Early History
The name Ramelton derives from the Irish name "Ráth Mealtain", which means "The fort of Mealtain". Archaeological evidence has shown that in the Ramelton area there has been settlements since the early Stone Age. From the 12th century this area had been the homeland of the O'Donnell's, the ruling clan of Donegal. In the 15th Century the heir to the chieftaincy, Calvagh O'Donnell, resided in his stronghold at Rossreagh, which was on an island, now the site of the present quay. The castle was burnt down in the 1640 Irish rebellion. Today there are no visible remains of the old castle. In the early 16th century, Killydonnell Friary (right) situated above Lough Swilly, was built by Calvagh O'Donnell as a Franciscan Friary. It is suspected that there was an earlier church here, which possibly dated back to the 10th century. Other evidence of Viking settlements in this area is provided by archaeological discoveries. The Friary was closed down at the time of the Plantation. Since then it has been a burial ground for the local community.
The Plantation of Ulster
Following the Flight of the Earls in 1607, the town of Ramelton and 1000 acres were granted to Sir William Stewart, who built nearby Fort Stewart At Ramelton, Sir William immediately set about building a new castle, a church and 45 houses. The church, now in ruins, incorporated a stone from the friary at Aughnish, which was dismantled in 1662. Other stones from the friary can be found at the entrance to St Paul's Church. This grand plan of settlement had two facets – the territorial arrangement of settlers and the conditions of acceptance it prescribed for grantees. There were to be three types of owners: English and Scottish "undertakers" (so called because of the conditions they undertook to fulfil), servitors, (military officers and government officials), and Irish grantees. Each county was divided into administrative units called baronies. In these areas allocated to undertakers, it was decided that there must be no native Irish residents. Conditions stipulated that each undertaker erect within a given period a stronghold, or bawn on his estate, and import settlers at the rate of 24, 000 men per 1,000 acres.
In June 1608, Captain William Stewart was dispatched by the government to Ireland in command of 100 foot soldiers. Originally from Wigtownshire, Stewart was a soldier of fortune who had served under the kings of Sweden and Denmark before arriving in Ireland. In recognition of his military service to King James 1, he received 1,000 acres of land at Ramelton in 1610. This was part of the forfeited estates of Aodh Dubh O'Donnell. Sir William immediately set about fulfilling the conditions laid down for the establishment of a self-sufficient colony. In 1611 he had built a bawn of lime and stone, called Fort Stewart., sited on the shores of Lough Swilly. By 1619 he had built a castle and bawn and erected a village and church at "Rathmelton". The castle was burned during the rebellion of 1641, and there are no extant ruins today. Such were Sir William's achievements, that he was granted considerable estates in Donegal and Tyrone. In 1623 he was made a baronet and given the title "Sir".
In 1641 the elder branch of Sir William's descendants were ennobled with the title of Viscount Mountjoy and Earls of Blessington. The title remained in the family until 1761. The Stewart family was to remain a very influential one in Ramelton over the next 300 years. Sir William's descendants continued as landowners and entrepreneurs of industry.
In June 1608, Captain William Stewart was dispatched by the government to Ireland in command of 100 foot soldiers. Originally from Wigtownshire, Stewart was a soldier of fortune who had served under the kings of Sweden and Denmark before arriving in Ireland. In recognition of his military service to King James 1, he received 1,000 acres of land at Ramelton in 1610. This was part of the forfeited estates of Aodh Dubh O'Donnell. Sir William immediately set about fulfilling the conditions laid down for the establishment of a self-sufficient colony. In 1611 he had built a bawn of lime and stone, called Fort Stewart., sited on the shores of Lough Swilly. By 1619 he had built a castle and bawn and erected a village and church at "Rathmelton". The castle was burned during the rebellion of 1641, and there are no extant ruins today. Such were Sir William's achievements, that he was granted considerable estates in Donegal and Tyrone. In 1623 he was made a baronet and given the title "Sir".
In 1641 the elder branch of Sir William's descendants were ennobled with the title of Viscount Mountjoy and Earls of Blessington. The title remained in the family until 1761. The Stewart family was to remain a very influential one in Ramelton over the next 300 years. Sir William's descendants continued as landowners and entrepreneurs of industry.
18th and 19th Centuries
Ramelton’s ‘golden age’ was undoubtedly the 18th and early 19th centuries, the Georgian era which gave it its most attractive and distinctive buildings. This was a very prosperous time for some of the leading families of the town, such as the Watts and the Stewarts, and ships regularly traded between Ramelton, New York and Kingstown, Jamaica. Flax was grown locally for the then thriving linen industry, centred on the Tanyard, a structure and site which can still be seen near the bridge at the west end of the Mall. Ramelton rivalled its neighbour Letterkenny as Donegal's most important town, but lost its competitive edge when the railways came - and the line stopped at Letterkenny. Nicknamed the 'Holy City', Ramelton once had seven churches. To this day, there remains a rich legacy of church architecture.
