Bundoran Town

DL18 DONEGAL COUNTY FIRE & RESCUE SERVICE IRELAND

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Information about the Town of Bundoran

Bundoran is the last southerly town in Co. Donegal, and is the gateway to the north of Ireland from the west. It is situated on the busy N15 road from Donegal to Sligo, and because of this, our Fire Area is divided between the counties of Donegal, Leitrim and Sligo. We are 12.8km from the border of Northern Ireland.

Donegal is a very large county in the North West of Ireland, and its fire cover is divided between 15 Retained Fire Stations, with its HQ in Letterkenny.

Interesting Satellite picture of Bundoran with its 2 fantastic Beaches

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Picture courtesy Google Earth

WGS-84 (GPS) Coordinates: 54.4754° N 8.2838° W Irish Grid Reference G8761
Town population:	c.2000
Rural population:	c.1000
Elevation:	0 - 100ft
County:	Donegal
Province:	Ulster

Bundoran Town

The urban area of Bundoran has approx a population of 2000, but with a lot of new families moving into the outer suburbs of the town, this in turn has made outside the urban area largely populated with hundreds of new houses. It is also unique in the fact that at certain periods of the year the population can grow massively between 30-40,000 people, mostly made up of holidaymakers and visitors. The major employer of the town is the Tourism Industry, in which we take great pride.

As years progress, it has changed from a Summer seasonal town to an all year round town, with thousands of visitors flocking here every weekend, with such attractions as musical weekends and large conferences.

There are over 16,000 bed places in the town, ranging from 6 Hotels, Apartments, Holiday Homes and Guest Houses and B & B's, and at certain times of the year, you would get it hard to get a place to stay!

The town itself has lots of amenities to offer with a 6 Screen Cineplex, Waterworld, Sea-weed baths, Amusements, a Fun Fair, 18 hole golf course, new Retail Shopping Centres and nightly entertainment with live bands in all the Hotels, Niteclubs and not forgetting our fantastic European Blue Flag beaches, all of which, draws massive crowds to the town. For the active tourist Bundoran offers excellent options for angling, walking, cycling, golf, horse riding and watersports.

New By-pass

On Monday 23rd January 2006, a new 80 million euro By-pass was opened around Bundoran and the Ballyshannon part of the By-Pass opened on Thursday 27th April 2006. This will make Bundoran in the long term, a very large and prosperous town, with already expanding suburbs. The heavy traffic will be taken away from the town centre and this will greatly add to the attraction of the town. It is the largest major infrastructural development in the south of the county, since the inception of the Great Northern Railway, which ran to Bundoran between 1866 and 1957.

Bundoran Fire Station is situated in a centralised area at the east end of the town, called Drumacrin Road, with two access roads to which the appliance can turn out, one to the main street and the other towards the Ballyshannon side of the town. Our firecalls are ever increasing as the town expands dramatically as each year alone, hundreds of new houses are being built.

Did you know? One of the pioneers of the Credit Union Movement in Ireland, the late Fr Paddy Gallagher came from Bundoran!

The History of the Town of Bundoran

Bundoran or as it is known in Irish "Bun Dobhràin" which means "the foot of the little water" was actually up until over a century ago two separate villages. Bundoran was the village west of the bridge over the River Bradòg, this area is now known as the West End. East of the bridge almost a mile away, was the village of Single Street. In between these two separate communities lay the historic townland of Drumacrin. The area of Drumacrin is now part of what is today's town centre. It was only after the opening of the railway station in 1866 which was called Bundoran, that the two distinct communities developed and merged to what we know nowadays to be Bundoran.

Single Street was where the majority of the local native population lived. Across the bridge in what is now the West End, was the area of residence favoured by the more affluent classes.

The first official mention of Bundoran was in 1777 when Viscount Enniskillen built Bundoran Lodge, his summer residence. This building still exists to this day and is now known as Homefield House, situated at Bayview Avenue in the town. The Viscount seems to have started a trend amongst his contemporaries as more and more of them discovered Bundoran and visited it to enjoy the seaside location and the associated health benefits. Indeed such was its popularity that Bundoran became known as the Brighton of Ireland.

Another piece of history is that Canon Francis Keelaghan, the first Parish Priest of Bundoran in the mid 1800's, challenged the "right of way" to the beach as being public not private property, and everyone that visits Bundoran to this day can greatly thank this man for fighting to keep access to this fantastic beach public. To this day, it is still known to locals as the "right of way"!

With the advances in travel, in particular the railway, Bundoran's popularity spread across the class barriers. With the opening of the railway link to Belfast and onto Dublin more and more people from the east coast of Ireland discovered the appeal of Bundoran and returned year after year. It was during this period that Bundoran emerged as one of Ireland's most popular seaside resorts. Hotels and lodging houses started to spring up around the town. The best-known hotel and indeed one of Bundorans best landmarks the Great Northern Hotel was constructed by the Great Northern Railway Company during this period.

Bundoran as a destination remained popular throughout the 20th century and its appeal has been further enhanced by developments in recent years of the Waterworld Complex and building of new hotels, self-catering apartments and houses. Following this period of renaissance the town now boasts the largest accommodation base in the north west of Ireland and a host of activities, entertainment and attractions for all the family all year round.

Today the beach proudly shows its Blue Flag which is awarded each summer season to beaches in certain countries who have passed stringent tests for Water quality, Environmental education and information, Environmental management & Safety and services. The Blue Flag is an exclusive eco-label awarded to around 3100 beaches and marinas in 34 countries across Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, Canada and the Caribbean in 2005. www.blueflag.org

Town Twinning

The idea of "Twin Towns" was born at the end of the Second World War. People started to realise how important it is to work as a team to rebuild Europe. Bundoran is proud to be associated with Douzelage European Town Twinning and is twinned with Granville in France & Sherbourne in the United Kingdom.

Town Council

Town Crest Bundoran has its own Town Council and has 9 Councillors elected every 5 years, in line with all local Authorities in Ireland. (Note:- The Fire Service is controlled by Donegal County Council - Fire Authority)

The Peak Bundoran - World famous Surfing Town

Bundoran is renowned worldwide for its spectacular waves known as "The Peak". Surfers come here from all over the world to surf all year round. It also has some of the loveliest beaches in Ireland.

Bundoran Surf and Waves from the air

For more detailed information on Bundoran, visit www.discoverbundoran.com

Visit our links page to find out about places to stay and things to do in Bundoran

Last updated Saturday June 11, 2011 This is not an official Donegal County Fire Authority site and is compiled and owned by