Saint Conval (Conwall) (died c.630) was an Irish-born missionary who, according to legend recorded in the ''

Aberdeen Breviary The ''Aberdeen Breviary'' () is a 16th-century Scottish Catholic breviary. It was the first full-length book to be printed in Edinburgh, and in Scotland. Origin The creation of the Aberdeen Breviary can be seen as one of the features of the growi ...

'', as he was praying on the sea shore "to be borne, by whatsoever means, to the regions beyond the sea", was miraculously carried by the stone he stood on across the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

Inchinnan Inchinnan (; ) is a small village in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The village is located on the main A8 road between Renfrew and Greenock, just south east of the town of Erskine. History The name of Inchinnan village is derived from the Gaelic ...

in Scotland. He was active in the

Kingdom of Strathclyde Strathclyde (, "valley of the River Clyde, Clyde"), also known as Cumbria, was a Celtic Britons, Brittonic kingdom in northern Britain during the Scotland in the Middle Ages, Middle Ages. It comprised parts of what is now southern Scotland an ...

in the area of East

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () (; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Renfrewshire is located in the west central Lowlands. It borders East Renfrewshire, Glasgow, Inverclyde, North Ayrshire and West Dunbartonshire, and lies on the southern ba ...

, where there were “Conval wells” in

Barrhead Barrhead (, ) is a town in East Renfrewshire, Scotland, southwest of Glasgow city centre on the edge of the Gleniffer Braes. At the 2011 census its population was 17,268. History Barrhead was formed when a series of small textile-produ ...

and

Thornliebank Thornliebank ( Scots: ''Thonliebank'', Scottish Gaelic: ''Bruach nan Dealgan'') is a suburban area in East Renfrewshire, in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Part of the Greater Glasgow conurbation, it is located on the Auldhouse Burn about ...

. He is believed to have founded churches at Inchinnan,

Pollokshaws Pollokshaws () is an area on the South side of the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is bordered by the residential neighbourhoods of Auldhouse, Glasgow, Auldhouse to the east, Eastwood, Glasgow, Eastwood and Hillpark, Glasgow, Hillpark to the south ...

and Fereneze (near

). His bones were preserved in an impressive sarcophagus at the Inchinnan church. The ''Aberdeen Breviary'' records traditions that he was a disciple of

Kentigern Kentigern (; ), known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Celtic Britons, Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow. Name In Wales and England, this saint is known by his b ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, but this may have originated from 12th century bishops seeking to bring the Inchinnan church under their jurisdiction. Traditionally, Conval was buried at Inchinnan. In the 12th century

David I of Scotland David I or Dauíd mac Maíl Choluim (Scottish Gaelic, Modern Gaelic: ''Daibhidh I mac haoilChaluim''; – 24 May 1153) was a 12th century ruler and saint who was David I as Prince of the Cumbrians, Prince of the Cumbrians from 1113 to 112 ...

gave the

Knights Templar The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon, mainly known as the Knights Templar, was a Military order (religious society), military order of the Catholic Church, Catholic faith, and one of the most important military ord ...

a church in Inchinnan dedicated to Saint Conval, it was replaced by 'Hallows Church' in 1900, then demolished in 1965 for the extensions of Abbotsinch airfield into

Glasgow Airport Glasgow Airport, also known as Glasgow International Airport () and formerly Abbotsinch Airport, is an international airport located in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland, west of Glasgow city centre. In 2019 it handled 8.84 million passe ...

. A stone, thought to be the base of an early Christian cross, is protected by cast iron enclosure near the bridge at Inchinnan, and is known as "St Conval's Chariot" which supposedly brought Saint Conval from Ireland to Inchinnan. There is a legend that pilgrims drank water gathered in a hollow in the stone for its healing properties, and that the adjacent stone was the pediment of the cross.Argyll Stones
Renfrewshire Council, Retrieved 28 February 2018. He is a Catholic and Orthodox saint, feast day 28 September.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Conval 6th-century Christian saints 7th-century Christian saints Medieval Irish saints Medieval Scottish saints 7th-century Irish Christian clergy Scottish Roman Catholic saints