Lifford
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| Lifford Leifear |
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WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates:
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| Statistics | ||
| Province: | Ulster | |
| County: | County Donegal | |
| Dáil Éireann: | Donegal North East | |
| Population (2006) | ||
| Website: www.donegalcoco.ie | ||
Lifford (Leifear in Irish) is the County Town of Donegal, an Ulster county within the Republic of Ireland and the seat of Donegal County Council. The town is located in the Finn Valley of East Donegal. It is not the largest town or economic core of the County, which is Letterkenny. The town grew up around a castle established there by Manghus Ó Domhnaill, ruler of Tír Chonaill (modern County Donegal), in the 16th century, and later became a British army garrison until most of Ireland won independence in 1922. It is situated across the River Foyle from Strabane, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland, and is connected to that town by Lifford Bridge.
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[edit] History
Lifford came into the possession of Sir Richard Hansard during the Plantation of Ulster in 1607. One of the conditions of his grant was that a ferry crossing be provided over the River Finn. This service continued until 1730 when the first bridge linking Lifford and Strabane was built.
In the 19th century a curious custom existed when if, by the end of the Assizes in Lifford or Omagh courthouses, a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict in a case, they were sent to the "verge" of the county to be dismissed. In the case of counties Donegal and Tyrone, this was the middle of Lifford Bridge[citation needed].
The present bridge was constructed by engineering company McAlpines in 1964, jointly funded by Donegal County Council and the old Tyrone County Council (the present Strabane District Council was only formed in the early 1970s). During The Troubles in 1968, an attempt was made to blow the bridge up. However, it was only closed for a short time and today remains an important road link.
[edit] People
- Mickey Joe Harte (singer)
- Sharon Foley (athlete)
- Shay Given (footballer)
- Brendan McNamee (author)
- Michael O'Doherty - former principle architect of Office of Public Works
[edit] Transport
[edit] Canal
- In 1792 the 6 km (4 mi) Strabane Canal was constructed from the tidal waters of Lough Foyle at Leck, to Strabane. The canal fell into disuse in 1962. In June 2006 the Strabane Lifford Development Commission awarded a £1.3m cross-border waterways restoration contract. The project was launched by President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, in Lifford and involves the restoration of 2.4 km (1.5 mi) of canal and two locks to working order. Work is due to start on the Lough Foyle side of the canal in the summer of 2006.
[edit] Rail
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Lifford Halt station. Railscot - Irish Railways. Retrieved on 2007-10-28.
[edit] External links
- Belfast Telegraph, 26 June 2006
- Lifford Bridge
