A FINAL WRAP
www.colmcille1500.com

It is now a final wrap of the Colmcille 1500 programme. Thank you to all our followers and partners for helping to make the commemorations memorable and for creating special legacy resources for years to come.

We have uploaded a large range of resources to our website (see link above) where you can find over 70 online events as well as 70+ other resources such as short films, animations and publications.

You can also find links to other useful resources or websites – bringing together all Colmcille online resources in one place. The social media platforms will remain for now as a resource also. See attached for a few favourite images over the past year.

Deirdre Harte, Colmcille 1500 Project Manager
Comhairle Contae Dhún na nGall/Comhairle Chathair Dhoire & Cheantar an tSratha Báin

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ILLUSTRATED MAP OF PLACES LINKED TO COLMCILLE
Ireland & Scotland | Éire & Albain | Èirinn & Alba

https://colmcille1500.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Colmcille-Illustrated-Map-Ireland-Scotland-A3-FINAL.pdf

An illustrated map of places associated with Saint Colmcille/Columba in Ireland and Scotland – history, legends and legacy
Sa léarscáil mhaisithe seo tá cuid de na háiteanna a bhaineann le Colm Cille le feiceáil – stair, seanchas agus oidhreacht
Tha am mapa dealbhaichte seo a’ sealltainn cuid dhe na h-àitichean aig a bheil ceangal ri Naomh Calum Cille – Eachdraidh, seann-sgeòil is dìleab.

Click on link above for full copy of map

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STRINGS OF HEAVEN | TÉADA NA BHFHLAITHEAS

Another chance to hear this beautiful original harp composition, supported as a Colmcille 1500 project by Coast and Glens Borough Council’s Museum Services. The video and composition capture the beautiful landscape and landmarks associated with the Saint’s life alongside the harping heritage of the area. The initiative was led by Glór Dhún Geimhin with composition by harper Nodlaig Ní Bhrollaigh and vocal soloist Aoife Nig Uiginn https://niarchive.org/projectitems/colmcille-1500-strings-of-heaven.

Seans eile leis an bhundréacht álainn don chláirseach a chluinstin, a fuair tacaíocht mar thionscadal Cholm Cille 1500 ó Sheirbhísí Iarsmalainne Chomhairle Buirge an Chósta agus na nGlinnte. Léiríonn an físeán agus an dréacht an tírdhreach álainn agus na sainchomharthaí a bhaineann le saol an Naoimh taobh le hoidhreacht chláirseoireachta an cheantair. Glór Dhún Geimhin a stiúraigh an tionscnamh le dréacht a chum an cláirseoir Nollaig Ní Bhrollaigh agus an t-aonréadaí gutha Aoife Nig Uiginn https://niarchive.org/projectitems/colmcille-1500-strings-of-heaven

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THE SCHOOLS' FOLKLORE COLLECTION

You may remember we previously shared animations produced by schools as part of the Colmcille Digital Schools’ Folklore Project. But did you know that it was inspired by and aimed to revive interest in the national Schools’ Folklore Collection carried out nearly 100 years ago?

More than 50,000 schoolchildren from 5,000 schools across Ireland were enlisted between 1937 and 1939 to collect folklore as well as riddles and proverbs, games and pastimes, trades and crafts from their parents, grandparents and neighbours. It resulted in the creation of over half a million manuscript pages and is generally referred to as ‘Bailiúchán na Scol’ or ‘The Schools’ Collection’.

It resulted in 267 pieces of folklore relating to Colmcille, with 172 of these from schools in County Donegal. You can see a small selection of these here and find further details of the overall collection at https://www.duchas.ie/en as well as a sample of other Donegal content at www.donegalcoco.ie/culture/heritage/heritagenews/scealtaibooklet/#d.en.20535.

The 1500th anniversary project created a 21st century version of some of the Colmcille stories in a digitally animated form which you can see at www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvYRrBSAwzQ.

