Shrines, grottos, abandoned schools, etc?

mrmac

I've a small project planned for the later half of this year, something to pass the evenings, and I'm hoping to get some help from the Donegal locals!

I'm looking for locations of shrines, grottos, abandoned schools, abandoned churches, monuments, hidden scultpures, abandoned / ruined buildings, etc.

I like to take the odd photograph, and hope to build up a list of places to visit during the winter. I'm in Letterkenny, and happy to travel the County! The more obscure and remote, the better!

I know it's asking a lot, but I'd really appreciate a good description of where it is, and if possible a small photo? Just to give me an idea of what to expect.

Thanks in advance.

dcfc

There is a shrine / well on Mamore Gap (between Ballyliffin and Buncrana). There is some great scenery on the way to it, and I'm not really into scenery so that says something coming from me!

mrmac

Thanks dcfc, I was there about two weeks ago, but without my camera.
It is one of the reasons I'm asking for info, and hopefully, some pics too.
As I didn't stop for long, I can't remember much about the grotto, I think there was a statue to Padre Pio, but I could be wrong.

There's also a small grotto out in Woodlands, Letterkenny.
I'll try to get out there tomorrow to get a picture, and to refresh my memory for a better location description.

homer simpson

I know of a good few places ya could vist mrmac, it'll mean sitting down and thinking about them though

Off the top of my head there the obhious holy places, doon well, shrine at the foot of muckish, holy well down the by fanad (on the back road from portsalon to the lighthouse) there is a shrine in ardera or is it glenties i always get confused in them 2! shrine near the chapel in buncranna, there are endless abandoned graveyards/churchs around the county, dunlewey, 3 in and around newtown that i can think of, killdonnell... and they are off the top of my head.

Tell ya what i'll do out a wee list for ya and bring it to the camera club meeting on thursday sure....

muffler

A couple of grottos that spring to mind are in Porthall and up at Commeen (few hundred metres above the Reeelin Bridge.

mrmac

homer_simpson wrote: »

Tell ya what i'll do out a wee list for ya and bring it to the camera club meeting on thursday sure....

Thanks homer-simpson, that'd be great. Look forward to seeing you there. Don't forget to bring along a print! :eek:

muffler wrote: »

A couple of grottos that spring to mind are in Porthall and up at Commeen (few hundred metres above the Reeelin Bridge.

Ok, em, got to admit, I'm not really sure where the heck you're on about!
Is Porthall over by Lifford somewhere, and I haven't a clue where Commeen is!
(Sorry to all the Porthall & Commeen folks - I bring a Sat Nav with me to go shopping! )

smashey

mrmac wrote: »

Ok, em, got to admit, I'm not really sure where the heck you're on about!
Is Porthall over by Lifford somewhere, and I haven't a clue where Commeen is!
(Sorry to all the Porthall & Commeen folks - I bring a Sat Nav with me to go shopping! )

Heh, don't diss Porthall. :mad:

It's on the road from Lifford to St. Johnston about 3.5 miles out of Lifford. Commeen is up by Cloghan.

mrmac

smashey wrote: »

Heh, don't diss Porthall. :mad:

:eek:

smashey wrote: »

It's on the road from Lifford to St. Johnston about 3.5 miles out of Lifford. Commeen is up by Cloghan.

I found two Porthall locations on google maps.

Which one has the grotto?

Google maps doesn't have a Commeen, but does have Comeen; is that the right place??

I went out to Woodlands to get a quick pic of the grotto there:



If you take the road to Woodlands, beside the old Unifi factory, go 2 miles out that road, and turn left at the crossroads. It's about 200 metres on the left. Here's a google map link.

Sorry to badger on about location details, but I'm trying to build up a google map of these places.

Cheers.

smashey

mrmac wrote: »

I found two Porthall locations on google maps.

Which one has the grotto?

Google maps doesn't have a Commeen, but does have Comeen; is that the right place??

That's them on the maps there. The one in Porthall is just opposite a shop.

