Welcome to Galloon

Today, the church ruins remain alongside the graveyard, cross shafts, carved stones and a holy well. St. Tierney (Tighearneach) established the monastery at Galloon, before moving to the monastery at Clones, leaving St. Colman (Comgall), in charge at Galloon.

St. Tierney chose this beautiful island of Galloon as a remote “desert” to seek contact with God. There is a number of legends associated with saint; he raised people from the dead, saved men from drowning and his prayers brought children to a childless Chieftain and his wife.

When Ann Hamlin visited the site in1966 the ‘church was still traceable but very overgrown.’ There is now no trace except for a faint hollow lying east-west in the western area of the graveyard.

Galloon is home to two hugely significant, if damaged, cross shafts, dating to the 9th or 10th century. The high crosses depict scripture and traditions of the church.

The location of the holy well is now unknown. Canon McKenna noted that the well was said to be linked by an underground stream to a well at Drummully; a letter dropped in one well would soon appear in the other. The water from the well is said to turn hair grey.

“There is a well at Galloon, into which, if one should dip his hand, he would become instantly grey.”

Nature note: Lapwing
“A little bird told me”
The Lapwing is also called the ‘Peewit’ after its distinctive call. It is a striking wading bird of farmland and wetland habitats. It has an important symbolism in many cultures and faiths. Within the Christian tradition it is a totem for faithfulness, freedom, enlightenment, and protection. The expression “A little bird told me” is attributed to the lapwing, while the collective term for a group of lapwings is a “deceit.” The islands on Lower Lough Erne are important havens for wildlife including Lapwings, Curlews and Snipe.