We are currently having a run of superb weather in Donegal at the moment.  Our many sandy beaches are being enjoyed and photographed showing Donegal to be almost tropical across the net.  Why would people not want to visit this fantastic county?

Donegal is generally not visited for the weather.  Yes, we can have excellent weather but we take that as a bonus.  Donegal is special for many more reasons, the people, the craic, the food but at the top of the list, the scenery.

We have stunning scenery at every turn.  Wander along any road and there will be many times you want to stop to take in the view.  The views remain the same, spring, summer, autumn and winter.  Yes, of course the seasons lend different colour pallets to the scenery but ultimately the scenery remains the same, beautiful.

If you want to make the absolute best of Donegal why not consider leaving your visit until the end of the year.  A weekend in Donegal later in the year, or a week or longer if you can, means you can travel much more easily without the holiday traffic.  The most popular tourist spots are more easily accessible with little problem with access or parking.

The magnificent cliffs of Sliabh Liag become even more vibrant with an autumnal cloak.  The sandy beaches give bracing walks, breathing in the fresh and salty sea air made all the better without the frustration of having to find a parking space or even maybe a bit of a trek to get the beach.  You have miles of sand in some case where you can sit, perhaps the only person on the beach.  It is heavenly.
The eateries are not so packed and you can take your time to enjoy the special foods of Donegal, perhaps some fresh seafood or maybe homemade bakes.  There is little like a refreshing walk on a beach followed by a rest in a little café with fresh coffee and a homemade bun.  Or perhaps on a colder day, a bowl of homemade soup.

Accommodation will be cheaper out of season and if shopping is vital to you on any trip away, the shops are not as busy and there are maybe even end of season bargains to be had.  

Some attractions may indeed be closed for the winter but you can still view them from outside.  Doe Castle is beautiful just to look at from outside.  Fanad Lighthouse remains an eye-catching monument to our coastal county.  Our woods remain open and some offer beautifully laid out walks through them when later in the year the colours change from vibrant green to the golden colour so autumn.

Speaking of colours, we have amazing sunsets in Donegal and these can be even more spectacular in the skies of the colder months.  Artists and photographers will relish in the cloudscapes and the colours that a sky dark with rainfall colours the landscape.

And at the end of any day, there is always the craic to be had in a small pub where if you are lucky a roaring turf fire welcomes you in from the chilly night.  You may arrive on a night where local musicians gather for a night of traditional music.  A pint of Guinness or a hot whiskey in front of a turf fire would be a special memory to carry home with you.

Sure, come to us in the summer but why not try to make a return, more relaxed journey later in the year?  Or, as above, leave your visit until the autumn or winter.  Your enjoyment will be no less and maybe even much more.

The small selection of photographs below show how beautiful Donegal skies can be in the autumn, winter and spring months.  Misty hill, the boats sparkling in Killybegs harbour on a winters night, rainbows and double rainbows, and glorious sunsets.

Every month and season offers something special but for me, May in Donegal is extra special. 

​Placed as it is on the tail end of spring and on the cusp of summer, the month of May seems to capture the best of those two seasons.
 
 

The hedgerows are bursting with flowers, the vibrant yellow of gorse in full bloom can be seen all over the hills, and the blackthorn is in full bud just waiting blossom. 

​Fields and bankings are covered with primroses, daisies, buttercups, mayflowers, and many other tiny flowers.  Bees are buzzing, gathering pollen from these flowers.  Indeed they are so busy, they scarcely notice a camera getting up close to them.

​In the fields too new life is all around.  Sheep, cows, horses and goats are nurturing their young in the warmth of the May sunshine.  

And as we drove around last Sunday, I spotted a duck with just one little duckling following her along a little stream in the Bluestack Mountains.  It was frustrating that I didn't get to photograph them but just seeing them was special. 

​I am currently waiting to see cygnets and given the amount of swans we have in Donegal, I am hopeful of being able to photograph them at sometime this month.

