Editing County Donegal (section)

=== Effects of partition ===
[[File:Donegalcastle.jpg|thumb|left|[[Donegal Castle]], former seat of the [[O'Donnell dynasty]]]]
The [[partition of Ireland]] in the early 1920s severely affected County Donegal. [[Partition (politics)|Partition]] cut the county off, economically and administratively, from Derry, which had acted for centuries as the county's main port, transport hub and financial centre. Derry, together with west [[County Tyrone|Tyrone]], was henceforward in a new, different [[jurisdiction]] which remained within the [[United Kingdom]], officially called [[Northern Ireland]]. Partition also meant that County Donegal was now almost entirely cut off from the rest of the jurisdiction in which it now found itself, the new [[dominion]] called the [[Irish Free State]] (later called Ireland from 1937). The county is physically connected to the rest of the [[Republic of Ireland]] by an internal border of only a few kilometres. The existence of a border cutting County Donegal off from its natural hinterlands in Derry City and West Tyrone greatly exacerbated the economic difficulties of the county after partition. The county's economy is particularly susceptible, like that of Derry City, to the currency fluctuations of the [[euro]] against [[Pound sterling|sterling]].

Added to all this, in the late 20th century, County Donegal was adversely affected by [[The Troubles]] in Northern Ireland. The county suffered several bombings and assassinations. In June 1987, [[Constable]] Samuel McClean, a Donegal man who was a serving member of the [[Royal Ulster Constabulary]] (RUC), was shot dead by the [[Provisional Irish Republican Army]] (Provisional IRA) at his family home near [[Drumkeen]]. In May 1991, the prominent [[Sinn Féin]] politician [[Councillor]] [[Eddie Fullerton]] was assassinated by the Provisional IRA's opponent, the [[Ulster Defence Association]] (UDA), at his home in [[Buncrana]]. This added further to the economic and social difficulties of the county, although the greater economic and administrative integration with Northern Ireland, following the [[Good Friday Agreement]] of April 1998, has been of benefit to the county.

Donegal has been labelled the "forgotten county" by its own politicians, owing to the perception that it is ignored by the government, even in times of crisis.<ref>{{cite news |title=Donegal 'wiped off crisis HQ maps' |url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/donegal-wiped-off-crisis-hq-maps-26651587.html |work=[[Irish Independent]] |date=21 April 2010 |access-date=17 May 2021 |archive-date=17 May 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517211502/https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/donegal-wiped-off-crisis-hq-maps-26651587.html |url-status=live}}</ref>