, obeying the angel’s command, returned to Ireland. The aforementioned king, however, later became a man of great holiness and a bishop.

¹² When Saint Cainnech returned to his own people, he preached the word of God to his foster-brother, Alba the Liar, and the holy man urged him to offer himself and his possessions to God. But that king, unwilling to listen, finally said, “If it will do you any good, I will offer to you and to God the little finger of my hand as a sacrifice.” Cainnech replied, “It will indeed do much good, and it is pleasing to God.”

¹³ So the king sacrificed one of his small fingers to God—but immediately that finger was seized with sharp pain and swelling, and gradually the pain spread through his hand until it reached his whole body. Then the king, seeing what had happened, said, “I thought it would be better for me to give, even a small part, to God—but now I see it has turned out worse for me.” Cainnech said to him, “It is the way of good heirs that even if they receive only a small inheritance, it grows and prospers with them. So you gave to God the small inheritance of one finger—and He, entering into that finger, has enlarged His claim until it covers your whole body.” But when Cainnech prayed for him and blessed him, he was healed completely—from all pain of body and of soul.

¹⁴ So Cainnech, departing from that liar Albus, was traveling in his chariot when he came upon a poor man begging by the roadside. Moved with pity, he gave the poor man the two horses that drew his chariot, and, sitting there on the road, he sang psalms. But Albus the Liar came along the same road and said to the saint, “From my herd that dwells in the mountain pastures, let two unbroken horses be brought to you.” And as soon as the two wild and untrained horses arrived, they immediately became gentle and well-tamed, and they drew the saint’s chariot without resistance.

¹⁵ On another day, while Saint Cainnech was walking along the road in the region of Connacht with his companions, they caught sight of the ancient skull of a dead man. Seeing it, his followers said, “If this head could tell us true stories, it would have many to relate, for we think it must have been dead since ancient times.” When the man full of grace heard this, he prayed and blessed the dry, ancient head. Immediately its flesh, skin, and hair covered it once more on the outside, while within its soul was restored to life. Then it spoke, saying, “Fochen, fochen, O Cainnech!” (“Welcome, welcome, O Cainnech!”).

¹⁶ After this, it told them carefully about its family, its name, and the manner of its life, and it showed them the place where its body was buried. It confessed that its soul had been in hell for thirty years, and revealed to them many other things as well. Through the preaching of the saint, it believed, received baptism, and was laid to rest again—this time together with its body, in a new grave.

¹⁷ Another day, as Saint Cainnech was walking along the road with his brethren, he suddenly vanished from their sight, and they did not know where he had gone. But after a few hours he returned to them, and they asked him where he had been. He answered them: “One of my monks, named Senach Ron, who had offered to me his body and soul, his family, and his lands, has just been slain in the eastern part of Leinster and is dead. I heard his voice calling out to me for help, and so, leaving you safely behind, I went swiftly to his aid. There I fought for his soul against the demons who were carrying it off to hell, and I snatched it from them by force. For to me it was dearer to save his soul than his body.”

¹⁸ One day Saint Cainnech saw a gathering of the people of Connacht assembled in a certain place around a magician who was deceitfully performing signs before them, and the foolish among them were giving him divine honor. For it seemed to the whole crowd that this magician was passing right through the trunk of a great tree that stood there. Then Saint Cainnech made the sign of blessing over the magician, and everyone saw that the man was in fact walking beside the tree’s side. Thereupon all gave glory to God and to Cainnech, and the wretched magician was scorned and put to shame.

¹⁹ On another day, during the season of Lent, Saint Cainnech came to a certain place seeking hospitality and found great joy among the household there. But that family, having nothing else to offer him for a meal, gave him some cooked bacon. The saint received it with thanksgiving and blessed it, and the bacon was turned into the finest wheat. For on the following day, the fragments that remained had become grain—except for the pieces that one layman had refused to eat, which were found to be still bloody.

²⁰ On a certain day, Saint Cainnech came upon a man whose face was like a flat board—without eyes or nostrils—and he was deeply moved with compassion for him. Since there was no water nearby, the saint ordered his companions to dig into the ground at that place. When they had dug, a spring immediately burst forth. Sprinkling the sick man with that blessed water, Cainnech restored to him ears, nostrils, and eyes.

