Ramelton (; ), also Rathmelton, is a town 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 ...

. , its population was 1,266.

History

Ramelton is situated at the mouth of the

River Lennon The River Lennon or Leannan ( ga, An Leanainn) is a river in County Donegal, Ireland. Course The River Lennon rises in the Glendowan Mountains and flows through Gartan Lough and Lough Fern. It continues through Kilmacrennan and enters Lough S ...

, 11 km north of

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 ...

and 4 km south of

Milford Milford may refer to: Place names Canada * Milford (Annapolis), Nova Scotia * Milford (Halifax), Nova Scotia * Milford, Ontario England * Milford, Derbyshire * Milford, Devon, a place in Devon * Milford on Sea, Hampshire * Milford, Shro ...

, on the western shores of

Lough Swilly Lough Swilly () in Ireland is a glacial fjord or sea inlet lying between the western side of the Inishowen, Inishowen Peninsula and the Fanad Peninsula, in County Donegal. Along with Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour it is one of three glaci ...

. The town is named from ''Ráth Mealtain'', (Irish for "the fort of Mealtan"), an early

Gaelic chieftain Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

. The fort is said to lie under the ruins of a medieval castle of the

O'Donnell The O'Donnell dynasty ( ga, Ó Dónaill or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell, Ulster, in medieval Ireland. Naming conventions Or ...

s, the ruling family of West Donegal before their exile to mainland Europe in 1607. Ramelton was settled by

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 ...

and Scots planters during the

Ulster Plantation The Plantation of Ulster ( gle, Plandáil Uladh; Ulster-Scots: ''Plantin o Ulstèr'') was the organised colonisation (''plantation'') of Ulstera province of Irelandby people from Great Britain during the reign of King James I. Most of the sett ...

of the 17th century and is the site of the oldest

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...

church in Ireland.

Facilities

Ramelton is serviced by many shops and services within the town. The Town Hall in Ramelton was built in the late 19th century and still has a vital role in the community today. The town has many grocery stores including Kernan's Spar Supermarket, Whoriskey's Eurospar and McFadden's Supermarket. The town has three main churches: St. Mary's Catholic Church, St. Paul's

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

(Parish of Tullyaughnish), and the Presbyterian Church. The town is served by a private bus service which serves Ramelton from Mondays to Saturdays to and from Letterkenny, the largest town in County Donegal. Three buses leave Ramelton for Letterkenny each day Monday to Saturday, with two buses leaving Letterkenny for Ramelton.

Music and Sport

The town is home to a marching band which frequently wins prizes in the Miscellaneous Marching Bands (Buíon Rogha Gléas) category of the All-Ireland Fleadh. Swilly Rovers Football Club is based in the town. It was founded in 1929. It also has a tennis club.

Other

The town is home to McDaid's soft drinks manufacturer whose drinks are sold throughout Donegal and further afield. Its most famous drink is the Football Special which was originally produced to celebrate the successes of Swilly Rovers Football Club. The town was the setting for the 1995 television serial ''

The Hanging Gale ''The Hanging Gale'' is a four-episode television serial which first aired on RTÉ One (Republic of Ireland) and BBC1 (United Kingdom) in 1995. The series was a British–Irish co-production, made by Little Bird Films for BBC Northern Ireland i ...

'', which told of the Great Famine of the 19th century. Ramelton is also a key setting for the A.E.W. Mason novel

The Four Feathers ''The Four Feathers'' is a 1902 adventure novel by British writer A. E. W. Mason that has inspired many films of the same title. In December 1901, ''Cornhill Magazine'' announced the title as one of two new serial stories to be published in t ...

. The town hosts the Lennon Festival, a village fair, since 1970. Ramelton is a

Fáilte Ireland Fáilte Ireland is the operating name of the National Tourism Development Authority of the Republic of Ireland. This authority was established under the National Tourism Development Authority Act of 2003 and replaces and builds upon the functions ...

designated Heritage Town. The town is also the setting for Django Sur Lennon gypsy jazz festival which has been held in the town since 2015 and has featured gypsy jazz musicians from Europe and beyond.

Notable people

* Catherine Black, private nurse to

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Que ...

Robert E. Bonner Robert Edwin Bonner (April 28, 1824 – July 6, 1899) was an American publisher, now best known for ''The New York Ledger'', a weekly story newspaper. He owned famous trotting horses and he was a prominent supporter of the Presbyterian Church an ...

, American publisher, born Ramelton * William C. Campbell, scientist,

Nobel laureate in Physiology or Medicine The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine ( sv, Nobelpriset i fysiologi eller medicin) is awarded annually by the Swedish Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska Institute to scientists in the various fields of physiology or medicine. It is one of the ...

in 2015 *

Will Carruthers Will Carruthers (born 9 November 1967, in Chesterfield, England) is a musician, best known for playing bass in the influential alternative rock bands Spacemen 3 and Spiritualized. Biography Early life Carruthers moved to Rugby in 1977, an ...

