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Ballydonegan Sweathouse

This is a fine example of a rare monument. The sweathouse was an early form of Turkish Bath and was used like a sauna or steam room to cure fevers and muscle pains. They were used in Ireland in the 18th Century but may have origins as early as the 7th Cenutury. Ballydonegan sweathouse is situated on the Clougherna Burn at the foot of Mullaghash mountain.

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Tandragee Fort

Tandragee Fort is a well-preserved example of a rath or ringed fort. The fort is situated on high ground overlooking the Altcatten Glen between the village of Feeny and Fincairn crossroads. There is an excellent view of the Sperrin Mountains from the fort, which also overlooks the ruins of an old flax mill. The earthen bank is enclosed with hawthorn, blackthorn, gorse and trees forming a ‘fairy ring’.

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St. Mary’s Banagher

Founded in 1965 the Gaelic Athletics Club gets its name from the 2 previous clubs in the parish St. Marys Park and St. Josephs Banagher. Gaelic games are an important source of local pride and have a long association with Irish culture.

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Drumcovitt House

Taking its name from the townland, Drumcovitt House stands in mature grounds with impressive views of the surrounding landscape. The house was built between 1780-1799, as a four-storey farmhouse on land owned by the Fishmongers. During the Plantation of Ulster (17th Century) Banagher Parish was divided between the Fishmongers’ and the Skinners’ Companies of London. In 1796 the rounded end Georgian front was added to the house. The house is private, however, the barns have been converted into self-catering accommodation.

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Aughlish Stone Circles

Stone circles are the most mystical of all the prehistoric monuments in Ireland. They are almost exclusively concentrated in two main clusters, in the Sperrins in the North and Cork-Kerry in the South. This particular site is an excellent example of this type of monument containing as it does no less than five stone circles and five stone alignments. Excavations have dated it to the late Neolithic-early Bronze Age period.

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Carnanbane Court Tomb

This court or horned cairn dates to the early Neolithic period. The tomb although much disturbed over the years provides an example of this type of site incorporating a roofless ‘court’ marked by upright stones at the entrance area. The court faces NE and is described as consisting of two chambers in the gallery and a court at the north end. Of the 390 known court tombs in Ireland almost all of these occur exclusively in the northern half of the island.

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Bovevagh Old Church

Located to the west of the village of Burnfoot, Bovevagh Old Church, graveyard and tomb date from medieval times. The name Bovevagh is derived from Both Meave meaning the church of Maeve. The tomb or mortuary at the site is though to contain the remains of St. Ringan.

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Dungiven Priory

This Augustinian Priory was founded by the O’Cahan Clan in 1100AD and occupies a scenic site above the River Roe. The chancel contains the ornate 15th Century tomb of Cooey-na-gall, a local O’Cahan chieftain, who died in 1385. It is considered one of the grandest tombs of its kind in Northern Ireland.

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Dungiven Castle

The castle built in 1839, is located on the site of the ancestral home of the O’Cahan Clan who ruled the Dungiven area from the 12th to the 17th century. A bawn or fortified house was built by the Skinner’s Company in the early 17th century but was mostly destroyed by fire.

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Banagher Old Church

An impressive ruin, Banagher Old Church is thought it date from the later 11th or early 12th Century, it is thought that the date 474 carved on the west door was done in the 18th Century. In the grounds is the tomb or mortuary house of St. Muireach O’Heaney. Legend has it that a stag led St. Muireach to the spot where he founded the church.

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Tannyranny Church (Ruins)

On the slopes of Benbradagh lie the ruins of a chapel dating from the Penal Times. The name Tannyranny very accurately describes the landscape in which the church is situated and is derived from the Irish words Tammach meaning good pasture ground surrounded by rough grazing and Rannai meaning a ridge on a slope.

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Gortnamoyagh Inauguration Stone

Situated in Gortnamoyagh Forest, this unusual monument is linked to legends of Gaelic Chieftains and rulers. It is believed the stone was used up until the 16th Century as part of an inauguration ceremony. It consists of two footprints and small circular hollows forming a cruciform shape carved in a basalt outcrop, there are various legends associated with its creation.

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Errigal Glen Church and Souterrain

This important early Christian site is believed to have been founded by Saint Adamnan or Adhamhnan in the 7th Century. Adamnan held the position of Abbot of Iona after Saint Colmcille and he wrote a biography of the saint. The site now consists of the ruined remains of a medieval parish church in a walled graveyard. The souterrain adjacent to the church was excavated in 1935 revealing a number of chambers, passages and objects.

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King’s Fort

Nestled on a terrace just below the summit of Donald’s Hill and overlooking the small hamlet of Drumsurn lies the substantial remains of King’s Fort. There is very little known about the history of this impressive rath, however, it is sited in a very defensive and prominent location suggesting that it was inhabited by important people during the period of history when Ireland was a warrior led civilisation.