Liscooley or Liscooly () is a

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 ...

and small

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

in the Finn Valley in east

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 ...

in Ireland. It is located within the

electoral division An electoral (congressional, legislative, etc.) district, sometimes called a constituency, riding, or ward, is a geographical portion of a political unit, such as a country, state or province, city, or administrative region, created to provid ...

Killygordon Killygordon () is a village in the Finn Valley in the east of County Donegal, Ireland. , the population was 716. It is located on the N15 between Stranorlar and Castlefin. The separate hamlet of Crossroads, locally known as The Cross, lies ha ...

on the N15 road between

Stranorlar Stranorlar () is a town, townland and Civil parishes in Ireland, civil parish in the River Finn (County Donegal), Finn Valley of County Donegal, in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Stranorlar and Ballybofey (located on the other side of the River F ...

and

Castlefin Castlefin (), sometimes spelt Castlefinn, is a market town and townland in the Finn Valley of County Donegal, Ireland. It is located between Stranorlar and Lifford in East Donegal. , the population was 730. The River Finn flows by the town. Th ...

. It comes under the postal addresses of Killygordon and Castlefin and is within the

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 ...

of Donaghmore. As of the 2011 census, the townland of Liscooly had a population of 17 people.

Name

Liscooley or Liscooly derives from the Irish ''Lios Cúile'', which may mean the "

ringfort Ringforts or ring forts are small circular fortification, fortified settlements built during the Bronze Age, Iron Age and early Middle Ages up to about the year 1000 AD. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are ...

of the corner" or the "ringfort of Cúile". The area was originally known as 'High Town' and 'Low Town'.

History

Evidence of ancient settlement in the area includes a number of

standing stone A menhir (; from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large upright rock (geology), stone, emplaced in the ground by humans, typically dating from the Eur ...

court tomb The court cairn or court tomb is a megalithic type of chambered cairn or gallery grave. During the period, 3900–3500 BC, more than 390 court cairns were built in Ireland and over 100 in southwest Scotland. The Neolithic (New Stone Age) monu ...

and

sites in the townlands of Liscooly, Carrick, Carricknashane and Magheraboy. Saint Bridget's

holy well A holy well or sacred spring is a well, Spring (hydrosphere), spring or small pool of water revered either in a Christianity, Christian or Paganism, pagan context, sometimes both. The water of holy wells is often thought to have healing qualitie ...

is located at Kiltown, Killygordon (near Liscooley). Donoughmore Church, located in Carrick townland, is a Presbyterian church which was originally founded in 1658. The current church building was constructed in 1977. There is a graveyard alongside the church and Donoughmore National school is also nearby. Berwick Hall, a detached three-bay single-storey over raised basement house built in 1760, is located in Low Town, Liscooly. It is set back from road in overgrown grounds to the south of Liscooly, and a short distance to the north of Liscooly Bridge. Liscooly bridge - geograph

Liscooly Bridge, which crosses the River Finn, is located at Low town and was built . J.Davis, a former shop associated with the Davis family, was based in a group of two-bay two-storey houses built in 1820. Located at Liscooly near Low town, one of the buildings was used as a retail outlet into the 20th century.

Liscooly railway station Liscooly railway station served the village of Liscooley in County Donegal, Ireland. The station opened on 7 September 1863 on the Finn Valley Railway line from Strabane to Stranorlar Stranorlar () is a town, townland and Civil parishes in ...

opened on the 7 September 1863, which stopped at High town, Liscooley. The station closed in January 1960 due to the closure of the Finn Valley railway line between Strabane and Stanorlar.

Amenities

Byrne's shop and petrol station is in

Carricknashane Carricknashane is a small townland in the electoral division of Killygordon, County Donegal, Ireland. It is in the civil parish of Donoughmore and lies on the Carnowen Road between Liscooley and Carnowen. Carricknashane, which has an area of appr ...

townland. Opened in 1918, Byrne's shop and LCC Oil Limited ultimately closed in 2018. 'Go Liscooly' subsequently opened there but only the petrol station remains. Since then, the hamlet has not had a shop and Liscooley locals have shopped at the nearby town of Castlefin. There is one housing estate in Liscooley, Liscooley Villas, which is located in Carricknashane townland. Donaghmore Presbyterian church/meeting house is in Carricknashane townland (Low Town). The local Catholic parish church is St. Patrick's Church in

Crossroads Crossroads is a junction where four roads meet. Crossroads, crossroad, cross road(s) or similar may also refer to: Film and television Films * ''Crossroads'' (1928 film), a 1928 Japanese film by Teinosuke Kinugasa * ''Cross Roads'' (film), a ...

to the southwest of Killygordon.

Education

Donoughmore National School, located within Carrick townland in Liscooley, is under the patronage of the local Presbyterian church. As of 2024, approximately 30 pupils were attending the school. Pupils from the primary school typically attend secondary school in Deele College, St. Columba's Collage or Finn Valley College.

Public transport

There is a

Bus Éireann Bus Éireann (; "Irish Bus") is a state-owned bus and coach operator providing services throughout Republic of Ireland, Ireland, with the exception of Dublin, where bus services are provided by sister company Dublin Bus. It is a subsidiary of C ...

stop in Liscooley. It serves several bus routes, including services to Ballybofey.

Geography

Layout

The settlement at Liscooley is split into two areas: 'Low Town' is at the eastern end and 'High Town' is to the west.

Townlands and electoral divisions

Liscooley townland lies within the electoral division of Killygordon. Other neighbouring townlands (and their electoral divisions) include:

References

{{County Donegal Townlands of County Donegal