Highways and byways in Donegal and Antrim;

Each story keeps the passage it was read from. Open one to read the passage as the book has it, and, where the companion has written its own telling, that too.

1. O'Doherty castles around Lough Swilly

   Burt · parish · Donegal · 1608

   Old O'Doherty castles stand at Buncrana and on Inch Island in Lough Swilly. Birt Castle, on a bare hilltop overlooking the lough arm toward Letterkenny, is where Sir Cahir O'Dogherty withdrew after being struck by Paulet and plotted the fatal rising that gave his fosterers, the McDevitts, the nickname 'Bum-Derrys.'

   Read the passage

   All around the central — almost circular — reach of Lough Swilly, which lies between Macammish and Buncrana, Fahan and Rathmullen, are evident traces of the past. At Buncrana is an old castle of the O'Doghertys ; another stands on Inch Island ; and further up, overlooking the arm of the lough that runs up to Letterkenny, stands on the bare top of a hill Birt Castle, where Sir Cahir O'Dogherty withdrew in his fury after Paulet struck him, and plotted that final and fatal rising which earned for his fosterers, the McDevitts, the nickname which they are said still to keep, of the Bum-Derrys.

   ch. xiii THE GRIANAN OF AILEACH 183

   Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 116

   As the companion tells it

   You're passing through Burt parish, where old O'Doherty castles once guarded the waters of Lough Swilly. At Buncrana and on Inch Island their castles still stand. But the one to remember is Birt Castle, on a bare hilltop overlooking the arm of the lough that runs toward Letterkenny. In 1608, after a man named Paulet struck Sir Cahir O'Doherty, he withdrew here in fury and plotted what became his final, fatal rising. That rising gave his fosterers, the McDevitts, a nickname they are said to keep to this day: the Bum-Derrys.

2. Siege of Donnell Gorme Macdonnell at Cushendun

   Cushendun · townland · Antrim · 1585

   In 1585, Donnell Gorme Macdonnell was besieged by the English at a house by the bay near Cushendun. His father, Sorley Boy, then nearly eighty, landed with his forces and drove off the besiegers.

   Read the passage

   A few yards lower again you see too, a pretty, square, low built house standing almost on the water's edge. In the lawn between it and the road stands a fragment of some old building, now a mass of ivy. Quiet and peaceable as the place looks now, there was wild work done there. Donnell Gorme Macdonnell was besieged there by the English in 1585, when his father Sorley, then close on eighty, landed in the bay with his following of redshanks and drove off the besiegers. But Sorley Boy had seen a fiercer fight twenty years before that, when Shane O'Neill defeated the Clandonnell forces at Ballycastle. That was in 1565. Three years earlier the English government knew no worse enemy than Shane O'Neill, and was disposed to favour the Macdonnells in the hope to be rid of him. But in 1563 Shane came to terms, went boldly over to London, and there so impressed Elizabeth with his fierce presence, his following of wild Gallowglasses and his masterful demeanour, that she was ready to concede him all he demanded ; he might be the O'Neill and welcome, and Earl of Tyrone to that. Shane came back to Ulster prouder than ever, and set to work to show his zeal, as he said, for the Queen's cause; and how better could he do that than by driving out the

   T

   Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 177

3. Doon Well healing rituals and prayers

   near Doon Well · well · Donegal

   Doon Well is a holy well whose waters are believed to cure the sick and benefit others afar. Pilgrims go barefoot, recite prescribed prayers, drink the water, and take a bottle away, adding prayers for Father Freel who blessed the well, Father Gallagher the under-priest, and the man who built the shelter. Neighbours come on all days, with great concourses on Sundays.

   Read the passage

   first, and go barefoot, then say five Our Fathers and five Hail Marys and one Creed, and then drink, praying God speed you in the errand you came on ; then you will say five more Our Fathers and five more Hail Marys for the bottle of water you should take away ; then one of each for Father Freel, the priest that blessed the well, and one for Father Gallagher, the under-priest, and one for the man that put the shelter to it, that his soul may have profit of his good work.

   What number of real cures there are I cannot say, but faithhealing has a good chance with Irish peasants. And the well is efficacious not for yourself only, but for others. An old woman was praying by it the morning I was there, for the neighbours come all days, though the great concourse is on Sundays. I passed her on the road going away, and wished her well quit of her sickness. "Thanks be to God," she said, "there's nothing the matter with me. It's my son that's in Scotland writes to me that there's a deal of sickness on the people there, and I came this length to say a prayer for them." No doubt she had brought away a bottle of the holy water too, and would send it to him for the many Donegal folk that are at work in Scotland these times ; for Scotland begins to take the place of America. Whatever she was to do with it, she had walked a good six miles for it that morning, and was starting back, cheery enough. She probably would have been hard put to it to find even the widow's mite ; but what she had, her prayers and her toil, she gave freely, and in full assurance that they would profit those for whom she gave them.

   Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 71

4. Owen Roe O'Neill relieves the first siege of Derry

   near Derry · city · Derry · 1649

   During the first siege of Derry, the besieging Presbyterian faction disbanded themselves upon learning their commander had accepted a commission from the King. Shortly after, 4,000 reinforcements under Owen Roe O'Neill arrived and entered Derry in triumph, raising the siege.

   Read the passage

   seized by Coote, who made himself master of Culmore. Derry now became the main centre of resistance to the Royalists in Ulster, and it was besieged by an army consisting partly of Royalists, partly of Presbyterian Covenanters. Sir Alexander Stewart commanded the attackers in this, the first siege of Derry, which appears to have been a singularly ineffectual blockade, interrupted by skirmishes. Lord Montgomery presently appeared to take the command, and summoned Coote to surrender, sending him a copy of the King's commission. This copy Coote caused to be circulated among the besiegers, whereupon the Presbyterian faction among them " no sooner knew of his lordship having accepted a commision from the King without their kirk pastors' leave, and that he would no longer admit their ministers into his councils, than the whole gang or crew of them, deserted the siege and his lordship, they at once disbanding themselves with one text of Scripture, ' To your tents, O Israel.' " Nevertheless the siege continued, till, to the surprise of every one, reinforcements for Derry appeared in the shape of 4,000 foot, under Owen Roe O'Neill. Coote had succeeded by fair promises in inducing the distinctively Irish party to join the republicans against the royalists, and thus made himself master of the whole north-west of Ulster. The siege was raised, and Owen Roe entered Derry in triumph. A splendid banquet was given to him and his following, but during its course, the Irish general was suddenly seized with illness. Happily there is no reason to believe the story that he was poisoned ; but this seizure was the beginning of the end for the last of the great O'Neill leaders, and he died in the following November.

   From the Restoration onwards I note nothing of interest in the history of Derry for twenty-eight years, save the birth there of George Farquhar the dramatist. In 1688 began signs of change. James II. displaced the Corporation of the city and appointed Catholics — this was in the autumn. In November ^'illiam landed at Torbay. James thought by his measures,

   Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 142

5. Red Hugh's recovery at Ballyshannon after escape

   Ballyshannon · town · Donegal · 1592

   After escaping captivity at Christmas 1591 and fleeing through the Wicklow mountains, Red Hugh reached Ballyshannon in February. Frostbitten feet from nights of snow and hunger forced him to lie by at Ballyshannon and have his great toes amputated before he could accept the chieftaincy.

   Read the passage

   When Hugh Roe was captured in 1587, he was already married, by agreement of parents, to the daughter of Hugh O'Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, then a great noble at the court of Elizabeth. Thus early was cemented a famous alliance. He escaped at Christmas time in 1591 and reached Ballyshannon in February. During his imprisonment Government had named Calvagh O'Donnell's illegitimate son — " Hugh the Son of the Deacon " — Sheriff of Donegal, but Ineen Dhu, Hugh's fierce mother, had caused him to be shot by her archers. There was also a company of English devastating the country; only Donegal Castle held out, and in it were Sir Hugh and Ineen Dhu shut up. Hugh— aged twenty — put himself at the head of a force and expelled the English into Connaught, but the nights of snow and hunger on the Wicklow mountains had left him with frostbitten feet, and he was obliged, after his first display of energy, to lie by at Ballyshannon, and finally have his great toes amputated before he could accept the chieftaincy which his father then willingly surrendered, and be proclaimed O'Donnell at the rock of Doon, according to the formula, " by the successors of Columbkille with the permission and by the advice of the

   XIII

   Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 120

   As the companion tells it

   Coming up through Ballyshannon now. In February 1592, Red Hugh O'Donnell reached this town after escaping captivity at Christmas the year before. He was twenty years old. The nights of snow and hunger in the Wicklow mountains had left his feet frostbitten, and he was forced to lie by here and have his great toes amputated before he could take the chieftaincy. His father, Sir Hugh, willingly surrendered the title to him, and he was proclaimed O'Donnell at the rock of Doon. During his imprisonment the Government had named Calvagh O'Donnell's illegitimate son, called Hugh the Son of the Deacon, Sheriff of Donegal, but Red Hugh's mother, Ineen Dhu, had him shot by her archers. A company of English were devastating the country, and only Donegal Castle held out, with Sir Hugh and Ineen Dhu shut up inside. After his escape, Red Hugh put himself at the head of a force and expelled the English into Connaught before his frostbitten feet forced him to stop here.

6. Sorley Boy's Rathlin refuge and Essex's 1575 attack

   near Rathlin Island · island or archipelago · Antrim · 1575

   Sorley Boy Macdonnell used Rathlin Island as a refuge for his women, children, and valuables while defying English forces from the Glens. In 1575, Essex dispatched an expedition under Norris with three frigates, including one commanded by Francis Drake, to assault the island.

   Read the passage

   Rathlin is old in history. Pliny and Ptolemy mention it as Ricnia or Ricina. A monastery was founded there in Columbkille's day, but the exposed situation of the place made it a prey to Northmen, who sacked and burnt the monastery in 790 ; and after the battle of Clontarf, the Danes, repulsed by Brian Boru, made a descent on this outlying spot as they sailed north. In 12 16 King John came as far north as Carrickfergus, and granted Rathlin and the Route to the Earl of Galloway. From his heirs it was seized by the Bissetts, who settled in Glenarm. But in 1306 the Macdonnells were lords there, for Angus Og Macdonnell carried Robert Bruce there after his defeat at Perth, and it was in the castle that stood on the east end of Rachray that Bruce, according to tradition, learnt his lesson from the six times baffled spider. Later it would seem to have been lost to the Macquillins, but was retaken from them by Sorley'Boy ; the first of his conquests. In 155 1 the English attempted a landing there, but were repulsed with disaster. But in 1575 Walter, Earl of Essex, was busy with his great scheme of colonising and civilising Ulster. The Irish seemed to him folk so barbarous and despicable that no man could be bound to keep faith with them, or observe towards them any duty save that of extirpation, and he began, though unsuccessfully, the bad work that was finished by Mountjoy and Chichester. One thing, however, he did successfully. Sorley Boy, who defied his forces from fastnesses in the Glens, had sent his women and children and valuables to Rathlin for security. Word came of this to Essex at Carrickfergus, and he sent off an expedition under Norris with three frigates — one commanded by Francis Drake — and a strong

   XVI II

   Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 172

7. Rathlin Island monastery and Viking raids

   near Rathlin Island · island or archipelago · Antrim · 790–1014

   A monastery was founded on Rathlin Island in Columbkille's time, but its exposed position made it vulnerable to raiders. Northmen sacked and burnt the monastery in 790, and Danes descended on the island after their repulse at Clontarf.

   Read the passage

   Rathlin is old in history. Pliny and Ptolemy mention it as Ricnia or Ricina. A monastery was founded there in Columbkille's day, but the exposed situation of the place made it a prey to Northmen, who sacked and burnt the monastery in 790 ; and after the battle of Clontarf, the Danes, repulsed by Brian Boru, made a descent on this outlying spot as they sailed north. In 12 16 King John came as far north as Carrickfergus, and granted Rathlin and the Route to the Earl of Galloway. From his heirs it was seized by the Bissetts, who settled in Glenarm. But in 1306 the Macdonnells were lords there, for Angus Og Macdonnell carried Robert Bruce there after his defeat at Perth, and it was in the castle that stood on the east end of Rachray that Bruce, according to tradition, learnt his lesson from the six times baffled spider. Later it would seem to have been lost to the Macquillins, but was retaken from them by Sorley'Boy ; the first of his conquests. In 155 1 the English attempted a landing there, but were repulsed with disaster. But in 1575 Walter, Earl of Essex, was busy with his great scheme of colonising and civilising Ulster. The Irish seemed to him folk so barbarous and despicable that no man could be bound to keep faith with them, or observe towards them any duty save that of extirpation, and he began, though unsuccessfully, the bad work that was finished by Mountjoy and Chichester. One thing, however, he did successfully. Sorley Boy, who defied his forces from fastnesses in the Glens, had sent his women and children and valuables to Rathlin for security. Word came of this to Essex at Carrickfergus, and he sent off an expedition under Norris with three frigates — one commanded by Francis Drake — and a strong

   XVI II

   Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 172

8. Armada Spaniards at Lough Melvin castle

   near Lough Melvin · lake or lakes · Fermanagh · 1588

   After the shipwreck of a vessel from the Spanish Armada, a few Spaniards under Captain Cuellar held out in a castle on Lough Melvin, in the territory of the MacClancy. The MacClancy's country stretched south-west of Lough Erne towards the lake.

   Read the passage

   Most of the shores of Lough Erne were under the O'Donnell influence in the great days of Tyrconnell. Enniskillen and Fermanagh were the country of the Maguire who stood loyally by Red Hugh. North by Pettigo Sir Owen O'Gallagher was lord, and he was the marshal of the O'Donnells. South-west of the Lake the MacClancy's country stretched towards Lough Melvin, on which a few Spaniards under Captain Cuellar held out in a castle after their shipwreck in a vessel of the Armada. The river Erne was the frontier of the O'Donnell's own country, and across it ran the highway from Connaught into Tyrconnell, passing through Bundoran and Ballyshannon. All the north of Donegal from the Rosses to Fanad was held by the three divisions of the MacSwineys. Inishowen was the country of the O'Doghertys, and to this day they say you cannot beat a bush in Inishowen without starting an O'Dogherty.

   The other highway into Tyrconnell led by LirTord across the fords of the Mourne and Finn ; thence there was a road through Barnesmore Gap to Donegal, which is now followed by a line of rail. Another led by Raphoe to the fords of the Swilly near Letterkenny. It must be remembered that bridges did not exist in this country in the days of Elizabeth ; but except for roads and bridges there is probably no great change in the face of Tyrconnell from Red Hugh's day to ours. It was not a fully civilised country in the days when it had a history ; it is not over-civilised now. Indeed in the business of looking up the local traditions, a certain malapropism has often come into my mind. A gentleman proposed to enlighten the town of Ramelton upon the history of its surroundings, and his lecture on " Irish Antiquities " was duly advertised. One day in the street an old woman who kept a stall on fair days came up to him. " So, your Reverence, you're going to give us a lecture on Irish iniquities. Faith, and there's plenty of them any way."

   Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 20

9. Battle at Donegal monastery and castle

   Donegal · town · Donegal · 1601

   O'Donnell's forces attacked the English stationed in the monastery and castle of Donegal and a ship in the harbour. Nial Garv slipped westwards along the harbour to Magherabeg to bring reinforcements, and the ship's crew kept up covering fire. O'Donnell eventually withdrew, deeming an unequal contest unwise.

   Read the passage

   k' As soon as Nial Garv perceived the great jeopardy in which his people and the English were he passed unnoticed westwards along the margin of the harbour to Magherabeg where a great number of the English were ; and he took them to the relief of the other party ; and the crew of the ship kept up a fire in defiance of them until they had passed inside the central walls of the monastery. When O'Donnell observed the great strength of the place in which they were and the great force that had come to the relief of the English he ordered his soldiers to withdraw from the conflict and to return back, for he did not deem it meet that they should be cut off in an unequal contest."

   All this happened on Michaelmas Day. O'Donnell maintained the blockade by land till the end of October when news reached him that a Spanish fleet had arrived in Kinsale, and instantly abandoning his own country to the invaders — whom he looked to deal with later on— he marched to effect his junction with the Earl of Tyrone, and with him to meet the Spanish forces and attack the English. The result was, by bad generalship, ruinous defeat. Red Hugh left Ireland for Spain to plead for more help, never to return ; he died there by poison. A pacification, false and hollow, succeeded ; Rory O'Donnell, his brother, was recognised and created Earl of Tyrconnell ; but after four years he and Tyrone found themselves surrounded with intrigues, and in despair fled with all their belongings. Their property was declared forfeit and Donegal was among the spolia opima of the confiscation. The unhappy Nial Garv, who more than any man had contributed to this consummation, proffered his claims, and in full settlement of them was sent to rot till he died in the Tower of London. So ends the history of Donegal as the seat of a Celtic Princedom.

   Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 33

   As the companion tells it

   As you pass through Donegal, this town was the site of a battle on Michaelmas Day in 1601. O'Donnell's forces attacked the English garrisoned in the monastery and castle here, and a ship in the harbour. Nial Garv slipped westwards along the harbour to Magherabeg, where he gathered English reinforcements and brought them back to relieve the defenders. The ship's crew kept up covering fire until the reinforcements passed inside the monastery walls. Seeing the strength of the position and the force that had come to the English relief, O'Donnell ordered his soldiers to withdraw, not deeming it meet that they should be cut off in an unequal contest. He maintained the blockade by land until the end of October, when news reached him that a Spanish fleet had arrived in Kinsale. He abandoned his own country and marched to join the Earl of Tyrone and the Spanish forces against the English. The result was ruinous defeat. Red Hugh left Ireland for Spain to plead for more help and never returned; he died there by poison. His brother Rory O'Donnell was created Earl of Tyrconnell, but after four years he and Tyrone fled, surrounded by intrigues. Their property was declared forfeit, and Donegal was among the spoils of confiscation. Nial Garv, who more than any man had contributed to this outcome, was sent to rot in the Tower of London until he died.

10. Burial of unbaptized children at Cushendun

    Cushendun · townland · Antrim

    A spot near Cushendun bay is used to bury children who died before being christened, as the Roman church forbids their burial in consecrated ground. On Sundays, locals gather there to sit and chat.

    Read the passage

    in the green turf among the whins; but on Sundays you will always see folk sitting there and chatting as they look out over the bay. It is a strange place to forgather in, for that is where they bring children who have died before they were christened; the Roman church, with its terrible logic, allows them no room in consecrated ground. A little further down, perhaps fifty yards before you reach the end of the plantation, stands a single thorn tree in the hedge on the right of the road. That is a fairy thorn, and there is probably not a man in Cushendun who would lay axe to it. Some years ago a great branch broke off it in a storm and lay across the road ; and it was hard to find hands in the parish who would consent to remove the wreck of it. There was ill luck for any one that so much as moved a twig of the good people's thorn tree.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 177

11. Captain Cuellar wrecked on Streedagh Strand

    Streedagh · townland · Sligo · 1588

    Captain Cuellar, who commanded a galleon of twenty-four guns in the Armada, was wrecked not in his galleon but in a large ship on Streedagh Strand. He was one of about 300 who got ashore, all maltreated and stripped naked, and was advised to head north for O'Rourke's country.

    Read the passage

    Allingham, M.R.LA. (published by Elliot Stock in 1897) called Captain Cuellar's Adventures in Connacht and Ulster, which contains, among other interesting things, Professor Crawford's translation of Cuellar's narrative. This was one of the documents given to the world by Captain Duro, of the Spanish navy, in 1884. It is a letter, written by Captain Cuellar, who commanded a galleon of twenty-four guns in the Armada, and describes his adventures from the time when he was wrecked — not in his galleon but in a large ship — on the Streedagh Strand, up to his escape into the Low Countries.

    He was one of about 300 who got on shore and were all maltreated and stripped absolutely naked. However, he managed to get clear away with his life, and was advised to hold northward for the O'Rourke's country. His only means of communication was in Latin, and it sounds strange enough to read that among these " savages," as he calls them, he not infrequently found one who spoke it. A wound in his leg proved his salvation, for of a company of about twenty collected in O'Rourke's house, Cuellar was the only one who could not make his way to the coast when word came that a ship was lying there. This vessel, he says, set sail in two days, was wrecked again, and all her crew drowned or killed on landing by the English ; but whether on the Donegal or Connaught coasts I do not know.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 37

12. Derry Cathedral erected

    near Derry · city · Derry · 1633

    Derry Cathedral was erected in 1633 and later used jointly by Nonconformists, Episcopalians, and Presbyterians during the Commonwealth and the siege. Its original wooden spire was stripped of its lead during the siege to make ammunition.

    Read the passage

    the town acquired its new name, Londonderry. In 161 2 the Irish Society was formed for the new Plantation in Ulster. There were granted to them the towns of Derry and Coleraine, with 4,000 acres at Derry, and 3,000 at Coleraine, beside the fisheries of the Foyle and the Bann ; the Society was pledged to maintain a garrison at Culmore, and to enclose Derry with walls — which were laid out and built in 161 7, at a cost of ^8357. In 1633, the Cathedral was erected. Under the Commonwealth, Nonconformists used it as a place of worship, and during the siege, Episcopalians and Presbyterians held their devotions there alternately. The first spire was of wood, leaded, but the lead disappeared in the siege, when ammunition ran short.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 141

13. Derry's annual siege commemorations and Lundy effigy

    near Derry · city · Derry

    Derry annually celebrates the Closing of the Gates on December 18th and the Raising of the Siege on August 12th with aggressively Protestant processions. At the December festival an effigy of Governor Lundy is burned, typically hung from the window of the Prentice Boys' hall.

    Read the passage

    The subsequent history of Derry is one of increasing prosperity, but not of peace. Annually, two anniversaries are celebrated: on December 18th, the Closing of the Gates ; and on August 1 2th, the Raising of the Siege. At the December festival it is usual to burn in effigy the treacherous governor Lundy : and both are attended with processions of the most aggressively Protestant character. At least half of the population is Roman Catholic and Nationalist, so that these occasions are a fruitful source of street riots. Law has interfered and prohibited repeatedly all that might give offence to religious or political susceptibilities ; but the anniversaries are still celebrated, and even those who are least in love with Orangeism would scarcely desire to see the historic commemoration of so valiant a feat of arms omitted. The police, I believe, still regularly exercise their faculties to discover beforehand the vile body of Lundy, stuffed with squibs and crackers; but at the critical moment he seldom fails to swing out of the window of the Prentice Boys'"

    XV

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 149

14. Earl of Antrim builds Ballymagarry House after Dunluce falls to ruin

    Ballymagarry · townland · Antrim · 1660–1670

    Under the Commonwealth the Earl of Antrim was deprived of his estates but received restitution after the Restoration. By this time Dunluce had fallen into useless ruins, so the Earl built Ballymagarry House near it as a residence.

    Read the passage

    Duneynie, and was buried among his kin at Bonamargy Abbey, in Ballycastle. His son, Sir James Macdonnell, succeeded him as Constable of Dunluce, but died in 1601 ; Sir Randal, another son of Sorley's, fortified Dunluce in defiance of orders, and joined O'Neill and Red Hugh in their rebellion ; but after the defeat at Kinsale, seeing the game was up, he made timely profession of loyalty and was taken into favour by James, who granted him formally all the land from the Cutts of Coleraine to the Curran of Larne. Macdonnell remained staunch and was rewarded in 1620 with the earldom of Antrim. He died at Dunluce in 1639. His son, the second earl, had for mother Tyrone's daughter, and so was an object of suspicion, though he lived at Charles I.'s court and married Buckingham's widow. In 1 64 1 came the rebellion, and a Macdonnell — the Earl's cousin — was prominent among the rebel leaders. Antrim seems to have wavered between his loyalty and a natural feeling for those who were fighting to recover the lands from which they or their fathers had been ejected. But he relieved the garrison of Coleraine and gave a hospitable welcome to General Munro in Dunluce. That officer accepted the hospitality, then seized, his host and Imprisoned him on suspicion in Carrickfergus. Antrim escaped, and appealed to the King ; returned and was again taken by Munro, but again escaped and joined Owen Roe O'Neill, and fought strenuously for the King. Under the Commonwealth he was deprived of his estates, but like the other " innocent Papists " received an allotment in Connaught, whither the Celts, under Cromwell's policy, were being driven as if into a pen. Under the Restoration he obtained, after much difficulty, restitution of his own. But Dunluce by this time had fallen into useless ruins, and the Earl built Ballymagarry House near it as a residence. Earlier than that the castle had begun to crumble, for in 1639, when Antrim's wife, the Marchioness of Buckingham, was entertaining a great party, an outlying piece of the wall overhanging the landward mouth of the cave fell, carrying eight servants in its ruins. It was

    XVI

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 159

15. Enemy headquarters at Culmore during the siege

    near Culmore · town · Derry · 1689

    During the Siege of Derry, the enemy's headquarters were established towards Culmore, where Maumont, left in command by James, was encamped. Colonel Murray sallied out on April 21st and killed the enemy's commander-in-chief by a bullet wound.

    Read the passage

    Be that as it may, there is no doubt about the siege. The enemy encamped in four divisions about the town commanding the roads of access. The defenders were divided into eight regiments two to each of the four quarters. The siege was practically a blockade from the first ; no serious assault was ever made on the walls : and there was no cannon in the Irish army heavy enough to batter them. The enemy's headquarters were out towards Culmore; here Maumont, whom James in withdrawing left in command, was encamped: and the besieged did not leave them long in idleness. On the 21st a party under Colonel Murray sallied out, and in the action had the extraordinary good fortune tokill the enemy's commander-in-chief: though Maumont fell by a bullet wound and not, as is related, by Murray's sword. His command devolved on Richard Hamilton. Meanwhile the inhabitants from the wall about Shipquay gate watched this first trial of forces. In the first week of the siege the fighting was chiefly on the north east side ; cannon were planted outside the gate which knocked about the houses, exposed by the rising ground, but did little other damage. On the 5th of May a more serious attempt was made from the west side upon the Windmill Hill which is crowned by Bishop's Gate. Hamilton drew a trench from the bog to the river and established a battery: but on the night of the 6th a sally was made simultaneously from Ferryquay Gate and Bishop's Gate, and the enemy were driven out with loss. It was in this engagement that the flags preserved in the cathedral were taken and an inscription under a window in the south chancel aisle commemorates it. From this onward the besieged held a space about 250 yards wide defended by a trench along the Windmill Hill and outside the walls. On June 4th the whole line of this entrenchment was assaulted and there ensued what is called the Battle of the Windmill Hill. The Irish horse

    224

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 146

    As the companion tells it

    As you come up on Culmore, you are nearing the place where the enemy's headquarters stood during the siege of Derry in 1689. The enemy encamped in four divisions about the town, commanding the roads of access, and their headquarters were out towards Culmore. There Maumont, whom James in withdrawing left in command, was encamped. The defenders were divided into eight regiments, two to each of the four quarters. The siege was practically a blockade from the first. No serious assault was ever made on the walls, and there was no cannon in the Irish army heavy enough to batter them. The besieged did not leave the enemy long in idleness. On the 21st of April a party under Colonel Murray sallied out, and in the action had the extraordinary good fortune to kill the enemy's commander-in-chief. Maumont fell by a bullet wound, not, as is related, by Murray's sword. His command devolved on Richard Hamilton. The inhabitants from the wall about Shipquay gate watched this first trial of forces. In the first week of the siege the fighting was chiefly on the north east side. Cannon were planted outside the gate which knocked about the houses, exposed by the rising ground, but did little other damage. On the 5th of May a more serious attempt was made from the west side upon Windmill Hill, which is crowned by Bishop's Gate. Hamilton drew a trench from the bog to the river and established a battery. But on the night of the 6th a sally was made simultaneously from Ferryquay Gate and Bishop's Gate, and the enemy were driven out with loss. It was in this engagement that the flags preserved in the cathedral were taken.

16. Franciscan Abbey ruins and the French anchor tradition

    Donegal · town · Donegal · 1798

    Below Donegal's quay stand the ruins of the Franciscan Abbey where the Four Masters lived and wrote. Embedded in the mud nearby is the fluke of an immense anchor which local tradition says was left by a French vessel in 1798 that retreated after inquiring about Humbert's expedition.

    Read the passage

    But unless you come on May 27 you won't see a hiring fair in Donegal, and what will strike you at once will be a glimpse of the castle with its mullioned windows beautiful even in ruin. The river skirts its walls on the farther side though no ship of any tonnage could ever have come up so far. But a little way below the present quay are the ruins of the famous Franciscan abbey under whose auspices the Four Masters lived and wrote, and it has a regular landing-place. Close by it, embedded in the mud, may be seen the fluke of an immense anchor which according to local tradition was left there by a French vessel in 1798, which called in— presumably to inquire after Humbert's expedition — but beat a hasty retreat. Little is left of the Abbey except a few arches, but happily the castle remains for a monument of the O'Donnell power : though unhappily that magnificent piece of Jacobean architecture cannot be credited to Irish workmen. The great carved mantelpiece of stone preserved in the banqueting hall bears the arms of the Brookes, and reminds one only of confiscation, for in 1610 the castle was granted to Sir Basil Brooke. The architecture of the building, shattered as it is, may well put to shame anything of more modern date in the county. But of the exterior semblance of the Abbey — in which Tudor work has been added to the more ancient keep with its solid walls several feet in thickness — and of its picturesqueness I need not speak, as an illustration is far more convincing. Of its history I may say something.

