Glencolmcille
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Glencolmcille Gleann Cholm Cille |
||
| Location | ||
|
||
|
WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates:
|
||
|---|---|---|
| Irish grid reference G529846 |
||
| Statistics | ||
| Province: | Ulster | |
| County: | County Donegal | |
| Elevation: | 20 m | |
| Population (2006) | 724 | |
Glencolmcille or Glencolumbkille (official name: Gleann Cholm Cille)[1] is a coastal town located on the southwest Gaeltacht tip of County Donegal, Ireland.
The name translates into English as the Valley of Saint Columba. Saint Columba (Irish name Colm Cille) is one of Ireland's three patron saints (along with Saint Patrick and Saint Brigid). Colm Cille and his followers lived in the valley and the ruins of several of their churches can still be seen there. Following a dispute with the church about the right to copy religious manuscripts, Colm Cille went into exile on the isle of Iona off the west coast of Scotland.
Between 4000 and 3000 BC, farming people settled in the area and excellent examples of their court tombs can be seen at Mainnéar na Mortlaidh and An Clochán Mór. Examples of the less-elaborate portal tombs, dating from about 2000 BC can also be seen at Málainn Mhóir.
The town was once famous as being the parish of controversial Father McDyer (1910-1987), who championed the rights of rural people and helped establish community-based industries in the area. Father McDyer's business methods were suspect, however, and many of the business ventures were failures, often for fundamental reasons. The more successful ventures were the folk village and shop and the hotel (see below) in nearby Malin Mor.
A Parish Council has been functioning in Gleann Cholm Cille since the 1930's - known as Comhairle Paróiste Ghleann Cholm Cille. Members are elected to this body by the residents of the Glencolumbkille Church area with elections being held every three years. Recently sponsored by the Comhairle Paróiste Ghleann Cholm Cille is a website for the "Glen" area found at www.gleanncholmcille.ie. The main purpose/objective of Comhairle Pharóiste Ghleann Cholm Cille is to look after the interests and needs of the residents of Gleann Cholm Cille.
Glencolmcille is also the home of the well known Dublin-born artist, Kenneth King. His works depict naval and merchant shipping, coastline and lighthouses.
British composer Sir Arnold Bax made many extended visits there between 1904 and the early 1930's. Apparently, Bax composed much of his music and wrote many of his poems and stories while staying there.
Many natural beauties lie nearby, such as the Slieve League (Irish: Sliabh Liag) cliffs, the Silver Strand (Irish: An Tráigh Bhán) at Malin Beg (Irish: Málainn Bhig), and Glen Head (Irish: Cionn Ghlinne) itself.
The town is well-known today as the home of Oideas Gael, an Irish language learning institute established in 1984 to promote the Irish language and culture. The town also has a petrol station, grocer, post office, folk village www.glenfolkvillage.com, woollen mill www.rossanknitwear-glenwoolmill.com, hill walking and accommodation centre www.ionadsiul.ie, restaurant, new "village cafe" and three pubs (with great fiddle music often to be found in Roarty's or Biddy's). The coast road across to Malin Mor (Irish: Málainn Mhór is majestic and is where Áras Ghleann Cholm Cille is located (www.arasgcc.com).
[edit] Gallery
 Typical local cottage at the Folk Village Museum at Glencolmcille |
 The village of Glencolmcille |
 Glencolmcille cottages |
