Tirhugh (; ) is a

barony Barony may refer to: * Barony, the peerage, office of, or territory held by a baron * Barony, the title and land held in fealty by a feudal baron * Barony (county division), a type of administrative or geographical division in parts of the British ...

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 ...

. Baronies were mainly

cadastral A cadastre or cadaster ( ) is a comprehensive recording of the real estate or real property's metes and bounds, metes-and-bounds of a country.Jo Henssen, ''Basic Principles of the Main Cadastral Systems in the World,'/ref> Often it is represente ...

rather than administrative units. They acquired modest local taxation and spending functions in the 19th century before being superseded by the

Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 The Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898 ( 61 & 62 Vict. c. 37) was an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland that established a system of local government in Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots diale ...

Etymology

Tirhugh takes its name from the Irish ''Tír Aodha'', meaning "Aodh's land", referring to

Áed mac Ainmuirech Áed mac Ainmuirech (born c.530 – died 598) was High King of the Northern Uí Néill. He belonged to the Cenél Conaill and was a distant cousin of Columba of Iona. He was the son of Ainmuire mac Sétnai (died 569), a previous possible high k ...

, a semi-legendary 6th century king. The Irish name Áed (Aodh) is conventionally translated as

Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...

, although the names are etymologically unrelated.

Geography

Tirhugh is located in the south of

, on the

River Erne The River Erne ( , or ''An Éirne'') in the northwest of the island of Ireland, is the second-longest river in Ulster, flowing through Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and forming part of their border. Course The Erne rises on ...

and the east coast of

Donegal Bay Donegal Bay () is an inlet (or bay) in the northwest of Ireland. Three Counties of Ireland, counties – County Donegal, Donegal to the north and west, County Leitrim, Leitrim and County Sligo, Sligo to the south – have shorelines on ...

. It is the strip of land that connects Donegal to the rest of the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland, with a population of about 5.4 million. ...

History

The territory of the O'Gallchobair (Gallagher) was centered here from the Middle Ages onward. The Mac Raith, O'Haedha (O'Hugh or Hayes), MacDonlevy, MacNulty, O'Clery, MacWard, O'Lynch and O'Mullhollan were other local septs. The

Annals of the Four Masters The ''Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland'' () or the ''Annals of the Four Masters'' () are chronicles of Middle Ages, medieval Irish history. The entries span from the Genesis flood narrative, Deluge, dated as 2,242 Anno Mundi, years after crea ...

mention Tirhugh several times: The name "Tirhugh" is used today for the Tirhugh Resource Centre,

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 ...

, for the local unemployed.

List of settlements

Below is a list of settlements in Tirhugh: *

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 ...

Bundoran Bundoran () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The town is located near the N15 road near Ballyshannon, and is the most southerly town in Donegal. The town is a tourist seaside resort, and tourism has been at the heart of the local economy s ...

* Donegal * Laghy * Pettigo

References

{{County Donegal Baronies of County Donegal