    As far back as we know, Donegal — Dun-na-gal, the fort of the foreigners — was the seat of the O'Donnells. Hugh O'Donnell and his wife Fingalla, a lady of the O'Brien house of Thomond, completed in 1474 the Franciscan monastery which Nua'a O'Donnell, another pious lady, had already founded. In the days when Red Hugh was a captive, his father, Hugh O'Donnell the conqueror of Shane O'Neill, was worn cut and feeble, and an English force in 1593 seized an island in the harbour, occupied the Abbey and pillaged the country. It was just at this time

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 31

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Donegal, below the quay stand the ruins of the Franciscan Abbey. The Four Masters lived and wrote under its auspices. It had a regular landing-place, and close by it, embedded in the mud, you can still see the fluke of an immense anchor. Local tradition says a French vessel left it there in 1798. The ship called in, presumably to inquire after Humbert's expedition, then beat a hasty retreat. Little is left of the Abbey now except a few arches. The castle remains as a monument of O'Donnell power, though that magnificent piece of Jacobean architecture cannot be credited to Irish workmen. The great carved stone mantelpiece in the banqueting hall bears the arms of the Brookes, and in 1610 the castle was granted to Sir Basil Brooke. As far back as we know, Donegal, Dun-na-gal, the fort of the foreigners, was the seat of the O'Donnells. Hugh O'Donnell and his wife Fingalla, of the O'Brien house of Thomond, completed the Franciscan monastery in 1474, which Nua'a O'Donnell, another pious lady, had already founded. In the days when Red Hugh was a captive, his father, Hugh O'Donnell, conqueror of Shane O'Neill, was worn out and feeble, and an English force in 1593 seized an island in the harbour, occupied the Abbey, and pillaged the country.

17. James Macdonnell dies in prison near Strabane

    near Strabane · town · Tyrone · 1565–1567

    James Macdonnell, his wife, and Sorley Boy were imprisoned in a strong castle near Strabane where neither Queen nor Deputy could reach them. After a few months James came obscurely by his end, and Shane buried him with great pomp in the O'Neills' own ground at Armagh.

    Read the passage

    Signal fires blazed on Torr Head, and James Macdonnell, head of the clan, hastened over from Cantire ; but by the time he landed in Red Bay, just south of Cushendun, Shane had taken his castle in the red sandstone cliff and was on his way towards Ballycastle and the Macdonnell sanctuary at Bonamargy. By the Margy river the whole force of Clandonnell arrayed itself against him. Three Macdonnell brothers went into the fight; one was slain, but James, lord of Cantire and Antrim, and Sorley, lord of the Route, were taken. Shane continued his progress along the coast, took Dunseverick, but Dunluce was too hard for him. Still he had in his hands the master of Dunluce, and for three days Sorley Boy was kept without food till the garrison surrendered sooner than let the chief die of starvation. Shane wrote to the Lord Deputy a glowing eulogy of his own zeal in the Queen's service, which had made him lord absolute in the north-east of Ulster. The Lord Deputy commended him and asked for James and Sorley Macdonnell, but Shane declared that he could not consent to" let so precious hostages out of his sight till he knew the Queen's own pleasure concerning them. So James and his wife and Sorley were shut up in a strong castle near Strabane, where neither Queen nor Deputy could reach them ; and there after a few months James Macdonnell came obscurely by his end. Even after death he remained a captive ; Shane buried him with much pomp and circumstance in the O'Neills' own ground at Armagh. But Sorley was proof against sickness — or it may be against poison — and two years later, when Shane made his fatal hosting into Tyrconnell, Sorley was still a prisoner. So after the day when Hugh O'Donnell met the O'Neills at the fords of Swiily and smote them hip and thigh, Shane, hardly escaping with his life, did not know which way to turn. On the north and north-west were the O'Donnells ; on the south the English ; and on the east the Macdonnells, now leagued with the

    xviii MURDER OF SHANE O'NEILL 275

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 178

18. MacSwiney's Gun blow-hole on Horn Head

    near Horn Head · promontory · Donegal

    MacSwiney's Gun is a blow-hole on Horn Head where a cave runs in from sea level and a narrow funnel rises to the cliff top. On stormy days waves are driven through the funnel in a straight jet carrying large stones, with an explosion like a cannon. The author heard it at Ards House on Sheephaven Bay, seven or eight miles away.

    Read the passage

    Further round to the west the ring of cliffs gets a little lower till the)' gradually sink to a mere hundred feet. But at a point where they are still of a very respectable grandeur there is MacSwiney's Gun. A cave runs in from the sea level, and from the end of the cave a blow-hole rises to the top. On a stormy day a wave is driven into the opening and shot out through this narrow funnel in a straight jet — an immense body of water, carrying with it large stones — while there is an explosion like that of a cannon. Tradition lies in saying it can be heard in Derry ; but I have heard it myself at Ards House, on Sheephaven bay, seven or eight miles off as the crow flies ; firing shot after shot at regular intervals. MacSwiney, the owner, was the chief whose headquarters were in Doe Castle ; a little beyond the Gun there is a circular keep on the Head, which no doubt also belonged to him. In Elizabethan maps three great figures" with battle axes are depicted on the waste that stood for Northern Donegal — MacSwiney Doe, the head of the clan, himself a vassal or urraght of the O'Donnells; MacSwiney Banat, whose territory lay westward from the Rosses to Killybegs ; and MacSwiney Fanad, who owned the headland that divides Mulroy from Lough Swilly and had his castle in Rathmullen. Of this I shall have more to say, and also Doe Castle you will meet on

    i56

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 101

19. Manus O'Donnell's fortress at Lifford

    Lifford · townland · Donegal

    Manus O'Donnell, father of Calvagh, built a frontier fortress at Lifford on the highway between Tyrone and Tyrconnell, holding it against the O'Neills. In this 'gap of danger' he spent long years composing the Life of Saint Columba.

    Read the passage

    and warlike tribes were merely nations of savages like the Zulus and Afridis. They had analogies with such races in that they existed mainly for war, that they had no settled hereditary succession, and only in a limited sense any security for private property. But the O'Donnells were devout Christians, founders of monasteries, and many of their chiefs retired to make an edifying end in some of the O'Donnell foundations. They were patrons, too, of literature and learning. Not only did they, after the fashion of all Irish chiefs, maintain bards, but there flourished under their guidance a great school of historians. One of the O'Donnells was himself a writer. Manus, the father of Calvagh, a contemporary of Con Bocagh, first Earl of Tyrone, andof the great Shane O'Neill, built a fortress at Lifford, a frontier castle on the highway between Tyrone and Tyrconnell ; built it and lived in it in spite of the O'Neills and their warriors ; and it was not an easy thing to do. But it was in this " gap of danger " that he spent long years in composing the Life of Saint Columba, the great saint of Tyrconnell, by birth, like himself of the blood of Conall Gulban. Above all, however, the greatest of the Irish chronicles was composed under the auspices of the O'Donnells in their own abbey of Donegal. " The Annals of the Four Masters " is a chronicle of events in the history of Ireland, year by year from the year of the world 2242 (b.c. 1762) to a.d. 1616. Its compilation occupied the time from June 22nd 1632 to August 10th 1636.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 21

20. Murder scene in the wood beyond a black gate

    Millford · town · Donegal

    The actual murder of Lord Leitrim took place just beyond a black gate in the wood, about 200 yards from its northern end. The assailants escaped through tracked whinbushes to a boat hidden under the wooded slope, using the screen of Mulroy's islands to disappear.

    Read the passage

    The actual scene of the murder was just beyond a black gate in the wood, about 200 yards from its northern end ; thirty or forty yards beyond that, you will notice where the whinbushes have been tracked and padded, and you will see how quick and easy a way of escape was afforded by the shelter of the wood and the screen of the islands in the lake.

    The Leitrim name has a very different repute in the county nowadays. The old Earl's nephew and successor was then an officer in the navy. He inherited nothing that his predecessor could leave away from him : but he came down at once to the scene of the murder, and while making himself conspicuous by his attempts to bring the criminals to justice, rode about the country unattended. The tenants, however, soon found that there was to be a new order. All the victims of arbitrary ejectment, so far as was possible, were reinstated. A very heavy outlay was made on works of drainage and reclamation. But a still greater boon to the countryside was the establishment of a line of steamers to bring the produce of the farms to Glasgow, and, conversely, to bring articles in demand to Milford ; thus saving a transport of — in many cases — fifteen miles, and enabling the local shopkeepers to take nearly a pound per ton off their charges. The result of these and other beneficent measures has been a great improvement in the condition of the people ; and Milford, from being a miserable village, has become one of the most thriving petty towns in the county. When you have ridden a mile or two along the beautiful road by Cratlagh wood, under the oak and hazel which shadow it. you will get a glimpse across the water of a trim-looking pier and store. The building is a mill for grinding Indian corn, which has kept life in the people in times of hard

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 112

    As the companion tells it

    Coming through Millford, in Donegal. The murder of Lord Leitrim happened just beyond a black gate in the wood, about 200 yards from its northern end. Thirty or forty yards beyond that, the whinbushes were tracked and padded, and the shelter of the wood and the screen of the islands in the lake gave the killers a quick and easy escape. The Leitrim name has a very different repute in the county nowadays. The old Earl's nephew and successor was a navy officer. He inherited nothing his predecessor could leave away from him, but came down at once to the murder scene and rode about the country unattended while making himself conspicuous trying to bring the criminals to justice. The tenants soon found there was to be a new order. All the victims of arbitrary ejectment were reinstated, so far as was possible. Heavy outlay was made on drainage and reclamation. A still greater boon was a line of steamers bringing farm produce to Glasgow and bringing goods back to Milford, saving fifteen miles of transport in many cases and letting shopkeepers take nearly a pound per ton off their charges. The result was a great improvement in the condition of the people, and Milford, from being a miserable village, became one of the most thriving petty towns in the county.

21. Niall Garv seizes Lifford fortress

    Lifford · townland · Donegal · 1600–1601

    Niall Garv, Red Hugh O'Donnell's cousin and general, defected to the English under Governor Docwra and made a sudden attack on the fortress at Lifford. This strategic capture opened the route through Barnesmore into the heart of Tyrconnell and could not be reversed despite Red Hugh's efforts.

    Read the passage

    under Red Hugh's cousin and brother-in-law, Xial Garv (the Fierce), a famous soldier. But now came the fatal weakness. Xial, older than Hugh, counted himself wronged in being passed over for the O'Donnellship, and Docwra tempted him with recognition not only as O'Donnell but as Earl of Tyrconnel!. Xial yielded, and, while Red Hugh was ravaging Clare, his general in the north went over to the English, and by Docwra's own admission changed the whole aspect of affairs. Xial made a sudden descent on the fortress at Lifford which opened the way through Barnesmore into the heart of Tyrconnell ; and in spite of Red Hugh's efforts could not be dislodged. Later on Red Hugh was again caljed off southward by the war, and Xial struck at the very heart of the principality which he coveted.

    This is how the f'our Masters tell the story of the year 1601.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 32

22. O'Donnell inauguration ceremony at Kilmacrenan

    Kilmacrenan · town · Donegal

    The O'Donnell chiefs of Tyrconnell were inaugurated at Kilmacrenan in a ceremony attended by O'Ferghail, successor to Columbkille, and O'Gallacher, the marshal. The abbot placed a pure white straight unknotted rod in the chief's hand as a symbol of just and incorruptible government.

    Read the passage

    " When the investiture took place at Kilmacrenan, the O'Donnell was attended by O'Ferghail, successor to Columbkille, and O'Gallacher, his marshal, and surrounded by all the estates of the country. The Abbot O'Ferghail put a pure white straight unknotted rod into his hand, and said : ' Receive, sire, the auspicious ensign of your dignity, and remember to imitate in your government the whiteness, straightness, and unknottedness of this rod, to the end that no evil tongue may find cause to asperse the candour of your actions with blackness, nor any kind of corruption or tie of friendship be able to prevent your justice. Therefore in a lucky hour take the government of the people, to exercise the power given you with freedom and security.' "

    The last O'Donnell here inaugurated with the full consent of his tribe, was the famous Red Hugh, whose history I must tell fully in another place. After his death in 1602, his brother Rory submitted to the English, abjured any claim to the O'Donnellship, and was named Earl of Tyrconnell. But Neil Garv (the Fierce), Red Hugh's cousin, who had betrayed the O'Donnell cause, and joined the English for a promise of the lordship of Tyrconnell, was in actual possession of the country, and when he learnt of Red Hugh's death caused himself to be proclaimed at the Rock ; though a great part of the clan looked up to Rory as their leader, and regarded Neil with hatred as a traitor.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 73

23. Olderfleet Castle and Edward Bruce's landing

    near Larne · town · Antrim · 1210–1315

    A fragment of Olderfleet Castle stands at the end of the Curran, a curving headland protecting Larne harbour. The castle was built by the Bissets under a grant from Henry III, and Edward Bruce landed there in 1315 with 6,000 men, capturing it before marching to Carrickfergus to be crowned King of Ireland.

    Read the passage

    At the foot of Glen Arifif then this guide ceases to be a guide to the road, and I have only to wish you a safe and speedy journey to Larne. There you will see the curious curving headland that protects the harbour, whose name, the Curran or Sickle, recalls the Sicilian Drepanum. At the end of the Curran stands a fragment of Olderfleet Castle, built originally by the Bissets, who held under a grant from Henry III. It was here that Edward Bruce landed in 131 5, with his army of 6,000, when he undertook his ill-fated expedition into Ireland. Olderfleet was his first capture, and he marched thence to Carrickfergus, and was there crowned King of Ireland. Just off the point of the Curran lies Island Magee, a place of considerable historic interest. The Bissets held it as part of their grant, but paid to the crown as yearly rent — a cast of goshawks from its cliffs. It became famous, or infamous, in 1642, by one of the worst acts in the terrible war of reprisals. Soldiers from Carrickfergus attacked the inhabitants and threw numbers of them over the cliffs. The details of this story have been questioned, but Elizabethan methods were not likely to be soon forgotten.

    Larne is a convenient place for English tourists to end their tour, as the mail steamers to Stranraer gives them a short and pretty crossing, with very few miles of open sea. But if you are not tired of your machine you may take another day to ride the remaining twenty-four miles along the coast road to Belfast. The road passes, at Ballycarry, near the foot of Larne Lough, the parish of Kilroot, Swift's first prebend, where that formidable genius first experienced the bondage of his cloth. The solitudes of Antrim had little charm for him after his life in Temple's household, where famous men came and went, but he attempted to console himself with women's society. Perhaps the strangest of all the strange things he left behind him are his letters to Varina, as he called Miss Waring, the daughter of a neighbouring gentleman — the only woman who could boast of having refused Swift.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 184

24. Red Hugh O'Donnell held at Doe Castle

    Doe Castle · electoral division · Donegal · 1587

    In 1587, Ineen Dhu Macdonald sent her son Hugh O'Donnell—later famous as Red Hugh—to be guarded by his foster-father Owen Oge MacSwiney at Doe Castle. The castle was described as perhaps the least accessible place in Elizabeth's dominions.

