87-477: SS Stolwijk , a Dutch cargo ship of 2,489 tons, was wrecked off the coast of County Donegal , Ireland on 6 December 1940. She was part of a Convoy SC 13 sailing from the Dominion of Newfoundland to Liverpool , England, when her rudder was damaged in a fierce storm. Attempts to rescue her by her destroyer escort failed and she went on the rocks off Tory Island, County Donegal, Ireland. Ten of her crew were lost but
174-592: A hurricane -force gale . Witnesses claim the lifeboat K.T.J.S. went over one wave and through the next on the outward journey. Stowijk had gone aground on rocks called Carraignacrubog ("The Rock of Crabs") just north of Inishdooey and south of Inisbeg. The National Archives in the Netherlands has this information of the rescue from the secretary of the RNLI (C.R. Satterthwaite) in April 1941: The three bodies recovered following
261-639: A temperate oceanic climate ( Köppen climate classification : Cfb), with upland areas in the Derryveagh and Blue Stack ranges classified as oceanic subpolar (Köppen climate classification: Cfc). The county's climate is heavily influenced by the North Atlantic Current . Due to the topography of western Donegal, it receives orographic rainfall, where the air is forced to rise on contact with its mountainous coastline and subsequently cools and condenses , forming clouds. The mountains of Donegal are among
348-488: A beach at Ballymanus, County Donegal, when local villagers attempted to bring ashore an unexploded marine mine . Eighteen men and boys between the ages of 13 and 34 were killed in the explosion. The partition of Ireland in the early 1920s severely affected County Donegal. Partition cut the county off, economically and administratively, from Derry, which had acted for centuries as the county's main port, transport hub and financial centre. Derry, together with west Tyrone ,
435-516: A cargo capacity of 4,100 DWT . Her length was 285.8 feet (87.11 m), beam 45.2 feet (13.78 m) and depth of hold 21.7 feet (6.61 m). The ship was powered by a triple expansion steam engine of 1200 IHP , made by NV Machinefabriek ' Kinderdijk ', driving a single propeller. In 1921, in a shipping recession, Kongsgaard ' s owners were bankrupt and the ship was sold to the Rotterdam shipping company NV Maatschappij SS Rijswijk, managed by
522-481: A further 215,000 servicemen and civilians had been saved, however although successful, Operations 'Aerial' and 'Cycle' never captured the public's imagination like ‘Operation Dynamo’. In September 1940 Sabre was detailed to meet the first slow Atlantic convoy, as it approached the United Kingdom from Canada . A Finnish merchant ship, Elle , 3,868 tons was torpedoed at 4:25 a.m. on 28 August and Sabre joined
609-413: A quartzo-feldspathic paragneiss found around Lough Derg, which have been dated to 1.713 billion years ago. Donegal is the most seismically active part of Ireland. The Leenan Fault is a large strike-slip fault that bisects the county from Lough Swilly to Donegal Bay, and dozens of tremors have been recorded along the fault since the late 19th century, although none have been larger than a magnitude 3 on
696-604: A similarly placed coastal station in the southwest of Ireland records just 3. Donegal can be divided into six main geological subdivisions. Of these, the most expansive sections are the Lower Carboniferous limestones and sandstones of south Donegal, the Devonian granite of the Donegal batholith , which extends for about 75 km northeast to southwest from Ardara to Fanad Head, and quartzo-feldspathic Dalradian rocks from
783-501: A small border with only one other county in the Republic of Ireland – County Leitrim . The vast majority of its land border (93%) is shared with three counties of Northern Ireland : County Tyrone , County Londonderry and County Fermanagh . This geographic isolation from the rest of the Republic has led to Donegal people maintaining a distinct cultural identity and has been used to market
870-432: A straggler from convoy HX 166, en route Curaçao to Shellhaven (Thames Estuary), was torpedoed by U-87 110 mi (180 km) from St Kilda . The vessel foundered on 3 January 1942. Out of the ship's crew, 27 were lost, 23 were picked up by HMS Onslow and a further 10 crew members by Sabre and landed at Reykjavík , Iceland. In March 1942 after a successful ‘ Warship Week ’ National Savings campaign Sabre
957-418: Is 6,053 acres (Tawnawully Mountains). The average size of a townland in the county (excluding towns) is 438 acres. The county may be informally divided into a number of traditional districts. There are two Gaeltacht districts in the west: The Rosses ( Irish : Na Rosa ), centred on the town of Dungloe ( Irish : An Clochán Liath ), and Gweedore ( Irish : Gaoth Dobhair ). Another Gaeltacht district
