100-652: Buncrana ( / ˈ b ʌ n k r æ n ə / bun- KRA - NA ; Irish : Bun Cranncha , meaning 'foot of the (River) Crana') is a town in County Donegal , Ireland . It is beside Lough Swilly on the Inishowen peninsula , 23 kilometres (14 mi) northwest of Derry and 43 kilometres (27 mi) north of Letterkenny . In the 2022 census , the population was 6,971, making it the second most populous town in County Donegal, after Letterkenny , and
200-547: A unique dialect of Irish developed before falling out of use in the early 20th century. With a writing system , Ogham , dating back to at least the 4th century AD, which was gradually replaced by Latin script since the 5th century AD, Irish has one of the oldest vernacular literatures in Western Europe . On the island, the language has three major dialects: Connacht , Munster and Ulster Irish . All three have distinctions in their speech and orthography . There
300-717: A bargaining chip during government formation in Northern Ireland, prompting protests from organisations and groups such as An Dream Dearg . Irish became an official language of the EU on 1 January 2007, meaning that MEPs with Irish fluency can now speak the language in the European Parliament and at committees, although in the case of the latter they have to give prior notice to a simultaneous interpreter in order to ensure that what they say can be interpreted into other languages. While an official language of
400-575: A better future for Ireland and all her citizens." The Strategy was produced on 21 December 2010 and will stay in action until 2030; it aims to target language vitality and revitalization of the Irish language. The 30-page document published by the Government of Ireland details the objectives it plans to work towards in an attempt to preserve and promote both the Irish language and the Gaeltacht. It
500-509: A classified intelligence file related to Fullerton to UDA paramilitaries, which allegedly resulted in his murder. In March 2016, Buncrana again came to public attention when five people of the same family died after their car slipped off Buncrana Pier into the waters of Lough Swilly. Only a 4-month-old baby girl survived when the driver, Sean McGrotty, passed his daughter through a window to a passer-by who swam out to help. On 23 November 2017 an inquest found that McGrotty died by 'misadventure', as
600-478: A cultural and social force. Irish speakers often insisted on using the language in law courts (even when they knew English), and Irish was also common in commercial transactions. The language was heavily implicated in the "devotional revolution" which marked the standardisation of Catholic religious practice and was also widely used in a political context. Down to the time of the Great Famine and even afterwards,
700-553: A degree course in the NUI federal system to pass the subject of Irish in the Leaving Certificate or GCE / GCSE examinations. Exemptions are made from this requirement for students who were born or completed primary education outside of Ireland, and students diagnosed with dyslexia . NUI Galway is required to appoint people who are competent in the Irish language, as long as they are also competent in all other aspects of
800-460: A fully recognised EU language for the first time in the state's history. Before Irish became an official language it was afforded the status of treaty language and only the highest-level documents of the EU were made available in Irish. The Irish language was carried abroad in the modern period by a vast diaspora , chiefly to Great Britain and North America, but also to Australia , New Zealand and Argentina . The first large movements began in
900-625: A local group in Buncrana. The group is open to ages from 14 to 23. The group has run various projects to promote LGBT causes in Buncrana. In 2011, positive slogans to combat homophobia were drawn on the Main Street footpath. The group meets at the Inishowen Development Partnership building on Saturdays from 7pm to 9pm. Buncrana is served by three secondary schools: Crana College , a vocational school managed by
1000-604: A moderate percentage of loam and sandy clays. Buncrana, like the rest of Ireland, has a temperate oceanic climate , or Cfb on the Köppen climate classification system, characterised by cool summers and mild winters. Ireland's position in the Atlantic Ocean means that its climate is strongly influenced by the Gulf Stream , which keeps it a few degrees warmer than other locations at the same latitude . These are
1100-488: A number of operators, including Ulsterbus , and obtained vehicles on loan from CIÉ . The company operated passenger bus services, freight services, and holiday tour services, as well as providing school bus services for many schoolchildren in Donegal. However, it failed to be profitable throughout the 1970s, and was purchased from bankruptcy by Patrick Doherty, a Buncrana businessman, in 1981. The company maintained offices at
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#17327729588571200-585: A paper suggested that within a generation, non-Gaeltacht habitual users of Irish might typically be members of an urban, middle class, and highly educated minority. Parliamentary legislation is supposed to be available in both Irish and English but is frequently only available in English. This is notwithstanding that Article 25.4 of the Constitution of Ireland requires that an "official translation" of any law in one official language be provided immediately in
1300-575: A pass in Leaving Certificate Irish or English, and receive lessons in Irish during their two years of training. Official documents of the Irish government must be published in both Irish and English or Irish alone (in accordance with the Official Languages Act 2003, enforced by An Coimisinéir Teanga , the Irish language ombudsman). The National University of Ireland requires all students wishing to embark on
