¹ Beginning of the Life of Saint Mochoemog, Bishop and Confessor

² The most blessed abbot Mochoemhog, from the province of the Connachta, namely from the people of the Conmhaicne, drew his paternal origin. His father left his own country because of enmity, and came to the regions of Munster, and dwelt in the land of the Uí Chonaill Gabhra with his people, in the tribe which is called Corco Báisce. He himself was an honorable craftsman in wood and stone, bold in warfare; and his name was called Beoanus.

³ He loved a certain beautiful woman, very modest, noble, from Munster, namely from the people of the Déisi, who was the sister of the most holy virgin Íte. This woman was called Ness; she wished to live in chastity forever, like the holy virgins who previously had not known a man. But the holy virgin Íte, her sister, gave her to Beoanus in marriage, to the distinguished craftsman. For the blessed Íte, prophetess of God, knew by divine prompting that this was so.

⁴ At a certain time Beoanus the craftsman built a certain splendid building in the monastery of Saint Íte. When this was finished, Saint Íte said to him: “Ask, master, the price which you wish for the labor of your art.” He said to her: “Promise me in Christ, holy mother, what I shall ask.” And the virgin promised him whatever he should ask. Then Beoanus said to the saint of God: “You know, pious mother, that your sister, my wife, is barren, and we have no heir. Pray therefore to God for us, that we may have a son.” The holy virgin said to him: “You shall now have a son, chosen before God and men.” And this prophecy, after a time, was fulfilled.

⁵ A certain cruel king, named Crunmoel, from the southern part of the Uí Chonaill, greatly oppressed the people who are called Corco Báisce. And at some time he came with a great army to devastate that tribe, and he made a great slaughter among the soldiers who resisted him. Among these Beoanus the craftsman was beheaded. His wife, however, was still barren, and they had no heir.

⁶ She came with her people to the place of slaughter to seek the body of her husband. When she found the head, she could not recognize the body. This she took with her and showed it to Saint Íte, her sister, weeping and saying: “This, dear sister, you did not promise us, when you said that he would leave a son after him. And look, my womb remains closed by barrenness, since he himself has been slain.” To her Saint Íte said: “Do not weep, sister; God is able to help us and to fulfill my promise. Go therefore and fit the head to his body.” Ness, her sister, replied to Saint Íte: “Indeed we cannot recognize his body in the great slaughter of the slain, because of the excessive shedding of blood.” The holy virgin said: “Call him by his own name three times in memory of the holy Trinity; and he will rise and come to you. And, when you place the head upon him, he will say to you: ‘O woman, why did you cry out to me? For I was well.’”

⁷ And according to this command the woman did. And he, restored in soul, and with body sound and whole, by the perfecting power of God, said to his wife what the holy prophetess Íte had foretold. Then he and his wife went together and came to Saint Íte, giving thanks to God and bending the knee. The blessed Íte said to him: “Do you wish to remain, friend, in this life, or now to go to heaven?” Beoanus answered her, saying: “I count this whole world as nothing, as dung in comparison with eternal joy.” Then Saint Íte said: “It is good nevertheless, as I think, that the price which I promised be paid back to you.” There the same Saint Íte washed him with water, and afterward no wound was found in him. And she blessed him and consecrated him, and sent him with his wife to their house. And Beoanus slept with his wife; and God opened her womb, and she conceived a son full of the grace of God and venerable.

⁸ At that time Saint Fachnan, a wise and upright man, by some chance became blind and saw nothing. This holy man dwelt in the southern region of Ireland near the sea, in his monastery which he himself had founded (there grew a city in which there always remains a great school of scholars, which is called Ross Ailithir). The now holy man Fachnan poured out prayer to the Lord, that he might show him the medicine by which he would recover the light of his eyes. Then an angel of the Lord came to him, saying: “You will not be able to find the healing of your eyes unless you wash your eyes and your face with the milk of the breasts of the wife of Beoanus the craftsman. For she, who has never given birth, by the gift of God now has a holy one conceived in her womb.” And when the angel had said this, he departed.

⁹ But the holy man of God did not know Beoanus the craftsman, and did not know in what region of Ireland he dwelt; nor did the angel indicate this to him. And the saint said to his companions: “I know what I shall do. I will go to the prophetess of God, the blessed Íte, and she will make known to me my question.” And he directed his journey to Saint Íte, a journey of five days. And when he had entered the territory of Corco Báisce, his disciples heard men in a certain mill naming Beoanus the craftsman. And they asked them whether they knew that Beoanus the craftsman, or whether they knew where he dwelt. Then one of them said to them: “Do you see that woman going to the village?” When they answered, “We see,” he said to them: “She is the wife of Beoanus the craftsman.”

¹⁰ Then one of them ran after her, saying: “Wait, happy woman, a little while, until our holy elder comes, who wishes to greet you.” She stood in the place, saying: “Truly great is my happiness, that the servant of Christ wishes to greet me.” When Saint Fachnan had now come, he asked her whether she was the wife of Beoanus the craftsman. She answered in her accustomed sober and modest manner: “I am, lord.” The saint said: “Have you a child conceived in your womb?” She said to him: “God in his goodness has granted this to me, who was barren.” Then the saint, making himself known to her by his name, told her what had happened to him.

¹¹ The blessed woman said to him: “Lord, my breasts do not yet give milk.” The saint said to her: “In the name of the holy Trinity, by the holiness of your offspring, milk them, and as a sure thing they will give milk.” She, acting according to the word of the man of God, poured forth milk abundantly from her breasts. Therefore, when the saint washed his eyes with the milk of the breasts of the blessed Ness, wife of Beoanus the craftsman, immediately there he received his sight. And seeing clearly heaven and earth, he gave thanks to his God; and he blessed that woman and her offspring. And commending through that same woman Ness his prayer and blessing to Saint Íte, he returned rejoicing in Christ with his companions to his monastery.

