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Hymn for Fifth Sunday in Lent — “Spirit, lead us through the valley” (87 87 D)

The hymn “Spirit, lead us through the valley” reflects themes of hope, resurrection, and renewal amid grief, guided by the Spirit’s presence through life’s challenges. Continue reading
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A congregational hymn inspired by Hebrews 7:11-end — “Christ, Priest Beyond All Passing Time” (DCM)

A hymn on Christ’s eternal priesthood, weaving Hebrews with Ireland’s landscape—ringforts, holy wells, and standing stones—signs of the steadfast mercy that surrounds and sustains us. Continue reading
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A hymn of the New Covenant — “In whispered winds You speak again” (CM)

In whispered winds You speak again 1.In whispered winds You speak again,Your covenant made new;Not carved on stone of Sinai’s height,But written deep and true.2.You trace Your promise on our heartsLike sunlight on the dew;As meadowsweet in summer fields,Your mercy rises too.3.The shadows flee the morning light,The ancient rites give way;The tent of cloth and… Continue reading
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A hymn from Romans 16 — “Across the hills of heathered gold” (DCM)

Across Ireland’s hills and rivers, Paul’s greetings in Romans 16 become a hymn of memory—women and men named in faith, their witness echoing through prayer. Continue reading
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A hymn of daily thanks – “For mornings soft with gentle light” (Common Metre)

A hymn expressing gratitude for modern medicine, reflecting daily thanks for life, love, courage, and the comfort it provides. Continue reading
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“At Evening, God Has Spoken”: A Vespers Hymn on Psalm 110 (76 76 D)

110 has long been one of the traditional psalms of Sunday Vespers. My new hymn, At Evening, God Has Spoken, reflects on that ancient text through the quiet landscapes of the Irish midlands—heathered hills, the Barrow’s waters, and the stillness of evening prayer—resting in Christ our High King through the night. Continue reading
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From Desert Paths to Living Water: A Lenten Invitation – “By stony paths in desert lands” (88 88 D)

The congregational hymn reflects on spiritual thirst, Christ’s grace, and our Lenten journey from doubt to faith, inviting renewal and reconciliation. Continue reading
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One Faith, One Hope, One Lord: A Hymn for Unity

The hymn prayerfully calls for unity in the Church, invoking the Holy Spirit to heal divisions and reaffirm faith in Christ. Continue reading
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Singing Psalm 98 in an Irish Key

“Sing to the Lord a new song…” Psalm 98 is not shy. It is tidal. It calls rivers to clap their hands and hills to sing for joy. It insists that creation itself is caught up in praise—not as backdrop, but as choir. In the Anglican tradition, Psalm 98 can be used at Evensong as… Continue reading
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Unknown Paths, Rising Hills: Writing a Hymn for the Second Sunday in Lent (Year A) — “You call us out to unknown paths” (CM)

You call us out to unknown paths You call us out to unknown paths,Like Abram long ago;Through mist along the Barrow’s bends,Your pilgrim people go.You lift our eyes to rising hills,Where skylarks greet the dawn;Your keeping shade, like hawthorn’s bough,Stands guard till night is gone.Not by our striving, strength, or claimBut gift of grace alone,You… Continue reading
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🌿 Morning Reflection for 25 February

Inspired by the appointed readings and psalmody The morning opens gently, the way dawn often does in Ireland—grey first, then slowly revealing colour. The psalms speak of trembling bones, weary eyes, and the long nights when the pillow is wet with tears. Anyone who has ever lain awake listening to the rain on a Kildare… Continue reading
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Stay with me in the waiting.

There are days when Jeremiah’s cry—“My anguish, my anguish!”—feels less like something from long ago and more like the body’s own truth. In the dialysis unit, with the soft beeping of the machines and the hush of people doing their best to get through another session, you can hear that same ache. Jeremiah speaks of… Continue reading
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In the Thin Place of Forty Days

Rooted in the landscape, spirituality, and imaginative tradition of the Irish midlands, the text interweaves the great biblical “forty” journeys—the flood, the exodus, Sinai, the wilderness, and the risen Christ’s forty days—with the sacred geography of Kildare and its surrounding boglands. Drawing on Celtic Christian imagery and the rhythms of creation, it invites worshippers to… Continue reading
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In the quiet of the garden: Lent 1

A new hymn crafted for the readings for the First Sunday of Lent, Year A by Irish writer Michael McFarland Campbell. Continue reading
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Stop. Start. Stay.

Not every journey is straight. Some of us live by detours. Some of us measure time in appointments, recoveries, resets, and the quiet courage it takes to begin again. This new hymn was written from within that kind of landscape. It blesses the roundabout and the restart. The traffic light on a rain-washed street when… Continue reading
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From Morning Light to Setting Sun

Sexagesima (the Second Sunday before Lent) draws our attention to the quiet, faithful work of God—the sowing of the seed, the shaping of hearts, the long patience of love that bears fruit in its time. Before we strive, before we worry, before the dawn itself, God is already at work. This hymn is a prayer… Continue reading
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Grace. Place. Presence.

This hymn grew out of a quiet attentiveness to place—to fields, water, stone, and memory—and to the way faith so often takes root through landscape rather than abstraction. Drawing on the life and legacy of St Mel, it traces a spiritual geography shaped by County Longford and Ardagh: hills walked slowly, wells where prayer lingers,… Continue reading
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Shepherd. Host. High King.

This hymn began with a simple wondering: What if Christ doesn’t only meet us at the table, but walks the whole week with us? Faith is rarely confined to sacred hours. It unfolds in Mondays heavy with responsibility, Wednesdays full of noise, Fridays marked by grief, and Saturdays thick with waiting. This hymn traces the… Continue reading
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Faith. Truth. Welcome.

With the twelve bells of St Patrick’s overhead, I offer this hymn as a prayer for Ballymena: for its people, its churches, and Christ’s light in the valley we call home. Continue reading
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