Ireland’s north-west frontier

25 June 2026, The Tablet

Diverse heritage: at Carndonagh, an early cross from the dawn of Irish Christianity

Alamy/The Irish Image Collection

If you heed the Irish tourist board’s advice and follow the “wild Atlantic way” in search of sandy beaches and surf, you will eventually reach Culdaff Beach in Co. Donegal, a glorious strand heralded by a notice board which welcomes bathers and offers some basic local history.

It reveals that a certain General Frederick Young, a son of a local landowning family, founded the Gurkha regiment which still forms part of the British army.

Get Instant Access

Continue Reading

Register for free to read this article in full

Subscribe for unlimited access

From just £37.50 quarterly

  Print copy of The Tablet delivered directly to your door.
  Complete access to all Tablet website content including all premium content.
  Access to the weekly digital copy of The Tablet.
  Full access to The Tablet’s archive – over 180 years of back issues.

Already a subscriber? Login

Article end