The Moor Reigns Supreme in the vast, Isolated Countryside of Northwestern Ireland, Which Is Largely Peat Bog, Wind-Swept, Barren Donegal

Signs at a roadside construction site seemed to be flashing cryptic instructions for what lay ahead in Ireland.

“Slow,” they read.

Then, as if in anticipation of the human error in us all, a bend in the road brought another sign into view that chided, “Slower.”

Ah, signs with a sense of humor. But more than that, they were gentle reminders that I had left city life behind, that it was indeed time to slow down, relax and open myself to whatever it was that Donegal might teach me.

A few days later another sign in County Donegal put me in my place by reminding me that I was a mere human being, transient in the vastness of Donegal’s moors and peat bogs. In the gardens at Glenveagh National Park in northern Donegal, this sign admonished: “Please don’t interfere with the plants.”

An intriguing thought, and one that makes great sense. For here on the highlands of Donegal, humans are few and far between. It’s the moor that reigns supreme.

In the northwestern corner of Ireland, County Donegal is largely peat bog, wind-swept and barren. Its northwest position makes it isolated from the rest of Ireland, almost cut off by the boundaries of neighboring Northern Ireland.

With its emptiness and vastness, it is the kind of landscape that inspires one to look inward, but it certainly doesn’t lack in images.

Springtime coaxes heather into violet bloom, lending dramatic foreground to mountains that rise in the distance. Green pastures are dotted with white sheep and defined by fences of stone. More than 100 miles of undulating coast reaches fingers into the Atlantic, forming a union of pounding surf against cliffs and pebbled beaches.

Small villages spread throughout the county, and many people still live in homes of whitewashed walls topped with thatched roofs that shine golden in the sunshine. Roofs have to be lashed down with ropes, testimony to the ferocity of storms that often blow in off the Atlantic.

Villages have such enchanting names as Buncrana, Rossapenna, Rathmullan, Bundoran, Killybegs, Glencolumbkille, Ballyshannon, Gortahork, Gweedore and Rossnowlagh. The Irish language is still spoken in Donegal, especially in areas north and west of Killybegs, but signs are posted in both English and Gaelic.

Even the stretches of peat bog between the villages show telltale signs of human existence. Deep furrows have been cut into the bog, as peat carved into bricks is removed and stacked on the moor to dry. In this land where trees are scarce, peat has long been used as fuel in fireplaces to ward off chilly nights.

New in History

Strangely enough, however, the peat bogs of Donegal are rather new in the earth’s history. Thousands of years ago Donegal was fertile land with stretches of forests covering its hills. The first people arrived more than 5,000 years ago, and later Vikings settled its shores. Donegal’s name comes from Dun na nGall, which means Fort of the Foreigners.

As the soil changed and the peat bogs began advancing a couple of thousand years ago, Donegal’s population dwindled. Its remoteness, however, attracted a new type of settler, early Christians in pursuit of a life far away from their fellow man. One of Ireland’s foremost religious figures, St. Colmcille, was born in Donegal in AD 521.

Those earlier people left a rich legacy of structures in stone, structures still here throughout the countryside. The earliest settlers left burial chambers and portal dolmens, upright stones with a massive capstone laid on top. Some of these capstones weigh several tons, so it’s a mystery how those people lifted them so far off the ground. A great number of these early ruins are around Glencolumbkille.

Riddling Donegal’s countryside are also stone-walled skeletons of old churches, cross-inscribed stones and even a few castles. Close to Cardonagh is the famous St. Patrick’s Cross, which dates from the 7th Century and is reputedly one of the oldest Christian crosses in Europe.

Near Creeslough is Doe Castle, an imposing stone pile more than 500 years old. But one of Donegal’s most impressive structures, Glenveagh Castle, isn’t all that old. It was built in 1870 in the middle of a barren moor in the northwest of Donegal’s highlands.

Glenveagh Attractions

Set beside a lake, Glenveagh was built of rough-hewn granite with walls almost five feet thick. In July, 1986, Glenveagh Castle opened its doors to the public for the first time, making it Donegal’s newest attraction. But it’s more than the castle that attracts people to Glenveagh.

As an example of how man can change his environment, in the past century the moor surrounding Glenveagh has been transformed into an estate of beautiful gardens. For three years at the turn of the century, topsoil was brought in by horse and cart from Letterkenny 10 miles away.

Then in 1937 the estate was bought by Henry P. McIlhenny, an American art historian from Philadelphia. He renovated the castle and nurtured the grounds, bringing in landscape architects to fashion gardens of Italian, French and English design.

Almost all corners of the world are represented in the plant life of the gardens; there’s bamboo and delicate-leafed maples from Japan, and rhododendrons from China, Tasmania and New Zealand.

The land surrounding the gardens and castle makes up Glenveagh National Park, 25,000 acres of wilderness that opened to the public in 1984, one of three national parks in Ireland. It’s home to the largest herd of red deer in the country, and consists of both bog and forests of larch, Douglas fir, hemlock and Sitka spruce.

Hike Through Bog

The Derrylahan Nature Trail makes an easy 1.2-mile loop through the countryside, but because part of it is over boggy ground, hikers are advised to wear waterproof shoes.

