Carne Graveyard, Pettigo, Co. Donegal

Carne Graveyard, Pettigo, Co. Donegal

by Rev. P. O Gallachair, Mr. P. Slevin, and Mr. John Cunningham

Donegal Annual, 1980, pp 135-157

The graveyard and former Church in the townland of Templecarne, near Pettigo, is one of the most ancient Christian centres in Donegal. Situated only two miles from Lough Derg it could hardly have escaped the influence of this famous and ancient Christian foundation with its origins going back to St. Patrick and on more solid historical scholarship its association with St. Davog (variations in spelling of this Saint’s name, include Dabheog, Avoige, etc.). The pilgrimage of Lough Derg is commemorated in many place names in the surrounding area: Seeavog townland near Lough Derg, Lough Avoghe near Belleek, St. Davog’s chair---a rock formation in Seeavog td., Saint’s Island in Lough Derg originally St. Davog’s Island, St. Davog’s bed on Station Island, Lough Derg, and two modern schools in Belleek and Aghyarn named after St. Davog testify to his influence on this area.

Templecarne graveyard is on the old road from Pettigo to Lough Derg, and although no Church is to be seen now a Church existed there for hundreds of years and its outline was still sufficiently visible to be recorded on the first ordnance survey maps. The graveyard is surrounded by a modern substantial scotch-paved wall, which no doubt incorporates the bulk of the masonry, which made up the former Church. Like many other ancient religious sites this one was used as a burial place by the incoming planter families after 1610 and an invisible but discernable line in the graveyard divides in death as they were divided in life the Bartons, Armstrongs, and Aikens, etc., from the names of McGraths, the Monaghans and the Gallaghers, etc.

One of the earliest population centres came into being as a British plantation settlement was the village of Carne, shortened from Templecarne, which was on the hill top overlooking the graveyard and former Church. The Church served this ancient population centre.

In the first O.S. maps two house clusters can be seen repectively, named Carn Upper and Carn Lower (at the bottom of the hill). In 1596, when the famous Bishop Miler McGrath was surrendering the Termon lands of the Monastery of Lough Derg to Queen Elizabeth, to have them regranted to himself and his family, he specifically asked for a licence to hold the market at Carne.

An even earlier mention of Carne occurs in the Annals of the Four Masters when the first Red Hugh O’Donnell resigned his chieftaincy at Carne, on May 26th, 1497.

This very ancient and venerable seat of Irish christianity was taken over by incoming plantation families, but even so both traditions continued to use the burial ground and still do so today. The planter families however soon found their Church at Templecarne not to their liking. Their main centre of population was around Pettigo and the three mile walk or ride to and from Carne along an ill-made road to sit in a building in poor repair in a countryside of very ill-disposed local inhabitants was not very conducive to prayer. The inconvenience of the journey and the safety factor are principally mentioned as reasons for a petition of 1680 to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland seeking permission to move the parish Church from Carne to Aghnahoo beside Termon Castle and 1 1/2 miles from Pettigo. The castle had been built by Bishop Miler and his son James McGrath. Circa 1620 had been besieged by the Laggan regiment in the 1641 Rebellion. The Irish garrison had successfully resisted the siege but later they withdrew from the castle and had to a great degree demolished the place to keep it from being a slace of strength to anyone else. Charles Leslie, the new lessee of the Termon McGrath Estate, with a lease of 99 years, had said that he was going to rebuild the castle and it was with this in mind that the application was made to build a new church 16’ x 20’, with a suitable enclosed graveyard beside it. The application was granted but possibly due to the unsettled state of the country coming up towards the 1690 period nothing was done either to repair the castle or to build a new Church. Without the castle the new settlers found it more convenient and safer to attend a place of worship in the village of Pettigo. This they erected on the site of the present Church of Ireland in Pettigo---a building which was demolished when the present Church was built in 1841. They still continued to use the burial ground at Carne, in addition to a small burial around the new Pettigo Church.

The Reverend William Skelton, Rector of Templecarne Parish from 1750 to 1759, records the scene at some Templecarne funerals in his period in Pettigo. He describes the funeral parties resorting to the field next to the Carne graveyard and there barrels of poteen being consumed. So much drinking was done that quarrelling and fighting often erupted and in general scenes, which one would not wish to see associated with a funeral. On one occasion so heavy was the drinking that one unfortunate mourner himself slumped over dead and as it was related to the Reverend Skelton some of those present were delighted that an opportunity had now arisen for another three days of drinking at this new wake and funeral. Skelton ascribes these scenes to Roman Catholic families but it stretching credibility to imagine that they alone indulged in this. Anyhow what was told to the Reverend gentleman was probably concerning the funeral of an old person whose funeral even today is not attended with the same sense of sorrow as that of a child or mature adult.

