Dunfanaghy - Horses in Sheephaven Bay - geograph

Sheephaven Bay ( ga, Cuan na gCaorach) is a broad, shallow inlet on the north coast 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 Tyrconn ...

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 Kin ...

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 ...

. Bounded by the peninsulae of

Rosguill Rosguill (Irish language and official name: Ros Goill)Horn Head Horn Head (Irish: ''Corrán Binne'', meaning "Hollow in the Hills") is a peninsula in Donegal, North West Ireland, close to Dunfanaghy. It forms part of Sheephaven Bay. Archeological significance Horn Head has many remains of Neolithic sto ...

( ga, Corrán Binne) to the west, the bay is relatively protected from the full force of the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, and has supported a vibrant herring fleet.

Etymology

The

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 ...

name ''Cuan na gCaorach,'' "Haven of the Sheep", is a neologism, from a mistranslation of ''Cuan na gCurrach'', "The Bay (or Haven) of the

Currach A currach ( ) is a type of Irish boat with a wooden frame, over which animal skins or hides were once stretched, though now canvas is more usual. It is sometimes anglicised as "curragh". The construction and design of the currach are unique ...

s (boats)". When the name was translated to English, the word "ship" (used by

monoglot Monoglottism (Greek μόνος ''monos'', "alone, solitary", + γλῶττα , "tongue, language") or, more commonly, monolingualism or unilingualism, is the condition of being able to speak only a single language, as opposed to multilingualism. ...

locals for 'boat') was misheard as "sheep".

Doe Castle

Sheephaven Bay is home to Doe Castle, located near

Creeslough Creeslough ( , locally ; ga, An Craoslach ) is a village 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 t ...

, which was built in the early 16th century. The castle, which still stands, was a stronghold for the Clan Sweeney ( Clan Suibhne) for 200 years.

Settlements around the bay

Carrigart Carraig Airt (anglicised as Carrigart or Carrickart) is a small Gaeltacht village in the barony of Kilmacrennan to the north of County Donegal, Ireland. The village is on the R245 route between Letterkenny and Creeslough. Situated as it is at t ...

* Downings *

Dunfanaghy Dunfanaghy () is a small town, former fishing port, and commercial centre on the north coast of County Donegal, Ireland. It lies on Donegal's North West coast, specifically the west side of Sheephaven Bay, on the N56 road (the West Donegal Coas ...

Horn Head Horn Head (Irish: ''Corrán Binne'', meaning "Hollow in the Hills") is a peninsula in Donegal, North West Ireland, close to Dunfanaghy. It forms part of Sheephaven Bay. Archeological significance Horn Head has many remains of Neolithic sto ...

* Marble Hill *

Portnablagh Portnablagh (, meaning, depending on translation, either 'Port of the Flowers' or 'Harbour of the Buttermilk', possibly from the rough seas in the area) is a small village in County Donegal, Ireland. Portnablagh (also written in English as ''P ...

References

Bays of County Donegal {{Donegal-geo-stub