He took their Isle for fatherland.
Succat by Christian birth his name,
Heir to a noble father's fame.
Calphurnius' son, of Potit's race,
And deacon Odis' kin and grace,
Six years of bondage he must bear
With faithful fast from heathen fare.
And Cothriagh now his name and due,
Who holding high allegiance true,
Yet served four little lords of earth
(God's servant he of forefold worth)
Till Victor bade him Milchu's slave
To fly across the freeman's wave.
He fled, but first upon the rocky shore
His footprint set a seal for evermore.

II.

Then far away beyond the seas,
In happy flight o'er many a land,
O'er many a mountain on he flees
To face Lethania's southern strand,
Nor rested long upon the road
Until he gained Germain's abode."

St. Fiacc states that the Apostle of Ireland was born at Nemthur--
Nemthur, as all commentators agree, is not the name of a town, but of a
tower. "Neam-thur Hebernica vox est quse coelestem, sive altam turrim
denotat." "Neamthur is an Irish word which denotes a heavenly, or a
high tower" (Rerum Hibernicarum Scriptores Veteres, Tom i., p. 96--