to· AustraJ.ia. The .cries of those IJ€Ople . could be heard for miles around as they bade farewell to the hill1s and moorlands that had afforded them a meagre sustenance. Nlot far disfant is the Doon well beside the imp1osing rOC!k, where, aocordi.n;g to tradition, the princes of Tir:conail1 were suc·cessivey .inaugurated as· chiefs over their ·peorpk [t is more likely, however, tha;t the inauguration took pi1wce-in .the mon1as1tery of Kilmacren:an. J, Near Kilmacrenan, there Uved in 179'8 a ·man named Manus O'Donnell, whio wias then .about 40 years of age. He had joined the United Irishmen, and was ia1ppointed captain and second in command -Of the local forees. He was arrested on the information of a spy and cast into a loathsome dungeon, where for sonre weeks with hands and feet ibound in chains, he endured extnime discomfort. An attEmP·t was made to bri'be Mm, but be scorn:fully refused to purchase his liberty and a pension alt t.he e'.lcpense of dishonour. Next year, 1799, he was tried at Lif!iord by a military trilbunal. As sufficient ·evidence to secure a conviction wa§ not forthcoming, he was promised lUberty on cond:ttion th'at he engaged in corr11ba.t with a mqunted dragoon. T'lle dr:ag1oon was to -~e:, armed With a sword and }ance, while O'Donnell, on ·raot, shiould ·have ·only his .pike. . O'Donnell W!as restricted to defensiv'e measures, bult the dragoon had relceived 'secret iiilSitructions to kill his adversar:y. The day w:as fixed, and the encoUnte'r took plaice betwe·en Lifford and Strabane, in a field near where the Finn and Mollil'ne become the Foy'le. Manus, wi1th phe first til't of hi.s pike, cut the reins o.f the horse, making him unmanaig:aible ·for the rider. He succe·eded in eluding the next attack by the dm.goon, and, as the rider was passirng, cauglht his ja.ckeit w~th the hoo1k o·f his .WeaJPOn and. unhorsed him. The dmgoon lay at the mercy ·of O'Donnell, ·who, however, made no attempt even t-0 wound him. Instead of getting credit for ·.this feat, Mlanus incurred the d~s:pleasure of the presi1dent of the court for not dii.ng by the hand of the dra~ gu6n. He ordered that' Manus shou1ld receive..500 lashes. The timely arrival of Lora Oa<van prevented this outra.ge. ·Having heard whatnad transpired, Lord Cavan ordered Manus to be set· at Ji!bert1y. Manus· 01Donnell ended his ,ctays in peace, and was buried in Gartan in 1844. As we are d·ealing with song as well as story, we must Unger for a while around Glenswtlly. There is a very yopular song, entitled '.'The Hilils of Glenswiilly", wt'ilt:ten long ago by Mi'ch:ael Ma;c Gtnley, who died here in ·131all~iPofey a few years agx}. Then we have a poem of considerable merit, written by Bri:gid Mac Ginley, whom we have already mentioned. This poem is entit1ed, "The Hills of Doneg:a.l." I love their puriple heather. and .their rushes, wavin.~ gi'een;1 I love to see their summits gH\t with sunset's golden sheen; I love the smiling valleys, where thr~ cooling dew-drops fail:1, 'Mid the heath-dad hillls the clioudca.pped hills, the folls br Donegal. There is another son1g, entiJtled "The Hills of Donegial", composed, I believe, by the' late Niall M:ac Giolla Bhrighde, of Creesi.ough.. T'he. exHe, having descriJbed his s.ympathetic reaction to all the. familiar scenes from GreesiLough to Moville, becomes reminiscent on reaching Tory. Among those hills Sit. Golumcille le.ft miracles and e:ures, In sh!liles and dells and holy wells, with powers that stiH endure: Green Gartan's cell and old Doon . Well, St. Fi:onan's waterfall Are faithfol shrines of Christai~ times on ·the hills of Donegal. · We have not time to dwell on the many :associations of Letterrkenny and its surroundiing:s. At any rate, the defeat of Scarif.Hollis and the victory of O'Donne11 over Shane Q'NeiU at Fears.at Mor .are well known incidents of history. . From the lore of this district I ·shall seJe1ct one episode, because it has aliways a;pp€aled to the imag;ina,tion of the people. Godfrey O'Donnell had defeated Mauriiee Fit:zigeraild, the Lord JusU.ce at Oredan CifHe, in SJ.i.gb, and was re~ covering from his wounds in his crannog on Lough Veigh, when word was b~ught. th.at O'NeHl ,was mamhing on T1"rcona1l!: .lHe was carried on a litter ait the head of his army to oonwall, where the forces .met;. The forces of Tyrone were routed, but Godfrey died .at the moment of victory, and was buried at Conw:all. Au:brey de Vere has related the incident in a stirring song from whieh I take a stanzas: ' All worn and wan, and sore with wounds from Credan's bloody frey, In Don_eg:M for weary months the proud orDonnell lay; wound his couch in bitter .grie.f hiS trusty clansmen wait, And silent watch, with aching hearts his faint and feeble state. ' We must pass over Rathmullan with its Abibey, ~he kidnapiping of Red Hugh, and ~e Fhght of the Earls. Opipos:Ute the Ohurich of .Mas&mount, in Fanad, a!cross the eas~ern . arm of the Mulroy,
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