¹² When the blessed Ness was near to giving birth, she came with her husband to the monastery of Saint Íte, speaking with her. And when they had returned, the pains of childbirth seized Ness, and she sat in a cart. And when Saint Íte heard the sound of the cart, she said to her people: “This cart sounds under a king; see under whom it runs.” The messengers, returning, said to the saint of God: “Your sister Ness sits alone in the cart.” The saint said: “Truly it sounds under a king; for the son who is in her womb will sit great by the grace of God in the kingdom of heaven.”

¹³ When she came to her house, she gave birth to a son full of grace; and on the next day it was announced to Saint Íte that her sister Ness had given birth to a son. And the saint rejoiced greatly, saying: “From where has Beoanus deserved to have such a son, who will be great before God and men, whose memory will be forever?” And she added, saying: “He will be fair and aged.” From this they gave him his first name, that is, Coemhghen. But this name the holy woman of God changed, calling him in affection by the name by which he is commonly called, that is, Mocoemhog, which in Latin is said: My fair young man. From the font of baptism already the grace of God appeared with him in signs and wonders.

¹⁴ On a certain day indeed, when his mother was going outside, she left her little son alone sleeping in the inner room. But looking back, she saw a fiery globe rising upward through the house. Quickly running back and crying out to the house, the fire vanished and appeared nowhere; but she found the little boy with his face shining, his form ruddy, so that she could not even look upon him or touch him. In this way it was shown to his mother. All who saw or heard this did not doubt that the holy little child was visited by the fire of the Holy Spirit.

¹⁵ After these things his father and mother came to Saint Íte, saying: “The grace of God, lady, appears wondrously in your little boy, our little son, and it is not fitting to our carnal ways, and he cannot dwell with us, because we are carnal, but he is spiritual.” To them Saint Íte said: “Bring him here; for it is fitting that I nourish him.” And for twenty years the most blessed abbess Íte nourished him for God in upright conduct and in the knowledge of letters, calling him by the name which we said above, that is, Mocoemhog; so that he might become a priest and build a place for God. And the saint of God foretold that in the place in which Saint Mocoemog would pass to heaven, a city would grow there in his honor. Saint Mocoemog said to her: “It shall be, pious mother, as you say.”

¹⁶ Then, with the permission and blessing of his parents and of his glorious foster-mother Íte, who was his maternal aunt, taking five disciples with him, Saint Mocoemog set out to the northern region of Ireland, that is, into the province of the Ulaid, to the holy abbot of many monasteries, Comgall. The now holy Comgall received him with joy; and with him, not after many days, Saint Mocoemog was ordained priest.

¹⁷ On a certain day, while Saint Comgall and Saint Mocoemhog were praying together, the prior of their monastery in which they then were came to them, saying: “I greatly wonder, friends of God, at a vision which by God’s grant I have just seen on the road by which I was coming; and because of it my mind is troubled by fear and terror. For I saw one demon sitting idly over the king’s fortress. But I perceived a very great multitude of demons around the circuit of this our monastery, as if prepared for battle, standing fiercely.” By the grace of God this vision was shown to that prior; but his appearance was changed by fear and terror of the demons.

¹⁸ While the holy father Comgall was still silent, the blessed Mocoemog said: “Let us rise, father, and give thanks to God, because the brothers keep the service of God, and unjust hatred rises against us, when the devil gathers a multitude of demons to our place. But where the devil is served, one demon is seen there in idleness, as if a ruler awaiting his service. For the king sends his soldiers in battle arms to that place where he is fought against bravely; but where he has peace, there he sends only a single messenger. Thus now the Devil acts against those who resist him.”

¹⁹ Then the holy elder Comgall said: “Truly, son, you have explained what God showed to his servant.” Saint Mocoemog said to him: “Rise, father, and let us firmly take up our spiritual arms, and let us pray to Christ, that the brothers may see by the power of Christ the demons fleeing from here, and that they themselves may trust in Christ with us, seeing this with their prior. You go around the monastery on the left, and I on the right; and let us cast out the demons, commanding them in the name of Christ not to gather here again until the day of judgment.”

²⁰ When the saints acted thus, many saw the foul demons put to flight. And when they came to the king’s fortress, they sat there as if in a garrison. The brothers, seeing this and afterward hearing of it, were greatly strengthened in Christ. That fortress is called Ráith Demmáin, in which was the king of the Ulaid. But the monastery is called Bangor, in which and in the cells under Saint Comgall three thousand monks are said to have been.

²¹ After this, when the holy father Comgall saw these things, he said to the blessed Mocoemhog: “Son, it is fitting that you be a father of others, and build a place for God where he himself shall grant you.” And these fathers were sent together with their disciples by Saint Comgall, so that in diverse places throughout Ireland they might nurture the servants of Christ: that is, Saint Mocoemhog; and the most blessed Lactean, who founded a distinguished monastery, Achad Úr, that is, Green Field, on account of the dampness of the clouds which pass there, and many other holy places were built by him; and Saint Molua son of Coche; and Saint Finnbarr; and Saint Luctigern. All these were found approved in Christ Jesus.

²² Saint Mocoemhog also came with his monks to a place named Enach Truim, which is on Mount Bladhma, in the region of the Laigin, and began there to build a cell. But a certain secular man came to him, saying: “Do not labor here in vain; for this place will not be yours.” To him Saint Mocoemhog said: “Here I shall remain, until someone, taking hold of my hand, drives me out by force.” Then that man took hold of the hand of the man of God, wishing to expel him. Saint Mocoemhog said to him: “By what name are you called, O man?” He said: “My name is Bronach,” which in Latin is said to be sad. To him the holy man said: “You have a fitting name; for here and in the future you will be sad. You now, by the will of God, and your lineage, will be driven out by the lord of this region. But I shall be in this place until a man of God, named Coemhan, comes to me, to whom I shall leave this place; who will be surnamed from this place, and whose resurrection will be here.”

