St Johnston, officially Saint Johnstown ( ga, Baile Suingean), is a village,

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 ori ...

, and an

electoral division An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...

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 Tyrco ...

, Ireland. It is in the Laggan district of East Donegal on the left bank of the

River Foyle The River Foyle () is a river in west Ulster in the northwest of the island of Ireland, which flows from the confluence of the rivers Finn and Mourne at the towns of Lifford in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and Strabane in County Ty ...

. It is in the

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authorit ...

of Taughboyne and barony of Raphoe North, on the R236 (

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 this ...

– Newtowncunningham) road where it overlaps the R265 ( Carrigans–

Raphoe Raphoe ( ; ) is a historical village in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the main town in the fertile district of East Donegal known as the Laggan, as well as giving its name to the Barony of Raphoe, which was later divided into the baronies of ...

) road. The village is about south of

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 ...

Architecture

St Baithin's Church (popularly known as 'the Chapel'), the

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

parish church in the village, was designed by E. W. Godwin, the mid- Victorian British architect. It is a

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

structure that was built between 1857 and 1860. St Johnston

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 na ...

Church, located on the

Road, is the other main structure within the village. Parts of this church, or ''

kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...

'', may date to . However, most of the present neo-Gothic structure was built in the early nineteenth century. The 'thin' neo-Gothic tower was built in 1849. This church, which is owned by the

Presbyterian Church in Ireland The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI; ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach in Éirinn; Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in ...

, was severely damaged by a

lightning Lightning is a naturally occurring electrostatic discharge during which two electrically charged regions, both in the atmosphere or with one on the ground, temporarily neutralize themselves, causing the instantaneous release of an average ...

strike in the mid-1980s. The tower of the church was particularly damaged. The building, however, which serves the large Ulster Scots Presbyterian community in this part of The Laggan, had been fully restored by around 1990.

History

Mongavlin Castle (also known as Mongevlin Castle), a ruined castle, is located approximately south of the village. It was once a stronghold of the '' Ó Domhnaill'' (O'Donnell) clan, Kings of Tír Chonaill. In the very early seventeenth-century, Mongevlin was the chief residence of

Iníon Dubh Finola MacDonald, styled after her marriage as Dame Finola Ó Domhnaill or Finola, Lady Ó Domhnaill, and better known by the Irish nickname ''Iníon Dubh'' (pronounced in both Scots Gaelic and Ulster Irish as 'In-neen Doo'), was queen conso ...

(d. 1608), the daughter of both Séamus Mac Dhòmhnaill, 6th Laird of Dunnyveg, an

Islay Islay ( ; gd, Ìle, sco, Ila) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The isl ...

-based Gaelic nobleman, and his wife, Lady Agnes Campbell; Iníon Dubh was the mother of

Red Hugh O'Donnell Hugh Roe O'Donnell (Irish: ''Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill''), also known as Red Hugh O'Donnell (30 October 1572 – 10 September 1602), was a sixteenth-century leader of the Gaelic nobility of Ireland. He became Chief of the Name of Clan O'Donne ...

. When Iníon Dubh came to

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 Ki ...

to marry Sir Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill (Sir Hugh O'Donnell; ), she brought a force of 100 of the biggest men she could find in Scotland for protection. 80 of these were of the name Crawford. When Mongavlin was eventually abandoned, the Crawfords settled and married in the locality. Many of their descendants can still be found in the area to this day. On 23 July 1610, at the start of the

Plantation of Ulster 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 ...

, Mongevlin Castle and its lands were granted to

Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox Ludovic Stewart, 2nd Duke of Lennox and 1st Duke of Richmond (29 September 157416 February 1624), lord of the Manor of Cobham, Kent, was a Scottish nobleman who through their paternal lines was a second cousin of King James VI of Scotlan ...

(1574–1624), a Scottish nobleman. Lennox, who was already a peer in the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of Scotland ( gd, Moraireachd na h-Alba, sco, Peerage o Scotland) is one of the five divisions of peerages in the United Kingdom and for those peers created by the King of Scots before 1707. Following that year's Treaty of Unio ...

, was created the 1st

Duke of Richmond Duke of Richmond is a title in the Peerage of England that has been created four times in British history. It has been held by members of the royal Tudor and Stuart families. The current dukedom of Richmond was created in 1675 for Charles ...

in the

Peerage of England The Peerage of England comprises all peerages created in the Kingdom of England before the Act of Union in 1707. In that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were replaced by one Peerage of Great Britain. There are five peerages in t ...

in 1623, making him a duke twice over. On his death on 16 February 1624 the title of

Duke of Lennox The title Duke of Lennox has been created several times in the peerage of Scotland, for Clan Stewart of Darnley. The dukedom, named for the district of Lennox in Dumbarton, was first created in 1581, and had formerly been the Earldom of Lenn ...

and the castle and lands at Mongavlin passed to his brother Esmé, 1st Earl of March (1579–1624), who now became (briefly) the 3rd

. Esmé had married Katherine Clifton (''c.'' 1592–1637) in 1609; she became the 2nd Baroness Clifton, , in 1618. After her husband Esmé's death in August 1624, Katherine, now

Dowager A dowager is a widow or widower who holds a title or property—a "dower"—derived from her or his deceased spouse. As an adjective, ''dowager'' usually appears in association with monarchical and aristocratic titles. In popular usage, the noun ...

