Rambling House on the Bangor Trail – Wild Nephin National Park, Co. Mayo

Added: 2026-05-09

[00:00:00][music] [music] [music] >> This week we are visiting the Wild Nephin National Park in the northwest of County Mayo for a Home to Irish Heritage Week event, a very scenic [music] rambling homes along the Bangor Trail.

[00:00:48]People came together for an afternoon of music and [music] song and to share stories of times gone by.

[00:01:01]And the seas of West Mayo, I long to see the land.

[00:01:11]The National Park is made up of over 17,000 hectares of blanket bog that we see all around us here, mountainous terrain and a large former conifer plantation that we have on the east [music] side of the National Park. It's a really unique jewel in the Irish landscape but we have so much intact bogland throughout this side of the National Park that people from all over the world are beginning to find out about us and come here and experience that landscape.

[00:01:33]Presently, we do only have a 2-km walk at the visitor center in Ballycroy and the main trails were in that former conifer plantation on [music] the east side of the park but now we're opening up to west side of the park here where people, with the help of the culture organization, can follow the forest road into [music] the Bangor Trail here. They can stay overnight in these little cottages, experience our Mayo Dark Sky Park that's gold tier dark skies that we have here in Ballycroy and they can also explore the Bangor Trail and that's an intact bog land. It's like taking a time back a step back in time [music] and experience the landscape untouched by humans beneath the pristine dark sky.

[00:02:10]Yeah, Heritage Week is so special for us at [music] the visitor center because the national park belongs to the people of Ireland. So, this gives us an >> [music] >> opportunity to give it back to the people and to celebrate who we were as the people from this areas around us here and celebrate the people that went before us. So, we kicked off last week with a dancing at the crossroads over in the Lettermacaward area [music] on the east side of the park where we had traditional homemade boxty making and we had some Irish dancing at the old crossroads that would take people on this old [music] Bangor Trail into the Erris area. And we're finishing off at the end of Heritage [music] Week here at the Rambling House experience where people coming back from the fairs of long ago would stay in little houses overnight like this and they'd enjoy the music and sing songs together before [music] making their way home to Erris.

[00:02:52]And so, we call this the Home to Erris event finishing off Heritage Week. And our our colleagues in the Wild Atlantic Way are also holding a number of dark sky events during the week [music] to celebrate our pristine dark skies and our houses connecting to the dark skies.

[00:03:08]We're the people from the land and we carry the stories of our fathers and our forefathers and foremothers particularly and we like to use these events to keep their stories alive and we're bringing the community together. It's about the ordinary people from the areas that come together, [music] celebrate our heritage and culture and bring new friends along the way and we're keeping Once upon a time these carriages were going silent and the valleys were going silent and now with the restoring them at Ceide, we're bringing life and the music is echoing into the valleys once again and song and laughter. And it's great to see the kids out playing there today in the river and whatnot and that's what it's all about, bringing people back to the land.

[00:04:02]>> This area is very much home to you because you live just outside the other side of the river. You're Sweeneys. You didn't have to go too far to get married either. You were neighbors.

[00:04:11]>> We just had to cross the river to each other and we just live down the river from here. And what was your maiden name? My maiden name was Lenihan, Mary Lenihan. Yeah. And I'm one of eight. Oh, wow. Yeah. So, a big house you were >> Big house, yeah. Four brothers and four sisters. And what happened all of them?

[00:04:28]Did they >> Yeah, they're all married. They're all married local. Yeah, they live in Yeah, Crossmolina, Westport, Bangor. They're all happy marriages. What was it like growing up here?

[00:04:39]It was good at the at the time it was good. There wouldn't be much food at that that time now. Live on fish. That's what we used to live out of the river.

[00:04:47]Yeah.

[00:04:48]That's what we used to live on for years. That was fast. And your mother probably was doing a lot of baking, your mother. Oh, yeah. They they they can cakes there all day. They're baking cakes, yeah.

[00:04:58]Yeah. What What about going to school then?

