placenamesBreenagh
Na Bruíonacha
Breenagh was the farming home of ballad writer Michael McGinley and the birthplace of his daughter Nora, whose later life combined political activism and performance.
The name
A reliable full-name meaning has not been established here. The recorded Irish and English forms are given without an unsupported translation.
Recorded forms
- Na Bruíonacha · Irish · main form · validated name
- Breenagh · English · main form
Place & story
The McGinleys’ farm at Breenagh
Michael McGinley and Bridget McDevitt farmed a smallholding at Breenagh after their marriage in 1901. Their daughter Nora was born there on 15 September 1910. The family later leased a public house in Strabane before settling in Ballybofey. Her birthplace is documented in the Dictionary of Irish Biography. [2]
Michael McGinley and the song Glenswilly
Michael McGinley wrote the ballad Glenswilly while sailing to New Zealand in 1878, returning to Ireland two years later. His subsequent farming life at Breenagh connects the place with a writer whose songs expressed emigration and republican politics. He also wrote The Woods of Drumboe following the execution of four anti-treaty republicans in 1923, preserving another strand of Donegal's political memory in song. [2]
Nora Harkin’s later public life
Nora moved to Dublin in 1932 and became involved in republican socialist circles. Alongside political work, she helped found the New Theatre Group in 1937 and performed on stage and radio. She later participated in the Irish Anti-Apartheid Movement and assisted prisoners' families in South Africa. Her documented birthplace gives Breenagh a precise connection with this long career, while those later activities belonged chiefly to her life beyond Donegal. [2]
Geographic information
Sources & further reading
- Logainm.ie — Breenagh. Place names and geographic record, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
- Harkin,Nora,a9992,June2018 · Turlough O’Riordan,Dictionary of Irish Biography
Name record retrieved 2026-10-25 · Source record modified 2025-05-01. How this page was prepared.