Rural No. 3 | Grain Bins
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Donegal gave its name to County Donegal, although Lifford is now the county town. Until the early 17th century, Donegal was the ‘capital’ of Tír Chonaill, a Gaelic kingdom controlled by the O’Donnell Clan of the Cenél Conaill. Donegal sits at the mouth of the River Eske and Donegal Bay, which is overshadowed by the Bluestack Mountains (‘the Croaghs’). The centre of the town, known as The Diamond, is a hub for music, poetic and cultural gatherings in the area.
Donegal Town itself is famous for being the former centre of government of the O’Donnell Clan, the great Gaelic royal family who ruled Tír Chonaill in west Ulster for centuries and who played a pivotal rôle in Irish history. Their original homeland lay further to the north in the area of Kilmacrenan. From the 15th to the 17th century, they were an important part of the opposition to the colonisation of Ireland by England. The town itself contains Donegal Castle, on the banks of the River Eske, and the remains of Donegal Abbey a Franciscan abbey which dates back to the 15th century on the Southern shore of the Bay. – wikipedia
Donegal Town is a quaint coastal town in the Northern part of the Republic of Ireland – population 2600 (2011). We ended our 3rd day in Ireland here and began our 4th. We stayed at Ardlenagh View B&B a short distance from town South on R267. A nice cozy and comfortable B&B. We met a couple from Montana while eating breakfast. They had a bit of trouble the day before. While on their way back to the B&B the night before they hit a large rock on the side of the road and bent the wheel on their rental car. Post breakfast activity – head to Donegal Town and seek repairs. That would be no fun; thankfully we didn’t have any issue like that. Our post breakfast activities consisted of touring Donegal Castle and walking around the town visiting many shops. Being dachshund fans, we were delighted to encounter a shop with wiener dog items. We are always on the look-out when we travel for something unique. Cyndie now has a wiener dog wallet.
Donegal Castle is situated in the centre of Donegal town, County Donegal in the northwest of Ireland. For most of the last two centuries, the majority of the buildings lay in ruins but the castle was almost fully restored in the late 1990s.
The castle consists of a 15th-century rectangular keep with a later Jacobean style wing. The complex is sited on a bend in the River Eske, near the mouth of Donegal Bay, and is surrounded by a 17th-century boundary wall. There is a small gatehouse at its entrance mirroring the design of the keep. Most of the stonework was constructed from locally sourced limestone with some sandstone. The castle was the stronghold of the O’Donnell clan, Lords of Tír Conaill and one of the most powerful Gaelic families in Ireland from the 5th to the 16th centuries.
Old Castle Bar & Red Hugh’s Restaurant was a fine choice for dinner. Their fish and chips was some of the best I had over our twelve day trip.
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Rural No. 2 | Still Art
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We discovered a fair amount of Northern Ireland. Two and a half days was just not enough time to see all the sites. The map below pinpoints most of the areas we visited. In case you missed any of the Northern Ireland posts, you can click on the each link below to view each blog posts in the series. You can also select the Destination/Travel link in the above menu and explore Norther Ireland or Republic of Ireland from there as well.
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Rural No. 1 | Me + God
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Farm Gators
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This site is what attracted us to Gweedore in County Donegal. A ruined gem, Dunlewey Church, in the middle of the desolate landscape not far from Glenveagh National Park.
Nestled at the foot of Errigal (the hightest mountain in County Donegal) and overlooking the beautiful Poisoned Glen sits the beautiful ‘Old Church of Dunlewey’.
“Jane Smith Russell had the church built as a memorial to her husband, James Russell, landlord of the Dunlewey Estate, who died on 2nd September 1848. James Russell was laid to rest in a vault under the church floor. The church was consecrated on 1st September 1853 as a Chapel of Ease to Tullaghabegley. Tullaghabegley was the parish consisting of the present day Gweedore and Cloughaneely parishes.
The church is built of white marble and blue quartzite which was quarried locally. The supply of marble in the nearby quarry has now been depleted. The red brick in the arches of the windows was produced locally. Remenants of the brickfield are still visible near Oilean Ghrainne when the level of the lake is lowered.
A two storey rectory was built in the nearby Glebe. This field, part of the Dunlewey Estate, is now forested. James Henry Bor was the only full time rector to reside in the rectory. He was nominated by Jane Russell on the 6th of September 1856 and later was installed as rector of Raymunterdoney in 1872. The church is at present under the curacy of the combined parish of Gweedore, Templecrone and Carrickfinn.
Buried in a large communal grave is Dr. Frazer Brady (died March 1877), his wife Fanny, who was a daughter of James and Jane Russell (died December 1900) and four of their ten children: Jane Russell died February 1851 aged 3 months; Mary died April 1860 aged 3 months; Valentine Pole Griffiths died April 1868 aged 4 years; and Hugh Woodhams died January 1876 aged 19 years.
Also interred in the surrounding graveyard is Richard Lewis Crankshaw, owner of Dunlewey Estate, who died 29th November 1929. His wife Nellie who died in 1946 is buried in the graveyard of the local R.C. chapel. Her grave faces this church and her husbands grave.
With the decline of the Dunlewey Estate the potential congregation diminished and the church was not in regular use. The expense of the upkeep and the passage of time added to the deterioration of the church. In 1955 the roof was removed as a safety measure. It’s furniture and fittings were distributed to other churches within the diocese of Derry and Raphoe. The bell is now installed in Cashel Church of Ireland near Doe Castle.
In 1987 the local community restored the floor. In 2005, half a century after the unroofing, with grant aid for the Programme for Peace and Reconciliation work was undertaken to ensure that this beautiful and historic landmark was preserved for future generations. In co-operation with Udaras na Gaeltachta and Fas the surrounding wall was subject to repair and conservation work. Considerable funds were raised through the generosity of the local community in the form of sponsored walks.”
http://www.welovedonegal.com/old-church-dunlewey-poisoned-glen.html
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Sunrays
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After wrapping up our day 3 itinerary in Northern Ireland we moved on to destinations in the Republic of Ireland in the Northwest. Our first stop in County Donegal was Glenveagh Castle in Glenveagh National Park. As you can see from the photos below, the landscape was very drab, desolate and mostly brown. It was still very beautiful; I image the Summer brings more color.
Glenveagh (from Irish Gleann Bheatha, meaning “glen of the birches”) is the second largest national park in Ireland. The park covers 170 square kilometres of hillside above Glenveagh Castle on the shore of Lough Veagh (Loch Ghleann Bheatha), 20 km from Gweedore in County Donegal.
The park is home to the largest herd of red deer in Ireland and the formerly extinct golden eagle were reintroduced into the park in 2000.
The site occupied by the Castle and Gardens was wild mountain moorland. In 1869 the first part of the Castle was constructed. However it was not until the mid 1880’s that the Gardens were started. The two major elements of the Garden, the Pleasure Gardens and the Walled Garden were constructed in the late 1880’s. The original Victorian Garden layout remains intact. It was for Mrs. Cornelia Adair that the gardens were constructed. Mrs. Adair employed a Kew trained gardener to lay out the gardens. Some of the planting in the Pleasure Grounds such as the purple maples and the Scots pine trees were planted at this time. – wikipedia
Glenveagh Castle
Glenveagh Castle and Gardens is very nice place – an oasis seemingly in the middle of nowhere. We finally met a good number of people out seeing the sites. It still wasn’t crowded at all. It was amazing to see different varieties of flora here. If your travels takes you in this direction plan of spending a few hours here. There are several walking paths to explore in addition to the gardens. There is a shuttle from the main parking area to the castle – we elected to take advantage of that as it looked as though it could downpour at any moment.
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