Walks around Ardara

	1 The Nesbitt Arms Hotel. The Nesbitts from Direltown, The Shire of Berwick, were first granted land on 20th. Dec. 1669. They were mainly responsible for Ardara’s development.
	2 Heritage centre, site of the former courthouse. (It was officially opened by President Mary Robinson in 1993.)
	3 Owentucker River (gentle flowing, calm river). There are many tweed and craft shops and pubs on both sides of the street.
	4 5The Methodist Church 1832 and St. Conell’s Church (Church of Ireland) 1833 are on your left. The sites of both churches were granted by members of the Nesbitt Family and St. Conell’s Church cost £600 to build in 1833. Around St. Conell’s Church there are many gravestones. The Nesbitt Family (Landlords) are buried in the vault. One family called Evans, whom members emigrated to Birmingham - invented the hospital bed.
	6 7 Marian Shrine “Our Lady of Perpetual Succour”. At this grotto of Our Lady - there is a house to your left beside the Methodist Church car park. This was the home of Jimmy O’Rourke. He was a great story -teller and fiddle player. On him the central character of “Darby O Gill and the Little People” was based. It was researched in the 1940’s. In 1959 the world premiere was shown at the Mansion House in Dublin.
	8 The land on left was site of an old church- [legend- Diarmuid & Grainne’s Bed] - site of burial ground - Dolmen - & a stone circle were present - all now gone due to land reclamation.
	9 Pearse Memorial Park Gaelic Football pitch opened 13th. June 1939.
	10 Walk straight ahead to Long Point or turn right to Owenea Bridge
	11 Long Point Sit on the rocks here or bath when the tide is in.
	12 Owenea Bridge On left behind ruins is a large standing stone - Megalithic Period 12 foot high, 4 sided and 2 cup marks. Legend says that Finn McCool threw this shoulder stone from “Clo na Cleire Mountain”. It may indeed have marked an ancient or modern boundary. Owenea means “Ring of the Wild Deer”. Cross bridge and walk upstream. About 100 - 200 yds. ridges in field and remains of an old house - this dates to pre-famine. This river is wonderful for Salmon & Trout fishing.
	13 Iron Bridge. Here is a picnic area and little shed for shelter.[ table and seats and rubbish bins present]. Continue along bog road - only used by turfcutters and fishermen and the walker. You walk for approx. 1.5 mls. through blanket Bog. Bog: -- Turf goes back for thousands of years, back to when this country was covered with woods and a lush growth of plants and mosses. As they withered and died, layer upon layer of decaying material gradually formed bogland in waterlogged areas. For centuries, turf (or peat) has been saved by people in bogland districts. The upper layer of some bogs have a light, mossy growth from which Moss Peat is made. After harvesting, it is graded and packed in a factory. Irish moss peat is used widely throughout the world for improving conditions of soil in gardens and for the growth of seeds and cuttings. Some of the disused bog has been planted with trees, some ploughed and reclaimed for grass growing and experiments continue as to it’s use for vegetable growing. Views here of Loughros Mor Bay, Tullymore and the Fort.
	14 Turn right towards Fort & Ardara or turn left towards Court Tomb and longer walk.
	15 Fort This is the Fort from which the Town gets it’s name. Early Christian settlement 500 A.D. Could be used for sheltering livestock from invaders too.
	16 Community Centre. This area is known as “cow market”. Was really the horse market on the Fair Days. Nowadays - a sports centre- with playschool facility and toddler group. Above it is a picnic area with car parking spaces.
	17 About 1 mile along this road are the bare remains of a court tomb. (Doohill means Dark Wood. Where the river forks on the other side is a large mound - on a hill - old burial ground - used for unbaptized children and for catholics to be secretly buried there during the persecutions (during penal times, Catholics were not allowed to practice their religion in public).
	18 Bonner’s knitwear factory. Continue for approximatly 300 mts and take first turn right.
	19 Lime kiln here on left. This was used by farmers and tenants of a former era to burn the limestones and used it on land for fertiliser. Also used to make whitewash for thatched cottages and a little ‘blue’ was added to enhance the whiteness.
	20 Turn right again - walk ahead about 1 mile onto main - Ardara - Donegal Road - at Lurganboy. Along this road in the Nesbitt’s time it was completely covered in woodland.