There is also a grotto in Strabane.

muffler

There's a grotto or shrine outside of Dungloe (Kerrystown..sp?) but its a bit hard to find as it keeps moving according to some people

North_West_Art

I know a remote and hidden holy well that is practically on the border, though technacially in the north. It isn't marked on the map here, but there are signposts for it as you approach

http://ims0.osiemaps.ie/website/publicviewer/main.aspx#V1,608614,881273,5

heres more info on it

http://www.parishofaghyaran.com/frmclaughlinswell.htm

Technique

mrmac wrote: »

:eek:




I found two Porthall locations on google maps.

Which one has the grotto?

Google maps doesn't have a Commeen, but does have Comeen; is that the right place??

I went out to Woodlands to get a quick pic of the grotto there:



If you take the road to Woodlands, beside the old Unifi factory, go 2 miles out that road, and turn left at the crossroads. It's about 200 metres on the left. Here's a google map link.

Sorry to badger on about location details, but I'm trying to build up a google map of these places.

Cheers.

I'm not sure how to update that map of yours, but if you search for 54.945218,-7.621794 in Google Maps you'll find an old graveyard, only a few miles outside Letterkenny. I've been meaning to visit at sunset and take some atmospheric photos.

mrmac

Technique wrote: »

I'm not sure how to update that map of yours, but if you search for 54.945218,-7.621794 in Google Maps you'll find an old graveyard, only a few miles outside Letterkenny. I've been meaning to visit at sunset and take some atmospheric photos.

Thanks for that Technique, it's brilliant to get co-ordinates!
I'm not really sure how Google maps work either, but I've added the location as a marker. Do you know anything else about the graveyard, it's name for example? It is a closed graveyard, or is it still active?

As for taking pics, why not come along to the LK foto club on Thursday?

Thanks again.

Monkeybonkers

There's a Mass Rock on Arranmore. Ask anyone when you arrive for the location and they'll point you in the right direction.

homer simpson

Heres a usefull link....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_abbeys_and_priories_in_Ireland#County_Donegal

mrmac

homer_simpson wrote: »

Heres a usefull link....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_abbeys_and_priories_in_Ireland#County_Donegal

Thanks HS for that HUGH list of Abbeys!
I've managed to add them to my google map, up as far as "F" anyway!
I'll put in the rest tomorrow.

I have no idea if any of these places still exist, so I'd be really grateful if any of you know if these Abbeys or Monasteries have any trace left. It'd be a very bad photo day if there's nothing to see!

Senna

Two sites close to home for you mrmac, you might have them already on you list;)

55.04353,-7.560065
Killydonnell Friary

54.963829,-7.699926
Aughaninshin Abbey

mrmac

Killydonnell Friary is on that list that HS posted, but there's no mention of Aughaninshin Abbey!

Thanks for the co-ordinates, make updating the map a whole lot easier!
I'm going to Aughaninshin now.

homer simpson

that list i gave you earlier i have the A B C ect listed here for you i just clean forgot about sending it to you when i got back this evening, oops. here it is now...

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=N13&daddr=54.981224,-7.604184+to:Unknown+road+to:55.023503,-7.510021+to:Unknown+road+to:54.928012,-7.496288+to:Main+St+to:55.022281,-7.426686+to:54.866032,-7.621956+to:55.265306,-7.428328+to:55.368583,-7.319863+to:55.076564,-7.393298+to:55.086407,-7.997711+to:55.143787,-8.064668+to:54.644704,-8.594316&geocode=FchhRgMdFn2L_w%3BFWjyRgMdKPiL_w%3BFZqRRwMdlYSN_w%3BFY-XRwMd-2eN_w%3BFZqRRwMdlYSN_w%3BFYwiRgMdoJ2N_w%3BFbkuRwMdHFiN_w%3BFcmSRwMdgq2O_w%3BFXAwRQMdvLKL_w%3BFRpISwMdGKeO_w%3BFYfbTAMdyU6Q_w%3BFdRmSAMd7i-P_w%3B%3B%3B&hl=en&mra=ls&via=2,4&sll=55.006425,-7.913375&sspn=0.929343,3.348083&ie=UTF8&z=9

irish_goat

Abandoned school house in Tooban, near Burnfoot (just off the road to Inch IslanD) beside the new school building.

