You'll never miss the Well until...by Hugh Doherty

Inspired by Joe McCormick's story, The Importance of Water, in "Them Were The Days"(page 61), I reflected on recent holidays spent in two World Heritage Cities.

Dubrovnik in Croatia is situated on the Adriatic sea. Upon entering the old city by the Western gate the visitor may be surprised to see everyone going to the fountain to drink water. They go to "Big Onifrio's Fountain" (pictured above left).
This Fountain was built by Onifrio in 1432 to serve the city with spring water which has flowed continuously ever since. The water comes from 12 km away in a mountain above the city and flows from spouts out of the mouths of the original 16 masks around the fountain. Visitors drink from the water spouts , some even wash their faces and fill bottles of water for later use. After drinking water many people sit around and relax at the base of the fountain- a truly unique and symbolic occasion.

The City of Chester in England was the other location. Its red sandstone Cathedral dates back to St. Anslem (1092). In the Cloisters of the Cathedral there is a powerful sculpture (pictured above right), "The Water of Life", by Stephen Broadbent. The inscription on the monument reads, "Inner Well Always Springing". The Anglican Cathedral welcomes visitors from all persuasions and invites those seeking peacefulness and calm to visit the Water Garden in the Cloisters. Apart from the water feature the garden itself is beautifully designed with lots of interesting flowers and plants. It is well worth a visit and as the French would say; "il est un endroit tranquill"- it is a peaceful place.

I can recommend both cities as really good destinations for an enjoyable holiday break.

The devil's back bone ! by Hugh Doherty

How often have you heard the remark; "As sharp as the devil's back bone"?
Well, you can see how sharp it really is in the picture above.

The "Devil's Back Bone" is the name of the peak to the right of centre in this picture of the Oughterlin hills and its peak is just as sharp as it looks. In wintertime it was always first to have a coating of snow making it look even more menacing. Don't ask me how it got its name because I just don't know even though it was always in my sight as I walked through the fields to Lurganboyce national school every day .

If you would like to go for a walk in the Oughterlin Hills take the road from Kerrykeel towards Rathmullan taking right at a Y junction at the top of a bray after Kerrykeel. Then the road climbs steadily for about 2km and after it flattens out for about 1km, take a road to the right that has been made up to the Windmills. This roadway will take you right up to Cruck-an-Aifreann (Mass Hill) which lies just behind the trees in left of picture. If you are energetic you can climb up to the "Standing man" on Cruck-an-Aifreann which marks an Ordnance survey "triangulation point" and then you can look around and marvel at such a beautiful landscape.

The photo was taken as darkness fell on Saturday evening 15th October 2011.

Limelight on Slieve Snaght (Sneachta) by Hugh Doherty

The mountain in the distance is aptly named Slieve Snaght (Snow Mountain) and is 615 metres in height. It is situated north of Buncrana on the Inishowen Peninsula. At the first hint of Winter there will be a 'pepper dusting' of snow on its peak. When the peak is completely white capped, then shortly after that, the lowland areas can expect a snowfall (no need for any other kind of weather forecasters!).

Apart from being very pleasing to the eye, Slieve Snaght is in the 'Limelight' for a very historic reason. In August 1825, during the course of the Ordnance Survey of Ireland the surveyors were already in place on the top of Divis Mountain Belfast and were attempting to sight a 'survey pole' which had been erected on Slieve Snaght. This was part of their 'Triangulation of Mountains'; Knocklayd in County Antrim, Divis Mountain and Slieve Snaght. They succeeded in making the 40 miles connection with Knocklayd but typically they were confronted with 'haze and fogginess' and were unable to locate Slieve Snaght.

Lieutenant Thomas Drummand, a Scottish inventor and mathematician, was dispatched to Inishowen. He was aware that the burning of Calcium Oxide could be observed over long distances. He had camped for almost three months at over 2000 feet on Slieve Snaght and the mountain was by now covered in snow. On the night of 9th November 1825 he put his theory into practise and his 'Limelight' successfully made the 66 miles connection with the surveyors on Divis Mountain much to the relief of Lt Col Thomas Colby the Survey director. This enabled the Surveyors to proceed with triangulation of the rest of Ireland. They moved on to Slieve Donard in the Mournes, from where they could see the Wicklow hills and to Slieve League(Liag), in South West Donegal which they described as the wildest headland in the British Isles.

Limelight (also known as 'Drummond's light') went on to be used in the lighting of stages for Plays and thus the word 'Limelight' entered the English language and remains in use to this day. Someone in the public eye is still said to be "in the Limelight".
So, when you next find yourself basking in 'the limelight' just spare a thought for the determination and resolve of Thomas Drummand and his colleagues on that night in November 1825.

The Ordnance Surveyors endured great hardship on the mountains of Ireland but their perseverance has left us with a wealth of documented information, much of which would, otherwise, have been lost.

When I took this picture in mid September 2011, an ominous looking cloud was heading for Slieve Snaght and it resulted in a 'twister' in the Clonmany area.