Drumcliffe Cross

‘Beloved to my heart also in the West Drumcliffe, at Culcinne’s strand’ This line is from a poem attributed to St Columcille (or St. Columba as he is also known) the founder of the monastery at Drumcliffe. He was born in Donegal, a member of a royal family. He studied at bardic and monastic schools and after his ordination he traveled Ireland and founded several monastic settlements, including Derry, near his own birthplace Durrow and Kells.

On one of his journeys he made a hurried copy of the Book of Psalters belonging to St. Finnian of Moville. A dispute arose about the ownership of the copy and the High King of Ireland Diarmuid gave the famous judgment ‘to every cow its calf, to every book its copy’. Shortly after this event a fugitive from King Diarmuid sought sanctuary with Columcille. Diarmuid’s men pursued him and violating the law of sanctuary, killed him. Columcille responded with anger and called on his royal kinsman for support. There followed a bloody battle at Cuil-Dréinne at which the King was defeated.

Columcille was overcome with remorse. He felt that his copyright argument with the High King had provoked Diarmuid to violate the sanctuary leading to the battle. It is unclear whether he was sent into exile by a Synod or whether exile was a self-imposed penance – in any event Columcille left for Scotland where he founded more wellknown monastic settlements. Columcille made one famous return journey to Ireland to the Council of Druim Ceat in Co Meath.

He visited Clonmacnoise and on his journey up the West coast of Sligo he founded the monastic settlement of Drumcliffe not far from the scene of the fateful battle. He is said to have left the bishop’s crozier there as a sign of his love.

The magnificent cross erected there later is a tribute to the family of Columcille who were patrons of the Church for generations. The cross has fantastic animals in full relief as well as Scriptural scenes. The grave of the poet William Butler Yeats is nearby. It is marked by a stone which bears his epitaph ‘Cast a cold eye on life, on death, Horseman pass by’.