George Walker 1645-1690 : Bishop of Derry Designate 1690

George Walker's early years are obscure, but he is thought to have been born around 1645. He matriculated at Trinity College, Dublin in 1662 and later took Holy Orders. In 1669 he was appointed to the parishes of Lissan and Desertlyn, diocese of Armagh. Five years later he became Rector of Donoughmore, near Dungannon, County Tyrone. It was here he was to remain until the outbreak of political unrest caused by the contending Williamite and Jacobite forces. With the shutting of the gates of Londonderry against the approaching Catholic regiment in December 1688, Walker raised a regiment in defence of a possible massacre of Protestants. Its first engagement in combat was around Clady and Lifford in mid-April, about 15 miles upstream from Derry. The Williamite forces suffered a rout and so anxious were the inhabitants of Derry to safeguard their own position that Walker found himself locked out of the city for a period of time in the ensuing retreat. The Governor of the city, Lieutenant-Colonel Robert Lunday, was heavily criticized for his lack of leadership in the debacle. In his judgement the Jacobite forces against them, he had decided on the futility of holding out, opting instead for a negotiated surrender. His defeatism, in the face of rising internal opposition to his command, made his position untenable. He was deposed and forced to flee. In his place the soldiers and citizens elected Major Henry Baker and Walker as joint Governors.

The Siege of Derry, which was to last for 105 days, gave George Walker as Governor a central role in the city's defence. His stirring sermons based on a wholehearted trust in God's ultimate providence undoubtedly kept spirits from sinking within the city walls. In its aftermath he rose to fame and was feted in England and Scotland. Oxford and Cambridge awarded him honorary degrees, he was given the thanks of the House of Commons, and the Irish Society gave a banquet in his honour. Most significant was William III's promise of the bishopric of Derry when it became vacant. In June 1690 the absentee Bishop Hopkins died leaving the path clear for Walker's appointment. Fate, however, decided otherwise as he was to be killed in action the following July during the Battle of the Boyne. He was buried where he fell, but thirteen years later  his supposed body was removed, at the request of his widow, to the parish of Donoughmore. In 1862 a window was erected in his memory in St Columb's Cathedral. In addition, a memorial pillar crowned with a statue of him was erected on the city walls in 1826. In 1973 it was blown up by Republican terrorists.

Walker was also to publish A True Account of the Siege of Londonderry (1689) in which he was to portray himself as a heroic figure in the whole affair. It was thus criticized for its egotistical tone. In particular, it provoked sustained criticism from Presbyterians who felt that he had underplayed their part during the siege. In his defence, Walker was quickly forced to follow up with A Vindication. The Revd John Mackenzie, who was Walker's regimental chaplain, carried the Presbyterian argument to the militant cleric in his Narrative. Despite taking issue on a number of valid points, his critiqued suffered from an overtly personal attack on Walker's character.

St Eugenius, Bovevagh

Bovevagh, "Mevagh's hut", is a parish eight kilometres to the north of Dungiven in County Derry. A monastery was founded in the area by St. Columba in 557. St Adamnan and St. Eugene are variously claimed as patron saint. The ancient ruins of a mediaeval church can be seen nearby.

Bovevagh church was ruinous in 1622, but was in good repair by 1786.

The present church was built in 1823. It is a hall and tower church to a design by John Bowden. The tower is louvered and topped by pointed finials. The porch at the base is entered through doors which were given in memory of Hamilton and Mary Connor and Nenian and Margaret Dunlop, 1973.

The window of coloured glass has a dove inst, and is in memory of the Kerr family, 1976. There are three windows in the south wall of the nave.

The first has coloured square glass panes with the Lamb of God inset. The second window has the crest of the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and is in memory of Constable Robert John McPhearson, 1976, and the third window depicts the Empty Tomb, and it commemorates Canon John Howard Kingston, Rector, 1950-1970.

The east window was installed in 1914. It depicts the Ascension of our Lord, and is in memory of the Stevenson family. The baptistery is by the north wall, before the chancel. The font was presented by the McClelland families. The pulpit on the left of the chancel was the gift of the Quigley family, 1973. The prayer desk on the right commemorates Samuel Robinson, 1973, and the lectern was given in memory of James Stevenson Hunter, who died on board the ship, Bowfell off the Cape of Good Hope in 1867. The chancel contains the choir seating which is in memory of Mary Ferguson, 1976. The choir stall and the panelling in the sanctuary were made and presented by W. J. Quigley in 1986. The Holy Table commemorates George and Margaret Scott, 1955, and the credence table is in memory of Jackie McMullan, 1947. One of the three chairs in the sanctuary is in memory of Emily Fulton, 1922. The vestry room is to the left.

