:Columba

Columba was born to Fedlimid and Eithne of the Cenél Conaill in Gartan, a district beside Lough Gartan, in Tír Chonaill (mainly modern County Donegal) in what is now Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. On his father's side, he is claimed as being the great-great-grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages, a pseudo-historical Irish high king of the 5th century.{{cite book |last=Meehan |first=Cary |date=2004 |title=Sacred Ireland |url= |location=Somerset |publisher=Gothic Image Publications |page=125 |isbn=0-906362-43-1 |access-date=}} Tradition holds that he was born in Gartan. One tradition holds that he was born on a flagstone called Leac na Cumha in the townland of Lacknacoo.{{Cite web |title=The Birthplace of ColmCille |date=9 June 2016 |url=https://pilgrimagemedievalireland.com/2016/06/09/t-he-birthplace-of-st-colmcille-gartan-co-donegal/}} 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.{{sfn|Reeves|1850|p=82}}{{sfn|Munn|1985|p=}}{{Citation | title = Ordnance Survey Memoirs for the Parishes of Desertmartin and Kilcronaghan | publisher = Ballinascreen Historical Society | year = 1986}}.

Columba lived in the remote district of what is now Glencolmcille for roughly five years, which was named after him. 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').{{sfn|Adomnan of Iona|1995|p=}} 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. Columba is also Latin for dove, and the name of the bird genus.

File:St Columba's church, Gartan, Donegal.jpg, 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 David.{{cite CE1913|last=Edmonds|first= Columba|wstitle=St. Columba, Abbot of Iona|volume=4|short=1}}

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. 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.{{Cite web|title=St Columba and the Isle of Iona|url=https://www.historic-uk.com/HistoryUK/HistoryofScotland/St-Columba-the-Isle-of-Iona/|access-date=4 January 2022|website=Historic UK}}

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.{{cite book |chapter-url=http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/COLUMBA.htm |chapter=Saint Columba, Abbot and Confessor—521-597 AD |last=Crawley |first=John J |title=Lives of the Saints |publisher=John J. Crawley & Co |via=EWTN |date=1954 |access-date=25 July 2013 |archive-date=8 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130808215823/http://www.ewtn.com/library/MARY/COLUMBA.htm |url-status=live }}

The foundation of several important monasteries marked the following years: Derry, at the southern edge of Inishowen; Durrow, County Offaly; Kells, County Meath; and Swords.{{sfn|Sidwell|1995|p=70}} While at Derry it is said that he planned a pilgrimage to Rome and Jerusalem, but did not proceed farther than Tours. From Tours, he brought a copy of those gospels that had lain on the bosom of Martin for 100 years. This relic was deposited in Derry. St Colmcille is also believed to have established a Church on Inishkea North, County Mayo which is named St Colmcille's Church.{{Cite web |date=2018-02-18 |title=Islands of Ireland: Sands of time on Inishkea |url=https://www.irishexaminer.com/property/homeandgardens/arid-30828659.html |access-date=17 April 2022 |website=Irish Examiner}}{{Cite web |title=Inishkea Islands Monastic Sites |url=https://www.ouririshheritage.org/content/archive/place/miscellaneous-place/inishkea-islands-monastic-sites |access-date=17 April 2022 |website=Our Irish Heritage}}{{Cite web |title=Oh, to be on Inishkea |url=https://www.mayonews.ie/component/content/article?id=2183:oh-to-be-on-inishkea |access-date=17 April 2022 |website=The Mayo News |archive-date=8 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220808135800/https://www.mayonews.ie/component/content/article?id=2183:oh-to-be-on-inishkea |url-status=dead }}

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, Columba's kinsman.

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.

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.govisitinishowen.com/directory/stroove/ |title=Stroove |author= |date=2023 |website=Go Visit Inishowen |access-date=7 December 2023 }} He left Ireland, but through the following years, he returned several times to visit the communities he had founded there.

