5 MINUTES WITH - BETTINA LINKE

Bettina Linke is originally from East Germany but has been living locally with her three cats for the past twelve years. Her son, David is studying physics and astrophysics at Maynooth. During the day job, Bettina answers phones for Keith Prowse in Lisfannon, but her free time is spent delving into our local history. Her passion, enthusiasm and energy for the preservation of local historical monuments is inspiring and she shares her knowledge on her website, Unknown Swilly. She also writes a blog keeping readers up to date on heritage sites. A keen photographer, Bettina’s website and blog are full of her beautiful local images

What music do you like?
I enjoy listening to Bob Dylan and Kila. Kila are an Irish traditional band with Eastern European influences. I grew up with music and most of it had lyrics in English. I didn’t have a clue what they were singing about but it didn’t take away my enjoyment.

What would you never throw away?
My stubbornness and independence.

What book are you reading?
I don’t really read novels or works that include fictitious people anymore. I have piles of reference books, everything from, history, heritage, archaeology and lost civilisations. I also have books by Harry Percival Swan and Mabel R Colhoun, they are invaluable.

What was your favourite childhood game?
When I was young there was a lot of concrete jungle development work in Eastern Germany and we used to play in the large concrete pipes on the building sites. We would head out in the morning with our lunchbox full of goodies for the day.

Have you been to the cinema recently, what did you see and was it any good?
The last film I went to see was Lord of the Rings, Fellowship of the Rings. It was right up my street, I loved their long swords.

What is your idea of a good night out?
I had a ball during the O’Doherty clan meetings as I found myself in the massive conference room at the Lake of Shadow hotel packed to the rafters with people interested in heritage and history. Since this medieval dinner is only held every five years, I fill the gap in between listening to live music sessions and great musicians around the bars around Inishowen.

Most embarrassing moment of your life?
More embarrassing than filling in this questionnaire?

Have you a favourite TV programme?
Midsomer Murders, Babylon 5 and Star Trek. There are still episodes I haven’t seen.

How do you relax?
Walking in the countryside around Inishowen. You can nearly fall over the historic sites that we have. If you find an early church ruin, you can bet that there was an older settlement there before. Take Carrowmore for example, the stones there would have probably been from a monastery and originally come from the Stone Age. The ancient builders were great recyclers…

Where would you like to go for your holidays?
I would love to travel into outer space, as long as there was a smoking room.

Your idea of heaven?
Inishowen bathed in sunshine for weeks and having time to enjoy it.

Your idea of hell?
Marriage…

What famous people would you invite around for dinner and why?
The builders of Grianan, a representative from the Office of Public Works involved in the “Restoration”, and so they have company I would also invite Cahir Rua, Eoghan, from where Inishowen gets it’s name and the Minister for the Environment.

Favourite animal?
Cats. I have three, Setanta, Odin and Trouble, who lives up to her name.

What couldn’t you live without?
My son.

Biggest fear?
Losing him.

Biggest thrill?
The last thrill was just a few days ago, I had the opportunity to see and go into a newly discovered underground chamber (Souterrain) in the north of the peninsula.. These tunnels are rich in heritage. I am sure there are more thrills to come.

The world’s most irritating inventions?
Bureaucracy and plastic.

What is your idea of a good night in?
A “Plotting session” with my best friend Ann over a bottle of wine or two. The idea for the tourist shop on Buncrana pier came from one of them.

Biggest disappointment?
When people (myself included) give up their hopes and dreams.

Which period in history would you most like to have lived through?
Between 5000BC and 500AD. I would like to have been at Greenan Hill every time a new structure was built. I suppose I would need a time machine…

World’s most useful invention?
The Internet. I couldn’t do research without it. I use it to get onto the Celt website and the collection of old manuscripts called The Annals of the Four Masters, an invaluable document that was published and printed in Donegal town in 1604.

What do you have for breakfast?
Coffee, coffee and more coffee and anything else that I can grab.

What is the best/worst piece of advice you have been given?
The best was from my mother. A man can eat everything but doesn’t have to know everything. The worst: Say nothing.

Personal philosophy?
Find out who and what you are and what you want then don’t let anyone tell you different.

GREENCASTLE MARITIME MUSEUM ROCKET LAUNCH

There are several videos to choose from: CHECK THEM ALL OUT HERE

5 MINUTES WITH - EDDIE IVERS

Eddie Ivers lives in Dunaff on the outskirts of Clonmany with his wife Kathleen. He has two children, Katrina and Phillip and one grandson, Lennon. Eddie has been working at the recycling centre in Carndonagh since it opened eight years ago and is part of a team that has countrywide recognition for running a highly efficient centre. Before this he was a fisherman for 15 years and remembers vividly in 1983, when he and his four crewmembers were drifting in a fishing boat for five days on the Atlantic after engine failure. A light aircraft piloted by Captain O’Sullivan found the ship floating towards America.

