Barnesmore Gap () is a

mountain pass A mountain pass is a navigable route through a mountain range or over a ridge. Since mountain ranges can present formidable barriers to travel, passes have played a key role in trade, war, and both Human migration, human and animal migration t ...

or gap (elevation 117 m) situated in the

Bluestack Mountains The Blue Stack Mountains or Bluestack Mountains, also called the Croaghgorms (), are the major mountain range in the south of County Donegal, Ireland. They provide a barrier between the south of the county, such as Donegal Town and Ballyshanno ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The main Donegal to

Ballybofey Ballybofey ( , ; ) is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn (County Donegal), River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Together with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn (County Donegal), River Finn, the ...

road, the N15, and route of the former

County Donegal Railway The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive narrow gauge railway system serving County Donegal, Ireland, from 1906 until 1960. The committee was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1906, which authorised the joint pur ...

run through Barnesmore gap, acting as the main route between south and north Donegal. It is an area of complex geology, but its main feature is granite formed in the Devonian period, 400million years ago. The gap held glaciers in the Last Glacial Period flowing to the Atlantic through what is now Donegal Bay, up to about 13000 years ago. According to a 17th century

Hiberno-Latin Hiberno-Latin was a learned style of literary Latin first used and subsequently spread by Irish monks during the period from the sixth century to the twelfth century. Vocabulary and influence Hiberno-Latin was notable for its curiously learn ...

history of

Donegal Abbey Donegal Abbey (Irish: ''Mainistir Dhún na nGall'') is a ruined Franciscan Priory in Donegal in Ireland. It was constructed by the O'Donnell dynasty in the fifteenth century and remained a center of Classical Christian education even after its ...

, the Gap of Barnesmore was once home to a large population of wild

red deer The red deer (''Cervus elaphus'') is one of the largest deer species. A male red deer is called a stag or Hart (deer), hart, and a female is called a doe or hind. The red deer inhabits most of Europe, the Caucasus Mountains region, Anatolia, Ir ...

Charles Patrick Meehan Charles Patrick Meehan (12 July 1812 – 14 March 1890) was an Irish Catholic priest, historian and editor. Life Meehan was born at 141 Great Britain Street, Dublin, on 12 July 1812. He received his early education at Ballymahon, County Lon ...

(1870), ''The Rise and Fall of the Irish Franciscan Monasteries'', page 14. The narrow gauge railway line was originally the

West Donegal Railway The West Donegal Railway (WDR) was a narrow gauge railway in Ireland. History The Finn Valley Railway had reached Stranorlar in 1863. The West Donegal Railway Company was incorporated by an act of July 1879 to extend the Finn Valley Railway ...

which subsequently became part of the network managed by the

County Donegal Railways Joint Committee The County Donegal Railways Joint Committee operated an extensive narrow gauge railway system serving County Donegal, Ireland, from 1906 until 1960. The committee was incorporated by an Act of Parliament in 1906, which authorised the joint pur ...

. The company pioneered the use of diesel rail-cars which ran through the gap up to the late 1950s, connecting Stranorlar in the east to Donegal Town, and through to Killybegs in the west.

References

Geography of County Donegal Mountain passes of Ireland {{Donegal-geo-stub