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Located about a mile from Carrigans Village in the Laggan region of East Donegal, Monreagh Heritage Centre educates visitors about some of the most important chapters in Ulster Scots – Scots Irish History.

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Sitting opposite one of the oldest Presbyterian churches in Ireland, our Donegal Visitor Attraction contains a wealth of information from the Plantation of Ulster to the present day. A nearby, inscribed commemoration stone marks the site where the first Ulster Scots congregation of the Lagan worshiped. Visitors will appreciate the picturesque, unspoiled landscape of the Lowlands of Donegal.

The Old Manse, Monreagh, Carrigans, County Donegal Tel: |+353 (0)74 9140708 | Email: office@monreagh.net

Monday – Friday 10am to 4pm

Evenings and Weekends by arrangement

The Centre contains four themed exhibition rooms, each dedicated to a particular period of history. The Living History Garden contains exhibits that remind us of the architecture, and agricultural industries, of the past. Visitors can view a Round House, Plantation Cottage, Forge and Flax patch.

The Laggan District

The Laggan is a level tract of fertile agricultural land between Lough Foyle and Lough Swilly. The word ‘Laggan’ derived from the ‘lag’ or ‘lug’ meaning a flat place.

The History of the Laggan

There can be no doubt of the importance of the Lagan district in the wider history of these islands. Ancient remains remind us that from the earliest times the people of the Lagan have played key roles in the most momentous events in Irish History.

Alexander Clan of Donegal

Jill and Gordon Alexander (father and daughter) from Canada on a visit to the Monreagh Heritage Centre. Their ancestors settled in the Laggan area of Donegal in the early 1600s https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deCxLv5xkSM&feature=youtu.be

Today's Laganeers preserve the History and Culture of the Region

preserving the ways and traditions of the region is an ongoing venture

Stewart Buchanan

Chairperson of Monreagh

Ulster Scots speaker, musician, singer, farmer and collector of Ulster Scots memorabilia, Stewart Buchanan resides in the Burt area of The Laggan District. A descendant of Francis Mackamie, Stewart is passionate about the history. and people of The Laggan.

Rev. Dr David Latimer

Minister of Monreagh

Rev Latimer has been Minister of Monreagh and First Derry Church since 1988 and is also an active Committee Member of our Centre. David was one of the members responsible for the establishment of the Heritage Centre at Monreagh

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_npd2PDrVHg

The oldest Presbyterian congregation in the Laggan was established in 1644. This was part of the Solemn League and Covenant expansion across Ulster in 1644. The missions to Ulster were headed by Rev James Hamilton, William Adair, John Weir and Hugh Henderson. The first minister of Monreagh was Rev. Robert Cunningham who was here in 1645. His successor was the Rev. John Hart, who came here from Hamilton in Scotland in the year 1655.

Belinda Mahaffy

Secretary of Monreagh Centre

Belinda is an author, librarian, local historian and keen gardener. She is very active in local history societies and has written extensively on her local parish of Ballindrait.

Colm Clarke

Lifetime Resident of Monreagh

Colm Clarke has lived all his life in the historic and scenic town-land of Monreagh. After completing his education at Monreagh National School he spent his adult working life as an industrious laborer in the flax and farming industries of East Donegal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWEDaHKhsGw

Flax was sown and processed in the Lagan area of Donegal for centuries, up until the introduction of synthetic materials in the 1950s. The international demand for flax products, such as linen, deteriorated and the stable industry of the Lagan, eventually, became virtually non existent.