Saint Columb's Rill is a

tributary A tributary, or an ''affluent'', is a stream or river that flows into a larger stream (''main stem'' or ''"parent"''), river, or a lake. A tributary does not flow directly into a sea or ocean. Tributaries, and the main stem river into which they ...

of the much more famous River Bush (''An Bhuais'' in Irish) in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. This '

rill In hillslope geomorphology, a rill is a shallow channel (no more than a few inches/centimeters deep) cut into soil by the erosive action of flowing surface water. Similar but smaller incised channels are known as microrills; larger incised ...

' or

rivulet A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

is really a small

stream A stream is a continuous body of water, body of surface water Current (stream), flowing within the stream bed, bed and bank (geography), banks of a channel (geography), channel. Depending on its location or certain characteristics, a strea ...

that rises in

bog A bog or bogland is a wetland that accumulates peat as a deposit of dead plant materials often mosses, typically sphagnum moss. It is one of the four main types of wetlands. Other names for bogs include mire, mosses, quagmire, and musk ...

land approximately five miles (eight kilometres) southeast of the village of Bushmills in

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

. The rill is named after the

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, Eastern Orthodoxy or Oriental Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, fa ...

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

Mills, A.D. (2003) ''Dictionary of British Place Names. ''Oxford University Press. (''Doire'' in Irish).

Saint Columba

Saint Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Gaelic Ireland, Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the ...

, who had been a distinguished pupil of Saint Finnian at Movilla Monastery in

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 552,261. It borders County Antrim to the ...

, established a

monastic Monasticism (; ), also called monachism or monkhood, is a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual activities. Monastic life plays an important role in many Christian churches, especially ...

settlement in

in 546 AD. In 2013, the city became the European City of Culture and featured a major Saint Columba photographic exhibition, illustrating his on-going impact around the world. Saint Columba was one of the twelve 'Apostles of Ireland' who sailed across the

Irish Sea The Irish Sea is a body of water that separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is linked to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel and to the Inner Seas off the West Coast of Scotland in the north by the North Ch ...

(Muir Éireann in Irish) in 563 AD to begin missionary work in what is now

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. Throughout his life, Saint Columba was particularly interested in and connected with the water sources around him.

Iona

The '

Apostles An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to se ...

' sailed to the small island of

Iona Iona (; , sometimes simply ''Ì'') is an island in the Inner Hebrides, off the Ross of Mull on the western coast of Scotland. It is mainly known for Iona Abbey, though there are other buildings on the island. Iona Abbey was a centre of Gaeli ...

where their landing place became known as St. Columba's bay. Through the mission of Saint Columba, Iona became known as the 'Cradle of Christianity' in Scotland and its historic connection with Ireland was highlighted in a keynote speech by the Irish President

Michael D. Higgins Michael Daniel Higgins (; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, broadcaster, and sociologist who has been serving as the president of Ireland since 2011. Entering national politics through the Labour Party, he served as a senator ...

when he visited the island on 1 August 2013 to commemorate the 1450th Anniversary of St Columba's arrival. Saint Columba concerned himself with the physical wellbeing of the local people, identifying and recommending suitable sources of water for them to drink. He used these sources of water for therapeutic purposes and it is known that he provided a health advisory service for all of the inhabitants of the island.

Limestone & Basalt

The water forming Saint Columb's Rill, rises through

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

(sedimentary rock) before passing through

basalt Basalt (; ) is an aphanite, aphanitic (fine-grained) extrusive igneous rock formed from the rapid cooling of low-viscosity lava rich in magnesium and iron (mafic lava) exposed at or very near the planetary surface, surface of a terrestrial ...

(igneous rock) on its way to the surface. The water acquires small quantities of the minerals

calcium Calcium is a chemical element; it has symbol Ca and atomic number 20. As an alkaline earth metal, calcium is a reactive metal that forms a dark oxide-nitride layer when exposed to air. Its physical and chemical properties are most similar to it ...

and

magnesium Magnesium is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Mg and atomic number 12. It is a shiny gray metal having a low density, low melting point and high chemical reactivity. Like the other alkaline earth metals (group 2 ...

and this makes the water slightly hard (alkaline). The rock structure is typical of the geology of County Antrim that was formed by volcanic activity throughout the region in a bygone age. This can be verified by travelling less than thirty miles (fifty kilometres) to the south east. Here, the landscape is dominated by Slemish Mountain which is situated just outside the village of Broughshane (Bruach Sheáin in Irish and pronounced bru-SHAYN). Slemish Mountain has a height of approximately 1500 feet (437 metres) and is actually the dormant plug of an extinct volcano . Today, Slemish Mountain is more famous for being the home of

Saint Patrick Saint Patrick (; or ; ) was a fifth-century Romano-British culture, Romano-British Christian missionary and Archbishop of Armagh, bishop in Gaelic Ireland, Ireland. Known as the "Apostle of Ireland", he is the primary patron saint of Irelan ...

after he was taken to Ireland as a slave and tasked with tending sheep and pigs around 405 AD.

Impact of Peatlands

As Saint Columb's Rill moves northeast, it flows across acidic

Sphagnum ''Sphagnum'' is a genus of approximately 380 accepted species of mosses, commonly known as sphagnum moss, also bog moss and quacker moss (although that term is also sometimes used for peat). Accumulations of ''Sphagnum'' can store water, since ...

peatlands A peatland is a type of wetland whose soils consist of Soil organic matter, organic matter from decaying plants, forming layers of peat. Peatlands arise because of incomplete decomposition of organic matter, usually litter from vegetation, du ...

towards the village of Bushmills. In addition to acidity,

histosol In both the World Reference Base for Soil Resources (WRB) and the USDA soil taxonomy, a Histosol is a soil consisting primarily of organic materials. They are defined as having or more of organic soil material starting within 40 cm from the so ...

soils like peat give the water its brown colour and distinctive flavour and this has made Saint Columb's Rill highly prized for

brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

and

distilling Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

. It is essential that the quality of this Rill is monitored to ensure that it remains unpolluted and this role is carried out by the

Northern Ireland Environment Agency The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is an executive agency within the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA). It is responsible for conservation of Northern Ireland's environment and natural heritage. Ori ...

