Abbot Cellach is one of the two tritagonists (alongside Brother Aidan), of the 2009 Irish animated film The Secret of Kells.
The Secret of Kells[]
Cellach serves as the current Abbot of Kells during the film’s events while supervising the construction of a wall that would protect Kells and its inhabitants from the murderous Vikings, when an old friend of his who also happens to be the master illuminator, Brother Aiden shows up, he is initially welcoming but eventually becomes more strict with his nephew and tries to get him to stop seeing Aidan due to seeing the construction of the wall as more important but is proven wrong later on when the Vikings manage to break down the gate and start killing people while he assumes that Brendan and Aidan have both died. Years later, the Abbot meets his grown-up nephew again after blaming himself for his death and reads the Book of Kells as the movie ends.
Personality[]
Cellach is very paranoid about the Northmen that he's overhauled all normal functions of the Abbey in favor of building a defensive wall. Not even the benches in the scriptorium are free from his tight control; when Aidan moves in, Cellach rearranges to make room for his work, but refuses to let Aidan have any say in the layout of his work space. While he can be very strict and harsh towards Brendan, it's clear that he still cares a great deal for him, telling Tang to give his breakfast to Brendan after locking him in his room and being utterly devastated when he thinks Brendan was killed by the Northmen.
Trivia[]
- Cellach was voiced by the Irish actor, Brendan Gleeson.