    Read the passage

    which has the most interesting story. The old Abbey, whose ruins still show something of the Norman-Irish architecture, was built for a monastery of the Carmelites by the MacSwineys in the 15th century; though Knox, the Bishop of Raphoe, rebuilt it largely when he got the manor of Rathmullen from Turlough Oge MacSwiney in 16 18. To the west of the Abbey once stood the Castle of the MacSwineys of Fanad, easternmost of the three divisions of the clan. Now, in 1587, when England was full of apprehension, for the Armada was preparing, Sir John Perrott, bastard son of Henry VIII. , ruled as Lord Deputy in Ireland, and it was essential for him to secure peace in that troubled kingdom at such a time. Sir Hugh O'Donnell, the chieftain of Tyrconnell, who had been knighted by Sir Henry Sidney, was paramount in the country ; but Sir Hugh was ruled by his wife — Ineen Dhu Macdonald, a Scotchwoman, daughter of the Lord of the Isles. Her eldest son was Hugh O'Donnell, famous in later life as Red Hugh, and even then celebrated by the bards as a boy of rare promise. Sir John Perrott's main object was to secure Hugh, and, holding him for a hostage, to control O'Donnell and the North. But Ineen Dhu— "The Dark Daughter" — had no thought of letting him go out of safe keeping ; for her heart was set upon this boy, and to ensure his succession to the chieftaincy in those days, when the custom of tanistry had come to mean the succession of whatever claimant for election by the clan could show most backing, she maintained in her own right an army of Scotch mercenaries — "red shanks " as they were called. Further, to make assurance stronger, she had linked the boy by the tie of fosterage — then counted more sacred than blood-relationship — to the greatest of O'Donnell's dependant chiefs, Owen Oge Mac- Swiney— surnamed " Of the Battle-axes," and chief of all the MacSwineys. She sent Hugh to be guarded by his fosterfather in Doe Castle — to this day not an easy place to reach, and then perhaps the least accessible in Elizabeth's dominions.

    XIII

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 117

    As the companion tells it

    Coming up now through the electoral division of Doe Castle in Donegal. In 1587, when England was full of apprehension and the Armada was preparing, Sir John Perrott, bastard son of Henry the 8th, ruled as Lord Deputy in Ireland. His main object was to secure Hugh O'Donnell, the eldest son of Sir Hugh O'Donnell, chieftain of Tyrconnell, and hold him as a hostage to control O'Donnell and the North. Even then the bards celebrated Hugh as a boy of rare promise, and he would become famous in later life as Red Hugh. But Sir Hugh was ruled by his wife, Ineen Dhu Macdonald, a Scotchwoman, daughter of the Lord of the Isles, called "The Dark Daughter." She had no thought of letting the boy go out of safe keeping, for her heart was set upon him. The custom of tanistry had come to mean the succession of whatever claimant could show most backing, so she maintained in her own right an army of Scotch mercenaries called "red shanks." To make assurance stronger, she linked the boy by the tie of fosterage, then counted more sacred than blood-relationship, to Owen Oge MacSwiney, surnamed "Of the Battle-axes," chief of all the MacSwineys and the greatest of O'Donnell's dependant chiefs. She sent Hugh to be guarded by his foster father in Doe Castle, to this day not an easy place to reach, and then perhaps the least accessible in Elizabeth's dominions.

25. Red Hugh O'Donnell kidnapped on Lough Swilly

    near Lough Swilly · estuary · Donegal · 1587

    Not twenty years after Sir Hugh O'Donnell defeated Shane O'Neill, Elizabeth's Viceroy, with Elizabeth's full sanction, treacherously kidnapped Sir Hugh's eldest son on Lough Swilly—called the Lake of the Shadows—and held him in prison, even in fetters, until he broke loose at the last.

    Read the passage

    glasses — Calvagh's raid on the camp at Raymochy, and Sir Hugh's final overthrowing of Shane the Proud, it may be said that the vale of the Swilly is full of glorious memories for the Kinel Conaill. Yet it was in a bad day for the lords of Tyrconnell that Shane was driven to his ruin. Sir Henry Sidney — Big Henry of the Beer, as the Irish called him — feasted lovingly in Hugh's castle, and dubbed his host knight, and bade him go on and prosper. Not twenty years after that, Elizabeth's Viceroy, with Elizabeth's full sanction,

    was treacherously kidnapping Sir Hugh's eldest son on this same Lake of the Shadows, to hold him fast in prison, even in fetters, till he broke loose at the last. But for Sir Hugh's defeat of Shane, it is possible that Elizabeth might have had no Viceroy in Ireland in 1587. Sir Hugh's son was to show what Tyrone and Tyrconnell, leagued together, could accomplish ; and had Sir Hugh stood for Shane and not against him, history might have been altered: there might have been no Flight of the Earls, and no broad lands of the O'Donnells for division among

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 80

26. Red Hugh proclaimed O'Donnell at the Rock of Doon

    Doon Rock · rock or rocks · Donegal · 1592

    After his recovery at Ballyshannon, Red Hugh was proclaimed O'Donnell at the rock of Doon, following the ancient formula: 'by the successors of Columbkille with the permission and by the advice of the nobles of Tyrconnell, both lay and ecclesiastic.' His father willingly surrendered the chieftaincy to him.

    Read the passage

    When Hugh Roe was captured in 1587, he was already married, by agreement of parents, to the daughter of Hugh O'Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, then a great noble at the court of Elizabeth. Thus early was cemented a famous alliance. He escaped at Christmas time in 1591 and reached Ballyshannon in February. During his imprisonment Government had named Calvagh O'Donnell's illegitimate son — " Hugh the Son of the Deacon " — Sheriff of Donegal, but Ineen Dhu, Hugh's fierce mother, had caused him to be shot by her archers. There was also a company of English devastating the country; only Donegal Castle held out, and in it were Sir Hugh and Ineen Dhu shut up. Hugh— aged twenty — put himself at the head of a force and expelled the English into Connaught, but the nights of snow and hunger on the Wicklow mountains had left him with frostbitten feet, and he was obliged, after his first display of energy, to lie by at Ballyshannon, and finally have his great toes amputated before he could accept the chieftaincy which his father then willingly surrendered, and be proclaimed O'Donnell at the rock of Doon, according to the formula, " by the successors of Columbkille with the permission and by the advice of the

    XIII

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 120

27. Spanish Armada wrecks on the Donegal coast

    Killybegs · town · Donegal · 1588

    During the retreat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, ships struggling homeward along the west coast were driven ashore near Killybegs. Crews who survived landing were stripped or killed by the Irish, and any survivors spared by the Irish were hanged by the English.

    Read the passage

    When the great Armada was staggering homewards on its terrible journey this shore was the scene of many disasters. Medina's instructions to his fleet were to run well northwards and then far to the west of the dangerous Irish coast, but heavy weather met them, and ship after ship failed to weather the jutting shore of Connaught, and was driven to cast anchor. In nearly every case the tackle proved too weak to hold them against such a sea ; the cables parted, and they went ashore, where the unhappy crews, if they succeeded in landing, were stripped or slain by the natives, and such of them as the Irish spared were hanged by the English. This was in the days when Sir John Perrott had brought the country into something more approaching a willing loyalty to the British crown. Ten years later, in the days of Red Hugh, any Spaniard who landed on

    IV

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 34

    As the companion tells it

    Killybegs sits along this stretch of Donegal coast, and in 1588 these waters saw disaster after disaster as the great Armada staggered homewards. Medina had ordered his fleet to run well north and far west of the dangerous Irish coast, but heavy weather met them. Ship after ship failed to weather the jutting shore of Connaught, dropped anchor, and found their cables too weak to hold against such a sea. They went ashore here. The unhappy crews who managed to land were stripped or slain by the natives, and such of them as the Irish spared were hanged by the English. This was under Sir John Perrott, who had brought the country into something more approaching a willing loyalty to the British crown.

28. St. Columba's Chapel and Graveyard at Lough Akibbon

    Bellville or Gartan · townland · Donegal

    Above Lough Akibbon at Gartan stands a walled graveyard and a roofless tiny chapel associated with St. Columba. The chapel contains a ruined altar and a hollowed 'good stone' from which Columbkille was said to give out holy water; both Protestants and Catholics are buried there, and a costly monument was erected by an emigrant from Wilmington, USA, to honour his parents.

    Read the passage

    But at Gartan there are no memories of Columba's diplomatisings and bickerings ; only memories of his sanctity. They show you, on a slope that overlooks the upper lake from the north, a great flagstone where his mother, the Princess Ethne, made her bed when he was born : the dints are in it yet of her hands and knees. Ethne was too great a lady in her day to have had so rough a couch • but the stone is honoured in tradition, and they say that whoever sleeps on it will never know home-sickness. Many a man starting for America has tried the remedy that was to keep him from the torment that people in Ulster call " thinking long " ; but I doubt it has not helped them, The place of real worship is the "station" of St. Columba above the upper lake, Lough Akibbon. There at least you must go : not that there is much to see ; a graveyard on the hillside, carefully walled in, and a tiny chapel that could never have held fifty people, roofless now, and its east window that once showed ornament, blown in lately by a storm. But the day I went there an old woman was on her knees before the ruined altar, and when she had finished her devotions she showed the " good stone " — from which she said Columbkille gave out holy water. It had certainly been hollowed for some sacred use, though likely enough Columba never saw it. But the memory of his name was then as living as the faith that brought this old woman to step aside on her day's errand to kneel at the place he had hallowed. In the graveyard, they told me, Protestants and Catholics alike were buried, where no quarrellings disturb them. They sleep there quiet and wholesome on the green hillside, with the lovely lake below them. In the very centre stands a new and conspicuous monument, ugly enough indeed, but costly. Some one in Wilmington of the United States erected it in memory of his father and mother, natives of that parish. There you have the very spirit of this country. Hard and stubborn as the soil is, ungrateful

    H 2

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 65

29. The Devil's Backbone near Rathmullen

    Rathmullan · town · Donegal

    A striking ridged hill range behind Rathmullen on Lough Swilly is known in Irish as Cruiv Drim a Dhiaoul, interpreted as the Devil's Backbone. The author's attempt to record the Irish name at Portsalon quay was met with local superstition, when a woman refused to let it be written down and threw the pencil into the water.

    Read the passage

    where the purple heather-covered hills rise gently behind you, and the houses are all set in trees and flowers, and the sands are golden orange in the sunlight, and over on the far shore you see the soft green of the Rathmullen woods giving an air of gentleness and civilisation that is in strange contrast with the jagged outlines of the Knockalla hills. One of these ranges behind Rathmullen is quite unmistakable in its contorted ridginess, and the Irish name for it is Cruiv Drim a Dhiaoul, which is, being interpreted, the Devil's Backbone. I take peril upon my head to write this down ; for I asked a man on the quay at Portsalon, who, they told me, knew Irish, to write down the correct spelling, and just as he was about to do so a woman interfered. " No," she said, u you'll write none of that. That's no good name to be writing." The steamer was just starting, and I had to jump on board while the altercation proceeded, and the next thing I saw was the pencil being tossed over the quayhead, which settled the matter for the moment. But it is a very harmless Devil's Backbone so far as I know, and a striking feature in a landscape whose charm was described long ago by a great master of language in the days when the present Primate of All Ireland was rector of Fahan.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 115

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Rathmullan on Lough Swilly, a striking ridged hill range rises behind the town, unmistakable in its contorted ridginess. The Irish name for it is Cruiv Drim a Dhiaoul, meaning the Devil's Backbone. When the author tried to get the correct Irish spelling written down at Portsalon quay, a woman interfered, saying, "No, you'll write none of that. That's no good name to be writing." The steamer was just starting, and as the author jumped on board, the pencil was tossed over the quayhead into the water, settling the matter. The author calls it a very harmless Devil's Backbone, a striking feature in a landscape of purple heather-covered hills, golden sands, and gentle wooded shores that contrast with the jagged Knockalla hills across the lough.

30. Bonamargy Abbey: Macdonnell burial sanctuary

    Bonamargy · townland · Antrim · 1565

    The Franciscan Abbey of Bonamargy serves as the burial place of the Macdonnell clan. Those who fell in the 1565 defeat by Shane O'Neill are interred there, as are those who died at the battle of Slieve-an-Aura in Glen Shesk, where the Macdonnells ended McQuillan resistance.

    Read the passage

    The great days of Ballycastle, however, were under the Macdonnells. The Franciscan Abbey of Bonamargy was, and still is, their sanctuary and burying place. The ground of the cemetery, as Mr. Hill, their historian, puts it, " literally heaves with Clandonnell dust." Here were buried those who fell in the disastrous overthrow of Clandonnell, at the hands of Shane O'Neill in 1565 : and here, too, were buried those who died in the great fight at Slieve-an-Aura up in Glen Shesk, where the Macdonnells finally put an end to the resistance of the older lords the McQuillans. They tell a story of a clansman who went to the Countess of Antrim asking the lease of a farm.

    " Another Macdonnell ? " said the Countess ; " why, you must all be Macdonnells in the Low Glens." " Ay," said the peasant, " too many Macdonnells now ; but not one too many on the day of Aura."

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 165

31. Shane O'Neill captures Calvagh at Killydonnell Abbey

    Killydonnell · townland · Donegal · 1559

    Shane O'Neill launched a sudden cavalry raid around the head of Lough Swilly and swooped upon Killydonnell Abbey, where Calvagh O'Donnell was taking his ease with only a few soldiers, women, and poets. Shane carried the captives back into Tyrone; Calvagh was fettered and his wife taken as Shane's concubine.

    Read the passage

    It was not till 1559 that Shane got his return blow home, and it was a shrewd one. Caffar O'Donnell, son of Manus, was at strife with Calvagh, and held out in the Crannog on Lough Beagh, where Godfrey O'Donnell had lain sick and ordered his coffin. Con, son of Calvagh, was besieging him with all the force of Kinel Conaill. Word came to Shane that his enemy, Calvagh, was at Killydonnell Abbey, taking his ease, with only a few soldiers " besides women and poets." Shane launched a sudden troop of horse round the head of Lough S willy, swooped upon Killydonnell and carried the captives back into Tyrone. With all his ability he was a barbarian. Calvagh's wife became his concubine, and Calvagh himself was fettered so that he could neither lie down nor stand up, and used with such barbarity that we read in The Four Masters for 1561,

    " Mary, the daughter of Calvagh, son of Manus, son of Hugh Duv O'Donnell, and wife of O'Neill " (she was stepdaughter of Calvagh's wife whom Shane had taken), " died of horror, loathing, grief, and deep anguish, in consequence of the severity of the imprisonment inflicted on her father, Calvagh, by O'Neill in her presence."

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 78

32. Barnesmore as gateway to Tyrconnell

    near Barnesmore · pass · Donegal · 1600–1601

    Barnesmore served as the strategic pass through the mountains into the heart of Tyrconnell. Niall Garv's capture of Lifford fortress opened this route for English forces, fundamentally changing the war in Ulster.

    Read the passage

    under Red Hugh's cousin and brother-in-law, Xial Garv (the Fierce), a famous soldier. But now came the fatal weakness. Xial, older than Hugh, counted himself wronged in being passed over for the O'Donnellship, and Docwra tempted him with recognition not only as O'Donnell but as Earl of Tyrconnel!. Xial yielded, and, while Red Hugh was ravaging Clare, his general in the north went over to the English, and by Docwra's own admission changed the whole aspect of affairs. Xial made a sudden descent on the fortress at Lifford which opened the way through Barnesmore into the heart of Tyrconnell ; and in spite of Red Hugh's efforts could not be dislodged. Later on Red Hugh was again caljed off southward by the war, and Xial struck at the very heart of the principality which he coveted.

