County Donegal Guide, Meaning , Facts, Information and Description
| County Donegal | |
|---|---|
| Area: | 4,841 km² |
| Capital: | Lifford |
| Code: | DL |
| Population: | 137,575 (2002) |
| Province: | Ulster |
- This article is about County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland. See also Donegal, Pennsylvania.
- County town: Lifford
- Largest town: Letterkenny (was once the fastest growing town in Western Europe)
- Highest point: Errigal, 752 metres (2,467 feet)
| Table of contents |
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2 Culture/Heritage 3 Politics 4 Towns in Donegal |
Geography
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The county consists chiefly of low mountains, with a deeply indented coastline forming natural loughs. The Slieve League cliffs are the highest sea cliffs in Europe, and Donegal's Malin Head is the most northernly point on the island of Ireland. The climate is temperate and dominated by the Gulf Stream, with cool damp summers and mild wet winters. Two permanently inhabited islands, Arranmore and Tory Island lie off the coast, along with a large number of islands with only transiant inhabitants.
Like other areas of Western Ireland, Donegal has a distinctive fiddle tradition.
The variant of the Irish language spoken in Donegal is distinctive, and shares traits with Scottish Gaelic. The Irish Language spoken in the Donegal Gaeltacht (Irish speaking area) is of the West Ulster dialect, while Inishowen, which lost its Gaeltacht areas in the early 20th century, used the East Ulster dialect. Scots is still spoken to a degree in the Laggan district of east Donegal.
Donegal County Council has responsibility for local administration, and runs alongside the Letterkenny and the Buncrana Urban District Councils. Both the County Council and Urban District Councils have elections every five years (alongside local elections nationally) the last taking place on the 11 June 2004. Twenty nine councellors are elected using the system of Proportional Representation, with a certain amount of seats allocated to each electoral area (of which there are five: Inishowen, Letterkenny, Donegal, Stranorlar, Glenties & Milford). Donegal County Council's main offices are located in the County House in Lifford, but regional offices are located in Carndonagh, Milford, Letterkenny, Dungloe and Donegal. For general (national) elections, the county is divided into two constituencies, Donegal South-West and Donegal North-East, with both having three representatives in Dáil Éireann.
This is an Article on County Donegal. Page Contains Information, Facts Details or Explanation Guide About County Donegal Culture/Heritage
Politics
Towns in Donegal