Castlefin, Steps Fishery, Carrick, Cusheen, River Finn, 1 Dec 2016, v1 Short

Castlefin Bridge

Castlefinn (Irish: Caisleán na Finne, meaning "castle of the (river) Finn") sometimes spelt Castlefin is a market town in the Finn Valley of County Donegal, Ireland.

Castlefin Bridge which span the River Finn on the R235 road and is the main access route from Castlefin (Republic of Ireland) to Castlederg (Northern Ireland).

This bridge originally dates to the late-eighteenth century, a period that saw a great deal of road and bridge-building in Ireland, particularly by the Grand Juries (the forerunners of the County Councils) a bridge is depicted on the Taylor and Skinner map of the area from 1777 - 1883, though not on Moll's map dated 1714, which suggests that the bridge dates to between these dates. According to the Ordnance Survey Memoirs of 1836 Castlefinn Bridge at the entrance of the town from Castlederg, is a structure of 6 water arches and 6 land ones, although only ten are visible today due to build-up of the land to the north end adjacent to the river. It was built by a Mr. Mason and cost about £900, raised by assessment from the county, and was built at little cost on account of the stones being procured from the ruins of a castle site to the north-west side of the bridge.

There is a record of repairs in 1774 costing £47, which indicates that the bridge dates to before this time. This bridge probably replaced an earlier fording point, hence the presence site of a castle to the north side, and there was a ferry here in the seventeenth century.

A large corn store and quay for loading and unloading (4 boats were usually employed) had been built at the bridge by Dr. Francis Rogan, who is the principal proprietor of Castlefin.

This bridge is one of a number of fine bridges over the River Finn, and is an important element of the built heritage and transport history of County Donegal.

 

O’Donnell Castles

The O’Donnell chieftains of Donegal built castles at fords on the River Finn. One castle was located at Killygordon which fell into the hands of the English during the Nine Years War in the early 1600s. The castle and surrounding lands were granted to a Captain Ralph Mansfield for his part in the war. Mansfield and his heirs owned the property up to the end of the 19th century.

Another O’Donnell castle was located on the river at Castlefin. After the Nine Years War the castle and estates adjacent to the castle were confiscated and granted to General Kingsmill for dispersing the O’Donnell forces in that area. The lands were inherited by Sir John Kingsmill’s daughters and later passed on to their husbands through marriage. The castle at Castlefin was eventually dismantled, and as mentioned previously its stones were used in building the bridge across the river.

 

The castle at Lifford belonged to Manus O’Donnell, Earl of Donegal, during the time of King Henry VIII. He built his castle in 1527. It was later occupied by his grandson, Red Hugh O’Donnell, who was defeated in the Nine Years War with England. After the war, the site of the castle became the administrative center for the plantation of Ulster in Donegal. The county courthouse and jail were built there in 1746. Lifford remained Donegal’s seat of power until 1938.

 

Tyrconnell (Irish: Tír Chonaill, meaning "Land of Conall"), also spelled Tirconnell, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland, associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which has sometimes been called County Tyrconnell. At times it also included parts of County Fermanagh, County Sligo, County Leitrim, County Tyrone and County Londonderry at its greatest extent.

 

Niall Garve O'Donnell

Niall Garve O'Donnell (Irish: Niall Garbh Ó Domhnaill; 1569 – 1626) was an Irish chieftain, alternately an ally and rebel against English rule in Ireland. He is best known for siding with the English against his kinsman Hugh Roe O'Donnell during the Nine Years' War (1688–1697) often called the War of the Grand Alliance or the War of the League of Augsburg.

The Nine Years' War was a conflict between Louis XIV of France and a European coalition of the Holy Roman Empire (led by Austria), the Dutch Republic, Spain, England, and Savoy.

 

Niall Garbh was the son of Conn O'Donnell, the son of Calvagh O'Donnell the ruler of the lordship of Tyrconnell. Amongst his brothers were Hugh Boy, Donal and Conn. Niall Garbh was incensed at the elevation of his cousin Hugh Roe (Red Hugh) to the chieftainship in 1592 and was further alienated when the latter deprived him of his castle at Lifford, and a bitter feud between the two O’Donnell’s was the result.

While Red Hugh O'Donnell was engaged in the Nine Years' War against the English, Niall Garve exploited the political situation to his own advantage. Niall Garve made terms with the English government, to whom he rendered valuable service both against the O'Neills and against his cousin, enabling an English force to land at Derry under Sir Henry Docwra. For a time Docwra regarded Niall as an invaluable ally but in 1601 he quarrelled with the Lord Deputy of Ireland, who was willing to establish Niall Garve in the lordship of Tyrconnell, would not permit him to enforce his supremacy over Sir Cahir O'Doherty in Inishowen. Nonetheless the same year he led an Anglo-Irish force that captured Donegal which was then laid siege to by the rebels, but Niall Garve oversaw a successful defence.

