A new documentary made by the grandniece of Columban Martyr Fr Tony Collier will be shown on Sunday (31st August) as part of this year’s Korean Festival 2025 in Dublin.
The event takes place at Farmleigh House in the Phoenix Park and is hosted by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea.
One of the highlights of the festival will be a booth celebrating the historical and cultural ties between Korea and Ireland, especially through the work of the Columban Fathers and Sisters.
The festival will also showcase ‘Remembering the Seven’, a new documentary by filmmaker Emma O’Brien, which traces the journey of families of the seven Columban Fathers who were killed in the Korean War in 1950. They were: Fr Anthony Collier, Fr James Maginn, Fr Tommie Cusack, Fr Paddy Reilly, Fr Frank Canavan, Monsignor Patrick Brennan, and Fr Jack O’Brien.
Emma O’Brien travelled to Korea with her aunts Rachel and Geraldine Collier to retrace their uncle Fr Tony Collier’s final journey.
Families of the seven missionaries were invited by the Irish Ambassador to Korea, Michele Winthrop, to her residence in Seoul on 22nd May 2025 to commemorate the 75th anniversary of their deaths.
Rachel Collier told columbans.ie, “Families were also welcomed by the Columbans at Columban House in Seoul. Fr Gonazlo presented them with a memorial plaque to mark the occasion. Fr Donal O’Keeffe organised a trip to the sites where the seven priests lived, worked, were killed and buried. It was a memorable, unique and special occasion.”
“The 24-minute documentary tells the story of the seven priests and is wrapped around the story of Emma’s granduncle, Fr Anthony Collier. It sets the story in the context of the time: the Japanese occupation in the 1940s and the invasion of South Korea on 25th June 1950. It is an important part of the bigger story of the Columbans in Korea at the time,” Rachel Collier explained.
She highlighted that Sunday’s Korean festival will also include a poster display designed by Fr Anthony Collier’s grandnephew, Kevin O’Brien, a graphic designer based in London, which tells the story of the seven priests and gives a lovely photographic record of the trip the families made in May/June 2025.
Another poster sets out the story of the tapestry created about the seven priests.
The tapestry, ‘Woven into Memory’, will be displayed on Sunday and will later be brought to Korea for display. It illustrates this longstanding connection the Columban Fathers have had with Korea and honours the 7 Columbans who died in Korea in 1950.
You can read about the tapestry here: https://columbans.ie/tapestry-weaves-story-of-columban-missionary-martyrs/
Sunday’s Korean Festival will also showcase the richness of Korean culture with booths dedicated to Korean art, literature, film and more.
A film crew from Korea’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be capture the event as part of a special feature.
The marquee devoted to the Columban martyrs is to the side of the stage. Free Admission / Family-Friendly / Open to All. See: https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/ie-en/brd/m_23773/view.do?seq=761888