Donegal Castle

Donegal Castle

A castle of two worlds

In the town of Donegal, in the far north-west of Ireland, stands a castle that tells, in stone, the story of a great turning point in Irish history. Donegal Castle joins a tall, fierce Gaelic tower house with an elegant English-style manor wing — two very different kinds of building, side by side, marking the meeting of the old Gaelic world and the new order that replaced it.

Stronghold of the O'Donnells

The castle was built around 1474 by the O'Donnells, one of the most powerful Gaelic clans in Ireland, who ruled the kingdom of Tyrconnell in the north-west. Their tower house, strong and tall beside the river Eske, was the centre of their power, where chieftains were inaugurated and great feasts were held. The O'Donnells were famous warriors and patrons of poets and learning, and their court at Donegal was one of the most important in Gaelic Ireland.

The most famous of the clan was Red Hugh O'Donnell, who fought against English rule in the great war at the end of the 1500s known as the Nine Years' War.

The end of the Gaelic order

That war ended in defeat for the Gaelic lords. In 1607, the O'Donnells and their allies the O'Neills left Ireland forever in an event known as the "Flight of the Earls", sailing to the continent rather than live under English rule. It marked the end of the old Gaelic world in the north — and before they left, the O'Donnells are said to have damaged their own castle so that it could not be used by their enemies.

A new wing for a new age

After the Flight of the Earls, the lands and castle were granted to an English planter, Captain Basil Brooke, as part of the Plantation of Ulster, when English and Scottish settlers were given Irish land. Brooke repaired the old tower house and added a fine Jacobean wing in the English style, with large windows and elegant gables, turning the fortress into a comfortable manor.

So the castle we see today shows both ages at once: the proud Gaelic tower of the O'Donnells and the genteel English wing of the planter who replaced them.

Restored and protected

Over the centuries the castle fell into ruin, but in modern times it has been beautifully restored and reroofed, with the great hall furnished to show how it might have looked. It is now one of the most important historic sites in the north-west of Ireland.

Visiting today

Visitors can explore the restored tower house and the Jacobean wing, see the great hall with its huge fireplace, and learn the dramatic story of the O'Donnells and the Flight of the Earls. The castle stands in the heart of Donegal town, close to the harbour and the old marketplace. Powerful, historic and rich in meaning, Donegal Castle is one of the most important castles in the story of Gaelic Ireland.