Places of Interest to Visit in the Area During Your Stay At
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PLACES OF INTEREST TO VISIT IN THE AREA DURING YOUR STAY AT Réamhrá Ba mhaith liomsa, thar cheann na foirne go léir anseo in Óstán Loch Altan, fáilte mhór mhaith a chur romhat go ceantar Ghort a’ Choirce. Ta súil agam go mbainfidh tú sult agus sásamh, taitneamh agus tairbhe as do chuairt anseo agus go mbeidh deis agat cuairt a thabhairt ar chuid de na háiteanna atá luaite san fhillteán seo. Is féidir siúl chuig cuid acu agus tá cuid eile acu atá níos faide ná sin ón óstán. Tabhair faoi deara go bhfuil treoracha tugtha ag deireadh gach píosa a thugann tuairim mhaith duit ar cá fhad a thógann sé teacht ar na háiteanna faoi leith. Tá léarscáil den cheantar le fáil, chomh maith, ag tosach an fhillteáin seo a bheas mar chuidiú duit nuair a bheidh tú ag pleanáil do chuairteanna. Má tá tuilleadh cuidithe uait, ná bíodh leisc ort ceist a chur orainn agus déanfaimid ár ndícheall tú a chur ar an bhealach cheart. Go n-éirí do bhóthar leat. Introduction On behalf of all the staff here in Óstán Loch Altan, it gives me great pleasure to welcome you to the hotel here in the village of Gortahork. I hope you enjoy your stay with us and that you will get an opportunity to visit some of the places described in this folder. Some of the places are quite near the hotel, even within walking distance, while others are further afield. However, none of them are more than an hour’s drive from the hotel. If you plan your itinerary you will be able to visit several of them on the same day, while it may, for example, take the greater part of a day to fully enjoy a visit to Glenveagh National Park or to the restored railway line in Fintown. You will find a general map of the area at the front of this folder which should be of help to you as you plan your visits. However, if you need any further help do not hesitate to ask any of us and we will do our best to guide you along the way. I suspect that, like many of us, you may want to visit some of the places again and again and that it may take many trips to the area before you have visited all of them. Be careful out there and enjoy. Le gach dea-mhéin Seán Mc Elwee General Manager Table of Contents Map of the Area 1. Gortahork Parish Church 2. Gortahork Parish Hall 3. Coláiste Uladh 4. St Colmcille‟s Well 5. Ardsbeg Dolmen 6. Micí Mac Gabhann‟s Cottage 7. Cnoc na Naomh 8. Ballyconnell House and Estate 9. The Cloughaneely Stone 10. An tSean Bheairic - The Old Barracks 11. St Fionán‟s Church 12. Ray Churches 13. St Anne‟s Church 14. Paddy Mc Gowan and the Tree 15. Seán Ó hEochaidh, Folklorist 16. St Begley‟s Well 17. Tullaghobegley Graveyard 18. Cashelnagore Railway Station 19. The Bridge of Tears 20. Muckish Mountain 21. Errigal Mountain 22. Inisbofin 23. Tory Island 24. Dunlewey 25. Ards Forest Park and Friary 26. Bridie Gallagher 27. Noreen Bawn 28. The Workhouse, Dunfanaghy 29. The Gallery, Dunfanaghy 30. Horn Head 31. Glenveagh National Park and Castle 32. Gartan 33. Glebe House and Gallery 34. Doe Castle 35. Lackagh Bridge 36. Owencarrow Viaduct 37. The Rock of Doon and Doon Well 38. The Daniel O Donnell Visitor Centre, Dungloe 39. Teach Leo 40. Fintown Railway Restoration Project 41. Arranmore Island 1. Eaglais Chríost Rí, Gort a’ Choirce The Church of Christ the King, Gortahork The first Roman Catholic Church in Gortahork, St Mary‟s, was erected in 1786 by Fr. Coyle, beside the graveyard. It had a thatched roof and was opened by Most Rev. Dr. Coyle, Bishop of Raphoe. It is said that the church had a chimney so that the English soldiers would not identify it as a Catholic place of worship. The thatch was replaced with slates by Fr. James Mc Fadden in 1847 and in 1867 a sacristy, a sanctuary and three galleries were installed to accommodate the increasing Catholic population of Gortahork. The church was re-opened in by the Bishop in 1868, with five thousand people in attendance. It was completely renovated by Fr. John Boyle in 1916. Work began in 1950 on building the present Church of Christ the King, Eaglais Chríost Rí, and it was blessed and opened by the Most Rev. Dr. Mc Neely in 1953. The old St. Mary‟s Church was demolished in the same year and the site now forms part of the graveyard. There are three churches and four schools in the parish which has a Catholic population of about 2000 parishioners. The current parish priest is Fr Seán Gallagher, who lives