Glengesh Pass, Co. Donegal
The Glengesh Pass is a valley in the Bluestacks mountain area of southwest Donegal.
© John Hinde Ltd.Glengesh Pass, Co. Donegal
© John Hinde Ltd.
© John Hinde Ltd.
Glengesh Pass, Co. Donegal
The Glengesh Pass is a valley in the Bluestacks mountain area of southwest Donegal.
© John Hinde Ltd.Donegal is one of Ireland's most isolated counties, famous for its beautiful landscape.
The landscape has influenced many aspects of life in Donegal - the kinds of agriculture carried out there, the types of industries it attracts, the development of roads and so on.
In this section we will look at some different aspects of the landscape in Donegal.
Geography
County Donegal is located in the northwest of Ireland. It is bound on the southwest, west and north by the Atlantic Ocean and on the east by the counties of Derry, Tyrone, Fermanagh and Leitrim.
Donegal is one of the five counties sharing a border with Northern Ireland.
County Donegal has an area of 483,042 hectares, although less than half this land is suitable for agriculture.
Population
According to the census in 2006, County Donegal's population is 147,264. This shows an increase of 9,689 or 7% from the corresponding figure in 2002. Two-thirds of this increase was due to net migration into the county.
As Lisa McAllister, Chief Executive of the Western Development Commission says;
"The results for mainly rural counties like Donegal are encouraging and show that the growth in our population does not have to be an urban phenomenon. It is clear that people are re-locating for a better quality of life and choosing rural locations when they can find employment."
The Gaeltacht area of Donegal is in the west of the county. It is the largest Irish-speaking area in Ireland and roughly 30,000 speak Irish on a daily basis there.