106 Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy. 



King of Dartraige (in which is Clones), and other nobles, nearly all from the 

 present county of Monaghan. The third was headed by Donn Maguire, 

 King of Lough Erne. 1 This grouping must represent the natural division of 

 the diocese at the time. The close connexion which subsisted between 

 Clogher and the western part of the diocese is indicated by the names of the 

 principal members of the Cathedral Chapter. Thus, between 1450 and 1550 

 we know the surnames of fiv- Deans — three Mac Cawells (a Tyrone name) 

 and two M \ - Dean McCrenyr" (Shirley's M p. 321) was 



apparently a native of Co. Monaghan, but it is not certain that he was Dean 

 of the Cathedral Church. In the same period three Archdeacons are known — 

 two Maguircs and an 0'< issidy. I . Fermanagh name, and in the 



fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the family was intimately associated with 

 the Magnires (see Mac Carthy. Anno/* . index >. 



Thee -titute a strong argument that the Academy 



and utical. The only difficulty in the way is the 



ription to which l'r - M But it does not prove 



that the outer case was m Bhrine preserved at Clones. If the shrine 



had been in the custody of the I t nach, the case would have been 



made by his order, not merely by his permission. The shrine of the cathach 



nnell relic— was made "by" Cathbarr O'Donnell 

 ami -■ I » imnall M icE marb of Kells, and the artist who con- 



structed it 1: The meaning of this seems to be that O'Donnell, 



by • b marb, had ihe Bhrine made by a Kells worker. 



Our inscription i than thai, by permission of the Abbot 



metal-worker of bis monastery executed the work which the 

 autl _ . Whether he did the work at Clones or at 



I 



It is uni Macalister's arguments in further 



lil. But his final " deductions " mm passed over in silence. They 



i]it found in the shrine a date long prior to the 



box which is issumed to 1"' more ancient than the earliest 



The mam . cannot be later than c. 650. 



It i ■'. that it may have belong 5t Tigenuv h, who died in 550. 



Palaeogi whether the script is consistent with so early a 



date. But the text is Vulgate with Old Latin mixture.' That such a text 



should have been in use in Ireland by 550 or even 650 may be pronounced 



at least improbable in view of the history of the Latin Scriptures in this 



count H. J. L. 



' Clogher 5 :ii. : Proceedings R.I. A., xxxiii C, 391. 



' 7Y, R.I.A., \\\. 310ff. 



' Proceeding! Ill A., xxxni C, ::14 If. If Professor M.icalister's date (cent, ix) for the 

 • ln-ow be ■ he improbability becomes greater. 