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#17328557984771044-484: Is a county of Ireland in the province of Ulster and in the Northern and Western Region . It is named after the town of Donegal in the south of the county. It has also been known as County Tyrconnell or Tirconaill ( Tír Chonaill ), after the historic territory . Donegal County Council is the local council and Lifford is the county town . The population was 167,084 at the 2022 census . County Donegal
1131-656: Is headquartered at the County House in Lifford. Elections to the County Council take place every five years. Thirty-seven councillors are elected using the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote (STV). The county is divided into the following local electoral areas : Buncrana (5 seats), Carndonagh (4), Donegal (6), Glenties (6), Letterkenny (7), Lifford–Stranorlar (6) and Milford (3). Donegal County Council has three representatives on
1218-533: Is located in the north-west: Cloughaneely ( Irish : Cloich Chionnaola ), centred on the town of Falcarragh ( Irish : An Fál Carrach ). The most northerly part of the island of Ireland is the location for three peninsulas : Inishowen , Fanad and Rosguill . The main population centre of Inishowen, Ireland's largest peninsula, is Buncrana . In the east of the county lies the Finn Valley (centred on Ballybofey ) and The Laggan district (not to be confused with
1305-417: Is named after the town of Donegal (from Irish Dún na nGall 'fort of the foreigners') in the south of the county. It has also been known by the alternative name County Tyrconnell or Tirconaill ( Tír Chonaill , meaning 'Land of Conall '). The latter was its official name between 1922 and 1927. This is in reference to the túath or Gaelic kingdom of Tír Chonaill (on which
1392-574: Is part of the Border strategic planning area. There are eight historic baronies in the county. While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they ceased to have any administrative function following the Local Government Act 1898 , and any changes to county boundaries after the mid-19th century are not reflected in their extent. The last boundary change of a barony in Donegal was in 1851 when
1479-519: Is particularly far from the ocean, giving it a generally cooler climate that is more similar to western Scotland than the rest of Ireland. The average maximum temperature in July at Malin Head is just 16.8 °C (62 °F). However, due to its exposed coastal location, the climate at Malin Head is not representative of most of the county. Winds are much lighter in the county's interior and temperatures are cooler in
1566-555: Is the largest town in the Border Region and the 21st largest urban area in the Republic of Ireland. Under CSO classification, an "Urban Area" is a town with a population greater than 1,500. As of the 2016 Census, Donegal is the most rural / least urbanised county in Ireland, with less than one-third of the population (27.3 per cent) living in urban areas and over 70 per cent in rural areas. The Donegal Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area)
1653-577: Is the second-largest in Ireland. The version of the Irish language spoken in County Donegal is Ulster Irish . Of the Gaeltacht population of 24,744 (16% of the county's total population), 17,132 say they can speak Irish. There are three Irish-speaking parishes: Gweedore , The Rosses and Cloughaneely . Other Irish-speaking areas include Gaeltacht an Láir : Glencolmcille , Fintown , Fanad and Rosguill ,
1740-609: The Children's Overseas Reception Board scheme some as young as five, together with 286 other passengers. They were taken to various west coast ports in Scotland. ( Volendam did not sink and was eventually taken in tow by the rescue tug HMS Salvonia and beached on the Isle of Bute . Repaired in 1941 she returned to war service). Tory Island incident December 1940 In December Sabre , whilst escorting an inbound convoy SC 13 into Liverpool,
1827-553: The D.S.M., with six further Mentioned in Dispatches. After Dunkirk there were still Allied forces to be evacuated from other French ports along the coast westward so the navy had further work to do. ‘ Operation Cycle ' launched on 10 June rescued some 11,000 from the English Channel port of Le Havre . Then on 12 June Sabre was deployed to help with the evacuation of still more British and Allied forces in ‘ Operation Aerial ’ from
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#17328557984771914-510: The Dunkirk evacuation . During nine days and nights of the evacuation, despite being damaged in an air attack, Sabre made ten round trips to Dunkirk. An example of her activity at this time: Finally on 4 June just after 2:00 p.m., the Admiralty announced the end of Operation Dynamo. All together an armada of over 860 ships, including 39 destroyers, had taken part in the evacuation of troops from
