About two months ago I had the privilege of visiting an ancient Irish monastic site in Lough (Lock) Erne called Devenish Island. It's a place I had long known about but I just never had the right opportunity to visit it. When I was speaking on a youth weekend in Enniskillen I took some time out to finally make a visit. It was well worth it.
The Irish, even though living on an island, have long had a love
for situating themselves on smaller islands within and around the country. Devenish is no exception. It was established as a monastic community not far from the current town of Enniskillen, Co. Fermanagh in the 6th century by St. Molaise and is now a tourist attraction with the occasional pilgrim paying a visit.
This ancient site truly would have been of prime importance in its heyday being located on what would have been the highway of
the day - along the route of the Shannon river running through nearly 3/4 of Ireland. I'll post a few highlights of images I shot with my mobile/cell phone camera. You'll get a feel for the place through them.
One of the most significant aspects of my trip was coming across a phrase which stood out to me immediately. As I was reading the information boards in the visitors' centre I saw the phrase 'Ceile De' mentioned in a write up about an very ancient order of monks which had a presence on Devenish at one time. The name
can be translated, 'spouses of God', 'companions of God', 'partners of God' or the 'gathering of God'. There is some debate about just who these 'Ceile De' were - or the Anglicized 'Culdee' - but one thing remains . . they were passionate about God. In September my friend and rector, Stephen Neill, and I are preparing to launch an alternate community of disenfranchised spectators of the Christian way in Cloughjordan. We are tentatively considering calling it 'Ceile De' as an apt descriptor of our hopes for those who become a part of this journey.
Interestingly enough, the earliest mention of the 'Ceile De' is of a monk called St. Aengus who, as it turns out, was from not far from here near a town called Mountrath in Co. Offaly. I stopped at the site of the monastery where he trained and had returned to before dying. It was an interesting stop because I have passed the location of the ancient monastery now called Clonenagh more times than I remember.
It's a strange thing to feel as if your life's journey is being carried along on a breath of wind and a ray of sunlight. What do the days ahead hold in store . . .
Labels: Ceile Dei, Clonenagh, Cloughjordan, Culdee, Devenish island, emerging church, fresh expressions, St. Aengus
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