County Donegal, Ireland Genealogy

Guide to Guide to County Donegal ancestry, family history and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

History
County Donegal was the home of the once mighty Clann Dálaigh, better known in English as the O'Donnell dynasty. Until around 1600, the O'Donnells were one of Ireland's richest and most powerful native Irish ruling families. Within Ulster, only the O'Neill Clan of modern County Tyrone were more powerful. The O'Donnells were Ulster's second most powerful clan or ruling-family from the early 13th century through to the start of the 17th century. O'Donnell royal or chiefly power was finally ended in what was then the newly created County Donegal in September 1607, following the Flight of the Earls from near Rathmullan. The modern County Donegal was shired by order of the English Crown in 1585. Full control over the new County Donegall was only achieved after the Flight of the Earls in September 1607. What became the City of Derry was officially part of County Donegal up until 1610. County Donegal was one of the worst affected parts of Ulster during the Great Famine of the late 1840s in Ireland. Vast swathes of the county were devastated by this catastrophe, many areas becoming permanently depopulated. Vast numbers of County Donegal's people emigrated at this time, chiefly through Foyle Port. The Partition of Ireland in the early 1920s had a massive direct impact on County Donegal. Derry, together with west Tyrone, was henceforward in a new, different jurisdiction officially called Northern Ireland. Partition also meant that County Donegal was now almost entirely cut off from the rest of the jurisdiction in which it now found itself, the new dominion called the Irish Free State, which in April 1949 became the Republic of Ireland. The politician Councillor Eddie Fullerton was assassinated by the Ulster Defence Association at his home in Buncrana. This added further to the economic and social difficulties of the county. However, the greater economic and administrative integration following the Good Friday Agreement of April 1998 has been of benefit to the county. It has been labelled the 'forgotten county' by its own politicians, owing to the perception that it is ignored by the Government of Ireland, even in times of crisis

The population of County Donegal is roughly 158,755 people.

General County Research Information

 * County Donegal (Irish: Contae Dhún na nGall) is a county in Ireland. It is in the province of Ulster and is the most north-westerly county of Ireland.
 * Further information about County Donegal is available at the GenUKI site.

Civil Jurisdictions and Parish Research Information

 * List of County Donegal Civil Parishes
 * List of County Donegal Catholic Parishes

Occupations
Collected by Folliott, Rosemary. Game Licences in North-West Ulster in 1802. Continuing list of Game Certificated printed originally in the Londonderry Journal of 24 Aug. 1802, covering Londonderry, and Co. Donegal. Article in The Irish Ancestor, vol.VIII, no. 2. 1976, pages 84-86, Family History Library Ref. 941.5 B2i v7-8.

Census Substitutes
A Muster Rolle of ye Province of Ulster, dated 1630, serves as a census substitute. An abstract is available for free online:


 * Mervine, William M. "The Scotch Settlers in Raphoe, County Donegal, Ireland: A Contribution to Pennsylvania Genealogy," The Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biography, Vol. 36 (1912):257-272. digital version at Internet Archive - free.

Online Census Records

 * 1901 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1911 - at FamilySearch — index

Church Records

 * 1623-1866 - at FamilySearch — index
 * 1701-1845 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Civil Registration

 * 1845-1913 - at FamilySearch — index and images
 * 1845-1958 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Land and Property

 * 1831 - 1856 - at FamilySearch — index and images

Probate Records

 * 1595-1858 - at FamilySearch — index

Websites

 * FHLFavorites.info