Gaelic Gateways Tourist Guide

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The Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Today we visited The Ulster American Folk Park, an o...
26/06/2025

The Ulster American Folk Park, Omagh, Co. Tyrone, Northern Ireland.

Today we visited The Ulster American Folk Park, an open-air museum just outside Omagh, Co. Tyrone in the North of Ireland. The Park has more than 30 exhibit buildings to explore. The museum tells the story of three centuries of Irish emigration. Using fantastic costumed guides and displays of traditional crafts, the museum focuses on those who left Ulster for America in the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries. The museum is part of National Museums Northern Ireland.

Within the museum there are many perfectly restored original buildings with connections to local families. The park was developed around the Mellon House, the birthplace of Irish-American banker and lawyer Thomas Mellon, founding father of the Mellon banking dynasty. This house and its outbuildings remain in their original location. Visitors can taste samples of traditional Irish and pioneer American foods including freshly baked soda bread and pumpkin pie all made on the hearths and griddles of the exhibit buildings. The museum also includes agricultural displays and an array of farm animals. It is truly well worth a visit for a family day out.

25/06/2025

Received very sad news over night that our dear friend Barb McHaffie passed away unexpectedly after a short illness. We pass our sympathies and deep condolences to her husband Mike, family and friends. Barb was a lovely lady with a kind heart and will be sadly missed by all who knew and loved her. May she Rest in Peace

OM Dark Sky Park and Observatory Today we visited the amazing OM Dark Sky Park and Observatory in Davagh Forest in the S...
25/06/2025

OM Dark Sky Park and Observatory

Today we visited the amazing OM Dark Sky Park and Observatory in Davagh Forest in the Sperrin Mountains. OM Dark Sky Park and Observatory is the only one of its kind in Northern Ireland. It is one of only two Dark Sky Parks on the island of Ireland and is the 78th area in the world to be accredited as an International Dark Sky Park.

“An International Dark-Sky Park (IDSP) is a land possessing an exceptional or distinguished quality of starry nights and a nocturnal environment, and that is specifically protected for its scientific, natural, educational, and/or cultural heritage resource, and/or for public enjoyment.”

OM (or Aum) is the sound of the universe. It is also connected to Ogham pronounced ome in Modern Irish. Ogham is an ancient Irish alphabet, represented by a series of marks on stones and it is the earliest written source of the Irish Language dating back to the 4th Century AD – there is an Ogham stone located at Davagh Forest.

There is also significance in the shape of the letters in the word OM, with ‘O’ – a circle, symbolising the shape of stone circles at Beaghmore, the planets and stars in the sky above and the round shape of Davagh (the cauldron) in which OM is located.

‘M’ symbolises the shape in the landscape of the Sperrins from the undulations of the mountains to the treetops of the forest and even the shape of the standing stones we still see today.

Ceoldán: The Stargazer – 📍Davagh Forest Dark Sky Park, County Tyrone Forest
25/06/2025

Ceoldán: The Stargazer – 📍Davagh Forest Dark Sky Park, County Tyrone Forest

Beaghmore Stone Circles Today we visited Beaghmore Stone Circkes which are nestled in the Sperrin Mountains in Co. Tyron...
25/06/2025

Beaghmore Stone Circles

Today we visited Beaghmore Stone Circkes which are nestled in the Sperrin Mountains in Co. Tyrone. Amonstst the green grass and heather clad moorland sits 7 mystical circles, 10 rows of stones and 12 cairns all of which carefully arranged.

Beaghmore (Bheitheach Mhór), meaning ‘big place of birch trees’ was once a dense woodland before being cleared by Neolithic farmers. The stone circles and alignments were discovered in the late 1930s by local farmer and historian Geordie Barnett during peat cutting when 1,269 stones were uncovered. The site and the surrounding bog indicate that the area was occupied from Neolithic times through the Bronze Age. Hearths and deposits of flint tools have been carbon dated to 2900-2600BC. Several of the stone rows run over the tumbled walls of field structures which also date from Neolithic times. The stone row alignments all point in a North East direction.

Looking closely at some of the stones you might notice what may seem as ancient chisel marks bear a resemblance to our oldest known Celtic writing. Ogham, a secret and sacred writing, was a system of symbols used for magic and divination. The circles and alignments, however, remain a mystery. No-one really knows why this intriguing cluster of stones was created.

Some archaeologists believe that the circles have been constructed in relation to the midsummer sunrise, or to record the movements of the sun and moon acting as markers in a calendar to identify certain lunar, solar or stellar events. Three of the stone rows point to sunrise at the solstice and another appears to be aligned towards a lunar maximum.

The stones speak of ancient rituals and to a people who understood astronomy. When visiting this ancient site look up in wonder at the sky and reflect, that the people that built these monuments observed the same sky, sun, moon and stars.

What a day we had today in Belfast 🥵 🔥
20/06/2025

What a day we had today in Belfast 🥵 🔥

What’s your favourite county you visited ?
19/06/2025

What’s your favourite county you visited ?

Today we visited Charles Fort - A Military FortressCharles Fort was built on the site of the ruins of an earlier strong...
17/06/2025

Today we visited Charles Fort - A Military Fortress

Charles Fort was built on the site of the ruins of an earlier stronghold known as Barry Óg Castle, at Rincurran. The Ringcurran defences had featured prominently during the Siege of Kinsale in 1601 where approximately 4,000 Spanish soldiers sent by King Philip III of Spain disembarked at Kinsale, just south of Cork on 2 October 1601. Another force commanded by Alonso de Ocampo managed to land at Baltimore. The Spaniards rushed to fortify these footholds to withstand the approaching English armies.

As one of the country’s largest military installations, Charles Fort has been part of some of the most momentous events of Irish history. During the Williamite Wars, it withstood a 13-day siege before it fell. Later, in the Civil War of the early 1920s, anti-Treaty forces on the retreat burned it out.

Charles Fort is a massive star-shaped structure of the late seventeenth century, well preserved despite its history. It was built by the British as they were so concerned and afraid of attacks by the French. William Robinson, architect of the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham, Dublin, is credited with designing it. Its dimensions are awe-inspiring, some of the outer defences are 16 metres high.

The views from the ramparts looking out over Kinsale Harbour are amazingly beautiful and spectacular.

Great entertainment at Molly Gallivan's. Huge thanks to Stephen and his team for looking after us so well. Molly Galliva...
17/06/2025

Great entertainment at Molly Gallivan's. Huge thanks to Stephen and his team for looking after us so well.

Molly Gallivan’s 200 year old cottage and farm is the O’Sullivan family run business, situated between Kenmare and Glengarriff on the Beara peninsula, in the picturesque South West of Ireland. At Molly Gallivan’s you will experience the simple country lifestyle in rural Ireland before the days of electricity and modern conveniences.

Molly’s enchanting cottage is over 200 years old. Her farm is complete with animals, fowl and traditional farm machinery. On the farm you will also visit the ghostly ruins of a family dwelling from the era of the Great Famine and a Neolithic Stone Row that forms part of an ancient sun calendar. 5000 years of history on a 500m walk. Molly Gallivan’s is opened from mid March to mid November seven days a week

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