The son of Morna had killed Fionn’s father Cumhal that he might assume leadership of the legendary warrior band.
Fionn – one of the most famous figures in Irish mythology – is said to have pursued his unfaithful ally to the very north of Ireland and avenged his father on a rock off the coast.
Carraig Ghoill (Goll’s rock) can be found near Dooey on majestic Rosguill, the peninsula that also takes his name (Ros Goill, Goll’s point or headland).
Rosguill stretches out into the Atlantic between the natural harbours of Mulroy and Sheephaven.
Like its neighbouring promontories Inishowen and Fanad, Rosguill is one of the most picturesque peninsulas on the planet but remains a hidden gem, albeit with a growing level of recognition thanks to its position on the Wild Atlantic Way.
Its main settlement of Downings has been a favourite haunt of Derry holidaymakers for generations, of course.
Na Dúnaibh has been anglicised variously as ‘Dooney’, ‘Downing’, ‘Downye’, ‘Duneins’ and ‘Downings’ over the years.
It is believe to refer to the forts (dún) or ráths that proliferate thereabouts, though an alternative unlikely etymology has been offered suggesting it could be a gaelicisation from ‘dunes’, referring to the sandy strip of land at Rosapenna that connects Rosguill to the Carrigart area.
Rosguill is an Irish-speaking area where hundreds of people still speak Irish as their first language.
The language is reflected in place-names such as An Dumhaigh (Dooey, the sandy place), Poll na Long (the hole of the ship), Binn n'Déideadh (the cliff of the sharp teeth), Poll na Murlas (the hole of the mackerel), Dún Dubháin (Dubháin’s fort), Cluain tSalach (dirt meadow), Trá na Rossan (beach of the points), Cnoc na Muirleog (hill of the rod fish basket) and Cnoc na Sleá (hill of the spear).
Views of Sheephaven, Mulroy, Hornhead, Fanad, Ards, Errigal, Muckish and Tory Island that can be enjoyed from Rosguill are spectacular.
The peninsula was immortalised by Seamus Heaney, who learned Irish there in the the 1950s, through his poem ‘The Gaeltacht’ from his 2001 collection Electric Light.
‘I wish, mon vieux, that you and Barlo and I
‘Were back in Rosguill, on the Atlantic Drive,
‘And that it was again nineteen-sixty
‘And Barlo was alive
‘And Paddy Joe and Chips Rafferty and Dicky
‘Were there talking Irish...’
41. Rosguill stretches out into the Atlantic between the natural harbours of Mulroy and Sheephaven.
Rosguill stretches out into the Atlantic between the natural harbours of Mulroy and Sheephaven. Photo: Kevin Mullan