John Colgan was born near Carndonagh and he became a noted hagiographer and historian. He entered the Franciscan Order in Louvain in Belgium in 1620. He became head of the Louvain School Of History. He wrote the Acta Sanctorum Hiberniae and Triadis Thaumaturgae. He died in 1658.
Lieutenant Colonel John Pitt Kennedy (1796-1879) was born in Carndonagh and joined the Royal Engineers in 1815 and was sent to Malta,Corfu and India where he superintended the building of roads, canals, quays and even lighthouses. He was also involved in education and famine relief and his labours were unceasing on behalf of his native land. A road linking India and Tibet was named after him.
The Cowboy from Carn – Captain Jack Crawford was born in Carn in March 1847. He became Chief Scout of the United States army and reported on Custer’s last stand. He was also an entertainer in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.
Mary Robinson was Ireland’s first female President (1990-1997) and she has strong links with Carndonagh. Her mother was an O’Donnell from Bridge Street. She went on to become UN High Commissioner for Hu¬man Rights (1997-2002) as well as being honorary President of Oxfam.
Tommy Tiernan, born in Carndonagh in 1969, spent his early childhood here. The controversial comedian went on to set a Guinness World Record of 36 hours for standup comedy in 2009.
Keith Mc Erlean from Carndonagh graduated from the Gaiety School of Acting, Dublin. Since graduation he has worked extensively in Theatre, Television, and film both in Ireland and abroad.
Gary Doherty born in Carndonagh in 1980 began his senior football career with Luton Town before transferring to Tottenham for £1 million in 2000. Having represented Ireland regularly at youth level he picked up his first senior cap in April 2000 against Greece. He went on to represent his country 34 times scoring 4 goals.