2001-510: The Gulf of Mexico , a low-pressure Polar front regularly passes to the northwest of the island, bringing cold and unsettled weather to the region. The upland areas of Donegal will reliably receive some covering of snow every year. In lowland areas, snow - while still relatively infrequent - is more common than in the rest of Ireland. Despite its coastal location, Malin Head records an average of 20 days of snowfall per year. In contrast Valentia Island ,
2088-654: The International Criminal Court in 2001 received the lowest support in Donegal, with just 55.8% of voters backing the proposal, compared with 64.2% nationally. Donegal is the only county to have voted against the Treaty of Lisbon twice, in 2008 and 2009. Voters in the county also rejected both the Fiscal Treaty and the referendum on children's rights and state care in 2012. On the issue of abortion and right to life vs pro-choice , Donegal has consistently been
2175-728: The Lagan Valley in the south of County Antrim ), which is centred on the town of Raphoe . Donegal is the most mountainous county in Ulster. It consists of two ranges of low mountains, the Derryveagh Mountains in the north and the Blue Stack Mountains in the south, with Errigal at 751 m (2,464 ft) the highest peak, making it the 11th-highest county top in Ireland. It has a deeply indented coastline forming natural sea loughs , of which Lough Swilly and Lough Foyle are
2262-523: The Local Government Reform Act 2014 was commenced and their functions were taken over by Donegal County Council. The Dáil constituency of Donegal constituency (5 TDs ) covers almost the entire county, with the exception of a small area in southern Donegal around Bundoran and Ballyshannon, which is part of the Sligo–Leitrim constituency . Historically, the county was represented in
2349-553: The Northern and Western Regional Assembly . Council elections are held every 5 years, with the next election due to be held in June 2029. The 2024 Donegal local election had a voter turnout of 54.7%. The highest turnout was at Milford (63.1%) and the lowest was at Letterkenny (51.4%). Until 2014, there were town councils in Letterkenny, Bundoran , Ballyshannon and Buncrana. The town councils were abolished in June 2014 when provisions of
2436-760: The Parliament of Ireland through the Donegal Borough constituency, which lasted from 1613 to 1800, when the Irish Parliament was abolished. Following the Act of Union , the county was represented in Westminster through the Donegal constituency until 1885. Following this, the county was broken up into four separate constituencies – North Donegal , South Donegal , East Donegal and West Donegal – which persisted until independence. The Government of Ireland Act 1920 reformed
2523-509: The Poisoned Glen . Valleys such as these were the last areas to retain glaciers as temperatures rose. As the ice sheet thinned, topography became the dominant force driving the direction of ice and meltwater flow. Erosion by glacial meltwater carved out large channels in southern Donegal which directed water and sediment to outwash fans in Donegal Bay. The area south of Donegal town, where
2610-575: The Precambrian era, which cover much of the rest of the county. The geology of Donegal is very similar to that of County Mayo , and both counties are located within the Grampian Terrane . The oldest rocks in Ireland are a granitic gneiss found on the island of Inishtrahull , located ca. 10 km (6.2 mi) north-east of Malin Head. They are 1.78 billion years old, making them Paleoproterozoic in age. The oldest rocks on mainland Donegal are
2697-477: The Republic of Ireland by an internal border of only a few kilometres. The existence of a border cutting County Donegal off from its natural hinterlands in Derry City and West Tyrone greatly exacerbated the economic difficulties of the county after partition. The county's economy is particularly susceptible, like that of Derry City, to the currency fluctuations of the euro against sterling . Added to all this, in
SS Stolwijk - Misplaced Pages Continue
2784-622: The Richter scale . The county's landscape was carved out by glaciation at the end of the Pleistocene and the subsequent retreat during the early Holocene . Donegal contains one of Ireland's three glacial fjords (or fjards ) at Lough Swilly , the others being Carlingford Lough and Killary Harbour . Lough Swilly is the county's largest inlet and forms the western boundary of the Inishowen Peninsula . The thick ice sheet that once covered
2871-468: The River Eske flows into the bay, is an example of one of these outwash areas. Sea levels in the area began to stabilise around 5,000 years ago, and the balance of erosion and deposition along Donegal's coastline resulted in the development of many sandy beaches and spits interspersed with jagged sea cliffs. Letterkenny is by far the largest settlement in Donegal, with a population of just over 22,000. It
