A short distance away from Drumcliffe churchyard, in the village of Rathcormac, is the Roman Catholic Parish of Drumcliffe’s St. Columcille’s Church. Originally built in 1833 and renovated in 1963 with the addition of its distinctive bell tower.
Previously, there was also a Methodist Chapel at Drum (now a private residence, and protected structure), and a Presbyterian chapel (now a ruin) in Cloonderry.
Drumcliffe is best known as the location of a monastery founded by St Columba, or Colmcille(meaning ‘dove of the church) in or about 575AD. It was built close to Culdreimhne (Cooldrumman), just north of Drumcliffe on the slopes of Benbulben, where the ‘Battle of the Books’ was fought.The Battle of the Books by Annie West, North Sligo’s Illustrator in Residence This…
The monastery at Drumcliffe was in existence for almost a thousand years, from 575CE until the end of the 16th century. For most of this time, up until its dissolution, Drumcliffe was a Columban monastery. Plundered repeatedly He appointed St Thorian (Mothorain) to be the first abbot (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 34). The annals make…
Located a short distance to the north of Drumcliffe, at the base of Benbulben in Cúl Dreimhne (Cooldrumman) townlands, is the reputed site of the Battle of Cúl Dreimhne (Cooldrumman), more popularly referred to as the “Battle of the Books”. Recorded as having taken place in or about 560CE, the battle between the northern and southern…
In 2008, Archaeologist Faith Bailey identified four possible boulder burial stones were identified on a north-facing slope in Kintogher townland, at the far end of the Branley’s Yard Nature Trail. Possibly dating to the middle to late Bronze Age, boulder burials consist of megalithic size stones set on top of three or four smaller supporting…
The stumped remains of an 11th century round tower, rising to a height of only nine metres, stands to the west of Drumcliffe Church, and the High Cross. The only example of a round tower to be found in Sligo, Drumcliffe Round Tower was originally a much taller structure, possibly up to 30 metres in…
A fearsat, ford or strand pass, is a manmade route across a body of water easily passable at low tide. These causeways, also referred to as toghers, were constructed by overlaying branches, bushes, stones, seaweed, and wood to create a raised causeway, or togher. these were in use from ancient times up to the 19th/early 20th…
