page_title: Gweedore
section_title: Etymology
hierarchical_section_title: Gweedore / Etymology
caption_attribution_description: We have a few photographs which we had readied for the Tríd an Lionsa program. We felt that we would not get the opportunity to post them in the normal course, therefore we have decided to post a number of them over the holiday period. We hope you enjoy them and as always we welcome your comments and observations. Photographer: Robert French Collection: The Lawrence Photograph Collection Date: Circa 1865-1914 NLI Ref: L_ROY_01361 You can also view this image, and many thousands of others, on the NLI’s catalogue at catalogue.nli.ie
context_page_description: Gweedore is an Irish-speaking district and parish located on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. Gweedore stretches some 26 kilometres from Glasserchoo in the north to Crolly in the south and around 14 kilometres from Dunlewey in the east to Magheraclogher in the west, and is one of Europe's most densely populated rural areas. It is the largest Irish-speaking parish in Ireland with a population of around 4,065, and is also the home of the northwest regional studios of the Irish-language radio service RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, as well as an external campus of National University of Ireland, Galway. Gweedore includes the villages Bunbeg, Derrybeg, Dunlewey, Crolly and Brinlack, and sits in the shade of County Donegal's highest peak, Errigal.
  Gweedore is known for being a cradle of Irish culture, with old Irish customs, traditional music, theatre, Gaelic games and the Irish language playing a central and pivotal role in the lives of the local people. This, along with its scenery and many beaches, has made the area a popular tourist destination, especially with visitors from Northern Ireland.
context_section_description: Gweedore is the anglicisation of the original and official Irish name Gaoth Dobhair. Gaoth refers to an inlet of the sea at the mouth of the Crolly River, known as An Ghaoth. It is the boundary between Gweedore to the north and The Rosses to the south. Dobhar is an old Irish word for water. Therefore, Gaoth Dobhair translates as "the aqueous estuary".
  The name Gweedore or Gaoth Dobhair refers to the traditional district and Catholic parish of the same name, not to one village or town. The villages of Bunbeg, Derrybeg, Dunlewey and others are collectively known as Gweedore.
caption: Gweedore natives pictured here in Magheraclogher in 1865
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