²¹ At one time, when Saint Cainnech was being hosted on a Sunday in a place near Tull Ruaid, he said to his attendants, “Go to the fishermen of the river for us. Perhaps God will move them to help us with some of their fish.” But when they refused to give any of their catch, Cainnech said to one of the brothers, Scellan, “Go to the nearby pool with my staff.” So he went and dipped the saint’s staff into the water. Immediately, a fish of remarkable size came up to the surface. Scellan pulled it to land, then put the staff into the pool again and caught another fish. But Cainnech, who by the Spirit of God saw this while still in his dwelling, said, “O Scellan, he is being greedy! What has been caught is enough for us.” Hearing the saint’s words, Scellan threw the second fish back into the water and returned home with the first.

²² At a certain time, on a Sunday, Saint Cainnech came to visit Saint Comgall. He was received by him with great joy, and Comgall said to his guests: “It is our duty to preach the word. Therefore, let Cainnech preach to us today.” Cainnech, receiving this command with humility, gave a most wonderful sermon, and all the people wept deeply. Then Comgall said, “Often have these people wept when hearing the word of God, but never until this day have they poured out such great and abundant tears.” Then Saint Cainnech spoke his familiar saying: “The Son of the Virgin knows—it is his work if their hearts are softened—for only yesterday I heard this from the mouth of God’s angel.”

²³ On another day, A certain woman came to Saint Cainnech with her son and said, “O holy servant of God, what am I to do? Behold, this son of mine is wicked toward me and disobedient.” Then Cainnech rebuked the boy and preached the word of God to him, urging him to show kindness and reverence to his mother. But the boy, proud and wayward, despised the word of God, mounted his horse, rode away quickly—and suddenly fell from the horse and died. Then his devout mother, weeping and mourning, begged the saint to raise her son back to life. And when Cainnech prayed, the boy was restored, and—repenting—he fell to his knees. Leaving his mother, he followed Cainnech.

²⁴ Cainnech took him with him to Britain, and there he bound the young man’s feet with a shackle so that he would not wander, and he threw the key of that shackle into the sea. After the youth had remained in Britain for seven years, Cainnech said to him, “Go again to Ireland, and wherever you find the key of your shackle, there remain.” So the young man came to Ireland. When he reached the River Liffey, he found some fishermen there. Asking them for a fish, he received one—and when he cut it open, he found inside the fish the key to his shackle, in the town that is called Leithbher Cainneich (“Cainnech’s Church”). There he stayed. This young man was Liber, son of Arad, a venerable man both in heaven and on earth.

²⁵ One day, Saint Columba of Kells, Comgall, and Cainnech were gathered together in one place. And a dew of rain and snow fell upon them. The garments of the two saints, Comgall and Columba, became very wet; but the clothing of Cainnech remained dry and untouched by the snow. Then the saints asked why their garments were wet, while his remained dry. Cainnech replied, “You tell me what you were thinking about at that moment.” Columba said, “At that time, I was thinking of my community who were in danger on a sea voyage.” Comgall said, “My mind was anxious for the brothers laboring in the harvest.” But Cainnech said, “The Son of the Virgin knows that at that time my mind was among the angels in heaven, and from the day when I first cast it there, I have never brought it back down to earth.”

²⁶ Saint Cainnech once lived at the foot of a certain mountain in Britain, but he could not see the sun well because the mountain blocked it. Then an angel of God came to him and said, “If the mountain harms or troubles you, let it be moved from its place. According to the word of the Gospel, it will be transferred to another place.” Saint Cainnech replied, “God’s elements shall not be moved for my sake.” But God, wishing to show favor to Cainnech, tried during the following night to cast down the mountain, until the saint stopped Him, saying, “I will leave, I will leave this place. But I do not wish the mountain to be changed until the Day of Judgment.” And so it was done. The mountain, as those who have examined it say, still bears a cleft and a kind of fracture as a sign of that attempted change—had not Cainnech forbidden it.

²⁷ On another day, Saint Cainnech left the house where he had been staying, leaving behind a living fire burning within it. Then the fire, crossing its bounds, set the house ablaze and consumed it. Yet the Gospel book, which had been left open in that same house, was found uncorrupted and untouched by the fire.