One thing you remember about being rescued?
We eagerly opened the food aid parcels, looking for cigarettes. All of us smoked and we had spent four days puffing away on rolled up newspapers and dried tea leaves. We were relieved to be found but still had to wait until we hit dry land for a smoke…

What music do you like?
Most Country and Western music. I enjoy bands you can dance to, Big Tom and the Mainliners, Joe Dolan, the Drifters and bands like Dickie Rock. Most of them have played at the Plaza in Buncrana at some time

What would you never throw away?
Money, it’s a very precious commodity.

One memory from the 1970’s
In July and August there was a marquee that set up in towns around the peninsula and used to have big bands playing. They were really good fun and great nights dancing

What are you reading?
I keep in touch with events through the local papers.

What was your favourite childhood game?
I always enjoyed playing football. When I was young the emphasis at the Urris School I went to was more on Hurling and Gaelic though.

Have you been to the cinema recently?
I used to go to the pictures when I was courting. I have been married for 35 years now so you can do the maths. I prefer to dance than sit watching a screen.

What section of the newspaper do you turn to first?
The back pages. I love all sport, especially football.

What is your idea of a good night out?
A few friends, go out for a meal, drinks and a meal. The Rusty Nail is not too far away and they do great food.

Have you a favourite TV programme?
I have the Discovery channel and being an old fisherman I enjoy the Deadliest Catch. It’s filmed over three weeks in the Bearing Sea near Russia and it’s the challenge of getting the crab catch in.

How do you relax?
Watching the telly, usually sport, and a wee brandy after dinner.

What job did you want to do when you were a child?
I wanted to be a professional football player. I did play a bit when I was younger and lived in Luton, England. I played the Monarch Airways team on Saturdays and on Sunday I played for a Catholic team called Sacred Hearts.

Where would you like to go for your holidays?
Probably America again. I have a lot of friends in Boston and it’s always great to catch up.

Your idea of heaven?
When I am at work, my idea of heaven is for everyone to put their recycling items in the correct containers and to keep the depot tidy. I don’t like to see litter anywhere, especially on the streets.

Your idea of hell?
Working underground. When I worked in England I worked in the London underground building the tunnels and in those days it was all done by hand. I worked on Oxford Circus and Victoria station. I had a big shovel and dug muck all day.

What famous people would you invite around for dinner and why?
George Best. I saw a lot of him when he played in the first division. There is still no one like him.

Favourite animal?
A dog. I have a Collie that we call Collie and he comes shooting with me, he’s a good gun dog.

What couldn’t you live without?
My car. It gets me to work every day.

Biggest fear?
I don’t really have any fears now. I did when I was young though. I remember being told by my mother that I shouldn’t go up to a particular house because there were men with coffins. It kept me indoors for a while….

Biggest thrill?
Being found after 5 days being lost at sea in the fishing boat.

What is your idea of a good night in?
Good company, a bottle of wine and a brandy nightcap

Do you have a hobby?
I am refereeing for the Inishowen League. At the moment I am taking part in the Youth Tournament in Clonmany.

Biggest disappointment?
I am pretty happy go lucky and tend to brush aside any disappointment.

Which period in history would you most like to have lived through?
It seems a bit strange but the 1940’s. There wasn’t a lot to go around and everyone pulled together in an unselfish way. Maybe with the downturn in the economy, we might see it again.

World’s most useful invention?
The electric kettle. We would be lost without it for making the tea at break time.

What do you have for breakfast?
Cereal, usually Weetabix and then nothing until 10 am, than it’s time to break out the sandwiches.

Personal philosophy?
Be cautious when making big decisions.

NEWTOWNCUNNINGHAM AND MANORCUNNINGHAM EDITORIAL

The Cunningham Connection

Both Newton and Manorcunningham take their name from the Cunningham families, who were originally from Kilbirnie, Ayrshire in Scotland. In 1610 King James the first gave the orders for the plantation of Ulster and issued land rights for huge areas of land that had been confiscated from Irish owners. Ludovic Lennox, the Duke of Lennox, who was a Scottish nobleman and a relative of King James, was given 20,000 acres on condition that the land was settled by British farmers. He needed ambitious and hard working individuals and the predominant clan in his area were the Cunninghams. John Cunningham was given 1,000 acres close by and a little to the north in the lands known as Burt. He established New Town Cunningham naming it in keeping with a fashion of the time, which saw the establishment of the modern towns of Newtown Stewart and NewtownButler. The old settlement is at the lower end of the village.

James Cunningham was given 2000 acres of prime farmland in the lands of Machrimore (meaning large plain), and he was charged with tenanting his lands with loyal settlers, organising the defence of the land and establishing a manor. He took over a long abandoned castle, rebuilt it and added a wall in case of attack. A manor house was built close to the castle and local services established such as a blacksmith. This central settlement lives on as Manorcunningham, although there seems to be no trace of the original buildings. Just down the hill of Manorcunningham is the shore of the Swilly and a small tidal river where boats would have put in to land and load cargoes. Settlers had the right to fish and there were great numbers of fish in those days. The land is good farming land and produces cereals, spuds and both beef and dairy cattle.


