566 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



stakes on the sea-shore and drowned for refusing to ahjure Christianity. 

 Brought up under such a parent, Eonan would naturally have been 

 imbued with admiration for the great pagan chieftain of his race, and 

 would call his son after him. But in Melkedar's youth, at the 

 beginning of the sixth century, Christianity was general in Uladh, and 

 Melkedar came under its influence, and, as the event proved, became 

 desirous of devoting himself to the missionary life. Students from the 

 I^orth of Ireland, it is well known, usually resorted for education and 

 ecclesiastical training to the school of Candida Casa in Gralloway, founded 

 by St. Ninian, and known as the " Great Monastery." Those from the 

 South of Ireland found St. David's more convenient. 



We may assume then that Melkedar was educated at Candida Casa, 

 and, going forth like others to seek a sphere of labour, selected this 

 remote corner of Kerry, and set to work to introduce Christianity there. 

 The numerous pagan remains, such as bee-hive houses and forts, seem 

 to show that the place then had a considerable population. 



The erection of these little oratories would be the outward evidence 

 of the coming of the new faith, and, assuming that they date from the 

 beginning of his labours, they would belong to the early part of the 

 sixth century. One of them bears the name of the saint ; the other is 

 known as Gallerus, the meaning of which we have now to inquire. 

 The first syllable is locally pronounced as in " Gallic"; and this being 

 so, the name is obviously Geal-arus — The White House. The " a " in 

 ' arus ' is given as unaccented by Windisch and Stokes, and therefore 

 the proposed derivation corresponds with the pronunciation. But it 

 will naturally be asked why it received this name. In reply to this I 

 will ask you to return with me for a moment to Candida Casa, " the 

 White House," where I assume Melkedar to have been educated. 



It is often thought that this name was given to St. Mnian's 

 Monastery because it was built of white stone, and even Dr. Todd, in 

 his notes to the Liber Hymnorum, fell into this error, though Ussher 

 long ago corrected it. But Bede, who is I'eferred to, only says it was 

 " built of stone," which was unusual, as British buildings of that age 

 were usually of wattles. The name Candida Casa has therefore 

 nothing to do with the colour of the stone. It is in fact merely a 

 translation into Latin of the British Gwyn-dy " White House," a 

 common name for a church in these regions in early times, of which 

 whitherne (hwit-sem) is the Anglo-Saxon translation. Instances 

 of it are numerous. Such are a Gwyn-dy in Anglesea, another near 

 Caldecot in Monmouthshire, Gundy or Gwyndy, Teilo at Llandaff, and 

 Ty Gwyn which stood on the site where the Album Monasterum in 



