The
Dunnalong dig 2012 is up and running!
A
programme of archaeological works involving Derry City Council, the Northern
Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA), the Centre for Archaeological Fieldwork (CAF) at
Queen's University Belfast, the Centre for Maritime Archaeology (CMA) at the University of Ulster in Coleraine and
the Peace III Partnership has been devised and put in place to bring the
archaeology and communities of a small part of the north–west of Ireland closer
together, in a groundbreaking archaeological project which
will include professional archaeologists, the media and members of the wider
community.
For
the next two weeks, archaeologists will converge in grassy fields on the banks
of the Foyle in Co. Tyrone to explore a highly significant, but surprisingly poorly
known archaeological site – Dunnalong Fort or Dun na Long ('Fort of the Ships').
"Dun na Long - The Fort of the Ships"
Dunnalong
was formerly a stronghold of a sept of the O’Neill lordship. The centrepiece of this stronghold was
probably a towerhouse (such as can still be seen at nearby Burt Castle). The date of the first stronghold at the site
is not known, but in 1568, Turlough Luineach O’Neill fortified a new castle at
Dunnalong, and there are references to his hosting various luminaries of the
time in his new abode over the next few
years. Dunnalong also became a customary
landing place for Scottish ships, and, in 1569 this relationship between the
O’Neill lordship and the Scottish clans was formalised by the marriage of
Turlough and Agnes Campbell, the aunt of the then Earl of Argyll.
In
1600, an English influence was added to Dunnalong. As part of the campaign against the Gaelic
Lords, crown forces under Sir Henry Docwra sailed into the Foyle, stopping off
to occupy and fortify existing Gaelic sites along the banks as they went. In July 1600, the English reached
Dunnalong. They struck an alliance with
Airt O’Neill, successor to Turlough and left a troop of 6 companies of foot and
50 horse, under the command of Sir John
Bolles, to garrison the site.
The
English went about fortifying Dunnalong in the customary fashion of the time,
by creating great earthworks around the site of the existing Gaelic site, which were characterised by
pointed bastions. To combat the effects
of water borne diseases, the English built a brewhouse on the riverfront to
provide their troops with weak beer as an alternative to the native water. Contemporary drawings provide us with some
idea of the form and extent of the Dunnalong Fort at the height of its strength
under the English.
For
all this, the English stronghold at Dunnalong was short-lived; by 1608,
possibly as a result of the short lived rebellion of Cahir O’Doherty, it had
fallen into disrepair, with Jonas Bodley describing it as ‘more fit to be
raised than repaired’. Thereafter,
Dunnalong Fort faded into the pages of history, and today the area is comprised
of peaceful farmland on the banks of the Foyle.
