Cycling for Bubaque 2019-Ireland: Celtic Prayer Garden by Father Neal 

July 15, Muff - Near Derry lies the IOSAS Centre and Celtic prayer garden. Because, following my trip in Ireland, I read a book by Ulrich Libbrecht had read about the influence of Celtic mythology and culture on early monastic Christianity in Ireland, I thought this was worth a diversion.

I soon got into a conversation about that theme at the visitor centre with an old man who was sitting there having something to eat. He told me that one of the early Christian monks even would have been at the root of the current institution for the mentally handicapped in Geel.
Moments later, I learned that the old man Brother Neal Carlin, the founder of Columba Community of Prayer and Reconciliation was (1981), of which IOSAS is part.

Fr Neal is a basic Christians who had been inspired by the Latin American priests who were the sided with the people against dictatorial regimes. Although he was not recognised by the Church of Ireland for 17 years, he simply carried on with what he considered his life's mission, unpaid admittedly. 

During the Troubles in Derry, he placed serving the affected population, both Christians and Protestants. He worked as pastor in prisons, supported single widows of victims, and set up centres both in Derry city and just outside it to help those people and contribute to reconciliation. After the troubles ended, those centres switched to helping drug and alcohol addicts and disadvantaged people.

Fr Neal (79) insisted together the Celtic Prayer Garden to visit and explain its origins. It is a chronological walk along the monks and saints who t.v. the Golden Age of the rural Irish monastic Christianity (6th-12th centuries) played a role and, after the fall of the Roman Empire, also moved to Europe to establish abbeys.