Legacy of early medieval Gaelic priest St Donnan in Helmsdale area to be preserved with digital trail and microfilms
Storm Bert hit the first talk and Storm Darragh hit the second, but a hardy band of pilgrims turned up at Timespan Heritage Centre in Helmsdale to hear about the life and work of Saint Donnan.
The lectures were compiled and presented by Audrey Munro, from the works of the Reverend Dr Archibald Scott, one of the leading authorities on the Celtic Church, who served as the minister of Kildonan parish for 53 years until his death in 1947.
The audience was intrigued to hear about Donnan’s route from Whithorn up to Kildonan, and the churches he founded on his journey north, his visit to Iona, when Saint Columba refused to co-operate with Donnan’s Church, and Donnan’s mission base at Suisgill.
The second talk focused on Donnan’s sites in the strath which still bears his name, 1400 years after he ministered there - the four girth-crosses marking the bounds of the Sanctuary, where anyone accused of a crime was safe from retribution and could demand a trial in the name of God and Saint Donnan; Saint Donnan’s chair, where the saint preached and served as a judge; and an ancient gravestone near Kildonan Church known as Clach-na-h-Uaighe, described by Dr Scott as ‘probably one of the oldest undisturbed graves in Scotland with a Christian marking’.
The many interesting questions afterwards ranged from why Donnan chose this part of the world for his base to the position of women in the early Celtic Church.
Audrey closed the second talk by considering the saint’s future. Audrey and Jacquie Aitken, archaeologist and Timespan’s heritage curator, have started to mark out a digital trail to include Saint Donnan’s Sanctuary and the remains of more than twenty sites connected with the saint, plus Saint Ninian’s Sanctuary and sites at Navidale.
Using Dr Scott’s information, the pair are currently walking the boundary of Donnan’s Sanctuary, together with Timespan volunteer, Maggie Adamson, and Jean Sargent, formerly of the Friends of Kildonan Church. It is hoped that local historian, Esther McDonald, will also be able to join them for future walks.
Inspired by attending film-maker Robert Aitken’s workshops at Timespan, Audrey is also aiming to document the sites in a series of micro-films.
Audrey says: “Dr Scott has given us so much information, linking us with Saint Donnan, 1400 years after his death and his future is in our hands now.
“To put it in context, Saint Donnan the Great was here at the same time that Columba was on Iona and we have more sites here connected with Donnan than Iona has from Columba’s time.
“It is up to us to preserve Donnan’s sites and his story, which are such a large part of our history, our heritage and our culture.”
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