28-731: The Donegal Railway Heritage Centre commemorates the operations of the County Donegal Railways Committee which operated two narrow-gauge railways in County Donegal from 1863 until 1959. The County Donegal Railway Restoration Society restored the centre, which opened in 1995 and is housed in the old station house in Donegal Town . Today, it operates as a visitor attraction comprising a museum, information centre and shop. On display are rolling stock, historical artefacts and an audio-visual presentation on
56-797: A collision with railcar No. 17 in 1949. No. 11 Scrapped in 1967. No. 12 Withdrawn in 1940, dismantled for spare parts. No. 4 Meenglas Preserved at the Foyle Valley Railway Museum . No. 5 Drumboe Ran the last scheduled train of the CDRJC on 31 December 1959. Preserved at the Donegal Railway Heritage Centre . No. 6 Columbkille Preserved at the Foyle Valley Railway Museum. No. 8 Foyle Scrapped in 1955. No. 1 Alice No. 2 Blanche Preserved in
84-575: A meeting of the Ardara and Glenties branch of Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann . Glenties was the first townland in County Donegal to provide cable television to the local area. In 1976 "Glenties Community Piped TV Co-op" was established which brought cable television to Glenties and the surrounding area, enabling viewers to enjoy multi-channel television from Northern Ireland via BBC One, BBC Two, Ulster Television and from 1982 Channel Four along with
112-522: A ship provided or entering the Workhouse in Glenties. Over 40,000 people died or emigrated from County Donegal between the years 1841 and 1851. The railway was completed in 1895 from Ballybofey . In 1903 a local water scheme was established, to be replaced in 1925 by the current Lough Anna supply. In 1932 electricity was first generated locally in the town. The rural electrification scheme reached
140-670: A small heritage railway along the Foyle on the original route of the Derry - Portadown railway line, which has since fallen into disrepair during the museum's period of closure. UFTM = Ulster Folk & Transport Museum; FVR = Foyle Valley Railway; BHR = Belturbet Heritage Railway; FTR = Fintown Railway; DRC = Donegal Railway Centre; IOMR = Isle of Man Railway; C&L = Cavan and Leitrim Railway Scrapped in 1909. Scrapped in 1910. Scrapped in 1931. Scrapped in 1931. Scrapped in 1931. No. 9 Scrapped in 1954. No. 10 Scrapped in 1952 after
168-428: A turntable to make a return journey. As well, they could not be worked in multiple, so if two railcars were working back to back, both required a driver. The railcars were incapable of hauling most freight wagons, so steam traction continued to be used on freight and excursion trains. The railcars could haul specially constructed trailers, and some lightweight freight wagons, which were painted red to distinguish them from
196-528: The 2022 census , the population was 927. Evidence of early settlement in the area is given by the many dolmens , standing stones and earthen ringforts dating from the Bronze Age . The area became part of the baronies of Boylagh and Bannagh in 1609, which was granted to Scottish undertakers as part of the Ulster Plantation . Glenties was a regular stopping point on the road between
224-654: The Civil War . In January 1944, a British RAF Sunderland Mark III flying boat crashed in the Croaghs area of the Bluestack Mountains , outside of Glenties, killing seven of its 12-man crew. Brendan Behan spent more than two months with his wife on holiday in Glenties, starting in the third week of May 1960, and staying at the Highlands Hotel. During their stay, on Sunday 24 July, the hotel
252-675: The Ulster Folk and Transport Museums in Cultra . No. 3 Lydia Glenties Glenties ( Irish : Na Gleannta , meaning 'the glens ') is a town in County Donegal , Ireland. It is situated where two glens meet, north-west of the Bluestack Mountains , near the confluence of two rivers. Glenties is the largest centre of population in the parish of Iniskeel. Glenties has won the Irish Tidy Towns Competition five times in 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962 and 1995. As of
280-564: The area in the 1950s. Glenties Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) barracks was attacked on several occasions, during the War of Independence , in 1920 and 1921. On 29 June 1921, the Irish Republican Army ambushed a group of Black and Tans who were on their way to Ardara at Kilraine, resulting in the death of a Constable Devine. Two National Army soldiers were killed at Lacklea in 1922 by Irish Republican Army forces, during
308-416: The area is St Connell's church, which was built in 1974 to replace the old church. The building has a flat roof sloping to the ground at a sharp angle. The original bell from the first church is still used today in the newer church. St. Connell is the patron saint of the parish. Liam McCormack won a European Award for the design of the church in 1974. A memorial to the ' Navvy Poet', Patrick MacGill , who
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#1732790466561336-540: The established towns of Ballybofey and Killybegs , and grew from this in the 17th and 18th centuries. The town was developed as a summer home for the Marquess Conyngham in the 1820s, because of its good hunting and fishing areas. The court house and market house were built in 1843. The Bank of Ireland building was completed in 1880. A workhouse was built, in 1846 during the Great Famine , at
364-545: The filming of Dancing at Lughnasa , and a display about the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee . It also has a reading room which contains local historic records. The local Gaelic games club – Naomh Conaill – fields teams at all age levels, playing football predominantly. Glenties was a model for Brian Friel 's fictional village of Ballybeg , where several of his works were set. His play Dancing at Lughnasa , for example,
392-469: The heavier wagons, which were grey. A diesel locomotive named Phoenix (converted from a steam locomotive) was also used, but due to its noisy operation and slow speed (top speed of 27 mph or 43 km/h), it spent most of its career shunting, travelling 204,577 miles (329,235 km) during its working life. The Glenties branch closed in 1947, the Strabane-Derry line closed in 1954, and
