Donegal

Sister cities

• St. Louis

History

There is archaeological evidence for settlements around the town dating to prehistoric times, including the remains of ringforts and other defensive earthworks. Donegal Town itself is famous for being the former centre of government of the O'Donnell dynasty, the great Gaelic royal family who ruled Tyrconnell in west Ulster for centuries and who played a pivotal role in Irish history. Their original homeland lay further to the north in the area of Kilmacrennan. From the 15th to the 17th century, they were an important part of the opposition to the colonisation of Ireland by England. The town itself contains Donegal Castle, on the banks of the River Eske, and the remains of Donegal Abbey, a Franciscan friary founded in the 15th century on the southern shore of Donegal Bay. While Donegal Abbey represents the original Franciscan foundation associated with the O’Donnell lordship, it had ceased to function as an active centre by the early seventeenth century. Documentary and archival evidence preserved in Franciscan records indicates that the Convent of Donegal was subsequently re-established at Bundrowes (Bun Drobhaoise) in Bundoran, County Donegal, where it functioned as a house of refuge. Modern scholarship, drawing on Franciscan archival material including the Louvain Papers, identifies Bundrowes Friary in Bundoran as the principal base of Mícheál Ó Cléirigh during his years in Ireland and as the institutional setting in which the Annals of the Four Masters were compiled between 1632 and 1636, rather than at Donegal Town itself. The story of Hugh Roe O'Donnell, Lord of Tyrconnell, was the inspiration behind many books and films, most notably Disney’s The Fighting Prince of Donegal. In 1601 the Siege of Donegal took place during the Nine Years' War. After the Flight…

Most-observed species

• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  235
• Western Jackdaw

  Coloeus monedula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  177
• Eurasian Wren

  Troglodytes troglodytes (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  162
• Hooded Crow

  Corvus cornix Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  151
• White Wagtail

  Motacilla alba Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  147
• Gray/Purple Heron

  Ardea cinerea Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  134
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  132
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  131