Drummenny Lower
Drummenny Lower is a townland in the civil parish of Donegal, barony of Tirhugh, Co. Donegal.
Parcel 1341426
- Area
- 185,288 m² (18.53 ha, 45.79 acres)
- Buildings
- 3 buildings touch it. Their footprint covers 456 m².
- Zoning
- No zone of a development plan covers it in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply.
- Townland
- Drummenny Lower
Planning applications on this parcel
No planning application touches this parcel in the national file, which goes back to 2010.
Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.
Designated sites
- Special Area of Conservation: Lough Eske and Ardnamona Wood SAC 000163
Recorded monuments around it
This parcel is in the zone of notification of 1 recorded monument.
- DG094-023 Megalithic tomb - court tomb
Description
The tomb is described as it was in 1994, when the plan published here was made. Since then it has been excavated before a road construction project. After the excavation the structural stones were removed to storage and the site of the tomb was buried under the new road. The monument, not shown on any edition of the OS 6-inch map, first came to notice in 1993. It lay c. 1.5km E of Donegal town and c. 30m N of the Drummenny River, a tributary of the River Eske, which reaches the sea just W of the town. It stood at the foot of a drumlin-like hill in heavy, wettish land. This hill severely curtailed the outlook northward from the site, and a similar hill, c. 100m to the S and beyond the river, restricted the outlook in that direction. There were limited views to the NE and SW along the river valley. In 1994 the tomb was represented by a ruined gallery, 5.5m long, aligned NNE-SSW, with the scant remains of a court at its northern end. The surface of an ill-defined area around the structure, c. 20m N-S by 10m E-W, was quite stony, with small stones, some of quartz, visible at the surface. These stones seemed to be the remains of a cairn. However, it was not amenable to accurate survey. Bushes and scrub recently cleared from the environs of the site lay in scattered heaps closeby. A tree had been left standing at the S end of the gallery. The gallery was represented by two transversely set jambs at the N, behind the eastern of which were three sidestones, and the top of what appeared to be another sidestone was just visible 3.5m beyond the western jamb. The western side of the gallery was all but buried. The two jambs stood 0.55m apart. Only the top of the western one was exposed, and it appeared as if it may have been damaged. It rose only a few centimetres above ground level. The eastern jamb, a flat-topped stone, rose c. 0.2m above the top of the western one. The northernmost of the three sidestones at the E was 0.15m lower than the adjacent jamb and measured 0.4m in exposed height at its outer face. The second sidestone, a large one, was 0.65m high at its outer face. This stone had a more or less straight inner face and an outwardly bevelled top well suited to carrying corbels. The third sidestone was skewed from the line of the second, and their junction marked a waisting of the gallery, possibly indicating a point of segmentation. This flat-topped stone was 0.4m high at its outer face. None of the three sidestones just referred to rose more than 0.3m above ground level at its inner face. The orthostat at the W side of the gallery rose only a few centimetres above the ground. It stood opposite and 2.35m from the middle one of the three sidestones at the E. The court was represented by two stones to the W and one to the E. The tops only of the former two stones were exposed and are shown in pecked outline on the plan. Beside the eastern entrance jamb was a tall, northward-leaning, gable-shaped stone. This may have been twisted somewhat from its original position. It measured 1.4m long and 0.4m thick at mid-height and, if upright, would have stood 1.55m high. The juxtaposition of the entrance jambs and the presumed courtstones indicated a clear flattening of the court perimeter across the front of the gallery. Immediately N of the tall courtstone was a displaced stone, 1.25m by 1m by 0.45m thick, and SE of this was another, 1.25m by 1m by 0.65m thick. At these, and in front of the courtstone, there was a small heap of earth and stones, 2m across and 0.4m high, at least some of which seemed to be relatively modern in origin. Although the visible remains were scant, the presence of two transversely set jambs behind the indications of a court, along with the obvious waisting of the gallery side, indicated that the remains were those of a court tomb. Subsequent excavation confirmed this (Channing and King 1997, 124-5). Excavation revealed a full court of subcircular outline. The orthostats visible before excavation were shown to have formed the outer part of the gallery. Their counterparts at the inner end of the gallery were found to have been removed at some stage. However, the sockets in which they had stood were identified. The entire structure had stood in a kerbed cairn. A large number of artifacts were recovered at the site. Among the finds referred to by the excavators in the preliminary account cited above are two intact pots and the sherds of a third found in the court area. Several flint artifacts and traces of cremated bone also came from this part of the monument. The gallery area produced several stone artifacts including a polished stone axe, eighteen flint hollow scrapers, flint knives, and a chert bead, as well as at least four pots. There was also evidence of ironworking at the site, which it is suggested may date to the Early Christian period. Nolan 1993, 127-8; RMP 1995, 94:23; Channing and King 1997, 124-5. The above description was published in the 'Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume VI, County Donegal.' Compiled by: Eamon Cody (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). Date of upload: 22 September 2008 See linked document with details from Eamon Cody, Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume VI. County Donegal. (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002)
