Buncrana
Buncrana
Bun Cranncha | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 Buncrana from the south | |
|
Coat of arms of Buncrana Coat of arms | |
| Motto(s): | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Ulster |
| County | Donegal |
| Government | |
| • Type | Town Council |
| • Mayor of Buncrana | James Gill |
| • Dáil Éireann | Donegal North–East |
| • European Parliament | North–West |
| Elevation | 62 m (203 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Urban | 3,452 |
| • Rural | 3,747 |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-1 (IST (WEST)) |
| Irish Grid Reference | C346320 |
| Website | www |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1821 | 198 | — |
| 1831 | 1,059 | +434.8% |
| 1841 | 961 | −9.3% |
| 1851 | 797 | −17.1% |
| 1861 | 686 | −13.9% |
| 1871 | 755 | +10.1% |
| 1881 | 764 | +1.2% |
| 1891 | 735 | −3.8% |
| 1901 | 1,316 | +79.0% |
| 1911 | 1,848 | +40.4% |
| 1926 | 2,309 | +24.9% |
| 1936 | 2,295 | −0.6% |
| 1946 | 2,729 | +18.9% |
| 1951 | 3,039 | +11.4% |
| 1956 | 3,064 | +0.8% |
| 1961 | 3,165 | +3.3% |
| 1966 | 3,115 | −1.6% |
| 1971 | 3,334 | +7.0% |
| 1981 | 3,938 | +18.1% |
| 1986 | 4,131 | +4.9% |
| 1991 | 4,388 | +6.2% |
| 1996 | 4,805 | +9.5% |
| 2002 | 5,271 | +9.7% |
| 2006 | 5,911 | +12.1% |
| 2011 | 7,199 | +21.8% |
| [1] | ||
Buncrana (/[invalid input: 'icon']ˈbʌn.krænə/; Irish: Bun Cranncha, meaning 'foot of the (River) Crana') is a town in north County Donegal, Ireland. It is beside Lough Swilly on the Inishowen peninsula, 23 kilometres (14 mi) northwest of Derry and 43 kilometres (27 mi) north of Letterkenny.[2] In the 2011 census, the population was 7,199[3] making it the second most populous town in County Donegal, after Letterkenny, and the largest in Inishowen.
Buncrana is the historic home of the O'Doherty clan and originally developed around the defensive tower known as O’Doherty’s Keep at the mouth of the River Crana. The town moved to its present location just south of the River Crana when George Vaughan built the main street in 1718.
The town was a major centre for the textile industry in County Donegal from the 19th century until the mid-2000s.
History
O'Doherty's Keep
On the northern bank of the River Crana as it enters Lough Swilly sits the three-story O’Doherty’s Keep, which is the only surviving part of an original 14th century Norman castle. The first two levels of the keep were built after 1333.[4][5] In 1601 the O'Doherty's Keep was described as being a small, two story castle, inhabited by Conor McGarret O'Doherty. In 1602 the third level was added and it was upgraded by Hugh Boy O'Doherty as an intended base for Spanish military aid that hoped to land at Inch.[6]
The keep was burned by the English in 1608 in reprisal for the rebellion of Cahir O'Doherty who sacked and razed the city of Derry. After Cahir O'Doherty was killed and his land seized, the keep was granted to Sir Arthur Chichester, who then leased it to Englishman Henry Vaughan, were it was repaired and lived in by the Vaughan family until 1718.[7]
In 1718, Buncrana Castle was built by George Vaughan, it was one of the first big manor houses built in Inishowen, and stone was taken from the bawn, or defensive wall, surrounding O'Doherty's Keep to build it. It was erected on the original site of Buncrana, which had grown up in the shadow of the keep. Vaughan moved the town to its present location, where he founded the current main street and built the Castle Bridge (a six-arched stone single lane bridge) across the River Crana leading to his Castle.[8]
During the 1798 Rebellion, Theobald Wolfe Tone was held in Buncrana Castle when he was captured after the British/French naval battle off the coast of Donegal, before being taken to Derry and then subsequently to Dublin. In 1812, May 18th, Isaac Todd bought the entire town of Buncrana, also the townlands of Tullydish, Adaravan and Ballymacarry, at the Court of Chancery on behalf of the trustees of the Marquess of Donegall. His nephews inherited the castles, and they later became known as the Thornton-Todds. The castle remains as a private home today. In the forecourt there is a memorial rock in honour of Sir Cahir O'Doherty, and a plaque dedicated to Wolfe Tone.[9]
When John Newton and his shipmates on The Greyhound found a haven in Lough Swilly on 8 April 1748 after a devastating Atlantic storm, he saw his survival as divine intervention, the answer to prayer. The refuge of the Swilly and Buncrana area laid a spiritual foundation for a reformed later life. In 1764 he became a Church of England clergyman and subsequently, as curate at Olney in Buckinghamshire, an anti-slavery activist and renowned hymnist famous for writing “Amazing Grace”.[10]
One of the oldest remaining inhabited residences in Buncrana is a Georgian property called Westbrook House, situated at the entrance to Swan Park just north of the town center of Buncrana. The house was built in 1807 by Judge Wilson, who also built the single-arch stone bridge (referred to as Wilson's Bridge) leading to the house and the entrance to Swan Park.
