LAUNCH OF BOOK AND ART EXHIBITION ON 'AMRA CHOLUIM CHILLE', DALLÁN'S ELEGY FOR COLUMBA

Christ Church cathedral will be the venue for the launch on Saturday 29 September 2007 at 6.00pm in the crypt, of a new book entitled Amra Choluim Chille: Dallán's elegy for Columba, which has been edited by Professor P.L. Henry and introduced by Ciaran Carson. The artwork and calligraphy are by Brian Ferran and Donald Murray respectively.

The launch is part of a festival at the cathedral celebrating St Colmcille. The crypt will be host to the exhibition, a stunning series of paintings by artist Brian Ferran based on the 6th century poem Amra Choluim Chille. This remarkable poem is the earliest datable work in Gaelic literature, and was composed soon after Saint Colm Cille's death in 597. The exhibition will run from 27 September to 17 October 2007.

The exhibition of paintings and calligraphy based on the Amra (along with the newly-published edition of Amra Chaluim Chille) will be launched in the cathedral crypt by Minister of State Trevor Sargent TD, at 6pm on Saturday September 29th 2007, as part of the one-day festival Colmcille @ Christ Church, which will celebrate links between Gaelic Ireland and Gaelic Scotland, and features art, music and liturgy.

A book consisting of the poem and the accompanying images will also be launched with an introduction by poet Ciaran Carson and translations into English, modern Irish and Scottish Gaelic. The poem was edited by Professor P L Henry, the first expert in archaic Irish in a hundred years courageous enough to prepare a new edition of the notoriously difficult Amra.

The book is jointly published by Colmcille, an aptly named organisation which aims to strengthen links between Gaelic Ireland and Scotland, and ULTACH Trust, a cross-community organisation based in Northern Ireland.

Aodán Mac Póilin, Director of ULTACH Trust, said: "There is an ancient tradition that reciting the Amra every day could secure a place in heaven. We can't quite promise that, but the book and exhibition offer an experience on this earth you won't want to miss."

Ciaran Carson, in his introduction, summarises the symbolic significance of both the poem and its subject:

Colm Cille can be seen as an intermediary between heaven and earth, between imagination and reality, between inspiration and the word, between the spoken word and the written word, between written word and publication, between the church and temporal authority, and between Ireland and Scotland, as recognised by the organisation Colmcille, publisher of this present book. He is the patron saint of Irish poets, which patronage could well extend to publishers. It is no wonder that Amra Choluim Chille was composed to praise him ...
Ciaran Carson: Introduction

Background: Amra Choluim Chille
St Colm Cille is a powerful symbol of the shared Gaelic heritage of Ireland and Scotland. He was born into the aristocratic Uí Néill family in Donegal and ended his days in Iona off the Scottish coast. Among his many achievements were the introduction of Christianity to Scotland and the creation of a spirit of mutual tolerance between Christianity and traditional Gaelic culture.

Amra Choluim Chille was composed shortly after Colm Cille's death in 597, although the opening lines may date as far back as 575. In that year, according to legend, Colm Cille brokered an agreement that ensured the survival of the filí, the poetic class, by limiting their power and numbers (he had himself trained as a poet). When Dallán Forgaill, the chief poet, began to compose a poem in his praise, the saint forbade him to complete it until after his death. Dallán, a professional poet, demanded a reward for the poem he had not yet written. After protracted negotiations, he finally accepted Colm Cille's offer that everyone who memorised the poem and recited it every day would go to heaven.

Colm Cille's successor as abbot of Iona, Adamnan, writing in Latin circa 700 AD, tells how a group of men were saved from being killed by their enemies because when attacked they were singing poems in Irish in praise of Colm Cille. Amra Choluim Chille became an object of veneration, which may explain the remarkable consistency with which it has been preserved. The present edition is based on two 12th century vellum manuscripts.

Note to Editors:
Project Organisers: Colmcille and ULTACH Trust.

Colmcille
The organisation Colmcille is named after the 6th century saint Colm Cille. Its aim is to promote cooperation and understanding between Gaelic-speakers in Ireland and Scotland, and to raise awareness of Gaelic language and culture. Colmcille has offices in Northern Ireland, Scotland and the Republic of Ireland, and receives funding from all three governments. The vision of Colmcille is 'a vibrant interactive Gaelic community spanning Ireland and Scotland.
www.colmcille.net

ULTACH Trust
ULTACH is a charitable trust which aims to promote the Irish language throughout the entire community of Northern Ireland. The Trust was established at the end of 1989, and is currently core-funded by Foras na Gaeilge. The Trust awards grants to other organisations, but its main areas of activity involve promoting the language on a cross-community basis, acting as an advocate for the language movement with statutory bodies, and raising the profile of and improving access to the language.
www.ultach.org

THE BOOK: Writers and Artists
Ciaran Carson is Professor of Poetry at the Seamus Heaney Centre at Queen's University, Belfast. He has published numerous books of poetry and prose, including The Irish for No and Belfast Confetti. He has published a translated Brian Merriman's The Midnight Court and is currently preparing a translation of the Táin.

Brian Ferran, a former Chief Executive of the Arts Council of Northern Ireland, is a graduate of the Courtauld Institute, London and of the Brera Academy, Milan. His artworks are included in numerous public collections. He is an honorary member of the RHA and the RUA

Professor P L Henry is an authority on archaic Irish, and a former Professor of Old and Medieval English in University College Galway. Among his publications are An Anglo-Irish Dialect of North Roscommon (1959), The Early English and Celtic Lyric (1966), Saoithiúlacht na Sean-Ghaeilge (1978).

Aonghas Dubh MacNeacail, poet, journalist, researcher, broadcaster, scriptwriter and filmmaker, was born in the Isle of Skye. His third collection of poems, Oideachadh Ceart (A Proper Schooling and other poems) won the Stakis Scottish Writer of the Year Award in 1997.

Aodán Mac Póilin is the Director of the ULTACH Trust, a cross-community Irish language organisation based in his native city of Belfast. He was on the editorial panel of Leabhar Mór na Gaeilge, and has published widely on issues involving cultural and linguistic politics.

Donald Murray specialised in calligraphy in the Edinburgh College of Art, and designed a modern Gaelic alphabet based on early Irish manuscripts. His work has been commissioned by numerous institutions and civic authorities, and he is also a well-established watercolourist.

For further information, a selection of artwork images and interview contacts please get in touch with:

Aonghus Dwane, Colmcille
11 The Laundry, Hybreasal,
South Circular Rd, Dublin 8
Tel 01 4538870, aonghus@colmcille.net

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