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Adomnán was a descendant of Colmán mac Sétna, a cousin of Saint Columba and the ancestor, through his son Ainmire, of the kings of Cenél Conaill. He was the son of Rónán mac Tinne by Ronat, a woman from the (northern) Uí Néill lineage known as the Cenél nÉnda. Adomnán's birthplace is not known, although it is presumed that he was born in the territory of his kin-group, the Cenél Conaill, whose territory lay in modern County Donegal. Some of Adomnán's childhood anecdotes seem to confirm at least an upbringing in this area.

It is thought that Adomnán may have begun his monastic career at a Columban monastery called Druim Tuamma, but any Columban foundation in northern Ireland or Dál Riata is a possibility, although Durrow is a stronger possibility than most. He probably joined the Columban familia (i.e. the federation of monasteries under the leadership of Iona Abbey) around the year 640. Some modern commentators believe that he could not have come to Iona until sometime after the year 669, the year of the accession of Abbot Failbe, the first abbot of whom Adomnán gives any information. However, Richard Sharpe argues that he probably came to Iona during the abbacy of Ségéne (d. 652). Whenever or wherever Adomnán received his education, Adomnán attained a level of learning rare in Early Medieval northern Europe. It has been suggested by Alfred Smyth that Adomnán spent some years teaching and studying at Durrow, and while this is not accepted by all scholars, remains a strong possibility.

Prior to becoming Abbott of Iona, Saint Adamnan, had also been Abbott of Skreen Monastery in Co. Sligo. The site originally known as Conc na Maoil which means Hill of Seals can still be seen this day.

In 679, Adomnán became the ninth abbot of Iona after Columba. Abbot Adomnán enjoyed a friendship with King Aldfrith of Northumbria. In 684, Aldfrith had been staying with Adomnán in Iona. In 686, after the death of Aldfrith's brother King Ecgfrith of Northumbria and Aldfrith's succession to the kingship, Adomnán was in Northumbria on the request of King Fínsnechta Fledach of Brega, in order to gain the freedom of sixty Gaels who had been captured in a Northumbrian raid two years before. This Adomnán achieved. Adomnán, in keeping with Ionan tradition, made several more trips to the lands of the English during his abbacy, including one the following year. It is sometimes thought, after the account given by Bede, that it was during his visits to Northumbria, under the influence of Abbot Ceolfrith of Jarrow, that Adomnán decided to adopt the Roman dating of Easter that had been agreed some years before at the Synod of Whitby. Bede implies that this led to a schism at Iona, whereby Adomnán became alienated from the Iona brethren, and went to Ireland to convince the Irish of the Roman dating. Bede's account is however rarely believed by historians working in the area, although it is clear that Adomnán did adopt that Roman dating, and moreover, probably did argue the case for it in Ireland.

In 697, it is generally believed that Adomnán promulgated the "Cáin Adomnáin," meaning literally the "Canons" or "Law of Adomnán". The "Cáin Adomnáin" was promulgated amongst a gathering of Irish, Dal Ríatan and Pictish notables at the Synod of Birr. It is a set of laws designed, among other things, to guarantee the safety and immunity of various types of non-combatant in warfare. For this reason it is also known as the "Law of Innocents". It is the earliest initiative of this kind recorded from Europe, and as such is often regarded, however dubiously, as a proto-type for the Geneva Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Adomnán's most important work, and the one for which he is best known, is the "Vita Columbae" (i.e. "Life of Columba"), a hagiography of Iona's founder, Saint Columba. The source is by far the most important surviving work written in early medieval Scotland, and is a vital source for our knowledge of the Picts, as well as a great insight into the life of Iona and the early medieval Gaelic monk. However, the "Vita" was not his only work. Adomnán also wrote the treatise "De Locis Sanctis" (i.e. "On Holy Places"), an account of the great Christian holy places and centers of pilgrimage. Adomnán got much of his information from a Frankish bishop called Arculf, who had personally visited Egypt, Rome, Constantinople and the Holy Land, and visited Iona afterwards. Adomnán thought the work so important that he gave a copy to the scholar-king Aldfrith of Northumbria (685-704). Also attributed to him is a good deal of Gaelic poetry, including a celebration of the Pictish King Bridei's (671-93) victory of the Northumbrians at the Battle of Dunnichen (685).

Adomnán died in 704, and became a saint in Scottish and Irish tradition, as well as one of the most important figures in either Scottish or Irish history. His death and feast day are commemorated on September 23. Along with St. Columba, he is joint patron of the Diocese of Raphoe, which encompasses the bulk of County Donegal in the north west of Ireland.

Image: Iona Abbey