Donegal - Day 1 & 2

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Geo: 54.6525, -8.11151

Saturday morning I started out for Donegal in the north. I had been warned by many that it was "quite a drive." It took three hours and that was with rest stops along the way. At the start of the journey I argued with the sat nav until it did what I wanted, I was not going to waste another two hours driving in the wrong direction. Just outside of Galway I stopped at another abandoned abbey. There really are a lot of them here. Claregalway Franciscan friary was another monastery decommissioned by Henry VIII. There is something very haunting about these buildings. Like visiting the colosseum or the acropolis, they are ghostly remnants of an age past...only not as old. Unlike the colosseum and the acropolis they are still used in a small way. Walking into the graveyards which surround the Abbeys, the graves a quite recent. Even today people are still being buried in these graveyards because it is consecrated ground.

As mentioned it took me about three hours to get to Donegal, with a couple of coffee stops along the way. When I got here though I was really beat. I went for lunch, checked into my guesthouse and then succumbed to an attack of the lazies. My main reason for coming here is because Castle McGrath is nearby. I know its near Pettigo but I wasn't sure where. So while lazing in front of the TV I did some more research, I didn't find the address but I did find out it was about a mile out of town and it is signposted so I figured that would be enough.

On Sunday I was up and off to Pettigo to find our castle. The website which told me it was signposted lied. I drove for a mile out of every road leading into Pettigo, no castle. Finally I had to stop and ask at the post office. A nice young girl there gave me directions, I had to drive back towards Donegal and turn off a little country road a mile out of town. The castle is a bit off the beaten path. Its standing in the middle of a paddock which had a few horses in it. And there is an information sign on the fence explaining the castle and my favourite ancestor, Uncle Miler.

This sign said he was only once married to Anne O'Meara, but they did have nine children. He had his own army of about 200 men, given the number of enemies he must have had, I guess he needed protection. He was called to the court of Elizabeth I to answer allegations made against him, but both times he returned with more land. The sign also said he was reputed to be buried on Saints Island in Lough Derg, which is not far from the castle. So I guess that must be his "other" gravesite. One Patrick Kearney from Cashel described Miler as follows.

"Was a common drunkard and a carouser, a whoremonger with a concubine in England, an open perjurer, at loggerheads with his wife, and an open gamester with a low class of boon companions." I think I would have liked Miler.

The castle was built in the late 16th century and early 17th century. The McGrath's only lived in it for 40 years before it was destroyed in the confederate wars in 1641. It is believed the McGrath clan (not Miler, he was dead by then) burned the castle themselves rather than surrender to the Protestant forces. The castle was said to have a secret escape tunnel, but I saw no evidence of that today. Today the very solid ground is covered with grass, stinging nettles and thistles. I had to step carefully to make sure I didn't trip over a rock into a bunch of weeds that could hurt me.

After seeing the castle I decided to make my way to Lough Derg to see if I could find ol Milers second grave. It wasnt hard to find Lough Derg, there are signs everywhere pointing to it. Saints Island is called thus because it is here St Patrick was said to have had a vision of heaven and hell. The cave he was in at the time is called St Patricks purgatory. Local legend has it hat St Patrick drove the snakes of Ireland into Lough Derg. The snakes being the druids. And guess who had the hereditary title to Saints Island...good old Miler. Now if I was looking at the right island (and I'm not sure I was) there is now a church on Saints Island. It is now a place of pilgrimage and sanctuary. But not in the winter time. On the shoreline there are buildings for the pilgrims, a pier and a couple of boats. But they close up shop in the winter time so no-one was around today. I guess one doesn't have to be religious in the wintertime.

From Lough Derg, I made my way back to Donegal. After a spot of lunch I went for a wander around town. The first place I spotted was another franciscan friary ruin. The Donegal Friary was looted by the English in 1588. However the O'Donnel clan drove the english out in 1592 and gave it back to the monks. It was attacked again in 1601. This time the monks were prepared and had a store of gunpowder, which exploded during the siege and wrecked the building. Which just goes to show having your own weapons does not keep you safe. Further along on my walk I came across Donegal castle, which was the home of the O'Donnell clan. In 1601, like the McGraths, the O'Donnells burnt their own castle to prevent it falling into English hands. however when the english took over the region they restored it and used as their own anyway.

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