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Online Lectures- The Bells of the Irish Saints,  The many phases of the shrine of the Cathach, St Columba’s crosier: power and devotion in medieval Ireland.

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This online series of talks explores medieval objects associated with St Columba. Starting in October with a talk by Cormac Burke, the first talk will explore the functions and use of Irish hand-bells, including those associated with Colmcille. This talk will be followed in November by talk by Dr Paul Mullarkey, NMI, which will explore book shrines, with a focus on the Shrine of the Cathach. The last talk in December by Dr Griffin Murray, UCC, will discuss crosiers associated with Colmcille (Columba), and concentrate on discussing St Columba's crosier from Durrow, Co. Offaly.

The series is part of a programme being run by the NMI for the Colmcille1500. This programme includes a new exhibition about St Colmcille, Colmcille: Sacred objects of a Saint - 1500 years of devotion​, which is now open at NMI-Archaeology.

Colmcille 1500 Lecture Series (1): The Bells of the Irish Saints

Cormac Bourke looks at the archaeology of Irish hand-bells, their original function, and their place in recent tradition. The talk examines particular bells associated with Colmcille (Columba) and with his famous biographer Adomnán (Eunan). The story ranges from Ireland to Iona and the Highlands of Scotland.

Cormac Bourke was a curator in the Ulster Museum for 26 years. He specialises in the study of early insular Christianity and has published widely on medieval metalwork and on the archaeology of saints and their relics. His book, The Early Medieval Hand-bells of Ireland and Britain, was published by the National Museum of Ireland, in association with Wordwell, in 2020.

This online lecture was pre-recorded and broadcasted as a live event on Wednesday 13th October, 1pm

Colmcille 1500 Lecture Series (2): The many phases of the shrine of the Cathach

This illustrated talk by Dr Paul Mullarkey provides a brief survey of eight known book shrines from Ireland that range in date from the early ninth to the mid-sixteenth centuries. These elaborate shrines contained venerated manuscripts and acted as symbols of power, prestige and sanctity. They were often used as insignia of office, battle talismans, for collecting tributes, swearing oaths, endorsing contracts and treaties, curing, cursing, and for funeral, ecclesiastical and inauguration ceremonies. The Shrine of the Cathach is inextricably linked with the manuscript formerly contained within, the Cathach, which was believed to have been written by St Columcille. It was also one of the principal treasures of the O'Donnell's during the Medieval period. This talk focuses on the decoration, techniques and iconography of this shrine, along with recent investigations that have revealed some details unseen for centuries.

Dr Paul Mullarkey, is a senior archaeological conservator at the National Museum of Ireland and has published widely on Irish book shrines.

This online lecture was pre-recorded and broadcasted as a live event on Wednesday 10th November, 1pm

Colmcille 1500 Lecture Series (3): St Columba's crosier: power and devotion in medieval Ireland

Along with books and bells, crosiers played an important role in representing the power of early Irish saints in medieval Ireland. In the final lecture of the series Dr Griffin Murray will introduce these fascinating objects with a focus on St Columba's crosier from Durrow, Co. Offaly.

While more famous for its illuminated manuscript and high cross, an early medieval crosier also survives from this important Columban monastery. It was preserved for generations by the Mac Geoghegan family, remaining in their keepership until the nineteenth century. The crosier may originally date from the ninth century but was significantly refurbished in the early twelfth. Early Irish crosiers were originally held by the abbots of monasteries as symbols of authority and were passed on to successive holders of the office. As the abbot of Durrow was a successor of St Columba, the crosier was associated with the saint and over time was regarded as a relic. This lecture will explore how St Columba's crosier was viewed and used during the medieval and post-medieval periods. It will also examine the context of its refurbishment in the early twelfth century, as well as looking at other evidence for crosiers associated with the saint from Kells, Co. Meath, and Dunkeld in Scotland.

Dr Griffin Murray is a Lecturer in Archaeology at University College Cork. He is author of The Cross of Cong: A Masterpiece of Medieval Irish Art (2014) and is a specialist in Irish medieval church metalwork.

This online lecture was pre-recorded and broadcasted as a live event on Wedneday 8th December at 1pm.

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Online Lecture Series: Colmcille 1500 - The Hand-Bells, Books and Crosiers Associated with St Columb | Archaeology | National Museum of Ireland

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This online series of talks explores medieval objects associated with St Columba. Starting in October with a talk by Cormac Burke, the first talk will explore the functions and use of Irish hand-bells, including those associated with Colmcille.

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Ag comóradh Colmcille- ceol nua chumtha agus ealaíon ..... álainn agus draíochtúil an comhdhéanamh é seo.

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Caim Chaluim Chille chaoimh (The encompassing of Columba the kindly)

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From the Royal Irish Academy

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The Cathach of Colum Cille: The story of an ancient Irish manuscript

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The Audit of Columban Cultural Heritage was commissioned by Donegal County Council, Derry City & Strabane District Council, Foras na Gaeilge and The Heritage Council.

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Home > Culture > Heritage > Heritage News > Audit of Columban Cultural Heritage Meetings

The Audit of Columban Cultural Heritage was commissioned by Donegal County Council, Derry City & Strabane District Council, Foras na Gaeilge and The Heritage Council as part of the implementation of the County Donegal Heritage Plan. The audit sets out key heritage sites, places, objects and archives associated with St. Colmcille and provides suggestions for the 1,500th commemoration of his birth in 2021 based on consultations with a variety of stakeholders. The audit was launched at public presentations in the Colmcille Heritage Centre in Gartan on Tuesday, February 26 and The Guildhall, Derry on Wednesday, February 27, 2019.

Download Audit of Columban Cultural Heritage (19MB)

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Home > Culture > Heritage > Heritage News > Audit of Columban Cultural Heritage Meetings The Audit of Columban Cultural Heritage was commissioned by Donegal County Council, Derry City & Strabane District Council, Foras na Gaeilge and The Heritage Council as part of the implementation of the County Donegal Heritage Plan.

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Saint Columba Part 2 Raphoe Diocese 1997

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Saint Columba Part 2 Raphoe Diocese 1997

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Produced in 1997 by an interdenominational group from the Raphoe Diocese. Plenty of teaching material and worksheets.

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Saint Colmcille Book 2 Raphoe Diocesean Committee 1997

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This teaching package produced by the Derry Diocesan Columban Anniversary Committee in 1997 continues to be an invaluable source of information for the classroom.

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Faigh amach faoi Cholmcille – an naomh Éireannach a d’ardaigh a sheol as Doire lena mhainistir a bhunú ar Oileán Í na hAlban.

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Faigh amach faoi Cholmcille - an naomh Éireannach a d'ardaigh a sheol as Doire lena mhainistir a bhunú ar Oileán Í na hAlban.

As Oileán Í chraobhscaoil Colm Cille agus a lucht leanta scéal na Críostaíochta chuig a lán áiteanna in Albain agus in Éirinn.

Fuair Colm Cille bás sa bhliain 597, agus táthar ag insint scéalta faoi agus faoina lucht leanta ó shin. Tá oilithrigh ag tabhairt cuairte leis na céadta bliain ar áiteanna a bhaineann leis an naomh.

Lean Slí Cholmcille go hÉirinn agus go hAlbain chun foghlaim faoi bheatha agus faoi sheanchas an fhir seo a bhfuil iomrá leitheadach buan air.

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Faigh amach faoi Cholmcille - an naomh Éireannach a d'ardaigh a sheol as Doire lena mhainistir a bhunú ar Oileán Í na hAlban. As Oileán Í chraobhscaoil Colm Cille agus a lucht leanta scéal na Críostaíochta chuig a lán áiteanna in Albain agus in Éirinn.

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The Cathach / The Psalter of St Columba

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The Cathach is the oldest extant Irish manuscript of the Psalter. It may also be the earliest example of the form of Irish writing known as insular majuscule script. The surviving portion of the manuscript contains a Vulgate version of Psalms XXX (10) to CV (13) with an interpretative rubric or heading before each psalm. It is written in Latin.

It is traditionally ascribed to St Columba (Colum Cille) as the copy, made at night in haste by a miraculous light, of a Psalter lent to Columba by St Finnian. A dispute arose about the ownership of the copy and King Diarmait Mac Cerbhaill gave the judgment 'To every cow belongs her calf, therefore to every book belongs its copy'. The arbitration failed and the controversy led to the battle of Cúl Dreimne in AD 561, where an alliance of northern septs defeated King Diarmait. St Columba left Ireland and went to Iona in AD 563, perhaps exiled as punishment for the lives lost in the battle. It is possible to date the manuscript to the late 6th or early 7th century from the script, but modern historical scholarship has cast doubts on St Columba's authorship.

The story of the circumstances in which St Columba's manuscript was produced was written down in the early sixteenth century by Manus O'Donnell, in his new life of the saint who was patron of his kin group (O'Kelleher & Schoepperle, 1918; Lacey, 1998). The story is sometimes cited as the earliest example of copyright, but it reflects attitudes to manuscript ownership in the sixteenth rather than the sixth century.

The script, in the hand of a single scribe, is early majuscule with ornamental capitals, some of which are in red and, like the red in the lettering for the rubrics, the colour has faded. The beginning of each new psalm is indicated by an ornamental capital. The framework of the capitals is often outlined by a series of scarlet dots and the decoration consists mostly of spirals and animal heads. The capitals do not stand out from the text but are drawn in by a series of letters of diminishing size (Herity & Breen, 2002).

Between 1062 and 1098 a special cumdach or shrine was made to protect the vellum manuscript, which may already have become fragmentary (Ó Floinn, 1995; 1997; Ó Cróinín, 2009). In the later Middle Ages the Psalter was in the possession of the O'Donnells but in the custody of the Mac Robhartaigh family at Ballymagroarty, Co. Donegal. It became known as the Cathach' or 'Battler' from the O'Donnell practice of carrying it thrice right-hand-wise around the field of battle as a talisman.

The Cathach was taken to France in 1691 by Colonel Daniel O'Donnell (1665-1735) of Ramelton. In 1723 he had the book-shrine refurbished and added an inscription to that effect. He also had the O'Donnell arms engraved on the front of the shrine. Before his death, the Colonel is said to have deposited it in an Irish monastery in Flanders being unable to identify the rightful owner. It was brought back to Ireland by Sir Capel Molyneux and given to Sir Neal O'Donel of Newport, Co. Mayo, either in 1802 or 1813 (Herity, 2000). The manuscript was re-discovered inside the shrine in 1813 when the cumdach was opened by Sir William Betham. The book-shrine, with the vellum manuscript inside, was deposited in the Academy by Sir Richard O'Donel in 1843.

The leaves when taken from the casket were caked together and cockled. In 1920, in the British Museum bindery, the leaves were separated and mounted in paper frames and the butt joints were overlaid with white net. In 1980-1 more elaborate repair and rebinding work was carried out by Roger Powell and his assistant, Dorothy Cumpstey, at a cost of Stg£6,150 for the repair and Stg£250 for the case. The paper mounting, from which the vellum leaves had come adrift, was replaced by new vellum mounts specially stained to match the colour of the original leaves. Pieces of degreased fish skin were used for joining butted edges in the vellum mounts. The leaves, assembled in sections, were sewn within a zig-zag of hand-made paper onto cords and bound in English oak boards. The spine was covered in white alum-tawed pigskin. To keep the vellum under pressure and to prevent cockling, the rebound manuscript was put into a special box designed by David Powell and made by George Taylor in Edward Barnsley's workshop.

The Cathach was published in CD-ROM format by the Academy in 2002.

Each vellum page of the Cathach has been digitized for the Irish Script on Screen project for publication online in 2021, believed to be the 1500th anniversary of the birth of St Columba.

The late 11th-century shrine (cumdach) of the Cathach, made by Sitric of Kells, Co. Meath to the order of Cathbarr O'Donnell, may be seen in the National Museum of Ireland, having been transferred there from the Royal Irish Academy in the 1930s.

Select Bibliography

Alexander, J.J.G. (ed.), Insular manuscripts, 6th to 9th century (London, 1978), 28-9.

Betham, William, Irish antiquarian researches (Dublin, 1827), 107-21.

Bourke, Cormac (ed.), Studies in the cult of St Columba (Dublin, 1997).

Brown, T. Julian, 'The Irish element in the insular system of scripts to circa A.D. 850' in H. Lowe (ed.), Die Iren und Europa im früheren Mittelalter (Stuttgart, 1982), 101-19.

Brown, T. Julian, 'The oldest Irish manuscripts and their late antique background', in P. Ní Chatháin & Michael Richter (eds), Ireland and Europe: the early church (Stuttgart, 1984), 311-27.

Byrne, F.J., A thousand years of Irish script: Catalogue of an exhibition of Irish manuscripts in Oxford Libraries (Oxford, 1979).

Cunningham B., & Fitzpatrick, S., Aon amharc ar Éirinn: Gaelic families and their manuscripts (Dublin, 2013), 33.

Douglas, Chrétien. The Battle Book of the O'Donnells (Berkeley, 1935).

Esposito, Mario, 'The Cathach of St Columba', Louth Archaeological Journal, 4 (1916-20), 80-3.

Henry Françoise, 'Les débuts de la miniature irlandaise', in F. Henry & G. March-Micheli, Studies in early Christian and medieval art (3 vols, London, 1983-5), ii, 25-7.

Herity, Michael & Breen, Aidan, The Cathach of Colum Cille: an introduction (Dublin, 2002).

Herity, Michael, 'The return of the Cathach to Ireland: conflicting accounts of the repatriation of the Cathach from the continent', in Alfred P. Smyth (ed.), Seanchas: studies in early and medieval Irish archaeology, history and literature in honour of Francis J. Byrne (Dublin, 2000), 454-64.

Kenney, J.F. Sources for the early history of Ireland: I. Ecclesiastical (New York, 1929), 638-9.

Lacey, Brian (ed.), The life of Colum Cille, by Manus O'Donnell (Dublin, 1998) [Includes a modernised English translation the 'copyright' story, slightly abridged, pp 97-8.]

Lawlor, H.J., 'The Cathach of St Columba', Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 33 C 11 (1916-17), 243-443. [Contains a full transcript of text of the Cathach]

Löwe, E.A. (ed.), Codices Latini antiquiores (2nd ed. Oxford, 1972), No. 266.

McNamara, Martin, 'Psalter text and psalter study in the early Irish church (A.D. 600-1200)', Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 73 C 7 (1973), 264-9.

Ó Cochláin, R.S., 'The Cathach: Battle Book and the O'Donnells', The Irish Sword, 8 (1967-8), 157-77.

Ó Corráin, Donnchadh, Clavis Litterarum Hibernensium (3 vols, Turnhout, 2017), Vol. 1, item 12, pp 45-6.

Ó Cróinín, Dáithí, 'The Cathach and Domnach Airgid', in Bernadette Cunningham & Siobhán Fitzpatrick (eds), Treasures of the Royal Irish Academy Library (Dublin, 2009), 1-8.

Ó Floinn, Raghnall, 'Sandhills, silver and shrines: fine metal work of the medieval period from Donegal', in William Nolan, Liam Ronayne & Mairéad Dunlevy (eds), Donegal, history and society: essays on the history of an Irish county (Dublin, 1995), 85-148.

Ó Floinn, Raghnall, 'Insignia Columbae, I', in Cormac Bourke (ed.), Studies in the cult of St Columba (Dublin, 1997), 136-61.

O'Kelleher, A., & Schoepperle, G. (eds), Betha Colaim Chille: life of Columcille, compiled by Maghnas Ó Domhnaill in 1532, edited and translated from manuscript Rawlinson B 514 in the Bodleian Library, Oxford (Illinois, 1918, reprint Dublin 1994). [Contains the Irish text of Manus O'Donnell's Life of Colum Cille, including the 'copyright' story, along with an archaic English translation.]

O'Neill, Timothy, 'Columba the scribe', in Cormac Bourke (ed.), Studies in the cult of St Columba (Dublin, 1997), 69-79.

O'Neill, Timothy, 'Quills, inks and vellums' in Bernadette Cunningham and Siobhán Fitzpatrick (eds), Treasures of the Royal Irish Academy Library (Dublin, 2009), 45-9.

O'Neill, Timothy, The Irish hand: scribes and their manuscripts from the earliest times (2nd ed., Cork, 2014), 12-13, 76.

O'Sullivan, William, 'Manuscripts and palaeography', in Dáibhí Ó Cróinín (ed.), A new history of Ireland, I: prehistoric and early Ireland (Oxford, 2005), 511-48, at 517, 521-2.

Reeves, William, The Life of S. Columba... written by Adamnan (Dublin, 1857).

Roth, Uta, 'Studien zur Ornamentik frühchristlicher Handschriften des insularen Bereichs', Bericht der Romisch-Germanischen Kommission, 60 (1979), 61-87.

Schauman, Bella, 'Early Irish manuscripts: the art of the scribes', Expedition, 21 (1979), 33-47.

Schauman, Bella, 'The Irish script of the MS Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana S 45 sup. (ante ca. 625)', Scriptorium, 32 (1978), 3-18.

Simms, George Otto, The Psalms in the days of St Columba: the story of the Cathach the Battle-Psalter (Dublin, 1963).

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The Cathach is the oldest extant Irish manuscript of the Psalter. It may also be the earliest example of the form of Irish writing known as insular majuscule script. The surviving portion of the manuscript contains a Vulgate version of Psalms XXX (10) to CV (13) with an interpretative rubric or heading before each psalm.

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Virtual Museum for you to tour. See the Cathach, learn how the manuscripts were made, visit a monastic site. An immersive experience!

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Produced by CCEA in partnership with the Nerve Centre and Culture Company

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Colm Cille or Columba was the founder of the famous monastery of Iona in the Scottish Inner Hebrides.

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A powerpoint presentation on the life and times of St. Colmcille, including his background, early life, founding of Iona and notable events. Niamh Carroll

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There was a book. There was a battle. Why should we celebrate Columba; how is he relevant today and why should the next generation be curious about him? Church leaders reflect, in this absorbing and inspirational film.

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Book of Kells and Old Library. Trinity College Dublin

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Book of Kells and Old Library. Trinity College Dublin

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Discover the rich past of the Book of Kells and Old Library TCD. The Book of Kells was created around the year 800 AD Researchers believe that it was originally produced in a monastery on the island of Iona off the coast of Scotland.

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800AD

The Book of Kells was created around the year 800AD and researchers believe that it was originally produced in a monastery on the island of Iona off the coast of Scotland. It appears to have been created by three artists and four scribes. When Iona was attacked by Vikings, the surviving monks moved to a sister monastery in Kells, Co. Meath. Some scholars believe that it was here that the Book of Kells was finished.

The Exhibition and Old Library is open until 1pm on 23 December 2020. Buy Tickets Now

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The Book of Kells was created around the year 800AD and researchers believe that it was originally produced in a monastery on the island of Iona off the coast of Scotland. It appears to have been created by three artists and four scribes.

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St Colmcille: The Saint through an Artist’s Eye’: A collection of images in painting, sculpture and stained glass to act as a creative starting point for an art lesson. (Suitable 1st-6th class).

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Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge

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Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, University of Cambridge

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Excellent outreach resources for schools- a wealth of ideas for curricular projects. Taisce den scoth.

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The Viking Age: 790 - 1066

Want to know more about the peoples of Britain and Ireland?

Information and resources are available on our web site for teachers and students of the Viking Age (including the OCR A-Level course "The Viking Age"). It covers the history, society and culture of the Scandinavian peoples and their engagement with Britain and Ireland during the period 793-1066.

The Gokstad Ship by Karamell, 2005, licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5.

Medieval Ireland

Resources are available in this section for those interested in Medieval Ireland and its relationship with Britain and the wider world. A series of project sheets cover different aspects of medieval Irish life, drawing on words in the Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language. These resources are available below.

The Role of Women in Medieval Ireland

If you type 'woman' into the Search field of the Electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language, you receive a huge number of different results: from ben, the medieval Irish word for 'woman', to banimpir 'empress'. But can we immediately take these words as evidence for the role and position of women in medieval Irish society?
Download the PDF
A Project on Medieval Manuscripts: The Book of Kells

We decided to start with a single page from the medieval Irish manuscript known as the Book of Kells - but you could carry out a similar investigation to this one by starting with any manuscript page, or another artefact, such as a carved stone or a piece of jewellery or a weapon. The whole of the Book of Kells has been digitised by Trinity College Dublin, where the manuscript is kept.
Download the PDF
Mounds, Graves & the Otherworld

The medieval Irish had many words for 'burial mound' or 'grave'. The Irish landscape is scattered with mounds, from Neolithic monuments, like Newgrange and Knowth, to Iron Age or even early medieval burials.
Download the PDF
Place Names

Many place-names (or toponyms) in Irish tell you about the history or appearance of the location. Sometimes the root words that make up a place-name can be difficult to see in modern English spellings.

Baile, Cell, & the Built Environment

We will look at several place-names that include words for artificial structures or settlements. Sometimes the meanings of words drift over time, or come to signify related concepts. Thus, cloch, 'stone', can refer to things made of stone as well as stone itself, including castles, gemstones, and even rosary beads!
Download the PDF
How did Vikings influence the Irish language?

Viking settlement of Ireland would have resulted in all sorts of interactions between the Vikings and the medieval Irish - and looking at how these interactions are reflected in the language can be a really useful way of tracking how relationships between these two peoples developed. These worksheets will look at what what a Viking is and what evidence personal and family names and loan-words can give us about these interactions.

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Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic

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Want to know more about the peoples of Britain and Ireland? Information and resources are available on our web site for teachers and students of the Viking Age (including the OCR A-Level course "The Viking Age"). It covers the history, society and culture of the Scandinavian peoples and their engagement with Britain and Ireland during the period 793-1066.

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Colmcille is a partnership programme between Foras na Gaeilge and Bòrd na Gàidhlig, promoting the use of Irish Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic in Ireland and Scotland and between the two countries.

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Homepage of Colmcille. Colmcille is a partnership between Foras na Gaeilge in Ireland and Bòrd na Gàidhlig in Scotland: it fosters communication and collaboration between the Scottish Gaelic and Irish Gaelic language communities.

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Iarsmalann fhíorúil Cholm Cille.

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Produced by CCEA in partnership with the Nerve Centre and Culture Company

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Colm Cille or Columba was the founder of the famous monastery of Iona in the Scottish Inner Hebrides.

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eSenchas An Electronic Resource for the Study of Medieval Irish Texts- Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, at the University of Cambridge

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eSenchas An Electronic Resource for the Study of Medieval Irish Texts- Department of Anglo-Saxon, Norse & Celtic, at the University of Cambridge

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Senchas was the term used in medieval Irish for the accumulation of tales, history and tradition. Is áis í eSenchas do mhic léinn agus do scoláirí araon. Tá saibhreas faoi leith ag baint le traidisiún liteartha meánaoiseach na hÉireann agus tá gort mór le treabhadh.

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Welcome to eSenchas!

( /'ʃɛnχəs/ ) was the term used in medieval Irish for the accumulation of tales, history, tradition and other information which the learned classes drew on and composed to explore Ireland's past. In this website, we are aiming to provide the modern equivalent: Electronic Senchas, or eSenchas. This website gathers together a comprehensive range of the available digital tools which can be used to study, analyse and interpret medieval Irish texts.

eSenchas is intended as a resource for both specialists and non-specialists. The medieval Irish literary corpus offers a wealth of material to be explored: whether you are discovering this material for the first time, or wish to analyse a particular lexicographical detail, the digital resources provided here are designed to assist you.

Explore our online database of texts

Is í is brí le ( /'ʃɛnχəs/ ) ná scéalta, stair, traidisiúin agus ábhar nach iad ar bhain an lucht léinn feidhm astu agus cuntas á chur le céile acu ar Éirinn san am a chuaigh thart. Ba mhaith linn leagan nua-aimseartha don gcoincheap sin a chur ar fáil leis an suímh idirlíon seo, Seanchas Eleictreónach - eSenchas. Is é atá bailithe anseo ná áiseanna digiteacha ar chabhair iad téacsanna Sean- agus Meán-Ghaeilge a léamh, a fhiosrú agus a mheas.

Is áis í eSenchas do mhic léinn agus do scoláirí araon. Tá saibhreas faoi leith ag baint le traidisiún liteartha meánaoiseach na hÉireann agus tá gort mór le treabhadh. Is cuma an duine le taithí nó gan taithí sa ghort úd tú, chabhróidh na háiseanna digiteacha seo leat pé ní atá le fiosrú agat. Bain taitneamh as!

Cuardaigh an stór téacsaí againn

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Welcome to eSenchas! ( /'ʃɛnχəs/ ) was the term used in medieval Irish for the accumulation of tales, history, tradition and other information which the learned classes drew on and composed to explore Ireland's past. In this website, we are aiming to provide the modern equivalent: Electronic Senchas, or eSenchas.

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Follow the Slí Cholmcille to Ireland and Scotland to reveal the life and legends of this enduring figure.

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Follow the Slí Cholmcille to Ireland and Scotland to reveal the life and legends of this enduring figure.

Lean Slighe Chaluim Chille gu Èirinn agus Alba gus faighinn a-mach mu bheatha agus na sgeulachdan a tha ann fhathast mun duine inntinneach seo.

Lean Slí Cholmcille go hÉirinn agus go hAlbain chun foghlaim faoi bheatha agus faoi sheanchas an fhir seo a bhfuil iomrá leitheadach buan air.

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Follow the Slí Cholmcille to Ireland and Scotland to reveal the life and legends of this enduring figure. Lean Slighe Chaluim Chille gu Èirinn agus Alba gus faighinn a-mach mu bheatha agus na sgeulachdan a tha ann fhathast mun duine inntinneach seo.

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Search this wonderful collection for stories and béaloideas associated with Colmcille.

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Look for stories related to specific people, including the storytellers, children and teachers involved in the Schools' Collection

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Aras Cholmcille - St. Columba Heritage Centre

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Columba

Irish: Colm Cille; Scots: Columbkille;

7 December 521 - 9 June 597) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission.

He founded the important abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries. He is the patron saint of Derry. He was highly regarded by both the Gaels of Dál Riata and the Picts, and is remembered today as a Catholic saint and one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. In Ireland, he is commonly known as Colmcille.

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Aras Cholmcille - St. Columba Heritage Centre - Home

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7 December 521 - 9 June 597) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey on Iona, which became a dominant religious and political institution in the region for centuries.

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With acclaimed heritage interpretation, audio guides, tour guide training, heritage & tourism audits and community heritage services, Abarta Heritage brings Ireland’s fascinating stories to life with creativity and accuracy.

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At Abarta Heritage we try to help to tell the story of Ireland with free audiobooks and audio guides. We empower communities to protect their heritage.

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Monastic Ireland brings to life the stories of the Celtic saints, their vibrant spirit and the monastic sites associated with them.

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Suitable for Primary School children.

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Donegal County Library

Donegal County Library
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Colmcille was born at Gartan, near Letterkenny in 521. He was also known as Columba, a Latin version of Colum, which was his baptismal name. The 'cille' that was added to the end of his name means 'of the churches'.

His father was a great grandson of King Niall of the Nine Hostages. His mother was a daughter of the King of Leinster.

Colmcille was first educated in Kilmacrennan by Cruitnechan, who had baptised him. Later, Colmcille went to St Finnian's monastic school in Movilla, Co. Down. Then he went to Clonard monastery in Co. Meath.

In 545, Colmcille founded his first monastery in Derry. He went on to found over sixty monasteries and churches in Ireland.

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Donegal County Library Donegal County Library Enlarge image Colmcille was born at Gartan, near Letterkenny in 521. He was also known as Columba, a Latin version of Colum, which was his baptismal name. The 'cille' that was added to the end of his name means 'of the churches'.

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An evocative film taking you on a journey through the life of St. Colmcille, patron saint of Derry, made for the Saint Columba Heritage Centre.

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Saint Columba Heritage Centre - Life of Colmcille

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Cúrsaí Teanga agus Cultúir. Ag iarraidh daoine de gach cúlra cultúrtha, creidimh agus polaitiúil a thabhairt le chéile trí mheán na Gaeilge. Ar fáil i nGaeilge nó Béarla.

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Oideas Gael - Cúrsaí Teanga agus Cultúir do dhaoine fásta

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Cúrsaí Gaeilge agus laethanta saoire cultúrtha do dhaoine fásta ag Oideas Gael. Blais cultúr, teanga, tírdhreach agus taithí ar leith i nGaeltacht Thír Chonaill, Éire.

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The objective of the Donegal Historical Society is to preserve and record the history of the county. Since its foundation in 1946 it has awakened a new interest in Donegal studies and has brought together people of different traditions and backgrounds.

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Welcome to the official website of the County Donegal Historical Society.

Photos copyright & courtsey of Jim and Debbie at www.megalithicireland.com

The County Donegal Historical Society was founded by the late J.C.T. MacDonagh on the 20th December 1946. The objective of the Society is to preserve and record the history of the county. Since 1946 it has awakened a new interest in Donegal studies and has brought together people of different traditions and backgrounds.

During the course of any one year the Society publishes a journal, the Donegal Annual, organizes a schools competition, holds several field days, a seminar, a coach outing, several lectures and other events. Down the years the Society has been responsible for initiating the Federation of Ulster Local Studies, establishing a museum and several other once off activities.

We hope you enjoy browsing through our website. If you wish to leave comments about any aspects of the County Donegal Historical Society or this website, please feel free to contact us either by e-mail [ unamcgarrigle@hotmail.com] or by leaving a message on the Guestbook. We welcome new members and information about joining the Society is available by clicking on Membership. Membership is open to everyone and at present we have approximately 800. Help us to make it 1000!

The Society has a new Facebook page, thanks to Seán Beattie and his son, Conor. To go there directly from here just click on 'GO'

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Welcome to the official website of the County Donegal Historical Society. Photos copyright & courtsey of Jim and Debbie at www.megalithicireland.com The County Donegal Historical Society was founded by the late J.C.T. MacDonagh on the 20th December 1946. The objective of the Society is to preserve and record the history of the county.

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Colmcille and Iona Cloze Procedure exercise.

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Colmcille, meaning "the dove of the Church" in Gaelic, or Columba was born at Gartan in County Donegal in 520 or 521.

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Ask anyone around the globe who is the patron saint of Ireland and you can expect to be answered definitively and quickly.

Thousands at home and millions abroad celebrate the life and legacy of St Patrick every 17 March.

But perhaps it is fitting that as a land feted for its saints and scholars, Patrick is not alone in having national patronage.

Now there are moves afoot to honour arguably - at least in the country of his birth - the lesser known of the emerald isle's saintly trinity, some 1,500 years after his birth.

Colmcille, meaning "the dove of the Church" in Gaelic, or Columba was born at Gartan in County Donegal in 520 or 521.

With St Patrick and St Brigid, he is honoured as one of his homeland's patron saints.

"St Patrick wasn't Irish, almost certainly he was British. St Brigid, we aren't overly sure if she even existed as a real person," argues historian and Columba expert Dr Brian Lacey.

"She may have been a Pagan goddess who was translated to become a Christian saint.

"But Colmcille was a genuine historical person of which there is absolutely no doubt. He is a huge figure in our political, diplomatic, cultural, scientific, religious history and it is appropriate that he is remembered and honoured."

Founder of monasteries

Born into Irish aristocracy, Columba is said to have been a descendant of legendary Niall of the Nine Hostages.

Niall was a fifth century Irish warlord reputed to have fought against the Romans and armies of ancient Scotland, England and France.

In Ireland's north west, there are many sites associated with Columba.

It is said he founded his first monastery in what is now the modern day city of Londonderry or Doire Cholm Cille, in the year 545.

Dr Lacey said that establishing the facts of Columba's early life in Ireland are a challenge for historians.

It was not until about 100 years after his death that his life was documented by an abbot from Iona, Adomnán.

"The legend is that Derry was founded because of the monastery built by Colmcille but the earliest recorded account of Colmcille founding Derry's monastery dates to the 10th century, 500 years after the monastery was founded, Dr Lacey said.

"The early records specifically mention another person as the founder of Derry's monastery - a man called Fiachra, who was actually a cousin or nephew of Colmcille."

Medieval monasteries were not akin to those of modern day, Dr Lacey points out..

"In those days they were intellectual powerhouses - they were hospitals, hotels etc all rolled into one.

"Indeed, all those monasteries and churches founded at that time were essentially family businesses.

"So when we use the word 'monastery' we are referring to a major cultural and religious institution.

"I know the legend is strong about Colmcille founding Derry but the historical facts don't support that.

"But what we can say without any doubt is that the monastery was founded, if not by Columba himself then, certainly by relatives of his."

