4 July 2014
Fionnuala (2) still is having trouble sleeping. Each night she has coughed herself awake. So, most nights Sarah has ended up spending much of the night with her. By the time we were all awake, fed and ready it was again 10 AM. It was pouring rain today, so we decided to head to the Folk Village in Gleann Cholm Cille. This Folk Village was the brainchild of Father McDyer. McDyer arrived in December 1951 to a shrinking, dying, poor parish. Through his leadership and connections he led the creation of many jobs and got electricity brought to the rural parish. The Folk Village takes you through life in a village from the 1700s through the 1900s and includes information about Father McDyer and his role in the community.
It was a good choice! The guided tours begin at 11, so we did a self guided tour which allowed the kids to roam around at their own speed. Adult admission was €4.50 each and the children (under 7) were free.
The children test out the phone system
Liam (5) particularly enjoyed it. His two favorite houses were the school house (I played teacher and the children played student) and the house with the film because there was an old telephone system that the children enjoyed playing with. In all of the houses except for those two buildings, the items were very old so there is no touching allowed. Everything is posted bilingually (even a couple that were only in Irish) and Liam loved reading the signs in Irish. The woman in the shop happily spoke Irish to me and bid us all farewell in Irish as we departed.
Splashing in the puddles at the Folk Village
We made a brief stop in the Tea Room for some tea and a chocolate bar for the kids and then headed back to the house to meet our friends,Eilís and Peter. We visited for about an hour, by then it was clear and sunny outside so we decided to conquer St. Colmcille's Chapel and Well again.
Turas 4: Mullach na Croise
We parked in the same place as yesterday and easily walked over to St. Colmcille's Chapel (we weren't sure if we were in the right spot yesterday, but Sarah spotted it from up the mountain). To reach the Chapel you have to pass through some gates in someone's field. Turas 4,and 5 are together. Turas 4 is known as Mullach na Croise (Hieght of the Cross). This station has a cross pillar with a plain Latin cross on a cairn.
The Latin Cross carved on the cross pillar at Turas 4
Séipéal Cholmcille
Turas 5 is Colmcille's Chapel (Séipéal Cholmcille). The site consists of the Oratory or Chapel and three cross pillars on top of cairns, and a large slab of stone on the ridge overlooking the valley. The Chapel is where Colmcille is said to have prayed and spent time copying illuminated manuscripts.
As you enter the chapel there is a slab of stone in the corner to your right hand side, this is Leaba Cholmcille (St. Colmcille's Bed). In the picture below you can see an alcove with some stones in it above the Bed. Pilgrims pass one of the stones around their waist three times and then lie on the bed and turn over three times. The stones are said to cure eye disease and migraines!
Leaba Cholmcille
Liam passing the stones around his waist
The kids loved laying in Leaba Colmcille and passing the stones around their waists. Tradition holds that this was the site of the church that Colmcille founded in 561. The current building is probably from a few hundred years later and most of the crosses at the stations date from the 600s or 700s.
As you leave the chapel if you continue straight you will see a flat stone that overlooks the valley. This is called Leac na mBoon or Leac na hAthchuinge (Flagstone of Request). It is here that pilgrims declare their focus for the pilgrimage.
Liam sa Leaba Cholmcille
The sign to the well
After the Chapel we headed to the Well. The well is off to the right of the track that leads to the Martello Tower on the Glen Head. The walk to the well is long for children and Sarah did not make it with Fionnuala. We all made it to Colmcille's Chair (Station 6) though which is on the path to the Holy Well. This is said to be where Colmcille sat and rested as he looked down on the valley. The sign is missing for this station.
Station 6: Colmcille's Chair
Liam and I made it all the way, but the path is small and uneven (and on the side of the mountain). He did really well even though it was a tough walk. Liam really enjoyed the well! We left behind our three stones, took a sip from the well and said a prayer. The views from the well are spectacular, but it was hard to take it all in because I was worried about Liam falling.
St. Colmcille's Well
Icon of Colmcille (the paint has worn off)
Cross carved in stone slab next to Well
Cross on top of Colmcille's Well (likely from the 7th or 8th Century)
Colmcille's Chapel as seen from his chair (Turas 6)
Colmcille's Chapel and Turas 4 as seen from his chair
All in all, I would do it again with a 5 year old but Fionnuala is too small to walk this on her own (it's too dangerous) and the walk is too difficult to carry her (it would be too easy to lose your balance). This took much longer than we expected (an hour for both sights), so by the time we were finished we were late for meeting another friend.
We picked up our friend and took the kids to the shop at Oideas Gael to pick out some books and DVDs. By the time we finished it was time to return to the house and eat. After dinner, Sarah offered to put the kids down so Éamonn (our guest) and I could go into The Rusty for a pint. There is a new owner at The Rusty who is English and he was behind the bar, so we did not attempt any Irish with him. We spent a while visiting at the house afterwards and then it was off to bed.
Gaeilge Experience: The Folk Village in Glen was full of Irish and the woman there was happy to speak it. She even initiated our second interaction as Gaeilge. We also were able to converse with our house guest who is a native speaker. The shop in Oideas Gael was all Irish. Liam spoke to the woman in Oideas Gael with no trouble and was able to use his Irish with Éamonn as well. This was the best day for Irish so far and something that we certainly couldn't have duplicated outside of Ireland.
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