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Fort Dunree Inishowen

Guns of Dunree

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Fort Dunree Inishowen – Fort Dunree Military Museum Ltd. became the first Republic of Ireland based client for Ulster Community Investment Trust (Ireland) in 2008. Five years on, UCIT commissioned this video to highlight the role this Social Enterprise plays both within its local community and as part of Ireland’s national heritage.

Contact Fort Dunree +353 74 936 1817

Dunree Fort is located on the west coast of the Inishowen Peninsula, facing across Lough Swilly towards Knockalla Mountain on Fanad Peninsula in North Donegal.

Fort Dunree Photo Gallery

The Irish name for Fort Dunree is Dun Fhraoigh which translates as “Fort of the Heather”. This suggests that this cliff top setting has been an important defensive site down through history. The present day fort is located on a rocky promontory accessed over a natural fissure. The fort was remodeled in 1895 to have 2 x 4.7 inch (119 mm) QF guns below, and later 12 pounder (5 kg) QF and 2 x 6 inch (152 mm) guns in a battery above. The top of a hill overlooking the site was walled in to form a redoubt.

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View Holiday Homes in Inishowen
Because of its strategic importance protecting the entrance to the deep waters of Lough Swilly, control of Dunree was retained by Britain after independence was only handed over to the Irish Government  in 1938

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In a Town of Five Thousand People

In a Town of Five Thousand People

In a Town of Five Thousand People, Frank McGuinness’s fifth collection, demonstrates again the ‘energy and intensity’ Peter Denman noted in Poetry Ireland Review. The scathing invective of ‘The Town Next to Us’, a series of loving elegies for artists and actors and a record of struggles with religious ties anatomize ‘the darkness within the darkness’

Buy this book at Gallery Press

Inishowen Evictions

Inishowen Evictions – The new RTÉ television series ‘The Lost Village’ is looking for anyone with information pertaining to the 13 families evicted from their homes in the small Donegal village of Carrowmenagh, in 1881.

Big Mountain Productions are seeking out this information as part of a four-part bi-lingual series “The Lost Village”. The series will be aired on Ireland’s national broadcaster, RTE, during Seachtain na Gaeilge in March 2013.

In 1881 thirteen families were evicted from their homes in a small village on the Inishowen peninsula in Donegal called Carrowmenagh. It was a sight that was all too common in the Ireland of the 1800’s.

In this series will trace the ancestors of the evicted and return them to Inishowen and the life of their ancestors at that time. Through the story of Carrowmenagh we tell the wider story of evictions in Ireland.

We are looking for people/a family with a direct connection to Carrowmenagh or other evictions to take part.

Contact us on sean@bigmountainproductions.com or call Seán at 004428 308 340 46 if you want to find out more and are interested in taking part.

You must be able to fulfil the below criteria:

• A family history relating to the evictions in 19th century Ireland
• Everyone must be over the age of 12
• You must be happy to spend three nights in an old house
• Be free in January
• Happy to undertake the work done in the 19th century

We are seeking a family to take part, and if possible across three generations. You would need to be prepared to stay in a traditional house for three nights to get a taste for life as it was in the time of your ancestors.

Big Mountain Productions have previously brought ‘The Tenements’ to TV3 in Ireland and ‘The Genaeology Roadshow’ to RTÉ in Ireland.

Scoil Mhuire Buncrana Gangham Style

Scoil Mhuire Buncrana Gangham Style- Here are the students and teachers from Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana, Co. Donegal with one of the first whole school Lip Dubs in the Republic of Ireland.

Featuring music by The Undertones, One Direction, Little Mix, Jennifer Lopez, Queen and PSY’s GANGNAM STYLE!

 

Inishowen Events for City of Culture

Inishowen Events for City of Culture

Inishowen Events for City of Culture

Inishowen Events for City of Culture – What has been described as the most ambitious and varied programme of arts and culture ever assembled on the island of Ireland was launched in Derry last week as the city prepares to host the UK City of Culture in 2013. Two of Inishowen’s signature festivals, the Charles Macklin Festival and Féile Grianan Áiligh have been listed among the hundreds of events taking place in Derry next year, including the prestigious Turner Prize, a new commission by the London Symphony Orchestra, performances by the Royal Ballet and the All Ireland Fleadh, which will be staged in Northern Ireland for the first time.

The Charles Macklin Festival which will take place in October in Culdaff and Féile Grianan Áiligh which will be hosted at the summer solstice in mid June in Grianan Áiliagh Fort in Burt, were selected by the City of Culture Team as they represent the rich heritage and culture that is synonymous with Inishowen and Derry’s natural hinterland. Both events were also awarded financial support by City of Culture in recognition of their contribution to the overall City of Culture Offering.

