Colmcille (521-597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary, venerated today as a Catholic saint and one of Ireland’s Twelve Apostles. He is credited for the Hiberno-Scottish mission, the mass conversion of the Picts to Christianity, and the establishment of Iona Abbey off Scotland’s western coast. He is one of the three patron saints of Ireland and a highly venerated saint in Scotland, as well as the patron saint of the city of Derry. Much poetry has been attributed to Colmcille, although the poems he actually wrote are difficult to verify. The poems featured are those that have been attributed to Colmcille.