A Legend About St. Columcille

As I promised on Monday, I'm going to share one of my favorite legends about one of the three patron saints of Ireland, St. Columcille.

Better known by his Latin name, St. Columba, he was the founder of Iona. He is also the subject of the first Loch Ness monster sighting, way back in the 6th century!

In Scotland, he was on a journey with some of his followers. They came upon a riverbank where a crowd of people stood around a body. The man, they said, had just been killed by a monster in the river (the Loch Ness River that feeds the Loch Ness, the now famous lake in Scotland.) St. Columcille needed to get to the other side of the river. There was a boat, but it was on the other side. He ordered one of his followers to jump into the river, swim to the other side and get the boat, and then bring it back to him and the others. Would you have done that? I mean there was a dead man who had just killed in that river! But this man obeyed. He was about halfway across when a giant monster rose out of the water. The creature was just about to snatch the poor man when St. Columcille held up his hand and said, "In the name of God, stop right there."

The monster froze.

"Now, go back down to the bottom. You will never leave this place again."

The monster obeyed and sank back to the bottom of the river. The man swam across, got the boat, brought it back, and St. Columcille and his fellow monks went on their merry way.

What an impression that must have made on the folks watching all this. What a powerful God this man followed. Maybe they should follow Him too.

This story appears in a late 8th century Irish manuscript. Now you can impress your friends about the "real" story of the Loch Ness monster!

A Day to Remember St. Columcille

That I might search the books all,
That would be good for my soul;
At times kneeling to beloved Heaven;
At times contemplating the King of Heaven,
Holy the chief;
At times at work without compulsion,
This would be delightful.

~Attributed to St. Columba

It's the feast of St. Columcille (Columba) today, the founder of Iona. He is one of the most fascinating ancient Irish saints, and is in fact of one of Ireland's patron saints (along with Patrick and Brigid.) He lived from approximately 521 to 597AD and was born to the power O'Neill clan who were probably the ones responsible for St. Patrick's kidnapping!

In addition to his position as abbot for many monasteries in Ireland and Iona as well, Columcille was a poet, a position highly respected in ancient Ireland. Here is one of my favorite stories about St. Columcille from my book, Celtic Wisdom, Treasures From Ireland.

Under the cover of darkness, without so much as a candle because, according to legend, his fingers were luminous, Columcille copied a Psalter belonging to Finian of Moville.

An old Irish saying declares that "All sins cast long shadows," and it was true that Columcille could not hide what he had done. His deceit was uncovered and it was considered a major offence. By copying a book the original lost its unique value. The case was brought before King Diarmait, a rival of Columcille's clansmen, who rendered the following judgment: "To every cow her calf; to every book its copy." Columcille had to return his copy to Finian.

Ancient Ireland saw many tribal feuds and wars. Columcille belonged to the most powerful family in Ireland at that time, and they had no hesitation in defending their rank with force. He seized an opportunity for revenge because of some wrong supposedly committed by Diarmait...The battle of Cooldrevy (in Sligo) in 561 was a massacre. Three thousand of Diarmait's warriors were slaughtered while Columcille's army lost only one. As a result, Columcille received his coveted book, but at a great price.

This story is the reason Columcille went to Iona and established a community there. He banished himself (or else his confession did) to a place where he could no longer lay his eyes on his beloved Ireland.

It's interesting that this copied book may be the one known as The Battler, which is held today by the Royal Irish Academy.

My First YouTube Video

My husband took this of me at last Saturday's Ohioana Book Festival in Columbus, OH. It's our first attempt. Hopefully we'll get the hang of it and make better quality videos in the future.

I'm reading from Celtic Wisdom, the section on St. Columcille.