Aidan Cycles for Cedd: Aidan Spence's 2,200-mile journey through Ireland will raise money for Irish community and raise awareness of Ireland's long standing connections with the UK.James Hoctor.

More than 1,300 years after an Irish-speaking monk named Cedd founded a monastery on the Essex coast, a Chelmsford cyclist is setting out to retrace the cultural bonds he left behind. Aidan Spence's 2,200-mile journey through Ireland will raise money for Irish community groups back home while shining a light on a forgotten chapter of Irish and British history.

When people think about the historic connections between Ireland and Britain, Essex is not usually the first place that comes to mind.

Yet more than 1,300 years ago, an Irish-speaking monk helped forge a connection between Ireland and the East Saxons that still echoes today. His name was St Cedd.

In 654 AD, Cedd founded a monastery at Bradwell-on-Sea on the Essex coast. Educated in the Irish monastic tradition associated with St Colmcille and Iona, he spoke Irish and played a key role in spreading Christianity among the East Saxons.

Aidan with members of Chelmsford Irish and St Cedd's GAA

Today, however, few people know his story. That is something Chelmsford-based cyclist Aidan Spence hopes to help change.

This summer, Aidan will cycle more than 2,200 miles around Ireland on a journey called Aidan Cycles for Cedd. The challenge aims to raise £2,200 for Irish cultural organizations in Essex while celebrating the historic links between Ireland and Essex.

The name is no accident. Cedd was trained under St. Aidan of Lindisfarne, one of the most important figures in the Irish missionary tradition. More than 13 centuries later, another Aidan is setting out to explore Ireland while reflecting on the connections between the island and the county Cedd helped shape.

 

The chapel of St Peter-ad-Murum built on the walls of St. Cedd's fort.

The journey will take Aidan through Gaeltacht communities, GAA clubs, traditional music sessions and places of cultural and historical significance across Ireland.

Along the way, he hopes to meet people who are keeping Irish traditions alive in the present day and share their stories with the Irish community in Essex.

The fundraiser will support St Cedd's GAA, St Cedd's Céilí Band, Cúpla Focal na nGael Chelmsford and the wider work of Chelmsford Irish, a volunteer-led organization established to promote Irish culture, language, music and community life across Chelmsford and mid-Essex.

For Aidan, however, the challenge is about more than fundraising. It is also about reminding people that the story of Ireland does not stop at the Irish Sea.

Alter with stones from Iona, Lindisfarne

Long before modern migration, long before England existed as a unified kingdom, Irish monks, scholars, and missionaries were helping shape communities across Britain. St Cedd was one of them.

St. Cedd's monastery still stands at Bradwell-on-Sea, overlooking the Essex coast. Inside is an altar containing stones from Iona, Lindisfarne, and Lastingham, a reminder of the spiritual and cultural networks that once connected these islands.
More than 1,300 years later, those connections remain. Aidan's journey is a celebration of that shared history and a reminder that Irish culture continues to thrive far beyond Ireland's shores.

To follow the journey or support the fundraiser, visit JustGiving.

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