Creeslough Explained

Creeslough
Native Name:	Irish: An Craoslach
Settlement Type:	Village
Pushpin Map:	Ireland
Pushpin Label Position:	left
Pushpin Map Caption:	Location in Ireland
Subdivision Type:	Country
Subdivision Name:	Ireland
Subdivision Type1:	Province
Subdivision Name1:	Ulster
Subdivision Type2:	County
Subdivision Name2:	County Donegal
Subdivision Type3:	Barony
Subdivision Name3:	Kilmacrenan
Unit Pref:	Metric
Population Footnotes:	^[1]
Population As Of:	2022
Population:	398
Population Density Km2:	auto
Timezone1:	WET
Utc Offset1:	+0
Timezone1 Dst:	IST (WEST)
Utc Offset1 Dst:	-1
Coordinates:	55.122°N -7.907°W
Blank Name:	Irish Grid Reference

Creeslough (^[2] locally ;^[3] ga|An Craoslach in Irish pronounced as /ənˠ ˈkˠɾˠiːsˠˌl̪ˠax/)^[2] is a village in County Donegal, Ireland, 12km (07miles) south of Dunfanaghy on the N56 road. It overlooks an arm of Sheephaven Bay, with the population of the surrounding area engaged mainly in agriculture, mostly livestock rearing.

Name

The English name 'Creeslough' (occasionally 'Cresslough') is an anglicised respelling of an Irish name, the modern official spelling of which is Irish: An Craoslach (including the definite article Irish: An). According to the Placenames Database of Ireland, this means "the gorge".^[2] Under the Official Languages Act 2003, only the Irish name of Creeslough electoral division has official status, because part of it is in the Gaeltacht,^[4] whereas Creeslough village is outside the Gaeltacht and its English name has equal status.^[5] Irish: Craoslach is usually interpreted as Irish: craos+Irish: loch;^[3] where Irish: loch means "lake", while Irish: craos literally means "gullet, throat" and metaphorically can mean either a gap or gluttony.^[6] In the 1830s, John O'Donovan glossed the name as "Craoslaoch [sic] swallowing lake; throat lake",^{[7] [8]} and Patrick Weston Joyce glossed it in 1875 as "Craos-loch — a lake that swallows up everything".^[9] In 2000, Lawrence Donegan wrote:^[10]

Craos Loch in Irish, meaning Throat Lake or Gullet Lake. Why? Because there was a tiny lake at the top of the village that gathered a lot of rainwater from the surrounding hills and leaked only a little away through a tiny stream. Where did all the water go? It had been swallowed by the hungry lake, obviously. Why not call the village Hungry Lake? It wasn't poetic enough.

Suggested alternative derivations are Irish: craos+Irish: lacha[n] "duck[s] throat",^[7] or Irish: crioslach (or variant Irish: críoslach)^[11] "limit, border".^{[7] [8] [12]} Niall Ó Dónaill advised the Placenames Branch in 1962 that, although there was evidence that Irish: Crioslach was the older Irish form, it had long been changed to Irish: An Craoslach.^[13]

History

Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of ringfort, holy well, enclosure and burial sites in the townlands of Creeslough, Killoughcarran and Masiness.^[14] Nearby Doe Castle, a tower house with a surrounding bawn, dates from the 1420s.^[15]

On 7 October 2022, an explosion at Creeslough destroyed a shop and Applegreen petrol station, as well as the adjoining apartment block, resulting in ten deaths and multiple injuries.^{[16] [17]}

Places of interest

Nearby places of interest include:

• Doe Castle, a 15th-century castle of the MacSuibhne clan, restored between 2002 and 2005. It is perhaps best known as the place to which Owen Roe O'Neill returned to command the Irish Confederate's Ulster army in 1642 during the Irish Confederate Wars.
• Ards Forest Park, which contains some megalithic tombs, ringforts and a Mass rock.^[18] The forest park encompasses a variety of habitats, including sand dunes, tidal salt marsh as well as several small lakes, two of which are vegetation-filled and in the process of becoming bogs.
• Owencarrow Viaduct, the scene of a 1925 rail disaster.
• Glenveagh National Park, created in 1981 from lands granted by Henry P. McIlhenny, of Philadelphia.
• Muckish, a mountain with a distinctive outline and a number of routes to the summit, a common hiking destination.^[19] The surrounding mountainous areas are also suitable for hiking. The annual Glover Highlander walk goes from Muckish to Errigal.^[20] There are also several marked trails in Glenveagh National Park.
• Doe Chapel (1784–1971); the remains of its outer walls are situated within the current graveyard at Doe (in Cashelmore, 3 km north of Creeslough). The bell tower stands intact.
• St. Michael's Catholic Church, known locally as 'the Chapel', designed by Derry architect Liam McCormick in 1971. Notable for its unique design, which mimics the shape of the nearby table mountain of Muckish.^[21] McCormick was also responsible for the design of the RIAI Triennial Gold Medal-winning St Aengus' Church in Burt, County Donegal.^[22] The chapel bell was moved from the bell tower at Doe Chapel.