Duchess of Lennox, then married

James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Abercorn James Hamilton, 2nd Earl of Abercorn ( – c. 1670) was a Catholic Scottish nobleman. He, his wife, his mother, and most of his family were persecuted by the kirk as recusants. Implementing his father's will, he gave his Irish title of Baron H ...

(), another Scottish nobleman, c. 1632. Unlike the Dukes of Lennox, Lord Abercorn had actually moved to

, where he was now based. The centre of Lord Abercorn's estate was the nearby town of

Strabane Strabane ( ; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,172 at the 2011 Census. It lies on the east bank of the River Foyle. It is roughly midway from Omagh, Derry and Letterkenny. The River Foyle ma ...

in West Tyrone. A borough was established at the site in the reign of

James I James I may refer to: People *James I of Aragon (1208–1276) * James I of Sicily or James II of Aragon (1267–1327) * James I, Count of La Marche (1319–1362), Count of Ponthieu *James I, Count of Urgell (1321–1347) *James I of Cyprus (1334– ...

during the

. St Johnstown was a

borough constituency In the United Kingdom (UK), each of the electoral areas or divisions called constituencies elects one member to the House of Commons. Within the United Kingdom there are five bodies with members elected by electoral districts called " constituen ...

in the

Irish House of Commons The Irish House of Commons was the lower house of the Parliament of Ireland that existed from 1297 until 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, but on a h ...

from about 1619 to the Acts of Union 1800. The borough was a

rotten borough A rotten or pocket borough, also known as a nomination borough or proprietorial borough, was a parliamentary borough or constituency in England, Great Britain, or the United Kingdom before the Reform Act 1832, which had a very small electorate ...

and the settlement never more than a village. James II passed through on his way to the

Siege of Derry The siege of Derry in 1689 was the first major event in the Williamite War in Ireland. The siege was preceded by a first attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates ...

in 1690. From St Johnston he sent a letter proposing surrender, which was rejected. St Johnston was one of several Protestant villages in eastern Donegal that would have been transferred to Northern Ireland had the recommendations of the Irish Boundary Commission been enacted in 1925.

Sports

St Johnston Cricket Club, founded in 1898, plays in the North West

Cricket Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of eleven players on a field at the centre of which is a pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two bails balanced on three stumps. The batting side scores runs by s ...

League Championship (Second) Division. Kildrum Tigers Football Club, sometimes known as 'the Wee Toun', is an

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who primarily use their feet to propel the Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular field ca ...

club founded in 1948. The club fields teams in the Ulster Senior League. Local bowling clubs, all playing in the Donegal Indoor Bowling League Division One, include St Johnston Bowling Club, St Johnston Pres. Bowling Club and St Johnston Resource Centre Bowling Club.Donegal Bowling League
retrieved 3 July 2013

Transport

The town had a station on the Great Northern Railway (the GNR) which was closed in 1965. The nearest railway station now is operated by

Northern Ireland Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) ( ga, Iarnród Thuaisceart Éireann); and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways (UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose paren ...

(NIR) and runs from Waterside Station in Derry, via

Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from ga, Cúil Rathain , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, Northern ...

, to both

Central Station Central stations or central railway stations emerged in the second half of the nineteenth century as railway stations that had initially been built on the edge of city centres were enveloped by urban expansion and became an integral part of the ...

and Great Victoria Street Station in

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 Kingdom ...

Notable people

* Oliver Bond – Irish rebel, member of the

Society of United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association in the Kingdom of Ireland formed in the wake of the French Revolution to secure "an equal representation of all the people" in a national government. Despairing of constitutional reform, ...

, possibly born in St Johnston in 1760. * Ronan Curtis – Republic of Ireland international footballer who was raised in St Johnston. * Michael Lynch – Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballer * Seán McBride – songwriter who wrote '' The Homes of Donegal'' in 1955, a song recorded by artists such as Paul Brady. McBride was a school teacher in the old St Baithin's National School for most of his life, dying in 1996. *

Tommy Peoples Tommy Peoples (20 September 1948 – 4 August 2018) was an Irish fiddler who played in the Donegal fiddle tradition. Biography Peoples was born near St. Johnston, County Donegal, Ireland. He was a member of traditional Irish music groups, ...

– musician and fiddler. * Tyler Toland – Republic of Ireland women's footballer.

References

External links

St Johnston & Carrigans Resource Centre
{{County Donegal Former boroughs in the Republic of Ireland Populated places established in the 1610s Towns and villages in County Donegal