St Finnian or St. Uinniau of Moville (495 - 589), was a Christian missionary who became a legendary figure in medieval Ireland. He should not to be confused with his namesake Finnian of Clonard. Traditional scholarship has it that he was a descendant of Fiatach the Fair and born in Ulster, however this has been questioned lately by the American Celticist Thomas Owen Clancy. He apparently studied under Colman of Dromore and Mochae of Noendrum, and subsequently at Candida Casa (Whithorn), whence he proceeded to Rome, returning to Ireland in 540 with an integral copy of St. Jerome's Vulgate. He was the founder of a famous school of Druim Fionn at about this time. Legend has it that he tried to convert Tuan mac Cairill, a mythical figure who was the last survivor of the Partholonian race, and that while doing so had the famous Scéal Tuáin maic Cairell recounted to him. This is a text about takings of Ireland, a source for the famous Lebor Gabála Érenn. Moville, County Donegal. ... Events Cerdic of Wessex raids Hampshire. ... Events October 17 - The Adige River overflows its banks, flooding the church of St. ... For other uses, see Christian (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see Missionary (disambiguation). ... St Finnian of Clonard (Cluain Eraird) (470 - 549) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Ireland. ... This article is about the nine-county Irish province. ... Dr. Thomas Owen Clancy is an American academic and historian who specializes in the literature of the Celtic Dark Ages, especially that of Scotland. ... Saint Colman of Dromore (also known as Mocholmoc) was a 6th century Irish saint. ... Candida Casa was the name given to the church established by St Ninian in Whithorn, southern Scotland, in the mid fifth century AD. The name derives from Latin casa (meaning house) and candidus/candida (meaning shining or glittering white), referring possibly to the stone used to construct it, or the... Whithorn is a small burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, about ten miles south of Wigtown. ... For other uses, see Rome (disambiguation). ... For other uses see: Jerome (disambiguation) Jerome (about 340 - September 30, 420), (full name Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus) is best known as the translator of the Bible from Greek and Hebrew into Latin. ... The Vulgate Bible is an early 5th century version in Latin, partly revised and partly translated by Jerome on the orders of Pope Damasus I in 382. ... In Irish mythology Tuan mac Cairill was a follower of Partholon who alone survived the plague that killed the rest of his people. ... Lebor Gabála Érenn (The Book of the Taking of Ireland) is the Middle Irish title of a loose collection of poems and prose narratives recounting the mythical origins and history of the Irish race from the creation of the world down to the Middle Ages. ...

Finnian's most distinguished pupil at Moville was Columba. Tradition has it that Columba's surreptitious copying of a psalter led eventually to his exile on Iona. What remains of the copy, together with the casket that contains it, is now in the National Museum of Ireland. It is known as the Cathach or Battler, and was wont to be carried by the O'Donnells in battle. The inner case was made by Cathbar O'Donnell in 1084, but the outer is fourteenth century work. See Columba (disambiguation) and St Columb for other uses. ... Psalms (Tehilim תהילים, in Hebrew) is a book of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, and of the Old Testament of the Christian Bible. ... Iona is a small island, in the Inner Hebrides, Scotland. ... The National Museum of Ireland (NMI) is the main museum in Ireland. ... Text from the Cathach of St. ... (13th century - 14th century - 15th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 14th century was that century which lasted from 1301 to 1400. ...

Finnian wrote a rule for his monks, also a penitential code, the canons of which were published by Wasserschleben in 1851.

References

• (1) In 2001 Thomas Owen Clancy, a Celticist at the University of Glasgow, argued that St Finnian and St Ninian were one and the same person, and that the confusion is due no less than to an 8th-century scribal spelling error. There is no consensus yet on this topic.

• Saint Finnian of Moville's feast-day as it stands is the 10th of September.

Dr. Thomas Owen Clancy is an American academic and historian who specializes in the literature of the Celtic Dark Ages, especially that of Scotland. ... Master of Theology (MTh) Dentistry Nursing Affiliations Russell Group Universitas 21 Website http://www. ... Saint Ninian (c. ...

External links

• Catholic Enclyclopedia - St. Finnian of Moville

References

• Clancy, T. O. "The real St Ninian," in Innes Review, 52 (2001), pp. 1-28
• MacKillop, James, A Dictionary of Celtic Mythology, (Oxford, 1998)