Ards Forest Park
Encyclopedia
History and Location
The forest parkForest Park
-Towns and villages:*Forest Park, Ontario, Canada*Forest Park, Georgia, USA*Forest Park, Illinois, USA*Forest Park, Ohio, Hamilton county, Ohio, USA*Forest Park, Ottawa County, Ohio, USA*Forest Park, Oklahoma, USA...
is situated on the small Ards Peninsula
Peninsula
A peninsula is a piece of land that is bordered by water on three sides but connected to mainland. In many Germanic and Celtic languages and also in Baltic, Slavic and Hungarian, peninsulas are called "half-islands"....
. It sits on the shores of Sheephaven Bay
Sheephaven Bay
Sheephaven Bay is a broad, shallow inlet on the north coast of County Donegal, Ireland. Bounded by the peninsulae of Rosguill, to the east and Horn Head to the west, the bay is relatively protected from the full force of the Atlantic Ocean, and has supported a vibrant herring fleet.-Etymology:The...
on the northern coastline of County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
, part of the Province of Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
in Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
. It's to be found on the N56 road
N56 road (Ireland)
The N56 road is a national secondary road in Ireland that runs from Donegal town to Letterkenny. As originally designated, it included the section of the N13 between Stranorlar and Letterkenny, forming a circular route including parts of the N15....
, between Creeslough
Creeslough
Creeslough is a village in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. It lies 12 km south of Dunfanaghy on the N56 road, 54 m above sea level and overlooking an arm of Sheephaven Bay...
and Dunfanaghy
Dunfanaghy
Dunfanaghy is a small village, formerly a fishing port and commercial centre, in County Donegal, Ireland....
. Ards Forest Park was formerly part of the Ards Estate, a country estate purchased by Alexander Stewart
Alexander Stewart (1746–1831)
Alexander Stewart was an Irish landowner and Member of Parliament.He was the son of Alexander Stewart of Mount Stewart by his wife Mary, sister and heiress of Robert Cowan of Bombay...
in the 1780s. The Ards Estate, centered on Ards House (demolished in the early 1960s), was owned by the Stewart family up until the early 1930s. The last member of the Stewart family to own the estate was Lady Ena Stewart-Bam, who inherited from her grandfather around 1904. She was the wife of Lt. Col. Sir Pieter C. van B. Stewart-Bam, Kt.
Knight Bachelor
The rank of Knight Bachelor is a part of the British honours system. It is the most basic rank of a man who has been knighted by the monarch but not as a member of one of the organised Orders of Chivalry...
, O.B.E.
Order of the British Empire
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is an order of chivalry established on 4 June 1917 by George V of the United Kingdom. The Order comprises five classes in civil and military divisions...
, a South African soldier, politician and businessman whom she married in 1910. Today, the forest park is 481 hectares in area and contains a range of wildlife and plant forms. It also has nature walks, sandy beaches, viewing points as well as a picnic and play area. The forest park is now owned by Coillte, a State body.
Sights within the park
Ards Forest Park has many features of historical and archaeological interest. The remains of four ringforts and a number of megalithic tombs are to be seen in the park. Legend has it that these were the beds of Diarmuid and Gráinne in their flight from Fionn Mac CumhaillFionn mac Cumhaill
Fionn mac Cumhaill , known in English as Finn McCool, was a mythical hunter-warrior of Irish mythology, occurring also in the mythologies of Scotland and the Isle of Man...
. There is also a well called the Ague Well, which is alleged to be holy and have remedial powers; it can be seen on Bealach na hArdaigh walk. On the same walk there is a mass rock
Mass rock
A Mass rock was a stone used in mid-seventeenth century Ireland as a location for Catholic worship. Isolated locations were sought to hold religious ceremony, as observing the Catholic mass was a matter of difficulty and danger at the time as a result of both Cromwell's campaign against the Irish,...
. Mass was celebrated here in defiance of the Penal Laws. There is also a car park and a children's play area.
Just outside the forest park, at Ballymore on its northern border, is Clondehorky
Clondahorky
Clondahorky is a parish situated in Donegal, Republic of Ireland it is in the Diocese of Raphoe. Dunfanaghy is the principal town.-19th century:...
Parish Church, a fine Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
church built in the Georgian
Georgian architecture
Georgian architecture is the name given in most English-speaking countries to the set of architectural styles current between 1720 and 1840. It is eponymous for the first four British monarchs of the House of Hanover—George I of Great Britain, George II of Great Britain, George III of the United...
style in the mid-18th-century. The small parish church
Parish church
A parish church , in Christianity, is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish, the basic administrative unit of episcopal churches....
overlooks the N56 road
N56 road (Ireland)
The N56 road is a national secondary road in Ireland that runs from Donegal town to Letterkenny. As originally designated, it included the section of the N13 between Stranorlar and Letterkenny, forming a circular route including parts of the N15....
, being located between Creeslough
Creeslough
Creeslough is a village in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. It lies 12 km south of Dunfanaghy on the N56 road, 54 m above sea level and overlooking an arm of Sheephaven Bay...
and Port-na-Blagh
Portnablagh
Portnablagh is a small village in County Donegal, Ireland. Portnablagh is located on Donegal's North West coast, specifically the west side of Sheephaven Bay. It is on the N56 road....
. It may have been designed by Micheal Priestly. Directly opposite the church's main gate is Ballymore Arch, built for the Stewart family in the 19th-century to improve access from the church to Ards House, which was several miles distant at the edge of the small Ards Peninsula.