Donegal Castle
Donegal Castle (Irish: Caisleán Dhún na nGall) or O’Donnell’s Castle ([Caisleán Uí Domhnaill] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help)) is a castle situated in the centre of Donegal town, County Donegal in the northwest of the Republic of Ireland. For most of the last two centuries, the majority of the buildings were in ruins but the castle was almost fully restored in the late 1990s.
The castle consists of a 15th century, rectangular keep with a later built, Jacobean style wing. The complex is sited on a bend in the Eske River, near the mouth of Donegal bay, and is surrounded by a 17th boundary wall. There is a small gatehouse at its entrance mirroring the design of the keep. Most of the stone work was constructed from locally sourced limestone with some sandstone. The castle was the stronghold of the O'Donnell clan, Lords of Tír Conaill and one of the most powerful Gaelic families in Ireland from the 5th to 16th centuries.
History
Donegal, or in Irish Dún na nGall translates as Fort of the Foreigner possibly coming from a Viking fortress destroyed in 1159 in the area. However, due hundreds of years of development, no archaeological evidence of this early fortress exists. The castle was built in 1474 by Hugh Roe O'Donnell, wealthy chief of the O'Donnell clan at the time. At the same time, he and his wife Nuala, built a Franciscan Abbey further down the river. A local legend tells of a tunnel connecting the two but no evidence for this has been found. The castle was regarded as one of the finest Gaelic castles in Ireland. This was indicated by a report by a visiting English deputy Henry Sydney in 1566:
- "it is the greatest I ever saw in an Irishman's hands: and would appear to be in good keeping; one of the fairest situated in good soil and so nigh a portable water a boat of ten tonnes could come within ten yards of it"
After the disastrous Nine Years war the leaders of the O'Donnell clan left Ireland in the Flight of the Earls. In 1611 the castle and its lands were granted to an English Captain, Basil Brooke. The keep had been severely damaged by the leaving O'Donnells to prevent the castle being used against the Gaelic clans but was quickly restored by its new owners. Brooke also added windows, a gable and a large manor-house wing to the keep, all in the Jacobean style. The castle was owned by the Brooke family for many generations until it fell into a ruinous state in the 18th century. In 1898 the then owner, the Earl of Arran, donated the castle to the Office of Public Works.
Restoration
Library of Congress collection
Recently the castle has been renovated by the Office of Public Works. The keep has had new roofing and flooring added, all built in keeping with the original styles and techniques used in the 15th and 17th centuries. The stone work has been restored and the manor wing has been partially roofed. The oak timbers used came from the Brookeborough Estate in County Fermanagh. The castle is now open to the public and often hosts events like Gaelic cultural evenings.
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