St Johnston, officially Saint Johnstown (), is a village,

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

, and an

electoral division An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

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 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. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

Taughboyne Taughboyne ( meaning "''house of Baithen''") is a civil parish, in County Donegal, Ireland. Taughboyne is located West-South-West from Derry, on the road to Raphoe; containing, with the village and ancient disfranchised borough of St Johnston ...

and

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 ...

Raphoe North Raphoe North (; ), or North 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 They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in the 19th century before being superseded ...

, 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 Newtown Cunningham, usually spelt Newtowncunningham or abbreviated to Newton (), is a village and townland in the Laggan district in the east of County Donegal, Ireland. It is located on the N13 road east of Letterkenny and west of Derry. At ...

) road where it overlaps the R265 ( Carrigans–

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 ...

) road. The village is about south of

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 ...

Architecture

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

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 ...

parish church in the village, was designed by E. W. Godwin, the mid-

Victorian Victorian or Victorians may refer to: 19th century * Victorian era, British history during Queen Victoria's 19th-century reign ** Victorian architecture ** Victorian house ** Victorian decorative arts ** Victorian fashion ** Victorian literatur ...

British architect. It is a

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half of the 19th century ...

structure that was built between 1857 and 1860. St Johnston

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

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'. The term ''the Kirk'' is often used informally to refer specifically to the Church of Scotland, the Scottish national church that developed from the 16th-century Reformation ...

'', 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; ; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland. ...

, was severely damaged by a

lightning Lightning is a natural phenomenon consisting of electrostatic discharges occurring through the atmosphere between two electrically charged regions. One or both regions are within the atmosphere, with the second region sometimes occurring on ...

strike in the mid-1980s. The tower of the church was particularly damaged. The building, however, which serves the large

Ulster Scots Ulster Scots, may refer to: * Ulster Scots people * Ulster Scots dialect Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (), also known as Ulster Scotch and Ullans, is the dialect (whose proponents assert is a dialect of Scots language, Scots) spoken in parts ...

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 The O'Donnell dynasty ( or ''Ó Domhnaill,'' ''Ó Doṁnaill'' ''or Ua Domaill;'' meaning "descendant of Dónal") were the dominant Irish clan of the kingdom of Tyrconnell in Ulster in the north of medieval and early modern Ireland. Naming c ...

'' (O'Donnell) clan, Kings of

Tír Chonaill Tyrconnell (), also spelled Tirconnell and Tirconaill, was a kingdom of Gaelic Ireland. It is associated geographically with present-day County Donegal, which was officially named ''County Tirconaill'' between 1922 and 1927. At times it also i ...

. In the very early seventeenth century, Mongevlin was the chief residence of

Iníon Dubh Lady Fiona MacDonald (), better known by her nickname Iníon Dubh ( ''in-NEEN DOO''; "Black-Haired Daughter"), was a Scottish aristocrat and queen consort of Tyrconnell from 1569 to 1592. The mother of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, she was a significant ...

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

Islay Islay ( ; , ) is the southernmost island of the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Known as "The Queen of the Hebrides", it lies in Argyll and Bute just south west of Jura, Scotland, Jura and around north of the Northern Irish coast. The island's cap ...

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

Red Hugh O'Donnell Hugh Roe O'Donnell II (; 20 October 1572 – 30 August 1602), also known as Red Hugh O'Donnell, was an Irish Chief of the Name, clan chief and senior leader of the Irish confederacy during the Nine Years' War (Ireland), Nine Years' War. He was ...

. When Iníon Dubh came to

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

to marry Sir Aodh mac Maghnusa Ó Domhnaill (Sir Hugh McManus O'Donnell; ), she brought a force of 100 of the biggest men she could find in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

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 (; 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 ...

, Mongevlin Castle and its lands were granted to the 2nd Duke of Lennox (1574–1624), a senior-ranking

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

nobleman. Lennox, who was already a peer in the

Peerage of Scotland The Peerage of 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 Union 1707, Treaty of Union, the Kingdom of Scots and the ...

