Newtown Cunningham, usually spelled Newtowncunningham or abbreviated to Newton (), is a village and townland in the Laggan district in the east of County Donegal, Ireland, located on the N13 road east of Letterkenny and west of Derry. At the 2016 census, the village population was 1,080. History and name Evidence of ancient settlement in the area, from the Iron Age onwards, includes the ringfort at Grianan of Aileach. Also nearby is the sixteenth-century Burt Castle. The area of Newtown Cunningham was historically known as Culmacatrain. Like nearby Manorcunningham, the village takes its current name from John Cunningham, originally from Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, in Scotland, who was among the settlers granted lands in County Donegal during the 17th century Plantation of Ulster. The village's architecture includes stately Anglo-Irish "big houses", now known as the Manse and the Castle, which reflect the village's colonial and Presbyterian history. Economy and community Newtowncunningham's long Main Street once formed part of the busy N13 trunk road connecting Letterkenny with Derry. A bypass diverted the N13 around the village in 1985. Many of the village's businesses either closed or moved to locations along the bypass, gradually divesting the village of economic activity. As of the early 21st century, residential developments were built at both ends of Newtown Cunningham, and the village's population expanded by over 50% (from 663 to 1,080 inhabitants) between the 2002 and 2016 census. A number of retail and service outlets were also built, and an industrial estate area located at the Letterkenny end of the village contains a number of retail outlets. Newtown Cunningham is located close to Blanket Nook, a wetland area and bird sanctuary that is a wintering site for the rare whooper swan. Transport Newtown Cunningham is served by Bus Éireann route numbers 64 and 480. These include Bus Éireann's Derry to Letterkenny and Derry to Galway routes. As of 2018, Bus Éireann provided 11 daily buses passing through the village in both directions, either to Derry or to Letterkenny. The bus stop in the village is located adjacent to the Roman Catholic parish graveyard on the Main Street. The village was also previously served by Lough Swilly Buses, but this provider ceased trading in April 2014. Newtown Cunningham is not directly served by rail, and Newtowncunningham railway station (which opened in June 1883) was closed for passenger traffic on 3 June 1940 and closed altogether on 10 August