760 



DONEGAL. 



DOON. 



Purgatory of St. Patrick, situated on an island in Lough Derg. The 

 ancient purgatory was in high repute during the middle ages : the 

 penitent was supposed to pass through ordeals and undergo tempta- 

 tions similar to those ascribed to the Egyptian mysteries. (See 

 O'Sullivan's 'Hist. Cathol. Hib.,' and Thomas Wright's 'St. Patrick's 

 Purgatory.') On St. Patrick's Day, in 1497, the cave and buildings 

 on the island were demolished by order of Pope Alexander VI., but 

 were soon after repaired : they were again razed by Sir James Balfour 

 and Sir William Stewart, who were commissioned for that purpose by 

 the Irish government in 1632. At this time the establishment con- 

 sisted of an abbot and forty friars, and the daily resort of pilgrims 

 averaged four hundred and fifty. The cave was again opened in the 

 time of James II., and again closed in 1780. At present the Purgatory, 

 which has been a fourth time set up, but on an island at a greater 

 distance from the shore than the two former, draws an immense 

 concourse of the lower orders of Roman Catholics from all parts of 

 Ireland, and many from Great Britain and America every year. The 

 establishment consists during the time of the station (from the 1st of 

 June to the 15th of August), of twenty -four priests : the pilgrims 

 remain there six or nine days : the penances consist of prayer, mace- 

 ration, fasting, and a vigil of twenty-four hours in a sort of vault 

 called the ' prison.' During the time the pilgrims remain on the island 

 they are not permitted to eat anything but oaten bread and water. 

 Water warmed in a large boiler on the island is given to those who 

 are feint ; this hot water is called ' wine,' and is supposed to possess 

 many virtues. One of the pilgrims whom Mr. Inglis saw here, had 

 her lips covered with blisters from the heat of the ' wine ' she had 

 drunk. The number of pilgrims is variously estimated from 10,000 

 to 20,000 annually. 



The county of Donegal is chiefly in the diocese of Derry and 

 Raphoe, but partly in that of Clogher. The county returns two 

 members to the Imperial Parliament. Quarter Sessions are held at 

 Buncrana, Donegal, Glenties, Letterkenny, and Lifford. Assizes are 

 held twice a year at Lifford, where there is a county jail : there are 

 bridewells at Donegal, Letterkenny, Lifford, Buncrana, and Glenties. 

 The county infirmary is at Lifford. The district lunatic asylum, to 

 which the county of Donegal sends 85 patients, is at Londonderry. 

 Fever hospitals are at Letterkenny, Rathmelton, and Dunfanaghy, 

 and there are 25 dispensaries in the county. The county is divided 

 into six Poor- Law Unions, and portions of two other Unions. Donegal 

 county is within the military district of Belfast. There are artillery 

 stations at the forts of Rathmullen, Knockalla, Macomish, Dunree, 

 Inch and Ned's Point, on Lough Swilly, and at Greeneastle on Lough 

 Foyle. Barracks for infantry are at Ballyshannon and Lifford. The 

 County Constabulary force, numbering 275, officers included, has its 

 bead-quarters at Letterkenny. The county is divided into 8 consta- 

 bulary districts, of which the head-quarters are Rathmelton, Raphoe, 

 Buncrana, Ballyshannon, Killybegs, Glenties, Dunfanaghy, and Carn- 

 donagh. There are 32 stations of the coast-guard, and 18 stations of 

 the revenue police. 



(Statistical Survey of Donegal ; Memoin of Ordnance Swney of 

 Ireland; Thorn, Irish, Almanac ; Parliamentary Papers, Ac.) 



DONEGAL, county of Donegal, Ireland, a market and sea-port 

 town, and the seat of a Poor-Law Union, chiefly in the parish of 

 Donegal and barony of Tyrhugh, is situated in 54 8' N. lat, 8 1' 

 W. long.; 120 miles N.W. by N. from Dublin. The population in 1851 

 was 1580. Donegal Poor-Law Union comprises 18 electoral divisions, 

 with an area of 160,158 acres, and a population in 1851 of 33,708. 



