Fáilbe mac Pípáin was the eighth

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 ...

( 669–679). Fáilbe was of the same kindred as

Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...

, 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 ...

, distantly related to him through their common ancestor

Conall Gulban Conall Gulban (died c. 464) was an Irish king and eponymous ancestor of the ''Cenél Conaill'', who founded the kingdom of '' Tír Chonaill'' in the 5th century, comprising much of what is now County Donegal in Ulster. He was the son of Niall ...

. We know from the writings of

Adomnán Adomnán or Adamnán of Iona (; , ''Adomnanus''; 624 – 704), also known as Eunan ( ; from ), was an abbot of Iona Abbey ( 679–704), hagiographer, statesman, canon jurist, and Christian saint, saint. He was the author of the ''Life ...

that Fáilbe was at Iona when King

Oswald of Northumbria Oswald (; c 604 – 5 August 641/642Bede gives the year of Oswald's death as 642. However there is some question of whether what Bede considered 642 is the same as what would now be considered 642. R. L. Poole (''Studies in Chronology and H ...

visited sometime in the 630s and was also present when Saint Ernéne, son of Crasen, visited before his death in 635. Little is known of his abbacy, but we do know he enjoyed a good relationship with his monk and successor,

, to whom he relayed information. Fáilbe died on 22 March 679.

Bibliography

* Sharpe, Richard, ''Adomnán of Iona: Life of St. Columba'', (London, 1995) 679 deaths Abbots of Iona 7th-century Irish abbots Burials in Iona Irish expatriates in Scotland Year of birth unknown 7th-century Christian abbots {{Ireland-reli-bio-stub