Áras Begley

Although now extended to the south and converted for use as a church hall, this attractive former school, of late nineteenth-century date, retains its original character and form. It is robustly constructed using squared and snecked rubble stone masonry with rock-faced quoins to the corners while the good-quality chamfered surrounds to the openings are clearly the work of skilled masons. The contrast between the dark grey mildly rock-faced dimension stone and the smooth pale grey ashlar surrounds to the openings adds some subdued but appealing textural and tonal variation. The window openings with mullions, pointed-arched doorway, and the kneeler stones to the eaves helps to give this building a mildly Tudor Gothic architectural character that was commonly used for school buildings in Ireland at the time of construction. The original form of this building, having central entrance porch to the east elevation, suggests that this was originally a two-classroom school, possibly with separate classrooms for boys and girls, which was a common feature of Victorian schools reflecting the strict social thinking of the time. This building is more elaborate than the majority of contemporary school buildings found in Ireland; this suggests the input (or partial input) of the local landlords at the time, The Olpherts of nearby Ballyconnell House (see 40812001). This building was originally built to designs by O'Neill and Byrne Architects, a firm based in Dublin and Belfast at the time of construction. This firm carried out numerous contracts for the Catholic Church in Ireland from c.1869 until c.1885; this work included the designs of a number of churches County Donegal such as Saint Agatha's (see 40909404) at Clar, near Donegal Town, Saint Columba's (see 40903104) at Drung, near Moville, and the fine Saint Patrick's (see 40839017) at Crossroads, near Killygordon. This firm was also responsible for the church that formerly stood adjacent to the south-west. This church, Eaglais Naomh Fionán [Saint Finian's Catholic Church], was originally built in 1877 in an Early English Gothic style that complimented the form of this school; this church was demolished c.1982 and replaced by a modern church building (see 40812008). This former school is an integral element of the built heritage and social history of An Fál Carrach [Falcarragh], and is an interesting feature in the streetscape to the east end of the village. The simple rubble stone boundary walls to site, and the good quality gateway to the north with ashlar piers and pitched ashlar coping over add to the setting and context.