[00:05:01]Yeah, the bus used to come for a And I did the day the the day wouldn't wouldn't be going every day to school. Bad weather, we couldn't get out and have to have to walk a mile and a half out out the road to get the bus. We had to cross the river and we had the black pony. A lot of days we couldn't go to school. We might only go to school like three days in the week, kind of thing. We used to Cuz the river was high, yeah. And we used to have the black pony and then by the time we get home, sometimes the river was too high and we used to have to stay in a neighbor's house, Sweeney's house. We go to school then that morning, back to school again and we wouldn't see mom or dad or anything.

[00:05:39]It was tough enough, actually. We have a river to cross.

[00:05:43]Nothing easy, but we're always happy and we're all healthy and that, but it was tough enough with education and that. We didn't get it.

[00:05:50]We missed out on that. It it was obviously both houses that were great for neighbors calling in. There'd be always someone calling into the houses, yeah. But to this time of year and an hour, there'd be a lot of them coming in with sheep off the mountain and they'd be they'd be brought all bread to the house for the tea. Whatever was there, they'd get it.

[00:06:08]Whatever bread would be baked there, they'd get it to to to eat, yeah. And and they'd head off their own way then.

[00:06:14]They used to be cakes and buns and that and we'd be all excited cuz they used always bring us something like parcels and that. Uncles and aunts and that, they were all very good to us and that. And we'd be excited like and we were delighted as kids and that cuz they'd always have something which far us.

[00:06:31]>> party in the house.

[00:06:32]>> Oh, they would, yeah. They would There'd be plenty tea and cakes and buns and apple tarts and yes, they would, yeah.

[00:06:38]They'd call a few times like anything before they go back to England or America.

[00:06:42]They would. And what about the stations then? They were very much part Oh, the the the war, yeah. They used to have a good crack at the stations, they they they used. They used to be sing song like >> Oh, yeah, they'd be sing song. They'd all be all day >> like china dishes be out and It'd be on the Saturday. It'd be on the Saturday they did it. We didn't jump on a Sunday night.

[00:07:01]>> [laughter] >> They used to have a great crack at it in it all together for years. And would the would the priest stay as well? Would Oh, yeah, he would. He would, yeah. He would. He would be the last one to leave, maybe. He'd drink away with them, too, at that time.

[00:07:12]He used to. Yeah.

[00:07:14]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] >> It doesn't matter. One.

[00:07:40]Tony, your family is from this area.

[00:07:43]That's right. Yes, we lived in another village here called Oughterard and uh that's where I was reared and went to school in Shanavagher, just a few miles west of here.

[00:07:57]There were many famines. So, the one I'm talking about is 1822.

[00:08:03]The big famine, of course, we all know about was in 1847 and and further on.

[00:08:09]But in 1822, we had a famine also. At that time a lot of the the farms they were subdivided among sons. Like if there was four or five sons, the farm was split up. So, eventually they became uneconomic.

[00:08:25]So, but the only good thing about this was that uh during this time uh the government supported the people when they got into trouble. Uh in the 1847, they had the economic policy of laissez-faire where they let the market look after itself and that's why all the people died.

[00:08:45]But uh in in 1822 you had this you had you'd have times where if crops were bad weather was bad and crops were poor, then you would have hunger.

[00:08:58]And the particular story that I was going to tell you was about a family called Gaughan's and they lived on this side of this little river here.

[00:09:09]And they were like a lot of other people, they were down to the last meal.

[00:09:14]So, the head of the household, Frank Gaughan he went to a place maybe six, seven miles over the hills there to Fahy. It's on the coast and a ship came in there with meal.

[00:09:28]And after a day or two, he finally managed to get a sack of meal.

[00:09:33]And he had to carry it on his back all the way across the hills.

[00:09:37]>> [laughter] >> But, while he was gone, it had rained upon these hills here.

[00:09:41]Upon this upon that hill and that one there. This one is currently used. And sometimes up here high in the hills when it rains, the flood comes down very quickly. This river can become a torrent of water.

