Land of Saints and Scholars Recreated

A Catholic priest is commemorating
Ireland’s golden age as the land of saints and scholars through a six-acre Celtic prayer garden.
Seamus McKinney
reports
IREL4.ND’S early Christian history is to be recreated in part just outside Derry in a Celtic “prayer and pilgrim garden” near the city to be called the losas Centre. The name means ‘Island of Saints and Scholars’, while also recalling ‘losa’, the Gaelic word for Jesus.
The garden has replicas of an ancient stone cell and dwellings used by early Christians. The six-acre site was officially opened by Bishop of Derry Seamus Hegarty yesterday.
It lies at Derryvane just a few miles from Derry on the border with Co Donegal and between the villages of Burnfoot and Muff.
Fr Neal Carlin says the garden will celebrate Ireland’s golden age from the 5th to 12th centuries. It was during this time that Ireland gained the reputation as the land of saints and scholars. Saints and holy men and women from Ireland left to spread’ Christianity throughout Europe. They included St Columba, Brendan and St Ciaran. During this time Ireland gained a name as one of Europe’s leading centres for learning where monasteries attracted and nurture scholars and scholarly pursuit leading to the production of manuscripts such as the Book of Kells. The Iosas Centre and Celtic garden includes a replica stone cell of St Columba, Derry’s patron and a straw-bale, thatched oratory to honour St Canice (from Co. Derry). There is also a bird sanctuary dedicated to the memory of St Ciaran of Saigher’s love of nature and a replica of the cave in which St Columbanus lived in Italy. Speaking at yesterday’s opening Fr Carlin said the new garden was the culmination of a dream he had nurtured for years.
“This common Christian heritage centre is the culmination of a number of projects initiated by the Columba Community. “Some 20 years ago, I remember writing a series of three articles entitled ‘Back to the Future’. “These were about the golden age of Ireland and the gifts of those many Celtic saints whom we have as our common heritage “The vibrancy of their faith and learning earned for them the title Island of saints and scholars,” Fr. Carlin said.
“At the time Ireland saved civilization in the wake of the barbarian invasion after the fall of the Roman empire.”
The Derry cleric said the new centre was a place of pilgrimage and prayer and he appealed to young people to use the garden to seek “life, love and a living God”.
“This common Christian heritage centre is the Culmination of a number of projects initiated by the Columba Community”
Fr Neal Carlin
Pilgrims are being urged to use a “prayer / guide book” to learn how their ancestors’ faith in God directed every part of their lives. They can visit the sites honouring the lives and gifts of the saints in the natural bog garden. Fr Carlin believes the prayer garden provides an opportunity for spiritual awakening and to get to know Christ’s love.
“That is what many seek to experience in this age,” he said. “We are merely providing the opportunity for individuals and groups to tap into the treasures of faith, Word of God, Confession and Holy Eucharist.”

THE COLUMBA COMMUNITY

· Father Neal Carlin founded the Columba Community in 1980. Formerly attached to Derry’s St Eugene’s Cathedral parish, he wished to explore the ideas set up by Christian communities in Mexico and America

· with a group of volunteers, he purchased and transformed a house at Queen Street in the city centre as a House of Prayer and Reconciliation. It is now used as a church and centre for quiet reflection

· in 1985, the new movement was gifted land just outside Derry where it developed the St Anthony’s retreat centre. Huge crowds attend St Anthonys weekly for healing Masses

· this has since expanded and is now home to the White Oaks drug and alcohol addiction rehabilitation centre. By June this year, White Oaks had helped 500 people deal with their alcoholism and drug abuse problems

· speaking on June 9 this year, the 25th anniversary of the opening of Columba House, Fr Carlin said: “Some critics say the Church is finished because of a lack of vocations to the priesthood but this might be God’s way of showing us a different direction to properly use the great range of gifts and talents in the lay community that is the Church”