Perched up on a banking the other day, taking shots of buttercups and daisies, a scent hit me that I had not smelled for years.  Wild garlic.  I followed my nose until I found the source of the scent and there under some overgrowth I spotted the delicate little flowers of the garlic plant. 

​I'd love to have pulled some but I am against taking things from their place, maybe another reason I love photography: I can 'take' what I see without ever doing any damage ... take only memories (and photos!), leave only footprints.

​In May a couple of years ago, driving towards Donegal Town from Rossnowlagh I saw a field full of Shetland ponies, so of course had to pull over and climb up the path to their field to photograph them. 

​Once there I was delighted to see a tiny foal.  It really was the cutest thing, almost like a toy rather than an actual animal.  They were a very curious bunch of ponies and came dashing over to the fence to me to pet. 

One of the prettiest young animals I have ever seen is a little Spanish donkey.  Not, I know, something one would expect to see in Donegal but a couple in Letterkenny owned it and were happy to allow me to photograph it. 

​He was all long legs and huge, gentle dark eyes.  And the fur on his long ears was the softest imaginable.  I would happily have taken him home with me!

​I was lucky enough to see a pair of goat kids and even more lucky to get this shot of them where they almost posed for the shot. 

​They were in a field at the foot of Sliabh Liag (Slieve League), the highest seacliffs in Europe.  They weren't a bit bashful and happily ambled about in front of me giving me lots of time to photograph them.

​Of course it's not all sunshine and blue skies in May but the rainfall is softer than earlier in the year so it never seems so bad. 

I took this photo of apple blossom, which is currently in bloom, and I rather like the effect of the tiny drops of rain on the petals. 
​
So, there we are, a glimpse of the month of May in Donegal.

NOTE: This post was first published back in May 2010 on an old blog we had.  We will be reviving more of these old posts in the future too.

​Although the English novelist Jane Austen never married, scholars debate about a man called Tom Lefroy and that perhaps he had a relationship with Jane.  Whether they did or not, and given she said to one her nieces, Fanny “"Anything is to be preferred or endured rather than marrying without affection” so perhaps she didn’t love him enough to take the plunge.  I mention it however because Tom Lefroy was an Irishman so had they married, she may have gone before her three nieces who lived in Ireland.  Was that a convoluted link to the crux of this article and Jane’s connection to Donegal, Ireland?   Perhaps.

At any rate, after Jane’s father died in 1805 the family encountered financial insecurity and had no permanent residence until her brother Edward let them live in his cottage in Chawton, East Hampshire, England.  It is here Jane wrote, or at least completed, all six of her novels.


Edward Austen Knight, who added the last name Knight to his name in 1812 so that he could legally inherit from his father's weathy childless cousins who had adopted him in 1783 at the age of 16, was the brother of Jane Austen and father of Cassandra, Louisa and Marianne. 
​
The first of Jane’s nieces, and the youngest daughter of Edward Knight, to move to Ireland was Cassandra (Cass) who was named after her maternal grandmother.  She married the landlord George Hill, formally Lord George Hill, on the 2st of October 1834, and they lived in Gortlee House, Letterkenny,  where Cassandra gave birth to four children: Norah in 1835, Arthur in 1837, Augustus in 1839 and her last child, Cassandra in 1842.  She died of puerperal fever just three days after giving birth to Cassandra.

Cassandra Hill (Lady George Hill) is buried in the Church of Ireland, Conwal Parish, graveyard in Letterkenny.  To find her grave simply go in the main gate to the church and graveyard and to the left of the church you will see a grave with railing around it at the front of that section of the graveyard and that is Cassandra’s grave (and later her husband’s too). 

Following her death, two of her brothers, George and Charles, and her older sister Lousia (Lou) visited their brother-in-law in Donegal and after her brothers returned home, Louisa remained to care for her late sister’s young children. 

