Castlefin

---

title: "Castlefin" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["towns-and-villages-in-county-donegal", "townlands-of-county-donegal"] description: "Town in County Donegal, Ireland" topic_path: "general/towns-and-villages-in-county-donegal" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlefin" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Town in County Donegal, Ireland ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
name	Castlefin
native_name	ga
settlement_type	Town
image_skyline	Castlefin, County Donegal.jpg
image_caption	The Diamond
pushpin_map	Ireland
pushpin_label_position	left
pushpin_map_caption	Location in Ireland
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	Ireland
subdivision_type1	Province
subdivision_name1	Ulster
subdivision_type3	County
subdivision_name3	County Donegal
subdivision_type4	Main townland
subdivision_name4	Castlefin
unit_pref	Metric
population_as_of	2022
population_footnotes
population_total	730
population_density_km2	auto
timezone1	WET
utc_offset1	+0
timezone1_DST	IST (WEST)
utc_offset1_DST	-1
coordinates
blank_name	Irish Grid Reference
blank_info
::

| name = Castlefin | native_name = ga | other_name = | settlement_type = Town | image_skyline = Castlefin, County Donegal.jpg | image_caption = The Diamond | pushpin_map = Ireland | pushpin_label_position = left | pushpin_map_caption = Location in Ireland | subdivision_type = Country | subdivision_name = Ireland | subdivision_type1 = Province | subdivision_name1 = Ulster | subdivision_type3 = County | subdivision_name3 = County Donegal | subdivision_type4 = Main townland | subdivision_name4 = Castlefin | unit_pref = Metric | population_as_of = 2022 | population_footnotes = | population_urban = | population_total = 730 | population_density_km2 = auto | timezone1 = WET | utc_offset1 = +0 | timezone1_DST = IST (WEST) | utc_offset1_DST = -1 | coordinates = | blank_name = Irish Grid Reference | blank_info = | website = | footnotes = Castlefin (), sometimes spelt Castlefinn, is a market town and townland in the Finn Valley of County Donegal, Ireland. It is located between Stranorlar and Lifford in East Donegal. , the population was 730. The River Finn flows by the town. The town is located in along the main N15 national primary road, which runs from Bundoran to Lifford. The town lies 6 miles from Lifford and 8 miles from the twin towns of Ballybofey and Stranorlar. It has close links to Letterkenny, to the twin towns of Ballybofey and Stranorlar, and to West Tyrone in Northern Ireland, especially with the towns of Strabane and Castlederg.

Amenities

The five housing estates in the town are called the Emmett Park built in the 1980s Sessaigh Park built in the 2000s, Caislean Court built in the 1990s, Hillhead built in the 1970s and Grahamsland built in the 1950s.

The town centre is located around the Diamond area, which is where three routes merge. The Diamond has landscaped seating and planting areas, and the surrounding area also has a number of buildings that are included on the Record of Protected Structures. The town has a number of retail, commercial, religious, economic, social and recreational amenities. Castlefinn also serves as a focus of primary education for the surrounding rural areas. The local national school has a large catchment area and currently has 180+ pupils attending. The town also has a pre-school.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/75/Approaching_Castlefin_from_the_south_-geograph.org.uk-_689186.jpg" caption="Approaching the village from the south"] ::

The town centre has a number of amenities including retail outlets, grocery stores, a petrol station, post office, butchers, take-aways, public houses and some hairdressers. The town also has a recycling facility that is located on the Castlederg road beside the bridge.

The C.P.I center is used for football, parties, computing and the youth club. There is a local GAA club (Robert Emmetts) and a soccer field (Castlefinn Celtic). Castlefinn is also the home of Finn Valley Radio which broadcasts on 95.8FM locally and online. The station holds a community licence and its studios are located at the CPI Centre.

Schools

Local schools include St Mary's National School, Scoil Náisiúnta Domhnach Mór,(Liscooley) and St. Safan's National School (Doneyloop).

Transport

Castlefinn railway station opened on 7 September 1863, but finally closed on 1 January 1960.

A number of buses pass through Castlefinn on a daily basis going to Letterkenny, Derry, Strabane, Dublin, Sligo and Galway.

