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Clonmany () is a village and civil parish in north-west Inishowen, in County Donegal, Ireland. The Urris valley to the west of Clonmany village was the last outpost of the Irish language in Inishowen. In the 19th century, the area was an important location for poitín distillation. Outside the village, there are a number of notable townlands, including Kinnea (Rockstown), Crossconnell, Dunaff, and Leenan.
In 1819, Fr. O'Donnell was Ordination and began serving as parish priest in Lower Fahan and Desertegney. He later moved to Clonmany in 1829, where he remained until his death in 1856. During his time in Clonmany, Fr. O'Donnell became deeply devoted to the people of the parish and worked tirelessly to improve their lives. He established five National schools in the Parish and was a strong advocate for the rights of local people.
In 1838, during the latter years of the Tithe War, Fr. O'Donnell was jailed for non-payment of tithes to the Church of Ireland. He was imprisoned in Lifford Prison and became a national focal point in the campaign against the tithe system. Fr. O'Donnell continued his efforts to aid the people of Clonmany during the devastating Great Famine of 1845–1849. He set up a Relief Committee for Clonmany in 1846 to provide assistance to those suffering from starvation. Fr. O'Donnell died on 10 February 1856, in his residence in Clonmany at the age of 77.
In response to the crisis, local clergy members from both the Roman Catholic and Protestant communities made commendable efforts to raise funds and provide relief. By January 1847, a local relief committee was actively collecting funds to provide emergency food supplies. However, the scale of the crop failure and the outbreak of diseases like dysentery overwhelmed their endeavours.
The committee reached out to local landlords, appealing for financial assistance and forgiveness of rent arrears for struggling tenants. The response from landlords varied, with some demonstrating willingness to help, while others were not as supportive. Financial contributions came from Michael Loughrey, a local landlord associated with Binion Hall. Conversely, John Harvey and Mrs. Merrick expressed their refusal to support the relief efforts until outstanding rent arrears and other expenses were settled. The correspondence between the committee and the local landlords was subsequently published in the Derry Journal. During this period, the Derry Sentinel reported that Clonmany was witnessing a death rate of five to six individuals per day.
In February 1834, a detachment of the 1st Royals Regiment from the Londonderry Garrison was stationed in the village to provide support to the civil authorities. However, further unrest erupted in April 1834, leading to property destruction by large rioting crowds.
Violence resurfaced in June 1838 when a group of local people attacked the residence of an absentee landlord, Mrs. Merrick, who was visiting the area to inspect her properties. In September 1838, the home of Mrs. Merrick's bailiff, Hugh Bradley, was assaulted. Bradley was severely beaten, and his house was ransacked by armed men. Mrs. Merrick later offered a reward of £100 for any information regarding the attacks on Bradley. The Times of London described the situation as “..security there is none for either life or property in the unhappy district of Clonmany”.
On the evening of 3 November 1841, the Binion estate belonging to Michael Loughrey suffered an attack. Eight stores of oats and several haystacks were simultaneously set on fire.
In 1852, local tenants targeted Charles McClintock, a civil engineer surveying local properties on behalf of Michael Doherty, one of the main landlords in the area. The attackers fired shots into McClintock's bedroom and pelted his house with rocks.
At times, the violence assumed a sectarian character. In January 1861, the Protestant chapel in Clonmany was attacked, with smashed windows and a destroyed door.
During the 1880s, evictions and protests against landlordism became relatively common occurrences. In January 1881, four local men were arrested for unlawful assembly and riotous behaviour after assaulting a bailiff employed by landlord Harvey. A Clonmany branch of the Land League was established, named after the organization's founder, Michael Davitt. The activities of the Land League in the area were frequently reported by the Derry Journal, which documented a steady stream of protests and evictions throughout the 1880s.
