Altmore

Altmore
Tyrone
Altmore
Location
Grid reference:	H656678
Location:	54°33’15"N, 6°59’10"W
Data
Local Government

Altmore is a hamlet and townland in Tyrone, five miles from Carrickmore and four miles from Pomeroy. The townland is named either Altmore or Barracktown, and is in the Barony of Dungannon Middle. The townland covers an area of 1,117 acres.

The name of the hamlet is from the Gaelic Allt Mór, meaning 'Great glen'

About the hamlet

Shane Bernagh’s Chair

View from Shane Bernagh’s Chair

The townland contains two Scheduled Historic Monuments: a megalith (H67106936) and a court tomb (H66866961).

Other places of interest include:

• The Mountains of Pomeroy, a dominating feature in the landscape. Ancient relics can be seen on country lanes. Their origin is unknown though they may be ancient burial grounds dating back as far as three thousand years. These can be seen at various stages on roadways along Altmore. Though modern farming methods have diminished a number of them visibly a few can still be seen.
• Altmore Fisheries, 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.
• Shane Bernagh’s Chair, a small rocky area on the outskirts of Cappagh and Altmore.

Legend

These lands were once the haunt of an infamous highwayman, Shane Bernagh Donnelly, who used the mountain area as a vantage point to hold up carriages travelling on the main Dublin to Londonderry road nearby. Local legend has it that the highwayman assisted impoverished locals with his robberies, committed against the gentry and soldiers. 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. His body was cast into a lough at the summit of Slieve Beagh, which straddles the counties of Tyrone, Fermanagh and Monaghan. He was immortalised further by the local scholar Dr George Sigerson in his popular ballad "The Mountains of Pomeroy". The actual rocky area looks like a chair and has thus become known as Shane Bernagh’s Chair.

("Wikimedia Commons" has material about Altmore)