Derry diocese celebrates St Columba’s 1500th anniversary

Bishop of Derry Donal McKeown celebrated Mass in Long Tower Church, Derry, to mark 1,500 years since the birth of famous Irish saint, St Columba.

Born in 521, the saint, warrior and poet – also known as Colmcille – was integral to the development of the early Church in Ireland.

At the end of the Mass, the winners from the ‘Colmcille 1500 Schools’ Project’ were presented with their prizes.

The primary school competition was shared between St Eithne’s Primary School, Long Tower Primary School and St Colmcille’s Primary and Nursery School, Claudy.

Thornhill College Derry took home the post primary school award, while all schools that entered received a gift.

In a statement from Derry diocese, the independent adjudicating panel acknowledged the variety of approaches used and the way in which the project incorporated so many different areas of the curriculum.

“All of the schools from the Derry diocese have produced very good projects, each in their own way,” the panel said. “Presentations were engaging with a good balance of knowledge and creativity.”

The panel praised the standard in both categories, adding that “choosing winners was a very difficult task”.

The competition was a joint project between the Diocese of Derry and the Diocese of Raphoe.