White Fathers Cave

Useful Information

Location:	N16 Enniskillen – Sligo road, Moneygashel, Cavan. 2.4 km west of Blacklion on N16, at the Loughan House prison take R206 towards Glangelvin/Cavan Burren Park, after 50 m first turn right. At the single lane road is a gate in the fence and a sign. (54.2866319, -7.9211446)
Open:	All year after appointment. [2024]
Fee:
Classification:	Karst Cave
Light:	bring torch
Dimension:	D=8-10 °C, L=400 m.
Guided tours:	D=4h/8h
Photography:	allowed
Accessibility:	no
Bibliography:	H. Holgate (1957): Journal of the Craven Pothole Club, 3, p. 139 (): Western Cuilcagh – White Father’s Caves, Cavan - County Geological Site Report. pdf
Address:
As far as we know this information was accurate when it was published (see years in brackets), but may have changed since then. Please check rates and details directly with the companies in question if you need more recent info.

History

1953	Loughan House built as a noviciate for the White Fathers Missionary Congregation.
1972	purchased by the Department of Justice.
1998	Cuilcagh Mountain Park set up by the Fermanagh District Council to protect unaffected areas of the blanket bog and increase awareness of this rare habitat.
2001	Cuilcagh Lakelands Geopark created.
2008	Cuilcagh Lakelands Geopark becomes a UNESCO Global Geopark.

Description

White Fathers Cave or Whitefathers Cave is a river cave located at the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland, in the Sligo/Fermanagh karst area. It was named after the nearby Whitefathers Noviciary, which was a noviciate for the White Fathers Missionary Congregation. The property was purchased by the Department of Justice in 1972 and is now a low-security open detention centre named Loughan House. The cave is also known as St. Augustine’s Cave, probably its former name. It is a geotope of the Cuilcagh Lakelands Geopark and signposted, unfortunately there is no car park, despite the statements on several webpages. Actually the locations given are also mostly wrong too. This is of little importance if you go there with a guided cave trecking tour, where you will meet somewhere else to gear up first. If you just want to see the natural bridge and the cave entrance, we suggest parking 250 m down the R206 at St. Parick's Church. Also, we recommend wearing gum boots.

The cave is quite young, the most likely theory is that it was formed by the meling waters of the last Cold Age, about 12,000 to 8,000 years ago. Probably there was a much smaller and older cave system before. But the ceiling is rather thin, and so it started to collapse at some points. This is a cave ruin with three sections of a formerly larger cave system, the roof between the remaining sections has collapsed and was removed by the cave river. The remaining caves are in total 400 m long, and so the river sinks three times and reappears three times on the lower end of the cave. The first cave is a natural bridge and quite short. The second cave is about 60 m long, and after a short roofless section, the third cave with a length of 200 m follows. The nameless river then flows into Upper Lough MacNean after about 250 m.

Really impressive is the fact that the cave was not destroyed by the construction of the new N16 road. The first section was used as a natural bridge by the old road, the second section offers the same service for the new road. And despite the rather thin limestone of the ceiling, it has not collapsed. Another weird fact is that most of the cave is below the grounds of the Loughan House Prison, which is located north of the N16. As far as we know, the cave was never used for a prison break. Probably because this is an "open house", which we think means low security or open penal system. In other words, the inmates get regularly out of the prison without the need to wade through ice-cold water.

There is a fence, a staircase, and a viewing platform which was installed as public infrastructure at the second cave. Normal visitors have a look at the entrance from the safety of the path and do not enter the cave. Actually, that's what the Geopark officially suggests, and they neither offer tours nor recommend cave trecking operators. But they have pdfs for download for teachers and a quiz for students. While this cave is not developed, it is guided regularly on cave trekking tours for 20 years now. All caves in this area may be flooded during heavy rains, so all caving trips are weather-dependent. As a result, trips may be canceled or postponed at short notice. There are various operators which guide into wild caves in the area. It seems the operators have changed completely during the last ten years, we listed some, but actually we suggest asking the local cavers.

It seems the cave showed some degradation after years of tours when the site became part of the nature park and then the Geopark. It is now better protected, but tours are still available, nevertheless, the rules for the protection of the cave are fortunately much stronger. The White Father’s Caves Conservation Plan was commissioned by the County Council. The cave tours were offered all year round, but the caves are home to Daubenton’s bats (Myotis daubentonii), so we guess today bat protection applies and the caves are closed between NOV and APR. It's hard to say as they do not give open hours any more, they offer online booking instead. Mandatory online booking systems are the most annoying Explain Post-pandemic Aftermath. The caves are horizontal and rather easy caves, but there is the cave river, and the whole tour requires wading through cold water, and there are some places where the participants get wet to the belly. We strongly recommend going only with a guided tour. The tour includes walking, crawling and wading through water. Required equipment are gum boots, wetsuits, oversuits, gloves, helmet, light, and belt, some operators provide the gear. Visitors should also bring a swimsuit and warm socks. And a towel and a complete change of clothes to use after the caving trip.