1400-625: A religious context. An Irish translation of the Old Testament by Leinsterman Muircheartach Ó Cíonga , commissioned by Bishop Bedell , was published after 1685 along with a translation of the New Testament. Otherwise, Anglicisation was seen as synonymous with 'civilising' the native Irish. Currently, modern day Irish speakers in the church are pushing for language revival. It has been estimated that there were around 800,000 monoglot Irish speakers in 1800, which dropped to 320,000 by
1500-547: A result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Ireland's Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Ireland's population lived in 2022. The total number of people (aged 3 and over) in Ireland who declared they could speak Irish in April 2022 was 1,873,997, representing 40% of respondents, but of these, 472,887 said they never spoke it and a further 551,993 said they only spoke it within
1600-545: A wider meaning, including the Gaelic of Scotland and the Isle of Man , as well as of Ireland. When required by the context, these are distinguished as Gaeilge na hAlban , Gaeilge Mhanann and Gaeilge na hÉireann respectively. In English (including Hiberno-English ), the language is usually referred to as Irish , as well as Gaelic and Irish Gaelic . The term Irish Gaelic may be seen when English speakers discuss
1700-603: Is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family . It is a member of the Goidelic language group of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous to the island of Ireland . It was the majority of the population's first language until the 19th century, when English gradually became dominant, particularly in the last decades of the century, in what is sometimes characterised as
1800-452: Is also An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , a standardised written form devised by a parliamentary commission in the 1950s. The traditional Irish alphabet , a variant of the Latin alphabet with 18 letters , has been succeeded by the standard Latin alphabet (albeit with 7–8 letters used primarily in loanwords ). Irish has constitutional status as the national and first official language of
1900-468: Is also a popular sport in Buncrana, and the club caters for teams from Under-8 level right up to Senior level. They play their home games at the Scarvey, the team is very successful underage, winning at least two Inishowen titles the last few seasons and winning four county championships since 2000, reaching under-14 final for the past two seasons as well as the under 15s last season. Buncrana Golf Club has
2000-464: Is considered the gateway to Inishowen and lies on the "Inishowen 100", an approximate 100-mile route around the peninsula that passes various scenic sites. TFI Local Link routes 242 ( Redcastle /Buncrana) , 252 ( Burt /Buncrana) , 995 ( Muff /Buncrana) and 995A (Illies/Buncrana) all service the town. Local bus company McGonagle Bus and Coach operates an hourly bus service from Derry to Buncrana and vice versa. The company took over
2100-511: Is divided into four separate phases with the intention of improving 9 main areas of action including: The general goal for this strategy was to increase the number of daily speakers from 83,000 to 250,000 by the end of its run. By 2022, the number of such speakers had fallen to 71,968. Before the partition of Ireland in 1921, Irish was recognised as a school subject and as "Celtic" in some third level institutions. Between 1921 and 1972, Northern Ireland had devolved government. During those years
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#17327729588572200-526: Is located in the Plaza theatre on the Main Street and is usually open from 7pm til 10pm and provides a safe place for young people with such facilities as a pool table, internet access, TV, gaming consoles and a small shop. It also runs workshops and other youth projects. Buncrana Youth Club and Buncrana Drop in are both affiliated with Donegal Youth Service. BreakOUT is a lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender ( LGBT ) youth organisation in County Donegal that has
2300-719: Is located on the eastern shore of Lough Swilly in north County Donegal. The main urban area of the town is situated between the Crana River to the north and the Mill River to the south. The principal street follows a rough north–south route and is divided into Upper and Lower Main Street by Market Square. The Main Street has a one-way traffic system. The River Crana is crossed by four bridges: Castle Bridge (which gives vehicular access to Buncrana Castle and pedestrian access to Swan Park), Westbrook Bridge (officially, Wilson's Bridge),
2400-587: Is only in Gaeltacht areas that Irish continues to be spoken as a community vernacular to some extent. According to data compiled by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht , Sport and Media , only 1/4 of households in Gaeltacht areas are fluent in Irish. The author of a detailed analysis of the survey, Donncha Ó hÉallaithe of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology , described
2500-588: Is popular with locals and day-trippers from Derry . Buncrana is home to many sports clubs, including clubs for soccer, Gaelic football and hurling, athletics and watersports. Football clubs based around Buncrana include Buncrana Hearts F.C. , Cockhill Celtic F.C. and Illies Celtic. Buncrana Hearts and Illies Celtic play in the Inishowen Football League and Cockhill Celtic play in the Ulster Senior League . Gaelic Football
2600-416: Is possibly due to its close proximity to Derry , and also for its wide range of retail stores. It also has well-developed tourist facilities, and it serves as the main town on the Inishowen peninsula, which also helps with sustaining the tourism industry in the town. Lisfannon beach, a Blue Flag beach , sits on the shores of Lough Swilly just south of the town, and is an important recreational beach that
