By Paddy Walsh

EN route from Frosses graveyard the members of the Donegal Historical Society passed by the familiar green pump at the top of Mountcharles village where a true son of the soil, Seumas McManus once – and indeed a lot more than once – regaled locals with the folklore of old.

At least some of those on the historical field outing would have heard at first hand those tales – gathering around the age old structure as the author and seanchai pumped out the anecdotes to his wide eyed audience back in the first half of the 20th century.

And on a recent Sunday afternoon, the chronicles of past times are still being relayed to a present day gathering from another local author and historian Helen Meehan, who brought her extensive knowledge, as she invariably does on these occasions, to the historically minded.

Faces at the Donegal Historical Society Field Day.

The starting point on the outing was St. Mary’s Church in Frosses where Society President, Joe Gatins, introduced – while admitting that she didn’t need any introduction – their guide for the day.

“In the last 23 years, Helen has had an article published in every single edition of the Donegal Annual and has also written three or four books on the local parish,” the President related.

And standing by the gated graveyard wall, the other side of which lay the remains of Seumas McManus and his spouse Ethna Carbery – another renowned author and poet – Helen started the tour by reflecting on the origins of the name Frosses.

“People think what does the word Frosses mean? Well, it has several meanings, one of them is streams and there are several streams going around the outskirts of the village here.

“It is also called the showery place.”

And on an afternoon when the clouds threatened a deluge – without ultimately carrying out the full extent of that threat and parting later to allow some warm sunshine – the guide was draped in rain gear just in case.

Had it arrived, it would not actually have fallen on Frosses as, Helen revealed, the electoral register did not feature a townland by that name.

Historian and author Helen Meehan pictured with the President of the Donegal Historical Society during the recent field trip.

She went on to highlight the arrival of Christianity to the area in the time of Colmcille and pointed to the vicinity where the first Mass Rock was erected in the 1770’s. ”It was the only place of worship here until 1808.”

The tour and talk continued inside St. Mary’s Church where she referred to the work in the early 1800’s that brought the chapel into existence before the gathering wound its way from Frosses to Christchurch at the southern end of Mountcharles – the place of worship which, due to a drop in population in the parish, amalgamated with St. John’s Church in 1924. Here work had begun on the addition of a chancery and vestry in 1913.

Two churches laden with history and architectural presence and, in the case of Christchurch, according to the member of the Select Vestry, David Graham, who welcomed all to the building, nests of bees searching vainly for the belfry.

As the warm sun dispersed the threatening clouds, it was appropriate that the final leg of the field day took the patrons to the pier at Salthill where Helen, against the backdrop of one of the pearls of the Wild Atlantic Way, reflected on the salt trade that had once played out there and the shipment of the acclaimed Drumkeelan stone.

Afterwards, for many in the party, it was across the road to enjoy some tasty food and coffee at the Salthill Cabin and a tour of the spectacular animal and bird enclosures.

For some, too, there was a stop off on route home at the village landmark – not quite all hands to the pump – and memories emerging of Seumas McManus enthralling those gathered around him with those stories of old.

The Mountcharles native died on October 23, 1960, when, during his time in the United States, at the age of 92, he fell from the seventh floor window of a nursing home in New York – his remains brought back to his beloved home village in May of the following year.

And now the tradition of passing on the learnings of a lifetime rest in the capable hands and knowledgeable mind of Helen Meehan.

Another successful and educational field day in the annals of the Donegal Historical Society.

Christchurch in Mountcharles.