in the parochial house which is built at the back of the church here in Gortahork. The islands of Inisbofin and Tory are also in the parish of Gortahork. St Mary‟s Oratory is on Inisbofin while the people of Tory attend Mass at the Church of St Colmcille. Fr Kieran Creagh is currently ministering on Tory. The Mass times in the parish church beside the hotel are as follows: Monday, Wednesday and Friday: 7.00 p.m. Tuesday and Thursday: 10.00 a.m. Saturday: 11.00 a.m. and 7.00 p.m. Sunday: 9.00 a.m. and 11.00 a.m. This gives a total of nine Masses per week not to mention the large number of funeral and wedding masses. Fr Gallagher is also chairperson of the four schools in the parish. Add that to his many other pastoral duties to a flock of two thousand parishioners and you will have some idea of his huge workload. 2. Gortahork Parish Hall – Halla na Paróiste This hall was built mostly by local voluntary workers on a site donated by Tom Cannon and was officially opened in July 1910. It was built to cater for the needs of the parishioners but the primary motivation was to accommodate the growing number of students who were attending Irish language courses in Coláiste Uladh. Coláiste Uladh was established in 1906 in a private house in nearby Ardsbeg but needed more space for the classes which were held during the summer months. Sir Roger Casement, who was a pupil and a keen supporter of the college, gave a donation of eighty pounds to the building fund. In a letter addressed to the Chairman of the Building Committee he stated, “My subscription of £80 towards the Building Fund of the New Hall is a personal gift to the people of Cloughaneely”. The hall continued to be used by the students of Colaiste Uladh until a new college building was officially opened in 1968 by the President of Ireland, Eamonn De Valera. On 18 November 1920 the hall was burned to the ground by the Black and Tans. Here is an account as published in the Derry Journal on 26 November, just eight days after the burning: “As briefly reported in the Derry Journal of last Friday (19 November), the Irish College at Cloughaneely and the co-operative stores adjoining were destroyed by fire early on Thursday morning. The previous morning uniformed men smashed in to the college, broke the windows, piled tables and chairs in a heap and set them on fire. They then left and residents in the district succeeded in extinguishing the flames. The forces next proceeded to Gortahork Village, half a mile off, and raided a number of houses and Mc Fadden‟s Hotel. In the hotel they tore down from the wall a photograph of Terence Mc Swiney, the late Lord Mayor of Cork. Before leaving, a raider remarked that they would be back again at midnight. Fearing that this would be put in to execution many people in the district remained out of bed until daybreak. At 2 a.m. a heavy motor lorry stopped for some time in the village and the occupants proceeded towards the college. Some time later the college and the co- operative stores were seen to be on fire, a strong wind fanning the flames and at daybreak the two buildings were found completely destroyed”. The following message was sent to Canon Boyle P.P., Cloughaneely by Una O Farrelly, President of Coláiste Uladh: “My deep sympathy to you and to the people of the parish on the destruction of the fine Hall and the Co-operative store. The loss of the Parish Hall to the people of Cloughaneely means the loss of a habitation to the Ulster College of Irish during the summer months. Fools can pull down houses built by the patient toil of wiser men, but they cannot lay hands on the mind of a people. The work of the Ulster College of Irish will go on, God willing, with or without a shelter, for, if need be, the classes will be held in the open air during the coming months”. This plaque can be seen on the front of the hall and translated reads as follows. ”Cloughaneely Centre. Built in1910 and rebuilt in 1923, having been destroyed by the English.” The Parish Hall was closed for refurbishment in 2006. After a major facelift and extensive renovations, costing nearly one million euro, it was officially reopened by Eamonn De Valera‟s grandson, Eamonn O Cuiv T.D., Minister for the Gaeltacht, in July 2009, in time to coincide with the centenary celebrations of its first opening in 1909. Today, it continues to be used by the people of this parish and is also made available to other groups who come to spend time in the area.