Gortahork
Encyclopedia
Gort an Choirce or Gort a' Choirce (anglicized as Gortahork) is a village and townland
in the northwest of County Donegal
, Ireland
. It is a lively Gaeltacht
community, where the Irish language
is still the main language of the area. Along with Falcarragh
, it forms part of the district known as Cloughaneely
.
division, or Tullaghobegley East in the Protestant division.
, some four miles offshore from Gort a' Choirce, was the first person to have been killed in the 1916 Easter Rising
. McGee, who was a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary
(RIC), was shot on duty while in Castlebellingham
, County Louth
. He was brought home to be buried in Gortahork, where an RIC tombstone now lies over his grave.
In 2006 Coláiste Uladh (the Ulster College) celebrated its centenary. Among those who attended the College were Pádraig Pearse, Joseph Mary Plunkett
and Roger Casement
– three members of the 1916 Rising.
Gortahork is mentioned in the opening lines of the popular Christy Moore
song Lisdoonvarna.
Residents include:
Townland
A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...
in the northwest of County Donegal
County Donegal
County Donegal is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal. Donegal County Council is the local authority for the county...
, Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
. It is a lively Gaeltacht
Gaeltacht
is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...
community, where the Irish language
Irish language
Irish , also known as Irish Gaelic, is a Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family, originating in Ireland and historically spoken by the Irish people. Irish is now spoken as a first language by a minority of Irish people, as well as being a second language of a larger proportion of...
is still the main language of the area. Along with Falcarragh
Falcarragh
An Fál Carrach , sometimes called Na Crois Bhealaí is a small Gaeltacht town and townland in northwest County Donegal, Ireland. The settlement is in the old parish of Cloughaneely.-Etymology:...
, it forms part of the district known as Cloughaneely
Cloughaneely
Cloughaneely is a district in the west of County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. This is a mainly coastal area centred on the town of Falcarragh, and it is a Gaeltacht area, meaning the Irish language is spoken as the primary language...
.
Name
The official name of the townland is Gort an Choirce (anglicised to Gortahork). It's known as the Parish of Críost Rí (Christ the King) in the CatholicCatholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
division, or Tullaghobegley East in the Protestant division.
History
It is claimed that a Charlie McGee, from InishbofinInishbofin, Donegal
Inishbofin is an island off the coast of Machaire Rabhartaigh , County Donegal, Ireland. It is a 120-hectare land mass long known as a fishing and farming village, a place where generations of inhabitants have spoken Irish. The current population numbers about 36...
, some four miles offshore from Gort a' Choirce, was the first person to have been killed in the 1916 Easter Rising
Easter Rising
The Easter Rising was an insurrection staged in Ireland during Easter Week, 1916. The Rising was mounted by Irish republicans with the aims of ending British rule in Ireland and establishing the Irish Republic at a time when the British Empire was heavily engaged in the First World War...
. McGee, who was a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary
Royal Irish Constabulary
The armed Royal Irish Constabulary was Ireland's major police force for most of the nineteenth and the early twentieth centuries. A separate civic police force, the unarmed Dublin Metropolitan Police controlled the capital, and the cities of Derry and Belfast, originally with their own police...
(RIC), was shot on duty while in Castlebellingham
Castlebellingham
Castlebellingham is a village and townland in County Louth, Ireland. The village has got a lot quieter since the construction of the new M1 motorway which bypasses the village...
, County Louth
County Louth
County Louth is a county of Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Louth. Louth County Council is the local authority for the county...
. He was brought home to be buried in Gortahork, where an RIC tombstone now lies over his grave.
In 2006 Coláiste Uladh (the Ulster College) celebrated its centenary. Among those who attended the College were Pádraig Pearse, Joseph Mary Plunkett
Joseph Mary Plunkett
Joseph Mary Plunkett was an Irish nationalist, poet, journalist, and a leader of the 1916 Easter Rising.-Background:...
and Roger Casement
Roger Casement
Roger David Casement —Sir Roger Casement CMG between 1911 and shortly before his execution for treason, when he was stripped of his British honours—was an Irish patriot, poet, revolutionary, and nationalist....
– three members of the 1916 Rising.
Arts
Gort a' Choirce has been home to the Guth Gafa Documentary Film Festival since 2006. The festival runs in May, and in its first year screened 30 films from 15 different countries.Gortahork is mentioned in the opening lines of the popular Christy Moore
Christy Moore
Christopher Andrew "Christy" Moore is a popular Irish folk singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He is well known as one of the founding members of Planxty and Moving Hearts...
song Lisdoonvarna.
People
Natives include:- Cathal Ó SearcaighCathal Ó SearcaighCathal Ó Searcaigh is an Irish poet who writes in the Irish language .Ó Searcaigh was born in Gort a' Choirce, a town in the Gaeltacht region of Donegal, and lives at the foot of Mount Errigal...
, poet - Micí Mac GabhannMicí Mac GabhannMicí Mac Gabhann was a seanchaí and memoirist from the County Donegal Gaeltacht. His posthumously published memoir Rotha Mór an tSaoil was dictated to his folklorist son-in law Seán Ó hEochaidh and translated into English by Valentin Iremonger as The Hard Road to Klondike...
, author of Irish language book Rotha Mór an tSaoil - Breandán Mac Cnáimhs, translator and RTÉ newsreader
Residents include:
- Gerry AdamsGerry AdamsGerry Adams is an Irish republican politician and Teachta Dála for the constituency of Louth. From 1983 to 1992 and from 1997 to 2011, he was an abstentionist Westminster Member of Parliament for Belfast West. He is the president of Sinn Féin, the second largest political party in Northern...
, President of Sinn Féin