The Mesolithic site in the Co Derry town is the oldest settlement site in Ireland, but is largely unmarked.
(L-R) Members of the Mountsandel Discovery and Heritage Group Dorothy Black, Patrick Lennon and Jennifer Sturgeon, with the riverbank across the Bann identified as a possible site for a new tourist attraction related to the ancient site.
By Mark RobinsonOpens in new window
August 30, 2026 at 6:00am BST
A heritage group in Coleraine believes that a feasibility study into the future of the oldest known settlement in Ireland could lead to it becoming Northern Ireland’s next big tourist attraction.
The Mesolithic site, which is located not far from the banks of the River Bann, was first discovered in the 1970s in a survey led by archaeologist Peter Woodman.
While they initially suspected to uncover a Neolithic site, dating back around 7,000 years, they ended up discovering what would come to be recognised as the first main settlement site on the island of Ireland, at 9,700 years old, used by nomadic groups for a large part of the year.
However, the site of historical importance remains almost completely unmarked, while the nearby – and much younger – Mountsandel Fort is visibly designated as a state care monument.
Jennifer Sturgeon, from the Mounstandel Discovery & Heritage Group (MDHG), said that as it is, most people would just see the site as a “field of weeds”.
“I think one of the sad things for us is that many local people wouldn’t be aware of the significance of this site,” she said.
“They wouldn’t know what it was unless they walked through the forest and saw the signage and the information panels.
“But one of our aims is to promote understanding and knowledge of this site.”
Ms Sturgeon, who is an accredited national Irish tour guide, added that it was “sad” that many people on tour buses around the island pass over Coleraine on their way from the Giant’s Causeway to Derry city.
“They miss all this wonderful stuff in between,” she said.
“There’s nowhere to bring them to here in Coleraine and it would be very nice to be able to have a heritage centre, an information centre, a bespoke building with all the information about the multi layers of history in this area.”
MDHG’s Patrick Lennon said the site played an important role subsequently in Celtic mythology and later in the history of early Christianity.
“Various settlements have been discovered along this particular river which were inhabited by the Vikings as a trading post, but also further on when the Normans came to Ireland – they continued to find areas in which they could settle and this was one of the areas which they settled as well,” he said.
From the 17th century onwards, the natural weir was developed into a managed site at The Cutts for fishing salmon and eels and also housed a linen factory nearby.
In 2022, Causeway Coast & Glens Borough Council took ownership of the Mesolithic field site. Since then, they have launched a development project to increase awareness and a new archaeological survey at the plot began in May of this year.
MDHG also regularly engages with local schools to improve understanding among children.
They now hope that a site across the river, benefiting from existing car parking infrastructure at Christie Park and Somerset, can be developed into a dedicated centre, if funding were to be approved for a feasibility study.
“On this side of the river, there’s a lot of housing development and it doesn’t lend itself to encouraging a lot of visitors. We don’t want to disturb people in this area either,” Mr Lennon said.
“Having an opportunity to find a means of bringing people across from the other infrastructures already there would be very beneficial.
“It would also act as a route for local people both for walking and for cycling and whether that, in the interim, might be a ferry route across or whether that would be an actual bridge footbridge, that has to be determined.
“That’s through some form of focused feasibility study, looking at the cost benefits for that and looking at the wider benefits for the community for the opportunity to develop some form of loop walk both up and down the river.”
A spokesperson for the council said that they work closely with the group and other stakeholders to provide “strategic direction on the development of the wider Mountsandel experience concept”.
“Key priorities include the improvement of natural amenity and educational opportunities for the local community and visitors,” they said.
While they added that they do not currently have plans for a dedicated hub or feasibility study, the area in question has been included in the consultation process for the Coleraine Future Town Fund as part of a UK Government programme.
“The Coleraine Future Town Fund’s programme of work to determine which community-identified projects will be supported by the Pride in Place funding is ongoing and the outcomes of this will be published in due course,” they said
The history of New York Irish corned beef and cabbage.
Why do Irish Americans love corned beef and cabbage so much?