[00:09:57]Now, when he arrived with the bag of meal on his back, the river was in this condition. It was in full [music] flood.

[00:10:05]And uh his family were on this side. They were trying to encourage him and were delighted to see him. But, his wife says, "No, no, don't cross. Too dangerous."

[00:10:16]But, he thought, "I'm a great swimmer and I have experience. I can do it." [music] So, he put the bag on his back and tied it with his clothes, and he tried to swim across, but he got caught in the current, and >> [music] >> he was swept down and he was drowned.

[00:10:32]His body was found uh about 4 mi down on the next day.

[00:10:38]Now, this story is recounted in Maxwell's uh The Wild Sports of the West. hills of my home and the seas of Westmeath.

[00:10:49]I long to see the land, its whispers and its echoes. Oh, the hills of my home and the waters back in Erris. I long to see the land, the land of my parish, where the hills meet the sea and the fields are lush with meadow. I'm packing my bags, heading home on tomorrow. The The song is called The Hills of My Home.

[00:11:26]Um my dad was from over the hill there in Shanagowna and Ballycroy. And uh my mother told me a story that in about 1970 he they were in Manchester at time as a lot of the Irish were and his mother and father were in China Mandra and there's only the two of them at home and she wrote him to say come home for the turf and the hay and that time there was no phones it was just a letter.

[00:11:51]So I I thought of that then I thought about writing a song and kind of covering him coming back in the boat as well cuz B&I at the time was there and a lot of them used to come back in and there was a lot of other people on the boat with letters as well cuz that time they were coming home for the week or two or the few weeks to do turf and hay.

[00:12:07]So the song kind of covers that coming back home the connection to to home that everyone has and then the last verse covers the the dark stars at night guiding them home to his birthplace. So kind of it it fits nicely like in the connection. I suppose someday he knew he'd he'd always return home as a lot of Irish people did in the 70s they came back to to Mayo then you know after being in England. So that's really what the the song is about you know.

[00:12:35]You know there's no other place in the world that has this the dark sky and and the we'd often go down when we were doing the laming and the stars like I mean there would be people all over the world wouldn't understand the the the lights that are here in Ballycroy.

[00:12:51]So I suppose when he was driving home from getting off the boat in Dublin the idea was that the stars was guiding him all the way home back to Mayo. Oh the stars that dance at night across the dark sky floor guiding me home to my birthplace once more. Oh someday I'll return everything for the better there'll be no going back no more letters from my mother, all the hills of my own.

[00:13:34]>> [music] [music] [music] >> I was born uh a mile down down the river. And there's three three houses in that village called Tashan.

[00:14:18]And my own family, there's 10 of us, my mom and dad.

[00:14:22]And there's eight of us, four boys and four girls. So, we grew up here. We used to herd cattle and sheep up along this river here.

[00:14:30]And our neighbors was McHugh's and Sweeney's. Paddy McHugh and Paddy Sweeney and his and the family. And your mother went to school here? She went to school about 200 yards away from the house, just down the across the other side on this side of the river. There's a one-bedroom school one-bedroom school there. She started, but she didn't finish. She had to go 3 years They took away the school and cuz there wasn't enough of kids going, and she had to go across the bog to Shean school. So, she finished Shean school there about maybe about 4 to 5 miles. She had to go across the mountain there, just just in front of us there. We grew everything. The only thing me and my dad had to buy was flour and sugar and jam.

[00:15:10]And on occasion, the wee biscuits.

[00:15:13]But that was That's all we had. We grew everything, yeah, and we killed our own stuff as well.

[00:15:17]So, we salted killed a pig, and we helped ourselves to the river and what's fish?

[00:15:24]Salted as well in the barrel. Yeah, that's what everyone doing on the river.

[00:15:27]That was two most important things we were growing up was to have two barrels.

[00:15:33]Bacon.

[00:15:34]A pig and fish. All along the river was that's all the only food you had for the winter.