. In 2012 a polluting discharge was stopped after being discovered by a Water Quality Inspector and the person responsible faced court action. After harvesting,

peat Peat is an accumulation of partially Decomposition, decayed vegetation or organic matter. It is unique to natural areas called peatlands, bogs, mires, Moorland, moors, or muskegs. ''Sphagnum'' moss, also called peat moss, is one of the most ...

is known as turf and by the late eighteenth century it was the main

fuel A fuel is any material that can be made to react with other substances so that it releases energy as thermal energy or to be used for work (physics), work. The concept was originally applied solely to those materials capable of releasing chem ...

in Ireland. The lure of special Saint Columb's Rill water combined with an abundant supply of local peat for fuel, resulted in five licensed distilleries being situated in the vicinity of Bushmills. In 2013, just one remains and it stills draws all of its process water from Saint Columb's Rill but it has shifted its energy dependence from turf to natural gas.

Saint Columb's Rill Reservoir

Bushmills Distillery lies directly in the path of Saint Columb's Rill and as the fast moving water approaches, some of it is diverted to form a private

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

. The capacity of this reservoir is in excess of 10,000 cubic metres (2.2 million gallons) and this will classify it as a "controlled reservoir" under the new Reservoirs Bill for Northern Ireland which is being introduced by the

Northern Ireland Assembly The Northern Ireland Assembly (; ), often referred to by the metonym ''Stormont'', is the devolved unicameral legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliam ...

in 2014. The remainder of Saint Columb's Rill rushes underneath the Distillery and continues on its journey to join with the River Bush in the village of Bushmills. From there the river discharges into the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

at Portballintrae, the nearest coastal village to the exposed

polygonal In geometry, a polygon () is a plane (mathematics), plane Shape, figure made up of line segments connected to form a closed polygonal chain. The segments of a closed polygonal chain are called its ''edge (geometry), edges'' or ''sides''. The p ...

columns of the

Giant's Causeway The Giant's Causeway () is an area of approximately 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcano, volcanic fissure eruption, part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province active in the region during the Paleogene period. ...

which is a

World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

Hard Water becomes Soft Water

Saint Columb's Rill supplies all of the process water required by Bushmills Distillery. Mashing is the first process and this requires the water to be heated and mixed with the malted

barley Barley (), a member of the grass family, is a major cereal grain grown in temperate climates globally. It was one of the first cultivated grains; it was domesticated in the Fertile Crescent around 9000 BC, giving it nonshattering spikele ...

grist Grist is grain that has been separated from its chaff in preparation for grinding. It can also mean grain that has been ground at a gristmill. Its etymology derives from the verb ''grind.'' Grist can be ground into meal or flour, depending on h ...

. Through heating, the water loses its temporary hardness (alkalinity) and becomes soft (acidic). This is because the hydrogen carbonate ions (HCO3–) decompose to form carbonate ions (CO32–) that react with the dissolved calcium to form precipitates of calcium carbonate. In the production of

Jim Beam Jim Beam is an American brand of bourbon whiskey produced primarily at James B. Beam Distilling Co. in Clermont, Kentucky by Suntory Global Spirits. It is one of the best-selling brands of bourbon in the world. Since 1795 (interrupted by Prohi ...

Bourbon, the 'Sour Mash' process is used to add acidity and this process is a requirement for Tennessee Whiskeys such as Jack Daniels but this technique is not required at Bushmills. All of the whiskeys released by the Old Bushmills Distillery contain Saint Columb's Rill water and this water of life (uisce beatha in Irish) is distributed throughout the world by its parent company

Jose Cuervo Jose Cuervo is a Mexican brand of tequila manufactured by Proximo Spirits. As of 2012, it was the best-selling tequila brand in the world,Dana Cimilluca, Paul Sonne and Simon Zekaria“Diageo Ends Its Attempt to Buy Jose Cuervo Tequila,”''Wall ...

. Bushmills Whiskey sold 9.6 million bottles in 2012–2013. Bushmills were owned by

Diageo Diageo plc ( ) is a British Multinational corporation, multinational alcoholic beverage company, with its headquarters in London, England. It is a major distributor of Scotch whisky and other spirits and operates from 132 sites around the world ...

until 2015 when they were bought by Jose Cuervo.

Saint Columb's Rill Relaxation Room

The Bushmills Inn is a four star hotel located in the heart of Bushmills Village. In 2013 it opened the Saint Columb's Rill Relaxation Room to provide guests with a range of treatments and

homeopathic Homeopathy or homoeopathy is a pseudoscientific system of alternative medicine. It was conceived in 1796 by the German physician Samuel Hahnemann. Its practitioners, called homeopaths or homeopathic physicians, believe that a substance tha ...

procedures. Guests can specify the use of water drawn from Saint Columb's Rill for some of these treatments which are aimed at providing spiritual and physical healing. This is in keeping with the practise of Saint Columba more than 1,400 years ago when he concerned himself with the spiritual and physical wellbeing of everyone he ministered to.

References

{{authority control Rivers of County Antrim