Cross-slab, An Tsráid, Co. Donegal
The graveyard at Glencolumbkille Church of Ireland sits on the most prominent spot in the valley floor, surrounded by good pasture land, and is thought to occupy the site of an ancient ecclesiastical settlement founded by St. Colmcille himself.
Cross-slab, An Tsráid, Co. Donegal
Whilst traces of a circular enclosure were reportedly visible in 1971, none can be seen today. The modern church stands just north of where an older church once stood; pulled down in 1828, this earlier building measured 52 feet by 21 feet with walls three feet thick and up to 14 feet high, and featured a vaulted, arched tower at its western end.
Just south of the present church, a modern entrance leads down into a fascinating souterrain. After descending through a subcircular shaft that narrows into a rectangular opening, visitors enter a central chamber measuring 5.6 metres east to west and 2.3 metres north to south, with partially corbelled walls topped by carefully placed slabstones. From here, doorways lead to two additional chambers; the eastern chamber stretches over six metres in length, whilst the western chamber extends for 8.7 metres and may preserve traces of the original entrance at its far end. Intriguingly, one of the roof slabs in the eastern chamber is actually a re-used cross slab, with a circular depression surrounded by a groove attached to a straight stem still visible on its surface.
The graveyard contains several remarkable carved stones that speak to centuries of Christian worship at this site. These include multiple cross slabs with various designs, from simple Latin crosses with bar terminals to more complex patterns featuring interlaced motifs, quartered circles, and even a three-pointed star surrounded by L-shapes within a circle. One particularly interesting example near the southeast corner displays a Latin bar cross inside a larger cross with an additional set of arms near its base, whilst small Latin crosses appear below the main arms. These stones, along with the souterrain and the site’s association with St. Colmcille, mark this as one of Glencolumbkille’s most significant archaeological and religious locations.