Least I think it's still there, there were trees growing around it last time I looked properly, not certain if it's been demolished but I'll check over the weekend.

muffler

mrmac wrote: »

I'm going to Aughaninshin now.

:eek: WTF?

mrmac

homer_simpson wrote: »

that list i gave you earlier i have the A B C ect listed here for you i just clean forgot about sending it to you when i got back this evening, oops. here it is now...

Thanks for that HS, I'll try to get those added to the map today.

irish_goat wrote: »

Abandoned school house in Tooban, near Burnfoot (just off the road to Inch IslanD) beside the new school building.

Least I think it's still there, there were trees growing around it last time I looked properly, not certain if it's been demolished but I'll check over the weekend.

That sounds great! I can't picture the location though???

muffler wrote: »

:eek: WTF?

Oopps! Slight typo there! I don't visit ruined churches in the middle of the night - anymore!

Graces7

See earlier thread re ruins etc...

Shrine also at Kilcar

homer simpson

mrmac wrote: »

Oopps! Slight typo there! I don't visit ruined churches in the middle of the night - anymore!

Unless you bring the ouija board with you, !

I also forgot to add the holy well / shrine down by fanad, st colmcille's well, im not sure of the exact location but i'm failry sure its B here http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Unknown+road&daddr=Unknown+road+to:Unknown+road&hl=en&geocode=FQqhSgMdFq6L_w%3BFWgXSwMdVnmL_w%3BFexXSwMdiU2L_w&mra=ls&sll=55.256719,-7.602196&sspn=0.05772,0.209255&ie=UTF8&ll=55.245956,-7.63258&spn=0.057735,0.209255&z=13 Its definently somewhere on the road highlighted anyways.

Ohhh your going to be busy, i was looking for the exact location of this well and i found another list for you i aint got a clue where these are thought so happy hunting


Tobar na Súil, Inishowen Doon Well, Kilmacrennan Parish Malin Well, Malin Head Angels Well (Tobar na nAingeal), Bindoo, Kilteevogue (Benndubh, Cill Aobhóg) St. Columcille's Well, Beefan, Glencolumcille St. Columcille's Well, Gartan Tobar na mBan Naomh (Well of the Holy Women), Rinnakill, Glencolmcille St. Patrick's Well, Ballyshannon (near ruins of Assaroe Abbey) Cathal Dubh's Three Wells, Black Rock, Strabreaghy St. Columcille's Well, Clonmany Eas Fionnáin, Dunfanaghy Tobar Faoi Cnoc, Cnoc Fola (Tobar Alt na Peiste) Well of St. Aodh Mac Bric, Slieve League Tobar na Súil, Slieve Sneacht, Inishowen Tobar na Súil, Cnoc 'a Toighe, Churchill St. Catherine's Well, Glebe, Killybegs Upper St. Ultan's Well, Culdaff Parish, Inishowen St. Columcille's Well, Gleneaney, Inver Parish Tobar na Deilg, Lough Foyle Tobar Aibheog St. Columcille Well, Fanad Wart Well, Stradgraddy, near Tarmon Saint Ciarán's Well, Bavan, Kilcar

taken from here http://www.holywell.seomraranga.com/holywellsireland.htm

mrmac

homer_simpson wrote: »

I also forgot to add the holy well / shrine down by fanad, st colmcille's well, im not sure of the exact location but i'm failry sure its B here http://maps.google.com/maps?f=d&source=s_d&saddr=Unknown+road&daddr=Unknown+road+to:Unknown+road&hl=en&geocode=FQqhSgMdFq6L_w%3BFWgXSwMdVnmL_w%3BFexXSwMdiU2L_w&mra=ls&sll=55.256719,-7.602196&sspn=0.05772,0.209255&ie=UTF8&ll=55.245956,-7.63258&spn=0.057735,0.209255&z=13 Its definently somewhere on the road highlighted anyways.

