Early last week I found this little gem in the cheapie book basket at used bookstore (cost 50 cents): https://www.amazon.com/Saint-Columba-Ian-MacDonald/dp/0863151434 I'm sure this was my first knowing of him. Continued browsing, and soon came onto this: https://www.amazon.com/Celtic-Vision-Blessings-Invocations-Tradition/dp/0764807846 Where in St. Columba is mentioned many times.
My Nanna was baptised Mary Columba Donavan, and apparently this Columba name was a source of ridicule for my Nanna. My Nanna once explained who saint Columbus was, to me when I was very little, I remember thinking that he was a great saint and that my Nan should not be ashamed of His name! I have many Irish and Scottish ancestors and until now I have not ever looked into his history, so thank you DS7 for this opportunity, below is Wikipedia's explanation! Columba or Colmcille[a] (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.[3][4] 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.[5] Columba studied under some of Ireland's most prominent church figures and founded several monasteries in the country. Around 563 he and his twelve companions crossed to Dunaverty near Southend, Argyll, in Kintyre before settling in Iona in Scotland, then part of the Ulster kingdom of Dál Riata, where they founded a new abbey as a base for spreading Celtic Christianity among the northern Pictish kingdoms[6][7] who were pagan. He remained active in Irish politics, though he spent most of the remainder of his life in Scotland. Three surviving early medieval Latin hymns may be attributed to him.[4] Early life in Ireland[edit] Columba was born to Fedlimid and Eithne of the Cenel Conaill in Gartan, a district beside Lough Gartan, in Tír Chonaill (mainly modern County Donegal) in the north of Ireland. On his father's side, he is claimed as being great-great-grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages, a pseudo-historical Irish high king of the 5th century. He was baptised in Temple-Douglas, in the County Donegal parish of Conwal (midway between Gartan and Letterkenny), by his teacher and foster-uncle Cruithnechán.[8][9][10] It is not known for sure if his name at birth was Colmcille or if he adopted this name later in life; Adomnán (Eunan) of Iona thought it was his birth name but other Irish sources have claimed his name at birth was Crimthann (meaning 'fox').[11] In the Irish language his name means 'dove', which is the same name as the Prophet Jonah (Jonah in Hebrew is also 'dove'), which Adomnán of Iona as well as other early Irish writers were aware of, although it is not clear if he was deliberately named after Jonah or not. The remains of St. Columba's Church, Gartan, County Donegal. When sufficiently advanced in letters he entered the monastic school of Movilla, at Newtownards, under Finnian of Movilla who had studied at Ninian's "Magnum Monasterium" on the shores of Galloway. He was about twenty, and a deacon when, having completed his training at Movilla, he travelled southwards into Leinster, where he became a pupil of an aged bard named Gemman. On leaving him, Columba entered the monastery of Clonard, governed at that time by Finnian, noted for sanctity and learning. Here he imbibed the traditions of the Welsh Church, for Finnian had been trained in the schools of Saint David.[12] In early Christian Ireland the druidic tradition collapsed due to the spread of the new Christian faith. The study of Latin learning and Christian theology in monasteries flourished. Columba became a pupil at the monastic school at Clonard Abbey, situated on the River Boyne in modern County Meath. During the sixth century, some of the most significant names in the history of Celtic Christianity studied at the Clonard monastery. The average number of scholars under instruction at Clonard was said to be 300.[5] Columba was one of twelve students of Finnian of Clonard who became known as the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. He became a monk and eventually was ordained a priest.[citation needed]
continued Another preceptor of Columba was Mobhí Clárainech, whose monastery at Glasnevin was frequented by such famous men as Cainnech of Aghaboe, Comgall, and Ciarán. A pestilence which devastated Ireland in 544 caused the dispersion of Mobhi's disciples, and Columba returned to Ulster, the land of his kindred. He was a striking figure of great stature and powerful build, with a loud, melodious voice which could be heard from one hilltop to another.[13] The following years were marked by the foundation of several important monasteries: Derry, at the southern edge of Inishowen; Durrow, County Offaly; Kells, County Meath; and Swords.[14] While at Derry it is said that he planned a pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem, but did not proceed farther than Tours. Thence he brought a copy of those gospels that had lain on the bosom of St. Martin for the space of 100 years. This relic was deposited in Derry.