[00:15:41]Oh, you had your own potatoes. Yes, they were your own potatoes and Thomas was the second veg you would have.

[00:15:47]You'd be sparing them into a pit as well. What was Christmas like here?

[00:15:53]Well, Christmas would be lovely here cuz there's no we're hoping for snow and snowmen and all to to snowman to make them. It was unusual. That Christmas would be lovely and all the decorations that time would be homemade decorations.

[00:16:06]Of paper, made of paper.

[00:16:08]Like egg boxes with the strings through them and painting them and colors. That was was the And every household would have been that. And John, what's your fondest memory of growing up?

[00:16:21]I would say peace and quiet.

[00:16:25]Would have been the most peaceful of birds singing and cows mooing and sheep bleating. That would have been the most fun. I would come up here time. My father sent me up here to look at the sheep, look at the cattle. You could you you get lost for the whole day.

[00:16:41]You'd be coming down under the river.

[00:16:43]You're lying in the river here. You're lying in the stones and hear the water dashing down. That would be my most fun memory of water. I love water.

[00:16:50]I would love to live somewhere as close as that house would be. I would love to die like that.

[00:16:56]Yes, and water cuz that's the only thing that's close to a river I see. And either but mostly river.

[00:17:02]Because we grew up in the river cuz we in all my lifetimes before I left home, I had to cross the river every day. We had no bridge.

[00:17:11]I left here when I was 20. I landed in London.

[00:17:15]In the middle of London and for some shock, I never seen a two-story house, I never seen a building, buses or nothing.

[00:17:23]So, I I didn't I know I didn't feel homesick, no. I had already talked with my parents months before that. I probably had got all of it in my system. I probably had cried before I left, but no. And how long did you spend in England? 9 years. And were you able to come home to help out with the turf and the land? Yeah, come home in the summertime, help out with the turf and car, anything fixing, give money to the parents as well, yeah.

[00:17:46]Everybody did that. Everyone would help, yeah.

[00:17:49]And Christmas time was the same. Yeah, you would have a car coming home from London, you'd bring your mom and dad, they had no vehicle that time. They'd bring them out, and that was it, yeah. Everybody did the same thing. We were I was no different than anybody then all along the western seaboard here from Donegal to Kerry would have been the same. Says she, "Well, what do you think we made out of his back? But the grandest little sailor, and we christened him Jack. And it's hands and heads and oven brick bread, hands and eyes and blue butterflies, hands and backs and sailors called Jack. Well, take him away and don't delay. One your leg, two your leg, three your leg, throw your leg over me," says Johnny, says she. "Well, what do you think we made out of his belly? But the grandest little girl in, and we christened her Nelly. And it's hands and heads and oven brick bread, hands and eyes and blue butterflies, hands and backs and sailors called Jack, hands and bellies and girl in's called Nelly. Well, take him away and don't delay. One your leg, two your leg, three your leg, throw your leg over me," says Johnny, says she.

[00:19:02]"Well, what do you think we made out of his tail? But the grandest little ship boys that ever set sail. And it's hands and heads and oven brick bread, hands and eyes and blue butterflies, hands and backs and sailors called Jack, hands and bellies and gallies called Nelly, hands and tails and ships that set sail. Well, take him away and don't delay. One your leg, two your leg, three your leg, throw your leg over me, Johnny, says she.

[00:19:32]Well, what do you think we made out of his bollocks? Why the grandest old cure for all alcoholics. And it turns and heads and off and back bread, hands and eyes and blue butterflies, hands and backs and sailors called Jack, hands and bellies and gallies called Nelly, hands and tails and ships that set sail, hands and bollocks and all alcoholics.

[00:19:52]Well, take him away and don't delay. One your leg, two your leg, three your leg, throw your leg over me, Johnny, says she. She knew well.

[00:20:08]Where they all in Mallow?

[00:20:11]It gave great employment for many a year.

[00:20:17]Many friendships were formed there and were always healthy.