20th Century
In October 1905, Buncrana was the first town in County Donegal to receive electricity. It was generated at Swan Mill which continued to provide electricity for the town until September 1954 when Buncrana was brought under the ESB Rural Electrification Scheme.[8]
On 30 July 1922, during the Irish Civil War, Buncrana was captured by the Free State forces from Republican forces without the loss of life. The Free State forces held the railway station, telephone and telegraph offices and all the roads entering the town. At 4:00am a sentry stopped a car on the outskirts of the town and on discovering it contained the Republican commander, with five armed volunteers, arrested them. At around 7:00am the Republican forces' position was surrounded and were given fifteen minutes to surrender. They complied, were arrested and their weapons and ammunition seized. Later that day, 100 Free State troops commandeered a train at Buncrana station and proceeded to take Clonmany, Carndonagh and other locations on the peninsula.[11]
Buncrana was the object of public attention in 1972, when after Operation Motorman it became the place of refuge for many Provisional Irish Republican Army members from Derry. In 1991, a local Sinn Féin councillor, Eddie Fullerton, was murdered by loyalists from Northern Ireland.[12]
Politics
Local
Buncrana Town Council is the Local Authority for the town and provides an extensive range of services in the area. These services range from planning control, to the provision of social housing, to the upkeep and improvement of roads, maintenance of parks, beaches and public open spaces. According to the Council's website, it "plays a proactive role in the development of the town.". In partnership with Donegal County Council, the Council assists in assuring economic growth in the town. Buncrana Town Council is made up of 9 elected members. Members are elected according to the system of proportional representation, usually for a period of five years. The Mayor of the Council is elected from the membership at the Annual General Meeting of the Council.[13] The mayor, as of 2012, is councillor James Gill.[14]
National
Buncrana is part of the Donegal North–East constituency of Dáil Éireann. At the 2011 general election, three TDs (Teachtaí Dála) were elected in the constituency; Pádraig Mac Lochlainn of Sinn Féin obtained 24.5% first preference votes, Joe McHugh of Fine Gael got 19.3% first preferences and Fianna Fáil candidate Charlie McConalogue received 17.4%.[15]
Geography
Buncrana is located on the eastern shore of Lough Swilly in north County Donegal. The main urban area of the town is situated between the Crana River to the north and the Mill River to the south. The principle street follows a rough north-south route and is divided into the Upper and Lower Main Street by the Market Square. The Main Street has a one-way traffic system. The River Crana is crossed by three bridges: Castle Bridge (which gives vehicular access to Buncrana Castle and pedestrian access to Swan Park), Westbrook Bridge (officially, Wilson's Bridge) and Cockhill Bridge. The Mill River, south of the town, is crossed by two bridges: Victoria Bridge (known locally as the Iron Bridge) which is the main point of access to the town and the Mill Bridge which is at the end of the Mill Brae road at the south end of the town.
Geology
The underlying bedrock includes Fahan slate formation. The river valley of the Mill River flows over a narrow band of Culdaff limestone with a sill of metadolerite along the rivers southern embankment extending from the estuarine zone inland. Sandy gravels and clonglomerates overlie bedrock. The geology was formed during the Lower Carboniferous Period. The local soils throughout the area range from shallow to moderate depth peaty podzols and established podzolics types with a moderate percentage of loam and sandy clays.
