fore he heard of the christian religion; he then went to Rome, where he spent twenty years in ecclesiastical studies, and, having been ordained a bishop, was returning to Ireland when he met St. Patrick, then on his way to Rome, who prophesied that they would meet again thirty years later at Saigir. From this the conclusion was drawn by Ussher that he was born A.D. 362. This involved the difficulty that he must have lived 300 years, or, as the 'Martyrology of Donegal' has it, 360. It is evident that the whole story must be dismissed as apocryphal, and intended to do honour to the Corcaluighe by representing one of their race as 'the first-born of the saints of Ireland,' the tribe itself as 'the first in Ireland among whom the cross was believed in,' and the church on Cape Clear as 'the first erected in Ireland;' and that in consequence of this St. Ciaran left 'to the king of that territory the honour price of a king of a province and kingship and leadership of his race for ever.'
His authentic history is connected with Saicir, now Seirkieran, in the barony of Ballybrit, King's County, four miles east of Birr. This territory, rormerly called Ele, and belonging to Munster, was that of his father's family. He dwelt near a fountain called 'Saigir the cold' as a hermit in the midst of the primeval forest, his only shelter the spreading branches of a tree. At the other side of the tree a wild boar had his lair, and not only this animal, but foxes, badgers, wolves, and deer, as the narrative quaintly has it, 'became his monks.' A similar story is told of St. Coemgen [q. v.] After a time he built a cell of 'poor materials,' and from this humble beginning grew the great establishment of oeirkieran, which became a centre for the preaching of the gospel, and hence St. Ciaran is regarded as the patron saint of Ossory. His fife was not without peril from the heathen inhabitants. The king, Aengus mac Nadfraech, had several harpers 'who accompanied their songs on the harp and played set pieces.' A party of these when travelling in Munster were killed by enemies, who cast their bodies into the lake, thence called the 'Harpers' Lake.' Again, the king, with a host of followers, would come and devour the substance of the monks. On one occasion eight oxen were slaughtered, but this did not suffice, and when complaint was made of the difficulty of supplying so large a number, Aengus, who was the first christian ruler of Cashel, referred them to the miracle of the loaves and fishes, and thought they ought to be able to do the same. Not far from Saigir was the monastery of Clonmacnoise, where another St. Ciaran ruled [see Claran of Clonmacnoise], who on one occasion came to Saigir to his brother saint, with whom were also St. Brendan of Clonfert [q. v.], famous as the navigator,' and St. Brencuin of Birr [q. v.] These saints 'made a covenant for themselves and their successors,' evidently for mutual protection against the opressive proceedings that have been noticed, they parted with mutual blessings, the form of which indicates the different character of their monasteries. At Clonmacnoise the pursuit of learning and a high standard of piety were aimed at. Saigir seems to have had rather the character of a great industrial establishment. The monks cleared the forest and tilled the soil, and a large community found occupation there. Hence it is termed 'Saieir the hostful,' or populous, and from the large amount of its possessions it was 'Saigir the wealthy.' In the 'Lebar Brecc' we read : 'Wondrous now was that holy Ciaran of Saigir, for numerous were his cattle. For there were ten doors to the shed of his kine, and ten stalls at every door and ten calves in every stall, and ten cows with every calf. . . . Moreover, there were fifty tame horses with Ciaran for tilling and ploughing the ground.' The unworldly character of Clonmacnoise, as compared with Saigir, was calculated to attract popular sympathy and regard, and hence it is that the former occupies so prominent a place in the religious history of Ireland, while Saigir is little noticed, notwithstanding its greatness and wealth.
A remarkable usage observed at Saigir is described in an anecdote connected with a youth firom Clonmacnoise, who was incautiously entrusted by St. Ciaran with the care of 'the sacred fire which he had blessed on the previous Easter.' The youth allowed the fire to go out, for which he was eaten by wolves. It was miraculously relighted at the prayer of St. Ciaran. This legend seems to be founded on a genuine tradition, for a sacred fire was also kept up at Ealdare many centuries later.
The date of St. Ciaran's death may be approximately fixed by a comparison of some of the facts recorded in his life. He belonged to the second order of Irish saints whose period was included between A.D. 644-89. Again, he was a contemporary of St. Ciaran of Clonmacnoise and the two Brendans. We may therefore conclude with Dr. Lanigan that he belonged to the sixth century, became distinguished towards the middle of it, and died during the latter half. He was one of the number of eminent men known as the 'Twelve Apostles of Ireland.' His diligence in the conversion of his heathen countrymen is noticed in his life. His mother became a chris-
