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**Bundoran**
	Bundoran; Bun Dobhráin
Motto: Fáilte, Sláinte, Beoite; "welcome, health, lively"
	Location
Coordinates:; 54°28′31″N 8°17′02″W / 54.4754°N 8.2838°W
Irish grid reference; G8761
	Statistics
Province:	Ulster
County:	County Donegal
Dáil Éireann:	Donegal South West
European Parliament:	North–West
Dialling code:	+353 71 98
Elevation:	0- 32 m
Population (2006)	1,706
	Website: www.bundoran.ie

Bundoran (Irish: Bun Dobhráin) is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The town is located on the N15 road near Ballyshannon 3 hours drive from Dublin. The town is well-known as one of Ireland's most popular seaside resorts.^[1]

[edit] History

[edit] Origins

Bundoran, or as it is known in Irish Bun Dobhráin (which means the foot of the little water), was up until over a century ago, two separate villages. Bundoran was the village west of the bridge over the River Bradog. This area is now known as the West End. East of the bridge, around 2 kilometres away, was the village of Single Street. In between these two separate communities was the townland of Drumacrin. The area of Drumcacrin 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 known today as Bundoran. Single Street was where the majority of the local population lived.

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, Bayview Avenue. 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.

With the advances in travel, in particular the railway, Bundoran's popularity spread. 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. Certainly by the end of the 19th century, it had become one of the main seaside resorts in Ulster. Hotels and lodging houses started to spring up around the town. One of Bundoran's best landmarks, the Great Northern Hotel was constructed by the Great Northern Railway Company during this period.

[edit] Central Hotel Fire

Main article: Central Hotel Fire, Bundoran

A fire at the Central Hotel in the heart of the town on Friday, 8 August 1980 killed ten people, including both locals and holiday makers. The fire, which occurred at the busiest time of the year, was one of the worst in the Irish history and was featured in the RTÉ television programme Disasters in August 2007.

After the screening of the Disasters documentary in 2007, the Town Council voted to erect a permanent monument in remembrance of those who lost their lives in the blaze. Nearly a year later when the Disasters programme was rebroadcast by RTÉ , there still is no monument to the people that lost their lives.

In the September, 2008 Council meeting, Bundoran Town Council, under the pressure following the Disasters programme, have agreed to purchase a new stain glass window for the Catholic Church listing the names of the ten people who lost their lives. The Council will also place a seat somewhere on the beach as a mark of "respect".

[edit] Transport

A view of the Bundoran seafront.

The opening in April 2006 of the Bundoran/Ballyshannon bypass has made the resort more accessible. The Drowes River where the southern part of the bypass commences and which separates County Leitrim and County Donegal is also the demarcation point between the provinces of Connacht to the south and Ulster to the north. It was the largest major infrastructural development in the south of the county, since the inception of the Great Northern Railway (Ireland), which ran to Bundoran between 1866 and 1957.
Bundoran railway station opened on 13 June 1866, but finally closed on 1 October 1957.^[2] The New Council Offices carpark is where the Bundoran Railway Station once stood and could have been preserved, however the Council decided to demolish it.^[3]

Bundoran strand.

[edit] Recent development

Bundoran has seen much development over the past decade, due to its popularity as a seaside destination and the availability of tax reliefs for the development of holiday homes. Travel Guide Lonely Planet has described Bundoran as "one of Ireland's tackiest resorts" and states that the town has been spolied by overdevelopment.^[4] This claim has been rejected by many members of Bundoran Town Council.

Bundoran also has a 6 screen cinema which held the European Premiere of A Knight's Tale, the cinema was opened by Dave Fanning. First manager was Steven Woodroffe.

[edit] Astoria Ballroom

The Astoria Ballroom was built in 1953 at a time when dances were a major social activity. Showbands spent many years entertaining large crowds in Astoria ballroom. In more recent years the Astoria Ballroom under the ownership of Brian McEniff has had a number of face lifts and temporary name changes from Planet Earth Nightclub to Bling and in the 1980s extended to add a new bar. The Astoria ballroom was a landmark building but on 29 November 2008 it was destroyed by fire.

Our Lady Star of the Sea RC Church, Bundoran.

[edit] Education

On Railway Road stands the St Louis School which was built in 1892. The buildings included a School and residence for the Sisters of St Louis. One of the buildings still stands today. Around the same time the Sisters of St Louis had their secondary school beside the Old Grand Central Cinema in the premises known as the Sea View Hotel.

The St Joseph's orphanages were erected from funds bequeathed by the late Miss Sarah Crudde, Newtownbutler. These buildings later became known as Ard Lughaidh and in 2006 the VEC demolished them. All that is left on the lands is the extension area used till 1980's by live in students of the Ard Lughaidh, however this is now under the Donegal Adventure Centre ownership. Due to the decreasing class sizes in Ard Lughaigh in the 1990s the school faced closure and some students moved to Ballyshannon. [1] Some of the St. Louis nuns moved to the St. Louis building at Railway Road, however a lot moved away.[2] Bundoran is also home to Atlanticside College, a privately run educational institution that offers a wide range of study courses aimed at both Irish and international students.

[edit] Surfing

In recent times Bundoran has become noted as a surfing location.^[5] Bundoran has surf holiday breaks suitable for beginners and people looking to improve as well as world class surf for experts.

Bundoran and its surrounding hills.

[edit] Golf

There is an 18 hole golf course in Bundoran. The golf club was founded in 1894. The course has scenic views of the ocean it is a challenging experience despite it's short length.^[6]

[edit] Bundoran GAA

Bundoran GAA was founded in 1917 and at a time of Ireland's struggle for Independence affected the locations for playing the GAA. In the 1920s the location of Bundoran on the railway line made the Bundoran local ground an good venue for many big games. The GAA club grounds was purchased in 1938. The club was reorganised and renamed "The Star of the Sea"

The juniors were successful in 1956 and 1960 Championships. In 1963 "Star of the Sea joined with Ballyshannon team "Aodh Rua" to become "St. Joseph's". That team included many players that contributed to the Donegal team, including Brian McEniff.

In 1977 the club was divided into two clubs. one each for the towns of Bundoran and Ballyshannon.

[edit] Famous natives

Brian McEniff, former Donegal manager
Louis Lipsett, General in the British Army

[edit] See also

[edit] International relations

Main article: List of twin towns and sister cities in the Republic of Ireland

[edit] Twin towns - Sister cities

Bundoran is a founding member of the Douzelage, a town twinning association of 23 towns across the European Union. This active town twinning began in 1991 and there are regular events, such as a produce market from each of the other countries and festivals.^[7]^[8]