The Burn Dale (

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 Daoil'', meaning 'the Black One' Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 54. The Institute of Irish Studies,

The Queen's University of Belfast , mottoeng = For so much, what shall we give back? , top_free_label = , top_free = , top_free_label1 = , top_free1 = , top_free_label2 = , top_free2 = , established = , closed = , type = Public research university , parent = ...

, Belfast, 1999.) is a

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, cold, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ultraviolet radiation (like sunburn). Most burns are due to heat from hot liquids (called scalding), solids, or fire. Burns occur mainl ...

or small river in the east of

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 ...

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label= Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United King ...

, the northern

province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''Roman province, provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire ...

in Ireland. Angélique Day and Patrick McWilliams (Editors), ''Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Volume 39 - Parishes of County Donegal II, 1835-6: Mid, West and South Donegal'', p. 1, p. 18 and p. 188. The Institute of Irish Studies,

, Belfast, 1997 (in association with the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ga, Acadamh Ríoga na hÉireann), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the sciences, humanities and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned socie ...

). Samuel Lewis, ''Counties Londonderry and Donegal: A Topographical Dictionary'', p. 72. Friar's Bush Press,

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdo ...

, 2004 (originally published in London in 1837). LOUGHS AGENCY: Foyle and Carlingford Catchments - Deele River. https://fishinginireland.info/trout/loughsagency/ ''River Deele and Tributaries Catchment Status Report 2010'' (Report Ref.: LA/CSR/04/11), p. 10. Loughs Agency,

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry (), is the second-largest city in Northern Ireland and the fifth-largest city on the island of Ireland. The name ''Derry'' is an anglicisation of the Old Irish name (modern Irish: ) meaning 'oak grove'. The ...

, 2010 (this publication can be viewed online). The burn is also known in

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

as the Dale Burn, the Burn Deele, the Burndale River, the Deele River or the River Deele. In the

Ulster Scots dialect Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (', ga, Albainis Uladh), also known as Ulster Scotch and Ullans, is the dialect of Scots language, Scots spoken in parts of Ulster in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.Gregg, R. J. (1972) "The Scotch-I ...

, a '

' is a stream or small river.

Course

The Burn Dale rises in, and flows through, East Donegal. It rises near Lough Dale, also known as Lough Deele, a

lough ''Loch'' () is the Scottish Gaelic, Scots and Irish word for a lake or sea inlet. It is cognate with the Manx lough, Cornish logh, and one of the Welsh words for lake, llwch. In English English and Hiberno-English, the anglicised spel ...

just below Cark Mountain, very near the 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 ...

Drumkeen Drumkeen () is a village and townland in County Donegal, Ireland. The village is near the N13 primary road, about west of Convoy. The village population was 193 at the 2016 census. The local soccer club, Drumkeen United, play at St Patrick's P ...

. The burn flows to the east-south-east from its source, mainly flowing in an east-south-easterly direction for its entire course. It flows around the southern edges of both Drumkeen and

Convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

, flowing about two miles to the south of Raphoe, and then flows through the village of

Ballindrait Ballindrait () is a townland, village and census town in County Donegal, Ireland. Located near Lifford, the village and townland of Ballindrait is in the civil parish of Clonleigh and the barony of Raphoe North. The Burn Dale flows through th ...

. Ballindrait Townland, Co. Donegal. https://www.townlands.ie/donegal/raphoe-north/clonleigh/clonleigh-north/ballindrait/ The burn flows through two baronies: Raphoe South and Raphoe North. Some stretches of the burn form the boundary between the Finn Valley and The Laggan, two traditional 'districts' in East Donegal. The mouth of the Burn Dale is where the townland of Coolatee 'marches up against' (borders or meets) the townland of Wood Island, on the northern outskirts of

Lifford Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding th ...

. It empties into the River Foyle directly opposite the Islandmore, a townland and part of an island that is just under a mile east from Mulrine's Bridge, entering a channel of the Foyle about a mile north-north-east of

Lifford Bridge Lifford Bridge (in Irish ''Droichead Leifear'') is a cross-border bridge spanning the River Foyle in Ireland. It connects Strabane in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and Lifford in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland, joining the A38 ro ...

. Island More Townland, Co. Donegal. https://www.townlands.ie/donegal/raphoe-north/clonleigh/clonleigh-north/island-more/ The Burn Dale is almost 20 miles (almost 32

kilometres The kilometre ( SI symbol: km; or ), spelt kilometer in American English, is a unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), equal to one thousand metres (kilo- being the SI prefix for ). It is now the measurement unit used for ...

) long. The N13 crosses the Burn Dale just outside Drumkeen, while the N14 crosses the Burn Dale at Mulrine's Bridge, near the Rossgeir Junction, just to the north of Lifford. The stretch of the R236 known locally as 'the Braaid Rayid' or 'the Braaid Roád', both Ulster-Scots terms meaning 'the Broad Road', crosses the Burn Dale at Glasly Bridge, just to the west-south-west of Convoy. The R264 crosses the Burn Dale in Ballindrait.

References

{{coord, 54.8486, -7.4704, format=dms, type:river_region:IE, display=title Rivers of County Donegal