Columba's copy of the psalter has been traditionally associated with the Cathach of St. Columba. In 574/575, during his return for the Synod of Drum Ceat, he founded the monastery of Drumcliff in Cairbre, now County Sligo.{{Cite web|url=https://www.libraryireland.com/topog/D/Drumcliffe-Carbery-Sligo.php|title = Drumcliffe – Topographical Dictionary of Ireland (1837)}}

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 Ulster, 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. However, there is a sense in which he was not leaving his native people, as the Ulster Gaels had been inhabiting the west coast of Scotland for the previous couple of centuries.{{sfn|Fletcher|1989|pp=23-24}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.stcolumbaretreathouse.com/saint_columba.htm|title=Who is St. Columba?|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090113152508/http://www.stcolumbaretreathouse.com/saint_columba.htm |archive-date=13 January 2009|publisher=St. Columba Retreat House|access-date=6 October 2008}}

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, 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.Mc Carthy, Daniel P.,'The Chronology of Saint Columba's Life', in Moran, P. & Warntjes, I. (eds), Early Medieval Ireland and Europe: Chronology, Contacts, Scholarship – Festschrift for Dáibhí Ó Cróinín, (Turnhout, Belgium: Brepols, 2015), pp. 3–32 The Annals record the first raid made upon Iona in 795, with further raids occurring in 802, 806 and 825.{{cite journal | last=Jennings |first=Andrew |date=1988 |title=Iona and the Vikings: Survival and Continuity |journal=Northern Studies |volume=33 |pages=34–54}}, see pp. 37-38. Columba's relics were finally removed in 849 and divided between Scotland and Ireland.{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/articles/columba/ |title=Scotland's History – Columba |publisher=BBC |date=1 January 1970 |access-date=17 August 2012 |archive-date=16 February 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120216073444/http://www.bbc.co.uk/scotland/history/articles/columba/ |url-status=live }}

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.{{Cite news |url=https://www.irishpost.com/life-style/125140-2-125140 |title=11 facts about St Colmcille – the Irish patron saint who was banished from Ireland for starting a tribal war |last=Lonergan |first=Aidan |date=9 June 2017 |work=The Irish Post |access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-date=23 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523162333/https://www.irishpost.com/life-style/125140-2-125140 |url-status=live }}

Colmcille is the patron saint of the city of Derry, where he founded a monastic settlement in c. 540. The name of the city in Irish is Doire Cholm Cille 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 National School in Drumcondra is a girls' school named after the saint.{{cite web|url=https://www.ionaroadschool.ie/|title=Iona road St Columbas school Glasnevin Dublin}}

St. Colmcille's Primary School{{cite web |url=http://www.stcolmcilles.org/ |title=St Colmcilles |access-date=12 May 2014 |archive-date=12 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140512223116/http://www.stcolmcilles.org/ |url-status=live }} and St. Colmcille's Community School{{cite web | title =St. Colmcille's Community School | url =http://www.stcolmcilles.ie/ | date =8 May 2014 | access-date =12 May 2014 | archive-date =13 May 2014 | archive-url =https://web.archive.org/web/20140513022907/http://stcolmcilles.ie/ | url-status =live }} are two schools in Knocklyon, Dublin, named after him, with the former having an annual day dedicated to the saint on 9 June.{{Cite web|title=Events|url=http://www.stcolmcilles.org/events.html|access-date=2020-06-09|website=ST. COLMCILLE'S S.N.S|archive-date=9 June 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200609213937/http://www.stcolmcilles.org/events.html|url-status=live}}

The town of Swords, Dublin was reputedly founded by Colmcille in 560 AD.{{sfn|Sidwell|1995|p=70}} 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.{{cite web|url=http://stcolmcillesgns.scoilnet.ie/blog/|title=St. Colmcille's Girls' N.S. – Fáilte chuig suíomh idirlíon Scoil Cholmcille na gCailíní|website=stcolmcillesgns.scoilnet.ie|access-date=6 August 2018|archive-date=6 August 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180806180134/http://stcolmcillesgns.scoilnet.ie/blog/|url-status=dead}}

The Columba Press, a religious and spiritual book company based in Dublin, is named after Colmcille.{{Cite web|title=Who We Are|url=https://columbabooks.com/who-we-are/|access-date=2021-01-25|website=Columba Books|archive-date=25 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210125094312/https://columbabooks.com/who-we-are/|url-status=live}}

Aer Lingus, Ireland's national flag carrier has named one of its Airbus A330 aircraft in commemoration of the saint (reg: EI-DUO).

