Dungloe
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An Clochán Liath Dungloe, Dunglow |
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| Coordinates: 54°57′07″N 8°21′29″W / 54.952°N 8.358°WCoordinates: 54°57′07″N 8°21′29″W / 54.952°N 8.358°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Ulster |
| County | County Donegal |
| Dáil Éireann | Donegal South-West |
| Elevation | 16 m (52 ft) |
| Population (2011) | |
| • Total | 4,129 |
| Dialing code | 074, +000 353 74 |
| Irish Grid Reference | B766115 |
| Website | dungloe |
| As this is a Gaeltacht town, the Irish An Clochán Liath is the only official name. | |
An Clochán Liath (called Dungloe or Dunglow in English) is a Gaeltacht town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is the main town in The Rosses and the largest in the Donegal Gaeltacht. 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 Donegal, and in particular the Rosses, with the only mainland secondary school for the area.
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 1762.
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.
The Comprehensive Linguistic Survey of the Gaeltacht(revised) found that 21.4% of the population of the area spoke Irish on a daily basis. Despite being within the Gaeltacht, 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 is home to the Dungloe District Court, which covers the south-west area of County Donegal. There are a number of banks, a Garda station, and a credit union located on the main street. Also, there are pubs, convenience stores, supermarkets, cafes,and restaurants. The town is the current headquarters of the Rosses' indigenous supermarket chain, The Cope.
The town attracts many tourists every July and August when the Mary From Dungloe International Festival takes place. It was founded in the 1960s and it has been frequented by many special guests over the years including Daniel O'Donnell, Cliff Richard, Gay Byrne and Sharon Shannon. The picturesque Dungloe Bay and surrounding hills have proved very popular with visitors and have enabled Dungloe to sustain a healthy tourism industry. 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.
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Wikipedia