Glentornan is a deserted village in County Donegal, near the shore of Lough Dunlewey, with a magnificent view of Errigal mountain. Who lived there years ago, and why did they leave?
About ten houses are gathered in a cluster, giving it the feeling of a hamlet or village. They were more solid than the old-fashioned thatched cabins made of clay and wattle because these are the ruins of stone houses. Some were plastered, and some had slate roofs.
Who lived in Glentornan years ago?
Between 1841 to 1881 about 30 to 40 people lived in the townland. The numbers increased slightly in the 1901 Census, where I counted 55 inhabitants. A glance at the records told me something about the people who lived there. They ranged in age from a widow of 86 to two babies.
A widow, a widower and one large family of 15
In the first house in the census lived a farmer named Hugh O’Donnell, the head of the family, aged 64. There is also Michael O’Donnell (23), a general labourer, and another relation, aged 66, called Peter. No woman was listed on the census night. I would guess that Michael was Hugh’s son.
In House 2 lived Bridget Gallagher, a widow farmer of 86 years. She was listed as head of the family and was able to speak both Irish and English. The house was home to three generations: her son Patrick, a 50-year-old farmer, and his wife Isabella, 46. The couple had two daughters, Isabella (5) and Ellen (4). There was also Bridget’s daughter, another Bridget, aged 40, who was a widow. Nobody in the house could read and the little girls only spoke Irish. Either Patrick and Isabella started their family later in life or, more likely I suppose, any other children had moved out.
In House 3 lived the McFadden family, of which Edward, a farmer aged 60, was head. This is an interesting household because 15 lived under one roof and, as you can see in the photographs, these were not large houses. He and his wife, Annibella, aged 48, had 13 children who were Sophia (28), Hugh (27), Frank (25), Manus (23), Sarah (21), John (18), Bridget (16), followed by four school going children, Edward (14), Myles (12), Joseph (10), and Mary (8). The youngest in the McFadden family were Patrick (6) and Dannie (4). Interesting to note is that the parents and the eldest daughter could not read or write, but the rest of the children could, apart from the two youngest boys. Annibella had her first child at the age of 20.
House 4 tells a different story. In it lived a childless couple, John and Hannah McFadden, both aged 40. Perhaps they found love late in life.
In House 5 was another couple, Philip (48) and Mary Gallagher (30), and their five children, the eldest being seven and the youngest a baby. This could mean Philip’s first child arrived when he was 41. Only his wife could read and write, both in English and Irish.
In House 6, there wasn’t such an age gap with only two years between John and Bridget McGeady, who were 48 and 46. John was a farmer and they had four sons and a baby daughter. Only two sons could read and write.
In House 7 lived Edward and Mary Gallagher, the husband 20 years older than her, and their son Charles, aged 23.
Hugh McGeady (55) and his wife Ellen (45) lived in House 8 with five children aged between 18 and 4: Agnes, Patrick, Andrew, Nancy and Maggie.
And the last household record in 1901 shows a 51-year-old farmer, Edward McBride, had no wife listed in House 9, but lived with two sons and two daughters. The youngest was Bridget (13). Perhaps he was also a widower, or his wife was away for the night. All of the McBrides could read and write in both the Irish and English languages.
Why was Glentornan village deserted?
For me, it’s a fascinating snapshot of a small Irish community on that one night in 1901. The husbands were often at least ten years older than their wives. There was one big family among the nine households, and one couple with no children. The men were all farmers. Some children spoke only Irish until school-going age, while many family members could not read or write.
I discovered in comments on a website that the inhabitants abandoned Glentornan when the water level in the lake rose, and the land became too wet for comfort. They moved away to join their children on the other side of the lake, or built further off on drier ground.
Meanwhile, the cluster of ruined cottages remains over 125 years later, still looking out on Lough Dunlewey, and huddled in the shadow of the imposing peak of Errigal.
Do ghostly members of those O’Donnell, Gallagher, McFadden, McGeady and McBride families still wander the overgrown lanes between the stone walls and moss covered boulders, recalling the past?
More information about the abandoned village
YouTube videos
Drone footage of the village with views of the lake and Errigal mountain:
Inside a ruined house in Glentornan:
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Images are by photographers on Shutterstock.