Corpus of Electronic Texts Edition
Pococke's Tour in Ireland in 1752 (Author: Richard Pococke)
entry 31
On the 25th,
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I set out for Donegal: In three miles we came to Dinhonely and a mile farther to Brocla's Bay, on which there is a Castle; two streams fall into the bay of Bay of Killybegs and three into this. We had St. John's point to the south, where there is a hole like that called MacSuines Gun: There is also a large cave with a table in it, cut in the rock, which they call Temple Sugan. Three miles farther we came to Inver, another large bay, where I observed a kind of granite lying loose in the bay of a light liver colour with large grains in it, of a kind of sparr. The country to the north is mostly beautiful and well improved and particularly three miles farther about Mount Charles on the Bay into which the river of Donegal falls: Here the country consists of small hills all covered with herbage or corn, and some wood to add to the beauty of it. The land running sometimes into the bay in such little hills, makes the view from Mount Charles which is almost all covered with wood one of the most delightful I ever saw. Three miles more brought us to Donegal which stands on the east side of the river Eask that rises out of a Lough of that name three or four miles to the north west of the town. It is but a poor small town built almost all round a sort of triangular Green: There is an old Castle which had been improved into a good house with the help of some addition to it, particularly there is in it, a very well designed chimney piece in the style of Inigo Jones, but not executed in the best manner: It was the Castle of the O'Donnels formerly Lords of this Country, and now belongs to Sir Arthur Gore; whose Grandfather lived in it. A quarter of a mile out of the town are the remains of an old Convent of Minorites, said to be founded by Odo sirnamed Rufus O'Donnel in 1473 and that there was a good Library in it. The cloister consists of small
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arches, supported by couplets of pillars on a basement: in one part are two narrow passages one over another, about four feet wide, ten long and seven high, which seem to be places for depositing valuable effects in time of danger; the upper one is covered with stones laid along on the beams of stone that cross it, and the lower one with stones laid across on the walls, both exactly after the Egyptian manner; and in a building over it are plain marks of a regular Roman pediment tho' there had been some other building raised against it, which made me conclude that this was the remains of some very ancient building either converted into a Convent, or it may be new founded by O'Donnel. Donegal is a Corporation consisting chiefly if not altogether of out Burgesses. There is a way when the tide is out to Balintra five miles off, but I went the inland way and struck out of the high road to the south east to go to the Caves called the Pullans near Colonel Hamilton's house a mile from Balintra, by which place I ought to have come instead of going chiefly along by a rivlet a very bad road for three miles: These caves are large and a rivlet runs at the bottom of them, goes under ground and afterwards comes out, but they were so overflowed that I could not go in. Colonel Hamilton's is a fine plantation and a well improved estate. I came through Balintra, a very poor town, and in five miles more came by a very fine road to Ballyshannon, where Mr. Conelly being to make some short stay there was such a concourse of people, that the Inns were full; So I sent to Mr. O'Neal the Minister to accommodate me with a bed, which he did with great politeness. Ballyshannon is most delightfully situated near the mouth of the Erne, on the north side of it on a bold rising ground, this river rises in the County of [gap: extent: one word] and forms that beautiful
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lake which is known by the name of Lough Erne, and perhaps exceeds any in the world for the beauty of Land round it, and of the Islands in it covered with wood. The mouth of this river is blocked up not only by sand, but by a ridge of rocks that cross it, above which there is a fine basin; above that is a shelf of rocks crossing the river which forms most beautiful cascades of water, that fall about fifteen feet which has a fine effect from the height under the church, as well as from the other side: and here is a famous salmon leap.