Eochaid mac Colla ( 560 – 640), better known as Saint Dallán or Dallán Forgaill (; ;
Primitive Irish
Primitive Irish or Archaic Irish (), also called Proto-Goidelic, is the oldest known form of the Goidelic languages, and the ancestor of all languages within this family.
This phase of the language is known only from fragments, mostly persona ...
: ''Dallagnas Worgēllas''), was an early Christian
Irish poet and saint known as the writer of the "''
Amra Coluim Chille''" ("Elegy of Saint Columba") and, traditionally, "''Rop Tú Mo Baile''" ("
Be Thou My Vision").
Personal history
Saint Dallan's given name was
Eochaidh (); his father was Colla, a descendant of the legendary High King
Colla Uais, and his mother was Forgall (Old Irish: ''Forchella''). His nickname, ''Dallán'' ("little blind one"), was earned after he lost his sight, reputedly as a result of studying intensively.
He was born in Maigen (now
Ballyconnell), at the eastern edge of the territory of the
Masraige of
Magh Slécht in the north-west of modern
County Cavan
County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...
. He was not a member of the
Masraige but belonged to a branch of the
AirgÃalla
AirgÃalla (; Modern Irish: Oirialla, English: Oriel, Latin: ''Ergallia'') was a medieval Irish over-kingdom and the collective name for the confederation of tribes that formed it. The confederation consisted of nine minor kingdoms, all indepen ...
called the Fir Lurg, who were in the process of spreading southwards into modern-day
County Fermanagh
County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland.
The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...
and
County Cavan
County Cavan ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is part of the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Cavan and is based on the hi ...
. (The
Barony Barony may refer to:
* Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron
* Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron
* Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
of
Lurg in the north of County Fermanagh was named after them.)
[T. M. Charles-Edwards, 'Dallán Forgaill (]fl.
''Floruit'' ( ; usually abbreviated fl. or occasionally flor.; from Latin for 'flourished') denotes a date or period during which a person was known to have been alive or active. In English, the unabbreviated word may also be used as a noun indic ...
597)', Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
accessed 27 June 2009
/ref> He was a first cousin of Saint Mogue. (The ''Life of Máedóc of Ferns'' says in ch. 72 that Dallán and Máedóc were sons of two brothers and he lived in Kildallan townland.)[ He was also a fourth cousin of ]Tigernach of Clones
Tigernach mac Coirpri (''d''. 549) was an early Irish saint, patron saint of Clones, County Monaghan, Clones (County Monaghan) in the province of Ulster.
Background
Tigernach or Tiarnach of Clones (anglicised ''Tierney'') was one of the pre-e ...
.
The ''Amhra Coluim Cille'', a panegyric
A panegyric ( or ) is a formal public speech or written verse, delivered in high praise of a person or thing. The original panegyrics were speeches delivered at public events in ancient Athens.
Etymology
The word originated as a compound of - ' ...
on Columba
Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...
, written shortly after Columba's death in 597, is his best-known work and considered "one of the most important poems we have from the early medieval Gaelic world". It is reported that after completing the work, Dallan regained his sight. It was claimed that those who recited the praises of Columba from memory would receive the gift of a happy death, a custom that was widely abused by those who attempted to rely on their memory rather than a virtuous life. The "''Amhra Coluim Cille''" became a popular text for students in Irish monasteries.
The "''Amra Senáin''", a funeral oration in praise of Senán mac Geirrcinn (Senán of Iniscattery), was said to preserve from blindness those who recited it with devotion.[O'Donnell, Patrick. ''Irish Ecclesiastical Record'', Vol. 8 (1887), pp.781-794]
In c.640 Dallan was visiting his friend Saint Conall Cael at his monastery on Inishkeel when pirates raided the island monastery. Dallan was reportedly beheaded, and it is said that God reattached his head to his body after he was martyred. He was buried on Iniskeel; his friend Canall Cael was later laid to rest in the same grave.
He was acclaimed a saint in the early 11th century, during the reign of the High King of Ireland Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill
Máel Sechnaill mac Domnaill (), also called Máel Sechnaill Mór or Máel Sechnaill II (949 – 2 September 1022), was a King of Mide and High King of Ireland. His great victory at the Battle of Tara against Olaf Cuaran in 980 resulted i ...
but was already listed as a saint in the earlier 9th century martyrologies compiled by Óengus of Tallaght
In Irish mythology, Aengus or Óengus is one of the Tuatha Dé Danann and probably originally a god associated with youth, love,Ó hÓgáin, DáithÃ. ''Myth, Legend & Romance: An encyclopedia of the Irish folk tradition''. Prentice-Hall Press, ...
. A medieval poem entitled "On the breaking up of a School" composed by Tadhg Og O Huiginn, c.1400, refers to the death of Dallán which caused his school to break up and the students to disperse as they would accept no other master. In a list of ancient Irish authors contained in the Book of Ballymote, Dallán is called "grandson of testimony".
Works
Saint Dallan was a poet, Chief Ollam of Ireland, as well as a scholar of Latin scriptural learning. He helped to reform the Bardic Order at the Convention of Drumceat.
In addition to ''" Amra Choluim Chille"'' and "''Amra Senáin"'', the following works are attributed to Dallán, although some may be later works by other poets who credited Dallan with authorship in order to make their poems more famous.
1. ''Amra Conall Coel'' – in praise of St. Conall Coel, abbot of Inishkeel
2. ''Dubgilla dub-airm n-aisse''
3. ''Fo réir Coluim cén ad-fÃas''
4. ''Conn cet cathach a righi'' (This is the final poem in the tale "''AÃrne FÃngein''")
5. ''Rop tú mo baile'' (English: ''Be Thou my Vision'')
6. ''Comaillfithir d'Éirinn Ãdail dar a hora''
Churches
Although he was not a priest, Dallán founded several churches throughout Ireland, such as Kildallan in County Cavan, Disert, Tullyhunco in County Cavan, Kildallan, Westmeath, Burnchurch in County Kilkenny, Killallon in County Meath, Clonallan in County Down and Tullygallan in County Donegal. He probably did this out of his friendship with the clergy and perhaps to ensure Masses for his soul. Because of this, he was known as ''Forgaill Cille'' in medieval texts, meaning 'Forgaill of the Churches'.
References
External links
Saint Dallán Forgaill (c.560 -c.640), alias Eochaid Éices
*
Liber Hymnorum version
an
translation
Rop tú mo baile
and translatio
The language and the date of Amrae Coluimb Chille
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dallan Forgaill
530s births
598 deaths
6th-century Christian saints
6th-century Irish poets
7th-century Irish poets
Christian poets
Irish male poets
Irish Roman Catholic writers
Irish-language poets
Irish-language writers
Medieval saints of Ulster
People from Ballyconnell
Writers from County Cavan
Year of birth uncertain