By Sarah Mac Donald - 30 June, 2014
Columban priest, Fr Sean McDonagh.
Courtesy: Independent Catholic News – http://www.indcatholicnews.com
Places are still available for the 2014 Dalgan Summer School which takes place from 14 to 17 July.
This year’s theme is ‘Experiencing God in Creation’. It has been organised by the Columban Ecological Institute at Dalgan Park, Navan, in Co Meath.
Directed by Dr John Feehan, an eminent scientist and theologian, in collaboration with Columban eco-theologian, Fr Sean McDonagh, the summer school is an opportunity to deepen knowledge, love and care for God’s creation.
The programme includes lectures, discussions, field visits and microscope encounters, with a full day’s outing on one day.
Special emphasis will be placed on the natural history interest of the sites visited.
“Each summer for the past nine years I have looked forward to spending a week with Dr John Feehan exploring God’s creation,” Fr Sean McDonagh told Independent Catholic News.
Dr Feehan recently retired from University College Dublin where he was a senior lecturer in the School of Biology and Environmental Science.
In Fr McDonagh’s opinion, he is “a man of enormous erudition and has researched and written on many aspects of the natural world in Ireland.”
“He trained as a geologist and the stamp of that training can be seen in his book ‘The Landscape of Slieve Bloom’.”
“In all his writing and lecturing, Dr Feehan has always attempted to go beyond the rocks which form the bedrock of the landscape and explore the living world, including the impact which humankind have had on shaping the landscape,” according to Fr McDonagh.
The cost of the summer school, including bus hire, tuition and use of equipment (such as microscopes) is €250.
To book or for further information contact: Elizabeth Mc Ardle at The Columban Ecological Institute, St Columban’s, Dalgan, Navan, Co Meath. Tel: 046 9021525 Ext 567 or email devofficemail@gmail.com