Irrespective, Derry is a city which also holds the saint as its patron.

Known as the city of the oak, it was given Christian roots by its Columban founders.

Its schools and churches, streets and parks, cultural and sporting clubs, bear his name still.

Columba is held in high regard by Protestants and Catholics alike.

The Return of Colmcille pageant stood out as the centrepiece of Derry's year as the inaugural UK City of Culture.

A massive Christ the Redeemer-esque statue of Columba was once mooted for the bed of the River Foyle.

And it is a city from which the saint, along with 12 monks, left bound for the Scottish island of Iona where much more is known and better documented about his life's work.

St Columba arrived on Iona from Ireland in the year 563.

He is widely credited as one of the key figures who brought Christianity to Scotland.

Columban missionaries, setting out from Iona, would found churches and monasteries all over western and northern Britain.

"Iona was one of the most important centres of religious life, cultural life, even of scientific life in this part of the world," Dr Lacey said.

"When he founded the monastery at Iona, one of the things they did there was they began to record Irish history, writing down events, battles here, foundation of a church there."

"Almost all the history of Ireland and Scotland up until 740 AD we get from these chronicles invented by Colmcille and his followers on Iona. Without them we wouldn't have any Irish or Scottish history of that period," he said.

"He really was a most important individual and left behind huge cultural, historical and religious inheritance."

The Book of Kells and the Book of Lindisfarne are among the works attributed to Columban monasteries.

Were it not for the "complicated religious politics of the Middle Ages", argues Dr Lacey, Columba could well have been named Scotland's patron saint.

"He lost out to St Andrew, who of course was one of the apostles and who never visited Scotland."

Mythical meeting

It is even said Columba had the first encounter with the Loch Ness monster in the year 565.

According to the writings of Adomnán, the monster surfaced from the River Ness and darted towards Lugne, one of Columba's followers.

Columba is then said to have performed a miracle, saving Lugne and banishing 'Nessie' back into the river's icy depths.

This is the first recorded reference of the legendary Scottish beast which has gone on to become a world famous part of Scottish folklore and culture.

Now in Derry and Donegal, plans are being put in place to honour Columba to mark 1,500 years since his birth.

A series of public workshops have been held by local councils on how best to remember the saint.

Derry City and Strabane District Council said it wanted the public to help shape "a series of memorable events in 2020/21 that both celebrates and promotes our rich Columban heritage".

Northwest heritage

Dr Lacey said: "There are people in Tokyo, Moscow and all over the world studying Colmcille.

"His reputation spread across the world," he said.

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St Colmcille: Remembering a lesser-known saint

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Ask anyone around the globe who is the patron saint of Ireland and you can expect to be answered definitively and quickly. Thousands at home and millions abroad celebrate the life and legacy of St Patrick every 17 March.

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Department of History of Art and Architecture TCD

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Department of History of Art and Architecture TCD

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Take a virtual walking tour around Dublin and reflect on a selection of the objects associated with Colm Cille, and the experience of telling his story in the twenty-first century.

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A Dublin City Council Public Art Commission, supported by Dublin City Council, Difference Exchange, King's Cultural Institute, Derry-Londonderry City of Culture 2013 and Trinity College Dublin.

Principal Researcher: Dr Laura Cleaver
Curators: Ruairí Ó Cuív, Clíodhna Shaffrey and Laura Cleaver

In 2013 a group of curators, artists, writers and academics collaborated on a project exploring the legacy of the story of Colm Cille or St. Columba in Britain and Ireland. The project was part of the events generated around Derry-Londonderry City of Culture (2013) and further details can be found here. The Dublin-based section of the project examined objects now in Dublin that have been connected with Colm Cille or his cult, with a walking tour around the city culminating in a chance to see a new work, Everything's Moving Below the Surface by artist Tracy Hanna. Here some of those involved reflect on a selection of the objects associated with Colm Cille, and the experience of telling his story in the twenty-first century.

Colm Cille: Life and Legend

Colm Cille, also known as Columba, whose name means 'dove of the churches' was born in around 521, possibly at Gartan Co. Donegal. He is reputed to have founded monasteries at Derry, Durrow and Iona. A century after his death in 597, Colm Cille's life inspired Adomnán, abbot of Iona, to produce a written record of the man who was by then recognised as a saint. The saint's relics may have been brought to Ireland from Scotland in the ninth century, following Viking raids, when monks from Iona founded the monastery at Kells. A large number of objects associated with Colm Cille are now to be found in Ireland. The most prized relics would have been parts of the saint's body, but these seem to have been lost by the twelfth century, as several claims of the miraculous rediscovery of the body were made in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Contact with a saint's body was widely believed to confer holiness and thus objects associated with the saint, including his clothing and possessions, took on great significance. None of the objects included here can be proved to have had a direct connection with the saint during his lifetime, however they testify to the enduring importance of the saint, and the desire to identify objects with his life, miracles and cult.

Objects:
The Cathach of Colm Cille
Royal Irish Academy
Late sixth or early seventh century

The Cathach is one of the oldest surviving manuscripts made in Ireland and has traditionally been associated with Colm Cille. According to a sixteenth-century version of the saint's life the manuscript was written by Colm Cille who surreptitiously copied it from a book owned by St Finnian. This led to the Battle of Cúl Drebene of 561, and some accounts suggest that this, in turn, led to Colm Cille's banishment, prompting him to found the monastic community in Iona. It is unlikely that the Cathach is, in fact, a manuscript produced by Colm Cille, and it was probably made shortly after his death. However the Cathach is evidence for the careful copying of a Psalter, a key text for medieval devotion, in this period. Moreover, the seventh-century life by Adomnán, testifies to Colm Cille's involvement in writing manuscripts, and records miracles associated with these books. According to Adomnán, Colm Cille was copying a Psalter shortly before his death. The name Cathach (or 'battle book') derives from the claim that the manuscript was carried into battle, and the sixteenth-century life claims that when an army used it as a talisman they were always victorious.

The Shrine of the Cathach
National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street
Eleventh and fourteenth century

The sixteenth-century life of Colm Cille records that the Cathach was kept in a container of gold and silver that it was not permissible to open. Keeping an object out of sight added to its mystery and created an aura of holiness. The surviving shrine is made up of metal panels over a wooden core, but the box is hinged, to allow access to the manuscript within, if only for a select few. The significance of the manuscript as a relic is proclaimed through the use of precious materials and the decoration chosen. In the panel on the left, a monk prays to the saint, who is dressed as an abbot and makes a gesture of blessing, echoing that made by the larger figure of Christ. On the right is a scene of the crucifixion, whilst above angels swing censers, further emphasising the sacred nature of the scene and the object. The remaining space is filled with decoration, including foliate designs, birds, beasts and grotesques. The importance of the shrine as an object associated with the Cathach is indicated by the fact that although changes have been made over time, parts of the earlier object have been retained. Thus the side panels date from the eleventh century, but the top was replaced in the fourteenth century, with the rock crystals added at a later date.

The Book of Durrow
Trinity College Dublin
Seventh century

© Board of Trinity College Dublin

The early sources credit Colm Cille with founding the monastery at Durrow either before his departure for Iona or during a return visit to Ireland. The Book of Durrow, a copy of the four gospels, contains a now nearly illegible inscription claiming that it was written by Colm Cille. This cannot be true, as the manuscript was probably produced in the late seventh century. The volume is one of the earliest surviving manuscripts from Ireland and contains full-page images, including representations of the evangelist symbols (a man for Matthew, lion for Mark, ox for Luke and an eagle for John) as well as the gospel text. The manuscript is first recorded in Durrow in the late ninth or early tenth century, when it was placed in a shrine (now lost) that had an inscription that also made reference to the saint. In the seventeenth century the manuscript was still considered a relic of the saint. Part of the volume was immersed in water, with the water then being used to cure sick cattle.

The Book of Kells
Trinity College Dublin
Eighth century

© Board of Trinity College Dublin

The first recorded reference to the Book of Kells in the early eleventh century describes the theft of the manuscript from Kells, and refers to the manuscript as the gospel book of Colm Cille. The volume probably dates from the eighth century, thus it cannot have had a direct connection to the saint during his lifetime. However the monastery at Kells was founded by monks from Iona in the first decade of the ninth century, and the relationship between the two communities raises the possibility that the manuscript was made on Iona, leading to an association with the relics of Colm Cille. The manuscript is a copy of the four gospels and is lavishly decorated, which, taken together with errors in the text, may suggest that it was a status symbol that glorified the gospels and the community, as well as a labour of devotion, rather than a text that was carefully read and studied. On some pages text and image are intricately combined, forcing the reader to work hard understand the words. This practice resonates with the start of John's Gospel: 'In the beginning was the word, and the word was with God, and the word was God'. The intricacy of many of the designs suggests that the decoration would have taken years to complete, and the manuscript is amongst the most richly decorated from the period. Despite its fame, many questions about the Book of Kells remain, including when it came to Kells and why it was never finished.

For images of the Book of Kells click here
The Book of Kells f. 8 ©The Board of Trinity College Dublin

The Canons of Saint Basil
Chester Beatty Library
c. 900

©The Trustees of the Chester Beatty Library, Dublin

The objects associated with Colm Cille demonstrate the importance of the movement of books and other objects used in Christian practice around Europe. In the early Middle Ages the Mediterranean was an important source of Biblical texts in Latin and Greek for churches on the fringes of Europe. The practice of monasticism also has its roots in the retreats from the world by individuals and groups in the Middle East and North Africa. Like the early monks who settled in the desert, Colm Cille was credited with overcoming the challenges of wild beasts and extreme weather in the course of founding his communities of monks. As Christianity became more established in northern Europe these monastic communities in their turn sent gifts, including manuscripts, to centres such as Rome. The fragment of the Canons of St Basil was made in Egypt and has no direct connection with Colm Cille or his cult. However the similarity between the creature in the margin of the Canons of St Basil, made around the year 900, and creatures in manuscripts such as the Book of Kells is a reminder of the importance of this two-way traffic for the spread of ideas.

High Crosses at Kells
Kells

In addition to manuscripts, carved high crosses are an important surviving witness to engagement with the Bible and the skills of artists in the early Middle Ages. These crosses are usually associated with monastic sites and decorated with scenes from the Bible and the lives of saints. They may have been tools for devotion and teaching, and the subjects chosen often indicate an interest in ideas about life in the wilderness that might have had a particular resonance for monks. At Kells four crosses survive from the monastic site. The face of the 'south cross' shown here includes images of Adam and Eve, Cain and Abel, Daniel in the lions' den and Sts Paul and Anthony receiving bread from a raven. The last two scenes were both understood as demonstrating God's provision in the face adversity. An inscription at the base of the cross declares that this is the 'cross of Patrick and Colm Cille' (although this is now illegible due to weathering).

The Life of Colm Cille
Marsh's Library
Fifteenth century

The enduring importance of Colm Cille's cult is demonstrated by his inclusion in this collection of (predominantly Irish) saints lives produced in the fifteenth century. The text is a shortened adaptation of Adomnán's life of Colm Cille. Such collections of saints' lives provided materials that could be read aloud on the feast days of particular saints, and this volume may have come from a Franciscan monastery. Colm Cille's feast was celebrated on the 9th of June. This manuscript was amongst those used to compile the first printed editions of the life of Colm Cille, including the edition published by William Reeves in 1857.
See the full manuscript here
Further reading:

Adomnán of Iona, Life of St Columba (trans.) R. Sharpe (Penguin, 1995)

Manus O'Donnell, The Life of Colum Cille (ed.) B. Lacey (Dublin, 1998)

B. Cunningham & S. Fitzpatrick, Treasures of the Royal Irish Academy Library (Dublin, 2009)

B. Meehan, The Book of Durrow (Dublin, 1996)

B. Meehan, The Book of Kells (London, 2013)

P. F. Wallace & R. Ó Floinn, Treasures of the National Museum of Ireland: Irish Antiquities (Dublin, 2002)

This project could not have happened without the generous support of the contributing institutions. The organisers are very grateful to the OPW, National Museum of Ireland, Chester Beatty Library, Royal Irish Academy, and Marsh's Library.

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In 2013 a group of curators, artists, writers and academics collaborated on a project exploring the legacy of the story of Colm Cille or St. Columba in Britain and Ireland. The project was part of the events generated around Derry-Londonderry City of Culture (2013) and further details can be found here.

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In the footsteps of Saint Colmcille

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Irish Jesuit Bishop Alan McGuckian is Bishop of the diocese of Raphoe in Co. Donegal. In July 202o he set off on a 260km pilgrim trek, taking in many places in Donegal and Derry associated with St Colmcille, the well-known Irish saint who ended up founding a monastic settlement on the island of Iona, Scotland. Next year marks the 1,500 anniversary of the birth of St Colmcille (also known as St Columba) in Gartan, Co. Donegal. He is the patron saint of Derry, the border county to Donegal.

The Bishop made the journey as part of a trial run to see if it would work as an official pilgrimage trail, Slí Colmcille, that could be offered to people at home and abroad. Along the way, he was joined by members of his team who planned the walk, as well as by local people who shared some of the journey with him. At night he stayed in the house of the local parish priest.

In this interview with Pat Coyle of Irish Jesuit Communications, Bishop Alan tells the tale of his challenging journey across the roads, bogs, and hills of scenic Donegal. He recalls the memorable moments and the places of significance in the life of St Colmcille that he visited.

He also speaks of the people he met along the way, including members of the Church of Ireland who came out to greet him and who also lay justifiable claim to the saint. And he concludes by telling of the impact the pilgrimage made on him as a member of the Jesuits, whose founder St Ignatius, travelled many hundreds of miles around Europe 'alone and on foot'.

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In the footsteps of St Colmcille - Jesuits Ireland

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Irish Jesuit Bishop Alan McGuckian is Bishop of the diocese of Raphoe in Co. Donegal. In July 202o he set off on a 260km pilgrim trek, taking in many places in Donegal and Derry associated with St Colmcille, the well-known Irish saint who ended up founding a monastic settlement on the island of Iona, Scotland.

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Drumhome Heritage Society is a cross-community Society, founded in June 2015.

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Drumhome Heritage Society is a cross-community Society, founded in June 2015.

Our mission includes;

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(a) The study and preservation of the historical sites of Drumhome, and the provision of information at such sites.

(b) The arrangement of visits to places of interest and the delivery of lectures thereon.

(c) The encouragement of public interest in the history, folklore and the genealogy of the parish.

(d) The creation and maintenance of a website to explain and promote the rich heritage of the area.

Drumhome Heritage Walk and Historical Talk August 2018

Saint Assicus was a friend of St Patrick whom Saint Patrick converted to Christianity. He was a skilled metal worker and made chalices, patens, and metal book-covers for the churches founded by Patrick.

He is buried in Racoo graveyard.

The Cathach was a book of old testament psalms said to be written by St Colmcille. It is the oldest surviving manuscript in Ireland and the second oldest collection of psalms in the world. The Cathach was kept in safekeeping at Ballymagroarty Monastery by Clan MacRobhartaigh. Since 1842 the Cathach has been housed in the Royal Irish Academy and the Shrine of the Cathach (pictured above), an ornate box designed and made in the 11th century, can be seen in the National Museum of Ireland.

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Drumhome Heritage Society is a cross-community Society, founded in June 2015. Our mission includes; ​ (a) The study and preservation of the historical sites of Drumhome, and the provision of information at such sites. (b) The arrangement of visits to places of interest and the delivery of lectures thereon.

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Betha Colaim chille by Manus O' Donnell 

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Betha Colaim chille by Manus O' Donnell 

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Book digitized by Google from the library of Harvard University and uploaded to the Internet Archive by user tpb.

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In 2020 the Internet Archive has seen unprecedented use-and we need your help. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, our bandwidth demand skyrocketed. Right now we're getting over 1.5 million daily unique visitors and storing more than 70 petabytes of data. We build and maintain all our own systems, but we don't charge for access, sell user information, or run ads. Instead, we rely on individual generosity to fund our infrastructure; we're powered by donations averaging $32.

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Betha Colaim chille: Life of Columcille : Manus O'Donnell : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive

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In 2020 the Internet Archive has seen unprecedented use-and we need your help. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, our bandwidth demand skyrocketed. Right now we're getting over 1.5 million daily unique visitors and storing more than 70 petabytes of data. We build and maintain all our own systems, but we don't charge for access, sell user information, or run ads.

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This film explores the  historical link between the Loch Ness Monster and Lough Foyle. R. Johnston

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The Loch Ness Monster and St Columba / Colmcille of Derry

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The Pilgrim Paths of Ireland are a collection of ancient religious routes with well-documented claims of having been used by pilgrims since ancient times. These ageless trails continue to inspire our lives.

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Gleann Cholm Cille (Colm Cille Valley) is a broad and secluded glen in western Donegal with one of the finest collections of pillar stones anywhere in Ireland. These are spread over a wide area of the valley floor and are located at the fourteen stations on the 3.4 mile (5.4 Km) route (there is also an alternative 4.5 mile route).

Turas Colm Cille is the name given to this pilgrimage path located in Gleann Cholm Cille. An Turas is conducted by locals and visitors alike annually on St Colm Cille's day, June 9 th, 'An Turas' is performed barefoot around 15 standing stones and Cairns including the saint's own Church and Bed as well as the large Cairn at his well. It takes around three hours to complete and the first Turas is usually performed at midnight of 'Lá an Turais' (Day of the Journey).

Although some of the stations can be visited all year round, the practice of pilgrimage is based on the willingness of local landowners to allow pilgrims to enter their lands on Sundays between June 7th and August 31st each year. The pilgrimage itself takes place annually on July 9th, the feast day of St. Colm Cille. Participation on the day is an uplifting experience, bringing one back into the atmosphere of the old Irish pilgrimage as practiced a thousand years ago.
Tá Turas Colm Cille suite i gcroí-lár Ghleann Cholm Cille agus siúltar é cosnocht ar an 9ú Meitheamh gach bliain. Tá 15 stad ann agus a gcuid paidreacha féin le rá ag gach ceann acu. Tógann sé tri huaire a chloig leis an Turas seo a dhéanamh.
Not only are prayers recited in beautiful Donegal Irish, but each station has its own dignified and time-honoured ritual. For example, the pilgrim must lie down on St. Colm Cille's bed and turn over three times in a recumbent position before taking some earth from under the bed, while still lying down, as a protection against fire and a cure for other ailments. The pilgrimage traditionally starts at the nineteenth-century St. Culumba's Church in Gleann Cholm Cille. In due course, the route proceeds to Beefan, the most westerly point on the route.

From Beefan, the pilgrim begins the return journey down Mullach na Cainte, 'the slope of conversation', traditionally the only place along the route where pilgrims are allowed to talk. The route then leads through a marsh - where exposed pavement stones may have formed part of the ancient pilgrimage road - and returns to the starting point via Drumroe.

Eolas / Information

Oideas Gael, Gleann Cholm Cille, Co Dhún na nGall

Fón/Phone: 074 97 30248 / 087 9173106

Rphost/Email: liam@fiontrai.ie

Web: www.oideasgael.ie - Direct link to Turas Colm Cille: http://www.glencolmcille.ie/turas.htm

. Please note this pilgrim walk is only open to the public between June 9 and August 15)

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Gleann Cholm Cille (Colm Cille Valley) is a broad and secluded glen in western Donegal with one of the finest collections of pillar stones anywhere in Ireland. These are spread over a wide area of the valley floor and are located at the fourteen stations on the 3.4 mile (5.4 Km) route (there is also an alternative 4.5 mile route).

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Colourful powerpoint suitable for primary school ages.

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This PowerPoint tells the story of St. Colmcille, one of of Ireland's patron Saints. Tags in this resource: ...

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(Primary Schools) Book a virtual lesson with a heritage expert.

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Subject(s):

Science, History, Geography

Curriculum Strands:

Local Studies (History), Early people and ancient societies (History), Continuity and change over time (History), Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science), Living things (Science)

Counties catered for:

Donegal

Classes catered for:

All Classes
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School visits (virtual)

As Donegal has special links with St Columba Cary has frequently led place based history days around the history & folklore of this national saint.

2021 will be a very special anniversary of his birth in Gartan in 521AD so Cary has chosen this topic for her first virtual visit.

Topic: St Colmcille - fact & folklore
Classes: 3rd to 6th classes

Materials: Paper & pencils, coloured pencils or felt tips.

Session 1 (pre-recorded, 17 mins)
A slide show with voiceover covering the life of Colmcille. There are pauses to ask children about references to the saint in their local area & to have a go at a few celtic knots. The recording differentiates between fact & folklore as well as artifacts & built heritage connected to the saint.

Children are then asked to:

1. check out the Schools Folklore project & look for stories written by children from their school in the 1930s. These can be stories or traditions about Colmcille or any other local saint.

2. They can also look for local references to the saint in place names or names of local sports clubs for example.

3. Ask at home for any stories or connections to sites in the area.

4. Work on the knot patterns.

5. Write a poem about a place they love taking their lead from Colmcille.
Session 2 (live, approximately 1 hour)
Worksheets & teacher's notes:
Follow-up live session for the children to show what they have done & what they have learned. If there is time there will be a few more stories from Cary & will finish with a quiz.

Teacher support document includes a transcript of the recording with additional information and advice on when to pause the recording.

Celtic knot patterns.

School visits (on-site)

Before each school visit Cary and the class teacher discuss the outcomes that the teacher hopes for the children. Cary can recommend sites local to the school for particular historic periods or particular wildlife habitats. She can also help children explore their own school grounds and set up projects to encourage biodiversity around the school. Topics include exploring biodiversity, healthy soil, water harvesting, composting, understanding the role of mini-beasts & making room for them as well as gardening in the school grounds.

Before visiting a historic site Cary and the children discuss the place they are going to visit using images, artefacts, timelines and the childrens' own stories. This discussion makes their exploration more self-directed and absorbing when they get on site. Back in the classroom, Cary uses a variety of activities including drawing and model building to record and interpret what the children discovered at the site. Depending on the time available she can also teach the children traditional crafts such as carding, spinning, felting and clay work where appropriate.

Longer term projects are made possible through the 5-series visit.

Cary is the author of The Traveller's Guide to Sacred Ireland and has travelled around Ireland photographing and writing about the ancient monuments in our landscape. She is involved in the development of the Ards Walled Garden Community Project and this year (2017) is developing a childrens' garden on the site.

Testimonials

"A fantastic experience from beginning to end. Cary had all the hard work done with the trip well researched and was a fabulous guide working exactly at the level of the pupils. Local history came alive. There was a great mix of hands-on and listening. It was great to have a whole day of outdoor learning in November. Even after our trip Cary thought of us and sent on more maps so we could carry on our work and research."

"Carey was an excellent facilitator. The children learned a great deal from composting to planting seeds and transplanting seedlings, weeding and harvesting. they also had the opportunity to observe the lifecycle of the butterfly. Carey used age appropriate terminology, wonderful resources and ensured our school was involved in a local community project - the Walled Garden in Ards. It culminated in an open day where parents were invited to see the children's work."

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"Carey was very imaginative, practical and knowledgeable in her field of expertise. She was very kind and patient when working with the children."

"Pupils and staff really enjoyed the nature of this visit. Cary was full of interesting information and facts. She drew knowledge from the pupils by using excellent questioning techniques. Pupils really engaged with the hands on element to the day."

"A fantastic day from start to finish. Cary is just a fountain of knowledge. Cary was extremely well organised and interacted very well with all pupils. A really enjoyable day." - Gartan NS

"Such an enjoyable day for the pupils. They learned so much and absolutely loved the day. We were blessed.with beautiful weather so it made the outdoors part even more enjoyable. The children were really hands on and got stuck into building the Minibeast hotel at the end of the day. Cary was really knowledgeable and had the patience of a saint with our very excited 2nd & 3rd pupils. Thank you to Cary & all in Heritage in Schools"

"Cary was fantastic. She is very knowledgeable and has a great rapport with kids. We are extremely happy with our visits to date." - Ballymore National School

"We had a wonderful day with Cary. We marked out a natural habitat of bog land on our school grounds. We planted lots of seeds etc. We transplanted some seedlings into the veggie garden. We examined the natural habitats of the school grounds."

"Pupils and staff really enjoyed the nature of this visit. Cary was full of interesting information and facts. She drew knowledge from the pupils by using excellent questioning techniques. Pupils really engaged with the hands on element to the day."

"Fantastic visit. Brought the topic to life for the children. Integrated so much including art/ drama/ science/history. Very knowledgeable expert with a wide range of expertise and resources." - Anon.

"Cary is the best local historian, a wealth of knowledge and able to capture children's attention and maintain focus on topic. We love Cary's relaxed and gentle manner, very professional and always willing to share resources! Always a plus!" - Gartan NS, Donegal

"An excellent experience for the school community. Cary is warm and child focused facilitator and a pleasure to work with." - Ballymore NS, Donegal

Additional Information

Caters for Special Needs

Provides practical/ hands-on activities

Provides field trips

Contact Details

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Cary Meehan - Heritage Experts | Heritage in Schools

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Subject(s): Science, History, Geography Curriculum Strands: Local Studies (History), Early people and ancient societies (History), Continuity and change over time (History), Environmental awareness and care (Geography/Science), Living things (Science) Counties catered for: Donegal Classes catered for: All Classes Book a Virtual Visit As Donegal has special links with St Columba Cary has frequently led place based history days around the history & folklore of this national saint.

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Sa chomhad seo tá acmhainní oideachais atá dírithe ar pháistí sna ranganna sinsearacha sa bhunscoil. Oireann na hacmhainní do cheantar ar bith sa tír.

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Quiz beag duit! N. Carroll

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What is King Niall of the Nine Hostages, the great great grandfather of St Colmcille, famous for?

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Saint Columba, June 9th and the monastery of Durrow. ‘To every cow her calf, so to every book its copy.’ by Sarah McCann. A fascinating and detailed account.

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Columba, son of Eithne, daughter of Mac Naue, and Fedelmid mac Ferguso, is one of the most important Irish saints, and the strength of his saint's cult in the centuries after his death on June 9th, 597 attests to this. Columba, or Colmcille, meaning the dove of the church, was born around 520 as a prominent member of the Cenél Conaill, This was a branch of the northern Uí Néill, a powerful dynastic grouping tracing its origins back to Niall of the Nine Hostages and based in north-western Ireland (Tír Chonaill takes its name from the Cenél Conaill). Columba's influence extended into political matters as well as the religious sphere, but he is remembered as a monastic saint above all else. Like most early Irish saints, he was never formally canonised.

Sources for Columba's life
We have a range of sources for details on Columba's life, career, and legacy. The earliest of these is the account by Cumméne, monk of Iona and abbot of the foundation 657-669, who wrote his Book on the Miracles of Saint Columba (Liber de Virtutibus Sancti Columbae) in the second quarter of the seventh century. An excerpt from this account is in some of the manuscripts of Adomnán's Life of Columba (Vita Columbae), including the earliest manuscript of that text, the Schaffhausen, Stadtbibliothek, Gen.1, written c. 700, and Cumméne's record of the saint's miracles is evidence of early efforts to preserve traditions about Columba.

Image citation: Schaffhausen, Stadtbibliothek, Gen. 1 : Adamnanus de Iona, Vita Columbae. https://www.europeana.eu/portal/record/9200211/en_list_one_sbs_0001.html. Adamnanus, de Iona. e-codices - http://www.e-codices.unifr.ch/en/list/one/sbs/0001. CC BY-NC - http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/

The Old Irish Elegy of Colmcille (Amrae Coluimb Chille) is another source which contains interesting, if at times confusing, details about the saint; it has recently been dated to the ninth-century, though with probably far earlier origins. The Irish annals' links with Iona also ensure that information on Columba, though not contemporary, was inserted. The most famous and most detailed resource is Adomnán's Latin Vita Columbae, a masterful piece of hagiography that helped to solidify Columba's saintliness for a wide audience and was probably written to commemorate the first centenary of the saint's death.
To add to these early sources, we also have a twelfth-century Irish life of Columba which includes a wealth of names and places associated with the saint (some of which may even be accurate!), and the sixteenth-century Life (Betha Colaim Chille) by Maghnus Ó Domhnaill further celebrates him in Irish. These later texts locate Columba's birthplace as Gartan, Co. Donegal, and Ó Domhnaill's text describes the famous white clay associated with that place. It is said to have been created by the blood lost by Columba's mother as she gave birth to him and offers protection against burning, drowning and labour pains to those who carry or eat(!) it. Little bags of it are still to be found in cars Donegal.

Columba's monastic career
Columba is said to have been an excellent student, mentored by Bishop Finnian of Moville in Co. Down and Mo Bí at Glasnevin. He is credited with founding a multitude of monasteries, from Kells to Derry and everywhere in between, though only Durrow in Offaly and Iona off the coast of Mull in Scotland can be reliably attributed to him personally.
Later stories state that Columba left Ireland in 563 due to an error of judgement: without permission, he made a copy of a Gospel book belonging to Finnian and refused to hand over the copy. The matter came before the Uí Néill king, Diarmait mac Cerbaill, who, in a pronouncement that has been described as the first copyright reference, famously declared:

'To every cow her calf, so to every book its copy.'
Columba's refusal to accept this ruling is said to have led to a great battle and, as penance for the lives lost, Columba was exiled from Ireland. Contemporary sources make no reference to this story, and he almost certainly left Ireland in 563 as a voluntary peregrinus (exile or pilgrim), founding a monastery on the small island of Iona where he acted as abbot, prophet and spiritual leader until his death. Iona was part of the kingdom of Dál Riata, based around Argyll in Scotland, and Irish in language and culture. Although he had left the island of Ireland behind, Columba lived very much in an Irish milieu.

The monastery of Durrow
Columba founded the monastery of Durrow before his move to Iona, probably in the 550s. Situated (though un-signposted) just off the N52, the site is owned by the OPW and accessible to the public. The church now standing on the site dates from the eighteenth century, and houses the excellent carved Durrow high cross. A short walk through a field brings you to Colmcille's Well. In Irish called Dearmach or Dairmagh, the Latin name used for the foundation is a direct translation - Campus Roborum, meaning plain of oaks. Although it cannot be confirmed that the Book of Durrow now held in Trinity College Dublin was made at Durrow, it was certainly located there by the tenth century and is strongly connected to that foundation. Bede, the eighth-century Anglo-Saxon historian whose appreciation for Irish Christianity is evident in his work, describes Durrow as monasterium nobile in Hibernia (a respected monastery in Ireland), and its renown travelled well beyond the Irish midlands in the early medieval period.

Adomnán's Life of Columba
Durrow is a likely location for the early career of Adomnán, distant cousin to Columba and ninth abbot of Iona. Adomnán was the promulgator of the Cáin Adomnáin (the Lex innocentium, or law of the innocents) at a synod in the Offaly monastery of Birr in 697. This law gained a list of notable religious and political guarantors who agreed to uphold its rules regarding the protection of non-combatants, among other things. He also wrote a widely read, widely copied and widely distributed Life of Columba in Latin.
Durrow appears in that life when Columba, located on Iona, wept as he could see in a vision the abbot of Durrow, a cousin of his named Laisran, working the Durrow brethren too hard in harsh winter weather. Luckily, Laisran miraculously felt his cousin's distant disapproval and released his monks from their tasks (Book 1.23).

Adomnán's work covers the usual gamut of saintly achievements, from prophesying kingly succession to miraculous visions and healing the sick. Some of the miracles described are more interesting than others, however. He manages to persuade a woman who hates the sight of her husband that she actually loves him above all else (Bk 2.42), and blessed Iona to ensure no poisonous reptiles or snakes could ever hurt anyone on it (Bk 2.29), in a story reminiscent of earlier tales that made similar claims about Ireland.
Adomnán's life also contains the earliest reference to the Loch Ness monster (Bk 2.28). Adomnán writes that Columba was crossing the River Ness when he saw some locals burying a man who had been mauled by Nessie, here called a water monster - a bestia aquatalis. Columba could not let this lie, and asked Lugne Mocumin, whose recurring nosebleed he had cured in a previous, more mundane, miracle (Bk 2.7), to swim across to fetch a boat. His companion did not hesitate to be used as bait and, when the beast predictably emerged to attack, Columba drove him back underwater with the sign of the cross and some strong words.

Adomnán ends his work with a reflection on Columba's importance, noting that though he lived on a tiny and remote island, his fame had rightfully spread throughout Ireland and Britain, into Spain and Gaul and, finally, as far as Rome itself, the chief of cities.
As one of the patron saints of Ireland, Columba's significance continues to this day. Every year on June 9th, Columba's feast day, Durrow parish commemorates the saint with pattern day celebrations. It is the traditional day that local children make their first communion and, this year, mass will be held at the high cross at noon before a procession down to Colmcille's Well.

