Buncrana

Infobox Irish Place
name = Buncrana
gaeilge = Bun Cranncha
crest

motto = Aoibhinn Linn Áille na hÁite Seo
_en. sweet to us is the beauty of this place
map

pin coords = left: 105px; top: 32px
north coord = 55.1364
west coord = 7.4560
irish grid = C346320
area =
elevation = 62 m (206 ft)
province = Ulster
county = County Donegal
town pop = 3,420
rural pop = 1,851
census yr = 2002
web =
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Buncrana ( _ga. Bun Cranncha) is a town in County Donegal, the northwest of Ireland, located on the Inishowen peninsula, along Lough Swilly. Neds Point Fort lies to the north of the town. It is the second largest town in County Donegal and the largest in Inishowen. It is only 10 kilometres from Derry city and 43 kilometres from Letterkenny. In the 2002 Census, the population of Buncrana was recorded as 5,271, with a population of 1,851 in the rural vicinity.

Name

The name Buncrana comes from the Irish "Bun Cranncha", which translates to "Bottom Of The Crana", the Crana being the river alongside which Buncrana is situated.

History

It achieved a brief notoriety in 1972, when after Operation Motorman it became the place of refuge for many Provisional Irish Republican Army members from Derry.

Transport

Buncrana railway station opened on 9 September 1864, was closed for passenger traffic on 6 September 1948, and finally closed altogether on 10 August 1953. [cite web | title=Buncrana station | work=Railscot - Irish Railways | url=http://www.railscot.co.uk/Ireland/Irish_railways.pdf | accessdate=2007-09-13] Lough Swilly Buses continues to service the area with a bus service seven days a week with around 12 buses per day going to Buncrana from Derry and vice-versa.

People

* Daniel Devlin (1814-1867), a prosperous businessman, City Chamberlain, and prominent citizen of New York City was born in Buncrana.
* Frank McGuinness, an Irish playwright, translator and poet was born in the town.

ee also

* List of towns in the Republic of Ireland
* Buncrana Hearts F.C.
* List of RNLI stations

Twinning

:flagicon|USA Campbellsville, Kentucky, USA

References

External links

* [http://www.buncrana.com Buncrana.com Website]