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Glorious Glentogher
The Inish Times - 28th November 2002
Dessie McCallion has portably walked and run more miles in the
hills of Inishowen during his spare time than anyone else you could
mention. He's always taken an avid interest in the history and features
he's passed along the way. Recently retired after 30 years in the
Irish Army, Dessie started his own company, Inishowen Heritage Tours,
which allows him to show off many of the hidden glories of our peninsula.
This week, he took time out to show Sue Doherty some of the treasures
of Glentogher. All of the sites are within easy walking distance
of the road, except for the chamber tomb at the top of the big hill.
However, it's a good idea to bring your Ordinance Survey Map with
you (sheet 3), so that you'll know what you're meant to be looking
for, and to wear a pair of wellies - the going can get mucky.
Glentogher, which means 'glen of the causeway' is the name of an
area about 7 - 8 miles along which you can find by taking the road
to Carndonagh from Quigley's point. About four miles up the road,
you will find yourself travelling through a beautiful glen - you
can't miss it. This outstanding geographical feature grabbed the
attention of every cartographer that ever visited Inishowen, it
features on even the earliest maps.
Carndonagh man Michael Harkin, who wrote under the pseudonym Machtochair,
described Glentogher in 1867 as a "narrow gorge or pass, here
the mountains on each side seem standing up in stern sullenness,
and bidding a grim defiance to their opposite neighbours,"
Many of the features that he points out are still clearly identifiable,
even though some, such as the bridle road, have not been used for
their original purpose for more than three hundred years.
Bridle Trail
"A bridle road led through here, and along its beaten and
devious path horse and foot - pedestrians and equestrians - were
wont to make their way from or to the 'lower bottom' of Inishowen.
Have your passenger keep a careful eye on the left of your route,
as you go through Cross and pass over Leamacrossan Bridge. You can
see the ridges of the bridle trail quite clearly. Park the car at
the nearest lay-by, just before another bridge, and walk back up
a logging road. Just after you go through the gate, you will be
able to see very clearly just how narrow the old bridle path is,
and how it is still well preserved. "In those days," Dessie
points out, "everything that went in and out of the glen travelled
by foot.
Michael Harkin tells what it was like crossing the river in the
days before the nearby bridge was built. "The neat bridge which
now spans the roaring torrent of the hills was not there, but instead
a line of colossal stepping stones ran across the ford, which means
of transit, was in the language of the day termed a 'cloghan.' The
stepping stones have vanished with the age to which they belonged,
but the name, still more enduring attaches to the place." This
'cloghan' is not to be confused with a 'clachan' or traditional
grouping of cottages, which can still be found in the area.
Northy's House
If you look across the road you can now see 'Northy's House'
which is now derelict. This was built approximately 320 years ago,
as a hunting lodge for Chichester, and this is how it looked over
a hundred years ago. "Before crossing the Cloghan in our downward
journey, we all at once and most unexpectedly meet a luxuriant plantation,
in the very depth of the mountain wilderness. The trees are birch
and Norway firs, larch, elms, and beeches; in the midst there is
an excellent farm-house, in good occupation. The house gets its
modern name, Northy's from the name of a Cornish engineer who came
over to supervise works in the mines.
Old Mines
The main Qigley's Point - Carndonagh road in the glen of Glenogher
over 1/2 mile south of Glentogher, near St. Patrick's Well, the
bridle road then continued straight much the same as the current
road, right up to Carndonagh and Trawbreaga Bay. If you keep your
car on the main road, and park at Minehill Bridge, you can easily
climb over stiles and go up to the mouth of the old lead and silver
mines, which are to your right. Although it's difficult to photograph
the entrance cave because of the darkness, you're eyes soon adjust
and you can see such features at the ink hole to your left (for
drainage) and how far the cave goes in. No one knows when the silver
mines were first excavated. However, there are records showing that
it was in operation from 1790 c. 1830 and then from 1855 - 1906.
In 1905, 400 tonnes of lead ore were produced, at a value of 4,800.
Four thousand ounces of silver were obtained from the ore. In 1906,
1,400 tonnes of ore were mined, valued at 2,800 and containing some
gold and silver. The mineral rights are still held by a major mining
company.
Warty Rock
Continue on and you will soon see the Warty Rock above you. A large
boulder, in a steep bank about 50 yards south of St. Patrick's Well
and in the same field, has a cleft near the top of the upper part;
in this is a natural hallow several inches deep and about a foot
across, and filled with water. It is believed to be a cure for warts."
You can often find a small pile of pins left from people who have
dipped a pin the in the well and stabbed the wart with it, and left
the pin behind as a votive offering. Further on and just below,
is St. Patrick's Holy Well, surrounded by old blackthorn bushes.
You can see the large stones which were most likely used to create
a path or stairs leading to the well in days gone by. You can also
still see the rags, some with very old safety pins, attached to
the branches of the blackthorn as votive offerings and the old pennies
left at the foot of the statue of St. Patrick. Dessie says, "People
always talk about how St. Patrick cleared all the serpents from
Ireland, but it is said that the Irish word for Druid and serpent
was the same and many people believe that the legend really refers
to how he drove away the Druids when he converted Ireland to Christianity.
He was said to drive a serpent out from this high field, by the
well here, and so this area is know as Ardnapaesta. Whether it was
a Druid or a serpent, it it must have been fierce, for the legend
to survive so strongly here."
Silver Hoard
You can see, just below you on your left the ruins of a two
storey building that served as the office for the mines. You can
now see Northy's House again, and the bog road to Faltrasna Burn.
Just past this, there is an area called 'Laghts' or Leats'. In 1933
three quarry men, Joe Crossan, Patrick Toye, and Frank Shiels, were
working in the land of Philip O'Donnell, Carromore, at the Leats
near the Floghan Grave (The Dane's House). While removing a large
stone they came upon a series of silver bracelets beneath it. In
February 1934, Sergeant McGurk reported the find to the National
Museum and it was subsequently acquired for the Collection. The
bracelets when found were enveloped in a substance like clay. Patrick
Toyle said 'It looked like blue-ground limestone.' They were linked
according to size and bunched together. Five bracelets were found
but two of these were broken and the fragments lost." There
is no definitive explanation of the bracelets' origin. According
to experts, this type of Hiberno-Viking arm-ring is not common outside
Ireland- there are only about four from Scotland and fifteen from
Norway. Ornaments of this type have been dated to the early 10th
and 11th centuries. A Norwegian expert believes they may have been
introduced from Arabian Spain to Ireland and from there to Norway.
One historian, O'Riordain, is tempted to connect them to an account
in the Annals of the Four Masters describing the fate of a fleet
of 32 foreign ships in Lough Foyle that plundered Inishowen in 919.
"Fergal, son of Domhnall, was at strife with them, so that
he slew the crew of one of their ships, broke the ship itself and
carried off its wealth and goods."
If you are in need of an expert guide, don't hesitate to call on
Dessie. He will be more than happy to show you around. Dessie McCallion
Tel No. 086 1080095
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