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June 30, 2018
Today was our moving day, so we loaded up the car, ate our breakfast and set off on the long route to Gaoth Dobhair to avoid arriving too early. As we were headed along the Donegal Road and oo-ing and aah-ing at the scenery I remembered that we still hadn’t made it to see the Killaghtee Cross. A few minutes later we were talking the turn to St. John’s Point.
The road has been resurfaced since our visit two years ago and looks great! We pulled over and unloaded the car alongside the road. Liam and I reached the gate first. As we approached he said “This is where the donkeys were!” This time however, there were no animals to contend with. We walked up the path into the churchyard (Note: the gate is heavier than most churchyard gates). We checked out the Old Killaghtee Church but I was scanning the area for the cross the whole time.
The walk from the road to the Old Killaghtee Church and Cross
The heavy gate to the Old Killaghtee Church
The church building at this site is thought to date to about 1118. The site is believed to have been the location of a monastery founded by St. Aédh. The cross is believed to mark the site of his grave. We had hoped to make the hike to St. Aédh’s hermitage on the side of Sliabh Liag but the warm weather dissuaded us from the trek. Perhaps we will make it on our next visit to Teileann.
The eastern gable of the Old Killaghtee Church, near Dunkineely
The southern wall of the Old Killaghtee Church
The window in the south wall of the Old Killaghtee Church
The interior of the eastern gable
Eastern gable and window
As I scanned the graveyard, I spotted one stone that looked older than the rest and went to investigate. I followed the worn down path through the grasses and they led straight to the cross. The cross is an important piece of history and as is often the case in Ireland, sits peacefully in the middle of a farm with no fanfare. The cross dates to about 650 AD and is considered the precursor of the High Crosses that are now a famous piece of Irish history.
The path to the Killaghtee Cross
Fionnuala and Liam searching for the Killaghtee Cross
At places the grass was as tall as Fionnuala!
The western face of the cross has a Maltese Cross carved into it. There is also supposed to be a Trinity Knot on this cross, but the bright sun made it a little difficult to see all of the detail.
The east face of the Killaghtee Cross
The Killaghtee Cross
It’s amazing each time I see one of these cross slabs to think how old it is and that the art is still visible. Unfortunately, when we visited it was mid-morning and the sunlight (as you can see) did not make it easy to photograph (or see) the cross. I will try to come later in the day next time. Sarah and Liam (9) came to check it out next, but the grass was waist-high and there were some nettles and thorns so Fionnuala (6) opted to stay by the church. It wasn’t as eventful as last time, but I got to see the cross!
We continued to Donegal and then to Ballybofey and Stranolar before detouring to Raphoe. From the square in town we easily spotted the signposts to Beltany Stone Circle (one of the rare stone circles in Donegal). There is a small car park where we left the car and began down the tree covered path. As you follow the path, eventually the trees open up and you can see the circle dominating the landscape.
Follow the signposts from Raphoe and you will come to this gate
Next to a small car park (large enough for three or four cars) you will see this path that leads you to the Stone Circle
The path to Beltany Stone Circle
As you get closer the trees disappear on your left and you can see the stone circle in the distance
The path after you can see the stone circle
At the end of the walk (which is very nice even without a stone circle) to the left is the stone circle, but to the right is this!
The large stone circle is in a pasture to your left, but there weren’t any animals in the field today. Just after we arrived another car pulled up. This always causes mixed feelings for me because I want people to visit these places but the circles always feel more special to me when you have them to yourself. Even with another group there the site is large enough that we hardly noticed that we weren’t alone!
Beltany Stone Circle
The outlier standing stone is an unusual feature to this stone circle
Using Aubrey Burl’s amazing book (I bought an updated copy for this trip and never travel to Britain or Ireland without it) I was able to find the cup-marked stone and show the family. The kids were impressed which actually surprised me. The cup-marked stone is aligned to the sunrise of the first day of Beltaine (May), thus the name of the circle. In addition to the cup marks, some of the stones here are huge! We outstayed the other group and then began to get hungry so we returned to the car.
The cup-marked stone at Beltany Stone Circle
The remains of some votive candles were on the top of the the stone. I assume they are remnants for the first of May.
Kelly’s Diner, Letterkenny
We headed toward Letterkenny (passing the Ballyholey Farm Stand without stopping because the car was too jam packed to fit in anything else) looking for lunch. We ended up stopping at Kelly’s Diner inside the fantastic Centra that was so helpful on our last trip. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but it was on our way, at the right time and has plenty of easy parking.
I was very encouraged that the restaurant was mostly full when we walked in though. The food was good and they even serve local beer. Kelly’s Diner was an unlikely stop but worked out great. With all of our needs now met, we made the 50 minute drive to An Bun Beag.
We pulled into Seawater House at 2:35 PM, and immediately noticed that the views are amazing. We waited for about 20 minutes before someone arrived to let us in and then made ourselves at home. The house itself is a little rough around the edges, but the layout of the house is fantastic!
The Kitchen at Seawater House
The dining area with views of Bád Eddie
The sitting room in the center of the ground floor
The living room on the ground floor
The entry way
The upstairs bedroom on the southern end of the house
An alcove off the upstairs hallway
The master bedroom
The master bathroom dressing area
The master bath
The upstairs bedroom on the northern end of the house
The ensuite bathroom in the northern bedroom
The ensuite bathroom in the northern bedroom
The ground floor bathroom
After we finished unpacking we headed up the road to Siopa Mhicí where we loaded up on groceries. I am happy to report that most of the customers seemed to be speaking Irish. The two butchers were speaking Irish to each other and the signage in the store was all bilingual. I ended up needing to purchase some meat and got to/was able to interact entirely through Irish with the butcher. At the check-out the woman began speaking in English (my family was speaking English) but when I said, “Go raibh maith agat.” she replied “Go raibh maith agat. Slan.”
Then it was back to the house to cool down (it was 25° today), watch the tide come in, eat and watch the sun set. The views from this house are amazing with all of the windows on the front of house facing the beach at Machaire Chlochair. Every time you look out the window the view is amazing.
The view of high tide at Machaire Chlochair from our house
Sunset over Machaire Chlochair
Liam’s Highlight of the Day: Arriving in An Bun Beag
Fionnuala’s Highlight of the Day: Liked everything the same
Gaeilge Experience: Irish was everywhere in Siopa Mhicí. I was a little nervous to order from the butcher in Irish, but it went smoothly. It really felt like the Gaeltacht in this shop. Irish was more noticeable than when we were here two years ago. Experiences like this are why I come to the Gaeltacht.
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