The local Catholic clergy actively defended tenant rights and, in collaboration with the Land League, advocated on behalf of individual tenants to local landlords. In December 1885, the clergy and Land League representatives met with Mr. Loughrey, a landlord known for his strained relationship with tenants. When the Land League representatives commented on the low value of land, Mr. Loughrey retorted, "the tenants were too cheaply rented, that they wanted to drive me and my family to the workhouse, but I will take steps to draw a good many there along with me." The Loughrey estate was one of the largest in the area.
Evictions often led to protests. To stop these protests, landlords would often bring in police and soldiers. Sometimes, tenants would owe years of rent before they were evicted. For example, on 1 June 1881, 80 armed police entered Clonmany to oversee a series of evictions organised jointly by four local landlords. The Land League and the local parish priest, Father Maguire, organised a protest march against the evictions. The evictions were a difficult process. Bailiffs were often not sure where properties were located, and they sometimes evicted the wrong people. There were also disputes about whether the rents had been paid. In March 1882, the Derry Journal reported that a further 18 evictions had taken place on the Loughrey estate which made over 100 individuals homeless.
The eviction of Catherine Doherty in August 1882 was typical. She was a widow who lived in Cleagh, a townland just outside Clonmany. She had accumulated significant arrears before her landlord took proceedings against her. The Derry Journal recorded the event.
"The first house visited was that of widow Catherine Doherty. She owed two years' rent. A writ was served on her in May 1881, Just two days after the rent became due. She tried to have a settlement effected but all in vain. She offered two years' rent (£8 11s) with half the costs, but that offer was flatly refused by the agent, who would accept nothing less than the entire amount of rent and costs, to be paid before he would leave the house. The Rev. Father O'Doherty, P.P., Father Maguire, and Father McCullagh were in attendance during the first eviction and reasoned with Mr. Harvey for a long time.Men were ordered to clear out the furniture. This occupied a considerable time. The usual formalities being gone through of binding up the doors, and giving possession to the agent. The ranks of the soldiers and police were ordered (to) march to Rooskey, where the next eviction was (to) come off. Denis O'Donnell, three in the family, was the tenant. His time of redemption having expired"
Concerns about the extent of evictions around Clonmany were raised in parliament by the Irish Nationalist MP O'Donnell. In March 1882, he asked the Chief Secretary to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland if he knew about:
"the extensive evictions of tenants, for arrears of rent, are taking place, or are about to take place, in the districts of Clonmany, Binnion, Garryduff, Adderville, and Cardonagh, in the county of Donegal; whether it is true that meetings of the inhabitants to protest against these evictions, and to invite public sympathy with poor tenants, on the ground of their incapability to pay the unreduced rents accumulating since the years of distress, have been prohibited by the Government".In May 1883, Thomas Sexton (the Irish Nationalist MP for Sligo) questioned the conduct of the Royal Irish Constabulary towards evicted tenants in Clonmany in parliament. Mr. Sexton reported that a tenant farmer named Doherty was prevented by the police from erecting huts for evicted families. He stated that 23 families, comprising 108 people, sought refuge in Clonmany, with up to four families sleeping in one small house. Sir George Trevelyan, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, disputed this account, arguing that Doherty wished to build his hut near evicted farms, requiring the police to establish an outpost for property protection, which would incur local costs.
In September 1885, landlords sent "Emergency Men" to claim farms from evicted tenants. After the tenants were removed from their homes, they continued to use the land to grow crops. The "Emergency men" arrived to take possession of these crops. In order to protect these new arrivals, the police were required to station half a dozen men in the district.
