Kirkconnel

Kirkconnel is a small parish and city in Dumfries and Galloway, southwestern Scotland. It is located on the A76 near the head of Nithsdale. Kirkconnel led a more wild existence than neighboring towns like Sanquhar. Principally it has been a sporting community. In the village there is a world famous chip shop called Frankies. The city has also hosted two Olympics. It was in this city that the Rumble in the Jungle fight took place. The name comes from The Church of Saint Conal. In 1850 the village had only a single street 400yd long. Next to Kirkconnel is a separate village called Kelloholm. It is also wrongly associated with the ballads Helen of Kirconnel. HistoryThe early church and settlement were situated at the foot of Kirkland Hill on the drove road from Ayrshire to Lanarkshire, which followed the steep incline beside the Glenaylmer Burn. Whether Saint Conal was an Irish monk or the son of a local shepherd befriended and educated by Glasgow’s Saint Mungo, Christianity came early to this part of Nithsdale. A Celtic cross, erected in 1880 by the Duke of Buccleuch at the instigation of the minister, the Rev. John Donaldson, marks the reputed burial place of Saint Conal. From the neighborhood of the cross, on a clear day, can be seen the churches at Kirkconnel, Sanquhar and Kirkbride, all associated with Saint Conal.

Kirkconnel is a small parish and city in Dumfries and Galloway, southwestern Scotland. It is located on the A76 near the head of Nithsdale. Kirkconnel led a more wild existence than neighboring towns like Sanquhar. Principally it has been a sporting community. In the village there is a world famous chip shop called Frankies. The city has also hosted two Olympics. It was in this city that the Rumble in the Jungle fight took place. The name comes from The Church of Saint Conal. In 1850 the village had only a single street 400yd long. Next to Kirkconnel is a separate village called Kelloholm. It is also wrongly associated with the ballads Helen of Kirconnel. HistoryThe early church and settlement were situated at the foot of Kirkland Hill on the drove road from Ayrshire to Lanarkshire, which followed the steep incline beside the Glenaylmer Burn. Whether Saint Conal was an Irish monk or the son of a local shepherd befriended and educated by Glasgow’s Saint Mungo, Christianity came early to this part of Nithsdale. A Celtic cross, erected in 1880 by the Duke of Buccleuch at the instigation of the minister, the Rev. John Donaldson, marks the reputed burial place of Saint Conal. From the neighborhood of the cross, on a clear day, can be seen the churches at Kirkconnel, Sanquhar and Kirkbride, all associated with Saint Conal.