The stone the district is named for
Cloughaneely takes its name – Cloich Cheann Fhaola, ‘the stone of Feeley’s head’ – from a low standing stone in Falcarragh said to mark where the Fomorian giant Balor beheaded a local chieftain, Mac Aneely. The red veining in the white rock is supposed to be the dead man’s blood; the pillar you see now was raised in 1794. It’s a two-minute look rather than a destination in itself, but it sets the tone for a district where the old stories are still attached to specific places in the landscape.
What Cloughaneely actually is: a coastal corner of north-west County Donegal, home to just over 4,000 people across the villages of Falcarragh (An Fál Carrach) and Gortahork (Gort an Choirce). This is a Gaeltacht, and not the museum kind – Irish is the working language of the shop and the pub here. Together with The Rosses and Gweedore it makes up ‘the three parishes’, a cultural region of around 16,000 Irish speakers that has produced the poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh, the memoirist Micí Mac Gabhann and the 1916 activist Eithne Coyle.
If you do one thing: the Tory Island ferry
The standout day out is the passenger ferry from Magheroarty (Machaire Rabhartaigh) pier to Tory Island, roughly nine miles offshore and the most remote inhabited island in the country. The crossing takes about 40 minutes and lands you in a community of around 100 people with its own elected ‘king’, a Tau cross and a round-tower stump among the early-medieval remains. Two honest warnings: it’s foot passengers only, so the car stays at the pier, and the service is seasonal and entirely at the mercy of the weather – a forecast of high winds means no sailing. Check the timetable and ring ahead before you build a day around it.
Walking the hills
Cnoc na Naomh, the ‘Hill of the Saints’, rises behind the coast and is the local walk of choice, with views out over the Atlantic to the islands. Inland, the flat-topped quartzite bulk of Muckish dominates the skyline and pulls in more serious hillwalkers; the golf course down on the coast plays in its shadow. Bring a waterproof whatever the morning looks like – this is exposed Atlantic ground and the weather turns fast.
Cloughaneely Golf Club
The nine-hole parkland course sits in the grounds of the 18th-century Ballyconnell Estate, once home to the Olphert family. It was laid out by Michael Doherty, a former professional at the City of Derry club, plays to a par of 70, and opened in its current form in 1997. The selling point is value and the setting – mature estate trees, with Horn Head and the Atlantic in the background – rather than championship difficulty. Green fees are modest: around €20 on weekdays and €30 at weekends for the nine holes. Visitors are welcome; book a tee time through the club (074 9165416).
Getting there and around
There is no railway near Cloughaneely – the nearest station is across the border in Derry, about 50 km east – and public transport is thin on the ground, so a car is effectively essential for reaching the scattered beaches, trailheads and the ferry pier. The nearest flights are from Donegal Airport at Carrickfinn. The R257 coastal road threads the villages and is fine for any car; parking is straightforward in Falcarragh, Gortahork and at Magheroarty.
For food and supplies, stock up in Falcarragh or Gortahork before you go anywhere else – Tory has only limited facilities and no petrol, and the rest of the district is villages and open coast.