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St Colmcille was born in Garten, Co Donegal, in 521 and did his monastic studies under St Mobhi in Glasnevin. St Mobhi's monastery did not last very long, but St Colmcille was the most distinguished of St Mobhi's 'twelve apostles', students who went on to found influential monasteries elsewhere in Ireland.

While St Colmcille was a student in Glasnevin, he set out to visit St Kevin who at the time was a hermit in Glendalough. Little has been written about this, but strong local traditions testify to this pilgrimage. The Bealach Cholmcille pilgrimage begins at St Colmcille's Well, Ballycullen Road, Dublin 16. St Colmcille was said to have stopped here to drink on his way, and the water is reputed to cure eye ailments. The walk then proceeds along Old Court Road to Killakee towards Glendalough, turning towards the Sally Gap, then Luggala. From there, the walk continues on the Wicklow Way to Laragh and then to the monastic city in Glendalough. Mass will be offered in St Kevin's parish church in Glendalough.

Glendalough was one of the major pilgrimage centres in Ireland in the Middle Ages and the annual pilgrimage on the feast of St Kevin on 3 June continued until it was broken up by yeomen in 1714. The Latin Mass Society of Ireland typically runs this pilgrimage in June to mark this feast and the feast of St Colmcille on 9 June.

The walk takes the pilgrims from the outer suburbs of Dublin through the Wicklow Mountains into the impressive valley of Glendalough, passing through some of the most beautiful areas of Wicklow.

The walk is done in one day, with transport back up and water supplies for pilgrims. Pilgrims are asked to prepare for either wet or rainy weather and also to wear visible colours, as much of the early part of the walk is by road.