, 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. From that year, the Peerages of England and Scotland were closed to new creations, and new peers were created in a single Peerag ...

in 1623, making him a

duke Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of Royal family, royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobi ...

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 Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (histo ...

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 n ...

Duchess of Lennox, then married the 2nd Earl of Abercorn (), 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 13,507 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th Open Government Li ...

in West Tyrone. A

borough A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

was established at the site in the reign of King James VI & I during the early years of 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 the end of 1800. The upper house was the Irish House of Lords, House of Lords. The membership of the House of Commons was directly elected, ...

from about 1619 to the

Acts of Union 1800 The Acts of Union 1800 were parallel acts of the Parliament of Great Britain and the Parliament of Ireland which united the Kingdom of Great Britain and the Kingdom of Ireland (previously in personal union) to create the United Kingdom of G ...

. 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 Electoral district, constituency in Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain, or the United Kin ...

and the settlement never more than a village.

King James II James II and VII (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) was King of England and Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685, until he was deposed in the 1688 Glori ...

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 an attempt against the town by Jacobite forces on 7 December 1688 that was foiled when 13 apprentices shut the gates. Thi ...

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

Irish Boundary Commission The Irish Boundary Commission () met in 1924–25 to decide on the precise delineation of Republic of Ireland – United Kingdom border, the border between the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland. The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty, which ended the I ...

been enacted in 1925.

Sports

St Johnston Cricket Club St Johnston Cricket Club is a cricket club in St Johnston, County Donegal, Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is d ...

, founded in 1898, plays in the North West

Cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

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 almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

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. retrieved 3 July 2013

Transport

The town had a

station Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

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; 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 ...

(NIR) and runs from Derry~Londonderry in Derry, 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 both

Grand Central Station Grand Central Terminal (GCT; also referred to as Grand Central Station or simply as Grand Central) is a commuter rail terminal located at 42nd Street and Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Grand Central is the southern terminus ...

and Lanyon Place Station in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

Notable people

Oliver Bond Oliver Bond (circa 1760–1798) was an Irish merchant and a member of the Leinster directorate of the Society of United Irishmen. He died in prison following the Irish Rebellion of 1798. Life Born in St Johnston, County Donegal, in the Kingd ...

– Irish rebel, member of the

Society of United Irishmen The Society of United Irishmen was a sworn association, formed in the wake of the French Revolution, to secure Representative democracy, representative government in Ireland. Despairing of constitutional reform, and in defiance both of British ...

, possibly born in St Johnston in 1760. * The Most Rev. Dr

Niall Coll The Most Reverend, The Most Rev. Doctor (title), Dr. Niall Coll, KC*HS (born 25 August 1963), is an Irish people, Irish Catholic Church, Catholic prelate and theologian who has served as Bishop of Ossory since 22 January 2023. Early life an ...

, Lord Bishop of Ossory - raised at the bottom of the Hillhead Brae in St. Johnston. *

Ronan Curtis Ronan Curtis (born 29 March 1996) is an Irish professional footballer who plays as a left-winger for club Port Vale and the Republic of Ireland national team. Curtis started his career with Derry City in 2015, spending four seasons there and ...

– Republic of Ireland international footballer who was raised in St Johnston * Michael Lynch – Donegal inter-county Gaelic footballer *

Enda McClafferty Enda McClafferty (born 19 May 1970) is an Irish people, Irish journalist who is the Political Editor of BBC Northern Ireland. He was appointed to the role in December 2020. Early life McClafferty was born and raised in Letterkenny in County Done ...

- Political Editor of

BBC Northern Ireland BBC Northern Ireland is a division of the BBC and the main public broadcasting, public broadcaster in Northern Ireland. It is widely available across both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. BBC Northern Ireland is one of the four BB ...

; born and raised in

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 ...

, he has lived for many years on the outskirts of St. Johnston. *

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, i ...

– 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