Overview
The Termon River runs straight through the middle of Pettigo, and it doubles as an international border: stand on the south bank and you’re in the Republic of Ireland’s County Donegal; cross the bridge and you’re in County Fermanagh in Northern Ireland. The southern side holds Main Street, Mill Street and Station Street, meeting at the village green known as The Diamond. The northern side is officially the townland of Tullyhommon, though locals call it High Street for the way it looks down over the rest of the settlement.
The area was once An Tearmann, “a place of sanctuary”, and both the Irish name, Paiteagó, and the English Pettigo trace back through the Latin for protection. Set between the waters of Lough Erne and Lough Derg, the village has spent centuries as a crossroads and market town, and above all as the last stop for pilgrims heading to Lough Derg.
History
By the 17th and 18th centuries Pettigo had grown into a market town under the Leslie family of County Monaghan, who ran the Pettigo estate into the early 20th century.
The Pettigo Mill
The Leslies established the Pettigo Mill, which appears on local maps as early as 1767. Powered by the Termon River, it originally made woollen cloth and ground oats. During the Great Famine of the 1840s the mill is said to have ground imported Indian meal (maize), landed through the port of Ballyshannon, to feed the local population.
With the railway, the mill expanded into a sawmill, and its main output became wooden egg boxes built to hold a dozen eggs. These were in real demand, letting local farmers send eggs safely by rail to Belfast, Dublin and on to Great Britain.
The railway era
Pettigo railway station opened on 13 June 1866, and it reshaped the local economy, carrying livestock, grain and timber out of the Pettigo Market Yard and thousands of pilgrims in towards Lough Derg. The partition of Ireland in 1922 and the rise of road transport gradually undid the line, which closed on 1 October 1957.
Conflict and border history
Pettigo has been shaped by its frontier position. In June 1922 a 100-strong Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit occupied Pettigo and nearby Belleek. After repelling a force of Ulster Special Constabulary (USC) on Lough Erne, the unit was targeted by British Army troops with six field guns, who bombarded and stormed the village. Three IRA members, one British soldier and two local civilians died. A memorial to the Irish casualties was erected in 1953 on the Belleek Road.
The Troubles reached the village too. On 30 August 1973, British Army S/Sgt Ronald Beckett was killed trying to defuse a bomb at the Tullyhommon Post Office. On 8 November 1987, the same day as the Enniskillen Remembrance Day bombing, a 150-pound bomb was left near a Boys’ and Girls’ Brigades parade in Tullyhommon; it failed to detonate and was defused. Today the reopening of cross-border roads has restored Pettigo’s links with its hinterland in Fermanagh and Tyrone, revitalising local tourism.
What to see and do
St Patrick’s Purgatory (Lough Derg)
On Station Island in Lough Derg, just north of the village, St Patrick’s Purgatory is one of Ireland’s oldest and most famous pilgrimage sites, active for over a thousand years. The traditional three-day penitential pilgrimage runs from May to September. Be clear about what the island is, though: the boat runs for pilgrims doing the station, not for sightseers, and outside the season the island is closed to casual visitors.
What day-visitors get instead is the Lough Derg Pilgrim Path, a 12 km (7-mile) walk along the southern shore. It starts at the visitor centre car park and follows forestry tracks that hug the water to a point opposite Saints Island, site of a medieval Augustinian monastery that once served as the pilgrims’ gateway. Points along the way include:
- St Brigid’s Chair: a large flat rock at the water’s edge, about 1.15 km from the start.
- St Daveoc’s (Dabheog’s) Chair: a partly natural stone structure above the track, with added blocks that suggest it may once have been a Bronze Age burial site.
- St Brigid’s Holy Well: enclosed in modern sandstone and marked by a metal cross, often left with votive offerings.
Pettigo Plateau Nature Reserve
On the western shore of Lough Derg, about 10 km southeast of Donegal Town, this 900-hectare reserve was designated in 1984 to protect a wide expanse of wet heath and blanket bog.
