Inishowen (Irish:Inis Eoghain, meaning 'island of Eoghan') is apeninsula in the north ofCounty Donegal in Ireland. Inishowen is the largest peninsula on theisland of Ireland.[1]
The Inishowen peninsula includes Ireland's most northerly point,Malin Head. TheGrianan of Aileach, aringfort that served as the royal seat of the over-kingdom ofAilech, stands at the entrance to the peninsula.
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The main towns and villages of Inishowen are:
Inishowen is a peninsula of 884.33 square kilometres (218,523 acres), situated in the northernmost part of the island ofIreland.[2] It is bordered to the north by theAtlantic Ocean, to the east byLough Foyle, and to the west byLough Swilly. It is joined at the south to the rest of the island and is mostly inCounty Donegal in theRepublic of Ireland. Thesouth-eastern part of the peninsula lies inCounty Londonderry,Northern Ireland, having been transferred from County Donegal at the behest of theLondon companies as part of thePlantation of Ulster in the early 17th century. The peninsula is separated from the rest ofNorthern Ireland by theRiver Foyle.
After the lastice age, the peninsula was an island. Most of Inishowen's population inhabits the peripheral coastal areas, while the interior consists of low mountains, mostly covered inbogland, the highest of which isSlieve Snaght, which is 619 metres (2,030 feet) above sea level. Other major hills are located in theMalin Head peninsula,[3] as well as theUrris Hills in west Inishowen. Due to its geography, Inishowen usually has relatively more moderate weather conditions, with temperatures slightly lower than in other parts of Ireland in summer and slightly warmer in winter, especially during extended cold weather periods.
Inishowen has several harbours, some of which are used for commercial fishing purposes, including Greencastle, Bunagee and Leenan. A seasonal ferry service crosses the Foyle, connecting Greencastle withMagilligan in County Londonderry, while another crosses the Swilly, connecting Buncrana withRathmullan. The village of Fahan has a privately builtmarina.
There are several small outlying islands off the Inishowen coast, most notablyInishtrahull andGlashedy islands, both uninhabited, although the former was inhabited until the early twentieth century.Inch, located inLough Swilly, is technically no longer an island, as it has acauseway connecting it to the mainland atTooban, south of Fahan.
Lough Swilly is afjord-like lough, and was of strategic importance for many years to the British Empire as a deep-water harbour. It is also famous as the departure point of theFlight of the Earls. Lough Foyle is important as the entrance to the river Foyle, and the city of Derry, but is much shallower than Lough Swilly, and requires the use of a guide boat to guide ships to and fromLondonderry Port.
A large area of land, most of which now forms part ofGrianán Farm, one of the largest farms in Ireland, was reclaimed from a shallow area of Lough Swilly, stretching from the village of Burnfoot to Bridgend and Burt. The outline of this land is plainly visible due to its flatness, showing a marked contrast to the more mountainous area surrounding it.
Ptolemy'sGeography (2nd century) described a point called Ουεννικνιον (Wenniknion, perhaps from *wen- "friends") which probably referred to Inishowen.[4]
Predating the formation of County Donegal by centuries, the area was namedInis Eoghain (the Island of Eoghan) afterEógan mac Néill, son ofNiall of the Nine Hostages (Niall Naoigeallach, aHigh King of Ireland), whose name was also used forTyrone (Irish:Tír Eoghain). Inis Eoghain is also the ancient homeland of theMeic Lochlainn (descended from the tribe of Eoghan), a clan that grew so formidable that they eventually came under siege by a Limerick King, who came north to Aileach, and ordered the destruction of Aileach fort, and that each soldier was to carry away a stone from the fort in order to prevent its rebuilding. Later, after the decline of the Meic Lochlainn, the NormanEarldom of Ulster expanded into Inishowen, foundingGreencastle in the process. After the Bruce invasion in the early 14th century, theÓ Dochartaigh clan (descended from the tribe of Conaill), gradually conquered it as they lost their own homeland in the Laggan, a district in the east of Tír Conaill.
Inishowen has many historical monuments, dating back to early settlements, including the ruins of several castles, and the fort at Grianán Aileach. The ancient Grianán Ailigh fort at Burt was the one-time seat of the High Kings of Ireland, including both High Kings of the Meic Lochlainn, who held power in Inis Eoghain for many centuries. It was restored in the nineteenth century, although some damage in recent years has resulted in the partial collapse of the south side wall. Among the main castle ruins of Inishowen areCarrickabraghey on theIsle of Doagh, the Norman Castle at Greencastle, Inch Castle, Buncrana Castle and Elagh Castle.
