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In Fermoy, Ireland

2

 

St. Colmcille - latin name St. Columba

521 - 597

Saint, and scholar, diplomat and prince. Colmcille was a man of many parts. He was an Irish missionary to Scotland, often called the Apostle of Caledonia. Tall, strong, and a powerful presence, he cast a long shadow over the Ireland of his day, mixing in the affairs of state and winning hearts to God. There is more folklore and legend about this man than of any other personality of the early Church.


St. Colmcille

St Colmcille was born in Gartan, Donegal and educated at Moville and Clonard. Colmcille was a member of the O'Donnell's of Donegal, Kings of Ulster, one of Ireland's ruling dynasties. He was originally named Colm but it was changed to Colmcille at a later date. The Latin of Colmcille is Columba. "Colmcille" means "Dove of the Church". He was also famed for his prophesies which are frequently referred to in Donegal folklore. He founded the monastery schools of Derry (545), Durrow (553), and Kells (c. 554).


St. Colmcille sailing to Iona in 563

Some books say he went to Leinster. He then heard in Leinster of St. Finian who had the most beautiful and well-decorated manuscript in the world. So St. Colmcille decided to ask St. Finian if he could copy the beautiful manuscript.

St Finian was glad to see St. Colmcille who was a former pupil in his school. However, he refused to let Colmcille copy his book, a copy of St. Jerome’s Psalter, but Colmcille was determined and every night he copied part of the book but soon he was found out a judge said he had to give back the copy. There was a war about this and many people were killed. St Colmcille felt very bad about this so he went with a few friends to Iona and never went to or saw Ireland again.


St. Finian instructs his disciples

Iona is a small island of the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland. In the year 563 AD, it was part of the kingdom called Dal Riada, a Gaelic speaking realm, stretching from the west of Scotland to the northeast of Ireland. The king of Dal Riada was Conall MacComhgall.

This was a decisive time in this island's history. The Irish monk, Colmcille, had journeyed from Lough Foyle with twelve clansmen, seeking to establish a religious foundation on the island. Colmcille had already established monastries at Glencolmcille, Derry and Kells in Ireland before founding his monastery on the island of Iona in 563AD. It was from there that he brought Christianity to the Picts in the North of England. Before Columba's death N Scotland was almost entirely Christianized. Iona became the site of a Benedictine Abbey and of a small cathedral.

He was a man of influence, who could appeal to the king of Dal Riada for assistance in his mission.

The famous Book of Kells was compiled on Iona at Colmcille's monastery and was written around the year 800 AD. Although it was begun on the island of Iona, between Scotland and Ireland, its name is derived from the Abbey of Kells, County Meath, in the Irish Midlands, where it was kept from at least the 9th Century until 1541.

It is one of the most beautifully illuminated manuscripts in the world. It contains the four gospels, preceded by prefaces, summaries, and canon tables or concordances of gospel passages. It is written on vellum and contains a Latin text of the Gospels in insular majuscule script accompanied by magnificent and intricate whole pages of decoration with smaller painted decorations appearing throughout the text. The manuscript was given to Trinity College, in the 17th century and since 1953 has been bound in four volumes. It has been on display in the Old Library since the 19th century.


Pages from the Book of Kells

St. Columba ranks with St. Patrick and St. Bridget as one of the three patron saints of the Irish; he is supposedly buried with them at Downpatrick. His Feast day is June 9.

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