Letter

81 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Letter, from 28 m² to 231,522 m² (23.15 ha, 57.21 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary; 22 neighbouring parcels touch it.

Download the townland: DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its boundary, parcels and buildings; GeoJSON or KML.

No zone of a development plan covers Letter in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply to each application.

Source: Tailte Éireann and the Department of Housing (MyPlan), national zoning, CC BY 4.0.

• 31 Jul 2026N/a

  (1) THE RE-LOCATION, WITHIN THE SITE, OF A STORAGE SHED PREVIOUSLY PERMITTED UNDER PLANNING REF. NO. 26/60517, (2) TEMPORARY STORAGE OF ALUM SLUDGE CAKE, WHICH IS A NON-HAZARDOUS BY-PRODUCT OF THE POTABLE WATER TREATMENT PROCESS, WITHIN PART OF THE PROPOSED RE-LOCATED SHED; (3) CHANGE OF USE OF THE EXISTING YARD, PREVIOUSLY PERMITTED UNDER PLANNING REF. NO. 24/61613, TO FACILITATE THE ADDITIONAL USE OF HAVING PART OF THIS SAME YARD USED FOR THE TEMPORARY PARKING AND STORAGE OF SEALED TANKER VEHICLES CONTAINING NON-HAZARDOUS WASTEWATER TREATMENT SLUDGES AND (4) ALL ASSOCIATED AND ANCILLARY SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS

  Permission · Donegal County Council, 2661447

• 29 Apr 2026Conditional

  CHANGE OF HOUSE DESIGN INCLUDING ALL OTHER ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS PREVIOUSLY PERMITTED UNDER PLANNING REF. NO. 25/61299

  Permission, 1 home · Donegal County Council, 2660753

• 12 Nov 2025Conditional

  ERECTION OF AN AGRICULTURAL STORAGE SHED WITH ALL ASSOCIATED SITEWORKS

  Permission · Donegal County Council, 2561972

• 30 Jul 2025Conditional

  ERECTION OF A DWELLING HOUSE WITH WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM INCLUDING ALL OTHER ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS

  Permission, 1 home · Donegal County Council, 2561299

• 12 Mar 2025N/a

  IMPORTATION OF SUITABLE FILL MATERIAL, TO A MAXIMUM HEIGHT OF TWO METRES, ONTO LAND FOR THE PURPOSES OF AGRICULTURAL USE

  Permission · Donegal County Council, 2560346

• 11 Oct 2024Conditional

  EXISTING GRAVEL YARD, LORRY TRAILER PARKING, COMMERCIAL STORAGE AREA ON THE AFOREMENTIONED EXISTING GRAVEL YARD AND ALL ANCILLARY SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS

  Retention · Donegal County Council, 2461613

• 19 Aug 2024Conditional

  ERECTION OF A DOMESTIC SHED TO THE REAR OF EXISTING DWELLING HOUSE WITH ALL OTHER ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS

  Permission · Donegal County Council, 2461263

• 26 May 2023Conditional

  ERECTION OF DWELLING, DOMESTIC GARAGE AND WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEM WITH ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS

  Permission, 1 home · Donegal County Council, 2350740

• 19 Apr 2023N/a

  NEW EXPANDED GRAVEL YARD, LOCATED TO THE REAR OF THE EXISTING SITE TO ACCOMMODATE LORRY AND TRAILER PARKING ALONG WITH TURNING AREA FOR SAME. THE NEW EXPANDED GRAVEL YARD SHALL ACCOMMODATE ALL OF THE PROPOSED WORKS AND TOGETHER WITH THE EXISTING YARD TO THE FRONT OF THE SITE, SHALL FORM THE OVERALL WASTE PROCESSING AND TRANSFER FACILITY AND PERMISSION FOR (1) CONSTRUCTION OF PROPOSED 6 BAY PORTAL FRAME SHED, TO STORE SLUDGE, (2) PROVISION FOR 2 NO. OVERGROUND WASTEWATER STORAGE TANKS WITH EACH TANK HAVING AN APPROXIMATE VOLUME OF 30 CUBIC METERS, (3) CONSTRUCTION OF PROPOSED WEIGHBRIDGE, (4) PROPOSED CONCRETE YARD AREA, (5) STORM DRAINAGE INFRASTRUCTURE INCLUDING OIL INTERCEPTOR TRAP AND RAINWATER HARVESTING TANK, (6) SITE SECURITY BOUNDARY FENCING PLUS INTERNAL FENCE AND SLIDING GATE AND (7) ALL ANCILLARY SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS

  Retention · Donegal County Council, 2350528

• 12 Apr 2023Conditional

  (1) EXISTING TEMPORARY MOBILE HOME WITH ATTACHED DOMESTIC SHED, (2) EXISTING SEPTIC TANK WHICH WILL BE USED FOR THE PROPOSED NEW HOUSE AND INSTALLATION OF A PERCOLATION AREA AND (3) ALL EXISTING GROUND WORKS INCLUDING THE HARDSTAND AND VEHICULAR ENTRANCE AND PERMISSION FOR ERECTION OF A NEW DWELLING HOUSE WITH ALL OTHER ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS

  Retention, 2 homes · Donegal County Council, 2350490

• 3 Jun 2022N/a

  GRAVEL YARD TO REAR SITE AND PERMISSION FOR (1) CONSTRUCTION OF (A) A PROPOSED 6 BAY PORTAL FRAME SHED AND ASSOCIATED CONCRETE APRON TO FACILITATE THE SERVICES OF EXISTING ENVIRONMENTAL AND WASTE SERVICES BUSINESS (B) CONCRETE UNDERGROUND STORAGE TANK (C) A WEIGHBRIDGE (2) ALL ANCILLARY SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS

  Retention · Donegal County Council, 2250963

• 7 Apr 2021Conditional

  ERECTION OF A DWELLING HOUSE WITH SEPTIC TANK & DOMESTIC GARAGE WITH ALL ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS

  Permission, 1 home · Donegal County Council, 2150603

• 24 Mar 2021Conditional

  ALTERATIONS & CONSTRUCTION OF AN EXTENSION TO EXISTING DWELLING HOUSE

  Permission · Donegal County Council, 2150520

• 11 Dec 2020Conditional

  ERECTION OF AN AGRICULTURL MACHINERY STORE WITH ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS

  Permission · Donegal County Council, 2051953

• 16 Oct 2020Refused

  ERECTION OF A DWELLING HOUSE WITH SEPTIC TANK & DOMESTIC GARAGE WITH ALL ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS

  Permission, 1 home · Donegal County Council, 2051530

• 16 Oct 2020Refused

  ERECTION OF A DWELLING HOUSE WITH SEPTIC TANK & DOMESTIC GARAGE WITH ALL ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS

  Permission, 1 home · Donegal County Council, 2051529

• 9 Jul 2020Refused

  ERECTION OF AN AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY STORE INCLUDING ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS

  Permission · Donegal County Council, 2050911

• 12 Mar 2020Conditional

  CONSTRUCTION OF A DOMESTIC GARAGE WITH ALL ANCILLARY SITE WORKS AND SERVICES

  Permission · Donegal County Council, 2050317

• 2 Apr 2019Conditional

  ERECTION OF A GARAGE FOR VEHICLE STORAGE FOR OWN USE AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS

  Permission · Donegal County Council, 1950436

• 19 Mar 2019N/a

  ERECTION OF A GARAGE FOR VEHICLE STORAGE FOR OWN USE AND ALL ASSOCIATED SITE WORKS

  Permission · Donegal County Council, 1950355

• 19 Feb 2019N/a

  ERECTION OF A GARAGE FOR VEHICLE STORAGE

  Permission · Donegal County Council, 1950201

• 7 Dec 2017Conditional

  ERECTION OF TWO NO. DWELLING HOUSES WITH DOMESTIC GARAGES AND INDIVIDUAL WASTEWATER TREATMENT SYSTEMS AND ALL OTHER ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS

  Permission, 2 homes · Donegal County Council, 1751848

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

No designated site (Special Area of Conservation, Special Protection Area, Natural Heritage Area or proposed one) touches the townland of Letter.

Recorded monuments

• DG045-012 Ringfort - rath
  Description

  There is now no trace of the 'Fort' marked on the OS 6-inch maps. The local topography would suggest an earthen ringfort. It was situated on a low rise in a gently undulating landscape of good land and good views. The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated. Date of upload: 22 September 2008

