Editing County Donegal (section)

===Baronies and townlands===
{{See also|List of baronies of Ireland|List of townlands of County Donegal}}
There are eight historic [[Barony (Ireland)|baronies]] in the county.<ref>[https://www.logainm.ie/en/s?txt=in:100002&cat=BAR Placenames Database of Ireland] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210121202131/https://www.logainm.ie/en/s?txt=in:100002&cat=BAR |date=21 January 2021 }} – Baronies.</ref> While baronies continue to be officially defined units, they ceased to have any administrative function following the [[Local Government (Ireland) Act 1898|Local Government Act 1898]], and any changes to county boundaries after the mid-19th century are not reflected in their extent. The last boundary change of a barony in Donegal was in 1851 when the barony of Inishowen was divided into Inishowen East and Inishowen West. The barony of Kilmacrennan covers a large portion of northwest Donegal and is the largest in the county. With an area of {{cvt|312,410|acre|km2|0}}, Kilmacrennan is also the largest barony in Ireland, being roughly equal in size to [[County Monaghan]]. The smallest barony is Inishowen West, at {{cvt|77,149|acres|km2}}.
{|class="wikitable sortable collapsible nowrap" style="font-size: 100%;"
|+ Historic baronies of County Donegal
|-
! Barony !! Irish name !! Area<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.townlands.ie/donegal/ |title=Townlands in Co. Donegal |work=townlands.ie |access-date=23 July 2021 |archive-date=6 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210906181631/https://www.townlands.ie/donegal/ |url-status=live}}</ref><br /><small>(acres)</small>
|-
| [[Banagh]] || ''Báinigh'' || 179,090
|-
| [[Boylagh]] || ''Baollaigh'' || 157,429
|-
| [[Inishowen East]] || ''Inis Eoghain Thoir'' || 124,325
|-
| [[Inishowen West]] || ''Inis Eoghain Thiar'' || {{0}}77,149
|-
| [[Kilmacrenan (barony)|Kilmacrennan]] || ''Cill Mhic Réanáin'' || 312,410
|-
| [[Raphoe North]] || ''Ráth Bhoth Thuaidh'' || {{0}}80,388
|-
| [[Raphoe South]] || ''Ráth Bhoth Theas'' || 141,308
|-
| [[Tirhugh]] || ''Tír Aodha'' || 128,602
|}

Townlands are the smallest officially defined geographical divisions in Ireland. There are 2,787 townlands in Donegal and an additional 47 historic town boundaries. These town boundaries are registered as their own townlands and are much larger than rural townlands. The smallest rural townlands in Donegal are just 1 acre in size, most of which are either lough islands or offshore islets (Corragh Island, Bishop's Island, Juniper Island, O'Donnell's Island, etc.). The largest rural townland in Donegal is 6,053 acres (Tawnawully Mountains). The average size of a townland in the county (excluding towns) is 438 acres.