skip to main content

MARY MCALEESE AND THE MAN WHO SAVED EUROPE

Mary McAleese at tomb Image Name: Mary McAleese at tomb

Former President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, is returning to television to uncover the story of a man who is not only one of the most important Irishmen who ever lived but one of the most important Europeans – Columbanus.

Columbanus died 1400 years ago this month, but Mary McAleese shows how his life and philosophy offer a solution to the divisions that plague Europe today.

 

Mary McAleese & The Man Who Saved Europe tells the story of how the monk Columbanus and his disciples established over one hundred centres of scholarship and spirituality throughout the European continent during the seventh century. These foundations lasted for over a millenium They are even said to have preserved Western civilisation during the dark ages after the fall of Rome. While he travelled through the continent, Columbanus risked his life tackling abuses of power by bishops and kings. He even challenged the Pope.

 

This new film sees the former President travelling to Bangor, Co. Down and Glendalough to discover what forces in Ireland shaped such a man. She finds that he was born into an island undergoing a cultural revolution, coming out of a pagan, illiterate society that had lasted millenia and discovering the new literate Christian philosophy that Columbanus would bring to Europe. Professor McAleese then travels through France, Austria, Switzerland and Italy, to uncover Columbanus’ legacy. She discovers that the ultimate relevance of Columbanus’ story is how it shows the benefits of being hospitable to the “other.” She argues that the  core of hs philosophy is an openness to diversity that offers a solution to the problems of the often fractured Europe of today. You don’t have to be the same as the next person to respect and get along with them.

 

Director/Producer, Declan McGrath says:

 

“Columbanus is a fascinating character, perhaps the greatest Irishman who ever lived. He is certainly the first Irishman to have left behind a body of written work, and he is also the first Irishman to be the subject of a biography. But his real legacy lies beyond Ireland and is in what he achieved travelling through a ‘Dark Ages’ continental Europe, where the civilisation of the Roman Empire had collapsed. It is a legacy that has an urgently relevant message for today’s fractured Europe.”

 

“Although he arrived in continental Europe from what was seen as a barbarian and unsophisticated land, Columbanus’ Irish learning give him the confidence to challenge, not only bishops, but popes, whom he felt provided poor leadership in a Europe split by tribal and religious differences. He was also prepared to risk his life disagreeing with kings.”

 

“He brought a sophisticated scholarship and a spirituality of sacrifice from Ireland that led to over 100 monastic foundations, centres of politics where the leaders of Europe were educated. This enormous legacy lasted over a millennium.”

 

“Amazingly, despite the benefits that Columbanus offered Europe, continental church leaders were intolerant of his different Irish customs. His experiences led him to preach a message of unity and of tolerance for diversity. It is a message that Mary McAleese feels has strong relevance for a today’s divided Europe.”

 

NOTES:

 

Columbanus died in Bobbio, Italy on the  21st November, 615. This year marks the 1400th anniversary of his death.

 

Mary McAleese & The Man Who Saved Europe will screen on RTÉ One on Tuesday 24th November and on BBC NI on Sunday 29th November.

 

An Irish language version of the programme (Mary McAleese & An Chéad Eorpach) will screen on BBC NI on Sunday 22nd November.

 

Mary McAleese presents both the English and Irish Language versions.

 

Mary McAleese & The Man Who Saved Europe is a Clean Slate Television production for RTE and BBC NI. It received funding from the BAI and the ILBF.

 

The film premiered at the 2015 Galway Film Fleadh.

 

Stills are available.

 

For more information contact Declan McGrath on (+44)7703344247

or David Kilpatrick. Clean Slate TV +44 2890323244

+44 (0)7850926746