[12] Some traditions assert that sometime around 560 Columba became involved in a quarrel with Finnian of Moville of Movilla Abbey over a psalter. Columba copied the manuscript at the scriptorium under Finnian, intending to keep the copy. Finnian disputed his right to keep it. There is a suggestion that this conflict resulted in the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne in Cairbre Drom Cliabh (now in County Sligo) in 561, during which many men were killed. Richard Sharpe, translator of Adomnán's Life of St. Columba (referenced in the bibliography below) makes a stern caution at this point against accepting the many references that link the battle and Columba's leaving of Ireland, even though there is evidence in the annals that Columba supported his own king against the high king. Political conflicts that had existed for some time resulted in the clan Neill's battle against King Diarmait at Cooldrevny in 561. An issue, for example, was the king's violation of the right of sanctuary belonging to Columba's person as a monk on the occasion of the murder of Prince Curnan, the Columba's kinsman.[12] Prince Curnan of Connacht, who had fatally injured a rival in a hurling match and had taken refuge with Columba, was dragged from his protector's arms and slain by Diarmaid's men, in defiance of the rights of sanctuary.[13] A synod of clerics and scholars threatened to excommunicate him for these deaths, but Brendan of Birr spoke on his behalf. Eventually the process was deemed a miscarriage of justice. Columba's own conscience was uneasy, and on the advice of an aged hermit, Molaise, he resolved to expiate his sense of offence by departing Ireland. The term "exile" is used in some references. This, too, can be disputed, for the term "pilgrimage" is used more frequently in the literature about him. A marker at Stroove Beach on the Inishowen Peninsula commemorates the place where Columba set sail for Scotland. He left Ireland, but through the following years he would return several times in relationships with the communities he had founded there. Columba's copy of the psalter has been traditionally associated with the Cathach of St. Columba. In 574/5 during his return for the Synod of Drum Ceat he founded the monastery of Drumcliff in Cairbre, now County Sligo, near the battlefield. Scotland[edit] In 563, he travelled to Scotland with twelve companions (said to include Odran of Iona) in a wicker currach covered with leather. According to legend he first landed on the Kintyre Peninsula, near Southend. However, being still in sight of his native land, he moved farther north up the west coast of Scotland. The island of Iona was made over to him by his kinsman Conall mac Comgaill King of Dál Riata, who perhaps had invited him to come to Scotland in the first place.[13] However, there is a sense in which he was not leaving his native people, as the Ulster Gaels had been colonising the west coast of Scotland for the previous couple of centuries.[15] Aside from the services he provided guiding the only centre of literacy in the region, his reputation as a holy man led to his role as a diplomat among the tribes.[16] There are also many stories of miracles which he performed during his work to convert the Picts, the most famous being his encounter with an unidentified animal that some have equated with the Loch Ness Monster in 565. It is said that he banished a ferocious "water beast" to the depths of the River Ness after it had killed a Pict and then tried to attack Columba's disciple named Lugne (see Vita Columbae Book 2 below). He visited the pagan King Bridei, King of Fortriu, at his base in Inverness, winning Bridei's respect, although not his conversion. He subsequently played a major role in the politics of the country. He was also very energetic in his work as a missionary, and, in addition to founding several churches in the Hebrides, he worked to turn his monastery at Iona into a school for missionaries. He was a renowned man of letters, having written several hymns and being credited with having transcribed 300 books. One of the few, if not the only, times he left Scotland was towards the end of his life, when he returned to Ireland to found the monastery at Durrow. According to traditional sources, Columba died in Iona on Sunday, 9 June 597, and was buried by his monks in the abbey he created. However Dr. Daniel P. Mc Carthy disputes this and assigns a date of 593 to Columba's death.[17] The Annals record the first raid made upon Iona in 795, with further raids occurring in 802, 806, and 825.[18] Columba's relics were finally removed in 849 and divided between Scotland and Ireland.[19] The parts of the relics which went to Ireland are reputed to be buried in Downpatrick, County Down, with Saint Patrick and Brigid of Kildare or at Saul Church neighbouring Downpatrick. (Names of Iona), Inchcolm and Eilean Chaluim Chille.
