{{Use Irish English, date=April 2021 Townawilly is a parish in the Barony of Tirhugh within the Roman Catholic Diocese of Raphoe in County Donegal, Ireland. The parish is situated near Donegal Town and to its north on the along the shores of Lough Eske. The mountainous area known locally as ‘Townawilly’, ranging approximately from the southeastern portion of Lough Eske to farther north in the Bluestack Mountains, gives its name to the larger parish. The spelling of this placename can also be found as 'Tawnawully', after the Irish 'Tamhnach 'a Mhullaigh'. This translates approximately as 'highland meadow' or 'arable hilltop'

History

Townawilly Tenantry SchoolReport of Her Majesty's Commissioners Appointed to Inquire into the Endowments, Funds and Actual Condition of all Schools Endowed for the Purposes of Education in Ireland, 1858

The Commissioners of Education in their 1848 report mention that they had built a 'substantial' school in Townawilly. In 1858 the Commissioners reported that pupils attending the school got little educational benefit as the master could not speak Irish, while the junior classes could not speak English. The total number on the roll was 87. All were free students and only three were non-Catholic.

Archaeology

The area is abundant with evidence of wells,

standing stones A menhir (from Brittonic languages: ''maen'' or ''men'', "stone" and ''hir'' or ''hîr'', "long"), standing stone, orthostat, or lith is a large human-made upright stone, typically dating from the European middle Bronze Age. They can be foun ...

ringforts Ringforts, ring forts or ring fortresses are circular fortified settlements that were mostly built during the Bronze Age up to about the year 1000. They are found in Northern Europe, especially in Ireland. There are also many in South Wales ...

, and other monuments of ancient construction and import. English 'Crown' coins dating to the early 17th century were discovered in the townland of Garvagh in the 1940s.

Townlands

Townlands within in the area of Townawilly include: Milltown, Ardeevin, Mullanalamphry, Ardnableask, Ardatowel, Townagorm, Garvagh, Corracramph, Goladoo.

References

Geography of County Donegal