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. 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. Sir Iain Moncreiffe of that Ilk speculated that Clan MacKinnon belonged to the kindred of Columba, noting the MacKinnon Arms bore the hand of Columba holding the Cross, and the several Mackinnon abbots of Iona.Moncreiffe of that Ilk, Iain, Sir. The Highland Clans. London: Barrie & Rockliff, 1967. pp. 70–71. The MacKinnons included Green Abbots who were never priests and who were corrupt. The Macdonald Lords of the Isles dealt with them, imprisoning one who was convicted of treachery since Iona was the spiritual seat of Clan Donald.Clan Donald & Iona Abbey 1200-1500 by Ian Ross Macdonnell, 2012, beginning at p. 49.

The cathedral of the Catholic Diocese of Argyll and the Isles is placed under the patronage of Saint Columba,{{Cite web |url=https://rcdai.org.uk/saint-columba/ |title=Saint Columba |website=Diocese of Argyll & the Isles |date=10 February 2016 |access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-date=23 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523162333/https://rcdai.org.uk/saint-columba/ |url-status=live }} as are numerous Catholic schools and parishes throughout the nation. The Scottish Episcopal Church,{{cite web| url = https://largs-church.co.uk/| title = St Columba's Scottish Episcopal Church. Largs}} the Church of Scotland,{{cite web| url = https://www.stcolumbas.org.uk/| title = St Columba's Church of Scotland, London}} and the Evangelical Lutheran Church of England{{cite web| url = https://lutheranchurch.org.uk/directory/east-kilbride/| title = St Columba's Evangelical Lutheran Church, East Kilbride| date = 30 November 2015}} also have parishes dedicated to him. The village of Kilmacolm in Renfrewshire is also derived from Colmcille's name.{{Cite web |url= http://www.scottish-places.info/parishes/parhistory752.html |publisher= University of Edinburgh |author= ((The Editors of the Gazetteer for Scotland))|access-date= 13 June 2009 |title= Kilmacolm history, Gazetteer for Scotland |archive-date= 3 June 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120603123824/http://www.scottish-places.info/parishes/parhistory752.html |url-status= live }}

St Columba's Hospice, a prominent hospice in Edinburgh, is named after the saint.{{cite web|url=http://www.stcolumbashospice.org.uk|title=St Columba's Hospice, Palliative Care in Edinburgh|website=stcolumbashospice.org.uk|access-date=26 September 2021|archive-date=29 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210729122258/https://stcolumbashospice.org.uk/|url-status=live}}

Columba currently has two poems attributed to him: "Adiutor Laborantium" and "Altus Prosator".{{Cite web | title = Helper of Workers | last = Moore | first = T.M. | work = The Fellowship of Ailbe | date = 23 August 2014 | access-date = 10 June 2018 | url = https://www.ailbe.org/columns/item/5470-helper-of-workers | archive-date = 12 June 2018 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20180612140902/https://www.ailbe.org/columns/item/5470-helper-of-workers | url-status = live }} 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.{{sfn|Clancy|Gilbert|1995|p=73}}

"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, the history of Creation, and the Apocalypse or end of time.{{Cite journal|last=Wesseling|first=Margaret|year=1988|title=Structure and Image in the "Altus Prosator": Columba's Symmetrical Universe|jstor=20557197|journal=Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium|volume=8|pages=46–57}}

Columba is honoured in the Anglican communion, including the Church of England and the Episcopal Church, on 9 June.{{Cite web|title=The Calendar|url=https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|access-date=2021-03-27|website=The Church of England|archive-date=9 March 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210309204842/https://www.churchofengland.org/prayer-and-worship/worship-texts-and-resources/common-worship/churchs-year/calendar|url-status=live}}{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bEq7DwAAQBAJ |title=Lesser Feasts and Fasts 2018 |date=2019-12-17 |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-1-64065-235-4}} The Church of St. Columba in Ottawa is part of the Anglican Diocese of Ottawa.[https://stcolumbaottawa.ca/index.html Church of St. Columba, Manor Park, Ottawa] St. Columba Anglican Church is located in Tofino, British Columbia.[https://www.stcolumbatofino.ca/ St. Columba Anglican Church, Tofino, BC]

