The Bruce called out to him at Bannockburn and his name was used as a battle cry by the Scots for many centuries. St Kessog was Scotland’s patron saint before St Andrew. On the 10th of March 560, St Kessog (MacKessog) was killed by paid brigands.
Son of the king of Cashel in Ireland, St Kessog is said to have worked miracles, even as a child. He left Ireland and became a missionary bishop in Scotland. Using Monks’ Island in Loch Lomond as his headquarters, he evangelized the surrounding area until he was martyred, supposedly at Bandry, where a heap of stones was known as St Kessog’s Cairn.

Tom Na Kessaig (Hill of St. Kessog) St Kessog – An Irish follower of St Columba. The mound dates from the 6th Century and is located at The Meadows in Callander. ©Kenneth Allen
Scots Wha Hae By Robert Burns
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