Donegal is situated at the mouth of the river Esk, and is surrounded 

 on three sides by lofty hills, while the fourth side is open to the sea. 

 Besides the parish church, which is a neat edifice, there are chapels 

 for Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, Independents, and Methodists. 

 There are here a bridewell and a dispensary. Petty sessions are held 

 monthly. A fair is held on the second Friday in each month. 



The town contains a spacious market-place. A good market-quay, 

 with 9 feet of water, was built some years ago at the expense of the 

 Earl of Arrau ; the harbour has a sufficient depth at low-water for 

 vessels drawing 12 feet. Donegal was incorporated as a borough in 

 the reign of James I., and sent two members to the Irish Parliament, 

 but at the union the corporation became extinct. 



Donegal Castle, a former seat of the O'Donnells, earls of Tyrconnell, 

 is situated close to the river side, and is still in tolerable preservation ; 

 it is now carefully protected from further dilapidation. A monastery 

 for Franciscans was founded here in 1474 ; the ruins are still standing 

 on the shore below the town. A sulphureous spa of considerable 

 celebrity adjoins the town. The neighbourhood of Donegal is of a 

 very romantic character. 



(Fraser, Handbook of Ireland ; Thorn, frith. Almanac.) 



DONERAILE. [CORK.] 



DO'NGOLA, a province of Upper Nubia, extending southward 

 from 19 30' N. lat., along the banks of the Nile as far as Korti, 

 about 18 N. lat., where it borders on the country of the Sheygia 

 Arabs. The Nile coming from Sennaar flows in a northern direction 

 through Halfay, Shendy, and the Barabra country to about 1 9 N. lat., 

 , where it suddenly turns to the south-south-west, passing 

 through the Sheygia country. After passing below the rock of Barkal, 

 at it reaches the town or village of Korti, its course assumes a direc- 

 tion nearly due west, which it continues for about 20 or 30 miles and 



8100. DIV. VOL. II. 



then resumes its north direction towards Egypt. The province called 

 Dongola stretches along the banks of the river from Korti first to 

 the westward and then northward, following the bend of the stream 

 to below the island of Argo, where it borders on Dar-Mahass, which 

 last is a distant province of Nubia. 



The island of Argo, 30 miles long- and about 7 miles wide at its 

 broadest part, is formed by the rich alluvial deposit of the Nile. It 

 contains several villages, but the population, as in other parts of the 

 country, is too scanty to cultivate all the fertile soil. The chief 

 products of the island corn, cotton, indigo, and dates are grown 

 along the margin of the island, the interior being useless without 

 irrigation ; indeed such is the deficiency of labour and capital 

 that not more than one-tenth of this magnificent island is under 

 cultivation. 



