THE SAINT FINBARR CONNECTION: A PAN-CELTIC HOMECOMING A lyrical, heartwarming story from last week by Caroline Wilson (@WilsonC75HT) in the @HeraldScotland, concerning Barra — where I spent part of my childhood — which I’d warmly commend to anyone interested in the historic Scottish-Irish ties of language, culture and Christian tradition: heraldscotland.com/news/2646… Barra — Barraigh in Gaelic, meaning “Barr’s Island” — takes its name from the sixth-century Irish saint St Finbarr of Cork, traditionally believed to have been a follower of St Columba. This wonderfully illustrates our shared Gaelic inheritance: Donegal-born Columba emerged from the Irish Christian tradition established in the wake of St Patrick’s mission, before crossing the sea to found his great monastery on Iona, from where the faith spread through much of western and northern Scotland. On 25th September, St Barr’s Feast Day, the community will unveil and bless a new bronze statue of its patron saint, replacing the badly weathered 1970s original. The £100,000 project was completed years ahead of schedule, largely thanks to an £85,000 donation from Barra-raised Captain Iain Macneil and his wife Kat Heathcote Macneil MBE. Rather fittingly, the Irish Consul General in Edinburgh (@IrlScotland), Jerry O’Donovan — himself a native of West Cork — will attend, bearing present-day witness to the centuries-old bonds between Ireland, Barra and the early Celtic Church. Local schoolchildren will also perform specially composed music and contribute St Barr-themed artwork. Another Isle of Barra legend from my primary schooldays there is @AngusBMacNeil, crofter, entrepreneur, political commentator and former nationalist MP for Na h-Eileanan an Iar. Award-winning Gaelic author, tutor, translator and photographer Mòrag Anna MacNeil (@MogiBarra), brought up in South Harris and resident on Barra for much of her life, is another wonderful contemporary voice from Barra — while @GuthBharraidh, @ButhBharraigh, @BarraIsland and @OuterHebs are well worth following for news and updates from Barra and the storied Southern Isles of the Outer Hebrides. Fourteen centuries on, those Scottish-Irish bonds of faith, kinship and culture remain very much alive — and written into the very landscape, language, place-names and folklore alike. #Barra #IsleOfBarra #EileanBharraigh #Barraigh #OuterHebrides #EileananIar #Gàidhlig #ScotlandIreland #CelticChurch #CelticConnections ☘️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿⛪️📖✝️