[00:20:24]But the big power station is no longer there. [singing] No more can we see it or the smoke in the air.

[00:20:37]It was a great landmark that reached to the sky.

[00:20:43]Oh Lord, what a sad day when we said goodbye.

[00:20:51]The musical bridge was an attraction for all.

[00:20:57]Let her up all the stone on the top of the wall.

[00:21:04]And into the park for the song and the crack. How we long for those good times and to get those days back.

[00:21:16]Oh, the big power station is no longer there.

[00:21:23]No more can we see it or the smoke in the air.

[00:21:30]It was a great landmark that reached to the sky.

[00:21:36]Oh, Lord, what a sad day when we said goodbye.

[00:21:43]I'm involved with the Bangor Erris Women's Biodiversity Group and [music] the Bangor Erris Sheep Fair. Uh uh secretary to the Sheep Fair and chairperson to the Biodiversity [music] Group. And we have connections here now today through the Ballycroy National Park and the Wildlife National Park. And um today is very special because this connection brings us back to Bangor Erris. We're only 7 and 1/2 mi away from Bangor Erris. And this trail would be very much used, especially over 200 years ago. This trail has been used for that length of time now to bring cattle home and sheep home to the fairs to sell. And also again Newport, Westport.

[00:22:21]Through the Sheep Fair, what we do now is every year we've involved in the whole community to come along and enjoy the heritage of it all and everyone comes together and brings their own certain part to it. And again, the biodiversity part is in Bangor Erris we've built a polytunnel and when you come off the trail from here, we will be holding events like this there once the groundwork is finished.

[00:22:44]I'll be coming along, we'll be doing in educational events and family events like this. So, you not only can come here, but you can also start at the Bangor trail. We did have one last year and we held a mass in the in the GA complex and blessed the well. So, um we're looking now in the next few months that things will be improving and you'll see next year hopefully we'll be having our own events there and we'll be coming up here cuz it's a beautiful walk and the biodiversity as you can see all around us untouched, unspoiled land.

[00:23:16]Your cattle couldn't get better ground.

[00:23:19]A lot of hard work, but everyone gets together as you see you have the different villages here. They all go out specific days of the years together and they all help bring in all their sheep.

[00:23:28]They gather them the various village shed and they come with their trailers and this way they put them in the trailers and if the farmer's not around they'll bring them to his door.

[00:23:38]So, it's a big community effort throughout Gwyn Teig.

[00:23:43]>> [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] [music] >> intelligence to them. And basically, they wouldn't have lasted a week on the active service units without those women supporting them and whatnot. And they never got the recognition that they deserved when independence came their way. Many of them couldn't claim their pensions because they couldn't say they were members of Cumann na mBan because if they were arrested, there was nobody to look after the family or to look after the farm when the men were on the run and whatnot. So, this is called Forgotten Heroes, and it's particularly dedicated to the women of Ireland.

[00:25:33]I am a proud old woman. I know not supposed to go, but I bake the bread and make the stew. I feed the rebels on the run.

[00:25:41]I am the tired old man. For me, too late has come the cannon's roar. While his young men rest, I'll stay and watch outside the cabin door.

[00:25:49]I am the fair young maid, and I'll march for a man to war because I'm prepared to fight and die for the cause we've risen for.

[00:25:57]I am the fearless child, the future of this nation. But right now, I have a role to play. I carry information.

[00:26:04]I am the mountain man, and I walk these hills each day. I am the eyes and ears for the rebels. I lead the way.

[00:26:11]For we are a risen people, and they will never understand how we will do all we can to free our native land.

[00:26:17]So, when the books are written about the heroes who fought and died, please won't you remember us, the heroes by their side. Good Margaret.

[00:26:27]>> [music] >> Well, we hope you enjoyed our rambling house from Wicklow Mountains National Park. And just to remind you that this popular tourist attraction hosts many events throughout the year.

[00:26:45]And certainly well worth a visit. So, until next week at the same time, Slán go fóill.

[00:26:59]>> Mhm.