DONEGAL. 



DONEGAL. 



766 



lias a course nearly parallel to the Finn, and descends upwards of 

 800 feet in its course from Lough Deele to the Foyle, which it joins 

 a mile below Lifford ; and the Swilly burn or brook, which passes by 

 Raphoe, and is navigable for a few miles above its junction. Lough 

 Derg is about 24 miles wide each way, and surrounded on all sides 

 except the south by steep and barren mountains : it is 467 feet above 

 the level of the sea, and its greatest depth is 75 feet. This lake is 

 subject to violent gusts of wind. It abounds in excellent trout. The 

 Swilly River, although it has a course of little more than 15 miles, 

 brings down a good body of water through Letterkenny to Lough Swilly. 

 The Leannan River, which likewise flows into Lough Swilly by Rath- 

 melton, ia a considerable stream, as is also the Lackagh, which discharges 

 the waters of the lakes of Gartan, Lough Veagh, Lough Salt, and 

 Glen Lough into Sheep Haven. The waters of Lough Salt, which is 

 perhaps the deepest pool in Ireland, descend 731 feet in a course of 

 little more than three miles to Glen Lough. Of the rivers of the 

 western course the chief is the Gweebarra, already mentioned : of a 

 similar character is the Gweedore, which separates the Rosses on the 

 north from the district of Cloghanealy. The Owenea, which flows 

 through Ai'dara, is the only other considerable river on this coast ; 

 the minor streams issuing from small lakes and the torrents which 

 descend from the moors in winter are almost innumerable. 



The general direction of all the valleys which intersect the 

 highlands of Donegal is north-east and south-west, and this natural 

 disposition marks out the three chief lines of mountain road ; namely, 

 from }i dlyshannon and Donegal to Lifford and Londonderry, through 

 the Gap of Barnesmore ; from Ardara to Lifford and Letterkenny, by 

 the head of the Finn ; and from Dunfanaghy and the cultivated 

 country about Sheep Haven into the Rosses, by the passes between 

 Dooish and Erignl. These latter roads are little frequented, so that 

 west of Enniskillen the Gap of Barnesmore is the only ordinary com- 

 munication between Connaught and Ulster. The district along the 

 Foyle and round the head of Lough Swilly is as well supplied with 

 means of communication by land and water as any other part of 

 Ireland. Throughout the county the roads are good. 



Qeoloijy, Mintraloyy, &c. -The Floetz limestone field, which 

 occupies the central plain of Ireland, extends over the borders of 

 this county from Bundoran, where the limestone cliff rises to the 

 height of 100 feet over the Atlantic, 10 miles north-east to Balliutra, 

 where the extreme edge of the stratum is perforated by a subter- 

 raneous river. Limestone gravel is also found along the flanks of the 

 primitive district as far as some miles north of Donegal town, and to 

 the presence of this valuable substance may be chiefly attributed the 

 cultivation which distinguishes this part of the county from the 

 sterile tract that separates it from the basin of the Foyle. From the 

 mountains of Barnesmore, north, the whole formation of this county, 

 with the exception of the transition tract along the basin of the Foyle, 

 is primitive. 



The prevalent rocks are granite and mica-slate, passing into gneiss, 

 quartz-slate, and clay-slate. The granite is a coarse granular sienite, 

 the detritus of which gives a strong reddish tinge to the sands washed 

 down by the streams that traverse it. It occurs supporting flanks of 

 mica-slate along the whole line of mountains from Lough Salt to 

 Barnemnore. On the eastern flanks of this range the mica-slate passes 

 into grauwacke, which forms the substratum of the valley of the 

 Foylo : the same rock occurs over the lower parts of Inishowen, and 

 also appears on the southern side of the range near Donegal town. 

 Granular limestone is found in beds throughout the whole mountain 

 district in great quantity and variety of colour, as, among various 

 other indications, gray at Malin Head ; grayish-blue at Lough Salt ; 

 fine granular, pearl-white, pearl-gray, flesh-red, and bright bluish-gray 

 at the marble hill near Muckish ; yellowish-white, grayish-white, and 

 rose-red at Ballymore ; pearl-white and pale rose-colour at Dunlewy, 

 under Erigal ; pearl-gray in extensive beds at the head of the river 

 Finn ; and grayish fine blue at Killybegs. Siliciferous, magnesian, 

 and marly limestone also occur in various parts of the baronies of 

 Inishowen and Raphoe, with a remarkable steatite near Convoy, on 

 the Deele, which cuts under the knife like wood, and is used by the 

 country people for the bowls of tobacco-pipes. Beds of greenstone 

 and greenstone-porphyry are sometimes found resting on the deposits 

 of granular limestone, and occasionally on the mica-slate and granite, 

 and the dikes from which these originate may be seen traversing the 

 primitive rock at Horn Head and Bloody Foreland. Among the rarer 

 minerals occurring in this remarkable region are columnar idocrase, 

 malacolitho, epidote, and essonite (cinnamon-stone), from a bed of 

 mica-slate in the Rosses, and from the bar of the Gweebarra River ; 

 garnet in hornblende-slate over the marble of Dunlewy, and cherry-red 

 garnet from Glanties ; also plumbago from the shore of A rdes; copper 

 pyrites from Horn Head ; lead-earth and iron-ochre from Kildrum in 

 Cloghanealy ; pearl-white and yellowish-white porcelain clay from 

 Aranmore Island ; potter's-clay from Dnimardagh, on Lough Swilly ; 

 iron pyrites from Barneamore ; lead-ore fcom Finntown, Letterkenny, 

 Olentogher, and various other places ; and pipe-clay from Drutnboe, 

 near Stranorlar. Th<r white marble of Dunlewy, near the mountain 

 Erigal, is stated to be of an excellent quality, and its bed very exten- 

 sive ; it has been traced over a space of half a mile square, and is so 

 finely granular that it may be employed in the nicest works of sculp- 

 ture. " Its texture and whiteness," says Mr. Griffith, " approach more 



to those of the Parian than of the Carrara marble. It is very well 

 known that perfect blocks of the Carrara marble are procured with 

 great difficulty, and I firmly believe that the marble of Dunlewy ia 

 free from mica, quartz grains, and other substances interfering with 

 the chisel, which so frequently disappoint the artists who work upon 

 the marble from Carrara." A large supply of fine siliceous sand was 

 formerly drawn from the mountain of Muckish by the glass-houses of 

 Belfast, and considerable quantities have been exported to Dumbarton 

 for the manufacture of plate and crown glass. 



