Celebrating ‘St Dymphna. The Tragedy of an Irish Princess’ at the National Gallery of Ireland.

Posted on By karenmccague

Monaghan County Libraries have teamed up with Tydavnet Twinning Committee to celebrate the arrival of ‘St Dymphna. The Tragedy of an Irish Princess’ to the National Gallery Of Ireland for a limited run.  This exhibition has been organised in partnership with The Phoebus Foundation, Antwerp.

Tydavnet Twinning Committee would like to organise their own Exhibition on the life of St. Dympna which will be on display in Tydavnet community centre on Sunday 14th May 2023.  As part of this, we would love children from across the County to re-tell the story of St. Dympna their way – it could be a story, a poem, an art piece, a digital creation etc.  All forms of creative expression will be accepted.  Closing Date is Friday 5th May.

Further information about the life of St Dympna can be found on the Tydavnet Village Website.

This competition is open to children from 3rd – 6th Class.  We are also including a SENsational Category for children who have been diagnosed with a Special Educational Need.

If you have any questions please get in touch at libraryactivities@monaghancoco.ie or phone 047 74702.

Prizes will be awarded for all categories.  We will endeavour to include all entries in the exhibition on May 14th. 

Please note:  All submissions must be accompanied by a signed Entry form.

Legend has it that St Dympna was a 7th Century Irish princess who lived in Monaghan around Tydavnet (the Irish name is Tigh Damhnata meaning House of Dympna) before fleeing to Geel, Belgium to escape her heathen father who wanted to marry her when his wife died. He later killed her when he discovered her hiding place. Her story of martyrdom and how she became patron saint of mentally illness has been captured in seven beautifully restored paintings that are on display at the National Gallery of Ireland. We want you to re-tell the story of St. Dympna Your Way for display in Tydavnet Community Centre on Sunday 14th May. This competition is open to children in 3rd - 6th Class. (Prizes will be awarded for each class category) Entries must be received by 5pm on Friday 5th May. Entries can be submitted to any Library branch in Co. Monaghan or emailed to libraryactivities@monaghancoco.ie You can choose whatever format you like to submit your retelling of Dympna's story. It could be a poem, a story, an art piece, a comic strip, an audio recording, a video recording or an animation. Whatever is your preferred creative outlet! An Entry form must accompany each submission