DONEGORE MOTTE
THE LEGEND OF TEMPLEPATRICK
DONEGORE HILL, DUNADRY
TEMPLEPATRICK
Donegore Motte, or ‘moat’, is one of the most prominent features in the landscape of County Antrim. Often considered an Anglo-Norman motte or castle mound, its origins may in fact date back to a much earlier ancient burial mound, built around 5000 years ago.
Templepatrick takes its name from the Irish ‘The Stone Church of Patrick’. Legend has it that while St Patrick was engaged in his mission to Ireland, in the 5th century AD, he came to this area and baptised converts in an ancient holy well. He then founded a church in the centre of the graveyard, where the mausoleum stands, inside the grounds of what is now Castle Upton.
The meaning of the name ‘Donegore’ is unclear: it may be Irish for ‘the sharp fronted fort’ or ‘the fort of goats’ or intriguingly ‘the bloody fort’. The ‘bloody’ name comes from a belief that people suffering from plague were driven there to die to prevent the disease from spreading throughout the country.
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In the last century, blasting was carried out for a new limestone quarry. Within a few days the quarry was flooded and all the equipment destroyed! Some would say that the ‘wee folk’ were angry at these strangers for desecrating the Chapel of St Patrick.
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