''Gleann Cholm Cille'',

anglicised Anglicisation is the process by which a place or person becomes influenced by English culture or British culture, or a process of cultural and/or linguistic change in which something non-English becomes English. It can also refer to the influen ...

as Glencolumbkille or Glencolmcille, is a small district on the Atlantic coast of southwest County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Named after Saint

Colm Cille Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...

(Columba), it is also a civil parish in the historic

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

of Banagh. Glencolmcille is in the '' Gaeltacht'', and while it remains an

Irish-speaking Irish ( Standard Irish: ), also known as Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Insular Celtic branch of the Celtic language family, which is a part of the Indo-European language family. Irish is indigenous to the island of Ireland and was th ...

community, English has been steadily replacing Irish as the main language, with only 34% of residents speaking Irish on a daily basis in 2002. The village of Cashel is the main settlement in the district.

History

The earliest recorded names for the district were ''Glend'' (meaning simply 'Glen' or 'Valley') and ''Senglenn'' (meaning 'Old Glen' or 'Old Valley'). Dónall Mac Giolla Easpaig, 'Placenames and Early Settlement in County Donegal', in William Nolan, Liam Ronayne and Mairead Dunlevy (Editors), ''Donegal: History and Society'', p. 165. Geography Publications, Dublin, 1995 (reprinted 2002). The district later became known as ''Gleann Cholm Cille'', probably in the fifteenth-century. This later, and current, name means 'Valley of

'. The district's current name was first fully recorded only in 1532, when it was written in Maghnas Ó Domhnaill's ''Betha Colaim Chille'' (''Life of Colm Cille'') as being: ''ag tSenglenda a crich Ceneoil Conill ris a raiter Glend Colaim Cilli aniug'' ('at the river of ''Seanghleann'' ld Glenin the territory of the '' Cenél Conaill'', which is called ''Gleann Cholm Cille'' today'). Saint Colm Cille, or Columba, is one of Ireland's three patron saints (along with

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick ( la, Patricius; ga, Pádraig ; cy, Padrig) was a fifth-century Romano-British Christian missionary and bishop in Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints be ...

and

Saint Brigid Saint Brigid of Kildare or Brigid of Ireland ( ga, Naomh Bríd; la, Brigida; 525) is the patroness saint (or 'mother saint') of Ireland, and one of its three national saints along with Patrick and Columba. According to medieval Irish hagiogra ...

). He and his followers supposedly lived in the valley for a time and the ruins of several of their churches can still be seen there. The district was once famous as being the parish of The V. Rev. James Canon McDyer (1910–1987), who championed the rights of rural people and helped establish community-based industries in the area. A parish council (''Comhairle Paróiste Ghleann Cholm Cille'') has been functioning in Glencolmcille since the 1930s, to look after the interests and needs of the residents. Members are elected to this body every four years by the residents of the Glencolmcille church area.

Historic sites

Four sites make up

National Monument A national monument is a monument constructed in order to commemorate something of importance to national heritage, such as a country's founding, independence, war, or the life and death of a historical figure. The term may also refer to a spec ...

#139:

* Glencolumbkille Cashel () — A penitential station, also called Glencolumbkille Turas (Irish for "journey"). Every 9 June the local people go through 15 "stations." It begins at a court cairn, constructed 3000 BC. The pilgrim circles the cairn three times

sunwise In Scottish folklore, sunwise, deosil or sunward (clockwise) was considered the “prosperous course”, turning from east to west in the direction of the sun. The opposite course, anticlockwise, was known as ''widdershins'' (Scots language, Lowla ...

, while praying, places his/her back to the stone, then renounces the World, the Flesh, and the Devil. * Glencolumbkille Church () — A holy well is located in Beefan townland. * Malin Beg () — Church of St Kevin and

ringfort Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales ...

. * Malin More () — A portal tomb dated to c. 2000 BC.

Culture

Glencolmcille was home to the Dublin-born artist Kenneth King, whose works depict naval and merchant shipping, coastline and lighthouses.Some of Kenneth King's paintings are on display in the

National Maritime Museum of Ireland The National Maritime Museum of Ireland ( ga, Músaem Mhuirí Náisiúnta na hÉireann) opened in 1978 in the former Mariners' Church in Moran Park, located between the seafront and the centre of Dún Laoghaire town, southeast of Dublin city. ...

in Dún Laoghaire British composer

Sir Arnold Bax Sir Arnold Edward Trevor Bax, (8 November 1883 – 3 October 1953) was an English composer, poet, and author. His prolific output includes songs, choral music, chamber pieces, and solo piano works, but he is best known for his orchestral musi ...

made many extended visits there between 1904 and the early 1930s. Apparently, Bax composed much of his music and wrote many of his poems and stories while staying there. He describes the district and its villages, and the life of its inhabitants, in his autobiography ''Farewell My Youth''.