2958-713: The Royal Irish Army were stationed there, the Dublin authorities were unable to establish control over Tír Chonaill and Inishowen until after the Battle of Kinsale in 1602. Full control over the new County Donegall was only achieved after the Flight of the Earls in September 1607. It was the centre of O'Doherty's Rebellion of 1608 with the key Battle of Kilmacrennan taking place there. The county
3045-423: The 1890s. Due to interbreeding, most of the deer in the county are now a Sika-Red deer hybrid. The Wild Ireland wildlife park near Burnfoot showcases some of Donegal's historic animal species that were hunted to extinction, including brown bears , lynxes and gray wolves . In 2001, the golden eagle was re-introduced into Glenveagh National Park and is currently Ireland's only breeding population. A survey of
3132-620: The Erne to the River Shannon was constructed between 1846 and 1860, creating Ireland's longest navigable waterway. The project was plagued with setbacks and closed in 1870, ten years after its completion. A joint effort between the Irish and Northern Irish governments restored the canal in the late 20th century, and the Shannon–Erne Waterway reopened in 1994. Historically, the eastern boundary of
3219-407: The Irish duo, Ye Vagabond, released "The Ballad of Stolwijk Rescue", written and presented in a 'radio ballad' format by musician Brían MacGloinn. On 6 August 2017, a new permanent monument was unveiled at Arranmore, commemorating the rescue. County Donegal County Donegal ( / ˌ d ʌ n i ˈ ɡ ɔː l , ˌ d ɒ n -/ DUN -ee- GAWL , DON - ; Irish : Contae Dhún na nGall )
3306-400: The O'Donnell Kings of Tír Chonaill were traditionally inaugurated, from the 1460s onwards, at Doon Rock near Kilmacrennan . The O'Donnell's royal or chiefly power was finally ended in what was then the newly created County Donegal in September 1607, following the Flight of the Earls from Portnamurray, near Rathmullan . The modern County Arms of County Donegal (dating from the early 1970s)
3393-550: The ban on abortion in Ireland received the most support in Donegal. Nationally, 50.42% of voters voted against the amendment, whereas 68.8% of voters in Donegal voted in favour of it. In May 2018, Donegal was the only county in Ireland to vote against the repeal of the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution which had acknowledged the right to life of the unborn. In October 2018, 48.5% of voters in Donegal voted against repealing
3480-420: The barony of Inishowen was divided into Inishowen East and Inishowen West. The barony of Kilmacrennan covers a large portion of northwest Donegal and is the largest in the county. With an area of 312,410 acres (1,264 km ), Kilmacrennan is also the largest barony in Ireland, being roughly equal in size to County Monaghan . The smallest barony is Inishowen West, at 77,149 acres (312.21 km ). Townlands are
3567-461: The beaches and harbour. The Admiralty calculated the total British and Allied troops landed in England amounted to 338,226 troops rescued. Sabre had made more round trips than most and brought back to Dover a total of 5,765 soldiers – amongst the highest number for any individual ship. The captain, Commander Brian Dean R.N. was awarded the D.S.O. Another ships company received a D.S.C. and four others
SS Stolwijk - Misplaced Pages Continue
3654-469: The cloudiest places in Ireland, and northern Donegal is the windiest. Irish monthly record wind speeds for March, June, July, September, November and December have all been set at Malin Head . The highest wind speed ever recorded in Donegal was 181 km/h (112 mph) on 16 September 1961, during Hurricane Debbie . The Atlantic Ocean has a significant cooling effect and, due to the county's long, thin shape and punctuated coastline, nowhere in Donegal
3741-427: The convoy from the outset. On 3 December 1940, the convoy diverted northwest to try to escape the storm and in so doing avoided being intercepted by German submarines that had been attacking convoy HX 90 . At 10:30 am on 5 December 1940, Stolwijk ' s rudder broke, and the many attempts at repair failed due to the weather. The anchor was dropped but the chain snapped and even going in full reverse did not halt
3828-623: The convoy's ships. She returned in August 1940 as part of Convoy SC 01 ; again, four ships were lost during the journey. In October 1940 Stolwijk went back to North America as part of Convoy OB 232 . She was returning as part of Slow Convoy SC 13 when she was wrecked. On a voyage from Corner Brook , Newfoundland to Glasgow , Stolwijk was one of 32 merchant ships in SC 13 escorted by six Royal Navy warships Clarkia , Heliotrope , Sabre , Scimitar , Shikari and Wellington . Violent storms beset
3915-697: The county was based) and the earldom that succeeded it. County Donegal was the home of the once-mighty Clann Dálaigh, whose best-known branch was the Clann Ó Domhnaill, better known in English as the O'Donnell dynasty . Until around 1600, the O'Donnells were one of Ireland's richest and most powerful native Irish ruling families. Within Ulster, only the Uí Néill (known in English as the O'Neills) of Tír Eoghain (Tirowen or modern Tyrone) were more powerful. The O'Donnells were Ulster's second most powerful clan or ruling family from
