 The original monastery at Durrow was founded by St Columba in 553 o 556, who also founded 26 other monasteries by the age of 25, including the Abbey of Kells.He ran the Abbey until 563, when he moved to Scotland, appointing a monk, Cormac Ua Liathain, to take his place.Cormac found it impossible to retain the office of prior because of the rivalries between the northern and the southern clans, especially on the borderland; and so he left the monastery, leaving in charge Columba's first cousin, Laisrén, who was acceptable to both sides.