Ancient Donegal monastic site dating back to St Colmcille at risk from erosion

The historic graveyard in Inver which is under threat of erosion was visited by Minister of State Kevin Boxer Moran during his recent whistlestop tour of Donegal.

Its location on the Eany estuary at Inver Beach means that it is increasingly vulnerable to erosion. 

The Minister of State visited the site today to see for himself the risks to the ancient site. Earlier funding from the OPW resulted in rock protection being put in place to protect the back of the graveyard. But now  the local community are seeking to have the protecting wall extended further around the site to ensure the graveyard is fully protected against the flow of the river and tide. 

This part of the river is also used by Inver Rowing Club as a launch area for their boats.

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The old graveyard in Inver village is the site of  an ancient monastery that dates back to the sixth century. Situated on the bend of the Eany river estuary, it consists of an old church ruin and graveyard, surrounded by an old stone wall and gate. 

St Naul was the son of the Gaelic King of Munster and is believed to have travelled to Inver to meet Colmcille in the sixth century. The site of the ancient church was given by St Columcille to St Naul to establish a monastic settlement.  From then on, the area was named as Inbhear Náille. 

The present day ruin on the site dates back to 1460, when the Franciscan community of monks founded a monastery there. 

The oldest headstones in the graveyard date back to approximately 1730. Among those buried in this ancient graveyard, is Thomas Nesbitt, the inventor of the gun harpoon, who died at 72 in 1801. The ruins of the 18th Century whaling station, which Thomas Nesbitt founded around 1780, still stands in Port, Inver. 

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The ancient monastic site in Inver village has fallen into serious disrepair over the years. The church has been a ruin for many years, with ivy growing over all its stone work, and trees growing up through the inside. The graveyard has also become overgrown with headstones obscured and lost over time. 

In 2024 the local community secured a grant from the National Heritage Council for works to stabilise the old church. Earlier grants from the National Monuments Service resulted in the development of a conservation plan and the careful removal of some of the ivy and trees but more work needs to be done. The community are hoping to put in a new application for funding shortly, for further works to protect and develop this historic site. 

In the meantime, and separate to the works to protect the old church, there is an immediate risk to the entire site by rising river and sea levels.  Outside the graveyard,  flood waters from the Eany river threaten to wash the graveyard into the river altogether. At high tide, or with a flood, the river washes up onto the ancient walls of the graveyard. 

During storm Éowyn, the river reached the top step into the graveyard. Had it been a high tide, the river could have flowed right into the ancient site.