Saint Cormac mac Cuilennáin
Saint Cormac was from a noble family and had the title of bishop before he took the title of King of Munster in 902. Although he was from a noble family, it was not usual for them to rise to the position of king. He died in the Battle of Bellaghmoon in 908.
Flaithbertach mac Inmainén was the abbot of the monastery on Scattery Island and was in a role like an advisor to Saint Cormac. A war was brewing with Leinster, whose king was Cerball mac Muirecáin who was Saint Cormac’s fosterbrother, and they mustered an army. However, prior to the battle Flaithbertach fell from his horse in the army camp. This was taken as a bad omen by many in the army and they deserted. A peace treaty was made and Saint Cormac was inclined to accept it but Flaithbertach convinced him to go ahead with the battle despite being outnumbered significantly. Saint Cormac foresaw his death and took the Eucharist before the battle.
As for the Battle of Bellaghmoon, many of the Munstermen fled early and the entire army was soon routed. Saint Cormac died when he fell from his horse after it slipped in blood. The enemy soldiers beheaded him which was not met with the approval of the High King Flann Sinna as they expected. He said they had done an evil deed. He arranged for the proper burial of head and body.
Flaithbertach was captured and imprisoned for a time before being allowed to return to be the abbot of Scattery Island. He later succeeded Saint Cormac as King of Munster, there having been a vacancy for a while.
The Fragmentary Annals say: “Why, then, should the heart not be moved and mourn this awful deed, that is, the killing and hacking up (with abominable weapons) of the holy person who was the most skilled that ever was or will be of the men of Ireland? A scholar in Irish and in Latin, the wholly pious and pure chief bishop, miraculous in chastity and in prayer, a sage in government, in all wisdom, knowledge and science, a sage of poetry and learning, chief of charity and every virtue; a wise man in teaching, high king of the two provinces of all Munster in his time.” In regards to his greatness as a scholar, we have a very important document, the Sanas Cormaic (Cormac’s Glossary). It is something like a dictionary or encyclopedia that has over 1,400 words in Gaelic with their meanings and sometimes etymologies. It is the first European encyclopedic dictionary in a language other than Greek or Latin.
Fragmentary Annals:
https://celt.ucc.ie/published/T100017.html
The section of the Fragmentary Annals that is about Saint Cormac:
Cormac’s Glossary:
https://archive.org/details/sanaschormaicco00stokgoog/page/n4/mode/2up
Saint Máel Brigte mac Tornáin
Saint Máel Brigte was a monk until he rose to the high position of Abbot of Armagh. Several years later he was made Abbot of Iona, a kind of honorary title on account of the abscence of the usual large monastic community there due to the Viking raids.
The Mac Durnan Gospels is a beautifully decorated book containg the four Gospels, written or commissioned by Saint Máel Brigte during his time as abbot at Armagh. It was given as a gift to King Æthelstan, the first king of all of England. He in turn gifted the book to Canterbury Cathedral where it was kept for centuries.
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