The intelligence of the death of St. Patrick spread rapidly through the country; prelates and priests flocked from all parts to honour the mortal remains of their glorious father.  As each arrived at Saull, he proceeded to offer the adorable sacrifice according to his rank.  At night the plain resounded with the chanting of psalms; and the darkness was banished by the light of such innumerable torches, that it seemed even as if day had hastened to dawn brightly on the beloved remains.  St. Fiacc, in his often-quoted Hymn, compares it to the long day caused by the standing of the sun at the command of Joshua, when he fought against the Gabaonites.

It is said that the pagan Irish were not without some intimation of the coming of their great apostle.  Whether these prophecies were true or false is a question we cannot pretend to determine; but their existence and undoubted antiquity demand that they should have at least a passing notice.  Might not the Gaedhilic druid, as well as the Pythian priestess, have received even from the powers of darkness, though despite their will, an oracle[134] which prophesied truth?

There is a strange, wild old legend preserved in the Book of Leinster, which indicates that even in ancient Erinn the awful throes of nature were felt which were manifested in so many places, and in such various ways, during those dark hours when the Son of God hung upon the accursed tree for the redemption of His guilty creatures.

This tale or legend is called the Aideadh Chonchobair.  It is one of that class of narratives known under the generic title of Historical Tragedies, or Deaths.  The hero, Conor Mac Nessa, was King of Ulster at the period of the Incarnation of our Lord.  His succession to the throne was rather a fortuity than the result of hereditary claim.  Fergus Mac Nessa was rightfully king at the time; but Conor’s father having died while he was yet an infant, Fergus, then the reigning monarch, proposed marriage to his mother when the youth was about fifteen, and only obtained the consent of the celebrated beauty on the strange condition that he should hand over the sovereignty of Ulster to her son for a year.  The monarch complied, glad to secure the object of his affections on any terms.  Conor, young as he was, governed with such wisdom and discretion as to win all hearts; and when the assigned period had arrived, the Ulster men positively refused to permit Fergus to resume his rightful dignity.  After much contention the matter was settled definitely in favour of the young monarch, and Fergus satisfied himself with still retaining the wife for whose sake he had willingly made such sacrifices.  Conor continued to give ample proofs of the wisdom of his people’s decision.  Under his government the noble Knights of the Royal Branch sprang up in Ulster, and made themselves famous both in field and court.