Banagher, County Londonderry

Banagher is a parish in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland. The parish is made up of the medieval parish of Banagher and parts of the ancient parish of Boveva and the townland of Tireighter and Park, once in the parish of Cumber. Banagher has many ancient monuments, including churches, holy wells, standing stones and chambered graves.GeographyBanagher lies in the western foothills of the Sperrin Mountains, between the rivers Roe and Faughan. The landscape is mostly rugged, with glens and narrow valleys rising into the highlands. Banagher Glen is a good example of the area's terrain and forms an important conservation area, preserving one of the few surviving examples of old-growth deciduous woodland in Ireland. The Glen has a trail which climbs through the woods to Altnaheglish Dam and Reservoir, which supplies water to Derry. The path up to the dam from the valley floor climbs through deciduous woodland and higher coniferous woodland to moor and heathland.HistoryIt is clear from the Annals of Ulster that there was a church at Banagher in 1121. In that year it is recorded that Giolla Easpaig Eoghain O hAindiaraidh (Gillespie Owen O'Henry), king of Keenaght, was killed by kinsmen in the Banagher cemetery. His name means 'servant of Bishop Eoghan', apparently a reference to St Eugene, Bishop of Ardstraw.