Ramelton

Ramelton (rə-MEL-tun; Irish: Ráth Mealtain),[2] also Rathmelton, is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. As of 2016, its population was 1,266.[1]

Ramelton

Ráth Mealtain
Town
Bridge over the River Lennon in Ramelton
Ramelton
Location in Ireland
Coordinates: 55°02′08″N 7°38′44″W
CountryIreland
ProvinceUlster
CountyCounty Donegal
Elevation
20 m (70 ft)
Population
 (2016)[1]
 • Urban
1,266
Irish Grid ReferenceC228212

History

Ramelton is situated at the mouth of the River Lennon, 11 km north of Letterkenny and 4 km south of Milford, on the western shores of Lough Swilly. The town is named from Ráth Mealtain, (Irish for "the fort of Mealtan"), an early Gaelic chieftain. The fort is said to lie under the ruins of a medieval castle of the O'Donnells, the ruling family of West Donegal before their exile to mainland Europe in 1607.

Ramelton was settled by English and Scots planters during the Ulster Plantation of the 17th century and is the site of the oldest Presbyterian church in Ireland.

Facilities

Ramelton is serviced by many shops and services within the town. The Town Hall in Ramelton was built in the late 19th century and still has a vital role in the community today.

The town has many grocery stores including Kernan's Spar Supermarket, Whoriskey's Eurospar and McFadden's Supermarket.[3]

The town has three main churches: St. Mary's Catholic Church,[4] St. Paul's Church of Ireland (Parish of Tullyaughnish),[5] and the Presbyterian Church.[6].

The town is served by a private bus service which serves Ramelton from Mondays to Saturdays to and from Letterkenny, the largest town in County Donegal. Three buses leave Ramelton for Letterkenny each day Monday to Saturday, with two buses leaving Letterkenny for Ramelton.[7]

Music and Sport

The town is home to a marching band which frequently wins prizes in the Miscellaneous Marching Bands (Buíon Rogha Gléas) category of the All-Ireland Fleadh.[8]

Swilly Rovers Football Club is based in the town. It was founded in 1929. It also has a tennis club.[9]

Other

The town is home to McDaid's soft drinks manufacturer whose drinks are sold throughout Donegal and further afield.[10] Its most famous drink is the Football Special which was originally produced to celebrate the successes of Swilly Rovers Football Club.[11]

The town was the setting for the 1995 television serial The Hanging Gale, which told of the Great Famine of the 19th century.

Ramelton is also a key setting for the A.E.W. Mason novel The Four Feathers.

The town hosts the Lennon Festival, a village fair, since 1970. Ramelton is a Fáilte Ireland designated Heritage Town.

The town is also the setting for Django Sur Lennon gypsy jazz festival which has been held in the town in since 2015 and has featured gypsy jazz musicians from Europe and beyond.[12]

Notable people

See also

References
  1. "Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements Ramelton". Central Statistics Office (Ireland). Retrieved 6 June 2018.
  2. "Ráth Mealtain/Rathmelton". Placenames Database of Ireland (logainm.ie). Government of Ireland - Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Dublin City University. Retrieved 2 February 2020.
  3. http://www.ramelton.net/Shops.htm
  4. "St. Mary's Church". Diocese of Raphoe. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  5. "St. Paul's Church". Tullyaughnish Parish. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  6. "Ramelton Presbyterian Church". Ramelton Presbyterian Church. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  7. "Patrick Gallagher Travel - Donegal Bus Service - Home". Patrick Gallagher Travel.
  8. "Ramelton Town Band Wins". Irish Marching Bands. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  9. "Ramelton Tennis Club". Local Gym and Fitness. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  10. "McDaids". McDaids. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  11. "Football Special". McDaids. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  12. "Django sur Lennon". Django sur Lennon. Retrieved 7 February 2021.
  13. "Irish scientist wins Nobel Prize for Medicine".
  14. "The Irish still love their newspapers". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. 14 August 2010. Retrieved 14 August 2010. The Irish love reading newspapers, whether they are national or local. It's a joy to see the papers piled high at my local store in the Donegal town of Ramelton in the morning and note their disappearance by the evening.
  15. https://www.rte.ie/sport/paralympics/2012/0823/334716-anne-marie-mcdaid/
  16. https://www.independent.ie/sport/other-sports/from-ms-diagnosis-to-fifth-in-world-26890759.html
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