Bundoran
Bundoran (Bun Dobhráin in Irish) is a tourist town on the coast of County Donegal, Ireland. Attractions include a beach/seafront, golf course and swimming pool with slides. The town is located on the N15 road near Ballyshannon approximately 3 and a half hours drive from Dublin but this has decreased with the opening of a new inner relief road in Sligo.
Entertainment
Surfing is popular many Bundoran beaches including as Main, The Peak and Tullan. The town also has a cinema with six screens and, during the summer months, a Fun Fair. It is also blessed with some of the finest walks anywhere in Ireland and the bracing sea air is a natural tonic for the residents and tourists alike.
Bundoran is also home to Water World, which boasts the fastest indoor water slide in Ireland.
The By-Pass
In April 2006 the new 80 million euro Bundoran/Ballyshannon bypass rendered the resort more accessible for visitors who come there each summer. The Drowes River where the southern part of the bypass commences and which separates Leitrim and Donegal is also the demarcation point between the provinces of Connacht and Ulster. It was the largest major infrastructural development in the south of the county, since the inception of the Great Northern Railway, which ran to Bundoran between 1866 and 1957.
History and Famous People
Its initial claim to fame was as a place of relaxation for the Ascendancy and even into the early part of the 20th century was advertised as the Brighton of Ireland, in travel and tourist literature.
One of the pioneers of the Credit Union movement in Ireland, the late Fr Paddy Gallagher came from the town as does Brian McEniff who managed Donegal to their first and only All-Ireland Final victory at senior level in 1992 against Dublin.
Bundoran or as it is known in Irish "Bun Dobhrain" which means the foot of the little water was actually, up until over a century ago two separate villages. Bundoran was the village west of the bridge over the River Bradog, this area is now known as the West End. East of the bridge almost a mile away, was the village of Single Street. In between these two separate communities lay the historic townland of Drumacrin. The area of Drumcacrin is now part of what is todays town centre. It was only after the opening of the railiway station in 1866 which was called Bundoran that the two distinct communities developed and merged to what we know nowadays to be Bundoran. Single Street was where the majority of the local native population lived. Across the bridge in what is now the West End, was the area of residence favoured by the more affluent classes.
The first official mention of Bundoran was in 1777 when Viscount Enniskillen built Bundoran Lodge, his summer residence. This building still exists to this day and is now known as Homefield House. The Viscount seems to have started a trend amongst his contemporaries as more and more of them discovered Bundoran and visited it to enjoy the seaside location and the associated health benefits.
Indeed such was its popularity that Bundoran became known as the Brighton of Ireland. With the advances in travel, in particular the railway, Bundoran's popularity spread across the class barriers. With the opening of the railway link to Belfast and onto Dublin more and more people from the east coast of Ireland discovered the appeal of Bundoran and returned year after year. It was during this period that Bundoran emerged as one of Ireland's most popular seaside resorts. Hotels and lodging houses started to spring up around the town. The best-known hotel and indeed one of Bundoran's best landmarks the Great Northern Hotel was constructed by the Great Northern Railway Company during this period.
Sport
Local GAA club is Realt na Mara (Bundoran GAA).
External links
- BBC View
- Last Resort
- Telling it like it is
- Brian McEniff Hotels
- Great Northern Hotel (1898)
- Holyrood Hotel
- Donegal Adventure Centre & Surfschool
- Bundoran Surf Company
- Waterworld
- Fire-Brigade
See Also: List of towns in the Republic of Ireland