Newtown Cunningham, usually spelt Newtowncunningham or abbreviated to Newton (), is a 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 ...

in the Laggan district 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 ...

, Ireland. It is located on the N13 road east of

Letterkenny Letterkenny ( , meaning "hillside of the O'Cannons"), nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional eco ...

and west of

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 ...

. At the 2022 census, the village population was 1,192.

History and name

Evidence of ancient settlement in the area, from the

Iron Age The Iron Age () is the final epoch of the three historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

onwards, includes 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 ...

Grianan of Aileach The Grianán of Aileach ( ; ), sometimes anglicised as Greenan Ely or, locally, as Greenan Fort, is a hillfort atop the high Greenan Mountain at Inishowen in County Donegal, Ireland. The main structure is a 19th-century reconstruction of a st ...

. Also nearby is the sixteenth-century Burt Castle. The area of Newtown Cunningham was historically known as ''Culmacatrain''. Like nearby

Manorcunningham Manorcunningham, or Manor (, meaning "the manor of Fort Cownyngham") is a village and townland in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located from Letterkenny on the main road to Derry. It is known locally and throughout Donegal ...

, the village takes its current name from John Cunningham, originally from

Kilbirnie Kilbirnie () is a small town of 7,280 (as of 2001) inhabitants situated in the Garnock Valley area of North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is around southwest of Glasgow and approximately from Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley and ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire (, ) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county, in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. The lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area of Ayrshire and Arran covers the entirety ...

, in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, who was among the

settler A settler or a colonist is a person who establishes or joins a permanent presence that is separate to existing communities. The entity that a settler establishes is a Human settlement, settlement. A settler is called a pioneer if they are among ...

s granted lands in County Donegal during the 17th century

Plantation of Ulster The Plantation of Ulster (; Ulster Scots dialects, Ulster Scots: ) was the organised Settler colonialism, colonisation (''Plantation (settlement or colony), plantation'') of Ulstera Provinces of Ireland, province of Irelandby people from Great ...

. The village's

architecture Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and construction, constructi ...

includes stately Anglo-Irish "big houses", now known as the Manse and the Castle, which reflect the village's colonial and

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

history.

Economy and community

Newtowncunningham's long Main Street once formed part of the busy N13

trunk road A trunk road is a major highway with a specific legal classification in some jurisdictions, notably the United Kingdom, Sweden and formerly Ireland. Trunk roads are planned and managed at the national-level, distinguishing them from non-trunk ro ...

connecting Letterkenny with Derry. A bypass diverted the N13 around the village in 1985. Many of the village's businesses either closed or moved to locations along the bypass, gradually divesting the village of economic activity. Newtonchurch

As of the early 21st century, residential developments were built at both ends of Newtown Cunningham, and the village's population expanded by over 50% (from 663 to 1,080 inhabitants) between the 2002 and 2016 census. A number of retail and service outlets were also built, and an

industrial estate An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...

area located at the Letterkenny end of the village contains a number of retail outlets. Newtown Cunningham is located close to Blanket Nook, a

wetland A wetland is a distinct semi-aquatic ecosystem whose groundcovers are flooded or saturated in water, either permanently, for years or decades, or only seasonally. Flooding results in oxygen-poor ( anoxic) processes taking place, especially ...

area and

bird sanctuary An animal sanctuary is a facility where animals are brought to live and to be protected for the rest of their lives. In addition, sanctuaries are an experimental staging ground for transformative human–animal relations. There are five types of ...

that is a wintering site for the rare

whooper swan The whooper swan ( /ˈhuːpə(ɹ) swɒn/ "hooper swan"; ''Cygnus cygnus''), also known as the common swan, is a large northern hemisphere swan. It is the Eurasian counterpart of the North American trumpeter swan, and the type species for the genu ...

Transport

Newtown Cunningham is served by

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 ...

route numbers 64 and 480. These include Bus Éireann's

and Derry to Galway routes. As of 2018, Bus Éireann provided 11 daily buses passing through the village in both directions, either to Derry or to Letterkenny. The bus stop in the village is located adjacent to the Roman Catholic parish graveyard on the Main Street. The village was also previously served by Lough Swilly Buses, but this provider ceased trading in April 2014. Newtown Cunningham is not directly served by rail, and Newtowncunningham railway station (which opened in June 1883) was closed for passenger traffic on 3 June 1940 and closed altogether on 10 August 1953. Newtowncunningham Church of Ireland - geograph

Newtowncunningham Church of Ireland - geograph

Culture

The population is largely

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

, with significant

and

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 ...

presences, and churches for each. Scoil Cholmcille, a Catholic primary (national) school, was completed in 1983. In 1986, the Páirc Colmcille sports ground was opened. In the late 1990s, the existing

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

church in the centre of the village was demolished, and the construction began on a replacement church, St. Peter's Bark, which opened in 1999. The Columban Hall on the main street hosts several events throughout the year, such as festivals, concerts, and

car boot sale Car boot sales or boot fairs are a form of market in which private individuals come together to sell household and garden goods. They are popular in the United Kingdom, where they are often referred to simply as 'car boots'. Some scientific ...

s. The local

Orange Lodge The Loyal Orange Institution, commonly known as the Orange Order, is an international Protestant fraternal order based in Northern Ireland and primarily associated with Ulster Protestants. It also has lodges in England, Scotland, Wales and th ...

, Newtown Cunningham LOL1063, meet in the Orange Hall on Main Street and celebrated their centenary in 2011. An Apprentice Boys club and an accordion band also meet in the Orange Hall. The hall is used by community groups throughout the year as well as hosting an annual

Remembrance Day Remembrance Day (also known as Poppy Day owing to the tradition of wearing a remembrance poppy) is a memorial day observed in Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth member states since the end of the First World War to honour armed forces me ...

service and concerts. A September 2014

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

attack destroyed the Orange Hall. July 2017 saw work to rebuild the hall begin, with the hope that it would be open in 2019. Newtown Cunningham's Presbyterian Church was formed in 1830. The church building was built in one year by voluntary labour. Newtown Cunningham Presbyterian Church was united with Crossroads from 1957 until 1974 and is now united with Ray.

People

* Sir George Bowen (1821–1899), author and colonial administrator, was born just outside Newtowncunningham. * Seán Rooney – soldier killed while serving on the

UNIFIL The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (; ), or UNIFIL (; ) is a United Nations peacekeeping mission established on 19 March 1978 by United Nations Security Council Resolutions 425 and 426, and several further resolutions in 2006 to con ...

peacekeeping mission in

Lebanon Lebanon, officially the Republic of Lebanon, is a country in the Levant region of West Asia. Situated at the crossroads of the Mediterranean Basin and the Arabian Peninsula, it is bordered by Syria to the north and east, Israel to the south ...

in 2022

References

External links

Newtowncunningham & Killea Parish website
(archived 2011)

{{County Donegal Towns and villages in County Donegal

Newtowncunningham Newtown Cunningham, usually spelt Newtowncunningham or abbreviated to Newton (), is a village and townland in the Laggan district in the east of County Donegal, Ireland. It is located on the N13 road east of Letterkenny and west of Derry. At ...