Page:The National Gazetteer - A Topographical Dictionary of the British Islands, Volume 1.djvu/791

Rh DONEGAL. 781 DONEGAL. Jnion two members were sent to the Irish parliament n addition by each of the disfranchised boroughs of illi'i'l. Donegal, Ballyshannon, and St. Johnstown, he local government is carried on by a lord-lieutenant, ice-lieutenant, 22 deputy - lieutenants, custos, high icriff, and about 80 magistrates. Donegal is in the irth-wcslcrn circuit, and the north, or Belfast, military strict. Quarter sessions are held quarterlyat I)' ill-yearly at Letterkenny, and once a year at Liflbrd id Buncrana. There are 29 constabulary .stations, and 10 force in connection with them consists of 1 stipendiary agistrate, 7 chief constables, '20 subordinates, and 116 rn . A force of infantry is maintained in the barracks Ballyshannon and Lifford, and a small number of tillery are distributed among the forts of Eathmullen, aoi-billa, Macomish, Duuree, Inch, and Eed Point, on -willy, and Grecncastle, on Lough Foyle. a lighthouse, with a revolving light, on Innis- iiliul Island, N. of Malm Head, and fixed lights on iry Island, Fannet Point, Kathlin, O'Beime's Island, ' >lm's Point, Killybegs. The county infirmary at Lifford, and the district lunatic asylum at London- Try, to which Donegal sends 85 patients. There are .n hospitals at Letterkenny, Bathmullen, and Dun- uaghy, and dispensaries at Eaphoe, Taughboyne, illybegs, Moville, Clonrnany, Killygawan, Dunka- i.'ly, Kilmacrenan, Kilcar, Letterkenny, Donegal, .uff, Culdafl', Stranorlar, Kntland, Donagh, Killy- Kamelton, Buncrana, Careygart, Ballyshan- OT, Dunfanaghy, and Mount Charles. They are aintained by voluntary subscriptions and grand jury resentments. Donegal contains the diocese of Baphoe id portions of the dioceses of Derry and Clogher. The ipulatinn of Donegal is chiefly engaged in agriculture, it manufacture is much on the increase. The chief manufactured are linen cloth, worked muslin, id stockings. The neighbourhoods of Baphoe, Lifford, id Ballyshannon are much occupied with the growth of tx and its conversion in to linen, for which the chief mar- its are at Strabane, Londonderry, and Letterkenny. 10 woollen stockings made in Bcylagh find a ready sale most parts of the island, and the demand for them is creasing. A large number of the female population e engaged in the worked muslin trade. Bleach-greens a numerous near Stranorlar. Innishowen is cele- ated for the quality of its whisky. Some years ago ivate distillation was carried on to a large extent, it it has lately been checked by the vigilance of the Ilicers. On the coast the inhabitants are en- ged in making kelp from seaweed, and in the fisheries. lie kelp is sent principally to Glasgow. Since 1830 the rring fishery has revived, but before that time the oals had quite deserted the coast. In addition to rring, cod, ling, haddocks, turbot, and other flat h are caught. Salmon run up the Erne, and loughs .illy and Foyle. Donegal contains many objects great interest to the antiquary, as well mediaeval i.-iiii.s tin relics of the earliest periods of Irish history, ar the junction of the county with Fermanagh, ere is a cave, the walls and ceiling formed of large >cks of unhewn stone, known as the " Giant's Grave."' -lother remarkable relic of mediaeval superstition is i Patrick's Purgatory, on an island in Lougli Derg. consists of a cave and building for the reception of 'i. 1 pilgrims, who still visit the place in great numbers, I for the celebration of Divine service. The time " the pilgrimage is from the 1st June to the loth Igrims from all parts of Ireland, England, and even uerica, visit the place, and perform the penances < oined by the priest. These consist of fasting, prayer, ' 1 a vigil of 24 hours in a vault called " the prison." -'thing is allowed to be eaten except oat-cake and ter. The latter, when boiled in a large cauldron J )t on the island, is supposed to possess many virtues. " )>]; i.-e has been repeatedly destroyed, and as many lies repaired. The first demolition took place in 1497 i order of Pope Alexander VI. ; the second in 1632, by
 * gust, and during that period from 10,000 to 20,000
