Church, Glen Lower, Co. Donegal
In the townland of Glen Lower, County Donegal, local tradition speaks of a site that once held considerable religious importance.
Church, Glen Lower, Co. Donegal
Known as Cill an Leabhair, meaning Church of the Book, this location was home to a church, graveyard and holy well according to historical records. The farm that now occupies the land still bears the name Church Farm, though centuries of agricultural use have erased any visible traces of these sacred structures. The site reference numbers DG045-006001, DG045-006002 and DG045-006003 mark where the church, well and graveyard respectively once stood.
Despite the absence of physical remains above ground, the earth here still occasionally yields reminders of its ecclesiastical past. Farmers ploughing the fields have uncovered human bones over the years, silent testimony to the generations who were laid to rest in the now vanished graveyard. The landscape itself is characterised by rocky, wooded terrain that slopes downward from north to south, creating a naturally sheltered spot that would have made an ideal location for a small religious community.
The intriguing name Cill an Leabhair hints at the possibility that this church may have housed an important manuscript or been associated with learning and literacy at a time when such skills were largely confined to religious institutions. While the book itself, if it ever existed, has long since disappeared along with the buildings, the memory of this once holy place persists in the local place names and oral traditions of the area.





