It forms part of the greater Rosses region[1] and is officially in the Gaeltacht, however, English is the predominantly spoken language today.

The name Mullaghduff is an anglicisation of the Irish placename 'An Mullach Dubh', which means 'The Black Hilltop'; which possibly derives from the blackish soil which covers the nearby hills.

[8] There is a memorial near to the Community Centre dedicated to 14 young men killed in the 1943 Ballymanus Mine Disaster, when local men aided by young teenagers attempted to bring an unexploded naval mine ashore the nearby beach when it exploded after hitting a rock.

[9][10] In 2022, a memorial was erected at Mullaghduff Community Centre to commemorate the 100th anniversary of 3 IRA members (Neil Plunkett O'Boyle, Owen Boyle and Con Boyle) and 1 Cumann na mBan member (Mary McBride) from the area, coined the 'Rosses Martyrs', that fought in the Irish War of Independence and then either died or were killed during the Irish Civil War.

Neil Plunkett O'Boyle was the last Anti-Treaty IRA member to be killed during the civil war[11] The predominant religion in Mullaghduff is Roman Catholicism and it is part of the parish of Kincasslagh.