At one end of the little Glen Bay was a wilderness of tumbled black rocks, for some reason named Romantia (a particularly "gentle" – or fairy-haunted place, I was told in Dooey opposite), and upon this grim escarpment the breakers thundered and crashed, flinging up, as from a volcano, towering clouds of dazzling foam which would be hurled inland by the gale to put out the fires in the cottage hearths of Beefan and Garbhros. The savagery of the sea was at times nearly incredible. I have seen a continuous volume of foam sucked, as in a funnel, up the whole six-hundred-foot face of Glen Head, whilst with the wind north-west a like marvel would be visible on the opposite cliff. There were days when you had to lean hard up against the wind to keep your feet at all... Yet in that unearthly valley there always seemed to be a core of peace in the heart of the most ravening tempest. —Arnold Bax, ''Farewell My Youth''

There are a number of natural sites nearby, such as the Slieve League (''Sliabh Liag'') cliffs, The Silver Strand (''An Tráigh Bhán'') at Malin Beg (''Málainn Bhig''), and Glen Head (''Cionn Ghlinne'') itself. At the centre of one of the largest '' Gaeltacht'' areas, the district is known as the home of

Oideas Gael Oideas Gael (, meaning "Instruction of the Irish") is an Irish language cultural centre in Glencolmcille, Co. Donegal. It was founded in 1984. One of the founders of Oideas Gael, and its current Language Director, is Liam Ó Cuinneagáin, the pre ...

, an Irish-language learning institute established in 1984 to promote the Irish language and culture. The district also has a petrol station, grocer, post office, folk village, woollen mill, hill walking and accommodation centre, restaurant, "village cafe" and two pubs (often with Irish

fiddle music A fiddle is a bowed string musical instrument, most often a violin. It is a colloquial term for the violin, used by players in all genres, including classical music. Although in many cases violins and fiddles are essentially synonymous, the ...

). Films shot on location in Glencolmcille include ''

The Railway Station Man ''The Railway Station Man'' is a 1992 British drama film directed by Michael Whyte, and starring Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland and John Lynch. It was based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Irish writer Jennifer Johnston. It was filme ...

'', 1992, starring Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland and John Lynch.

Notable people

* Charles Inglis (1734-1816) - first Bishop of Nova Scotia, was the son of a Church of Ireland

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Glencolmcille. * James Canon McDyer (1910-1987) - born in Glenties close to Glencolmcille. * Patrick (Sonny) McGinley (born 1937) - novelist * Donal Ó Domhnaill (died 1590), eldest son of Hugh O'Donnell, was killed near Glencolmcille at the Battle of Doire Leathan *

John Joe Doherty John Joe Doherty (born 1968) is a former Irish Gaelic footballer and manager who played for Naomh Columba and the Donegal county team, later managing Donegal. Biography He won the 1987 All-Ireland Under-21 Football Championship with Donegal. ...

(born 1968) -

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by kic ...

er * Noel Hegarty,

Gallery

File:gleanncholmcille1.jpg, Typical local cottage at the Folk Village Museum. File:Cottages glencolmcille.jpg, Folk Village Museum historical cottages. File:TrabaneStrand1.jpg, Trabane Strand. File:Kenneth King (Artist) outside his studio in Glencolmcille with his painting of the M.V. Menpia.JPG, Kenneth King, outside Straid Studio-Gallery File:Local flora, Glencolumbcille - geograph.org.uk - 14523.jpg, Church of Ireland church.

Henry Musgrave Henry Musgrave (1827 – 2 January 1922), DL, was a Northern Irish businessman and philanthropist. He is perhaps best remembered for Musgrave Park in Belfast, which he donated to the city. His portrait hangs in the Examination Hall of ...

had the tower built in 1913.

Footnotes

References

External links

Glencolmcille website

Glencolmcille Folk Village

Biography of Charles Inglis at the ''Dictionary of Canadian Biography Online''
{{County Donegal Gaeltacht places in County Donegal Gaeltacht towns and villages Towns and villages in County Donegal