Glencolumbkille

This tiny hamlet lies between Glen Bay and a barren moorland, and is part of the vanishing Gaeltecht region. Its rural Irish charm is reflected in the homespun décor of the pubs and residences. The Irish name for the town is Gleann Chom Cille, which means St. Columba’s Glen.

The town is named after St. Columba, a Christian missionary who lived here in the 6th century with a group of his followers. St. Columba was born in Donegal in AD 521.
There are many myths surrounding him just as the quaint atmosphere still surrounds the village, which is tucked into a hidden cliff. Many of the myths involve the numerous prehistoric cairns still visible nearby.

The small oratory perched on a cliff north of the village is said to have been his home, hence it is called the House of St. Columba. Stone formations located inside were reputedly his bed and chair.

Each June 9th, the locals honor the saint in a ritual procession. They begin their walk barefoot, at midnight, and call it “An Turas”, or, the journey. The ritual takes participants in a circular path around 15 sacred sites that include medieval crosses and ancient cairns, similar to the Catholic devotional Stations of the Cross.

The village hosts an excellent Folk Museum in a complex built by a local priest named Father Mc Dyer, in connection with a cooperative created to bolster efforts at increasing, or at least slowing the decrease in the rural Irish population.

The museum includes an 1882 schoolhouse, a nature walk, an interpretive centre, teashop, and a craft shop that prides itself on selling locally made goods, including wines made from fuchsias and bluebells.

Small, thatched cottages are furnished to represent the manner of life in rural Ireland in the 1720’s, 1820’s and 1920’s.