 

After the departure of Hugh Roe from Ireland in 1602, Niall Garve tried to seize the chieftainship, and was "inaugurated" in 1603 as the 25th O'Donnell, but without the required full support of the derbfine (electoral kinship group). This was repudiated by Hugh Roe's surviving family, and especially by his younger brother Rory. To find a solution, Niall Garve, and Hugh Roe's brother Rory went to London in 1603, where the privy council endeavoured to arrange the family quarrel.

As a result, King James 1st of England granted some lands to Niall Garve, but raised Rory to the peerage as Rory O'Donnell, 1st Earl of Tyrconnell, and also granted him the territorial Lordship of Tyrconnell.

Niall Garve was later accused of turning against the Crown. When Sir Cahir O'Doherty launched an uprising by burning Derry (Londonderry) in 1608, Niall Garve was charged with complicity in the ensuing O'Doherty's Rebellion. He and his son Neachtain were sent to the Tower of London, where they remained until their deaths.

 

Niall Garve had married his cousin Nuala, sister of Hugh Roe and Rory O'Donnell. When Rory fled with Hugh O'Neill the Earl of Tyrone to Rome in 1607 (see the Flight of the Earls), Nuala, who had left her husband when he joined the English against her brother, accompanied him, taking with her daughter, Grania. She was the subject of an Irish poem, of which an English version was written by James Mangan from a prose translation by Eugene O'Curry.

 

Dr. Rogan

The Londonderry Journal in 1845 referred to Dr. Rogan as providing employment for 208 weavers on his estate at Castlefin. Dr, Rogan enterprise in Castlefin started in 1840. It was managed by one of William Scott’s sons, like his father’s business, combined weaving with shirt making. Dr. Rogan had established a similar a similar manufactory four years fr 1,000 wavers in Magherafelt. It involved moving a step away from the pattern described in 1838 by a Government Commissioner in the following terms

In 1845 the Londonderry Journal sought to dispel the impression that insufficient was being done to create employment in Derry and its district. It referred to Dr Rogan who was providing employment for 280 weavers on his estate at Castlefin. The Journal also mentioned:

 

In sewing we understand that Messrs. Wm. Scott & Co. of this town gave employment to no fewer than 250 weavers and upwards of 500 persons making shirts; and we believe that there is a great demand for hands on their part than they can readily procure.

 

Dr, Rogan’s enterprise in Castlefin had started in 1840. It was managed by one of Williams Scott’s sons and, like his father’s business, combined weaving with shirt making. Dr Rogan had established a similar ‘manufactory’ 4 years earlier for 1,000 weavers in Magherafelt.

 

River Finn

The River Finn starts at Lough Finn near Fintown in Co. Donegal. It flows east through the area known as Glenfin, past the towns of Ballanmore, Cloghan, Brockagh, and Welchtown and from here it runs through the twin towns of Ballybofey and Stranorlar. From there, it flows through the parish of Donaghmore, past Killygordon, Liscooley, Castlefin, Clady, and Lifford where it joins the River Mourne to form the River Foyle.

The river from Lough Finn to the River Mourne is 39 miles long. It is navigable up to Castlefin. In the 19th century, Dr. Francis Rogan, a surgeon at the Derry Hospital, operated a service that brought grain to the markets at Derry from Castlefin by boat once a week. Dr. Rogan was the landlord of many properties in Castlefin.

The River Finn is one of the best Atlantic salmon rivers in the locality. The main run of Grilse is between May through to July although the Finn has a reputation as a good spring salmon river. Spring salmon travel up the River Foyle from the Atlantic Ocean before arriving at the mouth of the River Finn (at Lifford) a distance of for 25 miles before head west up the Finn. Spring Salmon fishing is best in March through to May. A rod license is required to fish the River Finn with a number of beats being private thus requiring a day ticket.

 

Standing Stones - Menhir

A menhir (from Brittonic languages: maen or men, "stone"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large man-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be found solely as monoliths, or as part of a group of similar stones.

Menhirs' size can vary considerably, but they are generally uneven and squared, often tapering towards the top. They are widely distributed across Europe, Africa and Asia, but most numerous in Western Europe; particularly in Ireland, Great Britain, Brittany and France, where there are about 50,000 examples, while there are 1,200 menhirs in northwest France alone. Standing stones are usually difficult to date, but pottery, or pottery shards, found underneath some in Atlantic Europe connects them with the Beaker people. They were constructed during many different periods across pre-history as part of the larger megalithic cultures in Europe and near areas.

Almost nothing is known of the social organization or religious beliefs of the people who erected the menhirs. There’s no trace of these people's language however, we do know that they buried their dead and had the skills to grow cereal, farm and make pottery, stone tools and jewellery. Identifying the menhirs uses remains speculative as until recently they were associated with the Beaker people, who inhabited Europe during the European late Neolithic and early Bronze Age—later third millennium BC, c. 2800–1800 BC. However, recent research into the age of megaliths in Brittany strongly suggests a far older origin, perhaps back to 6,000 to 7,000 years ago.

The full version of this video is available on YouTube

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WkCKOqYH55I

 

 

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