²⁶O'Kearney, Nicholas. The Prophecies of Ss. Columbkille, Maeltamlacht, Ultan, Seadhna, Coireall, Bearcan, Malacy, &tc, Dublin: John O'Daly, 1836. 13-16.
This book may be read in its entirety here.
"To hell or Connacht" was the phrase Oliver Cromwell used in describing where the native Irish Catholic population might relocate once their lands were confiscated by the English.
The author ascribes the origin of the false prophecies of St. Colm Cille thus: "The great compound of falsehood is embodied in a book of considerable size, purporting to be the genuine version of the Prophecies of St. Columbkille, which has been printed in Bow Street, Manchester, about 20 years ago. This pretended prophecy is an amalgamation of some few sentences found in the prophetic writings of the saint, a portion of the predictions attributed to Nixon, a considerable portion of localized pythonicism, and a suitable leaven of pagan traditionary lore. This book was pompously announced as the Prophecies of St. Columbkille — was eagerly bought, and no estimation can be formed of the amount of injury its perusal may have done to the people into whose hands it found its way. The original of this pseudo-prophecy, an old MS. copy of which has been once in our hands, purported to have been written, more probably compiled, by one Stephen Carpenter of Moynalty, county of Meath. But when this personage lived, and whether he pretended to have been a prophet himself, or a simple prophecy-monger, we are unable to ascertain at present. One thing, however, is certain, that he executed his task with a surprising cunning and tact, rarely to be found possessed by an ordinary country peasant. Those spurious prophecies have been, and are now a being published in different editions, varying in price from one halfpenny to a shilling!"
While O'Kearney sought to distance himself from the supposed Colm Cille prophecy of the massacre at The Valley of the Black Pig, he also, according to O'Donovan and others, was responsible for his own book of completely spurious Colm Cille prophecy. O'Donovan wrote: "Of all the silly prophecies attributed to St. Columbkille, THAT now published by O'Kearney is out and out the most absurd and the most barefacedly silly and impertinent! It is, in fact, a most daring fabrication in very bad Irish, by some very silly man, who has attempted to imitate ancient Irish poetical composition, without having sufficient skill to hide modern spelling and local idioms. The fabricator of the poem is either O'Kearney himself, or some very silly and ignorant person who has imposed upon him." (Madden, R.R. Exposure of Literary Frauds and Forgeries Concocted in Ireland, Spurious Predictions Designated Prophecies of St. Columbkille. Dublin: John P. Fowler, 1806. 2.)