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In this assignment, I will discuss the Parish of Saint Colmcille in County Longford. I will investigate the historical, geographical, and scientific aspects of this Parish. I will use photographic evidence, various images, and many written sources and websites to prove the information I will have gathered throughout, I will discuss in detail each factor.

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This is a very historical parish with many interesting sites such as a dolmen, a monastery and much more. I will explain the uses of the lake in the past, why the monastery was positioned on an island, etc. For the historical section of this assignment, I will discuss the monastery and some mythical stories that are associated with the island.

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For the Geographical section of this study, I will investigate the natural environment. I will discuss how it was used for transport in the past and how this may be affected if it was still used for transport today due to the pollution of the water. I will investigate the area of the island, how big it is, the flora and fauna that grow on the island, etc. I will discuss the lake itself and where it extends to. I will discuss the uses for the lake for instance leisure uses for humans and the various organisms that live in the lake.

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For the scientific study of this assignment, I will discuss the pollution of this very important area and what people in this generation use the lake for now. I will discuss the effects the pollution will have on the environment, how to protect the wildlife surrounding Lough Gowna for instance ducks, swans, trees, and various plants. I will compare the environmental awareness from past to present day, I will show the interest and care given to flora and fauna in the past and the lack of care and protection towards it in our generation today.

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Saint Colmcille was born in Garthan County Donegal in the sixth century, but he lived on the island Inchmore for a period of his life. He built a monastery on this Island. This monastery had a bell, an account was made by a child from duchas.ie which describes the story behind the bell.

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Mythical story of the bell on the monastery

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Mythical story of the bell on the monastery

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This monastery has always been recognized for a bell that was on the island. It is said that the bell was magical. Once the bell was stolen but it came back the very next day by itself ringing in the air. Once again, the bell was stolen from the monastery and again it came back ringing in the air, the bell was put back in the monastery again. The third time it was stolen it came back ringing again. Finally, it was decided that the bell had to be buried on the island and it was left there for nearly a hundred years until it was brought to St Colmcille’s new church. This bell was used for a long time until a new bell was bought, the old one is still in the church. (Mc Gee, 1956)

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Some locals in my Parish have confirmed that this bell is boarded up in Saint Colmcille’s church, there is evidence of this as in the celling of the church there is a hole where a rope used to be to ring the bell for mass. (Mc Nearny, 2021) Now the bell is boarded up it is said the sound of its ring is not as strong. According to Sister Maeve Brady, the bell was placed in the lake and was not buried due to Vikings trying to steal it. She also mentioned that the bell was only found in the last seventy/ sixty years ago. (Brady, 2021) This can be authenticated as it was reported in this article that the monastery was raided by the Vikings in 804, it was said that the island was burned and looted. ("Lough Gowna", n.d.)

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Many years later the old monastery in the village of Abbeylara was the primary house of their order Inchmore monastery was governed by the Abbot of the primary house, along with four other monasteries.

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According to a source on the website dúchas.ie Peggy Brady explained that there was a floating flag on the lake to allow people to commute to mass. The bell from the monastery was still on the island and after the monks died the bell was taken and as seen above it was put into Colmcille church. (Brady, 1938) this indicates the means of transportation from the past and why it was necessary for the people of Colmcille to travel on the lake. Many people are buried on the island, the people who would bury the bodies crossed over with the bodies to bury them on the island.

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Strand integrating this topic into a classroom 

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Strand integrating this topic into a classroom 

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This assignment could be incorporated into a classroom due to its clear connection to the curriculum. This could connect to the strands of history i.e., local studies, story, early people and ancient societies, and continuity and change over time.

For local studies, the stand units that this study would go under are games and pastimes in the past. I discussed the floating flag and how the people around the area commuted to mass. The next strand unit buildings, sites, or ruins in my locality connects to the assignment and therefore could be incorporated into a classroom due to the ruins on the island. Finally, my locality through the ages I have shown the various changes to the locality and how this has changed even from today. For the strand story, the assignment covers stories from the lives of people in the past and myths and legends for instance, of the magical bell. Next for early people and ancient societies, this study would cover Early Christian Ireland and Vikings, there is a section that discusses the island being raided by Vikings in the past. Finally, the continuity and change over time, which go under food and farming, transport, and communication. This will connect due to the floating flag that was used to transport people to mass, and also boats for nowadays.

