Colourful projection of Saint Colmcille celebrates monk’s 1,500th anniversary

A spectacular depiction of St Colmcille lit up Kells Town Hall as part of the Colmcille 1500 celebrations. The celebrations will continue in Kells this month with a number of events including an exhibition and a story, music and poetry event.

Colmcille 1500 is a national and international project celebrating the life and legacy of one of Ireland’s foremost patron saints St Colmcille - also known as Columba - who was born in 521. The Kells Colmcille 1500 Committee has partnered with other Columban sites including Donegal, Derry and Iona to organise virtual and visual events to remember Colmcille’s unique legacy.

Inspired by the vibrant colours of the Book of Kells, the Colmcille 1500 light-scape has just been unveiled, celebrating World Book Day. This colourful projection of St Colmcille the Scribe can be seen on the front wall of the Kells Municipal office and will continue throughout March.

The Kells Arts club will be dedicating their March meeting to an event celebrating St Colmcille in story, music and poetry.

The ‘High Crosses Virtual Exhibition’ by Michael Ann Bevivino in connection with the Discovery Programme and supported by the Meath County Council Heritage Office will be on-line in March.

This exhibition will feature 3D digital modelling of the high crosses and a visual response to the high crosses by local artists. To support the exhibition an online resource pack will be made available to schools, through Meath County Council, to actively encourage projects which generate student awareness of Columba

Colm-Cille, meaning 'Dove of the Church' in Irish, was born at Gartan in County Donegal. He was a prince of the Northern O’Neill family and a close relative to the most powerful kings of sixth century Ireland, but choose to dedicate himself to the religious life. He became a monk and spent part of his training with St Finnian at Clonard.

Manus tell us that the Dún of Kells was granted to Colmcille personally by his kinsman Diarmaid Mac Carroll, High King of Tara. It is not unreasonable therefore to suggest that St Colmcille himself may have walked the streets of Kells and perhaps established an early church there. His followers established a monastery there in 804 AD.

Intent on spreading the Christian faith, Colmcille is credited with establishing monasteries in Derry, Durrow and on the island of Iona in Scotland.

It is on Iona that Colmcille himself settled and from which his followers brought the faith to Scotland, England and Europe.

Following a series of Viking raids on the Columban community in Iona in the 800s the monks returned to Kells.

The community thrived and Kells remained the chief monastery of Colmcille until superseded by Derry in the twelfth century. The sacred site of his monastery still overlooks the town of Kells and draws people from all over the world to visit the small stone cell named for him and the high crosses.

It is believed the Book of Kells owes its identity and status to having been completed by a particular scribe there.

St Colmcille’s legacy includes the distinctive iconography of Ireland – the Celtic patterns, knot work and the hand-written decorative manuscripts.