Here’s the story behind the traditional recipe.
Chef Michael Gilligan
Aug 29, 2026
From St. Patrick\’s Day in Ireland to why the Irish Americans eat their traditional meal rather than Irish bacon.From St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland to why the Irish Americans eat their traditional meal rather than Irish bacon. Getty
Why do Irish Americans love corned beef and cabbage so much? Here’s the story behind the traditional recipe.
St. Patrick’s Day usually falls during the fasting season of Lent, when eating meat is prohibited, and everyone gives something up. On St. Patrick’s Day, a dispensation is given in Ireland to eat meat and to indulge in what was given up for Lent.
As children, we always had to give up sweets for Lent, and it was such a treat to eat candy on St. Patrick’s Day. The most affordable special dinner is cooked on that day.
It is not corned beef and cabbage, which is really an Irish-American version of the traditional bacon-and-cabbage dinner. The bacon and cabbage may be served, or it could be roast beef or Irish stew. It is really a day for family and friends to celebrate together.
Until the 1970s, pubs in Ireland were closed on this day, but now that they are open, an evening visit to the local pub is often warranted. In the pub, there will be songs, stories, and dancing. In city pubs, there is often a band, but in local country pubs, the area’s good singers perform traditional Irish songs.
As closing time approaches, the tone-deaf locals will be getting up to sing. At this point, everyone will join in, and if the weather is dry, the party will continue on the street after the pub closes.
History of corned beef and cabbage
While many North Americans associate corned beef and cabbage with Ireland, this popular St. Patrick’s Day meal has roots in America and is not traditional Irish food.
Corned beef, a salt-cured brisket, was traditionally packed and stored in barrels with coarse grains, or “corns” of salt. One of the earliest references to corned beef appears in the 12th-century Gaelic poem Aislinge Meic Conglinne, which describes it as a dainty, gluttonous indulgence. By the 17th century, salting beef had become a major industry for the Irish port cities of Cork and Dublin, where Irish beef was cured and exported to France, England, and later to America.
With most Irish beef exported, it was an expensive source of protein and unavailable to most Irish citizens. Cows, if owned at all, were raised predominantly for their dairy products, from which butter, cheese, and cream could be obtained, and were only slaughtered when they were no longer good for milking. Sheep were raised as a source of wool, and hogs and pigs were among the only livestock species raised by the peasantry for consumption.
Salt pork and bacon, therefore, became the commonly consumed meat protein of Irish tables. Fat from bacon supplemented the lack of fat in the farmhouse diet, and Sir Charles Cameron was quoted as saying that he does “not know of any country in the world where so much bacon and cabbage is eaten.” Even today, corned beef and cabbage appear infrequently in Irish pubs and restaurants, except for those in heavily tourist areas, and are much more likely to be replaced by their traditional counterpart – an Irish stew with cabbage, leeks, and a bacon joint.
After the Irish potato blight, or Great Famine, of the mid-19th century brought hundreds of Irish emigrants to the shores of America, the newly arrived Irish Americans found corned beef both more accessible and more affordable than it had been in Ireland. Both corned beef and cabbage were staples of the lower working class, and their popularity among the Irish population likely had little to do with similarities to Irish cuisine and more to do with the relatively low cost of salt-cured beef and green cabbage.
For several decades following the Irish immigration, St Patrick’s Day was celebrated with music, crafts, and revelry, but banquets, while lavish, lacked traditional Irish cuisine. However, by the 1920s, corned beef and cabbage came to have an association with Irish American cooking, although it was also used in the cooking of Eastern European Jews.
New York City corned beef and cabbage recipe
Ingredients:
One 3-pound corned beef brisket (uncooked), in brine
16 cups of cold water
2 bay leaves
2 teaspoons of black peppercorns
4 whole allspice berries
2 whole cloves
½ large head of green cabbage (about 2 pounds), cut into 8 thick wedges
8 small new potatoes (about 1¼ pounds), halved
Freshly ground black pepper
Method:
Preheat the oven to 300°F.
