The Rosses

The Rosses (officially known by its Irish language name, Na Rosa; in the genitive case Na Rosann) is a geographical and social region in the west of County Donegal, Ireland, with a population of over 7,000 centred on the town of Dungloe, which acts as the educational, shopping and civil centre for the area. Defined by physical boundaries in the form of rivers, as well as history and language use, the area has a distinctive identity, separate from the rest of Donegal. The extensive region lies between the parish of Gweedore to the north and the town of Glenties to the south. A large part of the Rosses is in the Gaeltacht, which means that Irish is the spoken language. The Rosses, Cloughaneely and Gweedore, known locally as "the three parishes" with 16,000 Irish speakers, together form a social and cultural region different from the rest of the county, with Gweedore serving as the main centre for socialising and industry.Gaeltacht an Láir is another Irish-speaking area.

The following is a list of electoral divisions in the area:

Once a predominantly Irish-speaking area, over recent generations English has become increasingly common. Irish is still used extensively in some areas including parts of the island of Arranmore, the townland of Ranafast and the village of Annagry. In some areas, like the hills around Dungloe, around Loughanure and in pockets of Doochary and Lettermacaward, the Irish language is predominant.

The local people are said to have a preference for Gaelic football over soccer, which is often the case in rural areas of the country. The area fields a number of football teams, both in soccer and Gaelic football. Keadue Rovers from the lower Rosses have traditionally been the area's strongest soccer team, whereas Dungloe have been the strongest in Gaelic football. There is also a strong tradition of songwriting in the area, Seán McBride (1906–1996) from Cruit Island wrote the popular song "The Homes of Donegal".

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