Milford, County Donegal

Town in Ulster, Ireland

Milford Baile na nGallóglach
Town

55°05′16″N 7°41′55″W / 55.087898°N 7.698498°W / 55.087898; -7.698498
Country	Ireland
Province	Ulster
County	County Donegal
Government
• Dáil constituency	Donegal
Elevation	68 m (223 ft)
Population (2016)^[1]
• Urban	1,037
Time zone	UTC+0 (WET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC-1 (IST (WEST))
Area code(s)	075, +000 353 74
Irish Grid Reference	C188267

Milford or Millford, historically called Ballynagalloglagh (from Irish Baile na nGallóglach),^[2] is a small town and townland in County Donegal, Ireland. The population at the 2016 census was 1,037.^[1]

The Tirconaill Tribune is headquartered here.^[3]

History and name

Located north of Letterkenny, the town was founded in the 18th century by the Clement family. It was named after a mill that was located on Maggie's Burn on the edge of the town.^[4]

This town is the ancestral home of a U.S. president, James Buchanan, whose father, also named James Buchanan, immigrated from here to America in 1783.

The Irish Baile na nGallóglach literally means "town of the gallóglach". The gallóglaigh (anglicised gallowglass) were an elite class of mercenary warrior who came from Gaelic-Norse clans in Scotland between the mid-13th century and late 16th century. A battle between the Irish (helped by gallóglaigh) and the English took place on a hill in the townland and this is where the name comes from.

Amenities

The town once had two major employers: the Milford Bakery & Flour Mills and McMahons garage, but both are now long gone. There are now a post office, four supermarkets, a veterinary practice, three pubs, a health centre, a library with council offices, a fire station and fishing lakes. It is not far from four different beaches: Portsalon, Rathmullan, Downings and Tramore. It is a feeder town to Letterkenny.

Education

There are a National School, Scoil Mhuire Milford; two secondary schools, Loreto Community School and Mulroy College; and an Adult Education Education and Training Board centre.

People

Patsy Gallacher (1891-1953) - association footballer, born in Milford
Sean Ferriter (born 1938) - Gaelic footballer, born in Milford^[5]
The Baron Hay of Ballyore (born 1950) - DUP politician based in Derry who previously served as the Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly; born in Milford
Amber Barrett (born 1996) - Footballer, born in Milford

Gallery

St. Peter's Church, usually known locally as 'the Chapel', the local Catholic place of worship.
Milford Health Centre

References

^ ^a ^b "Census 2016 Sapmap Area: Settlements Milford". Central Statistics Office (Ireland). Retrieved 6 June 2018.
^ "Placenames Database of Ireland". Archived from the original on 2 September 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2010.
^ O'Neill, Ciaran (16 October 2022). "Creeslough tragedy: 'This is probably the most important paper we've ever done because we've never had tragedy of this immensity'". Sunday Independent.
^ "Milford, County Donegal". Ireland XO. Archived from the original on 13 July 2021. Retrieved 13 July 2021.
^ "Hall of Fame Honour for Sean Ferriter". Highland Radio. 14 January 2020. Archived from the original on 14 January 2020. Retrieved 14 January 2020.