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Throughout this section of the assignment, I will show the flora and fauna present at the lake, I will also discuss the leisure activities that occur for humans and finally, I will discover modes of transport in the past and the present.

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A study of the lake describes the lake as having a “coarse fish angling lake”, it also mentioned the lake is stocked with brown trout. This has drawn a lot of attraction to “British, European and local anglers, it was also the venue for the All-Ireland Coarse Angling Competition.” The vast number of trout has encouraged a huge number of competitors in the past. I have never witnessed these competitions, but from what I know there is still a gun club where ducks are shot, many club members go out in boats on the lake, there are other events that take place such as swimming, “swimming lesson, water skiing, and powerboat racing.” (Brady, 1996)

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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There is a lack of care for this very important place from what I have seen on my many visits to Lough Gowna. This is quite shocking as it would be expected due to the story behind the island, the island itself, and the lake, it should be perceived as a great habitat for many living organisms but is used very frequently as a leisure area for humans.

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Lough Gowna can be found on the border between Longford and Cavan, most of the lake can be found in Longford. Both North-western and south-western portions of the lake are connected by a narrow channel at Dernaferst this is a townland on the western Longford shore of the lake, but this is in County Cavan. ("Lough Gowna", n.d.)

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As explained above there was a flag on the lake where people commuted so that they could attend mass, but now the lake is used a lot for leisure activities instead of religious activities. I mentioned above a gun club that shoots on the lake, also there is a wood that the lake connects to. This wood is called Derrycassan woods it is a walking area for people. This section of the lake is in the parish of Mullinalaghta Country Longford. The lake is “surrounded by peat bog, with areas of planted woodlands along the southern shores of the lake in former demesnes in the townlands of Derrycassan and Culray” in the northern and eastern shores.

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This geographical area can be incorporated into a classroom due to its connection with lakes, transport, environmental awareness, etc. More specifically, the strands that this study covered are the human environment, natural environment, and environmental awareness and care.

The strand unit i.e., the human environment connects to the people living and working in the local area. It is clear from the study I have mentioned the different clubs and the activities that occur on and around the lake. The next strand units from the natural environment that this assignment connects to is the local natural environment and land, rivers, and seas of Ireland. The study is all about a lake called Lough Gowna and I focus a lot on the organisms living in the lake, the depth of the lake, and where the lake extends to. Finally, the strand units under environmental awareness and care that are part of this study are environmental awareness and caring for the environment. This again goes under the heading of pollution and antisocial behaviour around the lake which can lead to animals and organisms being harmed.

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In this section of my investigation, I will discover the flora and the fauna of the area. I will explore the area showing the pollution through photos and videos, I will also discuss the behavior of humans in the area. I will compare this to the past, I will explain the behavior of the people long ago and compare it to today’s behavior.

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From my knowledge after visiting Lough Gowna and the monastery, I have noticed many swans and ducks at the lake. Also, a local source mentioned on the island there is many sheep, snipe, rabbits, curlews, and otters. It was also said that some foxes swim over to the lake in search of rabbits and other animals to prey on. This was a member of the gun club, he commented on a means of transport long ago which was called a floating flag as mentioned by Peggy Brady from dúchas.ie. This was used for cattle and horses when he was younger. They were transported to the island on the float (Brady, 2021)

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It is clear from many of the sources I have investigated from the website dúchas.ie that there was a care and understanding of the natural environment around them. When comparing their explanations of the environment around the lake and even on the island with my perception, there seems to have been a drastic change to the environment. This has been caused by the pollution of this lake, and anti-social behaviour in the area. I have seen a lot of waste such as cardboard boxes, plastic and glass bottles, plastic bags, etc. It is not just dangerous for organisms at the lake but also for humans the fact that water sports are becoming increasingly more common is causing lots of problems for swimmers.

