Convoy, County Donegal
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Convoy ( Irish: ''Conmhaigh'', "plain of hounds") is a village and
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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...
in the east of
County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...
, Ireland. The village is located in the Finn Valley district and is part of the
Barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...
of
Raphoe South Raphoe South (; ), or South Raphoe, is a barony in County Donegal, Ireland. Baronies were mainly cadastral rather than administrative units. They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in the 19th century before being superseded ...
. It is situated on the
Burn Dale The Burn Dale ( Irish: ''An Daoil'', meaning 'the Black One' Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 54. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1999.) is a burn or small river in the east o ...
(also known as the
Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...
Deele), and is located on the R236 road to
Raphoe Raphoe ( ; ) is a small town in County Donegal in the north-west of Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. It is the main town in the fertile district of East Donegal known as the Laggan. It gave its name to the Barony of Raphoe, which was l ...
. Convoy had a total population of 1,702 according to the 2022 census. Like many other towns in the vicinity, it has its origins in the
Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ) was the organised Settler colonialism, colonisation (''Plantation (settlement or colony), plantation'') of Ulstera Provinces of Ireland, province of Irelandby people from Great ...
. Convoy is home to a mixed religious community which is reflected in the schools and churches in the town. There is a
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
and a mixed primary school in the town. There is also a Catholic church (popularly known as 'the Chapel'), a
Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...
church, a Presbyterian Church, a Reformed Presbyterian Church and a Free Presbyterian Church (which was opened by the Church's founder, The Rev.
Ian Paisley Ian Richard Kyle Paisley, Baron Bannside, (6 April 1926 – 12 September 2014) was a loyalist politician and Protestant religious leader from Northern Ireland who served as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) from 1971 to 2008 and ...
) in the town. There are no secondary schools in Convoy and local children tend to travel to
Raphoe Raphoe ( ; ) is a small town in County Donegal in the north-west of Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. It is the main town in the fertile district of East Donegal known as the Laggan. It gave its name to the Barony of Raphoe, which was l ...
or
Stranorlar Stranorlar () is a town, townland and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the River Finn (County Donegal), Finn Valley of County Donegal, in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Stranorlar and Ballybofey (located on the other side of the River F ...
for second-level education. The
Burn Dale The Burn Dale ( Irish: ''An Daoil'', meaning 'the Black One' Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 54. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1999.) is a burn or small river in the east o ...
(also known in English as the Burn Deele) is a ''
burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...
'' (a small river) that flows along the southern edge of Convoy.


Woollen mill

Convoy once had a woollen mill located on the banks of the
Burn Dale The Burn Dale ( Irish: ''An Daoil'', meaning 'the Black One' Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 54. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1999.) is a burn or small river in the east o ...
(also spelt as the
Burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...
Deele), but this closed in the early 1980s with the loss of many local jobs. The woollen mill is now host to a business area that was promoted by the former state development body
FÁS FÁS (), the common name for An Foras Áiseanna Saothair (; ), was a state agency in Ireland with responsibility for assisting those seeking employment. It was established in January 1988 under the Labour Services Act 1987 and was run by a board ...
.


Convoy House

The Montgomery family of Convoy is descended from Alexander Montgomery,
Prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Catholic Church, Catholic or Anglicanism , Anglican clergy, a form of canon (priest) , canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in part ...
of Doe, who died about 1658. He was brought over from Scotland by his kinsman, George Montgomery, who became the first Protestant
Bishop of Raphoe The Bishop of Raphoe ( ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the town of Raphoe in County Donegal, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with another bi ...
in 1604. Alexander Montgomery of Croaghan, near Lifford, bought the Convoy estate from the Nesbitt family in 1719. Boyton House was first occupied in November 1807 by the family of Robert Montgomery of Brandrim who had inherited the estate from his cousin, Sandy Montgomery of Convoy. Sandy represented Donegal in Grattan's Parliament for thirty-two years. He spent part of his youth in America and was noted for his duelling. His brothers were John of Lisbon and
Richard Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic language">Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'st ...
, a general in Washington's army who fell at the siege of Quebec in 1775. Sandy was a friend of Lord Edward Fitzgerald and a secret supporter of the United Irishmen. He voted against the Act of Union in 1800. Boyton House used to contain the letter which Washington wrote to the family on Richard's death and receipts for meat bought by the hundred-weight in Raphoe by the Montgomery family for free distribution in Convoy during the Famine. The house passed through marriage to the Boyton family in the nineteenth century.


Transport

There are
Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...
buses serving Convoy which go to such places as
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
,
Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...
and
Strabane Strabane (; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,507 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th Open Government Li ...
several times a day, excluding Sundays. Convoy railway station opened on 1 January 1909, and closed on 1 January 1960. The nearest railway station is operated by
NI Railways NI Railways, also known as Northern Ireland Railways (NIR; and for a brief period Ulster Transport Railways; UTR), is the railway operator in Northern Ireland. NIR is a subsidiary of Translink, whose parent company is the Northern Ireland Tr ...
and runs from Waterside Station in
Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...
, via
Coleraine Coleraine ( ; from , 'nook of the ferns'Flanaghan, Deirdre & Laurence; ''Irish Place Names'', page 194. Gill & Macmillan, 2002. ) is a town and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish near the mouth of the River Bann in County Londonderry, No ...
, to
Belfast Lanyon Place railway station Belfast Lanyon Place (formerly Belfast Central) is a railway station serving the city of Belfast in Northern Ireland. Located on East Bridge Street in the Laganside area of central Belfast, it is one of four stations in the city centre, the ot ...
and Belfast Grand Central station.


Sport

Convoy near
Donegal GAA The Donegal County Board () or Donegal GAA is one of 32 county boards of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) in Ireland, and is responsible for the administration of Gaelic games in County Donegal. The County Board is responsible for prepari ...
's "centre of excellence" training facility at Milltown. Naomh Mhuire Conmhaigh is the local GAA club. Founded in 1928 the players of this
Gaelic football Gaelic football (; short name '')'', commonly known as simply Gaelic, GAA, or football, is an Irish team sport. A form of football, it is played between two teams of 15 players on a rectangular grass pitch. The objective of the sport is to score ...
club come from the villages of Convoy, Drumkeen and Raphoe with the pitch located in Convoy. The club has won several junior titles. Convoy has a local amateur
soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...
team, known as Convoy Arsenal. The club were Donegal Junior League winners in 2003, won the Division One title in 2004, and were runners-up in the premier division in 2005. Convoy Arsenal subsequently joined the Ulster Senior League in 2005. They also field teams in the Donegal Saturday League in several underage grades.


See also

*
List of populated places in the Republic of Ireland This is a link page for cities, towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland, including townships or urban centres in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and other major urban areas. Cities are shown in bold; see City status in Ireland for a ...


References

{{County Donegal Towns and villages in County Donegal Civil parishes of County Donegal