Mary McAnulty

The Grey Man's Path runs from the shore to the plateau above Fair Head, though many refer to it starting at Marconi's Cottage and going on past Lough Dhu. There are lots of local stories surrounding the Grey Man's Path, one of these tells of a Mary McAnulty who lived beyond Lough Dhu above Fair Head, she always used the Grey Man's Path to come down to the shore for the purpose of collecting dulse at the base of Fair Head.

One evening, she was returning home as usual with a full bag of dulse; along the way she had regular favourite spots to stop and take a rest, one of these was at the top of the gulley.

As she rested there this evening she noticed in the twilight a figure of man approaching her with a limp, she paid no heed to him and started out on her way towards Lough Dhu where she would take another rest, the man caught up with her and walk beside her, in politeness Mary exchanged a few words with him about the weather, though she noticed his voice was different and not of the accents she was used too, she noticed too, in the falling light, that the his face was pale and expressionless below his coat hood.

She did not want to stare but could almost swear that it was grey, but paid no more heed to this only to wondered who he was and from where he had come and what ailed him. They reached Lough Dhu and as she sat to take another rest, the stranger sat beside her.

It was then that Mary noticed that his hair in the fading light looked a greenish colour and she could not resist but ask him why, he told her it was due to him having lived beneath the waters of Lough Dhu for many years, now this alarmed Mary a wee bit, for she thought he was either intoxicated or deranged, and neither did she care much for.

The stranger said he was very tired and proceeded to rest his head on Mary's dulse bag and his head half ways on her lap and he fell asleep.

Mary for a moment did not know what to do at this behaviour, bewildered she looked around as if to expect someone coming to her aid when she noticed that that the stranger had one foot in the shape of a broken horse hoof, now this put the fear into her and she squeezed her leg low enough to slip it out from below the strangers head and took off, her quiet steps turning into the thumps of a fearful run as her heart pounded and her mind waiting to be grabed from behind.

As she got a fair distance away and within sight of her home she heard a spine chilling neighing coming from Lough Dhu, then it fell silent.

Mary never came back along the Grey Man's Path at twilight again and every time she passed Lough Dhu she remembered her close encounter.

The story goes that she had encountered the devil-horse that lives in Lough Dhu and wanders along the Grey Man's Path at twilight disguised as a human, waiting to lure some unsuspecting human into the underworld of Lough Dhu. So........ you've been warned!.........especially if you've take too long to walk round to Murlough Bay and twilight falls upon you!!

After his father's death Shane crowned himself King of Ulster and demanded his father's title, Earl of Tyrone from the English, they refused and mounted a campaign to unseat him which failed. Shane was already recognised in Ireland as the Gaelic Lord in Ulster and was almost untouchable in his power base - the English needed his powerful allegiance as he was perceived as the main threat to their power in Ireland. The crown and Shane finally agreed to meet and bury their differences after the death of Brian. Shane went to the English court on January 5th 1562 and left in April, he was reputed to have got on well with the Queen and gained some favours and guarantees which would eventually led to the English crown officially, if reluctantly recognising him as the Chieftain of Tyrone. The two powers embarked on an uneasy and doomed alliance - meanwhile and behind the scenes, the Earl of Sussex who detested Shane, having been defeated twice in battle by him, had been stirring discontent and re-arranging clan allegiances against him back in Ireland. On his return Ulster was back into factional fighting and Shane forced into another campaign to re-assert his authority, during this period the English under Sussex seized their chance to once again try and unseat him. The challenge resulted in a third defeat for the Earl of Sussex at the hands of Shane and subsequently led to his resignation.

Elizabeth was becoming more pre-occupied with France than Ireland and entered into an agreement with Shane which resulted in a year or so of peaceful allegiance between the two. During this time Shane turned his sights on the MacDonnell's whom he seen as the only real threat to his power base, this campaign went on for nearly three years and saw many battles and massacres - it also led to the breakdown of any agreements between Shane and the crown. The English played the two cards, one with Sorley Boy MacDonnell and the other with Shane - it is fair to say that that the English had over many years tried everything to get rid of Shane O'Neill including attempts to poison him with gifts of wine - to which he was extremely partial, he had even been lured by the promise of a safe passage to Dublin and marriage to the sister of the Earl of Sussex whom he had met at court and was attracted too - this had been another ploy by the then Lord Deputy to capture him.

Shane sealed his own fate in turning against the English, although he had some spectacular victories such as the 'Battle of the Redcoats' his allies where declining and enemies who were once against each other where to allying against him, eventually after his defeat at the hands of the O'Donnell's in Donegal, was left very weaken and forced to make a stark decision for his own survival - to either submit to English demands or make his peace and allegiances with the Scottish McDonnell and negotiate with them for rule in Ireland. He chose the latter and returned to Ulster and the north Antrim Glens - here a banquet and meeting had been arranged by the McDonnell's to discuss and seal a new era for the two clans. He was subsequently murdered and his head sent to Dublin, there are two accounts of how this came about - one refers to his body being exhumed by English soldiers a few days after its burial and the head cut off and taken to Dublin. The other, to an agent who was under the pay of the Lord Deputy and attending the same banquet - while enjoying the drinking and merriment, he was murdered and his head taken to Dublin and displayed on a pike outside Dublin Castle, the agent is reputed to have received one thousand marks from the crown treasury for the act - given by Sir Henry Sidney.

BELFAST to ARMOY

ROPE BRIDGE to DERRY