Enya was born and brought up in Gweedore ( known in Irish as Gaoth Dobhair ), County Donegal, in the northwest corner of Ireland.

Enya is an approximate transliteration of how Eithne is pronounced in the Donegal dialect of the Irish language, her native tongue.

The Bridge of Tears ( Droichead na nDeor in Irish language | Irish ) in County Donegal | West Donegal, Ireland.

The Irish first came over in large numbers as convicts ( 50, 000 were transported between 1791 and 1867 ), to be used as free labour ; even larger numbers of free settlers came during the 19th century, partly due to the Donegal Relief Fund.

* October 12 – Battle of Tory Island: A British Royal Navy squadron under Sir John Borlase Warren prevents French Republican ships commanded by Jean-Baptiste-François Bompart landing reinforcements for the Society of United Irishmen on the Donegal coast ; Irish leader Wolfe Tone is captured and later dies of wounds.

* Donegal Celtic F. C., a Northern Irish football team

McLoughlin was born in Rivière-du-Loup, Quebec, of Irish ( his grandfather came from Sharagower in the Inishowen peninsular of County Donegal ), Scottish, and French Canadian descent.

* May 10 – Battle of Cameirge: The Milesian Irish Septs of the O ' Donnells from Donegal, the O ' Neills from Armagh and the O ' Dohertys of Connacht defeat the last Tuathe de Danaan Sept the MacLochlainns of Tir-owen and Inish-Owen under Domhnall MacLochlainn.

Partition also meant that County Donegal was now almost entirely cut off from the rest of the jurisdiction it now found itself in, the new dominion called the Irish Free State.

There are about 25, 000 Irish speakers in County Donegal.

According to the 2011 Census, 17, 132 say they can speak Irish in the County Donegal Gaeltacht.

The version of the Irish language spoken in County Donegal is Ulster Irish.

The variant of the Irish language spoken in Donegal shares many traits with Scottish Gaelic.

The Irish spoken in the Donegal Gaeltacht ( Irish-speaking area ) is of the Ulster dialect, while Inishowen ( parts of which only became English-speaking in the early 20th century ) used the East Ulster dialect.

Donegal has a long literary tradition in both Irish and English.

In modern Irish Donegal has produced famous, and sometimes controversial, authors such as the brothers Séamus Ó Grianna and Seosamh Mac Grianna from The Rosses and the contemporary ( and controversial ) Irish-language poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh from Gortahork in Cloughaneely, and where he is known to locals as Gúrú na gCnoc (' the Guru of the Hills ').

With its sandy beaches, unspoilt boglands and friendly communities, County Donegal is a favoured destination for many travellers, Irish ( especially Northern Irish ) and foreign alike.

The three week long summer Gaeltacht courses give young Irish people from other parts of the country a chance to learn the Irish language and traditional Irish cultural traditions that are still prevalent in parts of Donegal.

The Donegal fiddle music has been influenced by recorded music, but this is claimed to have had a positive impact on the tradition.

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 the county with the slogan Up here it's different.

The River Erne, along with other Donegal waterways, has been dammed to produce hydroelectric power.

The existence of this border, cutting Donegal off from her natural hinterlands in Derry City and West Tyrone, has greatly exacerbated the economic difficulties of the county since partition.

Donegal County Council ( which has officially been in existence since 1899 ) has responsibility for local administration, and is headquartered at the County House in Lifford.

Like other areas on the western seaboard of Ireland, Donegal has a distinctive fiddle tradition which is of world renown.

Donegal music has also influenced people not originally from the county including folk and pop singer Paul Brady.

Although approximately 85 % of its population is Catholic, County Donegal also has a sizeable Protestant minority.

People from Donegal has also contributed to culture elsewhere.

The Donegal Gaeltacht has traditionally been a very popular destination each summer for young people from Northern Ireland.

There are numerous other clubs in Donegal, but none has achieved the status of Finn Harps.

Although at political odds with the Republic of Ireland, he has some religious followers in two counties ( County Donegal and County Monaghan ).

The Donegal ( or Tyrconnell ) Gaeltacht ( or Gaeltacht Thír Chonaill ) has a population of 24, 744 ( Census 2011 ) and represents 25 % of the total Gaeltacht population.

The town was named either after a small town in County Donegal, Ireland, a suburb of Belfast of the same name in County Antrim, or Greencastle, County Down or possible in consideration of all as the local area has place names of both County Antrim and County Donegal and was settled by Scotch-Irish settlers.

Donegal has an elementary school for its children and for the children of several other area communities.

Musician Caoimhín Mac Aoidh has written a book on the subject, From Mazovia to Meenbanad: The Donegal Mazurkas, in which the history of the musical and dance form is related.