The plateau supports specialised plants, including cowberry, cranberry, bog mosses and the rare white sedge, and internationally important populations of Irish hare, otter, badger and common frog. On sunny days you might catch the Common Lizard basking on the rocks. The open bog is good hunting ground for Merlin and Hen Harrier, which nest in the surrounding forestry, and in spring and summer the whistle of the Golden Plover carries across the higher ground of Croaghadalough. An old trackway leads through the reserve past the ruins of 19th-century stone cottages that once housed tenant families on the Leslie estate.
Termon McGrath Castle
Also known as Castle McGrath, this ruined early 17th-century tower house stands on the edge of the village. Built around 1611 during the Plantation of Ulster for Miler McGrath, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Cashel, or his son James, it was heavily bombarded by Cromwellian forces in 1649–1650 and abandoned soon after. An underground escape tunnel once ran from the castle to the nearby Belaut River.
The Termon Complex
Opened in May 2014, the Termon Complex is a modern community hub on the banks of the Termon River, built with €8.3 million of EU Peace III funding. It has indoor sports halls, a gym, conference rooms, an outdoor multi-use games area, a playground and a community garden with growing tunnels.
Angling and lakes
Pettigo sits among more than fifty lakes, and it’s a serious base for game and coarse angling. The fisheries are managed by the Pettigo and District Angling Association.
- Lough Derg: at 2,200 acres, this shallow, rocky lake holds wild brown trout (best in April and May, averaging 1lb to 3lb) and large pike.
- Bannus Lake: 3 km west of the village, with purpose-built stands, stiles and a car park. Native brown trout (around 3/4 lb), roach, perch and bream; trout fishing is fly-only.
- Drumgun Lough: 2 km west, fished from the shore only, with brown trout of 3/4 lb to 1 lb alongside perch and roach.
- Lough Aveghy: 8 km west, known for larger brown trout (some over 4lb) that run up the Waterfoot River to spawn, plus pike and perch.
- River Derg and Leaghany River: both hold small wild brown trout, and the River Derg takes a run of grilse (4lb to 5lb salmon) after summer spates from July.
To stop the spread of invasive zebra mussels, anglers fishing from a boat must use the official craft provided by the Pettigo and District Angling Association.
Practical information
Getting there
Pettigo is reached by the R232 (linking to the N15 between Sligo and Donegal) and the R233. Free parking is available at the Termon Complex and in the centre of the village. There’s no direct bus to Donegal Town; you connect through Ballyshannon. Regular services include:
- Ulsterbus Route 194: daily to Enniskillen via Irvinestown (no Sunday service).
- Ulsterbus Route 195: to Bundoran via Castlecaldwell and Belleek.
- Expressway Route 30: Bus Éireann’s daily service to Dublin, Cavan and Dublin Airport.
- Bus Éireann Route 486: a seasonal summer service linking Ballyshannon and Enniskillen to the Lough Derg visitor centre.
Accommodation and amenities
Pettigo has local bed and breakfasts, with larger hotels, self-catering cottages and guesthouses a short drive away in Donegal Town and Enniskillen. The village itself has a grocery shop, a post office and traditional pubs.
Orange heritage (Tullyhommon)
The Tullyhommon side is home to Pettigo District LOL No. 10, which draws members from both sides of the border. The lodge is custodian of the last remaining Orange Arch to span a public road in County Fermanagh; the annual arch opening and Somme remembrance parade takes place on the first Wednesday of July.
Nearby attractions
Within a short drive are Bundoran, with its sandy beaches and surf schools, the heritage town of Ballyshannon, and the underground passages of the Marble Arch Caves. The open-air exhibits of the Ulster American Folk Park are about an hour to the east.
If you’re staying in the area, Britton’s Bar on Main Street is the place to pick up a fishing permit, fall into conversation with local anglers and hear the borderland’s stories firsthand.