Gortahork
Irish is the everyday language here, and that’s the reason to come: the bilingual signs, the pub sessions and the Irish you overhear are not staged for visitors. Gort an Choirce – the only official name, though the anglicised Gortahork is what most people still write – is a village in the Cloughaneely district of the Donegal Gaeltacht in north-west Donegal, on the N56 near Falcarragh. Irish place names mark the road through the district, with Errigal rising to the south and Magheroarty Pier a few minutes west.
History and culture
Ring forts and underground souterrains show people have lived here since prehistoric times, but Gortahork’s sharpest link to national history sits in the local cemetery: the grave of Charlie McGee, a native of nearby Inishbofin who is widely recorded as the first person killed in the 1916 Easter Rising.
Education shaped the place. Coláiste Uladh, the Irish-medium college, marked its centenary in 2006; its early students included the 1916 leaders Pádraig Pearse, Joseph Mary Plunkett and Roger Casement. There is no secondary school in the village today – teenagers travel to Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair in Derrybeg or Pobalscoil Chloich Cheannfhaola in Falcarragh – but two primary gaelscoileanna keep the language going from the ground up. The village has turned out writers, too: the poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh and the memoirist Micí Mac Gabhann were both natives.
The coast and the beaches
The coast does the heavy lifting. Machaire Rabhartaigh and the long, dune-backed strand at Magheroarty are exposed Atlantic beaches, and the steady wind and swell make them a known spot for windsurfers and kiteboarders. Exposed is the word: this is not a flat, sheltered family beach, and on a big day the water is for people who know what they’re doing. Check conditions locally before you go in.
Teach Bhillie is a social centre of the village, and traditional music sessions are part of the local scene; ask locally about what’s on. Otherwise Gortahork is small enough to walk end to end, along lanes where every sign is in Irish first.
The ferry to Tory Island
If you do one thing here, take the ferry to Tory Island, a remote inhabited island off the Donegal coast. The Tory ferry leaves from Magheroarty Pier just west of the village and serves the island year-round when weather permits. Tory has a 6th-century round tower, the unusual Tau Cross, cliff walks and its own long-running school of naïve painters.
One honest warning: the pier is tidal, so the timetable follows the water rather than the clock, and sailings can be moved or cancelled at short notice in bad weather. Don’t build a tight day around it. Check the operator’s timetable, fare and return sailing before leaving, and confirm the boat is running before you travel to the pier.
Getting there
Gortahork is on the N56, part of the Wild Atlantic Way. Letterkenny is to the east, Dungloe to the south-west, and Falcarragh only 3 km up the road to the north-east. TFI Local Link lists route 966 between Falcarragh and Dungloe. Check the stops and your return when planning the leg to the pier or village, as schedules vary.
Food and a bed
The Óstán Loch Altan is a hotel in the village, and Teach Bhillie is a pub. There is also a Centra for the basics. Opening times and menus change, so check ahead, and look for signed parking near the pier rather than leaving a car where it blocks the road.
Nearby
Glenveagh National Park is a short drive inland, with its castle gardens and red deer – see more on National Parks. North towards Falcarragh and Dunfanaghy you pass the Bridge of Tears (Droichead na nDeor), where emigrants leaving for America once said goodbye to the families who could walk no further: a plain stone bridge with one of the more affecting stories on this coast.