323 
pedigree of a Ferdomnach, twenty-third in descent from Co- 
nary More, Monarch of Ireland, whose reign commenced A. D. 
158. Allowing thirty years to a generation, we should bring 
the time of this Ferdomnach just down to the middle of the 
ninth century. For the discovery of this curious coincidence 
Mr. Graves is indebted to Mr. Eugene Curry, who, at his 
request, most kindly undertook the laborious task of making 
the necessary searches. 
Sir William Betham, in his account of this manuscript,* 
has assigned to it an earlier date, assuming it to have been 
written by Aidus, Bishop of Sletty, who died A. D. 699. 
And in this he has been followed by Mr. Westwood, in his 
recently published Paleographia Sacra. Sir William Be- 
tham, wanting the positive evidences now brought forward, 
appears to have been led to that conclusion by a passage in the 
Life of St. Patrick, fol. 20,b: ‘* Hec pauca de Sancti Patri- 
cit peritia et virtutibus Muipchu Macc vu Machthem dictante 
Aiduo Slebtiensis civitatis episcopo conscripsit.” But it would 
seem that these words were only intended to convey that the 
memoir of St. Patrick was originally drawn up at the desire 
or command of Aidus, just as the Gospel of St. Matthew, and 
probably the whole Book of Armagh, was transcribed by Fer- 
domnach dictante herede Patricii, at the bidding of the then 
Archbishop of Armagh. 
The original Life of St. Patrick, by Muirchu, together 
with the annotations of Tirechan, were evidently becoming il- 
legible at the time that Ferdomnach’s copy of them was made. 
This is sufficiently indicated by notes in the margin, which 
show that the scribe found it difficult, in many places, to 
read the manuscript from which he was transcribing. What- 
_ ever abatement, therefore, has been made from the supposed 
3 age of the Book of Armagh, is fully compensated for by the 
_ knowledge that it is a copy from documents which were them- 
_ selves old in the year 807. 
* Irish Antiquarian Researches, vol. i. pp. 257, 270. 