Place the corned beef in a colander in the sink and rinse well under cold running water.
Place the corned beef in a large Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid; add the water, bay leaves, peppercorns, allspice, and cloves. Bring to a boil, uncovered, and skim off any scum that rises to the surface. Cover and transfer the pan to the oven, and braise until very tender, about 3 hours and 45 minutes.
Transfer the corned beef to a cutting board and cover tightly with foil to keep warm. Add the cabbage and potatoes to the cooking liquid and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the vegetables are tender, about 20 minutes.
Using a slotted spoon, transfer the cabbage to a large platter. Slice the corned beef across the grain into thin slices. Lay the slices over the cabbage and surround it with the potatoes. Ladle some of the hot cooking liquid over the corned beef and season with pepper. Serve immediately with mustard or horseradish sauce.
AND FINALLY…
Seamus was about to go on his first date, so he asked his brother, the ladies’ man, for advice. “Give me some tips on how to talk to them.”
“Here’s the secret,” said his brother, “Irish girls like to talk about three things: food, family, and philosophy. If you ask a girl what she likes to eat, it shows your intentions are honorable. If you discuss philosophy, it shows you respect her intelligence.”
“Gee, thanks,” said Seamus. “Food, family, and philosophy. I can handle that.”
That night as he met the young lady, Seamus blurted out,
“Do you like cabbage?”
“Uh, no,” said the puzzled girl.
“Do you have a brother?” asked Seamus.
“No”
“Well, if you had a brother, do you think he would like cabbage?”
The Garvaghy Road community has been assured that a court ruling quashing this year’s Parades Commission determination does not mean the Orange Order will be able to hold their infamously incendiary Drumcree parade through the nationalist area of Portadown.
A ruling was based on procedural reasons after the Parades Commission, which adjudicates on contentious parade, conceded failings in regard to their process for arriving at their ruling last year.
The brutal violence used by the RUC police to force anti-Catholic Orange Order parades through the nationalist enclave of the Garvaghy Road became some of the most shocking scenes of the 1990s in the north of Ireland (pictured, below).
The Parades Commission was set up as a direct result of the violence, and it has continued to make determinations on sectarian parades and parade routes across the North ever since. The commission’s rulings on the Drumcree parade have remained effectively unchanged for the past 28 years – rerouting the coat-trailing parades away from the nationalist area and down an alternative route.
This week’s court ruling did not determine that the infamously incendiary parade would be allowed. Despite public concern, any future Orange march along the Garvaghy Road will still require a fresh application and a new decision by the Commission.
That distinction has been lost amid an extraordinary display of triumphalism by political unionism and loyalism, with the court outcome hailed as a “seismic”, “totemic” and “historic and unprecedented victory”.
Among those who are most concerned are the Garvaghy Road residents, who are fearful of unionists and Orangemen once again playing politics with their district.
Breandán Mac Cionnaith, of the Garvaghy Road Residents’ Coalition, (pictured, left) countered efforts by unionists to reignite parading tensions in Portadown. He said the British government “have to come out strongly”.
“Out of all the solutions there has been over the years about marches the Parades Commission has proved to be effective,” he said.
“On one occasion it has been shown to make a procedural error, not a judgment error. There’s a clear distinction.”
The 1998 Good Friday Agreement recognised the right to live free from sectarian harassment and intimidation, but unionist politicians (pictured, right), including DUP MP Carla Lockhart and TUV leader Jim Allister, were present at Belfast High Court on Tuesday, shamelessly seeking to wind people up with the prospect of a return to the conflagrations of the past.
Their desperation in seeking to win over the unionist vote ahead of next year’s Assembly election was matched only by the preening vanity and absurd rhetoric of agitator turned paralegal, Jamie Bryson.
“This is for the people of loyal Portadown, and those no longer with us. No more are we standing, but now we are marching onward to victory,” claimed Bryson (centre, right).
BACK TO THE 90s?
Mr Mac Cionnaith said that, despite public assurances by nationalist leaders, there is “nervousness” in the Garvaghy Road district.