2700-412: Is still spoken daily to some extent as a first language . These regions are known individually and collectively as the Gaeltacht (plural Gaeltachtaí ). While the fluent Irish speakers of these areas, whose numbers have been estimated at 20–30,000, are a minority of the total number of fluent Irish speakers, they represent a higher concentration of Irish speakers than other parts of the country and it
2800-549: Is to be upgraded to facilitate more frequent trains and improvements to the permanent way such as track and signalling to enable faster services. Buncrana is connected to the rest of the national road network via a regional road , the R238 . This connects it to the N13 , the national primary road that connects Letterkenny and Derry (it becomes the A2 when it crosses the border ). The town
2900-666: The Fíor-Ghaeltacht (true Gaeltacht ), a term originally officially applied to areas where over 50% of the population spoke Irish. There are Gaeltacht regions in the following counties: Gweedore ( Gaoth Dobhair ), County Donegal, is the largest Gaeltacht parish in Ireland. Irish language summer colleges in the Gaeltacht are attended by tens of thousands of teenagers annually. Students live with Gaeltacht families, attend classes, participate in sports, go to céilithe and are obliged to speak Irish. All aspects of Irish culture and tradition are encouraged. The Act
3000-631: The Republic of Ireland , and is also an official language of Northern Ireland and among the official languages of the European Union . The public body Foras na Gaeilge is responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island. Irish has no regulatory body but An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , the standard written form, is guided by a parliamentary service and new vocabulary by a voluntary committee with university input. In An Caighdeán Oifigiúil ("The Official [Written] Standard ")
3100-599: The Swilly ) was an Irish public transport and freight company that operated in parts of County Londonderry and County Donegal between 1853 and 2014. Incorporated in June 1853, it once operated 99 miles of railways. It began the transition to bus and road freight services in 1929. It closed its last railway line in July 1953 but continued to operate bus services under the name Lough Swilly Bus Company until April 2014, becoming
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3200-634: The 17th century, largely as a result of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland , which saw many Irish sent to the West Indies . Irish emigration to the United States was well established by the 18th century, and was reinforced in the 1840s by thousands fleeing from the Famine . This flight also affected Britain. Up until that time most emigrants spoke Irish as their first language, though English
3300-789: The 1998 Good Friday Agreement , the language gradually received a degree of formal recognition in Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, and then, in 2003, by the British government's ratification in respect of the language of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . In the 2006 St Andrews Agreement the British government promised to enact legislation to promote the language and in 2022 it approved legislation to recognise Irish as an official language alongside English. The bill received royal assent on 6 December 2022. The Irish language has often been used as
3400-403: The 6th century, used the Latin alphabet and is attested primarily in marginalia to Latin manuscripts. During this time, the Irish language absorbed some Latin words, some via Old Welsh , including ecclesiastical terms : examples are easpag (bishop) from episcopus , and Domhnach (Sunday, from dominica ). By the 10th century, Old Irish had evolved into Middle Irish , which
3500-571: The Act all detailing different aspects of the use of Irish in official documentation and communication. Included in these sections are subjects such as Irish language use in official courts, official publications, and placenames. The Act was recently amended in December 2019 in order to strengthen the already preexisting legislation. All changes made took into account data collected from online surveys and written submissions. The Official Languages Scheme
3600-655: The Derry or Limavady television transmitters from the mid-1950s. In 2012, Buncrana won a silver medal in the national Tidy Towns Competition . The work of the Buncrana Lighthouse Restoration Project was also recognised when they received a Heritage Award. Buncrana Youth Club is open seven days a week and provides various services such as arts, sports, drama, music and computers. It also operates summer camps and provides coaching, personal development and peer education. Buncrana Youth Drop in
3700-902: The Donegal Education and Training Board and Scoil Mhuire, Buncrana , a voluntary secondary school under the trusteeship of CEIST (Catholic Education Irish Schools Trust) and Coláiste Chineal Eoghain (an Irish language secondary school (Meanscoil) in Tullyarvan Mill). Crana College was set up in 1925, Scoil Mhuire in 1933 and Coláiste Chineál Eoghain in 2007. As of September 2011, Crana College had 540 registered students, while Scoil Mhuire had around 700. The town's has four primary schools: Scoil Íosagáin, Cockhill National School , St Mura's National School and Gaelscoil Bhun Cranncha . Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ),
