y
far the most active and the most influential of our early missionaries;
and truly a new epoch began in Scottish history when, in the year 563,
St. Columba, "pro Christo peregrinari volens," embarked, with his twelve
companions, and sailing across from Ireland to the west coast of
Scotland, founded the monastery of Iona. It is certainly to St. Columba
and his numerous disciples and followers that the spread of Christianity
in this country, during the succeeding two or three centuries, is
principally due. At the same time we must not forget that numerous other
Irish saints in these early times engaged in missionary visits to
Scotland, and founded churches there, which still bear their names, as
(to quote part of the enumeration of Dr. Reeves) St. Finbar, St.
Comgall, St. Blaan, St. Brendan, the two St. Fillans, St. Ronan, St.
Flannan, St. Beranch, St. Catan, St. Merinus, St. Mernoc, St. Molaise,
St. Munna, St. Vigean, etc.[74]

Along with their Christian doctrines and teachings these Irish
ecclesiastics brought over to Scotland their peculiar religious habits
and customs, and, amongst other things, imported into this country their
architectural knowledge and practices with regard to sacred and monastic
buildings. In the western parts of Scotland, more particularly, numerous
ecclesiastical structures were raised similar to those which were
peculiar to Ireland; and various material vestiges of these still
exist.[75] In the eastern parts of Scotland, to which the personal
teaching of the Irish missionaries speedily spread, we have still
remaining two undoubted examples of the repetition in this country of
Irish ecclesiastical architecture in the well-known Round Towers of
Abernethy and Brechin, and perhaps we have a third example in the
stone-roofed oratory of Inchcolm.

Various ancient stone oratories still exist in a more or less perfect
condition in different parts of Ireland, sometimes standing by
themselves, sometimes with the remains of a round beehive-shaped cell or
dwelling near them, and sometimes forming one of a group of churches, or
of a series of monastic buildings. Such, for example, are the small
chapels or oratories of St. Gobnet, St. Benen, and St. MacDuach, in the
Isles of Aran,[76] of St. Senan on Bishop's Island, of St. Molua on
Friar's Island, Killaloe, the Leabha Mollayga near Mitchelstown, in the
County Cork, and probably the so-called dormitory of St. Declan at
Ardmore. Among the old sacred buildi