Month: April 2014

The Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre in Armagh is looking for young people aged 10 to 25 to take part in their Summer 2014 extravaganza, ‘Oliver!’

‘Oliver!’ is the world-renowned musical which tells the story of a young orphan who arrives on the streets of London with no friends, no money and nowhere to live. He meets a cheeky pickpocket who shows him a whole new way of life. But as chance would have it, Oliver stumbles upon a gentleman who might just hold the key to his mysterious past… This exhilarating story about one boy’s survival against the odds is packed full of joyful songs including Consider Yourself, You’ve Got To Pick A Pocket or Two, Oom-pah-pah! and the exuberant Food Glorious Food.

Auditions for ‘Oliver!’ will take place on Saturday 17^th May, from 10am to 12noon for 10-15 year olds, and from 1.15pm to 3.15pm for 16-25 year olds. Auditions are now open for booking through the Box Office on [028] 3752 1821. All auditionees must be available throughout the period from Monday 21^st July until Saturday 23^rd August inclusive for rehearsals, should they be successful. Auditionees should wear loose clothing, trainers & bring a bottle of water. All auditionees should be prepared to act, dance & sing. You do not have to have experience to audition and auditions are completely free, although participation in ‘Oliver’ for successful candidates will be £100 for the five-week period. There will be some free places for people/families in receipt of state benefit.

And to keep up-to-date with the latest news at the Market Place Theatre, you can follow us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/marketplacearmagh) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/mptarmagh) where you will find all the latest information, special offers and video previews.

Armagh commemorates life, death and burial of Ireland’s High King

Armagh is set to mark 1000 years since the death of High King of Ireland, Brian Ború, with a series of family-friendly events including Viking longboat sailings, historical re-enactments, Cathedral concerts and a Viking tented village.

The special festival of events will take place from 22^nd April to 4^th May as part of an Ireland-wide commemoration of the millennium anniversary of Brian Ború’s death at the Battle of Clontarf on Good Friday 2014 and his burial in Armagh’s Church of Ireland Cathedral.

Armagh is one of four locations across Ireland taking part in a national programme of events and joins Clare, Tipperary and Dublin in the special commemorations.

One of the festival highlights will be an exciting re-enactment of the Arrival of Brian Ború at Navan Centre and Fort on Wednesday 23 April. This demonstration will reveal how an advanced party of warriors left Clontarf to make arrangements for the arrival of Brian Ború’s body in Armagh following his death. This free event will bring the past to life with a variety of activities for all the family, including storytelling, blacksmith and coin making demonstrations, as well as a fascinating scale model of the Battle of Clontarf.

Loughgall Country Park will also play host to one of the festival’s key attractions, a Viking Longboat event on Thursday 24^th April. This free family fun day will see an invasion of Viking Longboats arrive in authentic vessels for visitors to enjoy rowing and sailing sessions, Viking talks, weapon training and exciting mock battles.

Armagh’s Cathedrals will play an important role in the commemorative festival by hosting their own special events. The festival will open on Tuesday 22^nd April with an orchestral concert at Saint Patrick’s Cathedral with a suite of music written by composer Michael Rooney to reflect the life of Brian Ború which will be performed by the national Folk Orchestra Ireland. On Sunday 27^th April the Cathedral host an Ecumencial Service of Commemoration led by preacher Mark Patrick Hederman, OSB, the Abbot of Glenstal (Co. Limerick). Then on Thursday 1^st and Friday 2^nd May the Cathedral will also host The Waking of Brian Ború, a community project involving adults and children from the Armagh area.

Concluding the line-up of events will be an impressive Viking invasion as over 100 Viking warriors set up camp in a tented village on Armagh’s Mall on Saturday 3^rd May and Sunday 4^th May.  Visitors will get the chance to see how life was in Brian Ború’s lifetime as Viking re-enactors work, cook, eat and sleep on site. The unique event will also include falconry displays, story-telling, craft demonstrations, cookery displays and blacksmith and skills demonstrations, providing the ultimate insight to life as a Viking Warrior.

Commenting on the unique festival, Lord Mayor, Robert Turner, said:

“This is an important year for Armagh. As one of four key areas to be part of the Brian Ború festival across Ireland, this is a unique opportunity to commemorate Brian Ború’s history and legacy in Armagh.