²³ That man, hearing such a prophecy, and knowing his own guilt against the lord, without repentance after the injury he had done, departed in anger. And immediately all that the holy man had foretold happened to him. And when the blessed Coemhan came there to Saint Mocoemhog, he left that place to him; and he remained there in great holiness until his death. But Saint Mocoemhog went on to the region of Munster.

²⁴ Now when Saint Mocoemog came to the eastern region of Munster which is called Éile, opposite the western land of the Laigin which is named Osraige, he received there a place which is called Cluain Mór. Then the holy man Mocoemog went to greet a certain powerful lord, named Coemhan, dwelling nearby in his fortress which is called Ráith Éanaigh. That man was religious and faithful, and he had a church in his fortress. He kindly received the man of God and honored him.

²⁵ While Saint Mocoemog was staying for a part of the night in that church, the wife of Coemhan, looking out from the upper room, saw the church surrounded on every side by a wall of fire. And she called her husband, and he likewise saw it. Then they understood that they had a marvelous guest, and that he himself, standing in the church, was being visited by a visitation of angels. And marvelling, they returned and gave thanks to God.

²⁶ On the next day that man said to Saint Mocoemhog: “Lord, we know that you are a man of God, and many will come to you; and you will not be able to find a spacious place in this my narrow territory. But let us both go to my lord, the duke of the region of Éile, that he himself may give you a suitable and spacious place.” And this pleased the man of God.

²⁷ Before they came to the duke, his magician said to the duke: “A certain man will come to you today, lord; and if you allow him to dwell in this region, the power of this land will pass to him, and he will be powerful and always lord of your region.” The duke said to the magician: “If he comes to me in arms, I will strongly resist him. But if he comes simply as a gentle preacher of Christ, in whom we have believed, it pleases me.”

²⁸ After this Saint Mocoemhog came with his guide to the duke’s fortress; and the duke, seeing him, became very joyful at his coming, and bent his knees before the feet of the saint. And the duke, hearing Saint Mocoemhog, filled with the grace of the Holy Spirit, said: “Servant of the living God, see I offer to you my royal stronghold with all that is in it, and its lands.” To him the holy man said: “Let us give thanks to God for your goodness, worshipper of the Christian faith; but nevertheless I shall not be here, nor will I accept your fortress; but seek for me a fitting place in the wilderness, for that pleases me more.”

²⁹ After this the duke said: “I have a certain place in the wilderness, very secret, planted with a great and very dense forest, situated beside the bank of the lake Lurgan; and I offer it to you and to God with its boundaries, if it pleases you.” And this pleased the saint of God very much. And the duke ordered his swineherd, who knew well the deserted places, to lead the man of God with his disciples to the same place. But he refused, saying: “I cannot go, lord, with him; because many of my pigs are missing, whom I must seek, not knowing what has happened to them.” To him the saint said: “Come with me. And when you return, you will find all your pigs, whom you are seeking, safe in the open place of this fortress.” The swineherd, now believing the word of the saint, went joyfully with him. And when he returned with the blessing, he found his pigs, as had been said to him.

³⁰ Now when Saint Mocoemhog came to that place, his little bell rang clearly. For when Saint Mocoemhog was coming from his foster-mother, the most holy virgin Íte, she had given him a small bell, saying: “This bell will be silent until you come, son, to the place of your resurrection. But there it will sound clearly.” And when the man of God heard the sound of his bell, rejoicing in Christ he gave thanks, knowing that he would rise again there.

³¹ Immediately Saint Mocoemhog found there, under the shade of a certain tree, a very large boar, very white with his bristles. And laying aside his ferocity, he stood meekly before the man of God. Then the saint said to his disciples: “As is the color of this boar, so shall be the name of this place forever.” For canus in Latin, liath in Irish, is said. And that place is called in the Irish tongue by the same name, that is, Liath. With a fast of three days the blessed Mocoemhog first consecrated that place to God.

³² Before this time the visitation of angels often frequented that place, which was shown to the holy bishop Colman, son of Ddre. He was in his monastery which in Irish is called Dair Mór, that is, Great Oakwood; and it is situated on the border of the Munstermen and the Laigin, but nevertheless it is placed in the region of the Munstermen, namely in the region of Éile. This Bishop Colman was born of the royal race of Munster, that is, of the Eóganacht.

³³ A certain one of the brothers of that same bishop, wandering through the same forest, before Saint Mocoemog had come there, brought from there sweet apples with him, and gave them to the holy bishop. When the bishop asked him from where he had brought the apples, he said: “From that forest I brought them to you, lord.” Then Saint Bishop Colman said to him: “A multitude of angels descending and ascending often appears to me from that forest, like a swarm of bees. There already will be a great army of the household of the Lord.” He said: “Give me, father, leave to go and remain there.” The saint said to him: “Go in peace; and if you can dwell there, I myself will come to you, that our resurrection may be there.”

³⁴ But he found five monks already beginning to work there. When he saw them, without delay he returned and told Bishop Colman. The blessed bishop said to him: “That place is kept by God for them. Go therefore, brother, and ask their abbot whether he himself will come to me, or I shall go to him.” When Saint Abbot Mocoemog heard this, he said: “I will go to the high priest; for I ought to be instructed by the examples of his saints.” And the holy bishop rejoiced greatly at his coming; and the pontiff commanded him in charity to bathe. And the blessed abbot, on account of obedience, bathed himself.

³⁵ Afterward, when the saints were conversing with one another, namely Bishop Colman and Abbot Mocoemog, the bishop prophesied, saying: “My brother and fellow-servant in Christ, often this my place will be deserted, so that not even a priest will be able to dwell here because of the wars which will often be in this borderland. But your place will always be inhabited, and will grow greater.” Saint Mocoemog said to him: “I, father, for your honor, will command that from my place, when this place shall be deserted, a priest will come here, that he may celebrate here.” For there are nearly four miles between the two places, and no more.