²⁸ On another day, Cainnech went out from his house, leaving the door open, and likewise left the Gospel book open inside, near the doorway. Then the wind and snow, blowing through the open door, filled the house so that the threshold was almost covered with snow. But the Gospel book, which the storm dared not touch, was found dry and unharmed.

²⁹ One day, as Saint Cainnech was walking across the back country of Britain, he found there, in the midst of a wilderness, a woman on a snowy day, half-dead from hunger and cold, and beside her he found her little daughter lying dead. Then Saint Cainnech said to his companions, “Light a fire, help this woman who is very cold, and feed her with food.” When the woman was warmed by the fire and satisfied with food, she regained her strength. And Saint Cainnech raised her dead daughter back to life, as it is written: “He took her by the hand, and the girl arose”. In that place, large crosses are still to be seen to this day.

³⁰ On another day, Saint Cainnech entered the island of Iona. When he had kissed the altar, he accidentally struck his head against its corner, and a drop of blood fell from his head. That drop of Cainnech’s blood was brought to the daughter of Bruide, king of the Picts. She was blind, mute, and deaf — but she saw, and heard, and spoke, and, having been made well, she returned home, as it is written: “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; then shall the mute sing for joy”.

³¹ A certain layman named Tulcan, desiring to please God, journeyed as a pilgrim from Ireland to the island of Iona, to Saint Columba of the Church of Kells, and there, holding a staff, he remained with Columba as a monk. He had with him a young son, whom he loved deeply. But one day, Bithin said to Columba, “This layman loves his child more than God. Therefore, it is better that they be separated than remain together.” So it was commanded that he should throw his little son from a high cliff into the sea. The monk, obedient to this harsh command, gave thanks to God and, though with great anguish of heart, cast the little one into the depths of the sea. This child was Mundu, the son of Tulcan. But Saint Cainnech, foreseeing this through the Spirit of God, while living in the region of Heth and preparing to sail to Ireland, first turned aside to visit Saint Columba, and there found the little boy coming up alive from the waves. Cainnech took the child into his boat and came to Saint Columba with a heart full of anger, saying, “From this moment, we shall no longer be friends, for you have given such a cruel command and have afflicted a poor pilgrim.” And it was with great difficulty that his heart could be appeased, as it is written: “I desire mercy, not sacrifice”.

³² When he was on the island of Iona, one day around the ninth hour, the priest, as was the custom, went to ask Columba something, but could not find him in his usual place. He searched carefully throughout the island, but he was nowhere to be found. Then Bithin ordered the priest to strike the bell. When the brothers had begun their celebration, Columba suddenly came into the church to them, his face blazing and his eyes shining like lightning. When Bithin saw this, he knelt down and promised to do penance, in whatever way Columba should judge. But Columba said to him, “I will not judge you. Go to Cainnech, that he may judge you.” So Bithin went in search of Cainnech throughout Ireland, and after three years he found him. Cainnech said to him, “Go to your home, for by the toil of your three years’ wandering you have already completed your penance.” (Or, as some say, he carried with him a spark from the fire of hell in his hand.) Then Bithin said, “Perhaps Columba will not receive me.” Cainnech replied, “Take with you this token—the small piece that fell through the air from his cloak when he, I, and Comgall hurried to Bishop Eugene of Ardstratha, who had called us to help him, for he was fighting in the air against demons over the soul of his monk Aed. This token will be recognized by him. And tell him that it was most inconvenient for us when the sound of your bell drew us away from our struggle.”

³³ Another day, when there was a storm of immense violence and waves of unbearable height, Columba said to the brothers of the community at Kille: “Quickly, prepare lodging and water for washing the feet of a guest.” One of the brothers said to him, “Who could possibly sail on such a windy and dangerous day?” Columba replied, “Behold, the holy Cainnech, God’s chosen one, will come to us today. The Lord has granted him calm in the midst of the storm, and after a short while Cainnech’s boat will reach us.” And indeed, it made port safely. Columba went with the brothers to meet him, and they received him with great honor. Then the brothers asked Cainnech’s companions, “How were you able to sail today?” They answered, “The almighty Lord made for us a calm and peaceful path through the vast waves. For all around us at sea there was a savage tempest, yet for about the length of a rod on every side of our boat there was gentle stillness.”

