Glencolumbkille
| Gleann Cholm Cille | |
|---|---|
| Civil parish | |
 Gleann Cholm Cille
|
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| Coordinates: 54°42′32″N 8°43′34″W / 54.709°N 8.726°WCoordinates: 54°42′32″N 8°43′34″W / 54.709°N 8.726°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Ulster |
| County | County Donegal |
| Elevation | 20 m (70 ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Urban | 724 |
| Irish Grid Reference | G529846 |
| Gleann Cholm Cille is the only official name. The anglicized spellings Glencolumbkille and Glencolmcille no longer have any official status. | |
Gleann Cholm Cille (anglicized as Glencolumbkille or Glencolmcille) is a coastal district in the southwest Gaeltacht of County Donegal, Ireland. It is also a civil parish in the historic barony of Banagh.
While Gleann Cholm Cille is still an Irish-speaking community, English has been steadily replacing Irish as the main language, with only 34% of the people speaking Irish on a daily basis in 2002. Cashel (Irish: An Caiseal) is the main village in the district.
The name translates into English as "valley of Colm Cille". Saint Colm Cille, or Columba, is one of Ireland's three patron saints (along with Saint Patrick and Saint Brigid). Colm Cille and his followers lived in the valley for a time and the ruins of several of their churches can still be seen there.
Between 4000 and 3000 B.C., farming people settled in the area.
The district was once famous as being the parish of Father James 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 Glencolumbkille since the 1930s, to look after the interests and needs of the residents of Glencolumbkille. Members are elected to this body by the residents of the Glencolumbkille church area; elections are held every three years.
Four sites make up National Monument #139.
54°42′32″N 8°43′20″W / 54.708756°N 8.722247°W 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 praying, places his/her back to the stone, then renounce the World, the Flesh, and the Devil.
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Wikipedia