    This is how the f'our Masters tell the story of the year 1601.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 32

33. Culmore fort held by Sir Robert Stewart

    near Culmore · town · Derry · 1648

    During the conflict between King and Parliament, Sir Robert Stewart sided with Charles I and held Culmore fort, commanding the river. He became a thorn in the side of Sir Charles Coote, the republican governor of Derry, until Coote treacherously seized Stewart and took Culmore.

    Read the passage

    In the rebellion of 1641, Derry was in a state of siege, but the resolution of the local gentry caused speedy and wise preparation to be made. The Irish Society sent over fifteen guns, some of them still to be identified on the ramparts — now obsolete as they : but Derry was forced to clamour loudly for fresh supplies of food, and above all of powder. The three regiments which were raised by Sir William and Sir Robert Stewart had much ado to keep in check a disorderly force under Sir Phelim O'Neill, that lay about Strabane in 1642, till its retirement gave them a chance to recapture Strabane and relieve Limavady. Derry declared for the Covenant, and in 1648, Sir Charles Coote, with a commission from the Parliament, became governor, and remained so till the restoration. It is hopeless to sketch here the inextricable tangle of parties who fought and plotted against one another in Ireland, till its reduction by Cromwell. Derry had taken up arms to defend itself against the native Irish, and Sir Robert Stewart had been a chief director of its preparations. But now King and Parliament were at war, and Derry, full of London citizens, stood for the republican side. Sir Robert Stewart, who held Culmore fort, sided, like the Scotch, with Charles, and, commanding the river, was a thorn in Coote's side. A treacherous stratagem ended this. Stewart entered Derry under a safe escort, and was

    XV

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 141

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Culmore, you are near a fort that once commanded the river here. During the conflict between King and Parliament, Sir Robert Stewart held this fort for Charles I, and it made him a real problem for Sir Charles Coote, the republican governor of Derry. The story goes back further. In the rebellion of 1641, Derry was under siege, and the local gentry prepared swiftly. The Irish Society sent over fifteen guns. Three regiments raised by Sir William and Sir Robert Stewart kept in check a disorderly force under Sir Phelim O'Neill that lay about Strabane in 1642, and when it retired the Stewarts recaptured Strabane and relieved Limavady. Derry declared for the Covenant. In 1648 Sir Charles Coote, with a commission from Parliament, became governor and remained so until the Restoration. Sir Robert Stewart had been a chief director of Derry's preparations against the native Irish, but now King and Parliament were at war, and Derry, full of London citizens, stood for the republican side. Stewart held Culmore fort, sided with Charles, and commanding the river was, as the book says, a thorn in Coote's side. A treacherous stratagem ended it. Stewart entered Derry under a safe escort, and was seized.

34. Donegal Castle held by Ineen Dhu against the English

    Donegal · town · Donegal · 1591–1592

    During Red Hugh's imprisonment, a company of English devastated the country but Donegal Castle held out, with Sir Hugh and his fierce mother Ineen Dhu shut up inside. After his escape, Hugh aged twenty put himself at the head of a force and expelled the English into Connaught.

    Read the passage

    When Hugh Roe was captured in 1587, he was already married, by agreement of parents, to the daughter of Hugh O'Neill, the Earl of Tyrone, then a great noble at the court of Elizabeth. Thus early was cemented a famous alliance. He escaped at Christmas time in 1591 and reached Ballyshannon in February. During his imprisonment Government had named Calvagh O'Donnell's illegitimate son — " Hugh the Son of the Deacon " — Sheriff of Donegal, but Ineen Dhu, Hugh's fierce mother, had caused him to be shot by her archers. There was also a company of English devastating the country; only Donegal Castle held out, and in it were Sir Hugh and Ineen Dhu shut up. Hugh— aged twenty — put himself at the head of a force and expelled the English into Connaught, but the nights of snow and hunger on the Wicklow mountains had left him with frostbitten feet, and he was obliged, after his first display of energy, to lie by at Ballyshannon, and finally have his great toes amputated before he could accept the chieftaincy which his father then willingly surrendered, and be proclaimed O'Donnell at the rock of Doon, according to the formula, " by the successors of Columbkille with the permission and by the advice of the

    XIII

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 120

    As the companion tells it

    As you come through Donegal town, you are passing the castle that held out while a company of English devastated the country in 1591. Hugh Roe O'Donnell had been captured in 1587, and during his imprisonment the Government named Calvagh O'Donnell's illegitimate son, called Hugh the Son of the Deacon, Sheriff of Donegal. Hugh's fierce mother Ineen Dhu had that man shot by her archers. Only Donegal Castle held out, with Sir Hugh and Ineen Dhu shut up inside. Hugh escaped at Christmas 1591 and reached Ballyshannon in February. Aged twenty, he put himself at the head of a force and expelled the English into Connaught. But the nights of snow and hunger on the Wicklow mountains had left him with frostbitten feet, and he had to lie by at Ballyshannon and finally have his great toes amputated before he could accept the chieftaincy his father willingly surrendered and be proclaimed O'Donnell at the rock of Doon.

35. Dr. Hastings gives a hunted gauger ten minutes' start

    Kilmacrenan · town · Donegal

    A gauger fleeing a crowd sought refuge at Dr. Hastings' house in Kilmacrenan. Hastings gave him a ten-minute start, directing him to swim the Lennan river to escape. The gauger forded the Lurgy and headed over the ridge toward the Lennan.

    Read the passage

    One of the pickpockets was a son of the late Mr. Caesar Otway, whose Sketches in Ireland^ published some seventy years ago, contain a great deal that is amusing, but are not to be relied on for strict veracity. I give, therefore, with all reservation, one more story of Dr. Hastings, told by this authority, who was, at least, undoubtedly an intimate friend of the Doctor's. One fine summer morning Dr. Hastings heard a noise at his back door and observed one of his servants trying to keep out a man who was anxious to get into the house. This person had that air of something between the classes, which in those days and at that place, could belong only to a gauger. " Let me in," he begged, "or my life's lost, and hide me somewhere." While Dr. Hastings was parleying with him, up came the forerunners of a great crowd demanding the gauger. Hastings remonstrated, but the crowd said they wished him no harm, but the gauger they must have or they would pull the house down to get him. "Well," said the Doctor, "there's no way to stop you, but there must be fair play given. The man had ten minutes start of you when he got here ; he must have the same law when he gets away." The pursuers consented, and the Doctor explained to the hunted man that if he could reach the Lennan, about half-a-mile off, and swim it he might get clear that way. Accordingly the crowd gathered, the Doctor stood on his doorstep watch in hand, and away went the gauger down the lawn, forded the Lurgy and was taking up the ridge that divides it from the Lennan, when just as

    104

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 68

36. Dunluce Castle architecture and setting

    Dunluce · townland · Antrim

    Dunluce Castle is built on a projecting rock separated from the mainland by a deep chasm, bridged by a single narrow arch. Erected by the McQuillins probably early in the 16th century, its features include a barbican, McQuillin's Tower, Queen Meave's Tower, and a kitchen that fell overhanging the cave mouth.

    Read the passage

    " It is built on a projecting rock, separated from the mainland by a deep chasm about twenty feet wide, which is bridged over by a single arch about two feet broad, the only approach to the castle ... Its exact date is not known, but it was erected by the McQuillins, probably early in the 16th century. A small enclosed courtyard is first reached, and at the lower end is a square tower, the barbican, in which is the main entrance door. From this a strong wall about seventy feet long runs along the edge of the cliff to McQuillin's Tower, circular, the walls of which are eight feet thick and contain a small staircase reaching to the summit. About twenty yards north is Queen Meave's Tower, and the connection between them has given way. At the northern extremity are the remains of the kitchen which fell, overhanging the mouth of the cave."

    The castle has been made by Mr. Frank Mathew the scene of a very picturesque romance of Elizabethan times — Spanish Wine — in which, however, he invents passages communicating from above with the sea way into the cave which never have

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 160

37. Milford transformed under the new Lord Leitrim

    Millford · town · Donegal

    After Lord Leitrim's murder, his nephew and successor reinstated ejected tenants, invested in drainage and reclamation, and established a steamer line to Glasgow. These reforms transformed Milford from a miserable village into one of the most thriving petty towns in Donegal.

    Read the passage

    The Leitrim name has a very different repute in the county nowadays. The old Earl's nephew and successor was then an officer in the navy. He inherited nothing that his predecessor could leave away from him : but he came down at once to the scene of the murder, and while making himself conspicuous by his attempts to bring the criminals to justice, rode about the country unattended. The tenants, however, soon found that there was to be a new order. All the victims of arbitrary ejectment, so far as was possible, were reinstated. A very heavy outlay was made on works of drainage and reclamation. But a still greater boon to the countryside was the establishment of a line of steamers to bring the produce of the farms to Glasgow, and, conversely, to bring articles in demand to Milford ; thus saving a transport of — in many cases — fifteen miles, and enabling the local shopkeepers to take nearly a pound per ton off their charges. The result of these and other beneficent measures has been a great improvement in the condition of the people ; and Milford, from being a miserable village, has become one of the most thriving petty towns in the county. When you have ridden a mile or two along the beautiful road by Cratlagh wood, under the oak and hazel which shadow it. you will get a glimpse across the water of a trim-looking pier and store. The building is a mill for grinding Indian corn, which has kept life in the people in times of hard

    176

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 112

    As the companion tells it

    Coming up now is the town of Milford in Donegal. The Leitrim name has a very different repute in the county nowadays. After the old Lord Leitrim was murdered, his nephew and successor inherited the estate. He was a navy officer at the time. He came down at once to the scene of the murder and made himself conspicuous by his attempts to bring the criminals to justice, riding about the country unattended. The tenants soon found that there was to be a new order. All the victims of arbitrary ejectment, so far as was possible, were reinstated. A heavy outlay was made on works of drainage and reclamation. But a still greater boon to the countryside was the establishment of a line of steamers to bring the produce of the farms to Glasgow, and to bring articles in demand to Milford, saving a transport of in many cases 15 miles, and enabling the local shopkeepers to take nearly 1 pound per ton off their charges. The result of these and other measures has been a great improvement in the condition of the people. Milford, from being a miserable village, has become one of the most thriving petty towns in the county. Along the beautiful road by Cratlagh wood, under the oak and hazel which shadow it, you will get a glimpse across the water of a trim-looking pier and store. The building is a mill for grinding Indian corn, which has kept life in the people in times of hardship.

38. Sir Henry Docwra lands at Culmore

    near Culmore · town · Derry · 1600

    In 1600, Sir Henry Docwra sailed into Lough Foyle with 4,000 foot and 200 horse, landing at Culmore on the left bank of the river below Derry. He left Captain Atford there with 600 men to fortify the position.

    Read the passage

    In 1600 another and even more formidable uprising, under Tyrone, had to be met, and the manoeuvre was repeated. Sir Henry Docwra, with 4,000 foot and 200 horse, sailed into Lough Foyle, landed at Culmore, on the left bank some three miles below Derry, and six days later entered Derry without opposition. The history of his actions there I have already outlined : but it may be worth while to give his account of the place as he found it.

    " Leaving Captain Atford at Culmore, with 600 men to make up the works, we went to the Derry, four miles off upon the river side, a place in manner of an island, comprehending within it forty acres of ground, wherein were the ruins of an old abbey, of a bishop's house, of two churches and, at one of the ends of it, of an old castle ; the river called Lough Foyle encompassing it all on one side, and a bog most commonly wet and not easily passable, except in two or three places, dividing it from the mainland."

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 141

    As the companion tells it

    Culmore, town the road passes through, a place with a military past. In 1600 Sir Henry Docwra sailed into Lough Foyle with 4,000 foot and 200 horse and landed here. He left Captain Atford behind with 600 men to fortify the position, then six days later entered Derry without opposition. Docwra described Derry as "a place in manner of an island," forty acres with the ruins of an old abbey, a bishop's house, two churches and an old castle, Lough Foyle on one side and a wet bog dividing it from the mainland. You can still feel the strategic weight of this ground, commanding the river below Derry as it did four centuries ago.

39. Antrim relieves the garrison of Coleraine in 1641 rebellion

    near Coleraine · town · Derry · 1641–1642

    During the 1641 rebellion, the Earl of Antrim wavered between loyalty and sympathy for those fighting to recover their lands. He relieved the garrison of Coleraine during this period of conflict.

    Read the passage

    Duneynie, and was buried among his kin at Bonamargy Abbey, in Ballycastle. His son, Sir James Macdonnell, succeeded him as Constable of Dunluce, but died in 1601 ; Sir Randal, another son of Sorley's, fortified Dunluce in defiance of orders, and joined O'Neill and Red Hugh in their rebellion ; but after the defeat at Kinsale, seeing the game was up, he made timely profession of loyalty and was taken into favour by James, who granted him formally all the land from the Cutts of Coleraine to the Curran of Larne. Macdonnell remained staunch and was rewarded in 1620 with the earldom of Antrim. He died at Dunluce in 1639. His son, the second earl, had for mother Tyrone's daughter, and so was an object of suspicion, though he lived at Charles I.'s court and married Buckingham's widow. In 1 64 1 came the rebellion, and a Macdonnell — the Earl's cousin — was prominent among the rebel leaders. Antrim seems to have wavered between his loyalty and a natural feeling for those who were fighting to recover the lands from which they or their fathers had been ejected. But he relieved the garrison of Coleraine and gave a hospitable welcome to General Munro in Dunluce. That officer accepted the hospitality, then seized, his host and Imprisoned him on suspicion in Carrickfergus. Antrim escaped, and appealed to the King ; returned and was again taken by Munro, but again escaped and joined Owen Roe O'Neill, and fought strenuously for the King. Under the Commonwealth he was deprived of his estates, but like the other " innocent Papists " received an allotment in Connaught, whither the Celts, under Cromwell's policy, were being driven as if into a pen. Under the Restoration he obtained, after much difficulty, restitution of his own. But Dunluce by this time had fallen into useless ruins, and the Earl built Ballymagarry House near it as a residence. Earlier than that the castle had begun to crumble, for in 1639, when Antrim's wife, the Marchioness of Buckingham, was entertaining a great party, an outlying piece of the wall overhanging the landward mouth of the cave fell, carrying eight servants in its ruins. It was

    XVI

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 159

40. Carmelite Abbey at Rathmullan built by MacSwineys

    Rathmullan · town · Donegal · 1400–1499

    The old Abbey at Rathmullan was built as a Carmelite monastery by the MacSwineys in the 15th century, with ruins still showing Norman-Irish architecture. Bishop Knox of Raphoe rebuilt it largely after acquiring the manor from Turlough Oge MacSwiney in 1618.