³⁴ Saint Cainnech was once received as a guest on the island of Ibdon on a Sunday. But the mice of that place tore and chewed his fig-cakes. When the holy man saw this offense, he cursed the mice and drove them out of the island forever. For all the mice gathered together, and at the saint’s word they hurled themselves into the depths of the sea, and from that day to this no mice have lived on that island.

³⁵ At another time also, on a Sunday, he was received as a guest on another island called the Island of Birds, commonly known as En Inis. There, the noisy and very talkative birds disturbed him. Therefore, he forbade their chatter, and they obeyed his command. For all the birds gathered together, and, lowering their breasts to the ground, they fell silent and remained motionless and without a sound until dawn on Monday, when the holy man released them by his word.

³⁶ One day Saint Cainnech went out to visit his sister, whose name and merit were both Columba, who lived in another place. He found great joy with her, and she served him attentively, as one ought to serve a true guest. Then he said to her, “Where is that little boy of yours, your foster son, who used to serve us, wash our feet, and rejoice whenever we came?” But she, by carefully chosen words, did not wish to reveal that the boy was dead. The saint said to her, “We will not eat until our boy comes to serve us.” Then the little boy, whose name was Brecan, immediately rose from the dead at the word of the saint and began to serve them.

³⁷ At another time, Bishop Aed, son of Bricc, went to King Niall—Colmán the Little, son of Diarmait—who lived on Lough Ros. The bishop stayed beside the lake, fasting against that king on behalf of his sister, a consecrated woman, who had been carried off by the king in a raid. But Saint Cainnech, moved with compassion for the bishop, went to help him. When the king heard of this, he ordered his servants to bar the fort gates securely and to hide the boats carefully, so that Cainnech could not reach the island. But the Lord, wishing to aid His saints, opened the gates and brought forth a boat from the place where it had been shut away. That night Cainnech sailed to the island and sternly rebuked the proud king, urging him not to harm Bishop Aed.

³⁸ The king, however, despised them both—but God honored them. For as that proud king was sitting, he saw a fiery chariot with horses of fire and a terrible charioteer holding a flashing sword in his hand, coming swiftly from the east across the plain and over the lake toward the island. The charioteer struck the king and almost cut him in two, had not Cainnech stopped him with his staff; and immediately the king died. Then Cainnech prayed to God and raised the king back to life. And King Colmán, restored from death, gave thanks and promised to do whatever Cainnech told him. He released the bishop’s sister whom he had taken, offered a place to Saint Cainnech, and in that place Cainnech made his dwelling.

³⁹ One day, while Saint Cainnech was living in the place already mentioned, he went out to a spring of water, leaving his house and his belongings unguarded. Then two thieves came and set his house on fire. Half of the house was burned, but the other half remained whole and unharmed, for the fire did not dare to touch the part where the chest containing the holy man’s books had been. But those two thieves immediately suffered God’s punishment: the eyes of one burst in his head before the flames, and the other became lame in both feet, so that one could no longer see and the other could not walk. Then those wretched men repented and, doing penance, remained with the saint as obedient monks for the rest of their lives.

⁴⁰ At another time, in the region of Meath, a certain wealthy man who had a wife came to Saint Cainnech and asked his blessing, and he brought the saint home with him. When they had eaten together, the saint noticed a thin and very emaciated dog. He said to them, “Which of you is the cook who has been feeding this dog?” The woman answered, “I am the one who fed it. I will do penance and will do whatever you command me.” But the saint, judging the matter sternly, said, “Until the end of the year, let your meal be given to the dog, and you shall eat the dog’s food.” The woman, though weak, obeyed this harsh command; and before long, being content with the dog’s food, she died. But when Saint Cainnech later returned and heard of her death, he prayed earnestly to the Lord, and she was restored to life.