Availability of TV3 in some rural areas has been limited as TV3 have failed to invest in relay stations for most notably in County Donegal, County Kerry and County Cork.

The cliff path has panoramic views across the Strand and Downhill with Donegal in the background.

As the main commercial centre of north Donegal, Letterkenny also has a host of financial service institutions, legal firms and small businesses.

There is also a strong tradition of songwriting in the area, Seán McBride ( 1906-1996 ) from Cruit Island wrote the popular song " The Homes of Donegal ".

Modern Donegal fiddle music is often played in concerts and recorded on albums.

In addition to performing for the Pope, the singer participated in a live broadcast on British television for Christmas Eve in 1997, before she flew home to County Donegal to join her family at midnight Mass.

Mountbatten usually holidayed at his summer home in Mullaghmore, County Sligo, a small seaside village between Bundoran, County Donegal, and Sligo town on the northwest coast of Ireland.

** Galway fiddling southern Connacht, which is slower than Sligo or Donegal traditions, with a heavier emphasis on ornamentation.

There are also stories of medieval knights and saints who went on pilgrimages to a cave located in Station Island, County Donegal in Ireland, where they made journeys inside the earth into a place of purgatory.

Further, as a reward for his leadership in North Africa and Italy, Alexander, along with a number of other prominent British Second World War military leaders, was elevated to the peerage on 1 March 1946 by King George VI ; he was created Viscount Alexander of Tunis and Errigal in the County of Donegal.

There are dedications to St. Ninian in East Donegal and Belfast ; and a spot formerly on the shore of Belfast Lough was traditionally known as St. Ninian's point, where the missionary reputedly landed after a voyage from Scotland.

The Partition of Ireland in the early 1920s was to have a massive direct impact on County Donegal.

Donegal's inter-county football team have won the All-Ireland Senior Football Championship title twice ( in 1992 and 2012 ). Donegal emerged victorious from the 2012 All-Ireland Senior Football Championship Final on 23 September 2012 to take the Sam Maguire Cup for the second time, with early goals from Michael Murphy and Kevin ' Duck ' Mc Dermott shattering a weak Mayo resistance.

The Donegal Mountain Bike Club is the newest Mountain Bike club in Donegal, and held its first race on 31 August 2011.

Nemed defeated them in several battles, killing their kings Gann and Sengann, but two new Fomorian leaders arose: Conand son of Faebar, who lived in Conand's Tower on Tory Island, County Donegal, and Morc son of Dela ( note that the first generation of the Fir Bolg were also said to be sons of Dela ).

Works in Ireland include the Irish National War Memorial Gardens in Islandbridge Dublin, which consists of a bridge over the railway and a bridge over the river Liffey ( unbuilt ) and two tiered sunken gardens ; Heywood Gardens, County Laois ( open to the public ) consisting of a hedge garden, lawns, tiered sunken garden and a belvedere ; extensive changes and extensions to Lambay Castle, Lambay Island near Dublin consisting of a circular battlement enclosing the restored and extended castle and farm building complex, upgraded cottages and stores near the harbour, a real tennis court, a large guest house ( The White House ), a boathouse and a chapel ; alterations and extensions to Howth Castle, County Dublin ; the unbuilt Hugh Lane gallery straddling the River Liffey on the site of the Ha ' penny Bridge and the unbuilt Hugh Lane Gallery on the west side of St Stephen's Green ; a Lodge at Costelloe, County Galway ( that was used for refuge by J Bruce Ismay the Chairman of the White Star Line following the sinking of the Titanic ) and a hunting lodge near Rosapenna in northern County Donegal, most recently used as a youth hostel.

The Chickies Historic District, Donegal Presbyterian Church Complex, Grove Mansion, Donegal Mills Plantation, Byers-Muma House, and Cameron Estate are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

On the east it is bounded by Hopewell Township ; on the south by Donegal, from which it is separated by Buffalo Creek.

Donegal is best known as an exit on the Pennsylvania Turnpike with restaurants, gas stations, and a hotel for travelers.

The park covers 170 square kilometres of hillside above Glenveagh Castle on the shore of Lough Veagh ( Loch Ghleann Bheatha ), 20 km from Gweedore in County Donegal.

Wolfe Tone's brother Matthew was captured, tried by court-martial, and hanged ; a second raid, accompanied by Napper Tandy, came to disaster on the coast of Donegal ; while Wolfe Tone took part in a third, under Admiral Bompard, with General Hardy in command of a force of about 3000 men.

When the deflectors were shut down, there was such an outcry in those areas that an independent election candidate in County Donegal, Tom Gildea, was elected as a TD on a platform of supporting legalisation, which occurred in 1999.