3800-471: The European Union , only co-decision regulations were available until 2022, due to a five-year derogation, requested by the Irish Government when negotiating the language's new official status. The Irish government had committed itself to train the necessary number of translators and interpreters and to bear the related costs. This derogation ultimately came to an end on 1 January 2022, making Irish
3900-575: The Foyle Street Bus Depot in Derry, and in Letterkenny Bus Depot in Donegal. It also had large garage areas in Derry and Letterkenny, where it kept its fleet of buses. The majority of its bus fleet, with the exception of those used for holiday touring, was more than 10 years old, mainly consisting of 1994 registered Dennis Darts . An attempt to withdraw bus services from Donegal in June 2003 met with resistance, because
4000-549: The Irish language policy followed by Irish governments as a "complete and absolute disaster". The Irish Times , referring to his analysis published in the Irish language newspaper Foinse , quoted him as follows: "It is an absolute indictment of successive Irish Governments that at the foundation of the Irish State there were 250,000 fluent Irish speakers living in Irish-speaking or semi Irish-speaking areas, but
4100-491: The Mill River flows over a narrow band of Culdaff limestone with a sill of metadolerite along the river's southern embankment extending from the estuarine zone inland. Sandy gravels and conglomerates overlie bedrock . The geology was formed during the Lower Carboniferous Period . The local soils throughout the area range from shallow to moderate depth peaty podzols and established podzolic types with
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4200-620: The Republic of Ireland ), new appointees to the Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland , including postal workers , tax collectors , agricultural inspectors, Garda Síochána (police), etc., were required to have some proficiency in Irish. By law, a Garda who was addressed in Irish had to respond in Irish as well. In 1974, in part through the actions of protest organisations like the Language Freedom Movement ,
4300-485: The Republican commander, with five armed volunteers, arrested them. At around 7:00am the Republican forces' position was surrounded and were given fifteen minutes to surrender. They complied, were arrested and their weapons and ammunition seized. Later that day, 100 Free State troops commandeered a train at Buncrana station and proceeded to take Clonmany , Carndonagh and other locations on the peninsula . Buncrana
4400-639: The agreement by which the L&;LSR operated the line. Carndonagh was reached by an extension completed in 1901 and Burtonport by a one completed in 1903. Both lines were constructed as joint ventures with the UK Government , with ownership and liabilities shared between the two parties. During this period the company did not make a profit, and struggled to meet its debts. Routes eventually included: Foyle Road Station, Middle Quay and Graving Dock Stations to Pennyburn level crossing, all in Derry where
4500-685: The average temperature and rainfall figures between 1961 and 1990 taken at the Met Éireann weather station at Malin Head , about 35 kilometres (22 mi) northwest of Buncrana: Buncrana railway station opened on 9 September 1864, was closed for passenger traffic on 6 September 1948, and finally closed altogether on 10 August 1953. The nearest railway station is operated by NI Railways and runs from Derry~Londonderry railway station via Coleraine to Belfast Lanyon Place and Belfast Grand Central station . The strategically important Belfast-Derry railway line
4600-746: The beginning of the following academic year. For a number of years there has been vigorous debate in political, academic and other circles about the failure of most students in English-medium schools to achieve competence in Irish, even after fourteen years of teaching as one of the three main subjects. The concomitant decline in the number of traditional native speakers has also been a cause of great concern. In 2007, filmmaker Manchán Magan found few Irish speakers in Dublin , and faced incredulity when trying to get by speaking only Irish in Dublin. He
4700-658: The current main street and built the Castle Bridge (a six-arched stone single lane bridge) across the River Crana leading to his Castle. During the 1798 Rebellion , Theobald Wolfe Tone was held in Buncrana Castle when he was captured after the British/French naval battle off the coast of Donegal, before being taken to Derry and then subsequently to Dublin . On 18 May 1812, Isaac Todd bought
4800-991: The depot was. Then west into Inishowen to Galliagh Road, Harrity's Road (approximate site of border between NI and the Republic), Bridge End, Burnfoot and Tooban Junction. At Tooban Junction (as the name implies) the railway branched, north into Inishowen and south into County Donegal proper. Northwards it ran through Inch Road, Fahan , Buncrana , Ballymagan , Kinnego , Drumfries , Meendoran , Clonmany , Ballyliffin , Rashenny , Carndoagh Halt , and Carndonagh . Southwards it ran through Carrowen (near Farland Point), Newtowncunningham , Sallybrook, Manorcunningham , Pluck , Letterkenny , Oldtown , New Mills, Fox Hall, Churchill , Kilmacrenan , Barnes Halt , Creeslough , Dunfanaghy Road, Falcarragh , Cashelnagore , Gweedore , Crolly , Kincasslagh Road, Dungloe and terminating in Burtonport . A serious accident occurred on
4900-718: The education system. Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on the number of daily users in Ireland outside the education system, which in 2022 was 20,261 in the Gaeltacht and 51,707 outside it, totalling 71,968. In response to the 2021 census of Northern Ireland , 43,557 individuals stated they spoke Irish on a daily basis, 26,286 spoke it on a weekly basis, 47,153 spoke it less often than weekly, and 9,758 said they could speak Irish, but never spoke it. From 2006 to 2008, over 22,000 Irish Americans reported speaking Irish as their first language at home, with several times that number claiming "some knowledge" of
