A blog of sketches of historic buildings - Marks of Time

106. marks of time.

18/4/2015

Next door is ‘Buncrana Castle’ , date stone 1718 but thought to be earlier. Bult by Sir John Vaughan. His family leased the O'Dohery castle after the Ulster Plantation in the early Seventeenth Century. The building is on the site of the pre Plantation town and is an early example of a landlord or 'big’ house. Most were built from the 1740’s onwards. The building was very carefully conserved in the early 2000’s retaining and reusing the original slate diminishing in size to the ridge on the front slope.

105 Marks of time.

16/4/2015

On to Buncrana. This is its O'Doherty castle beside the Crana river. This also originally had a defensive wall or bawn around it. Some sources suggest that the ground and first floor may be 14th century, which is very early for an Irish tower house (most were built after 1450). The top storey dates from the early 17th century. Today, as a well maintained ruin, in the leafy surroundings of Swan Park, it has great character.

104 marks of time.

15/4/2015

On Binion Hill between Ballyliffin and Clonmany is the townland of Upper Annaugh, This historic building is now gone but it means a lot to me as I spent ten summers here as a child. Rope thatched in the local vernacular tradition with a low curved ridge and pegs along the eaves to secure the ropes, this was a direct entry house with a traditional ‘bed outshot’ to the rear.

April 14th, 2015

14/4/2015

Carrickabraghy Castle is situated on the Isle of Doagh, around the corner from a fine view of Lagg Church on the opposite side of Trawbreaga bay. The building is shown in a map of 1690 as a tower house surrounded by an oval bawn wall with seven circular towers. Today, one circular tower survives against the keep. It is thought to date from the sixteenth century and was a castle of the O'Doherty’s, It is a very atmospheric place recently well conserved after local fundraising.

102 marks of time.

13/4/2015

Next up, Lagg Church, 5km from Malin town. This sits in isolation among green hills. A remote and very beautiful place. The building was the first catholic church built in Inishowen (1784) following the introduction of penal laws against the religion in the 1690’s.

101. Marks of time.

12/4/2015

Cloncha church north of Carndonagh near Culdaff is another fascinating place. This was another significant early ecclesiastical site as attested by the remains of two high crosses and an early decorated stone lintel built into the entrance of the later current church. Inside, is the tombstone of a Gallowglass- a Scottish mercenary, with as well as a sword, a carving of a hurley stick and sliotar (ball).

April 11th, 2015

11/4/2015

Further north to Carndonagh and a high cross at the edge of the town. This is reputedly the earliest high cross in Ireland with carving. The cross has Celtic knot work at high level and what looks like a Christ figure at lower level flanked by two smaller figures and underneath three more figures. On each side of the cross are two pillars with full size figures. On the right, a soldier with a sword and on the left, a pilgrim with a bell and satchel.

99. marks of time.

10/4/2015

On to Greencastle and Northburg Castle. Construction was started in 1305 by Richard De Burgo, 2nd Earl of Ulster. This was the main Anglo Norman stronghold in the north west and was reputedly based upon the design of Caernarfon in Wales. A strong ‘curtain wall’ enclosed a lower and upper ward with a timber great hall. The power of the Normans in the area was fatally weakened by the campaign of Edward the Bruce of Scotland in 1315-18 however and De Burgo had lost control by 1322. To one side of the castle a tower house was constructed by the O'Doherty’s in the fifteenth century.

98. marks of time.

9/4/2015

On a day like today, the shore walk between Moville and Greencastle is the place to be. This is the bathing shelter along that route designed by the architect Liam McCormick in the late 1940’s. This encapsulates the sprit of early twentieth century European Modernism which advocated pure white forms in light as an ‘International Style’. The building was badly damaged in storms last year and it is a credit to those involved that it has since been restored.

97. marks of time.

8/4/2015

On to Cooley graveyard overlooking the lough above Moville. This unusual high cross has a hole in it which has been suggested by some to be a hole for a sundial rod. Inside are the ruins of a church and a small stone roofed building known as the ‘skull house’. This is likely to be the grave of a founding saint as at Banagher and Bovevagh in County Derry. Archaeologists carried out investigations here in 2014 identifying circular boundaries of an early monastery around the graveyard. It is a very atmospheric place and well worth the visit.