Ernan (variants include Ernain, Ernin, Ethernanus) is the name of four Irish

saints In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...

Ernan, son of Eogan

Ernan, son of Eogan, died around 640. Mentioned in the ''

Martyrology of Tallaght The ''Martyrology of Tallaght'', which is closely related to the ''Félire Óengusso'' or ''Martyrology of Óengus the Culdee'', is an eighth- or ninth-century Irish-language martyrology, a list of saints and their feast days assembled by Mael ...

'' on 1 January, he was a nephew of

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 ...

and sometime missionary to the Picts. His monastery in Ireland was at Druim-Tomma in the district of

Drumhome Drumholm or Drumhome () is a civil parish in the historical barony of Tirhugh in County Donegal, Ireland. Drumholm (or Ballintra) is also a Catholic parish in the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raphoe and a Church of Ireland parish in the Diocese ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

. He is venerated as the patron saint of Killernan, though he may not have visited

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 ...

and also as patron of the parish of Drumhome, where a school has been dedicated to him. Kilviceuen ("church of the son of Eogan") in

Mull Mull may refer to: Places *Isle of Mull, a Scottish island in the Inner Hebrides ** Sound of Mull, between the Isle of Mull and the rest of Scotland * Mount Mull, Antarctica * Mull Hill, Isle of Man * Mull, Arkansas, a place along Arkansas Highwa ...

, and of Kilearnadale in Jura, may have been dedicated in his honor. In the ''Scottish Kalendars'', his commemoration is assigned to 21 and 22 December.Edmonds, Columba. "Ernan." The Catholic Encyclopedia
Vol. 5. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1909. 14 May 2013]

Ernán, abbot of Hinba

Ernán, abbot of Hinba lived in the sixth century. An uncle of Columba, Ernán was one of the twelve who accompanied Columba from Ireland to

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 ...

. He was appointed head of the community which Columba had established on the island of "

Hinba Hinba is an island in Scotland of uncertain location that was the site of a small monastery associated with the Columban church on Iona. Although a number of details are known about the monastery and its early superiors, and various anecdotes d ...

". This island may have been Canna, about four miles northwest of

Rùm Rùm (), a Scottish Gaelic language, Scottish Gaelic name often Anglicisation, anglicised to Rum ( ), is one of the Small Isles of the Inner Hebrides, off the west coast of Scotland, in the district of Lochaber. For much of the 20th century the ...

, but it may also have been Jura or

Eileach an Naoimh Eileach an Naoimh is an uninhabited island in the Inner Hebrides of the west coast of Scotland. It is the second largest and southernmost of the Garvellachs archipelago and lies in the Firth of Lorn between Isle of Mull, Mull and Argyll. The nam ...

, one of the

Garvellachs The Garvellachs (Scottish Gaelic: ''Na Garbh Eileacha'') or Isles of the Sea form a small archipelago in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The islands include Garbh Eileach, Dùn Chonnuill and Eileach an Naoimh. Part of the Argyll and Bute counc ...

, between

Scarba Scarba () is an island, in Argyll and Bute, Scotland, just north of the much larger island of Jura. The island has not been permanently inhabited since the 1960s. Until his death in 2013 it was owned by Richard Hill, 7th Baron Sandys; its ...

and Mull. ''St Ernan's Kirk'', Aridhglas,

Isle of Mull The Isle of Mull or simply Mull ( ) is the second-largest island of the Inner Hebrides (after Skye) and lies off the west coast of Scotland in the Council areas of Scotland, council area of Argyll and Bute. Covering , Mull is the fourth-lar ...

, is dedicated to him. According to Columba's biographer, Ernán was only abbot for a few days. In the story recorded, he was told by his nephew before leaving to Hinba that he did not expect to see him again in this life, and several days later, Ernán became sick and went back to Iona to see his nephew, according to his own wish. When Columba was told his uncle had returned, Columba happily went out to meet him in the harbour, but when they were only 50 yards distant, Ernán fell down dead.

Ernan of Cluvain-Deoghra

Ernan of Cluvain-Deoghra lived in the sixth or seventh century. Cluvain-Deoghra may have been in

Meath County Meath ( ; or simply , ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in the Eastern and Midland Region of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is bordered by County Dublin to the southeast, County ...

or in

County Longford County Longford () is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Longford. Longford County Council is the Local government in the Republic ...

. He was an acquaintance of

Féchín of Fore Saint Féchín or Féichín (died 665), also known as Mo-Ecca, was a 7th-century Irish saint, chiefly remembered as the founder of the monastery at Fore (''Fobar''), County Westmeath. Sources for his life and legend include Irish annals, marty ...

. Ernan's feast day falls on 11 January in the ''Martyrology of Tallagh''.

Ernan of Torach

Ernan of Torach died on 17 August . Columba had founded a church and monastery on island of Torach or Tory, off the northwest coast of Donegal. it is uncertain whether Ernan accompanied Columba initially to Torach, but he was chosen to be its

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 ...

. Of him, the ''

Catholic Encyclopedia ''The'' ''Catholic Encyclopedia: An International Work of Reference on the Constitution, Doctrine, Discipline, and History of the Catholic Church'', also referred to as the ''Old Catholic Encyclopedia'' and the ''Original Catholic Encyclopedi ...

'' states: "It has been conjectured that this Ernan is identical with the Ernan whose name appears in the epistle of John, the pope-elect, to the prelates of northern Ireland in 640. If this be so, he must have been a person of some importance.""Ernaíne m. Colmáin of Tory Island", Saints in Scottish Place-Names
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ernan 7th-century Irish people Medieval Scottish saints Medieval Irish saints People from County Donegal