4002-532: The county with the slogan "Up here it's different". While Lifford is the county town , Letterkenny is by far the largest town in the county with a population of just under 20,000. Letterkenny and the nearby city of Derry form the main economic axis in the northwest of Ireland. Indeed, what became the City of Derry was officially part of County Donegal up until 1610. It is part of the Northern and Western Region (a NUTS 2 European statistical Region ), within which it
4089-400: The county's forests are commercial timber plantations which were initially established in the 1930s as a way to create rural employment in areas with poor agricultural land and high rates of emigration. The county contains extensive tracts of blanket bog which are concentrated in western and upland regions. Blanket bog covers an area of 148,656 ha (367,337 acres), or roughly 30 percent of
4176-410: The county. Donegal has been labelled the "forgotten county" by its own politicians, owing to the perception that it is ignored by the government, even in times of crisis. Located in the northwest corner of Ireland , Donegal is the island's northernmost county. In terms of size and area, it is the largest county in Ulster and the fourth-largest county in all of Ireland. Uniquely, County Donegal shares
4263-566: The early 13th century through to the start of the 17th century. For several centuries, the O'Donnells ruled Tír Chonaill (Tyrconnell), a túath or Gaelic kingdom in west Ulster that covered almost all of modern County Donegal. The head of the O'Donnell family had the titles An Ó Domhnaill (meaning The O'Donnell in English) and Rí Thír Chonaill (meaning King of Tír Chonaill in English). Based at Donegal Castle in Dún na nGall (modern Donegal Town),
4350-813: The entire county. Donegal has a wide variety of habitats, and over half of Ireland's plant and animal species can be found within the county. Approximately 11.4 per cent of the county is covered in forest, which is about average nationally. Forest cover is not evenly spread across the county and some areas, such as Pettigo and around Lough Derg , are very heavily forested, while more exposed coastal and upland areas are virtually barren. Around 65 per cent of Donegal's forests are publicly owned. Despite its northerly latitude and geographic isolation, Donegal also hosts two species of amphibian ( common frog & smooth newt ) and two reptile species ( Leatherback turtle and viviparous lizard ). The native Irish red deer in Donegal went extinct around 1860 and were re-introduced in
4437-490: The firm Erhardt & Dekkers. She was transferred form Norwegian to Dutch flag and re-measured as 2,499 GRT and 1,533 NRT, and with a cargo capacity of 4,175 DWT. Erhardt & Dekkers' ships were all named after towns and villages that ended with " wijk ", in this case Stolwijk in South Holland . Stolwijk ran aground at Åhus , Skåne County , Sweden, on 25 April 1922. She was refloated on 29 April 1922. In 1930 ownership
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#17328557984774524-431: The four constituencies into a single entity covering "the administrative county of Donegal". This was broken up into Donegal East and Donegal West from 1937 to 1977, and into Donegal North-East and Donegal South-West from 1981 to 2016. Donegal voters have a reputation nationally for being "conservative and contrarian", and have often voted against amendments to the Irish constitution which received broad support in
4611-550: The highest sea cliffs in Europe, while Malin Head is the most northerly point on the island of Ireland. Two permanently inhabited islands, Arranmore and Tory Island , lie off the coast, along with a large number of islands with only transient inhabitants. The 129 km long River Erne , Ireland's ninth-longest river, enters Donegal Bay near the town of Ballyshannon . The River Erne, along with other Donegal waterways, has been dammed to produce hydroelectric power. A canal linking
4698-465: The hunt for the German U-boat U-101 without success. Then two days later, during the evening of 30 August off Malin Head , Sabre helped rescue the survivors of a torpedoed Dutch ship, the 15,434 ton Holland America line, SS Volendam . She was in an outward bound convoy OB 205 for Canada, carrying 879 passengers and 273 crew members. This included 320 children with their escorts under
4785-599: The islands of Arranmore , Tory Island and Inishbofin . Gweedore is the largest Irish-speaking parish, with over 5,000 inhabitants. All schools in the region use Irish as the language of instruction. According to the 2022 Census, the number of people (aged three and over) who stated that they could speak Irish in Donegal was 59,130 (35.4% of the county's total population) compared with 56,738 in 2016. Of these 7,750 said they spoke Irish daily while 4,533 spoke Irish weekly. Donegal County Council has been in existence since 1899 and has responsibility for local administration. It
