Ardara peninsula's rich heritage explored in new book

Placenames and the rich relationship they have with the land and sea are very evident in the Loughros Point area of Ardara and to ensure these survive well into the future a number of locals have captured the stories, history, culture photos, folklore and placenames from the 16 townlands and cover 600 odd placenames in an excellent new publication.

Loughros Heritage Group has produced a stunning 174-page book entitled Loughros Point Placenames and Tales of Nooks and Crannies which was launched in the parish hall on Saturday afternoon to well over a 120-strong audience.

The group was formed in 2015 with a view to fostering interest in their heritage and this publication is a magnificent offering for their hard work and dedication over the years.

It described in excellent detail the history of the area from a number of angles and includes an array of photos depicting the geology, and explanations of how the townlands got their names thanks to Irish, English, Viking and Ordnance Survey of Ireland influence.

Group member Conor Whyte explained they decided to research and compile such a book because there were fears placenames and the stories behind them would be lost forever if they didn't collect them now.

Research

Co Donegal Heritage Officer, Joe Gallagher, a member of the Creative Ireland Culture Team within Donegal County Council praised the tremendous work and research carried out by the group adding there was an urgency in gathering information on local history and heritage as it is disappearing as times pass.

He said as well as documenting the history of Loughros Point, the development of its landscape, traditional ways of life, fishing and farming, it also provided information a social and family histories.

Údarás na Gaeltachta's Donnchadh Ó Baoill who launched the book, provided the audience with an intriguing and informative account of how the local history and culture intertwined with their placenames, estuary environments the unique Donegal-Scots connections and the people to form this very distinctive area of Ardara.

He delivered a fascinating insight into the role the Irish language plays and how it bonded the people and their townlands despite many outside influences over the centuries who sometimes translated names from Irish into English almost correctly to wildly inaccurate. He described it as "a collision of cultures and ideas".

He also talked about the decrease in the use of the language and how that happened too.

He said the name Loughros first appeared in 1302 when it fell under Papal Taxation. The money collected was paid to the King of England to fight in the Crusades. The placename also appeared in the Annals of the Four Masters and Annals of Connacht in 1540 and then in 1654 in a civil survey the English carried out to find out who owned what land in the area. Loughros Point first appeared on William McCrea’s, Map of Donegal, in 1801.

He said that many in the area including the heritage group had always questioned with the explanation that had existed for Loughros and worked on finding out its origin. He said the explanation given in 1962 by Ordnance Survey was the Headland of the Rushes but there were very few there.

They presented their findings to three eminent members of the Placenames Commission, one being Dónal Mac Giolla Easpaig, the leading authority on Donegal Placenames and they researched the name.

"It turns out it is one of the oldest placenames in Ireland and dates back over 2,000 years. The name means Luach from an old Celtic word meaning light or bright.

"We believe it should translate as The Bright Headland. The Heritage Group now have an opportunity to make a submission to Ordinance Survey Committee to change the official meaning of that name."

He suggested the name also suggest there had been a settlement in this area for a long time.

Mr O'Baoill said another of the big discoveries made by the Loughros Heritage Group was the Viking influence in this area.

"It is something someone will have to do more work on because I have not come across any other area with so many minor Viking names in such close proximity. They are minor placenames that no one has documented anywhere else until this group collected them from local landowners and fishermen, Apart from changing the name of the Point, this is other significant discovery in this fantastic work of the Heritage Committee.”

He explained the Vikings, who came here from their base in Western Isles of Scotland, didn't really make a big impact in Donegal because the O'Neill's, the O'Donnell's and the O'Boyle's who were able for them and kept them at bay, for the most part.

He outlined how despite one site at Drimitten being called The Danes Fort, Danish Vikings never came to Donegal, it would have been Norse Vikings. This was another misinterpretation by the English.

He said further research was needed into the placenames with the word Úig attached to it. This word is not common and other than Glencolmcille which has four, Ardara has nine, eight of them in very close proximity in Loughros Point.

"This hasn't been documented so far because I believe people were confusing this name with another placenames like it Uaidh, Uaigh or Uaich. This word Úig comes from the Viking word Vick meaning cove, other examples in Ireland are Helvick Point, Co Waterford and Smervick Bay, in Co Kerry. This placename is also found in the Outer Hebrides in Scotland where the Vikings came from to Donegal."

He added this was a great piece of work for the group to unveil and it need more to be done.

Mr O'Baoill said one only had to look at the O'Boyle names in this area when the Vikings were here in 1259. One of the lords was called Sigfraidh O'Baoill, a Viking first name. Other Viking names used by the O'Donnells' was Godfraidh and Maghnús.

Proof

"This is proof that not alone was the Viking trading here but most definitely they were intermingling and marrying the Donegal clans."

He praised the huge contribution from the local community, past and present, to make the new book such a valuable resource and encouraged them to continue their research well into the future.

“I know that many of you have gained that invaluable knowledge about place. I’m sure every member of the Loughros Heritage Group feels that they know every rock and cranny around the Point and beyond too. It has been both an honour and a pleasure to work with a group over the last 9 months which is so committed to the area and to their community. That commitment is reflected in this afternoon’s publication, Pointe  Luacharois, Loughros Point, Placenames and Tales of Nooks and Crannies.”

Mr Ó Baoill also added, "It's fantastic that this book has saved these placenames because they could have easily been lost. I hope and I think we will see the headland in a new light now. I hope it will re-engage people when they see the book because this is a fantastic publication," he said. This publication gives us a great cultural insight into our heritage, the Irish language placenames shine so much new light on our past, we can now see Pointe Luacharois in full the full colour that it deserves”.