Architectural heritage
- Farm house, house, 1850–1890 · Regional interest
Description
Detached three-bay two-storey house, built c. 1870, having two-bay two-storey outbuilding attached to the west gable end under the same roofline. Now out of use. Pitched natural slate roof (large slates to ridge, smaller slates to eaves) with ridge tiles, projecting rendered eaves course, cast-iron rainwater goods, and three rendered chimneystacks (one to either end of former dwelling and one to the west gable end). Smooth rendered ruled-and-lined walls having smooth rendered block-and-start quoins to the corners. Square-headed window openings having stone sills, and with two-over-two pane timber sliding sash windows to the first floor opening of dwelling and one-over-one pane timber sliding sash windows at ground floor level having exposed sash boxes. Central square-headed doorway opening to former dwelling having replacement timber door and with flight of steps. Square-headed carriage-arch and square-headed doorway to attached outbuilding having battened timber doors and double-doors. Set back from road in own grounds to the east/south-east of Donegal Town. Approach avenue to house from road to the south. Two-storey outbuilding to the west, built c. 1820 and possibly a former dwelling to site, having pitched natural slate roof, coursed squared masonry with flush roughly dressed squared stone quoins to the corners, square-headed window openings with timber sliding sash windows at first floor level, and square-headed doorways at ground floor level having remains of timber fittings. Flight of stone steps (external) to the east gable end of outbuilding, giving access to square-headed doorway at first floor level having timber battened door. Single-storey outbuilding attached to the west end of outbuilding having mono-pitched corrugated-metal roof, rubble stone walls, and square-headed openings. Farmyard/yard to the front of former dwelling (south) with modern corrugated-metal hayshed to the west.
Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).
Ground and risks
- Radon
- At the centre of this parcel, about 1 in 20 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home
- Landslides
- The 1:50,000 map rates the landslide susceptibility here as moderately low, low, partly inferred.
- Terrain model
- LiDAR of the Office of Public Works, flown in 2011, at 2 m: tile OPW_1450 (ZIP).
- Flooding
- The Office of Public Works publishes its flood maps on floodinfo.ie.
Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency, and Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland, both under CC BY 4.0. LiDAR: contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland & the Office of Public Works) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.
Download this parcel as DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its neighbours and buildings, for a drawing program. GeoJSON, in WGS 84, suits a map, and KML opens in Google Earth.
Registered freehold land, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. A parcel is the land of a title, not an address. The owner's name is in the Land Registry of Tailte Éireann: a copy of the folio can be ordered on landdirect.ie, for a fee.
- Area
- 66.4 ha
- 164 acres
- Land parcels
- 27
- registered freehold, median 2,229 m² (0.22 ha, 0.55 acres)
- Zoning
- —
- not in a zoned settlement
- Planning
- 2
- applications since 2010
Land parcels
Registered freehold land, Tailte Éireann
27 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Drummenny Lower, from 32 m² to 185,288 m² (18.53 ha, 45.79 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary. 22 neighbouring parcels touch it.
Download the townland as DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its boundary, parcels and buildings, or as GeoJSON or KML.
Zoning
Development plans, national zoning
No zone of a development plan covers Drummenny Lower in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply to each application.
Source: Tailte Éireann and the Department of Housing (MyPlan), national zoning, CC BY 4.0.
Planning applications
Sites that touch the townland, newest first
24 Nov 2017Conditional
(1) ALTERATIONS TO THE FACADE OF EXISTING DWELLING HOUSE PREVIOUSLY GRANTED UNDER PLANNING PERMISSION 04/868 AND (2) EXISTING DOMESTIC GARAGE AS ERECTED AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS
Retention · Donegal County Council, 1751776
7 Feb 2017Conditional
EXTENSIONS AND ALTERATIONS TO AN EXISTING TWO STOREY (DORMER STYLE) DWELLING HOUSE TO PROVIDE FOR A TWO STOREY EXTENSION TO THE REAR TO PROVIDE AN ADDITIONAL BEDROOM AT FIRST FLOOR LEVEL AND GROUND FLOOR LIVING ACCOMMODATION, AND THE CONSTRUCTION OF A DETACHED PITCHED ROOF SINGLE STOREY GARAGE, TO INCLUDE ALL ALTERATIONS TO THE EXISTING DRAINAGE NETWORKS AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS
Permission · Donegal County Council, 1750157
Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.
