Enda of Aran - Enda's Own Words

Enda's Own Words

The very wildness of Innish made it richer and dearer to those who lived there. They loved that island which "as a necklace of pearls, God has set upon the bosom of the sea," and all the more because they had been the scene of heathen worship. There will be left only three islands altogether, when Innish is sent from mortal planes. They carry lovely Irish names: Inishmore, Inishmaan, and Inisheer.

On the largest will stand Saint Enda's well and altar, and the round tower of the church where the bell was sounded which gave the signal that Saint Enda had taken his place at the altar. At the tolling of the bell the service of the Mass began in all the churches of the island.

"O, Innish," cried Columba in ecstasy, "the Rome of the pilgrims!" He never forgot his spiritual home which lay in the western sun and her pure earth sanctified by so many memories. Indeed, he said, so bright was her glory that the angels of God came down to worship in the churches of Innish on the day it disappeared.