Saint Inan (Evan) was the patron saint of

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier *Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia *Irvine Island *Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada *Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotla ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, Scotland, where he is said to have resided during the 9th century AD. He is reputed to have come from

Iona Iona (; gd, Ì Chaluim Chille (IPA: �iːˈxaɫ̪ɯimˈçiʎə, sometimes simply ''Ì''; sco, Iona) is a small island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there ...

, and to have died in Irvine, where his tomb was reputed to have been the site of miracles.

History

Although he is said to have been a hermit,Scottish Saints
/ref> according to tradition St. Inan is said to have often visited the town of

Beith Beith is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "''Hill o' Beith''" (hill of the birches) after its ''Court ...

, frequenting Cuff Hill with its

rocking stone Rocking stones (also known as logan stones or logans) are large stones that are so finely balanced that the application of just a small force causes them to rock. Typically, rocking stones are residual corestones formed initially by spheroidal ...

and various other prehistoric monuments. A cleft in the west-front of Lochlands Hill is still known as 'St. Inan's Chair' and said to have been used by the saint as a

pulpit A pulpit is a raised stand for preachers in a Christian church. The origin of the word is the Latin ''pulpitum'' (platform or staging). The traditional pulpit is raised well above the surrounding floor for audibility and visibility, access ...

. and a crystal-clear holy well existed nearby, now sadly covered over (2006). An unsuccessful search for the saint's writings which were said to be preserved in the library of Bonci, Archbishop of Pisa was made by Colonel Mure of

Caldwell Caldwell may refer to: People * Caldwell (surname) * Caldwell (given name) * Caldwell First Nation, a federally recognized Indian band in southern Ontario, Canada Places Great Britain * Caldwell, Derbyshire, a hamlet * Caldwell, East ...

in the 19th century. Saint Inan has said to have preached to the assembled people from the chair on the hill and stayed on the site of Cauldhame Cottage. There was not a great population in the area at that time and the people were located not in Beith, but up on the top of the Bigholm near to what were the Beith water dams. The first settlements were in the heavily wooded areas around the dams where people were safe from attack and could get food from the land, and fish in the

loch ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots language, Scots and Irish language, Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is Cognate, cognate with the Manx language, Manx lough, Cornish language, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh language, Welsh w ...

s. The Saints of old went where the people were, and they also tended to go where there had been worship of heathen Gods. It has been suggested that High Bogside Farm, which used to be called Bellsgrove, was really 'Baalsgrove', which would fit in with the story of Saint Inan going to where the pagan gods were.Jenny Kerr's recollections

The Holy well and chapel

The well is usually known as St Mary's or the Chapel Well. It is situated at Grid reference NS 3226 3851. It lies close to what was probably a chapel dedicated to

St Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

. Above the opening is a small stone plaque stating 'St Inan's Well AD 839'. Stinanswellirvine1

Saint Inan's chapel stood on the site of the old church in Beith (NS 349 538), the dedication later being changed to St. Mary the Virgin. Paterson, James (1866) ''History of the Counties of Ayr and Wigton''. Vol III.-Cuninghame. Pub. James Stillie, Edinbirgh. P. 65. After journeying to Rome and Jerusalem, he is said to have settled at Irvine, where he died, and where his tomb was much frequented on account of the reputed miracles wrought at it. A Saint Inan's well once supposedly existed in Fullarton, south of the present harbour.Strawhorn, John (1985). ''The History of Irvine.'' Pub. John Donald. . P. 4. Dundonald Castle once had a chapel dedicated to Saint Inan. Inchinnan (Renfrewshire) is said to signify “Inans’ Isle".

Variations in the name

His name has several recorded spellings, such as Evan, Innan, Inin, Innen, Enen, Ennen and latterly Annan, Anan, Tinnan or even Tennant. He is remembered in local names such as Southannan, near Fairlie, where there was another church or chapel bearing his name; a charter of James IV in 1509, confirms the donation of John, Lord Sempill, of a perpetual Mass therein.Barrett, OSB, Michael. “Saint Inan, Confessor”. ''The Calendar of Scottish Saints'', 1919. CatholicSaints.Info. 9 June 2014.
/ref> Saint Ninian and Saint Inan may in fact be one and the same person.

Tennant's day

Beith's annual fair, called Tennant's or Saint Tinnan's Day, was previously on the saint's day, 18 August. It is now held in June. In ancient times the fair is said to have been held on Cuff Hill. It was famous for its show, Cadgers races and sale of horses.

References

External links