³⁶ Then the saints, strengthening brotherhood between themselves, and blessing one another and their places, the blessed Mocoemog returned with his companions to his own place. But the holy bishop remained in his place. From that time Saint Mocoemog began to build a monastery in his place, and a city grew there, as the most blessed prophetess Saint Íte had foretold. And that city is called Liath Mocoemog. And the fame of the religion of the most blessed Mocoemog was spread far and wide; and many flocked to him from every side, and subjected themselves to the yoke of Christ under him.

³⁷ Afterward the same duke, who had kindly received Saint Mocoemog and given him his place with other gifts, died. Another also arose after him in the kingdom, named Ronan, son of Bledin, who decreed to drive Saint Mocoemog from his borders. And he came with many soldiers in fury to drive out the saint of God with insult. But when he dismounted in the place, his feet adhered to the ground, and in no way could he move himself from the place.

³⁸ And when he saw certain monks, they were called to him; and he said to them: “Call your holy abbot to me; for see a miracle has been done in me, because an evil thought against the saint of God was in my heart.” The monks said to him: “He is now offering sacrifice to God; and afterward he will sing the third hour; and before these things are done, we do not dare to tell him.”

³⁹ When therefore the third hour had been celebrated, the brothers told the saint what had happened to the duke. The saint answered: “Today I will not go out until the ninth hour is celebrated.” And so the duke remained in the same way, motionless, until the ninth hour. When the ninth had now been sung, Saint Mocoemog came to the duke, saying to him: “Tyrant, what does your earthly power and cruelty profit you now? You came to destroy this place, in which you will indeed be buried.”

⁴⁰ The duke said to him: “Servant of God, whatever you shall say to me, I will do; but I beg you, loose me from this bond.” Then the saint commanded him to depart, and immediately he was loosed. And at once, before his princes, he offered that same place to God, just as his predecessor had done; and he decreed that he himself and his lineage should be buried in that place. And the holy man, blessing him, departed rejoicing. And that man was very obedient to Saint Mocoemog, and the saint loved him greatly.

⁴¹ And it came to pass after some time that the same duke Ronan died, and was buried with Saint Mocoemhog, as he himself had chosen. But after the death of Ronan a certain scribe came to the monastery of Saint Mocoemhog; and when he heard Saint Mocoemhog commending the soul of Duke Ronan to God, he greatly rebuked the saint for commending the soul of a man who had departed from the world in his pleasures.

⁴² And Saint Finnian was then in the monastery of Liath with other saints; and that scribe engaged in a great dispute before Saint Finnian against the blessed Mocoemhog concerning the soul of Duke Ronan. But Saint Mocoemhog, opposing him with many examples of divine mercy, said: “The soul of Ronan is in the power of God, that he may forgive him his sins on account of me. That you may know—you who are blinded by your knowledge—that this is so, and that your contention is useless: death threatens you, and your grave will always be unknown to all men. But I will not excommunicate you, lest you be deprived of the kingdom of God.”

⁴³ And that scribe, departing from there, separated by the will of God from his companions, died; and where he is buried is unknown to all, according to the word of the man of God.

⁴⁴ After these things Suybhne son of Diarmait seized the dukedom of the region of Éile. For he drove out from the region Foelán son of Duke Ronan, and he was an exile because of him. But after some time Saint Mocoemhog made peace between them. But Slebin son of Suybhne killed with his own hand, by treachery, Foelán son of Ronan, whom Saint Mocoemhog had commended to him and to his brother “by faith.”

⁴⁵ When Saint Mocoemhog heard this, it displeased him greatly, and he went to carry out his body for burial. And when Saint Mocoemhog placed his staff in the ground there, he forgot it; and it grew into a great tree which remains to this day, and it is called by the name of Mocoemhog as a sign of power.

⁴⁶ When they came to the monastery, Saint Cainnech the abbot came there. And when they wished to commit the body to the earth, the blessed Cainnech said to Saint Mocoemhog: “This man, who has been suddenly slain, you ought not to bury among your monks.” Saint Mocoemhog answered: “I do not wish to contradict you, father; thus his body shall for the present be buried apart. But nevertheless his soul is in heaven before the presence of God, and therefore his resurrection ought to be among the monks. My staff and my chrism-vessel shall meanwhile be buried with him in the outer place; and they shall not be removed from there until the body of Slebin, who treacherously killed this young man, shall come here. His hand, by which he killed him, will soon fall from his side by the vengeance of God; and then immediately he will die, and be buried here. And this Foelán will come again, and afterward be buried among the monks.”

⁴⁷ And thus all things were done. For Slebin, when his right hand fell from his side, died. And when his body came to the monastery, the body of Foelán was taken out of the grave, and then was washed with water; and while all stood by, he revived before the saint. And receiving the sacrifice from the hand of Saint Mocoemhog, he said to him: “Do you wish, my son, to live here in the world for a time, or now to pass to heaven?” But he, giving clear testimonies concerning the rest of the just and the punishments of the wicked, said to Saint Mocoemhog: “Lord father, the glory of this world is nothing; therefore let me quickly pass to Christ.” And the saint, blessing him, immediately he happily gave up the spirit. And his body was buried with worthy honor among the monks.

⁴⁸ But Slebin, his slayer, was buried outside, where Foelán had previously been laid. And Suybhne the duke, father of Slebin, seeing that the vengeance of God had suddenly come upon his son, came and did penance before Saint Mocoemhog, saying: “Holy master, shepherd of Christ’s faithful, I will gladly suffer martyrdom, or I will go into a long pilgrimage, if you command. And whatever you shall say to me, with Christ’s help I will fulfill.” The man of God, seeing him visited by true repentance, said to him: “Confess your sins, and henceforth be faithful in all things, and give alms to the churches of Christ for your soul and for the soul of Ronan your predecessor; for God is ready to give forgiveness to those who turn to him.” And that duke did joyfully what was commanded him. And in his fortress, on a certain island in the middle of the river Suir, he died with a good end.

