Produced by Michael Gray (Diocese of San Jose) A HYMN ON THE LIFE, VIRTUES, AND MIRACLES OF ST. PATRICK, COMPOSED BY HIS DISCIPLE, SAINT FIECH, BISHOP OF SLETTY --- As this specimen of the language spoken in Ireland about 1200 years ago, is here published, not only for the elucidation of our apostle's history, but also for the gratification of the lovers of Irish literature in general; the Irish original is accompanied, on the opposite page, with an English translation of the whole. In this translation, the literal meaning, and idiomatic expression of the words and phrases, are adhered to in all such stanzas as the editor (with the aid of some members of the Gaelic Society, particularly conversant with subjects of this sort) could fully understand: for he acknowledges that neither he nor these gentlemen are so vain or disingenuous as to pretend that they comprehend the whole of this very ancient composition. In order to obviate any objection which may be made against the passages in which the editor differs from the author of the version of this hymn, in Colgan's collection of our patron saint's lives, the Latin translation adopted in _his_ edition, is also subjoined to the poem, at the bottom of each page. To the hymn are added some short notes, illustrative of the subject. _Vindication of St. Fiech's Hymn, in Answer to Dr. Ledwich's Objections._ Respecting the authenticity and antiquity of this curious specimen of our language about the commencement of the sixth century, some doubts were entertained by the sagacious Bollandists, who, consequently, considered St. Fiech to have lived long after our saint's time. This opinion, those learned Jesuits founded on Fiech's referring to other _histories_ for the truth of what he relates with regard to his master, St. Patrick, during the first sixty years of his life previously to his arrival on the mission of Ireland. This plausible objection has been adopted and urged by Dr. Ledwich, against St. Patrick's existence, with that dogmatical tone of magisterial positiveness so conspicuous in his volume of invectives against the ancient splendour, sanctity, and literature of his native country, declaring that Fiech and Sedulius's poems on our saint "are the wretched productions of some cloistered ecclesiastic."