Climate, Soil, Agriculture, &c. The climate of Donegal is raw and 

 boisterous, except in the sheltered country along the Foyle. The pre- 

 valent winds are from the west and north-west, and they sometimes 

 blow with extreme violence. In a storm on December 4, 1811, H.M. 

 ship Salhander waa lost in Lough Swilly. The maws and gilla of all 

 the fish cast on shore by the violence of the storm eels, cod, had- 

 dock, lobaters, &c. were filled with sand ; from which it would 

 appear that by the furious agitation of the sea the sand had become 

 so blended with it that the fish were suffocated. From the remains of 

 natural forests in many situations where no timber will at present 

 rise against the north-west blast, it has been inferred that the climate 

 is now more severe than it formerly was, a conjecture which would 

 seem to be corroborated by- numerous ruins of churches and houses, 

 overwhelmed by sand blown in on situations where, had such events 

 been common at the time of their foundation, no one would have 

 ventured to build. 



The soil of the primitive district is generally cold, moory, and thin. 

 The limestone tract from Ballyshaunou to Donegal is covered with a 

 warm friable soil, varying from a deep rich mould to a light-brown 

 gravelly earth. The soil of the transition district, arising chiefly 

 from the decomposition of slaty rock, is a light but manageable clay, 

 which is very well adapted for crops of potatoes, flax, oats, and barley, 

 and in some situations, as along the rivers Finn and Foyle, bears 

 wheat abundantly. In 1851 the area under crops in the county was 

 227,453 acres, of which 6470 acres grew wheat, 100,882 oats, 10,141 

 barley, bere, and rye, 1254 beans and peas, 34,432 potatoes, 19,595 

 turnips, and 2086 green crops. The number of holdings was 32,752. 

 Donegal is not a grazing county : the good land is almost all under 

 tillage ; and the grasses of the remainder are generally too sour for 

 feeding. The Raphoe and Tyrhugh farming societies originated about 

 A.D. 1800, and have been of service in the encouragement of green 

 crops and nurseries. The principal plantations are at Ardes and 

 Tyrcallen, a fine seat near Stranorlar. Improvements have been 

 introduced of late years by various public-spirited proprietors. 



The linen manufacture is increasing in the cultivated country about 

 Raphoe and Lifford, and also in the neighbourhood of Ballyshaunon. 

 Bleachgreens are numerous in the neighbourhood of Stranorlar. 

 Strabane, in the county of Tyrone, within two miles of Lifford, is the 

 principal linen market for the southern district. Londonderry and 

 Letterkenny are the markets for the district to the north. Burning 

 kelp continues to be a profitable occupation along the coast. Con- 

 siderable numbers of whales have from time to time been taken off 

 this coast ; but this, as well as the herring-fishery, is now neglected. 



There is considerable fishing in Lough Foyle and at various points 

 around the coast. Turbot, cod, soles, and plaice are taken in large 

 numbers ; herrings, mackerel, and various other fish are also largely 

 taken. 



The condition of the peasantry in the south and west of the county 

 is not much better than that of the wretched inhabitants of northern 

 Connaught. All the butter and eggs of the poorer farmers go to 

 market to make up the rent, and buttermilk and potatoes constitute 

 their diet. 



Donegal is divided into six baronies : Tyrhugh on the south, Ban- 

 nagh and Boylagh on the west, Kiltnacrcnan on the north-west, 

 Inishowen on the north-east, and Raphoe on the east and centre. 

 BALLYSHANNON, Killybegs, and DONEGAL were erected into corpora- 

 tions in the reign of James I. ; these corporations are now extinct. 

 Lifford, which is the assize-town of the county, is governed by a 

 charter of the 27th February, 10th James I. The vicinity of Strubano 

 has prevented Lifford from increasing : the court-house and county 

 jail constitute the greater part of the town. The other towns are 

 LETTERKENNY, Rathtuelton, Buncrana, Ballybofey, and STRANORLAR. 

 DDNFANAGHY, GLENTIES, and MILLFORD are seats of Poor-Law Unions. 

 RAPHOE, in conjunction with Deny, gives name to a bishop. The 

 places whose names are printed in small capitals will be found described 

 under their respective titles ; the other towns and villages claiming 

 notice are the following : 



Ardara, population 651, occupies a romantic site at the head of 

 Loughros-beg Bay, about 17 miles N.W. from Donegal. Besides the 

 Episcopal church there are here chapels for Roman Catholics and 

 Wesleyan Methodists. Petty sessions are held monthly, and fairs in 

 May, August, and December. Ballintra, 6 miles S. by W. from Done- 

 gal, lies in a very beautiful country, but is in itself a poor village : 

 population, 458 in 1851. Six fairs are held in the course of the year. 

 There is a dispensary. In the neighbourhood are some good villa 

 residences. Sallybofey is a market-town about half a mile from 

 Strnnorlar, of which it is generally considered the market part : 

 population, 985. The town is pleasantly situated on the Finn River, 

 and, with Stranorlar, is the most westerly town in the county, lying 