⁴⁹ Once upon a time Falbe Fland, king of the Muminenses, who reigned in the royal fortress of Cashel, ordered his charioteers to pasture his horses in the field of the monastery of Saint Mocoemog, in which there was much hay. When Saint Mocoemog heard this, he hastened there and harshly drove the horses out of his field and treated them badly.

⁵⁰ When this was reported to the king, he grew angry and ordered the hostages of the region of Hele, whom he was holding in chains, to be killed unless the duke of Eile and the parents of the hostages should drive Saint Mocoemog out of their borders. When the man of God learned of this edict, he went swiftly to the city of Cashel to speak there with the king.

⁵¹ And while the two were angrily disputing with one another, the king said to Saint Mocoemog: “Bald little man, no honor shall be given to you here; but you shall be driven out of our kingdom.” The saint said to him: “If I am bald, you will be one-eyed.” At this word, sharp pains began to burn the king’s eye intolerably, and at once his sight was extinguished.

⁵² And the king’s friends begged the holy man with great prayers that he would help the king in God’s name. And the saint said: “His pains shall be restrained, but he shall not see the light.” Then the saint blessed water, and when the king washed his eye with it, his pains were relieved, but he was deprived of sight. The king did not care about this, because the pains had ceased to torment his eye. And thus the king slept the following night.

⁵³ In that very night, a marvelous vision appeared to the king by divine dispensation. For he saw a beautiful old man with a shining appearance come to him, who, taking the king by the hand, led him from his seat to the southern wall of the fortress of Cashel and placed him there. And he saw the whole plain of Femyn, over which the fortress of Cashel looks, filled with a white assembly of saints of lofty and beautiful form.

⁵⁴ And the king asked the old man what that venerable assembly was. And the old man said to the king: “Saint Archbishop Patrick, the patron of Ireland, and all the saints of Ireland are with him in this assembly, who have come to help Saint Mocoemog, whom you despise. I tell you, O king, that unless you grant him his settlement, you will soon die and will be plunged into the depth of hell.”

⁵⁵ While the king was still sleeping, he saw that the same old man again took him and, leading him with himself, placed him upon the northern wall of the fortress. And there appeared to him there a vision like the former: that is, the plain of Mossadh filled with most beautiful choirs, who were clothed in white veils. For the fortress of Cashel stands on the boundary of two beautiful plains, namely Femyn and Mossadh.

⁵⁶ And when the king again questioned the old man, the old man said to him: “The most glorious virgin Brigid is there, and the holy virgin Ita with all the virgins of Ireland, who have come to the aid of Saint Mocoemog, whom you have unjustly offended. And look, I foretell to you, O father of the fatherland, unless you grant him his will, you will perish; and no one of your seed shall reign forever.”

⁵⁷ After this the old man departed from him, and the king rose from sleep. And when he awoke, he related to his friends and counselors what he had seen. And they said to him: “Unless you do what has been commanded you, your day is finished.”

⁵⁸ On the following day, when the king was sitting in judgment before the tribunal, Saint Mocoemog was summoned before him, and the king told him before the people what the angel had shown him in his dreams. The holy man gave thanks to God and to His saints. And the king humbly fulfilled the will of Saint Mocoemog. And Saint Mocoemog, blessing the king, was sent back by the king to his monastery with great honor.

⁵⁹ At that time Falbe, king of Cashel, offended Bishop Colman, son of Dare, a friend of Saint Mocoemog, whose mention we made above. He asked Saint Mocoemog that he would come with him to the king. And as both saints were going, they came to the king. The king was then in the same royal city of Cashel.

⁶⁰ The king now refused to consent to the saints, but proudly answered them in his own power. Then Saint Mocoemog said to him: “It is not fitting for you to answer thus to the supreme pontiff, who is most holy according to God, and is not less than you according to the nobility of this world. For you were born of one nation. But two demons rule you, always riding upon you: that is, the demon of pride, and the other of fornication.”

⁶¹ The king replied: “How shall I know whether they dwell thus in me?” Saint Mocoemog said to him: “You will have signs. One woman whom you love will die this neart; and two horsemen on white horses will come to you tomorrow at early morning and will converse with you; and you will not know from where they come or where they go.”

⁶² Then the king, terrified by these words, sought pardon and piously fulfilled the will of the saints. When the saints saw this, blessed Mocoemog said to the demon who was persuading the king to pride: “Flee, sower of tares, from this place, and sit upon that stone until your companion shall come to you; and there I will speak with you.”

⁶³ Then he drove out after his companion the other unclean demon who was inflaming lust in the king. And they said to the saint: “Where shall we go now?” The saint said to them: “Go into those two rocks which are on the northern side of this fortress of Cashel, where there is no access for men, and you shall harm no one from there until the day of judgment.”

⁶⁴ And that place is fearful, and often the animals that with difficulty climb there are disturbed, and their cry and murmur are often heard there. But the king, knowing all these things, gave thanks to God, and honorably sent His saints back to their own places.

⁶⁵ On a certain day the monks of Saint Mocoemog were working on the western side of the monastery in a nearby wood. But one of them separated himself from the others alone and cut down by himself a great tree. As the tree fell, it pressed the brother’s head against another piece of wood, and—wonderful to say—it did not break his head; but the brother was not able to move from there, nor was he able to speak.

⁶⁶ But when the hour came, the brothers returned home, thinking that the brother had come with them. Afterwards, as they were sitting at table, the pious father Mocoemog looked at the brothers, and not seeing that brother, asked where he was. And when all confessed that they did not know, the holy father said: “O my little sons, you have forgotten your brother in great danger.”

⁶⁷ Saying this, he rose at once from the table, and the brothers following him, he went by a straight path to the place where the brother was in the trap; but in no way could they help him. For if they were to cut the wood, the brother would immediately perish.

⁶⁸ Seeing this great danger, Saint Mocoemog turned to the tree and said: “I command you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, rise and stand in your former position.” At this word the tree immediately rose little by little and stood firmly in its place. But the mark of the split in the wood, from the long time during which it had stood, was visible.

