Logainmneacha Dhún Lúiche

Bailte Fearainn Dhún Lúiche / The Townlands of Dunlewey

The area known as Dunlewey is made up of a number of townlands; Glentornan, Dunlewey Far, Dunlewey Near, Muine Beag & Muine Mor, Sliabh na Bealtaine/ Beltany Mountain and Fana Bhuí. Mín na Craoibhe, Doonan and Mín na bPoll are in Sliabh na Bealtaine/Beltany Mountain and Mín na nGall is in Fána Bhuí/Fawnaboy.

In this website we have researched local history sources including a school project carried out by Colm & Eamonn McCafferty in the 1980's. The brothers spoke with local people (many of which are now deceased) and recorded the placenames and their meanings. We have used this information as a basis to record the placenames of Dunlewey.

The placenames as a whole are descriptive and were adopted by the first settlers in the area. The normally describe a feature in the landscape eg. Ard Glas; the green height. Many of the first people to live in Dunlewey did so on a seasonal basis, they lived along the coast of Donegal and brought their cattle and sheep to graze on the mountains over the summer months. This practice was known as 'buailteachas' or booleying/transhumance. They set-up temporary homes or huts for the summer and the evidence of these can now be found in the local placenames eg. Binn Tí Ruairí (a place where Ruairí had a hut), Ard na mBothog (the height with the huts).

Evidence of the activities they undertook can also be found in the placenames eg. Poll a't-Sean Duine, an underground hollow where an old man used to make Poteen. Dombrain, landlord of Dunlewey referred to Poteen making in his entry in the Gweedore Hotel Visitor Book in 1846 and you can find this entry in the  Online Exhibition on Dunlewey Estate .

Comparison between the 6" Map first edition and 6" map last edition