A visit to Lifford, Co. Donegal in 2017

A slideshow of photos taken during a visit to Lifford in County Donegal on Wednesday 5th July 2017.
Lifford (Irish: Leifear, historically anglicised as Liffer) is the county town of County Donegal, Ireland. It is the administrative capital of the county and the seat of Donegal County Council, although the town of Letterkenny is often mistaken for fulfilling this role given its the largest town in Donegal.
Lifford lies in the Finn Valley area of East Donegal where the River Finn meets the River Mourne to create the River Foyle. The Burn Deele (also spelled as the Burn Dale), a burn (small river), flows into the River Foyle just north of Lifford.
Lifford Town had a population of 1,626 in the 2016 Census, a decrease of 32 people from 2011 when the population was 1,658. In 2002 there were 1,395 residents in the town.
The N15 Sligo-Strabane and N14 Lifford-Letterkenny roads meet in Lifford. Lifford is a major gateway into County Donegal as it is on the main road from Dublin to the east of Donegal.
History of Lifford
The town grew up around a castle built there by Manghus Ó Domhnaill, ruler of Tír Chonaill (mostly modern County Donegal), in the 16th century. It later became a British Army garrison town until Ireland won independence as a dominion in early December 1922. It lies across the River Foyle from Strabane (in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland) and is linked to that town by Lifford Bridge. Manus O'Donnell began building the castle in 1527 on the Wednesday after St. Brendan's day (Saint Brendan's feast day is celebrated on May 16). He completed the masonry and woodwork by the end of that summer even though the O’Neill’s of Tyrone were at war with him. In 1543 the castle of Leithbher was given to Cahir (the son of Donnell Balbh) O'Gallagher to be guarded for the O’Donnell clan. He then proceeded to banish the people loyal to the O’Donnell’s from the castle so that he could keep it for himself. In 1544 Calvagh, the son of O'Donnell, went to the English Lord Justice, and brought back English soldiers with him to Tirconnell, the olden name for County Donegal. O'Donnell, Calvagh, and these men went with ‘ordnance and engines for taking towns’ to the castle of Lifford to take it back from the descendants of the O'Gallaghers.
Cahir, the son of Tuathal Balbh & Turlough, the son of Felim Fin O'Gallagher, who had been taken hostage earlier, were brought to the castle to see if the O’Gallagher’s would surrender. Which they wouldn’t. As the English attacked one was killed instantly so they killed Cahir, the son of Tuathal on the spot. The castle was then surrendered to O’Donnell to spare the life of Turlough, the son of Felim Fin and another son of Tuathal Balbh.
Sadly, Lifford Castle is no longer standing but here is a poem from the late 16th century about the castle, it describes the owners and surroundings at the time.
The Battle of Lifford was fought in 1600 during Tyrone's Rebellion.
Following the defeat of O'Doherty's Rebellion at the Battle of Kilmacrennan in 1608, a number of captured rebels were brought to Lifford where they were tried by Irish civilian courts and executed. The most notable rebel to be executed was Phelim Reagh MacDavitt.
In 1611 Lifford came into the possession of Sir Richard Hansard during the Plantation of Ulster. One of the conditions of his grant was that a ferry crossing be provided over the River Finn. This service continued until 1730 when the first bridge linking Lifford and Strabane was built.
In the 19th century a curious custom existed when if, by the end of the Assizes in Lifford or Omagh courthouses, a jury could not reach a unanimous verdict in a case, they were sent to the "verge" of the county to be dismissed. In some of the cases of counties Donegal and Tyrone this would have been the middle of Lifford Bridge.
The present bridge was constructed by engineering company McAlpines in 1964, jointly funded by Donegal County Council and the old Tyrone County Council (the present Strabane District Council was only formed in the early 1970s). During The Troubles in 1968, an attempt was made to blow the bridge up. However, it was only closed for a short time and today remains an important road link.
Lifford achieved national recognition in the 2008 Tidy Towns Awards as the best newcomer to the competition in Category 'C'.
St. Patrick's Roman Catholic Church is located outside the town. The present church was built in 1964. The tower remains of the older church it replaced. A new roof was put on the Church in 2001 and the spire was refurbished in 2007. Lifford is a Parish in the Diocese of Derry.

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Interesting to see, was in Lifford recently. Good photos, and history in the info section