420 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



BerhhsMur, real sister. A similar use of the word Irathair, brother,' 

 gave rise to the compound Derhhrathair . Son is also occasionally used 

 in the same way as in the case of Darerca, termed St. Patrick's sister. 

 She lived at the Ferta as one of the missionary party, and though 

 vowed to chastity, is said to have had sixteen sons. Colgan took this 

 literally, without attempting to explain, how it is that no blame is 

 attached to her. But they were evidently sons only in a religious 

 sense, as St. Paul called Timothy his son. She seems to have been 

 one of those pious women like St. Ita, to whom promising boys 

 were entrusted for training, with a view to their subsequent prepara- 

 tion for Holy Orders. 



Lanigan, in dealing with this story, evades the difficulty by 

 questioning the fact of her having so many sons. But it would be 

 unjust to that able writer not to mention that he had some suspicion 

 that those statements were not to be taken literally. 



" The very ancient practice," he says, " of designating religious 

 women by the name of sisters was in all probability the cause of 

 mistaking some pious ladies, who lived in or near St. Patrick's time, 

 for real sisters of his."^ But the hint was not followed up, and the 

 confusion has continued to the present day. 



'' See "History of the Church of Ireland," by Eev. T. Olden, p. 

 « History, vol. i., p. 126. 



