Sea stacks in Donegal

josey_whale

Some of you may have read the democrat about Iain Miller and Donegal sea stacks... if not... Link

It's also covered over on the outdoor pursuits thread

Good to see something positive and interesting being reported from Donegal.

JW

Durnish

I am confused. I thought I had read mountaineering instructions for all those Port stacks from a group in Coleraine. Need a boat to get onto Tormore. Maybe Millar was in that group. Must check this out.

I have walked the Port /Glenlough scramble several times. Last time, some of the group tried to scope out Tormore. It was a bit scary and that's why I looked it up.

Dr. Fell

My people were from Port and for him to claim that he was the first person to climb the Port stacks is at best ill informed. It smacks a bit of British imperial attitudes re-the "discovery" of places and animals.
In times past locals climbed these stacks harvesting birds eggs. In the 1800's, one man, William Boyle fell ill whilst climbing Tór More and died there of hunger. He is buried there still.
Also, every one of the hundreds of rocks, Tórs, Stacks and builleogs (submerged rocks) in the area is named, and for these climbers to start giving new appellations is again rather insulting given the rich heritage of the area. If they need the services of a local guide one could be easily found.
And, though lying north of the valley of Glencolmcille, Port is as much a part of the parish of Glencolmcille as Malin More or Straboy. Glencolmcille stretches as far north of Port as Gull Island and as far south as The Point in Teelin.
These communities, though disparate, have a shared culture, history and identity.