    Read the passage

    which has the most interesting story. The old Abbey, whose ruins still show something of the Norman-Irish architecture, was built for a monastery of the Carmelites by the MacSwineys in the 15th century; though Knox, the Bishop of Raphoe, rebuilt it largely when he got the manor of Rathmullen from Turlough Oge MacSwiney in 16 18. To the west of the Abbey once stood the Castle of the MacSwineys of Fanad, easternmost of the three divisions of the clan. Now, in 1587, when England was full of apprehension, for the Armada was preparing, Sir John Perrott, bastard son of Henry VIII. , ruled as Lord Deputy in Ireland, and it was essential for him to secure peace in that troubled kingdom at such a time. Sir Hugh O'Donnell, the chieftain of Tyrconnell, who had been knighted by Sir Henry Sidney, was paramount in the country ; but Sir Hugh was ruled by his wife — Ineen Dhu Macdonald, a Scotchwoman, daughter of the Lord of the Isles. Her eldest son was Hugh O'Donnell, famous in later life as Red Hugh, and even then celebrated by the bards as a boy of rare promise. Sir John Perrott's main object was to secure Hugh, and, holding him for a hostage, to control O'Donnell and the North. But Ineen Dhu— "The Dark Daughter" — had no thought of letting him go out of safe keeping ; for her heart was set upon this boy, and to ensure his succession to the chieftaincy in those days, when the custom of tanistry had come to mean the succession of whatever claimant for election by the clan could show most backing, she maintained in her own right an army of Scotch mercenaries — "red shanks " as they were called. Further, to make assurance stronger, she had linked the boy by the tie of fosterage — then counted more sacred than blood-relationship — to the greatest of O'Donnell's dependant chiefs, Owen Oge Mac- Swiney— surnamed " Of the Battle-axes," and chief of all the MacSwineys. She sent Hugh to be guarded by his fosterfather in Doe Castle — to this day not an easy place to reach, and then perhaps the least accessible in Elizabeth's dominions.

    XIII

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 117

    As the companion tells it

    Coming through Rathmullan, you pass near the ruins of the old Abbey, which still shows something of Norman-Irish architecture. It was built for a monastery of the Carmelites by the MacSwineys in the 15th century. Bishop Knox of Raphoe rebuilt it largely after he got the manor of Rathmullan from Turlough Oge MacSwiney in 1618. West of the Abbey once stood the Castle of the MacSwineys of Fanad, the easternmost of the three divisions of the clan. The story deepens in 1587, when England was full of apprehension for the Armada was preparing. Sir John Perrott, bastard son of Henry the Eighth, ruled as Lord Deputy in Ireland, and it was essential for him to secure peace in that troubled kingdom at such a time. Sir Hugh O'Donnell, chieftain of Tyrconnell, knighted by Sir Henry Sidney, was paramount in the country. But Sir Hugh was ruled by his wife, Ineen Dhu Macdonald, a Scotchwoman, daughter of the Lord of the Isles. Her eldest son was Hugh O'Donnell, famous in later life as Red Hugh, and even then celebrated by the bards as a boy of rare promise. Sir John Perrott's main object was to secure Hugh, and holding him as a hostage, to control O'Donnell and the North. But Ineen Dhu, the Dark Daughter, had no thought of letting him go. Her heart was set upon this boy. To ensure his succession to the chieftaincy in those days of tanistry, when the custom had come to mean the succession of whatever claimant could show most backing, she maintained in her own right an army of Scotch mercenaries called red shanks. Further, she linked the boy by the tie of fosterage, then counted more sacred than blood-relationship, to Owen Oge MacSwiney, surnamed Of the Battle-axes, chief of all the MacSwineys. She sent Hugh to be guarded by his foster father in Doe Castle, to this day not an easy place to reach, and then perhaps the least accessible in Elizabeth's dominions.

41. Deirdre counsels flight to Rathlin

    near Rathlin Island · island or archipelago · Antrim

    As the sons of Usnach traveled toward Emain Macha, Deirdre advised them to go to Rathlin and wait there until Fergus had finished his feast, believing this would ensure Fergus kept his word and prolong their lives. Her counsel was rejected by the sons of Fergus and Naisi.

    Read the passage

    am bound under stern vows to speed the children of Usnach on to Eman of Macha." Then Barach reminded him of his gesa, and Fergus appealed to the sons of Usnach for counsel. " You have your choice," said Deirdre ; " will you forsake the feast or forsake the sons of Usnach ? " "I will not forsake them," he said, " for I will send my two sons, Illan the Fair and Buine the Red Fierce One with them to Eman of Macha." Then Naisi answered in wrath : " We find no fault with the escort ; it is not any other person that has ever defended us, but we ourselves." Then the company went on, leaving Fergus sad and sorrowful. But Deirdre counselled them to go to Rathlin, and abide there till Fergus should have partaken of his feast ; "for so," she said, " shall Fergus keep his word, and your lives shall be lengthened." But the sons of Fergus said she had but scant confidence in them ; and Naisi refused her counsel. They rested on the mountain of Fuad, and Deirdre dreamed a dream, and she tarried behind them. Naisi came back to seek her, and asked why she tarried. " A sleep was upon me," said Deirdre, "and I saw a dream in it." " What was the dream ? " said Naisi. " I saw Illan the Fair, and his head was struck off him, and I saw Buine the Red, and his head was on his shoulders : and the help of Buine the Red was not with you, and the help of Illan the Fair was with you."

    So they journeyed on till they came to the hill of Ardmacha, and Deirdre said to Naisi, " I see a cloud in the sky, and it is a cloud of blood ; and I would give you counsel, sons of Usnach." " What counsel ? " said Naisi. " Go to Dundalgan where Cuchullan lies, and be under the safeguard of Cuchullan till Fergus end his feasting, for fear of the treachery of Conor." " There is no fear upon us, and we will not practise that counsel," said Naisi.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 169

42. Derry Cathedral's siege memorials

    near Derry · city · Derry · 1689

    Derry Cathedral holds captured French colours from the siege, with original poles and tassels but renewed silk. A huge shell containing conditions of surrender is displayed in the vestibule, and the cathedral is filled with memorials of the famous siege.

    Read the passage

    the days when two guns were posted on its roof (then flat), to answer the fire of Hamilton's army ; but, as Macaulay observes, " it is filled with memorials of the siege." Over the altar are draped captured French colours, with their silk indeed renewed, but the poles and tassels were wrested from the hands of besiegers ; in the vestibule is a huge shell that was flung into the town, containing conditions of surrender. But the main feature of the town is its wall, on whose top a walk runs, wide enough in places, the inhabitants will tell you, for a carriage and pair to drive along it. On the wall are still mounted the guns that were fought in the siege ; one of them retains its name to this day, Roaring Meg, given from the loudness of its report. And on the west side of the wall rises a column, ninety feet high, topped by a statue of Walker, to whom history (in the person of Macaulay) has given the chief credit for the famous defence.

    Close to the cathedral is the central square of the city, " the Diamond," from which the streets fall sharply away north, east, and south. Here are gathered the principal public buildings, which, however, have little interest for a stranger. In the centre of the Diamond stands the Corporation Hall, now changed to other uses, which replaced the original wooden one knocked to pieces by the bombardment. The street running west leads to Bishopsgate, a triumphal arch erected in 1789 to commemorate the raising of the siege. On the north side of this street is the palace, a huge red-brick building, constructed by the Earl of Bristol, and more suitable for a prelate whose revenues reached ^£12,000 a year than for the modest salary with which a disestablished church rewards its divines. The cathedral has been modernised, and nothing in the town, except the wralls, speaks even of a moderate antiquity, much less of a Celtic origin ; yet Derry, unlike Belfast, has a history stretching far back into the past.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 138

43. Doon Well: Donegal's Great Healing Pilgrimage

    near Doon Well · well · Donegal

    Doon Well, accessible from Gartan via Kilmacrenan, was regarded as the great pilgrimage site in Donegal for healing all ailments on any day. Pilgrims came on crutches and even from Glasgow, including a man who carried his elderly mother and a mattress for ten Irish miles from Rathmelton to reach the well.

    Read the passage

    On one day in the year— so I was told — there is a great station at this shrine — it is the 15th of August ; and at least at the time my informant knew it, people gathered from all parts to have cures wrought. It was accounted on this day the most healing place in Donegal, and the good woman remembered well going there with her father for pains he had, and a deal of good it did him. But the great place of pilgrimage that heals all ailments all days, is the Well of Doon. If you go, go there reverently, and even if you have nothing to be healed of, as is likely enough after a week's touring in Donegal, you should go to this place of pilgrimage. I have seen myself, when I was a boy, pilgrims flocking there on crutches, and I have known of a man who came all the way from Glasgow, bringing with him his worldly possessions — an old mother and an old mattress, and carrying both of them, for the old woman could make no shift to walk. Her son got her by public conveyance as far as Rathmelton, but for the ten long Irish miles to Gartan he carried the two of them. First he would leave the old woman and go on with the mattress ; then leave it by the road in sight, and go back for his mother, and so on. Whether he cured her or not we never heard, but surely he deserved a miracle. The piety of Cleobis and Bito, who drew their mother to the temple when the oxen died, was a small thing compared with his.

    To Doon Well then I would have you go from Gartan, and the best way is to cross the bridge over the Lennan where it leaves Gartan Lough and follow the road for a matter of seven miles to Kilmacrenan. Nearly all the way the slope is with

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 66

44. Fire signals for Tory marriages from Horn Head

    near Horn Head · promontory · Donegal

    When rough weather prevented a priest from crossing to Tory Island to perform marriages, a system of fire signals was used. The priest read the service on Horn Head, lighting successive fires so the couple on Tory's shore could follow the ceremony's progress.

    Read the passage

    In short, Tory is a place with no want of picturesque legend about it, but the few people who have been there are more struck with its present than its past. The islanders live almost entirely by fishing, and the whole soil is covered, one hears, with the fish heads. Tory is now in the highway of the world, compared with what it was ; a telegraph wire connects it with Pollaguill Bay on the west of the Horn ; there is a signal station of Lloyd's shipping agency there, and a lighthouse. Steamers call there weekly for the take of fish and lobsters, and there are few of the people who have not been on the mainland, and probably also one or two who have been in England, Scotland, or America. They fish, too, in yawls nowadays, which are weatherly boats, though no boat that sails will take you to and from Tory in all weathers, and if you go there you risk having to stay a fortnight. But in the old days the islanders owned just their curraghs, and fished for their living. Curing was unknown to them (now the Congested Districts Board has established a small station there), but they used to try and keep alive not only crabs and lobsters, but also the choicest of their fish, such as turbot, which they tethered by the tail and kept in pools of the rocks. Tory was a lonely place in those days. There was a king in the island who adjudicated ; the office, which was hereditary, has, I believe, lapsed. No priest lived there, and it was said that sometimes when a marriage was to take place, rough weather would keep the ministrant from crossing, it might be for a month or two, so there was a system of signals in force. The priest went out on to Horn Head and read the service ; at a certain point one fire was lighted, then another, and so on, in order that the happy couple standing devout on the landward shore of Tory, might know exactly to what point in the service his reverence had got, and when they were finally accepted before the Church as man and wife.1

    1 Told, I believe truly, of the priest of Tamney when hindered from crossing Rowros ferry. The story is transferred to Tory.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 103

45. Glenarm, heritage of Marjory Bisset to Clandonnell

    near Glenarm · village · Antrim

    Glenarm came to the Macdonnells (Clandonnell) through the heritage of Marjory Bisset, daughter of a Norman family that had fled to the Antrim coast after slaying the Earl of Galloway. James Macdonnell's lands in Antrim centred round Glenarm.

    Read the passage

    them in the days of Robert Bruce, whom Angus Og Macdonnell sheltered there in 1306. This Angus made a further step into Ireland, for he married an O'Kane and took for her dowry seven score men of all the names in O'Kane's country, that he might settle them on his lands in Cantire. Another marriage alliance of great moment was contracted by a later Macdonnell with Marjory Bisset, daughter of a Norman family, who originally settled in Scotland. But the Bissets being in trouble for slaying the Earl of Galloway, fled across to the Antrim coast, and there seized and held an estate in the Southern Glens, which came with Marjory to her husband. But the foundation of the Macdonnell power in Antrim dates from Alexander or Alastar Macdonnell, who about 1500 occupied a position on the north of Ballycastle Bay, and built there his stronghold of Duneynie. Under it lay Port Brittas, where there was easy landing for his galleys when they ran across from his lordship in Cantire. The Lordship of the Isles was now by law a thing of the past, but the Macdonnells were insubordinate vassals of the Scottish crown; and as their foothold on the Scotch coast grew less secure — and indeed from 1500 they were practically outlawed in Scotland — so they strengthened themselves on the Antrim shore. Alastar Macdonnell had six sons. James, the eldest brother, married Lady Agnes Campbell, the daughter of the third Earl of Argyll, thus for a moment reconciling two bitterly hostile houses. Moreover, though it was now treason to bear the title, he was elected Lord of the Isles. His lands in Antrim centred round Glenarm, which had come to Clandonnell as the heritage of Marjory Bisset. His brothers set themselves to extend their power northward into the Route, which was then defined as what lay between the Bush and the Bann on the shore, and between the Bann and the Glens inland. Colla Macdonnell, third of the brothers, built Kenbane Castle, whose ruins may still be seen about two miles west of Ballycastle. But he did better than that. The lords of the Route were the MacQuillins, a Norman family settled in Ireland : whether the name repre-

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 157

46. Island Magee massacre of 1642

    near Island Magee · parish · Antrim · 1642

    Island Magee was held by the Bissets, who paid a yearly rent of a cast of goshawks from its cliffs. In 1642 it became infamous when soldiers from Carrickfergus attacked the inhabitants and threw numbers of them over the cliffs in one of the worst acts of the war of reprisals.

    Read the passage

    At the foot of Glen Arifif then this guide ceases to be a guide to the road, and I have only to wish you a safe and speedy journey to Larne. There you will see the curious curving headland that protects the harbour, whose name, the Curran or Sickle, recalls the Sicilian Drepanum. At the end of the Curran stands a fragment of Olderfleet Castle, built originally by the Bissets, who held under a grant from Henry III. It was here that Edward Bruce landed in 131 5, with his army of 6,000, when he undertook his ill-fated expedition into Ireland. Olderfleet was his first capture, and he marched thence to Carrickfergus, and was there crowned King of Ireland. Just off the point of the Curran lies Island Magee, a place of considerable historic interest. The Bissets held it as part of their grant, but paid to the crown as yearly rent — a cast of goshawks from its cliffs. It became famous, or infamous, in 1642, by one of the worst acts in the terrible war of reprisals. Soldiers from Carrickfergus attacked the inhabitants and threw numbers of them over the cliffs. The details of this story have been questioned, but Elizabethan methods were not likely to be soon forgotten.

    Larne is a convenient place for English tourists to end their tour, as the mail steamers to Stranraer gives them a short and pretty crossing, with very few miles of open sea. But if you are not tired of your machine you may take another day to ride the remaining twenty-four miles along the coast road to Belfast. The road passes, at Ballycarry, near the foot of Larne Lough, the parish of Kilroot, Swift's first prebend, where that formidable genius first experienced the bondage of his cloth. The solitudes of Antrim had little charm for him after his life in Temple's household, where famous men came and went, but he attempted to console himself with women's society. Perhaps the strangest of all the strange things he left behind him are his letters to Varina, as he called Miss Waring, the daughter of a neighbouring gentleman — the only woman who could boast of having refused Swift.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 184

47. Murray Club honours the real preserver of Derry

    near Derry · city · Derry · 1689

    Colonel Murray, who led the defence of Derry, was deposed from his regiment by Kirke and retired into private life. A Murray Club still keeps his name in honour, seeking to remedy the injustice of his treatment.

