Columba/Columcille was the most influential figure in the early Irish Christian Church after St Patrick. He was a dynamic leader of two revolutions in Ireland - The Gospel and The Book. He represented the union of pagan and Christian spirituality. His name, Colum Cille, means ‘dove of the Church’ and he was also well known by the Latin form of his name, ‘Columba’. Born in 521 AD, into one of the ruling families of Ireland (the Uí Niall clan), he might have become a High King of Ireland had he not been determined to devote his life to religion.

Columba is historically revered as a warrior saint. Many prophecies, visions, miracles and legends are attributed to him, including being the first on record to have seen the Loch Ness monster. He is patron saint of Ireland and Scotland.  He is also the patron saint of poets and bookbinders. Columba was himself raised as a poet (filidh) and he used his political influence to persuade King Aedh to preserve the bardic traditions of Ireland.

After his ordination, Columba travelled around Ireland preaching and founding monasteries, including those at Derry, Durrow, and Kells. While visiting Moville monastery in Co.Donegal, Columba, a renowned scribe and artist, is said to have secretly copied a book of psalms (later known as ‘An Cathach’, the first example of written Old Irish). When the book’s owner, Finnian, discovered this, he insisted on being given the copy but Columba refused to hand it over. The dispute was referred to the high king, Diarmuid, who ruled in Finnian’s favour.

The dispute carried over when, soon after, there was another serious incident in which a prince who had fatally injured a rival and had taken refuge with Columba, was slain by Diarmaid's men in defiance of the sacred rights of sanctuary. It is said the resulting war which broke out between Columba's clan and the clans loyal to Diarmaid was instigated by Columba. This was the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne: Diarmuid was defeated, many hundreds were killed and Columba was accused of being morally responsible for sending unprepared souls into eternity. To make amends, Columba resolved to win for Christ as many souls as had perished in the battle.

And so, in 563, he sailed with twelve followers to Iona, a remote, wilderness island off the coast of Scotland, where he founded a monastery. The monastery grew and thrived, eventually becoming a centre of Celtic Christianity and one of the greatest spiritual centres the world has known. One of its most important activities was the creation and preservation of books and scriptures, including the Book of Kells.

The main source of information about Columba's life is the Vita Columbae, written around 685 AD, by Adomnán, an abbot of Iona. According to Adomnán, Columba was a man of kingly bearing - a striking figure of great stature and athletic build. He had “the face of an angel; he was of excellent nature, polished in speech, holy in deed, great in council. He never let a single hour pass without engaging in prayer or reading or writing or some other occupation. He endured the hardships of fasting and vigils without intermission by day and night; the burden of a single one of his labours would have seemed beyond the powers of man. And, in the midst of all his toils, he appeared loving unto all, serene and holy, rejoicing in the joy of the Holy Spirit in his inmost heart.”

Columba/Columcille died in Iona, on June 9th, 597 AD. So great was his reputation, that some sixty Irish, Scottish and Norwegian kings chose to be buried near his tomb. Among them, as Shakespeare reminds us, were King Macbeth and King Duncan: "carried to Colmkill / The sacred storehouse of predecessors / And guardian of their bones."