On the 12th July, 1799, disaster struck the Lough Derg pilgrimage when an entire boat load of pilgrims sank in the lake. From the struggling mass of about 70 pilgrims only three survived. Many of the recovered bodies were taken away by their sorrowing relatives but some were interred in Carne cemetery, unfortunately none with more than simple uninscribed markers or no marker at all.

But the absence of a marker does not erase the memory of at least some of those buried in Carne. Two men of as varied background as possible are buried there now with unmarked graves but one at least whose tombstone no longer marks his burial place due to the unfortunate effects of the weather.

Prionsias Dubh McHugh’s grave was probably never marked since Prionsias Dubh was a highwayman whose place of birth was just ten miles from Carne, in Cloghore, Co. Tyrone, and whose hideouts lay in the hills around this area. Many of his escapades are still recounted in the folklore of the Pettigo/Lettercran area and when Prionsias was finally captured he was tried and hanged in Enniskillen. His body was taken from Enniskillen on a boat down Lough Erne to the Waterfoot near Pettigo accompanied by a flotilla of craft and his body laid to rest in Carne cemetery.

At a huge remove from the life and death of this highwayman both culturally and socially was the Reverend Alexander Calhoun, Vicar of Templecare, 1698 to 1717. His headstone no longer records his dates but his greatgrandson brought him a certain fame by becoming Vice-President of the U.S.A. In his own time the Reverend Colhoun made his own mark in his unique treatment of the Lough Derg pilgrimage during his term as incumbent of the parish. When he would have been expected to do his utmost to suppress the pilgrimage to his own great profit.

He collected money for the Pope (Peter’s Pence) and employed a Franciscan friar for this purpose. He controlled the boat taking the pilgrims to the island to do their station and collected the fares. His men charged pilgrims for their horses grazing while they were praying and drove off any animals stabled with others and he licensed dealers in food and drink who supplied the outgoing pilgrims. All in all he made an excellent income from the pilgrimage.

However, for these unrecorded but known in Carne there are obviously thousands and thousands of totally unknown and unrecorded burials. It is most probably that the local Roman Catholics continued to use the ruined Church of Templecarne after it was abandoned by the local Protestants, except when the Penal laws were being most strenuously applied. Even they however had abandoned Templecarne to move to Pettigo by the early 1800’s. Piggots directory records a Roman Catholic Church in Pettigo in 1824.

Of great interest to the visitor to the graveyard is the Scalan Shelter built against the North-West corner. This structure is in the style of those structures built for priests saying Mass out of doors in the times of most stringent application of the Penal laws. They were of the same era as the remote Mass rocks which served a similar purpose. The Scalan consists of a flat altar surface and a wall in which this surface is incorporated rising and curving out over the priest in order to partly shelter him from the elements. Unfortunately for those imagining crowds of Catholics congregated under a stormy sky at their devotions in Carn graveyard---this particular Salan is a late erection built only to shelter the priest as he collected offerings at funerals. [Transcribers note: There are two pictures of this Scalan in the original article published in the Donnegal Annual.]

But even if it doesn’t fulfil the visitors imagination the Scalan does add that touch of antiquity and atmosphere, which is totally justified by the countless centuries of history’s traffic experienced by the green sword of Templecarne.

The initial recording of this graveyard was begun by Rev. Fr. Gallagher, P.E., P.R.S.A.I., Derrygonnelly, and completed by Mr. P. Slevin, Ballygee, and Mr. John Cunningham, M.A., Belleek.

THOMAS M. BARAN. Here lyeth the body of Thomas M. Baran, who dyed June the 28 1705. P.B. caused this to be done.