⁴¹ At another time, when Saint Cainnech was living in the place called Cluain Bronich, on the border of the descendants of Niall and the Mumennians, not far from the territory of Birr, his community had no skilled craftsmen or strong workers who could build a threshing floor and prepare a place to dry and thresh the sheaves. Instead, they threshed their grain on the bare ground in the open field. Therefore his monks came to him, complaining that in very rainy weather they could not thresh the sheaves without a roof to shelter them. Then the saint went with them and blessed the threshing floor. And from the day the holy man blessed it, that place has remained dry and unsoaked, without even a single drop falling on it, as experts testify, and it will remain so until the Day of Judgment.

⁴² In that same place where Saint Cainnech was living, he had no milk-cow to provide for the sick and the elderly. But each day around the ninth hour, a deer would come to him from the nearby wood with her fawn, and she would give him her milk before returning again to the forest.

⁴³ In that same place, Cainnech—who, as was his custom, often withdrew from people, forgetting the things of earth and setting his mind on heavenly things—took the Gospel with him, reading it carefully and praying in a secret place. He told his household that no one should come to him until the ninth hour [about 3 p.m.]. He remained in a deserted place without food or drink, without night or darkness, without hunger or cold, without rain, until the ninth hour of the third day. Meanwhile, his household fasted during those three days, but a young boy who was with them, unable to bear the hunger, died. When the holy man returned to them, he asked, “Has the ninth hour come yet?” They answered, “Yes, the third ninth hour has come.” Then the brothers were refreshed with food, and the little boy who had died of hunger was brought back to life through the saint’s prayer.

⁴⁴ On another day, in the time of winter and snow, Saint Cainnech was traveling through the lands of the Neill. Seeing a cross standing by the roadside, he stopped there at the ninth hour [about 3 p.m.] to pray and asked, “What is this cross?” Those who were learned in the place replied, “King Colmán the Little, son of Diarmait, was slain here.” When the saint heard this, he said, “The Son of the Virgin knows that I promised to offer a prayer for him on another day.” Then the saint turned his face toward the snow-covered cross and prayed with tears until the snow beneath his face melted away. Then the saint said—seeing by the Spirit of God—“Now the soul of Colmán has been cast up from the depths of hell through Cainnech’s prayer, as a mass of burning fire is cast out.” Then the saint gave thanks to God.

⁴⁵ On another day, when Saint Cainnech came to the cell of Achadh Drummot in the territory of the Leinster people to seek lodging, he found there a great celebration. But seeing that the face of the steward of the guests was sorrowful, Cainnech asked the reason for his sadness. The steward replied, “A wondrous man, full of God’s grace, who taught and preached to us—wise and learned as he was—has suddenly died here. And so our whole household, deeply grieved, has kept watch for three days, singing psalms and remaining in the lower part of the house beside his body.” When the saint heard this, he said, “It shall not be so, but I will go to the people, sing psalms, and pray to the Lord for the dead man.” The saint entered the house, prayed, and laid his little staff upon the dead man; immediately the man rose up alive and well. All who saw it gave praise to the Lord and to Saint Cainnech. They then asked him to leave with them the little staff by which he had raised the dead man, and he did so—and it remains with them to this day.

⁴⁶ Saint Cainnech worked a similar miracle in the monastery of holy virgins called Cluain Siscnán. One day, when he came to that place, a woman who served the guests told him, “O Saint Cainnech, we have been in great sorrow these days. A young boy who was with us has died. We do not know his family, and he was blind, mute, and deaf—but we loved him dearly. He has died before his time, and our community is fasting and keeping vigil in the lower part of the house beside his body.” Then Cainnech entered the house, and while he prayed, the boy immediately rose up alive. His eyes, ears, and tongue were healed, and he told them of his family and his name, saying, “My family is of the descendants of Duach, and my name is Emene. My parents were barren, and when I was born, it was a great blessing for them—so they called me Emene (‘Gift’). But afterward, when they saw that I was miserably blind, mute, and deaf, they despised me, and, coming by night to this place, they left me here.”

