Croithlí or Croichshlí is a village in the Gaeltacht

Gaeltacht

is the Irish language word meaning an Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the Gaeltacht, or an Ghaeltacht, refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant language, that is, the vernacular spoken at home...

 parishes of Gweedore

Gweedore

Gweedore is an Irish-speaking district located on the Atlantic coast of County Donegal, part of the Province of Ulster in Ireland. Gweedore stretches some 16 miles from Meenaclady in the north to Crolly in the south and around 9 miles from Dunlewey in the east to Magheraclogher in the west, and...

 (Gaoth Dobhair) and the Rosses (Na Rosa). The two parishes are separated by the picturesque Crolly River. It has one convenience shop and one public house, Páidí Óg's.

Crolly Dolls

The village gained national and international fame due to the opening of the Crolly Factory in 1939 which started making the renowned Crolly Dolls. The early dolls were handmade with a soft-filled body, a strong head and arms and legs. Their clothes were made from local fabrics and knitted vestments. Soft toys for boys, like teddy bears, were also made at the factory.

The original factory closed in the 1970s

1970s

File:1970s decade montage.png|From left, clockwise: US President Richard Nixon doing the V for Victory sign after his resignation from office after the Watergate scandal in 1974; Refugees aboard a US naval boat after the Fall of Saigon, leading to the end of the Vietnam War in 1975; The 1973 oil...

. This was a major blow to the local economy. However, in 1993, the popularity of the dolls was recognised and a smaller company was reopened. The Crolly Doll is sold all over the world.

See also

• List of towns and villages in Ireland