⁶⁹ Then the holy father and his monks, receiving their brother unharmed from so great a danger, gave thanks to God, and with joy returned to their cell.

⁷⁰ On another day, when the monks of Saint Mocoemog were reaping the grain, three brothers suddenly died in the field. When Saint Mocoemog heard this, he went swiftly to them; for it greatly displeased him that his monks should perish by a sudden death. And he blessed water, which afterwards by divine power had the force of wine. And when he sprinkled the dead with the water, they rose alive, but they were weak. But when they tasted that water, they were made strong, and they worked with the others and ate, and lived for many days afterwards.

⁷¹ Returning from there to his cell, Saint Mocoemog saw a certain tree full of fruit which was useless to men because of its excessive bitterness. And he blessed the tree with the sign of the holy cross, and all its fruits were at once turned into sweetness. These three miracles were done in one day by Saint Mocoemog at the divine will: that is, wine was made from water, the dead were raised, and bitterness was turned into sweetness.

⁷² At some time two brothers in the monastery of Saint Mocoemog were sick, a young man and an aged, decrepit old man. But while the holy father was absent, the young man died and was buried; but the old man was still alive. When therefore Saint Mocoemog returned, praying to the Lord, he said: “In what have I deserved, O my Lord Jesus Christ, that my young men, whom I would wish to nourish for You, that they might serve You, should be ended by death in youth, and that aged decrepit men, whom bodily strength abandons, should live?” Saying this, he ordered the tomb to be opened, and said to the dead man: “Arise in the name of Jesus Christ, my son” [Acts 3:6]. And he rose at once, blessing Christ, the Savior of all.

⁷³ Then Saint Mocoemog questioned the same sick old man, whether he wished to depart to Christ. The old man said: “It is fitting that a decrepit man should desire to depart to Christ.” And then, having received the sacrament, the old man happily gave up his spirit.

⁷⁴ Then an angel of the Lord, coming to Saint Mocoemog, said to him: “As you know and will, servant of Christ, so dispose and judge, while you shall live, your household.” This privilege given to him by God the holy man Saint Mocoemog dispensed divinely to his own.

⁷⁵ On a certain appointed day the most blessed abbot Cainnech promised that he would come at the ninth hour to Saint Mocoemog as far as Liath. This promise the holy abbot Cainnech forgot, remaining until the ninth hour of that day in his own monastery, namely Achadh Bo, in the region of Osraige.

⁷⁶ But remembering, he groaned to God because he had not fulfilled what he had promised to the saint. Inspired by God’s dispensation, he began to run; but he was borne along so swiftly that he sang that very ninth hour in the monastery of Liath with Saint Mocoemog. God, who brought him most swiftly, Himself knows what happened to him, because it was hidden both from him and from us, except that he traversed it by his own strength. For the journey of one day on foot lies between those two monasteries, namely Liath and Achadh Bo.

⁷⁷ And Saint Mocoemog ordered a bath to be prepared. And he said to Saint Cainnech: “Sing the Mass for us, father, meanwhile, until the brothers return from obedience.” But Saint Cainnech refused.

⁷⁸ Afterwards, when they were sitting at table in the refectory, blessed Cainnech cut the bread; but the brothers saw a stream of blood run from the bread onto the ground. Then Saint Mocoemog gently said to him: “Lord father, let us return to the church, and offer to God the sacrifice of praise, for this I and my brothers greatly desire” [Psalm 50:14; Hebrews 13:15].

⁷⁹ And then the blessed elder Cainnech sang the Mass to God, as Saint Mocoemog desired. But when the saints returned after the sacrifice, they saw the bread whole and without a cut. And giving thanks to the Lord Jesus Christ, they ate with spiritual joy.

⁸⁰ At another time certain brothers came to the monastery of Liath, wishing to see and to speak with Saint Mocoemog. At that time Saint Mocoemog was working with his brothers in a field near the monastery. And when they asked who Saint Mocoemog was, he was pointed out to them. And seeing him working upon his knees, they marveled.

⁸¹ And when they spoke with him, he prophesied to them, saying: “Brothers, think about the remedy of your souls; for death hangs over you, and you will all soon die, unless that little boy who is with you.” They, not doubting this prophecy, did penance; and after a few days they themselves died. For they were five in number.

⁸² And Saint Mocoemog kept their little boy with himself, and he himself taught him. He is Saint Dagan, the abbot, who now in his own monastery, named Inbyr Dayle, in the eastern region of Ireland, in the territory of the Leinstermen, namely in the people of Dal Macscorb, is situated and lies near the sea. And another boy together with Saint Dagan studied with the most blessed father Mocoemog.

⁸³ On another day Saint Mocoemog said to the blessed Dagan: “My son, if you read well, you will receive the communion of the body and blood of Christ from my hand before you die.”

⁸⁴ But after a few days that holy boy himself was killed. For the people of Osraige came to devastate the region of Eile; and on that day Saint Dagan with his companion was guarding the calves of the monastery’s cows. For all the others were occupied in various labors.

⁸⁵ But the retainers of the duke of Osraige, coming upon the pious shepherds, beheaded Saint Dagan. But the other, who had his throat cut, escaped. At that time Saint Cainnech was in the monastery of Liath.

⁸⁶ And when the one who had escaped came to the saints, namely Mocoemog and Cainnech, with their brothers, by the grace of God he was at once healed by His saints. But the body of Saint Dagan, like a trunk, was brought back to the monastery, and the head with it. And Saint Mocoemog said to Saint Cainnech: “To this young man, holy father, I promised to give divine communion before his death; but I have not yet fulfilled it. Let divine power be magnified in him through us.”

⁸⁷ “Join therefore, father, the head to the body, and ask God that He restore his soul.” Saint Cainnech said: “In the name of Christ I will join the head to the body; but you, ask God to send back his soul to him.” And when the blessed elder Cainnech had joined the head, it clung firmly to the body as before; but a scar like a circle around the neck remained until his death. And while Saint Mocoemog was praying, and Saint Cainnech was still holding him with his own hands, the young man Dagan rose alive and well before the saints, blessing the Lord [cf. Luke 7:15; Acts 9:40]. And he received communion from the hands of Saint Mocoemog, as had been promised to him. And afterwards that holy Dagan lived for a long time, whose life shines with miracles. And in the place mentioned he became the father of monks.

