Oldtown, Letterkenny

Oldtown
An tSeanbhaile
Town
Oldtown

Location in Ireland

Coordinates: 54°57′24″N 7°43′13″W / 54.9566°N 7.7204°W / 54.9566; -7.7204Coordinates: 54°57′24″N 7°43′13″W / 54.9566°N 7.7204°W / 54.9566; -7.7204
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 of Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland, located in the parish of Conwal and Leck. As its name suggests, it is the oldest part of the town and was the starting point of the area's development, though it existed before Letterkenny itself. The area contains approximately 600 residential properties. Oldtown may be entered from central Letterkenny via the Oldtown Bridge (for traffic) or Devlin Way (for pedestrians). The Rail Bridge (formerly used for trains run by the Lough Swilly Railway) is currently disused, and the only remaining evidence of Old Town railway station.

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] Old Dunnes, the nearest department store to the area, is located across the Oldtown Bridge. Other major industries in the area include The Hideout, a long-standing pub, and the Model Bakery and Gaeltex Factory, both of which shut long ago. The former Gaeltex Factory has since been demolished and turned into council houses. New Leck Cemetery, one of Letterkenny's main cemeteries, is within walking distance.

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 seriously injured or killed by a passing car.[2]

History

Oldtown existed as a Native Irish settlement before the plantation of Ulster which saw Patrick Crawford develop the market town on the other side of the Swilly at the Oldtown Bridge. The early inhabitants of the Oldtown spoke Gaelic and their main food source came from fishing the Swilly estuary which flowed up to Conwal graveyard,they also raised livestock on the hillside where Leck graveyard is today.

Old Town railway station was located on the Letterkenny & Burtonport Extension line. It opened on 9 March 1903 before finally closing for passengers and goods on 6 January 1947.[3] 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.[4]

Industry

The Hideout has been standing on this spot since the 1800s.

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[5] and the Gaeltex Factory.[6] Current employers in the area include Dunnes Stores, NowDoc,[7] Jungle King[8][9] and The Hide Out Bar (Oldtown Inn), which was established in the 19th century.[10] The pub was redeveloped in 2008 and was awarded the most improved public house by the then Minister for the Environment, John Gormley. However, the new owner John G. Larkin, has links with Dessie Larkin, the Fianna Fáil mayor and councillor (Gormley was in coalition with Fianna Fáil at this time).[11] The pub has since been taken over by NAMA and stripped of its windows and roof tiles.

Criminal activity

Oldtown is known for its expansive crime rate, which is contributed to by gangland feuds and turf wars. On 24 October 2007, Gardaí were called to a stand-off between two rival families in what was later dubbed "The Battle of the Oldtown" by various forms of national media. Ninja-type weapons including 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, which provides a connection between the Oldtown and the town centre.[12]

On 22 July 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.[13] 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 17 July 2003, an elderly man became enraged 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.[14] Assaults frequently occur in the area.[15]

In 2012, it was reported that residents of the Oldtown area were "living in fear" of thugs who were terrorising them in their homes. This led some residents to install extra security on their premises. One woman had her house "egged" only a few minutes after it had been painted.[16] A few nights after this story went to print a man was seriously assaulted in a laneway in the area.[17]

In 2003, a young schoolgirl was sexually abused by her parents[18] before being killed by parasites which were found in cat faeces that she laid her hands upon. It is thought that this incident was an isolated one.[19] Drug abuse is also on the rise in the area. A small section has been opened up in the local drug unit to deal with the issue.[20]

Sport

A view over Oldtown, with Oldtown Celtic's home stadium visible on the right

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 area's 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.[21]

Notable people

References

  1. ↑ The Draft Letterkenny & Environs Development Plan 2009 – 2015, Part B, Pages 21 and 22.
  2. ↑ Nowhere to play for Oldtown children, Donegal News. 21 September 2009. Archived 4 October 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ↑ Oldtown Station Railscot – Irish Railways
  4. ↑ File:LKBRIDGE.jpg
  5. ↑ County Donegal Industries – Model Bakery Limited, Oldtown Letterkenny
  6. ↑ Gaeltex factory in Oldtown, 1999
  7. ↑ Businesses in Oldtown
  8. ↑ Jungle King Play Centre
  9. ↑ Jungle King Official site
  10. ↑ The Hideout Bar
  11. ↑ No secret to Hideout's success!, Donegal Democrat. 4 November 2008.
  12. ↑ Ninja-type weapons used in battle of the Oldtown, Donegal News. 26 October 2007. Archived 22 December 2014 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ↑ Jailed for "savage" machete and pitch fork attack, Donegal Democrat. 4 November 2008.
  14. ↑ News in Brief, Irish Independent. 2 February 2005.
  15. ↑ Letterkenny Assault, The Argus. 22 April 2009.
  16. ↑ Residents Living in Fear, The Letterkenny Post. 22 March 2012.
  17. ↑ Gardaí Cordon Off Area after Vicious Overnight Assault, Donegal Daily. 25 March 2012.
  18. ↑ Police close in on little Rona sex abuse suspect The Free Library, 2003.
  19. ↑ Bug from cat faeces likely cause of schoolgirl's death, Irish Independent. 17 May 2011.
  20. ↑ Residents Living in Fear
  21. ↑ Funding for fields at McNeely Villas, Donegal News. 17 November 2006.
  22. ↑ Dáil Éireann – Volume 412 – 13 November, 1991, Private Members' Business. – Nomination of Members of Government: Motion (Resumed)
  23. ↑ Irish High Court Bars Extraditing 2 in I.R.A., The New York Times. 15 March 1990.

External links

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