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DUAIS DÌLEAB CHALUIM CHILLE | THE COLMCILLE LEGACY AWARD

CHArts Argyll and Isles (Culture, Heritage and Arts Assembly) created this national award scheme in Scotland in partnership with Bòrd na Gàidhlig to commemorate the life and cultural legacy of Colmcille throughout the Year of Colmcille 1500.
It invited Gaelic artists to create and display artwork that celebrated, remembered and interpreted the role of Colmcille in the past and in contemporary society. 11 artists were supported across a variety of media. You can see a sample of images here and find further details at https://www.chartsargyllandisles.org/showcase.

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BATTLE OF KNOCKAVOE ANNIVERSARY EXHIBITION 1522-2022

A reminder that this exhibition is in place at the Alley Theatre in Strabane until Friday 22nd July 2022. There is also a live webinar "In conversation with the Artist: Seán Ó’Brógáin" on Wednesday 13th July at 7.30pm who created the incredible art for the exhibition. You can register at: https://us06web.zoom.us/.../401.../WN_Ki6ayG2fTyGYTpvM4UZRng

We were delighted to have liaised with colleagues at the Tower Museum to include some Colmcille context in the Knockavoe exhibition. Did you know that one thousand years before the Battle of Knockavoe, St. Colmcille was born into the Cénell Conaill, of whom the O'Donnell dynasty descended from? Manus O’Donnell who led the troops into Knockavoe, was responsible for producing an account of Colmcille’s life as well as commissioning buildings in Gartan and Kilmacrennan, of which ruins still remain today.

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INFORMAL CLOSING EVENT
Monday 27th June 2022 | Colmcille Heritage Centre, Gartan, County Donegal

Thank you to everyone who came to the informal event in Colmcille’s birthplace in Gartan yesterday to mark the end of the Colmcille 1500 programme and launch a short souvenir booklet of the year. You can see some photographs from the event here.

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IMEACHT SCOIR NEAMHFHOIRMIÚIL
Dé Luain 27ú Meitheamh 2022 ar 2.30pm | Ionad Oidhreachta Cholm Cille, Gartán, Contae Dhún na nGall

Beidh imeacht neamhfhoirmiúil le comóradh a dhéanamh ar chlár Cholmcille 1500 á chomhreáchtáil ag Comhairle Contae Dhún na nGall agus Comhairle Chathair Dhoire & Cheantar an tSratha Báin ar siúl san áit ar rugadh Colm Cille ar 27ú Meitheamh. Seolfaimid foilseachán gearrcuimhneacháin agus beidh an Dr. Brian Lacey inár gcuideachta le cuid dá chuid smaointe a roinnt linn ar an bhliain atá thart mar chlabhsúr fóirsteanach ar an chlár. Tá spásanna teoranta ann agus mar sin tá sé riachtanach áit a chur in áirithe. Má tá suim agat a bheith i láthair déan RSVP faoin Chéadaoin 22ú Meitheamh trí ríomhphost chuig colmcille1500@donegalcoco.ie. ...

GAIRMSCOIL CHÚ ULADH: STAIR AGUS SCÉALAÍOCHT

Raphoe Diocese held a schools competition for Colmcille 1500 last year. Gairmscoil Chú Uladh in Béal an Átha Móir (Ballinamore in the central Gaeltacht area stretching from Glenfin to Doochary and Glenties) won the post-primary section with their film ’Stair agus Scéalaíocht’ (History and Storytelling). You can see some pictures here painted by second year students and watch the film (in Irish) at: https://1drv.ms/v/s!ArZTqiC-JDHwgaFIm3vjfvAnSrTMjA

Gairmscoil Chú Uladh
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FEAST DAY | 9TH JUNE 2022 | AN TURAS

Thankfully the sun shone last night for the ‘An Turas’ Feast Day event in Derry as part of the wrapping up of Colmcille.
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FEAST DAY | 9TH JUNE 2022 | COLMCILLE COMIC

Donegal Library Service has released a very special illustrated comic produced as part of a Colmcille Digital Folklore Project by schools in Donegal and Derry in partnership with Libraries NI. The comic takes a light-hearted look at the folklore and legends of the Donegal saint. Copies are available in local libraries or you can download a copy at: https://www.donegallibrary.ie/media/donegal-library/contentassets/files/pdflibrary/Colmcille%201500%20FINAL.pdf

@DonegalCountyLibrary @LibrariesNorthernIreland
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COLM CILLE & DÉARDAOIN | COLMCILLE & THURSDAY

In folklore there are many associations linking Colmcille with Thursdays. Found in Hebridean traditions but also in the customs and beliefs of Donegal and the northwest of Ireland. The following poem copied by Manus Ó Domhnaill in 1532 makes it clear (Source: Donegal Annual 2021).

