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KILLYBEGS |
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If you stick to the coast road west of Bruckless, you'll round
Killybegs Bay and arrive in the most successful fishing port in Ireland,
KILLYBEGS ( na Cealla Beaga - "the little churches"), where tons of top-quality
fish are hauled onto the quaysides daily. This marks the halfway point
on the route from Donegal town to Glencolmcille, and also the point at
which the scenery changes dramatically for the better: the mile-long
approach road around the bay would be idyllic were it not for a fishmeal
processing plant interrupting the view. Killybegs itself is perched on a
slope above the harbour, its gleaming whitewashed buildings huddled
around narrow cramped streets. The town is well served by shops and
banks and buzzes with traffic in summer, most of it heading down to the
quay, where you can buy fish after watching the fleet come in during the
early evening. A huge international sea angling festival takes place
here in the second half of July but you can go sea angling any time with
one of six boats that go out daily - the Harbour Store (tel 073/31569)
has details and sells all manner of fishing gear. Picturesque though
Killybegs is, it isn't exactly overflowing with interest, and most of
the pubs are aimed squarely at working fishermen, though students from
the local Tourism College liven the place up in term time. All may soon
change, however, as Killybegs is slated to become the service town for
the thirty or so oil rigs soon to be located off-shore.
If you're staying, it's worth visiting the church at the top of the hill
for a glimpse of the sixteenth-century tombstone of Niall Mór MacSweeney
, removed from his grave at Ballysaggart Friary on St John's Point and
now covered in Celtic carvings and contained in a glass case to the left
of the church door. The MacSweeneys originated from the Scottish
Hebridean islands and arrived in Ireland as gallowglasses ( galloglaigh
- "foreign warrior), hired by the O'Donnells to drive the O'Neills from
the land around the River Foyle. Receiving land in payment, the
MacSweeneys became one of Donegal's ruling families prior to the Flight
of the Earls, and Niall Mór was head of one branch of the clan. The
cross standing on the hillock behind the church is an ugly specimen that
serves as a reminder of ugly times - the days of the Penal Laws.
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