Burn Dale Explained

Burn Dale
Name Etymology:	Irish An Daoil, meaning 'the Black One'
Source1 Location:	Near Lough Dale, just below Cark Mountain, in East Donegal
Mouth Location:	The Burn Dale enters the River Foyle directly opposite the Islandmore, just north-north-east of Lifford^[1] ^[2]
Length:	Almost 20 miles (almost 32 kilometres) long
Subdivision Type1:	Country
Subdivision Name1:	Ireland
Subdivision Type2:	Province
Subdivision Name2:	Ulster
Subdivision Type3:	County
Subdivision Name3:	County Donegal
Subdivision Type4:	Baronies
Subdivision Name4:	Raphoe South and Raphoe North
Subdivision Type5:	Traditional districts
Subdivision Name5:	The burn flows through the Finn Valley and The Laggan, two traditional 'districts' in East Donegal
River System:	Foyle System

The Burn Dale (Irish: An Daoil, meaning 'the Black One'^[3]) is a burn or small river in the east of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland.^{[4] [5] [6] [7] [8]} The burn is also known in English as the Dale Burn, the Burn Deele, the Burndale River, the Deele River or the River Deele.^{[3] [9] [10]} In the Ulster Scots dialect, a 'burn' is a stream or small river.^[11]

Course

The Burn Dale rises in, and flows through, East Donegal.^[1] It rises near Lough Dale,^{[1] [9] [10]} also known as Lough Deele, a lough just below Cark Mountain, very near the village and townland of Drumkeen.^{[6] [12]} The burn flows to the east-south-east from its source, mainly flowing in an east-south-easterly direction for its entire course.^{[1] [9] [10]} It flows around the southern edges of both Drumkeen and Convoy,^[13] flowing about two miles to the south of Raphoe,^[1] and then flows through the village of Ballindrait.^{[1] [14] [15]} The burn flows through two baronies: Raphoe South and Raphoe North.^{[16] [17]} Some stretches of the burn form the boundary between the Finn Valley and The Laggan, two traditional 'districts' in East Donegal.

The mouth of the Burn Dale is where the townland of Coolatee 'marches up against' (borders or meets) the townland of Wood Island, on the northern outskirts of Lifford.^{[18] [19]} It empties into the River Foyle directly opposite the Islandmore,^[20] a townland and part of an island that is just under a mile east from Mulrine's Bridge, entering a channel of the Foyle about a mile north-north-east of Lifford Bridge.^{[1] [2] [5] [21]} The Burn Dale is almost 20 miles (almost 32 kilometres) long.^{[9] [6]}

The N13 crosses the Burn Dale just outside Drumkeen, while the N14 crosses the Burn Dale at Mulrine's Bridge, near the Rossgeir Junction, just to the north of Lifford. The stretch of the R236 known locally as 'the Braaid Rayid' or 'the Braaid Roád', both Ulster-Scots terms meaning 'the Broad Road', crosses the Burn Dale at Glasly Bridge, just to the west-south-west of Convoy. The R264 crosses the Burn Dale in Ballindrait.^{[1] [14]}

References

54.8486°N -7.4704°W

Notes and References

1. Discovery Series Sheet 6 (4th Edition). Ordnance Survey of Ireland (O.S.I.), Dublin, 2012.
2. Discoverer Series Sheet 12 (E Edition). Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland (O.S.N.I.), Land and Property Services, Belfast, 2013.
3. Patrick McKay, A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names, p. 54. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1999.
4. Martina O'Donnell, 'Settlement and Society in the Barony of East Inishowen, ' in William Nolan, Liam Ronayne and Mairead Dunlevy (Editors), Donegal: History and Society, p. 513. Geography Publications, Dublin, 1995 (reprinted 2002).
5. LOUGHS AGENCY: Foyle and Carlingford Catchments - Deele River. https://fishinginireland.info/trout/loughsagency/
6. River Deele and Tributaries Catchment Status Report 2010 (Report Ref.: LA/CSR/04/11), p. 10. Loughs Agency, Derry, 2010 (this publication can be viewed online).
7. Mindat.org: Deele River, County Donegal, Ulster, Ireland. https://www.mindat.org/feature-2964855.html
8. Irish White Water: Deele River. https://www.iww.ie/river_guide/river.php?id=474
9. Angélique Day and Patrick McWilliams (Editors), Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Volume 39 - Parishes of County Donegal II, 1835-6: Mid, West and South Donegal, p. 1, p. 18 and p. 188. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1997 (in association with the Royal Irish Academy).
10. [Samuel Lewis (publisher)|Samuel Lewis]
11. Patrick McKay, A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names, p. 31 (see entries for 'Burnfoot' and 'Burntollet River') and p. 150. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1999.
12. Drumkeen Townland, Co. Donegal. https://www.townlands.ie/donegal/raphoe-south/convoy/convoy/drumkeen/
13. [Samuel Lewis (publisher)|Samuel Lewis]
14. Ballindrait Townland, Co. Donegal. https://www.townlands.ie/donegal/raphoe-north/clonleigh/clonleigh-north/ballindrait/
15. Angélique Day and Patrick McWilliams (Editors), Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Volume 39 - Parishes of County Donegal II, 1835-6: Mid, West and South Donegal, p. 14. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1997 (in association with the Royal Irish Academy).
16. Barony of Raphoe South, Co. Donegal. https://www.townlands.ie/donegal/raphoe-south/
17. Barony of Raphoe North, Co. Donegal. https://www.townlands.ie/donegal/raphoe-north/
18. Coolatee Townland, Co. Donegal. https://www.townlands.ie/donegal/raphoe-north/clonleigh/clonleigh-north/coolatee/
19. Wood Island Townland, Co. Donegal. https://www.townlands.ie/donegal/raphoe-north/clonleigh/clonleigh-south/wood-island/
20. Angélique Day and Patrick McWilliams, Ordnance Survey Memoirs of Ireland Volume 39 - Parishes of County Donegal II, 1835-6: Mid, West and South Donegal, p. 7. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1997 (in association with the Royal Irish Academy).
21. Island More Townland, Co. Donegal. https://www.townlands.ie/donegal/raphoe-north/clonleigh/clonleigh-north/island-more/