 * James Balfour and Sir William Stewart, who were

commissioned for that purpose by the Irish Government. During the reign of James II. the cave was reopened, but closed again in 1780. It has, however, been since re-established, but on a different island, farther from the shore than the one on which the Purgatory was anciently situated. The remains of an ancient palace called " the Grianan of Ailcaeh," are visible on the sum- mit of a mountain, 802 i'ect in height, between loughs Swilly and Foyle. Eochy Ollahir, one of the earliest of the kings of Northern Ireland, is supposed to have built it, and it was inhabited by his successors till the 12th century. The top of the mountain is encircled by three walls of earth and uncemented stones. Within these is a fortress, the walls of which vary from 15 feet to 11 feet in thickness ; the stones of which they are com- posed are mostly polygonal, about 2 feet in length, and piled up without any attempt at chiseling or arrange- ment in courses. The whole space covered is about 5 acres. The palace was demolished in 1101 by Murtagh O'Brien, King of Munster. Another instance of this early architecture exists in the shape of a round tower on Tory Island, where are also the ruins of seven churches and two stone crosses. A Druid temple stands on Battony Hill, near Eaphoe. There are remains of cathedrals at Eaphoe and Lynsfort, and traces of more than thirty religious houses, mostly founded by St. Columb, who was born at Grartan, near Kilmacrenan, have been noticed in the county. The most interesting of these are Astrath, near Ballyshannon, Bally Mac- Swiney, Donegal, Kilmacrenan, Lough Derg, Tory Island^ Eathmullen, Killybegs, Kilbaron, and Drum- shane. A singular relic of St. Columb belongs to the O'Donell family. It is a small box, known as the " Caah," containing a Psalter written by him. Near Derry is the stone on which the ancient Irish kings were crowned, and at Donne the rock where the O'Douells were inaugurated. The castles now remain- ing are Kilbaron, Killybegs, Donegal, Castle llac- Swiuey, Dungloe, Ballyshannon, Fort Stewart, Burt, Doe, and Green Castle, at the mouth of Lough Foyle. In Drumkellin bog, in the parish of Moer, a wooden house with a flat roof was found 16 feet below the sur- face of the ground. No railways have as yet been constructed in this county, but the Irish North- Western skirts the eastern boundary, and is intended to have branch lines to Letterkenny, Ballybofey, and Donegal. An extension of the Midland Great Western line, from Sligo to Donegal, is also in contemplation. The roads which intersect the county are the following : From Lifford to Derry, 13 miles; Muff, 19 ; Buncrana, 25 ; Carrow- keel, 24 ; and Moville, 31. From Lifford to Eaphoe, 6 miles ; Letterkenny, 15 ; Eathmelton or Eamelton, 22 ; Kilmacrenan, 21 ; Lough Salt, 25 ; and Carrickhart, 32 : or over the mountains to Kilmacrenan, Lough Beagh, 28; Lough Nagan, under Erigal, 36; and Gweedore Bay, 44. From Lifford to Castlefiim, 5 miles ; Stranor- lar]! 13 ; Barnes Gap, 23 ; Donegal, 31 ; Ballyshannon, 43 ; and Bundara, 48 miles. The chief seats are, Baron's Court, Marquis of Abercorn ; Mount Charles, Marquis of Conyngham ; Fort Stewart, Stewart, Bart. ; Drumboo Castle, Hayes, Bart., M.P. ; Cloghan Lodge, Style, Bail. ; Greenhills, Fenwick, Esq. ; Cliff, Couolly, Esq., M.P. ; Brownhall, HamOton, Esq. ; Ballymacool, Boyd, Esq. ; Maliu Hall, Harvey, Esq. ; Convoy House, Mont- gomery, Esq. ; Buncrana Castle, Todd, Esq. DONEGAL, a par., seaport, market town, and extinct borough, in Bannagh and Tyrhugh bars., Donegal co., prov. of Ulster, 28 miles S.W. of Lifford, and 143 N.W. by N. from Dublin. It is situated in 51 8' N. lat. and 8 1' W. long, at the mouth of the river Eask, in Donegal Bay. On the landward side it is nearly sur- rounded by hills. Tho town and neighbourhood were in the possession of the O'Donell family from a very early period. A castle was built by them in the 12th century, and a Franciscan monastery was founded in 1474 by Hugh O'Donell, Prince of Tyrconncl, and his wife, Fiongala, daughter of O'Brien, Prince of Tho- mond. During the reign of Elizabeth, the O'Donells were continually in a state of insurrection. In 1592 l =