Letter from Earl Hastings
05 August 1982
[The following letter is an account by Earl Hastings of his trek to the Hasty homeland in Northern Ireland in August of 1982. Senator Earl Hastings is credited as a principal source of information acquired about our Hastings line. ]
I have just returned from a three-day visit to the Emerald Isle and hasten to write you by way of a form letter to share my experience and impressions.
I arrived in Belfast from London Tuesday morning, July 27 and immediately made my way toward the village of Dunnamanagh. I followed highway A-6, passing through Atrim, Randalstown, Toome, Maghera over the Sperrin Mountains through the Glenshane Pass leaving the main highway at Dungiven to follow a second highway through Feeny, Claudy to Dunnamanagh. I was stopped once by an army patrol fully equipped with machine guns to remind me of "the trouble".
It was an inspiring trip and the charm and tranquility of the scenery was beautiful. The winding road, uphill and down dale, was such that speed was impossible. One is simply forced to take time and enjoy the beauty of the Eden. I was to learn that this is the way of the Irish. Take your time and rejoice at the rural richness of the environment and countryside – a character that has been lost to most modern Canadians.
I arrived at the village of Dunnamanagh (11 miles north-east of Strabane) a steep-streeted village on the Bourndennet River. I followed the river, a tributary of the Foyle about two miles north of the village of Greystone /Cavancreagh.
The townland of Cavancreagh, and Greystone which is part of it, was where the Hasty family lived between 1750 and 1831. It is now occupied by Rick O’Neill (Greystone) and his father Fred (Upper Cavancreagh). A townland is an entity of about 180 acres and is divided into fields with century-old rock fences. The fields were in fact the farms of “The widow Hasty and her sons: John, William, Daniel, Thomas and Adam in 1766”. The farm’s boundaries have changed little in 150 years.
I received a welcome as if I was simply a relative returning from an overseas voyage. Rick and Margaret O’Neill would not hear of me staying at the local guest house. This land was Hasty land, my home and this is where I would stay during my sojourn in Ireland.
It reminded me of:
Shake hands with your uncle Mike me lad,
Shake hands with your sister Kate,
Shake hands with all the neighbours,
And kiss the colleen all,
You’re as welcome as the flowers in May
To dear of County Donegal
except that I was in County Tyrone.
After a warm welcome and getting acquainted with Rick and Margaret and their children, Karen and David we drive to visit Barnscourt the ancient home of the Marquis of Abercorn who at one time owned most of the Parish of Donnagheady. It is the present-day home of the Duke of Abercorn a direct descendant. It is an estate of 3,000 acres containing a Georgian Mansion with terraced Italian gardens, three lakes called Fanny, Mary and Catherine, and a beautifully kept forest along with farming operations.
That night, Sydney Browne arrived to meet me. He is a local genealogist who had done a great deal of research in anticipation of my arrival. We went to the local Presbyterian cemetery known as the “Grange Burial Ground”. It has been cleaned up with the grass cut, etc. for my arrival. We located the two Hasty plots where six Hastys are buried. An ancient stone, broken and half buried tells us here layeth ---- Hasty who died in 1769 age 26 years. The other Hasty graves are unidentified.
We drove through Cullion farmland, the home of Adam Hastings in 1858 and visit William Cunningham, the present occupant. He is about 85 years of age who distinctly remembers his uncle speaking of Adam Hastings.
In driving home we pass a particularly high spot and stop for a breathtaking view of the sunset in the west overlooking Strabane, the River Foyle and Donegal on the far side of the river.
We talk and visit into the small hours and I learn of many historical episodes, legends and of interesting people associated with the Parish of Donnagheady. And, of course, I learn of the trouble.
Wednesday we returned to the cemetery to see if we cannot get more information from the stones. Alas, we must be content with what we have.
In the afternoon, we visit the Ulster-American Folk Park near Omagh. The park stands as a permanent symbol between Ulster and the United States. Through original buildings of the period it tells of the story of the great migrations of Ulster people to the New World and the contribution they made to the United States through the period of its birth and growth. It is heavily American orientated, which is to be expected as they pay for it.
We returned to Strabane through the Gortin Glen Forest Park – a forest preserve of 3,800 acres – with a scenic drive over the north slope of Mullaghearn Mountain, past Borrin Wood and pretty Gortin lakes to Strabane. In this city I view in strange contrast evidence of the trouble: the Ulster Bank which has recently been bombed is in the process of being rebuilt.
At the Council Chamber in Strabane, Mr. John Gallagher, Council chairman of Strabane, presented me with a plaque inscribed with the Coat-of-Arms of Strabane and an engraved necktie and wallet in an appropriate ceremony to which I inadequately replied.
That same night we spent with the O’Neills. Mr. and Mrs. Fred O’Neill, (Rick’s father and mother) and Mr. and Mrs. William (Liam) O’Neill (Rick's brother and his wife), Fred O’Neill explains to me he has a clear memory of the ruins on the place being described to him as belonging to Daniel Hasty. He gives me a real Irish walking stick with his name inscribed thereon. I have since had it further inscribed as follows: “Fred O’Neill/Earl Hastings – Greystone/Cavancreagh – July 28, 1892”. It shall hereafter be a most prized possession, a family heirloom and a treasure.
Thursday morning I meet Robert O’Neill (Rick s uncle) and we visit the ruins and in Carrickatain townland I meet Bertie O’Neill (another uncle) and I view a 200 year-old thatched roof house still in use.
In the afternoon I walk around the townland of Cavancreagh and take pictures of the Greystone. I search for evidence in the ruins and take pictures of the ruins where the Hastys actually lived.
Friday I must leave, enroute for Ottawa, and bid farewell to the O’Neills.
I arrived a stranger and now I leave as one of the family. It is impossible for me to explain the spirit of their hospitality, their warm personal relationship to me. It has been a heart-warming experience I shall never forget.
And now I must commence the writing of the family history from Scotland to Ulster to Upper Canada to Saskatchewan. From Hasty to Hastings in the years 1682 to 1982.
With best wishes.
Earl
[Senator Earl Hastings passed away in 1996.]