420-630: The national RTE channels. In April 2006, IRA informer Denis Donaldson was shot dead by the Real IRA at a remote cottage near Derryloaghan, 8 km from Glenties. Bord na Móna bought 1,200 acres (490 ha) of bog in 1937 to be drained and cut for peat . By 1943 a railway had been extended from Kilraine across the Owenea River to the bogs at Tullyard . Machine cutting commenced in 1946, utilising German-made cutting machines. The company employed 250 men in peak season and peak production
448-638: The railways’ history. The centre owns several items of rolling stock, some awaiting restoration. This European rail transport related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . This article about a museum in the Republic of Ireland is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . County Donegal Railways Joint Committee The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive 3 ft ( 914 mm ) narrow gauge railway system serving County Donegal , Ireland , from 1906 until 1960. The committee
476-471: The remaining passenger services ended on 31 December 1959. Much of the railway was closed on that date. Goods trains ran between Strabane and Stranorlar until 6 February 1960. During the 1930s the Joint Committee began operating a fleet of buses. After the closure of the railway, it continued to operate as a road freight and bus company until 10 July 1971 when it was taken over by CIÉ . In 1961,
504-490: The site of the current comprehensive school, serving the greater Inniskeel area. A 40-bed fever hospital was later added to care for the sick and dying. The landlord, the Marquis of Conyngham, decided to halve the population of the town in 1847, faced with the rising costs of the workhouse. Only those who could show title to their land as rent payers were allowed to remain. The rest were given an option of going to America on
532-651: The total mileage operated by the company to 124.5 miles (200.4 km). Only 91 miles (146 km) were directly owned by the Joint Committee, as the Strabane and Letterkenny Railway accounted for 19.25 miles (30.98 km), and 14.5 miles (23.3 km) were property of the Northern Counties Committee. Under the management of Henry Forbes, traffic superintendent from 1910 to 1943, the County Donegal Railways became pioneers in
560-593: The two most modern diesel railcars were sold to the Isle of Man Railway . Part of the line, which runs alongside Lough Finn near Fintown , has been re-laid as a tourist railway. The Donegal Railway Heritage Centre has been established and contains historic details and artefacts of the CDRJC. St. Connell's Museum, in Glenties has an extensive display of items from the railway. The Foyle Valley Railway in Derry houses numerous CDRJC artefacts. It used to operate
588-626: The use of diesel traction . The first diesel railcar was built in 1930 (the first diesel railcar anywhere in the British Isles ), although a petrol-engined railcar had been built in 1926 before standardisation on diesel traction in 1934. Eight articulated diesel railcars were constructed by Walker Brothers of Wigan between 1934 and 1951, by which time virtually all passenger services were operated by diesel railcar, being much cheaper to operate than conventional steam trains. The railcars could only be driven from one end and had to be turned on
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#1732790466561616-477: Was 22,000 tons in 1965. Operations ceased in the late 1990s and the railways and stock were lifted in 2006. Glenties is a Municipal District , which returns six local residents to Donegal County Council . Nationally, Glenties is part of the five-seat Donegal Dáil constituency . Glenties is situated at the meeting of two glens, and two rivers; the Owenea and Stranaglough. One of the most unusual buildings in
644-413: Was born in Glenties, is located on the bridge over the river in the centre of town. St. Connell's Museum and Heritage Center houses a collection of local history artefacts, including some from the famine era. The museum is named after St. Connell Caol, who founded a monastic settlement on Inishkeel Island in the 6th century. The museum also has a display about Cardinal Patrick O'Donnell , mementoes from
672-656: Was completely owned by the Midland Railway Northern Counties Committee , although it was operated by the CDRJC. At its greatest extent, the County Donegal Railways Committee operated the largest narrow gauge railway system in the British Isles . The railway was affectionately known as the "Wee Donegal". The Joint Committee opened the Strabane and Letterkenny Railway on 1 January 1909, bringing
700-518: Was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1906, which authorised the joint purchase of the then Donegal Railway Company by the Great Northern Railway of Ireland and the Midland Railway Northern Counties Committee . On 1 May 1906, the Joint Committee was set up. The lines inherited by the Joint Committee totalled 106 miles (171 km) and were: By 1912 the company owned the following assets: The Strabane to Derry line
728-524: Was raided by Gardaí and the hotelier charged with a breach of licensing laws (the raid came more than three hours after closing time). The case was dismissed when it was explained that the event had been taking place in a private room where Behan was doing "some of his literary work". Other events, documented by the Donegal Democrat , included Behan attending an Irish Countrywomen's Association dance and he and his wife being "guest artistes" at
756-605: Was set in Ballybeg. Glenties railway station was on a branch line of the County Donegal Railways Joint Committee , a narrow-gauge railway system. The Glenties branch was the first part of the County Donegal Railways to be closed; the railway station (and the branch line) opened on 3 June 1895 and finally closed on 15 December 1947. Bus transport is currently provided by Bus Éireann , operated by McGeehan's Coaches, which provides services to Letterkenny , Ballybofey , Dungloe , Ardara , Killybegs and Donegal Town . Glenties
784-400: Was the national winner of Ireland's Tidy Towns competition in 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, and 1995. The Radharc documentary series included a short film following Glenties' third time winning the competition. In September 1962 a special ceremony was held to commemorate the town winning the competition. Then Minister for Transport and Energy Erskine Childers unveiled a plaque and the occasion
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