• DG045-018 Megalithic tomb - court tomb
  Description

  This monument stands in pasture on a broad, relatively flat-topped ridge 2.3km E of the village of Kilmacrenan. The site commands an all-round outlook, with Lough Swilly visible c. 14km to the E and Lough Fern 2.8km to the N. The monument consists of a long kerbed mound, more or less trapezoidal in outline, which is aligned approximately NE-SW. It is described here as if aligned E-W. At its broader E end is a large U-shaped court leading to a gallery. Midway along the S side of the cairn is a subsidiary chamber opening onto the edge of the mound. At the W end of the mound are two opposed lengths of gallery, 1.6m apart, on the long axis of the monument. The W end of the eastern one is linked to the S side of the mound by two stones. The original form of the arrangement here is uncertain, but the two stones may represent one side of a shared lateral entry to what may be two opposed subsidiary chambers. This seems the best interpretation of the surviving remains, but other possibilities cannot be ruled out. There may, for instance, have been a transeptal arrangement here (de Valera 1965, 16), or the two opposed lengths of gallery may be the remains of a single long gallery and the whole monument may be a dual-court tomb. The grass-grown mound is well defined except at its western end. It is 40m long and 16m broad at the eastern end, narrowing to 10m at mid-length. It reaches a maximum height of c. 1m. Many kerbstones are exposed along its N and S sides. Two stretches of contiguously placed kerbstones survive on the N side. They range from c. 0.15m to 1m in exposed height. A single kerbstone, 0.7m high, survives at the broad, E end of the mound. It stands around midway between the outer end of the S arm of the court and the SE corner of the mound. At the S side of the mound there seems to be a slight inturn of the kerb in front of the subsidiary chamber. The U-shaped court is 9.5m long and 7m wide. Large transversely set entrance jambs, 0.6m apart, mark the inner ends of both of its arms. The northern jamb is 1.1m high, and the southern one is 1.15m high. Beyond this are eight stones on the S arm of the court. The stone beside the entrance jamb is 0.2m high. This may be the butt of a larger stone and is overlain by a slab, possibly a slipped corbel, that measures 2m by 1m by 0.8m thick. The heights of the succeeding courtstones are 1.05m, 0.1m, 0.15m, 0.1m, 0.15m, 0.7m and 0.85m. Beside the northern entrance jamb is a fallen stone, 0.85m by 0.5m by 0.2m thick, and resting on its western edge is a large displaced slab, 1.95m by 0.8m by 0.7m. Beyond this a gapped line of eight stones forms the N arm of the court. The outermost two are parallel to each other and so double the line of the court at that point. The courtstone nearest the entrance jamb is 1.2m high. The heights of the next five are 0.5m, 0.7m, 0.1m, 0.25m (though slightly loose, this seems to be in situ) and 1.1m. The northern one of the two alongside at the outer end of the court is 0.15m high, and the southern, partly hidden, is 0.1m high. In front of the entrance jambs is what appears to be a fallen lintel shown in heavy outline on the plan. This measures 2m by a maximum of 1.3m and is 0.7m thick. It partly overlies one of seven other displaced slabs in the court. These range from 0.7m to 1.4m in maximum horizontal dimension and are up to 0.6m thick. The gallery, c. 5m long, lacks any trace of segmentation or a backstone. It is 2.75m wide just inside the entrance jambs and narrows to 1.9m near its inner end. Three orthostats survive on each side. Beyond the innermost one on the N side is a grass-grown depression c. 1.1m long, 0.4m wide and 0.3m deep, which may be the socket of another orthostat. This feature is not shown on plan. There are three corbels in place above the outer half of the S side of the gallery and one around midway along the N side. The heights of the three orthostats on the S side from E to W are 0.8m, 0.4m and 0.5m. The easternmost of the three orthostats on the N side of the gallery is partly concealed. It is 0.3m high. The next two are 0.8m and 0.6m high. The three corbels on the S side of the gallery are next to each other. Two rest on the outermost orthostat. The easternmost of the three, its outer end partly under the displaced corbel overlying the low courtstone beside the entrance jamb, measures 1.45m by 0.4m and is 0.5m thick. The second measures 1.75m by a maximum of 0.9m by 0.3m thick. The third corbel on this side rests on the outer end of the second orthostat and partly underlies the last corbel. It measures 1.3m by 1.1m and is 0.3m thick. There are a number of indentations on the surface of this stone, which measure, on average, 50mm across and 15mm deep. These may be the 'cups' noted by Kinahan (1883-4; 1889) on what he described as a displaced roofstone resting against an upright. These cannot be accepted with any certainty as artificial. The single corbel on the N side of the gallery rests on the middle orthostat there and measures 1.2m by 0.9m by 0.5m thick. The lateral chamber is represented by four sidestones, two to the W and two to the E. This chamber, which lacks a backstone, is 0.9m wide and at least 2m long. The northern sidestone at the E is 0.3m high, and the southern is 0.2m high. The northern of the two at the W side, its outer face partly buried, is 0.6m high. The southern here is 0.4m high. The two chambers at the W end of the monument are 1.5m apart. The eastern one was at least 3m long and is 1.5m wide. It is represented by a pair of jambs at the W, three orthostats at the S and one at the N. Additionally, there is an upright stone 0.3m N of the northern jamb. The two jambs are 0.5m apart. The northern one is lm high, and the southern is 0.85m high. All three of the orthostats on the S side of this chamber have flat inner and sloping outer faces. Their heights from W to E are 0.6m, 0.8m and 0.6m. Opposite the last is the single stone, other than the jamb, on the N side. This is 0.9m high. The upright stone beyond the northern jamb is parallel to the long axis of the chamber. It now leans northward and would stand 0.8m high if upright. Although this is clearly a structural stone, its role is not apparent. Within this chamber and just E of the southern jamb is a displaced stone, now partly embedded in the ground. It is 0.65m in maximum dimension. The western chamber is 1.7m wide and was at least 2m long. It is represented by a pair of jambs at the E, three orthostats at the S and one at the N. The jambs of this chamber are 0.4m apart. The northern one is 0.65m high, and the southern is 0.8m high. The orthostat on the N side of this chamber, its inner face obscured, is 0.5m high. The heights of the three orthostats on the S side of the chamber from E to W are 0.6m, 0.4m and 0.25m. The southern one of the two large stones linking the W end of the eastern one of the two opposed chambers to the side of the cairn is lm high, and the northern is 0.85m high. Between the last and the front of the chamber is a low set stone, 0.4m high. There are a number of displaced stones at the western end of the monument, the larger of which are shown on the plan. The largest, at the southern edge of this end of the cairn, measures 2.3m by 1.6m by 0.9m, and the others range from 0.7m to 1.3m in maximum dimension. Kinahan (1883-4) has claimed that an old man he met on his visit had seen roofstones in place at this site but they were subsequently robbed for building work. If this is so, it must have taken place before c. 1845, as OS documents indicate that the monument was in much the same condition then as now (Fagan 1845-8; OS Revision Name Book, 1847-8). It is observed in the latter source that no 'covering stones' were then in place. OS Name Book, Kilmacrenan parish (1834-5), book 2, 56 (a plan and sketch of the monument referred to here have not been found); Fagan 1845-8, book 7, 23; OS Revision Name Book, sheet 45 (1847-8), 29; Kinahan 1883-4, 434; Kinahan 1

Architectural heritage

• Letter Presbyterian Church, church/chapel, 1845–1850 · Regional interest
  Description

  Freestanding gable-fronted Presbyterian church, dated 1846, having three-bay long elevations. Pitched artificial slate roof on projecting eaves course with cast-iron downpipes and replacement gutters. Flat rendered coping to northwest gable, having pedimented stucco finial on pair of colonettes to apex with conical pinnacles on flat rendered copings to corner. Smooth-rendered walls to three-bay gable-front, having diagonal buttresses with raised parallel quoins, plinth course with raised sill and stone steps; roughcast rendered walls elsewhere. Pointed-arch window openings, those flanking entrance having decorative channelled render surrounds and painted sills on brackets; that to opposite gable having narrow flanking lights; windows to other elevations having plain surrounds; all with replacement frames. Tudor-arch doorway with chamfered surround having polygonal rendered columns flanking, channelled hood-moulding, timber double-leaf door and plaque above inscribed "Leiter [sic] Church/A.D. 1846" with moulded surround. Ocular panel to upper gable with render band and channelled hood-moulding. Interior has timber boarded ceiling, and timber balustrade to gallery on cast-iron columns. Set within graveyard, with rendered boundary wall to road.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. 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).

Radon

About 1 in 10 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

Susceptibility moderately high, moderately low, low, low (inferred), on the 1:50,000 map.

Terrain model

No LiDAR survey of the Office of Public Works covers the centre of the townland of Letter.

Flooding

The flood maps of the Office of Public Works: floodinfo.ie.

Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency; Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland; both CC BY 4.0. 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.

No address of the register names Letter with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Donegal.

Name

Letter

Area

1,829,646 m² (182.96 ha, 452.12 acres)

Civil parish

Kilmacrenan, and its townlands

Barony

Kilmacrenan

Electoral division

Kilmacrenan, the unit of the census

Census 2022

Kilmacrenan electoral division: 1,525 people in 538 households; 64% of households own their home; 47% of homes were built since 2001; 11% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 3% were holiday homes.

Neighbouring townlands

Ballykeeran, Drumabodan, Gortnavern

Placenames

Letter on logainm.ie, the Placenames Database of Ireland

Townlands, civil parishes, baronies and electoral divisions, National Statutory Boundaries, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. Census 2022, Small Area Population Statistics by electoral division, Central Statistics Office, CC BY 4.0. 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.