__NOTOC__ Saint Donnán of Eigg (also known as Donan;''The Oxford Dictionary of Saints'', p.135 died 17 April 617) was a

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

, likely from

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, who attempted to introduce

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

to the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples who lived in what is now northern and eastern Scotland (north of the Firth of Forth) during Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and what their culture was like can be inferred from ea ...

of northwestern

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

during the

Early Middle Ages The Early Middle Ages (or early medieval period), sometimes controversially referred to as the Dark Ages, is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th or early 6th century to the 10th century. They marked the start of the Mi ...

. Donnán is the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

Eigg Eigg (; gd, Eige; sco, Eigg) is one of the Small Isles in the Scottish Inner Hebrides. It lies to the south of the Isle of Skye and to the north of the Ardnamurchan peninsula. Eigg is long from north to south, and east to west. With an a ...

, an island in the

Inner Hebrides The Inner Hebrides (; Scottish Gaelic: ''Na h-Eileanan a-staigh'', "the inner isles") is an archipelago off the west coast of mainland Scotland, to the south east of the Outer Hebrides. Together these two island chains form the Hebrides, whic ...

where he was

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

ed. The ''Martyrology of Donegal'', compiled by Michael O'Clery in the 17th century, records the manner of his death: Another tradition states that a

pagan Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...

Pictish queen had him and 150 others burnt.''Warlords And Holy Men, Scotland AD 80-1000'', p.108 He is thought to be buried at Kildonan, on the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; sco, Isle o Arran; gd, Eilean Arainn) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Historically part of Butesh ...

. Saint Donnán's feast day is 17 April. The Latin account in the book of Leinster says: 'Eigg is the name of a spring in Aldasain. And there Donnán and his community suffered martyrdom. This is how it came about. A rich woman used to dwell there before the coming of Donnán and her flocks grazed there. On account of the ill-feeling she had towards Donnán and his community, she persuaded a number of bandits to kill him. When these bandits arrived in Eigg, they found them chanting their

psalms The Book of Psalms ( or ; he, תְּהִלִּים, , lit. "praises"), also known as the Psalms, or the Psalter, is the first book of the ("Writings"), the third section of the Tanakh, and a book of the Old Testament. The title is derived ...

in the oratory and they could not kill them there. Donnán however said to his community: 'Let us go into the refectory so that these men may be able to kill us there where we do our living according to the demands of the body; since as long as we remain where we have done our all to please God, we cannot die, but where we have served the body, we may pay the price of the body.' In this way, therefore, they were killed in their refectory on the eve of

Easter Easter,Traditional names for the feast in English are "Easter Day", as in the '' Book of Common Prayer''; "Easter Sunday", used by James Ussher''The Whole Works of the Most Rev. James Ussher, Volume 4'') and Samuel Pepys''The Diary of Samuel ...

. Fifty-four others died together alongside Donnán'.Adomnan of Iona. Life of St Columba, penguin books, 1995

Places bearing his name

* Eilean Donnáin, Loch Alsh * Kildonan,

*Kildonnan,

(site of his monastery - excavated in 2012) *Kildonan, Sutherland *Kildonan Drive, Thornwood, Glasgow *Kildonnan, Kilpheder Parish,

South Uist South Uist ( gd, Uibhist a Deas, ; sco, Sooth Uist) is the second-largest island of the Outer Hebrides in Scotland. At the 2011 census, it had a usually resident population of 1,754: a decrease of 64 since 2001. The island, in common with the ...

*Kildonnan, Little Loch Broom,

Wester Ross Wester Ross () is an area of the Northwest Highlands of Scotland in the council area of Highland. The area is loosely defined, and has never been used as a formal administrative region in its own right, but is generally regarded as lying to the ...

*Kildonnen, Lynedate, Loch Snizort,

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...

*Seipeil Dhonnáin,

Kishorn Loch Kishorn ( gd, Ciseòrn) is a sea loch in the north-west Highlands of Scotland. Kishorn is a collective name used to refer to a group of populated settlements located next to the loch. Topography Loch Kishorn is a northern branch of Loch ...

*St. Donnan's Chapel,

Little Bernera Little Bernera ( gd, Beàrnaraigh Beag) is a small island situated off the west coast of the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. Little Bernera lies between the sea lochs of West and East Loch Roag, immediately to the north of Great Bernera. ...

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

Saint-Donan Saint-Donan (; br, Sant-Donan) is a commune in the Côtes-d'Armor department of Brittany in northwestern France. Population Inhabitants of Saint-Donan are called ''donanais'' in French. See also *Communes of the Côtes-d'Armor department ...

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

East Kildonan East Kildonan is a primarily residential community in northeast Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Commonly known by its initials EK, the suburb has a population of approximately 35,800 as of the 2016 Census. East Kildonan is bounded from the Red Ri ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the province of Manitoba in Canada. It is centred on the confluence of the Red and Assiniboine rivers, near the longitudinal centre of North America. , Winnipeg had a city population of 749,6 ...

Manitoba Manitoba ( ) is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada at the Centre of Canada, longitudinal centre of the country. It is Canada's Population of Canada by province and territory, fifth-most populous province, with a population o ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

West Kildonan West Kildonan is a residential suburb within the Old Kildonan and Mynarski city wards of Winnipeg, Manitoba, lying on the west side of the Red River, and immediately north of the old City of Winnipeg in the north-central part of the city. It ...

* Kildonan, British Columbia,

At least eleven Scottish churches are named for Saint Donnán.

Notes

References

*Cogan, Anthony. ''The Diocese Of Meath''. (Vol.1). Dublin:, 1862. *Farmer, David Hugh. ''The Oxford Dictionary of Saints''.

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

Oxford University Press Oxford University Press (OUP) is the university press of the University of Oxford. It is the largest university press in the world, and its printing history dates back to the 1480s. Having been officially granted the legal right to print books ...

, 1992. *Smyth, Alfred P. ''Warlords and Holy Men, Scotland AD 80-1000''. : Edward Arnold, 1984. {{DEFAULTSORT:Donnan Of Eigg 617 deaths 7th-century Christian martyrs 7th-century Irish priests Eigg History of Catholicism in Scotland Irish expatriates in Scotland Irish people murdered abroad Medieval Irish saints Medieval Scottish saints Colombanian saints Executed Irish people Year of birth unknown