eeds of ambition he was slain in the morning at
Glas Cuilg;

I wounded Loing Seac with a sword, the monarch of Ireland
round.'"

Two years later Saint Adamnan died, after governing the Abbey of Iona
for six and twenty years. It was said of him that "He made a slave of
himself to his virtues," and his great life-work, the Latin history of
Saint Colum of the Churches, founder of the Iona Abbey, to this day
testifies to his high learning and wisdom.

Fourteen years later "Leinster was five times devastated by the
Ui-Neill," the descendants of Nial, and a battle was fought between the
men of Connacht and Munster. Thus the lives of saints and warriors were
interwoven. On very rare occasions the two lives of the race came into
collision. Thus, a quarrel arose between Congus the Abbot and Aed Roin
king of Ulad. Congus summoned to his aid the chief of the Ui-Neill, Aed
Allan by name, in these verses:

"Say to the cold Aed Allan that I have been oppressed by
a feeble enemy:

Aed Roin insulted me last night at Cill Cunna of the sweet
music."

Aed Allan made these verses on his way to battle to avenge the insult:

"For Cill Cunna the church of my spiritual father,
I take this day a journey on the road.
Aed Roin shall leave his head with me,
Or I shall leave my head with him."

The further history of that same year, 733, is best told in the words of
the Annals: "Aed Allan, king of Ireland, assembled his forces to
proceed into Leinster, and he arrived at the Ford of Seannait (in
Kildare). The Leinstermen collected the greatest number they were able,
to defend their rights against him. The king Aed Allan himself went into
the battle, and the chieftains of the north along with him. The
chieftains of Leinster came with their kings into the battle, and
bloodily and heroically was the battle fought between them. Heroes were
slaughtered and bodies were hacked. Aed Allan and Aed, son of Colgan,
king of Leinster, met each other, and Aed son of Colgan was slain by Aed
Allan. The Leinstermen were killed, slaughtered, cut off, and dreadfully
exterminated in this battle, so that there escaped of them but a small
remnant and a few fugitives."

To round out the picture, to contrast the two streams of the nation's
life, let us give this, from the following year: "734: Fifth year of Aed
Allan. Saint Samtain, virgin, of Cluain Bronaig (Longford), died on
De