Donegal Castle facts for kids
Donegal Castle (which is Caisleán Dhún na nGall in Irish) is a cool old castle right in the middle of Donegal Town. This town is in County Donegal, which is part of Ulster, a northern area in Ireland.
For many years, this castle was the strong home of the O'Donnell clan. They were powerful Irish families who ruled the area called Tír Conaill for hundreds of years. Most of the castle was a ruin for about 200 years. But in the early 1990s, it was almost completely fixed up. Now, you can visit it and explore its history!
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What Does Donegal Castle Look Like?
The castle has two main parts. There's a tall, rectangular tower from the 1400s called a keep. Next to it is a newer part, built in the 1600s, called a Jacobean style wing.
At the entrance, there's a small gatehouse. It looks a lot like the main tower. The whole castle sits right by the River Eske, close to where it meets Donegal Bay. A wall from the 1600s surrounds the castle. Most of the castle is made from limestone found nearby. Some parts also use sandstone.
The History of Donegal Castle
The name Donegal (Dún na nGall in Irish) means "Fort of the Foreigner." This name might come from a Viking fort that was in the area and destroyed in 1159. However, because the town has grown so much over hundreds of years, we haven't found any old proof of this Viking fort.
Who Built Donegal Castle?
Aodh Ruadh Ó Domhnaill I, a rich leader of the O'Donnell clan, built Donegal Castle. He built it sometime in the 1460s or early 1470s. In 1474, he and his wife, Nuala, also started a Franciscan friary (a type of monastery) further down the river. There's a local legend that says a secret tunnel connected the castle and the friary, but no one has ever found it.
Donegal Castle was known as one of the best Gaelic castles in Ireland. In 1566, an important English visitor, Sir Henry Sidney, wrote a letter about it. He said it was "the largest and strongest fortress in all Ireland." He also mentioned it was "one of the fairest situated" and that a boat could come very close to it.
Changes Over Time
In 1607, after a big war called the Nine Years' War, the O'Donnell leaders left Ireland. This event is known as the Flight of the Earls. In 1611, during a time called the Plantation of Ulster, the castle was given to an English captain named Basil Brooke.
Before they left, the O'Donnells badly damaged the castle. They didn't want it to be used against them. But Basil Brooke quickly fixed it up. He also added new things like windows, a special roof part called a gable, and a large manor-house wing. These additions were all in the fancy Jacobean style.
The Brooke family owned the castle until the 1670s. Then they moved away. In the 1670s, the Brookes sold the castle to another family, the Gores. This family later became known as the Earls of Arran. Under the Gores, the castle slowly became a ruin in the early 1700s. In 1898, the owner at the time, the 5th Earl of Arran, gave the castle to the Office of Public Works.
Restoring Donegal Castle
In the early 1990s, the Office of Public Works (OPW) started to fix up the castle. They put new roofs and floors in the main tower. They made sure these new parts looked like the original ones from the 1400s and 1600s. The old stone walls were also repaired. The manor wing now has a partial roof. Some of the wooden beams used for the restoration came from the Colebrooke Estate in County Fermanagh. Parts of the outside of the tower house were covered with a special wall finish called harling.
Today, Donegal Castle is open for everyone to visit. It often hosts fun events, like evenings celebrating Irish culture or Ulster Scots traditions.
