Dungloe
Dungloe (official name An Clochán Liath meaning The Grey Stepping Stone)[1] is a town in the Gaeltacht of County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and is the main town in The Rosses. Dungloe developed as a town in the middle of the 18th Century, and now serves as the administrative centre for the west of Donegal, and in particular The Rosses, with the only mainland secondary school for the area - the others are on the islands.
The town is the current headquarters of The Rosses' indigenous supermarket chain, The Cope, and is home to the annual Mary From Dungloe International Festival. It is also known as being the favoured holiday destination of Irish media celebrity Gay Byrne.
There is a river at the bottom of the town and years ago the only crossing was over a grey granite slab lying in the riverbed, hence the Irish name of the town, An Clochan Liath, or in English, The Grey Stepping Stone. The bridge was built in 1762.
On 18th century maps (e.g. Taylor & Skinner 1776), Dungloe is written as Cloghanlea. The name Dungloe came into common English usage in the later years of the 18th Century when the monthly fair, formerly held at Dún an Gleó five miles north of the nascent town, was transferred to An Clochan Liath. In time the name of the fair and that of the town were subsumed. Dungloe is in the Parish of Templecrone. The early cartographers, notably the marine cartographers of the mid 19th Century, confused the issue by spelling the name of the town as Dunglow. This mistake is often still seen, even on signage of Donegal County Council. It was also the English name used in the Placename Order, which made An Clochán Liath the only official name for the town.[2]
Transport
The town is serviced by two private bus companies, McGeehan's, who provide a link to national Bus Éireann routes through Donegal Town, while Lough Swilly Bus provides services to the north of the county, including Letterkenny, and to Derry. In 1903, the town was linked to the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway, however the station was closed on 3 June 1940 as part of a process that saw the closure of all railways in the County.[3] Dungloe's station was located four miles outside the town, and was known as Dungloe Road or Lough Meela station. The company that once operated the railways continue to play a part in the transport infrastructure in the County and run the Lough Swilly Bus service.
See also
References
- ^ Placenames (Ceantair Ghaeltachta) Order 2004
- ^ Placenames (Ceantair Ghaeltachta) Order 2004
- ^ "Dungloe station" (PDF). Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved 2007-09-05.
54°57′N 8°22′W / 54.950°N 8.367°W
