Bangor Carnegie Library

For opening times please see the Library Website

After the collapse of the Roman Empire in the West, Europeans built on its foundations to develop their own culture and identity. The Irish played an important role in this great enterprise.

Columbanus and his followers, including Gall, were the first of the Irish missionaries and scholars to make their home on the continent around 600 AD. They contributed to the shaping of a European heritage that still endures today. Columbanus became the first man to write  ‘of all of Europe’ (totius Europae).

Researched, written and curated by Dr Damian Bracken, University College Cork, and Dr Angela Byrne for the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, this richly illustrated exhibition tells the story of the part played by Irish monks in the early development of Europe.

Ireland and the Birth of Europe was launched by Tánaiste Micheál Martin TD at University College Cork in April of 2023. Since then, the exhibition has toured throughout the Republic of Ireland and Bangor Carnegie Library will be the first venue in Northern Ireland to host the exhibit.

It is anticipated that the exhibition will eventually travel to Budapest, Hungary; Germany (country-wide); Zagreb, Croatia; Sofia, Bulgaria; Tokyo, Japan; and Chicago, USA.

Talk by the Exhibition curator for Friends of Columbanus members

Dr Damian Bracken, University College Cork, a curator of the exhibition, will give a talk on the exhibition theme on the afternoon of 22nd February 2024. This is organised in conjunction with Friends of Columbanus Bangor, but is a free event open to all. For full details please see:

• Ireland And The Birth Of Europe Talk