Transport

Creeslough railway station opened on 9 March 1903, closed for passenger traffic on 3 June 1940, and finally closed altogether on 6 January 1947.^[23]

Education

The area around Creeslough is served by three primary schools:

• Scoil Mhuire – Roman Catholic, 142 pupils (2011 figures)^[24]
• Creeslough National School – Church of Ireland, 20 pupils (2011 figures)^[24]
• Glassan National School – Roman Catholic, 29 pupils (2011 figures),^[24] located 5 km to the west of Creeslough village

People

• Kathleen Antonelli, programmer of ENIAC, the first ever computer
• Thomas Bartholomew Curran, barrister and Anti-Parnellite
• Lawrence Donegan, Scottish journalist and musician, author of No News at Throat Lake (2000).^[25] Donegan lived in Creeslough for a short time.
• Bridie Gallagher, singer described as "Ireland's first truly international pop star"^[26]
• Bernard Lafferty, butler and heir to Doris Duke^[27]
• Neil McBride (Niall Mac Gioll Bhridé), poet, author, and lyricist^[28]
• Martin McElhinney, Gaelic footballer^[29]
• Colm McFadden, Gaelic footballer
• James McNulty, activist for Irish Independence and father of Kathleen Antonelli
• Christy Toye, Gaelic footballer

In popular culture

• No News at Throat Lake is a memoir by Lawrence Donegan about his year living in Creeslough as a reporter for the bi-weekly newspaper, Tirconaill Tribune.
• The area has featured in a number of Irish folk songs, including "Cutting the Corn in Creeslough" which has been covered by Daniel O'Donnell and Creeslough native Bridie Gallagher.

See also

• List of towns and villages in the Republic of Ireland

External links

• Creeslough News

Notes and References

1. Web site: Census Interactive Map – Towns: Creeslough . . . 23 October 2024.
2. Web site: An Craoslach / Creeslough [town] ]. . logainm.ie . 17 April 2022.
3. Book: McKay, Patrick . A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names . 49 . . Belfast . 1999.
4. https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2004/si/872/made/ga/print S.I. 2004/872, Schedule Part 7 Section A Chapter 4 No. 12
5. https://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/2005/si/59/made/ga/print S.I. 2005/59, Schedule Section D Chapter 2 No. 38
6. Book: Ó Dónaill . Niall . Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla . 1977 . teanglann.ie . https://www.teanglann.ie/en/fgb/craos . 8 October 2022 . en . craos.
7. Placenames Branch file on Creeslough, card 2
8. Web site: An Craoslach/Creeslough [townland] ]. logainm.ie . 8 October 2022 . en.
9. Book: Joyce . P. W. . The origin and history of Irish names of places . 2 . 1902 . 1875 . Longmans Green / Dublin . London, New York / M. H. Gill . 402 .
10. Book: Donegan . Lawrence . No news at Throat Lake . 2000 . Pocket Books . New York . 978-0-671-78540-6 . 65 .
11. Ní Dhomhnaill . Cáit . Observations on Vowel Lengthening in Irish . Studia Celtica . 1970 . 5 . 89–93 . Cardiff.
12. Book: O'Reilly . Edward . An Irish-English Dictionary . 1864 . J. Duffy . Dublin . en . crioslach . https://archive.org/details/anirishenglishd00odogoog/page/155.
13. Placenames Branch file on Creeslough, card 5
14. Book: Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century . Lacey, Brian . Lifford . Donegal County Council . 1983.
15. Web site: Doe Castle . heritageireland.ie . Office of Public Works . 8 October 2022 .
16. News: Sherlock . Cillian . At least three people dead after explosion at service station in Donegal . 7 October 2022 . RTÉ News . 7 October 2022 . en.
17. News: . Creeslough: Ten dead after Donegal explosion . 8 October 2022 . 8 October 2022 .
18. Web site: THE MASSROCK. 17 February 2016. www.creeslough.com.
19. Web site: Walking Ireland's Iconic Mountains – Number 2: Muckish. 20 January 2011. 17 February 2016.
20. http://www.simonstewart.ie/Glover/glover.htm The Glover Highlander Walk
21. Web site: St. Michael's Church. 17 February 2016. www.dunfanaghy.info. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20160222152455/http://www.dunfanaghy.info/stmichaelschurch.html. 22 February 2016.
22. Web site: Liam McCormick - Father of modern Irish church architecture. 7 April 2006. 17 February 2016. www.culturenorthernireland.org.
23. Web site: Creeslough station . Railscot - Irish Railways . 2007-09-23.
24. Web site: Department of Education. https://web.archive.org/web/20150506021510/http://www.education.ie/panels/foundepl.jsp?page=14&educator2=Primary+Schools&pcategory=10917&language=EN&county=Donegal&educator=Primary+Schools&ecategory=12016&roll_no=&Submit=Submit. 6 May 2015.
25. Web site: No News At Throat Lake BookPage review. 2000. 17 February 2016. www.bookpage.com. Zibart. Eve.
26. News: Bridie Gallagher: Ireland's 'first international pop star'. 10 January 2012. 10 January 2012. Anna Marie. McFaul. BBC News.
27. News: Flamboyant life and death of a billionaire butler. Sheridan. Kathy. 9 November 1996. The Irish Times. 9 July 2017.
28. Web site: Noreen Bawn. https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/WVuevN7lMn4 . 2021-12-21 . live. Gallagher. Bridie. www.youtube.com. 20 March 2016.
29. News: Chris. McNulty. All-Ireland winner Martin McElhinney pulls out of Donegal panel. 6 March 2019. 6 March 2019. ...the 30-year-old Creeslough man said in January..