Welcome to my redesigned website. It provides easier access to my previous posts which can be searched under “placename” or “topic”. I will shortly add a bibliography of all my historical research which has been published in 21 articles in Donegal Annual, the Journal of County Donegal Historical Society. My first contribution was on the Great Famine and the Inishowen workhouse in Carndonagh in 1980. It strikes me that the research process has changed greatly over the past 40 years.…
The Donegal Annual 2020 is now available. Get your copy in your local bookshop, via my online store, or visit donegalhistory.com to place an order. Table of Contents Cenél nÉoghain in Patrician Hagiography – Dr. Thomas Charles-Edwards Two Ballyshannon Philanthropists and their Legacy – Anthony Begley Donegal and the Victoria Cross – Richard Doherty Kate McCarry: Letterkenny’s First Woman Urban Councillor – Dr. Angela Byrne Viking Impact in the Inishowen Peninsula – Darren McGettigan Rev. Edward Glackin 1806-1896: Famine Relief…
Download a PDF of Culdaff Census 1901-1911 I have uploaded the 1901 and 1911 Census for Culdaff village which shows how life in the village has changed over 100 years ago. Many names are still there. Following the very popular Facebook page OUR CULDAFF, set up by Jennifer Doherty, would readers please upload any old photos of family, friends or relations who lived in the village in 1911? Here is a summary of the occupations in 1911 – 3 shoemakers,…
The Mass Rock at Tremone Bay, Inishowen, is a typical example of a hidden gem of our heritage that the tourist never sees. This was a sacred place for our ancestors: they came here to worship in secret and to bury their dead unbaptised children in the Reiligi on the headland above (reilig – a cemetery). Situated 200 m west of Boat Port, it is encased by a weather-beaten, gaunt arch, which has a close resemblance to the entrance of…
As they look across the great blue waters of the Atlantic, tour guides visiting Malin Head are often heard to remark that the next parish is America. For hundreds of Malin Head folk that comment became a reality, as they boarded the ships of Cooke and McCorkell and the great liners for a new life. One Malin man who made that journey was David A. Doyle who left Malin Head in his childhood. His family settled in Brooklyn and as…
On 21 October 1914, the White Star liner Olympic left New York but was directed to lie at anchor in Lough Swilly. The Captain was warned about the dangers of German mines off the mouth of the Swilly and successfully sailed his ship into the Lough. Europe was at war and questions were raised in Buncrana about the purpose of the visit as the ship lay at anchor for four days. There was no communication of any kind with the…
We are unable to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in our normal fashion in 2020, so here are some of my thoughts from my isolated base in Culdaff A page from the Book of Armagh,which has notes about the Saint’s journey. The hagiography (biography of a saint ) of St. Patrick is considered the best guide to the political geography of Ireland in the pre-Viking Age in relation to the location of kingdoms, dynasties and churches. The principal text was written by…
THE WATERLOO PRIEST 1779 in Cockhill, Buncrana. He was one of the most colourful clergymen who served in Inishowen. As a nephew of Bishop Charles O’Donnell, he was marked out for the priesthood. Before he was ordained, he accepted a commission in the British Army and served in the Peninsular Wars. Locals called him the “Waterloo Priest” because he was on the continent at the time of the Battle of Waterloo in 1815. He journeyed through the parish of Clonmany…
Seán Ó’hEochaidh was one of Ireland’s greatest folklore collectors and he worked for the Irish Folklore Commission in Donegal. Dr. Lillis Ó Laoire, professor in Irish in the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultures, NUIG, has carried out extensive research on his diaries. In this article, he highlights references to women and how they impacted on Ó hEochaidh’s work. The diaries offer a unique insight into rural life in south Donegal; there are references to local customs and interesting personalities…
As a child growing up in Carrowmena, Inishowen, I recall the visits of the Rhymers as they went from house to house in the village. They were a noisy, scary lot if you met them on the road in total darkness. To gain entry to each house, they hammered on the door with a walking stick and performed their play in the kitchen. The play ended with a collection. At the end of Christmas, they had a Rhymers’ Ball. I…