Milford or Millford, historically called ''Ballynagalloglagh'' (), is a small 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 orig ...

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 Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

. The population at the 2016 census was 1,037. The '' Tirconaill Tribune'' is headquartered here.

History and name

Located north of Letterkenny, the town was founded in the 18th century by the Clement family. It was named after a mill that was located on Maggie's Burn on the edge of the town. This town is the ancestral home of a U.S. president,

James Buchanan James Buchanan Jr. ( ; April 23, 1791June 1, 1868) was an American lawyer, diplomat and politician who served as the 15th president of the United States from 1857 to 1861. He previously served as secretary of state from 1845 to 1849 and repr ...

, whose father, also named James Buchanan, immigrated from here to America in 1783. The Irish ''Baile na nGallóglach'' literally means "town of the gallóglach". The gallóglaigh (anglicised ''gallowglass'') were an elite class of

mercenary A mercenary, sometimes also known as a soldier of fortune or hired gun, is a private individual, particularly a soldier, that joins a military conflict for personal profit, is otherwise an outsider to the conflict, and is not a member of any ...

warrior A warrior is a person specializing in combat or warfare, especially within the context of a tribal or clan-based warrior culture society that recognizes a separate warrior aristocracies, class, or caste. History Warriors seem to have be ...

who came from Gaelic-Norse clans in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

between the mid 13th century and late 16th century. A battle between the Irish (helped by gallóglaigh) and the English took place on a hill in the townland and this is where the name comes from.

Amenities

The town once had two major employers: the Milford Bakery & Flour Mills and McMahons garage, but both are now long gone. There are now a post office, four supermarkets, a veterinary practice, three pubs, a health centre, library with council offices, a fire station and fishing lakes. It is not far from four different beaches:

Portsalon Portsalon ( ga, Port an tSalainn) is a coastal townland in County Donegal, Ireland. It's situated on the scenic Lough Swilly and it is known for its beach, which was deemed to be the second most beautiful beach in the world by ''The Observer'' n ...

Rathmullan Rathmullan () is a seaside village and townland on the Fanad Peninsula in County Donegal, Ireland. It is situated on the western shore of Lough Swilly, north-east of Ramelton and east of Milford. Rathmullan has historical significance as the ...

Downings Downings or Downies () is a ''Gaeltacht'' village and townland on the Rosguill peninsula in County Donegal, Ireland. The village is on the shores of Sheephaven Bay on the north coast of Ireland. Name As the village is in a ''Gaeltacht'' distri ...

and Tramore. It is a feeder town to Letterkenny.

Education

There are a National School, Scoil Mhuire Milford; two secondary schools,

Loreto Community School Loreto is Italian for laurel-wood. A town in Italy named Loreto holds an important Christian shrine, which lead to the spread of the name to many other countries. It may refer to: Places Argentina * Loreto, Santiago del Estero, Argentina * Loret ...

and

Mulroy College Mulroy may refer to: People * Garth Mulroy (born 1978), South African golfer * James Mulroy (1899–1986), Irish police officer, first recipient of the Scott Medal for bravery * Jimmy Mulroy (1940–2013), Irish Gaelic footballer, manager and pol ...

; and an Adult Education ETB centre.

People

* Patsy Gallacher (1891-1953) -

association football Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

er, born in Milford * Sean Ferriter (born 1938) -

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, born in Milford * Willie Hay (born 1950) -

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label=Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is #Descriptions, variously described as ...

politician, born in Milford * Amber Barrett (born 1996) - Footballer, born in Milford

Gallery

References

External links

Milford official website
{{Authority control Towns and villages in County Donegal Millford