5000-474: The end of the famine, and under 17,000 by 1911. Irish is recognised by the Constitution of Ireland as the national and first official language of Republic of Ireland (English being the other official language). Despite this, almost all government business and legislative debate is conducted in English. In 1938, the founder of Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League), Douglas Hyde , was inaugurated as
5100-594: The entire town of Buncrana, also the townlands of Tullydish, Adaravan and Ballymacarry, at the Court of Chancery on behalf of the trustees of the Marquess of Donegall . His nephews inherited the castles, and they later became known as the Thornton-Todds. The castle remains as a private home today. In the forecourt there is a memorial rock in honour of Sir Cahir O'Doherty, and a plaque dedicated to Wolfe Tone. One of
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#17327729588575200-560: The first President of Ireland . The record of his delivering his inaugural Declaration of Office in Roscommon Irish is one of only a few recordings of that dialect. In the 2016 census, 10.5% of respondents stated that they spoke Irish, either daily or weekly, while over 70,000 people (4.2%) speak it as a habitual daily means of communication. From the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922 (see History of
5300-552: The first in the world aircraft with jet flaps, Cordner monoplane 1. On 30 July 1922, during the Irish Civil War , Buncrana was captured by the Free State forces from Republican forces without the loss of life. The Free State forces held the railway station, telephone and telegraph offices and all the roads entering the town. At 4:00am a sentry stopped a car on the outskirts of the town and on discovering it contained
5400-716: The language family, is derived from the Old Irish term. Endonyms of the language in the various modern Irish dialects include: Gaeilge [ˈɡeːlʲɟə] in Galway, Gaeilg / Gaeilic / Gaeilig [ˈɡeːlʲəc] in Mayo and Ulster , Gaelainn / Gaoluinn [ˈɡeːl̪ˠən̠ʲ] in West/Cork, Kerry Munster , as well as Gaedhealaing in mid and East Kerry/Cork and Waterford Munster to reflect local pronunciation. Gaeilge also has
5500-410: The language was in use by all classes, Irish being an urban as well as a rural language. This linguistic dynamism was reflected in the efforts of certain public intellectuals to counter the decline of the language. At the end of the 19th century, they launched the Gaelic revival in an attempt to encourage the learning and use of Irish, although few adult learners mastered the language. The vehicle of
5600-425: The language. For most of recorded Irish history , Irish was the dominant language of the Irish people , who took it with them to other regions , such as Scotland and the Isle of Man , where Middle Irish gave rise to Scottish Gaelic and Manx . It was also, for a period, spoken widely across Canada , with an estimated 200,000–250,000 daily Canadian speakers of Irish in 1890. On the island of Newfoundland ,
5700-415: The largest in Inishowen. Buncrana is the historic home of the O'Doherty clan and originally developed around the defensive tower known as O'Doherty's Keep at the mouth of the River Crana. The town moved to its present location just south of the River Crana when George Vaughan built the main street in 1718. The town was a major centre for the textile industry in County Donegal from the 19th century until
5800-405: The loss of 80 jobs, 60 in Donegal and a further 20 in Derry. The announcement caused shock and anger in local communities. Bus Éireann and Ulsterbus took over some of the routes, having ensured transportation after the 2014 Easter holidays for the 2,000 schoolchildren who previously depended upon Lough Swilly services. The last bus services operated on the evening of Saturday 19 April. Some of
5900-399: The mid-18th century, English was becoming a language of the Catholic middle class, the Catholic Church and public intellectuals, especially in the east of the country. Increasingly, as the value of English became apparent, parents sanctioned the prohibition of Irish in schools. Increasing interest in emigrating to the United States and Canada was also a driver, as fluency in English allowed
6000-410: The mid-2000s (decade). On the northern bank of the River Crana as it enters Lough Swilly sits the three-storey O'Doherty's Keep, which is the only surviving part of an original 14th-century Norman castle. The first two levels of the keep were built after 1333. In 1601 the O'Doherty's Keep was described as being a small, two-storey castle, inhabited by Conor McGarret O'Doherty. In 1602 the third level
6100-497: The name of the language is Gaeilge , from the South Connacht form, spelled Gaedhilge prior the spelling reform of 1948, which was originally the genitive of Gaedhealg , the form used in Classical Gaelic . The modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent ⟨dh⟩ in Gaedhilge . Older spellings include Gaoidhealg [ˈɡeːʝəlˠəɡ] in Classical Gaelic and Goídelc [ˈɡoiðʲelɡ] in Old Irish . Goidelic , used to refer to
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#17327729588576200-436: The new Cockhill Bridge (officially opened in 2018) and the old Cockhill Bridge (now a pedestrian bridge). The Mill River, south of the town, is crossed by two bridges: Victoria Bridge (known locally as the Iron Bridge) which is the main point of access to the town and the Mill Bridge which is at the end of the Mill Brae road at the south end of the town. The underlying bedrock includes Fahan slate formation. The river valley of