Speaking at the Launch of the programme, Jennifer O’Donnell, City of Culture Liaison Officer, Inishowen Tourism, who facilitated the application for both festivals for the programme with the City of Culture Team, said

We are thrilled that the Charles Macklin Festival and Féile Grianan Áiligh have been selected for the City of Culture Programme. It is testament of the high calibre of cultural entertainment each of these events offer and it is a great opportunity for Inishowen to be involved in what promises to be an incredible year for tourism

Representatives from both festivals attended the Programme Launch. Commenting on the inclusion of the Charles Macklin Festival, Committee Member, Anne McGrory said

We are delighted that the Charles Macklin Festival is to be designated as an official partner of the City of Culture celebrations in Derry. This new partnership is recognition of the great social and historical links between the city and the Inishowen peninsula. It is also a great opportunity to celebrate the rich literary traditions which are a further link between the Derry and Donegal

 

 

 

Rosato’s of Moville wins Traditional Pub Award

Rosato's of Moville
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Rosato’s of Moville wins Traditional Pub Award

Eddie Harkin of ‘Rosatos’ in Moville says he’s’absolutely delighted’ following his establishment taking a top national award after being named Ireland’s ‘Best Traditional Pub’ at the National Hospitality Awards hosted in the 4 Seasons Hotel, Dublin on Monday night.

Speaking with the ‘Journal’ yesterday Eddie said it was a ‘massive shock but a lovely surprise’.

He commented:
I got a couple of calls from the organisers suggesting that it would be worth my while to come down but I sort of suggested I wouldn’t be able to make it as it’s a lot of bother going all the way to Dublin for a night out, making alternative staff arrangements and all the time that’s involved. But the fact that they kept coming back to me finally persuaded me to go – and now I’m very glad I did!
Asked why he thought Rosatos had won the award Eddie explained:
This pub is the real deal.It’s and old pub; not a ‘manufactured’ old pub. There is a nice, traditional attitude, we have a great staff, we serve top quality food and the whole package makes for a very good night out.

So how he was be bucking the trend?  Weren’t other pubs going out of business in Inishowen?
Yeah that’s true but it’s the food. I would hate to be running a pub now that didn’t serve food. If you are only serving drink you would be dependent on a good Saturday night and there’s no way one night a week is going to pay the mortgage.

We are in fact the only bar/restaurant left in Moville. I’m not sure that’s a good thing in that another one, particularly during the summer, would help meet the demand that’s clearly here. It would be good for the time in that tourists wouldn’t just leave and head somewhere in search of a meal.

Fortunately, we have got the name for good food and we have a client base that comes from all over the north-west. We are very grateful to our loyal customers and myself and Margaret (Eddie’s wife) are absolutely delighted to win this. It’s a real honour.
 

This article first appeared in The Derry Journal

Lenan Fort Inishowen

Lenan Fort Inishowen is one of a number of defensive forts built by the British to defend the deep-water anchorages of Lough Swilly. The gun positions, all of which are linked by extensive underground magazines and passages are still in remarkably good condition.

The fort occupies a headland, and is defended by a ditch system with fortifications at the corners. Much of the fort area comprises the former barracks area. The buildings of the barracks have not stood the test of time well and all that remains of them are the redbrick chimney stacks.

Lenan Fort looks over Lough Swilly

Video by Gerry McVeigh

An exploration of an abandoned British military base at Lenan Fort, guarding the mouth of Lough Swilly on the Inishowen peninsula, Donegal, Ireland. Lookout posts, abandoned gun emplacements, underground magazine tunnels and other buildings stand in an amazing location surrounded by lough, sea and mountain.

Location of Lenan Fort

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Helicopter Golf Ball Drop at Ballyliffin

Helicopter Golf Ball Drop at Ballyliffin

Don’t forget the fundraising Helicopter Ball Drop on Saturday 29th September.
Closest to the pin wins €1000- tickets form the Bar,Shop,Office or any member of the Entertainments Committee.

Helicopter Golf Ball Drop at Ballyliffin

Buncrana Navigation Light Award

Buncrana Navigation Light Award

As the Tidy Towns Award results announced recently are assessed around the country, a collaboration in Buncrana involving the local Town Council, Tidy Towns Committee and the Buncrana / West Inishowen Historical Society is celebrating a major accolade.

The Buncrana Lighthouse Restoration Project won the Heritage Award.

The eight metre tall lighthouse (pictured above) was first established on the Buncrana Pier in January 1876 and it was converted from oil to acetylene in 1916 and onto electric in 1951.

It was decommissioned in 2009 by Irish Lights and restored and erected on the Shore Front a year later.

Slideshow – Autumn in Buncrana