Drumardagh ( ga, Droim Ardagh) is a
townland in the east of
County Donegal in
Ulster, Ireland. The townland is about 5 kilometres (around 3 miles) east of
Letterkenny in the Laggan district of East Donegal. The townland is just outside the village of
Manorcunningham
Manorcunningham, or Manor (, meaning "the manor of Fort Cownyngham") is a small village and townland in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located 7 kilometers from Letterkenny on the main road to Derry. It is known locally and throughout Donegal as ...
. The Isle
Burn flows along the eastern boundary of the townland. The Irish name means 'the Ridge (drum) on the High Place (ardagh)', and it is this elevation that gives Drumardagh its commanding views over
Lough Swilly, from Glenswilly to
Inch Island
Inch Island (; Also spelled in Irish as ''An Inis''.) is in Inishowen, County Donegal, Ireland. The island is in Lough Swilly, a sea lough on the northern coast of Ireland. ''Discoverer Series'' Sheet 7 (F Edition). Ordnance Survey of Northern Ir ...
, and beyond to the peaks of the
Fanad and
Inishowen peninsula
A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on all ...
e.
History
Due to its elevated location, and the surrounding lowland isles on the banks of
Lough Swilly, Drumardagh has a history of military significance. The first notable use of the hill in Drumardagh was as a strategic viewing point for the nearby
Battle of Farsetmore
The Battle of Farsetmore was fought near Letterkenny in County Donegal, north-western Ireland, on 8 May 1567, between the O'Neill and O'Donnell Túath. Shane O'Neill, chief of the O'Neills of TÃr Eoghain, was defeated by Aodh mac Maghnusa à ...
on 8 May 1567. Drumardagh and surrounding areas of the Laggan district were heavily 'planted' with Lowland Scots settlers during the
Plantation of Ulster
The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...
in the seventeenth century.
[ Thomas McErlean, 'Chapter 4: The Archaeology and History of Lough Swilly' in Andrew Cooper (Editor), ''Lough Swilly: A Living Landscape'', p. 89. Four Courts Press, Dublin, 2011.] Hence, a version of
Ulster-Scots Ulster Scots, may refer to:
* Ulster Scots people
The Ulster Scots ( Ulster-Scots: ''Ulstèr-Scotch''; ga, Albanaigh Ultach), also called Ulster Scots people (''Ulstèr-Scotch fowk'') or (in North America) Scotch-Irish (''Scotch-Airisch'') ...
was spoken in the area, in common with the rest of the Laggan.
In 1790, the
British Army erected a stone building in the farmyard at Drumardagh, which they used as a cavalry and munitions store. On the north-westernmost tip of Drumardagh, directly overlooking
Lough Swilly, trenches were dug into the hillside, at a place which is known locally as the Cannon Knowe or the Cannon Hill. These trenches were used by the British as a means of maintaining watch over the nearby shipping channel, which at that time was a busy communications link into and out of central
County Donegal. Several cannons have been recovered from this site, and an example is now under the care of the nearby
Letterkenny Museum.
References
{{County Donegal
Townlands of County Donegal