“From Viking re-enactments to classical concerts and special church services, Armagh’s Brian Ború festival will celebrate every aspect of this historic date. I would encourage everyone to come along to as many of the events as possible, even if they’re not aware of the history of Brian Ború, as this is a great opportunity to learn about one of Armagh’s ancient figures.”

Brian Ború visited Armagh in 1004, where he left an offering of gold upon the Cathedral alter and acknowledged the ecclesiastical supremacy of Armagh. During this visit, Brian’s name was inscribed in the Book of Armagh as ‘Emperor of the Irish’. It is in Armagh’s Church of Ireland Cathedral that Brian Ború was laid to rest, according to his wishes.

Guides for the Brian festival are available at City Centre venues now or they can be downloaded from www.armagh.co.uk or contact the Armagh Tourist Information Centre for more details on 028 3752 1800.

It was big in 2011, it was big in 2012, it got bigger in 2013 and now it’s back with a thunderous roar for 2014 – The P&O Ferries Dalriada Festival in partnership with UTV 13^th – 19^th July.

A giant, must-attend family event in the Northern Ireland cultural diary, the 2014 line-up features sport, music and fine foods in the picturesque & historic village of Glenarm, first of the famous nine Glens of Antrim and within the Borough of Larne.

The festival will kick off in the Glenarm Castle grounds over the July bank holiday weekend ( 13^th-14th July) featuring the ‘Champion of Champions Highland Games’ which sees the thunder of Scotland come to Northern Ireland. Strongman versus strongman as they battle it out for the championship title. Northern Ireland’s premiere family music event DalriadaLIVE will feature a high quality musical line up including chart topper and Dalriada Festival 2013 sell out Nathan Carter who will headline on 13^th July with special guests.  Plus, announcing country legend Mike Denver as the headline act for 14^th July along with special guests.  Across the weekend visitors will be treated to celebrity chef demos, the world’s only chic sheep fashion show, craft village, fine food, dancing and lots more.

The festival’s thunderous roar will also fill the stunning village of Glenarm and the wider community.  From 15^th – 19^th July visitors can enjoy sporting action including Super Endurocross, a beach mounted rally, Dalriada Wipeout, Kids duathalon and a fun run.  There will also be traditional entertainment, food, games and local culture at the Auld Hirin’ Fair and at the heart of the village – Hymns and Haybales.  New to the community element of the festival this year is Dalriada SESSIONS featuring traditional music from Haste to the Wedding, gypsy jazz swing with a twist Manouche Swing and the award winning JP Mac’s  The Johnny Cash and June Carter tribute Show. The Festival will give one final roar as its closes on Sunday 19^th July with a spectacular fireworks display, street entertainment, rowing regatta, fancy dress parade, live music and lots more.

The festival’s nominated charity for 2014 is the stillbirth and neo-natal death Charity SANDS. The charity is instrumental in promoting and funding research to reduce the loss of babies’ lives, and works closely with health professionals to ensure bereaved parents and their families receive the best possible care. Nathan Carter’s manager John Farry has written and produced a beautiful song for the charity in memory of DalriadaLIVE promoter John Roger’s little grandson who sadly passed away at birth. The song called Memories of Angels will be performed during DalraidaLIVE by Collette Curry. A CD will be available to buy with proceeds going to SANDS.

Adrian Morrow, Festival Director, commented;
“ The P&O Ferries Dalriada Festival in partnership with UTV is back with a thunderous roar for 2014.  What a fantastic line up we have this year at Glenarm Castle and the beautiful Glenarm Village. Across sport, music and food – we have something for all the family.  From chart topping, Dalriada 2013 sell out Nathan Carter, Highland Games, crafts, celebrity chefs, sporting and music events in Glenarm Village – this truly is a giant of a cultural, family event. Every year we get bigger and better and this can only happen with the support of our sponsors – P&O, UTV, Larne Borough Council and NITB, and our many partners but also from the commitment and enthusiasm of the staff, volunteers and the local community. Thanks to all of them we can roar this loud in 2014.  We are also delighted to support and work with SANDS as our official Charity for 2014 and hope that all our visitors will show support by purchasing the specially created CD Memories of Angels.”

Joanna Walsh from P&O Ferries, title sponsor of the event, said;

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”P&O Ferries is proud to be title sponsor for the 2014 Dalriada Festival. Once again the organisors have surpassed themselves and are presenting a programme packed with excitement and entertainment for the whole family. With the promise of incredible music acts, fine foods, arts and crafts it really is shaping up to be bigger and better than ever before.  As operators of the shortest, fastest and most frequent crossings between Northern Ireland and Scotland P&O Ferries is very much looking forward to welcoming on board the ever growing number of visitors who travel from Scotland each summer to enjoy this spectacular event and we wish everyone involved every success.”

