What is recorded here

St. Columkill's tree, which allegedly leapt miraculously, stood beside the road east of the nunnery in County Galway. Archdall recorded the living legend in the late 18th century, proving the story still flowed through local memory long after the events that sparked it. The tree has vanished without a trace, leaving only the graveyard boundary and a ghost of motion in the earth.

Writing in the late 18th C, Archdall noted the existence of 'St. Columkill's tree, the legend of the miraculous jump of which is still told' (as quoted in Cochrane 1901, 320). He placed it 'to the east [of the 'Nunnery' (GA069-001005-)], and adjoining the road'. This would place it somewhere in the vicinity of E (roadside) boundary of the modern graveyard; not located. The above description is derived from the published 'Archaeological Inventory of County Galway Vol. II - North Galway'. Compiled by Olive Alcock, Kathy de hÓra and Paul Gosling (Dublin: Stationery Office, 1999). Date of upload: 05 August 2010

The site is associated with St. Columkill (Columba), a 6th-century Irish saint, and a local legend recounts a miraculous leap linked to the tree. The tradition reflects early Christian hagiography blended with pre-Christian sacred grove practices common in Gaelic Ireland.

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