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Saint Columba, June 9th and the monastery of Durrow . 'To every cow her calf, so to every book its copy.' By Sarah McCann

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Columba, son of Eithne, daughter of Mac Naue, and Fedelmid mac Ferguso, is one of the most important Irish saints, and the strength of his saint's cult in the centuries after his death on June 9th, 597 attests to this. Columba, or Colmcille, meaning the dove of the church, was born around 520 as a...

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Stories From Ireland’s Wild Atlantic Way

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Chapter  23 : The Birthplace of St. Colmcille

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Create your own St Colmcille at the Battle of Dreimhne themed poster,

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Create your own St Colmcille at the Battle of Dreimhne themed poster, display banner, bunting, display lettering, labels, Tolsby frame, story board, colouring sheet, card, bookmark, wordmat and many other classroom essentials in Twinkl Create using this, and thousands of other handcrafted illustrations.

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St Leonard (St Léonard-de-Noblat) was a sixth century Frankish hermit. He went on to become a very popular medieval saint. The saint's primary shrine was found at Noblat in France. Over the centuries vast numbers of people from all over Europe made pilgrimage here. Devotion to the saint was enhanced by his shrine's location on the Via Vézelay - a well trodden pilgrimage route- to the St James in Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

Pilgrim badge from the shrine of St Leonard at Saint-Leonard-de-Noblat, France dating to the 13th-14th century (https://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/28996.html)

St Leonard was the patron saint of imprisoned people and women in labour. Medieval descriptions of his shrine recall that it was adorned with offerings of iron chains and shackles left by pilgrims who believed they were released them from their captivity due to the saint's intercession (Gerson et al 1998, 47).

St Leonards cult also came to Ireland but never achieve a widespread popularity. A holy well dedicated to St Leonard can be still be found in the village of Dunnamaggin Co Kilkenny.

I have come across only two other dedications to the saint. The first, St. Leonard's Priory, a monastery of Fratres Cruciferi or Crutched Friars, was established in the medieval town of Dundalk in the twelfth century. The priory was, founded by Bertram or Nicholas de Verdun and was situated in the grounds of the present county library. The second dedication was located in the medieval town of Waterford where a chapel dedicated to St Leonard was located in the Benedictine priory. The saint's feast day was also recorded in The Book of Obits and Martyrology of Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin where the last entry for November 6th reads

Et sancti Leonardi abbatis et confesson Crosswaith 1844, 71

St Leonard's cult probably arrived in Dunnamaggin area with the Anglo-Normans. The holy well is located a short distance from the ruins of the medieval parish church of Dunnamaggin, also dedicated to St Leonard.

The 1st edition ordnance survey 6 inch map for the area tentatively point to another cult associated with the well. The well is clearly marked as St Rynagh's well on the map.

Rynagh is the anglicisation of Ríoghnach. The saint may be the early medieval female saint, Rioghnach of Kilrainy in Co Kildare. Interestingly the contemporary Ordnance Survey Letters of Kilkenny written in 1839 only associated the well with St Leonard and makes no mention of St Rioghnach at all. She is not mentioned in Carrigan's The history and antiquities of the diocese of Ossory either or in any local folklore sources.

The well is located in a field beside the main road through Dunnamaggin village. The field can be easily accessed through a style in the boundary wall.

The well is enclosed by a circular hedge and a small metal gate provides access to the interior. The hedge respects the line of an earlier circular enclosure, which was ' almost levelled' by the 1900's (Carrigan 1905, 38).

The holy well is a natural spring. Its waters fill a circular stone lined hollow set flush to the ground. On one side there is a over flow which takes the water into a stone drain.

The well is over looked by a modern statue niche now filled by a metal cross bearing the saint's name and a number of mature trees.

Some years ago the well was restored by the current land owner and a local committee. It is very clear that the well and surrounding area are maintained on a regularly basis, the day I visited the grass had been recently cut.

The schools collections, local folklore and antiquarian sources record a number of traditions associated with the well. Like many other Irish wells it was said the water would never boil.

Another tradition held that St Leonard provided protection to local people from lightening.

St. Leonard prayed that no one within three mile of Dunnamaggin would be struck by lightning. His prayer was granted.
The Schools' Collection, Volume 0853, Page 069

The well was once the focus of great devotion but was in decline by the mid-19th century. According the Ordnance Survey Letters 1839

There was a patron held here formerly, on Saint Leonard's day, but what day that was nobody now remembers.
Ordnance Survey Letters [92-93]

It is not entirely true that the saints feast day was forgotten the schools collection for Dunamaggin school from the 1930s mention that

until recent years a pattern used be held there annually on the 6th November.
The Schools' Collection, Volume 0853, Page 068

The 6th of November is the feast day of the saint. The schools essays for Newtown, Kells also note

The well was visited by people on the second or third Sunday in November and there are prayers said there by the people who visit it.
The Schools' Collection, Volume 0858B, Page 02

Pilgrimages were also made in the summer months

Kilmaggany people visited it (St Leonard's Well) during the month of July and took a drink of the water & washed their feet in the stream which flows from the well. It was believed to cure pains in the limbs.
The Schools' Collection, Volume 0852, Page 294

Other cures are associated with the well's waters include a cure for sore eyes.

The water would cure sore eyes when washed three times on different days. There is a big flag-stone at the side of the well.
The Schools' Collection, Volume 0852, Page 295

The pilgrim landscape extends beyond the well and includes a tree called St. Leonard's Tree. I didn't have time on my visit to find the tree. In times gone by pilgrims visited the tree as part of their pilgrimage rounds. Carrigan noted that mass used to be celebrated beneath it. Like a number of other holy trees it was believed to have protective properties

Until recent years natives of the place would never think of emigrating without bearing away with them a sprig or chip cut from Crownsanleeanarth [name for the tree], as a preservative against shipwreck on their voyage to foreign lands.
Carrigan 1905, 38

During the cholera epidemic of 1832

people carried about with them little scraps from the bush to save themselves from the prevailing epidemic.
Carrigan 1905, 38

In the past people often turned to holy wells in times of crisis and outbreaks of disease. The well house at Abbeys well, in the parish of Kilshannig in North Cork was built in the 1870's to give thanks for the saint expelling disease from the parish. Over the door is a stone plaque that reads "St, Abigal Expelling The Plague A.D. 1872,"

Carrigan in 1905 notes the order of the former rounds undertaken by pilgrims.

The pilgrimage used to begin within the enclosure, at the well ; was continued thence to the road ; and then along the road, to the present chapel, where it ended.
Carrigan 1905, 38

This is confirmed by the schools collections.

Rounds were made there long ago - people used go from the Well to the Church.
The Schools' Collection, Volume 0852, Page 293

An alabaster statue of the saint was discovered at well in the 1800s and was then given to the care of St. Kieran's College but is now in possession of the current owner of well.

In 1800, Brennans found a stone statue, which they kept in Dunnamaggan, in the well. It is about one foot high & represents a bishop dressed in sacred vestments & holding a staff in his left hand. The head was broken off & lost. The statue is the same as that on the foot of the Dunamaggan Cross. In 1875, Mr James Brennan handed it over to St Kieran's College Museum where it is still to be seen
The Schools' Collection, Volume 0852, Page 293

Carrigan noted that after the statues discovered before it was given to St Kierans College it was used to swear upon. There are many medieval references to medieval statues and relics being used in oath taking.

... in cases of dispute among the neighbours, the contending parties were accustomed to make declarations with hand placed upon this statue, believing that testimony thus given had all the binding force of an oath.
Carrigan 1905, 38

The radio station KCLR has a made a lovely radio documentary about the well which is worth taking a listen to.
Biography
Carrigan, W. 1905. The history and antiquities of the diocese of Ossory. Dublin : Sealy, Bryers & Walker.

Crosswaite, J. 1844. The Book of Obits and Martyrology of the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity: Commonly Called Christ Church. Dublin. For the Irish Archaeology Society.

Curran, A. 1971."The Priory of St. Leonard, Dundalk." Journal of the County Louth Archaeological and Historical Society, vol. 17, no. 3, 131-140.

Gearson, P., Krochalis, J., Shaver-Crandell, A. and Stones, A. 1998. The Pilgrim's Guide to Santiago de Compostela: A Critical Edition. London: Harvey Miller.

Hennig, J. 1944. "St. Leonard in Ireland." Journal of the County Louth Archaeological Society, vol. 10, no. 4, 297-301.

Herity, M. (ed) 2003, Ordnance Survey Letters Kilkenny. Dublin: Four Masters Press.
Website
Schools Collections https://www.duchas.ie
https://kclr96fm.com/documentary/episode-7-st-leonards-well/embed/#?secret=uFn1FTo1Sl https://collections.museumoflondon.org.uk/online/object/28996.html

Posted in Tagged Folklore, Holy Well Dunnamaggin, Holy Wells Co Killkenny, Pilgrimage Kilkenny Holy Trees, Holy Well, Patron Day, Pattern Day, Uncategorized

In 1472 the Irish Chieftain Finghín Ó'Driceoil (d. 1472) and his son Tadhg made a pilgrimage to the shrine of St James at Santiago de Compostela in Spain.

O'Driscoll More, Fineen, the son of Maccon, son of Maccon, son of Fineen, son of Donough God, died in his own house, after having performed the pilgrimage of St. James, and his son Teige died penitently one month after the death of his father, after having returned from the same pilgrimage.
Annals of the Four Masters 1472

Finghín resided at Baltimore castle (Dún na Séad) in the town of Baltimore Co Cork.

The castle was built by the Ó'Driceoil clan on the site of an earlier castle constructed in '1215 by the Anglo-Norman, Sleynie. It was the primary residence and centre of administration for the trading and piratical activities of the Ó'Driceoil family'. The castle is now restored and is a tourist attraction. It is a wonderful place to visit.

Given the Ó'Driceoil clan's connections with trade and the sea, it is likely that Finghín and Tadhg used one of the family owned ships to sail to La Coruña. They would have continued to the shrine of St James at Santiago de Compostela on foot.

Pilgrimage to Santiago was for many of Ireland's medieval elite a family tradition. We know that Finghín and Tadhg were following in the footsteps of at least one family member know as the Ó'Driceoil Óg. He had made pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela in the year 1445, but died during the return voyage from Spain.

Finghín and Tadhg survived the journey to and from the shrine of St James but Finghín died 'in his own house' upon his return home and Tadhg died one month later. Perhaps the stresses of the journey had exacerbated underlying medical conditions.

The sudden death of Finghín and Tadhg's was no doubt a shock to the Ó'Driceoil family, they may have gained some comfort from knowing that the father and son had gained indulgences during their pilgrimage to St James shrine. It was widely believed at the time that an indulgence would have shortening the souls time in purgatory.

For anyone who wants to find out more about the medieval Irish pilgrims who travelled to the shrine of St James at Santiago de Compostela you can check out my new book Journeys of Faith Stories of Pilgrimage from Medieval Ireland

I also highly recommend the book Medieval Irish Pilgrims to Sanitago de Compostela By Bernadette Cunningham.

Posted in Tagged Historical Sources, Finghín Ó Drisceoil, Irish medieval pilgrimage, Irish medieval pilgrims to Stantiago de Compostela, Journeys of Faith, Tadhg Ó Drisceoil Medieval Pilgrimage, Uncategorized

St David's holy well -Tobar Chinnín Dháithí - is one of my favourite holy wells in the whole country. This isnt a statement I make likely.

The main thing I love about the well is that it is very fortunate to have escaped the over use of cement that many Irish holy wells experienced in the 1950's or some of the bad "restoration" work of the 1980's-2000's - the holy well at Brulee, Co Limerick immediately springs to mind. The charm of St David's holy well is its simplicity. When you stand at the waters edge there is a real connection with the past and you can imagine your experience is very similar to pilgrims 100 or 200 years ago. The trees, flowers and bush that surround the well also help to connect the visitor to the natural world of which holy well are very much rooted.

Grove of trees surrounding St David's Holy Well at Woodhouse

St David's well is situated in an out of the way grove of trees on private land. In appearance it is very like the holy well at St Berriherts Kyl e but more compact.

St David's Holy Well in early March 2016

The well itself is a large spring that fills a circular pool defined by a low stone wall, set flush with the ground. The water bubbles up through white sands on the base, before escaping into an over flow channel that takes it the water from the pool into a nearby stream.

It is said "The well never dried even in the warmest summer" (The Schools' Collection, Volume 0643, Page 155).

The bubbling waters are magical and I have sat for long stretches of time here just watching the water and listening to the rustle of leaves and chatter of birds. The wells beauty is enhanced by a large oak tree that cast shadows over the water. When I last visited here in March 2016, it was surrounded by a thick carpet of yellow daffodils.

It is a round well and there are trees growing all around it. The people hang the tokens on the trees. The statue of St David is erected there. There is a lovely sand bubbling up out of the well. It is so clear you would imagine it was silver.
The Schools' Collection, Volume 0643, Page 167

Large oak tree growing beside St David's holy well at Woodhouse

Unusually the well is dedicated to St David the patron saint of Wales whose feast day is the 1st of March. The south-east of Ireland has long established connections with Wales. St David and his monastery (at St Davids in Wales) are mentioned in several Lives of Irish saints. St Finbarr of Cork is said to have visited St David on his return from Rome, while SS Aidan of Ferns, Finnian of Clonard, along with Scothin and Senanus, are all said to have studied at the monastic school at St David's.

St David's holy well at Woodhouse is located in the Diocese of Waterford and Lismore. The patron of the diocese is St Declan of Ardmore who also spent time in Wales in the company of St David.

On one of these occasions Declan paid a visit to the holy bishop of the Britons whose name was David at the church which is called Killmuine where the bishop dwelt beside the shore of the sea which divides Ireland from Britain. The bishop received Declan with honour and he remained there forty days, in affection and joy, and they sang Mass each day and they entered into a bond of charity which continued between themselves and their successors for ever afterwards. On the expiration of the forty days Declan took leave of David giving him a kiss in token of peace and set out himself and his followers to the shore of the sea to take ship for Ireland.
Power, Rev. P. 1914. Life of St. Declan of Ardmore, 25

A large statue of a very serious St David, dressed as a bishop, sits a plinth of concrete overlooking the holy well. The date 1923 is carved into the base.

Statue of St David at St David's Holy Well Woodhouse

This statue was a gift, donated by Br Benigus Tracy in this year having experieneced a cure (NFSC, An Eaglais, Ceapach Chuinn (roll number 1395) .

The wells waters are said to have healing properties. The waters are especially beneficial to those suffering from headaches or migraines. The connection with healing of complaints the head is reflected in the Irish name for the well, "Tobar Chinnín Dháithí" translates roughly as the 'Well of David's Little Head'.

St David's Holy Well Woodhouse

According to the Schools essays to obtain relief from sickness pilgrims had to walked three times around the well saying whatever prayer they wished (An Eaglais, Ceapach Chuinn (roll number 1395). Other accounts tell us that the pilgrim were to drink water from the well and rub it to their forehead to obtain the cure.

three sups of the water is taken. People leave a medal or a bead or string, there as a token of getting cured.
Mount Stewart, Ceapach Chuinn (roll number 0643)

In the past the well was visited throughout the year but a special pilgrimage was made on the 1st of March the feast day of St David. Pilgrims in the 19th century were said to 'hang tokens on the trees' around the well ( Mount Stewart, Ceapach Chuinn (roll number 0643). The tradition of leaving offerings has died out some local people still visit the well on the 1st of March.

Like many other Irish holy wells, folklore relating to St David's well suggests it is now in a secondary location.

People say that the well was further up the field. One day Major Fitzgeralds washed his face in the well, and from that second onwards it started, to dry until it was dry as the field. Then it sprang up in the field further down, and it is there to this day.
An Eaglais, Ceapach Chuinn (roll number 1395)

This is not the only holy well dedicated to St David in the south-east. Another more well known well one can be found at St David's holy well at Olygate in Wexford. These two wells are reminders of the long established l links between the south-east of Ireland and Wales and the spread of the cult of medieval saints.

Thanks to Dr Ann Buckley for translating Irish language material in Schools Folklore Essays relating to the well.

Bibliography

An Eaglais, Ceapach Chuinn (roll number 1395) http://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4428119

Mount Stewart, Ceapach Chuinn (roll number 0643) http://www.duchas.ie/en/cbes/4428120

Moore M. 1999. Archaeological Inventory of County Waterford. Dublin: Stationery Office, 203.
ITA. (Irish Tourist Authority Survey )[1941-45] Topographical and General Survey, 122.
Power, Rev P. 1907. 'Place-Names of the Decies', JWSEIAS Vol. 10, 193.
Power, Rev P. 1914. Life of St. Declan of Ardmore, and Life of St. Mochuda of Lismore, (edited from ms. in Library of Royal Irish Academy). London : Irish Texts Society.
http://irelandsholywells.blogspot.com/2013/03/saint-davids-holy-well-tinakilly-county.html

Posted in Tagged Folklore, Holy wells and cures, Holy Wells of Waterford, St David's Well Woodhouse Holy Well, Uncategorized

Inislounaght Abbey was one of the great Cistercian monasteries of Co Tipperary. Unlike other well preserved examples like Kilcooley, Holycross or Hore Abbey little survives above ground.

Entrance to St Patrick's Church if Ireland Marlfield

Inislounaght would have had the same ground plan as other contemporary Cistercian monasteries with a central open cloister surrounding by monastic building with the church located on north side of the cloister. We can only speculate as to its size or choice of windows, doors and carvings Was it as elaborately decorated as Holycross abbey?

Ground plan of Medieval Cistercian Monastery

Inislounaght once stood at or close to the site of St Patrick's Church of Ireland church, at Marlfield village on the outskirts of Clonmel on the northern bank of the river Suir. The large stone buildings of the medieval settlement are long gone replaced by a church and historic graveyard.

St Patrick's Church of Ireland church, Marlfield, Clonmel.

St Patrick's church, built in 1818, is an elegant building dominated by a crenellated tower. Unfortunately the church was locked when I visited this week. I have been inside before many years ago and I remember that the building incorporates fragments of the earlier monastic church, the most prominent being a Romanesque doorway rebuilt into the interior of west wall.

Notice board detailing some of the history of the abbey

Inislounaght was founded as a daughter house of Mellifont in the year 1148 but shortly afterwards became affiliated with Monasteranenagh Abbey in Co Limerick . The monastery went on to have daughter houses in Fermoy, Co Cork; Corcomroe, Co Clare and Glanawydan, Co Waterford (Stalley 1987, 246). A detailed history of the monastery can be found in Ó Conbhuidhe's The Cistercian Abbeys of Tipperary. The monks here would have also been in control of pilgrimage at near by St Patrick's holy well.

In the year 1540 the monastery was dissolved and by 1746 the monastic church was described as being 'in ruins' (Smith 1746, 48).

St Patrick's Church of Ireland church at Marlfield

Glimpse of what the monastery may have looked like can be seen in the surrounding historic graveyard. A very prominent example being a 16th- /early 17th-century tapering graveslab incorporated into the graveyard wall.

" The slab is decorated, in relief, with a seven-armed segmental-headed cross with fleur-de-lis terminals. There is a three-barred knop at the base of the cross-head. The cross-shaft rests on a stepped base. There is a latin inscription, in Black Letter script, on the sinister side of the slab which begins beneath the cross-head. The HIC is in relief but the rest is incised. The inscription is quite worn, it has been transcribed and translated by Maher (1997, 66-67) as: HIC IACET PIUS V(I)(R) D(U?)S L/IBA..ER.... (Here lies Pius, noble husband?) " (Farrelly 2017).

Graveslab incorporated into the graveyard wall at St Patrick's graveyard, Marlfield.

A short distance away, part of 13th/14th century sandstone cross-slab has been reused as a modern grave marker. Both graveslabs would have been originally located inside the main monastic church.

Sandstone cross-slab has been reused as a modern grave marker at St Patrick's graveyard Marlfield.

Monastic churches were the favoured burial places of the great and good of society and it seems that Inislounaght was no different. Donations of land and money were given in return for burial within the church and the recitation of masses and prayer for the deceased.

Two elaborate pieces of funerary sculpture can also be seen in the graveyard. One is a fragment of a chest-tomb - a free standing, box-like funerary monument. Chest-tombs date from the 13th century AD onwards. Many late medieval examples have finely carved images of the saints (often referred to as weepers) set in niches surrounding the sides. When complete the Marlfield tomb have looked something like the chest-tomb in the photo below found at Jerpoint Abbey Co Kilkenny.

Chest-tomb at Jerpoint Abbey, Jerpoint Co Kilkenny

The Inislounaght example dates to around the 16th-century and is carved from limestone(Farrely 2017). I believe it to be an example of the O'Tunney school of sculpture, whose work is also found at Kilcooley and Holycross Abbey.

The fragment is decorated with three images of saints each set in a niche. The figure on " the right (the least in tact) holds a cross-staff, of which only the cross head survives. This figure may represent St Thaddeus who is often represented carrying a cross-staff." The central figure is St Peter who carries a large key in his right hand and a book. The figure beside him is probably St Thomas, as he appears to be holding a spear in his right hand and a book in his left. His cloak is held in place by a diamond shaped brooch (Farrelly 2017).

Fragment of chest-tomb depicting St Peter and St Thomas at St Patrick's graveyard, Marlfield

Close to the chest-tomb fragment, is a heavily weather carved sandstone head of a woman. The stone is carved in high relief would have formed part of the top of an effigial tomb.

According to Farrely (2017)

"It appears to be a lady, wearing a gorget under the chin and possibly a nebuly head-dress, where the hair is held in place by a crespine of fabric or fine wire. The hair appears to be gathered at the top of the head and flows down over, and to the base of, the roll-moulding. The head is reminiscent of an effigy (KK022-055--) from Ballykeefe, Co. Kilkenny which has been dated by Hunt (1974, vol. 1, 165) to c. 1340-1360. "

Structural element of the abbey's building are also to be found. Fragments of cut stone are scattered around the graveyard with some reused to mark later graves. Several pieces of what was once a large tracery window and parts of a carved column sit around a modern grave. I'm told other carved fragments and cut stone from the abbey can be found in the stores of Tipperary County Museum.

When taken together the funerary monuments and cut stones all suggesting a finely decorated and beautiful church. A place where the wealthy from the area wanted to be laid to rest.

Anyone interested in folk art and gravestone will enjoy the many fine examples of 18th & 19th-century gravestones. I suggest a visit early morning on a sunny day.

Bibliography
Farrelly, J. 2017. https://webgis.archaeology.ie/historicenvironment

Ó Conbhuidhe, C. 1999, The Cistercian Abbeys of Tipperar y. Dublin. Four Courts Press.

Stalley, R. 1987 The Cistercian monasteries of Ireland. London and New Haven. Yale University Press.

Posted in Uncategorized

Throughout the medieval period many people made pilgrimage in times of crisis such as personal illness, outbreaks of disease and natural disasters like drought. The Black Death was one of the biggest crisis to be faced by people during the fourteenth century in Ireland.

The Annals of Ireland written between 1333-1349 by John Clyn, a Franciscan friar of Kilkenny, contains a chilling first hand account of the Black Death as it raged through Ireland.

The text also records a very rare account of pilgrimage to the ecclesiastical site of St Mullins whose ruins are now at the centre of a picturesque village of the same name in Co. Carlow.

The ecclesiastical site of St Mullins traces its history back to the seventh century, when St Moling founded a monastery on the banks of the river Barrow. Following the saints death his monastery went on to become one of the most importance pilgrim sites in Leinste r.

In the year in 1348 John Clyn recorded great numbers of pilgrims arriving at St Mullins. The pilgrims were drawn here because of St Moling reputation for healing and miracles. They hoped that by praying to the saint in the presence of his relics they might be protected from the plague.

This year, and chiefly in the months of September and October, great numbers of bishops and prelates, ecclesiastical and religious, peers and others, and in general people of both sexes, flocked together by troops to the pilgrimage and wading of the water at Tigh Moling [St Mullins] so that many thousands might be seen there together for many days; some came out of devotion, but the greater part for fear of the pestilence which raged at that time with great violence...." ( Williams 2007, 246).

The pilgrims made their prayers at St Moling's holy well and millrace located just outside the main monastic enclosure. The twelfth Latin Life of St Moling, recalls how the saint single handed dug the mill race over seven years and then consecrated '...by walking through it against the flood...'. The pilgrims hoped that by washing or 'wading' in the of the waters of the millrace and the holy well they would be protected from the plague. We do not know how the pilgrims fared in the coming months how many died or survived.

The plague spread rapidly after its arrival to Ireland. In June of 1349 Clyn wrote that the pestilence was so contagious that those who 'touched the dead or the sick were immediately affected themselves and died'. Shortly after writing the description below Clyn contracted the disease and died.

Many died of boils, abscesses and pustules which erupted on the legs and in the armpits. Others died in frenzy, brought on by an affliction of the head, or vomiting blood. This amazing year was outside the usual order of things, exceptional in quite contradictory ways - abundantly fertile and yet at the same time sickly and deadly... It was very rare for just one person to die in a house, usually, husband, wife, children and servants all went the same way, the way of death ... (Williams 2007, 250).

St Moling's holy well along with the medieval millrace can still be seen in the modern landscape at St Mullins. St Moling's holy well is still a focus of modern pilgrimage on the second Sunday of July. If anyone who wants to find out more about the medieval pilgrimage at St Mullins check out my new book Journeys of Faith. Stories of Pilgrimage in Medieval Ireland.

Bibliography

Nugent, Louise. Journeys of Faith. Stories of Pilgrimage From Medieval Ireland. Dublin: Columba Books, 2020.

Williams, Bernadette. The Annals of Friar John Clyn. Dublin: Four Courts Press, 2007.

Posted in Tagged Historical Sources, Back Death, Journeys of Faith, Pilgrimage, Pilgrimage St Mullens Medieval Monastic Site, Medieval Pilgrimage, Patron Day, Pattern Day, Uncategorized

I am delighted to announce that my new book, Journeys of Faith. Stories of Pilgrimage from Medieval Ireland, published by Columba Books, is now available to per-order through the Columba Books website with

Just to give you a taste of what the book is like. The layout follows the stages of pilgrimage from departure, arrival at the pilgrim shrine and the return home.

Chapter 1 explores what type of pilgrim sites existed in early and late medieval Ireland.

Chapter 2 highlights the known pilgrim destinations outside of Ireland visited by Irish pilgrims such as Canterbury and Rome.

Chapter 3 explores the many and varied reasons and motivations that prompted Irish people to make pilgrimage such as penance - indulgences- the quest for healing.

Chapter 4 looks at the spiritual and practical preparations made by pilgrims in advance of undertaking their pilgrimage.

Chapter 5 discusses the evidence for travel in medieval Ireland, focusing on the well known pilgrim road - Tóchar Phádraig, along with the journeys of individual Irish pilgrims.

Chapter 6- explore the evidence for travel outside of Ireland to exotic places like Rome and Jerusalem and tells the story of the pilgrimage of Irish Franciscan friar Simon FitzSimon who traveled to Jerusalem in the 14th-century.

Chapter 7 & 8 focus on the pilgrims arrival at their destination and teases out they interacted with relics, the graves of saints and holy statues as well as other pilgrims.

Chapter 9 the final chapter looks at the pilgrims return journey along with, the archaeological evidence for pilgrimage such as pilgrim souvenirs and pilgrim burials.

Throughout the book I highlight many interesting stories of Irish pilgrims who made journeys big and small across this island and overseas. Some of my favorite stories include the pilgrims who traveled to St Mullins, Co Carlow in 1348, in search of a miraculous cure for the Black Death. Or the pilgrimage of Heneas Mac Nichaill who made pilgrimage to atone for the murder of his son by visiting nineteen pilgrim sites around scattered across the island of Ireland in 1543.

I think one of the best things about researching this book was visiting so many amazing Irish pilgrim sites. Those of you who follow this blog already know I love to use photos in my posts and I am delighted to say the book is full of photos of many of these special places.

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For any one interested in purchasing Journeys of Faith follow the link to Columba Book order page
https://columbabooks.com/product/journeys-of-faith/?fbclid=IwAR1Fe6qvSmEE81l-MuANngWRASTh4Nzna2p5ElimKE0xrQqJDOcAj0WFzpA

Posted in Tagged Medieval Pilgrimage, Book Pilgrimage Medieval Ireland, Columba Books, Irish medieval pilgrimage, Journeys of Faith, Pilgrimage Books, Relics in Ireland Pilgrim Road, Uncategorized

Its so exciting a conference devoted to the pilgrimage will take place in Ireland on Saturday, 5 October 2019 at The Printworks Event and Exhibition Centre in Dublin Castle.

A one-day conference Encountering the Sacred: The Archaeology and Heritage of Pilgrimage, will explore a wide range of pilgrimage topics from prehistory to the present day and have an Irish and International focus.

The conference has a great line up of speakers:

Professor Robin Coningham, UNESCO Chair in Archaeological Ethics and Practice in Cultural Heritage, Department of Archaeology, Durham University

Dr Lee Clare, German Archaeological Institute, Berlin.

Frank Coyne, Aegis Archaeology.

Dr Robert Hensey, Archaeologist.

Pat Holland, Archaeologist, former museum curator, and annual participant on pilgrimages across Europe.

Dr Małgorzata Krasnodębska-D'Aughton, Department of History, UCC.

Dr Louise Nugent (Archaeologist & Blogger)

Dr Tomás Ó Carragáin, Department of Archaeology, UCC.

Br Colman Ó Clabaigh, OSB, Glenstal Abbey.

Professor Ruth Van Dyke, Department of Anthropology, Binghamton University, New York.

Tickets are still available here from eventbrite

Encountering The Sacred: The Archaeology and Heritage of Pilgrimage conference is presented by the National Monuments Service of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht in partnership with the Office of Public Works and organised by Archaeology Ireland.

Posted in Tagged Community Archaeology, Confernece Pilgrimage, Irish Pilgrimage to medieval Worcester, Pilgrimage 2019 Medieval Pilgrimage, Modern Pilgrimage, Uncategorized

Pilgrimage in honour of St Declan at Ardmore, Co Waterford, can be traced back to the early medieval period. During the nineteenth and early twentieth century, Ardmore was one of the most important pilgrim sites in the southeast of Ireland, attracting 1000's of pilgrims for the annual pattern day celebrations.

Pilgrim rituals during this period have been extensively discussed by Dr Stiofán Ó Cadhla's in his excellent book The Holy Well Tradition. The Pattern of St Declan, Ardmore County Waterford, 1800-2000.

Although the numbers of pilgrims have fallen over the years, the saint and the celebration of his feast day (24th of July) are still a very important part of village life in Ardmore.

The nineteenth century pilgrim landscape was quiet extensive and included St Declan's grave (at the eary medieval monastery), St Declan's stone and St Declan's holy well (see map on below).

Today modern devotions are almost exclusively focused on St Declan's holy well. They include a prayer vigil on St Declan's eve at the well, along with the traditional rounds on the feast day.

During the course of my research I came across a wonderful film on the Ardmore pattern day, which I want to share with you. This short film was created by Horgan Brothers' films in 1910. The Horgan's began their careers as photographers and later worked with film, opening a cinema in their home town of Youghal, Co. Cork. It was here they screened their newsreel style short films, which they named the Youghal Gazette many of which can be seen on the I rish Film Institute Website.

It is most unusual for an Irish pilgrimage of this period to have been filmed, let alone available to a wide audience today (through the Irish Film Institute). I am very grateful to the Horgan Brothers for their efforts as their work provides a wonderful window into devotional activity in Waterford in the 1900's.

The film opens at St Declan's holy well the last station in the early modern pilgrimage. There are many accounts which allow us to reconstruct the early modern pilgrimage at Ardmore but to see real pilgrims moving through the landscape is truly fascinating.

The photo below shows the location where the Hogan brothers set up their camera. They choose a position that over looked the well and church and also the approach route from the village.

As the film opens, directly in front of cameras are a group of six people, engaged, in what can only be described as people watching. Closest to the camera is gentleman in straw boater hat. He watches as people walk along the path to the well and is caught in the embarrassing act of picking his nose. Next to the man, is a lady dressed in a light coloured dress with a parasol. It seems to have been a warm sunny day as many of the ladies present have parasols. The young woman relaxes on the grass after fixing her parasol behind her head to provide some shade. Again her position allows her to comfortably view all who approach and leave. The remaining people in the vicinity of the camera are four ladies standing beside a wall adjacent to the entrance. They are watching the pilgrims complete their rounds and prayers with great interest.

