Bundoran

The town

Bundoran — Bun Dobhráin in Irish, meaning “the foot of the little water”, named after the Doran River — is a town in County Donegal, near the N15 road close to Ballyshannon, and the most southerly town in the county. It is a tourist seaside resort, and tourism has been at the heart of the local economy since the eighteenth century. The town includes the townland of Magheracar, where the Franciscan house of Bundrowes (Bun Drobhaoise) stood, and that house is the reason the town’s name is in Irish history: it was the principal base of Mícheál Ó Cléirigh during the compilation of the Annals of the Four Masters in the 1630s.

The surf

Bundoran is a surfing destination, and in 2012 National Geographic listed it as one of the world’s top 20 surf towns. The beaches along the Doran River mouth are the draw: the water, the wind, and the waves that make the town’s name. The community had a maritime and fishing heritage linked to the historic Bundrowes fishery in Magheracar, and the town grew from that coastal location into one of Ireland’s most historic watering places and seaside resorts.

The coast

The town sits at the point where the coast road turns from the bay into the open Atlantic, and the drive along the coast from Bundoran is the best stretch of the south-west Donegal coast: the water, the headlands, the small settlements, and the light on the coast in the late afternoon. The town is the base that makes the coast easy, and the stop that does not need a reason.

Practical

Allow a day: the beach in the morning, the coast road in the afternoon. Pair it with the Bluestacks for a full touring day.