placenamesDunaff
Dún Damh
Dunaff's nineteenth-century history can be followed through estate correspondence and land valuations. These records identify both conflict over rents and tithes and the presence of a local national school.
The name
These Irish name elements are associated with this record in the Logainm glossary.
An element’s translation is a clue, rather than a complete explanation of the name. Its form and meaning depend on local history and the full Irish name.
Recorded forms
- Dún Damh · Irish · main form · validated name
- Dunaff · English · main form
Place & story
The Charleton estate
Historian Godfrey F. Duffy's study of the Clonmany tithe disturbances traces the acquisition of Dunaff and Leenan by George Charleton in 1769. The estate later passed through his family. In correspondence from 1838, Emily Merrick described succeeding to her brother's property jointly with her sister in 1825 and subsequently undertaking its management. She recalled visiting Inishowen in 1826 to inspect, survey and value the property after earlier leases had expired. [2]
Emily Merrick’s visit in 1838
Merrick returned to Clonmany in 1838 to recover rent and tithe arrears, staying at Glen House with her agent Michael Doherty. Duffy researched her letters in the National Archives, including correspondence addressed to the Lord Lieutenant, Chief Secretary and Under Secretary. They record disputes with tenants and dissatisfaction with the local magistrate, Captain Roberts. In a letter of 8 November 1838 she announced that she was about to leave Clonmany for a time. [2]
A school in the valuation records
Terry Callaghan's research into Griffith's Valuation identifies William Doherty as the occupier and teacher of the national schoolhouse at Dunaff. His extract derives from the printed Clonmany parish valuation obtained at the Public Record Office of Northern Ireland. Callaghan counts 101 occupiers in Dunaff's townland entries, illustrating a settled farming community around the school. That count concerns valuation occupiers, rather than a census population or a total of pupils. [3]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Dunaff. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- The Tithe Disturbances in Clonmany, Donegal Annual57, pp72onwards · Godfrey F. Duffy, County Donegal Historical Society
- Griffith’s Valuation: Clonmany parish research and notes · Terry Callaghan
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-01-10. How this page was prepared.