Abbot of Iona
b. 7 December, 521 at Garten, Cnty. Donegal, Ireland
d. 9 June, 597
Feast day: June 9
Patron of Derry, floods, bookbinders, poets, Ireland, Scotland

St. Columba was the son of Fedlimid and Eithne, of the Uí Néill clan, and was born in Gartan, near Lough Gartan, Donegal. On his father's side, he was a great-great-grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Irish king of the fifth century. Hen entered monastic life and was ordained a priest. According to tradition, around the year 560, he  was involved in a dispute with St. Finnian about a psalter. Columba copied the manuscript in the scriptorium under the orders of St. Finnian. Columba sought to keep the copy to which Saint Finnian disputed his right to it.
This dispute was the cause of the Battle of Cul Dreimhne, held in 561, and in which there were many casualties (the copy of the Psalter mentioned in this story is traditionally identified with St. Columba Cathach). As penance for these deaths, Columba decided to go as a missionary to Scotland to convert as many people as were killed in the battle. He went into exile in Ireland, to return only once, several years later.

In 563 he landed on the island of Iona off the coast of Scotland, where he built the monastery that was to become famous. With SS Comgall Canice and spread the gospel to the Picts, but also developed a monastic rule that many continued until the introduction of St. Benedicts. The thirty-two remaining years of Columba's life were mainly spent in preaching the Christian Faith to the inhabitants of the glens and wooded straths of Northern Scotland. He died on Iona and is also known as Colm, Colum and Columcille.

Columba was born to Fedlimid and Eithne of the Cenel Conaill in Gartan, near Lough Gartan, in modern County Donegal in the north of Ireland. On his father's side, he was great-great-grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Irish high king of the 5th century. He was baptised in Temple-Douglas, in the County Donegal parish of Conwal (mid-way between Gartan and Letterkenny), by his teacher and foster-uncle Saint Crunathan.

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 Irish Christianity studied at the Clonard monastery. It is said that the average number of scholars under instruction at Clonard was 3,000.[3] Twelve students who studied under St. Finnian became known as the Twelve Apostles of Ireland; Columba was one of them. He became a monk and eventually was ordained a priest. During this time, he is said to have founded a number of monasteries, including ones at Kells, Derry, and Swords. 

Tradition asserts that, sometime around 560, he became involved in a quarrel with Saint Finnian of Movilla Abbey over a psalter. Columba copied the manuscript at the scriptorium under Saint Finnian, intending to keep the copy. Saint Finnian disputed his right to keep the copy. The dispute eventually led to the pitched Battle of Cúl Dreimhne in 561, during which many men were killed. A synod of clerics and scholars threatened to excommunicate him for these deaths, but St. Brendan of Birr spoke on his behalf with the result that he was allowed to go into exile instead. Columba suggested that he would work as a missionary in Scotland to help convert as many people as had been killed in the battle. He exiled himself from Ireland, to return only once, many years later.

Columba's copy of the psalter has been traditionally associated with the Cathach of St. Columba.

Source: Catholic Online

Columba was in his forty-fourth year when he departed from Ireland. He and his twelve companions crossed the sea in a currach of wickerwork covered with hides. They landed at Iona on the eve of Pentecost, 12 May, 563. The island, according to Irish authorities, was granted to the monastic colonists by King Conall of Dalriada, Columba's kinsman. Bede attributes the gift to the Picts (Fowler, p. lxv). It was a convenient situation, being midway between his countrymen along the western coast and the Picts of Caledonia. He and his brethren proceeded at once to erect their humble dwellings, consisting of a church, refectory, and cells, constructed of wattles and rough planks. After spending some years among the Scots of Dalriada, Columba began the great work of his life, the conversion of the Northern Picts. Together with St. Comgall and St. Canice (Kenneth) he visited King Brude in his royal residence near Inverness. Admittance was refused to the missionaries, and the gates were closed and bolted, but before the sign of the cross the bolts flew back, the doors stood open, and the monks entered the castle. Awe-struck by so evident a miracle, the king listened to Columba with reverence; and was baptized. The people soon followed the example set them, and thus was inaugurated a movement that extended itself to the whole of Caledonia. Opposition was not wanting, and it came chiefly from the Druids, who officially represented the paganism of the nation. 

