Port, Glencolmcille, Co Donegal, Ireland - Abandoned Irish Famine Village

The road to Port is a single track lane which is 9km in length. This is fine until you meet cars coming the other direction, this then involves you driving onto unknown ground on the verges but it's worth the stress once you get there. We weren't able to walk up to the village itself as the fields had sheep in them and we had our dog with us but that doesn't stop me flying the drone up for some spectacular shots !
Port is an abandoned “Famine Village” located on the coast about 14 km north west of Glencolmcille in Co Donegal. It is also referred to as a “Ghost Village” or “The Deserted Village” - a reference to the fact that a whole hamlet of houses just seems to have been abandoned to the elements.
It is believed that the majority of the village’s population left during and in the immediate aftermath of the Irish Famine (1845-52). The population continued to dwindle and, combined with the relative isolation of the area, it made the remaining community unviable.
The drive into Port is stunning. Fields of peat dominate the rugged landscape as one approaches the eerie village. The only inhabitants nowadays are sheep. There is a slipway beside the rocky beach and a little bridge over a stream. It is very peaceful location and a place to visit to get away from the hustle and bustle of modern life. The old houses in the village were all built of local stone . In the nearby Glencolmcille Folk Village you can get a good idea of how these houses would have looked when they were inhabited.
The coastline around Port is dotted with numerous sea stacks including the 100 metre high Cnock na Mara. Such impressive sea stacks have contributed to Donegals growing reputation among international rock climbers
DON'T CLICK THIS ! bit.ly/3epQYZ0
Instagram: / johnnybaretoes

[@RODPIKERDRONESUK]

Great job with making this video. Thank you for sharing it with us to enjoy.

[@morrisminors9750]

Thanks for a great video which really captures this beautiful corner of the world. Driving here definitely has its buttock clenching moments with sheer drops to the side and potholes you could take a bath in. Can't wait for covid to end to go back there again.

[@TheHighlander71]

Stunning views John. And narrow roads!

[@JohnnyBareToes1]

Yeah mate, bloody stunning spot for sure. Yeah the road was kinda scary, especially driving up onto the verge to get past the oncoming traffic !

[@GasheadSteve]

I do love your drives John. You have such beautiful places to visit it’s unreal. Wish I wasn’t in the big smile and had more rural places like you to visit... although that road looks like a nightmare lol

[@JohnnyBareToes1]

Thanks Steve, I like in the smoke too mate but luckily our we country isn't as big, so not as far to travel to get somewhere nice :)

[@runninggirl2765]

My Grand was from Dungloe, Co Donegal. Have any footage or interesting material from there? Thank you for this. I felt like I was home.

[@tacostwowheels4934]

Loving the content so far!

[@GeorgiaBuckeye1]

Hi John, greetings from the US! I really enjoyed the video. For years I have been trying to track down an ancestor who came to the US from Inishkeel in the early 1800's. His name is James Campbell.Unfortunately, I have not had much luck tracing him back to his homeland. So, while I continue my search I am trying to get a feel for Donegal and your video Really helped in that regard. Cheers! Don Burns

[@EugeneRCDrezgalovo48rus]

great video, like my friend from the heart!🤝🔥

[@JohnnyBareToes1]

Thanks you kindly :)

[@francesmcgloin9743]

How dare you drive that reckless on those sacred roads, you must have been dragged up not brought up. And put the Animals and anyone else in danger, including your own life. St. COLUMCILLE preserve us.

[@JohnnyBareToes1]

How dare you come on my channel and post such nonsense lol. Thanks for watching

[@GrandadsOtherChannel]

Proper Stig driving there, no relation I guess. Glad you slowed when passing other drivers 😁👍 Noticed your reply to "Karisa", I don't think bots can give likes, could be handy if they did 🤣😆 I might not block them so quickly then.

[@JohnnyBareToes1]

I don't think I went over 20mph for the whole road, it's in the middle of nowhere and has deep ditches on both side which is a peat bog, with the wife and kids onboard with me, I didn't fancy tipping it over lol. We were driving our campervan here. I didn't realise that was a bot. I won't block them, every view counts imo lol

[@TomMcClean]

One narrow road in one road out SW. A 'World's End' sort of place!

[@JohnnyBareToes1]

Thanks Tom ! Yes pretty treacherous road to get there but it's worth it for the views :)

[@MultiGraham1982]

Hi John: This is most certainly *not* a politically motivated statement, but unfortunately, I guess politics does sit on the edge of this. I am English and have always been very interested in Ireland/Northern Ireland. I did a load of my degree course on Irish literature and the literature and rhetoric surrounding the formation/division of Ireland etc. I was told by my lecturer that there were cases of people burning out Anglo-Irish mansions/big houses (again, not at all interested in the reasons) and that there are loads of abandoned buildings in Ireland. Are the shells of these buildings still about and are they owned by anybody? I am the kind of person that would be quite happy living on his own in the middle of nowhere. Obviously the place in this video is far too gone for that, but are there buildings that would be suitable for habitation in rural Ireland or they are all smashed to pieces/places of historical interest and therefore protected/not suitable for that (not planning to do it, just interested)? I mean in England, these places would have gift shops and guided tours around them and wouldn't just be left alone.

[@JohnnyBareToes1]

Hi Graham, thanks for the great comment mate. I'm not an expert on these things but I'll try and answer as best I can. Places with historic importance would be the same as in England, protected and maintained. Places that are abandoned but have no important historic value are usually left to crumble but the land still belongs to somebody, usually farmers. Our land is mostly farmland here, we like our potatoes you know ! LOL. The village in this video does have some importance and draws in tourists but obviously not important enough for someone to spend the money to make it more attractive. In the drone footage you can see a lived in house here, it was originally one of the fishing cottages which someone restored and is now like an Airbnb, so you can hire it out for a holiday.

[@ronnievance2354]

these are not famine villages they werefishermens houses now not in use