Dúnchad mac Cinn Fáelad (also called Dunichad, Duncad, and Donatus; died 717) was the eleventh

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the head of an independent monastery for men in various Western Christian traditions. The name is derived from ''abba'', the Aramaic form of the Hebrew ''ab'', and means "father". The female equivale ...

Iona Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an 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 are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...

(707–717). He was the son of Cenn Fáelad, and grandson of Máel Coba, of the

Cenél Conaill Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history *Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) is ...

. While most early abbots of Iona were members of Cenél Conaill they came from minor branches of the kindred, but Dúnchad came from the ruling line, grandson of one

High King of Ireland High King of Ireland ( ) was a royal title in Gaelic Ireland held by those who had, or who are claimed to have had, lordship over all of Ireland. The title was held by historical kings and was later sometimes assigned anachronously or to leg ...

and the nephew of two others, Cellach and

Conall Conall may refer to the following: Persons * Conall mac Taidg, Scottish king * Conall Cremthainne, Irish king *Conall Grant (died 718), a king of Brega, north of Dublin, Ireland *Conall Gulban, Irish king *Conall Crandomna, Scottish king * Conall G ...

. He is first heard of as Abbot of Killochuir on the coast of southeastern Ulster (perhaps

Killough Killough ( ; ) is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It lies on the Irish Sea shore near Ardglass, five miles southeast of Downpatrick. It is a conservation area notable for its sycamore-lined main street. In the 2001 Cen ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

). He later became Abbot of Iona, although there is considerable dispute about this matter. The ''

Annals of Ulster The ''Annals of Ulster'' () are annals of History of Ireland, medieval Ireland. The entries span the years from 431 AD to 1540 AD. The entries up to 1489 AD were compiled in the late 15th century by the scribe Ruaidhrí Ó Luin� ...

'' first mention him in that capacity in the year 707; but Conamail of Iona is said to have been the abbot of Iona from 704 through 710. It is possible that Dúnchad served as a

coadjutor The term "coadjutor" (literally "co-assister" in Latin) is a title qualifier indicating that the holder shares the office with another person, with powers equal to the other in all but formal order of precedence. These include: * Coadjutor bishop ...

(or principatum tenuit) of Conamail of Iona. He himself may have been elected in opposition to Abbot Conamail, while Dorbbéne in 713 and Fáelchú in 716 may have been elected to oppose Dúnchad. It has also been suggested that at least some of these people may have coadjutors,

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

s, or possibly even

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

s at Iona at the time. The final agreement about the dating of Easter on Iona took place at the instance of St. Ecgberht of Northumbria, a priest who had been educated in Ireland, who successfully persuaded the community to abandon the Celtic Easter and tonsure. When Dúnchad died in 717, Fáelchú continued in his position. In the same year of Dúnchad's death, King Nechtan mac Derile, the Gaelic ruler of the

Picts The Picts were a group of peoples in what is now Scotland north of the Firth of Forth, in the Scotland in the early Middle Ages, Early Middle Ages. Where they lived and details of their culture can be gleaned from early medieval texts and Pic ...

, allegedly expelled the Ionan clergy from Pictland. His feast day is 25 May.

Dorbbéne

The ''

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

'' (713.5), records the death of St. Dorbaine Foda, Abbot of Ia. Dorbbéne became abbot in 713, but died five months later on 25 October 713. Leslie Toke suggests that Dorbbéne may have been a coadjutors to St. Dunchadh, prior, or even a bishop.

Thomas Owen Clancy Thomas Owen Clancy is an American academic and historian who specializes in medieval Celtic literature, especially that of Scotland. He did his undergraduate work at New York University, and his Ph.D at the University of Edinburgh. He is currentl ...

suggests that this interruption in Dúnchad's abbacy may reflect the politics between factions of monks at Iona at the time who disagreed about the dating of Easter.Clancy, Thomas Owen. "Dorbbéne", ''Celtic Culture: (A-Celti)'', ABC-CLIO, 2006, p. 608
/ref>

References

* * Sharpe, Richard, ''Adomnán of Iona: Life of St. Columba'', (London, 1995) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dunchad Mac Cinn Faelad 717 deaths Abbots of Iona 8th-century Irish abbots Irish expatriates in Scotland Year of birth unknown 8th-century Christian abbots