Inishowen West (), also called West Inishowen or Innishowen West, is a
barony Barony may refer to:
* Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron
* Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron
* Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
in
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 Tyrcon ...
,
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. ...
. Baronies were mainly
cadastral
A cadastre or cadaster is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref>
Often it is represented graphically in a cad ...
rather than administrative units. They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in the 19th century before being superseded by the
Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898
The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 (61 & 62 Vict. c. 37) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that established a system of local government in Ireland similar to that already created for England, ...
.
Etymology
Inishowen West takes its name from
Inishowen
Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland.
The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringfort ...
, in Irish ''Inis Eoghain'', "Eoghan's island
eninsula, referring to
Eógan mac Néill
Eógan mac Néill ( modern orthography: Eoghan mac Néill) (reportedly died 465) was a son of Niall Noígiallach and the eponymous ancestor of the Cenél nEógain (kindred of Eoghan) branch of the Northern Uí Néill. The Cenél Eoghan would f ...
, a semi-legendary king of the 5th century AD and ancestor of the
Cenél nEógain
Cenél is a surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Cenél Conaill, the name of the "kindred" or descendants of Conall Gulban, son of Niall Noígiallach defined by oral and recorded history
* Cenél nEógain (in English, Cenel Eogan) i ...
dynasty.
Geography
Inishowen West is located in the southwest of the
Inishowen Peninsula
Inishowen () is a peninsula in the north of County Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on the island of Ireland.
The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point, Malin Head. The Grianan of Aileach, a ringfort ...
.
History
Between the 9th and 13th centuries Inishowen was divided into three sectors, Aileach, Bredach and
Cairrge Brachaidhe (Carraickabraghy) in the west. O'Mulhall (Mulfaal) and O'Hogain are cited as chiefs of Carrichbrack (Carrickbraghy). Inishowen was originally a single barony but was divided by 1851 into
East
East or Orient is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from west and is the direction from which the Sun rises on the Earth.
Etymology
As in other languages, the word is formed from the fac ...
and West.
List of settlements
Below is a list of settlements in Inishowen West:
*
Buncrana
Buncrana ( ; ) is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is beside Lough Swilly on the Inishowen peninsula, northwest of Derry and north of Letterkenny. In the 2016 census, the population was 6,785 making it the second most populous town in ...
*
Bridgend
Bridgend (; cy, Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr or just , meaning "the end of the bridge on the Ogmore") is a town in Bridgend County Borough in Wales, west of Cardiff and east of Swansea. The town is named after the medieval bridge over the River Og ...
*
Burnfoot
*
Fahan
Fahan (; ) is a district of Inishowen in the north of County Donegal, Ireland, located 5 km (3 miles) south of Buncrana. In Irish, Fahan is named after its patron saint, Saint Mura, first abbot of Fahan, an early Christian monastery.
His ...
*
Muff
References
{{County Donegal
Baronies of County Donegal