Climate
Buncrana, like the rest of Ireland, has a temperate oceanic climate, or Cfb on the Köppen climate classification system, characterised by cool summers and mild winters.[16] Ireland's position in the Atlantic Ocean means that its climate is strongly influenced by the Gulf Stream, which keeps it a few degrees warmer than other locations at the same latitude.
These are the average temperature and rainfall figures between 1961 and 1990 taken at the Met Éireann weather station at Malin Head, about 35 kilometres (22 mi) northwest of Buncrana:
| Climate data for Malin Head (1961-1990) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 7.6 (45.7) |
7.5 (45.5) |
8.7 (47.7) |
10.3 (50.5) |
12.7 (54.9) |
15.0 (59.0) |
16.2 (61.2) |
16.6 (61.9) |
15.3 (59.5) |
13.0 (55.4) |
9.8 (49.6) |
8.4 (47.1) |
11.8 (53.2) |
| Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.2 (37.8) |
2.9 (37.2) |
3.7 (38.7) |
5.0 (41.0) |
7.1 (44.8) |
9.6 (49.3) |
11.4 (52.5) |
11.4 (52.5) |
10.1 (50.2) |
8.3 (46.9) |
5.2 (41.4) |
4.2 (39.6) |
6.8 (44.3) |
| Average precipitation mm (inches) | 114.2 (4.50) |
76.6 (3.02) |
86.5 (3.41) |
57.5 (2.26) |
58.9 (2.32) |
65.0 (2.56) |
71.8 (2.83) |
91.6 (3.61) |
102.1 (4.02) |
118.7 (4.67) |
114.7 (4.52) |
102.9 (4.05) |
1,060.5 (41.77) |
| Source: Met Éireann[17] | |||||||||||||
Transport
Buncrana railway station opened on 9 September 1864, was closed for passenger traffic on 6 September 1948, and finally closed altogether on 10 August 1953.[18] Lough Swilly Buses continues to service the area with a bus service seven days a week with around 12 buses per day going to Buncrana from Derry and vice-versa. The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway operates the Lough Swilly Buses.[19]
The nearest railway station is operated by Northern Ireland Railways and runs from Derry / Londonderry railway station via Coleraine to Belfast Central railway station and Belfast Great Victoria Street railway station. The strategically important Belfast-Derry railway line is to be upgraded to facilitate more frequent trains and improvements to the permanent way such as track and signalling to enable faster services.[20]
Buncrana is connected to the rest of the national road network via two regional roads, the R238 and a short section of the R239 from Burnfoot to Bridgend. This connects it to the N13, the national primary road that connects Letterkenny and Derry (it becomes the A2 when it crosses the border). The town is considered the gateway to Inishowen and lies on the "Inishowen 100", an approximate 100 mile route around the peninsula that passes various scenic sites.
Demography
| Buncrana Compared | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 Irish census | Buncrana | County Donegal | Ireland |
| Total population | 5,911 | 147,264 | 4,239,848 |
| Foreign born | 9.8% | 7.3% | 10.1% |
| White or White Irish | 97.3% | 97.4% | 94.8% |
| Black or Black Irish | 0.2% | 0.5% | 1.1% |
| Asian or Asian Irish | 0.6% | 0.5% | 1.3% |
| Roman Catholic | 92.5% | 86.4% | 86.8% |
| Church of Ireland (including Protestant) | 1.4% | 4.5% | 3.0% |
| No religion | 3.0% | 2.4% | 4.4% |
| Ability to speak Irish | 29.4% | 39.0% | 40.8% |
| Third level degree or higher | 13.6% | 12.5% | 18.5% |
The preliminary results of the 2011 Irish census puts the population of Buncrana at 7,199. The full results of the 2011 census are expected to be published from March to December 2012. The most recent full census results available are the 2006 Irish census putting the town's population at 5,991. The town had 2,038 households, 47.6% were made up of married couples, 7.0% of cohabitation couples, 16.3% of households had lone parents and 22.7% were made up of people living alone.
Around 92.5% of residents claimed to be Roman Catholic, 1.4% Church of Ireland, and about 2% were of a different Christian religion or other stated religion. The percentage of residents with no religion was 3% and 1% did not state a religion.
The town is predominantly white with around 9.8% of its residents being born abroad.
Of people aged 3 and over, 29.4% could speak Irish.