After five years Louisa married her brother in law, George Hill, on the 11th of May 1847.  In 1949 Louisa gave birth at the age of 44 to her only child, George.  Louisa, George and their blended family lived near the village of Ramelton, in’Ballyare House.  George Hill would die  in Ballyare House in 1879. 
​
In her later years, a third sister, Marianne (May), came to live in Donegal with her sister Louisa.  The Donegal air was obviously good for her as she lived into her 95th year.

​Marianne and Louisa are buried side by side in a graveyard on a hill just about one mile from from Ballyare House.  The graveyard is called Tully Graveyard and sits at the end of a long road from Ballyare (Ballyarr).  There is no church beside it, just the two graveyards.  If you visit it to see their graves, go into the old graveyard (there is a new one opened just before it).  Once inside the old gate walk a few steps up a slight incline and look half way down the graveyard to your right.  There you will see two stone crosses beside an old stone wall which mark their graves.

​Louisa’s gravestone reads:
“In loving memory of Louisa wife of Lord George August ....... Hill of Ballyare and Gweedore who died 29th July 1889 in her 85th year”

​And Marianne’s reads:
“ In loving memory of Marianne Knight third daughter of the late Edward Knight Esq of Godmersham Park, Kent who died in her 95th year at Ballyare House Dec 4th 1896”

George Hill, husband of the two sisters Cassandra and Louisa is buried beside his first wife, Cassandra, in Letterkenny.

And there my blog post would have ended but for the fact that I came across a woman called Karen Ievers who had an amazing Jane Austen related find on ebay and it is that amazing find that allows me to have the photographs of the Austen nieces (and their family members) used here.  You can read about Karen's amazing find HERE.

Some of Karen's amazing finds: 

Sandra's Run would normally take place on the first Saturday of July but has been postponed this year because of COVID 19 and will now take place on Saturday the 8th of August.  In the meantime, for the 4th of July which would have been the run, we give you some memories of previous Sandra's Runs with some of our own photographs and some kindly shared with us by many of the bikers who take part. 

 Valentine was a priest who was martyred on the 14th of February and as with other saints, that date is his feast day.

He lived in Rome, Italy in the 3rd century and was persecuted and finally martyred because he defended and continued to marry Christian couples.  He was beaten to death and beheaded and his skull is on display in the Basilica of Santa Maria in Cosmedin, Rome.

Part of his remains (relics) now lie in Whitefriar Street Church, Dublin.  Throughout the year they lie below the statue of St. Valentine at his altar there but for the days around and on St. Valentine’s Day they are exposed which means his casket is on display at the front of the church on the altar.

Couples who are soon to marry come to the church on St. Valentine’s day to have their wedding rings blessed and when we were there I noticed a book on the altar of St. Valentine where people write their wishes. 

I started to read the words written there but stopped when I read something written by a mother praying for a good and loving wife for her son.  It felt intrusive and far too personal for me to be reading so I have no idea what other wished are written there but I assume they wish for love for themselves and/or their loved ones.

But how did the partial remains of St. Valentine end up in Ireland?

They are there because of an Irish Carmelite and philanthropist, John Spratt (1797-1871), who travelled to and spoke in Rome in 1835.  He was widely lauded there and received many gifts, the most important being a casket given to him by Pope Gregory XVI containing some of the remains of St. Valentine including a vial of his blood. 

St. Valentine’s remains arrived in Dublin on the 10th of November 1836 and were taken in procession through the streets of Dublin to the Carmelite Church on Whitefriar Street.  Following the death of John Spratt in 1871 interest in the relics faded and they went into storage until they were found during renovations of the church in the 1950s/60s

An altar to St. Valentine was built and a life size statue of him created by Irish artist, Irene Broe (1923-1992). 

His remains were placed in their sealed casket below his altar with an iron gate to protect them.  They are inside a black and gold wooden box and the casket in which they sit has never had its seal broken and remains intact to this day.