Nature and heritage
Designated sites and recorded monuments
Designated sites
- Special Area of Conservation: Lough Eske and Ardnamona Wood SAC 000163
Recorded monuments
- DG094-024 Habitation site
Description
Excavation Number 97E0356c. This site was revealed during the stripping of the topsoil for the Donegal Bypass. Initial assessment of the site revealed a possible hearth and areas of burning. Three main cuttings were opened. The site had been severely disturbed by tree roots, making the identification of archaeological features difficult. However, a linear feature, identified as a shallow ditch, ran in a north-west to south-east direction across the southern portion of the site. This feature was 1m wide and had a total length of 6.2m, with a depth of 0.55m. The fill of the ditch was completely sterile, with the exception of a piece of timber 0.6m long and supported at either end by a stone and a piece of wood, placed deliberately underneath the timber. To the east and west of the ditch was a series of stake-holes and small pits, 21 in all, possibly representing the remains of windbreaks, or a light wooden covering over a portion of the ditch. Several areas of charcoal were obvious to the immediate south-east of the ditch, and a small pit was revealed under one charcoal spread. Further to the north of the ditch a rough metalled surface was revealed measuring 2.2m x 2.6m. A hearth was revealed within the central area of Cutting 2, measuring 1.6m x 1.4m, consisting of a semicircle of stones, resting on a bed of charcoal and peaty soil. Three field drains were revealed in the northern section of the site running in a north-west to south-east direction and resting on the natural subsoil. It should be noted that the northern portion of the site was covered by peat before the excavation and that the whole site was extremely wet. Three phases of activity appear to be represented on the site. The earliest phase may be the large spreads of charcoal, associated with the linear feature, together with the stake-holes, pits and nearby metalled surface. These features appear to represent a possible semi-industrial or domestic activity. A second phase of activity appears to be represented by the hearth, which rests on a thin layer of peat, and the final phase appears to be the insertion of the three stone field drains. No dates have yet been ascertained for the site as radiocarbon dating is still being carried out, and no finds were recovered from the site; however, it may be possible to suggest that the differing periods of activity date from prehistoric up to post-medieval times. It is important to note that the above site is just one of over twenty, the majority prehistoric, revealed during the stripping of the topsoil for the Donegal Bypass. All of these sites are concentrated in an area of only 7km. (Excavations Bulletin 1998) Sylvia Desmond, 25 Rowan Hall, Millbrook Court, Milltown, Dublin 6.
- DG094-025 Habitation site
Description
Excavation licence number 97E0441. This site was revealed during the stripping of the topsoil for the Donegal Bypass during 1997 and had extensive areas of burning and charcoal spreads. Three cuttings, each 9m x 8m, were opened. All of the topsoil had been removed by machine, revealing three main features on the site. Feature 1 was a rectangular feature, 1.65m north-south by 2.5m. It was delimited for the most part by a band of burnt, red subsoil 0.1m wide and 0.05m deep, with a high concentration of carbonised wood at the eastern end. It appears that the pieces of wood were laid down deliberately in an overlapping manner. Patches of burnt, red soil and high concentrations of charcoal, together with carbonised wood, constituted the fill of this feature. The red soil appears to be the natural subsoil, burnt red by the intense heat. A piece of unburned chert was recovered from this feature. During the initial discovery of the site fragments of bone (possibly human) and a struck flint were also recovered from this feature. Feature 2 consists of a charcoal spread, 1.8m x 2.2m, c. 3m to the south of the above feature. Patches of burnt subsoil, evidence of intense heat, were also revealed within this spread. When the spread was removed a linear feature was revealed, running north-south for 2.5m, with a width of 0.2m and a depth of 0.8m. Feature 3 was very similar, consisting of a linear cut 2.5m long and 0.5m wide and situated to the immediate south of Feature 2. Only 0.7m separated the two features. The redeposited fill of both features consisted of a grey, marl-like clay, with charcoal flecks, distributed throughout. Feature 1 appears to be the most significant on the site. The very shape and size, together with the presence of burnt, red soil and wood, when combined with the burnt bone (possibly human) and struck flint and chert suggest that it may be a possible cremation pyre, but this has yet to be confirmed. 14C dating is currently being undertaken, but it may date to the Neolithic or Early Bronze Age. Features 2 and 3 are rather enigmatic. Whether they had any connection with the possible cremation pyre is uncertain, and the absence of any finds makes it difficult to suggest a purpose or date for them. However, dates may be forthcoming from charcoal samples. Like Site 9 (No. 106 above), this site lies within an area of intense prehistoric activity, all revealed during the monitoring of the Donegal Bypass. Both of the above sites are in close proximity to a Neolithic house/structure, a fulacht fiadh, a large wetland site and Drumrat Court Tomb. Many of these sites may be interrelated in time and space, and they appear to form part of a rich and diverse archaeological landscape. (Excavations Bulletin 1997) Sylvia Desmond, 25 Rowan Hall, Millbrook Court, Milltown, Dublin 6.
