Walk 2 (2.5 miles). From the Leisure Centre head down the street to the Oratory and turn left onto the Glaslough Road. The Garda Station used be on the left and hopefully will be there again in the not too distant future. It was originally built in the early 1960’s and moved from Main Street. The Hill on your left is Derrygasson Hill which was one of the McKenna Seven Hills. It was always called Bonfire Hill, as celebratory bonfires were usually lit there to mark important events. Greatest of these was probably the visit of Charles Stuart Parnell to Emyvale in 1883. The River is on your right and flowing ‘with’ you. Derrygasson Lane forks up to the left and is an alternative route for this walk and while shorter but more difficult because of the hill climb it is also much safer as the main road has little area to stand/walk in when traffic is passing. However we continue on the Main Road. .75 miles out and Tully Lane is on your right. This leads up past Emyvale GFC HQ, which was officially opened in 1990, to Tully Fort. It is all that remains of the McKenna Headquarters from mid-twelve century to mid- seventeenth century. The small bridge you would cross as you enter Tully Lane is probably the oldest bridge on the river but you stay on the Main Road and at the top of the next hill turn down past Emy Lough. Emy, from the ancient Irish clan “Uí Meith”, who settled here in the fourth century, also gives its name to EMYvale. Emy Lough is a well-known beauty spot in Co. Monaghan and more so since Donagh Development provided a wonderful Walkway around the Lough. The Lough has figured prominently in song and story and it is also known as a very popular place for swans to gather during the winter months. It is also a wild-life sanctuary and the wild ducks delight when they see people coming to the Car Park area as they usually get something to eat. It is also known that ducks should not be fed with bread. Emy Lough was full of pike and other coarse fish but in the mid-fifties the Fisheries Board, in conjunction with local interests, decided to remove the coarse fish and stock it with Trout. There were some exceptionally large pike and eels taken from the lake and transferred to other lakes. However it was impossible to clear the lake of coarse fish completely and some pike survived and occasionally cause problems for the trout. Fishermen from all over come to Emy Lough and the local angling club, set up by Emyvale Development Association, are to be thanked for the work they do in promoting and maintaining the fishing interests and developing the Lough as an attraction. The Lough was originally much smaller in size but when, in the 1800’s, the Mill Race was formed the Lough doubled in size and the Sluice was built to control the amount of water needed to drive the machinery in Emy and Mullan Mills. There was also a McKenna Crannóg on the Lough but now under water where the island appears when the Lough is low. McKenna had his HQ on Portinaghy Hill after Tully was destroyed by the enemy in 1643 and the Crannóg was his place of refuge, if his HQ was attacked. There was a special causeway to get to the Crannóg from the far-right corner of the Lough and only residents would know the path of the Causeway. Legend has it that a Saint or Holy man had his ‘bed’ on the Crannóg and some would claim that St. Enda is buried there. It is also thought that the great Patrick McKenna, McKenna chieftain, was also buried there in 1612. Head on past the Lough and past Emy Lane on your right and Connolly Furniture on your left, until you reach the T- Junction. Turn left here and you will arrive back to the village when you pass up ‘the Cassey’ to the Main Street. The Cassey comes from the Irish word ‘Cabhsa’ meaning ‘a pathway’. Turn left again at Main Street to return to your starting point at the Leisure Centre.

Walk 1 HERE Walk 2