Sa bhéaloideas is iomaí ceangal a nascann Colm Cille leis an Déardaoin. Faightear í dtraidisiúin na nInnse Gall é ach chomh maith leis sin i nósanna agus creidimh Dhún na nGall agus iarthuaisceart na hÉireann. léirítear sin sa dán seo a leanas a chóipeáil Mánus Ó Domhnaill in 1532 (Foinse: Donegal Annual 2021).

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CONSERVATION OF COLMCILLE HISTORIC SITES | KILMACRENNAN

Did you know that as part of the 1500th anniversary year, conservation works have been completed at two Colmcille sites in County Donegal - Kilmacrennan Abbey and St. Colmcille’s Chapel, Gartan? The works were funded by Donegal County Council and the North West Development Fund and have played an important role in conserving the ruins of these archaeological monuments for future generations. Today we have included information and images from the Kilmacrennan site.

CILL MHIC RÉANÁIN – KILMACRENNAN
In the 16th century, the clan chieftain Manus O’Donnell built a Franciscan friary here on the site of a monastery founded by Colmcille before he left for Scotland, which survived until the 12th century. According to ‘The Life of Colum Chille’ commissioned by Manus O’Donnell, Kilmacrennan is where Colmcille was educated by his foster father Cruithneachán and where local children gave him the name Colum (Dove) of the Cill (Church). The place was once known as Doire Eithne, a reference to Colmcille’s mother and was also used for the religious element of the inauguration of the O’Donnell chieftains.

The remains of the Friary today include most of the South wall with the attached East gable and a short section of the West gable. The interior is filled with graves. The Kilmacrennan Abbey Preservation Society had been campaigning for many years for conservation of the site, where in recent times, access had been restricted due to safety concerns.

The works included stabilisation, consolidation and conservation of the remains as well as rebuilding of a section of the North boundary wall of the graveyard which had previously collapsed. A second phase of works included conservation works to the ruins of the nearby old Church of Ireland. Works were overseen by Dedalus Architecture and included supervision by an archaeologist. You can see some before and after photos here.

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CONSERVATION OF COLMCILLE HISTORIC SITES | GARTAN

Did you know that as part of the 1500th anniversary year, conservation works have been completed at two Colmcille sites in County Donegal - Kilmacrennan Abbey and St. Colmcille’s Chapel, Gartan? The works were funded by Donegal County Council and the North West Development Fund and have played an important role in stabilising and conserving the ruins of these archaeological monuments for future generations. Today we have included information and images from the Gartan site.

RÁTH CNÓ (CHURCHTOWN), GARTAN
This is the place where Colmcille’s family is said to have lived and where he was born. The land was later given over for the development of a monastic settlement, with the foundation ruins of a 10th century Abbey still visible within the graveyard today. In the 16th century, the clan chieftain Manus O’Donnell built a small chapel here. Manus was also responsible for commissioning an account of Colmcille’s life ‘Betha Colum Chille’ which was completed in 1532 and is the main source for the links between Colmcille and the Gartan area.

The site is still used as a ‘Turas’ by pilgrims who walk barefoot between marked stations which include the Chapel, Abbey and Holy Well as well as
two stone crosses that would originally have been part of four crosses that marked the boundaries of the monastic settlement. The Turas was part of a longer medieval pilgrimage route which linked sites associated with the early life of Colmcille including the nearby Leac na Cumha (Lacknacoo) ‘The Flagstone of Sorrow or Loneliness’.

The works included stabilisation and conservation of the 10th century Abbey’s remaining low walls and the 16th Chapel building ruins, which incorporated removal of vegetation growth. As ancient monuments, all work was supervised by an archaeologist. You can see some before and after photos here as well as other images from the site.

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N56 COLMCLLE PUBLIC ART
Have you seen this sculpture yet on the N56 near Kilmacrennan? It was commissioned as a Percent For Art Project and funded by Transport Infrastructure Ireland as part of the N56 Coolboy to Kilmacrennan Road Scheme.

