Mullaghduff ( Irish: ''An Mullach Dubh'') is a townland in northwest

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. It forms part of the greater

Rosses The Rosses (officially known by its Irish language name, ''Na Rosa''; in the genitive case ''Na Rosann'') is a traditional 'district' in the west of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. The Rosses has a population of over ...

region and is officially in the

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

, however, English is the predominantly spoken language today.

Etymology

The name Mullaghduff is an anglicisation of the Irish placename 'An Mullach Dubh', which means 'The Black Hilltop'; which possibly derives from the blackish soil which covers the nearby hills.

Music and sport

Mullaghduff is home to the marching band ''Buíonn Cheoil Mhullach Dubh'' (Mullaghduff Band), founded in 1881, which includes the "Old Band" and the "Wee Band". They have won the All Ireland Fleadh – Marching Band Competition fourteen times. Mullaghduff is also home to

Glasgow Celtic The Celtic Football Club, commonly known as Celtic (), is a professional Association football, football club in Glasgow, Scotland. The team competes in the Scottish Premiership, the top division of Scottish football league system, Scottish ...

's first sod of turf, which was cut in April 1995 and placed in

Celtic Park Celtic Park is a Soccer-specific stadium, football stadium and the home of Scottish Premiership team Celtic F.C., Celtic, in the Parkhead area of Glasgow, Scotland. With a capacity of 60,832, it is the largest List of football stadiums in Sco ...

. In June 1996, a small plaque which is along the road was unveiled by Celtic Captain

Paul McStay Paul Michael Lyons McStay, (born 22 October 1964) is a Scottish former professional footballer who spent his entire career with Celtic, making his senior debut in 1982 and retiring in 1997. He captained both Scotland and Celtic at all age lev ...

Memorials

There is a memorial near to the Community Centre dedicated to 14 young men killed in the 1943 Ballymanus Mine Disaster, when local men aided by young teenagers attempted to bring an unexploded

naval mine A naval mine is a self-contained explosive weapon placed in water to damage or destroy surface ships or submarines. Similar to anti-personnel mine, anti-personnel and other land mines, and unlike purpose launched naval depth charges, they are ...

ashore the nearby beach when it exploded after hitting a rock. In 2022, a memorial was erected at Mullaghduff Community Centre to commemorate the 100th anniversary of 3 IRA members (Neil Plunkett O'Boyle, Owen Boyle and Con Boyle) and 1

Cumann na mBan Cumann na mBan (; but in English termed The Irishwomen's Council), abbreviated C na mB, is an Irish republican women's paramilitary organisation formed in Dublin on 2 April 1914, merging with and dissolving Inghinidhe na hÉireann, and in 191 ...

member (Mary McBride) from the area, coined the 'Rosses Martyrs', that fought in the

Irish War of Independence The Irish War of Independence (), also known as the Anglo-Irish War, was a guerrilla war fought in Ireland from 1919 to 1921 between the Irish Republican Army (1919–1922), Irish Republican Army (IRA, the army of the Irish Republic) and Unite ...

and then either died or were killed during the

Irish Civil War The Irish Civil War (; 28 June 1922 – 24 May 1923) was a conflict that followed the Irish War of Independence and accompanied the establishment of the Irish Free State, an entity independent from the United Kingdom but within the British Emp ...

. Neil Plunkett O'Boyle was the last Anti-Treaty IRA member to be killed during the civil war

Religion

The predominant religion in Mullaghduff is

Roman Catholicism 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 it is part of the parish of Kincasslagh. The nearest churches that serve parishioners are St. Mary's Church in

Kincasslagh Cionn Caslach (anglicised as Kincasslagh) is a small Gaeltacht seaside village in the Rosses area of County Donegal, Ireland. Despite only having a population of just over 40 people, the village has attracted much international attention due to ...

and St. Mary's Star of the Sea in

Annagry ''Anagaire'' (anglicised as Annagry) is a village in The Rosses district in County Donegal, Ireland. , the population was 309. Name The Irish and official name for Annagry is , which in turn derives from meaning "ford of the cauldrons". Langu ...

References

Gaeltacht places in County Donegal Gaeltacht towns and villages The Rosses Towns and villages in County Donegal Townlands of County Donegal {{Donegal-geo-stub

Etymology

Music and sport

Memorials

Religion

See also

References