JOURNAL OF THE. COUNTY DONEGAL HISTORICAL SOCIETY. --~·~-- --·- ---···----- lH ~"lot1'>1w t10m n~'i. be~\l ,&t.._ Sc.i.n<1n), 1r 0 f1tl <\HM.c 50 DC! 'Orum Cu,rn1 ! 1r J.010111n, 401omn lnir 1111c l1MJ1r. 1r crnrn .6. brJ.on 'r 1r m1t1r " bl.dt, 1r re,,n5 J.11 re-Atir.M'», 1r tnnn <l.n cuM~, 1r bric l'l<1U"'-C' le n-<1 btW<\l: .:l.5 rnJ'lll. 1 11UC111 11-0. 115.6.ll c.S. 1105,,. 50.C. reou, lla1te t.H -Oomn<11lt 1r uor nc. Hios, be11t mo OCX\1111-0.CC•f.<.\ FJ -06 :So be~'\rnc.r m<}r t1re ~o~·>c,. Like Oisin she reveals her i-dentity in the final s1;anza:-- lr me l1ual.:l., m.E;eo.n Ui l1e1n t'H re.:1.l 1 5ce1m 1 nUGn 116 115<1.ll. m,q1 E;ut Lorn 1 ucom le1r rem C.6.1·m '1101r 1 seem 'r mo ce1le6.o.<1r m<1tl. Niall Garibh was d'etested and little compassion w:as felt tor rom when he was imprisoned by the English whom he had assisted. When he died in London in 1626, some poeit, pro1ba,hly one o'f the O'Clery's, was chruitalble enough to write an elegy. T'his poem empha:sises the one virtue th~t could be admired in Niall Garbh, his personal ooavery. Here are a couple of verses from the poem:- Niall Garbh O Domhnaill do dhul A ttor ghiall Grianan Lund.an, Creach ra-domhain do ghalbh geall Ar bharamail Fer. nEirenn, Fedh a therma a ttor an riogh Foirm Gaoideal gabus dimbriogh, San tor-sain an tann do-choidh Dob am osnaidh da a n-onoir. Leaving untouched the wealth of hisltoric data associated wLth the Gastles and .Abbeys of Ballysihannon and Donegal, we pass through Inver NaiUe and Dun Oon:gaile, near which, .acorditng to the !firemde stories, Gailbldin Gabhna forged armour and taught prowe:ss to the young nobles, and pause by the quiet harbour of Killy'begs. This plaiCe is caUed ln Irish "na Cealla Beaga," or little cells. T:hese were evidenJtly hermit cells, but their exact location has not been .ascertained with certainty. Curiously enough, the ipa:rish is dedicated to St. Oatherlne of Eg;y.p.~. There Is a story tha.t a ship once a,rri.ved there fr:om f'o:rtel·gn parts with a bishop on board. The biSh-OIP conducted his f.ellow pas.sen'g·ers to a little nook wh·ere he returned thanks for their safe delivery .from the perils of the sea. He blessed a well there and dedicated it to St. Catherine of Egypt. In the 15th century the Mac Su11bhne of Banagh -erected a Franciscan Alblbey near ms own. ·castle, and that also was caUt"d St. Oatherine's Abbey. There were three l:l'ranches of the Mac Suilbhnes in Donegal: those of Fanad, Due~ und Bail'agh. They can)'e aci.io.ss ".rom ·scot-· land to Fanad in the 13th century, am1 were captains of the Gall Oglaigh .o" the 01Donnells . .Mter a couple of generaitions one of the Fanad Ma,> Sulbhnes settled in Doe having wrested their territory• from tlle O'Boyles. Sollie of the Mac Suilbhnes also settled in Connaug:ht and Munste·r, and these of Banagh were a branch of the Mac sutbhnes of Conniwught. A few Sihtps -Of the UHated Spa.:1ish Armada in 1588 sought shelter in the ha.rlbour of Killybe.gs. One of them sank at the haribour mouth; the others, three in num'ber, under the command of Don Allonzo de Leva, refiL~3d at Kill:r· IYegs and sailed for Sciotland. These were wrecked on their way east of Portru.sih. The survivors vf t'·;a·, disaster were seized and hanged by the English. Eigh't years later, in 1596, three other S•paniSh ships arrived in Killybegs, 1bringing a,.n amlbassa.dor tfro.m Philip ol Spain to O'Neill and O'Donnell. Killybegs must have been well known t;:i the Spaniards in thos.e days. For a period af about twenty years duri!llg the l&th century, Killybegs was tihe centr~. of a considerable whaling industry. We must now hasiten on tJ Giencolumbkille, merely bowing our ar.knowledgments to St; Carthach as we pass. Over Glencoumbkille towers the· majestic Sli'aibh Lia.g, whose sea cliffs, rising 1,900 f·eet ahOVP, the re;;tless wave:.;, have no serious scenic competitors in <111 Europe. Aodh Mac Bric had his ·11erm1t. cell on Sliabh Li!a.g ill the 6th oentury, and. bleEsed a well there. Tl'.l this mountalri, according ·to Clol,gan, St. Assicus, the guileless Bishop of Elphin, mpaired J.lor six years to do penance becau.sie he had unwittingly told an untruth. Manus O'Donnell, in his life of Columcille, tells a strange story .aib-OUt the glen. When Sit. Patrick banisihed the demons fl'Orn Croagh Pa.trick, they came across the bay and settled in the S.ean <Nrleann, which they fortllwith enveloped in a thick f'otg. There they remained until the time of Sit. C'obmba. When the Saint ap.proaah·ed the glen the demons became very angry and one of them threw a j.aivelin whlich struck Oearc, one of Columcille's arttendants. This took place beside a stream, and the spot has ever since been c:a.lled S'rath na Circe, or Cearic's Htolm. S·t. Oolumba threw roack the }arveHn and a hoUy buSh grew where it fell. Some will psrhaJps venture to point -0u1t tnat bush still in
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