Family origins
Born at Drumhome near Ballintra in south-west Donegal into the Uí Chonaill family around 624. Eunan’s Uí Néill lineage aligns with Loingsech, king of Tara. Eunan was educated by Columban Monks. He later joined the Iona community as a a novice at Iona in 650. He was become the ninth abbot of Iona in 679. He was also president-general of all the Columban houses in Ireland. During his rule he paid three lengthy visits to Ireland.
Notable writings of St. Eunan.
He wrote “Vita Columbae” on life of Columba. Eunan highlight the St. Columba’s virtues. It is full of memorable details of monks and lay people who came into contact with St. Columba. “Vita Columbae” is considered a most complete biography in all of Europe from early Christianity through to the late Middle Ages.
He also wrote a book “De Locis Sanctis” (on the holy places) – Jerusalem, Damascus, Constantinople and Alexandria based on descriptions received by a French bishop Arculfus, who had been shipwrecked in western Britain and took refuge in Iona.
Intervention between Celtic and Roman observance in the Irish Church
St. Eunan made a number of visits to Northumbria. On his first was in 686, he became aware of unresolved conflicts after the Synod of Whitby (664) between Celtic observances and the Roman observances. Celtic monasteries had a different method for calculating the date of Easter for example. Also a Celtic abbot enjoyed administrative superiority to a bishop. In visiting the monasteries of Wearmouth and Jarrow, St. Eunan had lenghty discourses with the Abbot Ceolfrith of Wearmouth. Eunan understood that the Celtic observance was was similar to St John which was the custom in the Eastern Church. St. Eunan felt it would be better for the universality of the Church for the Celtic monastries to make use of the Roman observance. For eighteen years St. Eunan made it his business to convince Ionian monks as well as and the Irish Columban monasteries to switch to the roman observance.
The law of innocents – a type of old Irish ‘Geneva Convention’
On his third visit to Ireland (697) he assisted at the Synod of Birr. There he convinced the participants that, women, children and clerics should be exempt from war and not be taken prisoners or slaughtered. This came to be known as The Law of the Innocents or Adomnan’s law (Cain Adomhnáin). It’s genesis traces back to a request made by Eunan’s mother Rónnat.
St Eunan died at the Abbey in Iona in 704. He is the Patron of Raphoe Diocese. He is celebrated on the 23rd of September.
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