Launch of Kells heritage DVD

OVER 70 neighbours and friends packed the upstairs of Kells Heritage Centre last Saturday evening for the formal launch of Kells Media Production"s first DVD: 'An Early History of Kells, Part One". Doing the honours was Council Cathaoirleach Liz McCormack, who expressed her delight with this additional resource to promote the county as the heritage capital of Ireland. Producer John Grant commended company founder Rex Lee for realising his long-cherished dream of directing the 30-minute documentary, which focuses on the founding of Kells over 1,200 years ago by monks fleeing the Viking raids on the Columban monastery on Iona, western Scotland. John also thanked company chairman and vice-chairperson John Burns and Frances Monaghan as well as their fellow officers in advancing the project, including the late Tommy Mullen. The documentary aimed to lay myths to rest and this had been greatly enhanced by the participation of historians Fr Gerry Rice, Willie Carr, Aidan Wall, John Nelson and Joe Rourke, he added. The funding from the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland was very much appreciated, as was the help from Kells Union of Parishes, the town"s Credit Union, the Office of Public Works, the town library and Heritage Centre. They were under a great obligation to Kevin MacNamidhe, P5tv, Navan and Vanessa Monaghan of Musitc Matters International, based in Drumbaragh. Rex Les thanked John for his great attention to detail as the producer and to Linda Grant for reciting the challenging Old English text 'The Battle of Molden" in the DVD, the best-surviving record of the horror of a Viking raid. He expressed his particular gratitude to the re-enactors who helped complete the depiction of the early Monastic town so vividly. 'We"ve learnt a lot,' said Rex, and they were already looking forward to further productions. More than 100 copies of the DVD were sold that evening and the company is already sketching out a Kells history, Part Two, encompassing the arrival of the Vikings up to the Cromwellian era, 800 years later.