History and Genealogy of Gweedore

History of Gweedore

Gweedore has a long, deep and interesting history and Nineteenth-century visitors describe the area as one of desolate savagery according to some. However things have changed somewhat today!

Gweedore is an Irish-speaking district located on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal, Ireland. Gweedore is also the home of the northwest regional studios of the Irish language radio service Raidió na Gaeltachta, and it is officially the largest Irish-speaking parish in Ireland with a population of around 4,065. It is made up of five main townlands, Derrybeg, Bunbeg, Dunlewey, Crolly and Bloody Foreland, and it sits in the shade of Donegal's tallest peak Mount Errigal at 749 metres (2457 feet).

Name: "Gaoth" refers to an inlet of the sea at the mouth of the Crolly River, known as "An Ghaoth". It is the boundary between Gweedore to the north and the Rosses to the south. "Dobhar" is an old Irish word for water. "Gaoth Dobhair" translates as "the aqueous estuary".

Language: The predominantly spoken language of the district is Irish, but English can be heard and understood as well. All schools, religious services and advertisements are through Irish. Every summer hundreds of students from all over Ireland attendnumerous Gaeltacht (Irish Language) courses in order to further their knowledge and understanding of the Irish language. This is a Gaeltacht area, where the Irish language is the first spoken, providing an unbroken link with millennia of Irish history and culture. Since most of the inhabitants of the village are naturally bilingual, it is common to hear English vocabulary used within an Irish sentence and vice versa. A rich subset of unique vocabulary and phrases has arisen from this bilingualism.

History: The Ulster Plantation in 1609 added a twist to the fate of the parish. Irish-speaking families who were driven from their fertile lands in the Lagan and the surrounding areas made their way to the poor boglands of west Donegal. Some of them made it as far as Gweedore and could go no further west. Around the same time, English and Scottish settlers began to arrive, when this uncharted territory was converted to baronies. It appears the parish was very sparsely populated up until the 17th century. The first people to arrive lived on the islands or by the shore in clusters, pockets of houses built close together and in each other's shade.Up until the early 19th century the parish was only lightly populated and it seems the people had an amicable relationship with the landowners. The standard of life was to deteriorate with the arrival of new landlords in the 19th century, in particular George Hill (1801-1879) and his son Arthur. The people of the parish led by Fr. Séamus Mac Pháidín (parish priest 1875-1901), challenged the landlords with the founding of the Land League and the Plan Of Campaign. The killing by parishioners of District Inspector William Martin (or locally known as "An Mháirtínigh") outside the local church, Teach Phobail Mhuire, in Derrybeg on Sunday, the 3 February 1889, while trying to arrest Fr. McFadden with a drawn sword, was the climax of the Land War in Gweedore.

The case was recalled in the 1928 memoirs of Tim Healy, who defended some of the parishioners. An Irish-American journalist WH Hurlbert also investigated the landlord-and-tenant dispute in Gweedore in minute detail in his book "Ireland under Coercion", published in 1888.

Placenames in Gweedore:

Because Gweedore is in the Gaeltacht and partly due to the provisions of the Official Languages Act 2003, while both English and Irish versions of placenames are used, some road signage uses the Irish version exclusively.

Alphabetical listing

• * Arduns ("An tArd Donn")
• * Ardnagappery ("Ard na gCeapairí")
• * Ballindrait ("Baile an Droichid")
• * Bloody Foreland ("Cnoc Fola")
• * Brinaleck ("Bun an Leaca")
• * Bunaninver ("Bun an Inbhear")
• * Bunbeg ("An Bun Beag")
• * Carrick ("An Charraic")
• * Carrickataskin ("Carraig an tSeascain")
• * Cotteen ("Coitín" or "An Choiteann")
• * Crolly ("Croithshlí" or "Croithlí")
• * Curransport ("Port Uí Chuireáin")
• * Derrybeg ("Na Doirí Beaga" or "Doire Beag")
• * Dore ("Dobhar")
• * Dunlewey ("Dún Lúiche")
• * Glassagh ("Glaiseach" or "An Ghlaisigh")
• * Glasserchoo ("Glaisear Chú" or "Glas Dobhar Chú")
• * Glentornan ("Gleann Tornáin")
• * Knockastolar ("Cnoc an Stolaire")
• * Lunniagh ("Luinneach")
• * Magheraclogher ("Machaire Chlochair")
• * Magheragallon or Magheragallen ("Machaire Gathlán")
• * Meenaclady ("Mín an Chladaigh")
• * Meenacuing ("Mín na Cuinge")
• * Meenaniller ("Mín an Iolair")
• * Middletown ("Baile Lár")
• * Sheskinbeg ("Seascann Beag")
• * Stranacorkra ("Srath na Corcra")

Islands

• * Gola ("Gabhla")
• * Inishmen ("Inis Meáin")
• * Inishirhir ("Inis Oirthear")
• * Inishinny ("Inis Sionnaigh")
• * Tory ("Toraigh") - although not directly situated off the coast of Gweedore, the main ferry crossings are from the area.

Below is a fantastic link to a page maintained by Lindel Buckley which goes into great detail about the history of Gweedore including Births, Deaths and Marriages, Census details from 1911/1901/1841/51, documents and references from the 1800's and some fabulous historic maps. All credit to Lindel here for some work well done.

» The History of Gweedore

» Historical Pictures and Videos

Geanealogy of Gweedore