Donegal Castle

Donegal Castle stands in the centre of Donegal Town on the bank of the River Eske, a combination of a 15th-century O'Donnell tower house and a substantial Jacobean manor built by Sir Basil Brooke after the Flight of the Earls in 1607. The O'Donnells were one of the great Gaelic lordly families of Ulster, and their castle at Donegal was one of the most important political centres in pre-Plantation Ireland. Rory O'Donnell, the last Gaelic lord to live here, departed in 1607 with the other Ulster earls — an event that ended the old Gaelic order in Ireland.

The castle fell into ruin and was gradually restored from 1990 onwards. The restoration is excellent — the Jacobean manor wing in particular has been carefully furnished and interpreted, with the great hall, the fireplace and the tapestries giving a strong sense of how the building functioned as both a fortress and a domestic seat of power. Guided tours are included in the admission price and are informative, typically running 45 minutes.

Donegal Town (An Dún) is a pleasant market town with a central Diamond (market square) at the castle gates. The town has good restaurants, independent shops and is a natural overnight stop for the Wild Atlantic Way route north toward Slieve League and Glencolmcille. The river mouth at the harbour (5 minutes' walk) and the remains of Donegal Friary (also OPW) are worth seeing.