Michael Wilson, Managing Director, UTV added;

“UTV is delighted to join forces once again with the P&O Ferries Dalriada Festival in Glenarm which promises to deliver a fabulous week for all the family this July. We look forward to capturing the essence of the activities taking place on the North Coast of Antrim on UTV for all our viewers, with regular updates online on u.tv and interviews on U105.”

Eddie Rowan, Event Manager Northern Ireland Tourist Board:

“The Northern Ireland Tourist Board is once again pleased to support the P&O Dalriada Festival.  It is a pleasure to see this fantastic festival grow from strength to strength as it continues to significantly increase visitor appeal to the North Coast of Antrim.  The range and quality of activity on offer will not only a generate a substantial impact on the economy but also contribute to Northern Ireland’s positive profile as an attractive destination.  I wish all the participants and visitors a very memorable trip to Northern Ireland and to Glenarm for this action packed week of events.”

Admission to the community events is FREE. Gate Admission applies for the Champion of Champions Highland Games at £10 for Adults, £7.50 for Senior Citizens and £5 for Youth (12-16), children under 12 are FREE. Tickets for DalriadaLIVE, both the Nathan Carter and Mike Denver Concerts, are priced at £25 plus booking fee and available at www.dalriadafestival.co.uk or www.ticketmaster.ie
Further information on the festival visit www.dalriadafestival.co.uk.

Derry is the place to be this May Bank Holiday Weekend as the city becomes a massive stage for some of the finest music talent from across the world during the City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival.

Running for five days from May 1 – 5 the festival this year welcomes hundreds of top class musicians and performers from around the world for the biggest musical celebration of its kind in the country, in keeping with Derry’s fantastic Music City programme for 2014.

Renowned jazz musician Kyle Eastwood and 90’s legend Curtis Stigers are among the premiere cast of talent set for a weekend packed full of live entertainment taking place at over 50 venues across the city, as every cafe, bar, hotel, and street corner .

Last year over 38,000 people attended the highlight event in the city’s social calendar and jumped, jived and jitter bugged their way along the Free Guinness Jazz Trail, which means that over 90% of all the weekend entertainment is free. This year’s Speakeasy theme will add to the atmosphere, with the chance to dress up gangster style and enjoy some Prohibition era fun, with back street bars and secret passwords.

As always the programme features the best of both home grown and international talent, including folk phenomenon Kate Rusby, and the man touted as the new Jamie Cullum, Anthony Strong.

They will head a formidable ensemble of some of the best jazz, blues, soul, swing and jive acts around, including the fabulous Puppini Sisters, the electrifying Carmen Ghia and the Hotrods, and of course TV favourites the Jive Aces.

They will be joined by big names on the local music scene, David Lyttle, Paul McIntyre, John Leighton and of course, the father of jazz himself, Gay McIntyre.

One of the big highlights this year is the Spiegeltent which adds some vaudeville glamour to the festival, its mirrored splendour always a highlight at festivals since the travelling venues first began hosting concerts in Belgium in the late 19^th century.

As always the City of Derry Jazz Festival is expected to draw music fans from far and wide, and hotel spaces are already filling up fast with some fantastic accommodation deals currently available.

And there’s a packed programme of events taking place in the city over the coming months, beginning with the PanCeltic Music Festival which celebrates the best of Irish traditional Irish music April 22 – 27. June 21 sees the return of the massively popular Music City Day, which this year marks the beginning of the Foyle International Maritime Festival, running from June 21- 29.

And during the festival the city will welcome home the Derry Clipper Team for a stopover celebration to remember, with seafood, song and plenty of nautical entertainment – including an appearance by the Beach Boys!

The City of Derry Jazz and Big Band Festival is run by Derry City Council, and sponsored by Diageo, Department of Culture and Leisure and the Northern Ireland Tourist Board.

For more information on the full Jazz Festival line-up go to www.cityofderryjazzfestival.com.

Down

Northern Ireland’s Largest Model Exhibition returns to North Down this Saturday and Sunday at Bangor Gransha School.  A weekend of miniature trains, planes and automobiles. Lots of exhibitors and railway layouts from across UK and Ireland.  Young Modellers Zone where over 7s can have a go at building their own models from kits.  Face painting, balloon modelling, refreshments.

