Watch: See St Columba’s Church in Clonmany as you’ve never seen it before

Martin McLaughlin has captured breathtaking footage of St Columba’s Church in Clonmany.

Martin was inspired to shoot this video to promote the ongoing conservation efforts, and to bring awareness to the research being done by St Columba’s Church Conservation Group, The McGlinchey Summer School, and The McGlinchey Association.

Writing on StColumbasStraid.com, Margaret Farren says that the ground the Church stands on has been sacred for centuries.

“There are many stories associated with [the Church], stories about the incorrigible Gadaí Dubh and his sheep rustling henchman, about the two brothers who end up on opposite sides of the great divide at the time of the Penal Laws,” she writes.

“For generations of locals these stories have been taken to be the stuff of folklore. Only relatively recently, as a result of research undertaken on behalf of The McGlinchey Summer School, have many of them been found to have their basis in historical fact.”

Although grants have been received by the Heritage Council and Donegal County Council (DFI) for conservation, St Columba’s Church Conservation Group say that any donation, no matter how small, will go towards conserving this site of massive historical importance. If you would like to donate, you can do so by clicking here.

To learn more about the Church’s history, folklore, and graves, visit StColumbasStraid.com.