⁸⁸ At a certain time Colman, son of Feraidhe, duke of Osraige, thinking that his enemy named Finan had fled before him to the monastery of Saint Mocoemog and was hiding there, came and searched every building of the monastery in order to destroy him.

⁸⁹ And Saint Mocoemog said to him: “Against you I have asked three petitions of my God, but two have been denied; the third, however, has been granted to me. My first petition against you was that you should soon die; but through Saint Fachnan God has granted that you should still live fourteen years. The second was that you should not dwell in heaven; but through Saint Cainnech it is granted to you to dwell in heaven. The third now is this: that before the end of this month you shall be separated from your kingdom; and this has been given to me by my God.”

⁹⁰ When the duke heard these words, he did penance and offered gifts to God and to Saint Mocoemog. And Saint Mocoemog said to him: “You will now be driven out of your power, and you will scarcely escape the danger of death; but because you have holy men as friends, after three days you will rule again in all your power. My old friend Saint Cainnech will help you in all things.”

⁹¹ After this the duke, rejoicing at such a prophecy, departed with a blessing.

⁹² At another time Saint Mocoemog entrusted a certain cell to his disciple who was called Mocombe. And he himself first built there a church and a refectory. Meanwhile Saint Mocoemog and Saint Cainnech and Saint Molua son of Choche and Saint Mofecta came together one night to the same cell. And at that time no house there was roofed, except the church alone.

⁹³ And that disciple, the superior of the place, said to them: “Go into the church, for we have no other house prepared.” Saint Mofecta, who is also called Fecheanus, said to him: “No; but we shall go into the refectory, although it is bare; and our God will not allow wind or rain to fall upon us this neart.”

⁹⁴ And when the saints had gone there, that is, into the bare refectory, and remained there afterwards, Saint Molua said: “In this place, in which this charitable supper has been made for us, there will always be an abundance of riches.” Saint Mocoemog said: “This bare roof mine, under which God has this neart defended us from storm, wind, and rain, shall be blessed; and a splendid building shall not fail here forever.” Saint Cainnech said: “A son of death shall not die in this place.”

⁹⁵ Thus the saints blessed that place; and their blessing is never found to fail there. And when the fathers were departing from there, that pious disciple Mocombe, the master of the place, said to them: “Do you leave me alone here, holy men of God?” The saints said to him: “Spiritually we shall be here with you, and you shall be holy in this place, and you shall come with us to the judgment of God; and you shall have this sign.”

⁹⁶ Then the saints placed five small stones there in the holy cemetery, which to this day remain there unmoved by the grace of the saints as a sign of their promise; and no one is able to move them from there.

⁹⁷ At another time the count of the nephews of Aengus, of the people of the Déisi—from which people the mother of Saint Mocoemog had been born, as we said above—and another count of the same people, named Foelan son of Eathach, who were enemies of one another, swore peace between themselves in the presence of Saint Mocoemog, and each received the other from the hand of the saint in pledge of faith.

⁹⁸ But afterwards the count of the nephews of Aengus, not keeping his faith, killed Foelan son of Eathach. When Saint Mocoemog the father heard this, he came in great anger either to curse him or to call him to penance. But that man’s heart was hardened, saying: “I do not care what you do, Mocoemog; for the most holy Cummin Long, son of Fiachna, has diligently blessed me and has promised me the kingdom of heaven and of earth.”

⁹⁹ When Saint Mocoemog heard these words, he said: “Whom Saint Cummin has blessed, I will not curse; but I will curse your wife and your son.” Then that lady came with her son to Saint Mocoemog, bending their knees before him and saying: “Spare us, lord, in the name of Christ; and whatever you shall command us, we will gladly do. And you know, lord father, that we cannot correct our lord, who has offended you.”

¹⁰⁰ Saint Mocoemog, accepting their satisfaction, said: “I will curse this lake which surrounds him and is for him a great protection.” For the castle of that count, very secure, was in the middle of a very deep lake. And when the holy man cursed the lake itself, immediately dry land appeared, they not knowing where the water had gone.

¹⁰¹ Still that count remained in the hardness of his heart. Then the saint said: “I will curse your daughter, whom you greatly love, and your strongest and swiftest horse, in which you trust for battles.” And when he cursed them, they immediately died.

¹⁰² When the count saw this, he repented in his heart and made satisfaction, begging the saint in the name of Christ for his lake and his daughter and his horse. And the saint said: “With the Lord our God all things are possible” [Matthew 19:26]. “But I will pray, and let the will of Christ be done in them.”

¹⁰³ And when Saint Mocoemog prayed, the lake was suddenly filled again with its waters, just as it had been before, and the daughter was raised again, and the horse revived, strong and swift. When the count saw these things, he offered a field to God and to Saint Mocoemog for the building of a church. And Saint Mocoemog, imposing penance upon him and establishing that cell, returned, giving thanks to God, to his monastery.

¹⁰⁴ Saint Bishop Fursa and the most blessed abbot Mocoemog loved very much a certain young man, who was called their foster-son, because from childhood he often spent his life with them. And the saints taught and nourished him in true religion and uprightness of life. He was Scanlan, son of Foelan, of noble lineage.

¹⁰⁵ Now Cuan, the duke, bound that young man and placed him in custody. For he feared him greatly, because the young man Scanlan was destined to be duke, just as Cuan was. When the saints heard this, namely Fursa and Mocoemog, they immediately went to beg Duke Cuan for their beloved Scanlan.