Tyrone

Bring the family along to the Burnavon for an egg–citing day of fun and laughter this Saturday, including street entertainment, Easter arts and crafts activities for the kids, live music and refreshments.  Always a favourite activity for children of all ages will of course be face painting, turning a child’s face into something creative and fun for Easter. So why not celebrate Easter at the Burnavon and enjoy a great family day out together!

Fermanagh

The Upper Lough Erne Tourism Development Association announce a brand new event for the competitive Pike Fishing calendar 12^th– 13th April on Upper Lough Erne. Cash prizes will be awarded per boat, with the winning boat taking a guaranteed £1,500 and second placed boat taking £1000. Additional entry fees will make up the remaining prize pot, up to 15 cash prizes, dependant on the number of entries.

Derry

International Wine Tasting Event this Friday 11^th April with Special Gourmet Dinner. at the Ardtara Country House Hotel Upperlands.  Patrick McLarnon will join Ardtara’s Chef de Cuisine Colin Theadorus to create a one-of-a-kind five course meal for you, to be matched by six delicious French wines from Domaine Gayda in the Languedoc region sourced by James Nicholson,  joined by Tom Ford, co-owner of Domaine Gayda (Languedoc) who will highlight wine insights and answer your questions.

Armagh

McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes Mud Madness is the ultimate muddy challenge which includes bogs, ponds, muddy trenches, water sprays, cargo nets and a climbing wall.  It is the ultimate opportunity to challenge yourself and to roll about in the mud like a big kid! This year’s event will be bigger and better than ever before and is open to males and females over the age of 17 with two races taking place to accommodate numbers.  Marie Curie Cancer Care is the charity partner for the event which takes place this Sunday 13^th April Foymore Lodge, Portadown.

Antrim

Ballymena Chamber Orchestra returns to centre stage conducted by Artistic Director Rebekah Durston for a wonderful night of film music on Saturday 12^th April. With the help of the Braid Film Theatre a series of film clips will accompany the Orchestra’s performance of arrangements from classic movies such as Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Schindler’s List and Indiana Jones. A concert not to be missed for all music and film fans.

Belfast

This Easter the fabulous Frock Around The Clock Vintage Fair will be back in Lisburn for the third year running. The event will take place on Saturday 12th April 2014 from 11am to 5pm at The Old Meeting House, 21 Railway Street, Lisburn. The event will feature 35 fabulous exhibitors who will be showcasing quality vintage, handmade and upcycled fashion, jewellery, furniture, homewares & collectibles PLUS sweet treats, retro art and gifts, photography, and much more!

For more details on these and other events across Northern Ireland, news and competitions see www.whatsonni.com, follow us @whatsonni and like us at fb.com/www.whatsonni. Add your  events FREE OF CHARGE at www.whatsonni.

This spring, Northern Ireland’s favourite vintage event, the fabulous Frock Around The Clock Vintage Fair, will be making its third annual visit to Lisburn on Saturday 12^th April with an Easter extravaganza of vintage treasures for sale and a big helping of timeless glamour, reminiscence and fun.

This highly popular event took Lisburn shoppers by storm in 2012 and 2013, when visitors turned out in their hundreds to shop for quality vintage and handmade treasures from a superb selection of handpicked Irish vintage dealers, designers and crafters.

This time the event will be appearing in a new venue – The Old Meeting House on Railway Street – where visitors will find an amazing line-up of 35 Irish vintage dealers and creative designers offering a fantastic array of vintage, handmade and upcycled fashion, jewellery, furniture, homewares, collectibles, sweet treats art, crafts, gifts and much more – it’s the hottest shopping destination to find the coolest stuff on the planet for your wardrobe and home.

The impressive exhibitor list will include Little Vintage Black Dress with authentic vintage evening wear, Loving Spoonful, designers of silver Jewellery handcrafted from antique spoons, Tiny Tower Vintage offering a fantastic range of vintage china, linens and paintings, Strictly Vintage, specialists in high end American costume jewellery from the 1920s to 1960s, Chez Clemley Collectibles specialising in vintage homewares sourced mainly from France, Cobble Interiors showcasing furniture upcycled with a twist, Chocolate Memories with a scrumptious collection of artisan chocolates, and The Old Hen House purveyors of a fine assortment of vintage, antiques, retro, salvage and everything inbetween! Visitors will also be able to relax and revive on the day in the pop-up vintage tearoom run by The Tea Boutique NI.

