Laisrén mac Nad Froích
Encyclopedia
Saint Laisrén mac Nad Froích (d. 564), or Laisrén of Devenish, also known by his petname Mo Laisse, was the patron saint of Devenish Island
in Lough Erne (Co. Fermanagh), near Enniskillen, in the present diocese of Clogher. Laisrén is the subject of both a Latin and an Irish Life, which offer loose narratives in which a number of miscellaneous anecdotes and miracles have been grouped together.
(d. 549/51). Among the more action-packed anecdotes, there is one which relates how Laisrén ran into conflict with a local pagan king, Conall Derg (father of Énna of Aran
), who is identified as king of the Síl nDaiméni in the Irish Life. Utilizing his miraculous powers, the saint is said to have subdued the king, who ceded the island to Laisrén. The last significant events narrated in his Lives include a pilgrimage to Rome. One of his stopping places was at Ferns, where he visited his foster-brother St Máedóc and promised him to do good on his behalf. After his visit to Rome, he is said to have returned to Devenish with relics of Peter and Paul, Laurence and Clement, which were buried with him in the cemetery, so that Devenish could become an Irish Rome.
, but in the early 11th century, it was converted for use as a book shrine
at the behest of Cennfaelad (d. 1025), abbot of Devenish, whose name appears in the inscription. Further decorations were added in a later age. It is currently kept in the National Museum of Ireland
, Dublin.
Devenish Island
Devenish or Devinish is an island in Lower Lough Erne, County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. Aligned roughly north–south, it is about one and a quarter miles long and two-thirds of a mile wide. The main place to get a ferry to the island is at Trory Point, just outside Enniskillen.- Features...
in Lough Erne (Co. Fermanagh), near Enniskillen, in the present diocese of Clogher. Laisrén is the subject of both a Latin and an Irish Life, which offer loose narratives in which a number of miscellaneous anecdotes and miracles have been grouped together.
Background on Laisrén and Devenish
Laisrén is chiefly known as the founder of a monastery at Devenish, Irish Daim-inis (lit. 'Ox-island'), which was also home to his cult soon after his death. The Lives make clear that the area of Devenish was ruled by the Síl nDaiméni branch of the Uí Chremthainn. To the Irish life is appended a tale of the exile of the Dartraige or Dartrige, presumably because in the 9th century, political control over Devenish and the rest of the region known as Fernmag had changed hands from the Uí Nad Sluaig (a branch of the Uí Chremthann) to the Dartraige. According to the Irish genealogies of saints, Laisrén belonged to the Uí Chóelbad, who were based in Mag Line (Co Antrim) and formed the leading branch of the Cruithni. The Irish Life makes him a member of the Éoganachta of Munster and likewise, borrows a birth-tale from an Éoganacht origin legend, but this appears to be an innovation intended to link the saint with the new rulers based on the idea that the Dartraige were a people exiled from Munster.Career
The Latin and Irish Lives are the main sources for historical and legendary details of Laisrén's career. One story which links him to famous contemporaries claims that he studied the Gospels under the mentorship of St Finnián of ClonardFinnian of Clonard
Saint Finnian of Clonard , or Finian, 'Fionán' or 'Fionnán' in Irish, was one of the early Irish monastic saints, who founded Clonard Abbey in modern-day County Meath. The Twelve Apostles of Ireland studied under him...
(d. 549/51). Among the more action-packed anecdotes, there is one which relates how Laisrén ran into conflict with a local pagan king, Conall Derg (father of Énna of Aran
Enda of Aran
Saint Enda of Aran is an Irish saint in the Roman Catholic Church. His feast day is March 21.-Overview:...
), who is identified as king of the Síl nDaiméni in the Irish Life. Utilizing his miraculous powers, the saint is said to have subdued the king, who ceded the island to Laisrén. The last significant events narrated in his Lives include a pilgrimage to Rome. One of his stopping places was at Ferns, where he visited his foster-brother St Máedóc and promised him to do good on his behalf. After his visit to Rome, he is said to have returned to Devenish with relics of Peter and Paul, Laurence and Clement, which were buried with him in the cemetery, so that Devenish could become an Irish Rome.
Death and veneration
The Irish annals record his death in 564. According to early Irish martyrologies, his festival was observed on 12 September. A piece of metalwork which bears testimony to his cult is the book reliquary, probably from Devenish, known as Soiscél Molaise ('Gospel-book of Molaise'). The original part appears to have been a 8/9th-century portable chasseChasse (casket)
A chasse or box reliquary is a shape commonly used in medieval metalwork for reliquaries and other containers. To the modern eye the form resembles a house, though a tomb or church was more the intention, with an oblong base, straight sides and two sloping top faces meeting at a central ridge,...
, but in the early 11th century, it was converted for use as a book shrine
Cumdach
A cumdach or book shrine is an elaborate ornamented box or case used as a reliquary to enshrine books regarded as relics of the saints who had used them in Early Medieval Ireland...
at the behest of Cennfaelad (d. 1025), abbot of Devenish, whose name appears in the inscription. Further decorations were added in a later age. It is currently kept in the National Museum of Ireland
National Museum of Ireland
The National Museum of Ireland is the national museum in Ireland. It has three branches in Dublin and one in County Mayo, with a strong emphasis on Irish art, culture and natural history.-Archaeology:...
, Dublin.
Sources
- Charles-Edwards, T.M. “Ulster, saints of (act. c.400–c.650).” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, Sept 2004. Jan 2007 Accessed 14 Dec 2008.
- Henry, Françoise. Irish Art during the Viking Invasions,800-1020. London, 1967.
- Pádraig Ó Riain, Corpus genealogiarum sanctorum Hiberniae. Dublin, 1985.
- Latin Life of St Laisrén: Vita sancti Lasriani seu Molaissi abbatis de Dam Inis, ed. Charles Plummer, Vitae sanctorum Hiberniae. Vol. II. Oxford, 1910. 131-40.
- Irish Life of St Laisrén: Betha Mholaise Dhaiminse, ed. and tr. S.H. O'Grady, Silva Gadelica. 2 vols. London, 1892. vol I. 17-37; vol II. 18-34.
Further reading
- Doherty, Charles. “The earliest cult of Molaisse.” In History of the diocese of Clogher, ed. Henry A. Jefferies. Dublin: Four Courts, 2005. 13-24.
- Doherty, Charles. “Saint Máedóc and Saint Molaisse.” Breifne: Journal of Cumann Seanchais Bhréifne 7:24 (1986): 363-74.
- Lowry-Corry, Dorothy. “St. Molaise's house at Devenish, Lough Erne, and its sculptured stones.” Journal of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland 66 (1936): 270-84.
- Ó Cannan, Tomás G. (ed.). "A poem on the rights of the coarb of Saint Molaisse." Clogher Record: Journal of the Clogher Historical Society 15:1 (1994): 7-24.
On the Soiscél Molaise
- Ó Floinn, Raghnall. “The Soiscél Molaisse.” Clogher Record: Journal of the Clogher Historical Society 13:2 (1989): 51-63.
- Mullarkey, Paul. “Some observations on the form and date of the Soiscéal Molaise Book shrine.” In Irish art historical studies in honour of Peter Harbison, ed. Colum Hourihane. Index of Christian Art, Occasional Papers 7. Dublin, 2004. 124-140.