¹⁰⁶ And Saint Mocoemog said to the duke: “Lord duke, release to us our friend unharmed, for he is innocent toward you.” And the duke said: “Truly he has done me no evil as yet, but I fear that he will do so, contending against me for the territory.” Saint Mocoemog answered: “I promise that he will not harm you in your lifetime.” The duke, becoming calm, said: “I will do what you wish. But come with me to the city of Cashel, and I will release him to you before the king, so that he himself may be a witness.”

¹⁰⁷ And when they came there, he gave them the young man Scanlan before the king. And having peace, they departed from one another.

¹⁰⁸ When therefore Saint Mocoemog had interceded with Duke Cuan for the young Scanlan, at that time the holy archbishop of the city of Emly was staying with the king in the city of Cashel, and he said prophetically to the king: “Lord king, do you love your duke Cuan?” The king said: “Truly I love him.” The bishop said to him: “Send therefore to him quickly, that he may give his due to Saint Mocoemog. For on whatever day he displeases him, he will die.”

¹⁰⁹ And thus it happened afterwards. For when Duke Cuan again offended Saint Mocoemog, and the saint sought divine help against him, he immediately died. And Scanlan son of Foelan, the foster-son of the saints, by the grace of Saint Mocoemog was appointed by the king as duke of his region.

¹¹⁰ And the king said to the same bishop: “Of what merit do you think, bishop, Mocoemog to be?” The holy bishop answered: “I know this truly: that if Saint Mocoemog had said it, Mount Guach would pass into the place of the plain of Femyn beyond the river Suir, and the plain of Femyn would go out of its place for him. The Lord would surely have done this for his honor.” Then the king blessed the Lord, giving thanks to Him.

¹¹¹ A certain good man, named Dyma, was a faithful friend of Saint Mocoemog. His father was Foethenus. This Dyma, in the name of the Holy Trinity, begged Saint Mocoemog that if ever he should fall ill, the holy man would deign to come to him, so that he might receive the Lord’s communion from his hand at the hour of his death. And the man of God promised this to him.

¹¹² But after a long time Dyma fell sick and sent a messenger to Saint Mocoemog, that he would come to him. But at that time the holy man was staying in the monastery which is called Imis Leamhnachta, in the southern part of the region of Osraige, near the strait of the sea, into which the river Heoyr flows. When Mocoemog heard this, he set out in haste.

¹¹³ But before he arrived, Dyma, his friend, died, and there was great mourning over him; but he was not buried until Saint Mocoemog came there. And the holy man kept vigil that night with the others around the body.

¹¹⁴ At midnight, taking a burning lamp, Saint Mocoemog rose and went alone to the bier, and signing the body with the sign of the holy cross, he said to him: “My dear friend Dyma, arise in the name of Christ, that you may receive from my hand the divine viaticum, as your faith has obtained” [cf. Acts 3:6; Acts 9:40].

¹¹⁵ At this word Dyma at once rose as if from a deep sleep, blessing God. And the holy man said to him: “What do you now prefer—to live again with your own, or to return to the rest which you have seen?”

¹¹⁶ Those who were in the house, hearing their conversation, gathered together. And seeing their lord alive, they gave thanks to God. But he, choosing and praying to depart from this world, received from Saint Mocoemog, before all, communion. And he offered that his descendants after him should always be buried near Saint Mocoemog, and he fell asleep again in peace.

¹¹⁷ And Saint Mocoemog with his own buried his body in his monastery of Liath.

¹¹⁸ At one time the most blessed abbot Mocoemog sent one of his monks to the western part of Ireland; but when that monk was returning, he died in the city of Emly, which is in the plain of Munster, and he was buried there. That monk was called Cuancherr.

¹¹⁹ When Saint Mocoemog heard this, he set out in order to bring the body of that man to his own monastery. But the archbishop of that city did not allow him the body of his monk. And while they were disputing with one another, Saint Mocoemog said to the bishop: “Do you think it just that you should keep the body of my monk, who in my monastery offered his body and soul to God?”

¹²⁰ The bishop said to him: “God knows, not I.” When Saint Mocoemog heard this, he said to him: “That you may know that you are acting unjustly, lord bishop, you shall see the power of Christ in him.”

¹²¹ And Saint Mocoemog went up to the tomb of his monk, and the tomb was opened by God before him. And the holy father, taking the hand of his brother, the brother rose with him from the tomb.

¹²² Then the bishop, glorifying Christ with a loud voice, said to all: “A living monk, whom my God has raised up for the merits of His servant according to the example of Lazarus [John 11:43–44], I ought not to keep. God knows that I did this not out of malice, but wishing that holy relics might be in the cemetery of this church.”

¹²³ After this, having received the permission and blessing of the prelate, Saint Mocoemog and his monk Cuancherr, rejoicing in Christ, returned to their monastery. Afterwards Cuancherr himself, by the command of his holy master Mocoemog, built a monastery which is called Glass Mor; and he remained there for many days in great holiness, in divine miracles; and in the end he happily departed to Christ.

¹²⁴ On another occasion a consecrated virgin, named Cainer, lost the light of her eyes and was blind for a long time. When she was led to Saint Mocoemog, she begged him in the name of Christ that he would bless her eyes. And the man of God blessed her eyes; and the man of God consecrated water, blessing her eyes, and commanded her to wash her face with it. That holy virgin, washing her face there, immediately received her sight before all. And seeing heaven and earth, she returned to her cell; and rejoicing from her heart she blessed God in His miracles through His holy servants.

¹²⁵ After our patron, the most blessed Mocoemog, had restored temporal sight by the gift of God, God called him to the eternal light, to dwell with the saints. And when he had fallen ill, he blessed the brothers and his places, and before the gathered multitude of the saints, on the third day before the Ides of March, he most happily gave back his holy soul to God.

¹²⁶ And he was buried with due honor in his holy monastery of Liath, where through him many miracles are worked by Christ. To whom be honor and glory with God the Father and the Holy Spirit to ages of ages [Romans 11:36; Tobit 13:23]. Amen.

¹²⁷ Here ends the Life of Saint Mocoemog, Abbot and Confessor.