Ernan (variants include Ernain, Ernin, Ethernanus) is the name of four Irish

saints In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual res ...

St. Ernan, Son of Eogan

Ernan, Son of Eogan, died around 640. Mentioned in the ''

Martyrology of Tallaght The ''Martyrology of Tallaght'', which is closely related to the '' Félire Óengusso'' or ''Martyrology of Óengus the Culdee'', is an eighth- or ninth-century martyrology, a list of saints and their feast days assembled by Máel Ruain and/o ...

'' on 1 January, he was a nephew of

St. Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...

and sometime missionary to the Picts. His monastery in Ireland was at Druim-Tomma in the district of Drumhome,

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

. He is venerated as the patron saint of Killernan, though he may not have visited

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 ...

and also as patron of the parish of Drumhome, where a school has been dedicated to him. Kilviceuen ("church of the son of Eogan") in Mull, and of Kilearnadale in Jura, may have been dedicated in his honor. In the ''Scottish Kalendars'', his commemoration is assigned to 21 and 22 December.Edmonds, Columba. "Ernan." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 14 May 2013]

St. Ernan, Abbot of Hinba (Ernan of Hinba)

Ernan, Abbot of Hinba lived in the sixth century. An uncle of St. Columba, Ernan was one of the twelve who accompanied Columba from Ireland to

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 ...

. He was appointed head of the community which Columba had established on the island of "

Hinba Hinba is an island in Scotland of uncertain location that was the site of a small monastery associated with the Columban church on Iona. Although a number of details are known about the monastery and its early superiors, and various anecdotes da ...

" -which may have been Canna, about four miles northwest of

Rùm Rùm (), a Scottish Gaelic name often anglicised to Rum (), is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, in the district of Lochaber, Scotland. For much of the 20th century the name became Rhum, a spelling invented by the former owner, Sir ...

, but it may also have been Jura or

Eileach an Naoimh Eileach an Naoimh, also known as Holy Isle, is an uninhabited island in the Inner Hebrides of the west coast of Scotland. It is the southernmost of the Garvellachs archipelago and lies in the Firth of Lorne between Mull and Argyll. The name i ...

, one of the

Garvellachs The Garvellachs (Scottish Gaelic: Garbh Eileaich) or Isles of the Sea form a small archipelago in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Part of the Argyll and Bute council area, they lie west of Lunga and northwest of Scarba and have been uninhabited ...

, between Scarba and Mull. ''St Ernan's Kirk'',

Aridhglas Aridhglas is a village on the Ross of Mull, Isle of Mull in Argyll and Bute Argyll and Bute ( sco, Argyll an Buit; gd, Earra-Ghàidheal agus Bòd, ) is one of 32 unitary authority council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area. The curre ...

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull ( gd, An t-Eilean Muileach ) or just Mull (; gd, Muile, links=no ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Arg ...

, is dedicated to him. According to Columba's biographer, Ernán was only abbot for a few days. In the story recorded, he was told by his nephew before leaving to Hinba that he did not expect to see him again in this life, and several days later, Ernán became sick and went back to Iona to see his nephew, according to his own wish. When Columba was told his uncle had returned, Columba happily went out to meet him in the harbour, but when they were only 50 yards distant, Ernán fell down dead.Adomnan of Iona. Life of St Columba. Penguin books, 1995

St. Ernan of Cluvain-Deoghra

St. Ernan of Cluvain-Deoghra lived in the sixth or seventh century. Cluvain-Deoghra may have been in Meath or in

County Longford County Longford ( gle, Contae an Longfoirt) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county was 46,6 ...

. His feast day falls on 11 January in the ''Martyrology of Tallagh''.

St. Ernan of Torach

Ernan of Torach died on 17 August . He is considered by some scholars one of the disciples of St. Columba. Columba had founded a church and monastery on island of Torach or Tory, off the northwest coast of Donegal. He may have accompanied Columba initially to Torach. He was chosen to be its

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

. He has been identified with Ernan of Cluvain-Deoghra, perhaps erroneously. Of him, the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia The ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'' (also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedia'') i ...

'' states: "It has been conjectured that this Ernan is identical with the Ernan whose name appears in the epistle of John, the pope-elect, to the prelates of northern Ireland in 640. If this be so, he must have been a person of some importance."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ernan 7th-century Irish people Medieval Scottish saints Medieval Irish saints People from County Donegal