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Town in County Donegal, Ireland
Photo: sarah gallagher, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Letterkenny is the largest town in County Donegal, with a population of 22,500 in 2022. It's the county's commercial and transport hub, and not the most scenic place in itself, but a practical and well-equipped base for exploring the rest of Donegal. Glenveagh National Park is about 20 km away, Fanad Head around 45 km, and Malin Head about 75 km. The town sits above Lough Swilly in the Donegal hills with the River Swilly on its south flank.
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Local history from the Stone Age through the Plantation of Ulster and beyond. Housed in a converted former military barracks.
The oldest parts are 400 years old, but these are mostly 19th century mills powered by a 1-km millrace and two large waterwheels: one for corn (still operational), the other for flax. The enterprise kept going in the 20th century when Irish flax was subsidised. A farming and mill village also grew up, supplying produce to the Lipton grocery empire based in Glasgow.
Charming Regency house of 1828, formerly a rectory then a hotel, then the home of painter Derek Hill (1916-2000). It's decorated with Arts & Crafts textiles, Islamic and Japanese art, and many 20th century big names. Plus extensive gardens.
Scottish baronial mansion built in 1870, visit by guided tour. The owner Captain John Adair was notorious for his evictions and other cruelty to his tenants. Plus extensive gardens and woodland grounds.
This stages drama and music in a modern building with a 383-seat auditorium.
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Year-round programme of visual arts, live music and film, in a striking glass and aluminium building.
Mainstream film releases.
Gym, fitness classes and swimming pool. You can sign up or pay as you go.
Outdoor education centre, with training and organised activities. Their base is on Lough Gartan towards Glebe House (see above) 20 km west of town, but activities are at various sites on land and off the coast.
Long-established fish and chips cafe.
Bangladeshi restaurant, uneven quality.
Food okay, delivery service unreliable.
Chinese restaurant, quality varies.
Tearooms for cuppas and light bites.
Small friendly deli cafe.
Quality pub grub.
Good pub ambience and food, but it's not a brewery.
A pleasant mid-priced place for trad Irish food.
Modern Irish cuisine, good reviews.
Good value Irish breakfasts.
Pub and entertainment venue on 3 floors with food, live shows, TV sport and Saturday nightclub.
Comfy sports bar established 1808 with pleasant courtyard. Occasional music gigs and nightclub.
A grand lively bar founded in 1842, with TV sport, live music and beer-garden.
Trad bar with an open turf fire.
Atmospheric pub with open turf fire and live music every night.
Lively place with decent food.
Microbrewery east edge of town producing a range of ales and lagers, tours available. Try the Scraggy Bay IPA.
Welcoming central hotel with popular bar and grill.
Glass-fronted place at the top of Main St, clean and efficient. They threaten to confiscate any food or alcohol brought in from outside so hide it well.
Modern comfy central hotel.
Modern central place with pool. Standard rooms lack air con.
Clean modern place with 139 rooms, some older, and those at the front get traffic noise. With pool.
Decent place handy for motorists, 2 km east of town.
Gorgeous upscale hotel in a Georgian country manor.
Efficient, comfy and welcoming.
Grand Georgian mansion on lakeside with good scores for comfort, service and cuisine. Often a wedding venue.
By road
From Belfast follow M2 / A6 to Derry then N13. From Dublin follow M3 / A3 to Cavan, A5 through Omagh to Strabane, then N14. From Sligo follow N15 via Donegal Town to Ballybofey then N13.
By train
The nearest railway station is Derry, with hourly trains from Belfast, taking two hours via Antrim, Ballymena and Coleraine.
By bus
Expressway 32 runs every couple of hours from Dublin Busáras, taking 4 hours via Dublin Airport, Ardee, Carrickmacross, Monaghan, Omagh, Newtonstewart, Strabane and Lifford.
Walking around town is easy, but you need wheels for outlying sights such as Newmills and Glenveagh.
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Derry, Derry and Strabane · Regional · LDY
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