Altmore

Demographics

Places of interest

• The Mountains of Pomeroy overlook the area. There are several ancient sites in the area, including some possible burial grounds. Though modern farming methods have diminished a number of them, a few can still be seen.
• Altmore Fisheries is a small holiday site with static caravans and areas to erect tents; there are also log cabins which can be rented and a small shop on site.
• Altmore House was built after 1734 by Patrick Shields. That premises was converted into Barracktown House. The Shields family lived in the house until the 1970s when it was sold and turned into a hotel. The hotel was blown up during the Troubles on two occasions and after several years of dormancy the ruins were eventually knocked down. The house was the birthplace of James Shields who became a politician in North America.
• Shane Bernagh’s Chair is a small rocky area on the outskirts of Cappagh and Altmore. It received its fame from local highwayman Shane Bernagh, who used the mountain area as a vantage point to hold up carriages travelling on the main Dublin to Derry road nearby. Local legend has it that the highwayman assisted impoverished locals with his robberies, which primarily targeted members of the Protestant Ascendancy. A barracks was built in the Altmore area in an attempt to curb his activities but to little avail. Because of this Bernagh has over time become a local legend in the mould of Robin Hood who robbed from the rich and gave to the poor. He was eventually captured and executed by the Dublin Castle administration, and his body was cast into a lough at the summit of Slieve Beagh, which straddles the counties of Tyrone, Fermanagh and Monaghan. His life was covered in the ballad "The Mountains of Pomeroy". The actual rocky area looks like a chair and has thus become known as Shane Bernagh's Chair.

Notable people

• Shane Bernagh, 17th century rapparee
• James Shields, the only person in U.S. history to serve as a Senator for three different states