Dungiven Church

Dungiven Villiage is in County Derry, 31 kilometres from Londonderry on the main Belfast Road. One kilometre to the south of the town are the remains of St. Mary's Priory. It is thought that St. Neachtain founded a monastery as early as the 7th century. The O'Cahan tomb is in the ruin, and contains some of the finest mediaeval tracery in the north-west. The priory became Augustinian about 1140, and was suppressed by the beginning of the 17th century.

At the time of the Plantation, a church was built by the Skinners' Company on the site of the priory. The fact that the name Dungiven means, "the fort of the skins" is coincidental. Its name has also been translated, "the pleasant mount"


A new church was built at the head of the town in 1718. This was replaced by the present church which was built on the same sight in 1816. It is cruciform, with nave and transepts, and a louvered tower at the west end. The bell in the tower was the gift of Edward Cary of Dungiven Castle in 1712.

The entrance to the church is through the porch at the base of the tower. The window in the west tower wall illustrates the text, "follow me and I will make you fishers of men", and is in memory of Canon John H. Kingston, Rector of Dungiven 1950-1970. In the nave, there is one diamond- paned window with Y tracery on each side, and likewise in the west wall of both transepts. In the north wall of the north transept, a stained glass window of three lights depicts from left to right, Nehemiah, The Good Centurion, and Ezra. It commemorates Robert Alexander Ogilby who died in 1902.

Opposite in the south wall of the transept, a window of two lights and tracery, shows the women at the Empty Tomb, in memory of Esther Gladys Ogilby, 1900. The window of the north wall of the chancel depicts Jesus gathering the little children, and it commemorates Jane King who died in 1890, and her daughter. The east window has three lights and tracery. It  illustrates the prable of the Sheep and the Goats, and in memory of James Ogilby who died in 1885.

 The baptistery is in the north-west corner of the church. The Holy table is in memory of John Trewlawny Ross, D.D., Curate of Dungiven from 1876 to 1879 and again from 1883 to 1886. The chairs in the sanctuary are in memory of George and Mary Sharp Ward, 1936. The pulpit is below on the left and in memory of Martha Cromie who died in 1944. The prayer desk on the right is in memory of Canon James Kelly, Rector of Dungiven from 1930 to 1950. It and the seat are finely carved. The brass eagle lectern on the left commemorates the Rev. Alexander Ross, Rector of Banagher and panelling on the sanctuary is of good quality. The organ has two manuals and pedals, and was made by the firm of Fosters and Andrews of Hull in 1878. The cushions in the choir stalls and the lectern microphone were given in memory of Eric Scott who died in 1895.

On the west wall, a monumet records various benefactors from the Ogilby family and from the Skinners' Company. The Ogilbys, an old family, resided at Pellipar House near Dungiven. The mausoleum near the main entrance to the church is one of their burying plots.

On the south wall, there is a memorial to Lt. Samuel McDonnell Campbell of the 3rd Lancashire Fusiliers who was killed in action in 1916. There is a monument commemorating the Ross family of Springhill, Dungiven on the north wall of the nave.

On the west wall of the north transept, a monument commemorates Canon George Warren, Rector 1886-1930 and his family. On the east wall of the north transept are the memorials to those who fell in the Great War, and to John Semple Moore who died in 1899. On the south wall of the south transept, are the memorials to Mildred Morley, daughter of Robert and Helen Ogilby who died in 1945, and to Mabel Crocker, daughter of Captain R. Ogilby, who died in the same year. On the east wall of the south transept, there are memorials to Michael King who died in 1899, to the Rev. Edward French, Rector 1823-1849, and to Esther Ogilby who died in 1900.

A memorial on the east sanctuary wall commemorates Michael King, son of the Rev. John King, Rector of Upper Fahan, who died in 1891, and his wife Matilda. A plaque on the same wall records renovations to the chancel in memory of Canon William Ross, Rector Dungiven, 1850 to 1886, who died in 1891.