A word about the parishes in DONEGAL GENERATIONS: Each diocese in Ireland is divided into parishes defined by the churches or chapels located within their borders. (Eventually parishes became civil land divisions within a county). The main characters in my book live in Donaghmore Parish of the Diocese of Derry. Donaghmore was supposedly a monastic settlement founded by St. Patrick himself, and the name means “big church.” Donaghmore is sometimes called Killygordon Parish for the largest town of the parish. The parish Catholic chapel is not in Killygordon; it is in a townland close to the small village of Crossroads. Crossroads was called “the Cross” in the old days, and I use that term for the village and chapel in my book. Therefore, Donaghmore, Killygordon, and Crossroads (the Cross) refer to the same parish.
There is a parish of Derry Diocese next to Donaghmore, but located in County Tyrone, called Termonamongan. The name means Termon of O’Mongan. Termons were portions of diocese-owned land in each county. This termon was managed by the O’Mongan family. The O’Mongan family provided many of the clerics for the chapel located in the parish. Because the chapel of Termonamongan is located in Aghyaran Townland, the parish is usually refered to as Aghyaran Parish.
At the time of the events happening in my book, the town of Castlefin in County Donegal was located in Donaghmore Parish. Later, the Catholic Diocese of Derry paired up Castlefin with the parish for the town of Castlederg of County Tyrone. This parish, which cover townlands in both counties, is known as Urney Parish.
Looking forward to reading the book!!!