Ohhh your going to be busy, i was looking for the exact location of this well and i found another list for you i aint got a clue where these are thought so happy hunting


Tobar na Súil, Inishowen Doon Well, Kilmacrennan Parish Malin Well, Malin Head Angels Well (Tobar na nAingeal), Bindoo, Kilteevogue (Benndubh, Cill Aobhóg) St. Columcille's Well, Beefan, Glencolumcille St. Columcille's Well, Gartan Tobar na mBan Naomh (Well of the Holy Women), Rinnakill, Glencolmcille St. Patrick's Well, Ballyshannon (near ruins of Assaroe Abbey) Cathal Dubh's Three Wells, Black Rock, Strabreaghy St. Columcille's Well, Clonmany Eas Fionnáin, Dunfanaghy Tobar Faoi Cnoc, Cnoc Fola (Tobar Alt na Peiste) Well of St. Aodh Mac Bric, Slieve League Tobar na Súil, Slieve Sneacht, Inishowen Tobar na Súil, Cnoc 'a Toighe, Churchill St. Catherine's Well, Glebe, Killybegs Upper St. Ultan's Well, Culdaff Parish, Inishowen St. Columcille's Well, Gleneaney, Inver Parish Tobar na Deilg, Lough Foyle Tobar Aibheog St. Columcille Well, Fanad Wart Well, Stradgraddy, near Tarmon Saint Ciarán's Well, Bavan, Kilcar

taken from here http://www.holywell.seomraranga.com/holywellsireland.htm

Jakers!
I've just finished putting in the first list of Abbeys!
Going to be a busy few hours getting this lot sorted.......

If anyone has a picture of any of these locations, please let me know and I'll add it to the map, with credit.

Thanks again.

josey_whale

mrmac wrote: »

Jakers!
I've just finished putting in the first list of Abbeys!
Going to be a busy few hours getting this lot sorted.......

If anyone has a picture of any of these locations, please let me know and I'll add it to the map, with credit.

Thanks again.

Nice work mrmac!

shayser

You might find this link interesting, though it might be more modern in it's focus:

Abandoned Donegal

They have also produced a fantastic free book to coincide with the exhibition. There's still a few left at the Regional Cultural Centre reception.

Ruins are a window into social histories, they tell the tales of the past through the architecture and objects left behind. Ruins capture the imagination with their ability to tell stories; the rich language of architecture opens a window to the past. A visual poetry of architectural spaces, structures and found objects capture past events and offer them to the keen observer. Memories are inscribed on the walls and in the discarded objects; the silent rooms and dust covered furniture recall moments when these places were occupied. One of the most powerful aspects of ruins is the subject that is missing from these photographs; the people who once worked and lived in these spaces, their presence still felt in the architecture and discarded objects. These places are true museums, preserving the past in its unpolished and raw form.

Traditional ruins tend to become tourist attractions and become a spectacle in themselves. Modern ruins, for the most part tend to be demolished to make way for progress, or if in an isolated area, simply crumble and fade away. The emphasis here has been to highlight the ruins that are not considered romantic or picturesque but instead give vital clues to the social, economic and architectural life of twentieth and indeed twenty –first century Ireland. The scope of this project therefore took in a broad spectrum of modern disused buildings – from urban to rural, from large industry to the local pub – archived in these ruins are the collective memories of a changed culture, the forgotten pieces of the past being preserved as a time capsule. In some cases the buildings have been torn down since the photographs were taken, leaving the only visual record of the structures in their abandoned state within the rectangular confines of the photographic frame.

The Abandoned Donegal project aims to make the public aware of how even the most seemingly insignificant structures can be of interest both artistically and as an reminder of local architectural heritage, by allowing them a glance inside the fading structures they see around them every day.

homer simpson

shayser wrote: »

You might find this link interesting, though it might be more modern in it's focus:

Abandoned Donegal

They have also produced a fantastic free book to coincide with the exhibition. There's still a few left at the Regional Cultural Centre reception.

Was in round there a walk with the camera club, TBH it wasn't much use, IMO the photos were boring, thats not to say the person who took em was a good photographer they prob are but as an exhibition i didnt see the point...

the bolt

mrmac wrote: »

I've a small project planned for the later half of this year, something to pass the evenings, and I'm hoping to get some help from the Donegal locals!

