The Burn Dale ( Irish: ''An Daoil'', meaning 'the Black One' Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 54. The Institute of Irish Studies,

The Queen's University of Belfast The Queen's University of Belfast, commonly known as Queen's University Belfast (; abbreviated Queen's or QUB), is a public research university A public university, state university, or public college is a university or college that is St ...

, Belfast, 1999.) is a

burn A burn is an injury to skin, or other tissues, caused by heat, electricity, chemicals, friction, or ionizing radiation (such as sunburn, caused by ultraviolet radiation). Most burns are due to heat from hot fluids (called scalding), soli ...

or small river in the east of

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 ...

Ulster Ulster (; or ; or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional or historic provinces of Ireland, Irish provinces. It is made up of nine Counties of Ireland, counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kingdom); t ...

, the northern

province A province is an administrative division within a country or sovereign state, state. The term derives from the ancient Roman , which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire, Roman Empire's territorial possessions ou ...

in Ireland. LOUGHS AGENCY: Foyle and Carlingford Catchments - Deele River. https://fishinginireland.info/trout/loughsagency/ ''River Deele and Tributaries Catchment Status Report 2010'' (Report Ref.: LA/CSR/04/11), p. 10. Loughs Agency,

Derry Derry, officially Londonderry, is the second-largest City status in the United Kingdom, city in Northern Ireland, and the fifth-largest on the island of Ireland. Located in County Londonderry, the city now covers both banks of the River Fo ...

, 2010 (this publication can be viewed online). The burn is also known in English as the Dale Burn, the Burn Deele, the Burndale River, the Deele River or the River Deele. 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,

, Belfast, 1997 (in association with the

Royal Irish Academy The Royal Irish Academy (RIA; ), based in Dublin, is an academic body that promotes study in the natural sciences, arts, literature, and social sciences. It is Ireland's premier List of Irish learned societies, learned society and one of its le ...

). Samuel Lewis, ''Counties Londonderry and Donegal: A Topographical Dictionary'', p. 72. Friar's Bush Press,

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, 2004 (originally published in London in 1837). In the

Ulster Scots dialect Ulster Scots or Ulster-Scots (), also known as Ulster Scotch and Ullans, is the dialect (whose proponents assert is a dialect of Scots language, Scots) spoken in parts of Ulster, being almost exclusively spoken in parts of Northern Ireland a ...

, a '

' is a stream or small river.

Course

The Burn Dale rises in, and flows through, East Donegal. It rises near Lough Dale, also known as Lough Deele, a

lough ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or " sea inlet" in Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes called a lochan. Lochs whic ...

just below Cark Mountain, very near the village and

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

of Drumkeen. The burn flows to the east-south-east from its source, mainly flowing in an east-south-easterly direction for its entire course. It flows around the southern edges of both Drumkeen and

Convoy A convoy is a group of vehicles, typically motor vehicles or ships, traveling together for mutual support and protection. Often, a convoy is organized with armed defensive support and can help maintain cohesion within a unit. It may also be used ...

, flowing about two miles to the south of Raphoe, and then flows through the village of Ballindrait. Ballindrait Townland, Co. Donegal. https://www.townlands.ie/donegal/raphoe-north/clonleigh/clonleigh-north/ballindrait/ The burn flows through two baronies:

Raphoe South Raphoe South (; ), or South Raphoe, is a barony in County Donegal, Ireland. Baronies were mainly cadastral rather than administrative units. They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in the 19th century before being superseded ...

and Raphoe North. 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 Lifford (, historically anglicised as ''Liffer'') is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland, the administrative centre of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken as holding this ...

. It empties into the

River Foyle The River Foyle () is a river in west Ulster in the northwest of the island of Ireland, which flows from the confluence of the rivers Finn and Mourne at the towns of Lifford in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, and Strabane in County Ty ...

directly opposite the Islandmore, 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. Island More Townland, Co. Donegal. https://www.townlands.ie/donegal/raphoe-north/clonleigh/clonleigh-north/island-more/ The Burn Dale is almost 20 miles (almost 32 kilometres) long. 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.

References

{{coord, 54.8486, -7.4704, format=dms, type:river_region:IE, display=title Rivers of County Donegal