St. Columba's Episcopal Church is in Washington, D.C.[https://www.columba.org/ St. Columba's Episcopal Church, Washington, D.C.] There is a St. Columba's Presbyterian Church in Peppermint Grove, Washington.[https://stcolumbaspresbyterian.com/ St. Columba's Presbyterian Church, Peppermint Grove, Washington] The Saint-Columba Presbyterian Church in Palmerstone, Vacoas-Phoenix is part of the Presbyterian Church in Mauritius.{{cite web | url=https://www.presbyterian.mu/en/parishes/saint-columba-phoenix | title=Saint-Columba, Phoenix – Parishes – Presbyterian Church of Mauritius }}

Columba is the patron saint of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Youngstown, Ohio. The Cathedral there is named for him.{{Cite web |url=https://www.stcolumbacathedral.org/history |title=History |website=Saint Columba Cathedral |access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-date=23 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523164406/https://www.stcolumbacathedral.org/history |url-status=live }} Iona University, in New Rochelle, New York, is named after the island on which Columba established his first monastery in Scotland,{{Cite web |url=https://www.iona.edu/about/history-mission/catholic-heritage.aspx |title=Catholic Heritage |website=Iona College |access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-date=23 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523164408/https://www.iona.edu/about/history-mission/catholic-heritage.aspx |url-status=live }} as is Iona College in Windsor, Ontario, Iona Presentation College, Perth,{{Cite web |url=https://www.iona.wa.edu.au/view/welcome/history-presentation |title=History and the Presentation Sisters |website=Iona Presentation College |access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-date=23 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523163252/https://www.iona.wa.edu.au/view/welcome/history-presentation |url-status=live }} and Iona College Geelong in Charlemont, Victoria.{{Cite web |url=https://iona.vic.edu.au/welcome-to-iona-college-geelong/ |title=Welcome to Iona College Geelong |website=Iona College Geelong |date=2 January 2019 |access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-date=23 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523165910/https://iona.vic.edu.au/welcome-to-iona-college-geelong/ |url-status=live }}

In Bangor, Pennsylvania, there is a megalith park called Columcille, which is open to the public.

There are at least four pipe bands named for him; one each from Tullamore, Ireland,{{Facebook|StColmcillesPipeBand |St Colmcille's Pipe Band, Tullamore }} from Derry, Northern Ireland,{{cite web |url=http://www.colmcillepipeband.com/ |title=colmcillepipeband.com |publisher=colmcillepipeband.com |access-date=12 May 2014 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517125228/http://colmcillepipeband.com/ |url-status=dead }} from Kearny, New Jersey,{{cite web |url=http://stcolumcille.com/ |title=stcolumcille.com |publisher=stcolumcille.com |access-date=12 May 2014 |archive-date=8 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140808130337/http://www.stcolumcille.com/ |url-status=live }} and from Cape Cod, Massachusetts.{{cite web |url=http://www.capecodpipesanddrums.com |title=capecodpipesanddrums.com |publisher=capecodpipesanddrums.com |access-date=12 May 2014 |archive-date=17 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140517034915/http://capecodpipesanddrums.com/ |url-status=live }}

St. Columba's School, one of the most prominent English-Medium schools in India, run by the Irish Christian Brothers, is also named after the saint.{{Cite web |url=http://www.stcolumbas.edu.in/about-school.html |title=About School |website=St. Columba's School, New Delhi |access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-date=23 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523164407/http://www.stcolumbas.edu.in/about-school.html |url-status=live }}

The Munich GAA is named München Colmcilles.{{cite web |url=http://www.munichgaa.de/ |title=munichgaa.de |publisher=munichgaa.de |access-date=12 May 2014 |archive-date=14 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140214061229/http://www.munichgaa.de/ |url-status=live }}

Saint Columba's Feast Day, 9 June, has been designated as International Celtic Art Day. The Book of Kells and the Book of Durrow, great medieval masterpieces of Celtic art, are associated with Columba.{{Cite web |url=https://www.celticartday.com/photos |title=Why June 9 |website=International Day of Celtic Art |access-date=23 May 2019 |archive-date=23 May 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190523164407/https://www.celticartday.com/photos |url-status=live }}

