Columba

Columba was born in Gartan, a wild and remote part of Donegal in Ireland, in AD 521. His mother was Eithne and her husband, Fedelmid mac Ferguso, was the chieftain of the local area. Fedelmid belonged to the Irish clan of Cenel Conaill, which was a part of the northern Ui Neill, a powerful clan descended from the great king of Ireland, Niall of the Nine Hostages. This great king of Ireland was Columba’s great-grandfather.

Niall of the Nine Hostages was the king of Ireland when a sixteen-year-old slave boy called Patrick was brought over from Britain to Ireland. Patrick preached the gospel of Jesus Christ to the inhabitants of the island and became well known throughout the land as a great man of God.

Columba’s grandmother was Erca, and she was a daughter of Erc, king of Dal Riata, a powerful kingdom in the north east of Ireland.  Erca was also the sister of Fergus Mor, one of three brothers who led a colony of Dal Riata from Ireland to Argyll in Scotland in AD 498. Many of the Scottish Dal Riata, or Scots as they were known, were already Christians, having heard the gospel from Patrick.

Eithne, Columba’s mother, belonged to a ruling family in Leinster. It meant that the boy who was born on Thursday 7^thDecember AD 521 came from the ruling class of Ireland. He might himself have been king in Ireland had his mind not be set on a different type of conquest.

The boy was baptized and given the name Columba. The baptism took place at Temple Douglas, between Letterkenny and Gartan. The ceremony was performed by a priest called Cruithnechan.

Columba also had the name, Colum Cille, which meant, “Dove of the Church”, because he would often wander away from his playmates to the church, where he would eventually be found, lost in thought or in prayer.

Columba had one brother, Eoghan, and three sisters. But he was separated from them at an early age when he was sent to be the foster child of the priest who baptised him, Cruithnechan. The system of fosterage was part of the social system of Ireland at the time. It was not a loose arrangement, but was governed by clear laws. It was considered a high honour to foster Columba, and it made sense that because of his love of the Church, a priest should be chosen as his foster father. Even as a young boy, it was believed that Columba was destined for the Church.

Cruithnechan was an educated priest, and it was his responsibility to prepare boys for the monastic schools which had been established across the whole of Ireland.

When he was old enough, Columba was then sent to the monastic school of Moville, located in the east of Ulster. There he was under the charge of Finnian, a cultured man and a scholar who had travelled extensively around Ireland and parts of Europe.

Columba was ordained a deacon in the Church before he left Moville. Then he went to Leinster, and learned the subject of ‘divine wisdom’ from Gemman, who was a Christian bard. A bard was not only a poet, but was also an educated man who was knowledgeable of the language and literature of Ireland, including its history.

The young deacon received his final training in Finnian’s monastic settlement at Clonard on the River Boyne in County Meath, Ireland. Columba was ordained a priest before he left Clonard. He headed for the monastery at Glasnevin which had recently been founded by one of his fellow students. A sudden outbreak of the plague in the land forced the monks at Clonard to scatter to safer parts of the country.

It was soon after this that Columba set out on the work of his life. Now at the age of twenty five, Columba was of immense physical strength and mental energy. For the next fifteen years he travelled all over Ireland, teaching the Scriptures and preaching the gospel of Christ. The young cleric founded churches and monasteries wherever he went.

At the age of forty two, Columba set out for Scotland with twelve men. They landed at Iona in AD 563. Once a monastery had been established on the island, they engaged in God’s mission by bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the Picts of the Highlands of Scotland.

Over the next thirty years, Columba and his monks at Iona relentlessly spread the gospel of Christ throughout the Highlands, and many people came to faith in Jesus. During those years, he subdued the fiercer passions of the Picts. He made friends with their king living under the influence of the Druids. He overcame the Druids and outdid their magic by the miraculous power of the gospel. He secured the independence of the kingdom of the Scots. He brought civilisation to an unruly people and improved their social relations. He developed the national unity of Scotland, and he brought peace between the clans. But more importantly, Columba brought Scotland to the Prince of Peace and Bread of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Columba died in the church at Iona in AD597. His body was wrapped in fine linen. It was placed in a coffin and buried in a simple grave with all due reverence.