THE life of Colmcille will feature heavily during Heritage Week – running from August 14 to 22 – during this, the 1500^th anniversary of his birth.

Donegal County Council along with Derry City and Strabane District Council is hosting a range of activities to celebrate Colmcille during Heritage Week. These include exhibitions, talks, workshops, and concerts through a range of themes embracing history, music, literature, art, storytelling and archaeology.

Colmcille 1500 is a year-long commemoration marking the 1500^thanniversary of the birth of Colmcille – also known as Columba.

Deirdre Harte, Colmcille 1500 Project Manager with Donegal County Council, said: “We’re delighted with the number of Colmcille activities taking place during Heritage Week which is the perfect opportunity to showcase some of the commemorations taking place during this special year.

“With a wide range of events such as poetry and medieval ink workshops, contemporary visual arts exhibitions and talks by engaging authors and storytellers, there should be something for everyone.

“You can find further information on Colmcille 1500 on our website atwww.colmcille1500.com or on Facebook atwww.facebook.com/Colmcille1500NW”

National Heritage Week is an all-island initiative coordinated by The Heritage Council and Local Authority Heritage Officers and is part of European Heritage Days. More information at www.heritageweek.ie​

·       A series of nine online Colmcille 1500 lectures ‘Colmcille Books and Beyond’ organised by Donegal Library Service with guest speakers Dr. BrianLacey, Christy Gillespie, Donal Mac Polin, Tim Stampton, Paula deFougerolles and Joe Brennan taking place between 14^th and 21^st August – for further details and to register for events go to www.donegallibrary.ie

·       An exhibition by renowned artist and children’s book illustrator TimStampton in Central Library Letterkenny which includes a series of his paintings “The Maledictions of Colmcille“, based on the folktales surrounding the short tempered saint – https://www.heritageweek.ie/projects/the-maledictions-of-colmcille-art-exhibition-by-tim-stampton

·       A visual arts multi-venue exhibition ‘Turas‘ is a visual art journey traversing Donegal’s cultural landscape featuring Irish based established and emerging artists – exploring the societal shifts that shape our collective identity. Exhibitions currently in place at the Regional Cultural Centre Letterkenny, An Gailearaí Ghaoth Dobhair and Glebe House & Gallery Churchill –https://regionalculturalcentre.com/event/turas

·       An exhibition ‘Colmcille – Man and Myths’ at the Tower Museum in Derry – a joint exhibition between the two Councils which will take you on a journey of discovery around the world of Colmcille in Donegal and Derry –https://www.heritageweek.ie/projects/colmcille-1500-exhibition-man-and-myth

·       A short video to bring to life some of the initial findings from an archaeological excavation in Disert organised by Disert Heritage and IT Sligo. ‘Disert Dig 2021 – The First Results’ will be available on Wednesday 18th August at https://disertheritage.com

·       An online workshop exploring medieval ink and hand embroidery techniques on Thursday 19th August at 10.00am organised by the Tower Museum to complement the Colmcille exhibition. You can join the workshop via https://www.facebook.com/towermuseum

·       A presentation by Dr. David Carson on ‘The Influence of Colmcille on AnTúr Gloine movement’ focussing on the stained-glass windows in St. Eunan’sCathedral, Letterkenny organised by Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter on Thursday, August 19 at 4.30pm –https://www.heritageweek.ie/projects/the-influence-of-colmcille-on-an-tur-gloine-movement

·       An online concert, as part of the Every Voice Festival, organised by Allegri and filmed in the beautiful settings of St Columb’s Cathedral, St Columba’s Church Long Tower and Áras Cholmcille in Derry will be streamed on Sunday 22^nd August 2021 at 1pm –https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0bZjMmOm63cRqpNwiJdnRg