    Read the passage

    style the 12th — that is annually celebrated as the anniversary of deliverance. Kirke entered the city and took command ; Walker, I fear, further ingratiated himself with the powers that be — his narrative certainly has no word of censure for Kirke's supineness — and he was chosen to carry despatches to London. William treated him handsomely, rewarded him, and he received the thanks of Parliament, conveyed to him in person at the bar of the House by the Speaker. He looked forward to a Bishopric with some confidence and published his own account of the siege, which represents him as the leading mover in the whole action. But his martial tastes took the old man to the Boyne water next July, where he met his death. Meanwhile Kirke had deposed Murray from the command of his regiment — which promptly disbanded itself — and confiscated his horse. Under such circumstances the real preserver of Derry retired into private life. A Murray Club, however, still keeps his name in honour, and does what it can to remedy this injustice.

    The subsequent history of Derry is one of increasing prosperity, but not of peace. Annually, two anniversaries are celebrated: on December 18th, the Closing of the Gates ; and on August 1 2th, the Raising of the Siege. At the December festival it is usual to burn in effigy the treacherous governor Lundy : and both are attended with processions of the most aggressively Protestant character. At least half of the population is Roman Catholic and Nationalist, so that these occasions are a fruitful source of street riots. Law has interfered and prohibited repeatedly all that might give offence to religious or political susceptibilities ; but the anniversaries are still celebrated, and even those who are least in love with Orangeism would scarcely desire to see the historic commemoration of so valiant a feat of arms omitted. The police, I believe, still regularly exercise their faculties to discover beforehand the vile body of Lundy, stuffed with squibs and crackers; but at the critical moment he seldom fails to swing out of the window of the Prentice Boys'"

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 149

48. Niall Garv encamps at Donegal Friary

    Donegal · town · Donegal · 1601

    In 1601 Niall Garv and his English allies crossed Bearnas (Barnesmore) and encamped at the monastery of Donegal in the east of Tir Hugh. Red Hugh O'Donnell grieved that the English occupied the monastery belonging to the Culdees and laid siege to dislodge them.

    Read the passage

    " After this news reached O'Donnell that Xial Garv, the son of Con, Son of Calvagh, with his English and Irish, had come from the east across Bearnas and encamped at Donegal in the east of Tir Hugh. When O'Donnell received the news that the English had arrived at that place he felt grieved for the misfortune of the monastery, that the English should occupy it and inhabit it instead of the sons of Life and the Culdees whose rightful property it was then ; and he could not forbear from going to try if he could relieve them. He left the farmers and the betaghs of Tirconnell with their flocks and herds through Lower Connaught, with some of his soldiers to protect them against attack from the harbours and against the kernes and foreign tribes, and he himself proceeded with the greater part of his army across the rivers Sligo, Duff, Drowes and Erne northward and pitched his camp in strong position exactly at Carraig, which is upwards of 2,000 paces from Donegal where Nial Garv and his English were stationed. As for O'Donnell he ordered great numbers of his forces to blockade the monastery in turns by day and night, so as to prevent the English from coming outside its wall to destroy anything in the country. Xeither did the armies pass their time by any means happily and

    4»

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 32

    As the companion tells it

    As you pass through Donegal, you are near a monastery where Nial Garv made camp in 1601. He crossed Barnesmore from the east with English and Irish forces and occupied the monastery in the east of Tir Hugh. Red Hugh O'Donnell, hearing the news, felt grieved that the English should occupy the monastery belonging to the sons of Life and the Culdees, whose rightful property it was. He could not forbear from going to try to relieve them. He left the farmers and betaghs of Tirconnell with their flocks and herds spread through Lower Connaught, with some soldiers to protect them from attack from the harbours and from the kernes and foreign tribes. He himself took the greater part of his army across the rivers Sligo, Duff, Drowes and Erne northward and pitched camp in a strong position at Carraig, about 2,000 paces from Donegal where Nial Garv and the English were stationed. O'Donnell ordered great numbers of his forces to blockade the monastery in turns by day and night, to prevent the English from coming outside its walls to destroy anything in the country. Neither army passed their time happily.

49. O'Clery castle at Kilbarron

    Kilbarron · townland · Donegal

    The O'Donnells granted the O'Clery family lands at Kilbarron near Ballyshannon, where they built a castle. The O'Clerys had been driven from Connaught by the de Burgos and settled in Tyrconnel, where the hereditary ollave of historical studies arranged for his grandson to be bred as an annalist.

    Read the passage

    The chief of the four was Teague na-tsliebhe O'Clery (Teague O'Clery of the Mountain), and it is worth while to give a few details about him, for the reader of Irish history is apt to overlook the fact that there were other people besides warriors in Ireland. The O'Clerys were a tribe whom the de Burgos drove out of Connaught when they settled there and became Bourkes. The O'Clery sept scattered ; after a while an O'Clery came into Tyrconnel and settled there. O'Donnell's hereditary ollave of historical studies (ollave means something like Master of Arts and implies a title bestowed on proof of competence) was without a son ; so he gave his daughter to O'Clery on condition that their son should be bred an annalist. The O'Donnells gave them lands in Kilbarron near Ballyshannon, and they built a castle there which stands for you to see. Teague O'Clery was born in 1575, became a lay brother of the Franciscan order and entered the Irish convent at Louvain under the name of Brother Michael. The Warden of this convent, Mac Ward, was engaged on a book of Lives of the saints, and he sent O'Clery to Ireland to collect materials — which were afterwards used by Colgan, a native of Inishowen, who took up Mac Ward's work. O'Clery besides the Annals wrote also two other books of which copies exist ; one in his own hand at Brussels ; the other in Dublin, written by Cucogry or Peregrine O'Clery, who was chief of

    32 ENGLISH REGARD FOR SCHOLARSHIP ch. ii

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 22

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere close to Kilbarron there's a castle built by the O'Clery family, who were given these lands by the O'Donnells. The O'Clerys had been driven out of Connaught by the de Burgos and eventually settled in Tyrconnel. The O'Donnells' hereditary ollave of historical studies had no son, so he gave his daughter to an O'Clery on the condition that their son would be bred as an annalist. The O'Donnells granted them lands here at Kilbarron near Ballyshannon, and they built a castle that still stands. Teague O'Clery was born in 1575, became a lay brother of the Franciscan order, and entered the Irish convent at Louvain under the name of Brother Michael. The warden of that convent, Mac Ward, was working on a book of Lives of the Saints and sent O'Clery back to Ireland to collect materials. O'Clery wrote the Annals and two other books, one in his own hand at Brussels and another in Dublin written by Cucogry or Peregrine O'Clery.

50. Red Hugh raids Turlough Lynach O'Neill at Strabane

    near Strabane · town · Tyrone · 1592–1593

    Hugh Roe's first act as chieftain was to raid the territories of Turlough Lynach O'Neill, who claimed to succeed to Shane O'Neill's position and lived at Strabane. By Tyrone's advice, Red Hugh made formal submission to Government at Strabane while secretly plotting with Tyrone for Spanish aid.

    Read the passage

    nobles of Tyrconnell, both lay and ecclesiastical." Had descent, not election, decided these matters, after the English law, the chief of the O'Donnells would have been Neil Garv O'Donnell (Neil the Fierce), son of Con O'Donnell, who was son of Calvagh. As it was, Neil counted that he was the better man, and made no secret of his spleen. But, at first, he fought right well under his cousin, and his cousin was the very man to keep him busy. Hugh Roe's first act was to raid the territories of Turlough Lynach O'Neill, the man who claimed to succeed to Shane's position, and lived at Strabane. There Red Hugh made — by Tyrone's advice — formal submission to Government. But he and Tyrone were already plotting to obtain Spanish aid and revolt from England. By O'Donnell's repeated attacks, Turlough Lynach was obliged to resign his title of the O'Neill, which was then assumed by the Earl of Tyrone : a first sign of disaffection, as Tyrone had pledged himself not to bear it. The O'Donnell and the O'Neill were now virtually lords of all Ulster. In 1594, Enniskillen was reduced by Hugh Maguire, chief of Fermanagh, acting under O'Donnell's orders. In 1 595, Red Hugh attempted to drive the English out of Connaught, but their occupation of that province had been for a long time effective, and they held fortresses all through it. He raided the country, however, unopposed, and when his enemies waited for him in the passes from Connaught into Tyrconnell, turned to the east, and carried fire and sword into the Pale. War was now definitely levied against the Earls j and by way of reprisal, George Bingham, son of Sir Richard Bingham, Governor of Connaught, sailed round the Swilly, and plundered the Carmelite Abbey at Rathmullen. It seemed to them worth while even to make a descent upon Tory — not for any riches of the inhabitants, but for the spoils of Columbkille's church there, and there "they preyed and plundered everything they found on the island." Meanwhile, however, O'Neill and O'Donnell had driven back Sir John Norris's army, O'Neill, it is said, killing in single combat a huge soldier, Segrave of Meath ; and George Bingham, say the

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 121

51. Robert Bruce and the spider at Rachray Castle, Rathlin

    near Rathlin Island · island or archipelago · Antrim · 1306

    In 1306, Angus Og Macdonnell carried Robert Bruce to Rathlin Island after his defeat at Perth. According to tradition, Bruce learnt his lesson of perseverance from a six-times-baffled spider in the castle on the east end of Rachray.

    Read the passage

    Rathlin is old in history. Pliny and Ptolemy mention it as Ricnia or Ricina. A monastery was founded there in Columbkille's day, but the exposed situation of the place made it a prey to Northmen, who sacked and burnt the monastery in 790 ; and after the battle of Clontarf, the Danes, repulsed by Brian Boru, made a descent on this outlying spot as they sailed north. In 12 16 King John came as far north as Carrickfergus, and granted Rathlin and the Route to the Earl of Galloway. From his heirs it was seized by the Bissetts, who settled in Glenarm. But in 1306 the Macdonnells were lords there, for Angus Og Macdonnell carried Robert Bruce there after his defeat at Perth, and it was in the castle that stood on the east end of Rachray that Bruce, according to tradition, learnt his lesson from the six times baffled spider. Later it would seem to have been lost to the Macquillins, but was retaken from them by Sorley'Boy ; the first of his conquests. In 155 1 the English attempted a landing there, but were repulsed with disaster. But in 1575 Walter, Earl of Essex, was busy with his great scheme of colonising and civilising Ulster. The Irish seemed to him folk so barbarous and despicable that no man could be bound to keep faith with them, or observe towards them any duty save that of extirpation, and he began, though unsuccessfully, the bad work that was finished by Mountjoy and Chichester. One thing, however, he did successfully. Sorley Boy, who defied his forces from fastnesses in the Glens, had sent his women and children and valuables to Rathlin for security. Word came of this to Essex at Carrickfergus, and he sent off an expedition under Norris with three frigates — one commanded by Francis Drake — and a strong

    XVI II

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 172

52. Shane O'Neill defeated at Letterkenny

    Letterkenny · town · Donegal

    Shane the Proud O'Neill was defeated with great slaughter by Hugh Roe O'Donnell at Letterkenny. Surrounded by enemies on all sides, Shane fled to the Macdonnells, who killed him partly in revenge and partly to gain English favour.

    Read the passage

    struggle was protracted, but it could only end one way. Ireland was eaten slowly, but it was bound to be eaten so long as the sea was a wall of defence to England, but a highway of approach to any point in Ireland. Ulster was eaten last; the toughest and the least tempting morsel. Up till the reign of Elizabeth there was no serious attempt at general conquest of it j and when the conquest was undertaken it was begun and carried out by the help of the Irish ; empire came of division. Shane O'Neill after defying the English successfully till Sir Henry Sidney said that " this man " could burn if he liked " up to the gates of Dublin and go away unfought," had enemies on each flank ; he had tried to crush the Macdonnells in Antrim and the English had applauded him for doing it ; he had tried to crush the O'Donnells in Tyrconnell, and the English befriended the O'Donnells, or rather swore to befriend them. So when at last Shane the Proud was defeated with great slaughter by Hugh Roe O'Donnell at Letterkenny, he found himself ringed about with enemies and could only choose which of them he should flee to. He chose the Macdonnells, and they, partly in revenge and partly as the most assured passport to English favour, made a short end of him and left Ulster without a head.

    The whole principle of succession in Ireland was that loose and ill-defined half-hereditary system which one finds everywhere among martial and semi-barbarous tribes. The chief was theoretically elected by the clan from the princely family ; and while he lived his tanist or successor was theoretically recognised ; but practically when it came to elections the strong hand decided. Hence there was never a clan but had in it some dependent prince who either was plotting his way to chieftainship and ready at all times to clear rivals from the path by any means, or else was aggrieved at having been passed over. Further, the urraghts or vassals of the ruling clan were often of doubtful loyalty. If the O'Donnell was strong in Donegal, the O'Dogherty of Inishowen was his trusty

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 18

    As the companion tells it

    You are coming through Letterkenny now. It was here that Shane the Proud O'Neill was defeated with great slaughter by Hugh Roe O'Donnell. Shane had defied the English for years. Sir Henry Sidney said that "this man" could burn if he liked "up to the gates of Dublin and go away unfought." But Shane had made enemies on every side. He had tried to crush the Macdonnells in Antrim, and the English had applauded him for it. He had tried to crush the O'Donnells in Tyrconnell, and the English befriended the O'Donnells, or rather swore to befriend them. So when Shane was broken here, he found himself ringed about with enemies and could only choose which of them he should flee to. He chose the Macdonnells. They, partly in revenge and partly as the most assured passport to English favour, made a short end of him and left Ulster without a head. The broader truth was that Ireland was eaten slowly, bound to be eaten so long as the sea was a wall of defence to England but a highway of approach to any point in Ireland. Ulster was eaten last, the toughest and least tempting morsel. Up until the reign of Elizabeth there was no serious attempt at general conquest. When it came, it was carried out with the help of the Irish. Empire came of division. The whole principle of succession in Ireland was a loose and ill-defined half-hereditary system. The chief was theoretically elected by the clan from the princely family, and a tanist or successor was theoretically recognised. But practically, the strong hand decided.

53. The bailiff's stratagem for rent in Gweedore

    near Gweedore · locality · Donegal

    A local tale from Gweedore tells of a bailiff who tricked a non-paying tailor's wife into surrendering two years' rent by claiming her husband had sent him for it and guessing the money was in the breeches pocket. The story illustrates how rents in the area were collected only by stratagem before Lord George Hill's time.

