Conversations with St Patrick, Oisin and Balor of the evil eye

Atlantic sunsets blazing blood red have nothing to do with its name, rather a reddish mineral staining the interlaid beds of quartzite and granite visible from the road near Meenlagha.

The summit is one of the best coastal viewpoints on this island.
Off to the south the noble quartzite cone of Errigal, then rushing towards you a visual cachophony of islands and inlets , rocky, brutal, savage.

Over the horizon to the northwest the kingdoms of Greenland, Iceland and Tir na nOg, a land of eternal youth where you grew not a day older while those you left behind withered to old age, but if you returned and touched the ground all the cheated years were given back to you in an instant.
Oisin, the warrior poet, spent many years in Tir na nOg with his lover Niamh, and when he finally returned fell from his horse and immediately became old, grey, wrinkled and bent. The pagan ways of the Fianna had passed and St Patrick was spreading the Christian gospels in Ireland.
Lady Gregory translated their conversations, one is

Patrick. "O Oisin of the sharp blades, it is mad words you are saying. God is better for one day than the whole of the Fianna of Ireland."

Oisin. "Though I am now without sway and my life is spent to the end, do not put abuse, Patrick, on the great men of the sons of Baiscne.

"If I had Conan with me, the man that used to be running down the Fianna, it is he would break your head within among your clerks and your priests."

To the North Tory Island , home of Balor , King of the giant race , the Fomorians , a glance from his single eye killed. He gained this power as a child when watching his father's druids preparing poisonous spells, the fumes of which rose into his eye. His eye was normally kept closed, only to be opened on the battlefield by four men using a handle fitted to his eyelid.
According to prophecy, Balor was to be killed by his grandson. To avoid his fate, he locked his daughter, Ethlinn, in a tower made of crystal to keep her from becoming pregnant. However, Cian, one of the Tuatha Dé Danann, with the help of the druidess Birog, managed to enter the tower. She gave birth to triplets by him, but Balor threw them into the ocean. Birog saved one, Lugh, and gave him to Manannan mac Lir, who became his foster father.
Lugh led the Tuatha in the second Battle of Magh Tuiredh against the Fomorians. Lugh shot a sling-stone which drove Balor's eye out the back of his head, where it continued to wreak its deadly power on the Fomorian army. One legend tells that, when Balor was slain by Lugh, Balor's eye was still open when he fell face first into the ground. Thus his deadly eye beam burned a hole into the earth. Long after, the hole filled with water and became a lake which is now known as Loch na Súl, or "Lake of the Eye", which is to be found in County Sligo.

Today though one blight is the plethora of white bungalows dumped across the coastal landscape, maybe Balor would have been glad to put out his own eye. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/939/comment/6062/

Read Less

three5four0 on Bloody Foreland

Climbed Bloody Foreland from the car park mentioned by Harry Goodman, followed the main road for about 250 metres east round a bend, till a minor road. Follow this minor road past several houses, some not marked on my map, to the gate at roughly B (B822 323). A word of warning, once through this gate watch out!, for lurking near by is the fierce Headless Dog of Cnoc Fola. I kid you not. I had to look twice incase my eyes where deceiving me, but no, there it was lurking behind the road gritter. And yes you did read that right too, there is an old road gritter up on breeze blocks by the track.

From the gate follow a bog track uphill to point 217 and then easily up hill to the summit of Bloody Foreland. Descent is by the way of ascent and you better have kept half a biscuit for the dog! Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/939/comment/4230/

Read Less

Harry Goodman on Bloody Foreland

I started my walk at the viewpoint shown on the OSI Sheet 1 1:50,000 scale at CnFolaCP (B816 322). I climbed up the long ridge east over Pt. 217 to the stoney top of the hill at 314m. This modest height commands the most westerly high point listed by MV for the Donegal NW mainland. There are fine views to the N and E of Tory Island, Inishbofin and the long fine sandy beach of the Dooey Penninsula near Magheraroarty. The top of the hill is strewn with a motley collection of small stone cairns and other "decorative" work !(see photo). Rather than simply go back the way I came up I opted to continue NE downhill to the R257 where I continued along the road to my arranged pick up point at Glassercoo. In all a short, easy but satisfying ramble. If in the area to climb Cnoc Fola I would also commend a visit to and walk around the nearby Dooey Penninsula. The sand dunes at the north end are magnificent and are easily the most dramatic I have come across in Ireland. The two walks combined make a very satisfying day out. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/939/comment/4132/

Read Less

A "top-of-the-world" sensation !!

Decided to tackle Cnoc Fola on 07. November 2012. I had been driving along the W coast from the Rosses and made a complete clockwise turn around the hill to find a convenient spot to park and start from. Finally parked on the northern edge of R257, beside a house, at AltBayRd (B827 329) (the white spot in the centre of the picture is my car). Right on the other side of the road lies an open peat field and beyond stands Cnoc Fola. I met a local who was out for a walk along the road with his dog, so I asked him if anyone would bother me walking through this field. He said no-one would, and told me it was a 30-40 min ascent to the top, really worth the effort.
After a few minutes jumping from mound to mound on a boggy, uneven terrain, I headed up straight on as the ground rose steeply, until I realised I could make an effortless, diagonal ascent heading SE, as the strong winds literally pushed me up straight to the trig point !! Due to its prominent, isolated position, Cnoc Fola offers amazing 360° views despite its rather modest height. From Bloody Foreland, Tory, Inishdooey, Inishbofin, the endless sandy beach at Dooey and Horn Head to the N and NE, to the amazing string of countless islands and inlets to the SW, with the ocean waves glittering under the fading sunlight that was peering through the clouds. Too cloudy, though to enable me to enjoy the beautiful sunset I had expected. Also to the S did the clouds cover the whole Muckish-Errigal range, leaving only Taobh an Leithid merely visible. Which made me think about coming back on a clearer day !!
A 30 min ascent and 15-20 min descent, but almost 30 min spent enduring the strong, cold winds to explore the flattened, cairn-littered top and enjoy its different, magnificent vistas. A "top-of-the-world" sensation at only 314m !! Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/939/comment/15211/

Read Less

Easy going walk.

I parked in the view point car park at Point E. From here the best way to access this hill is to walk down the main road a bit , and then turn right up a lane that leads to a small transmitter tower: C (B8173 3188). By taking this lane you wont have any fences to climb. The terrain on this side of the hill is easy going overall. Beautiful views on top. Linkback: mountainviews.ie/summit/939/comment/23970/

Read Less