The percentage of people over the age of 15 whose full-time education had ceased who possessed a third level degree or higher was 13.6%.
There were 2,938 males and 2,973 females in Buncrana in the 2006 census.
Tourism
Buncrana has a relatively strong tourism industry, and it is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the northwest of Ireland. This is possibly due to its close proximity to Derry City, and also for its wide range of retail stores. It also has well-developed tourist facilities, and it serves as the main town on the Inishowen peninsula, which also helps with sustaining the tourism industry in the town.[21]
Lisfannon beach, a Blue Flag beach, sits on the shores of Lough Swilly just south of the town, and is an important recreational beach that is popular with locals and day-trippers from Derry.[22]
Sport
Buncrana is home to many sports clubs, including clubs for soccer, Gaelic football and hurling, athletics and watersports. Football clubs based around Buncrana include Buncrana Hearts F.C., Cockhill Celtic F.C. and Illies Celtic. Buncrana Hearts F.C. and Cockhill Celtic are the main teams in the area, and play in the Ulster Senior League. In recent years, they have both reached the finals of the Donegal News Ulster Senior League Cup and Knockalla Caravans Cup.
Gaelic Football is also a popular sport in Buncrana, and the club caters for teams from Under-8 level right up to Senior level. They play their home games at the Scarvey,the team is vey successful underage, winning at least two inishowen titles the last few seasons and winning four county championships since 2000, reaching under-14 final for the past two seasons as well as the under 15s last season.
Buncrana Golf Club has the oldest 9-hole links course in Ireland.[23]
Culture
Three buildings in Buncrana are recorded on the Record of Protected Structures, namely the Drift Inn (formerly Buncrana Railway Station), Buncrana Castle and Swan Mill.[24]
Music
Buncrana has a vibrant music scene with a host of local pubs or bars having live music most nights of the week. Roddens Bar, O Flaherty's and The Drift Inn are always good for a mix of traditional, rock and country music. The annual Buncrana Music & Arts Festival takes place every 23 July in the town.[25]
The Buncrana Music and Arts festival returned to the town in 2010, after a five year absence. The festival included successful performances from The Coronas, The Undertones and Altan. It will return in 2011, and will take place during the month of July.
Buncrana is also famous for producing traditional music artists. Dinny McLaughlin, Paul McClure, Ciaran Tourish and Tom Byrne are all natives of the town, and have performed to critical acclaim all over the country.
Media
The two main local newspapers that serve the Inishowen area, the Inish Times and the Inishowen Independent, have their offices in Buncrana. Local issues in the town and peninsula are also covered in the Derry Journal. The local radio station is Highland Radio and it is based in Letterkenny.
Education
Buncrana is served by two secondary schools: Crana College, a vocational school managed by the Vocational Educational Committee (VEC) and Scoil Mhuire, a voluntary secondary school under the trusteeship of CEIST (Catholic Education Irish Schools Trust). Crana College was set up in 1925, while Scoil Mhuire developed in 1933.[26] As of September 2011, Crana College had 540[27] registered students, while Scoil Mhuire had around 700.[28] The town's main primary schools are Scoil Íosagáin and Cockhill National School. Other smaller primary schools include St Mura's National School and Gaelscoil Bhun Chrannacha.[29]
Buncrana Community Library opened in 2000 in a refurbished Presbyterian church. It won the Public Library Buildings Awards 2001 for the best small library in the converted, extended or refurbished category.[30]
People
- Daniel Devlin, (1814 – 22 February 1867), prosperous businessman and City Chamberlain of New York City
- Danny Hutton, (born 10 September 1942), singer with Three Dog Night and head of Hanna-Barbera Records from 1965 – 1966
- Eddie Fullerton, (1935 – 25 May 1991), Sinn Féin councillor assassinated by the UDA
- Frank McGuinness, (born 29 July 1953), playwright and poet whose work includes Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme
- John Doherty, (1798 – 1854), radical trade unionist
- Michael McCorkell, (3 May 1925 – 13 November 2006), Lord Lieutenant of County Londonderry
- Patrick Stone, (14 March 1854 – 23 December 1926), member of the Western Australian Legislative Assembly
- Ray McAnally, (30 March 1926 – 15 June 1989), actor whose filmography includes The Mission, My Left Foot, and A Very British Coup
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Buncrana is twinned with two towns. It twinned with Campbellsville, Kentucky as both towns had a large Fruit of the Loom plant. The plant was a large source of employment in Buncrana before it moved its operations overseas to Morocco.[31] Buncrana is twinned with the following towns:
| Town | Geographical location | Nation | Since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Campbellsville | Kentucky |  USA
|
1991 |
| Fréhel/Plévenon | Brittany |  France
|
2007 |
See also
References
- ^ http://www.cso.ie/census and www.histpop.org. Post 1961 figures include environs of Buncrana. For a discussion on the accuracy of pre-famine census returns see JJ Lee “On the accuracy of the pre-famine Irish censuses” in Irish Population, Economy and Society edited by JM Goldstrom and LA Clarkson (1981) p54, and also “New Developments in Irish Population History, 1700-1850” by Joel Mokyr and Cormac Ó Gráda in The Economic History Review, New Series, Vol. 37, No. 4 (Nov., 1984), pp. 473-488.