The whole length of Dongola is about 150 miles, and its breadth 

 may be considered as extending no farther than the strip of cultivable 

 land on each bank, which varies from 1 to 3 miles in breadth, beyond 

 which is the desert. The left or west bank is the more fertile, the 

 eastern being in most places barren, and the sands of the desert 

 stretching close to the water's edge. The principal town is 

 Marakah, or New Dongola, which stands on the left bank of the 

 Nile, in 19 10' 19" N. lat., 30 22' 15" E. long. It was in great 

 measure built by the Mamelukes during their possession of the 

 country from 1812 to 1820, when they were driven away by Ismail, 

 sou of the pasha of Egypt. The town is populous, and important for 

 its trade and as a military station. Its exports are chiefly slaves in 

 return for a variety of goods from Cairo. The pasha has an indigo 

 factory in Dongola. Caravans from Kordofan, Khartoum, and Sennaar 

 pass through the town. The bazaar is supplied with coarse calicoes, 

 printed cotton handkerchiefs, rice, sugar, coffee, hardware, shoes, and 

 perfumes, all of which are brought here from Cairo. Agriculture is 

 much neglected in the vicinity of the town, chiefly in consequence of 

 the difficulty of irrigation. Farther south and on the right bank of 

 the Nile is Dongola Agous, or Old Dongola, formerly a considerable 

 town, but now reduced to about 300 inhabitants. From the preva- 

 lence of northerly winds the 'sand of the desert has been heaped up 

 about the houses of Old Dongola, so that many of them are entered 

 from the roof. From the village of Debbah, a little south of Old 

 Dongola, on the left bank of the Nile, caravans start for Kordofau. 

 Ambukol, another village, is farther south and about a mile from the 

 river. Between this place and New Dongola the land is less waste on 

 the islands than on the banks. Most of the islands are well cultivated 

 and produce abundant crops, but in consequence of excessive taxation 

 and the government monopolising the sale of most of the products the 

 peasantry are very poor. There is a bazaar at Ambukol ; and dhurra, 

 cattle, sheep, goats, asses, butter, grease, and excellent cotton are sold. 

 At Korti, a few hours eastward of Ambukol, there are bazaars for the 

 sale of cattle, sheep, goats, asses, dates, coarse cotton-cloth, perfumes, 

 grease, Ac. 



Dongola was a Christian country till the 14th century, and Ibn 

 Batuta speaks of it as such. Makrizi in the 15th century describes 

 Dongola as a fertile and rich country with many towns ; and Poncet, 

 who in 1698 visited Old Dongola and its king and court, speaks of it 

 as a considerable place. After Poncet's time the Sheygia Arabs 

 desolated Dongola, and reduced it to subjection during a great part 

 of the 18th century. Dongola is now a Beylik dependent on the 

 pasha of Egypt ; the bey resides at Marakah, and has jurisdiction also 

 over the country of the Sheygia Arabs, who from being independent 

 have been reduced to abject poverty under the Turkish rule. The 

 natives of Dongola resemble those of Lower Nubia in appearance ; 

 they are black but not negroes ; they produce indigo, dhurra, barley, 

 beans, and have sheep, goats, and some large cattle. All the indigo 

 grown must be sold to the pasha. The fine horses which in Egypt 

 are known by the name of Dongola come chiefly from the Sheygia or 

 Barabra countries. The houses are built of unbaked bricks, made of 

 clay and chopped straw. 



(Waddiugton and Hanbury, Travels; Caillaud, Travels; Riippel 

 Macgregor, Commercial Statistics.) 



DONINGTON. [LINCOLNSHIRE.] 



DONINGTON CASTLE. [LEICESTERSHIRE.] 



DONJON, LE. [ALLIER.] 



DONNYBROOK. [DUBLIN, COUNTY OP.] 



DOON, a lake and river in Ayrshire, Scotland. Loch Doon, which 

 at its nearest extremity is about 15 or 16 miles S.E. from Ayr,derives 

 its waters from the neighbouring hills in Kirkcudbright. It is upwards 

 of 7 miles in length, and little more than half a mile broad, and is 

 inclosed by lofty hills, totally destitute of trees, but affording pasturage 

 to sheep. On a small island near its head stands a timeworn castle, 

 which it is said was a residence of Edward, brother of Robert Bruce. 

 The loch abounds with trout. 



The river Doon is formed by the discharge of the water from the 

 loch, which is regulated by sluices. For upwards of a mile, after 

 leaving the loch, the river makes its way through Ness Glen, a huge 

 jullyor ravine in the rocks, which almost appear to have split asunder 

 in order to form a course for the river. The river pursues a north- 

 westerly course of about 17 miles, and falls into the Frith of ('lylr, 

 nearly 2 miles S. from the town of Ayr. Near its right bank, about 

 a mile from the sea, stand the remains of Alloway Kirk, and ou u 