In addition to Christian edifices, castles and early tombs, there are an astounding number of old, abandoned stone houses in Donegal. These crumbling ruins are haunting, silent reminders of days long ago when entire families were wiped out during potato famines, were evicted by heartless landowners or left their homeland in search of better lives in Australia or America.

Once filled with large families, these empty houses lend a sadness to the moors of Donegal.

“There are many more millions of Irish descent in America than in Ireland itself,” said Father McDyer, 75-year-old parish priest of Glencolumbkille and known throughout Ireland for his outspokenness, eloquence and wit. “The most intelligent Irish emigrated. America wouldn’t be so intelligent today if intelligent Irish hadn’t gone over to civilize them.”

But emigration from Donegal is still going on, as its young people leave for jobs in Dublin, London and cities beyond.

Children Leaving

“There’s an exodus of our children to larger cities,” admitted Kenneth King, an artist who has chosen to settle down in Glencolumbkille. “It’s hard to keep them here. I’m trying to teach my children to be self-employed so that they can stay here and don’t have to rely on jobs in the city to live.”

The Same Idea

Apparently many people in Glencolumbkille have the same idea, for this tiny village of fewer than 2,000 supports a surprisingly large number of artists and craftsmen who engage in painting, quilt making, knitting, embroidery and crocheting.

Some of the residents are newcomers, including families from Germany, Britain and the United States. But most of the residents were born here, and artistic skills have been passed from generation to generation.

When Father McDyer came to Glencolumbkille in 1951 he set to work to improve the quality of life, bringing in electricity, piped water and better roads. His most innovative projects were cooperatives that he began establishing in 1962 for such work as fish and vegetable processing and hand- and machine-knit products.

To attract visitors he established a village of thatched cottages for tourists as well as the Folk Village Museum. The museum has a crafts shop and three thatched cottages representing three time periods from the early 18th to 20th centuries. These cottages, outfitted with utensils, farming implements and furniture of the times, give excellent insight into how the Irish lived in centuries past.

Craft Centers Open

Many other villages have taken their cues from Glencolumbkille and have opened craft centers and enterprises. Donegal Town, for example, opened its Craft Centre in 1985 with shops selling pottery, tweed, woodworking and other crafts.

Tweed and cloth factories such as Magee’s Tweed Factory in Donegal Town, Molloy’s Tweed Factory in Ardara and McNutt’s Weaving Co. in Downings are producing clothing and bolts of cloth that are sold around the world. These factories have showrooms where one can buy products for about one-third what they would cost in the United States.

Not far from Ballyshannon is Belleek, home of famous Belleek china. In 1985 Donegal Irish Parian China opened and hopes to give Belleek china competition.

In Killybegs there’s the Donegal Carpet Factory, which produces hand-knotted carpets that have found homes in such distinguished places as the White House and the Vatican.

And that overpowering fishy smell that greets you as you enter Killybegs comes from the fish-processing plant that provides employment for people as far as Glencolumbkille 18 miles away.

Ireland’s Major Seaport

Killybegs has the distinction of being Ireland’s major seaport, and it’s fascinating to go to the docks to watch huge nets full of fish swinging from trawlers to containers on land.

But Donegal is more than its old buildings, its moors, its crafts and its villages. It’s also its people, a hardy group who worked hard to carve a niche in what is sometimes a hostile environment.

“There are beautiful people here,” said one Donegal villager, “who like you for you, not for what you have. They’re shy, though, so you have to give them time.”

If you do, you’ll be richly rewarded, for in Donegal the people have inherited not only wit but also a penchant for storytelling. In Donegal where poverty was always so widespread, storytelling was often the only pastime left open to them, and they honed it into a fine art.

Take Phyllis Boyle, whose family runs both the Seaview and Gweedore hotels in Bunbeg. “People in Donegal believe in fairies,” she says, “and it’s not just a fairy tale. The last sighting of fairies in Bunbeg was three years ago when two little boys saw five fairies walking, all in a row. There are still fairies, but most of us today are far too busy to see them.”

Slow, slower.

Perhaps it was a message from the fairies. I like being in a land where the people believe in the magic of fairies.

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The best way to get around Ireland is by rental car. Ireland is only 350 miles long and 150 miles wide, so it’s easy to see much in a short time. There’s not much traffic on the roads, but keep in mind that you drive on the left side.

From Dublin to Donegal Town is 137 miles. Weekly car rentals during peak summer months range from about $175 to $225 for subcompact cars.

You’ll find bed and breakfasts and hotels throughout Donegal. Information on B&Bs; in Donegal is in a booklet put out by the Town & Country Homes Assn., available at the Irish Tourist Board. The average cost of a one-night stay in a B&B; is about $12 a person.

Recommendations for hotels in Donegal include Glencolumbkille Hotel, $20 per person, and Sand House Hotel in Rossnowlagh, on the beach, $42 per person.

Prices include hearty Irish breakfasts.

For more information, contact the Irish Tourist Board at 757 3rd Ave., New York 10017, phone (212) 418-0800.