“A lot of that has been caused by the political shenanigans going on within unionism,” he said.
“Two political parties trying to be top dog and playing politics with the Garvaghy Road, and the Orange Order.”
The dispute has resulted in the deaths of several people.
In 1996 the parade was banned for the first time, but nationalist protesters were later brutally beaten off from the Garvaghy Road in a shocking u-turn.
On July 8 that year Catholic taxi driver Michael McGoldrick was shot dead by members of the UVF outside Lurgan.
In April 1997 Catholic father-of-three Robert Hamill was beaten by a unionist mob in Portadown and died in hospital 11 days later from his injuries.
Weeks later off-duty RUC policeman Gregory Taylor was beaten and kicked to death in Ballymoney in County Antrim by a unionist mob in an attack linked to parade tensions.
In July that year the Garvaghy Road area was again besieged in the early hours of Drumcree Sunday as the Orange Order was again allowed to march through the nationalist district.
The memory of priests being forced to celebrate Mass in front of British army lines after parishioners were blocked from attending their local church remains vivid for many nationalists.
In July 1998, Catholic schoolboys Richard, Mark and Jason Quinn were murdered by unionists after their home was petrol bombed in Ballymoney, County Antrim, in an arson attack connected to the dispute.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill, who visited Garvaghy Road residents on Wednesday, said community tensions have returned to the area over what it has seen this week.
“This is a very confident community, a community that’s very much looking towards the future, and do not want the days of the past visited upon them once again,” she said.
“But this is a community that’s also anxious, very anxious, by what they saw yesterday – a triumphalism that was expressed by the leaders of unionism standing shoulder to shoulder, claiming a victory over this community.
“Does anybody really want to see those days?
“This community certainly doesn’t. I certainly do not want to see those days visited upon us and I think the question here is: for the leaders of unionism, why do they want us to revisit those dark days?
“Why do they want to bring us back to the days of tramping over the rights of this community?
“Why do they want to reach back to the days of unionists lording it over another community?”
She said the reaction of unionist leaders had exposed a desire to return to the past conflict.
“The anxiety that was felt in this community yesterday was what they saw on display by the leaders of political unionism.
“What they saw was an ugliness. What they saw was a harking for the days of the past.
“And what they can’t, or what they can’t fathom here in this community, is why the leaders of political unionism want to revisit those dark days.
“Why do they want to bring that back into this community?
“That does beg the question, why is unionism limping ever more, or day by day, to the more extreme element of things in society?
“None of us want to see this. We want to keep moving forward.”
Sinn Féin MP John Finucane also stressed that the legal ruling was about how the Commission reached its decision, not a victory establishing any right to march through the nationalist district.
“The court has quashed a Parades Commission determination because of failings in how that decision was reached. It has not determined that an Orange Order parade should proceed down the Garvaghy Road, nor does today’s judgment give permission for one,” he said.
“The people of the Garvaghy Road and Portadown have lived peacefully for 28 years and deserve to continue doing so. Drumcree came to represent deep sectarianism, bitterness and division, leaving wounds which have still not fully healed. Nobody should want to reopen those divisions.
“That is why the tribal and triumphalist reaction from some within political unionism today is so telling. Those declaring this a victory for unionism and loyalism should reflect on who exactly they believe has been defeated.
“The residents of the Garvaghy Road are not opponents to be defeated, and this should never become a contest where one community must win and another must lose.
“Our position is clear. We see no logic or justification for an Orange Order parade proceeding down the Garvaghy Road. If a fresh application is made, we will make representations to the Parades Commission firmly on that basis.”
Republicans recalled the determination of the local community in the 1990s to stand up to sectarian intimidation and expressed their support.
In a statement, the IRSP in Portadown said it wished to “reiterate the reality” that there will be no march down Garvaghy Road.
“Any such march taking place down Garvaghy Road is simply unfeasible. Not only do the vast majority of residents object, but the mere mention of a parade is enough to stir up feelings of fear in a community that witnessed horrific acts of violence due to the Drumcree dispute.