At the time pilgrims began their prayers in front of the well. They then walked clockwise around the church and well while reciting three decades of the rosary. They would then knee before the well, finishing the rosary before moving to the well to say more prayers and take the water.

The film shows people in different stages of their pilgrimage. A cluster of people are in front of St Declan's Holy Well, they must have completed their rounds, while the stream of men and women, make a clockwise circuit of the holy well and its adjacent church saying the rosary are only half way through theirs. It's interesting to note the majority of men have removed their hats during the pilgrimage as a sign of respect for the place and the saint.

The landscape of the well has changed little since 1910. Below is a contemporary photo of the front of St Declan's holy well which is obscured from view in the film. The structure of well has changed little over the years with the exception of the theft of the smallest of three medieval carved crucifix (on the left side of the photo) incorporated into the top of well superstructure.

Part of the pilgrim rituals at the holy well involved pilgrims carving crosses into the wall of the church and parts of the well superstructure. These actions are also caught by the camera. This practice is not unique to Ardmore but here as at the other sites, it is unlikely to have begun earlier then the nineteenth century.

From the well the film then cuts to St Declans' Stone, an erratic boulder located at the southern end of the strand some 500m to the east of the holy well. According to tradition the stone carried St Declan's bell and vestments, floating across the sea from Wales to Ardmore. The stone was used as a penitential station by past pilgrims.

In the film we see a woman wearing a Kinsale clock, a traditional garment worn up until the early twentieth century, standing beside the stone. A man wearing a long trench coat can be seem crawling out from under the stone. Traditional devotions at the stone involved the pilgrim saying set prayers before crawling under the rock. Given its located on the shore devotions could only take place when the tide was out. Outside of the pattern day the stone was also visited for healing and was thought to be particularly beneficial for those with backache or rheumatism. The stone was a central part of the pattern day devotions until the mid-twentieth century but pilgrimage has now ceased here.

The film then ends abruptly as the woman kneels in prayer and we do not get to see her crawled under the stone but she surely did.

I plan to write a more detailed post about the post medieval and medieval pilgrimage rituals at Ardmore in the new year. I will also be discussing the site at an upcoming lecture for the Waterford Historical and Archaeological Society in February of 2019 so please come along if you want to find out more.

If you find this film interesting you may also want to check out some of the other films by the Horgan Brother that are on the Irish Film Institute website at https://ifiplayer.ie/category/horgan/

References
https://ifiplayer.ie/the-horgan-brothers-collection-declans-well/

Posted in Tagged Holy Well, Pattern Day, Pattern Day Ardmore, Pilgrimage 1910 Ardmore, Pilgrimage in Waterford, St Declan's Holy Well Medieval Church, Patron Day, Pattern Day, Uncategorized

Knockpatrick Hill is located a short distance from the town of Foynes in West Limerick. According to folklore St Patrick visited here when traveling around Co Limerick.

The landscape includes the site of a church, a holy stone and a holy well, all dedicated to the saint.

St Patrick's Holy Well

St Patrick's holy well is located to the west of Knockpatrick Hill in the corner of a large field.

The holy well is a natural spring defined by an oval dry stone wall. Some time in the last century a larger concrete structure was built over the well and the wall. The spring well's water flow into a rectangular trough or bathing tank.

A large statue of St Patrick sits in a statue niche over the doorway of the well house.

According to Ó Danachair (1955, 215) witing in the middle of the last century large crowds came here on the 17th March. Devotion to the well has declined and today the water in the well trough are covered in thick green algae.

Knockpatrick is only a few minutes walk from the well.

St Patrick's Church and Graveyard

Its an easy climb to the summit of Knockpatrick Hill. The summit is dominated by the ruins of a late church surrounded by a historic graveyard. A modern altar and shelter are located on the west side of the graveyard.

The hill is 572 feet above sea level and has wonderful views of the surrounding countryside including the Shannon Esturary, with the exception of the view to the northeast which overlooks the Aughinish Alumina's factory.

According to legend, St Patrick built and consecrated the church at Knockpatrick when he visited the area in 448 AD. It was siad he blessed all the land that he could see. Folk relating to the area recorded in the The Schools' Collection, for Shanagolden, Co. Limerick also tells that St Patrick

while staying at Knockpatrick ... blessed Co. Clare. He knelt down at the highest point of the hill, gazed northward across the Shannon at the County, stretched out his hands and said "My blessing over to you". Volume 0483, Page 168

St Patrick's stone

The 'Suíochán Pádraig' or St Patrick's Seat is located on the eastern shoulder of the hill. The seat was said to be made up six stones. Today the stones are enclosed by a concrete wall.

The interior floor is covered by patches of concrete and a large wooden cross stands in the center. The six stones cant be idenified and they may be covered by the concreted or the briars and ivy. Folklore from the 1930's relating to the stone notes that

There was a flat stone to be seen at the summit of Knockpatrick until about twenty years ago. On it were two hollows which bore a rough resemblance to an impression which would be made by human knees. A local tradition connects this stone with St Patricks blessing of Co. Clare - that when giving his blessing he knelt on it, and as a sign that God had heard his prayer the imprint of his knees remained on the stone. The Schools' Collection (Shanagolden) Volume 0483, Page 168.

During the twentieth century pilgrimage ritual at the site were focused on 17th of March. Pilgrims recited three rosaries

'one around the wall of the burial grounds, one while moving clockwise around St Patrick's Well and the third at Suíochán Pádraig' [St Patrick's Seat] ( http://www.limerickdioceseheritage.org).

Knockpartick is a lovely place to visit on a sunny day. Arpatrick Co Limerick is a nother hilltop site assoicated with St Patick in Co Limerick a with the saint is also worth a visit.

References

The Schools' Collection, Shanagolden, Co. Limerick (B) Volume 0483, Page 168
http://www.limerickdioceseheritage.org

Posted in Irish Customs & Traditions, Medieval Pilgrimage, Patron Day, Pattern Day, Uncategorized

Some of you may already know, apart from my interest in pilgrimage, medieval and modern, I am also very interested in post medieval folk art. In 2016, I set up the Irish Folk Art Project to documents and records non funerary folk art around Ireland. Last year I was invited by Roisin O'Grady, the Tipperary Heritage Officer, to contribute part of my folk art research to the 'Stories from the Landscape' project.

'Stories from the Landscape' is a collaborative project between the Heritage Offices in Tipperary, Galway and Clare and the Galway Film Centre, supported by the Heritage Council. It consists of a series of nine short films, three from each county. Each film showcases a unique heritage story relating to the county.

Tipperary Stories from the Landscape

The Tipperary stories feature environmental Heritage of Tipperary with Gearoid O Foighil from Cloughjordan telling the story of Schohoboy bog restoration, social history of Mining in Slieveardagh area by former miner Michael Cleere. I was very honoured that my research on the Tipperary Folk Art was chosen as the archaeological story for the county.

My Short Film 'A Cat with Two Tails'

My film showcases an aspect of my research on Tipperary Folk Art. It explores the links between a series of late 18th/19th century carvings of cats with two tails found in Tipperary and contemporary folklore about Goban Saor. It also show the results of a photogrametry survey of the Tipperary Folk Art commissioned by the Irish Folk Art Project and funded by the Tipperary Heritage Officer . The survey was carried out by Gary Dempsey of Digital Heritage Age.

Making the Film

Filming took place on a very cold day last Novemeber. The film was directed by Paul Murphy , with camera work by Ivan Marcos. It was a pleasure to spend the day working with these two very talented and professional people. Paul Murphy is also the director of the award winning short film The Weather Report ( https://www.facebook.com/theweatherreportshortfilm/) which is playing as part of this years Irish Film Festival Australia.

Filming took place on location at a number of well-known Tipperary Heritage sites such as Holycross Abbey, the Swiss Cottage, and the Rock of Cashel.

All of the sites have folklore connecting them to the Gobán Saor and the story of his carving of a cat with two tails.

The film also shows how the carvings of the cats and the folklore of the Goban has influnced the work Tipperary sculptor David Gorey. David who is based in Fethard kindly allowed us to film in his studio.

I highly recommend that you check out some of the other films in the series for Tipperary, Clare and Galway.

Posted in Tagged Folk traditions, Short film Irish Folk Art, Stories from the Landscape Tipperary Uncategorized

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St Leonard (St Léonard-de-Noblat) was a sixth century Frankish hermit. He went on to become a very popular medieval saint. The saint's primary shrine was found at Noblat in France. Over the centuries vast numbers of people from all over Europe made pilgrimage here.

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A lán eolais le fáil sa fís seo.

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Fáilte isteach! Please drop in for a virtual visit.

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31st Colmcille Winter School 2020

The Contribution of Irish Christianity to Irish, European and World Civilisation [To download right click and choose save link]

Tionchar an Chríostaíocht Éireannch ar Shibhialtacht Éireann, Eorapa agus Dhomhanda

nterpretive I exhibition featuring saint Colmcille [Columba], Patriarch of the Irish Monasticism and Scottish Church.

The story is told with artistically designed banners, stained glass, illustrated panels, artefacts, a wax model with authentic clothing and a step-by-step illustration of ancient manuscript fabrication.

A tour of the centre also includes an audiovisual on the life of Saint Colmcille. A special tapestry display protraying the Derryveagh Evictions is also on show within the centre. The art collection of the heritage trust is on display in the dining room.

Restaurant/Tea Rooms situated on a lakeside site in 100 acres estate with nature walks. Video on life and historical significance of St. Colmcille for sale - �5

Opening Times:
Easter Week and 1st Sunday in May to last Sunday in September
Weekdays: 10:30 � 5pm
Sunday: 1:30 - 5pm

Other times by arrangement
Tel (074) 9137306

Alternative Telephone numbers for enquiries
(074) 9121160 or (074) 9137044

Admission Fees:
Adults �3
Students & AOP �2
Car & Tour bus park available
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The Contribution of Irish Christianity to Irish, European and World Civilisation [To download right click and choose save link] Tionchar an Chríostaíocht Éireannch ar Shibhialtacht Éireann, Eorapa agus Dhomhanda nterpretive I exhibition featuring saint Colmcille [Columba], Patriarch of the Irish Monasticism and Scottish Church.

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The exhibition contains three galleries entitled Power, Work and Prayer, reflecting the three-fold division of medieval society - nobles, common people and clergy.

The lifestyle of nobles is explored, while surviving arms and armour reflect the distinctive characteristics of warfare in medieval Ireland.

The exhibition looks at the different forms of agriculture (pastoral and arable), which were practiced. Finds from urban excavations illustrate Ireland's import trade and the various crafts and industries operating in towns.

The Irish church changed fundamentally in the 12th Century, although many older church traditions survived. The exhibition also looks at religious practice and devotion as well as church furnishings, including a fine selection of late medieval reliquaries: book shrines, bell shrines and croziers.

This exhibition focuses on the later Middle Ages in Ireland, a period that is defined effectively by two ecclesiastical processes - the Church reform movement of the mid 12th Century and the Reformation in the mid 16th Century. This is the period when the English invaded and partly colonised Ireland. The invasion resulted in the existence of two cultures on the island; each with its own language, laws, social system and agricultural practices, and out of which a hybrid Anglo-Irish culture developed during the later Middle Ages. In a wider context, much of the material on display illustrates lifestyles, trades and activities common to much of medieval Europe.

A contemporary view of medieval European society divided it into three categories - bellatores (those who fight), oratores (those who pray) and laboratores (those who work). While such a scheme clearly does not adequately describe the complexity of medieval Irish society, it provides a useful template for the exhibition, which is divided into three galleries, titled Power, Prayer and Work.

Power

Power deals with the nobility, both Irish and Anglo-Irish, who ruled medieval society in Ireland. Kingship and lordship in Irish and English cultures are examined, and the roles of music, poetry, games, hunting and hospitality in courtly life are highlighted. Jewellery and other items of personal adornment used by noble and affluent men and women are displayed, as are treasures associated with important aristocratic families. This includes the 11th-Century Breac Maodhóg shrine associated with the O'Reilly lords of East Bréifne; the Kavanagh Charter Horn, a symbol of the Gaelic kingship of Leinster; and a 16th-Century book cover from Donabate, Co. Dublin, made from whalebone and bearing the coat of arms of the Fitzgerald Earls of Desmond. There is also a fine display of late medieval swords and axes that highlights the unique characteristics of medieval Irish warfare.

Prayer

Prayer explores the dominant features of religious life during the Middle Ages in Ireland. It focuses, in particular, on the fundamental changes that took place in the organisational structure of the Church and the introduction of new monastic orders. Many practices of the older Church tradition survived, however, especially in areas outside English control, and this is strongly reflected in the important collection of shrines and reliquaries on display.

The exhibition features most of the surviving medieval Irish shrines and reliquaries, most of which are associated with Irish saints. These include a number of book shrines: the Domhnach Airgid, the Cathach, the Miosach and the Stowe Missal; and bell shrines: St Senan's Bell and the Corp Naomh, as well as the shrine of St Patrick's Tooth and the Mias Tighearnáin. The latter is a dish-shaped reliquary, perhaps made to hold a relic of St John the Baptist. Also on display are wooden statues from Fethard, Co. Tipperary, and Askeaton, Co. Limerick, and a magnificent 15th-Century embroidered cope from Waterford.

Work

Work focuses on secular, non-noble society, with particular emphasis on economic and social life. Separate sections deal with the agricultural practices of the countryside and with the life of towns, which became a widespread feature of the Irish landscape for the first time in this period. A large part of the gallery is devoted to the tools and products of medieval crafts and trades, both urban and rural, drawing largely on material that has come to light as a result of recent archaeological excavations. Among the highlights of this gallery are a large metal basin from Geashill, Co. Offaly. Other notable exhibits include: part of one of the earliest spectacle frames in northern Europe; a striking display of medieval pottery; a reconstructed section of a 14th-Century tiled floor; and an inscribed oak beam from a late 16th-Century house in Drogheda, Co. Louth.

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Medieval Ireland 1150-1550 | Archaeology | National Museum of Ireland

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The lifestyle of nobles is explored, while surviving arms and armour reflect the distinctive characteristics of warfare in medieval Ireland. The exhibition looks at the different forms of agriculture (pastoral and arable), which were practiced. Finds from urban excavations illustrate Ireland's import trade and the various crafts and industries operating in towns.

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CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork
College Road, Cork, Ireland

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Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition

Background details and bibliographic information

Author: [unknown]

File Description
William Reeves
translated by William ReevesElectronic edition compiled by Beatrix Färberdonated by Seth Seyfried

Funded by University College, Cork and
Professor Marianne McDonald via the CELT Project

1. First draft, revised and corrected.

Extent of text: 43190 words

Publication
CELT: Corpus of Electronic Texts: a project of University College, Cork
College Road, Cork, Ireland—http://www.ucc.ie/celt (2004) (2008)
Distributed by CELT online at University College, Cork, Ireland.
Text ID Number: T201040

Availability

Available with prior consent of the CELT programme for purposes of academic research and teaching only.

Sources

Primary Manuscripts [for derived MSS see G. Brüning, ZCP 11 (1917), 220-224]
1. Generalia 1 (A), Stadtbibliothek Schaffhausen, Switzerland; vellum, 69 folios; 290 x 225 mm, with later page numbering running from 1 to 136; written in 2 columns, in a single Irish hand. A colophon in 136a names the scribe as Dorbbéne: 'pro me Dorbbeneo Dominum deprecetur'; probably written before 713.

2. British Library MS Add. 35110 (B1), folios 96v-143r, probably written before 1165.

3. British Library MS Cottonian Tiberius D III (B2), folios 192r-217r, written end of 12th to early 13th century. Due to fire damage in 1731, there are missing illegible portions on every page, and six folios [Book I, ch. 2 (diebus) to 22 (genibus) and 36 (viro) to 49 (omnia quae)] are missing completely.

4. British Library MS Royal 8 D IX (B3), folios 1r-70r, written in the fifteenth or early sixteenth century. The first 8 folios, [to I, 3 (haec puro pectore)] are missing.

Editions and Translations from Primary Manuscripts [for editions from derived MSS see G. Brüning, ZCP 11 (1917), 224-5]
1. Johannes Colganus [John Colgan], Triadis Thaumaturgae seu divorum Patricii, Columbae et Brigidae, Trium Veteris et Maioris Scotiae, seu Hiberniae, Sanctorum Insulae, Communium Patronorum Acta, a Variis, iisque pervetustis, ac Sanctis authoribus Scripta, ac studio R.P.F. Joannis Colgani, in Conventu FF Minor, Hibernor. strictior. observ. Louanii, S. Theologiae Lectorius Jubilati. Ex variis Bibliothecis collecta, Scholiis et commentariis illustrata, et pluribus Appendicibus aucta: complectitur Tomus Secundus Sacrarum ejusdem insulae Antiquitatum, nunc primum in lucem prodiens. Lovanii 1647, 336-372 [from a transcript of (A) made by Stephen White in 1621]. Repr. with an introduction by Pádraig Ó, Riain. Dublin, 1996.

2. Franciscus Baertius, Acta Sanctorum, Junii II, Antwerpen 1698, 197-236 [from the same transcript of (A)].

3. Johannes Pinkerton, Vitae antiquae sanctorum, qui habitaverunt in parte nunc vocata Scotia, London 1789, S. 47-187 [From (B3); missing beginning and some variants supplemented from Heinrich Canisius, Antique lectionis V, 2, Ingolstadt 1604, 559-621]. — W. M. Metcalfe, 'Pinkerton's Lives of the Scottish Saints, revised and enlarged I, Paisley 1889, 73-209, includes Reeves's variants.

4. William Reeves, (ed.) The Life of Columba, written by Adamnan, Dublin 1857 [based on (A), but uses (B3) and four derived MSS: St. Gallen 555, München 6341, München 22241, and Dublin, Marsh's Library, Vitae Sanctorum Hibernicorum (Lives of the Irish Saints)='Codex Kilkenniensis' or 'Codex Armachanus']; reprinted [with a translation and with editorial restructuring by W. F. Skene] in Historians of Scotland, Vol. 6, Edinburgh 1874. Based on (A). This text was originally made available on Dr Norm Jones's Columba Webpages (http://www.usu.edu/history/norm/columb~1.htm). Reprint of Engl. translation: Felinfach/Dyfed: Llanerch. 1988.

5. J. T. Fowler, Adamnani Vita S. Columbae, Oxford 1894. Based on (A).

6. Adomnán's Life of Columba, edited with translation and notes by the late Alan Orr Anderson and by Marjorie Ogilvie Anderson, Edinburgh and London 1961; reprinted [revised by Marjorie Ogilvie Anderson] Oxford 1991.

7. Adomnán of Iona, Life of St Columba, translated by Richard Sharpe, London 1995 [translation only.] Rev. Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, Peritia 10 (1996) 410-412.

Secondary Literature [for more bibliographical references see Anderson & Anderson 1991; Sharpe 1995 ]
1. Gertrud Brüning, Adamnans Vita Columbae und ihre Ableitungen, Zeit Celt Phil 11 (1917) 213-304.

2. René Specht, 'Wie kam Dorbénes Abschrift von Adomnán's 'Vita Sancti Columbae' in die Stadtbibliothek Schaffhausen?', Schaffhauser Beiträge zur Geschichte 65 (1988) 103-109.

3. Máire Herbert, Iona, Kells and Derry, the history and hagiography of the monastic familia of Columba, Oxford 1988. Revs. Tomás Ó Cathasaigh, Éigse 24 (1990) 192-195; T. M. Charles-Edwards. Medium AEvum 59/2 (1990) 295. [Paperback reprint Dublin 1996].

4. Brian Lacey, Colum Cille and the Columban tradition, Dublin 1997.

5. Thomas Owen Clancy, 'Columba, Adomnan and the cult of Saints in Scotland', The Innes Review 48/1 (Spring 1997) 1-26.

6. Cormac Bourke (ed.), Studies in the Cult of Saint Columba. Dublin/Portland, Oregon, USA: 1997. Rev. Thomas Owen Clancy, Cambrian Medieval Celtic Studies 37 (Summer 1999) 101-106.

7. Dauit Broun & Thomas Owen Clancy (eds.), Spes Scotorum, Hope of Scots: Saint Columba, Iona and Scotland, Edinburgh 1999.

8. Jean-Michel Picard, Adomnán's Vita Columbae and the cult of Colum Cille in continental Europe, Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, 1998 (available in pdf format online).

9. Jean-Michel Picard, Schaffhausen Generalia I and the textual transmission of Adomnán's 'Vita Columbae' on the continent, in Ireland and Europe in the early Middle Ages: texts and transmission/Irland und Europa im früheren Mittelalter: Texte und Überlieferung, (eds. Próinséas Ní Chatháin and Michael Richter, Dublin 2002, 95-102.

The edition used in the digital edition
1. Life of Saint Columba, Founder of Hy. Written by Adamnan, Ninth Abbot of that Monastery. William Reeves (ed), First edition [clxxxiv + 385pp.] Edmonston and DouglasEdinburgh (1874)

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The present text represents Books 1-3. All editorial introduction, notes and indexes have been omitted.

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Created: Translation by William Reeves. (1873)

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Language: [EN] Text is in English.

Language: [GA] Some words are in Irish.

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Revision History

(2008-10-23)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)

Keywords added, file validated, new wordcount made.

(2008-07-18)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)

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(2005-08-25)
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(2005-08-04T16:39:56+0100)
Peter Flynn (ed.)

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(2004-04-26)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)

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(2003-03-12)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)

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(2003-03-11)
Beatrix Färber (ed.)

Structural markup of Book 1 and 2; header and bibliography inserted; file parsed.

(2003-03-10)
Seth Seyfried (ed.)

Text of Books 1-3 donated to CELT.

Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition: T201040

Life of St. Columba: Author: [unknown]

The text of the First Book begins. Of his prophetic revelations

A brief narrative of his great miracles
According to the promise given above, I shall commence this book with a brief account of the evidences which the venerable man gave of his power. By virtue of his prayer, and in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, he healed several persons suffering under various diseases; and he alone, by the assistance of God, expelled from this our island, which now has the primacy, innumerable hosts of malignant spirits, whom he saw with his bodily eyes assailing himself, and beginning to bring deadly distempers on his monastic brotherhood. Partly by mortification, and partly by a bold resistance, he subdued, with the help of Christ, the furious rage of wild beasts. The surging waves, also, at times rolling mountains high in a great tempest, became quickly at his prayer quiet and smooth, and his ship, in which he then happened to be, reached the desired haven in a perfect calm.
When returning from the country of the Picts, where he had been for some days, he hoisted his sail when the breeze was against him to confound the Druids, and made as rapid a voyage as if the wind had been favourable. On other occasions, also, contrary winds were at his prayers changed into fair. In that same country, he took a white stone from the river, and blessed it for the working of certain cures, and that stone, contrary to nature, floated like an apple when placed in water. This divine miracle was wrought in the presence of King Brude and his household. In the same country, also, he performed a still greater miracle, by raising to life the dead child of an humble believer, and restoring him in life and vigour to his father and mother. At another time, while the blessed man was yet a young deacon in Hibernia, residing with the holy bishop Findbarr, the wine required for the sacred mysteries failed, and he changed by his prayer pure water into true wine. An immense blaze of heavenly light was on many and wholly distinct occasions seen by some of the brethren to surround him in the light of day, as well as in the darkness of the night. He was also favoured with the sweet and most delightful society of bright hosts of the holy angels. He often saw, by the revelation of the Holy Ghost, the souls of some just men carried by angels to the highest heavens. And the reprobates too he very frequently beheld carried to hell by demons. He very often foretold the future deserts, sometimes joyful, and sometimes sad, of many persons while they were still living in mortal flesh. In the dreadful crash of wars he obtained from God, by the virtue of prayer, that some kings should be conquered, and others come off victorious. And such a grace as this he enjoyed, not only while alive in this world, but even after his departure from the flesh, as God, from whom all the saints derive their honour, has made him still a victorious and most valiant champion in battle. I shall give one example of especial honour conferred by Almighty God on this honourable man, the event having occurred the day before the Saxon prince Oswald went forth to fight with Catlon (Ceadualla of Bede), a very valiant king of the Britons. For as this same King Oswald, after pitching his camp, in readiness for the battle, was sleeping one day on a pillow in his tent, he saw St. Columba in a vision, beaming with angelic brightness, and of figure so majestic that his head seemed to touch the clouds. The blessed man having announced his name to the king, stood in the midst of the camp, and covered it all with his brilliant garment, except at one small distant point; and at the same time he uttered those cheering words which the Lord spake to Jesua Ben Nun before the passage of the Jordan, after Moses' death, saying, 'Be strong and of a good courage; behold, I shall be with thee,' etc. Then St. Columba having said these words to the king in the vision, added, 'March out this following night from your camp to battle, for on this occasion the Lord has granted to me that your foes shall be put to flight, that your enemy Catlon shall be delivered into your hands, and that after the battle you shall return in triumph, and have a happy reign.' The king, awaking at these words, assembled his council and related the vision, at which they were all encouraged; and so the whole people promised that, after their return from the war, they would believe and be baptized, for up to that time all that Saxon land had been wrapt in the darkness of paganism and ignorance, with the exception of King Oswald and the twelve men who had been baptized with him during his exile among the Scots. What more need I say? On the very next night, King Oswald, as he had been directed in the vision, went forth from his camp to battle, and had a much smaller army than the numerous hosts opposed to him, yet he obtained from the Lord, according to His promise, an easy and decisive victory for King Catlon was slain, and the conqueror, on his return after the battle, was ever after established by God as the Bretwalda of all Britain. I, Adamnan, had this narrative from the lips of my predecessor, the Abbot Failbe, who solemnly declared that he had himself heard King Oswald relating this same vision to Segine the abbot.

But another fact must not be omitted, that by some poems composed in the Scotic language in praise of the same blessed man, and by the commemoration of his name, certain wicked men of lewd conversation, and men of blood, were saved from the hands of their enemies, who in the night had surrounded the house in which they were singing these hymns. They safely escaped through the flames, the swords, and the spears; and, strange to tell, a few of those only who despised these commemorations of the holy man, and refused to join in the hymns, perished in that assault of the enemy. It is not two or three witnesses, as the law requires, but even hundreds and more, that could be cited in proof of this miracle. Nor is it in one place or on one occasion only that the same is known to have happened, but even at different times and places, in both Scotia (Ireland) and Britain, it is proved beyond all doubt that the like security was obtained, in the same manner and by the same means. I have learned this for certain, from well-informed men in those very countries where similar miracles have taken place.

But, to return to the point in hand: among the miracles which this same man of the Lord, while dwelling in mortal flesh, performed by the gift of God, was his foretelling the future by the spirit of prophecy, with which he was highly favoured from his early years, and making known to those who were present what was happening in other places: for though absent in body he was present in spirit, and could look on things that were widely apart, according to the words of St. Paul, 'He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit.'

Hence this same man of the Lord, St. Columba, when a few of the brethren would sometimes inquire into the matter, did not deny but that by some divine intuition, and through a wonderful expansion of his inner soul, he beheld the whole universe drawn together and laid open to his sight, as in one ray of the sun.

This account of the miracles of the holy men I have given here for this purpose, that my reader, in this brief sketch, may have a foretaste of the richer banquet which is before him, in the fuller narrative which is to be given, with the assistance of the Lord, in the three following books. Here it appears to me not improper, though it may be out of the usual order, to record some prophecies which the blessed man gave at different times, regarding certain holy and illustrious men.

Of St. Finten the Abbot, son of Tailchan

ST. FINTEN, who was afterwards very well known throughout all the churches of the Scots, having, by the grace of God, preserved from his boyhood purity of body and soul, and being devoted to the study of divine wisdom, had nourished from his youthful years this one resolve in his heart, that he would leave Hibernia and go abroad to St. Columba. Burning with that desire, he went to an old friend, the most prudent and venerable cleric in his country, who was called in the Scotic tongue Columb Crag, to get some sound advice from him. When he had laid open his mind to him, he received the following answer: 'As thy devout wish is, I feel, inspired by God, who can presume to say that thou shouldest not cross the sea to St. Columba?' At the same moment two monks of St. Columba happened to arrive, and when they were asked about their journey, they replied: 'We have lately come across from Britain, and to-day we have come from the Oakwood of Calgach Daire Calgaich, or Derry.' 'Is he well,' says Columb Crag, 'your holy father Columba?' Then they burst into tears, and answered with great sorrow, 'Our patron is indeed well, for a few days ago he departed to Christ.'

I have heard this as an undoubted fact from the lips of an aged and pious priest and soldier of Christ, called Oissene, son of Ernan, of the tribe Mocu Neth Corb, who averred that he had himself heard these very words from the lips of St. Finten, son of Tailchan, whose monk he himself had been.

Prophecy of St. Columba regarding Ernene, son of Crasen

ON another occasion, while the blessed man was residing for a few months in the midland part of Hibernia, when founding by divine inspiration his monastery, which in the Scotic tongue is called Dair-mag (Durrow), was pleased to pay a visit to the brethren who dwelt in St. Ceran's monastery, Clon (Clonmacnoise). As soon as it was known that he was near, all flocked from their little grange farms near the monastery, and, along with those who were within it, ranged themselves, with enthusiasm, under the abbot Alither; then advancing beyond the enclosure of the monastery, they went out as one man to meet St. Columba, as if he were an angel of the Lord. Humbly bowing down, with their faces to the ground, in his presence, they kissed him most reverently, and singing hymns of praise as they went they conducted him with all honour to the Church. Over the saint, as he walked, a canopy made of wood was supported by four men walking by his side, lest the holy abbot, St. Columba, should be troubled by the crowd of brethren pressing upon him. At that very time, a boy attached to the monastery, who was mean in dress and look, and hitherto had not stood well in the opinions of the seniors, concealing himself as well as he could, came forward stealthily, that he might touch unperceived even the hem of the cloak which the blessed man wore, without his feeling or knowing it. This, however, did not escape the saint, for he knew with the eyes of his soul what he could not see taking place behind him with the eyes of his body. Stopping therefore suddenly, and putting out his hand behind him, he seized the boy by the neck, and bringing him round set him before his face. The crowd of bystanders cried out: 'Let him go, let him go: why do you touch that unfortunate and naughty boy?' But the saint solemnly uttered these prophetic words from his pure heart: 'Suffer it to be so now, brethren;' then turning to the boy, who was in the greatest terror, he said, 'My son, open thy mouth, and put out thy tongue.' The boy did as he was bid, and in great alarm opened his mouth and put out his tongue: the saint extended to it his holy hand, and after carefully blessing it pronounced his prophecy in the following words: 'Though this boy appears to you now very contemptible and worthless, let no one on that account despise him. For from this hour, not only will he not displease you, but he will give you every satisfaction; from day to day he shall advance by degrees in good conduct, and in the virtues of the soul; from this day, wisdom and prudence shall be more and more increased in him, and great shall be his progress in this your community: his tongue also shall receive from God the gift of both wholesome doctrine and eloquence.'

This was Ernene, son of Crasen, who was afterwards famous and most highly honoured in all the churches of Scotia (Ireland). He himself told all these words which were prophesied regarding himself, as written above, to the abbot Segine, in the attentive hearing of my predecessor Failbe, who was present at the time with Segine, and from whose lips I myself have come to know all that I have stated. But during this short time that the saint was a guest in the monastery of Clon, there were many other things also which he prophesied by the revelation of the Holy Ghost; as, for instance, about the discord which arose a long time after among the churches of Scotia (Ireland), on account of the difference with regard to the Easter Feast; and about some visits of angels distinctly made to himself, certain places within the enclosure of the monastery being at that time thus resorted to by the angels.

Of the arrival of St Cainnech, the Abbot, who had been previously announced in prophecy by St. Columba

AT another time, in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), on a day when the tempest was fierce and the sea was exceedingly boisterous, the saint, as he sat in the house, gave orders to his brethren, saying, 'Prepare the guest-chamber quickly, and draw water to wash the strangers' feet.' One of the brethren upon this inquired: 'Who can cross the Sound safely, narrow though it be, on so perilous and stormy a day?' The saint, on hearing this, thus made answer, 'The Almighty has given a calm even in this tempest to a certain holy and excellent man, who will arrive here among us before evening.' And lo! the same day, the ship for which the brethren had some time been looking out arrived, according to the saint's prediction, and brought St. Cainnech. The saint went forth with the brethren to meet him and received him with all honour and hospitality. But the sailors who had been with St. Cainnech, when they were asked by the brethren what sort of a voyage they had had, told them, even as St. Columba had predicted, about both the tempest and the calm which God had given in the same sea and at the same time, with an amazing distinction between the two. The tempest they saw at a distance, yet they said they did not feel it.

