A war of words has erupted in a County Down council over a sixth century Irish Christian saint and missionary, and a Europe-wide walking trail honouring his achievement and travels.
At the first meeting of the Ards and North Down Council since last month’s elections, the DUP said it was “absurd” for the local authority to label the “Columban Way,” a trail planned to extend from Ireland to Italy, as non-religious.
Saint Columbanus was an Irish missionary noted for founding a number of monasteries in France and Italy. He was born in Leinster in 543 AD, first educated on an island on the River Erne in Fermanagh and then moved to Bangor Abbey in County Down where he studied to become a teacher of the Bible.
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He stayed at Bangor until 590 AD, when he was granted permission to travel to the continent. The term 'Europe' was first used to refer to a geographical entity in his writings.
A 20-mile section for the Columban Way Heritage Trail was launched in Comber, County Down in October 2021, the first in Northern Ireland.
Funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund, it takes in Comber Town, the Somme Museum, the Lead Mines, Whitespots, Clandeboye Estate/Helens Tower, Grey Point Fort, Bangor Abbey, and North Down Museum, as well as one of the finest shoreline walks in Ireland.
In April this year, the Friends of Columbanus, Bangor, made a request for Ards and North Down Council to sign up to the new “Columban Charter of Partnership,” pledging support for the historical trail.
A council report was commissioned looking at the “religious aspect” of the request. The report came in the wider context of a debate about the council supporting or funding religious organisations, as well as the definition of “religious” organisations.
Elected members had at the same time decided to allow local orange lodges to apply for funding despite being against its own policy and the recommendations of its officers. Some unionist councillors had stated that Orange organisations were not religious, and should receive funding from the council.
However, regarding funding for the newly formed Ards and North Down Events and Festivals Fund, council officers had stated that applications should not be accepted from “any event/festival that is perceived to support or promote any religious or political dimension.”
In this context, the Friends of Columbanus, Bangor, stated their organisation and the still-developing walking trail was not non-religious.
The council report states: “Support for the charter has been sought from councils, bodies, and individuals across Europe, to both support the development of the Columban Way as a European walking route, and to further develop the relationships between the nations where Columbanus had a lasting influence. This includes ROI, NI, France, Austria, Liechtenstein, Switzerland and Italy.
“The Friends of Columbanus, Bangor, have confirmed that the group is not a religious organisation. It is a cross-community, inclusive, charitable organisation that was formed in 2013 to commemorate the 1400th anniversary of Columbanus.”
The report goes on to list a series of cultural events linking local groups with bodies across Europe under the banner of the Columban Way, including a yacht race called the “Columbanus Cup” involving 30 children and 40 adults across NI, France and Italy.
The report states: “Support for the charter will, it is hoped, ultimately play a part in the Columban Way becoming recognised by the European Cultural Routes Association and with it international recognition and the potential economic benefits that could bring.”
It states: “Friends of Columbanus have confirmed the primary objective of the Columban Charter is to help support and promote pilgrimage, cultural and scientific activities relating to Columbanus and his followers.
“The concept of 'pilgrimage' may have been misunderstood. It may have historically been a purely religious activity, but the modern understanding is much broader and includes travelling on a wide variety of routes pursuing many types of cultural and environmental interests, often associated with personal development and well-being.
“Nowhere does the charter suggest promotion of 'religion' as such.”
It adds: “Columbanus was a monk who studied at Bangor Abbey and whose legacy was the spread of Irish monasticism across much of Europe, and in that sense, there is a historical religious connotation. However, the Columban Way and Charter are more far reaching with activities such as interdenominational walks, culture, heritage, sport, and education being the key building blocks linking the countries involved.”
DUP Alderman Stephen McIlveen said: “I am not particularly convinced by the contents of the report in terms of the religious aspect.” He added: “My question isn’t to do with whether the organisation is religious but whether there was any religious aspect to Saint Columbanus. And I think any sane, logical person will realise Saint Columbanus is a religious figure.”
Alliance Councillor Hannah Irwin said: “Thanks to the Friends of Columbanus for their explanation in the report. There may have been some conflation between the historical figure of Saint Columbanus, which I don’t think anyone can argue is a religious figure in itself.
“The Friends of Columbanus describes itself as cross-community and the launch of the Columban Way has cross-community and cross party support. I hope the chamber can get behind the council signing up to the charter.”
DUP Councillor Colin Kennedy said: “I am a supporter of objective reality and truth. The truth of this is there is so much cognitive dissonance employed in the crafting of this report, it almost renders the whole thing absurd. At the end of the day, Columbanus should be celebrated for who and what he was, and that was a religious person.
“That is his legacy, it is based solely on his work in the development of the early church in Ireland, and especially his spread of monasticism throughout Europe. It actually does a gross disservice to the actual work of Columbanus to drag it down into a battle of semantics.
“Please let us not play with this part of our history. Let us acknowledge it for what it is, let us celebrate it for what it is. Let’s not twist words and meanings and try to argue that Columbanus was not a religious figure.”
Despite the disagreement over the religious aspect of the council’s support of the Colomban Way, the council agreed to sign up to the Columban Charter of Partnership.
The Columban Way forms part of the wider European “Via Columbani” heritage trail, tracing the footsteps of St. Columbanus, who was originally from Leinster. The route will pass from Mount Leinster, on the border of Counties Carlow and Wexford, to Bangor and across eight countries of Europe, finishing in Bobbio, Italy.
Once completed and linked, this European trail has the potential to become the second longest pilgrimage route in Europe, after the Camino de Santiago. It involves the nations of Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Liechtenstein, Republic of Ireland, Switzerland and the UK.
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