Kilbarron Castle & Church Conservation Group

23/12/2025

Wishing everyone a very Happy Christmas and New Year. Thank you for all your support in 2025 and hoping for your continued support in 2026.

28/08/2025

Applications are now open for our National Heritage Week Awards 2025!

Each year, these awards celebrate the most inspiring events and projects from – recognising the communities and organisations who bring our heritage to life and inspire future generations to cherish it.

Do you know a project or event that deserves recognition? Submit your application today!

Closing date is Tuesday 9th September
Learn more about the award categories and how to nominate here: https://www.heritageweek.ie/awards

23/08/2025

Wonderful article from our sibling Kilbarron group in Tipperary, the Kilbarron and Terryglass Historical Society.

This from the Nenagh Guardian:

Local group visits the other Kilbarron parish and church in Donegal

20/08/2025

Thank you all to those attended our Heritage Week event on Sunday last at Creevy NS.

Someone left this cardigan behind.

If it’s yours or you know who then email to us [email protected] to let us know how we can get this back to you.

19/08/2025

Some pictures from our Heritage Week event last Sunday afternoon in Creevy Primary School. There was a great interest in our three speakers; Frank McHugh on Genealogy, Ursula Schloer on foraging for wild plants and herbs with a taster afterwards of smoothies and pesto. Fergus Cleary gave a talk on the history of Kilbarron Castle and after some refreshments, some of the group went off to see the runs of Kilbarron castle and erect a sign from the Heritage Council indicating that they are funding the soon to start conservation of part of the curtain wall of the castle.

16/08/2025

A good week for our group to tend to the church site. Using traditional methods to clear the grass, by taking away the cuttings helps promote wild flowers.

Come to hear about our work at our Heritage Week event.

11/08/2025

Our group have successfully completed the conservation work on Kilbarron Church. There is still a need for new signage which we hope to complete in 2026. However, now the focus of the Kilbarron Castle & Church Conservation Group moves in 2025 to the forthcoming work on a section the Curtain wall of the castle. We have been fortunate in getting a grant offer from the Heritage Council and we hope to begin work soon....

Our group have successfully completed the conservation work on Kilbarron Church. There is still a need for new signage which we hope to complete in 2026. However, now the focus of the Kilbarron Castle & Church Conservation Group moves in 2025 to the forthcoming work on a section the Curtain wall of....

11/08/2025

Short video clip showing some foraging tips by Ursula Schloer who will be giving a talk on foraging at the Kilbarron Castle & Church Heritage Week event on Sunday 17th August in the Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Primary School in Creevy situated some two miles from Ballyshannon on the Rossnowlagh road.
It begins at 2-30pm and is free of charge.

I take you with me on a wild herb foraging tour in the north east of Ireland. Wild edible plants can be gathered in Ireland all year around. I often use the ...

10/08/2025

Popular programmes like ‘Who do you think you are’ has awakened peoples’ interest in their ancestry. For Irish people there is one big problem and that is that there are no census records before 1901. Most blame the explosion in the Public Records office of the Four Courts building in Dublin at the beginning of the Civil War in 1922 but this only destroyed the 1851 census records (which were being retained so that the government could check if people claiming old age pensions were being honest about their age!) Mind you other valuable records going back to Norman times were also lost in that fire and subsequent explosion.
All the census records for the 1821, 1831, 1841, 1861, 1871,1881 and 1891 were pulped to turn into fresh paper during the First World War. There are fragments of some of these census records whic can be seen at National Archives: Census of Ireland 1901/1911
The Kilbarron Castle & Church Conservation Group have invited genealogist Frank McHugh to give a talk about where people can find information about their ancestors using free online resources and give advice on other possible avenues to aid their research.
The event takes place on Sunday 17th August in the Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Primary School at Creevy about two miles outside Ballyshannon on the road to Rossnowlagh. The event starts at 2.30 pm and is free of charge with tea, coffee and refreshments afterwards.

04/08/2025

Did you know that you can eat the leaves of the Dandelion! This commonly found plant seen growing on the verges of roads and laneways has traditionally had a bad press. As children we were told that the dandelion flower stem sap if touched would make you p*e in bed and we made sure that we kept well away! Strangely, later we could attempt to tell the time by blowing the Dandelion seeds from the stem without any nocturnal danger!
The Dandelion plant is entirely edible, the roots can be used to make a coffee (more on that later). The leaves, stalks and even flowers (though they are less tasty) can be used to make a delicious fresh salad. Dandelion leaves taste slightly bitter (similar to arugula or rocket), and are best cultivated March – June.
This and other information on what wild plants are edible and what you can make with them will be demonstrated by Ursula Schloer at the Kilbarron Castle & Church Conservation Group Heritage week event on Sunday 17th August at the Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Primary School at Creevy, some two miles from Ballyshannon on the road to Rossnowlagh. Starts at 2.30pm and all events are free of charge.

30/07/2025

Our Heritage Week event will take place on Sunday 17th August starting at 2.30pm in the Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Primary School in Creevy situated between Ballyshannon and Rossnowlagh.
We will have a talk by Genealogist Frank McHugh who will give tips on researching family roots. Ursula Schloer will give a talk and demonstration on foraging for eatable wild herbs and plants found in the hedgerows and laneways.
In addition there will be a talk on the history of Kilbarron castle and if weather permits a visit to the site of the castle to see the proposed conservation work(soon to begin) on the curtain wall of the castle.
Afterwards refreshments and a chat -all events free of charge. Hope you can attendit should be a very interesting afternoon!!