Protests often targeted individuals who had assisted in evictions. In July 1888, seven men were charged with disrupting the burial of Patrick Cavanagh, a Crimean War veteran and caretaker of evicted tenants’ properties on the Loughery estate. His role made him deeply unpopular. The accused—John O’Donnell, William Harkin, William and Patrick Gubbin, Owen Doherty (all from Clonmany), Constantine Doherty (Cleagh), and Michael Doherty (Cloontagh)—filled his grave with stones and blocked the burial. No one in the village would provide a coffin, and despite pleas from local Catholic clergy, the protesters threatened to exhume the body if it were buried. Eventually, the Local Government Board issued an administrative order to remove the body for interment in the Carndonagh Workhouse cemetery. The case aroused much interest and was reported widely across the United Kingdom. Two of the accused - Owen Doherty and Constantine Doherty - were found guilty of unlawful assembly and sentenced to six months imprisonment. The remaining men were discharged.
While stationed at Clonmany, Thomas Rowlands of the 4th Reserve Battalion, The Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry was awarded the Albert Medal for bravery. On 21 October 1918, a grenade with an ignited fuse accidentally fell into the firing bay. Rowlands shouted for the party to take cover and exit the trench. However, one soldier failed to move. Rowlands, displaying great courage, returned to the trench, retrieved the grenade, and threw it over the parapet, where it exploded.
There were also military establishments in Leenan and Fort Dunree. The latter fort was first established during the Napoleonic wars. Both Leenan and Dunree were used to guard the entrance of Loch Swilley, which was used to station part of the Royal Navy's Atlantic Fleet. These latter two camps formed part of the Treaty Ports, which the UK Armed Forces continued to use after the Irish Free State was established. These camps were transferred to the Irish Armed Forces in October 1938.
In early 1920, an IRA company was formed in Clonmany. It was part of the 2nd Battalion of the Donegal IRA based in Carndonagh, which included companies from Clonmany, Culdaff, Malin, Malin Head, and Carndonagh.ROINN COSANTA. BUREAU OF MILITARY HISTORY, 1913-21. STATEMENT BY WITNESS. DOCUMENT NO. W.S. 1516.
In August 1920, the IRA conducted raids to seize firearms from local residents, prompting British forces to raid Clonmany in November 1920. These searches resulted in damage to properties and the discovery of significant amounts of ammunition.
In April 1921, farmer Joseph Doherty of Lenan was found guilty of possessing firearms not under military control. A shotgun was found in his mother's home, but Doherty claimed ignorance and suggested it was planted. He refused to acknowledge the court's authority, seen as evidence of his affiliation with an illegal society.
One of the most notorious incidents to occur in Clonmany during the conflict took place on 10 May 1921, when two Royal Irish Constabulary (RIC) constables, Alexander Clarke and Charles Murdock, were abducted and subsequently murdered by the IRA. Clarke and Murdock, both stationed at the RIC Barracks in Clonmany, were kidnapped while taking an evening walk near Straid. Clarke was shot and thrown into the sea, with his body washing up on the seashore near Binion the following day. Constable Murdock, originally from Dublin, reportedly survived the initial attack, managed to escape, and sought refuge among residents of Binion. However, he was betrayed to the IRA, resulting in his murder. To this day, Murdock's body remains undiscovered, although local tradition suggests that he may have been buried in a bog near Binion Hill. In June 1921, a military court convened in Clonmany to conduct a postmortem examination on Constable Clarke. The court concluded that Clarke died from gunshot wounds to the heart, jaw, and neck, and noted the absence of his firearm and ammunition. Clarke was 23 years old and unmarried at the time of his death.
A few days after the murders of Constables Murdock and Clarke, six bridges along the road between Buncrana and Clonmany were destroyed by explosives. This effectively cut off a large part of North Inishowen and delayed the return of Constable Clarke's body to England. The authorities had to ask local people to help repair the bridges so that the body could be transported.
Several weeks later, on 10 July 1921, Crown Forces conducted raids on a number of houses in Clonmany in search of Sinn Féin activists. While three young men from the village were initially arrested, they were subsequently released shortly afterwards and allowed to return home.
In July 1921, railway workers stationed at Clonmany railway station refused to transport British soldiers. As a result, the soldiers were removed from the train and sent back to Leenan Fort.
