Douglas MacNeese was a member of the MacNeece family who lived in the townland of Castlecary near Redcastle. As a young man, he joined the Royal Field Artillery. He was killed leading his battery at the Battle of the Somme on 16 August 1916 aged 25. He was the second son of Col T.F. MacNeese of Castlecary and Mrs MacNeese. He had just received a Military Cross and was mentioned in dispatches, to use a well-worn expression in the army…
The Quiet Visitor Spring came on tiptoe down the bens Of sea-girt Inishowen, And glided through the shady glens Her coming still unknown. But everywhere her gentle tread Impressed the eager soil A creamy primrose raised its head Beside the rippling Foyle. Mabel Rose Stevenson was born in Castlecary in 1875. She was a cousin of the novelist Joyce Cary, who was one of her mentors. The lines above are from her book DAUGHTER OF DONEGAL published in…