Frock Around The Clock organiser Becky Moore comments ‘we are very excited to bring Frock Around The Clock back to Lisburn as we always receive such a warm reception and it is a wonderful day for shoppers and sellers alike. We are delighted to announce that thanks to our sponsors Lisburn City Centre Management (LCCM) and Success NI we are once again able to make this a free admission event so visitors can come in and browse without it costing them a penny. But don’t forget your purse as you will be blown away by the unique vintage treasures and handmade designs on offer!’

The Frock Around The Clock Easter Vintage Fair will take place on Saturday 12th April from 11am to 5pm at The Old Meeting House, 21 Railway Street, Lisburn BT28 1XG, and admission to the event will be free.

More information on the event and the exhibitor list can be found online at www.frockaroundtheclockvintagefairs.com.

On May 8th Cycle Against Suicide is coming to the local area with the anchor point being Maghera and we would like your help in accommodating cyclists for the night.

Cycle Against Suicide seeks to encourage those who need to help to seek it out, through promotion of its core message that ‘It’s OK not to feel OK, and it’s absolutely OK to ask for help.’ This year’s Cycle is expected to attract up to 7,000 participants, each standing, shoulder to shoulder, to break the cycle of suicide on the island of Ireland.

The Cycle takes places over two weeks and takes in the entire island of Ireland.

The Homestays Programme sees homeowners all over Ireland provide a warm meal, a chance to freshen up and a bed to cyclists that are passing through their town. Feedback from last year’s Cycle has shown that the experience proves to be just as rewarding for the hosts as it is the guests.

If you would like to host one or more cyclists as part of this year’s Cycle Against Suicide, please contact Anne on 07889958523 or Karen at S.T.E.P.S. 07904564218 You can also find out more about this event by logging on to www.cycleagainstsuicide.com.

Together, shoulder to shoulder, we can break the cycle of suicide on the island of Ireland.

Ballymena Chamber Orchestra presents Saturday Night At The Movies with the Braid Film Theatre on Saturday 12 April, 2014 at 8.00pm.

Ballymena Chamber Orchestra returns to centre stage conducted by Artistic Director Rebekah Durston for a wonderful night of film music.

With the help of the Braid Film Theatre a series of film clips will accompany the Orchestra’s performance of arrangements from classic movies such as Jurassic Park, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean and The Fellowship of the Ring (Lord of the Rings). Rebekah Durston will also be playing the violin solo part in the Theme from Schindler’s List with the orchestra.

This is an ideal concert for the whole family and a great opportunity to hear some of your favourite film music performed live by some of Northern Ireland’s most talented instrumentalists and teachers.  The orchestra is also providing a platform at this concert for talented young instrumentalists from Ballymena, who will be performing the ‘Raider’s March’ from Indiana Jones alongside members of the orchestra.  This hopes to encourage and inspire the next generation of orchestral players and presents the children with a fantastic performance opportunity. This is definitely a concert not to be missed for all music and film fans so come and support your local orchestra by booking your tickets now

from the Ballymena Tourist Information Centre, The Braid Arts Centre, Bridge Street, Ballymena.T. 028 2563 5900; £10.00 and £5.00 for children under 12 and concessions.

Passengers on the railway lines of Northern Ireland may recently have enjoyed a glimpse of blue, a rush of steam, the unmistakable sound of a steam train whistle.

After 10 years of restoration work, mighty express steam locomotive “Merlin” is back on track and ready to pull passengers on Sunday 13^th April.

The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland, based at Whitehead, has worked since 2004 to restore, repair and breathe life back into one of Irelands finest express steam engines.  The locomotive has been trial running for a few weeks and the results have been excellent.

Sunday April 13^th will see Merlin pull a passenger train from Belfast Central to Portadown, with two return trips from Portadown to Lisburn, before returning to Belfast Central and the Society is selling tickets for the trains.

Built in 1932 in Manchester, Merlin was one of 5 locomotives built especially for the Belfast-Dublin “Enterprise” service operated then by the Great Northern Railway Company (Ireland).  Designed to climb the steep gradients and haul heavy passenger trains at averages of over 60mph, the locomotives revolutionised the Belfast-Dublin train service at the time.  The Society is especially pleased to have Merlin back in-traffic 50 years after the RPSI was formed in 1964.

