'I remember going there as a child because my family had use of the farm buildings and expecting to see Rumplestilskin or Rapunzel at any minute'

'I remember going there as a child because my family had use of the farm buildings and expecting to see Rumplestilskin or Rapunzel at any minute'

Mary describes the village in which she grew up, Cloughmills. She describes the environment around the village and Dunseverick Castle, the oldest castle in Ulster.

Mary Dynan

Trinity College Dublin

1939

This item is protected by original copyright

This content may be downloaded and used (with attribution) for research, teaching or private study. It may not be used for commercial purposes without permission.

Mary Dynan

Childhood and Early Life

Life Story

Cloughmills, Co. Antrim

1930's

I was born in Ballymena, the county town of Antrim, and spent the first 12 years of my life in a village about 10 miles out of the town, half way to Ballymoney, called Cloughmills. We were situated right in the middle of what was the ancient region of Dalriada. Dalriada was divided in to the Route and the Glynnes. The Glynnes are the region covered by the famous Nine Glens of Antrim. The Route stretched over the Antrim Plateau to the Bann. Dalriada, which has now shrunk to a local government area based on Ballymoney, was once one of the most important regions in Ireland - and Scotland - with a turbulent and interesting history. I was very proud of the fact that our village was situated on the royal road from Tara to Dunseverick.Dunseverick is the oldest castle in Ulster - the real one - (maybe in Ireland) and was important in its government before the Normans came to Ireland. The Annals of the Four Masters give the date of the foundation of Dunseverick as BC 1692. It was called after Sovairke the first chieftain, who ruled that part of Ireland north of a line drawn from Galway to Drogheda. Conall Cearnach, the champion from Dunseverick, was second only to Cuchulan at Navan Fort the seat of the High King near Armagh. (Navan Fort is right next to where my sister and her family now live and there is a lot of archeological and development work going on there, under the auspices of the International Fund for Ireland which should make it one of the most important historical sites in the country.)Dunseverick is mentioned in the Tain , the story of the cattle raid of Queen Maev of Connaught, in which Cuchulain and Conan Cearnach figure largelyshe (Maev) fared northThrough Dalriada to the Northern Sea To ever - bright Dunseverick where dwelt Findmore the Great, the warrior - wife of KeltarThe son of Oo - hider. Before the door Of ever - bright Dunseverick she gave Fierce battle to Findmore, and slew FindmoreThe wife of Keltar; and she pillaged all That famous doon; and she took fifty women Out of that doon as captives.And they think that there is violence in the North now!This castle was the seat of the O Cathain's, McCaughans, until about 1657 ( nearly 3000 years since its foundation) when like many others in Ireland it was sacked in the wars against the English, and the last proprietor, Gilladuff, was executed at Carrickfergus in 1641.A lot of the history of battles and struggles is connected with the Mc Donnells and the McQuillans. The McDonnells were the Lords of the Isles and eventually the Earls of Antrim. The McQuillans were originally a Norman family de Mandeville who changed their name. The McDonnells eventually won. Sorley Boy McDonnell organised the opposition to Essex when he came with instructions from Queen Elizabeth 1 to exterminate the 'Scots' ie the Irish. After a couple of years of fighting the Privy Council was forced to realise the strength of Sorley Boy with his alliances, inexhaustible reserves and swift means of communication on both sides of the Moyle, and they gave him by royal grant all the glens and most of the Route lands of Antrim. Dunluce was their headquarters for a long time but they had a castle in each Barony. The barony of Kilconway which covered our area was served by Clough Castle of which only one wall now stands; the barony of Cary where only the name of the castle remains in Ballycastle. Where the castle stood is now the Church of Ireland Church. The castle in Glenarm is where the Earls of Antrim now live. The current castle, rebuilt at the beginning of this century, is a very picturesque fairytale looking place with a barbican and drawbridge and moat. I remember going there as a child because my family had use of the farm buildings and expecting to see Rumplestilskin or Rapunzel at any minute. On those visits to Glenarm we would go to tea with Aelish Ervine, the niece of Eoin McNeill, one of the founders of the Gaelic League. Aodh de Blacam describes Eoin McNeill as the one 'who reconstructed in our time the world's knowledge of early Ireland and the Celtic Culture which is the foundation of Western Freedom'.

Irish Research Council for Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences (IRCHSS)

Dr Kathleen McTiernan (Trinity College Dublin)

Dr Deirdre O'Donnell (Trinity College Dublin)