- ^ "Town information: location". buncrana.com. Retrieved 15 October 2011.
- ^ "Preliminary results of 2011 census". Central Statistics Office. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ Archer, Lucy (1999). Architecture in Britain and Ireland, 600-1500. Harvill Press. ISBN 978-1-86046-701-1.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Harbison, Peter (1975). Guide to the national monuments in the Republic of Ireland. Gill & Macmillan.
- ^ Harbison, Peter (1975). Guide to the national monuments in the Republic of Ireland. Gill & Macmillan.
- ^ Lewis, Samuel (1837). A Topological Dictionary of Ireland vol.1.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ a b "Chronology of local history". Buncrana Town Council (visitbuncrana.com). Retrieved 14 October 2011.
- ^ "Local history". Buncrana Town Council (visitbuncrana.com). Retrieved 14 October 2011.
- ^ "John Newton and Lough Swilly". amazinggrace.ie. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
- ^ "REBELS ARE ROUTED IN DONEGAL TOWNS; Free State Troops Capture Gar- risons at Letterkenney, Buncrana and Cardonagh. ENDS BRIGANDAGE THERE Raiders Had Terrorized the District for Weeks, Frequently Holding Up Trains". The New York Times. 1 July 1922.
- ^ "Eddie Fullerton murder probe". Derry Journal. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ http://www.buncrana.ie/Article_Listings.aspx?tscategory_id=16&category_name=Welcome+Note
- ^ "Buncrana Town Council elects new Mayor". Donegal Democrat. 14 June 2012. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ^ "Donegal North–East". RTÉ News. 28 February 2011. Retrieved 5 November 2011.
- ^ Peel, M. C. and Finlayson, B. L. and McMahon, T. A. (2007). "Updated world map of the Köppen–Geiger climate classification". Hydrol. Earth Syst. Sci. 11: 1633–1644. ISSN 1027-5606.
{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) (direct: Final Revised Paper) - ^ "Malin Head, monthly and annual mean values (1961-1990)". Met Éireann. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
- ^ "Buncrana station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-09-13.
- ^ "History". The Londonderry & Lough Swilly Railway Company. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ McDaid, Brendan (9 November 2011). "Derry rail upgrade right on track". The Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 15 February 2012.
- ^ http://www.city-travel-guide.co.uk/travel-guide/buncrana-travel-guide.html
- ^ "Awarded sites: Lisfannon beach". blueflag.org. Retrieved 14 October 2011.
- ^ http://www.golfinginireland.ie/clubs_courses/donegal/buncranna.htm
- ^ "Appendix 5 Environmental Report in respect of the Buncrana & Environs Development Plan 2008- 2015" (PDF). Buncrana and Environs Development Plan 2008 - 2014. Donegal County Council. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
- ^ www.facebook.com/buncranamusicfestival
- ^ "Scoil Mhuire secondary school, Buncrana". CEIST. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "A Brief History". Crana College. Retrieved 20 October 2011.
- ^ "About The School". Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana. Retrieved 20 December 2011.
- ^ "Information: Education". Buncrana Town Council (buncrana.com). Retrieved 21 October 2011.
- ^ "Buncrana Community Library". librarybuildings.ie. Retrieved 8 November 2011.
- ^ Deegan, Gordon (25 October 2010). "Fruit of the Loom plant tranfer to Morocco". Irish Independent. Retrieved 13 October 2011.
