Lough Swilly, Co Donegal
From the collection of
Newtownstewart, Co Tyrone
- Omagh
- 2007-09-11
Lough Swilly, Co Donegal
Visit the area of Lough Swilly in County Donegal and explore the history and people.
Joe Mahon visits the shores of Lough Swilly in County Donegal. He is shown around Fort Dunree by John McCarter who explains its strategic military importance during the Napoleonic Wars and Word War I, having been set up following the 1798 Rebellion. He tours the large guns, which boast that they have never been fired in anger, and the remains of the abandoned soldiers' living quarters.
Sister Eveleen Hallahan of the Loreto nuns shows Joe around the house of the one time local landowner which the sisterhood bought for £250 in 1928 for use as a summer home. She then shows Joe a labyrinth in the grounds of the house and explains the religious and spiritual background of labyrinths from the Middle Ages.
Joe looks at a monument to Wolfe Tone and the United Irishmen Rebellion and another to John Doherty, the 19th Century socialist reformer who was born nearby. Dessie McCallion shows Joe around the remains of farm dwellings in the hillsides explaining how the tenants would have lived.
Alan Rooks shows Joe around the interior of Castle Linsford, the local 'big house', which he now runs as a bed and breakfast. Brigeen Clafferty then shows Joe around the gardens and her examples of topiary. Joe then returns to Dunree in the evening to help illuminate the old searchlight using old technology involving carbon rods. We cut first to local conservationist, Emmett Johnson, who shows Joe a collection of porpoise and whale bones from the area. Back at the searchlight the mechanism is working and picks out the local lifeboat in the dark. The following day Joe goes on a training exercise with the lifeboat's skipper, Mark Barnett.
Lesser Spotted Ulster is a long-running and popular programme that visits the places many of us have heard of but never been to. Presenter Joe Mahon gently explores what makes a place what it is.
Tags
Lesser Spotted Ulster
Exploring the townlands and hinterlands of Ulster through landscape, history and local traditions as a torch is shone upon the roads less travelled.
Joe Mahon is an engaging host as he catalogues his journeys around towns and villages rarely mentioned in the news but rich in their own stories, legends, and tales of past industries and events. Using local people as his guides, Joe delves into the heritage and customs from yesteryear, documenting many before they pass from human memory.
Starting in 1995, Lesser Spotted Ulster chronicled the regional variances of life around the six counties of Northern Ireland which, together with Donegal, Cavan and Monaghan, make up the historic boundaries of Ulster. With gentle panoramas of beautiful Irish countryside, played out under a lilting soundtrack, the series was a staple of the Ulster Television schedules for nearly 20 years.
This selection of programmes from the series serves as a testimony to the rural culture of Ulster and a resource for anyone with an interest in the past and disappearing traditions.
38 videos in this collection
1
Newtownstewart, Co Tyrone
2
Drumquin, Co Tyrone
3
Belle Isle, Co Fermanagh
4
Loughguile, Co Antrim
5
Beragh, Co Tyrone
6
Ballywalter, Co Down
7
Sixmilecross, Co Tyrone
8
Lough Swilly, Co Donegal
9
Rathlin, Co Antrim
10
Bailieborough, Co Cavan
11
Ardkeen, Co Down
12
Mullaghbawn, Co Armagh
13
Ardara, Co Donegal
14
Ballygawley, Co Tyrone
15
Galloon, Co Fermanagh
16
Kircubbin, Co Down
17
Arranmore, Co Donegal
18
Virginia, Co Cavan
19
Virginia, Co Cavan
20
Warrenpoint, Co Down
21
Ballybay, Co Monaghan
22
Killeeshil, Co Tyrone
23
Rostrevor, Co Down
24
Park, Co Derry
25
Hilltown, Co Down
26
Glenavy, Co Antrim
27
Urney, Co Tyrone
28
Ballykelly, Co Derry
29
Ballykelly, Co Derry
30
Ramelton, Co Donegal
31
Annaclone, Co Down
32
Donaghmore, Co Tyrone
33
Belturbet, Co Cavan
34
Monea, Co Fermanagh
35
Dromintee, Co Armagh
36
Kingscourt, Co Cavan
37
Muff Fair, Co Cavan
38