There are a number of religious sites around Termon, including
holy wells,
Mass rocks and other places of worship. Several of these sites are significant to members of the local
Roman Catholic community.
St. Columba's Chapel The local Catholic church, which is dedicated to
St. Columba, is one of two churches in the
Catholic parish of Gartan and Termon within the
Diocese of Raphoe. St. Columba's Church was built .
Holy wells Doon Well () was established by Lector O'Friel sometime around the 1670s. Doon Well's origins are pre-Christian and a number of
Bronze Age artefacts were found near the well. A 'tóchar' (ancient wooden road) also runs underneath the bog adjacent to Doon Rock. The water from the well was historically used in the inauguration ceremony of the O'Donnells.
Stations and
rosary are still 'walked' from St. Columba's chapel to Doon Well on
Hogmanay (New Year's Eve) and May eve. Ethne's Well (), in the Barnes Lower townland, is named after Columba's mother Ethne. This holy well had stations performed on 9 June for nine nights.
Mass rocks There thought to be several
Mass rocks in the area. Used to secretly celebrate
Mass during the time of the
penal laws, there are reputed mass rock sites in the townlands of townland of Fawans and Terhillion (or Tirkillin). A nearby cliff is also called
Binn an tSagairt or "hill of the priest".
Rock of Doon Doon Rock ( in height) is approximately south of Termon and west of Kilmacrenan. It is the site where 25
O'Donnells were inaugurated as
Chief of the Name and
Lord of
Tír Chonaill from Eighneachan in 1200 to
Niall Garbh Ó Domhnaill in 1603. Timothy T. O'Donnell, writing in 2001, describes how
Red Hugh O'Donnell was inaugurated on 3 May 1592. O'Donnell states that: :"The inauguration of the O'Donnell as King of Tyrconnell was both civil and religious in nature. The ceremony took place on the great Rock of Doon which is one mile west of
Kilmacrenan, from which one is give a breathtaking view of the surrounding country. It began with the religious rites in the church of the nearby monastery and
holy well singing Psalms and hymns in honor of Christ and St.
Columba for the success of the Prince's sovereignty. Standing on the Rock surrounded by nobles and his clansmen, the Prince received an oath in which he promised to preserve the Church and the
laws of the land. The Prince also vowed to deliver the succession of the realm peacefully to his
Tanist (his successor).
O'Ferghil, the
hereditary warden and abbot of Kilmacrenan, performed the religious ceremony of the inauguration of The O'Donnell." Then, in honour of the
Holy Trinity, Hugh may have surveyed his clan lands as he walked three times
sunwise around the peak of Rock of Doon, after which the members of the other
Irish clans present acclaimed him as "O'Donnell". ==Sport==