Of the danger to the holy Bishop Colman Mocusailni in the sea, near the island called Rechru

ON another day; also, while St. Columba was engaged in his mother-church, he suddenly cried out, with a smile, 'Columbanus, the son of Beogna, has just now set out on a voyage to us, and is in great danger in the rolling tides of Brecan's whirlpool: he is sitting at the prow and raising both his hands to heaven: he is also blessing that angry and dreadful sea: yet in this the Lord only frightens him, for the ship in which he is shall not be wrecked in the storm; but this is rather to excite him to pray more fervently, that by God's favour he may escape the danger of his voyage, and reach us in safety.'

Of Cormac

ON another occasion also St. Columba prophesied in the following manner of Cormac, grandson of Lethan, a truly pious man, who not less than three times went in search of a desert in the ocean, but did not find it. 'In his desire to find a desert, Cormac is this day, for the second time, now embarking from that district which lies at the other side of the river Moda (the Moy, in Sligo), and is called Eirros, Domno (Erris, in Mayo); nor even this time shall he find what he seeks, and that for no other fault than that he has irregularly allowed to accompany him in the voyage a monk who is going away from his own proper abbot without obtaining his consent.'

Prophecy of the blessed man regarding the tumults of battles fought at a distance

On the Battle of the Miathi

AT another time, after the lapse of many years from the above-mentioned battle, and while the holy man was in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), he suddenly said to his minister, Diormit, 'Ring the bell.' The brethren, startled at the sound, proceeded quickly to the church, with the holy prelate himself at their head. There he began, on bended knees, to say to them, 'Let us pray now earnestly to the Lord for this people and King Aidan, for they are engaging in battle at this moment.' Then after a short time he went out of the oratory, and, looking up to heaven, said, 'The barbarians are fleeing now, and to Aidan is given the victory; a sad one though it be.' And the blessed man in his prophecy declared the number of the slain in Aidan's army to be three hundred and three men.

Prophecy of St. Columba regarding the sons of King Aidan

At another time, before the above-mentioned battle, the saint asked King Aidan about his successor to the crown. The king answered that of his three sons, Artur, Eochoid Find, and Domingart, he knew not which would have the kingdom after him. Then at once the saint prophesied on this wise, 'None of these three shall be king, for they shall fall in battle, slain by their enemies; but now if thou hast any younger sons, let them come to me, and that one of them whom the Lord has chosen to be king will at once rush into my lap.' When they were called in, Eochoid Buide, according to the word of the saint, advanced and rested in his bosom. Immediately the saint kissed him, and, giving him his blessing, said to his father, 'This one shall survive and reign as king after thee, and his sons shall reign after him.' And so were all these things fully accomplished afterwards in their time. For Artur and Eochoid Find were not long after killed in the above-mentioned battle of the Miathi; Domingart was also defeated and slain in battle in Saxonia; while Eochoid Buide succeeded his father on the throne.

Of Domnall, son of Aid

Domnall, son of Aid, while yet a boy, was brought by those who brought him up to St. Columba on the ridge of Ceatt (Druim Ceatt in Londonderry), who looked at him and inquired, 'Whose son is this whom you have brought here?' They answered, 'This is Domnall, son of Aid, who is brought to thee for this purpose, that he may return enriched by thy blessing.' The saint blessed him immediately and said. 'He shall survive all his brethren, and be a very famous king, nor shall he be ever delivered into the hands of his enemies; but in his old age, in his own house, and with a crowd of his familiar friends around him, he hall die peacefully in his bed.' All this was truly fulfilled in him, as the blessed man had foretold.

Of Scandlan, son of Colman

AT the same time and place, the saint, wishing to visit Scandlan, son of Colman, went to him where he was kept in prison by King Aid, and when he had blessed him he comforted him, saying, 'Son, do not distress yourself, but rather rejoice and take courage, for King Aid, who has you a prisoner, will go out of this world before you, and after some time of exile you shall reign in your own nation for thirty years. And again you shall be driven from your kingdom, and be in exile for some days; but after that you shall be called home again by your people, and shall reign for three short terms.' All this was fully accomplished according to the prediction of the saint. For in thirty years he had to leave his throne, and continued in exile for some time; and then being recalled by his people, he reigned not three years, as he expected, but three months, and at the end of that time he died.

A Prophecy of the blessed man regarding two other kings, who were called the two grandsons of Muiredach Baitan, son of Maic Erc, and Eochoid, son of Domnall

Prophecy of the holy man regarding Oingus, son of Aid Comman

WHEN he and his two brothers were driven from his country, he came as an exile to the saint, who was then wandering in Britain, and who, in blessing him, uttered these prophetic words from his holy heart, 'This youth shall survive when his other brothers are gone, and he shall reign a long time in his native country; his enemies shall fall before him, while he shall never fall into their hands, but in old age he shall die peacefully in the midst of his friends.' All this was fully accomplished according to the saint's words. This was Oingus, surnamed Bronbachal.

Prophecy of the blessed man regarding the son of King Dermit, who in the Scotic language is called Aid Slane

ON another occasion, when the blessed man was sojourning for some days in Scotia (Ireland), he spoke in the following prophetic strain to the above-mentioned Aid, who had come to visit him: 'Thou must take care, my son, lest, for the sin of murdering thy kinsman, thou lose the right of governing the whole of Hibernia, as was first assigned thee by God for if at any time thou dost commit that sin, thou shalt not hold the whole of thy father's kingdom, but only a part of it in thine own tribe, and that but for a short time.' These words of the saint were on this wise fulfilled according to the prediction, that after Aid had treacherously killed Suitne, son of Columban, he reigned, it is said, no longer than four years and three months, and that only as colleague in the kingdom.

Prophecy of the blessed man regarding King Roderc, son of Tothal, who reigned on the Rock of Cluaith (Alcluith or Dumbarton)

THIS same king being on friendly terms with the holy man, sent to him on one occasion a secret message by Lugbe Mocumin, as he was anxious to know whether he would be killed by his enemies or not. But when Lugbe was being closely inquired at by the saint regarding the king, his kingdom, and people, he answered in a tone of pity, 'Why do you ask about that wretched man, who is quite unable to tell at what hour he may be killed by his enemies?' Then the saint replied, 'He shall never be delivered into the hands of his enemies; he will die at home on his own pillow.' And the prophecy of the saint regarding Kina Roderc was fully accomplished; for, according to his word, he died quietly in his own house.

Prophecy of the Saint regarding two boys, one of whom, according to the Saint's word, died at the end of a week

ON another occasion, two men of low rank in life came to the saint, who was then in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona). One of them, named Meldan, brought his son to the saint and asked him what kind of future he would enjoy. To whom the saint replied, 'Is not this the Sabbath day? Thy son will die on the sixth day at the end of next week, and will be buried here on the eighth day, that is the Sabbath.' Then the other man, named Glasderc, also took his son along with him, and venturing to make a similar inquiry, received the following answer from the saint, 'Thy son Ernan will see his grandchildren, and be buried in old age in this island.' All this was fully accomplished in its own time regarding the two boys, according to the words of the saint.

Prophecy of the Saint regarding Colca, son of Aid Draignich, sprung from the grandsons of Fechureg, and regarding some secret sin of his mother

THIS Colca residing one time in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona) with the saint, was asked by him concerning his mother whether she was a pious woman or not. Colca answered him, 'I have always known my mother to be good, and to bear that character.' The saint then spoke these prophetic words: 'Set out now at once for Scotia (Ireland), with God's help, and question thy mother closely regarding her very grievous secret sin, which she will not confess to any man.' To carry out the advice thus given him he departed to Hibernia: and when he interrogated his mother closely, she at first denied, and then she at last confessed her sin. When she had done penance according to the judgment of the saint, she was absolved, wondering very much all the while at what was made known to the saint regarding her.

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COLCA, however, returned to the saint, and remained with him for some days, and then asking about the end of his own days, received this answer from the saint: 'In thine own beloved country thou shalt be head of a church for many years, and when at any time thou happenest to see thy butler making merry with a company of his friends at supper, and twirling the ladle round in the strainer, know that then in a short time thou shalt die.' What more need I say? This same prophecy of the blessed man was exactly fulfilled as it was foretold to Colca.

Regarding Laisrean, the gardener, a holy man

ON a certain day, the holy man ordered one of his monks named Trena, of the tribe Mocuruntir, to go a message for him to Scotia (Ireland). While he was preparing the ship in haste to obey the orders of the man of God, he complained before the saint that one of the sailors was wanting. The saint immediately answered him and uttered these words from his sacred breast, 'The sailor who is, thou sayest, absent, I cannot just now find. But go in peace; thou shalt have a favourable and steady breeze till thou reach Hibernia. Thou shalt see a man coming to meet thee from a distance, and he will be the first to seize the prow of thy ship in Scotia (Ireland); he shall be with thee during the time of thy sojourn in Hibernia, and accompany thee on thy return to us, as a man chosen by God, who in this very monastery of mine will live piously the remainder of his days.' What more can I add? Trena received the saint's blessing, and crossed over at full sail during the whole voyage, and lo! as his little ship was nearing the port, Laisran Mocumoie ran forward before the others and caught the prow. The sailors knew that this was the very man of whom the saint had spoken beforehand.

How the Saint knew and told beforehand about a great whale

Prophecy of the holy man regarding a certain Baitan, who with others sailed in search of a desert in the ocean

AT another time, a certain man named Baitan, by race a descendant of Niath Taloirc, when setting out with others to seek a desert in the sea, asked the saint's blessing. The saint bidding him adieu uttered this prophecy regarding him: 'This man who is going in search of a desert in the ocean shall not be buried in the desert, but in that place where a woman shall drive sheep over his grave.' The same Baitan, after long wanderings on stormy seas, returned to his native country without finding the desert, and remained for many years the head of a small monastic house, which is called in the Scotic tongue Lathreginden (not identified). When after a while he died and was buried, in the Oakgrove of Galgach (Derry), it happened at the same time that on account of some hostile inroad the poor people with their wives and children fled for sanctuary to the church of that place. Whence it occurred that on a certain day a woman was caught, as she was driving her lambs over the grave of this same man who was newly buried. Then a holy priest who was present and saw this, said, 'Now is fulfilled the prophecy which St. Columba uttered many years ago!' And this I myself was told regarding Baitan, by that same priest and soldier of Christ, Mailodran by name, of the tribe of Mocurin.

Prophecy of the holy man regarding a certain Neman, who was not a real penitent

AT another time, the saint came to the Hinbina island (Eilean-na-naoimh, one of the Garveloch islands), and that same day he gave orders that even the penitents should enjoy some indulgence in respect of their food. Now there was among the penitents in that place a certain Neman, son of Cathair, who, though ordered by the saint, declined to accept the offer of this little indulgence. Him then the saint addressed in these words: 'O Neman, art thou not accepting some indulgence in food as it is kindly granted by me and Baitan? The time shall come when thou wilt be stealthily eating mare's flesh, as thou liest concealed in the woods with robbers.' And accordingly that same man afterwards returned to the world, and was found in a forest with robbers taking and eating off a wooden griddle such flesh as the saint had foretold.

Regarding a certain unhappy man who lay with his mother

Of the vowel I

ONE day Baithene came to the saint and said, 'I want some one of the brethren to look over with me and correct the psalter which I have written.' Hearing this, the saint said, 'Why give us this trouble without any cause? In that psalter of thine, of which thou speakest, there is not one superfluous letter to be found, nor is any wanting except the one vowel I.' And accordingly, when the whole psalter was read over, what the saint had said was found to be true.

Of the book which fell into the water-vessel, as the Saint had foretold

IN the same way, on another day, as he was sitting by the hearth in the monastery, he saw at some distance Lugbe, of the tribe Mocumin, reading a book, and suddenly said to him, 'Take care, my son, take care, for I think that the book thou readest is about to fall into a vessel full of water.' And so it soon happened, for when the same youth rose soon after to perform some duty in the monastery, he forgot the word of the blessed man, and the book which he held negligently under his arm suddenly fell into the water-pot, which was full of water.

Of the inkhorn, awkwardly spilled

On another day a shout was given on the other side of the Sound of the Iouan island (Sound of Iona); the saint hearing the shout, as he was sitting in his little hut, which was made of planks, said, 'The man who is shouting beyond the Sound is not of very sharp wit, for when he is here today he will upset my inkhorn and spill the ink.' Diormit, his minister, hearing this, stood a little in front of the door, and waited for the arrival of this troublesome guest, in order to save the inkhorn. But for some cause or other he had soon to leave his place, and after his departure the unwelcome guest arrived; in his eager haste to kiss the saint, he upset the inkhorn with the hem of his garment and spilled the ink.

Of the arrival of another guest foretold by the Saint

So again at another time the saint spoke thus to his brethren on the third day of the week, 'We intend to fast tomorrow, being Wednesday: and yet by the arrival of a certain troublesome guest the usual fast will be broken.' And so it happened as had been shown to the saint beforehand; for on the morning of that same Wednesday, another stranger was heard signalling across the Sound. This was Aidan, the son of Fergno, who, it is said, was minister for twelve years to Brendan Mocualti. He was a very religious man, and his arrival, as the saint had foretold, broke the fast of that day.

Of another man in distress who was crying across the same sound

ON another day the saint heard some person shouting across the Sound, and spoke on this wise, 'That man who is shouting is much to be pitied, for he is coming here to us to ask some cure for the disease of his body; but it were better for him this day to do true penance for his sins, for at the close of this week he shall die.' These words those who were present told to the unhappy man when he arrived. But he gave no heed to them when he had received what he asked, and quickly departed, yet before the end of the same week he died, according to the prediction of the saint.

The prophecy of the holy man regarding the Roman city, burnt by a sulphurous fire which fell from heaven

ANOTHER time also, Lugbe, of the tribe Mocumin, of whom I spoke already, came to the saint one day after the grinding of the corn, but the saint's countenance shone with such wonderful brilliancy that he could not look upon it, and quickly fled in great terror. The saint gently clapped his hands and called him back; then on his return the saint asked him why he fled so quickly. 'I fled,' he replied, 'because I was very much alarmed.' Then becoming more confident, after a while, he ventured to ask the saint, 'Hath any awful vision been shown to thee just now?' The saint answered, 'A very fearful vengeance hath just now been exacted in a distant corner of the world.' 'What vengeance?' says the youth, 'and where hath it taken place?' The saint then addressed him thus: 'A sulphurous fire hath been poured down from heaven this moment on a city which is subject to Rome, and within the Italian territory, and about three thousand men, besides women and children, have perished. Before the end of this year Gallican sailors shall come here from the provinces of Gaul, and tell thee these same things.' His words proved true in a few months; for the same Lugbe, happening to accompany the saint to the Head of the land (Kintyre), inquired at the captain and crew of a bark that had just arrived, and received from them all the news regarding the city and its inhabitants, exactly as it was foretold by the illustrious man.

The vision of the blessed man regarding Laisran, son of Feradach

ONE very cold day in winter the saint was much afflicted, and wept bitterly. His attendant, Diormit, asked the cause of his sadness, and received this answer from him, 'With just reason am I sad today, my little child, seeing that my monks, now wearied after their severe labours, are engaged by Laisran in building a large house; with this I am very much displeased.' Strange to say, at that very moment, Laisran, who was living at the time in the monastery of the Oakwood Plain (Derry), felt somehow impelled, and as it were consumed by a fire within him, so that he commanded the monks to stop from working, and some refreshments to be made ready for them. He also gave directions that they were to rest not only that day, but also on other occasions of severe weather. The saint, hearing in spirit these words of consolation addressed by Laisran to his brethren, ceased weeping, and though he himself was living in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), he rejoiced with exceeding great joy, and told all the circumstances to his brethren, while at the same time he blessed Laisran for his timely relief to the monks.

How Feachna the Wise came as a penitent to St. Columba, as he had foretold

ANOTHER time the saint was sitting on the top of the mountain which overhangs this our monastery, at some distance from it, and turning to his attendant Diormit, said to him, 'I am surprised that a certain ship from Scotia (Ireland) does not appear sooner: there is on board a certain wise man who has fallen into a great crime, but who, with tears of repentance, shall soon arrive.' Not long after the attendant, looking to the south, saw the sail of a ship that was approaching the harbour. When its arrival was pointed out to the saint he got up quickly and said, 'Let us go to meet this stranger, whose sincere penance is accepted by Christ.' As soon as Feachna came on shore, he ran to meet the saint, who was coming down to the shore, and falling on his knees before him lamented most bitterly with wailing and tears, and there in the presence of all made open confession of his sins. Then the saint, also shedding tears, said to him, 'Arise, my son, and be comforted; the sins thou hast committed are forgiven thee, because, as it is written, 'a humble and contrite heart God doth not despise.' He then arose, and the saint received him with great joy. After a few days he was sent to Baithene, who at that time was the superior of the monastery in the plain of Lunge (Maigh Lunge, in Tiree), and he journeyed thither in peace.

The Prophecy of the holy man regarding his monk Cailtan

The foresight and prophecy of the Saint regarding the two brothers who were strangers

ONE Lord's day a loud cry was heard beyond the above-mentioned Sound of which I speak so often. As soon as the saint heard it, he said to the brethren who were then with him, 'Go directly and bring here before us at once the strangers that have now arrived from a distant land.' They went accordingly and ferried the strangers across. The saint, after embracing them, asked them at once the object of their journey. In reply they said, 'We are come to reside with thee for this year.' The saint replied, 'With me, as you say, you cannot reside for a year, unless you take first the monastic vow.' When those who were present heard these words addressed to strangers who were only newly arrived they wondered very much. But the elder brother, in answer to the saint's remarks, replied, 'Although we never up to the present hour entertained the thought before, yet we shall follow thy advice, believing that it cometh from God.' What more need I say? That very moment they entered the chapel with the saint, and on bended knees devoutly took the monastic vow. The saint then turned to his monks and said, 'These two strangers who are presenting themselves 'a living sacrifice to God,' and within a short time are fulfilling a long time of Christian warfare, shall pass away in peace this very month to Christ our Lord.' The two brothers, on hearing this, gave thanks to God, and were led away to the guest room. After seven days the elder brother fell sick, and departed to the Lord in the course of that week. After other seven days the other brother also fell sick, and within the same week passed to the Lord with joy, so that, according to the truthful prophecy of the saint, both closed their fires in this world within the space of one month.

The prophecy of the holy man regarding a certain Artbranan

WHEN the blessed man was staying for some days in the Scian island (Sky), he struck a spot of ground near the sea with his staff, and said to his companions: 'Strange to say, my children, this day, an aged heathen, whose natural goodness has been preserved through all his life, will receive baptism, die, and be buried on this very spot.' And lo! about an hour after, a boat came into the harbour, on whose prow sat a decrepit old man, the chief of the Geona cohort. Two young men took him out of the boat and laid him at the feet of the blessed man. After being instructed in the word of God by the saint through an interpreter, the old man believed, and was baptized at once by him, and when the baptism was duly administered, he instantly died on the same spot, according to the saint's prediction, and was buried there by his companions, who raised a heap of stones over his grave. This cairn may be seen still on the sea-coast, and the river in which he was baptized is called to this day by the inhabitants, Dobur Artbranan.

Of the boat that was removed by the Saint's order

ANOTHER time, as the saint was travelling beyond the Dorsal ridge of Britain (Drumalban), he came to a small village, lying amid deserted fields, on the banks of a river, where it flows into a lake. There the saint took up his abode, and that same night, while they were yet but falling asleep, he awoke his companions, and said to them: 'Go out this instant with all speed, bring hither quickly the boat you left on the other side of the stream, and put it in a house near us.' They did at once as they were ordered, and soon after they were again asleep, the saint roused Diormit, and said to him: 'Stand outside the door, and see what has happened to the village in which you had left your boat.' Diormit went out accordingly and saw the whole village on fire, and returning to the saint he told him what was taking place. Then the saint told the brethren the name of the rancorous foe who had burnt the houses that night.

Of Gallan, son of Fachtna, who resided in the jurisdiction of Colga, son of Cellach

ONE day again, as the saint was sitting in his little hut, he said, in prophecy to the same Colca, then reading by his side, 'Just now demons are dragging with them down to hell one of the chiefs of thy district who is a niggardly person.' When Colca heard this, he marked the time accurately in a tablet, and, coming home within a few months, learned on inquiry from the inhabitants of the place, that Gallan, son of Fachtna, died at the very moment that the saint said to him the man was being carried off by demons.

The prophecy of the blessed man regarding Findchan, a priest, and the founder of the monastery called in Scotic Artchain, in the Ethican land (Tiree)

Of the consolation which the monks, when they were weary on their journey, received from the Saint visiting them in spirit

AMONG these wonderful manifestations of prophetical spirit it does not seem alien from the purpose of our short treatise to mention also here the spiritual comfort which the monks of St. Columba at one time received from his spirit's meeting them by the way. For as the brethren, on one occasion after the harvest work, were returning in the evening to the monastery, and came to a place called in Scotic Cuuleilne, which is said to lie on the western side of the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), midway between the field on the plain and our monastery, each of them thought he felt something strange and unusual, which, however, they did not venture to speak of to one another. And so they had the same feeling for some days successively, at the same place, and at the same hour in the evening. The holy Baithen at that particular time had charge of the work, and one day he said to them: 'Now, my brethren, if any of you ever notices anything wonderful and unusual in this spot which lies between the corn-field and the monastery, it is your duty to declare it openly.' An elder brother said, 'As you have ordered me, I shall tell you what I observed on this spot. For both in the past few days, and even now, I perceive the fragrance of such a wonderful odour, just as if all the flowers on earth were gathered together into one place; I feel also a glow of heat within me, not at all painful, but most pleasing, and a certain unusual and inexpressible joy poured into my heart, which on a sudden so refreshes and gladdens me, that I forget grief and weariness of every kind. Even the load, however heavy, which I carry on my back, is in some mysterious way so much lightened, from this place all the way to the monastery, that I do not seem to have any weight to bear.' What need I add? All the other reapers in turn declared they had exactly the same feeling as the first had described. All then knelt down together, and requested of the holy Baithen that he would learn and inform them of the as yet unknown cause and origin of this wonderful relief, which both he and they were feeling. 'Ye all know,' he immediately replied, 'our father Columba's tender care regarding us, and how, ever mindful of our toil, he is always grieved when we return later than usual to the monastery. And now because he cannot come in person on this occasion to meet us, his spirit cometh forth to us as we walk along, and conveyeth to us such great comfort.' Having heard these words, they raised their hands to heaven with intense joy as they knelt, and venerated Christ in the holy and blessed man.

I must not pass over another well-authenticated story, told, indeed, by those who heard it, regarding the voice of the blessed man in singing the psalms. The venerable man, when singing in the church with the brethren, raised his voice so wonderfully that it was sometimes heard four furlongs off, that is five hundred paces, and sometimes eight furlongs, that is one thousand paces. But what is stranger still: to those who were with him in the church, his voice did not seem louder than that of others; and yet at the same time persons more than a mile away heard it so distinctly that they could mark each syllable of the verses he was singing, for his voice sounded the same whether far or near. It is however admitted, that this wonderful character in the voice of the blessed man was but rarely observable, and even then it could never happen without the aid of the Holy Ghost. But another story concerning the great and wonderful power of his voice should not be omitted. The fact is said to have taken place near the fortress of King Brude (near Inverness). When the saint himself was chanting the evening hymns with a few of the brethren, as usual, outside the king's fortifications, some Druids, coming near to them, did all they could to prevent God's praises being sung in the midst of a pagan nation. On seeing this, the saint began to sing the 44th Psalm, and at the same moment so wonderfully loud, like pealing thunder, did his voice become, that king and people were struck with terror and amazement.

Concerning a rich man named Lugud Clodus

AT another time, when the saint was staying some days in Scotia (Ireland), he saw a cleric mounted on a chariot, and driving pleasantly along the plain of Breg (MaghBregh, in Meath). On asking who the person was, the cleric's friend made this reply regarding him: 'This is Lugud Clodus, who is rich, and much respected by the people.' The saint immediately answered, 'He does not seem so to me, but a poor wretched creature, who on the day of his death shall have within his own walled enclosure three of his neighbour's cattle which have strayed on to his property. The best of the strayed cows he shall order to be killed for his own use, and a part of the meat he shall direct to be cooked and served up to him at the very time that he is lying on the same couch with a prostitute, but by the first morsel that he eats shall he be choked and die immediately.' Now all these things, as we heard from well-informed persons, afterwards happened according to the saint's prophecy.

Prophecy of the Saint regarding Neman, son of Gruthrich

FOR when the saint corrected this man for his faults, he received the saint's reproof with derision. The blessed man then said to him, 'In God's name I will declare these words of truth concerning thee, Neman, that thine enemies shall find thee in bed with a prostitute and put thee to death, and the evil spirits shall carry off thy soul to the place of torments.' A few years after his enemies found this same Neman on a couch along with a prostitute in the district of Cainle(not identified), and beheaded him, as was foretold by the saint.

Prophecy of the holy man regarding a certain priest

AT another time, as the saint was staying in that part of Scotia (Ireland), named a little before, he came by chance on the Lord's day to a neighbouring little monastery, called in the Scotic language Trioit (Trevet, in Meath). The same day a priest celebrated the holy mysteries of the Eucharist, who was selected by the brethren who lived there to perform the solemn offices of the Mass, because they thought him very pious. The saint, on hearing him, suddenly opened his mouth and uttered this fearful sentence: 'The clean and unclean are now equally mingled together; that is, the clean mysteries of the holy sacrifice are offered by an unclean person, who just now conceals within his own conscience a grievous crime.' The bystanders, hearing these words, were struck with terror; but he of whom they were said was forced to confess his sin before them all. And the fellow-soldiers of Christ, who stood round the saint in the church, and had heard him making manifest the secrets of the heart, greatly wondered, and glorified the heavenly knowledge that was seen in him.

The Prophecy of the holy man regarding the robber Erc Mocudruidi, who dwelt in the island Coloso (Colonsay)

Prophecy of the holy man regarding the poet Cronan

AT another time, as the saint was sitting one day with the brothers beside the lake Ce (Lough Key, in Roscommon), at the mouth of the river called in Latin Bos (the Boyle), a certain Scotic poet came to them, and when he retired, after a short interview, the brothers said to the saint, 'Why didst thou not ask the poet Cronan, before he went away, to sing us a song with accompaniment, according to the rules of his profession?' The saint replied, 'Why do even you now utter such idle words? How could I ask that poor man to sing a song of joy, who has now been murdered, and thus hastily has ended his days, at the hands of his enemies?' The saint had no sooner said these words than immediately a man cried out from beyond the river, 'That poet who left you in safety a few minutes ago has just now been met and put to death by his enemies.' Then all that were present wondered very much, and looked at one another in amazement.

The holy man's prophecy regarding the two noblemen who died of wounds mutually inflicted

Of Cronan the Bishop

AT another time, a stranger from the province of the Munstermen, who in his humility did all he could to disguise himself, so that nobody might know he was a bishop, came to the saint; but his rank could not be hidden from the saint. For next Lord's day, being invited by the saint, as the custom was, to consecrate the Body of Christ, he asked the saint to join him, that, as two priests, they might break the bread of the Lord together. The saint went to the altar accordingly, and suddenly looking into the stranger's face, thus addressed him: 'Christ bless thee, brother; do thou break the bread alone, according to the episcopal rite, for I know now that thou art a bishop. Why hast thou disguised thyself so long, and prevented our giving thee the honour we owe to thee?' On hearing the saint's words, the humble stranger was greatly astonished, and adored Christ in His saint, and the bystanders in amazement gave glory to God.

The Saint's prophecy regarding Ernan the priest

AT another time, the venerable man sent Ernan, his uncle, an aged priest, to preside over the monastery he had founded many years before in Hinba island (Eilean-na-Naoimh). On his departure the saint embraced him affectionately, blessed him, and then foretold what would by and by happen to him, saying, 'This friend of mine, who is now going away from me, I never expect to see alive again in this world.' After a few days this same Ernan became very unwell, and desired to be taken back to the saint, who was much rejoiced at his return, and set out for the harbour to meet him. Ernan also himself, though with feeble step, attempted very boldly, and without assistance, to walk from the harbour to meet him; but when there was only the short distance of twenty-four paces between them, death came suddenly upon him before the saint could see his face in life, and he breathed his last as he fell to the ground, that the word of the saint might be fulfilled. Hence on that spot, before the door of the kiln, a cross was raised, and another cross was in like manner put up where the saint resided at the time of his death, which remaineth unto this day.

The Saint's prophecy regarding the family of a certain peasant

AT another time, when the saint was staying in that district which is called in the Scotic tongue Coire Salchain (Corrie Sallachan, now Corry, in Morvern), the peasants came to him, and one evening when he saw one of them approaching he said to him, 'Where dost thou live?' 'I live,' said he, 'in that district which borders the shore of Lake Crogreth (Loch Creran).' 'That district of which thou speakest,' replied the saint, 'is now being pillaged by savage marauders.' On hearing this, the unhappy peasant began to lament his wife and children; but when the saint saw him so much afflicted he consoled him, saying, 'Go, my poor man, go; thy whole family hath escaped by flight to the mountains, but thy cattle, furniture, and other effects the ruthless invaders have taken off with their unjust spoils.' When the poor man heard these words he went home, and found that all had happened exactly as the saint foretold.

The Saint's prophecy regarding a peasant called Goire, son of Aidan

AT another time, in the same way, a peasant, who at that time was by far the bravest of all the inhabitants of Korkureti (Corkaree, in Westmeath), asked the saint by what death he would die. 'Not in the battle-field shalt thou die,' said the saint, 'nor at sea; but the travelling companion of whom thou hast no suspicion shall cause thy death.' 'Perhaps,' said Goire, 'one of the friends who accompany me on my journey may be intending to murder me, or my wife, in her love for some younger man, may treacherously kill me.' 'Not so,' replied the saint. 'Why,' asked Goire, 'wilt thou not tell now the cause of my death?' 'Because,' said the saint, 'I do not wish to tell more clearly just now the companion that is to injure thee, lest the frequent thought of the fact should make thee too unhappy, until the hour come when thou shalt find that my words are verified. Why dwell longer on what I have said?'

After the lapse of a few years, this same Goire happened to be lying one day under his boat scraping off the bark from a spear-handle, when he heard others fighting near him. He rose hastily to stop the fighting, but his knife, through some neglect in the rapid movement, fell to the ground, and made a very deep wound in his knee. By such a companion, then, was his death caused, and he himself at once remembered with surprise the holy man's prophecy. After a few months he died, carried off by that same wound.

The Saint's foreknowledge and prophecy concerning a matter of less moment, but so beautiful that it cannot, I think, be passed over in silence

FOR at another time, while the saint was living in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), he called one of the brothers, and thus addressed him: 'In the morning of the third day from this date thou must sit down and wait on the shore on the western side of this island, for a crane, which is a stranger from the northern region of Hibernia, and hath been driven about by various winds, shall come, weary and fatigued, after the ninth hour, and lie down before thee on the beach quite exhausted. Treat that bird tenderly, take it to some neighbouring house, where it may be kindly received and carefully nursed and fed by thee for three days and three nights. When the crane is refreshed with the three days' rest, and is unwilling to abide any longer with us, it shall fly back with renewed strength to the pleasant part of Scotia (Ireland) from which it originally hath come. This bird do I consign to thee with such special care because it cometh from our own native place.' The brother obeyed, and on the third day, after the ninth hour, he watched as he was bid for the arrival of the expected guest. As soon as the crane came and alighted on the shore, he took it up gently in its weakness, and carried it to a dwelling that was near, where in its hunger he fed it. On his return to the monastery in the evening, the saint, without any inquiry, but as stating a fact, said to him, 'God bless thee, my child, for thy kind attention to this foreign visitor, that shall not remain long on its journey, but return within three days to its old home.' As the saint predicted, so exactly did the event prove, for after being nursed carefully for three days, the bird then gently rose on its wings to a great height in the sight of its hospitable entertainer, and marking for a little its path through the air homewards, it directed its course across the sea to Hibernia, straight as it could fly, on a calm day.

