Magheragall rector wins ‘Gazette’ Christmas cover competition

Wednesday December 6th 2023

Magheragall Parish Church in the snow. Photo: Rev Nicholas Dark.

If you have picked up the December issue of the Church of Ireland Gazette, you might think there is something very familiar about the cover image.

And indeed, the front of the magazine features a beautiful picture of Magheragall Parish Church in the snow (full image below), taken by the rector, the Rev Nicholas Dark, who submitted it to the Gazette for its Christmas cover competition 2023.

The theme for the competition was ‘Peace on Earth.’ Writing in the December Gazette, Editor Emma Blain said: “Peace on earth can mean very different things to different people and is not just the cessation of all violence or the more common representational themes of peace.

Rector and photographer, the Rev Nicholas Dark.

“For some, it is the solace of family, for others it is a brief reprieve from domestic violence. It can be the comfort of the cold stone walls of our churches, or the freedom of our wide-open fields.”

She continued: “The different interpretations of the theme for this year’s competition were striking. The winner, Rev Nicholas Dark’s capture of Magheragall Parish Church in the snow, could be seen as the ultimate peaceful sanctuary. You can almost hear the last leaf falling from the tree onto the snow below, and the lonesome birds circling the steeple of the church.”

Runner up in the competition was Caroline Stewart from Magheralin with her photograph of a robin.

Many congratulations to Nicholas.