Several large tribes governed the large territories of Tír Chonaill, (roughly the area of what we know as Donegal today without Inishowen) and the balliboe of Leitir Ceanainn was within one of these territories. The boundaries of the territory of the Cinéal Luighdheach tribe, (the ‘kindred of Lughaidh’), were described in the Book of Fenagh...
Read MoreSaint Eunan and Letterkenny
The Cathedral that dominates the skyline of the town, the secondary school for boys, the GAA Club, the Bishop’s Palace and the terrace of houses off the Convent Road all share the name of St. Eunan with the result that the 7th century saint is very much synomonous with the town of Letterkenny today. However,
Read MoreThe Civil War in Letterkenny
In the last post we saw how the War of Independence affected the town and how ambushes ceased following the Truce and signing of the Treaty. Not everyone agreed with the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty however and it split the Sinn Féin party down the middle resulting in an outbreak of Civil War in
Read MoreThe War of Independence in Letterkenny
The first shots of the War of Independence against the British in Ireland are recorded as being fired in January 1919 at Soloheadbeag in County Tipperary. The Irish Volunteers, by now renamed the Irish Republican Army (IRA), targeted Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) and British Army barracks and ambushed their patrols, capturing arms and forcing...
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