Fahan (; ) is a district of

Inishowen Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland. The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringfor ...

in the north of

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, located 5 km (3 miles) south of

Buncrana Buncrana ( ; ) is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is beside Lough Swilly on the Inishowen peninsula, northwest of Derry and north of Letterkenny. In the 2016 census, the population was 6,785 making it the second most populous town in Cou ...

. In Irish, Fahan is named after its

patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eastern Orthodoxy is regarded as the heavenly advocate of a nation, place, craft, activity, class, clan, family, or perso ...

Saint Mura Saint Mura ( 550–645) was the first abbot of the monastery at Fahan, County Donegal, Ireland. He is the patron saint A patron saint, patroness saint, patron hallow or heavenly protector is a saint who in Catholicism, Anglicanism, or Eas ...

, first

abbot Abbot is an ecclesiastical title given to the male head of a monastery in various Western religious traditions, including Christianity. The office may also be given as an honorary title to a clergyman who is not the head of a monastery. The fem ...

of Fahan, an early Christian

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...

History

The walled graveyard, located west of the

rectory A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of religion. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, parsonage, rectory or vicarage. Function A clergy house is typically ow ...

, contains the grave of pioneering

nurse Nursing is a profession within the health care sector focused on the care of individuals, families, and communities so they may attain, maintain, or recover optimal health and quality of life. Nurses may be differentiated from other health c ...

Agnes Jones Agnes Elizabeth Jones (1832 – 1868) of Fahan, County Donegal, Ireland became the first trained Nursing Superintendent of Liverpool Workhouse Infirmary. She gave all her time and energy to her patients and died at the age of 35 from typhus ...

, the ruins of a 6th-century monastery featuring a 7th-century cross-slab of St. Mura, and the ruins of a 16th-century monastery and 17th-century church together with a number of grave slabs bearing coats of arms. The monastery and village were sacked by

Vikings Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

in the 10th and 13th centuries. Medieval mill wheels are built into both the graveyard wall and the wall on the opposite side of the road.

Cecil Frances Alexander Cecil Frances Alexander (April 1818 – 12 October 1895) was an Anglo-Irish hymnwriter and poet. Amongst other works, she wrote "All Things Bright and Beautiful", "There is a green hill far away" and the Christmas carol "Once in Royal David's Cit ...

lived in the old rectory in the late 19th century. Her contemporary, Agnes Jones, trained with

Florence Nightingale Florence Nightingale (; 12 May 1820 – 13 August 1910) was an English Reform movement, social reformer, statistician and the founder of modern nursing. Nightingale came to prominence while serving as a manager and trainer of nurses during t ...

and served as a nurse in the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. Agnes Jones was born in Cambridge, England.

Edward Maginn Edward Maginn (b. at Fintona, Ireland, 16 December 1802; d. at Derry, 17 January 1849) was an Irish Catholic priest, an advocate of Catholic Emancipation, and supporter of Daniel O'Connell in the Repeal movement. He became coadjutor bishop of D ...

, a 19th-century bishop, served as a parish priest in Fahan. The church to the north of the rectory contains an early 20th-century stained-glass window by Evie Hone which depicts St. Elizabeth of Hungary.

Transport

Fahan railway station Fahan railway station served Fahan in County Donegal, Ireland. The station opened on 19 September 1864 on the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway line from Londonderry Graving Dock to Carndonagh Carndonagh (; ) is a town on the Inishowe ...

which opened on 9 September 1864, closed for passenger traffic on 6 September 1948 and finally ceased on 10 August 1953. Fahan is served by the McGonagle Bus Company between

and Derry.http://journeyplanner.translink.co.uk/ext_webpdf_desk/TTB/EFA02__00004737_TP.pdf

Notable people

* W. G. S. Adams, political scientist and public servant * William Alexander, Primate of All Ireland *

Andrew Barnard General Sir Andrew Francis Barnard (1773 – 17 January 1855) was an Irish British Army officer. He served in various capacities in the West Indies, the Cape of Good Hope, Canada, the Netherlands, Sicily, Spain and in the Napoleonic Wars inclu ...

, British army general *

Paul Colton William Paul Colton (born 13 March 1960), known as Paul Colton, is an Irish Anglican bishop. Since 1999, he has served as Bishop of Cork, Cloyne and Ross in the Church of Ireland. Biography Paul Colton attended St Luke's National School, Doug ...

, Church of Ireland's Bishop of Cork *

George Downame George Downame (—1634), otherwise known as George Downham, was an author of influential philosophical and religious works who served as Bishop of Derry during the early years of the Plantation of Ulster. He is said to have been a chaplain to b ...

, Bishop of Derry and writer on philosophical and religious subjects *

George Finlay George Finlay (21 December 1799 – 26 January 1875) was a Scottish historian. Biography Finlay was born in Faversham, Kent, where his Scottish father, Captain John Finlay FRS, an officer in the Royal Engineers, was inspector of government powde ...

, priest who served as

Archdeacon of Clogher The Archdeacon of Clogher is a senior ecclesiastical officer within the Anglican Diocese of Clogher. The Archdeacon is responsible for the disciplinary supervision of the clergy within the diocese. The archdeaconry can trace its history back to ...

Niall Frossach Niall Frossach (or Niall mac Fergaile) (718–778) was an 8th-century Irish king of Ailech, sometimes considered to have been High King of Ireland. Brother of high king Áed Allán (died 743), Niall was the son of high king Fergal mac Máele Dúin ...

King of Ailech The Kings of Ailech were the over-kings of the Medieval Ireland, medieval Irish Provinces of Ireland, province of Ailech in north-western Ireland. It encompassed the territories of the Cenél nEógain and Cenél Conaill. After the battle of Cloí ...

, nurse *

Johnny McCauley Johnny McCauley (23 April 1925 – 22 March 2012) was an Irish singer-songwriter, born in Myroe, near Limavady, County Londonderry in Northern Ireland. As a young adult, he moved to London and in 1953 began singing professionally with his band, t ...

, singer-songwriter *

Máel Muire Othain Máel Muire Othain (died 887) was an Irish poet. Life Máel Muire Othain held the post of Chief Ollam of Ireland. He died in 887 A.D. His nickname ‘Othna’, referred to him being a member of the monastery of Othain at Fahan, County Donegal. ...

, poet * Andrew Simpson, actor * St Clair Thomson, surgeon

Gallery

File:Fahan Mura Cross Slab 1996 08 29.jpg, St. Mura Cross Slab from the 7th century File:Fahan Old Church 1996 08 29.jpg, Old church from the 17th century File:St Muras's Church Fahan (41436790274).png, St Mura's Church File:Fahan Beach.JPG, Fahan beach

History

Transport

Notable people

Gallery

References

See also