County Donegal City Map Poster

About County Donegal

Donegal is the 17th largest of Ireland's 32 counties by area and the 25th most populous. It is part of the Border Region. The county town and largest in terms of population is Letterkenny, followed by Derry City (both on Lough Swilly) and then Donegal Town (on Lough Foyle). The county was created in 1585 during the Tudor conquest of Ireland as "the County Tyrconnell" or "Tír Chonaill", named after Conall Gulban, a previous king who had ruled much land from that area for his father-in-law Niall Garbh O'Donnell, King of Tír Conaill from 1458 to 1467. Donegal County Council sits at Glenties Castle just outside Letterkenny; until 1926 it sat at Lifford Bridge House near Strabane until that building burned down in 1923.