Altmore

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section does not cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by introducing appropriate citations. (help, get involved!) This article has been tagged since July 2006.

Altmore is a small hamlet in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. It is five miles from Carrickmore and four miles from Pomeroy. Most of the community consists of farmers who make their livelihood cattle and pig farming. It is an isolated area, though easily accessible. Most of the farms are old, though several new houses have sprung up by the side of roads. Not many people have lived in the area, so building has been limited. So the natural beauty has remained untouched.

[edit] Places of interest

The scenery around Altmore is breathtaking, and the Mountains of Pomeroy are a dominating feature in the landscape. Ancient relics can be seen on country lanes. Their origin being 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 place where locals and visitors can relax with children and stay in a caravan site. It is an ideal stop over site for ramblers who enjoy an area of Ireland that is seldom explored and enjoys the benefit of a landscape and way of life that has changed little over the years.
Altmore House - the birthplace of James Shields who became a well known politician in North America (being the only person to have served as a United States Senator from three different states) and a well known name during the American Civil War. Sadly time ravished the existence of this house which later became a local hotel before being demolished.
Shane Barnagh’s Sentry Box - this is a small rocky area on the outskirts of Cappagh and Altmore. It received its fame from a highwayman (Shane Bearnnach O Donnelly) who used the mountain area as a vantage point to hold up carriages travelling on the main Dublin to Derry road nearby. A barracks was built in the Altmore area in an attempt to curb his activities but to little avail. He was never captured and his real identity remains unknown and he has over the centuries become an enigma to the area. The actual rocky area looks like a chair and has thus become known as Sean Bernard’s Chair and even St Bernard’s Chair. Apparently the highwayman seems to have assisted impoverished locals with his robberies, mainly from the gentry and he has over time become a local legend who robbed the rich and gave to the poor. He was immortalised further by the local scholar Dr. George Sigerson in his popular ballad The Mountains of Pomeroy.