TjAWLOU — NnUs^ nn St. P,or»i(r<V!^ fj/r nf St. Miilachij. 251 



Cormac was restored In tlic tlir(jiu' (!?!; '), 10), Siilisciiiu'iitly Malachy was re- 

 called by Ccllach and linliar, wiiu cuiild " tdlciiiLe liiw alisciice no longer." So 

 he returned to ' his own people " (§ 12). A .stay at Armagh, periiaps brief, is 

 clearly indicated (cp. § 14). After this he went to Bangor, where he re-founded 

 the ancient monastery of St. Comgall. At Bangor he continued long enough 

 to .surround himself with a numerous " congregation " and to acquire great 

 fame (§ 15). Subsequently he became bi.shop of Connor — as we have seen, in 

 1124. St. Bernard evidently supposed that the re-founding of Bangor took 

 place a considerable time before Malachy's consecration. He had been elected 

 bishop "long" before he was consecrated (§ 16). But he implies that his 

 account of his work at that place extends into Ids episcopate, remarking that 

 " he remained there even after he was made bishop, for the place was near the 

 city" [i.e. Connor] — a good example of his confused notions of Irish topography. 

 Now I believe anyone who reads the sections of the Life to which 1 have 

 referred will come to the conclusion that the chronology is congested. The 

 year or two of Malachy's vicariate, his three years at Lismore, a short sojourn 

 at Armagh and a long one at Bangor, can hardly be compressed into the 

 interval between 1120 and 1124. Let us see whether the Annals give us any 

 help towards a solution of the ditticulties which suggest themselves. 



First we note that they confirm some parts of St. Bernard's narrative. 

 We might expect that Malachy's vicariate would terminate about August, 

 1121, on the return of Cellach from Dublin. This would give sufficient time 

 for the work which St. Bernard connects with his tenure of that ottice. But 

 that Cormac MacCarthaigh came to Lismore in that year is at least probable. 

 For under 1121 several of the Annals have an entry to this effect : "A hosting 

 was made by Toirrdelbach [0 Conebobhar] in Desmond, and he arrived at the 

 termon of Lismore, and he obtained countless cattle-spoils." What more 

 natural than the flight of Cormac to the sanctuary of Lismore under the 

 stress of this invasion of De/^moud '. We need not doubt ( 1 ) that Malachy's 

 vicariate ended in the latter part of 1121 ; (2) that he then proceeded to 

 Lismore ; and (3) that he met Cormac there. 



Again, the deposition of Cormac, his " pilgrimage " at Lismore, and his 

 return from that jilace to his kingdom are certainly historical. They are 

 related under the year 1127 in all the principal Annals with greater or less 

 fulness of detail. 



But, on the other hand, the Annals make it iiuite clear that Cormac did 

 not visit Lismore in 1121 as a deposed monarch. He did not succeed to the 

 crown of Desmond till the deatii of his father TadhgMacCarthaigli, which the 

 annalists place under 1124. His deposition, pilgrimage, and restoration are 

 assigned by the same authorities to the year 1127, three years after Malacliy 