Artist Niall Bruton created the sculpture to capture the essence of the Saint as a monk-like figure with a crescent of doves. It stands in an area symbolically shaped as the Scottish island of Iona and surrounded by decorative kerb stones created in workshops with local schools. The artist also created the iconic sculpture of St Colmcille located in St Columb’s Park in Derry.

Check out these beautiful images of the sculpture by Clive Wasson as well as of the artist’s other sculpture in Derry (Derry image courtesy of the Churches Trust).

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COLMCILLE STORIES | SCÉALTA CHOLM CILLE
Another story and illustration from the children’s section of our website. The artwork was produced by the Nerve Centre as a part a joint Council Colmcille 1500 exhibition which is in the Donegal County Museum until 25th April 2022 – somewhere to take the kids over the Easter holidays?

THE BATTLE OF DÚN CEITHIRN - The great battle Colmcille predicted is thought to have taken place at what is known today as the Giant’s Sconce. It is 632 AD. From the fortress of Dún Ceithirn the defenders can see past the River Bann to the sea beyond. Desperate cries fill the air as the forces of Congal Caoch, from east Ulster, and Domhnall mac Aodhae, a relative of Colmcille’s and king of Tara, meet in fierce warfare. Domhnall wins, but the cost is terrible. You can see all the stories at: https://colmcille1500.com/english/kids

CATH DHÚN CEITHIRN - Meastar gur tharla an cath ollmhór a thuar Colm Cille ag áit ar a dtugtar Sconsa an Fhathaigh sa lá atá inniu ann. 632 AD atá ann. Ó dhaingean Dhún Ceithirn, is féidir leis na cosantóirí feiceáil níos faide ná an Bann, chomh fada leis an fharraige lastall dó. Líonann liúnna millteanacha an aer agus tá ina chogadh dearg idir fhórsaí Congal Caoch, ó oirthear Uladh, agus Domhnall mac Aodhae, gaol le Colm Cille agus rí na Teamhrach. Tá an bua an Domhnall, ach íoctar go daor as. Is féidir na scéalta a fheiceáil ag: https://colmcille1500.com/gaeilge/kids

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COLMCILLE STORIES | SCÉALTA CHOLM CILLE
Another story and illustration from the children’s section of our website. The artwork was produced by the Nerve Centre as a part a joint Council Colmcille 1500 exhibition which is in the Donegal County Museum until 25th April 2022 – somewhere to take the kids over the Easter holidays?

COLMCILLE AND THE DEMONS - After St Patrick banished the evil spirits from Croagh Patrick, they fled to Glencolmcille which they filled with a deep mist. Much later, when Colmcille arrives to banish these angry demons, the devil throws a spear at his party, killing his servant an Chearc. Enraged, Colmcille hurls the spear and his holy bell back into the valley. He banishes the demons to the sea, where they became red fish, blind, harmless and inedible. You can see all the stories at: https://colmcille1500.com/english/kids

Scéal eile agus léaráid ó rannán na bpáistí dár suíomh gréasáin. Is é Ionad na Néaróg a rinne an obair ealaíne mar chuid de chomhthaispeántas Comhairle atá ar ais arís in Iarsmalann Chontae Dhún na nGall go dtí 25ú Aibreán 2022.

COLM CILLE AGUS NA DEAMHAIN - I ndiaidh gur dhíbir Naomh Pádraig na hainsprideanna ó Chruach Phádraig, theith siad go Gleann Cholm Cille, agus líon siad le ceo tiubh é. I bhfad níos déanaí, nuair a thagann Colm Cille chun an ruaig a chur ar na deamhain fheargacha sin, caitheann an diabhal sleá ag a bhuíon, agus maraítear a shearbhónta, an Chearc. Agus é ar an daoraí, radann Colm Cille an tsleá agus a chlog beannaithe ar ais isteach sa ghleann. Díbríonn sé na deamhain chun na farraige, áit a ndéantar éisc dhearga, dhalla, neamhdhíobhálacha, do-ite díobh. Is féidir na scéalta a fheiceáil ag: https://colmcille1500.com/gaeilge/kids

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