Kells colourful celebration of the life of St Colmcille

Kells is a blaze of colour at the moment with the Colmcille 1500 illuminations lighting up important building and monuments in the town.

Six images are projected onto important Kells buildings and the town is decorated with St Colmcille-themed bunting and flags to mark the 1500th anniversary of the saint.

The illuminations are part of the Colmcille 1500 celebrations that are taking place in Kells all this year.

Kells was an important monastic site for hundreds of years where the monks carried on the work of St Colmcille and where the remains of the saint were venerated by pilgrims from throughout Ireland.

“The Colmcille 1500 illuminations are a contemporary artistic expression of the story of Colmcille and celebrate the iconography produced by monks, scribes, stone carvers and metalworkers in Kells,” says Ina Olohan of he Colmcille 1500 committee.

“These skills are reflected in Kells again in the vibrant colour of the images. Each image has a story and each story evokes a world of wonder.”

The first image on arriving to Kells from the south is ‘Arrival’ which is projected onto the wall of the old courthouse building.

This recalls the time when the Columban monks returned from Iona to Kells, seeking refuge from attacks.

At the Kells Municipal Office ‘The Exile’ tells of royal ancestry, the copying of books, the origin of copyright law and Colmcille’s leaving of Ireland to become an exile.

At St Colmcille’s House ‘The Scribe’ projection evokes the long hours of writing and study in cramped and difficult conditions which brought the precious manuscripts to the world. It also highlights the reliquary building where the Colmcille’s remains were venerated for 600 years, making Kells an important site of pilgrimage.

At the entrance to the monastic site ‘The High Crosses’ illumination reflects the mastery of stone-carving reached in Kells, a mastery which reached its zenith in the Book of Kells.

At the Round tower ‘Kells of the Kings’ tells a tale of Kells as a frontier town where repeated attacks by Vikings and Celtic tribes alike brought hardship and pillage.

At Saint Colmcille’s Well, ‘The Water of Life’ image brings us back to the peace of Columba and his inherent spirituality.

The Annals of Ulster tell us that Kells was granted without battle to Colmcille by High King Diarmait Mac Cearhall.

“It is not unreasonable to suggest that Colmcille himself may have walked this landscape and perhaps established an early Church here,” says Ms Olohan.

To mark the 1500th anniversary of St. Colmcille’s birth the Kells committee have held a number of events including a celebration at St. Colmcille’s Well following local tradition, on the eve of St Colmcille’s Feast Day, 8th June.

The Kells festival featured on the Guth an Phobal TG4 Documentary earlier this month and the Gaeil Colmcille Festival of Football also took place in June.

During Heritage Week from 14th to 22nd August there will be Kells Walkabout Tours daily and Illuminations Tour at Dusk nightly.

The Colmcille 1500 Kells committee supported by Meath Arts Office are creating three short films capturing a space, a moment in time linking contemporary and historic sites in Kells with the performance arts.

“Our focus is to showcase Kells as a town of high artistic and cultural value celebrating St Colmcille’s influence on our built heritage, architecture and identity married with performances celebrating the saints’ influence on language, music, spoken word and the creative arts,” says Ms Olohan.

“The event will be launched on Culture Night in September coinciding with a countywide Colmcille 1500 Illuminations event.”

In August and September, the Kells Type Trail will continue the Colmcille 1500 theme with pieces dedicated to the saints influence on lettering

In October, Colmcille 1500 will feature in the Meath Summer Library Programme and during the Children’s Book Festival and Meath Archaeological and Historical Society are supporting an online talk with Laura McCloskey ‘exploring cross cultural links between Ireland and the Mediterranean as evidenced in the Book of Kells’.

All online events are available to view on kellscolmcille1500 social media channels. To arrange a tour contact Kells Courthouse Tourism and Cultural Hub 046 924 7508.