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7 July 2016
This morning the weather was beautiful with the prediction for a dry day so we got off to an earlier start. The other mornings we had waited until the cartoons on TG4 ended at 10 before we departed, but not today! Today we wanted to take advantage of the weather so we left about 9:40 for Dún Lúiche. Our first stop was the Old Dunlewey Church. An iconic Donegal photo, this is bound to catch your attention as you drive by on the road above.
We followed the road marked for Dún Lúiche off the main road until we got to the church. When you enter the grounds there is a quiet stillness to this place. It turns our that this church was built in 1853 for some Scots who were brought in to raise sheep. The sheep however, did not do well here and the population dwindled. The need for the church then disappeared as well since the natives were predominantly Catholic and did not attend this church. This all led to it’s present state. It is a beautiful church made of local stone and brick. Even without the roof or furniture it impresses the visitor and must have been truly stunning when in use. The children loved the church and the churchyard.
Entrance signs at Old Dunlewey Church
Old Dunlewey Church with Mount Errigal in the background
The grave of the woman who had the church built. For a long time this was the only grave in the churchyard. There are a few others now.
On the way to the gravestone Liam fell into this hole. Although he is smiling, his father was not pleased.
The first dancing of this trip. It took awhile but it is nice to see they haven’t outgrown this.
Next, we headed a little bit down the road to a trail head that leads toward the Poison Glen. There are many stories about why it is called the Poison Glen, unfortunately the truth is that an English mapmaker mistranslated the name An Gleann Neamhe (the heavenly glen). Instead he thought the name was An Gleann Neimhe (The Poison Glen) and now that is the name. Whatever the case, it certainly is heavenly.
An Gleann Neimhe
We walked to the end of the trail and back (it isn’t far). It really is a beautiful, peaceful place on a sunny day. The children got their first introduction to bog cotton on the walk as well. By the time we got back to the car the children were ready to go to the Ionad Cois Locha.
Road signs in Dún Lúiche. I thought it was interesting that Letterkenny was only labeled in Irish.
We made the short drive up the road and found a nice large car park. We arrived at 11:30 and the next boat trip left at 1 PM, so we looked at the animals for a few minutes and then the children played in the play area while Sarah and I had some tea from the tea room.
Play area at the Ionad Cois Locha
After a while Liam asked to buy a token for the climbing wall. I gave him the money but told him that he needed to ask for the ticket in Irish. I heard him say to the girl, “Ba mhaith liom ticéad, le do thoil.” and the girl in the booth waited on him entirely in Irish including dressing him in safety equipment and supervising his climb. We saw her again later and she remembered us and spoke to us in Irish again. It was a really nice to experience and she was very kind to Liam.
The next thing we knew it was 12:30, so we ate our lunch in the car and then returned for the boat trip. Everything in the Ionad was labeled bilingually (occasionally only in Irish) and the boat trip even included a brief Irish introduction. The 25 minute trip is as advertised and takes you around the lake with narration to explain what you are seeing.
After the boat trip we took a spin on the bouncy slide and had a brief look at the animals we had missed. Then we had a look around the shop. The shop has everything you could hope for in a gift shop. There were lots of toys for €5 or less, the expected touristy items, some nice Donegal made tweed and knitwear and a large selection of books. About 1/3 of the books were in Irish! They also sell the whole series of Donegal OS Maps. I wish I had known this before today as it would have saved us a trip to Letterkenny (and about an hour of driving)! Each child chose a toy from the shop and I purchased a card game (Snap as Gaeilge) for us to play in the house.
We didn’t find the beach but we did find an amazing speed limit sign!
The children were pretty tired at this point, so we headed back to the house for a while and the children played with their new toys inside and outside the house. Then about 4 PM we headed down to the beach. We tried looking for a different beach that I saw on the map, but to no avail so we headed to An Bun Beag. We were surprised to see that the tide was all the way out and Bád Eddie was easily accessible this time. The wreck looks very different with the tide out!
We spent about an hour looking at the iconic boat, playing in the sand and investigating the crabs and other shells. Tummies were starting to rumble at this point and we returned to the house for the evening. What a great day.
Gaeilge Experience: Today was what you hope for in a trip to the Gaeltacht. We were able to be served in Irish at the Ionad Cois Locha and unlike some other interactions it felt natural and obviously was not something unusual for the employee. As every other day there was TV and radio as well. Tonight, I happened upon a cooking show on BBC Alba that was in Scots Gaelic and was pleased (and surprised) to discover that I understood one of the people on the show perfectly.
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