The blessed man's foreknowledge regarding the battle fought many years after in the fortress of Cethirn, and regarding the well near that place

How the Saint was favoured by God's grace with the power of distinguishing different presents

To have written thus much in the course of this first Book selecting a few instances out of many of the prophetic gifts of the blessed man, may suffice. Indeed, I have recorded only a few facts regarding this venerable person, for no doubt there were very many more which could not come to men's knowledge, from being hidden under a kind of sacramental character while those mentioned were like a few little drops which oozed out, as it were, like newly fermented wine through the chinks of a full vessel. For holy and apostolic men, in general, in order to avoid vain-glory, strive as much as they can to conceal the wonders of God's secret working within them. Yet God sometimes, whether they will or no, maketh some of these known to the world, and bringeth them into view by various means, wishing thus, as He doth, to honour those saints who honour Him, that is, our Lord Himself, to whom be glory for ever, and ever. Here endeth this first Book, and the next Book treateth of the wonderful miracles, which generally accompanied his prophetic foreknowledge.

On his miraculous powers

Of the wine which was formed from water

AT another time, while the venerable man was yet a youth in Scotia (Ireland) learning the wisdom of the Holy Scripture under St. Findbarr, the bishop, it happened that on a festival day not the least drop of wine could be found for the mystic sacrifice. Hearing the ministers of the altar complaining among themselves of this want, he took the vessel and went to the fountain, that, as a deacon, he might bring pure spring water for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist; for at that time he was himself serving in the order of deacon. The holy man then blessed in faith that element of water taken from the spring, invoking, as he did so, the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who in Cana of Galilee had changed water into wine: and the result was that by His operation in this miracle also, an inferior element, namely pure water, was changed into one of a more excellent kind, namely wine, by the hands of this illustrious man. The holy man, then returning from the fountain and entering the church, placed beside the altar the vessel containing this liquid, and said to the ministers: 'Here is wine, which the Lord Jesus hath sent, for the celebration of His mysteries.' The holy bishop and his ministers having ascertained the fact, returned most ardent thanks to God. But the holy youth ascribed this, not to himself, but to the holy bishop Vinnian. This first proof of miraculous power, Christ the Lord manifested in His disciple, just as under like circumstances He had made it the first of His own miracles in Cana of Galilee. Let this divine miracle, worked by our Columba, shine as a light in the beginning of this book, that it may lead us on to the other divine and miraculous powers which were seen in him.

Of the bitter fruit of a tree changed into sweet by the blessing of the Saint

THERE was a certain very fruitful apple tree on the south side of the monastery of the Oakwood Plain (Derry), in its immediate vicinity. When the inhabitants of the place were complaining of the exceeding bitterness of the fruit, the saint one day in autumn, came to it, and seeing the boughs bearing to no purpose a load of fruit that injured rather than pleased those who tasted it, he raised his holy hand and blessed it, saying, 'In the name of the Almighty God, O bitter tree, let all thy bitterness depart from thee; and let all thy apples, hitherto so very bitter, be now changed into the sweetest.' Wonderful to be told, quicker than the word, and at that very instant, all the apples of the tree lost their bitterness, and were changed to an amazing sweetness, according to the saint's word.

Of corn sown after midsummer and reaped in the beginning of the month of August, at the Saint's prayer, while he was residing in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona)

AT another time the saint sent his monks to bring from the little farm of a peasant some bundles of twigs to build a dwelling. When they returned to the saint, with a freight-ship laden with the foresaid bundles of twigs, they told the saint that the poor man was very sorry on account of the loss. The saint immediately gave them these directions, saying, 'Lest we do the man any wrong, take to him from us twice three measures of barley, and let him sow it now in his arable land.' According to the saint's orders, the corn was sent and delivered over to the poor man, who was called Findchan, with the above directions. He received them with thanks, but asked, 'What good can any corn do, which is sown after midsummer, against the nature of this soil?' But his wife, on the contrary, said, 'Do what thou hast been ordered by the saint, to whom the Lord will give whatever he asketh from Him.' And the messengers likewise said further, 'St. Columba, who sent us to thee with this gift, intrusted us also with this form of instruction regarding thy crop, saying, 'Let that man trust in the omnipotence of God; his corn, though sown now, when twelve days of the month of June are passed, shall be reaped in the beginning of the month of August.'' The peasant accordingly ploughed and sowed, and the crop which, against hope, he sowed at the above-mentioned time he gathered in ripe, to the admiration of all his neighbours, in the beginning of the month of August, in that place which is called Delcros (not identified).

Of a pestilential cloud, and the curing of many

Of Maugina the holy virgin, daughter of Daimen, who had lived in Clochur, of the sons of Daimen (Clogher)

Of the cures of various diseases which took place in the Ridge of Ceate (Druimceatt)

WE have been told by well-informed persons that this man of admirable life, by invoking the name of Christ, healed the disorders of various sick persons in the course of that short time which he spent at the Ridge of Ceate (Druimceatt), when attending there the meeting of the kings. For either by his merely stretching out his holy hand, or by the sprinkling of the sick with the water blessed by him, or by their touching even the hem of his cloak, or by their receiving his blessing on anything, as, for instance, on bread or salt, and dipping it in water, they who believed recovered perfect health.

Of a lump of salt blessed by the Saint, which could not be consumed by the fire

On another occasion also, Colga, son of Cellach, asked and obtained from the saint a lump of salt which he had blessed, for the cure of his sister, who had nursed him, and was now suffering from a very severe attack of ophthalmia. This same sister and nurse having received such a blessed gift from the hand of her brother, hung it up on the wall over her bed; and after some days it happened by accident that a destructive fire entirely consumed the village where this took place, and with others the house of the aforesaid woman. Yet, strange to say, in order that the gift of the blessed man might not be destroyed, the portion of the wall from which it was suspended still stood uninjured after the rest of the house had been burned down; nor did the fire venture to touch even the two uprights from which the lump of salt was suspended.

Of a volume of a book in the Saint's handwriting which could not be destroyed by water

I CANNOT think of leaving unnoticed another miracle which once took place by means of the opposite element. For many years after the holy man had departed to the Lord, a certain youth fell from his horse into the river which in Scotic is called Boend (the Boyne), and, being drowned, was for twenty days under the water. When he fell he had a number of books packed up in a leathern satchel under his arm; and so, when he was found after the above-mentioned number of days, he still had the satchel of books pressed between his arm and side. When the body was brought out to the dry ground, and the satchel opened, it was found to contain, among the volumes of other books, which were not only injured, but even rotten, a volume written by the sacred fingers of St. Columba; and it was as dry and wholly uninjured as if it had been enclosed in a desk.

Of another miracle in similar circumstances

AT another time a book of hymns for the office of every day in the week, and in the handwriting of St. Columba, having slips, with the leathern satchel which contained it, from the shoulder of a boy who fell from a bridge, was immersed in a certain river in the province of the Lagenians (Leinster). This very book lay in the water from the Feast of the Nativity of our Lord till the end of the Paschal season, and was afterwards found on the bank of the river by some women who were walking there: it was brought by them in the same satchel, which was not only soaked, but even rotten, to a certain priest named Iogenan, a Pict by race, to whom it formerly belonged. On opening the satchel himself, Iogenan found his book uninjured, and as clean and dry as if it had been as long a time in his desk, and had never fallen into the water. And we have ascertained, as undoubted truth, from those who were well informed in the matter, that the like things happened in several places with regard to books written by the hands of St. Columba namely, that the books could suffer no injury from being immersed in water. But the account we have given of the above-mentioned book of Iogenan we have received from certain truthful excellent, and honourable men, who saw the book itself, perfectly white and beautiful, after a submersion of so many days, as we have stated.These two miracles, though wrought in matters of small moment, and shown in opposite elements namely, fire and water, redound to the honour of the blessed man, and prove his great and singular merits before the Lord.

Of water drawn from the hard rock by the Saint's prayers

AND since mention has been made a little before of the element of water, we must not pass over in silence some other miracles which the Lord wrought by the saint at different times and places, in which the same element was concerned. On another occasion, then, when the saint was engaged in one of his journeys, a child was presented to him in the course of his travels for baptism by its parents; and because there was no water to be found in the neighbourhood, the saint turned aside to a rock that was near, and kneeling down prayed for a short time; then rising up after his prayer, he blessed the face of the rock, from which there immediately gushed out an abundant stream of water; and there he forthwith baptized the child. Concerning the child that was baptized he uttered the following prophecy, saying, 'This child shall live to a very great age; in his youth he will indulge freely the desires of the flesh; afterwards he will devote himself to the warfare of a Christian until the very end of his life, and thus depart to the Lord in a good old age.' All this happened to the man according to the prophecy of the saint. This was Lugucencalad, whose parents were from Artdaib Muirchol (Ardnamurchan), where there is seen even to this day a well called by the name of St. Columba.

Of a poisonous fountain of water to which the blessed man gave his blessing in the country of the Picts

AGAIN, while the blessed man was stopping for some days in the province of the Picts, he heard that there was a fountain famous amongst this heathen people, which foolish men, having their senses blinded by the devil, worshipped as a god. For those who drank of this fountain, or purposely washed their hands or feet in it, were allowed by God to be struck by demoniacal art, and went home either leprous or purblind, or at least suffering from weakness or other kinds of infirmity. By all these things the Pagans were seduced, and paid divine honour to the fountain. Having ascertained this, the saint one day went up to the fountain fearlessly; and, on seeing this, the Druids, whom he had often sent away from him vanquished and confounded, were greatly rejoiced, thinking that he would suffer like others from the touch of that baneful water. But he, having first raised his holy hand and invoked the name of Christ, washed his hands and feet; and then with his companions, drank of the water which he had blessed. And from that day the demons departed from the fountain; and not only was it not allowed to injure any one, but even many diseases amongst the people were cured by this same fountain, after it had been blessed and washed in by the saint.

Of the danger to the blessed man at sea, and the sudden calm produced by his prayers

AT another time the holy man began to be in great danger at sea, for the whole vessel was violently tossed and shaken with the huge dashing waves, and a great storm of wind was raging on all hands. The sailors then chanced to say to the saint, as he was trying to help them to bale the vessel, 'What thou art now doing is of little use to us in our present danger, thou shouldst rather pray for us as we are perishing.' On hearing this he ceased to throw out the bitter waters of the green sea wave, and began to pour out a sweet and fervent prayer to the Lord. Wonderful to relate! The very moment the saint stood up at the prow, with his hands stretched out to heaven and prayed to the Almighty, the whole storm of wind and the fury of the sea ceased more quickly than can be told, and a perfect calm instantly ensued. But those who were in the vessel were amazed, and giving thanks with great admiration, glorified the Lord in the holy and illustrious man.

Of another similar peril to him at sea

AT another time, also, when a wild and dangerous storm was raging, and his companions were crying out to the saint to pray to the Lord for them, he gave them this answer, saying, 'On this day it is not for me, but for that holy man, the Abbot Cainnech, to pray for you in your present peril.' What I am to relate is wonderful. The very same hour St. Cainnech was in his monastery, which in Latin is called Campulus Bovis, but in Scotic Ached-bou (Aghaboe, in Queen's County), and heard with the inner ear of his heart, by a revelation of the Holy Ghost, the aforesaid words of St. Columba; and when he had just begun to break the blessed bread in the refectory after the ninth hour, he hastily left the table, and with one shoe on his foot, while the other in his extreme haste was left behind, he went quickly to the church, saying, 'It is not for us now to take time to dine, when the vessel of St. Columba is in danger at sea, for at this moment he is lamenting, and calling on the name of Cainnech to pray to Christ for him and his companions in peril.' When he had said this he entered the oratory and prayed for a short time on his bended knees; and the Lord heard his prayer, the storm immediately ceased, and the sea became very calm. Whereupon St. Columba, seeing in spirit, though there was a far distance between them, the haste of Cainnech in going to the church, uttered, to the wonder of all, from his pure heart, these words, saying, 'Now I know, O Cainnech, that God has heard thy prayer; now hath thy swift running to the church with a single shoe greatly profited us.' In such a miracle as this, then, we believe that the prayers of both saints had their share in the work.

Of the staff of St. Cainnech which was forgotten in the harbour

How Baithene and Columban, the son of Beogna, holy priests, asked of the Lord, through the prayers of the blessed man, that he would grant them on the same day a favourable wind, though sailing in different directions

Of the driving out of a demon that lurked in a milk-pail

AT another time, a certain youth, named Columban, grandson of Brian, came forward hurriedly, and stopped at the door of the little cell in which the blessed man was writing. This same person, being on his way home from the milking of the cows, and carrying on his back a vessel full of new milk, asked the saint to bless his burden, as he usually did. Then the saint, being at the time at some distance away in front of him, raised his hand, and formed the saving sign in the air, which at once was greatly agitated; the bar, which fastened the lid of the pail, being pushed back through the two openings that received it, was shot away to a great distance, while the lid fell to the earth, and the greater part of the milk was spilled upon the ground. The young lad then laid down the vessel, with the little milk that remained, on its bottom on the ground, and kneeled down in prayer. The saint said to him, 'Rise up, Columban, for thou hast acted negligently in thy work today, inasmuch as thou didst not banish the demon that lurked in the bottom of the empty vessel by forming on it the sign of the cross of our Lord before the milk was poured into it; and now, as thou seest, being unable to bear the power of that sign, he has quickly fled in terror, troubled the whole vessel in every corner, and spilled the milk. Bring the vessel, then, nearer to me here that I may bless it.' This being done, the half-empty pail, which the saint had blessed, was found the same instant, filled by divine agency; and the little that had previously remained in the bottom was at once increased under the blessing of his holy hand, so as to fill it to the brim.

Concerning a Vessel which a sorcerer named Silnan had filled with milk taken from a bull

THE following is told as having occurred in the house of a rich peasant named Foirtgirn, who lived in Mount Cainle (not identified). When the saint was staying there, he decided justly a dispute between two rustics, whose coming to him he knew beforehand: and one of them, who was a sorcerer, took milk, by his diabolical art, at the command of the saint, from a bull that was near. This the saint directed to be done, not to confirm these sorceries—God forbid! but to put an end to them in the presence of all the people. The blessed man, therefore, demanded that the vessel, full, as it seemed to be, of this milk, should be immediately given to him; and he blessed it with this sentence, saying: 'Now it shall in this way be proved that this is not true milk, as it is supposed to be, but blood, which is coloured by the artifice of demons to impose on men.' This was no sooner said than the milky colour gave place to the true natural colour of blood. The bull also, which in the space of one hour wasted and pined away with a hideous leanness, and was all but dead, was sprinkled with water that had been blessed by the saint, and recovered with astonishing rapidity.

Of Lugne Mocumin

ONE day a young man of good disposition and parts, named Lugne, who afterwards, in his old age, was prior of the monastery of the Elena island (Eileen Naomh, now Nave island, near Isla), came to the saint, and complained of a bleeding which for many months had often poured profusely from the nostrils. Having asked him to come nearer, the saint pressed both his nostrils with two fingers of his right hand and blessed him. And from that hour when he received the blessing, till the last day of his life, a drop of blood never came from his nose.

Of the fishes which were specially provided by God for the blessed man

ON another occasion, when some hardy fishermen, companions of this renowned man, had taken five fish in their net in the river Sale (the Shiel, or Seil), which abounds in fish, the saint said to them, 'Try again,' said he; 'cast thy net into the stream, and you shall at once find a large fish which the Lord has provided for me.' In obedience to the saint's command they hauled in their nets a salmon of astonishing size, which God had provided for him.

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AT another time also, when the saint was stopping some days beside the lake of Ce (Loughkey, in Roscommon), he delayed his companions when they were anxious to go a-fishing, saying: 'No fish will be found in the river today or to-morrow; but on the third day I will send you, and you shall find two large river-salmon taken in the net.' And so, after two short days, they cast their nets, and landed two, of the most extraordinary size, which they found in the river which is named Bo (the Boyle). In the capture of fish on these two occasions, the power of miracles appears accompanied at the same time by a prophetic foreknowledge, and for both graces the saint and his companions gave fervent thanks to God.

Regarding Nesan the Crooked, who lived in the country bordering on the Lake of Apors (Lochaber)

THIS Nesan, though very poor, joyfully received on one occasion the saint as his guest. And after he had entertained him as hospitably as his means would afford for one night, the saint asked him the number of his heifers. He answered, 'Five.' The saint then said, 'Bring them to me that I may bless them.' And when they were brought the saint raised his holy hand and blessed them, and said: 'From this day thy five little heifers shall increase to the number of one hundred and five cows.' And as this same Nesan was a man of humble condition, having a wife and children, the saint added this further blessing, saying: 'Thy seed shall be blessed in thy children and grandchildren.' And all this was completely fulfilled without any failure, according to the word of the saint.

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ON the other hand, he pronounced the following prophetic sentence on a certain rich and very stingy man named Uigene, who despised St. Columba, and showed him no hospitality, saying: 'But the riches of that niggardly man who hath despised Christ in the strangers that came to be his guests, will gradually become less from this day, and be reduced to nothing; and he himself shall be a beggar; and his son shall go about from house to house with a half-empty wallet: and he shall be slain by a rival beggar with an axe, in the pit of a threshing-floor.' All this was exactly fulfilled in both cases, according to the prophecy of the holy man.

How the holy man blessed the few cattle belonging to Columban, a man of equally humble condition; and how, after his blessing, they increased to the number of a hundred

AT another time also, the blessed man was one night kindly treated as his guest by the aforesaid Columban, who was then very poor, and, as he had done before in the above account of Nesan, he asked his host, early next morning, as to the amount and kind of his goods. When asked, he said: 'I have only five small cows, but if thou bless them they will increase to more.' And immediately he was directed by the saint to bring them before him, and in the same manner as was related concerning the five cows of Nesan, he gave as rich a blessing to those of Columban, and said, 'Thou shalt have, by God's gift, a hundred and five cows, and an abundant blessing shall be also upon thy children and grandchildren.' All this was granted to the full in his lands, and cattle, and offspring, according to the prophecy of the blessed man; and, what is very strange, the number of cattle determined by the saint for both these men, whenever it reached one hundred and five, could not in any way be increased; for those that were beyond this stated number, being carried off by various accidents, never appeared to be of any value, except in so far as anything might be employed for the use of the family, or spent in almsgiving. In this history, then, as in the others, the gifts both of miracles and prophecy are clearly shown together, for in the large increase of the cattle we see the virtue of his blessing and of his prayer, and, in the determination of the number, his prophetic knowledge.

Of the death of some wicked men who had spurned the Saint

THE venerable man had a great love for the above-named Columban, on account of the many acts of kindness he had done to him, and caused him by blessing him, from being poor to become very rich. Now, there was at that time a certain wicked man, a persecutor of the good, named Joan, son of Conall, son of Domnall, sprung from the royal tribe of Gabran. This man troubled the foresaid Columban, the friend of St. Columba; and not once, but twice, attacked and plundered his house and carried off all he could find in it. Hence it not unfitly happened to this wicked man, that as he and his associates, after having plundered the house of the same person a third time, were returning to their vessel, laden with plunder, he met advancing towards him, the holy man whom he had despised, when he thought he was afar off. When the saint reproached him for his evil deeds, and advised and besought him to give up the plunder, he remained hardened and obstinate, and scorned the holy man; and thus mocking and laughing at the blessed man, he embarked with the booty. Yet the saint followed him to the water's edge, and wading up to the knees in the clear green sea-water, with both his hands raised to heaven, earnestly invoked Christ, who glorifies His elect, who are giving glory to Him. Now the haven where he thus for some time stood and besought the Lord after the departure of the oppressor, is at a place called in Scotic Ait-Chambas Art-Muirchol (Camus-an-Gaall, Ardnamurchan). Then the saint, as soon as he had finished his prayer, returned to the dry ground, and sat down on the higher ground with his companions, and spoke to them in that hour these very terrible words, saying: 'This miserable wretch who, hath despised Christ in His servants will never return to the port from which you have now seen him set sail: neither shall he, nor his wicked associates, reach the land for which they are bound, for a sudden death shall prevent it. This day a furious storm shall proceed from a cloud, which you will soon see rising in the north, shall overwhelm him and his companions, so that not one of them will survive to tell the tale.' After the lapse of a few moments, even while the day was perfectly calm, behold! a cloud arose from the sea, as the saint had said, and caused a great hurricane, which overtook the plunderer with his spoil, between the Malean and Colosus islands (Mull and Colonsay), and overwhelmed him in the midst of the sea, which was suddenly lashed into fury: and not even one of those in the vessel escaped, as the saint had said: and in this wonderful manner, by such a singular storm, while the whole sea around remained quiet, were the robbers miserably, but justly, overwhelmed and sunk into the deep.

Of a certain Feradach, who was cut off by sudden death

AT another time also, the holy man specially recommended a certain exile, of noble race among the Picts, named Tarain, to the care of one Feradach, a rich man, who lived in the Ilean island (Isla), that he might be received in his retinue for some months as one of his friends. After he had accepted the person thus highly recommended at the hand of the holy man, he in a few days acted treacherously, and cruelly ordered him to be put to death. When the news of this horrid crime was carried by travellers to the saint, he replied by the following prediction: 'That unhappy wretch hath not lied unto me, but unto God, and his name shall be blotted out of the book of life. We are speaking these words now in the middle of summer, but in autumn, before he shall eat of swine's flesh that hath been fattened on the fruits of the trees, he shall be seized by a sudden death, and carried off to the infernal regions.' When the miserable man was told this prophecy of the saint, he scorned and laughed at him; and when some days of the autumn months had passed, he ordered a sow that had been fattened on the kernels of nuts to be killed, none of his other swine having yet been slaughtered: he ordered also, that its entrails should be immediately taken out and a piece quickly roasted for him on the spit, so that by hurrying and eating of it thus early, he might falsify the prediction of the blessed man. As soon as it was roasted he asked for a very small morsel to taste it, but before the hand which he stretched out to take it had reached his mouth he expired, and fell down on his back a corpse. And all who saw or heard it were greatly astonished and terrified; and they honoured and glorified Christ in his holy prophet.

Concerning a certain other impious man, a persecutor of the churches, who was called in Latin Manus Dextera

Of yet another oppressor of the innocent

WHEN the holy man, while yet a youth in deacon's orders, was living in the region of the Lagenians (Leinster), learning the divine wisdom, it happened one day that an unfeeling and pitiless oppressor of the innocent was pursuing a young girl who fled before him on a level plain. As she chanced to observe the aged Gemman, master of the foresaid young deacon, reading on the plain, she ran straight to him as fast as she could. Being alarmed at such an unexpected occurrence, he called on Columba, who was reading at some distance, that both together, to the best of their ability, might defend the girl from her pursuer; but he immediately came up, and without any regard to their presence, stabbed the girl with his lance under their very cloaks, and leaving her lying dead at their feet turned to go away back. Then the old man, in great affliction, turning to Columba, said: 'How long, holy youth Columba, shall God, the just Judge, allow this horrid crime and this insult to us to go unpunished?' Then the saint at once pronounced this sentence on the perpetrator of the deed: 'At the very instant the soul of this girl whom he hath murdered ascendeth into heaven, shall the soul of the murderer go down into hell.' And scarcely had he spoken the words when the murderer of the innocent, like Ananias before Peter, fell down dead on the spot before the eyes of the holy youth. The news of this sudden and terrible vengeance was soon spread abroad throughout many districts of Scotia (Ireland), and with it the wonderful fame of the holy deacon.

What we have said may suffice concerning the terrible punishments inflicted on those who were opposed to him; we will now relate a few things regarding wild beasts.

How a wild boar was destroyed through his prayers

ON one occasion when the blessed man was staying some days in the Scian island (Sky), he left the brethren and went alone a little farther than usual to pray; and having entered a dense forest he met a huge wild boar that happened to be pursued by hounds. As soon as the saint saw him at some distance, he stood looking intently at him. Then raising his holy hand and invoking the name of God in fervent prayer, he said to it, 'Thou shalt proceed no further in this direction: perish in the spot which thou hast now reached.' At the sound of these words of the saint in the woods, the terrible brute was not only unable to proceed farther, but by the efficacy of his word immediately fell dead before his face.

How an aquatic monster was driven off by virtue of the blessed man's prayer

ON another occasion also, when the blessed man was living for some days in the province of the Picts, he was obliged to cross the river Nesa (the Ness); and when he reached the bank of the river, he saw some of the inhabitants burying an unfortunate man, who, according to the account of those who were burying him, was a short time before seized, as he was swimming, and bitten most severely by a monster that lived in the water; his wretched body was, though too late, taken out with a hook, by those who came to his assistance in a boat. The blessed man, on hearing this, was so far from being dismayed, that he directed one of his companions to swim over and row across the coble that was moored at the farther bank. And Lugne Mocumin hearing the command of the excellent man, obeyed without the least delay, taking off all his clothes, except his tunic, and leaping into the water. But the monster, which, so far from being satiated, was only roused for more prey, was lying at the bottom of the stream, and when it felt the water disturbed above by the man swimming, suddenly rushed out, and, giving an awful roar, darted after him, with its mouth wide open, as the man swam in the middle of the stream. Then the blessed man observing this, raised his holy hand, while all the rest, brethren as well as strangers, were stupefied with terror, and, invoking the name of God, formed the saving sign of the cross in the air, and commanded the ferocious monster, saying, 'Thou shalt go no further, nor touch the man; go back with all speed.' Then at the voice of the saint, the monster was terrified, and fled more quickly than if it had been pulled back with ropes, though it had just got so near to Lugne, as he swam, that there was not more than the length of a spear-staff between the man and the beast. Then the brethren seeing that the monster had gone back, and that their comrade Lugne returned to them in the boat safe and sound, were struck with admiration, and gave glory to God in the blessed man. And even the barbarous heathens, who were present, were forced by the greatness of this miracle, which they themselves had seen, to magnify the God of the Christians.

How the Saint blessed the soil of this island that no poison of serpents should henceforth hurt any one in it

ON a certain day in that same summer in which he passed to the Lord, the saint went in a chariot to visit some of the brethren, who were engaged in some heavy work in the western part of the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona). After speaking to them some words of comfort and encouragement, the saint stood upon the higher ground, and uttered the following prophecy: 'My dear children, I know that from this day you shall never see my face again anywhere in this field.' Seeing the brethren filled with sorrow upon hearing these words, the saint tried to comfort them as best he could; and, raising both his holy hands, he blessed the whole of this our island, saying: 'From this very moment poisonous reptiles shall in no way be able to hurt men or cattle in this island, so long as the inhabitants shall continue to observe the commandments of Christ.'

Of the knife which the Saint blessed by signing it with the Lord's Cross

AT another time, a certain brother named Molua, grandson of Brian, came to the saint whilst he was writing, and said to him, ' This knife which I hold in my hand I beseech thee to bless.' The saint, without turning his face from the book out of which he was writing, extended his holy hand a little, with the pen in it, and blessed the knife by signing it. But when the foresaid brother had departed with the knife thus blessed, the saint asked, 'What sort of a knife have I blessed for that brother?' Diormit, the saint's faithful attendant, replied, 'Thou hast blessed a knife for killing bulls or oxen.' The saint then, on the contrary, said, 'I trust in my Lord that the knife I have blessed will never wound men or cattle.' This word of the holy man received the strongest confirmation the same hour; for the same brother went beyond the enclosure of the monastery and attempted to kill an ox, but, although he made three strong efforts with all his strength, yet he could not even cut the skin. When this came to the knowledge of the monks, they skillfully melted down the iron of the knife and applied a thin coating of it to all the iron tools used in the monastery. And such was the abiding virtue of the saint's blessing, that these tools could never afterwards inflict a wound on flesh.

Of the cure of Diormit when sick

AT another time, Diormit, the saint's faithful attendant, was sick even unto death, and the saint went to see him in his extremity. Having invoked the name of Christ, he stood at the bed of the sick man and prayed for him, saying, 'O my Lord, be propitious to me, I beseech thee, and take not away the soul of my faithful attendant from its dwelling in the flesh whilst I live.' Having said this, he remained silent for a short time, and then again he spoke these words, with his sacred mouth, ' My son shall not only not die at present, but will even live for many years after my death.' This prayer of the saint was heard, for, on the instant that the saint's prayer was made, Diormit was restored to perfect health, and lived also for many years after St. Columba had passed to the Lord.

Of the cure of Finten, the son of Aid, when at the point of death

AT another time also, as the saint was making a journey beyond the Dorsal Ridge of Britain (Drumalban), a certain youth named Finten, one of his companions, was seized with a sudden illness and reduced to the last extremity. His comrades were much afflicted on his account, and besought the saint to pray for him. Yielding at once to their entreaties, Columba raised his holy hands to heaven in earnest prayer, and blessing the sick person, said, 'This youth for whom you plead shall enjoy a long life; he will survive all who are here present, and die in a good old age.' This prophecy of the blessed man was fulfilled in every particular; for this same youth, after founding the monastery of Kailli-au-inde (not identified), closed this present life at a good old age.

Of the boy whom the holy man raised from the dead, in the name of the Lord Christ

AT the time when St. Columba was tarrying for some days in the province of the Picts, a certain peasant who, with his whole family, had listened to and learned through an interpreter the word of life preached by the holy man, believed and was baptized the husband, together with his wife, children, and domestics. A very few days after his conversion, one of the sons of this householder was attacked with a dangerous illness and brought to the very borders of life and death. When the Druids saw him in a dying state they began with great bitterness to upbraid his parents, and to extol their own gods as more powerful than the God of the Christians, and thus to despise God as though He were weaker than their gods. When all this was told to the blessed man, he burned with zeal for God, and proceeded with some of his companions to the house of the friendly peasant, where he found the afflicted parents celebrating the obsequies of their child, who was newly dead. The saint, on seeing their bitter grief, strove to console them with words of comfort, and exhorted them not to doubt in any way the omnipotence of God. He then inquired, saying, 'In what chamber is the dead body of your son lying?' And being conducted by the bereaved father under the sad roof, he left the whole crowd of persons who accompanied him outside, and immediately entered by himself into the house of mourning, where, falling on his knees, he prayed to Christ our Lord, having his face bedewed with copious tears. Then rising from his kneeling posture, he turned his eyes towards the deceased and said, 'In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, arise, and stand upon thy feet.' At the sound of this glorious word from the saint, the soul returned to the body, and the person that was dead opened his eyes and revived. The apostolic man then taking him by the hand raised him up, and placing him in a standing position, led him forth with him from the house, and restored him to his parents. Upon this the cries of the applauding multitude broke forth, sorrow was turned into joy, and the God of the Christians glorified. We must thus believe that our saint had the gift of miracles like the prophets Elias and Eliseus, and like the apostles Peter, Paul, and John, he had the honour bestowed on him of raising the dead to life, and now in heaven, placed amid the prophets and apostles, this prophetic and apostolic man enjoys a glorious and eternal throne in the heavenly fatherland with Christ, who reigns with the Father in the unity of the Holy Ghost forever.

Concerning the illness with which the Druid Broichan was visited for his detention of a female slave, and his cure on her release

ABOUT the same time the venerable man, from motives of humanity, besought Broichan the Druid to liberate a certain Scotic female slave, and when he very cruelly and obstinately refused to part with her, the saint then spoke to him to the following effect: 'Know, O Broichan, and be assured that if thou refuse to set this captive free, as I desire thee, that thou shalt die suddenly before I take my departure again from this province.' Having said this in presence of Brude, the king, he departed from the royal palace and proceeded to the river Nesa (the Ness); from this stream he took a white pebble, and showing it to his companions said to them: 'Behold this white pebble by which God will effect the cure of many diseases among this heathen nation.' Having thus spoken, he instantly added, 'Broichan is chastised grievously at this moment, for an angel being sent from heaven, and striking him severely, hath broken into many pieces the glass cup in his hand from which he was drinking, and hath left him gasping deeply for breath, and half dead. Let us await here a short time, for two of the king's messengers, who have been sent after us in haste, to request us to return quickly and help the dying Broichan, who, now that he is thus terribly punished, consenteth to set the girl free.' Whilst the saint was yet speaking, behold, there arrived, as he had predicted, two horsemen who were sent by the king, and who related all that had occurred to Broichan in the royal fortress, according to the prediction of the saint—both the breaking of the drinking goblet, the punishment of the Druid, and his willingness to set his captive at liberty; they then added: 'The king and his friends have sent us to thee to request that thou wouldst cure his foster-father Broichan, who lieth in a dying state.' Having heard these words of the messengers, St. Columba sent two of his companions to the king with the pebble which he had blessed, and said to them: 'If Broichan shall first promise to set the maiden free, then at once immerse this little stone in water, and let him drink from it and he shall be instantly cured; but if he break his vow and refuse to liberate her, he shall die that instant.' The two persons, in obedience to the saint's instructions, proceeded to the palace, and announced to the king the words of the venerable man. When they were made known to the king and his tutor Broichan, they were so dismayed that they immediately liberated the captive and delivered her to the saint's messengers. The pebble was then immersed in water, and in a wonderful manner, contrary to the laws of nature, the stone floated on the water like a nut or an apple, nor, as it had been blessed by the holy man, could it be submerged. Broichan drank from the stone as it floated on the water, and instantly returning from the verge of death recovered his perfect health and soundness of body. This remarkable pebble, which was afterwards preserved among the treasures of the king, through the mercy of God effected the cure of sundry diseases among the people, while it in the same manner floated when dipped in water. And what is very wonderful, when this same stone was sought for by those sick persons whose term of life had arrived, it could not be found. Thus, on the very day on which King Brude died, though it was sought for, yet it could not be found in the place where it had been previously laid.