6300-409: The new immigrants to get jobs in areas other than farming. An estimated one quarter to one third of US immigrants during the Great Famine were Irish speakers. Irish was not marginal to Ireland's modernisation in the 19th century, as is often assumed. In the first half of the century there were still around three million people for whom Irish was the primary language, and their numbers alone made them
6400-487: The night of 30 January 1925 at around 8 pm at the Owencarrow Viaduct, County Donegal . Winds of up to 120 mph derailed carriages of the train off the viaduct, causing it to partially collapse. The roof of a carriage was ripped off, throwing four people to their deaths. The four killed were Philip Boyle and his wife Sarah from Arranmore Island, Una Mulligan from Falcarragh and Neil Duggan from Meenbunowen, Creeslough . Five people were seriously injured. The remains of
6500-522: The number now is between 20,000 and 30,000." In the 1920s, when the Irish Free State was founded, Irish was still a vernacular in some western coastal areas. In the 1930s, areas where more than 25% of the population spoke Irish were classified as Gaeltacht . Today, the strongest Gaeltacht areas, numerically and socially, are those of South Connemara , the west of the Dingle Peninsula , and northwest Donegal, where many residents still use Irish as their primary language. These areas are often referred to as
6600-409: The oldest 9-hole links course in Ireland. Three buildings in Buncrana are recorded on the Record of Protected Structures, namely the Drift Inn (formerly Buncrana Railway Station), Buncrana Castle and Swan Mill. Buncrana's music scene is served by a number of local pubs and bars, which have live music several nights of the week. The annual Buncrana Music & Arts Festival takes place every 23 July in
6700-400: The oldest railway company established in the Victorian era to continue trading as a commercial concern into the 21st century. Following a High Court petition by HM Revenue and Customs , the company went into liquidation and operated its final bus services on 19 April 2014. The railway was initially planned as the Derry and Lough Swilly Railway Company when an application for incorporation
6800-408: The oldest remaining inhabited residences in Buncrana is a Georgian property called Westbrook House , situated at the entrance to Swan Park just north of the town centre of Buncrana. The house was built in 1807 by Judge Wilson, who also built the single-arch stone bridge (referred to as Wilson's Bridge) leading to the house and the entrance to Swan Park. The town was often the focal point for unrest in
6900-448: The other official language, if not already passed in both official languages. In November 2016, RTÉ reported that over 2.3 million people worldwide were learning Irish through the Duolingo app. Irish president Michael D. Higgins officially honoured several volunteer translators for developing the Irish edition, and said the push for Irish language rights remains an "unfinished project". There are rural areas of Ireland where Irish
7000-415: The political party holding power in the Stormont Parliament , the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was hostile to the language. The context of this hostility was the use of the language by nationalists. In broadcasting, there was an exclusion on the reporting of minority cultural issues, and Irish was excluded from radio and television for almost the first fifty years of the previous devolved government. After
7100-404: The post-mortem results showed that he was more than three times over the drink drive limit. Buncrana Town Council was the Local Authority for the town and provided an extensive range of services in the area. These services ranged from planning control, the provision of social housing, the upkeep and improvement of roads, and the maintenance of parks, beaches and public open spaces. The Town Council
7200-492: The relationship between the three Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx). Gaelic is a collective term for the Goidelic languages, and when the context is clear it may be used without qualification to refer to each language individually. When the context is specific but unclear, the term may be qualified, as Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic or Manx Gaelic. Historically the name "Erse" ( / ɜːr s / URS )
7300-432: The requirement for entrance to the public service was changed to proficiency in just one official language. Nevertheless, Irish remains a required subject of study in all schools in the Republic of Ireland that receive public money (see Education in the Republic of Ireland ). Teachers in primary schools must also pass a compulsory examination called Scrúdú Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge . As of 2005, Garda Síochána recruits need
7400-712: The revival was the Gaelic League ( Conradh na Gaeilge ), and particular emphasis was placed on the folk tradition, which in Irish is particularly rich. Efforts were also made to develop journalism and a modern literature. Although it has been noted that the Catholic Church played a role in the decline of the Irish language before the Gaelic Revival, the Protestant Church of Ireland also made only minor efforts to encourage use of Irish in
7500-924: The route from Lough Swilly Buses in April 2014 after Lough Swilly ceased trading. The buses run every hour at ten minutes past the Hour, each way. The two routes serving the town are 951 ( Malin /Carndonagh/Letterkenny) and 956 (Cockhill/Buncrana/Derry). The results of the 2022 census put the population of Buncrana at 6,971, its historical highest. At the same census, the town had 2,603 private households, 27.6% were made up of one person living alone, 15.8% were couples without children, 30.3% were couples with children, 12.6% were lone-parent families and 13.7% were classified under other categories. 3,403 were males and 3,568 females. Around 81.7% of residents were recorded as Catholic , 5.0% were of another stated religion (e.g. Church of Ireland , Presbyterian , Orthodox or Islam ). The percentage of residents with no religion
