civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government. Civil parishes can trace their origin to the ancient system of parishes, w ...

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 ...

Catholic parish In the Catholic Church, a parish () is a stable community of the faithful within a particular church, whose pastoral care has been entrusted to a parish priest (Latin: ''parochus''), under the authority of the diocesan bishop. It is the lowest ecc ...

Roman Catholic Diocese of Raphoe :''See Diocese of Derry and Raphoe for the Anglican (Church of Ireland) counterpart'' The Diocese of Raphoe ( ; ; ) is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in County Donegal in Ulster, Ireland. It is one of ei ...

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

Diocese of Derry and Raphoe The Diocese of Derry and Raphoe is a diocese of the Church of Ireland in the north-west of Ireland. It is in the ecclesiastical province of Armagh. Its geographical remit straddles two civil jurisdictions: in Northern Ireland, it covers all of ...

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 road (Ireland), N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 road (Ireland), N15 crosses the River Erne. The town was inc ...

Donegal Town Donegal ( ; , "fort of the foreigners") is a town in County Donegal in Ulster, the northern Provinces of Ireland, province in Ireland. Although Donegal gave its name to the county, now Lifford is the county town. From the 15th until the early 1 ...

Laghey LaghyLaghy/An Lathaigh

Ballintra Ballintra () is a village in the civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish of Drumholm, Drumhome in the south of County Donegal, Ireland, just off the N15 road (Ireland), N15 road between Donegal (town), Donegal town and Ballyshannon. Ballintra l ...

and

Rossnowlagh Rossnowlagh () is a seaside village in the south of County Donegal, Ireland. It is about north of Ballyshannon and southwest of Donegal Town. The area's long beach, or if measuring from the cliffs to Carrickfad (long rock in Irish, which jut ...

.

Churches

The

Catholic parish In the Catholic Church, a parish () is a stable community of the faithful within a particular church, whose pastoral care has been entrusted to a parish priest (Latin: ''parochus''), under the authority of the diocesan bishop. It is the lowest ecc ...

historically had three churches: St Bridget's Church, Ballintra; The Chapel of Ease, Laghey and the Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Rossnowlagh. The main church, St Bridget's, was built in 1845 on the outskirts of Ballintra. This church lies in the same area as St Ernan's National School, the new and old parochial houses and St Bridget's Community Centre. The main graveyard is also located adjacent to the front of the church. The

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently, generally due to trav ...

, located about eight kilometres east of Laghey in the townland of Laghey Barr, is no longer used for regular services. The last mass was held in June 2003. The chapel opened in 1941 after the closure of the school which had previously been housed in the building. However, Mass had been said in its vicinity for centuries previously. Although Mass is no longer said, prayer meetings are sometimes held and the rosary is recited on Sundays. The newest church is the Immaculate Heart of Mary in

Rossnowlagh Rossnowlagh () is a seaside village in the south of County Donegal, Ireland. It is about north of Ballyshannon and southwest of Donegal Town. The area's long beach, or if measuring from the cliffs to Carrickfad (long rock in Irish, which jut ...

, which opened in 1952. The new friary marked the return of the

Franciscan Order The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

to County Donegal for the first time since the Four Masters and the dedication of the church in June 1952 was attended by the then

Taoiseach The Taoiseach (, ) is the head of government or prime minister of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The office is appointed by the President of Ireland upon nomination by Dáil Éireann (the lower house of the Oireachtas, Ireland's national legisl ...

,

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...

and

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Sean T. O'Ceallaigh. It is part of the Franciscan Friary in the village. The friary has a visitors' centre and the Donegal Historical Society Museum which houses a small collection including Stone Age flints and old Irish musical instruments, as well as a garden that incorporates the Stations of the Cross.

Patron saint

The patron saint of the parish is St Ernan, who is believed to have been born in the parish and to have established a monastery there. It is this saint who has given his name to St Ernan's NS, Ballintra and to the small island in Donegal Bay. He is also honoured in St Bridget's Church, Ballintra with a window above one of the two minor doors at the front of the building.

Facilities

The main graveyard in Ballintra has been used since 1820 and the parish has several sets of records, including baptismal records from 1866, confirmation records from 1920, marriage records from 1866 and a death register from 1968. Primary schools in the area include St Ernan's National School in Ballintra and St Eunan's National School in Laghey. There is no secondary school in the parish and children from the north of the parish (mainly from Laghey NS) go to the Abbey Vocational School in

Donegal Town Donegal ( ; , "fort of the foreigners") is a town in County Donegal in Ulster, the northern Provinces of Ireland, province in Ireland. Although Donegal gave its name to the county, now Lifford is the county town. From the 15th until the early 1 ...

, while those from the south of the parish (mainly from Ballintra NS) go to Coláiste Cholmcille in

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 road (Ireland), N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 road (Ireland), N15 crosses the River Erne. The town was inc ...

.

References

External links

Ballintra / Drumholm (Catholic) Parish Homepage
{{coord missing, County Donegal Roman Catholic Diocese of Raphoe Civil parishes of County Donegal