1014 to 2014 Battle War and Peace

This is the keynote peace and reconciliation event of 2014 marking both the 1000th anniversary of the Battle of Clontarf (1014) and the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of WW1 (1914) and incorporates poetry, music, scripture readings and Gregorian chant. 

The Battle of Clontarf on Good Friday, 23 April 1014, was one of the best-known and ugliest battles in Irish history. St John the Baptist Church is on the sea front near where some of the bitterest fighting took place.

The one institution still standing since then is the church. For this reason, the Cistercian Order has been invited to sing Gregorian chant at the event. The Cistercians first came to Ireland in 1142 when they founded Mellifont Abbey. The Cistercians will be represented by monks from both Mellifont Abbey in Louth and Mount St Joseph Abbey in Roscrea led by Abbot Richard Purcell and Superior Fr Joseph Ryan. 

2014 is also the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of WW1. While Clontarf was a brutal and significant battle in Irish terms, WW1 was a horrific war in global terms. It created enormous suffering and harm for many millions of people and put world peace at great risk.

The Norwegian Armed Forces were invited to contribute to the event because there is significant historical evidence of the Viking Age in Norway and because Norway is regarded as an important peacemaker internationally. 

The Norwegian Armed Forces are being represented by the Brass Quintet of the Royal Norwegian Navy Band thanks to the Director of Music Commander Arnsetin Lund, the Head of the Navy Band Commander Truls Sanaker and Lieutenant Colonel Bent-Ivan Myhre, spokesperson for the Norwegian Chief of Defence.

The Norwegian Embassy in Ireland supports the project and H.E. Mr Roald Næss will speak at the event. 

The internationally renowned classical guitarist, John Feeley, will play Brian Boru’s march along with a number of other pieces including some of his famous Bach arrangements.  

The highly regarded singer of spiritual music, Roisín O’Reilly, will sing one of her signature pieces, the Ave Maria by Caccini.

Michael Mangual provides one of his most popular war videos for the event. 

The historian Darren McGettigan, Darren McMahon and his colleagues in the Irish Great War Society and Niall Bourke of CSS Audio Visual contribute to and support the event.

This event is being run by St John the Baptist Church with the support of the Battle of Clontarf Millennium Committee and the Dublin Institute of Technology. 

Key Contacts: 

 Anto Kerins: anto.kerins@dit.ie +353 1 4024460;

 Rev Martin Hogan: martin.hogan@dcu.ie  +353 1 8338575 & +353 1 8334606 

1014 – 2014 BATTLE, WAR & PEACE

8.00-10.30pm Friday 25 April 2014

St John the Baptist Church, Clontarf Rd, Dublin