New heritage trail launched in Dromineer

A signposted heritage trail has been launched in Dromineer to inform visitors about the rich history of the popular lakeside village.

Dromineer has been a favourite resort of anglers, bathers and boatmen for generations. In the nineteenth century - and especially before the coming of the railway to Nenagh in 1863 - it was in a real sense the port of northwest Tipperary. Dromineer was the transit point for much of the commercial traffic for the area, including the canal barge traffic.

Dromineer and District Development Association recently decided to promote the key sights of the village with a signed heritage trail. Launched during National Heritage Week as part of a talk in the village by local historian Danny Grace, the trail of around 2km takes visitors down by the waterfront to the building known as the Canal Store. Built by the Grand Canal Company in the early 1850s, the Canal Store was at the heart of commerce in the area as various craft carrying both passengers and goods called into Dromineer.

Moving across the shorefront, the trail includes the old timber clubhouse that was built by Nenagh Boat Club, first established in 1883. In 1894 the pier that still stands on the shoreline in front of the clubhouse was constructed to provide safe mooring for boats and it was improved in subsequent years.

The club relocated to its current premises further out at Illaunagore in 1988. Over the years it has expanded to provide berthing for 130 boats together with a modern clubhouse.

OLDEST BUILDINGS

The oldest building in the village would appear to be the ruined church, which is thought to predate the iconic castle. Hidden from the view of most visitors and surrounded by the well-kept village graveyard, the large stone blocks used to build the church have suggested to some observers to date from as early as the tenth century. There is local tradition that the church was begun but never finished by monks from Holy Island.

Whatever the truth of this, it was extensively remodelled in the twelfth century in Celtic Romanesque style. Like other churches in the area, its use was denied to the Roman Catholic population as a result of the Reformation but, the heritage sign informs us, there were too few Protestants in the locality to maintain it, so the church gradually fell into ruin.

Dromineer Castle dates to the thirteenth or fourteenth century, when it was built by the Norman followers of Theobald Butler. Originally a two-storey hall-keep, it was remodelled into a four-storey tower house in the fifteenth or sixteenth century.

The castle sustained its first and only recorded siege during the Cromwellian Wars in 1650. However, it appears to have fallen into disuse in the late seventeenth century. Its outer walls stand defiantly as a reminder of the longevity with which such buildings were constructed centuries ago; locals say their solid appearance has not changed over recent decades.

OLDEST BUSINESS

Opening shortly after the Famine and originally run by the Gaynor family, The Whiskey Still bar/restaurant is the oldest business in Dromineer. The Gaynors sold it to Patrick Griffin of Nenagh, who in turn sold the premises to Michael Grace, a native of the locality.

The Whiskey Still was known popularly as ‘Houghsie’s’, the nickname of the Grace family who ran it for three generations. It has been owned by Joe and Rita Ryan since 2005.

A sign at the cross informs visitors about another landmark building in Dromineer, Neddy’s Cottage. Traditionally thatched, the cottage was home to generations of Hogans, one of several famous local families of fishermen who served as gillies to visitors. The last of them, Neddy Hogan, resided in the cottage in the 1970s.

Tradition relates that it was built in a single day, though this story might in fact be related to another house in the area that was constructed by locals for an evicted tenant during the nineteenth century.

Also in this vicinity is the former Dromineer Bay Hotel premises, which was originally home of the Canal Company’s agent before a conversion to a hotel catering for angling visitors in 1885. It is hoped that a new development plan for this site will come to fruition in the near future. The Lough Derg House and Lake Café, run by Declan Collison, occupy the tastefully converted stables of the old hotel.

Opposite Neddy’s Cottage on the other side of the cross is Otway Lodge, originally a private house, which was used as a police barracks by the RIC from 1905 until independence in 1922, when it was burned down by Republicans. Rebuilt in 1927, it has since operated as a guesthouse.

YACHT CLUB

The trail also brings the visitor beyond the hotel site to Lough Derg Yacht Club. Founded in 1835 on the other side of Dromineer at Kilteelagh, the yacht club’s members were originally landed families. LDYC moved to its present location in 1922, extending its activities to both sailing and fishing members. Today, LDYC is a vibrant, modern and welcoming club with international class facilities and membership drawn from the locality as well as nationally and internationally.