Burt Castle Ghost Story
Burt Castle, 2.5 km from Newtoncunningham has a commanding view of the surrounding countryside, standing as it does two hundred feet above Lough Swilly. It was built in the time of Henry VIII and documents exist granting the castle and its lands to Hugh Boy O’Doherty. With Sir Cahir O’Doherty’s rebellion in 1608 the castle was captured by the English and was held as a garrison point for several years. Its air of menace may have something to do with the several bloody battles fought during its history.

There is a story told of a young girl from the neighbouring area who became pregnant. The man responsible, a kinsman of the O’Doherty, refused to marry her. That night, while the full moon shone, she paced, distraught, along the water’s edge. Several swans swam towards her, calling to her in a plaintive way. When they swam away she waded into the cold waters of Loch Swilly and drowned.

Intent on avenging his daughter’s death, her father tricked his way into the castle and crept up the turnpike staircase in the southwest tower. The man lay asleep in the vaulted mural chamber on the first floor and while he slept the girl’s father stabbed him with his long knife and threw his body from the window.

On several occasions, when the moon is full, the swans congregate at the point closest to Burt Castle and set up a cacophony of wailing. The ghostly figure of a young girl is seen drifting into the water until she gradually fades beneath the waves.
At the base of the castle walls there is a certain patch of grass that withers when the swans weep. It is said that this is the exact spot where the body of the man who wronged the innocent girl fell.

BLANKET NOOK-Wildfowl Sanctuary

Next to Newton there is a small pier for fishermen and the sea wall at Blanket Nook protects the flat drained lands and provides many acres of high quality farm land. The lake is a wildfowl sanctuary and a popular local place to walk, fish and relax. For many years this area suffered from the use of shotguns but since has been declared a wildfowl sanctuary with both numbers and varieties of species increasing. Large numbers of birds commute to and from the Nook, Greylag and White fronted geese are regular, and other species such as Shoveler, and Gadwall are frequently seen.Other species such as Scaup, Goldeneye, Great Crested grebe, Pintail and Red breasted Merganser are recorded in good numbers. Other rare birds recorded here include Slavonian Grebe, Goosander, Smew, Surf Scoter and Lesser Scaup.

St Peter’s Bark
Drivers on the N13 to Letterkenny may notice the beautiful ship shaped church as they bypass Newton. St Peter’s Bark was opened in 1999, with much of the thanks going to Father O’Doherty, who oversaw the demolition of the existing church and the construction of this original building. The ship is an ancient Christian symbol of the Church being tossed on the sea of disbelief, worldliness, and persecution but finally reaching safe harbour with its cargo of human souls. The significance for the Newton church was for the Roman Catholic faith sailing into the third millennium.

Lifestart
Newton has an active community sector including a parent and toddler group and a community playgroup. There has also been a Lifestart programme based in Newton since 1999. Lifestart is a great service open to all parents of young children (under 5), which aims empower parents to help their children reach their full potential. A family visitor will call once a month with relevant play materials for the parent and child to use and keep. The family visitor will also discuss child development issues and may provide opportunities for parents to meet up. It gives your child a great start in their education and parents find it supportive too. Lifestart visits families in Carrigans, Killea, Manorcunningham, Burt and Bridgend, as well as Newton and has recently expanded to the Buncrana area. If you would like to take part, contact Mary Walker-Callaghan on 9156644.

Did You Know?

One third of the population of Newtowncunnigham is under 14.

Newton’s population grew by over 50% between 2002 and 2006, mostly due to new commuter estates being built.

Susan Sarandon, Cyndi Lauper and Bette Middler have roots in Manorcunningham.

Newton’s railway station opened on 30th June 1883, closed for passenger traffic on 3 June 1940 and closed altogether on 10th August 1953.

During the siege of Derry, two of the apprentice boys who shut the city gates in the face of the advancing Jacobite soldiers were Cunninghams.

WISDOM OF THE WORLD - WEEK 28

Heaven and Hell

A big tough Samurai warrior once went to see a little monk. “Monk,” he said, in a voice accustomed to instant obedience, “Teach me about heaven and hell.”

“The monk looked up at this mighty warrior and replied with utter disdain, “Teach you about heaven and hell? I couldn’t teach you about anything. You’re dirty. You smell. Your blade is rusty. You are a disgrace, an embarrassment to the great tradition of the Samurai. Get out of my sight. I can’t stand you.”

The Samurai was furious. He shook, got all red in the face and was speechless with rage. He pulled out his sword and raised it above him, preparing to slay the monk.

“That’s hell,” said the monk softly.

The Samurai was overwhelmed. The compassion and surrender of this little man who had offered his life to give this teaching to show him hell! He slowly put down his sword, filled with gratitude and suddenly filled with peace.

“And that’s heaven,” said the little monk, softly.

ENTRIES FOR THE MOVILLE TIDY TOWNS GARDENING COMPETITION

Taoibh na Cille

Moville town

Hillary Donnelly

Sue Farren

Michael Davern

Francis Harkin

Mary Groaty

Michael Davern

Brian Gormley

Cathleen Doherty

Sarah Anne McLaughlin

Ard Foyle estate
Keith Craig
Brian Gormley


FOR TEXT GO TO GARDENING MATTERS