by St. Columbkille
(6th century Ireland)

There is a grey eye that tears are thronging
Fixed with longing on Eire's shore.
It shall never see o'er the waste of waters
The sons and daughters of Eire more.

Its glance goes forth, o'er the brine wave-broken,
Away from the firm-set oaken seat;
Many the tears from that grey eye streaming
The faint far gleaming of Eire to meet.

For indeed my soul is set upon Erin
And all joys therin from Linnhe to Lene,
On each fair prospect of proud Ultonia,
Mild Momonia and Meath, the Green.

Who Was St. Columbkille?

If you haven't heard of St. Columbkille, or Colmcille, perhaps St Columba - or even Columba of Iona - might ring a bell. St. Columba is known as the Saint of the Picts.

According to Wikipedia, "In 563 he traveled to Scotland with twelve companions, where according to his legend he first landed at the southern tip of the Kintyre peninsula, near Southend. However, being still in sight of his native land he moved further north up the west coast of Scotland. In 563 he was granted land on the island of Iona off the west coast of Scotland which became the centre of his evangelising mission to the Picts."

According to the St. Columbkille Parish website, "St. Columbkille is Scotland's most revered saint and, in Ireland, he is honored second only to St. Patrick. A missionary, St. Columbkille is credited with taking Christianity to Scotland. His memorial day is June 9."

"Born of royal bloodlines in northern Ireland on December 5, 521, his proper name was Colum MacFehlin MacFergus. The name Colum means dove. As a young boy he spent much time in church and soon the suffix "cille," the Gaelic word for church, was added to his name. He was called "Colum-cille"--Dove of the Church."

"Well educated, he was a man of great faith who could have become a king but instead chose a life of service to God. After ordination, he worked among the poor in his native Ireland and was famous for his works of charity. He was a great preacher and a man of gigantic stature whose voice, it is said, was so loud and melodious that he could be heard a mile off."

Incidentally, according to tradition, Saint Columbkille is buried in the same grave as Saint Patrick, and Saint Bridget - the spritual daughter of Saint Patrick.

For a 360 view of St. Patrick's grave, click here.

Relatedly, the Saint Patrick Centre in Downpatrick is an interpretive exhibition telling the story of Ireland's patron saint. "Visitors can see Saint Patrick's grave, which lies in the churchyard next to the centre, before exploring the interactive exhibits that show how the Saint's legacy developed in early Christian times. Another section examines the major impact of Irish missionaries during Dark Age Europe."

War Over A Psalter

Interestingly, St Columba was also partially responsible for a war that broke out in old Ireland - over such a thing as a psalter, or book that contained the Book of Psalms or a version of it set for music.

According to Wikipedia, "He was born to Fedlimid and Eithne of the Uí Néill clan in Gartan, near Lough Gartan, County Donegal. On his father's side he was great-great-grandson of Niall of the Nine Hostages, an Irish king of the 5th century. He became a monk and was ordained as a priest. Tradition asserts that, sometime around 560, he became involved in a dispute with Saint Finnian 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. (Columba's copy of the psalter has been traditionally associated with the Cathach of St. Columba.) As penance for these deaths, Columba suggested that he 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 again, several years later."

Of course, there are slightly different versions of the same story, such as the following account from a Scottish history site.

Columba did not come to these shores (Scotland) out of choice. As a matter of fact he ended up here due to one of the first copyright disputes ever.


Columba was a monk at the monastery of Moville in Ireland. The Abbot there was named Finnian and he had been to Rome and returned with a copy of the four Gospels. At that time religious manuscripts were very rare because they were all written by hand.


Columba asked Finnian if he could make a copy of the manuscript but Finnian refused. Columba, however, was a prince of the O’Neills and thus was a proud and independent minded man so, undeterred by Finnian’s warning, he got up in the middle of the night and copied a small piece of the manuscript. He repeated this act every night, copying a small piece of the manuscript each time. On the last night Finnian walked in on Columba and flew into a rage. He demanded the copy from Columba who refused and retreated to the country of his tribe.


Finnian appealed to the High King of Ireland who summoned both to appear before him on a set date for the judgement. When they appeared the King’s judgement was "To the cow her calf." Finnian had won but Columba was not to be deterred.


Once again he ran home to his tribe and raised an army and marched south. The High King, angry that his judgement had been defied, raised his army and marched north. There was a huge battle. Columba won but 2000 men were killed and he was seized with remorse. He went to see his Father Confessor who told him that he must leave Ireland and win as many souls for Christ as had been lost at the battle. This was a terrible sentence known as white martyrdom.

Following is a poem written on the subject of the dispute between Finnian and Columba.

Saint Columbkille
by E. J. V. Huiginn
Anthology of Massachusetts Poets. 1922

COLUMBKILLE! Saint Columbkille!
You naughty man, Saint Columbkille!
Why did you Finnian’s Psalter take
And secretly a copy make?
You know ’twas such a naughty thing 5
For one descended from a king
To lock himself into a cell,
’Twas far from right,—you knew it well,—
And copy Finnian’s Psalter through,
Against his will as well you knew. 10
And then to think a common bird
Should feel such shame, that when he heard
The breathing spy outside your door,
And felt your sainthood was no more,
Should through the crack attack the spy, 15
And in a rage pluck out his eye,
As if that saintly Irish crane
Would hide from all your Saintship’s stain.
I grieve to think that you did add
Sin unto sin; it is too bad. 20
For Finnian could not you persuade
To yield the copy that you made,
Until the King in his behalf
Ruled—“To each cow belongs her calf”:
And then you grew so mad you swore 25
On Erin’s face you’d look no more.
And crossed the sea the Picts to save,
Because you so did misbehave
To dear Saint Finnian: faith, ’twas ill
For you to act so, Columbkille! 30
A saint you were no doubt, no doubt!
What pity ’twas you were found out!
We know an angel (snob or fool?)
To Kiaran showed a common rule,
An axe, an auger, and a saw, 35
And told that saint it was the law
Of Heaven that Columbkille should be
Far, far above such saints as he;
For Columbkille contemned a crown,
While he these homely tools laid down, 40
To serve the Lord, and that the Lord
To each would give his due reward.
I wonder if that angel knew
That Christ these tools had laid down too.
O Columbkille! O Columbkille! 45
A saint like you must have his will,
But for myself I’d rather be
The common sinner that you see
Than make a crane ashamed of me,
And angels talk such idiocy. 50

Related Reading
St. Columba