⁴⁷ On another day, when Saint Cainnech came among the southern Leinstermen to a great public assembly held before their king, Cormac son of Diarmait, a small boy was being led by the people to suffer a cruel and miserable death—a hostage’s execution. Seeing this terrible act, Cainnech begged the king to spare the boy, but even the saint could not obtain his release. Then he prayed to God, and his prayer was heard. For when the boy was thrown upon the spearpoints, standing upright, the spears could neither pierce nor wound him—only his eyes were ever turned aside, as though he could not bear to look upon the horror. This was Dolue Lebderc, whom the king then gave into Cainnech’s care; he later became a wondrous man, and the place where he dwelt is called Cell Tolue.

⁴⁸ At one time, Saint Cainnech, who always longed to withdraw from people and join the company of angels, left his community and secretly hid himself in a certain forest. Then the brothers searched for him everywhere but could not find him. Yet a boy who used to read the Psalms with Cainnech would go out to him secretly at night so that Cainnech could write for him on a wax tablet. The brothers, noticing the boy’s nightly absences, secretly followed him one night. They saw a lamp of extraordinary brightness going before the boy until he reached the place where the saint was. A great light shone from the uplifted hand of the saint as he read in secret. The brothers, therefore, following the boy and the lamp, found their abbot and brought him back with them to their monastery.

⁴⁹ In a similar way, Saint Cainnech once again withdrew from the brothers and went secretly to a nearby hollow not far from his monastery, where he remained alone. There a stag came to him and held up the book from which the saint was devoutly reading upon its horns. But another day, driven by fear, the stag hurried away without the abbot’s leave, carrying off the book with him. After wandering for a long time through the wilderness, he returned the next day, suddenly appearing before his abbot like a runaway monk, bringing back the book—open, yet unharmed and entirely intact—upon his horns.

⁵⁰ One day, as Saint Cainnech was traveling away from his monastery and walking through the wilderness, three very cruel laymen met him, intending to kill him. They stripped him of his linen garments and said, “Here is that little staff-bearer who misleads many people in these parts.” But when they tried to go on their way, carrying off the saint’s clothing, they could not; instead, they kept walking in circles, unable to leave that place. Then one of them, surrounded by the saint’s light, was nearly consumed by a heavenly fire. At this, the men fell to their knees, did penance, and thereafter became obedient monks under Saint Cainnech.

⁵¹ At another time, while Saint Cainnech was walking in the lands of the Munstermen near Lake Léin, twelve laymen—evil men known as brigands—met him, having sworn a wicked oath, and they spoke many blasphemous things against him. Then Cainnech rebuked them and taught them with the word of God. But their leader, hard of heart, said to him, “O staff-bearer, stop speaking idle words that cannot save you. For today your soul will perish, unless by the power of your God you cause one of the swans now swimming on this lake to come swiftly and stand upon my cloak, and another upon yours.” Saint Cainnech replied, “With the Almighty God all things are possible, though they may seem difficult for men.”. And immediately, in that very hour, two swans came flying swiftly—one alighted upon the layman’s cloak, the other upon the saint’s. Then the twelve laymen offered themselves to the Lord and to Cainnech, and becoming good clerics, they remained always as monks under Saint Cainnech.

⁵² Colmán, son of Feradach, king of Osraige, was a friend of Saint Cainnech. This king had once given up a great possession of the world for the sake of heaven, entrusting it to Cainnech in exchange for eternal reward. Later, when Saint Cainnech heard that this same king was besieged in his fortress by his enemies—namely Malgarb and Mael Odur of Campulus Bovis—who sought to seize his kingdom, he set out swiftly to rescue him, though he had neither chariot nor horse. But God, having pity on His weary saint, sent help through a woman who lived in Achadh Mebri. Seeing Cainnech exhausted on his journey, she wished to aid him with her chariot and horses. Yet the devil opposed this, for he caused a great darkness to fall and hid both the horses and the chariot. Then Cainnech raised his hand, and by the light that shone from it the whole plain was illuminated, and the driver found the horses. At that same hour the Lord worked another great miracle: because Cainnech, being small in body, could not climb into the chariot, the Lord raised up the ground beneath his feet, lifting him until he could step inside. That mound, elevated by God under the feet of the saint, remains to this day as a sign of divine power in that place.