Architectural heritage
- Farm house, house, 1850–1890 · Regional interest
Description
Detached three-bay two-storey house, built c. 1870, having two-bay two-storey outbuilding attached to the west gable end under the same roofline. Now out of use. Pitched natural slate roof (large slates to ridge, smaller slates to eaves) with ridge tiles, projecting rendered eaves course, cast-iron rainwater goods, and three rendered chimneystacks (one to either end of former dwelling and one to the west gable end). Smooth rendered ruled-and-lined walls having smooth rendered block-and-start quoins to the corners. Square-headed window openings having stone sills, and with two-over-two pane timber sliding sash windows to the first floor opening of dwelling and one-over-one pane timber sliding sash windows at ground floor level having exposed sash boxes. Central square-headed doorway opening to former dwelling having replacement timber door and with flight of steps. Square-headed carriage-arch and square-headed doorway to attached outbuilding having battened timber doors and double-doors. Set back from road in own grounds to the east/south-east of Donegal Town. Approach avenue to house from road to the south. Two-storey outbuilding to the west, built c. 1820 and possibly a former dwelling to site, having pitched natural slate roof, coursed squared masonry with flush roughly dressed squared stone quoins to the corners, square-headed window openings with timber sliding sash windows at first floor level, and square-headed doorways at ground floor level having remains of timber fittings. Flight of stone steps (external) to the east gable end of outbuilding, giving access to square-headed doorway at first floor level having timber battened door. Single-storey outbuilding attached to the west end of outbuilding having mono-pitched corrugated-metal roof, rubble stone walls, and square-headed openings. Farmyard/yard to the front of former dwelling (south) with modern corrugated-metal hayshed to the west.
Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).
Ground and risks
Radon, landslides, flooding
- Radon
- At the centre of the townland of Drummenny Lower, about 1 in 20 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home
- Landslides
- The 1:50,000 map rates the landslide susceptibility here as moderately low, low, partly inferred. Parts of the land are made ground.
- Terrain model
- LiDAR of the Office of Public Works, flown in 2011, at 2 m: tile OPW_1450 (ZIP).
- Flooding
- The Office of Public Works publishes its flood maps on floodinfo.ie.
Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency, and Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland, both under CC BY 4.0. LiDAR: contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland & the Office of Public Works) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.
Homes sold
Property Price Register
No address of the register names Drummenny Lower with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Donegal.
The townland
- Name
- Drummenny Lower
- Area
- 663,780 m² (66.38 ha, 164.02 acres)
- Civil parish
- Donegal, and its townlands
- Barony
- Tirhugh
- Electoral division
- Tullynaught, the unit of the census
- Census 2022
- 657 people lived in 206 households in the Tullynaught electoral division. 90% of households owned their home. 36% of homes were built since 2001. 11% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 9% were holiday homes.
- Neighbouring townlands
- Ardeskin, Brookfield, Clarcarricknagun, Drummenny Middle, Drumrat, Tully
- Placenames
- Drummenny Lower on logainm.ie, the Placenames Database of Ireland
Townlands, civil parishes, baronies and electoral divisions, National Statutory Boundaries, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. Census 2022, Small Area Population Statistics by electoral division, Central Statistics Office, CC BY 4.0. A townland is the smallest land division of Ireland, and the unit of a rural address. Old registers such as the 1901 and 1911 censuses file it under its civil parish and barony.