Of the manner in which St. Columba overcame Broichan the Druid and sailed against the wind

ON a certain day after the events recorded in the foregoing chapters, Broichan, whilst conversing with the saint, said to him: 'Tell me, Columba, when dost thou propose to set sail?' The saint replied, 'I intend to begin my voyage after three days, if God permits me, and preserves my life.' Broichan said, 'On the contrary, thou shalt not be able, for I can make the winds unfavourable to thy voyage, and cause a great darkness to envelop you in its shade.' Upon this the saint observed: 'The almighty power of God ruleth all things, and in His name and under His guiding providence all our movements are directed.' What more need I say? That same day, the saint, accompanied by a large number of followers, went to the long lake of the river Nesa (Loch Ness), as he had determined. Then the Druids began to exult, seeing that it had become very dark, and that the wind was very violent and contrary. Nor should we wonder, that God sometimes allows them, with the aid of evil spirits, to raise tempests and agitate the sea. For thus legions of demons once met in the midst of the sea the holy bishop Germanus, whilst on his voyage through the Gallican channel to Britain, whither he was going from zeal for the salvation of souls, and exposed him to great dangers, by raising a violent storm and causing great darkness whilst it was yet day. But all these things were dissipated by the prayers of St. Germanus more rapidly than his words were uttered, and the darkness passed away. Our Columba, therefore, seeing that the sea was violently agitated, and that the wind was most unfavourable for his voyage, called on Christ the Lord and embarked in his small boat; and whilst the sailors hesitated, he the more confidently ordered them to raise the sails against the wind. No sooner was this order executed, while the whole crowd was looking on, than the vessel ran against the wind with extraordinary speed. And after a short time, the wind, which hitherto had been against them, veered round to help them on their voyage, to the intense astonishment of all. And thus throughout the remainder of that day the light breeze continued most favourable, and the skiff of blessed man was carried safely to the wished-for haven. Let the reader therefore consider how great and eminent this venerable man must have been, upon whom God Almighty, for the purpose of manifesting His illustrious name before a heathen people, bestowed the gift of working such miracles as those we have recorded.

Of the sudden opening of the door of the royal fortress of its own accord

AT another time, when the saint made his first journey to King Brude, it happened that the king, elated by the pride of royalty, acted haughtily, and would not open his gates on the first arrival of the blessed man. When the man of God observed this, he approached the folding doors with his companions, and having first formed upon them the sign of the cross of our Lord, he then knocked at and laid his hand upon the gate, which instantly flew open of its own accord, the bolts having been driven back with great force. The saint and his companions then passed through the gate thus speedily opened. And when the king learned what had occurred, he and his councillors were filled with alarm, and immediately setting out from the palace, he advanced to meet with due respect the blessed man, whom he addressed in the most conciliating and respectful language. And ever after from that day, so long as he lived, the king held this holy and reverend man in very great honour, as was due.

Of a similar unclosing of the Church of the Field of the Two Streams (Tirdaglas, in the county of Tipperary)

UPON another occasion, when the saint was staying a few days in Scotia (Ireland), he went, on invitation, to visit the brethren in the monastery of the Field of the Two Streams (Tirdaglas). But it happened, by some accident, that when he arrived at the church the keys of the oratory could not be found. When the saint observed the brethren lamenting to one another about the keys being astray, and the door locked, he went himself to the door and said, 'The Lord is able, without a key, to open his own house for his servants.' At these words, the bolts of the lock were driven back with great force, and the door opened of itself. The saint entered the church before all with universal admiration; and he was afterwards most hospitably entertained by the brethren, and treated by all with the greatest respect and veneration.

Concerning a certain peasant who was a beggar, for whom, the Saint made and blessed a stake for killing wild beasts

AT another time there came to St. Columba a very poor peasant, who lived in the district which borders the shores of the Aporic lake (Lochaber). The blessed man, taking pity on the wretched man, who had not wherewithal to support his wife and family, gave him all the alms he could afford, and then said to him, 'Poor man, take a branch from the neighbouring wood, and bring it to me quickly.' The wretched man brought the branch as he was directed, and the saint, taking it in his own hand, sharpened it to a point like a stake, and, blessing it, gave it back to the destitute man, saying, 'Preserve this stake with great care, and it, I believe, will never hurt men or cattle, but only wild beasts and fishes; and as long as thou preservest this stake thou shalt never be without abundance of venison in thy house.' The wretched beggar upon hearing this was greatly delighted, and returning home, fixed the stake in a remote place which was frequented by the wild beasts of the forest; and when that next night was past, he went at early morning dawn to see the stake, and found a stag of great size that had fallen upon it and been transfixed by it. Why should I mention more instances? Not a day could pass, so the tradition goes, in which he did not find a stag or hind or some other wild beast fixed upon the stake; and his whole house being thus filled with the flesh of the wild beasts, he sold to his neighbours all that remained after his own family was supplied. But, as in the case of Adam, the envy of the devil also found out this miserable man also through his wife, who, not as a prudent matron, but rather like one infatuated, thus spoke to her husband: 'Remove the stake out of the earth, for if men, or cattle, perish on it, then thou and I and our children shall be put to death, or led into captivity.' To these words her husband replied, 'It will not be so, for when the holy man blessed the stake he said it would never injure men or cattle.' Still the miserable man, after saying this, yielded to his wife, and taking the stake out of the earth, like a man deprived of his reason, brought it into the house and placed it against the wall. Soon after his house-dog fell upon it and was killed, and on its death his wife said to him, 'One of thy children will fall upon it and be killed.' At these words of his wife he removed the stake out of the house, and having carried it to a forest, placed it in the thickest brushwood, where, as he thought, no animal could be hurt by it; but upon his return the following day he found a roe had fallen upon it and perished. He then took it away and concealed it by thrusting it under the water in the edge of the river, which may be called in Latin Nigra Dea (not identified). On returning the next day he found transfixed, and still held by it, a salmon of extraordinary size, which he was scarcely able by himself to take from the river and carry home. At the same time, he took the stake again back with him from the water, and placed it outside on the top of his house, where a crow having soon after lighted, was instantly killed by the force of the fall. Upon this the miserable man, yielding again to the advice of his foolish wife, took down the stake from the house-top, and taking an axe cut it in many pieces, and threw them into the fire. Having thus deprived himself of this effectual means of alleviating his distress, he was again, as he deserved to be, reduced to beggary. This freedom from want was owing to the stake, so frequently mentioned above, which the blessed man had blest and given him, and which, so long as it was kept, could suffice for snares and nets, and every kind of fishing and hunting; but when the stake was lost, the wretched peasant, though he had been enriched for the time, could only, when too late, lament over it with his whole family all the rest of his life.

Concerning a leathern vessel for holding milk which was carried from its place by the ebb, and brought back again by the return of the tide

ON another occasion, when the blessed man's messenger, who was named Lugaid, and surnamed Laitir, was at his command making preparations for a voyage to Scotia (Ireland), he searched for and found amongst the sea-going articles that belonged to the saint's ship a leathern vessel for holding milk. This vessel he immersed in the sea in order to moisten it, and put upon it stones of considerable size. He then went to the saint, and told him what he had done with the leathern bottle. The saint smiled and said, 'I do not think that this vessel, which thou sayest thou hast sunk under the waves, will accompany thee to Hibernia on the present occasion.' 'Why,' rejoined Lugaid, 'can I not take it with me in the ship?' The saint replied, 'Thou shalt learn the reason tomorrow, as the event will prove.' On the following morning, therefore, Lugaid went to take the vessel out of the sea, but the ebb of the tide had carried it away during the night. When he could not find it, he returned in grief to the saint, and on his bended knees on the ground confessed his negligence. St. Columba consoled him, saying, 'My brother, grieve not for perishable things. The vessel which the ebbing tide has carried away, the returning tide will, after your departure, bring back to the spot where thou didst place it.' At the ninth hour of the same day, soon after the departure of Lugaid from the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), the saint addressed those who stood near him, and said, 'Let one of you now go to the sea, for the leathern vessel for which Lugaid was lamenting, when it was carried away by the ebbing tide, hath been brought back by the returning tide, and is to be found at the place from which it was taken.' Upon hearing these words spoken by the saint, a certain active youth ran to the sea-shore, where he found the vessel, as the saint had predicted. He immediately took it out of the water, and with great joy hastened back at full speed to the holy man, into whose hands he delivered it, amid the great admiration of all the beholders.

In the two miracles which we have just recorded, and which regard such common and trifling things as a wooden stake and a leathern vessel, there may, nevertheless, be observed, as we noticed before, the gift of prophecy united with the power of working miracles.

Let us now proceed with our narrative regarding other things.

The Saint's prophecy regarding Libran, of the Rush-ground

AT another time, while the saint was living in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), a certain man of humble birth, who had lately assumed the clerical habit, sailed over from Scotia (Ireland), and came to the blessed man's monastery on the island. The saint found him one day sitting alone in the lodging provided for strangers, and inquired first about his country, family, and the object of his journey. He replied that he was born in the region of the Connacht men (Connaught), and that he had undertaken that long and weary journey to atone for his sins by the pilgrimage. In order to test the depth of his repentance, the saint then laid down minutely before his eyes the hardship and labour attending the monastic exercises. 'I am prepared,' he replied at once to the saint, 'to do everything whatever thou cost bid me, however hard and however humiliating.' Why add more? That same hour he confessed all his sins, and promised, kneeling on the ground, to fulfil the laws of penance. The saint said to him, 'Arise and take a seat.' Then he thus addressed him as he sat, 'Thou must do penance for seven years in the Ethican land (Tiree); thou and I, with God's blessing, shall survive that period of seven years.' Being comforted by the saint's words, he first gave thanks to God, and turning afterwards to the saint, asked, ' What am I to do with regard to an oath which I have violated ? for while living in my own country I murdered a certain man, and afterwards, as guilty of murdering him, I was confined in prison. But a certain very wealthy blood-relation came to my aid, and promptly loosing me from my prison-chains, rescued me from the death to which I was condemned. When I was released, I bound myself by oath to serve that friend all the days of my life; but I had remained only a short time in his service, when I felt ashamed of serving man, and very much preferred to devote myself to God. I therefore left that earthly master, broke the oath, and departing, reached thee safely, God prospering my journey thus far.' The saint, on seeing him very much grieved over such things, and first prophesying with respect to him, thus made answer, saying, 'At the end of seven years, as I said to thee, thou shalt come to me here during the forty days of Lent, and thou shalt approach the altar and partake of the Eucharist at the great Paschal festival.' Why hang longer over words? The penitent stranger in every respect obeyed the saint's commands; and being sent at that time to the monastery of the Plain of Lunge (Magh Lunge, in Tiree), and having fully completed his seven years' penance there, returned to him during Lent, according to the previous command and prophecy. After celebrating the Paschal solemnity, and coming at that time to the altar as directed, he came again to the saint to consult him on the above-mentioned oath. Then the saint gave this prophetic answer to his inquiry, 'That earthly master of thine of whom thou hast formerly spoken is still living; so are thy father, thy mother, and thy brethren. Thou must now, therefore, prepare thyself for the voyage.' And while speaking, he drew forth a sword ornamented with carved ivory, and said, 'Take this gift to carry with thee, and offer it to thy master as the price of thy ransom; but when thou dost, he will on no account accept it, for he has a virtuous, kindly-disposed wife, and by the influence of her wholesome counsel he shall that very day, without recompense or ransom, set thee free, unbinding the girdle round thy captive loins. But though thus relieved from this anxiety, thou shalt not escape a source of disquietude arising on another hand, for thy brethren will come round and press thee to make good the support due to thy father for so long a time which thou hast neglected. Comply thou at once with their wish, and take in hand dutifully to cherish thine aged father. Though the duty may, indeed, seem weighty, thou must not be grieved thereat, because thou shalt soon be relieved of it; for from the day on which thou shalt take charge of thy father, the end of that same week shall see his death and burial. But after thy father's burial thy brethren will a second time come and sharply demand of thee that thou pay the expenses due for thy mother. However, thy younger brother will assuredly set thee free from this necessity by engaging to perform in thy stead every duty or obligation which thou owest to thy mother.' Having heard these words, the above-mentioned brother, whose name was Libran, received the gift, and set out enriched with the saint's blessing. When he reached his native country, he found everything exactly as prophesied by the saint. For when he showed and made offer of the price of his freedom to his master, his wife opposed his wish to accept it, saying, 'What need have we to accept this ransom sent by St. Columba? We are not even worthy of such a favour. Release this dutiful servant without payment. The prayers of the holy man will profit us more than this price which is offered us.' The husband, therefore, listening to his wife's wholesome counsel, set the slave free at once without ransom. He was afterwards, according to the saint's prophecy, compelled by his brethren to undertake the providing for his father, and he buried him at his death on the seventh day. After his burial they required him to discharge the same duty to his mother; but a younger brother, as the saint foretold, engaged to supply his place, and thus released him from the obligation. 'We ought not on any account,' said he to his brethren, ' detain this our brother at home, who, for the salvation of his soul, has spent seven years in penitential exercises with St. Columba in Britain.' After being thus released from the matters which gave him annoyance, he bade farewell to his mother and brothers, and returned a free man to a place called in the Scotic tongue Daire Calgaich(Derry). There he found a ship under sail just leaving the harbour, and he called to the sailors to take him on board and convey him to Britain. But they, not being the monks of St. Columba, refused to receive him. He then prayed to the venerable man, who, though far distant, indeed, in body, yet was present in spirit, as the event soon proved, saying, 'Is it thy will, holy Columba, that these sailors, who do not receive me, thy companion, proceed upon their voyage with full sails and favourable winds?' At this saying the wind, which till then was favourable for them, veered round on the instant to the opposite point. While this was taking place, the sailors saw again the same man running in a line with them along the bank of the river, and, hastily taking counsel together, they cried out to him from the ship, saying, 'Perhaps the wind hath suddenly turned against us, for this reason, that we refused to give thee a passage; but if even now we were to invite thee to be with us on board, couldst thou change these contrary winds to be in our favour?' When the pilgrim heard this, he said to them, 'St. Columba, to whom I am going, and whom I have served for the last seven years, is able by prayer, if you take me on board, to obtain a favourable wind for you from his Lord.' They then on hearing this, approached the land with their ship, and asked him to join them in it. As soon as he came on board, he said, 'In the name of the Almighty God, whom St. Columba blamelessly serveth, spread your sails on the extended yards.' And when they had done so, the gale of contrary winds immediately became favourable, and the vessel made a prosperous voyage under full sail to Britain. After reaching the shores of Britain, Libran left the ship, blessed the sailors, and went directly to St. Columba, who was staying in the Iouan island(Hy, now Iona). The blessed man welcomed him with joy, and, without receiving the information from any one, told him fully of everything that happened on his way—of his master and the wife's kindly suggestion and of his being set free by her advice; of his brethren also, and the death and burial of his father within the week; of his mother, and the timely assistance of the younger brother; of what occurred as he was returning, the adverse and favourable winds; of the words of the sailors when first they refused to take him in; of the promise of fair wind, and of the favourable change when they took him on board their vessel. Why need I add more? Every particular the saint foretold he now described after it was exactly fulfilled. After these words, the traveller gave back to the saint the price of his ransom which he had received from him; and at the same time the saint addressed him in these words: ' Inasmuch as thou art free, thou shalt be called Libran.' Libran took at the same period the monastic vows with much fervour. And when he was being sent back again by the holy man to the monastery where he had formerly served the Lord during the seven years of penance, he received in farewell the following prophetic announcement regarding himself: 'Thou shalt live yet a long time, and end this present life in a good old age; yet thou shalt not arise from the dead in Britain, but in Scotia(Ireland).' Hearing these words, he knelt down and wept bitterly. When the saint saw his great grief he tried to comfort him, saying, 'Arise, and be not sad. Thou shalt die in one of my monasteries, and thy lot shall be among my chosen monks in the kingdom; and with them thou shalt awake from the sleep of death unto the resurrection of life.' When he heard this unusual consolation from the saint he rejoiced exceedingly, and, being enriched by the saint's blessing, went away in peace.

Let it suffice that we have written these truthful prophecies of St. Columba regarding Libran of the Rush-ground. He was called 'of the Rush-ground' from his having been engaged many years in the labour of collecting rushes.

Concerning a certain little woman who, as a daughter of Eve, was enduring the great and extremely dangerous pains of childbirth

ON a certain day during the saint's stay in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), the saint arose from reading, and said with a smile, 'I must now hasten to the oratory to pray to the Lord on behalf of a poor woman in Hibernia, who at this moment is suffering the pangs of a most difficult childbirth, and is calling upon the name of Columba. She trusteth that God will grant her relief from her sufferings through my prayers, because she is a relation of mine, being lineally descended from the house of my mother's parentage.' Having said this, the saint, being touched with pity for the poor woman, hastened to the church, and, on his bended knees, earnestly prayed for her to Christ, who was Himself by birth a partaker of humanity. Returning from the church after his prayer, he said to the brethren who met him, 'The Lord Jesus, born of a woman, hath given seasonable help to this poor woman, and hath mercifully relieved her from her distress. She hath been safely delivered of a child, nor shall she die upon this occasion.' That same hour, as the saint had predicted, the poor woman, by invoking his name, was safely delivered, and restored to perfect health, as we afterwards learned from travellers who came to us from that part of Scotia (Ireland) where the woman resided.

Of one Lugne, surnamed Tudida, a pilot, who lived on the Rechrean island (either Rathlin or Lambay), and whom, as being deformed, his wife hated

ANOTHER time, when the saint was living on the Rechrean island, a certain man of humble birth came to him and complained of his wife, who, as he said, so hated him, that she would on no account allow him to come near her for marriage rights. The saint on hearing this, sent for the wife, and, so far as he could, began to reprove her on that account, saying: 'Why, O woman, dost thou endeavour to withdraw thy flesh from thyself, while the Lord says, 'They shall be two in one flesh'? Wherefore the flesh of thy husband is thy flesh.' She answered and said, 'Whatever thou shalt require of me I am ready to do, however hard it may be, with this single exception, that thou dost not urge me in any way to sleep in one bed with Lugne. I do not refuse to perform every duty at home, or, if thou dost command me, even to pass over the seas, or to live in some monastery for women.' The saint then said, 'What thou dost propose cannot be lawfully done, for thou art bound by the law of the husband as long as thy husband liveth, for it would be impious to separate those whom God has lawfully joined together.' Immediately after these words he added: 'This day let us three, namely, the husband and his wife and myself, join in prayer to the Lord and in fasting.' But the woman replied: 'I know it is not impossible for thee to obtain from God, when thou askest them, those things that seem to us either difficult, or even impossible.' It is unnecessary to say more. The husband and wife agreed to fast with the saint that day, and the following night the saint spent sleepless in prayer for them. Next day he thus addressed the wife in presence of her husband, and said to her: 'O woman, art thou still ready to-day, as thou saidst yesterday, to go away to a convent of women?' 'I know now,' she answered, 'that thy prayer to God for me hath been heard; for that man whom I hated yesterday, I love today; for my heart hath been changed last night in some unknown way—from hatred to love.' Why need we linger over it? From that day to the hour of death, the soul of the wife was firmly cemented in affection to her husband, so that she no longer refused those mutual matrimonial rights which she was formerly unwilling to allow.

The prophecy of the blessed man regarding the voyage of Cormac the grandson of Lethan

Having mentioned thus briefly the prediction of the blessed man regarding Cormac's second voyage, we have now to relate another equally remarkable instance of the holy man's prophetic knowledge regarding his third voyage.

When Cormac was laboriously engaged in his third voyage over the ocean, he was exposed to the most imminent danger of death. For, when for fourteen days in summer, and as many nights, his vessel sailed with full sails before a south wind, in a straight course from land, into the northern regions, his voyage seemed to be extended beyond the limits of human wanderings, and return to be impossible. Accordingly, after the tenth hour of the fourteenth day, certain dangers of a most formidable and almost insurmountable kind presented themselves. A multitude of loathsome and annoying insects, such as had never been seen before, covered the sea in swarms, and struck the keel and sides, the prow, and stern of the vessel, so very violently, that it seemed as if they would wholly penetrate the leathern covering of the ship. According to the accounts afterwards given by those who were there, they were about the size of frogs; they could swim, but were not able to fly; their sting was extremely painful, and they crowded upon the handles of the oars.

When Cormac and his fellow-voyagers had seen these and other monsters, which it is not now our province to describe, they were filled with fear and alarm, and, shedding copious tears, they prayed to God, who is a kind and ready helper of those who are in trouble. At that same hour our holy Columba, although far away in body, was present in spirit with Cormac in the ship. Accordingly he gave the signal, and calling the brethren to the oratory, he entered the church, and addressing those who were present, he uttered the following prophecy in his usual manner: 'Brethren, pray with all your usual fervour for Cormac, who by sailing too far hath passed the bounds of human enterprise, and is exposed at this moment to dreadful alarm and fright, in the presence of monsters which were never before seen, and are almost indescribable. We ought, therefore, to sympathize with our brethren and associates who are in such imminent danger, and to pray to the Lord with them; behold at this moment Cormac and his sailors are shedding copious tears. and praying with intense fervency to Christ; let us assist them by our prayers, that God may take compassion upon us, and cause the wind, which for the past fourteen days has blown from the south, to blow from the north, and this north wind will, of course, deliver Cormac's vessel out of all danger.' Having said this, he knelt before the altar, and in a plaintive voice poured forth his prayers to the almighty power of God, who governeth the winds and all things. After having prayed he arose quickly, and wiping away his tears, joyfully gave thanks to God, saying, 'Now, brethren, let us congratulate our dear friends for whom we have been praying, for God will now change the south into a north wind, which will free our associates from their perils, and bring them to us here again.' As he spoke the south wind ceased, and a north wind blew for many days after, so that Cormac's ship was enabled to gain the land. And Cormac hastened to visit Columba, and in God's bounty they looked on each other again face to face, to the extreme joy and wonder of all. Let the reader, then, carefully consider how great and of what a character the blessed man must have been, who possessed such prophetic knowledge, and who, by invoking the name of Christ, could rule the winds and the waves.

How the venerable man made a journey in a chariot which was not secured with the proper linch-pins

AT another time, while the saint was spending a few days in Scotia (Ireland), some ecclesiastical object required his presence, and accordingly he ascended a yoked car which he had previously blessed; but from some unaccountable neglect the requisite linch-pins were not inserted in the holes at the extremities of the axles. The person who on this occasion performed the duty of driver in the carriage with St. Columba was Columban, a holy man, the son of Echud, and founder of that monastery which is called in the Scotic language Snam Luthir (now Slanore, in Granard, county of Longford). The distance they rode that day was very long, and the jolting severe, yet the wheels did not come off the axles nor even stir from their proper places, although, as was mentioned before, there were no linch-pins to secure them. But divine grace alone so favoured the venerable man that the car in which he was safely seated proceeded without being upset, or meeting any obstacle to retard its progress.

Thus far we may have written enough regarding the miracles which the divine omnipotence wrought through this remarkable man while he lived; we shall now mention also a few out of many well-authenticated miracles which the Lord was pleased to grant to him after his death.

Of the rain which, after some months of drought, the Lord bountifully poured out upon the earth in honour of the blessed man

ABOUT fourteen years before the date at which we write, there occurred during the spring a very great and long-continued drought in these marshy regions, in so much that the threat denounced against sinners in the Book of Leviticus seemed to impend over the people: 'I will give to you the heaven above as iron, and the earth as brass. Your labour shall be spent in vain, the ground shall not bring forth her increase, nor the trees their fruit,' etc. We therefore, reading these words, and fearing the impending calamity, took counsel together, and resolved that some of the senior members of the community should walk round a newly ploughed and sowed field, taking with them the white tunic of St. Columba, and some books written in his own hand, that they should raise in the air, and shake three times the tunic which the saint wore at the hour of his death; and that they then should open the books and read them on the little hill of the angels (now called Sithean Mor), where the citizens of the heavenly country were occasionally seen to descend at the bidding of the blessed man. When these directions had been executed in the manner prescribed, then, strange to relate, the sky, which during the preceding months of March and April had been cloudless, was suddenly covered with dense vapours that arose from the sea with extraordinary rapidity; copious rain fell day and night, and the parched earth being sufficiently moistened, produced its fruits in good season, and yielded the same year a most abundant harvest. And thus the invocation of the very name of the blessed man, by the exhibition of his tunic and books, obtained seasonable relief at the same time for many places and much people.

Of the unfavourable winds which, through the intercession of our Saint, were changed into propitious breezes

OUR belief in the miracles which we have recorded, but which we did not ourselves see, is confirmed beyond doubt by the miracles of which we were eye-witnesses; for on three different occasions we saw unfavourable gales of wind changed unto propitious breezes. On the first occasion we had to draw over land long boats of hewn pine and oak, and to bring home in the same way a large quantity of materials for building ships. In order to obtain from the Lord a favourable wind for our voyage, we took counsel and put the books and garments of the blessed man upon the altar, and at the same time fasted, chanted psalms, and invoked his name. And this was granted to the holy man by God's favour, for on the day that our sailors had made all their preparations, and were ready to convey the wood for the purposes above mentioned in curachs and skiffs, the wind, which for several days before had been contrary, suddenly changed into favourable breezes. They blew steadily the entire day, by God's blessing, and enabled the whole fleet of boats to make their long and dangerous passage to the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), with safety and expedition.

On the second occasion, which was a few years after the one just mentioned, our monastery was requiring repairs, and some oak-trees were to be taken from near the mouth of the river Sale (the Seil, in Lorn), in twelve vessels which we brought for the purpose. Our sailors then rowed out to sea with their oars, the day being calm and the sea tranquil, when suddenly a westerly wind, which is also called Zephyr, sprang up, and we betook ourselves to the nearest island, which is called in Scotic Airthrago (probably Kerrera), to seek for shelter in a harbour in it. But in the meantime we began to complain of this unfavourable change in the wind, and in some measure even to blame our Columba, saying, 'Doth our unfortunate detention in this place please thee, O saint? Hitherto we had hoped that we might receive from thee some aid and comfort in our labours through the divine favour, seeing we thought that thou wert honoured and powerful in the sight of God.' No sooner had we thus spoken, than, wonderful to relate, the unfavourable west wind ceased, and immediately, in the course as it were of one minute, behold a most favourable south-eastern breeze sprang up. The sailors were then directed to raise the sail yards in the form of a cross, and spread the sails upon them; thus putting to sea with a steady and favourable breeze, we were enabled, without the slightest fatigue, to reach our island that same day, rejoicing in our cargo of wood, and in the company of all who were engaged in assisting us in the ships. Thus the chiding with the holy man, slight though it was, in that complaint assisted us not a little; and in what and how great esteem the saint is held by the Lord is evident from His hearing him so quickly and changing the winds.

Concerning the Plague

WHAT we are about to relate concerning the plague, which in our own time twice visited the greater part of the world, deserves, I think, to be reckoned among not the least of the miracles of St. Columba. For, not to mention the other and greater countries of Europe, including Italy, the Roman States, and the Cisalpine provinces of Gaul, with the States of Spain also, which lie beyond the Pyrenees, these islands of the sea, Scotia (Ireland) and Britain, have twice been ravaged by a dreadful pestilence throughout their whole extent, except among the two tribes, the Picts and Scots of Britain, who are separated from each other by the Dorsal mountains of Britain. And although neither of these nations was free from those grievous crimes which generally provoke the anger of the eternal Judge, yet both have been hitherto patiently borne with and mercifully spared. Now, to what other person can this favour granted them by God be attributed unless to St. Columba, whose monasteries lie within the territories of both these people, and have been regarded by both with the greatest respect up to the present time? But what I am now to say cannot, I think, be heard without a sigh, that there are many very stupid people in both countries who, in their ignorance that they owe their exemption from the plague to the prayers of the saint, ungratefully and wickedly abuse the patience and the goodness of God. But I often return my most grateful thanks to God for having, through the intercession of our holy patron, preserved me and those in our islands from the ravages of the pestilence; and that in Saxonia also, when I went to visit my friend King Aldfrid, where the plague was raging and laying waste many of his villages, yet both in its first attack, immediately after the war of Ecfridus, and in its second, two years subsequently, the Lord mercifully saved me from danger, though I was living and moving about in the very midst of the plague. The Divine mercy was also extended to my companions, not one of whom died of the plague, or was attacked with any other disease.

Here must end the second Book recording the miracles, and it is right for me to draw attention to the fact, that many well-authenticated miracles have been omitted in order not to fatigue the reader.

Here endeth the Second Book.

Here beginneth the third book. Of the visions of angels
IN the first of these three little Books we have, under the guidance of God, shortly and concisely related, as was observed before, some of the prophetic revelations. In the second we have recorded the powerful miracles the blessed man wrought, which, as we have often observed, were generally accompanied with the gift of prophecy. But in this third Book, which treateth of the Apparitions of Angels, we shall relate those which either our saint received regarding others, or others saw regarding him; we shall also describe some which were manifested to both parties, though in different measure, that is, to the saint himself, specially and clearly, but to the others improperly and partially, or, in other words, externally and tentatively, yet in the same visions either of angels, or of heavenly light. Whatever discrepancies however in any case may at first sight seem to occur in those visions, will be completely removed as we proceed to relate them in their proper places. But now we must begin at the very birth of the blessed man, and relate these angelic manifestations.
ON a certain night between the conception and birth of the venerable man, an angel of the Lord appeared to his mother in dreams, bringing to her, as he stood by her, a certain robe of extraordinary beauty, in which the most beautiful colours, as it were, of all the flowers seemed to be portrayed. After a short time he asked it back, and took it out of her hands, and having raised it and spread it out, he let it fly through the air. But she being sad at the loss of it, said to that man of venerable aspect, 'Why dost thou take this lovely cloak away from me so soon?' He immediately replied, 'Because this mantle is so exceedingly honourable that thou canst not retain it longer with thee.' When this was said, the woman saw that the fore-mentioned robe was gradually receding from her in its flight; and that then it expanded until its width exceeded the plains, and in all its measurements was larger than the mountains and forests. Then she heard the following words: 'Woman, do not grieve, for to the man to whom thou hast been joined by the marriage bond, thou shalt bring forth a son, of so beautiful a character, that he shall be reckoned among his own people as one of the prophets of God, and hath been predestined by God to be the leader of innumerable souls to the heavenly country.' At these words the woman awoke from her sleep.

Of the Ray of Light which was seen upon the boy's face as he lay asleep

ON another night, Cruithnecan, a priest of blameless life, to whose care the blessed youth was confided, upon returning home from the church after mass, found his house illuminated with a bright light, and saw in fact a ball of fire standing over the face of the little boy as he lay asleep. At the sight he at once shook with fear, and fell down with his face to the ground in great amazement, well knowing that it indicated the grace of the Holy Spirit poured out from heaven upon his young charge.

Of the Apparition of Holy Angels whom St. Brenden saw accompanying the blessed man through the plain

FOR indeed after the lapse of many years, when St. Columba was excommunicated by a certain synod for some pardonable and very trifling reasons, and indeed unjustly, as it afterwards appeared at the end, he came to the' same meeting convened against himself. When St. Brenden, the founder of the monastery which in the Scotic language is called Birra (Birr, in King's County), saw him approaching in the distance, he quickly arose, and with head bowed down reverently kissed him. When some of the seniors in that assembly, going apart from the rest, were finding fault with him, and saying: 'Why didst thou not decline to rise in presence of an excommunicated person, and to kiss him?' he replied to them in this wise: 'If,' said he, 'you had seen what the Lord has this day thought fit to show to me regarding this his chosen one, whom you dishonour, you would never have excommunicated a person whom God not only doth not excommunicate, according to your unjust sentence, but even more and more highly esteemeth.' 'How, we would wish to know,' said they in reply, ' doth God exalt, as thou sayest, one whom we have excommunicated, not without reason?' 'I have seen,' said Brenden, 'a most brilliant pillar wreathed with fiery tresses preceding this same man of God whom you treat with contempt; I have also seen holy angels accompanying him on his journey through the plain. Therefore I do not dare to slight him whom I see fore-ordained by God to be the leader of his people to life.' When he said this, they desisted, and so far from daring to hold the saint any longer excommunicated, they even treated him with the greatest respect and reverence. This took place in Teilte (Taillte, now Teltown, in Meath).

