Dunfanaghy
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| Dunfanaghy Dún Fionnachaidh |
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WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates:
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| Irish grid reference 055 307 C 055 307 |
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| Statistics | ||
| Province: | Ulster | |
| County: | County Donegal | |
| Population () - Town: - Environs: |
1,000 |
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Dunfanaghy (Dún Fionnachaidh, fort of the fair-haired warrior, in Irish) is a small village, formerly a fishing port and commercial centre, in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland.
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[edit] Location
Dunfanaghy is located on Donegal's North West coast, specifically the west side of Sheephaven Bay. It is on the N56 road.
[edit] Description
The centre of Dunfanaghy is a small square with a market house built in 1847 and a quay built in 1831 and formerly used to export corn. There are four churches: Clondehorky Old Church (now ruined), Dunfanaghy Presbyterian Church, Holy Cross (Roman Catholic) and Holy Trinity (Church of Ireland). The village is also home to a golf club, several art galleries and craft shops, and a museum, situated in part of a former workhouse, which describes the effects of the Irish Potato Famine on Dunfanaghy.
[edit] Local Area
Just north of the village is a three-mile-long sandy beach known as Killahoey Strand. On May 2, 1943, a Flying Fortress of the USAAF on a ferry flight to Northern Ireland landed on the beach after running out of fuel. The crew were entertained in the local hotel and the aircraft refuelled and took off again (to be destroyed 6 weeks later over Germany).
South of Dunfanaghy are New Lake and Tramore Strand, a two-mile-long beach. New Lake was formerly a salt water marsh, but during the First World War, over-cutting of the grass on the surrounding sand dunes led to their destabilisation and the movement of the sand to block up the river. As a result, the marsh filled with fresh water and became a lake. The sand also silted up Dunfanaghy harbour. The New Lake became a haven for seabirds and is now a Special Protection Area. Also nearby is Sessiagh Lough, a small lough with a crannog in the middle.
Across the bay from Dunfanaghy is Horn Head, which shelters Dunfanaghy from the Atlantic Ocean and is an Irish Natural Heritage Area.
Dunfanaghy is close to Port-na-Blagh and Marble Hill, both of which also have popular beaches. Other sights in the vicinity include: Ards Forest Park, Ards (Capuchin) Friary, Glenveagh National Park, Doe Castle and the Derryveagh Mountains, the most prominent being Muckish Mountain and Mount Errigal.
[edit] Transport
Dunfanaghy Road was previously a stop on the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway although the station was in fact six miles from Dunfanaghy itself. Dunfanaghy Road railway station opened on 9 March 1903, closed for passenger traffic on 3 June 1940 and finally closed altogether on 6 January 1947.[1] Lough Swilly Buses still serve the area with 4 buses per day going from Dunfanaghy to Letterkenny and Vice-versa. Lough Swilly also provides school buses to primary schools and the main secondary schools Saint Eunan's College & Loreto Convent in Letterkenny during the school terms.
[edit] References
- ^ Dunfanaghy Road station. Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved on 2007-10-12.
- Alistair Rowan (1979). The Buildings of Ireland: North West Ulster. Yale University Press. ISBN 0-300-09667-4.
[edit] See also
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