''An Bun Beag'' (anglicised as Bunbeg), meaning "the small river mouth", is a small

Gaeltacht ( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially recog ...

village and

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ga, Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region. It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconne ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

. It is officially the smallest townland in ''

Gaoth Dobhair Gweedore ( ; officially known by its Irish language name, ) is an Irish-speaking district and parish located on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. Gweedore stretches some from Glasserchoo in the north to Crolly ...

'' (Gweedore), but today the name Bunbeg is used to describe a large region of the parish. It is situated between

Derrybeg Doirí Beaga (anglicised as Derrybeg, meaning 'small oak trees'), is a Gaeltacht village and townland in the parish of Gweedore (''Gaoth Dobhair'') in County Donegal, Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in t ...

and the townland of Dore and is home to many of Gweedore's amenities and businesses. The

Clady River The River Clady is a mid-scale river in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland, a tributary of the Lower Bann. It forms from the confluence of the Grillagh River and Knockoneil River. Course The river flows through the flatlands outside C ...

(

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

: ''An Chláidigh'') flows into the Crolly River (also known as the Gweedore River) beside Bunbeg

Quay A wharf, quay (, also ), staith, or staithe is a structure on the shore of a harbour or on the bank of a river or canal where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers. Such a structure includes one or more berths (mooring location ...

, on the south-western outskirts of Bunbeg. There is a ferry service from Bunbeg to nearby

Tory Island Tory Island, or simply Tory (officially known by its Irish name ''Toraigh''),Toraigh/Tory Island

thunderstorm A thunderstorm, also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm, is a storm characterized by the presence of lightning and its acoustic effect on the Earth's atmosphere, known as thunder. Relatively weak thunderstorms are someti ...

struck the villages of Bunbeg and Derrybeg and other parts of

Gweedore Gweedore ( ; officially known by its Irish language name, ) is an Irish-speaking district and parish located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. Gweedore stretches some from Glasserchoo in the ...

. It lasted for several hours and caused two rivers to burst their banks, flooding houses and businesses, and damaging roads and bridges. Lightning strikes damaged

power lines Electric power transmission is the bulk movement of electrical energy from a generating site, such as a power plant, to an electrical substation. The interconnected lines that facilitate this movement form a ''transmission network''. This is d ...

and

mobile phone A mobile phone, cellular phone, cell phone, cellphone, handphone, hand phone or pocket phone, sometimes shortened to simply mobile, cell, or just phone, is a portable telephone that can make and receive calls over a radio frequency link whil ...

services, causing those trapped by the floods to be unable to communicate.Donegal Democrat, Clean up underway after freak flash flood in Gweedore, 24 June 2009
Described as the worst storm 'in living memory', it was also the most severe since 1880 when 5 people drowned in Derrybeg. While the highly localised nature of the storm meant the bulk of the rainfall missed the network of

rain gauge A rain gauge (also known as udometer, pluvia metior, pluviometer, ombrometer, and hyetometer) is an instrument used by meteorologists and hydrologists to gather and measure the amount of liquid precipitation over a predefined area, over a period o ...

s, the

Irish Meteorological Service Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

estimated that up to of rain fell between 2pm and 6pm of 23 June 2009.Met Service report on the flood
/ref>

Appearances in music

Bunbeg is mentioned in the song "Left in Peace" from the album ''Finisterres'' (1997) by Héritage des Celtes.

References

External links

{{coord, 55, 03, 39, N, 8, 18, 01, W, region:IE_type:city, display=title Gaeltacht places in County Donegal Gaeltacht towns and villages Geography of Gweedore Towns and villages in County Donegal