County Donegal

County Donegal
*Contae Dhún na nGall*
map

Basic data
Country:	Ireland
Administrative headquarters:	Lifford
Province:	Ulster
Irish name:	Tír Chonail
Surface:	4860 km²
Residents:	159,192 (2016)
License Plate:	DL

Donegal county map

Division into historical baronies

Donegal [ ˌdɒnɪˈɡɔːl ] ( Irish Dhún na nGall [ ˈd̪ˠuːn̪ˠ n̪ˠə ˈŋaɫ ], about "fortress of the foreigners") is a county in the Republic of Ireland and is located in the Ulster region .

Surname

The name Tyrconnell (or Tyrconnel ), referring to a medieval kingdom in this area, is rarely used in English today. In Irish, however, this name ( Tír Chonail , mostly Tír Chonaill ( ˌtʲiːɾʲ ˈxɔnɔlʲ "Land of Conall")) is common, while Dún na nGall usually means the city of Donegal. The name in turn refers to an early medieval Viking castle. The terms "Donegal" and "Tyrconnell" are not exact synonyms, since the Inishowen peninsula belongs to Donegal, but traditionally not to Tyrconnell.

geography

The northernmost county of Ireland lies between the River Foyle and Donegal Bay or the Atlantic . The country consists mainly of the mountains of the Blue Stack Mountains , the Derry Veagh Mountains and the elevations on the Inishowen Peninsula . The highest point is Mount Errigal with a height of 752 m. The coast of Donegal is very rugged with bays and peninsulas. There are often miles of sandy beaches between cliffs up to 600 m high. Malin Head on the Inishowen Peninsula is the northernmost point of the Republic of Ireland.

Located in Donegal at Slieve League the falsely often called the highest cliffs cliffs of Europe designated Slieve League , while not as well known as the most visited Cliffs of Moher , due to their rugged beauty but are no less impressive.

history

Donegal was settled over 9,000 years ago. There are many archaeological sites for the subsequent period, such as dolmen tombs .

Christianity had great influence in Donegal early on and many of the early Christian monuments can be visited today, e.g. B. Churches and places dedicated to the memory of Saint Columcille , who is considered a convert to Scotland .

In the south of the county is Lough Derg , a well-known pilgrimage site in honor of St. Patrick . In the city of Donegal you can see the ruins of the Franciscan monastery of the same name from the 15th century and Donegal Castle.

Donegal, part of the Ulster region, as well as Cavan and Monaghan in the interior of the island have belonged to the Republic of Ireland , not Northern Ireland , since the division of Ireland in 1921 .

politics

The distribution of seats in Donegal County Council following the local elections on May 23, 2014:

Political party	Seats
Fianna Fáil	11
Sinn Féin	9
Fine Gael	6th
Labor Party	1
Non-party	10

Donegal sends five MEPs to the Irish Parliament ( Dáil Éireann ); In the last election in 2016, Fianna Fáil won 2 seats and Fine Gael, Sinn Féin and an independent candidate one each.

economy

The vast grass pastures made the county one of the main sheep-raising areas in Ireland. In Killybegs the center of the Irish fishing industry is. Donegal is largely dependent on tourism income. With tourism came the economic boom, in the course of which many EU citizens finally immigrated here.

traffic

With Donegal Airport at Carrickfinn, the county has a regional airport, from which flybe serves Dublin and Glasgow .

The nearest train station is in Derry (Londonderry) in neighboring Northern Ireland.

tourism

Tourism is Donegal's main source of income, alongside sheep farming. Alternative tourism and club tourism can be found here as well as long-term tourism, which only makes up one eighth. Donegal is mainly geared towards short vacationers with many bed and breakfast options. After the strong industrialization in the rest of Ireland since 1990, attempts have been made in Donegal to preserve the traditional Ireland and to market it primarily for tourism.