It’s worth making a trip to Europe to discover one’s heritage.
St Gallen in Switzerland is proud of its UNESCO recognised Abbey Library calling it ‘one of the most important historical libraries in the world’. It also has no hesitation in admitting that it is due to two Irishmen from the year 612, Columban and Gall.
They had set out from Bangor in 591 with eleven companions for a Europe recovering from the Barbarian Invasions of 300-600. Their journey took them to Luxeuil in central France where they settled for twenty years, turning it from an abandoned Roman fort into what was to become one of the most important monasteries in France.
When the local rulers had difficulty coping with Columban’s uncompromising Christianity he and his companion were ordered back to Ireland. However the boat that was to take them was unable to cast off so they were put ashore again. This time they set out on a more friendly northerly direction and arrived at Lake Constance, now bordered by Austria, Switzerland and Germany.
First they settled at Bregenz on the western shore but local opposition made them cross the lake to what is now St Gallen. The name ‘Gallen’ comes from Columban’s disciple and friend Gall but there they parted, Gall to stay and Columban to move on across the Alps. Columban’s Bell (his sign of office) remained with Gall and is still on display in St Gallen’s cathedral.
All of this came alive for me as I made the (present-day) hour’s boat trip across Lake Constance. The name ‘Columban’ kept popping up on both sides and the Irish connection is widely acknowledged.
Along the shores of Lake Constance are churches dedicated to Columban with his trademark ‘bursting sun’ on his upper body, something I had never noticed in Ireland. Before his birth, his mother dreamt that a brilliant sun would arise from her breast and illuminate the whole world.
St Columbans Church in Bregenz proudly displays stones brought from Bangor. (There was also a shop owned by Marc O’Polo, indicating the world traveller was also an Irishman.) In St Gallen the world-famous museum exhibits books describing Ireland as ‘The Cradle of European Culture’ and there are posters explaining the key role played by the abbey’s manuscripts.
Early in 2025 a priceless selection of those manuscripts will be exhibited in the National Museum in Dublin, returning for a visit to their country of origin.
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