So there you go, you now know why St. Valentine’s (partial) remains can be found in Dublin, Ireland.  You might also like to know that not only is St. Valentine the patron saint of lovers, he is also the patron saint of beekeepers, epilepsy and the plague!

LETTERKENNY ARTISAN MARKET

The Artisan Market takes place in Letterkenny each Saturday between 10am and 3pm and is certainly worth a trip.  

It's a great place to while away an hour or two, wandering between stalls of local produce and local crafts, enjoy delicious hot food and coffee and homemade cakes.

There’s something for everyone. 

Grab a coffee from ‘Calista’ on the way in and wander round the stalls sampling on some and taking in the delicious aromas on another.  There is an extensive meats stall and a farm produce stall with organically  grown vegetables from Ballyholey Farm.   There’s goats cheese and gluten free cupcakes and pancakes too, which although I didn’t try, look fantastic.  If you are looking for wheatgrass then you can buy the wheatgrass or take a short cut and buy frozen shots of wheatgrass.  You can even buy flavoured kefir drinks and vinegars.

Local crafts are varied and offer a great selection of both gifts for family and friends and treats for yourself too.  There’s ‘That Small Change’ where you can buy rings, cufflinks, golf ball markers and so on all made from Irish coins.  Kate, the designer there also makes gifts from wood too.  There are artists with art works and homemade cards, and homemade candles which make great table centres and gifts.  There’s jewellery and a small selection of home interior furnishing too.

There is a seating area where you can sit and enjoy some of the foods available.  I tried Effie B’s jerk chicken as I have never tried jerk chicken before and I can report it was delicious.  I also tried her jollof rice and spicy fried  rice too, I preferred the jollof, my husband the spicy fried rice and if you want it spiced up a notch just ask Effie B to add more spice and she will.

You can buy homemade soups and pancakes too.  The chocolate pancakes seemed to be a big hit with the kids (and speaking of kids, there’s a play area for them with toys and sofas).  There are homemade cakes and buns including gluten free cakes.   

LETTERKENNY ARTISAN MARKET, SATURDAY 28th OCTOBER 2017

Tomorrow, Saturday the 28th of October, Letterkenny Artisan Market is the location for the Highland Radio outside broadcast unit and later there will be a live band playing to entertain everyone. 

As it is Halloween weekend there will be some fun things for the kids too.

So if you haven't been to Letterkenny Artisan Market before, go along tomorrow and enjoy the atmosphere and the craic to be had there. 

DETAILS
Letterkenny Artistan Market, Carrygawley, Letterkenny

Every Saturday 10am - 3pm

Free entry
Free carparking
Disabled loos: Yes.  And all the market is on the groundfloor too.

WeLoveDonegal bring you a film clip of the bikers taking part in 'Sandra's Run' on Saturday, 1st of July 2017.  It was very windy!!! 

Do you eat your oysters naked too?

There really is no other way to enjoy an oyster or six.

Stark naked.

As in no Tabasco, no lemon juice, nothing ... yes, it’s the oyster that should be naked not the eater.  Well unless you fancy eating the oysters naked in your birthday suit but that’s a whole different type of site.  Here on We Love Donegal we keep it pure, like our oysters.

Bikers left Killybegs on Saturday morning last (1st July 2017) in rain and mist to begin the annual 'Sandra's Run' but they returned home to Killybegs to dry weather and even a little sunshine pushing through.  Here are the photographs of the homecoming. 

Note: All photographs here are the property of WeLoveDonegal.com but full resolution copies can be purchased and will be emailed to you on payment of €10 to Jim or Rosaleen Boyle for 'Sandra's Run'.

(Photographs and film of their journey over Gweebara Bridge will be added later).

‘Sandra’s Run’ is an annual charity motor bike ride in south west Donegal held on the first Saturday in July each year.

This year it will be on SATURDAY 1st JULY.

