N56 road | |
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Bóthar N56 | |
Route information | |
Length | 157.304 km (97.744 mi) |
Location | |
Country | Ireland |
Primary destinations |
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Highway system | |
The N56 road is a national secondary road in the Republic of Ireland that runs from Donegal Town clockwise to Letterkenny. As originally designated, it included the section of the N13 between Stranorlar and Letterkenny, forming a circular route including parts of the N15.
The route runs through the Gaeltacht in north-western County Donegal, forming a main coastal route in Ulster.
The road bypasses Donegal Town and Mountcharles at the southern end of the route, and skirts the edge of Letterkenny at the eastern end. Significant upgrade work began construction between 2012 and 2019 to upgrade the bulk of the route between Donegal Town and Dungloe in two separate schemes; from Mountcharles to Inver [1] and from Glenties to Dungloe. [2] It is proposed to bypass Dunkineely in a future stage of work from Inver to Killybegs in the Donegal County Development Plan [3]
Letterkenny, nicknamed the Cathedral Town, is a large town in County Donegal, Ireland, on the River Swilly in the north-west of Ulster. Along with the nearby city of Derry, Letterkenny is a regional economic gateway for the north-west of Ireland.
National Development Plan is the title given by the Irish Government to a scheme of organised large-scale expenditure on (mainly) national infrastructure. The first five-year plan ran from 1988 to 1993, the second was a six-year plan from 1994 to 1999 and the third ran as a seven-year plan from 2000 to 2006. A fourth National Development Plan ran from 2007 to 2011. The main elements of the third plan were the development of a national motorway network between the major cities in Ireland. The upgrading of the rail network was a secondary scheme.
Donegal is a town in County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. Although Donegal gave its name to the county, now Lifford is the county town. From the 15th until the early 17th century, Donegal was the "capital" of Tyrconnell, a Gaelic kingdom controlled by the O'Donnell dynasty of the Northern Uí Néill.
Ailt an Chorráin or Ailt a' Chorráin is a Gaeltacht fishing village about 7 km (4 mi) northwest of Dungloe in The Rosses district of County Donegal, Ireland. The main employers in the village were the Burtonport Fishermen's Co-op and the Bord Iascaigh Mhara ice plant; but these have both since closed and their former premises were demolished in 2021 as part of a seafront environment upgrade scheme.
An Clochán Liath, known in English as Dungloe, is a town on the west coast of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. It is the main town in The Rosses and the largest in the Donegal Gaeltacht. Dungloe developed as a town in the middle of the 18th century, and now serves as the administrative and retail centre for the west of County Donegal, and in particular The Rosses, with the only mainland secondary school for the area.
The N3 road is a national primary road in the Republic of Ireland, running between Dublin, Cavan and the border with County Fermanagh. The A509 and A46 roads in Northern Ireland form part of an overall route connecting to Enniskillen, and northwest to the border again where the N3 reappears to serve Ballyshannon in County Donegal.
The N2 road is a national primary road in Ireland, running from Dublin to the border with Northern Ireland at Moy Bridge near Aughnacloy, County Tyrone to connect Dublin with Derry and Letterkenny via the A5. A section of the route near Dublin forms the M2 motorway.
The N5 road is a national primary road in Ireland, connecting Longford town with Westport. It is the main access route from Dublin to most of County Mayo, including the county's largest towns, Castlebar, Ballina, and Westport.
Newtown Cunningham, usually spelled Newtowncunningham or abbreviated to Newton, is a village and townland in the Laggan district in the east of County Donegal, Ireland, located on the N13 road 18 kilometres (11 mi) east of Letterkenny and 16 km (10 mi) west of Derry. At the 2016 census, the village population was 1,080.
The N13 road is a national primary road in Ireland, running in County Donegal in Ulster from Stranorlar to just outside Derry. This road connects Letterkenny to Sligo, Derry and onwards to other destinations.
The N14 road is a national primary road in the Republic of Ireland. The entirety of the route is located in the northwest of Ireland, in County Donegal, connecting Manorcunningham to Lifford in the east. Here it connects to the N15 near the border with Northern Ireland and along the A38 to Strabane in County Tyrone.
The N15 road is a national primary road in the north-west of Ireland. It runs from Sligo to Lifford, County Donegal. It forms part of the proposed Atlantic Corridor route. It also goes to the border with Northern Ireland.
A national secondary road is a category of road in Ireland. These roads form an important part of the national route network but are secondary to the main arterial routes which are classified as national primary roads. National secondary roads are designated with route numbers higher than those used for primary roads, but with the same "N" prefix. Routes N51 and higher are all national secondary roads.
Mountcharles is a village and townland in the south of County Donegal, Ireland. It lies 6 km from Donegal Town on the Killybegs road (N56). It is situated in the civil parish of Inver and the historic barony of Banagh. The village's name is usually pronounced locally as 'Mount-char-liss'.
The Londonderry and Lough Swilly Railway Company was an Irish public transport and freight company that operated in parts of County Londonderry and County Donegal between 1853 and 2014. Incorporated in June 1853, it once operated 99 miles of railways. It began the transition to bus and road freight services in 1929. It closed its last railway line in July 1953 but continued to operate bus services under the name Lough Swilly Bus Company until April 2014, becoming the oldest railway company established in the Victorian era to continue trading as a commercial concern into the 21st century. Following a High Court petition by HM Revenue and Customs, the company went into liquidation and operated its final bus services on 19 April 2014.
Loch an Iúir, anglicised as Loughanure, is a village and townland in The Rosses, a district in the west of County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland. The village is in the Gaeltacht, being halfway between Gweedore and Dungloe, with the N56 road passing through the village. According to the 2016 census, 37% of the population spoke Irish on a daily basis outside the education system. The village of Loughanure lies within the Barony of Boylagh.
Inver is a small village in County Donegal, Ireland.
The M6 motorway is a motorway in Ireland, which runs from Dublin to Galway. The M6 extends from its junction with the M4 at Kinnegad all the way west to the outskirts of Galway City, but the Athlone bypass and the approach to Galway city - while of dual carriageway standard - have not been designated motorway and are still signed as N6. The motorway was officially completed and opened to traffic on 18 December 2009, and was the first city-to-city direct major inter-urban route to be completed in Ireland. The M6 and M4, which form the Galway-Dublin route, consist of a grade-separated 2+2 dual carriageway road with a top speed limit of 120 km/h. At approximately 144 km (90 mi), the M6 is the third longest motorway in the state and will be 159 km.
The R251 road is a regional road in Ireland. It is located entirely in County Donegal and runs in a northerly then westerly direction from its junction with the R250 road west of Letterkenny to the N56 east of Gweedore. The route is very scenic: it passes Glenveagh, skirts around the base of Errigal and offers excellent views of the Derryveagh Mountains.
The R259 road is a regional road in Ireland, located in County Donegal. It is a scenic route around the coast of The Rosses, which connects with N56 at both ends.