    Read the passage

    " Having heard that the tailor had engaged a horse to go to Dunfanaghy to buy potatoes, the bailiff took the opportunity and boldly went to his wife for the rent. She assured him there was not one shilling in the house. But the bailiff, not wishing to be put off, told her that was not true : her husband had sent him for it : and if two years' rent was not paid at once they would get none of the land that was dividing. 1 And by the same token,' he said, ' the money is in the chest in his breeches pocket.' It was a lucky hit ; the wife never doubted, but ran to the chest, got out the breeches and gave the bailiff the two years' rent ; and off he went to the office. He had hardly paid it in when up came the tailor not able to speak for rage ; but when he got words, he wanted a warrant against the bailiff for robbery. The bailiff took no notice of him but coolly said to the agent, ' Och, yer honour, was not I the lucky man that happened for to say that it was in the breeches pocket.' "

    I could sketch my memories of Lord George, whom I remember well, a very pattern of gentleness and courtesy, short, white-haired and white-bearded, always dressed in grey Gweedore frieze, as you may see his photograph shown in the

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 93

    As the companion tells it

    You're coming through Gweedore in Donegal, a place with a sharp old tale about how rents used to be gathered here. Before Lord George Hill's time, the story goes, rent could only be got by stratagem. A local tailor owed two years' rent, and the bailiff heard the tailor had hired a horse to go to Dunfanaghy for potatoes. So he went straight to the tailor's wife and told her the husband had sent him for the money, and if two years' rent was not paid at once they would get none of the land that was dividing. The wife said there was not a shilling in the house, but the bailiff made a lucky guess and told her the money was in the chest in his breeches pocket. She never doubted him, ran to the chest, got out the breeches, and handed over the two years' rent. The bailiff paid it in at the office, and the tailor came back raging, wanting a warrant against him for robbery. The bailiff just said to the agent, "Och, yer honour, was not I the lucky man that happened for to say that it was in the breeches pocket."

54. Walker's statue on Derry walls

    near Derry · city · Derry · 1689

    Rev. George Walker, a clergyman aged seventy-two, was appointed to assist Governor Baker during the Siege of Derry. His statue now towers over the walls of Derry, though controversy surrounds whether he was truly governor or merely a civilian assistant.

    Read the passage

    A fierce controversy rages round Walker's share in the business. Mackenzie's book, written as a counterblast to Walker's own Diary of the Siege, makes Murray the hero throughout. So does a curious contemporary poem, the Londerias, which, doggerel as it is, gives the clearest account of the siege that I have read. But Macaulay convinced himself that Walker really was Governor and not merely, as Mackenzie states, a sort of civilian assistant to Baker appointed to supervise the stores. It was certainly he who received the thanks of Parliament, and it is he whose statue towers over the walls.1

    No doubt also in a war between faiths one who combined the power to lead and organise, with spiritual authority to exhort and console, gained a real ascendancy and very likely animated the defence more than any soldier. But it must be remembered that he was a clergyman by profession, and, moreover, seventy-two years of age when the siege began. And I cannot avoid a suspicion that Walker did scant justice to Murray,

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 145

55. William of Orange's landing at Carrickfergus

    near Carrickfergus · town · Antrim · 1690–1779

    William landed at Carrickfergus in 1690 on his way to the Boyne, and a stone upon the quay is shown as the first stone in Ireland he set foot on. In 1760 a French expedition under Thurot took the town, and Paul Jones later fought a famous action against the Drake frigate in the bay.

    Read the passage

    the work of the Norman builder still defies time. The walls of the keep, which is ninety feet high, are nine feet thick, and the ancient portcullis exists ; and upon the whole there are few better examples of the Anglo-Norman fortress. For three centuries it was the only English stronghold north of the Pale — that is north of Dundalk. It is now occupied as an ordnance depot. Prince John landed here in 12 10 during the reign of his father Henry II. In 13 15 Edward Bruce with his Scots occupied the town and besieged the garrison, who were starved into surrender, but not before they had eaten thirty Scotch prisoners, taken in a sortie. Bruce was crowned king of Ireland there and Carrickfergus remained his capital till 1318, when he was defeated and slain by the English colonists at Dundalk. It was at Carrickfergus that William landed in 1690 on his way to the Boyne, and a stone upon the quay is shown as the first stone in Ireland that the monarch " of glorious, pious and immortal memory " set foot on. In 1 760 a French expedition under Thurot took the town, but were soon afterwards routed by an English squadron under Elliott , and a famous action was fought in the bay by the great Paul Jones against the Drake frigate.

    Lovers of Sir Samuel Ferguson's poetry will remember Carrickfergus as the scene of his spirited ballad Willy Gilliland, which tells the story of an outlawed Covenanter's revenge.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 185

56. Donegal harvesters departing from Dublin quays

    Dublin · city · Dublin

    Around June 18th the quays in Dublin presented a strange sight as wild-looking Donegal folk crowded to their boat. The men migrated seasonally to Scotland and England for harvest work, returning to their tiny hillside holdings only for the winter.

    Read the passage

    For the men of the families it is merely a home, not a place of subsistence — a sort of roosting-place for the winters. In the springtime they till their tiny patches of soil, set in among rock and heather, often too small and stony for a plough to work in ; when summer comes, away they go many of them to Scotland, and in the harvest time there is a general exodus to England while the women get in whatever scanty produce there may be at home. St. John's Eve is the signal for this migration : that is the day on which they like to enter on an engagement ; and about June 18th the quays in Dublin are a strange sight with these wild-looking folk crowding to their boat. It is a strange economic problem that is presented by these habitations on a land apparently unfit for anything but a sheep-run, yet where men will not be deterred from living. This has been permanently the case ; but within the last twenty years has come the great change since England turned Ireland into a laboratory for political experiment, and you may study in Donegal the attempts to fix an economic rental for land that in other countries would probably find no occupants. You may see also, what is more encouraging, the results produced by many essays in paternal legislation. The " congested districts board " has been so busy in the west of Donegal that it has generated an adjective : there is a " congested " bridge over the Gweebarra river, " congested " roads carry you over much of the country, and you may meet "congested" fish being hawked all the way from the Bloody Foreland down into Cavan.

    Donegal used to be expensive to travel in, except for a very strong walker, as inns are far apart and posting costs nearly a shilling a mile ; but the cycle solves that difficulty. Antrim is fully organised for tourist traffic, and a long car or van runs daily in summer from Portrush to Larne by which you may travel if you are weary of the machine. But the coast road there is so good that you will have less temptation to laziness j and in Donegal, though one would not pick it out as a cyclist's

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 11

57. Hiring fair at the Diamond, Donegal

    Donegal · town · Donegal

    Donegal's big hiring fair fills the Diamond with carts, cars, and crowds of Gaelic-type peasants. Boys and girls engage themselves to employers from May 27 to November 20, with a second fair for the winter season; onlookers actively coax bargains between hirers and hired.

    Read the passage

    fifty of these vehicles. It was the big hiring fair. Boys and girls engage themselves to employers from the 27 th of May to the 20th of November, and there is another hiring fair then for the winterseason. A good stout workman will get up to £7 or £S in addition to his board for either period : a girl from £5 to £4. There was a large crowd, many of them true peasants of the Gaelic type — though I heard no Irish spoken — wearing big black slouch hats, almost a certain sign in these parts of a Catholic and Nationalist — the older men with grave close-shaven high cheekboned faces — wearing only a short side whisker close clipped. On the fringes of the crowd were booths in rows selling crockery and hardware and— the invariable delicacy of Irish fairs — dilsk or dulse — a sweet-tasting seaweed spreading all about it a strong whiff of the sea.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 30

    As the companion tells it

    Up ahead is Donegal town, and at its heart the Diamond, where the big hiring fair once filled the place with carts and cars, fifty of these vehicles and a large crowd. Boys and girls engaged themselves to employers from the 27th of May to the 20th of November, and there was another hiring fair then for the winter season. A good stout workman would get up to £7 or £8 in addition to his board for either period, a girl from £5 to £4. Many in the crowd were true peasants of the Gaelic type, though the writer heard no Irish spoken. They wore big black slouch hats, almost a certain sign in those parts of a Catholic and Nationalist. The older men had grave close-shaven high cheekboned faces, wearing only a short side whisker close clipped. On the fringes of the crowd were booths in rows selling crockery and hardware, and the invariable delicacy of Irish fairs, dilsk or dulse, a sweet-tasting seaweed spreading all about it a strong whiff of the sea.

58. Patrick meets Conall Gulban at Mullaghnashee

    Mullaghnashee · townland · Roscommon · 450

    St. Patrick crossed the Erne and ascended Mullaghnashee, where he found Conall Gulban sitting in council in a palace built by fairies. Patrick prophesied that a youth called Columbkille would be born of Conall's lineage.

    Read the passage

    centuries after the coming of St. Patrick, when the land fell into such a habit of restful peace that the Danish sea rovers found its sea boundary easy prey. But the special saint of Tyrconnell was the greatest of all Irish saints after Patrick, St. Columba. In about 450 a.d. Patrick, on his missionary journey, crossed the Erne from Carbery in Sligo, where Cairbre, one of Niall's sons, had received him roughly ; but on the north bank, after he had passed by Assaroe and ascended Mullaghnashee, he found Conall Gulban sitting in council in the palace that the fairies had built him. Conall came to Patrick for his blessing, but Patrick turned from him and laid his hand first on the head of Conall's son Fergus. " For," he said, " of his lineage will be born a youth that is Columbkille." Then after baptising Conall and his household, Patrick went through Barnesmore Gap and turned northwards, but when he was on the top of Cark mountain, overlooking the Swilly, at a ford of the river Deele, which runs through Convoy, the axle of his chariot broke and when mended broke again. Then Patrick knew the sign and bade his people not wonder, for the land north of that river had no need of him : for a son should be born there who should be called " The Dove of the Churches " — Columbkille — who should bless the land to the northward. So he turned away eastward and made his way to the Grianan on Aileach which looks upon the Foyle and Lough Swilly, and there baptised Eoghan the founder of the Kinel Eoghan, and first lord of Tyrone.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 61

59. Synod in Meath excommunicates Columba

    Meath · county · Meath · 562

    In 562, following a battle stirred up by St. Columba, a synod sitting in Meath under King Diarmaid's influence excommunicated him.

    Read the passage

    supported by the northern Hy-Xiall and Comgall by the Dalriadan Clan Donnell — a branch of the Hy Xiall — lords of Antrim and the Scotch isles. The third battle was that of Cul-fedha, in which the northern Hy Niall under Aedh (Hugh) defeated the southern under Colman, son of Diarmaid. A saint so contentious was hardly a blessing to his country, and there is no cause for wonder why in 562, after the first of these battles, a synod sitting in Meath, under Diarmaid's influence, excommunicated him. Either for this cause or, as some say, because another saint enjoined exile on him for a penance, he left Ireland in 563 and went to Conall, King of Dalriada, who welcomed his kinsmen — for both were descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages — and gave him the island of Hy. This isle — better known under its Latin name of Iona — became the seat of a great monastic foundation and a centre from which Christianity and the arts of peace were taught to the still barbarous Scots and Saxons.

    Sometimes this great prince of the Church interfered in the affairs of Ireland for war or peace ; twice, as we have seen, he stirred up battles, and in 573, when the Ard-ri held a great national gathering to consider questions of moment, he accompanied the King of Dalriada. One point for settlement was the position of the Irish colony on the Scotch coast, and Columba gave his opinion, which was accepted, that it should be an independent State. The other question was the status of the order of bards, who went through the land demanding free quarters for themselves and their following, and, if not entertained as they desired, revenged themselves by composing scurrilous libels and songs. The assembly was well minded to abolish their order altogether ; but Columba, as a friend of learning, advised only that the number of bards should be restricted, and some rules made for their conduct : under these limitations their ancient privileges were maintained.

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 63

    As the companion tells it

    As the road takes you through Meath, this is the county where, in 562, a synod sat and excommunicated Columba. He was a saint, but a contentious one. He had stirred up battles. There was support from the northern Hy Niall and Comgall by the Dalriadan Clan Donnell, lords of Antrim and the Scotch isles. One battle was Cul-fedha, where the northern Hy Niall under Aedh defeated the southern under Colman, son of Diarmaid. A saint so contentious was hardly a blessing to his country. And so, after the first of these battles, a synod sitting in Meath, under Diarmaid's influence, excommunicated him. Either for this cause or, as some say, because another saint enjoined exile on him for a penance, he left Ireland in 563 and went to Conall, King of Dalriada. Conall welcomed his kinsmen, for both were descended from Niall of the Nine Hostages, and gave him the island of Hy. That isle, better known as Iona, became the seat of a great monastic foundation and a centre from which Christianity and the arts of peace were taught to the still barbarous Scots and Saxons. He did not vanish from Irish affairs. In 573, when the Ard-ri held a great national gathering, Columba accompanied the King of Dalriada. One question for settlement was the Irish colony on the Scotch coast. Columba gave his opinion, which was accepted, that it should be an independent State. The other question was the bards, who went through the land demanding free quarters for themselves and their following, and if not entertained as they desired, revenged themselves with scurrilous libels and songs. The assembly was well minded to abolish their order altogether, but Columba, as a friend of learning, advised only that the number of bards should be restricted and some rules made for their conduct. Under these limitations their ancient privileges were maintained.

60. 1798 French invasion fleet sighted near Malin Head

    near Malin Head · promontory · Donegal · 1798

    Sir John Warren sighted Bompart's invading French squadron near Malin Head in 1798. Wolfe Tone was on board one of the French ships during this attempted invasion.

    Read the passage

    Discussing these things, we got to the brow of the cliff. Eight hundred feet sheer below, one could see through the mist a sort of ghost of the surf — a very impressive sight. Just by us was the ruin of an old signal tower. Gillespie had known an old man who remembered having wrought at it in the days of Napoleonic war. It was just off here, near Malin Head, that Sir John Warren sighted Bompart's invading squadron in 1798, on board of which was Wolfe Tone. But that story has to be told when we get to Rathmullen, as the story of Columba must be when we get to his birthplace at Gartan.

    We plunged along the cliff front in the driving mist, and ultimately struck a road leading out to the Sturrell itself, which is a high conical piece of rock, with a limitless drop below it. At this point the youths of that side of the Glen are in the habit of climbing down the cliff face in search of strayed sheep. From the Sturrell there should be a view of the Rosses and Aranmore, far away north ; but this day we could not even see Tormore, the island a couple of miles out, famous as a wonderful gathering of sea-birds in the breeding season, ill-reputed for a recent fatal boating accident. Having seen we came down, passing Columbkille's holy well, which is not a place where cures

    Internet Archive highwaysbywaysin00gwyn_0, Chapter 49

    As the companion tells it

    Somewhere about Malin Head, the sea gives up an old war story. There is a ruin of a signal tower near the cliff edge here, built in the days of the Napoleonic war. A man called Gillespie once knew an old man who remembered working on it as a young man. The cliff drops 800 feet sheer, and through the mist you can see the surf below, a ghost of white in the grey. It was just off this coast, near Malin Head, that Sir John Warren sighted Bompart's invading French squadron in 1798. Wolfe Tone was on board one of those ships. That is the attempt that mattered, the one with Tone on the water, looking at Ireland. The full story waits for Rathmullen, but this is where the fleet was seen. The land here is rough and high. Out toward the Sturrell, a high conical rock with a limitless drop below, the young men of that side of the Glen climb down the cliff face after strayed sheep. On a clear day you might see the Rosses and Aranmore far to the north. On a grey day you see nothing but the mist coming in off the water.