Oldtown is a district located in the parish of
Conwal and LeckConwal and Leck is a parish located in north-east County Donegal, Province of Ulster, Ireland. It covers west Letterkenny and the surrounding hinterland. The parish has approximately 10,000 inhabitants and 1,000 families.- Places of Worship :...
in
LetterkennyLetterkenny with a population of 17,568 is the largest town in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. It is located on the River Swilly...
,
County DonegalCounty Donegal is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the Province of Ulster and is part of the Republic of Ireland. It was named after the town of Donegal ....
,
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
. As its name suggests, it is the oldest part of the town and became the starting point of the town's development. The area contains approximately 600 residential properties. Steep gradients to the south of the neighbourhood provide significant views across the north of the town. Oldtown has a weak range of essential services with the area being limited to green spaces within housing developments and facilities serving the area being located primarily in the town centre rather than in the Oldtown neighbourhood itself.
Oldtown is a district located in the parish of
Conwal and LeckConwal and Leck is a parish located in north-east County Donegal, Province of Ulster, Ireland. It covers west Letterkenny and the surrounding hinterland. The parish has approximately 10,000 inhabitants and 1,000 families.- Places of Worship :...
in
LetterkennyLetterkenny with a population of 17,568 is the largest town in County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. It is located on the River Swilly...
,
County DonegalCounty Donegal is one of the traditional counties of Ireland. It is located within the Province of Ulster and is part of the Republic of Ireland. It was named after the town of Donegal ....
,
IrelandIreland is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islets. To the east of Ireland, separated by the Irish Sea, is the island of Great Britain...
. As its name suggests, it is the oldest part of the town and became the starting point of the town's development. The area contains approximately 600 residential properties. Steep gradients to the south of the neighbourhood provide significant views across the north of the town. Oldtown has a weak range of essential services with the area being limited to green spaces within housing developments and facilities serving the area being located primarily in the town centre rather than in the Oldtown neighbourhood itself. The Jim Larkin Court and Gaeltex Drive apartment blocks have a serious lack of facilities. They have no play area for children and families run the risk of having one of their children wiped out by a passing car. The
Bahá'í Faith GroupThe Bahá'í Faith is a monotheistic religion founded by Bahá'u'lláh in nineteenth-century Persia, emphasizing the spiritual unity of all humankind. There are an estimated five to six million Bahá'ís around the world in more than 200 countries and territories.The Bahá'í Faith teaches a doctrine of...
have a centre in Oldtown.
History
Oldtown developed at the bridging point of the
River SwillyThe River Swilly is a river in the Republic of Ireland, which flows in an eastern direction through Letterkenny, County Donegal. Letterkenny, the largest town in County Donegal, is built on the river and became the first crossing point on the river in the 17th century.- History :The river takes...
during the Ulster Plantation in 1610. Patrick Crawford, a Scottish planter, was granted of land. He then formed a compact community which later became known as Oldtown. To begin with there were about fifty drab habitations situated in Oldtown but today the area accommodates a large portion of the town's population.
Oldtown Railway Station was located on the Letterkenny & Burtonport Extension line. It opened on March 9 1903 before finally closing for passengers and goods on January 6 1947. There is no evidence of the station in existence today, a hotel occupies the site. However, an old rail bridge may be seen spanning the River Swilly.
Oldtown has a reputation for being a violent area. On October 24 2007 Gardaí were called to a stand-off between two rival families. Ninja-type weapons of chains, swords and slash-hooks were produced and the families only calmed upon the intervention of a local priest. Twenty gardai and six patrol cars were in place to deal with a riot-like situation. Traffic was diverted away from the scene which occurred near the Oldtown Bridge. On July 22 2006 a man was attacked with a machete and pitchfork. The victim suffered puncture wounds to his abdomen and laceration wounds to his body. The victim's wife was also threatened but was not injured in the feud. The Oldtown gang refer to themselves as the Oldtown Hoodz, a reference to gangster crime. They are a sub-division of the Letterkenny Young Thugs (LYT). They have terrorised many's an old-aged pensioner from her bed at night. On July 17 2003 an elderly man became angered when he saw a neighbour cutting grass on his property. He fetched a double-barrelled shot gun and fired twice at the strimmer, narrowly missing his neighbour. Assaults frequently occur in the area.
Industry
The Oldtown area has a proud industrial history with it being the location of many of the town's major employers. Former industries in the area include the Model Bakery and the Gaeltex Factory. Current employers in the area include
Dunnes StoresDunnes is a supermarket and clothing retail chain, that is based in Dublin, Ireland.The chain primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain has operations in Great Britain and Spain. The format of the chain's stores include a grocery...
, NowDoc, Jungle King and
The Hide Out Bar (
Oldtown Inn), which was established in the 1800s. The pub was redeveloped in 2008 and was awarded the most improved public house by Minister for the Environment,
John GormleyJohn Gormley is an Irish politician and the current leader of the Irish Green Party. He is the current Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and is a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South East constituency...
.
Sport
Golfing facilities opened in 1913 on a 47 acre (190,000 m2) 9 hole course at Crievesmith. The course was sold in 1965 for £3000 and the club moved to its current home at
BarnhillLetterkenny Golf Club is a golf club located on the banks of Lough Swilly in Letterkenny, County Donegal, Ireland. The Club was founded in 1913.- History :...
. Due to the areas growing population the land was developed into housing at the turn of the 21st century. Oldtown Celtic, founded in 1976, is the local soccer club. The play the home games at Oldtown Park.
People
- John Nee
John Nee is an Irish storyteller, actor, musician and playwright who is more commonly known by his stage name Little John Nee.John is also famous for playing the part of Postie in TG4 silent comedy Fear an Phoist. -Biography:...
, actor
- James Pius Clarke, Former IRA member and Maze Prison escape
The Maze Prison escape took place on 25 September 1983 in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. HM Prison Maze was a maximum security prison considered to be one of the most escape-proof prisons in Europe, and held prisoners convicted of taking part in armed paramilitary campaigns during the Troubles...
e who served an 18-year prison sentence for the attempted murder of a member of a Protestant paramilitary group.
- Neil Clarke, former politician
External links