The Grianán of Aileach
The Grianán of Aileach is a restored stone ring-fort on the summit of Greenan Mountain, and it is the reason most people stop in Burt at all. The circular dry-stone wall stands up to 5 metres high and 4.5 metres thick, wrapping a 23-metre interior with three internal terraces reached by steps and two passages built into the wall itself. A low, lintelled passage leads through the massive wall, and inside, stone steps rise to the terraces. Look for the older earthworks outside the circular fort as you approach. From the hill the ground falls away to Lough Foyle on one side and Lough Swilly on the other, and on a clear day the views run far across the surrounding counties. If you have twenty minutes in Burt, spend them here.
The hill mattered long before the wall you see now. It appears on Ptolemy’s 2nd-century map of the world, and it served as the royal seat of the northern Uí Néill from roughly the 5th to the 12th century, the inauguration place of the kings of Aileach. The exact age of the visible stonework is debated. What is not debated is that Muirchertach Ua Briain, king of Munster, had the fort pulled down in 1101 to weaken his northern rivals, reputedly ordering each of his soldiers to carry off a stone. It was rebuilt between 1874 and 1879 by Dr Walter Bernard, a Derry historian, which is why the walls look far more complete than a nine-hundred-year-old ruin has any right to.
Legend fills in the rest. One story has the Dagda, king of the Tuatha Dé Danann, raise the fort over the grave of his son; another has St Patrick baptise the local chieftain Eoghan at a well on the slopes. Take them as the folklore they are, but they are part of why the place has held its grip for so long.
Burt Castle
Below the hillfort stand the ruins of Burt Castle, a tower house the O’Doherty clan built in the 1500s to guard the southern approach to their Inishowen lands. It rose three storeys, with two circular watchtowers and a vaulted stone chamber at the top, and it changed hands repeatedly as Gaelic Ulster gave way to English administration. Its best-known occupant was Sir Cahir O’Doherty, whose 1608 rebellion, the burning of Derry and Strabane, ended with the estate confiscated and handed to Sir Arthur Chichester.
One thing to know before you go looking: the castle sits on private farmland and there is no public access. Treat it as a landmark seen from public roads. Don’t climb in uninvited.
St Aengus’s Church
The other building worth your attention here is a modern one. St Aengus’s Church, in the village on the N13, was designed by Liam McCormick and built between 1964 and 1967, taking its circular plan and rising roofline from the Grianán of Aileach on the hill above. The National Inventory of Architectural Heritage records the church’s curved roof, ring of stained glass by Helen Moloney and altar by Imogen Stuart. It is a rare case of a new building answering an ancient one on the same skyline. Check with the parish if you want to see the interior.
Getting there and visiting
The OPW lists daylight access at Grianán of Aileach, with a council car park and no toilets. Check the OPW page for current details before you go. The terraces inside have steep steps and the stone gets slick when wet, so take care. This is an exposed hilltop, so bring a windproof layer whatever the month, and keep away from unprotected edges.
For a longer day, the Inch Wildfowl Reserve lies to the west, with wetland trails and birdwatching on Lough Swilly. If you like a ruin off the beaten track, the old Burt Distillery worked here through the 18th and 19th centuries, and its stone chimney still stands at Bohullion Lower.