Teach Ruairí ~ History
Teach Ruairí is named after Ruairí Gallagher who was originally from the nearby area of Keeldrum. After years working in America he returned in the late 1800's with enough money to build the Pub and establish the business in Baltoney. It is said that he bought the licence from a pub that existed further up the road in Cashelnagore. Teach Ruairí cost about £60 to build around 1890 and is little changed today from that original structure. There were additional two storey outhouses and a mill across the road but these have sadly disappeared.
Ruairí’s wife, Margaret ran the pub, which in addition to the bar included a grocery and drapery. These shops saved locals the long walk into Gortahork where McFaddens hotel ran the next nearest shop. Teach Ruairí's was also a B&B at the time. There was a train station in Cashelnagore and many people stayed overnight, depending on train times and distance from home. The business thrived, and was so successful that seven maids were employed at one particular time. Ruairí had a lot of land, down below the pub and up as far as Cashelnagore. He kept two horses and employed people to go to Derry for supplies. On Sundays he travelled to mass on horse 'n gig, this was a light two-wheeled sprung cart pulled by one horse and a symbol of great prosperity at the time.
Ruairí Gallagher and his wife Margaret had ten children, and the business eventually fell to Jimmy, a son who was born around 1870. Jimmy had married a teacher from the school in Cashelnagore, and they had eight children. Teach Ruairí was to see hard times ahead. Seamus Mc Geady who owned the pub from the mid-nineteen eighties recalls one local (since deceased) telling him that the Black n’ Tans came up after burning the Parochial Hall in Gortahork in 1920, and leaving their guns at the door went into the pub and drank the place dry, and they did’nt leave a penny. The man recalling the story was a little boy at the time and viewed it all from behind a rock across the road. From the 1930s, with improvements in road transportation and a decline in the use of the railway, business began to suffer. With no demand for B&B they kept Irish College students during the summer months to make ends meet. There was a period when things were so bad that stout was the only drink they had on the premises. Jimmy's son, Frank Jimmy Mhargaret took over the pub from his father and ran it until his own death in 1974.
Since then a number of owners have renovated and maintained the business over the years, each bringing their own character to Teach Ruairí, while the pub itself has retained it's warm welcoming presence at the heart of the local community. Though there is a range of drinks available to our cutomers today, we are still proudly serving stout with the pint of Guinness taking pride of place.
Teach
Ruairí | Baltoney, Gortahork,
County Donegal, Ireland
Tel. (087) 922 3751 or (074) 913
5428 | Email:
