# Alt Upper, Co. Donegal: townland, land parcels and planning Townland in the civil parish of Urney, barony of Raphoe South, Co. Donegal; in Irish An tAllt Uachtarach. - Area (Tailte Éireann): 2,498,055 m² (249.81 ha, 617.28 acres) - Land parcels (Tailte Éireann): 61 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in it, median 4,056 m² (0.41 ha, 1 acres) - Zoning (national zoning, MyPlan): not in a zoned settlement - Planning (National Planning Applications): 7 applications since 2010 - Civil parish: Urney, https://everytownland.com/donegal/parish/urney.md - Barony: Raphoe South - Electoral division: Urney West, the unit of the census - Census 2022 (Central Statistics Office): 640 people lived in 217 households in the Urney West electoral division. 86% of households owned their home. 39% of homes were built since 2001. 7% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 0% were holiday homes. - County: Co. Donegal, https://everytownland.com/donegal.md - Placenames Database of Ireland: https://www.logainm.ie/en/16583 - Townland number at Tailte Éireann: 50039 - Centre: latitude 54.755383, longitude -7.603336 (WGS 84) ## Land parcels (registered freehold land, Tailte Éireann) 61 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Alt Upper, from 562 m² to 257,600 m² (25.76 ha, 63.65 acres); 24 neighbouring parcels touch its boundary. Largest first: - Parcel 1400452: 257,600 m² (25.76 ha, 63.65 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1400452.md - Parcel 1399865: 174,557 m² (17.46 ha, 43.13 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1399865.md - Parcel 1344135: 143,919 m² (14.39 ha, 35.56 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1344135.md - Parcel 1340562: 127,246 m² (12.72 ha, 31.44 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1340562.md - Parcel 1366687: 122,993 m² (12.3 ha, 30.39 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1366687.md - Parcel 1393663: 75,822 m² (7.58 ha, 18.74 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1393663.md - Parcel 1347098: 72,958 m² (7.3 ha, 18.03 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1347098.md - Parcel 1301418: 64,270 m² (6.43 ha, 15.88 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1301418.md - Parcel 1324952: 58,967 m² (5.9 ha, 14.57 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1324952.md - Parcel 1412724: 54,822 m² (5.48 ha, 13.55 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1412724.md - Parcel 4998059: 52,137 m² (5.21 ha, 12.88 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/4998059.md - Parcel 1338637: 49,930 m² (4.99 ha, 12.34 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1338637.md - Parcel 1407118: 35,143 m² (3.51 ha, 8.68 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1407118.md - Parcel 1357834: 34,978 m² (3.5 ha, 8.64 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1357834.md - Parcel 5276379: 33,790 m² (3.38 ha, 8.35 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/5276379.md - Parcel 1336927: 32,557 m² (3.26 ha, 8.05 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1336927.md - Parcel 1327790: 31,496 m² (3.15 ha, 7.78 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1327790.md - Parcel 5959846: 31,375 m² (3.14 ha, 7.75 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/5959846.md - Parcel 1366920: 31,350 m² (3.14 ha, 7.75 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1366920.md - Parcel 1340072: 24,245 m² (2.42 ha, 5.99 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1340072.md - Parcel 1324371: 23,781 m² (2.38 ha, 5.88 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1324371.md - Parcel 1322644: 22,273 m² (2.23 ha, 5.5 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1322644.md - Parcel 1352913: 21,341 m² (2.13 ha, 5.27 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1352913.md - Parcel 1326959: 14,851 m² (1.49 ha, 3.67 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1326959.md - Parcel 1407678: 12,734 m² (1.27 ha, 3.15 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1407678.md - Parcel 1324345: 7,944 m² (0.79 ha, 1.96 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1324345.md - Parcel 1345509: 6,033 m² (0.6 ha, 1.49 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1345509.md - Parcel 4998126: 5,206 m² (0.52 ha, 1.29 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/4998126.md - Parcel 1311706: 4,361 m² (0.44 ha, 1.08 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1311706.md - Parcel 5011906: 4,129 m² (0.41 ha, 1.02 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/5011906.md - Parcel 4758037: 4,056 m² (0.41 ha, 1 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/4758037.md - Parcel 2736909: 3,228 m² (0.32 ha, 0.8 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/2736909.md - Parcel 2736853: 3,214 m² (0.32 ha, 0.79 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/2736853.md - Parcel 3659782: 3,203 m² (0.32 ha, 0.79 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/3659782.md - Parcel 3659781: 3,117 m² (0.31 ha, 0.77 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/3659781.md - Parcel 5951298: 3,009 m² (0.3 ha, 0.74 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/5951298.md - Parcel 4825493: 2,982 m² (0.3 ha, 0.74 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/4825493.md - Parcel 2736947: 2,679 m² (0.27 ha, 0.66 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/2736947.md - Parcel 1347470: 2,613 m² (0.26 ha, 0.65 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1347470.md - Parcel 5430933: 2,537 m² (0.25 ha, 0.63 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/5430933.md - Parcel 3659783: 2,537 m² (0.25 ha, 0.63 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/3659783.md - Parcel 5309586: 2,536 m² (0.25 ha, 0.63 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/5309586.md - Parcel 4747783: 2,477 m² (0.25 ha, 0.61 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/4747783.md - Parcel 4825502: 2,417 m² (0.24 ha, 0.6 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/4825502.md - Parcel 1345117: 2,369 m² (0.24 ha, 0.59 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1345117.md - Parcel 4825494: 2,365 m² (0.24 ha, 0.58 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/4825494.md - Parcel 4747573: 2,235 m² (0.22 ha, 0.55 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/4747573.md - Parcel 5863686: 2,220 m² (0.22 ha, 0.55 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/5863686.md - Parcel 4747652: 2,164 m² (0.22 ha, 0.53 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/4747652.md - Parcel 3659784: 2,128 m² (0.21 ha, 0.53 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/3659784.md - Parcel 1350849: 2,059 m² (0.21 ha, 0.51 acres), https://everytownland.com/parcel/1350849.md - Parcel 4747772: 1,979 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/4747772.md - Parcel 5420030: 1,819 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/5420030.md - Parcel 1300731: 1,807 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/1300731.md - Parcel 4950362: 1,613 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/4950362.md - Parcel 4744456: 1,367 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/4744456.md - Parcel 1319108: 1,259 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/1319108.md - Parcel 1320282: 1,248 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/1320282.md - Parcel 1341999: 1,076 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/1341999.md - Parcel 1318616: 961 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/1318616.md - Parcel 1334286: 562 m², https://everytownland.com/parcel/1334286.md ## Zoning (national zoning of development plans, MyPlan) No zone of a development plan covers Alt Upper in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply to each application. ## Planning applications whose site touches the townland (National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage) 7 applications, newest first. - 30 Jun 2021, Donegal County Council 2151311: Conditional. Permission. CONSTRUCTION OF AN AGRICULTURAL SLATTED SHED AND ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS. File: https://www.eplanning.ie/DonegalCC/AppFileRefDetails/2151311/0 - 27 Jan 2021, Donegal County Council 2150101: Conditional. Permission. CONSTRUCTION OF A SUNROOM TO EXISTING HOUSE AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS. File: https://www.eplanning.ie/DonegalCC/AppFileRefDetails/2150101/0 - 8 Jan 2021, Donegal County Council 2150012: N/a. Permission. CONSTRUCTION OF A SUNROOM TO THE RIGHT OF EXISTING HOUSE. File: https://www.eplanning.ie/DonegalCC/AppFileRefDetails/2150012/0 - 25 Sept 2020, Donegal County Council 2051375: Conditional. Permission, 1 home. CONSTRUCTION OF A DWELLING HOUSE, DETACHED DOMESTIC GARAGE, SEPTIC TANK/SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS. File: https://www.eplanning.ie/DonegalCC/AppFileRefDetails/2051375/0 - 18 Sept 2020, Donegal County Council 2051317: N/a. Permission, 1 home. CONSTRUCTION OF A DWELLING HOUSE, DETACHED DOMESTIC GARAGE, SEPTIC TANK/SEWAGE TREATMENT SYSTEM AND ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS. File: https://www.eplanning.ie/DonegalCC/AppFileRefDetails/2051317/0 - 7 Oct 2019, Donegal County Council 1951517: Conditional. Permission. CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXTENSION TO AN EXISTING AGRICULTURAL SHED AND ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS. File: https://www.eplanning.ie/DonegalCC/AppFileRefDetails/1951517/0 - 9 May 2018, Donegal County Council 1850739: Conditional. Permission, 1 home. ERECTION OF A DWELLING HOUSE WITH SEPTIC TANK AND PERCOLATION AREA. File: https://www.eplanning.ie/DonegalCC/AppFileRefDetails/1850739/0 Applicants are not shown. ## Designated sites (National Parks and Wildlife Service) No designated site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Natural Heritage Area or proposed one) touches the townland of Alt Upper. ## Recorded monuments (Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service) - DG088-001: Megalithic tomb - unclassified, https://heritagedata.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=0c9eb9575b544081b0d296436d8f60f8&query=18a4b61b268-layer-9%2CSMRS%2CDG088-001----. There is no trace of this feature, which was first shown on the original OS 6-inch map (1836), where it is named 'Giant's Grave'. It stood on a gentle fall of ground c. 4km S of the River Finn and close to the E side of a by- road c. 5km S of Castlefinn. It is described in the OS Memoirs (1836) as 'some remarkable stones having the appearance of antiquity and called the Giant's Grave. The stones are five in number, three standing and two fallen, the largest standing stone is 5 feet [c. 1.5m] high, and seems sunk about 1 foot [c. 0.3m] in the ground—the two fallen are each 6 feet [c. 1.8m] in length, about 4 feet [c. 1.2m] broad and 2 feet [c. 0.6m] thick.' Thomas Fagan (1845-8) described it as 'the ruins of a Giant's Grave which seem to have been 20 feet [c. 6.1m] long and 5 to 7 feet [c. 1.5m to 2.15m] wide'. It lay almost N-S, and only two stones were then in place, with two others lying prostrate. The two set stones stood opposite each other, one to the E and the other to the W. The former measured 5 feet (c. 1.5m) high, 51/2 feet (c. 1.7m) broad and 1-2 feet (c. 0.3-0.6m) thick. The western stone was 21/2 feet (c. 0.75m) high, 51/2 feet (c. 1.7m) long and 1 foot (c. 0.3m) thick. The prostrate stones were to the N of the two just described. One measured 61/2 feet (c. 2m) by 3 feet 9 inches (c. 1.15m) by up to 3 feet (c. 0.9m) thick. The other measured 7 feet (c. 2.15m) by 51/2 feet (c. 1.7m) by 2-3 feet (c. 0.6-0.9m) thick. According to an entry in an OS 1:2,500 Name Book, there were some stones at the site in 1904, but their number and status are not clear from the account. These had been removed by 1952. The stones referred to in the mid-19th-century accounts may have formed part of a megalithic tomb, with perhaps the two upright stones noted by Fagan serving as orthostats at either side of a chamber or gallery. However, without more information the nature of the site must remain uncertain. OS Memoirs, Urney Parish (1836), 71, 73; Fagan 1845-8, book 12, 16; OS 1:2, 500 Name Book, sheet 88 (1904), 3; Ó Nualláin 1983a, 46, no. 140; SMR 1987, 88:1; Ó Nualláin 1989, 142; RMP 1995, 88:1. The above description was published in the 'Survey of the Megalithic Tombs of Ireland. Volume VI, County Donegal.' Compiled by: Eamon Cody (Dublin: Stationery Office, 2002). Date of upload: 22 September 2008 Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12). ## Architectural heritage (National Inventory of Architectural Heritage) - Alt Presbyterian Church, church/chapel, 1830–1840, Regional interest, registry number 40907916, https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=DG®no=40907916. Freestanding gable-fronted four-bay double-height Presbyterian church\meeting house, built c. 1834, having pedimented entrance front to the east, central pedimented Doric entrance porch to the entrance gable (east), bellcote in the form of an aedicule over the entrance gable (east), and with two-bay single-storey vestry attached to the west end of the south elevation (c. 1900). Modern single-storey outbuilding and\or boiler room attached to the north-west corner. Two-bay elevation to south, four-bay to north. Pitched natural slate roof to main body of building having clay ridge tiles, moulded raised rendered verges\cornices to the gable ends with cut stone urn over gable apex to the west and classical aedicule bellcote to the gable apex to the east, and with replacement cast-iron rainwater goods. Moulded render stringcourse to entrance gable (east) forming pediment. Pitched leaded roof to pedimented porch. Hipped artificial slate roof to later vestry, mono-pitched corrugated-metal roof to outbuilding attached to the north-west. Smooth-rendered ruled-and-lined walls with Tuscan pilasters to the corners of the entrance front. Smooth rendered ruled-and-lined walls to vestry having raised render block-and-start quoins to the corners. Pointed-headed window openings to side elevations having replacement fittings. Three pointed-arched window openings to the west gable end, that to centre having leaded stained glass window. Square-headed window openings to vestry having replacement timber windows. Square-headed doorway to porch having replacement timber double-doors. Square-headed doorway to east face of vestry having replacement door. Stucco pedimented Doric entrance porch to the centre of the entrance gable having triglyph frieze and mutules. Cast-iron balustrade to pulpit, fixed timber pews, timber panelled boarded coved ceiling. Set back from road in own grounds to the south of Castlefinn close to the border with County Tyrone. Graveyard to south with collection of mainly upstanding memorials of nineteenth and twentieth-century date. Detached five-bay single-storey former national school or Sunday school (see 40907935) adjacent to the east. Rubble stone boundary walls to the east of site, rendered walls to other boundaries. Main gateway to the east of site comprising a pair of cast-iron gate posts (on square-plan) and with a pair of decorative cast-iron gates. Gateway flanked to either side (north and south) by sections of rendered boundary wall with decorative cast-iron railings over. Gateway to the north-east of site having a pair of decorative cast-iron gate posts (on circular-plan) having a wrought-iron flat bar gate. - Kiln, 1840–1900, Regional interest, registry number 40907933, https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=DG®no=40907933. Pair of freestanding single-bay lime kilns on square-plan, erected c. 1860 and c. 1880, and altered c. 1920. Now out of use. Constructed of rubble stone masonry. Segmental-headed opening to front elevation (south) of kiln to west, the former oven aperture, having three courses of red brick voussoirs to arch. Former loading chamber on ovoid/circular-plan to the north having rubble masonry construction; chamber now partially collapsed. Altered square-headed opening to kiln to the east having blockwork construction to oven aperture with concrete lintel over. Built into hillock adjacent to small rural road to the south of Castlefinn. Earthen embankment to rear, formerly giving access to loading chamber. Former quarry located a short distance to the north-west. - Alt National School, school, 1850–1870, Regional interest, registry number 40907935, https://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=DG®no=40907935. Detached five-bay single-storey former national school, built c. 1860. Now out of use, in use as an outbuilding associated with Alt Presbyterian church\meeting house (see 40907916) adjacent to the west. Pitched natural slate roof with grey clayware ridge tiles, and with smooth rendered brick chimneystacks to the gable ends (north and south). Cast-iron rooflight to the rear pitch (west). Roughcast rendered walls over rubble stone construction. Smooth cement rendered walls to the south gable end. Square-headed window openings with stone sills and six-over-six pane timber sliding sash windows. Square-headed doorway to the south end of the east elevation having replacement battened timber door. Road-fronted adjacent to Alt Presbyterian church\meeting house with later single-storey school adjacent to the east. ## Ground and risks (Radon Risk Map of Ireland, EPA; Landslide Susceptibility Classification and LiDAR, Geological Survey Ireland) - Radon: at the centre of the townland of Alt Upper, about 1 in 10 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home: https://www.epa.ie/environment-and-you/radon/radon-testing/#d.en.82887 - Landslides: The 1:50,000 map rates the landslide susceptibility here as moderately high, moderately low, low, partly inferred. - Terrain model: no LiDAR survey of the Office of Public Works covers the centre of the townland of Alt Upper. - Flooding: the flood maps of the Office of Public Works, https://www.floodinfo.ie/map/floodmaps/, linked only: their licence does not allow re-use. LiDAR: contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland & the Office of Public Works) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence. ## Downloads - DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its boundary, parcels and buildings, for a drawing program: https://everytownland.com/donegal/alt-upper.dxf - GeoJSON, in WGS 84, for a map: https://everytownland.com/donegal/alt-upper.geojson - KML, for Google Earth: https://everytownland.com/donegal/alt-upper.kml ## Homes sold (Residential Property Price Register) No address of the register names Alt Upper with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Donegal: https://everytownland.com/donegal.md ## Neighbouring townlands (National Statutory Boundaries, Tailte Éireann) - Alt Lower: https://everytownland.com/donegal/alt-lower.md - Calhame: https://everytownland.com/donegal/calhame-50418.md - Gortnagrace: https://everytownland.com/donegal/gortnagrace.md - Gortnamuck: https://everytownland.com/donegal/gortnamuck.md - Raws Lower: https://everytownland.com/donegal/raws-lower.md - Raws Upper: https://everytownland.com/donegal/raws-upper.md A townland is the smallest land division of Ireland, and the unit of a rural address; old registers such as the 1901 and 1911 censuses file it under its civil parish and barony. --- Everytownland reads the registered freehold land and the statutory boundaries of Tailte Éireann, the national zoning, planning file and heritage records of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, and the Residential Property Price Register. A parcel is the land of a title, not an address. The owner's name is in the Land Registry of Tailte Éireann: a copy of the folio can be ordered on landdirect.ie, for a fee; this site names no owner. A price is the price recorded for a past sale, not a valuation. Sources: Cadastral Parcels Freehold, Townlands, Civil Parishes, Baronies, Electoral Divisions and Buildings, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0; national zoning of development plans (GZT, MyPlan) and National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0, applicants not shown; designated sites, National Parks and Wildlife Service, CC BY 4.0; Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service, CC BY 4.0; National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, CC BY 4.0; Residential Property Price Register, Property Services Regulatory Authority, re-used with the source acknowledged. - Page: https://everytownland.com/donegal/alt-upper - In JSON: https://everytownland.com/api/townland/donegal/alt-upper