The blessed man in his journey

ON another occasion the holy man went to the venerable Bishop Finnio, who had formerly been his preceptor, the youth to visit the man far advanced in years. When St. Finnio saw him coming to him, he observed also an angel of the Lord accompanying him, as he proceeded, and as it is handed down to us by well-informed persons, he made it known to certain brethren who were standing by, saying to them: 'Behold, look now to Columba as he draweth near; he hath been deemed worthy of having an angelic inhabitant of heaven to be his companion in his wanderings.' About that same time the holy man, with his twelve disciples and fellow-soldiers, sailed across to Britain.

How an Angel of the Lord appeared in a vision to St. Columba while he stayed in the Hinba island (Eilean-na-Naoimh), being sent to him in order that he might appoint Aidan king

Of the Apparition of Angels carrying to heaven the soul of the blessed Brito

AT another time while the holy man was tarrying in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), one of his monks called Brito, a person given to all good works, being seized with bodily illness, was reduced to the last extremity. When the venerable man went to visit him at the hour of his departure, he stood for a few moments at his bedside, and after giving him his blessing, retired quickly from the house, not wishing to see him die, and the very moment after the holy man left the house the monk closed this present life. Then the eminent man walking in the little court of his monastery, with his eyes upraised to heaven, was for a long time lost in wonder and admiration. But a certain brother named Aidan, the son of Libir, a truly virtuous and religious man, who was the only one of the brethren present at the time, fell upon his knees and asked the saint to tell him the reason of so great astonishment. The saint said to him in reply: 'I have this moment seen the holy angels contending in the air against the hostile powers; and I return thanks to Christ, the Judge, because the victorious angels have carried off to the joys of our heavenly country the soul of this stranger, who is the first person that hath died among us in this island. But I beseech thee not to reveal this secret to any one during my life.'

Concerning the Vision of Angels vouchsafed the same holy man when they were bearing to heaven the soul of one named Diormit

Of the brave fight of the Angels against the Demons, and how they opportunely assisted the Saint in the same conflict

Of the Apparition of Angels whom the man of God saw carrying to heaven the soul of a blacksmith, named Columb, and surnamed Coilrigin

A CERTAIN blacksmith, greatly devoted to works of charity, and full of other good works, dwelt in the midland districts of Scotia (Ireland). When the forementioned Columb, surnamed Coilrigin, was dying in a good old age, even at that very moment when he departed from the body St. Columba, who was then in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), thus addressed a few of the senior brethren who were standing around him, 'Columb Coilrigin, the blacksmith, hath not laboured in vain, seeing that he hath had the happiness, as he desired, to purchase the eternal rewards by the labour of his hands. For, behold, at this moment, his soul is carried by the holy angels to the joys of the heavenly country, because he laid out all that he could earn by his trade in alms to the poor.'

Of a similar vision of Angels whom the blessed man beheld carrying to heaven the soul of a certain virtuous woman

IN like manner, on another occasion, whilst the holy man was living in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), he one day suddenly raised his eyes to heaven and uttered the words, 'O happy woman–happy because of thy virtues; the angels of God are now carrying thy soul to paradise.' Now these words from the mouth of the saint were heard by a certain religious brother, a Saxon, by name Genere, who was at the moment working at his trade, which was that of a baker. And on the same day of the month, at the end of the same year, the saint addressed the same Genere the Saxon, and said, 'I see a wonderful thing; behold, the woman of whom I spake in thy presence last year, now meeteth in the air the soul of her husband, a poor and holy man, and together with the holy angels engageth in a contest for it against the adverse powers; by their united assistance, and by the aid of the virtuous character of the man himself, his soul is rescued from the assaults of the demons, and brought to the place of eternal refreshment.'

Of the Apparition of Holy Angels whom St. Columba beheld meeting in its passage the soul of St. Brenden, the founder of the monastery which in Scotic is called Birra (Birr, in King's County)

ON another day also, while the venerable man was residing in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), he called very early in the morning for his attendant, Diormit, so frequently mentioned before, and commanded him saying, 'Make ready in haste for the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, for today is the birthday of blessed Brenden.' 'Wherefore,' said his attendant, 'dost thou order such solemnities of the Mass to be prepared today? For no messenger hath come to us from Scotia (Ireland) to tell us of the death of that holy man.' 'Go,' said the saint, 'it is thy duty to obey my commands. For this last night I saw the heavens suddenly open, and choirs of angels descend to meet the soul of the holy Brenden; and so great and incomparable was the brightness, that in that same hour it illuminated the whole world.'

Of the Vision of Holy Angels who carried off to heaven the soul of the Bishop, St. Columban Mocu Loigse

ON another day also, while the brethren were putting on their sandals in the morning, and were making ready to go to their different duties in the monastery, the saint, on the contrary, bade them rest that day and prepare for the holy sacrifice, ordering also some addition to be made to their dinner, as on the Lord's day. 'I must,' said he, 'though unworthy, celebrate today the holy mysteries of the Eucharist, out of veneration to that soul which this last night went up to paradise, beyond the region of the stars in the heavens, borne thither amid the holy choirs of the angels.' At these words the brethren obeyed, and, according to his directions, rested that day; then, after preparing for the due celebration of the sacred rite, they accompanied the saint to the church in their white robes as on a festival. But it came to pass that when in the course of chanting the offices, the prayer was being sung as usual in which St. Martin's name is commemorated, the saint, suddenly turning to the chanters, when they had come to make mention of that name, said, 'You must pray today for St. Columban, bishop.' Then all the brethren present understood that Columban, a bishop in Leinster, the dear friend of Columba, had passed to the Lord. A short time after, some persons, who came from the province of Leinster, told how the bishop died in the very night in which it was thus made known to the saint.

Of the Apparition of Angels who had come down to meet the souls of the monks of St. Comgell

AT another time, when the venerable man was living in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), he became suddenly excited, and summoned the brethren together by the sound of the bell. 'Now,' said he, 'let us help by our prayers the monks of the Abbot Comgell, who are just now in danger of being drowned in the Lake of the Calf (Loch Laodh, now Belfast Lough); for, lo! at this moment they are fighting against the hostile powers in the air, and are striving to rescue the soul of some stranger who is also drowning along with them.' Then after having wept and prayed fervently, he hastily stood erect before the altar with a joyful countenance, whilst the brethren continued to lie prostrate in prayer. 'Give thanks,' he said, 'to Christ, for now the holy angels, coming to the aid of holy souls, have rescued this stranger from the attacks of the demons, and borne him off in triumph like victorious warriors.'

Of the Manifestation of the Angels who came to meet the soul of one Emchath

Of the Angel of the Lord that came so quickly and opportunely to the relief of the brother who fell from the top of the round monastery in the Oakwood Plain (Derry)

AT another time, while the holy man sat in his little cell engaged in writing, on a sudden his countenance changed, and he poured forth this cry from his pure breast, saying, 'Help! Help!' Two of the brothers who stood at the door, namely, Colga, son of Cellach, and Lugne Mocublai, asked the cause of such a sudden cry. The venerable man answered, saying, 'I ordered the angel of the Lord who was just now standing among you to go quickly to the relief of one of the brothers who is falling from the highest point of a large house which is now being built in the Oakwood Plain (Derry).' And the saint added afterwards these words, saying, 'How wonderful and almost unspeakable is the swiftness of angelic motion, like, as I imagine, to the rapidity of lightning. For the heavenly spirit who just now flew away from us when that man began to fall, arrived there to support him, as it were, in the twinkling of an eye, before his body reached the ground; nor was the man who fell able to feel any fracture or bruise. How wonderful, I say, is that most swift and timely help which could be given so very quickly, even though such an extent of land and sea lay between!'

Of the multitude of Holy Angels that were seen to come down from heaven at the bidding of the blessed man

ANOTHER time also, while the blessed man was living in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), he made this known to the assembled brethren with very great earnestness, saying, 'Today I wish to go alone to the western plain of this island; let none of you therefore follow me.' They obeyed, and he went alone, as he desired. But a brother, who was cunning, and of a prying disposition, proceeded by another road, and secretly placed himself on the summit of a certain little hill which overlooked the plain, because he was very anxious to learn the blessed man's motive for going out alone. While the spy on the top of the hill was looking upon him as he stood on a mound in the plain, with arms extended upwards, and eyes raised to heaven in prayer, then, strange to tell, behold a wonderful scene presented itself, which that brother, as I think not without the leave of God, witnessed with his own eyes from his place on the neighbouring hill, that the saint's name and the reverence due to him might afterwards, even against his wishes, be more widely diffused among the people, through the vision thus vouchsafed. For holy angels, the citizens of the heavenly country, clad in white robes and flying with wonderful speed, began to stand around the saint whilst he prayed; and after a short converse with the blessed man, that heavenly host, as if feeling itself detected, flew speedily back again to the highest heavens. The blessed man himself also, after his meeting with the angels, returned to the monastery, and calling the brethren together a second time, asked, with no little chiding and reproof, which of them was guilty of violating his command. When all were declaring they did not know at all of the matter, the brother, conscious of his inexcusable transgression, and no longer able to conceal his guilt, fell on his knees before the saint in the midst of the assembled brethren, and humbly craved forgiveness. The saint, taking him aside, commanded him under heavy threats, as he knelt, never, during the life of the blessed man, to disclose to any person even the least part of the secret regarding the angels' visit. It was, therefore, after the saint's departure from the body that the brother related that manifestation of the heavenly host, and solemnly attested its truth. Whence, even to this day, the place where the angels assembled is called by a name that beareth witness to the event that took place in it; this may be said to be in Latin Colliculus Angelorum and is in Scotic Cnoc Angel (now called Sithean Mor). Hence, therefore, we must notice, and even carefully inquire, into the fact how great and of what kind these sweet visits of angels to this blessed man were, which took place mostly during the winter nights, when he was in watching and prayer in lonely places while others slept. These were no doubt very numerous, and could in no way come to the knowledge of other men. Though some of these which happened by night or by day might perhaps be discovered by one means or another, these must have been very few compared with the angelic visions, which, of course, could be known by nobody. The same observation applies in the same way to other bright apparitions hitherto investigated by few, which shall be afterwards described.

Of the bright Pillar seen to glow upon the Saint's head

ANOTHER time four holy founders of monasteries came from Scotia (Ireland), to visit St. Columba, and found him in the Hinba island (Eilean-na-Naoimh). The names of these distinguished men were Comgell Mocu Aridi, Cainnech Mocu Dalon, Brenden Mocu Alti, and Cormac, grandson of Leathain. They all with one consent agreed that St. Columba should consecrate, in their presence in the church, the holy mysteries of the Eucharist. The saint complied with their express desire, and entered the church with them on Sunday as usual, after the reading of the Gospel; and there, during the celebration of the solemn offices of the Mass, St. Brenden Mocu Alti saw, as he told Comgell and Cainnech afterwards, a ball of fire like a comet burning very brightly on the head of Columba, while he was standing before the altar, and consecrating the holy oblation, and thus it continued burning and rising upwards like a column, so long as he continued to be engaged in the same most sacred mysteries.

Of the Descent or Visit of the Holy Ghost, which in the same island continued for three whole days and nights with the venerable man

AT another time, when the saint was living in the Hinba island (Eilean-na-Naoimh), the grace of the Holy Ghost was communicated to him abundantly and unspeakably, and dwelt with him in a wonderful manner, so that for three whole days, and as many nights, without either eating or drinking, he allowed no one to approach him, and remained confined in a house which was filled with heavenly brightness. Yet out of that house, through the chinks of the doors and keyholes, rays of surpassing brilliancy were seen to issue during the night. Certain spiritual songs also, which had never been heard before, he was heard to sing. He came to see, as he allowed in the presence of a very few afterwards, many secrets hidden from men since the beginning of the world fully revealed; certain very obscure and difficult parts of sacred Scripture also were made quite plain, and clearer than the light to the eye of his pure heart. He grieved that his beloved disciple, Baithen, was not with him, because if he had chanced to be beside him during those three days, he would have been able to explain from the lips of the blessed man mysteries regarding past or future ages, unknown to the rest of mankind, and to interpret also some passages of the Sacred Volumes. However, Baithen was then detained by contrary winds in the Egean island (Egg), and he was not, therefore, able to be present until those three days and as many nights of that glorious and unspeakable visitation came to a close.

Of the angelic splendour of the light which Virgnous—a youth of good disposition, and afterwards made by God superior of this Church in which I, though unworthy, now serve—saw coming down upon St. Columba in the Church, on a winter's night, when the brethren were at rest in their chambers

ONE winter's night the forementioned Virgnous, burning with the love of God, entered the church alone to pray, while the others were asleep; and he prayed fervently in a little side chamber attached to the walls of the oratory. After a considerable interval, as it were of an hour, the venerable Columba entered the same sacred house, and along with him, at the same time, a golden light, that came down from the highest heavens and filled that part of the church. Even the separate recess of the side-chamber, where Virgnous was striving to hide himself as much as he could, was also filled, to his great alarm, with some of the brilliance of that heavenly light which burst through the inner-door of the chamber, that was a little open. And as no one can look directly at, or gaze with steady eye on, the summer sun in his mid-day splendour, so Virgnous could not at all bear this heavenly brightness which he saw, because of the brilliant and unspeakable radiance which overpowered his sight. The brother spoken of was so much terrified by the splendour, almost as dreadful as lightning, that no strength remained in him. But, after a short prayer, St. Columba left the church. And the next day he sent for Virgnous, who was very much alarmed, and spoke to him these few consoling words: 'Thou art crying to good purpose, my child, for last night thou wert very pleasing in the sight of God by keeping thine eyes fixed on the ground when thou wert overwhelmed with fear at the brightness, for hadst thou not done so, that priceless light would have blinded thine eyes. This, however, thou must carefully observe–never to disclose this great manifestation of light while I live.'

This circumstance, therefore, which is so wonderful and so worthy of record, became known to many after the saint's death through this same Virgnous's relating it. Comman, sister's son to Virgnous, a respected priest, solemnly assured me, Adamnan, of the truth of the vision I have just described, and he added, moreover, that he heard the story from the lips of the abbot Virgnous, his own uncle, who, as far as he could, had seen that vision.

Of another very similar Vision of great brilliancy

ANOTHER night also, one of the brothers, whose name was Colga, the son of Aid Draigniche, of the grandsons of Fechrech mentioned in the first Book, came by chance, while the other brothers were asleep, to the gate of the church, and stood there for some time praying. Then suddenly he saw the whole church filled with a heavenly light, which more quickly than he could tell, flashed like lightning from his gaze. He did not know that St. Columba was praying at that time in the church, and after this sudden appearance of light, he returned home in great alarm. On the following day the saint called him aside and rebuked him severely, saying: 'Take care of one thing, my child, that you do not attempt to spy out and pry too closely into the nature of that heavenly light which was not granted thee, but rather fled from thee, and that thou do not tell any one during my lifetime what thou hast seen.'

Of another like Apparition of Divine light

AT another time also, the blessed man gave strict orders one day to Berchan, surnamed Mesloen, a pupil learning wisdom with them, saying 'Take care, my son, that thou come not near my little hut this evening, as thou art always accustomed to do.' Berchan however, though hearing this, went, contrary to this command, to the blessed man's house in the dead of night while others were at rest, and cunningly put down his eyes on a line with the keyholes, in the hope that, just as the thing happened, some heavenly vision would be shown to the saint within. And at that very time the little hut was filled with a light of heavenly brightness, which the disobedient young man was not able to look upon, and therefore he fled at once from the spot. On the morrow the saint took him apart, and chiding him severely, addressed him in these words: 'Last night, my son, thou hast sinned before God, and thou didst vainly imagine that the prying of thy secret inquisitiveness could be hidden or concealed from the Holy Ghost. Did I not see thee at that hour as thou didst draw near to the door of my hut, and as thou didst go away from it? Had I not prayed for thee at that moment, thou wouldst have fallen dead there before the door, or thine eyes would have been torn out of their sockets; but on my account, the Lord hath spared thee at this time. And be thou assured of this also, that, whilst thou art living in luxury in thine own country of Hibernia, thy face shall burn with shame all the days of thy life. Yet by my prayers, I have obtained this favour of God, that, as thou art my disciple, thou shalt do heartfelt penance before death, and thus obtain the mercy of God.' All these things, according to the saying of the blessed man, occurred afterwards to him as had been foretold regarding him.

Of another Vision of Angels whom the Saint saw coming to meet his soul, as if to show that it was about to leave the body

AT another time, while the blessed man was living in the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), his holy countenance one day was lighted up suddenly with strange transports of joy; and raising his eyes to heaven he was filled with delight, and rejoiced beyond measure. After an interval of a few seconds, that sweet and enchanting delight was changed into a mournful sadness. Now, the two men, who at the same hour were standing at the door of his hut, which was built on the higher ground, and were themselves also much afflicted with him-of whom the one was Lugne Mocublai, and the other a Saxon named Pilu,-asked the cause of this sudden joy, and of the sorrow which followed. The saint said to them, 'Go in peace, and do not ask me now to explain the cause of either that joy or that sadness.' On hearing this they humbly asked him, kneeling before him in tears, and with faces sunk to the ground, to grant their desire of knowing something concerning that matter which at that same hour had been revealed to the saint. Seeing them so much afflicted, he said, 'On account of my love to you, I do not wish you to be in sadness; but you must first promise me never to disclose to any one during my life the secret you seek to know.' They made of course the promise at once according to his request, and then, when the promise was made, the venerable man spake to them thus: 'On this very day, thirty years of my sojourn in Britain have been completed, and meanwhile for many days past I have been devoutly asking of my Lord to release me from my dwelling here at the end of this thirtieth year, and to call me thither to my heavenly fatherland. And this was the cause of that joy of mine, of which in sorrowful mood you ask me. For I saw the holy angels sent down from the lofty throne to meet my soul when it is taken from the flesh. But, behold now how they are stopped suddenly, and stand on a rock at the other side of the Sound of our island, evidently being anxious to come near me and deliver me from the body. But they are not allowed to come nearer, because, that thing which God granted me after praying with my whole strength-namely, that I might pass from the world to Him on this day,-He hath changed in a moment in His listening to the prayers of so many churches for me. These churches have no doubt prayed as the Lord hath granted, so that, though it is against my ardent wish, four years from this day are added for me to abide in the flesh. Such a sad delay as this was fitly the cause of the grief today. At the end of these four years, then, which by God's favour my life is yet to see, I shall pass away suddenly, without any previous bodily sickness, and depart with joy to the Lord, accompanied by His holy angels, who shall come to meet me at that hour.' According to these words, which the venerable man uttered, it is said, with much sorrow and grief, and even many tears, he afterwards abode in the flesh for four years.

How our Patron, St. Columba, passed to the Lord

TOWARDS the end of the above-mentioned four years, and as a true prophet he knew long before that his death would follow the close of that period, the old man, worn out with age, went in a cart one day in the month of May, as we mentioned in the preceding second Book, to visit some of the brethren who were at work. And having found them at work on the western side of the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), he began to speak to them that day, saying, 'During the paschal solemnities in the month of April now past, with desire have I desired to depart to Christ the Lord, as He had allowed me, if I preferred it. But lest a joyous festival should be turned for you into mourning, I thought it better to put off for a little longer the time of my departure from the world.' The beloved monks all the while they were hearing this sad news were greatly addicted, and he endeavoured as well as he could to cheer them with words of consolation. Then, having done this, he turned his face to the east, still seated as he was in his chariot, and blessed the island with its inhabitants; and from that day to the present, as we have stated in the Book above mentioned, the venomous reptiles with the three forked tongues could do no manner of harm to man or beast.

After uttering these words of blessing, the saint was carried back to his monastery. Then, again, a few days afterwards, while he was celebrating the solemn offices of the Mass as usual on the Lord's day, the face of the venerable man, as his eyes were raised to heaven, suddenly appeared as if suffused with a ruddy glow, for, as it is written, 'A glad heart maketh a cheerful countenance.' For at that same hour he alone saw an angel of the Lord hovering above within the walls of his oratory; and as the lovely and tranquil aspect of the holy angels infuses joy and exultation into the hearts of the elect, this was the cause of that sudden joy infused into the blessed man. When those who were present on the occasion inquired as to the cause of that joy with which he was evidently inspired, the saint looking upwards gave them this reply, 'Wonderful and unspeakable is the subtility of the angelic nature! For lo, an angel of the Lord, who was sent to demand a certain deposit dear to God, hath, after looking down upon us within the church, and blessing us, returned again through the roof of the church, without leaving any trace of his passage out.' Thus spoke the saint. But none of the bystanders could understand what kind of a deposit the angel was sent to demand. Our patron, however, gave the name of a holy deposit to his own soul that had been intrusted to him by God; and after an interval of six days from that time, as shall be related further on, he departed to the Lord on the night of the Lord's day.

In the end, then, of this same week, that is on the day of the Sabbath, the venerable man, and his pious attendant Diormit, went to bless the barn which was near at hand. When the saint had entered in and blessed it, and two heaps of winnowed corn that were in it, he gave expression to his thanks in these words, saying, 'I heartily congratulate my beloved monks, that this year also, if I am obliged to depart from you, you will have a sufficient supply for the year.' On hearing this, Diormit his attendant began to feel sad, and said, 'This year, at this time, father, thou very often vexest us, by so frequently making mention of thy leaving us.' But the saint replied to him, 'I have a little secret address to make to thee, and if thou wilt promise me faithfully not to reveal it to any one before my death, I shall be able to speak to thee with more freedom about my departure.' When his attendant had on bended knees made the promise as the saint desired, the venerable man thus resumed his address: 'This day in the Holy Scriptures is called the Sabbath, which means rest. And this day is indeed a Sabbath to me, for it is the last day of my present laborious life, and on it I rest after the fatigues of my labours; and this night at midnight, which commenceth the solemn Lord's Day, I shall, according to the sayings of Scripture, go the way of our fathers. For already my Lord Jesus Christ deigneth to invite me; and to Him, I say, in the middle of this night shall I depart, at His invitation. For so it hath been revealed to me by the Lord himself.' The attendant hearing these sad words began to weep bitterly, and the saint endeavoured to console him as well as he could.

After this the saint left the barn, and in going back to the monastery, rested half way at a place where a cross, which was afterwards erected, and is standing to this day, fixed into a millstone, may be observed on the roadside. While the saint, as I have said, bowed down with old age, sat there to rest a little, behold, there came up to him a white pack-horse, the same that used, as a willing servant, to carry the milk-vessels from the cow-shed to the monastery. It came up to the saint and, strange to say, laid its head on his bosom—inspired, I believe, by God to do so, as each animal is gifted with the knowledge of things according to the will of the Creator; and knowing that its master was soon about to leave it, and that it would see him no more—began to utter plaintive cries, and like a human being, to shed copious tears on the saint's bosom, foaming and greatly wailing. The attendant seeing this, began to drive the weeping mourner away, but the saint forbade him, saying: 'Let it alone, as it is so fond of me, let it pour out its bitter grief into my bosom. Lo! thou, as thou art a man, and hast a rational soul, canst know nothing of my departure hence, except what I myself have just told you, but to this brute beast devoid of reason, the Creator Himself hath evidently in some way made it known that its master is going to leave it.' And saying this, the saint blessed the work-horse, which turned away from him in sadness.

Then leaving this spot, he ascended the hill that overlooketh the monastery, and stood for some little time on its summit; and as he stood there with both hands uplifted, he blessed his monastery, saying: 'Small and mean though this place is, yet it shall be held in great and unusual honour, not only by Scotic kings and people, but also by the rulers of foreign and barbarous nations, and by their subjects; the saints also even of other churches shall regard it with no common reverence.'

After these words he descended the hill, and having returned to the monastery sat in his hut transcribing the Psalter, and coming to that verse of the 33rd Psalm (Eng. Vers. Ps. 34), where it is written, 'They that seek the Lord shall want no manner of thing that is good,' 'Here,' said he, 'at the end of the page, I must stop; and what follows let Baithene write.' The last verse he had written was very applicable to the saint, who was about to depart, and to whom eternal goods shall never be wanting; while the one that followeth is equally applicable to the father who succeeded him, the instructor of his spiritual children: 'Come, ye children, and hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord;' and indeed he succeeded him, as recommended by him, not only in teaching, but also in writing.

Having written the aforementioned verse at the end of the page, the saint went to the church to the nocturnal vigils of the Lord's Day; and so soon as this was over, he returned to his chamber, and spent the remainder of the night on his bed, where he had a bare flag for his couch, and for his pillow a stone, which stands to this day as a kind of monument beside his grave. While then he was reclining there, he gave his last instructions to the brethren, in the hearing of his attendant alone, saying: 'These, O my children, are the last words I address to you–that ye be at peace, and have unfeigned charity among yourselves; and if you thus follow the example of the holy fathers, God, the Comforter of the good, will be your Helper and I, abiding with Him, will intercede for you; and He will not only give you sufficient to supply the wants of this present life, but will also bestow on you the good and eternal rewards which are laid up for those that keep His commandments.' Thus far have the last words of our venerable patron, as he was about to leave this weary pilgrimage for his heavenly country, been preserved for recital in our brief narrative.

After these words, as the happy hour of his departure gradually approached, the saint became silent. Then as soon as the bell tolled at midnight, he rose hastily, and went to the church; and running more quickly than the rest, he entered it alone, and knelt down in prayer beside the altar. At the same moment his attendant Diormit, who more slowly followed him, saw from a distance that the whole interior of the church was filled with a heavenly light in the direction of the saint. And as he drew near to the door, the same light he had seen, and which was also seen by a few more of the brethren standing at a distance, quickly disappeared. Diormit therefore entering the church, cried out in a mournful voice, 'Where art thou, father?' And feeling his way in the darkness, as the brethren had not yet brought in the lights, he found the saint lying before the altar; and raising him up a little, he sat down beside him, and laid his holy head on his bosom. Meanwhile the rest of the monks ran in hastily in a body with their lights, and beholding their dying father, burst into lamentations. And the saint, as we have been told by some who were present, even before his soul departed, opened wide his eyes and looked round him from side to side, with a countenance full of wonderful joy and gladness, no doubt seeing the holy angels coming to meet him. Diormit then raised the holy right hand of the saint, that he might bless his assembled monks. And the venerable father himself moved his hand at the same time, as well as he was able–that as he could not in words, while his soul was departing, he might at least, by the motion of his hand, be seen to bless his brethren. And having given them his holy benediction in this way, he immediately breathed his last. After his soul had left the tabernacle of the body, his face still continued ruddy, and brightened in a wonderful way by his vision of the angels, and that to such a degree that he had the appearance, not so much of one dead, as of one alive and sleeping. Meanwhile the whole church resounded with loud lamentations of grief.

Another vision also given at the same hour under a different form was related to me–Adamnan–who was a young man at the time, by one of those who had seen it; and who solemnly assured me of its truth. He was a very old man, a servant of Christ, whose name may be called Ferreol, but in the Scotic tongue Ernene, of the race of Mocufirroide, who, as being himself a holy monk, is buried in the Ridge of Tomma (now Drumhome, county Donegal), amidst the remains of other monks of St. Columba, and awaits the resurrection with the saints; he said: 'On that night when St. Columba, by a happy and blessed death, passed from earth to heaven, while I and others with me were engaged in fishing in the valley of the river Fend (the Finn, in Donegal) –which abounds in fish–we saw the whole vault of heaven become suddenly illuminated. Struck by the suddenness of the miracle, we raised our eyes and looked towards the east, when, lo! there appeared something like an immense pillar of fire, which seemed to us, as it ascended upwards at that midnight, to illuminate the whole earth like the summer sun at noon; and after that column penetrated the heavens darkness followed, as if the sun had just set. And not only did we, who were together in the same place, observe with intense surprise the brightness of this remarkable luminous pillar, but many other fishermen also, who were engaged in fishing here and there in different deep pools along the same river, were greatly terrified, as they afterwards related to us, by an appearance of the same kind.' These three miraculous visions, then, which were seen at the very hour of our venerable patron's departure, show clearly that the Lord hath conferred on him eternal honours. But let us now return to our narrative.

After his holy soul had departed, and the matin hymns were finished, his sacred body was carried by the brethren, chanting psalms, from the church back to his chamber, from which a little before he had come alive; and his obsequies were celebrated with all due honour and reverence for three days and as many nights. And when these sweet praises of God were ended, the venerable body of our holy and blessed patron was wrapped in a clean shroud of fine linen, and, being placed in the coffin prepared for it, was buried with all due veneration, to rise again with lustrous and eternal brightness.

And now, near the close of this book, we shall relate what hath been told us by persons cognisant of the facts, regarding the above-mentioned three days during which his obsequies were celebrated in due ecclesiastical form. It happened on one occasion that a certain brother speaking with great simplicity in the presence of the holy and venerable man, said to him, 'After thy death all the people of these provinces will row across to the Iouan island (Hy, now Iona), to celebrate thine obsequies, and will entirely fill it.' Hearing this said, the saint immediately replied: 'No, my child, the event will not turn out as thou sayest; for a promiscuous throng of people shall not by any means be able to come to my obsequies: none but the monks of my monastery will perform my funeral rites, and grace the last offices bestowed upon me.' And the fulfillment of this prophecy was brought about immediately after his death by God's almighty power; for there arose a storm of wind without rain, which blew so violently during those three days and nights of his obsequies, that it entirely prevented every one from crossing the Sound in his little boat. And immediately after the interment of the blessed man, the storm was quelled at once, the wind ceased, and the whole sea became calm.

Let the reader therefore think in what and how great honour our illustrious patron was held by God, seeing that, while he was yet in this mortal flesh, God was pleased at his prayer to quell the storms and to calm the seas; and again, when he found it necessary, as on the occasion just mentioned, the gales of wind arose as he wished, and the sea was lashed into fury; and this storm, as hath been said, was immediately, so soon as his funeral rites were performed, changed into a great calm. Such, then, was the end of our illustrious patron's life, and such is an earnest of all his merits.

And now, according to the sentence of the Holy Scriptures, sharing in eternal triumphs, added to the patriarchs, associated with the prophets and apostles, numbered amongst the thousands of white-robed saints, who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb, he followeth the Lamb whithersoever He goeth; a virgin immaculate, free from all stain, through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ: to whom, with the Father, be honour, and power, and praise, and glory, and eternal dominion, in the unity of the Holy Ghost for ever and ever.

After reading these three books, let the diligent reader observe of what and how great merit, of what and how high honour in the sight of God our holy and venerable abbot must have been deemed worthy, how great and many were the bright visits of the angels made to him, how full of the prophetic spirit, how great his power of miracles wrought in God, how often and to what great extent, while yet he was abiding in this mortal flesh, he was surrounded by a halo of heavenly light; and how, even after the departure of his most kindly soul from the tabernacle of the body, until the present day the place where his sacred bones repose, as has been clearly shown to certain chosen persons, doth not cease to be frequently visited by the holy angels, and illumined by the same heavenly brightness. And this unusual favour hath been conferred by God on this same man of blessed memory; that though he lived in this small and remote island of the British sea, his name hath not only become illustrious throughout the whole of our own Scotia (Ireland), and Britain, the largest island of the whole world, but hath reached even unto triangular Spain, and into Gaul, and to Italy, which lieth beyond the Penine Alps; and also to the city of Rome itself, the head of all cities. This great and honourable celebrity, amongst other marks of divine favour, is known to have been conferred on this same saint by God, Who loveth those that love Him, and raiseth them to immense honour by glorifying more and more those that magnify and truly praise Him, Who is blessed for evermore. Amen.

I beseech those who wish to transcribe these books, yea, rather I adjure them by Christ, the Judge of the world, after they have diligently transcribed, carefully to compare and correct their copies with that from which they have copied them, and also to subjoin here this adjuration: Whoever readeth these books on the virtues of St. Columba, let him pray to the Lord for me, Dorbbene, that after death I may possess eternal life.

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Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition William Reeves translated by William ReevesElectronic edition compiled by Beatrix Färberdonated by Seth Seyfried Funded by University College, Cork andProfessor Marianne McDonald via the CELT Project 1. First draft, revised and corrected.

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A worksheet comparing information on Ireland’s three patron saints.(Suitable 3rd-6th)