| Oldtown An tSeanbhaile
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| — Town — | |
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Oldtown
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| Coordinates: | |
| Country | Ireland |
| Province | Ulster |
| County | County Donegal |
| Government | |
| • Dáil Éireann | Donegal North East |
| Elevation | 52 m (171 ft) |
| Population (2006) | |
| • Rural | 1,750 |
| Time zone | WET (UTC+0) |
| • Summer (DST) | IST (WEST) (UTC-1) |
| Area code(s) | 074, +000 353 74 |
| Irish Grid Reference | C167119 |
Oldtown (Irish: An tSeanbhaile) is a district located in the parish of Conwal and Leck in Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland. As its name suggests, it is the oldest part of the town and became the starting point of the town's development. The area contains approximately 600 residential properties.
Oldtown has a weak range of essential services with the area being limited to green spaces within housing developments and facilities serving the area being located primarily in the town centre rather than in the Oldtown neighbourhood itself.[1] The Jim Larkin Court and Gaeltex Drive apartment blocks have a serious lack of facilities. They have no play area for children and families run the risk of having one of their children wiped out by a passing car.[2]
The Bahá'í Faith Group have a centre in Oldtown.[3]
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Oldtown developed at the bridging point of the River Swilly during the Ulster Plantation in 1610. Patrick Crawford, a Scottish planter, was granted 1,000 acres (4.0 km2) of land. He then formed a compact community which later became known as Oldtown. To begin with there were about fifty habitations situated in Oldtown but today the area accommodates a large portion of the town's population.[4]
Oldtown Railway Station was located on the Letterkenny & Burtonport Extension line. It opened on March 9, 1903 before finally closing for passengers and goods on January 6, 1947.[5] There is no evidence of the station in existence today, a hotel occupies the site. However, an old rail bridge may be seen spanning the River Swilly.[6]
Oldtown reportedly a location of various forms of criminal activity. In 2003 a young schoolgirl was sexually abused[7] before being killed by parasites which were found in cat faeces that she laid her hands upon.[8]
On October 24, 2007 Gardaí were called to a stand-off between two rival families. Ninja-type weapons of chains, swords and slash-hooks were produced and the families only calmed upon the intervention of a local priest. Twenty gardai and six patrol cars were in place to deal with a riot-like situation. Traffic was diverted away from the scene which occurred near the Oldtown Bridge.[9] On July 22, 2006 a man was attacked with a machete and pitchfork. The victim suffered puncture wounds to his abdomen and laceration wounds to his body. The victim's wife was also threatened but was not injured in the feud.[10] The Oldtown gang refer to themselves as the Oldtown Hoodz, a reference to gangster crime. They are a sub-division of the Letterkenny Young Thugs (LYT). They have terrorised many's an old-aged pensioner from her bed at night. On July 17, 2003 an elderly man became angered when he saw a neighbour cutting grass on his property. He fetched a double-barrelled shot gun and fired twice at the strimmer, narrowly missing his neighbour.[11] Assaults frequently occur in the area.[12]
The Oldtown area has a proud industrial history with it being the location of many of the town's major employers. Former industries in the area include the Model Bakery [13] and the Gaeltex Factory.[14] Current employers in the area include Dunnes Stores, NowDoc,[15] Jungle King [16][17] and The Hide Out Bar (Oldtown Inn), which was established in the 19th century.[18] The pub was redeveloped in 2008 and was awarded the most improved public house by Minister for the Environment, John Gormley.[19]
Golfing facilities opened in 1913 on a 47 acre (190,000 m2) 9 hole course at Crievesmith. The course was sold in 1965 for £3000 and the club moved to its current home at Barnhill. Due to the areas growing population the land was developed into housing at the turn of the 21st century. Oldtown Celtic, founded in 1976, is the local soccer club. They play their home games at Oldtown Park.[20]
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