4872-580: The kingdom of Tír Chonaill was demarcated by the River Foyle . In the 17th century, an area of land west of the Foyle was transferred to the newly established city of Derry. The Foyle still demarcated a large section of Donegal's eastern border. To the south, the Drowes River forms a 9 km (6 miles) long natural boundary with County Leitrim. Donegal has a population density of 34.2 people per square kilometre,
4959-487: The last eye witness on Arranmore to remember the day, who knew the lifeboat crew and story well) released a song on iTunes called "I'll Go", to commemorate the actions of the lifeboat crew. He co-wrote the song with his cousin John Gallagher. It has received considerable airplay in Donegal since the launch and all proceeds were being donated towards the creation of a permanent monument on Arranmore Island. In September 2020,
5046-544: The late 1930s Sabre had been de-militarised for use as a target ship. With the outbreak of World War II , she was returned to service in 1939 despite her age and unsuitability for deployment in the Atlantic Ocean . In late 1940, Sabre was modified as a convoy escort. Equipped with 14-charge pattern depth-charge arrangements, both the after 4-inch guns and the torpedo tubes were landed, one 12-pounder (AA) and eight .5-inch (AA) (2×4) were added. Radar type 286 and later 291,
5133-604: The late 20th century, County Donegal was adversely affected by The Troubles in Northern Ireland. The county suffered several bombings and assassinations. In June 1987, Constable Samuel McClean, a Donegal man who was a serving member of the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC), was shot dead by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (Provisional IRA) at his family home near Drumkeen . In May 1991,
5220-532: The lifeboat that had been washed overboard. According to the official court report, some made it to the lifeboat, but the storm capsized it and only three bodies were subsequently recovered. The remaining 18 survivors remained on board and radioed for help. Arranmore Lifeboat were notified late in the evening of 6 December 1940 of the ship in distress and given an approximate location. It was too late and stormy to depart immediately. The all-volunteer lifeboat crew departed Arranmore Island at 6:30 am on 7 December in
5307-576: The lowest in Ulster and the fifth lowest in Ireland. The county has an expansive network of wildlife and conservation zones, including 46 European Union designated Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) and 26 Special Protection Areas (SPAs), as well as 14 Natural Heritage Areas (NHAs), 74 proposed Natural Heritage Areas, 145 Irish Geological Heritage Areas (IGHs) and Ireland's second largest national park, Glenveagh , which extends to over 42,000 acres (170 km ) in northwestern Donegal. Owing to its scenic landscape and " world-class wilderness ", Donegal
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#17328557984775394-535: The macroscopic marine algae of County Donegal was published in 2003. The survey was compiled using the algal records held in the herbaria of the following institutions: the Ulster Museum , Belfast ; Trinity College Dublin ; NUI Galway , and the Natural History Museum , London. Records of flowering plants include Dactylorhiza purpurella (Stephenson and Stephenson) Soó. The majority of Donegal has
5481-534: The most conservative county in Ireland. In 1992, two referendums on the issue were held. The first was an amendment which specified that the State could not limit the freedom of travel of women seeking abortions abroad. The second specified that the distribution of information about abortion services available in other countries was not unlawful. In contrast to the rest of Ireland, Donegal voted decisively against these amendments. The twenty-fifth amendment in 2002 to tighten
5568-449: The most notable. Donegal boasts the longest mainland coastline of any county in Ireland, and has either the longest or third longest total coastline (including islands), depending on how it is measured. Estimates of the length of the coastline range from less than 1,000 km (621 mi) to 1,235 km (767 mi). The official figure used by Donegal County Council is 1,134 km (705 mi). The Slieve League cliffs are among
5655-556: The offence of publishing or uttering blasphemous matter, the highest of any county and significantly above the national total of 35.15%. The county is in the Midlands–North-West constituency (5 seats) for elections to the European Parliament . Two candidates from Donegal contested the 2024 European Parliament election in Ireland . They were Peter Casey and Senator Niall Blaney . HMS Sabre (H18) HMS Sabre
