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8 July 2016

Our last full day in Gaoth Dobhair was dry!  The weather was between 15° and 18°most of the week, but with lots of rain.  Today our destination was An Fál Carrach.  We started off looking for the Ray Church and High Cross as I had seen the sign post earlier in the week and thought we could find it easily.

It was easy to find with a good sign post on the N56, just west of An Fál Carragh.  The road to the church got pretty poor quickly though.  In the middle of pastureland the road ends at a wonderful old church and graveyard.  As you approach the church you can see the cross sticking out of the top of the church.  It is a very impressive sight!

A church was founded here in the sixth century by St. Fionán, though the current church ruin dates from the 1500s.  The church was used until the 19th century by Protestants.  I presume that the switch from Catholicism to Protestant hands (Church of Ireland I think) occurred after Cromwellian forces burst into mass one Sunday morning in 1642 and slaughtered everyone inside.

The primary reason to visit this site however is the conspicuous High Cross.  The cross is known as Cros Cholm Cille (Colmcille’s Cross).  Legend has it that the cross was given as a reward to St. Fionán in return for fetching St. Colmcille‘s prayer-book (or Bible depending on who you ask).  Colmcille, Fionán and Begley were all on Tory Island when Colmcille realized that he was missing the book, and told his two companions that whomever brought him the book (which was on the mainland) could have whatever he wished.  Fionán returned with the book and asked for the cross which was originally intended for Tory.

Historians and archaeologists date the cross to the late 8th century.  The lack of carvings or decorations prevent the cross from being precisely dated, however it is very similar to St. John’s Cross at Iona (the first ringed Celtic cross) which gives us an approximate date.  Cros Cholm Cille is significant as it is the largest High Cross in Ireland.    It is also thought to be the first cross which had the ring included as part of the original design (the ring was added later to St. John’s Cross in order to provide support).   One thing that is certain is that it is incredibly impressive to see in person.  Unlike the other large crosses I have seen that are intricately carved, this one impresses in the way that the massive Neolithic sites do.

When we reached the site, we all piled out of the car and entered the churchyard.  Most of the graves appear to be from the 19th Century or older.  The church is very peaceful and quiet with only puzzled cattle to share the moment with you.  The children very much enjoyed having the place to ourselves!

The 21 foot tall, seven-foot wide cross was originally in the churchyard, but a storm caused it to fall in 1750 and break into three pieces.  It lay in pieces until the government repaired it and moved inside the church in the 1970s.  It is a really nice site and very typically Irish.  You can see cars passing on the nearby N56, but it feels like you are worlds away from there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

It was a very windy day and Fionnuala got cold, so we made our next stop at An t-Sean Bheairic for some hot chocolate.  When we arrived we were pleased to discover a carpark in the back of the building.  An t-Sean Bheairic, as the name would suggest, is the old Police Barracks (British until 1920, Irish after that).  The primary reason we chose this place is that they are an Ionad Seirbhísí Teanga with the goal of providing services through Irish.

We walked into the cafe area where the children and I ordered in Irish and our whole service was entirely in Irish.  The children had chocolate cake and hot chocolate, I had a white coffee and Sarah had a tea.  It was all good and really nice to be able to conduct the transaction through Irish.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In addition to the cafe there is a nice bilingual library that the children enjoyed.  Liam especially enjoyed the computer which dispenses Tourist Information.  He also found a flyer for summer Gaeltacht courses and asked if he could attend a course.  They also had what looked like a fairly substantial book/gift shop but we didn’t look at that.  We left impressed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

One of the reasons we chose Friday for our visit to An Fál Carrach was to see what the street market had to offer.  After a picnic in the car we walked up and down the street, but it didn’t look like it was especially cheap or local (maybe it is as local people were buying things).

Next, we set off for part three of today’s adventure: Tullaghobegley Church.  The first church on the site is said to have been built by St. Begley sometime in the fifth century.  In 1610 it ceased to be used for Catholic worship as Protestants (I presume the Church of Ireland) used it from that time until the roof collapsed in 1834.  Catholics were allowed to be buried in the graveyard even after it became a Protestant church, and it was the only Catholic burial site in northwestern Donegal until about 1750.  One of the old funeral paths (the path over the mountains)  is still visible and each spring a commemorative walk is held from Gaoth Dobair to the graveyard.  The path is fifteen miles long!

It was a miracle we ever found this church!  After two false starts, Sarah matched our very vague directions with the OS map.  However, the signpost for Church is now hidden by a tree and only Sarah’s eagle eyes saved us.

Here is my attempt at good directions to the church:

From the crossroads at the center of An Fál Carrach head south (away from the ocean) on the R256 (Station Road).

After the Staisiún Dóiteain, take the first right-hand turn onto the L1113 (unfortunately there are no signposts coming from the town)

At the first bend in the road (as the road turns to the right) you will see the almost invisible sign post in the picture

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once there, I found it to be a cool place.   The grass was thigh-high when we visited, making it obvious that this place is not visited regularly.  There are a mix of some extremely old graves as well as recent ones surrounding the foundations of the 13th century church building.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We spotted a ring fort (Ráth) on the next hill over, but didn’t see the court tomb or holy well that are supposed to be located nearby.

 

 

 

 

 

 

On our way home we stopped for some castle building at Machaire Rabhartaigh beach.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once back at the house we played a few rounds of SNAP as Gaeilge, ate dinner and then played baseball outside before bedtime.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gaeilge Experience: TV, Radio, and our stop at An t-Sean Bheairic in An Fál Carrach.
We did have a small communication breakdown at An t-Sean Beairic, but I think it was a combination of me being a learner (though in this specific instance I know what I said was correct, but perhaps with a different accent than she was used to) and the woman waiting on us not using Irish and her primary daily language.    We walked in, the children and I ordered and were served.  The hot chocolates (seacláid the) didn’t arrive and I noticed that they were not written down, so I went to the counter to get them added to the order.  She was happy enough to use Irish with me and that is enough for me to be content to be honest.  I am very unlikely to be picky about service if they are willing to let me order and interact in Irish.  I was actually thankful for the chance to speak Irish more with the women.  This is an experience that we simply cannot have outside of Ireland.

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