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As the road approaches GLENCOLMCILLE (the Glen of St Columbcille), it traverses desolate moorland that's dominated by oily-black turf banks amidst patches of heather and grass, where not even sheep seem able to subsist. After this, the rich beauty of the Glen, as it's invariably known, comes as a welcome surprise. Settlement in the area dates back to the Stone Age, as testified by the enormous number of megalithic remains scattered around the countryside, especially court cairns and standing stones. There's evidence too of the Celtic era, in the form of earthworks and stoneworks. Traditionally, St Columba founded a monastery here in the sixth century and some of the standing stones, known as the Turas Cholmcille , were adapted for Christian usage by the inscription of a cross. Every Columba's Day (June 9) at midnight, the locals commence a barefoot circuit of the fifteen Turas , including Columba's Chapel, chair, bed, wishing stone and Holy Well, finishing up with mass at 3am in the village church. (Columba and Columbcille/Colmcille are the same person - the latter is the name by which he was known after his conversion, and means "the dove of the church"). In more recent times, widespread emigration left the Glencolmcille area a typical example of rural decay. In 1951, however, a new and energetic curate, Father James McDyer, was appointed and instigated immediate efforts to revitalize the community, while retaining and strengthening its culture. Electricity arrived in the village and road improvements reduced its isolation and allowed new collective enterprises in knitting and agriculture to thrive, simultaneously increasing the area's accessibility to tourism. Thankfully, these developments have not lessened the village's innate attraction. The buildings in Cashel, the village centre, are painted in radiant colours - the village church is lavender, there's a whitewashed semi-detached estate for the newly married, one old pub is a canary yellow and another a Mediterranean sky-blue. One of McDyer's major initiatives stands in Doonalt down by the beach - the Folk Village Museum and Heritage Centre (Easter-Oct Mon-Sat 10am-6pm, Sun noon-6pm; GBP1.50/?1.90; hourly tours), a clustered clachan of replica thatched cottages, each equipped with the particular furniture and artefacts of the era it represents. A new reception building introduces you to the area's history and cultural heritage, including a reputed visit by Charles Stuart ("Bonnie Prince Charlie"). There's free access to the National School replica, which has a display of informative photographs and research projects, and a section on the American painter Rockwell Kent, who painted marvellous treatments of the area's landscapes. At Sheebeen house, you can try a taster of seaweed wine and other concoctions such as honey, fuchsia and elderberry (most much better than they sound) and then buy a bottle. There's also a tea house and craft shop. On the way down the main street to the Folk Village is Foras Cultuir Uladh , the Ulster Cultural Centre. The centre hosts Tapeis Gael, a group of local artists with an innovative approach to tapestry design, and the many courses run by Oideas Gael (tel 073/30248, oideas-gael.com ), including Irish language, painting, bodhran playing, dancing, flute and whistle playing, archeology and hill-walking. From behind the hostel , cliff walks steer off around the south side of the bay above a series of jagged drops. Rising from the opposite side of the valley mouth, the promontory of Glen Head is surmounted by a Martello tower. On the way out you pass the ruins of St Columbcille's Church , with its "resting slab" where St Columba would have lain down exhausted from prayer. North across this headland you can climb and descend again to the forgotten little cove of Port a few miles away, a village deserted since the 1940s. Absolutely nothing happens here - although Dylan Thomas once stayed in the next valley at Glenlough, renting a cottage for several weeks in a doomed attempt to "dry out" in an area replete in poteen stills.
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