In 1196,John de Courcy, anAnglo-Norman knight who had invadedUlster in 1177, defeated the King of theCenél Conaill and most ofCounty Donegal was at his mercy. Two years later he returned to devastate Inishowen. However, in subsequent campaigns de Courcy was defeated by Clan O'Neill and theirChiefÁed Méith and found himself unable to conquer the western part of Ulster.[5]
In 1608 SirCahir O'Doherty, theChief of the Name ofClan O'Doherty andLord of Inishowen, launchedO'Doherty's Rebellion byburning Derry. After the defeat of the uprising, most of Clan O'Doherty's territory was awarded toArthur Chichester. In 1990, an O'Doherty clan ceremony was held inDerry, during which Ramon Salvador O'Dogherty of Spain was installed as ceremonial "Lord of Inishowen" and received a traditionalwhite wand of office.[6]
Ireland's deadliest road accident happened at Inishowen in July 2010.[7][8][9][10]
At the lastCensus of Ireland in 2016, Inishowen counted a population of 40,544[11] Buncrana is the largest town in Inishowen, with a 2016 population of 6,785 in its urban area.[12]
On a national level, Inishowen forms part of theDonegal constituency, which elects five TDs toDáil Éireann, thelower house of theOireachtas (the IrishParliament). At the county level, Inishowen is an electoral area, aMunicipal District, electing nine councillors toDonegal County Council. Currently there are three members ofFianna Fáil, two each ofSinn Féin andFine Gael, one from theLabour Party and one independent.[13]
In addition to the radio stations and newspapers available elsewhere in Donegal, there are several media outlets that are based solely on the peninsula, including two newspapers (theInish Times and theInishowen Independent, both of which are published in Buncrana) and one online daily local news service (InishowenNews.com). The traditional news source for Inishowen is theDerry Journal, published in nearbyDerry city, since 1772. It still serves the peninsula as apaper of record.
Inishowen is at the starting (or ending) point of theWild Atlantic Way.[14]
The Inishowen 100 tourist route[15] is an approximately 100-mile signposted scenic drive around the peninsula. It takes in or passes nearby many of the tourist sights and places of interest on the peninsula.[16] It starts at Bridgend where there is a lay-by with a large map and information boards. The first leg of the coastal route is along the coast ofLough Swilly. It passesInch Island,Fahan (a blue flag beach), Fahan 18-hole Golf Course,Buncrana Town, Tullyarvan Mill (An interpretive centre tracing over 250 years of textile production in the Buncrana area.). It continues along the western coast onLough Swilly. The route passesDunree beach, Dunree Fort (military museum) and then turns inland for Mamore Gap (between theUrris Hills andRaghtin More mountain), Leenan Bay, Dunaff, Head, Tullagh Bay (a blue flag beach), through the villages ofClonmany and Ballyliffin.Ballyliffin has an 18-hole golf course.
The route then passes the Isle of Doagh (where there is a famine museum and an interpretive centre). Next isCarndonagh - the second largest town in Inishowen, after which the route turns North again throughMalin Town, past Five Fingers Strand and then up onto cliff top viewpoint at Knockamany Bens, then down again to sea level with the route looking out into the Atlantic, before heading to Ireland's most northerly pointMalin Head.
On the North Eastern coast, the route passes throughCuldaff village and Culdaff Bay (another Blue Flag beach), Tramone Bay, andKinnagoe Bay. Further East, it reachesLough Foyle and thenGreencastle (a port used by fishing boats and a landing point for the car ferry fromMagilligan in Northern Ireland). Then, as the road heads South along Lough Foyle, it passes throughMoville town,Quigley's Point and the village ofMuff.[citation needed]
The famine village on the Isle of Doagh in Lagacurry takes visitors on a tour from the famine days of the 1840s to the present. It includesthatched cottages, a large walk-through museum, and guided tours of life in an isolated place living on the edge.[17]
Fort Dunree Military Museum is located at the site of the formercoastal defence and fortification atFort Dunree. During theNapoleonic Wars, the fort was built to defendLough Swilly. The museum includes restored guns, a military camp and underground bunkers.[18]
The Inishowen Maritime Museum & Planetarium was founded in 1994 by maritime history enthusiasts who raised funds to buy the Old Coast Guard Station on Greencastle Harbor. The museum includes photographs and artefacts.[19] A planetarium is housed in an extension built to the museum. There is a memorial to those lost at sea from the Inishowen Peninsula in front of the museum.
Inishowen has a number ofGaelic football clubs which represent the various parishes on the peninsula. Each club has different football teams for both sexes and a variety of age groups. Whilehurling is played at underage level by all the clubs there is, of yet, no adult team fielded on a regular basis by any of them.[20] Local clubs include Beart CLG (inBurt),[21]Buncrana GAA club,[22]Carndonagh GAA club,[23]Malin GAA club,[24]Moville GAA club,[21] Naomh Pádraig GAA club (Muff),[25] andUrris GAA club.[26]
TheInishowen Football League (IOFL) is an amateur league for football (soccer) clubs in the Inishowen peninsula.
Inishowen Rugby Club is based at Carndonagh.
Other sports in the area include cycling,[27] golf,[28] horse riding,kayaking, shooting (for example at North Inishowen Gun Club[1]), surfing and rock climbing.[29]
