With a break since 2019, due to pandemic related restriction, the ‘Day of Friendship and Prayer’ on Lough Derg will take place on Wednesday 17th May 2023. The Very Reverend Kenneth (Kenny) Hall, Dean of Saint Macartin’s Church of Ireland Cathedral Enniskillen will deliver the Keynote Address.

As Saint Macartin’s is both a parish church and a diocesan Cathedral, Dean Hall has striven hard to develop both aspects of this dual role. He will be most well known for welcoming the late Queen Elizabeth II to Enniskillen on the occasion of her Diamond Jubilee in 2012. After a service of Thanksgiving in the Cathedral, he led both Her Majesty and the Duke of Edinburgh across the road to Saint Michael’s Catholic Church – a significant and ground breaking occasion of ‘the crossing the street’, the first time Her Majesty had visited a Catholic Church in Ireland.

Dean Kenny devotes an exceptional amount of time to building community life and works very closely with his Catholic counterpart in Enniskillen Monsignor Peter O’Reilly on all community matters. Indeed, Monsignor O’Reilly will introduce Dean Kenny’s Keynote Address, in which he will explore: “Can there be two Christian Communities living side by side? If so is Christ divided?”

Friends and interfaith groups from across our Christian Churches are welcome to come as a pilgrim people and gather in faith as God’s family in one of Ireland’s oldest living places of pilgrimage – Lough Derg, the Sanctuary of Saint Patrick.

The day begins at 10.30am, with boats available from this time. The short boat journey of about 10 minutes will see visitors welcomed with tea/coffee and scones at Davog House on Station Island. There will be time in both the morning and afternoon for quiet reflection and to explore the Island.

Dean Kenny’s Keynote Address is at 12 noon, followed by a prayer service in Saint Patrick’s Basilica. A light lunch will be served from 1.15pm and boats depart from 2.30pm. Admission of €25 includes all hospitality and services. Booking for this special day is essential and can be made online at www.loughderg.org, by email info@loughderg.org or by phone +353 (0)71 9861518.