I'm looking for locations of shrines, grottos, abandoned schools, abandoned churches, monuments, hidden scultpures, abandoned / ruined buildings, etc.

I like to take the odd photograph, and hope to build up a list of places to visit during the winter. I'm in Letterkenny, and happy to travel the County! The more obscure and remote, the better!

I know it's asking a lot, but I'd really appreciate a good description of where it is, and if possible a small photo? Just to give me an idea of what to expect.

Thanks in advance.

there are 3 grootos close to falcaragh,1 out the muckish rd,1 between falcaragh and dunfanaghy(townland ray)the last one is up in shouran (not sure about spelling).there are also a few abandonded churchs,1 in ray,1 in ballintemple.thats all i can think of for now and hope its of some help to you.

Local-womanizer

If you kept travelling the road from the Grotto in Woodlands,going Carrs of the Diamond direction,you will come across an old school house on your right.

Glenman

I know of a place where you can find both within a few hundred yards of each other, an abandoned school and a beautiful Grotto to Our Lady. The Croughas valley between Edeninfagh and Glen Finne in the blue stack mountains. The bodies of the 7 soldiers who died when the English bomber plane crashed into the Blue Stack on St. Bridgits night 1944 were taken down to the Croghas. The school closed in the 70ies due to declining population in the area. A local man collected some money to build the grotto back in the 50ies sometime. He claims to have seen Our Lady at the site. He didn't tell anyone about it as he knew nobody would believe him. He just went about building the Grotto.

mrmac

Glenman, can you drive to the grotto, or is it a hike?
Reminds me of the small monument at the Wellington Bomber crash site, up beside Mamore Gap.

homer simpson

Local-womanizer wrote: »

If you kept travelling the road from the Grotto in Woodlands,going Carrs of the Diamond direction,you will come across an old school house on your right.

Is that the scholl that was converted into a house a few years ago but never sold?

Glenman

mrmac wrote: »

Glenman, can you drive to the grotto, or is it a hike?
Reminds me of the small monument at the Wellington Bomber crash site, up beside Mamore Gap.

Yes you can drive to the school and the Grotto from the Glen Finne side. The Croghras road is 7 miles long. Half of it is good road, down to the last dwelling, the rest of it is not passable by car. It is part of a horse treck in the summer.
There is a small road heading into the Crochas valley from the back road from Glenties to Ballybofey. It leaves the main road on 2 miles on the Ballybofey side of the gost house.

mrmac

Damn the search on google maps, I can't find any of those places!
Probably spelt with half-a-dozen Fs or Ns!

Local-womanizer

homer_simpson wrote: »

Is that the scholl that was converted into a house a few years ago but never sold?

No,I know of the one you are talking about though.

The one I'am on about is on the back road,when you take the right just before the bridge,and take another right at the next junction on that road which will take you into Letterkenny the Calhame road.

Durnish

We walked the Croaghs road last August, past the wee grotto, along past the abandoned cars vans and houses, through the rain. We actually talked to some lovely people who told us about the crash site. i have pics somewhere of the grotto.

As I mentioned to someone else, the best way to find out about these wee sites is by reading the books.
There is one about Glenties and inishkeel, written by Liam Briody, a Garda in Glenties from 1967.

A hidden well and grotto (being a non Catholic, these sites have a strange fascination for me) is on the right hand side of the road to Gweebarra bridge from Maas, near Killkenny turn off, A wee track winds into the hazel wood and there is a freshly painted well with the accompanying rosary beads and other items.

In the Sheskinmore nature reserve, near Rosbeg, there is an old mass house, hidden away under the cliff but marked on the old OS as RC Church or mass house. Beautiful site with a blessed well nearby.
Have pics of all this somewhere.

mrmac

Durnish - I'd love to see some pics!

I'm going away on my hols for a few weeks, but I'll try to get to a net cafe to see how ye're doing.
Please keep posting up suggestions, and I will try to update the map when I get back.

Cheers, mrmac.

smashey

I just remembered there is a well in Raphoe (Tullyvinney).