continued... Legacy[edit] Ireland[edit] In Ireland, the saint is commonly known as Colmcille. Colmcille is one of the three patron saints of Ireland, after Patrick and Brigid of Kildare.[20] Colmcille is the patron-saint of the city of Derry, where he founded a monastic settlement in c. 540.[20] The name of the city in Irish is Doire Colmcille and is derived from the native oak trees in the area and the city's association with Colmcille. The Catholic Church of Saint Colmcille's Long Tower, and the Church of Ireland St Augustine's Church both claim to stand at the spot of this original settlement. The Church of Ireland Cathedral, St Columb's Cathedral, and the largest park in the city, St. Columb's Park, are named in his honour. The Catholic Boys' Grammar School, St Columb's College, has him as Patron and namesake. St. Columba's Primary School in Drumcondra is a girl's school named after the saint.[citation needed] St. Colmcille's Primary School[21] and St. Colmcille's Community School[22] are two schools in Knocklyon, Dublin, named after him, with the former having an annual day dedicated to the saint on 9 June.[23] The town of Swords, Dublin was reputedly founded by Colmcille in 560 AD.[14] St Colmcille's Boys’ National School and St. Colmcille's Girls’ National School, both located in the town of Swords, are also named after the Saint as is one of the local gaelic teams, Naomh Colmcille.[24] The Columba Press, a religious and spiritual book company based in Dublin, is named after Colmcille.[25] Aer Lingus, Ireland's national flag carrier has named one of its Airbus A330 aircraft in commemoration of the saint (reg: EI-DUO).[20] Scotland[edit] Columba is credited as being a leading figure in the revitalisation of monasticism. The Clan Malcolm/Clan McCallum claims its name from Columba and was reputedly founded by the descendants of his original followers.[20] It is also said that Clan Robertson Clan Donnachaidh / Duncan are heirs of Columba. Clan MacKinnon may also have some claim to being spiritual descendants of St Columba as after he founded his monastery on Isle Iona, the MacKinnons were the abbots of the Church for centuries. This would also account for the fact that Clan MacKinnon is amongst the ancient clans of Scotland.[26][page needed] The cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Argyll and the Isles is placed under the patronage of Saint Columba,[27] as are numerous Catholic schools and parishes throughout the nation. The Scottish Episcopal Church, the Church of Scotland, and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of England also have parishes dedicated to him.[citation needed] The village of Kilmacolm in Renfrewshire is also derived from Colmcille's name.[28] St Columba's Hospice, a prominent hospice in Edinburgh, is named after the saint.[29] Poetry[edit] Columba currently has two poems attributed to him: "Adiutor Laborantium" and "Altus Prosator".[30] Both poems are examples of Abecedarian hymns in Latin written while Columba was at the Iona Abbey. The shorter of the two poems, "Adiutor Laborantium" consists of twenty-seven lines of eight syllables each, with each line following the format of an Abecedarian hymn using the Classical Latin alphabet save for lines 10-11 and 25–27. The content of the poem addresses God as a helper, ruler, guard, defender and lifter for those who are good and an enemy of sinners whom he will punish.[31] "Altus Prosator" consists of twenty-three stanzas sixteen syllables long, with the first containing seven lines and six lines in each subsequent stanza. It uses the same format and alphabet as "Adiutor Laborantium" except with each stanza starting with a different letter rather than each line. The poem tells a story over three parts split into the beginning of time, history of Creation, and the Apocalypse or end of time.[32]
I am a graduate of IONA College in NY- founded by the Christian Brothers based upon the inspiration of St. Columba. I recall fondly my time there- a long time ago now . I recall a beautiful statute of St. Columba in middle of the campus. Columba definitely had an interesting life. If you ever have seen the Book of Kells- it is said this was done by the monks of Iona. Here are a few more details from the Iona college website. Iona College is rooted in a long history of Christianity, learning and service, and in the vision of two remarkable men who believed in the transformational power of education. The College’s ancestry dates back to 563, when Columba, a member of the Irish ruling class, gave up the wealth and power afforded to him by birth and became a monk. He founded an island monastery on the Isle of Iona off the coast of Scotland, which became a home to scholars and a center for religious study and learning. Over 1,000 years later, Edmund Rice, an Irish businessman following in Saint Columba's footsteps, gave up his position and wealth, and devoted the rest of his life to prayer and education of the