, writer and musician with

Spacemen 3 Spacemen 3 were an English neo-psychedelia space rock band, formed in 1982 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Peter Kember and Jason Pierce, known respectively under their pseudonyms Sonic Boom and J Spaceman. Their music is known for its brand of "tr ...

Spiritualized Spiritualized (stylised as Spiritualized®) are an English rock band formed in 1990 in Rugby, Warwickshire, by Jason Pierce (often known as J. Spaceman), formerly of Spacemen 3. After several line up-changes, in 1999, the band centered on Pierc ...

and

The Brian Jonestown Massacre The Brian Jonestown Massacre is an American musical project and band led and started by Anton Newcombe. It was formed in San Francisco in 1990. The group was the subject of the 2004 documentary film called '' Dig!'', and have gained media noto ...

Patsy Gallacher Patrick Gallacher (16 March 1891 – 17 June 1953) was an Irish footballer, playing in the inside-right position, and most noted for his career at Celtic - he is one of the club's leading goalscorers of all time. Early life Patsy was born i ...

, association football player with

Celtic F.C The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a Scottish professional football club based in Glasgow, which plays in the Scottish Premiership. The club was founded in 1887 with the purpose of alleviating poverty in the immigran ...

Dave Gallaher David Gallaher (30October 1873 – 4October 1917) was an Irish-born New Zealand rugby union footballer best remembered as the captain of the "Original All Blacks"—the 1905–06 New Zealand national team, the first representative New Zealand ...

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

rugby captain, author and WW1 soldier *

Roy Greenslade Roy Greenslade (born 31 December 1946) is a British author and freelance journalist, and a former professor of journalism. He worked in the UK newspaper industry from the 1960s onwards. As a media commentator, he wrote a daily blog from 2006 to ...

Arthur Gwynn Arthur Percival Gwynn (11 June 1874 – 14 February 1898) was an Irish cricketer and rugby union player. Life Arthur Percival Gwynn was born in Ramelton, County Donegal, Ireland, the fifth son of the Very Rev John Gwynn D.D. and Josephi ...

, cricket and rugby union player *

Edward Gwynn Edward John Gwynn (Donegal 1 April 1868 – 10 February 1941 Dublin) was an Irish scholar of Old Irish and Celtic literature, Provost of Trinity College Dublin from 1927 to 1937 and President of the Royal Irish Academy from 1934 to 1937. Biogr ...

, scholar of Old Irish and Celtic literature *

John Tudor Gwynn John Tudor ("Jack") Gwynn, CIE, ICS (13 November 1881 – 17 May 1956) was an Irish-born British civil servant in India and cricketer. Early life and cricket career The seventh son of the Very Rev John Gwynn D.D. and Lucy Josephine O’Brien ...

, cricket player *

Lucius Gwynn Lucius Henry Gwynn (5 May 1873 – 23 December 1902) was an Irish academic and sportsman who was noted for his prowess in both rugby union football and cricket. Life Lucius Gwynn was one member of a family well known in the Dublin of his time ...

, cricket and rugby union player *

Robert Gwynn Robert Malcolm Gwynn (26 April 1877 – 25 June 1962) was a Church of Ireland clergyman and academic whose entire working life was spent at Trinity College Dublin. In his youth he was also an outstanding cricketer. Several of Robin Gwynn' ...

, cricket player * Conrad Logan, professional footballer *

Francis Makemie Francis Makemie (1658–1708) was an Ulster Scots clergyman, considered to be the founder of Presbyterianism in the United States of America. Early and family life Makemie was born in Ramelton, County Donegal, Ireland (part of the Province of ...

, clergyman, the founder of Presbyterianism in the United States * William McAdoo, American Democratic Party politician *

Basil McCrea Basil McCrea (born 13 November 1959) is a former Northern Irish politician. He was the party leader of NI21 from 2013 until it disbanded in 2016. He was also a Member of the Northern Ireland Assembly (MLA) for Lagan Valley from 2007 to 2016. Po ...

, MLA, Leader of

NI21 NI21 was a short-lived political party in Northern Ireland. It was founded in 2013 by ex-Ulster Unionist Party MLAs Basil McCrea and John McCallister. Although it explicitly supported Northern Ireland staying part of the United Kingdom (i.e. un ...

in the

Northern Ireland Assembly sco-ulster, Norlin Airlan Assemblie , legislature = 7th Northern Ireland Assembly, Seventh Assembly , coa_pic = File:NI_Assembly.svg , coa_res = 250px , house_type = Unicameralism, Unicameral , hou ...

* Anne-Marie McDaid, rower and paralympian. * Walter Patterson, first British Governor of

Prince Edward Island Prince Edward Island (PEI; ) is one of the thirteen Provinces and territories of Canada, provinces and territories of Canada. It is the smallest province in terms of land area and population, but the most densely populated. The island has seve ...

References

External links

{{County Donegal Towns and villages in County Donegal

Rathmelton Ramelton (; ), also Rathmelton, is a town and townland in County Donegal, Ireland. , its population was 1,266. History Ramelton is situated at the mouth of the River Lennon, 11 km north of Letterkenny and 4 km south of Milford, on th ...