placenamesGlentogher
Gleann Tóchair
A former lead and silver mine and the history of teaching by the Sisters of Mercy document different aspects of life in Glentogher.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Gleann Tóchair · Irish · main form · validated name
- Glentogher · English · main form
Place & story
Lead and silver beneath the valley
Glentogher’s mine was worked intermittently from the late eighteenth century. Geological Survey Ireland records reports of shafts sunk around 1790, followed by nineteenth-century workings and a revival in 1905–06 under M. and J. Johnson of Belfast. In 1905 the mine produced about 400 tonnes of lead ore and 4,000 ounces of silver. Its association with precious metals continued in reports of gold-bearing ore, although lead and silver were its principal historical products. [2]
The rock that held the ore
The mineral deposits occur in a narrow band of quartzite within the ancient Dalradian rocks. Galena, sphalerite and pyrite formed bands and filled fractures; the galena contained silver and the pyrite carried gold. The Geological Survey identifies the workings as a County Geological Site because of this mineralisation and its mining history. The remains stand on private farmland: they are evidence of industry rather than an accessible visitor attraction. [2]
The Sisters at Glentogher School
A history written by the Carndonagh Sisters of Mercy records the appointment of Joseph Carr and Ethna O’Doherty to Glentogher School in January 1888. They initially walked from the convent each day. Supporters later supplied a brougham for winter journeys and a sidecar for summer. The Sisters continued teaching at the school until 1971, an association lasting eighty-three years. Their account preserves the practical difficulty of travelling between the convent and its outlying school. [3]
Geographic information
- Place type
- Population centre
- County
- Donegal
- Barony
- Inishowen East
- Civil parish
- Donagh
- Coordinates
- 55.20484, -7.26171 (approximate)
- Logainm ID
- 1167000 ↗
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Glentogher. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Glentogher Mine, ND012, North Donegal geological site report, 2019 · Hennessy and colleagues, Geological Survey Ireland
- The Convent of Mercy, Carndonagh: community history written June 1982 · Sisters of Mercy, Carndonagh; Carndonagh Heritage
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.