Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 day ago

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St. Colmcille and his Donkey

Here’s a story I recorded on my phone with Francie Cullen from Downings in Donegal about St. Colmcille and his donkey back in early July 2021. I was up in Donegal on a flying visit with the children and he took me on a tour of some sites up there. This is a great little story as he is showing me the spots where folklore tells us that St. Colmcille stopped with his donkey enroute to build his church. Great little story and you could say that St. Colmcille certainly knew a good location when he saw one!

However, you could also say that "so did the people 2000+ years before him" as where I was standing in the graveyard, there were some Neolithic cup-marked stones a few feet away from me. A very special place for a very long time. Thanks Francie.

Text: Michael Fortune