Glencolumbkille

Doonalt cross pillar

I had been looking out for this cross pillar on my previous two visits to Gleanncholmcille without success. But on this trip I made a much more determined effort to find the stone. We had visited Inishkeel earlier in the year and had read about St Connell and the pilgrimage that was performed between Inishkeel and Gleancholmcille. During this latest trip to Donegal my self and Deb searched for other pillar stones along the pilgrimage route including St Connell's Cross at Kilcashel. The pillar at Doonalt is said to be the most westerly of the stones associated with St Connell's Turas. The stone is 1.30 metres high and is sitting in a small leacht.

The west face, pictured below left, is decorated with an unusual cross. There is also a simple cross inscribed on the north face and a larger cross is inscribed on the east face pictured below right. Another site along the turas route is the cross inscribed boulder at Laconnell.