Townlands, hamlets and electoral divisions

There are 18 townlands in Castlefin, along with two hamlets and three electoral divisions. ::data[format=table title="Castlefin townlands, hamlets & electoral divisions"]

Townlands	Gaeilge	Hamlet(s)	Electoral division
Castlefin	Caisleán na Finne	~	Castlefinn ED
Grahamsland	Fearann Graham	~	Castlefinn ED
Donaghmore Glebe	Gléib Dhomhnach Mór	Cusheen	Castlefinn ED
Carrick	Charraig	Liscooley	Killygordon ED
Tawnacrom	An Tamhnach Chrom	~	Castlefinn ED
Cavanaweery	~	Cusheen	Urney West ED
Coolyslin	Cúil na Slinne	Cusheen	Urney West ED
Dresnagh	Drisneach	Cusheen	Urney West ED
Cormakilly	Chormaic Cille	Doneyloop	Urney West ED
Dunnaloob	Dún na Lúb	Doneyloop	Urney West ED
Roganspark	Páirc Uí Rógáin	Cusheen & Doneyloop	Urney West ED
Magherycallaghan	Machaire Callaghan	Doneyloop	Urney West ED
Ballybun	Baile Buna	~	Cloghard ED
Dungorman	Dún Gormáin	~	Cloghard ED
Drummurphy	Droim Muirí	~	Cloghard ED
Lisnamulligan	Lios na Muileoige	~	Cloghard ED
Gortnamuck	Gort na Muc	~	Cloghard ED
Hill Head (Grahamsland)	Ceann Chnoic	~	Castlefinn ED
::

Politics

Castlefin is in the Donegal constituency for Dáil elections. The town is in the Lifford–Stranorlar Municipal District of Donegal County Council. The six councillors for the district include Gary Doherty of Castlefin.

Notable people

• Seán Reid, Musician
• Ruby Druce (1915-2025) - oldest person in Ireland

References

References

1. "Census Interactive Map – Towns: Castlefinn". [[Central Statistics Office (Ireland).
2. "Caisleán na Finne/Castlefin".
3. "Property price trends in Ireland.".
4. (2021-06-15). "07 - The Diamond, Town Centre - Castlefinn, Co. Donegal. History {{!}} Heritage Walking Trail {{!}} Visitor Information".
5. (2021-01-12). "Locations".
6. "School {{!}} St. Mary's National School Castlefinn {{!}} Lifford".
7. "CPI Community Childcare – Donegal Childcare".
8. (2021-10-07). "Points of Interest - Castlefinn, Co. Donegal. History {{!}} Heritage Walking Trail {{!}} Visitor Information".
9. (2021-10-07). "CPI Centre - Castlefinn, Co. Donegal. History {{!}} Heritage Walking Trail {{!}} Visitor Information".
10. "Home".
11. "St. Mary's National School Castlefin".
12. "Sn Naomh Samhthann". [[Department of Education and Youth.
13. "Castlefinn station". Railscot - Irish Railways.
14. "Castlefinn Townland, Co. Donegal".
15. "Grahamsland Townland, Co. Donegal".
16. "Tawnacrom Townland, Co. Donegal".
17. "Cavanaweery Townland, Co. Donegal".
18. "Coolyslin Townland, Co. Donegal".
19. "Dresnagh Townland, Co. Donegal".
20. "Cormakilly Townland, Co. Donegal".
21. "Dunnaloob Townland, Co. Donegal".
22. "Roganspark Townland, Co. Donegal".
23. "Magherycallaghan Townland, Co. Donegal".
24. "Ballybun Townland, Co. Donegal".
25. "Dungorman Townland, Co. Donegal".
26. "Drummurphy Townland, Co. Donegal".
27. "Lisnamulligan Townland, Co. Donegal".
28. "Gortnamuck Townland, Co. Donegal".
29. "Hillhead".
30. "Lifford-Stranorlar". [[Donegal County Council]].
31. (24 March 2025). "Ireland’s oldest citizen Ruby Druce laid to rest in her beloved Castlefinn". Donegal News.
32. (21 March 2025). "Ruby Druce, Ireland’s Oldest Person, Dies at 109". longeviquest.com.

::callout[type=info title="Wikipedia Source"] This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page. ::