Work set to Begin on
FATHER NEAL Carlin and the dedicated members of the
Columba Community are beautifully fulfilling some of their most cherished
dreams by planning to add a new
Now as Fr. Neal celebrates the 40th Anniversary of
his Ordination this week, he explained that his ambitions for a new
“Although we had the idea for our project in 1979, it
wasn’t until 1980 that a few of us were able to purchase and renovate a
bombed-out four story Edwardian house in
He added that in 1984, because the centre had a
growing number of young unemployed men, some ex prisoners among them, they were
on the look out for land where we could grow vegetables and operate a country
centre near the border.
“A generous benefactor gave us a four-acre site with
a disused farmhouse at Dundrean, near Muff, and we
set up St Anthony’s Retreat Centre. Over the past twenty years, we have built
six hermitages, where people can come, spend time in reflection and meditation
— either on their own, with the assistance of a spiritual advisor, or as part
of a group and a Pilgrim Garden, where
anyone can come along and spend quiet time in reflection.”
These developments were strongly influenced by our
Community’s interest in our Celtic church roots.
“We believe that modern society can learn a lot by
looking at the lives of some of our local saints, such as Columba and Egney, who had a rich tradition of monastic life combined
with hospitality and evangelism.” The Columba Community was given formal and
canonical recognition by Bishop Séamus Hegarty in St Eugene’s Cathedral on 31st August, 1995, so,
in some ways, they are coming up to their 10th official
anniversary.
“Significantly, the Church gave us - official
recognition on the first anniversary of the ceasefire, and I think this says a
lot about the type of work we do. It has always been one of our main ambitions
to develop a full-scale Celtic Peace Garden, based on the tenets of the Golden
Age of Ireland from the 5th to the
12th Centuries, when saints set up
centres of prayer and reflection in remote areas, and very much found God in
the nature around them. However,
this plan seemed to get waylaid when we realised that we should first focus on
establishing a Rehabilitation Centre for those suffering from addiction to
alcohol and/or drugs.”
He explained that the group concentrated on this, and
managed to raise the money to buy a 35-acre farm at Derryvane,
just on the border, and quite near St. Anthony’s Retreat Centre. Building the
centre cost £2m, and there is, of course, a tremendous
amount of work managing the centre, and ensuring that there are adequate funds
to keep it operating properly.
The White Oaks Centre was officially opened in
October 2001 and has since been busy helping alcoholics, drug addicts and their
families to find healing.
Almost as a reward for giving up the dream of
building a
that the lands White Oaks are built on have an ideal
space for just such a garden!
“As you walk around the 150 x 210 metre woodland and
glades, you realise that you’ve stumbled on an oasis of peace and tranquility, and all this in what used to almost be a no-go
area because it is located right on the border.” Work was supposed to begin
this week on the garden, but this has been put back for another week or so.
Our plans are to develop the space that will offer
therapy, serenity and healing. The garden is inspired by the 5th -12th Century
Celtic spiritual renaissance in
“The Garden will be set out in different areas based
on Croagh Patrick, Brendan’s voyages, the
Fr, Carlin says he hopes the
For
more information on White Oaks or the
Columba
House of Prayer and Reconciliation, 11,
St.
Anthony’s Retreat Centre, Dundrean, Burnfoot,
Telephone
07493 68370 Registered Charity Number CHY 12747
White
Oaks Rehabilitation Centre, Derryvane, Muff, Co.
Donegal Telephone 07493 84400