During the early stages of Irish Civil War, Clonmany was captured by the Free State's National Army. A train was commandeered from Buncrana. On 1 July 1922, it moved troops to Clonmany and later to Carndonagh. The capture of Clonmany was peaceful. When the troops arrived in Carndonagh, a gun battle broke out with Anti-Treaty Irregulars, who had taken up positions in the workhouse. The Irregulars agreed to surrender after the Free State Army had opened fire with a machine gun.
In August 1940, a body washed up on the shore at Gaddyduff, Clonmany. The body was recovered by Denis Kealey, a farmer's son, of Leenan. A postcard was found on the body indicating that the victim was Giovanni Ferdenzi; an Italian migrant to the UK, who lived in Kings Cross. He was previously held at Worth-Mills Internment Camp. The cause of death was heart failure due to exposure. The body was given a Catholic burial at Clonmany. Giovanni was being transported to Canada on SS Arandora Star, which was sunk by a U-boat on 2 July 1940. A second unidentifiable body was washed ashore on Ballyliffin strand.
During the war, mines regularly washed up around the Clonmany shoreline. In June 1942, a mine exploded at Urris. The Irish military also rendered another mine harmless after it washed ashore at Ballyliffin. In March 1946, eight mines were destroyed by the Irish Army after they had floated close to the shoreline between Ballyliffin and Clonmany. The mines appeared after a heavy storm.
Seven young local men and a pensioner died in a road accident just outside the village on the evening of 11 July 2010. The event received national media coverage.
Significant flooding occurred in 1924. In October 1945, four bridges over the Clonmany river were swept away, dislocating traffic between Clonmany and Buncrana. In September 1952, heavy rain caused the Clonmany riverbanks to break, flooding corn fields, especially around Crossconnell. In August 1952, heavy rain and high tide flooded the village itself. In late August 2017, heavy rains caused severe flooding, with residents being rescued and the R238 road closed. The R238 road, which links the village with Dumfree, was closed after a bridge collapsed. The Irish defense forces were deployed to help with rescue and cleanup efforts. The area was highlighted in the 2014 Flood Risk Assessment Report for potential flood protection due to rising sea levels.
There are several beaches around Clonmany that attract tourists. However, these beaches have dangerous sea currents, posing a risk to swimmers. In August 1945, a 15-year-old boy drowned while bathing at Clonmany Strand. In September 1959, two young men, aged 26 and 15, drowned at Tullagh Beach after encountering difficulties while swimming.
Clonmany Church of Ireland Parish Church - Located in Straid, just outside the village, this church was built in 1772 and altered in 1830. The building is now a ruin but is accessible to visitors. The graveyard also contains a number of early 18-century graves that predate the present edifice and may be associated with an earlier church on the site.
Clonmany Bridge - Clonmany Bridge, built around 1800, is a triple-arch structure with humpbacked design over the Clonmany River. Constructed using local rubble stone, it features round-headed arches with stone voussoirs, cutwaters, and a crenellated parapet. Predating the establishment of Clonmany village, it was in existence in 1814, when it is outlined in Revd. Molloy's Statistical Account of the Parish of Clonmany.
Clehagh Thatched Cottage - Located behind the church, this detached single-storey house, built , incorporates elements of traditional architecture. It features a thatched roof with latticed restraining ropes and cast-iron stays. The walls are made of limewashed render on random rubble stone. Historical records from around 1837 show a house on this site.
Details of local culture, history and traditions were recorded in "The Last of the Name". A local schoolteacher Patrick Kavanagh (not the poet) wrote down numerous stories remembered by a Clonmany local, Charles McGlinchey.
The village's soccer team, Clonmany Shamrocks, plays at Shamrocks Park, Gort, Clonmany. During the 2008/2009 season, the club won the Knockalla Caravans Ulster Senior Cup, a competition organized by the Ulster Football Association.
Urris is the local GAA team and the home ground is situated in Straid, Clonmany. The team colors are red and black.
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