The N56 road is a
national secondary road
A national secondary road ( ga, Bóthar Náisiúnta den Dara Grád) is a category of road in Ireland. These roads form an important part of the national route network but are secondary to the main arterial routes which are classified as national ...
in the
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. A ...
that runs from
Donegal Town
Donegal ( ; , "fort of the foreigners") is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The name was also historically spelt 'Dunnagall'. Although Donegal gave its name to the county, now Lifford is the county town. From the 15th until the early 17th ce ...
clockwise to
Letterkenny
Letterkenny ( ga, Leitir Ceanainn , meaning 'hillside of the O'Cannons'), nicknamed 'the Cathedral Town', is the largest and most populous town in County Donegal, a county in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Letterkenny lies on the R ...
. As originally designated, it included the section of the
N13 between
Stranorlar
Stranorlar () is a town, townland and civil parish in the Finn Valley of County Donegal, in Ireland. Stranorlar and Ballybofey (located on the other side of the River Finn) form ''the Twin Towns''.
Transport
The town is located at the junctio ...
and Letterkenny, forming a circular route including parts of the
N15.
The route runs through the
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 ...
in north-western
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 ...
, forming a main coastal route in
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 road bypasses Donegal Town and
Mountcharles
Mountcharles () is a village and townland (of 650 acres) in the south of County Donegal, Ireland. It lies 6 km from Donegal Town on the Killybegs road ( N56). It is situated in the civil parish of Inver and the historic barony of Banagh. ...
at the southern end of the route, and skirts the edge of Letterkenny at the eastern end. Significant upgrade work began construction between 2012 and 2019 to upgrade the bulk of the route between Donegal Town and
Dungloe
''An Clochán Liath'', known in English as Dungloe or Dunglow ( ), is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the main town in The Rosses and the largest in the Donegal ''Gaeltacht''. Dungloe developed as a town in the middle of the 18th century ...
in two separate schemes; from Mountcharles to
Inver
Inver () is a small village in County Donegal, Ireland. It lies on the N56 National secondary road midway between Killybegs to the west and Donegal Town to the east. It is also a civil parish in the historic barony of Banagh.
History
Inve ...
and from
Glenties
Glenties () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is situated where two glens meet, north-west of the Bluestack Mountains, near the confluence of two rivers. Glenties is the largest centre of population in the parish of Iniskeel. Glenties has ...
to Dungloe. It is proposed to bypass
Dunkineely
Dunkineely () is a small village and townland in County Donegal, Ireland. It is situated from the town of Donegal and from Killybegs on the N56 National secondary road. It is a small single street village with a population of around 300 in it ...
in a future stage of work from Inver to
Killybegs
Killybegs () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the largest fishing port in the country and on the island of Ireland. It is located on the south coast of the county, north of Donegal Bay, near Donegal Town. Its Irish name ''Na Cealla ...
in the Donegal County Development Plan
See also
*
Roads in Ireland
The island of Ireland, comprising Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, has an extensive network of tens of thousands of kilometres of public roads, usually surfaced. These roads have been developed and modernised over centuries, from tr ...
*
Motorways in Ireland
In Ireland, the highest category of road is a motorway (''mótarbhealach'', plural: ''mótarbhealaÃ''), indicated by the prefix M followed by a one- or two-digit number (the number of the national route of which each motorway forms a part). Th ...
*
National primary road
A national primary road ( ga, Bóthar prÃomha náisiúnta) is a road classification in Ireland. National primary roads form the major routes between the major urban centres. There are 2649 km of national primary roads. This category of ro ...
*
Regional road
References
Roads Act 1993 (Classification of National Roads) Order 2006€“
Department of Transport
The Department for Transport (DfT) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for the English transport network and a limited number of transport matters in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland that have not been devolved. The d ...
National secondary roads in the Republic of Ireland
Roads in County Donegal
{{Ireland-road-stub