Benjamin Britten composed A Hymn of St Columba for choir and organ in 1962, setting a poem by the saint, on the occasion of the 1,400th anniversary of his voyage to Iona.{{cite web

| last = Spicer

| first = Paul

| author-link = Paul Spicer

| url = http://www.boosey.com/downloads/brittenchoralenglish.pdf

| title = A Hymn of St Columba

| work = Britten Choral Guide

| publisher = Boosey & Hawkes

| pages = 8–9

| access-date = 13 November 2019

| archive-date = 8 November 2020

| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20201108174029/https://www.boosey.com/downloads/brittenchoralenglish.pdf

| url-status = live

}}

The main source of information about Columba's life is the Life of Columba ({{langx|la|Vita Columbae}}), a hagiography written by Adomnán, one of Columba's successors at Iona, in the style of "saints' lives" narratives that had become widespread throughout medieval Europe. Both the Life of Columba and Bede (672/673–735) record Columba's visit to Bridei. Whereas Adomnán just tells us that Columba visited Bridei, Bede relates a later, perhaps Pictish tradition, whereby Columba actually converts the Pictish king. Another early source is a poem in praise of Columba, most probably commissioned by Columba's kinsman, the King of the Uí Néill clan. It was almost certainly written within three or four years of Columba's death and is the earliest vernacular poem in European history. It consists of twenty-five stanzas of four verses of seven syllables each, called the Amra Coluim Chille.

Through the reputation of its venerable founder and its position as a major European centre of learning, Columba's Iona became a place of pilgrimage. Columba is historically revered as a warrior saint and was often invoked for victory in battle. Some of his relics were removed in 849 and divided between Alba and Ireland. Relics of Columba were carried before Scottish armies in the reliquary made at Iona in the mid-8th century called the Brecbennoch. Legend has it that the Brecbennoch was carried to the Battle of Bannockburn (24 June 1314) by the vastly outnumbered Scots army and the intercession of Columba helped them to victory. Since the 19th century the "Brecbennoch of St. Columba" has been identified with the Monymusk Reliquary, although this is now doubted by scholars.[http://www.nms.ac.uk/our_collections/highlights/monymusk_reliquary.aspx The Monymusk Reliquary] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140714183019/http://www.nms.ac.uk/our_collections/highlights/monymusk_reliquary.aspx |date=2014-07-14 }} at the National Museum of Scotland

In the Antiphoner of Inchcolm Abbey, the "Iona of the East" (situated on an island in the Firth of Forth), a 14th-century prayer begins O Columba spes Scotorum... "O Columba, hope of the Scots".{{sfn|Gillespie|2016|p=133}}

• Celtic Christianity
• Early Christian Ireland
• List of people on the postage stamps of Ireland
• St. Columba's School
• Saint Columba, patron saint archive
• Scotland in the Early Middle Ages

