County Donegal

County Donegal (pronounced /ˈdʌnᵻɡɔːl/ or /ˌdʌnᵻˈɡɔːl/; Irish: Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Border Region and is in the province of Ulster. It is named after the town of Donegal (Dún na nGall) in the south of the county. Donegal County Council is the local council for the county and Lifford serves as the county town. The population of the county was 161,137 according to the 2011 census. It has also been known as (County) Tyrconnell (Tír Chonaill), after the historic territory of the same name.

Geography and political subdivisions

In terms of size and area, it is the largest county in Ulster and the fourth-largest county in all of Ireland. Uniquely, County Donegal shares a small border with only one other county in the Republic of Ireland – County Leitrim. The greater part of its land border is shared with three counties of Northern Ireland: County Londonderry, County Tyrone and County Fermanagh. This geographic isolation from the rest of the Republic has led to Donegal people maintaining a distinct cultural identity and has been used to market the county with the slogan "Up here it's different". While Lifford is the county town, Letterkenny is by far the largest town in the county with a population of 19,588. Letterkenny and the nearby city of Derry form the main economic axis of the northwest of Ireland. Indeed, what became the City of Derry was officially part of County Donegal up until 1610.

Donegal

Donegal or Donegal Town (/ˈdʌniɡɔːl/ or /ˈdʌnᵻɡɔːl/ DUN-i-gawl; Irish: Dún na nGall, meaning "fort of the foreigners") is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The name was historically written in English as Dunnagall or Dunagall.

Donegal gave its name to County Donegal, although Lifford is now the county town. Until the early 17th century, Donegal was the 'capital' of Tír Chonaill, a Gaelic kingdom controlled by the O'Donnell Clan of the Cenél Conaill. Donegal sits at the mouth of the River Eske and Donegal Bay, which is overshadowed by the Bluestack Mountains ('the Croaghs'). The town is bypassed by the N15 and N56 roads. The centre of the town, known as The Diamond, is a hub for music, poetic and cultural gatherings in the area.

History

There is archaeological evidence for settlements around the town dating to prehistoric times including the remains of round forts and other defensive earthworks.

St. Patrick was captured by raiders from the clans governed by Niall of the Nine Hostages, and this region is that to which Patrick returned, being familiar with the people, language, customs and lands. The first clan to convert to Christianity as the result of St Patrick's efforts was Clan Connaill (also known at one time as Clan Dálaigh: in English, this is pronounced Daley and it translates as "one in a leadership role"). Connall was a son of Niall of the Nine Hostages. As a result of their acceptance of Christianity, Patrick blessed the clan members; the sign of the cross appeared on the chieftain's shield and this became not only the heraldic device for the clan but also for County Donegal.

Donegal (Dáil Éireann constituency)

Donegal is a parliamentary constituency which will be represented in Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Irish parliament or Oireachtas, from the 2016 general election. The constituency will elect 5 deputies (Teachtaí Dála, commonly known as TDs). The method of election is the single transferable vote form of proportional representation (PR-STV).

History and boundaries

1921 to 1937

The Donegal constituency was created in 1921 under the Government of Ireland Act 1920, for the 1921 election to the House of Commons of Southern Ireland, whose members formed the 2nd Dáil. It elected 6 deputies in 1921, and again at the 1922 general election. It covered the whole territory of County Donegal in north-west Ireland.

Under the Electoral Act 1923, the constituency's boundaries remained unchanged, and were defined simply as "the administrative county of Donegal". However, its representation was increased from 6 to 8 seats.

The Donegal constituency was abolished by the Electoral (Revision of Constituencies) Act 1935, with effect from the 1937 general election. It was replaced by two new constituencies: the 4 seat Donegal East and the 3 seat Donegal West.

Donegal (disambiguation)

Donegal may refer to:

Places

Various municipalities in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania include the word "Donegal":

Other