	21 Turn right to Ardara or left to continue on trail.
	22 Right for shorter trail towards Kiltiernan Graveyard.Straight ahead for longer trail. Spectacular views on this road --- overlooking Loughros Bay and Maghera. An old authentic thatched cottage here is still lived in. Ardvalley hill 325 feet in height.
	23 Kiltiernan Graveyard. Worth a walk. Beautiful scenery. This is an ancient graveyard - pre famine also site of an early church, and a holy well. After the plantations and suppression of Catholicism people generally congregated here. Burial ground 17 century, means church of Tighernach or the ‘Church of Our Lord’. Protestants and Catholics were buried here. Very old flagstones. Most noted one:- Fr. John Gallagher P.P , Kilcar (native of Brakey). His dying wish was to be buried here. This graveyard can be accessed by a right of way clearly visible. Views - wonderful - all over Woodhill area. Opposite graveyard: - hill is said to be a fairy fort - where locals long ago would have witnessed the sight of the little people and heard their cries. Because of these legends: locals would never disturb a “fairy dwelling”.
	24 Lime Kiln
	25 Turn left towards Molloys Factory or straight ahead towards Woodhill. In olden times all this area was wooded. Then after this period it was turned into green pasture and grain and hay was grown.This area is quiet, green, very scenic and arable. The tighes for this area were much higher than the rest of Ardara district. A ‘tigh’ 10% of income from the tenant paid to the Landlord and/or Protestant Church in early decades of 19 century. There was a malicious burning of the sacristy of the church in 1907 because of a dispute between people and landed gentry over land and fishing rights. The ordinary person could not fish or shoot without paid permission from the Landlord. This he could not afford. For this reason many people died in famine even though they lived beside the sea.
	26 Before entering the town, the house on corner of Loughros Pt. and Ardara Road was the site of the 4th school in Ardara. This was the only Catholic one.
	27 Behind Triona Design was an ancient Abbey. Monks were massacred en masse here. There was a standing stone here too. Has been removed in the last 20 years. Remains here too of the former “power house” - before the rural electrification scheme.
	28 Catholic Church One of the most noted buildings built in 1903, 3rd church to be built. General Tredernick gave land to Fr. Peter Kelly. He died of pneumonia one month after church was completed. Special Interest Evie Hone window installed 1953. Evie Hone was crippled by polio from the age of 11, yet an outstanding artist. Hand-painted depicts “Word of God”, Old and New Testaments - related to gospels - symbolises 4 Evangelists:- Matthew ... man six panels Mark ... lion King David on top Luke ... Ox Moses on bottom John ... eagle Evangelists in between Infant Christ in Centre. Commissioned by Patrick Sweeney (Beagh) - in America. Supervised by his son James - he was director of Guggen Reim Museum, New York. James brother (Jack) was curator of Poetry Room in Lamont Library in Harvard.
	29 Woodhill House Now a restaurant and Guesthouse. It was the home of the Nesbitts. During the famine it was a soup Kitchen.
	30 Rev. George Nesbitt built Wood House (girls national school) General Tredernick inherited Woodhill 1848. Died 1880. House became uninhabited. Congested District Board bought Woodhill in 20 century. This was the end of an era.
	31 Parish Hall. Site of former ice house for Nesbitts. There was two wells on this land here - provided water for town before Town water supply was installed.
	32 Shed on left was gate lodge to demense.
	33 Woodschool boys National School. On right after that was Hotel Orchard in 1800’s.
	34 Drumbarron (Short or bare ridge). This is a breathtaking walk - overlooking the town and on the Valley to your left.
	35 Laburnum House Was the site of 1st Catholic church. The second church was built in the graveyard area of the present church.

	Crumlin Walk
	A short walk - lovely scenery. Take a right past the Catholic Church. 1st. right to Loughros Pt. : Area to immediate right is called Yellow Banks. Crumlin means: curved glen. Crumlin on left. Legend says there was a wooden structure there -- the summer residence of the Fuanna when they were hunting in the area. 1st left - as you walk along this ascending path --- many houses are dotted along the valley, to the left. At the end - see Maghera , caves, waterfall. At low tide you can walk towards Ballyganney Beach, have a swim or pick cockles. Views from Crumlin : - Inisfallen Island, just off Ballyganney. Rocks have bare remains of a Castle on it. A socketed bronze axe-head was found here - in 1939.