5742-659: The prominent Sinn Féin politician Councillor Eddie Fullerton was assassinated by the Provisional IRA's opponent, the Ulster Defence Association (UDA), at his home in Buncrana . This added further to the economic and social difficulties of the county, although the greater economic and administrative integration with Northern Ireland, following the Good Friday Agreement of April 1998, has been of benefit to
5829-408: The region carved out deep basins in the Donegal uplands and many tarns or corrie lakes developed in these depressions after the ice had melted, including Lough Maam below Slieve Snaght and Lough Feeane under Aghla More . Larger glacial lakes formed in the county's distinctive U-shaped valleys , such as Lough Beagh and Gartan Lough in Glenveagh , and Dunlewey Lough and Lough Nacung Upper in
5916-589: The remaining 18 were rescued the following day by Arranmore Lifeboat and landed safely in Burtonport . The rescue of the survivors was conducted in terrible weather conditions and both the RNLI and Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands awarded medals to the Irish lifeboat crew. The steamship was launched on 30 October 1919 by Werf De Noord at Alblasserdam as Kongsgaard for the Norwegian shipowners A/S Vestlandske Lloyd, managed by Brødrene Olsen (A G & J C Olsen) of Stavanger , and completed in January 1920. She measured 2,514 GRT and 1,535 NRT , with
6003-416: The rest of France. It began with the evacuation of Cherbourg and continued for the next ten days, moving south to St Nazaire , Bordeaux and right down to the Franco-Spanish border. Sabre was sent to Alderney , the northerly island amongst the Channel Islands , on 23 June and helped evacuate around 1,400 islanders to safety in Weymouth . The final Allied evacuation of France ended on 25 June. By that time
6090-451: The rest of Ireland. Conversely, voters in the county have also supported several referendums which were not enacted. The trend first emerged in 1958, when voters in Donegal overwhelmingly voted to alter the electoral system from proportional representation to first-past-the-post in a referendum which was defeated nationally. In 1968, voters in the county backed two separate bills which were also widely rejected nationwide. The first vote
6177-502: The sea. Sabre sailed to Belfast for repairs and resumed activity on 18 January 1941 under the command of Peter Gretton. The British ship SS Ashcrest 5,652 tons , was also part of SC 13 and also experienced a broken rudder during the storm. She radioed for help but the message was intercepted by a German submarine. She was torpedoed by U-140 on 8 December 1940 with the loss of all 38 men. On 7 December 2015, Arranmore publican and singer-songwriter, Jerry Early (son of Andrew Early,
6264-429: The ship's steady drift toward the rocky Irish coastline. One of the escorting destroyers, HMS Sabre , risked her own safety in trying to rescue the crew of Stolwijk and was herself nearly destroyed. Stolwijk lost one of her lifeboats at this stage suffered damage to the other. A massive wave washed her radio operator overboard and Stolwijk hit the rocks at 11:30 pm. Nine sailors made an attempt to reach
6351-490: The smallest officially defined geographical divisions in Ireland. There are 2,787 townlands in Donegal and an additional 47 historic town boundaries. These town boundaries are registered as their own townlands and are much larger than rural townlands. The smallest rural townlands in Donegal are just 1 acre in size, most of which are either lough islands or offshore islets (Corragh Island, Bishop's Island, Juniper Island, O'Donnell's Island, etc.). The largest rural townland in Donegal
6438-611: The tragedy were originally buried in the Church of Ireland graveyard in Killult (Donegal, Ireland). In October 2000, the bodies were exhumed and re-interred at the National Cemetery of Honours in Loenen (Netherlands). Sabre put into Derry , with sea damage on 7 December 1940. Her commander, Lieutenant Commander Brian Dean, suffered a fractured skull in the rescue attempt and was retired from
6525-433: The winter and warmer in the summer. Annual rainfall in the county ranges from around 850 mm (33 in) in the lowlands of north-eastern Donegal to over 2,000 mm (79 in) in western mountainous areas. Precipitation exceeding 1 mm (0.04 in) will fall across all areas of Donegal on over 150 days per year. While the prevailing wind direction in Ireland is south-westerly, which brings warm, moist air from
6612-457: Was added. Later in the war four single 20 mm (AA) mountings eventually supplanted the .5-inch mountings AA. In July 1931, Sabre recommissioned to replace Tribune as emergency destroyer at Portsmouth , with Tribune ' s crew transferring to Sabre . At the outbreak of the war Sabre was part of the Home Fleet based at Scapa Flow , as a TB Target and PV ranging vessel. In 1939 she
