Colm Cille’s Spiral is a creative journey — a series of contemporary art and literature commissions, dialogues, and collaborations inspired by the enduring legacy of the 6th-century Irish monk Colm Cille, also known as St Columba. This multi-part project reimagines Colm Cille’s story not as a relic of the past, but as a living force, still capable of inspiring bold thought, cross-cultural conversation, and artistic vision.

Spanning across Ireland and the UK, and culminating in Derry-Londonderry — the birthplace of Colm Cille — as part of the UK City of Culture 2013 celebrations, the Spiral invites artists, writers, and communities to respond to the values and contradictions of this complex historical figure. A man of peace who once went to war. A lover of books who sparked conflict over a manuscript. A saint whose life continues to echo across centuries.

A Welcome to All Seekers of Meaning

Whether you’re here as an artist, a thinker, a pilgrim, or simply curious, Colm Cille’s Spiral welcomes you into a space where history and imagination intertwine. This is a space for reflection, for new perspectives, and for deep listening — not only to the past, but to each other.

Throughout the Spiral, commissioned works will be shared across multiple locations, each responding uniquely to Colm Cille’s influence. From ancient coastlines and urban centres to quiet islands and digital platforms, the journey is both physical and conceptual — tracing spiritual paths, intellectual debates, and cultural memory.

Why Colm Cille, and Why Now?

In times of division, Colm Cille’s story challenges us to think about exile and return, community and solitude, tradition and reinvention. His life, steeped in paradox, opens rich territory for artists and writers seeking to explore identity, heritage, and the fragile intersections of belief and action.

The Spiral doesn’t move in straight lines. It loops back, it expands, it evolves. Just like culture. Just like memory.

We invite you to follow the spiral — to explore, to question, and to contribute.

Begin your journey here.
Let the past and the present speak to one another, and to you.