A little bit of history - which left Donegal in a suitcase

It’s a little piece of Ballyshannon’s history that sat on a coffee table in a Swansea home for the best part of 40 years.
But last weekend, the stone, taken from the ruins of Kilbarron Castle back in the early 1970s, was returned to its rightful place.
How the stone ended up in Swansea is a story in itself.
The ruins of the castle remain in a precarious condition, although the Kilbarron Castle Conservation Group are doing their bit to help preserve and protect the medieval site.

A view of the Hourglass wall and other remains of Kilbarron Castle

The group’s efforts caught the attention of Philip Cleary who was brought up in London where he and his cousins knew little of Kilbarron Castle, despite his family’s close connection to the area.
Their Cleary cousins’ fathers were born and raised in the townland of Cashel, situated close to Rossnowlagh above Coolbeg.
“Back in the 1970s, my cousin Michael was at a trade exhibition in England when someone spotted his name badge of ‘Cleary’ and passed him a pamphlet called ‘At the Sign of the Three Nettles’,” Philip explained.
“It was only then that we became aware of our connection with the castle. So my cousin asked my dad to pick up a stone as a souvenir from the castle whilst on his holiday here. It was a different time then!”
The stone travelled in a suitcase back to London and then on to Swansea where it stayed on a coffee table these past 40 plus years.
With the story of the efforts of the castle’s conservation committee reaching the Cleary family, it prompted the return of the stone from Wales, via Essex, and finally to Creevy.
The Kilbarron Castle Conservation Group recently held a special walk and information talk as part of National Heritage Week and Philip was there to present the stone back to the group. The stone will be placed in the soon to be conserved Hourglass Wall of the castle.
Philip said it was a proud moment for the Cleary family and he was only too delighted to present the stone back to Molly Reynolds (committee treasurer).
“If you don’t have a stone to return to the castle committee then watch out on Facebook for an appeal to sponsor a stone for their conservation work,” Philip said.

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