In May this year my husband and I took a trip to Ireland. Now it wasn’t our first visit but it was the first time we had visited with family history in mind.

We travelled from Glasgow airport on Thursday 16 May for the super quick flight to City of Derry airport. There’s barely enough time for the cabin crew to hand out some water and a biscuit before the captain announced our descent.

It was cloudy in Glasgow but when we arrived in Ireland it was sunny and surprisingly hot. Since Derry is in the north it’s a domestic flight so no hold ups at the airport. We picked up our hire car and were soon on our way.

We’d booked an Airbnb in Fahan, Donegal. It was only about a 25 minute drive. There’s no big border crossing. I actually missed the sign ad it was only seeing the different road signs and the election posters in Donegal that we realised we’d left the north. We stopped and picked up the keys at a service station en route. We thought we might be too early to check in so we headed through Fahan to the popular holiday spot of Buncrana. It’s just 5 minutes along the road and there are plenty of shops and restaurants. We just picked up some provisions and headed to our accommodation.

You can check out the apartment by clicking here. I’m almost reluctant to share it with you because I’d hate to think it wouldn’t be available for our next trip.

We spent the rest of the day walking on the beach, exploring the local area and just taking in the beauty of Donegal.

Before travelling I’d researched the local area and found The Railway Tavern which was just a few minutes walk from our apartment. Often on trips you have to drive to the nice restaurants which means we can’t enjoy a glass of wine but this gorgeous wee place was on our doorstep. We did book in advance and I’d recommend doing the same as it is very popular.

I wouldn’t normally take or post food pics but honestly it was just so good. I’d go back to Ireland just for the squid tacos! That is if I didn’t have a thousand other reasons.

On Saturday morning we headed to Letterkenny for a day of family history research. We’d arranged to meet Marion from Ireland Reaching Out a group of volunteers who help people of Irish descent reconnect with their Irish roots. If you have Irish ancestry I strongly recommend you check out the site. The nicest and most helpful people you can imagine.

Marion had made contact after a request I sent hoping for a meet up with a local expert. She sent me lots of research prior to our visit and I could tell we’d be in good hands. We met up in town and had a chat over coffee about the day ahead.

Letterkenny was the home town of my great grandmother Mary Wilkinson. Mary left Ireland around 1850 and she settled in Glasgow where she died in 1871.

After coffee at the Cultural Centre we took a walk to the Cathedral Quarter. Here we visited St Eunan’s Roman Catholic Cathedral. Now, I know that Mary would never have visited this particular building because a) it wasn’t built in her time and b) unlike my other Irish ancestors Mary was not a Catholic. She was baptised in the Presbyterian church. It is a beautiful building as you can see and definitely worth a visit.

Directly opposite is Conwal Church of Ireland. Now this dates way back to the 17th century and helpfully in the churchyard there is a list of the names of all the burial plots. The name Wilkinson is mentioned and there’s a Martha Gailey. That’s Mary’s mother’s name so I have some further research to do.

Right next door is Trinity Hall the former Presbyterian church. Less impressive than the other two places of worship but possibly part of Mary’s story.

From the Cathedral Quarter we wandered down to Market Square. Here Marion told us about the hiring fairs which were held there where farmers would come to town looking for children to work on their land. The children were used as cheap labour and had to leave their homes and families for months at a time.

The Hiring Fair monument was erected in 1994

From the town centre we headed in the direction of Mary’s town land. The actual place where she grew up is now a hospital car park!

The Gailey name is quite specific to the Letterkenny area and we visited another churchyard where we again discovered Gailey and Wilkinson burial plots. I photographed a number of headstones that require further investigation.

I very much enjoyed my time in Letterkenny. I would have liked to have spent some more time there. It’s a busy little town and I’m sure it would be worth a visit if an evening to enjoy the craic.

There was one big find which might explain why Mary left Ireland in the first place and I’m so grateful to Marion for working this one out. I’ll have to put that together for a later post!

On Saturday morning we headed back across “the border” to Derry which is where my Brawley ancestors came from. The Brawleys were the first of my Irish ancestors to come to Scotland and after more than 200 years it is not surprising to discover that the area has changed quite considerably. Where they lived is now the city airport – not exactly scenic. However the city centre boasts the Derry Walls which were built over 400 years ago so I can be pretty confident that my Brawley forefathers would have stood where I stood.

We did a city tour. It was actually a Derry Girls themed tour but as well as stories from the show our guide shared a lot of the history of the city. If you’re interested you can read more here.

On our way back to Fahan we visited Inch Island which is reached via a causeway from the mainland. our apartment was on the shores of Lough Swilly and Inch Island is on the opposite shore. It’s a lovely spot with beautiful sandy beaches. I envy the folk living there with their perfect views.

On Sunday morning we headed to Doagh Famine Village. It is such a great museum. It is right on the coast in the most stunning setting. The cost of your ticket includes a cup of tea and a scone which I would love to see in every museum!

Our guide actually grew up in one of the houses and showed us around and told us all about the history. It is an idyllic place but there were such terrible hardships. The tales on the tour cover from the Great Famine to present day. Highly recommended.

After the tour we spent some time on the beach. Gorgeous and we had it pretty much to ourselves.

On our way to Doagh we passed through the village of Ballyliffin where I’d spotted a restaurant called Nancy’s Barn. The cafe at the museum only serves tea and cakes so we headed back to Ballyliffin for lunch. So glad we did. The restaurant is famous for its seafood chowder so I had to try it. So good! Another popular spot so we were lucky to get a table on a sunny Sunday afternoon.

Malin Head is the most northerly point in Ireland and being so close we decided to take a look. It’s a lovely drive through the countryside. Honestly, Donegal is just gorgeous. I have totally fallen in love with the place.

In the evening we sat out on our balcony and enjoyed a glass of wine while watching some boats on the water. It was so peaceful and beautiful and I just wanted to stay forever.

On Monday morning we just had to time for breakfast on the balcony and a last look around Fahan before heading back to the airport. Our trip went by so fast but we had such a great time. We will definitely be back some day soon 💚