‘The Irish landscape whispers tales of the past’: a trip beyond the blarney in far-flung Donegal

<p>Our writer explores the cliffs, beaches and villages of the Gaeltacht area of Donegal and sees the landscape afresh through the Irish language</p><p>Earlier this year, a trailer for a film called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnPT8_Ls3n8">Dear Erin</a> appeared in cinemas featuring bloody-knuckled, flat-capped “Paddy” penning a letter on a table strewn with empty porter and whiskey glasses to Erin, his long-lost American flame. Much online brouhaha and frustration ensued at yet another Hollywood misrepresentation of modern day Ireland. The trailer was eventually <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jul/24/dear-erin-fake-trailer-reignites-debate-about-hollywood-irish-stereotypes">revealed to be an elaborate ruse</a> by <a href="https://epicchq.com/">Epic</a>, the Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin, to call out the tired stereotypes and “to find out who the Irish really are”.</p><p>Ireland, and the Irish, are many things. The country’s economic and social structures have changed rapidly in recent decades but that doesn’t necessarily mean the culture has altered unrecognisably. What has changed is the increasing draw to connect with Ireland’s natural landscapes. Writers such as the late <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/apr/27/tim-robinson-obituary">Tim Robinson</a>, <a href="https://www.manchan.com/">Manchán Magan</a> and the popular podcaster <a href="https://shows.acast.com/blindboy">Blindboyboatclub</a> have been pivotal in mining the connection between the natural world and the country’s past. The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/mar/13/irish-gaeilge-gaelic-oscars-baftas-sundance-renaissance-paul-mescal-cillian-murphy">Irish language has seen a renaissance</a> in the past few years for the same reason. In his 2020 bestselling book