6 July 2025 at 20:00

Columba McCann

John Columba McCann was born in 1961.  He studied organ at the College of Music in Dublin where he was a scholarship student under Sidney Grieg, and later Peter Sweeney.  During this time he was a prize-winner at various national competitions and festivals, and was organist at St Michael's, Dun Laoghaire between 1979 and 1983.  He studied Music at University College Dublin and was awarded a B.Mus. degree with first class honours.  He is a published composer of liturgical music, and in 1997 was First Prize winner of the RTE Radio One Competition for new compositions of liturgical music.  In 2004 he joined the Benedictine Community at Glenstal Abbey, which has a strong musical culture.  He is particularly interested in organ improvisation, which he has studied with Ansgar Wallenhorst (Ratingen) and Frederic Blanc (Paris). A recent performance in this genre was an improvised film score for the iconic 1928 silent movie The Passion of Joan of Arc at Galway Cathedral.  He is chairperson of the Advisory Committee on Church Music to the Irish Conference of Bishops. In July 2024 he was elected Abbot Glenstal.