The thirty-two remaining years of Columba's life were mainly spent in preaching the Christian Faith to the inhabitants of the glens and wooded straths of Northern Scotland. His steps can be followed not only through the Great Glen, but eastwards also, into Aberdeenshire. The "Book of Deer" (p. 91) tells us how he and Drostan came, as God had shown them to Aberdour in Buchan, and how Bede, a Pict, who was high steward of Buchan, gave them the town in freedom forever. The preaching of the saint was confirmed by many miracles, and he provided for the instruction of his converts by the erection of numerous churches and monasteries. One of his journeys brought him to Glasgow, where he met St. Mungo, the apostle of Strathclyde. He frequently visited Ireland; in 570 he attended the synod of Drumceatt, in company with the Scottish King Aidan, whom shortly before he had inaugurated successor of Conall of Dalriada. When not engaged in missionary journeys, he always resided at Iona. Numerous strangers sought him there, and they received help for soul and body. From Iona he governed those numerous communities in Ireland and Caledonia, which regarded him as their father and founder. This accounts for the unique position occupied by the successors of Columba, who governed the entire province of the Northern Picts although they had received priest's orders only. It was considered unbecoming that any successor in the office of Abbot of Iona should possess a dignity higher than of the founder. The bishops were regarded as being of a superior order, but subject nevertheless to the jurisdiction of the abbot. At Lindisfarne the monks reverted to the ordinary law and were subject to a bishop (Bede, H.E., xxvii).

Columba is said never to have spent an hour without study, prayer, or similar occupations. When at home he was frequently engaged in transcribing. On the eve of his death he was engaged in the work of transcription. It is stated that he wrote 300 books with his own hand, two of which, "The Book of Durrow" and the psalter called "The Cathach", have been preserved to the present time. The psalter enclosed in a shrine, was originally carried into battle by the O'Donnells as a pledge of victory. Several of his compositions in Latin and Irish have come down to us, the best known being the poem "Altus Prosator", published in the "Liber Hymnorum", and also in another form by the late Marquess of Bute. There is not sufficient evidence to prove that the rule attributed to him was really his work.
In the spring of 597 he knew that his end was approaching. On Saturday, 8 June, he ascended the hill overlooking his monastery and blessed for the last time the home so dear to him. That afternoon he was present at Vespers, and later, when the bell summoned the community to the midnight service, he forestalled the others and entered the church without assistance. But he sank before the altar, and in that place breathed forth his soul to God, surrounded by his disciples. This happened a little after midnight between the 8th and 9th of June, 597. He was in the seventy-seventh year of his age. The monks buried him within the monastic enclosure. After the lapse of a century or more his bones were disinterred and placed within a suitable shrine. But as Northmen and Danes more than once invaded the island, the relics of St. Columba were carried for purposes of safety into Ireland and deposited in the church of Downpatrick. Since the twelfth century history is silent regarding them. His books and garments were held in veneration at Iona, they were exposed and carried in procession, and were the means of working miracles (Adam., II, xlv). 
 
His feast is kept in Scotland and Ireland on the 9th of June. In the Scottish Province of st Andrews and Edinburgh there is a Mass and Office proper to the festival, which ranks as a double of the second class with an octave. He is patron of two Scottish dioceses Argyle and the Isles and Dunkeld. According to tradition St. Columba was tall and of dignified mien. Adamnan says: "He was angelic in appearance, graceful in speech, holy in work" (Praef., II). His voice was strong, sweet, and sonorous capable at times of being heard at a great distance. He inherited the ardent temperament and strong passions of his race. It has been sometimes said that he was of an angry and vindictive spirit not only because of his supposed part in the battle of Cooldrevny but also because of irritant related by Adamnan (II, xxiii sq.) But the deeds that roused his indignation were wrongs done to others, and the retribution that overtook the perpetrators was rather predicted than actually invoked. Whatever faults were inherent in his nature he overcame and he stands before the world conspicuous for humility and charity not only towards has brethren, but towards strangers also. He was generous and warm-hearted, tender and kind even to dumb creatures. He was ever ready to sympathize with the joys and sorrows of others. His fasts and vigils were carried to a great extent. The stone pillow on which he slept is said to be still preserved in Iona. His chastity of body and purity of mind are extolled by all his biographers. Notwithstanding his wonderful austerities, Adamnan assures us he was beloved by all, "for a holy joyousness that ever beamed from his countenance revealed the gladness with which the Holy Spirit filled his soul". (Praef., II.) 

Source: Catholic Online 

He was not only a great missionary saint who won a whole kingdom to Christ, but he was a statesman, a scholar, a poet, and the founder of numerous churches and monasteries. His name is dear to Scotsmen and Irishmen alike. And because of his great and noble work even non-Catholics hold his memory in veneration. For the purposes of controversy it has been maintained some that St. Columba ignored papal supremacy, because he entered upon his mission without the pope's authorization. Adamnan is silent on the subject; but his work is neither exhaustive as to Columba's life, nor does it pretend to catalogue the implicit and explicit belief of his patron. Indeed, in those days a mandate from the pope was not deemed essential for the work which St. Columba undertook.

