Coláiste Bhríde, one of Ireland's best-known Irish language summer colleges, celebrated its centenary with a special Mass in Rann na Feirste, County Donegal. The college was founded in 1912 in Ó Méith, County Louth, by Father Lorcán Ó Muireadhaigh. It moved to Rann na Feirste in 1926 due to the decline of Irish in Ó Méith and the area's loss of Gaeltacht status.

Father Lorcán Ó Searcaigh delivered the homily at the commemorative Mass. He said that Seán Mac Maoláin and Father Lorcán Ó Muirí kept the college 'safe and strong.' Father Ó Searcaigh also noted a significant change in the area when Mac Maoláin fell in love with a woman from Doire na Mainséar and brought other people from Belfast to Donegal to learn Irish.

Seán Mac Maoláin, a Belfast native, played a key role in the college's history. Born in Bun na hAbhann, County Antrim, in 1884, he moved to Belfast in 1896. Although he was not a native Irish speaker, his father was, something Mac Maoláin only discovered when he began learning the language himself. He worked in a linen factory and at the Post Office in Belfast.

Mac Maoláin was the first secretary of Comhaltas Uladh when it was founded and was a member of the Oisín branch of Conradh na Gaeilge in Belfast. He suggested to Father Ó Muireadhaigh that the college move to Rann na Feirste.

Mac Maoláin left Belfast for Dublin in 1930 due to disagreements among Irish speakers in Belfast. He was a writer and published books including 'I mBéal Feirste Dom' and 'An Bealach chun na Gaeltachta.' He died in Dublin in 1973.