7600-517: The routes have been maintained by other operators. An episode of the Channel 4 short documentary series Small Railway Journeys was based on the L&LSR giving many first hand accounts of the railway, including the viaduct accident. It detailed alleged cross border contraband smuggling and some irregular payment methods using local produce. The railway apparently had a reputation of treating freight with greater priority than passengers, evidenced by
7700-458: The services were seen as crucial not only to schools but also to the elderly and rural population of Donegal. The company finally went into liquidation and ceased operations in 2014. Bus routes operated: The last train to run on the line was the 2.15 pm from Letterkenny to Derry on 8 August 1953. It included 14 wagons of cattle and arrived 50 minutes late. Bob Turner was the driver with Paddy Clifford as fireman. The Derry Journal reported at
7800-552: The surrounding areas as rural peasants protested against evictions and rent increases. In 1834, unrest broke out when local residents tried to expel various landlord agents from the area. The names of individual agents were posted on the church doors in Buncrana by a "Captain Wright" warning that the agents risked death if they continued to live in the area. The unrest forced the administration in Dublin Castle to station troops in
7900-472: The time "... the guard, Mr. Daniel McFeeley, or anyone else, did not call out 'Next Stop Derry'. Everyone knew that the next stop would be the last stop - the last ever." In March 2014, HM Revenue & Customs petitioned the High Court to wind up the company due to substantial debts owed to them and other creditors. The company subsequently went into liquidation and ceased trading on 18 April 2014 with
8000-659: The town and peninsula are also covered in the Derry Journal . The local radio station is Highland Radio and it is based in Letterkenny. Buncrana receives all the Irish national television and radio stations from the Saorview television network from the local Fanad television transmitter. Due to its close proximity to Derry, before the 2012 digital switchover, the town could receive the five main UK television channels from
8100-561: The town through the Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway . In October 1905, Buncrana was the first town in County Donegal to receive electricity. It was generated at Swan Mill which continued to provide electricity for the town until September 1954 when Buncrana was brought under the ESB Rural Electrification Scheme . In the beginning of 1910 Joseph Cordner successfully tested on the shore near Buncrana
8200-586: The town. The Buncrana Music and Arts Festival returned to the town in 2010, after a five-year absence. The festival included successful performances from The Coronas , The Undertones and Altan . It has recurred each year since. The two main local newspapers that serve the Inishowen area, the Inish Times and the Inishowen Independent , have their offices in Buncrana. Local issues in
8300-449: The towns of Buncrana, Clonmany and Carndonagh. Communal relations between Protestant and Catholic communities were tense and on occasions led to violence. In November 1833, communal tensions broke out. The houses of local Protestants were attacked and the windows of their houses were smashed. During the second half of the 19th century, the town developed a significant tourism industry. Tourists, particularly from Derry, were able to access
8400-675: The vacancy to which they are appointed. This requirement is laid down by the University College Galway Act, 1929 (Section 3). In 2016, the university faced controversy when it announced the planned appointment of a president who did not speak Irish. Misneach staged protests against this decision. The following year the university announced that Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh , a fluent Irish speaker, would be its 13th president. He assumed office in January 2018; in June 2024, he announced he would be stepping down as president at
8500-499: The viaduct can today be seen from the road (N56) which carries on from the Barnes Gap on the road to Creeslough. From 1929, the company began to acquire bus assets throughout Donegal. Further expansion followed rapidly. It entered profitability in the early 1930s as a result of these ventures. Acquisition of freight operations followed, and this led to a reduction of rail services and eventual closure of lines. The Carndonagh branch
8600-594: The work of such writers as Geoffrey Keating , is said to date from the 17th century, and was the medium of popular literature from that time on. From the 18th century on, the language lost ground in the east of the country. The reasons behind this shift were complex but came down to a number of factors: The change was characterised by diglossia (two languages being used by the same community in different social and economic situations) and transitional bilingualism (monoglot Irish-speaking grandparents with bilingual children and monoglot English-speaking grandchildren). By
8700-415: Was 9.2%. 27.6% of the town's residents were 'foreign-born'. Of people aged 3 and over, 31.0% could speak Irish . The percentage of people over the age of 15 whose full-time education had ceased who possessed a third-level degree ( NFQ level 7 or higher) was 26.0%. Buncrana has a relatively strong tourism industry, and it is one of the most popular holiday destinations in the northwest of Ireland. This
