The Centre lies in the foothills of Sliabh Sneacht mountain and bogs, a natural heritage area. This area is designated (EHSA), Especially High Scenic Amenity. Sliabh Sneacht lies in the heart of the Inishowen Peninsula in North Co Donegal, standing 615 metres tall, making it Inishowen’s highest peak. It is traditionally a place of pilgrimage and there is a famous holy well on top; Tobar na Suil (well of the eyes). People with eye problems would go there to drink the water from the well or rub it in their eyes, in the hope of finding a cure. (as they believed the water had miraculous properties).
Adjacent to this beautiful mountain, stands the majestic Barnan mor and Barnan beag, “The King and Queen of the Mintiaghs” (pronounced Meen-cheese) overlooking the picturesque lake in the valley below. From the top of Sliabh Sneacht, Ireland’s most northerly point, Malin Head can be clearly seen, which is only a 30 km drive away. On a clear day from the same vantage point, the north Antrim coast and indeed the Mull of Kintyre in Scotland are visible. Nestling in the shadow of Sliabh Sneacht lies the townland of Drumfries where the old school house once stood. The school was built just before the Great Irish Famine in 1838, one of the first schools to be erected in Inishowen following the abolition of the penal laws in Ireland. The school was in use for almost 160 years, closing its doors for the last time in 1997.
Approx 2 km to the west of Drumfries are to be found the ruins of the ancestral home of Thomas P (Tip) O Neill speaker of the House of Representatives in the USA, Inishowen’s most famous son. Tip O Neill’s grandmother Unice Fullerton was born here in 1850 and attended school in Drumfries. She emigrated to America around 1868 and settled in Boston, MA. In 1979 Tip O Neill travelled to Inishowen and visited the site where his ancestors had emigrated from just over 100 years previously.
