Built in 1809, St. Columba’s Church stands on the site of the monastery founded in 575CE reputedly by St. Colmcille (Columba) in atonement for the Battle of the Books which occurred nearby at Cooldrumman (Cúl Dreimhne) in 560CE. Few traces remain of the monastery, which existed until the end of the 16th century, except for a high cross, the shaft and remnants of other crosses, and the stumped remains of a round tower.
Replacing an earlier structure, the present Church of Ireland church was built with Board of First Fruits funding. Much of the stone used in the building was taken from the local area including remnants of the original monastery (restoration works in 1999 discovered two high cross pieces incorporated into the interior walls of the church).
The church, which continues to serve the Church of Ireland Parish of Drumcliffe, is generally open to the public. The great-grandfather of the poet William Butler Yeats was rector of the church during the early 19th Century.
Unusual features of the building include fireplaces, monuments and memorials, and a full height mural on the East wall. Incorporated in the interior walls of the church porch (tower) are two graveslabs dating to c.1700, which were previously at Ahamlish Church of Ireland church in Grange. One of these is dedicated to Thomas Soden of Grange who died aged 109. This may be the same Thomas Soden of Grange appointed High Sheriff of Sligo in 1674.
The surrounding graveyard includes graveslabs, headstones, box tombs, and table tombs dating mostly to the 19th and 20th centuries. Older examples found at Drumcliffe include an Early Medieval Cross-slab incised with a cross within a circle.
The churchyard also contains the grave of the poet, who was re-interred there in 1948, almost a decade after his death in France in 1939, in accordance with his last wishes.