The organisers, Jim and Rosaleen Boyle of Killybegs, County Donegal, the parents of Sandra after whom the event is named, started ‘Sandra’s Motorcycle Run’ in honour of their daughter Sandra who sadly passed away on the 21st of May 1991 after a battle with leukaemia.  It was the eve of her 18th birthday.

Jim and Rosaleen, bikers themselves, gather other bikers from all over the world to raise money for various hospitals and charities.  

Last year ‘Sandra’s Run’ raised over €26,000 for Temple Street Childrens Hosptial (Dublin).  In previous years ‘Sandra’s Run’ has raised money for Letterkenny University Hospital and Our Lady’s Childrens Hospital, Crumlin. 

Over the years ‘Sandra’s Run’ has raised well in excess of a quarter of a million euro.
In its first year 14 bikes took part and last year this had risen to 290 bikes.  For anyone who has been in the area on the day of ‘Sandra’s Run’ they can’t fail but be impressed with the number of bikes and vast array of different makes and models of bikes too.

Added to that, we see bushes, trees, fences, seats, street lights and buildings bedecked with teddies and other stuffed toys and dolls.  Rosaleen Boyle sends out an appeal to anyone reading this from anywhere on the course to tie soft toys and dolls to their fences and buildings.

Do you live along the route of 'Sandra's Run'?  

 If you do, Jim and Rosaleen send out a request to you: please tie teddy bears, dolls or other soft toys to your fencing and walls to show support for Sandra's Run.


ROUTE:
KILLYBEGS , ARDARA, CROLLY, BLOODY FORELAND, GLENTIES, DUNGLOE, ARDAGHEY 

 This year funds are being raised for Muscular Dystrophy Ireland.

Unfortunately Jim and Rosaleens other daughter, Dianne, has been diagnosed with a rare muscular condition and three of their (adult) nephews (brothers) are each confined to wheelchairs.  So in their inimitable way, Jim and Rosaleen are pouring their energies into raising both awareness and much needed research funds into Muscular Dystrophy Ireland.  Hence this years cause. (See a recent post, below here, by Jim and Rosaleen explaining further).

So please come along for a great family day out to see and support this worthy cause.  And if you have any biker friends, get them to take the ride too.

Please share this post on any media platforms you are on to pass the word around and make it the biggest and best ‘Sandra’s Run’ to date.

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A BIKE RIDE NOT A RACE.  NO SPEEDING OR CARELESS DRIVING.
‘SANDRA’S RUN’ DETAILS
FEE FOR BIKER: €20
FEE FOR PILLION: €10
Entries taken in Killybegs from 9.30 am on the morning of the run
OTHER DONATIONS:  There will be collectors with buckets along the route so please throw in a few euro if you can.  Other donations can be given by contacting Jim 087-2310269 or
Rosaleen 087-9132481 directly.
ENTRIES: Taken in Killybegs from 9.30 am before the run begins
START:  The Diamond, Killybegs 11.30 am
MOVING ON TO:  Ardara, Narin, Dungloe
LUNCH BREAK: DUNGLOE 1 pm
Lunch(and dinner later) free for bikers and helpers
MOVING ON TO: Annagry, Crolly (petrol stop only), Bloody Foreland, Glenties (via Dungloe), Ardara, Ardaghey
FINISH UP: Killybegs
(Free dinner at the Tara Hotel for those with arm bands only).
MUSIC & DANCING IN THE TARA HOTEL FROM 10pm ~everyone welcome.
CONTACT:
Jim 087-2310269
Rosaleen 087-9132481
Dianne 087-0949902
Breakdown van (Seamus) 087-1835007
Paramedic (Mick) 086-8090156

Don't forget to tweet, share, like this blog post to bring it to as many people as we can to help raise lots of money for Sandra's Run and Muscular Dystrophy Ireland.  (Tweet adding @MDI_Ireland)