Magheragallan Byre Dwelling

Where is it from?

Magheragallan Byre Dwelling came to the Ulster Folk Museum in 1975 from the shoreline of Gweedore, north-west Co. Donegal. 

The house lay in a sheltered area on the low lying coastal plain, partly shielded by the rocky shoreline of Gweedore Bay and its several islands. However, the house wasn’t fully protected from the strong gales blowing in from the mighty Atlantic Ocean. Note its thatched roof held down by rope – a necessary feature to keep the roof from blowing away or getting picked by birds for their nests. 

Why is it special?

The byre dwelling was identified for preservation by geographer Dr Desmond McCourt. In recommending it for purchase by the Ulster Folk Museum, R. A. Gailey wrote: 

“It represents a house type widespread in west Ulster in former centuries, but surviving nowhere sufficiently complete for removal but in west Donegal. An additional point in favour of this particular dwelling is its original association with seasonal occupation only, for this would provide a building in the museum connected with transhumance practices. Lastly, it is representative of arguably the most archaic house-type in western Europe, other examples surviving only in the Scottish islands.”

What is it like inside?

At one end of the house is a hearth for a turf fire. At the other end are simple stalls for two or three cattle. This type of house is known as a byre dwelling because it housed both people and animals in its single room. In the evening, the cattle could be brought indoors – often cows with young calves – and the comforting presence of cattle helped to keep the room warm. The floor of the byre was flagged except for the place where the animals rested upon straw bedding. This area has a smooth earthen surface. A drain separates the living area from the byre.

The modest living conditions reflect those in many such houses in northwest Ireland in the early 1900s. Originally built as seasonal dwellings, the layout of Magheragallan Byre Dwelling is identical to permanently occupied byre dwellings formerly widespread in west Donegal.

Who lived there?

The house belonged to the Ferry family. Their principal home was a farm in Sheskinbeg, four miles inland from Magheragallan. They used the Magheragallan Byre Dwelling during the summer months when they brought their livestock down to the graze the land. They were native Irish speakers, as were their neighbours. In 1900 the majority of the older generation in Gweedore spoke only Irish while the younger generation was bilingual in both Irish and English.  

For a time, the Magheragallan house was used as a seaside holiday home by members of the Ferry family but eventually the house was left vacant, and the land was sold to a local buyer before it was ultimately moved, stone by stone, to the Ulster Folk Museum. 

Life at Magheragallan 

A few strips of arable land were farmed. Potatoes, oats, and rye were the main crops, and some poultry was kept. Eggs were kept both for home use and for sale to shopkeepers and to travelling egg merchants. Land was unenclosed, so the everyday chore of herding livestock was mostly left to young children and farm dogs.

The house was used during the summer months when livestock was brought down from inland farms to the common grazing land on the coastal plain. Many local families did this each year from 4th June to 4th July. The change of grass was thought to be necessary in combatting a cattle disease known as ‘the cruppan’. This seasonal movement of animals to this common or marginal land is known as ‘booleying’. The light fertile sandy soil of the coastal plain provided healthy, fresh pasture for the mountain cattle and sheep. 

Over time this seasonal pattern of use declined. It became uneconomical as during the 1940s and 1950s high rates of emigration from Gweedore meant that labour was not readily available for maintaining farmland in two places.