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Published: September 5th 2012
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There is something about the extremity of land that has a compelling draw. Slope Point and Cape Reinga in New Zealand spring to mind as per our blogs from the bottom of the world. The Republic of Ireland was no different. Malin Head is the most northerly point of Ireland. The most northerly point of Inishowen. North of Northern Ireland, but it’s in the South. The compelling draw was big news. It was not the road less travelled. A constant stream of vehicles flowed towards the Head from the village of Malin. Coaches included. The common sense approach employed at Slieve League – no coaches beyond this point – was not in evidence, as the grand tour of Ireland buses ploughed north. Slieve League forced them into submission with a nice cup of Illy coffee, before transferring them to smaller vehicles more suited to the road width available. The village of Malin did it’s best to divert a few of the masses to no avail.
We arrived at the Head, having passed our own distraction in Farrens Bar - the most northerly pub in Ireland . Malin Head was a headland – full stop. It was missing that most fundamental
of amenities – assign to pose next to in order to confirm your arrival. “Malin Head, the most northern point of the island of Ireland ”. It makes for more interesting photographs. The Head has had previous military significance and the only buildings left are those from the old base. The word “ Eire ” is marked out in white stones in the grass wasteland just below the point. It is presumably a relic from World War 2, when the stones visible from the air would be a guide for pilots using the air corridor to provide air cover for the Atlantic convoys.
There was no sign, but the quick thinking entrepreneur had branded his mobile expresso coffee van with helpful little indicators such as “ Irelands most northerly tea bag bin”. I seized the opportunity to add this to the photograph collection. The coffee man was making a mint. The blustery conditions were conducive to a nice latte and there being nothing else to spend your money on, the coffee van was taking it all. The business came with the added bonus of being able to up sticks and relocate should there be driving rain and no prospective
Grianan of Aileach
Fortress of the Sun punters. On this day, the punters kept coming. A coach pulled up as we were leaving. Could we squeeze past? Yes, we could but it was tight and an inconvenient manoeuvre. The coach had clearly been or was going to another of the north Donegal’s premier attractions – the Daniel O’Donnell Visitor Centre in Dungloe. We know this because as the coach unloaded, the wind whipped up and the said leaflets were blowing rapidly in the direction of North America . An attempted round up of the paperwork on the loose was less than successful!
We’d started our day in Letterkenny, the closest of Donegal’s market towns to Derry and the most populous place. The number shops were way beyond the number experienced elsewhere on our travels and split between the high street and the “out of town” shopping, which at a maximum of ½ a mile away isn’t really out of town. The “out of town” shops have a feel of retail park about them and feature such as a Next, Argos, Marks and Sparks etc, designed to attract the day-tripping Derry resident. Ronnie Macs seemed to be doing a roaring trade, but elsewhere a number of units
stood empty. The focal point of the high street architecture were the bank and former bank premises and the Courthouse building. A queue of traffic built up for no apparent reason. The other queue was outside the Post Office, where people stood patiently in line to cash their dole cheques. Letterkenny has a reputation as a lucky town in Irish lotto terms. We bought a ticket. It didn’t win!
The other focal point of Letterkenny town centre is the Market Square , leading up the hill towards the Cathedral. The square was the site of the Hiring Fair. The Fair was held once a year and wealthy farmersfrom The Lagan (east of Letterkenny) and even as far as County Tyrone would come to pick and chose children to work on their farms for the season.
The children and young people (some as young as eight years of age) would be brought to Letterkenny, on foot, by their poverty stricken parents and rented out to the farmers for a period of six months. Male children would have to do the manual work on the farms and land and the female children would do domestic work. They would have to
Letterkenny
The Hiring Fair statue work six and a half days a week and usually live in out-houses. The parents would not be paid the fee until the end of the 6 month contract – jus in case the kids decided to jump ship and disappear home. A statue, The Hiring Fair", now graces the Market Square .
The road towards Derry is fairly uneventful, but busy with cross border traffic. We found a worthwhile diversion at the top of the hill behind the village of Burt Grianan Aileach (also known as the Fort of the Sun) is a 2,000 plus year old neolithic ring fort – follow the brown signs from main road. It was the seat of the High Kings O'Neill for around seven centuries from the 5th century onwards. The fort has been restored to a degree. The fort stands about 15 to 20 foot high, inside of which there are narrow terraces. If you are interested in history, you will love it. If not, you’ll love the view. The city of Derry is clearly visible as well as views toward Inch Island and Lough Swilly and Foyle and inland.
We skirted the border and headed up the east side
of Loch Foyle. Northern Island is visible on your right. Well it was, in between the clouds bursting over the Derry shore. We continued until Greencastle, a small resort and harbour. It takes it’s name from the Newburgh Castle just beyond the town. Another Martello sits within the ruins, part of which appear now to have been converted into apartments. The ferry leaves for Magiligan Pier in Derry from the small harbour, thus avoiding the need to drive via Derry City. In between Greencastle and Shrove Point, we some how managed to become confused by the road layout and essentially drove round in a circle before a postie spotted our confusion and set us on track for Kinnoge Bay. The confusion however led us to the car park of Michael John’s Pub with it’s splendid Guinness wall mural. It’s nice round there he said, but it wasn’t anything special. The ship, La Trinidad Valencera from the Spanish Armada, wasn’t that impressed with the bay either having come to grief on the rocks on their way home. I suppose the area lower down the Donegal coast isn’t called the Bloody Foreshore for nothing.
The day was disappearing, so we headed
back south via the pleasant market town of Buncrana, skirting Letterkenny again and onwards to Fintown. Fintown is the home of what is left of the Donegal Railway. A narrow guage track that eventually spread far and wide is now restricted to short run down the side of the Lough in the direction of Glenties. The train is manned by volunteers and is described as something similar to an excursion as fine as anything you would find by a Swiss lake. The description would be pushing it a bit, but they need your support.
Glenties is a bit of a one horse town – turn off half way down the main street for Dungloe and the full Daniel O’Donnell experience. There is plaque on the bridge in the centre of the main street referring to it as the birth place of the famous writer, Patrick MacGill, the "Navvy Poet". You live and learn. I am now informed enough to know that each year “the Patrick MacGill Summer School welcomes speakers from all over the world to it's successful event”. At the other end of the main street is a rather sinister looking
Letterkenny
Letterkenny Cathedral mural with a Che Geuvara figure and the words “Until Victory Always“ underneath. It has the appearance of something you would see in Cuba celebrating the revolution, but could refer to other revolutionaries more close to home or indeed Donegal in the GAA All Ireland!
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