466 



to his ancestors, who were servants of Columkille," and that 

 in the same parish certain lands belonged " to the Vicar and to 

 the keeper of the missagh or ornaments left by Columkill," 

 which keeper was undoubtedly the herenach of the bishop and 

 coarb of the abbot, according to the ancient usage of the Irish 

 Church. 



The Miosach was preserved amongst the descendants of 

 the original herenachs until the middle of the last century: 

 when it was purchased by Dr. William Barnard, Bishop of 

 Derry, who died in 1768, or perhaps by his son Dr. Thomas 

 Barnard, Dean of Derry, and afterwards Bishop of Killaloe 

 and Kilfenora. The fact, however, most important, as tend- 

 ing to prove our reliquary to be the Miosach, is, that it was 

 purchased in the neighbourhood of Fahan, close to the parish 

 of Clonmanny, where the inquisition of 1609 states it to have 

 been preserved.* 



This curious box was offered for sale with the library of 

 the late Bishop Barnard in Dublin ; but such was the apathy 

 of the public at that time to these invaluable relics of antiquity, 

 that it found no purchaser, and was bought in by the auctioneer, 

 Mr. Vallance, from whom it passed to his successor, Mr. Jones. 

 It was purchased from Mr. Jones by Sir William Betham, 

 who presented it to the late Duke of Sussex, and it was after- 

 wards sold in London, at an auction, to Mr. Rodd, an emi- 

 nent London bookseller. 



Some time afterwards Mr. Eodd mentioned it to Dr. 

 Todd, as a piece of antiquity supposed to be Irish ; Dr. Todd, 

 happening to be soon after in London, called to see it, and 

 recognised it as the Miosach ; it was immediately purchased 

 from Mr. Rodd by Lord Adare, now Lord Dunraven, and by 

 him presented to the College of S. Columba in the year 1843. 



Dr. Petrie, in his account of this reliquary, quotes also 



* Vallancey, Collect, vol. iv. No. 13, p. 16. 