This may be gathered from the words of St. Gregory the Great, relative to the neglect of the British clergy towards the pagan Saxons (Haddan and Stubbs, III, 10). Columba was a son of the Irish Church, which taught from the days of St. Patrick that matters of greater moment should be referred to the Holy See for settlement. St. Columbanus, Columba's fellow-countryman and fellow-churchman, asked for papal judgment (judicium) on the Easter question; so did the bishops and abbots of Ireland. There is not the slightest evidence to prove that St. Columba differed on this point from his fellow-countrymen. Moreover, the Stowe Missal, which, according to the best authority, represents the Mass of the Celtic Church during the early part of the seventh century, contains in its Canon prayers for the pope more emphatic than even those of the Roman Liturgy.

To the further objection as to the supposed absence of the cultus of Our Lady, it may be pointed out that the same Stowe Missal contains before its Canon the invocation "Sancta Maria, ora pro nobis", which epitomizes all Catholic devotion to the Blessed Virgin. As to the Easter difficulty Bede thus sums up the reasons for the discrepancy: "He [Columba] left successors distinguished for great charity, Divine love, and strict attention to the rules of discipline following indeed uncertain cycles in the computation of the great festival of Easter, because, far away as they were out of the world, no one had supplied them with the synodal decrees relating to the Paschal observance" (H.E., III, iv). As far as can be ascertained no proper symbolical representation of St. Columba exists. The few attempts that have been made are for the most part mistaken. A suitable pictorial representation would exhibit him, clothed in the habit and cowl usually worn by the Basilian or Benedictine monks, with Celtic tonsure and crosier. His identity could be best determined by showing him standing near the shell-strewn shore, with currach hard by, and the Celtic cross and ruins of Iona in the background.

Source: Catholic Online
 

St. Columba (ca. 543-615) was the founder of the monastery of Bobbio in northern Italy. His "Boat Song" captures the mood of adventure and robust faith that animated the Irish monks.
Cut in the forests, swept down the two-horned Rhine, 
Our keel, tight-caulked, now floats upon the sea. 
Heia, men! Let the echoes resound with our heia! 
 
The wild gusts swell, the slashing torrents fall, 
But manly strength has force to tame the storm. 
Heia, men! Let the echoes resound with our heia! 

To earnest effort, clouds and tempest yield; 
Zeal and unceasing labor conquer all. 
Heia, men! Let the echoes resound with our heia! 

Endure and save yourselves for better things; 
0 you who have suffered worse, this too shall end. 
Heia, men! Let the echoes resound with our heia! 

So when the loathsome foe assaults our hearts, 
Tempting and shaking the depths of our hearts with passion, Let your souls, men, remembering Christ, cry heia! 

In resolution fixed, scorn Satan's wiles. 
By virtues armed, defend yourselves with valor. 
Let your souls, men, remembering Christ, cry heia! 

Firm faith and holy ardor conquer all. 
The ancient fiend, defeated, breaks his arrows. 
Let your souls, men, remembering Christ, cry heia! 

The Source of Good and Being, the Highest Power, 
Offers the warrior and gives the victor prizes. 
Let your souls, men, remembering Christ, cry heia!
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Brian Tierney, The Middle Ages, Volume I: Sources of Medieval History, 5th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992), p. 72 [with no copyright information given]

This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history. Poem & Boat Song Source: Prayer Foundation
Image source: "A Book of Saints and Wonders" by Lady Gregory, 1906, artist unknown

Delightful to me to be on an island hill, on the crest of a rock,
that I might often watch the quiet sea;  

That I might watch the heavy waves above the bright water, 
as they chant music to their Father everlastingly.

That I might watch its smooth, bright-bordered shore, no 
gloomy pastime, that I might hear the cry of the strange birds, 
a pleasing sound;

That I might hear the murmur of the long waves against the
rocks, that I might hear the sound of the sea, like mourning
beside a grave;

That I might watch the splendid flocks of birds over the well-
watered sea, that I might see its mighty whales, the greatest wonder.

That I might watch its ebb and flood in their course, 
that my name should be--it is a secret that I tell--"he 
who turned his back upon Ireland;"

That I might have a contrite heart as I watch, 
that I might repent my many sins, hard to tell;

That I might bless the Lord who rules all things, 
heaven with its splendid host, earth, ebb, and flood...
____________________________________________________
Brian Tierney, The Middle Ages, Volume I: Sources of Medieval History, 5th ed. (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1992), p. 72 [with no copyright information given]

This text is part of the Internet Medieval Source Book. The Sourcebook is a collection of public domain and copy-permitted texts related to medieval and Byzantine history. Poem & Boat Song Source: Prayer Foundation

Image Source: Red Egg Gallery: Iona