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin|2|indent=yes}}

• {{cite book|last=Adomnán|author-link=Adomnán|orig-year=c. 700|editor-last=Reeves|editor-first=William|title=Life of Saint Columba, Founder of Hy|publisher=Edmonston and Douglas|publication-date=1874|publication-place=Edinburgh|url=http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T201040/|access-date=14 September 2008|archive-date=6 October 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101006181319/http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T201040/|url-status=live}}
• {{cite book|author=Adomnan of Iona|author-link=Adomnan of Iona|title=Life of St Columba|url={{google books|id=j7yFjie05bcC|plainurl=yes|keywords=Crimthann}}|year=1995|publisher=Penguin Books|isbn=978-0-14-190741-3}}
• {{cite book|editor-last=Anderson|editor-first=Alan Orr|editor-last2=Anderson|editor-first2=Marjorie Ogilvie|title=Adomnan's Life of Columba|publisher=Clarendon Press|year=1991}}
• {{cite book|last=Charles-Edwards|first=T. M.|title=Early Christian Ireland|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=g6yq2sKLlFkC&pg=PA303|year=2000|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-36395-2}}
• {{Cite book|title=Iona: The earliest poetry of a Celtic monastery|last1=Clancy|first1=Thomas Owen|last2=Gilbert|first2=Márkus|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|year=1995|isbn=978-0748605316|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Z2piAAAAMAAJ}}
• {{cite book|author=Father Colgan|title=The Saintly Triad, Or The Lives of St. Patrick, St. Columbkille, and St. Bridget|url=https://archive.org/stream/saintlytriadorl00unkngoog#page/n10/mode/2up|year=1844|location=Dublin}}
• {{cite book|editor-first=Tim|editor-last=Dowley|title=Eerdman's handbook to the history of Christianity|url=https://archive.org/details/eerdmanshandbook00work|url-access=registration|date=1977|publisher=Eerdmans|isbn=978-0-8028-3450-8}}
• {{cite book|last=Fletcher|first=Richard A. |title=Who's who in Roman Britain and Anglo-Saxon England|url={{google books|id=q1wiAAAAMAAJ|plainurl=yes|page=23|keywords=columba}}|year=1989|publisher=Shepheard-Walwyn|isbn=978-0-85683-089-1}}
• {{cite book|last=Fraser|first=James Earle|title=From Caledonia to Pictland: Scotland to 795|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JaliXwNMpFsC&pg=PA98|year=2009|publisher=Edinburgh University Press|isbn=978-0-7486-1232-1|access-date=16 October 2015|archive-date=26 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926173457/https://books.google.com/books?id=JaliXwNMpFsC&pg=PA98|url-status=live}}
• {{Cite book|title=Lochaber Lights|last=Gillespie|first=Donald S.|publisher=Holy Fire Publishing|year=2016|isbn=9781603835121|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=qCtyDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA133|access-date=19 August 2019|archive-date=26 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926173457/https://books.google.com/books?id=qCtyDAAAQBAJ&pg=PA133|url-status=live}}
• {{cite book|last=Munn|first=Alfred Moore|title=Notes on the Place Names of the Parishes and Townlands of the County of Londonderry|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jCJhPAAACAAJ|year=1985|publisher=Ballinascreen Historical Society|access-date=10 June 2018|archive-date=12 August 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200812163606/https://books.google.com/books?id=jCJhPAAACAAJ|url-status=live}}
• {{cite book|last=Sidwell|first=Keith|title=Reading Medieval Latin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fEbP_0FBNKcC&pg=PA70|year=1995|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-44747-8|access-date=10 June 2018|archive-date=26 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926173511/https://books.google.com/books?id=fEbP_0FBNKcC&pg=PA70|url-status=live}}
• {{cite book|last=Reeves|first=William|title=Acts of Archbishop Colton in His Metropolitan Visitation of the Diocese of Derry, A.D. 1397; With a Rental of the See Estates at that Time; Edited, from the Original Roll Preserved in the Archiepiscopal Record Closet of Armagh|url=https://archive.org/details/ActsOfTheArchbishopColton|page=[https://archive.org/details/ActsOfTheArchbishopColton/page/n110 82]|year=1850|publisher=Irish Archaeological Society}}
• {{cite book|last1=Wagner|first1=Paul|last2=Konstam|first2=Angus|title=Pictish Warrior AD 297-841|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=EafvCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA14|year=2012|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-78200-216-1|access-date=8 June 2018|archive-date=26 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210926173534/https://books.google.com/books?id=EafvCwAAQBAJ&pg=PA14|url-status=live}}

