St Adamnan

St Adamnan (c. 625-704), Irish abbot and scholar, noted for his biography of St Columba. Born in county Donegal, he entered the monastery on the island of Iona and in 697 was elected abbot. The Irish Church then followed the Eastern method for dating Easter. Adamnan (also Adomnan or Eunan), a proponent of Roman observances, tried to adopt the Roman method in Iona. Disappointment at his failure to do so is thought to have caused his death. His works include De locis sanctis (On the Holy Places), an account containing valuable information about the Holy Land based on a pilgrimage made by a Frankish bishop. Adamnan is best known, however, for his Vita S. Columbae (Life of St Columba), a biography of the missionary who converted the ancient Picts and founded Iona. Along with accounts of miracles and many other stories, the biography contains nearly all the information that has been preserved about the early Irish Church. Adamnan's feast day is September 23.