Castle Archdale today is a country park with marina, caravan and camping site, woodland walks and a youth hostel (which provides cheap, clean, cheerful accommodation). It was a flying boat base during WW2 and some artefacts of that period remain, in particular the caravans are parked on concrete originally laid for parking Sunderland flying boats that patrolled the Atlantic protecting convoys from U-boats. A number of airmen killed in that war, and from Canada in particular, are buried in both churchyards in Irvinestown, and are commemorated on Remembrance Day each November. The Archdall or now Archdale family built up this estate over a couple of centuries. It was largely sold off to tenants in the early 1900s. Edward Archdale built a small church just beside the present day entrance and which is still in use. Nearby is the tower of the earlier church. As far as I know there are no, or only a very few, burials at this church. There is a larger old burial ground at the church south along the road about 3 miles at Kiladeas. You might get more information by writing to the Rev Thompson, Church of Ireland, Irvinestown, Co Fermanagh, UK. There are a lot of Johnston families in present day Fermanagh, including my next door neighbours. One set of Johnston families were traditional boatbuilders, fishermen and lake island dwellers in the early 190s and perhaps earlier, and there might, only might, be a Castle Ardchdale connection here, since the estate included a number of islands in Lower Lough Erne. Some of these Johnstons live today in Lack. Irwin is also a common name, though not nearly as numerous as Johnston. I have a vague memory of a project some time ago in which inscriptions on gravestones in Fermanagh graveyards were recorded in a database. You might find out more on this and your other queries from The Visitor's Centre, Fermanagh District Council, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, UK, or from The Curator, Fermanagh, Museum at the same address. -----Original Message----- From: M. J. Stone <mjs@abelink.com> To: michael.clarke@swiftsoft.net <michael.clarke@swiftsoft.net> Date: 23 January 1999 05:22 >Noted your address at Irvinestown on a post to Fermanagh on Rootsweb. >Wonder if you could help me with a bit of local geography. I know where >Irvinestown is on the map and Castle Archdale is about 3 or 4 miles west on >Lough Erne. Where from there would be the Castle Archdale burying grounds >(pre 1850)? Is/was there a church there? I am looking for records of a >James and Christiana (Irwin) Johnston supposed to be buried there. Thank >you. mjs@abelink.com >