⁵³ As Saint Cainnech was traveling in his chariot across the Plain of Roigne toward the king, there met him another proud nobleman, Domnach Mór Roigne, an enemy of the king and full of jealousy. With an arrogant spirit he said to the saint: “I know that you are hurrying to free Colman, your friend. But it will do you no good, for you will not find him—only his corpse, slain and burned with fire.” Then Cainnech replied: “The Son of the Virgin knows that things will turn out differently from what you think. For before you reach your own house, you will be dead.” And so it happened. For as that fat man drove his chariot through another gate near his city, the door called Dorncleth fell upon his head, and he died instantly.

⁵⁴ Saint Cainnech, hastening swiftly in his chariot, came to the king’s fortress, which was surrounded by a great crowd and engulfed in flames. Then Cainnech entered the burning fortress, and by the power of God—unseen and unknown by anyone—he secretly led the king out from the midst of the turmoil and great danger. And when they had gone far from the fortress together, the saint said to him: “Wait here. Though you are alone today, you will not be so tomorrow. For three men will come to you first in this place, then thirty, and on the third day you will again be king of all Ossory.” And so it was fulfilled.

⁵⁵ At another time, Saint Cainnech, desiring to flee from the company of men, entered the island in the lake of Cree without boat or raft, walking there on dry foot. And there, following the example of the Lord, he fasted for forty days and nights without food or drink. Neither rain nor storm, nor darkness, nor hunger, nor thirst, nor any person disturbed him. But one day, while he was on that island, he saw a host of demons riding on horses, hurrying past him. When he asked them where they were going, one of them answered: “We are rushing to contend for the soul of a certain rich man, Mollib of Muskerry.” Then Cainnech said to him: “Come back to me again with your report.” And when the demon returned to him after the battle, Cainnech saw that he was without his horse and limping, for an arrow had pierced through his knee. When Cainnech asked him what had happened, the demon replied: “We were defeated. For that rich man sang three verses from the hymn of Patrick before his death, without our knowing it, and by that he was freed from our hands.”

⁵⁶ When the Lord willed that His holy servant should be made known, a certain hunter, pursuing a deer with his hounds, came to the lake of Cree. Then the deer, chased by the dogs, swam to the island and stood before Cainnech. The saint restrained the hounds so that they could not move. When the hunter arrived, he found the holy man there. Cainnech rebuked him and bound him by an oath not to reveal his presence until the hour of his own death. The hunter kept this promise; but as soon as he returned home, he was struck with a grievous illness, and when he was at the point of death, he revealed where Cainnech was. And so the holy hermit was brought back once more.

⁵⁷ At another time, that same king Colman was in one place with his army, and Cainnech was there with his own followers. Then the king, holding in his hand an apple of remarkable size, looked toward the clerics and said: “The cleric who can tell me how many seeds are in this apple, I will honor with great distinction.” Cainnech replied: “The apple is large, but it contains only one seed within.” And when the apple was cut open, it was found to be so.

⁵⁸ Now, in that same gathering, a certain man who was riding his horse swiftly fell from it, and his thigh was broken in two. But when Cainnech heard the voice of that man urging on his horse, he recognized that he was a “son of life”, and he blessed the man’s thigh—and immediately it was healed. Then the man offered himself to God and to Cainnech, and afterward he became a holy man.

⁵⁹ At another time, Saint Cainnech, while on the island in the lake of Cree, wrote a copy of the Four Gospels, which remains in his place to this day and is called Glass Cainnechi (“The Book of Cainnech”). One day afterward, when the saint had preached the Gospel on the island of Iona and had greatly pleased all who heard him, Saint Columba said to him after the sermon: “O Cainnech, who taught you this understanding of the Gospel?” Cainnech replied: “The Son of the Virgin knows that when I was in Ireland, near Mount Smoil, on the island in the lake of Cree, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself came to me there, and I read the Gospel in His presence, and He Himself taught me this understanding.” When Columba heard this, he understood, and all gave thanks to God.

⁶⁰ Saint Brendan mac Alta, having with him craftsmen who were making a chalice for the altar, did not have enough gold for the work. Then others said to him, “Go to Cainnech; perhaps you will find gold with him, for he often travels to Britain.” So Brendan came to Cainnech and said to him, “If you have any gold, give it to us for our need.” When Cainnech heard this, he was deeply moved and ashamed; for while staying as a guest, he had eaten food beyond what was needful, and at once he began to vomit. Someone who found him vomiting asked, “Who is this man?” And Cainnech answered, “It is little bald Cainnech, here bringing up his charity.” And that vomit was found to be entirely pure and fine gold, which was given to Brendan. From that gold the chalice was made, and it remains to this day.

⁶¹ Once, when Saint Columba was sailing on the sea at Kylle, the ship was in great danger because of a violent storm. His brothers said to him, “Pray to the Lord for us.” Columba replied, “It is not mine today to deliver you, for God has granted that power not to me, but to Saint Cainnech.” At that same time, Cainnech was standing with his brothers beside the table at Achadh Bó when he heard Columba’s voice say, “Now he is in danger.” Grasping a single fig at his foot, he ran to the church, and as he prayed, there came a great calm upon the sea. Then Columba said, “O Cainnech, your timely run to the church with one fig has been a blessing to us.”

⁶² One night, a certain thief came to steal Saint Cainnech’s wheat. But after he had lifted the sack of grain onto his shoulders, he was immediately paralyzed—he could neither walk nor set down the load from his back—until he was released by Saint Cainnech’s blessing.

⁶³ A certain young woman living nearby secretly committed fornication, and her womb swelled with child. She came to Saint Cainnech and asked him to bless her womb, pretending it was swollen from some illness. When he blessed her, the child that was in her womb immediately vanished from sight.

⁶⁴ There was a certain pupil living with Cainnech who loved the world greatly. Cainnech often instructed him not to love this passing world, but he would not listen. One day the saint said to him, “Let us both go on a journey today, and take along your satchel with the books.” As they walked together along the road, they came to the sea. Then the saint said to the boy, “Put your cowl over your head, take hold of my cowl, and follow me.” So they walked for a long distance over the sea as though across level ground, feeling no water beneath them. At last the elder said to the youth, “Uncover your face, spread your cowl upon the sea, and let us both sit upon it. Take out your books from the satchel, and let us read here for a while.” As they did this, they saw a terrible, dark cloud coming toward them over the sea, filled with a vast host of demons. When the demons reached them, they all cried out with one voice: “Cainnech the bald! Cainnech the bald!” But he said to them, “Do not pass by us without giving us your greeting, but tell us what is good for us.” Then all the demons shouted together, “Leave the world, O staff-bearer, leave the world!” Hearing this, the holy man’s pupil was healed from that hour of all greed and love of the world, and remained so until the day of his death.

⁶⁵ Once Saint Cainnech came to the island of the descendants of Conkynn, where holy women lived. When he arrived at the guesthouse, he found great joy there. These women had a lamb kept apart, well-fed and carefully tended, lovely in appearance and gentle in nature. When the holy guest arrived, they killed the lamb for his coming. But the next day, when Cainnech learned that these women had slain their beloved lamb because of his arrival, his heart was moved with compassion for them. He had the lamb’s hide, which was stretched out nearby, brought before him; when he called to it, it swiftly came at the saint’s summons, and at once the lamb became alive and whole again, just as it had been before.

⁶⁶ Another time, while Saint Cainnech was in that same place, namely at Cluain Bronich, a man who was milking his cows came to him with a complaint, saying, “A wolf has eaten the calf of two of my cows.” Cainnech said to him, “Go with a cheerful heart to milk your cows, and clap your hands together.” When the man did as he was told, the guilty wolf came humbly and in repentance to the place where the calf had been, and laid his head in the calf’s yoke. The two cows, loving him, licked him on either side. Every day, while the cows continued to give milk, the wolf would come in the evening and the morning and return to his den. From that day on, Saint Cainnech made peace between the wolves and the herds that lived together in that place, and they harmed one another no more.

⁶⁷ And Saint Cainnech worked many other miracles, and raised eleven people from the dead.

⁶⁸ When the day of his departure came, he fell ill in his whole body. He refused to receive the sacrifice from the hand of one of his own household, saying, “The Lord will send another holy man to me, who will give me the body of Christ.” Then Saint Fintan Meldub, sent by the Lord, came to him. Receiving the Eucharist from his hand, Cainnech passed to the Lord—to whom be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.