“The scars are still visible. The policing of such an event would be astronomical.
“Simply put – it is a nonstarter.
“To residents on the Garvaghy Road, we understand your fears and we hope this puts some minds at ease. We will not let such scenes play out in our community again.”
Mr Mac Cionnaith questioned what had changed to justify reopening the dispute.
“It begs the question what has changed?
“If anything the nationalist population has grown in Portadown.
“They need to factor that into any of their decision making.
“Yes, there have been changes from the last time there was a Drumcree Parade, but they also have to take into account there’s a lot more nationalist houses in the area now.
“And that could impact on what happens, not just on Garvaghy Road, but the commission is going to have seek the opinion of those people out there.
“I know for a fact there’s a number of people don’t want them out there.”
Contentious Orange Order parades continue every year in several nationalist areas across the North, including the giant Apprentice Boys parade in Derry earlier this month, because of a general acceptance of restrictions imposed by the Parades Commission. Those arrangements are now in jeopardy.
Mr Mac Cionnaith said a reversal in Portadown could have implications far beyond the town.
“Because there’s also the other question that needs to be taken into account. You have the Lower Ormeau Road, Springfield Road in Belfast, north Belfast, places like Armagh, Newtownbutler, Bellaghy – are they looking to open everything up again?
“That’s the question that has to be posed, to change the decision here would also mean having to change the decisions in all those other communities.”
He added: “I think it is fair to say, if anything, people will be slightly astounded if there’s any change to the determination at any stage – shocked, disappointed and probably angry.”
The Parades Commission itself has insisted that the court decision does not affect how it will consider future applications.
It said it had “already implemented procedural changes to address the issue identified in the proceedings” and would “continue to discharge its statutory functions and also learn the lessons required from this case”.
Country music is massive in Ireland and the death of Dolly Parton is a major blow for her millions of fans over here. Could anyone not be a fan of Dolly Parton? Has there ever been a more talented, good-natured, warm-hearted person?
I am a big country music fan myself and Dolly Parton was perfect in every way. I particularly liked the more traditional bluegrass songs she sang. Her duet with Steve Martin is a particular gem.
Born on 19 January 1946 in Sevier County, Tennessee, Dolly grew up as one of twelve children in a humble one-room cabin in the Great Smoky Mountains. This rustic upbringing deeply influenced her artistry, inspiring timeless storytelling songs such as “Coat of Many Colours.” Her passion for music surfaced early; she began performing on local radio and television as a young child and made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry at just thirteen years old, introduced by Johnny Cash. Demonstrating remarkable resolve, she packed her bags and moved to Nashville the day after graduating high school in 1964. Her career gained significant momentum when she joined The Porter Wagoner Show in 1967 as a regular performer, establishing a foundation that soon launched her into international solo stardom.
Over a career spanning more than six decades, Parton has established herself as one of history’s most prolific songwriters, composing an estimated 3,000 songs. Remarkably, she wrote two of her most enduring masterpieces “Jolene” and “I Will Always Love You” on the very same day in 1973. The latter would go on to become a global phenomenon once again when recorded by Whitney Houston in 1992. Parton’s remarkable chart presence includes 25 Billboard country number one singles and total record sales exceeding 100 million worldwide. She successfully crossed over into pop stardom and embraced Hollywood acting, earning acclaim for starring roles in hit films such as 9 to 5 and Steel Magnolias. Her contributions have earned her eleven Grammy Awards, including a Lifetime Achievement Award, alongside inductions into both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Beyond her entertainment achievements, Parton’s legacy is deeply defined by her extraordinary philanthropy and entrepreneurial vision. In 1995, she established Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library, a literacy organisation that has gifted more than 200 million free books to children around the globe. Her generosity extended to medical science when she donated $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, helping to fund the critical early research behind the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. Furthermore, her enterprise as co-owner of The Dollywood Company, which operates the Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee continues to provide vital economic support and tourism to the region where she was raised.
I will leave you with her beautiful cover of the Neil Young classic “After the Gold Rush”. May she rest in peace.
