Marnock or Marnock of Kilmarnock (died ), also known as Marnocus, Marnan of Narnach, Marnanus, Marnocalso or originally Ernin () was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

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 ...

and

saint In Christianity, Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of sanctification in Christianity, holiness, imitation of God, likeness, or closeness to God in Christianity, God. However, the use of the ...

Biography

Details on the life of Marnock that have survived to the present day are limited, though some facts are known. Marnock was born in

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, most likely in the late 6th century. He became a monk on the

abbey An abbey is a type of monastery used by members of a religious order under the governance of an abbot or abbess. Abbeys provide a complex of buildings and land for religious activities, work, and housing of Christians, Christian monks and nun ...

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 ...

where he became a student and disciple of

Saint Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Gaelic Ireland, 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 ...

. He later left the monastery to become a missionary bishop on the Scottish mainland. It is widely accepted that Marnock died at Annandale in 625, however at least one account gives his place of death and burial site as ''Inchmarnoch'' near

Aboyne Aboyne (, ) is a village on the edge of the Scottish Highlands, Highlands in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, on the River Dee, Aberdeenshire, River Dee, approximately west of Aberdeen. It has a swimming pool at Aboyne Academy, all-weather tennis cou ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

Veneration and legacy

A strong cult of veneration developed for Marnock after his death, particularly in the region of the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by West Lothian, Edinburgh, Midlothian, and East Lothian to the north, the North Sea to the east, Dumfries and Galloway to the south-west, South Lanarkshire to the we ...

. Marnock's head was kept as a

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

Kilmarnock Kilmarnock ( ; ; , ), meaning "the church of Mernóc", is a town and former burgh in East Ayrshire situated in southwest Scotland. The town has served as the administrative centre of East Ayrshire Council since 1996 and is the region's main ...

, where a tradition emerged where it was washed each Sunday, with the resulting wash water given to the sick to effect miraculous cures. The strength of Marnock's cult in the centuries that followed his death is demonstrated in the great number of locations, in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

as well as in

, named in his honour, including: * Ardmonoch, a locality within Kilfinan in Argyll and Bute *

Dalmarnock Dalmarnock (, ) is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated east of the city centre, directly north of the River Clyde opposite the town of Rutherglen. It is also bounded by the Glasgow neighbourhoods of Parkhead to the north-e ...

a district within Glasgow * Dalmarnock, a farmsteading near

Dunkeld Dunkeld (, , from , "fort of the Caledonians") is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. The location of a historic cathedral, it lies on the north bank of the River Tay, opposite Birnam. Dunkeld lies close to the geological Highland Boundar ...

, and the adjacent ''Dalmarnock Beat'', a salmon fishery on the

River Tay The River Tay (, ; probably from the conjectured Brythonic ''Tausa'', possibly meaning 'silent one' or 'strong one' or, simply, 'flowing' David Ross, ''Scottish Place-names'', p. 209. Birlinn Ltd., Edinburgh, 2001.) is the longest river in Sc ...

* Inchmarnoch, an island on the River Dee in Aberdeenshire where Marnock established a chapel and, by some accounts, died and was buried *

Inchmarnock Inchmarnock () is an island at the northern end of the Sound of Bute in the Firth of Clyde, on the west coast of Scotland. The island is privately owned. Geography Inchmarnock lies to the west of the Isle of Bute at the northern end of the Soun ...

, an isle at the northern end of the Sound of Bute *

, a town in Ayrshire *

Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal town in County Dublin, Ireland, north of the city of Dublin, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , ...

, a coastal hamlet in Fingal, Ireland A local school also bears his name. *

Naomh Mearnóg CLG Naomh Mearnóg is a Gaelic Athletic Association club in the parish of Portmarnock, County Dublin, Ireland. The club was founded in 1975 and now fields a total of 35 teams in Gaelic football, football, hurling, camogie and Ladies' Gaelic football ...

, a

GAA Gaa may refer to: * Gaa language, a language of Nigeria * gaa, the ISO 639 code for the Ga language of Ghana GAA may stand for: Compounds * Glacial (water-free), acetic acid * Acid alpha-glucosidase, also known as glucosidase, alpha; acid, an e ...

club in Portmarnock * Marnoch, a parish in Aberdeenshire * Marnock Oil Field, at the centre of the

Eastern Trough Area Project The Eastern Trough Area Project, commonly known as ETAP, is a network of nine smaller oil and gas fields in the Central North Sea covering an area up to 35 km in diameter. There are a total of nine different fields, six operated by BP and ...

, 150 miles east of Aberdeen under the North Sea.

References

Scottish Roman Catholic saints Medieval Irish saints Medieval Scottish saints Irish Roman Catholic saints 6th-century Christian saints 7th-century Christian saints 625 deaths Year of birth unknown Christian_missionaries_in_Scotland {{ireland-saint-stub