RPSI Operations Officer Mervyn Darragh picks up the story “Naming steam locomotives was quite common.  Whilst Merlin is magical to us, she and her sister locomotives were actually named after birds of prey.  The locomotives were painted a very striking shade of blue, trimmed in red and lined in black and white.  Merlin makes a very impressive sight and oozes pent up power.  We are taking the opportunity to get as many miles of running-in as possible and it is great to get the opportunity to bring the engine back to the former GNR(I) route between Portadown and Lisburn.  We hope lots of people in the Lisburn and Portadown area take the opportunity to experience the magic of travelling behind this marvellous machine.”

“After Sunday 13^th Aprils operations, we will take Merlin back to our depot at Whitehead for checks, then she will be used to haul our annual Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday “Easter Express” trains.  These trains are lots of fun for all the family, with Easter Eggs for children and plenty of nostalgia for the adults.  Merlin will be the icing on the cake for us.”

Ticket details, timings and online sales (where relevant) are handled through www.steamtrainsireland.com.

Tickets for the Sunday April 13^th trains cost just £10 and are available on the train on the day.  For that fare passengers can choose to travel in any combination of Belfast Central (1110)-Lisburn (1130)-Portadown and then on two return trips from Portadown (1210 and 1455) to Lisburn and back (1310 and 1610), before departing Portadown at 1655 to drop off at Lisburn (1735), Belfast Central (1755).

Tickets for the Easter Monday and Easter Tuesday steam trains are selling fast from Belfast Welcome Centre (Tel: 028 9024 6609).  They cost £11 each and ticket holding children will receive an Easter egg.

Tickets are also on sale from the Belfast Welcome Centre for the Railway Society’s annual Steam and Jazz trains with the Apex Jazz band.  Held on Friday evenings in June each year, these trains are a social calendar mainstay.

FACTFILE:

• The Railway Preservation Society of Ireland was formed in 1964 and is celebrating it’s Ruby Anniversary in 2014.  Set up to preserve and operate steam trains and associated railway heritage stock and items, the RPSI is still managed by volunteers and the majority of restoration work is carried out by volunteers in Whitehead, Dublin and Mullingar.
• Merlin is unique, the last of 5 “V”-class, three-cylinder compound locomotives built by Beyer Peacock in Manchester for the Great Northern Railway (Ireland) in 1932.  The locomotives were built to be powerful and fast, but still be small enough to be worked on inside the dimensions of the railway company workshops at Dundalk.
• The 5 locomotives were named after birds of prey – No.83 Eagle, No.84 Falcon, No.85 Merlin, No.86 Peregrine, No.87 Kestrel.
• No.85 was last steamed in about 1962 and was eventually bought by the Belfast Transport Museum.  The locomotive was on display at their museum in Witham Street Belfast until 1982 when Lord Henry Dunleath provided substantial funding to have the locomotive restored.
• The locomotive’s first overhaul in preservation was largely carried out by Harland and Wolff and she ran from 1985 to 1990 before returning to the RPSI depot at Whitehead for further extensive work.
• She hauled steam trains all over Ireland from 1994 to 2004 before retiring again for overhaul.  The overhauls are largely carried out by volunteers and the work on Merlin earned junior volunteer Nathan Lightowler from Moira the national award of UK Volunteer of the Year 2013.
• The RPSI is always seeking new volunteers and interested persons should first of all join the Society, details of which can be found online at www.steamtrainsireland.com

This week Bangor marked the starting point for an ambitious pilgrimage that will take one man on a spiritual journey covering over 3000 kilometres and take approximately three months to complete.

French pilgrim Simon Derache, from Lyon in France, is re-tracing the steps of Bangor’s most famous Saint, Columbanus, on a journey that took the Saint through six European nations spreading the Christian message during the 7^th Century. This challenging trip will see him walk the length of Ireland before travelling to England, France, Austria, Germany, Switzerland and finishing in late June in Bobbio, near Milan, the resting place of St Columbanus.

Wishing him “bon voyage” was the North Down Tourism Development Officer, Alex Irvine, who commented, “This pilgrimage highlights the importance that is placed on the legacy of Columbanus from within mainland Europe. To undertake such a journey shows true dedication and we wish Simon all the best for his epic journey”.

Simon’s visit is the first of a number of pilgrimages to Bangor in 2014 with another in June seeing a number of Italians and French arriving. It is expected that 2014 and 2015 will see an increase in followers of Columbanus visiting Bangor with the 1400^th anniversary of the Saints death to be celebrated throughout the year from November 2014 to November 2015.