poor, young boys of Ireland. When others joined Rice in a commitment to a life of prayer and teaching, he formed the Congregation of Christian Brothers. It was in the spirit of this heritage that the Catholic order of educators, the Congregation of Christian Brothers, founded Iona College in 1940. When the Christian Brothers started their new elementary and secondary schools in New Rochelle in 1916, Br. Ignatius Doorley named them "the Iona Schools" after St. Columba's island monastery. A short sketch of St. Columba's life shows why this was an inspired choice: In 521, Columba was born into an Irish ruling family. Setting aside his royal claims, he chose to become a monk. In this early medieval period, Irish monasteries flourished as seats of Christian and secular learning. Monastic students followed a classical curriculum, including the Latin and Irish languages, rhetoric, logic, geometry, astronomy and music. In addition to theology and scripture, monks studied and transcribed the works of Virgil, Horace, Martial, Juvenal and other Latin authors, which they then transmitted to the rest of Europe on missionary journeys. Columba quickly emerged as one of the most influential leaders of this monastic movement, founding monasteries throughout Ireland, including those at Derry, Durrow and Kells. In 563, whether from missionary zeal or a self-imposed exile, Columba took twelve companions and sailed north from Ireland until his homeland disappeared below the horizon. They made landfall on Iona - a slender island off the coast of Scotland - and started a new monastery. For the remaining thirty-four years of his life, Columba, taught, studied, prayed, and led his monks, building on Iona a vital center of Celtic Christianity. In Iona's scriptorium, scribes transcribed hundreds of manuscripts, and created - many scholars believe - the Book of Kells (an illuminated text of the Four Gospels). Monks traveled out from Iona to evangelize the Picts and other tribes in the north of Britain, and founded dozens of new churches and monasteries - as far off as Italy. Foreign students traveled to Iona for studies. For two hundred years after its founding, Iona reigned as a powerful incubator of spirituality, learning, and missionary spirit. A series of Viking raids around 800 devastated the monastery; the surviving monks withdrew to the Irish mainland. In the thirteenth century, Benedictine monks and nuns and Augustinian nuns founded abbeys on the island; these flourished until the Scottish Reformation, when they were dismantled and abandoned. Today, travelers can visit Iona, walk its hills, examine its medieval buildings and high crosses, make retreat, or simply rest in its spirit.
Fair number of St. Columba churches in the US. St. Columba Church (Saint Paul, Minnesota) - Wikipedia
“To every cow its calf” – the first known ruling on copyright law when set against Colmcille for infringing the rights of another monk’s work by copying his bible without permission. Feast day tomorrow, June 9, and the 1,500 anniversary of his birth.
There is a saying DesertStar7 , that you do not pick the saint, but that the saint picks you. It seems St. Columba wanted to be known to you and now us! St. Columba pray for us and all the pagans in our society now, especially our families under such attack!
It certainly is not even the majority of statues of St. Columba but I have seen one where it was very similar to St. Patrick. Also, editing on, there seems to be a connection between St. Columba and Iona, a college and apparently, historically, a place in Scotland where the Saint lived. And as I said, most that I have seen in pictures and such do not look like the above:
Thanks for this lovely post.. I live in Derry. I attended St. Columba's boys primary school and was baptised, made my first communion and confirmed in St Columba's Long Tower church. Many say The Long Tower is the most beautiful church in Ireland
My jaw actually dropped a bit from those photos! It's difficult, to my American (originally Puritan-ish Protestant) mind to accept such gorgeousness actually exists. Here's a photo of the interior of my childhood church (ages 6 to 18) by comparison...and it's actually quite DRESSY! From 2011; I haven't been there since 1994. Never saw it THAT dressed up as a kid. But now (later photos) the Psalms verse is covered by a projection screen, the choir chairs, pulpit, and little altar are gone; new pastor who's replaced all that with guitars, a drum set, microphone stands, and a chair for him to sit on (other photos).
I suppose it's the holiness of the people and the priest that matter most though, DS.... If you get the chance though, visit St Columba's chapel in Derry. You can feel the holiness envelope you as you enter. It's mystical. At the risk of boring you, I'll post some more pictures. I've also recently visited St. Columba's birthplace, near Gartan, in County Donegal. Beautiful, beautiful and peaceful place it is too...