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There is evidence of this found by a study which was completed by R.J. Ussher, who discussed the large grassy island, which rose into a hill, a large colony of Terns had eggs. It was also mentioned in this article that there were “cattle grazing on the island”, Grebes, Gulls, Turfed Ducks which were known to have visited in winter and finally the red-breasted merganser this is one of the most common ducks in larger lakes. (Ussher, 1893) It is clear from reading this pdf and comparing it to today’s source James Brady that there seems to be a huge decline in some of these birds and animals.

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The island is used frequently as a visiting spot for many people they can explore the ruins of the island unfortunately the island has no tour guides with further information. As mentioned in an article explaining information about the island there are easy access points at areas like Dernaferst, Lisanny, Dring, Cloone, Aghanoran, and Corfree. The woods that the lake is connected to is another site people can visit or even use as a picnic site.

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From March to May and towards the end of the year from September to November the pike population increases most. Pike is produced all year round, but fishing can be affected by conditions such as the temperature of the water, and weather conditions in general. The lake itself is described as quite shallow, its depths averaging between 2-8 meters. In the southern part of the lake near Dring, the depths are up to 15 meters.

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This part of the study connects to the strands, living things, environmental awareness, and care. These are aspects like flora and fauna, humans, pollution, etc.

The strand units covered by living things are human life, and plant and animal life. It is clear from looking into water sports and the clubs that occur around the lake. Also, by asking the people I interviewed I discovered the animals and plants that surround both the island and the land around the lake. Next, for environmental awareness and care, it is clear from strand units that environmental awareness, science, and the environment and finally caring for the environment. It is evident throughout this investigation that the pollution of the lake is the focus of this strand.

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In this assignment I discussed many of the aspects of Lough Gowna, these aspects entailed information on a scientific, historical, and geographical basis. I had the opportunity to learn more about this very interesting area through many different mediums including dúchas.ie, through videos, through images, and talking to local people about the area. I also learned a lot from visiting the area itself and seeing the flora and fauna both around and on the lake, I have found evidence on the upkeep of Lough Gowna and how anti-social behavior has led to so much pollution. I have also investigated accounts of children from the past and I discovered myths of the island itself, one of these myths mentioned above is the magical bell. I also discussed the location of the lake and how much of the lake is found in County Longford and the rest is found in Cavan. I discussed some of the leisure activities that humans use the lake for, and some of the water activities. I learned that there was a floating flag on the lake that was used for people commuting to the island for mass. The monks of Abbeylara were the primary house of the order and the Abbot was over Inchmore. (Aerial, 2018)

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I discovered that different versions describe what happened to the bell from the monastery of Inchmore, it is said that Vikings tried to steal the bell, and then it was put into the lake, it is also said that thieves stole the bell and then it came back ringing in the air by itself. I explained that the bell is stored away in Saint Colmcille’s church according to a local source (Mc Nearny, 2021) and (Mc Gee, 1956). I have investigated Lough Gowna, throughout this investigation I have read various sources from Logainm, I have heard sources from people who knew about stories associated with the Lake. I also discussed the depth of the lake its deepest points and general depth.

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Aerial, A. (2018). Island in Lough Gowna Longford Ireland [Video]. Dring; YouTube.

Brady, A. (1996). A water quality study of Lough Gowna [Ebook] (p. 1). IT Sligo. Retrieved 1 December 2021, from https://research.thea.ie/handle/20.500.12065/1522.

Brady, S. (2021). Colmcille's monastery [In person]. Colmcille.

Lough Gowna. Longford.ie. Retrieved 2 December 2021, from https://www.longford.ie/en/visit/water/lough-gowna/.

Mc Gee, P. (2021). The Magic Bell. Longford Ireland.

Ussher, R. (1893). The Birds of the Midland Lakes and Bogs, Chiefly as Observed in the Breeding-Season (Concluded) [Ebook] (pp. 216, 262, 264, 270, 271). Irish Naturalists' Journal Ltd. Retrieved 2 December 2021, from https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/25520492.pdf?refreqid=excelsior%3A250c5e73ebe6ff7c34316a8d25f298f5.