Urris
| Urris | |
|---|---|
| Village | |
 Urris
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| Coordinates: 55°15′45″N 7°24′45″W / 55.2625°N 7.4125°WCoordinates: 55°15′45″N 7°24′45″W / 55.2625°N 7.4125°W | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Ulster |
| County | County Donegal |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Irish Grid Reference | B847228 |
Urris (Irish: Iorras) is an area in the west of the parish of Clonmany, in County Donegal, Ireland. It sits on the eastern side of Loch Swilly and it is bounded to the south-east by the Urris hills.
Urris has some local tourist attractions, such as Lenan, Tullagh and Rockstown sandy beaches and a number of raised pebble beaches, Lenan pier and Gap of Mamore, There is still a number of traditional thatched cottages in good condition within Urris. The townland of Urrismanagh also contains some fine examples of reconstructed traditional housing.
Dunaff bay is the site of Ireland's oldest neolithic campsite. The bay lies at the mouth of Loch Swilly, between the cliffs of Dunaff head to the north and Lenan head to the south. The site contained a large number of early Irish Mesolithic artifacts, including unabraded flints comprising a few leaf-shaped flakes, some blade-like flakes and a large amount of waste material. The location is regarded as an "industrial site" producing material associated with the so-called Early Larnian tradition. There is no evidence of a permanent settlement at the site.
In the early 19th century, Urris became a center of the illegal poitín distillation industry, and continued to be one of the main economic activities of the area throughout the century. Due to its remote and barren geography, the Urris Hills were an ideal place for poitín-making because the area was surrounded by mountains and only accessible through the Mamore Gap over the Urris Hills and Crossconnell to the East. Derry provided a major market for the trade.
In 1812, to protect their lucrative business, the distillers established a system of scouts that warned of the impending arrival of government officials. People from Urris would take positions above the road on each side of Mamore gap and hurl down rocks, preventing government officials from entering the area. The locals also barricaded the road at Crossconnell to keep out the revenue police and local constabulary.
This period of relative independence lasted three years. In 1815, the authorities re-established control of the Urris Hills and brought this short period of self-rule to an end. Subsequently, this period was known as the time of the "Poitin Republic of Urris". There is no evidence that this term was used during this period of self-rule.
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