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Castlefinn Caisleán na Finne | |
|---|---|
Town | |
 The Diamond | |
  Castlefinn Location in Ireland | |
| Coordinates:54°48′11″N7°35′48″W / 54.8030°N 7.5966°W /54.8030; -7.5966 | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Ulster |
| County | County Donegal |
| Population | 730 |
| Time zone | UTC+0 (WET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-1 (IST (WEST)) |
Castlefin (Irish:Caisleán na Finne, meaning 'castle of the (river) Finn'),[2] sometimes speltCastlefinn, is amarket town andtownland in the Finn Valley ofCounty Donegal, Ireland. It is located betweenStranorlar andLifford in East Donegal. As of 2022[update], the population was 730.[1] TheRiver Finn flows by the town. The town is located in along the mainN15 national primary road, which runs fromBundoran to Lifford. The town lies 6 miles from Lifford and 8 miles from the twin towns ofBallybofey andStranorlar. It has close links toLetterkenny, to the twin towns of Ballybofey and Stranorlar, and to WestTyrone inNorthern Ireland, especially with the towns ofStrabane andCastlederg.
The five housing estates in the town are called the Emmett Park built in the 1980s Sessaigh Park built in the 2000s, Caislean Court built in the 1990s, Hillhead built in the 1970s and Grahamsland built in the 1950s.[citation needed]
The town centre is located around the Diamond area, which is where three routes merge. The Diamond has landscaped seating and planting areas, and the surrounding area also has a number of buildings that are included on the Record of Protected Structures.[citation needed]The town has a number of retail, commercial, religious, economic, social and recreational amenities.[citation needed] Castlefinn also serves as a focus of primary education for the surrounding rural areas.[citation needed] The localnational school has a large catchment area and currently has 180+ pupils attending.[when?] The town also has a pre-school.[citation needed]
The town centre has a number of amenities including retail outlets, grocery stores, a petrol station, post office, butchers, take-aways, public houses and some hairdressers.[citation needed] The town also has a recycling facility that is located on the Castlederg road beside the bridge.
The C.P.I center is used for football, parties, computing and the youth club.[citation needed] There is a local GAA club (Robert Emmetts) and a soccer field (Castlefinn Celtic). Castlefinn is also the home of Finn Valley Radio which broadcasts on 95.8FM locally and online. The station holds a community licence and its studios are located at the CPI Centre.[3]
Local schools include St Mary's National School,[4] Scoil Náisiúnta Domhnach Mór (Liscooley) and St. Safan's National School (Dunnyloop).[5]
Castlefinn railway station opened on 7 September 1863, but finally closed on 1 January 1960.[6]
A number of buses pass through Castlefinn on a daily basis going to Letterkenny,Derry, Strabane,Dublin,Sligo andGalway.
Castlefin is in theDonegal constituency for Dáil elections. The town is in the Lifford–Stranorlar Municipal District ofDonegal County Council. The six councillors for the district include Gary Doherty of Castlefin.[7]