BARTON HUGH. (Barton Vault: over front entrance 1898). Erected by Hugh Barton, J.P., who died August 10th, 1902, aged 68 years. (On top): Heir lyes the body of William Barton, who deceased the 22 Feb., 1693. Also the body of Edward Barton, eldest son of William Barton, who departed this life March the 10th, 1723, in the 66th year of age. (Another flag on top): Requiescat in pace. Beneath this stone are deposited the remains of Elizabeth MOT (M)EE, who departed this life in the 27th year of her age, Decr. 12, 1803. and the remains of William Edward Tuthill who died in the 14th year of his age, August the 15th, 1806. (On the back vault): In memory of Ca(pt) Edward Barton, 2(4) th Reg., died 10th April 1883, aged 35 years. (On the near side of the vault): In memory of Folliott Warren Barton, Esq., J.P. and D.L., died Septr. 28th, 1870, aged 72 years. [Footnote: Thos. Barton of Drumishin was probably the father of William Barton, buried here, died 1693. He was father of Ed. Barton here (1657-1723). Rev. Michael Hugh Tuthill (1751-1822): Rector of Drumcherran (p.179), son of Rev. M. H. Tuthill of Leslies’s Clogher Clergy and Parishes, p. 273, Rev. James Benson Tuthill (1788-1879), Rector of Belleek, 1824-77, (p. 123). One of his closest and warmest friends, Rev. Neal Ryan (1790-1879), a friendship which lasted their lifetime. On an unique incident in Mulleek in the Parish of Carn (pp. 49-52), Rev. James Dill, Autobiography A County Parson (pp. 47-48).

Wm. Ed. Td. Tuthill, buried in Carn, is probably another son of Rev. Hugh, and his wife’s relations were the Bartons. Hugh Barton, who created vault in 1898, same as “H. Barton Esq., J.P., 1893”, son of F.W. Barton of Clonelly. Both of them tablet at tree in Tullhommon commemorates F.W. Barton--Folliott Warren B. Vault (1728-1870)]

CALHOUN, REV. ALEXANDER. (See forward.)

CAMBELL MARY. In memory of Mary Cambell who died 6th of May 1888, aged 44 years. Requiescat in pace.

CANE CATHERINE. Pray for the soul of Catherine Cane of Croagh, died 18th September 1874

aged 98 years.

CATHCART. (Old flatstone.)

CATHCART. Erected by James Cathcart to the memory of his father John Cathcart who departed this life. Also Robt. Cathcart, Eliza Cathcart and Ann Jane Cathcart, who died young.

CARR GRACE. In memory of Grace Carr who died A.D. 1882; also her husband Simon Carr, died A.D. 1888. erected by their son Thos. Carr.

CARR SIMEON. In loving memory of dear husband and father Simeon Carr, died 17th May, 1970.

CARSHORE JOHN. (Flat, coat of arms, “Spere nec Disperi”). Hic Jacet humanae et (mortales) Reliquae Joannis Carshore Filius Thomae Carshore, qui obiti Octodecimo calendarum---Decembris MDCCLXVI 41 ans Sine. [Footnote: Rev. P. Skelton in 1750, “Ldgings with one Carshore:: (lower farmer in the village of Pettigo”) had two sons, William and Thomas. William was born nearly blind (Bundy’s Life of Philip Skelton, 1914, ed.p.129). thomas Carshore of Pettigo, a Baronial constable for Tirhugh, 1756. Clogher Record (1989): “the Landlord, The Minister, The Tenant and Tithe in Belleek in 1758,” pp.84-90.]

CECIL. (Nothing else.)

ADAIR GEORGE. To the memory of George Adair who departed this life 10th October 1862, aged 77 years. And his wife Faith Adair who died 10th November 1845, aged 33 years. Also their daughter Faith Adair who died 24 November 1845 aged 3 months. and his son George Alexr. Adair who resigned this mortal life 13th May 1860, aged 17 years. John Adair of Donegal died 3rd of April 1871, aged 75 years. Blessed are they who die in the Lord.

ADAMS JOHN. (Coat of arms). Here lies the body of John Adams who departed this life January ye 6th, 17(7)9, aged (8)1 years. Also the body of Elinor Adams alais Barton who departed this life July the 22nd 1792, aged 87 years. Also the body of William Adams who departed this life March 1808, aged (8-) years.

AIKEN. Aiken Tullylark 18788-1969, “At the end of the road, there is rest for evermore”. Rom. Ch. 6 v.22.

AIKEN ADAM. (Black marble pillar.) Sacred to the memory of Adam Aiken who died 15th March 1850. His wife Kate Aiken died 29th March 1850, and their son James 2)th March 1850. (On the side of pillar): Sacred to the memory of John Aiken who died 9th March 1845, aged 80 years. Also to his wife, Eliza Aiken, who died 1848, aged 74.