Letterkenny and St. Eunan
St. Eunan's Cathedral, Letterkenny
A photo of St. Eunan's Cathedral, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. The cathedral was commissioned by Cardinal O'Donnell, who was then Bishop of Raphoe. It was built at the end of the nineteenth century.
St. Eunan's Cathedral, Letterkenny
A photo of St. Eunan's Cathedral, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal. The cathedral was commissioned by Cardinal O'Donnell, who was then Bishop of Raphoe. It was built at the end of the nineteenth century.
Letterkenny, built on the River Swilly, is the largest town in Co. Donegal. The name Letterkenny means ‘The valley of the Cannon family’. The O’Cannons were the last chieftains of Tír Conaill, the kingdom in Co. Donegal.
Well-known landmarks in Letterkenny include St Eunan’s Cathedral, which has a magnificent spire of a height of 212 feet that overlooks the town, and St Eunan’s College, a large castle with four round towers that is a boarding school for boys.
St Eunan, or Adomnán in Irish, was the ninth Abbot of Iona after Colmcille and a very learned man. He is thought to have devised the ‘Law of Innocents’ to protect civilians during warfare. He also wrote the most important book on the life of Colmcille, Vita Columbae, or the Life of Columba.