''An Clochán Liath'', known in English as Dungloe or DunglowPlacenames (Ceantair Ghaeltachta) Order 2004
/ref> ( ), is a town 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 ...

, Ireland. It is the main town in

The Rosses The Rosses (officially known by its Irish language name, ''Na Rosa''; in the genitive case ''Na Rosann'') is a geographical and social region in the west of County Donegal, Ireland, with a population of over 7,000 centred on the town of Dungloe, ...

and the largest in the Donegal ''

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 reco ...

''.Placenames Database of Ireland
/ref> Dungloe developed as a town in the middle of the 18th century, and now serves as the administrative and retail centre for the west of County Donegal, and in particular The Rosses, with the only mainland secondary school for the area.

Name

There is a river at the bottom of the town and years ago the only crossing was over a grey granite slab lying in the riverbed, hence the Irish name of the town, ''An Clochán Liath'', which means ''the grey stepping-stone''. The bridge was built in 1782. Dungloe library - geograph

The name ''An Clochán Liath'' was formerly anglicised as ''Cloghanlea''. The name ''Dungloe'' or ''Dunglow'' is believed to come from the Irish ''Dún gCloiche''. This name came into common English usage in the later years of the 18th century when the monthly fair, formerly held at ''Dún gCloiche'' (five miles north of the nascent town) was transferred to ''An Clochán Liath''. In time the name of the fair and that of the town were subsumed. Today, ''An Clochán Liath'' is the only officially recognised name of the town.

Irish language

The ''Comprehensive Linguistic Survey of the Gaeltacht'' (revised) found that only 21.4% of the population of the area spoke Irish on a daily basis. Despite being officially within the ''

'', Irish is not the everyday language of the majority of residents. Just over one-fifth of the population are daily Irish speakers. Nevertheless, there are Irish-speaking areas outside the town and Irish is to be heard regularly in the town.Dungloe / An Clochán Liath
on www.dun-na-ngall.com

Administration

Dungloe is home to the Dungloe District Court, which covers the west and south-west areas of

. There are a number of banks, a Garda station, Donegal County Council office, fire station, and a

credit union A credit union, a type of financial institution similar to a commercial bank, is a member-owned nonprofit financial cooperative. Credit unions generally provide services to members similar to retail banks, including deposit accounts, provis ...

located on the Main Street. Also, there are pubs, convenience stores, supermarkets, cafes, and restaurants. The town is the headquarters of

' indigenous supermarket chain, The Cope.

Tourism

The town attracts tourists during July and August when the annual Mary From Dungloe International Festival takes place. It was founded in the 1960s and it has attracted 'special guests' over the years including

Daniel O'Donnell Daniel Francis Noel O'Donnell, MBE (born 12 December 1961) is an Irish singer, television presenter and philanthropist. After rising to public attention in 1983, he has since become a household name in Ireland and Britain; he has also had co ...

Cliff Richard Sir Cliff Richard (born Harry Rodger Webb; 14 October 1940) is an Indian-born British musican, singer, producer, entrepreneur and philanthropist who holds both British and Barbadian citizenship. He has total sales of over 21.5 million ...

Gay Byrne Gabriel Mary "Gay" Byrne (5 August 1934 – 4 November 2019) was an Irish presenter and host of radio and television. His most notable role was first host of '' The Late Late Show'' over a 37-year period spanning 1962 until 1999. ''The Late Lat ...

and Sharon Shannon. Dungloe Bay and its surrounding hills have also attracted tourists to Dungloe. There is also a festival dedicated to the socialist writer Peadar O'Donnell in Dungloe each autumn. A little to the north of the town is the site of the ancient church of Templecrone. Dungloe RC Church - geograph

Transport

The town is serviced by a number of private bus companies, which provide a link to national

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Ireland, with the exception of Dublin and the Greater Dublin Area, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidi ...

routes through Donegal Town, and to the north of the county and

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 ...

. In 1903, the town was linked, through Dungloe railway station, to the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway. However, the station was closed on 3 June 1940 as part of a process that saw the closure of all railways in the county.

Religion and popular culture

St Crone's Church of Ireland, Dungloe - geograph

By the standards of a rural ''

'' area, Dungloe has a significant

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

minority, many of whom are

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 n ...

. This is a result 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 th ...

in the seventeenth century. However, the town has a large

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 ...

majority. Dungloe is mentioned in FX series ''

Sons of Anarchy ''Sons of Anarchy'' is an American action crime drama television series created by Kurt Sutter for FX. Originally aired from September 3, 2008 to December 9, 2014, ''Sons of Anarchy'' follows the lives of a close-knit outlaw motorcycle club ...

'' as the source of the motorcycle club's weapons from the True IRA, a fictional representation of the

Real IRA The Real Irish Republican Army, or Real IRA (RIRA), is a dissident Irish republican paramilitary group that aims to bring about a United Ireland. It formed in 1997 following a split in the Provisional IRA by dissident members, who rejected the ...

People

* Tony Boyle (born 1970) - All-Ireland winning

Gaelic football Gaelic football ( ga, Peil Ghaelach; short name '), commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA or Football is an Irish team sport. It is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score by ki ...

er * Alexander Campbell (1833-1877) - American businessman * Paddy "the Cope" Gallagher (1871-1966) - businessman * John O'Donnell (1910-1954) -

er * Peadar O'Donnell (1893-1986) - republican Marxist *

Adrian Sweeney Adrian Sweeney is an Irish former Gaelic footballer who played for An Clochán Liath and the Donegal county team. Considered one of the finest forwards of his generation, he often played alongside Brendan Devenney for Donegal. Sweeney playe ...

(born 1976) - All-Star

er * Goats Don't Shave, Irish folk group

References

External links

Dungloe population stats 2006
{{County Donegal Gaeltacht places in County Donegal Gaeltacht towns and villages The Rosses Towns and villages in County Donegal