Nurse Catherine Black writes about her childhood in Ramelton in the late 1800’s
From her book ‘King’s Nurse, Beggar’s Nurse’
My father, a fairly prosperous linen draper, and a Calvinist of the narrowest and strictest type, looked on all worldly distractions as sinful. . . Our shop was one of the joys of my childhood. It’s gaily coloured shawls, bales of shining silks, boxes of ribbon and ‘fancy wear’ offered endless possibilities of entertainment,…. “The personal element figured largely in all Ramelton transactions and business was done in a leisurely fashion, for no one dreamt of buying as much as a reel of cotton without a lengthy conversation on topics of local interest, and if there was any extensive shopping to be done the greater part of the day was taken up by it. “Most of the small farmers from outlying villages and their wives would only drive into Ramelton once or twice in the year, generally to take the pigs to market … an important occasion necessitating the presence of the entire family from the old grandmother to the youngest child. After the deal had been satisfactorily concluded they would all come crowding into our shop to spend the proceeds on dress-lengths, suits for the children, shawls, in fact all the dry goods they would need for twelve month or more. “According to time honoured custom there would always be a halt in the buying in the middle of the day when they would all sit down to dinner with us.
On market day we would have ten or a dozen families squeezed into our dining-room, and overflowing into the kitchen, and mother would be careful to lay in an enormous stock of puddings and pies. “Dinner over, everyone would return to the fray with new zest, for neither customers nor my father would have felt they had done their duty by each other unless every single item had been brought out and thoroughly inspected. “The spring and autumn fairs were our great social occasions, for then the entire country side would turn out in gigs and jaunting cars, and there were stalls all round the market-place laden with tempting arrays of pipes, tobacco, and hair-oil for the men, shawls and scarves for the women, and toffee-apples and cakes covered with multi-coloured ‘hundreds and thousands’ for the children. “Lined up in a long row on the pavement were the girls who were waiting to be hired for service or farm work, wild-looking little creatures, rather like young colts with their thick manes of hair falling over lovely Irish eyes. Many of them had come from remote villages on the hill-side and could not speak a word of English.
There was something barbaric about them as they stood there bare-legged and bare-headed in their short skirts with a wisp of a shawl flung over their shoulders, so that one was reminded of a slave-market. “The rough-looking farmers went round among them, appraising with shrewd eyes healthy skins and strong young muscles. They would make a careful choice ask the girl a few questions, and then out of the nondescript crowd of old crones hovering somewhere in the background, a figure would detach itself, the mother. She would do the haggling for a wage of six or eight pounds a year, discuss the details of the work while her daughter stood silently by, like a heifer being sold. “Then, when everything was decided, the girl would shoulder a small bundle that contained all her worldly possessions and follow her new master. I used to wonder sometimes that the mothers were not afraid to trust their children to such rough and uncouth men, but I do not believe that any harm ever came of it, so great was the reverence of innocence and purity in Donegal.
On market day we would have ten or a dozen families squeezed into our dining-room, and overflowing into the kitchen, and mother would be careful to lay in an enormous stock of puddings and pies. “Dinner over, everyone would return to the fray with new zest, for neither customers nor my father would have felt they had done their duty by each other unless every single item had been brought out and thoroughly inspected. “The spring and autumn fairs were our great social occasions, for then the entire country side would turn out in gigs and jaunting cars, and there were stalls all round the market-place laden with tempting arrays of pipes, tobacco, and hair-oil for the men, shawls and scarves for the women, and toffee-apples and cakes covered with multi-coloured ‘hundreds and thousands’ for the children. “Lined up in a long row on the pavement were the girls who were waiting to be hired for service or farm work, wild-looking little creatures, rather like young colts with their thick manes of hair falling over lovely Irish eyes. Many of them had come from remote villages on the hill-side and could not speak a word of English.
There was something barbaric about them as they stood there bare-legged and bare-headed in their short skirts with a wisp of a shawl flung over their shoulders, so that one was reminded of a slave-market. “The rough-looking farmers went round among them, appraising with shrewd eyes healthy skins and strong young muscles. They would make a careful choice ask the girl a few questions, and then out of the nondescript crowd of old crones hovering somewhere in the background, a figure would detach itself, the mother. She would do the haggling for a wage of six or eight pounds a year, discuss the details of the work while her daughter stood silently by, like a heifer being sold. “Then, when everything was decided, the girl would shoulder a small bundle that contained all her worldly possessions and follow her new master. I used to wonder sometimes that the mothers were not afraid to trust their children to such rough and uncouth men, but I do not believe that any harm ever came of it, so great was the reverence of innocence and purity in Donegal.
Ramelton Today
The Ramelton of today has largely retained its compact character and few towns in Ireland can match its charming townscape, Georgian architectural style and friendly residents. The picturesque tree-lined Mall gives Ramelton a distinctive quality, quite unlike many small Irish towns that characteristically turn their backs to a river, and the majestic 18th century warehouses provide a spectacular backdrop for one of the most photographed views in Ireland.
As the southern gateway to the spectacular Fanad peninsula, Ramelton is designated as an Irish 'Heritage Town' and one of the main tourist destinations in the NorthWest of Ireland. Visitors of all ages and from all over the world are annually drawn to this unique town which combines a unique blend of old and new, reminders of a bygone era mingling easily with the bustling town of today.
As the southern gateway to the spectacular Fanad peninsula, Ramelton is designated as an Irish 'Heritage Town' and one of the main tourist destinations in the NorthWest of Ireland. Visitors of all ages and from all over the world are annually drawn to this unique town which combines a unique blend of old and new, reminders of a bygone era mingling easily with the bustling town of today.