6699-813: Was adopted by the civil community of Bebington , Cheshire, the same month she was detached for escort of the Russian Convoy PQ 13 during its initial stage of passage to Iceland in the Northwest Approaches. For most of the war Sabre was attached to 1st Escort Group based at Liverpool and then 21st Escort Group for convoy defence in NW Approaches. In 1943 she was deployed for Atlantic convoy defence, in 1944 Atlantic convoy defence and support based in Iceland . In 1945 Sabre deployed for coastal convoy defence in UK waters. At
6786-530: Was an Admiralty S-class destroyer of the Royal Navy launched in September 1918 at the close of World War I . She was built in Scotland by Alex Stephens and completed by Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company in Govan. Commissioned for Fleet service in 1919, she was the first Royal Navy ship to carry this name. After the war new destroyer designs were introduced, and many S-class destroyers were scrapped. By
6873-522: Was badly injured, but his was the worst injury, and no one was lost. Sabre put into Derry , Northern Ireland on 7 December and sailed to Larne , Northern Ireland, for repairs on 18 January 1941 Commander Brian Dean was invalided ashore and replaced by Lieutenant Peter Gretton . Further convoy rescue off St Kilda 1941 At 7:54 p.m. on 31 December 1941, the British Motor Tanker Cardita , 8,237 tons (Anglo-Saxon Petroleum Co Ltd),
6960-472: Was deployed for convoy defence in the Western Approaches. On 13 October 1939 while at Rosyth , Sabre was severely damaged when rammed by the armed merchant cruiser HMS Jervis Bay and was under repair until 6 May 1940. As part of the 22nd Destroyer Flotilla, Sabre was conspicuous in the evacuation of British and French soldiers from the beaches at Malo-les-Bains and the harbour mole during
7047-517: Was henceforward in a new, different jurisdiction which remained within the United Kingdom , officially called Northern Ireland . Partition also meant that County Donegal was now almost entirely cut off from the rest of the jurisdiction in which it now found itself, the new dominion called the Irish Free State (later called Ireland from 1937). The county is physically connected to the rest of
7134-528: Was influenced by the design of the old O'Donnell royal arms. The County Arms is the official coat of arms of both County Donegal and Donegal County Council. The modern County Donegal was made a shire by order of the English Crown in 1585. The English authorities at Dublin Castle formed the new county by amalgamating the old Kingdom of Tír Chonaill with the old Lordship of Inishowen . Although detachments of
7221-467: Was involved in a rescue attempt. Recently she had been badly damaged in an attempt to rescue the crew of the Dutch ship, SS Stolwijk , which had run ashore on Tory Island on the northwestern coast of Ireland in a full gale. The Sabre went in so close that she was almost among the breakers; and one great wave swept her decks, flattening the bridge and taking with it all the upper-deck fittings. The captain
7308-543: Was named National Geographic's "Coolest place on the Planet" in 2017. The county was also ranked the 4th best region in the world by Lonely Planet's Best in Travel series for 2024, which called Donegal " purely wild with a big heart ". The forested area in the county extends to 55,534 ha (137,228 acres), the 4th highest total forest cover in Ireland. Historic deforestation left Donegal devoid of forest cover by 1900. Much of
7395-691: Was one of those 'planted' during the Plantation of Ulster from around 1610 onwards. What became the City of Derry was officially part of County Donegal up until 1610. County Donegal was one of the worst affected parts of Ulster during the Great Famine of the late 1840s in Ireland. Vast swathes of the county were devastated, with many areas becoming permanently depopulated. Vast numbers of County Donegal's people emigrated at this time, chiefly through Foyle Port . The Ballymanus mine disaster occurred on 10 May 1943 on
7482-412: Was to allow rural constituencies to elect a disproportionate number of TDs . Thirty-four constituencies voted against the amendment and four voted in favour, two of which were Donegal North-East and Donegal South-West . In the second vote, both Donegal constituencies again voted for the introduction of a first-past-the-post system, which was rejected. The 23rd Amendment permitting the State to join
7569-508: Was transferred to NV Stoomvaart Maatschappij 'Wijklijn', still under Erhardt & Dekkers management. Stowijk was at sea when the Netherlands fell to Germany in May 1940 during World War II . She could not return to her home base of Rotterdam , but continued to operate as part of the large Dutch merchant marine . Stolwijk was part of outbound Convoy OB 188 in July 1940, steaming from Liverpool to North America; German submarines sank four of
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