8800-705: Was abolished in June 2014 when the Local Government Reform Act 2014 was implemented. Its functions were taken over by Donegal County Council in 2014. Buncrana is in the Inishowen Municipal District , which elects councillors to Donegal County Council. Buncrana is part of the Donegal (Dáil constituency) since 2016. Previously it was part of the Donegal North-East constituency of Dáil Éireann . Buncrana
8900-544: Was added and it was upgraded by Hugh Boy O'Doherty as an intended base for Spanish military aid that hoped to land at Inch. The keep was burned by Crown forces in 1608 in reprisal for the rebellion of Sir Cahir O'Doherty , who had sacked and razed the city of Derry . After Sir Cahir O'Doherty was killed at the Battle of Kilmacrennan , he was attaindered and his land seized. The keep was granted to Sir Arthur Chichester , who then leased it to Englishman Henry Vaughan, where it
9000-531: Was also sometimes used in Scots and then in English to refer to Irish; as well as Scottish Gaelic. Written Irish is first attested in Ogham inscriptions from the 4th century AD, a stage of the language known as Primitive Irish . These writings have been found throughout Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain. Primitive Irish underwent a change into Old Irish through the 5th century. Old Irish, dating from
9100-512: Was closed in about 1935 and the Burtonport line closing entirely in 1940, with a section temporarily re-opening in 1941 to Gweedore , closing finally in 1947. The Buncrana section of the line lost its passenger service in 1948, with its freight service, and the remaining Letterkenny services all closing on 8 August 1953. Following the cessation of all rail services, the company provided only road transport. It purchased second-hand vehicles from
9200-668: Was enacted 1 July 2019 and is an 18-page document that adheres to the guidelines of the Official Languages Act 2003 . The purpose of the Scheme is to provide services through the mediums of Irish and/or English. According to the Department of the Taoiseach, it is meant to "develop a sustainable economy and a successful society, to pursue Ireland's interests abroad, to implement the Government's Programme and to build
9300-579: Was establishing itself as the primary language. Irish speakers had first arrived in Australia in the late 18th century as convicts and soldiers, and many Irish-speaking settlers followed, particularly in the 1860s. New Zealand also received some of this influx. Argentina was the only non-English-speaking country to receive large numbers of Irish emigrants, and there were few Irish speakers among them. Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company ( The L&LSR ,
9400-553: Was filed in 1852, after spurning the construction of a canal network to connect the two inlets. The company opened its first line, a 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) link between Derry and Farland Point , on 31 December 1863. A branch line between Tooban Junction and Buncrana was added in 1864 and much of the Farland Point line was closed in 1866. In 1883, the 3 ft ( 914 mm ) narrow gauge Letterkenny Railway between Cuttymanhill and Letterkenny
9500-634: Was opened and the L&LSR connected with it by reopening the Tooban Junction - Cuttymanhill section of its Farland Point line. The L&LSR worked the Letterkenny Railway, and in 1885 it converted its track from 5 ft 3 in ( 1,600 mm ) gauge to 3 ft ( 914 mm ) narrow gauge to enable through running. In 1887, ownership of the Letterkenny Railway passed to the Irish Board of Works, which continued
9600-474: Was passed 14 July 2003 with the main purpose of improving the number and quality of public services delivered in Irish by the government and other public bodies. Compliance with the Act is monitored by the An Coimisinéir Teanga (Irish Language Commissioner) which was established in 2004 and any complaints or concerns pertaining to the Act are brought to them. There are 35 sections included in
9700-489: Was repaired and lived in by the Vaughan family until 1718. In 1718, Buncrana Castle was built by George Vaughan, it was one of the first big manor houses built in Inishowen, and stone was taken from the bawn , or defensive wall, surrounding O'Doherty's Keep to build it. It was erected on the original site of Buncrana, which had grown up in the shadow of the keep. Vaughan moved the town to its present location, where he founded
9800-693: Was spoken throughout Ireland, Isle of Man and parts of Scotland . It is the language of a large corpus of literature, including the Ulster Cycle . From the 12th century, Middle Irish began to evolve into modern Irish in Ireland, into Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and into the Manx language in the Isle of Man . Early Modern Irish , dating from the 13th century, was the basis of the literary language of both Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland. Modern Irish, sometimes called Late Modern Irish, as attested in
9900-591: Was the object of public attention in 1972, when after Operation Motorman it became the place of refuge for many Provisional Irish Republican Army members from Derry . In 1991, a local Sinn Féin councillor, Eddie Fullerton , was murdered by Loyalist paramilitaries from the Ulster Defence Association (UDA). In a documentary that aired a month later, it was alleged that members of the Royal Ulster Constabulary had leaked
10000-442: Was unable to accomplish some everyday tasks, as portrayed in his documentary No Béarla . There is, however, a growing body of Irish speakers in urban areas, particularly in Dublin. Many have been educated in schools in which Irish is the language of instruction. Such schools are known as Gaelscoileanna at primary level. These Irish-medium schools report some better outcomes for students than English-medium schools. In 2009,
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