{{refend}}

{{refbegin}}

• {{Citation |last=Broun |first=Dauvit |year=1999 |editor-last=Thomas |editor-first=Owen Clancy |title=Spes Scotorum, Hope of Scots: Saint Columba, Iona and Scotland |publisher=T&T Clark |isbn=0-567-08682-8 }}
• {{Citation |last=Bruce |first=James |year=2007 |title=Prophecy, Miracles, Angels & Heavenly Light? The Eschatology, Pneumatology and Missiology of Adomnan's Life of Columbia - Studies in Christian History and Thought |publisher=Paternoster |isbn=9781597527316}}
• Bullough, Donald A. "Columba, Adomnan, and the Achievement of Iona," Scottish Historical Review 43, 44 (1964–65): 111–30, 17–33.
• {{Citation |last=Campbell |first=George F |year=2006 |title=The First and Lost Iona |publisher=Candlemas Hill |url=http://www.corbie.com/campbellbook.htm |isbn=1-873586-13-2 |publication-place=Glasgow |access-date=3 March 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100614060759/http://www.corbie.com/campbellbook.htm |archive-date=14 June 2010 |url-status=dead }}
• Finlay, Ian, Columba London: Gollancz, 1979.
• Forbes, Andrew ; Henley, David (2012). Pages from the Book of Kells. Chiang Mai: Cognoscenti Books. ASIN: B00AN4JVI0
• {{Citation

|last=Lewis

|first=James

|year=2007

|title=Paths of Exile: Narratives of St. Columba and the Praxis of Iona

|publisher=Cloverdale

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DN6RHgAACAAJ

|access-date=14 September 2008

|isbn=978-1-929569-24-3

}}

• {{cite book |last1= Healy |first1=John |author-link1=John Healy (bishop) |year=1892 |chapter= Saint Columba |title= The ancient Irish church|edition=1 |location=London |publisher=Religious Tract Society |pages=52–69 }}
• {{Citation

|last=Herbert |first=Máire |year=1996

|title=Iona, Kells, and Derry: The History and Hagiography of the Monastic "Familia" of Columba.

|publisher=Four Courts Press

|isbn=978-1851822447}}

• {{Citation

|last=Magnusson

|year=1990

|title=The Cambridge Biographical Dictionary

|publisher=Cambridge University Press

|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DN6RHgAACAAJ

|access-date=14 September 2008

|isbn=0-521-39518-6

}}

• McLean, Scott A. "Columba 521–597," in Reader's Guide to British History (London: Routledge, 2003) online at Credo Reference. Historiography
• {{Citation |last=Tranter |first=Nigel G. |author-link=Nigel Tranter |year=1987 |title=Columba |publisher=Hodder & Stoughton |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rJpjAAAAMAAJ |access-date=14 September 2008 |isbn=0-340-40699-2 }}

{{refend}}

{{commons category|Saint Columba|Columba}}

{{wikiquote}}

• [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T201011/index.html CELT: On the Life of Saint Columba (Betha Choluim Chille) (tr. W. Stokes)]
• [http://www.ucc.ie/celt/published/T201040/index.html CELT: The Life of Columba, written by Adamnan (tr. W. Reeves)]
• {{CathEncy|id=04136a|title=St. Columba|short=yes}}
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/scottishhistory/earlychurch/features_earlychurch_iona.shtml BBC: St Columba]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20060813184854/http://www.stthomasirondequoit.com/SaintsAlive/id176.htm St Columba on SaintsAlive]
• [https://www.a-wee-bit-of-ireland.com/eire_2007/gartan_05.html Photo of the birthplace of Columcille at Gartan]
• {{librivox book | title=The Life of Saint Columba Apostle of Scotland | author=Frances Alice FORBES}}
• [http://foundationsirishculture.ie/record/?id=52 The foundations of Irish Culture]

{{s-start}}

{{s-new|creation}}

{{s-ttl|title=Abbot of Iona|years= died 597}}

{{s-aft|after=Baithéne}}

{{s-end}}

{{Twelve Apostles of Ireland}}

{{Uí Néill}}

{{Portal bar|Saints}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Medieval Gaels from Scotland

Category:People from County Donegal

Category:Pictish people

Category:Abbots of Iona

Category:Scottish folklore

Category:6th-century writers in Latin

Category:6th-century Irish abbots

Category:6th-century Christian saints

Category:Medieval Irish saints

Category:Medieval Scottish saints

Category:Burials in Iona

Category:Irish expatriates in Scotland

Category:6th-century Irish writers

Category:521 births

Category:597 deaths

Category:Angelic visionaries

Category:6th-century Scottish people

Category:Irish Christian missionaries

Category:Colombanian saints

Category:Christian missionaries in Scotland

Category:Medieval legends

Category:Anglican saints

Category:Poet priests

Category:6th-century Christian abbots