In my review of Castle Archdale Country Park I indicated that during World War II the park, then Castle Archdale Manor House and Estate were commandeered by the Royal Air Force and was a significant base for PBY Catalinas and Short Sunderlands flying boats which flew from Castle Archdale to protect Atlantic shipping from German U-boats. Continue reading “Commonwealth War Graves – Irvinestown”
After about ten years into the Plantation of Ulster, Nicholas Pynnar was appointed ‘to survey and to make a return of the proceedings and performance of conditions of the undertakers, servitors, and natives planted’ in the six escheated counties of Armagh, Tyrone, Donegal, Cavan, Fermanagh, and Londonderry. Pynnar carried out his rather inconclusive survey (another had to be done three years later) between December 1618 and March 1619. Continue reading “Irvinestown Old Church and Graveyard”
Necerne Castle is one of many Plantation Castles in Country Fermanagh – that is a castle built or acquired by English or Scottish settlers in the early 1600s. What differentiates this from many of the others including Tully, Monea, Crevenish and Portora is its two storey Tudor-Gothic south wing extension added in 1833, its relatively better state of repair (it was used until the late 1940s) and the striking blue wooden panels securing its windows and doors! Continue reading “Necerne Castle – What’s on the Slab?”
The original building on Castle Archdale estate, and the one which gives it its name, was a Plantation castle built in 1615 for the English ‘undertaker’ planter, John Archdale from Suffolk, on land granted to him in 1612. An ‘undertaker’ planter was a landlord who was given a large estate of land at a low rent in exchange for an undertaking to settle ten English or Scottish families on each 1000 acres of land received. Continue reading “Castle Archdale Country Park”
Should you have even a passing interest in the early Christian and monastic history of County Fermanagh then a visit to White Island in the eastern part of Lower Lough Erne is certainly worthy the hour or so it takes.
The primary attraction here are a number of stone figurine carvings embedded in the wall of the ruined church building. Continue reading “White Island – Carvings and Church”
Unsurprisingly the White Island ferry exists to ferry people back and forth from White Island, the location of a series of beautiful early Christian stone carvings dating from pre-Norman times and the ruins of a 12th century church on which I have written a separate entry – White Island Carvings and Church.
The ferry departs from Castle Archdale Country Park Marina. Continue reading “Take the Ferry to White Island”
Apart from a seasonal ferry to White Island and a larger boat to Devenish Island there are no commercial boat services on either Upper or Lower Lough Erne.
If you want to explore the lough you have two choices. You can drive around it stopping off at points of interest and take the available boat trips to Devenish and White Islands. Alternatively, or additionally, you can hire a boat and spend some time out on the lough. Continue reading “Get out and about on Lough Erne”
The cows at Oghill Farm, now better known as Tickety Moo, know that everyone loves the ice-cream made from their milk and because of this they voluntarily queue up to be milked several times a day! Continue reading “Tickety Moo and its Obliging Cows”
On your right hand side as you enter the graveyard of the Priory Church in Killadeas are several interesting stones dating from the 7th – 9th centuries, especially interesting for their very obvious overlap of ‘pagan’ and Christian imagery. Continue reading “Meet the Bishop at Killadeas”
Castle Coole is one of three National Trust managed properties in County Fermanagh and is located on the eastern outskirts of Enniskillen town. Its entrance is on the Dublin Road which rather amusingly, I always think, leads to Belfast! Continue reading “Castle Coole – Snubbed by the King”
The Rambling Wombat 