A Land of Castles and Fortifications

Carrickabraghy Castle

The Castle at Carrickabraghy is situated at the extreme end of the Isle of Doagh and can be reached by taking a right turn on the road from Carndonagh to Clonmany, about five kilometres from Carndonagh. The family of McFaul resided here from 834 to 1200 according to the Annals of the Four Masters. During a Viking raid on Donegal in the early tenth century, three princesses were taken by the Vikings as hostages. One of them escaped from the fleet of ships and took plundered treasure with her. She came ashore at Carrickabraghy and married one of the local chiefs. Her father counted one hundred and twenty ships in the bay but he succeeded in securing victory over the invaders. As a dowry, he gave his daughter one hundred cows and every chief in Inishowen was rewarded with a horse because of their part in the victory.

The first castle built on this site was in the late sixteenth century and it was occupied by Phelemy Brasleigh O'Doherty. The castle is referred to locally as "Doherty's Castle". In 1665, it is recorded that it was unoccupied. At that time it had an oval bawn or stone enclosure and seven towers with a square keep. The oldest art of the building is the square keep, which still stands today. Openings were made for muskets. A second floor was added to the keep at a later date. The circular tower which can be seen in a demolished state was built separately from the keep and does not bond with it. A wall and doorway were built to support it. A number of lintels are still intact. Most of the present structure dates from the mid 1600s.

Among the many distinguished guests who stayed here was Sir Cahir O'Doherty in 1607, just before the rebellion that was to cost him his life. He had by this time lost his lands at Inch Island when they were taken from him and granted to an English nobleman; he was feeling very insecure and he knew that Sir Arthur Chichester was planning to deprive him of his entire possessions. At Carrickabraghy he felt safe staying with his relations.

It is built on a rocky promontory and sea-sand mortar was used. There is evidence of a window and door entrance. A stairs led to the second floor and holes in the wall show the position of the joists.

Inch Castle

The castle is situated at the extreme end of inch Island. Coming from Derry to Buncrana, turn left at the signpost shortly after Bridgend. At the end of the causeway to the island turn left. The Castle is half a kilometre beyond the Catholic Church. There is no path to the Castle and access is via private property.

The Castle was built in the middle of the fifteenth century and although it was mentioned in the grant of Inishowen to Chichester in 1609, it was in a state of disrepair. The walls are built on the edge of a cliff of rubble and split stone. The building originally had three stories and the holes in the walls indicate the position of the joists. The ground floor has two chambers, none of which are vaulted. Access to the second is via a staircase made of flats. The staircase is built into the wall and is in very good repair. There is a garderobe built into the wall and there are two recesses. The murder hole shaft can also be seen. Many details in the construction of the castle are similar to those at Greencastle. There is a similarity in the way the vaults were built and wicker-centring was used for the loophole recesses in both cases.

The Castle was at the centre of a famous dispute between two O'Donnell cousins over the lordship of Tir Connaill, Donal and Rory. The latter was killed when Donal threw a stone down from the battlements during an attack on the Castle. Donal became Lord of Tir Connaill but he remained in power for only two years when he was killed by Rory's brother. The Castle belonged to the O'Dohertys and it was O'Doherty who imprisoned Donal in the castle in the first instance. O'Doherty was lord of Inishowen.

When the castle was built, Inch was an island and was considered very secure. It guarded the waters of the Swilly and protected the heartlands of the O'Dohertys. They resided at the castle at Elagh, about four kilometres from Derry and very close to the Border until the year 1600. The lands between the Swilly and the Foyle were rich in cattle and corn and access by land and sea was easy for potential invaders. Inch Castle was part of a network of O'Doherty castles stretching from Carrigans to Derry all of which were designed to ward off anyone who threatened the lordship of the O'Doherty family. The island of Inch had over four hundred houses in the early 1600s and it was the wealthiest district in Donegal. It was the loss on Inch Island that was the first step in driving Sir Cahir O'Doherty into rebellion against the state.

Greencastle

In 1305 the Red Earl of Ulster, Richard de Burgo established a base for Norman power in the North-West with the building of a castle at Greencastle. It was at that time known as Northburg or Newcastle and in Irish Caislean Nua. This historic event is recorded briefly in the Annals of the Four Masters.

It was not long before the new castle was put to the test. In 1316, a fleet led by Edward Bruce set sail from Scotland with the intention of invading Ireland. One of the first places they attacked was Greencastle. They succeeded in taking it and Bruce was crowned King of Ireland in 1316. He fell from power later the same year and the castle was then returned to de Burgo. He remained in possession until 1333. In that year Richard de Burgo's grandson, William, the Brown Earl was murdered and Norman power in the North-West came to an end.

The castle later fell into the hands of the O'Dohertys but in 1555, their power was threatened by Calvagh O'Donnell who brought an army of mercenaries from Scotland and declared war on Tir Connaill. He attacked the castle with a new weapon called the 'gunna cam' (crooked gun in Irish) and then laid siege to the castle at Enagh, just outside Derry. Both castles were very badly damaged in these attacks. The incidents are recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters and they state that the two castles were demolished. The fact that the castle today lies in ruins is largely due to these attacks.

Attempts were made to restore the building in the early 1600s. It then became the property of Sir Arthur Chichester who carried out some repairs and made it habitable for some troops. Later it was leased to a William Newton but by the year 1700, it was a total ruin. In 1835, it was described by the antiquarian, John O'Donovan as follows:

"The ruins of this castle still remaining show it was one of the strongest and most important fortresses in all Ireland."

The Castle has stood for almost seven hundred years but has undergone many reconstructions. A number of features are clearly visible. The Gate house Tower at the South-West end dates from the fourteenth century. It is a seven-sided structure and from here a vaulted passage led into the castle centre. The remains of a circular stone stair can be seen inside along with a garderobe The remains of seventeenth-century ovens can be seen on the right within the gatehouse; these were used by the Chichester garrison.

The Polygonal Tower at the North end has walls twelve feet thick. The remains of narrow slit windows can also be seen. A large square stone tower juts out from the North wall and this was one of the structures added by O'Doherty in the sixteenth century. No excavation has been carried out on this site.

St. Mary's Church, Greencastle, the "Teampall Maol", attached to Northburg Castle nearby. Note buttresses supporting the corners of the building. It had close links with Cooley monastery.

Burt Castle

It was built in the sixteenth century during the reign of Henry VIII. A medallion found near the castle has been dated 1525 and a coin of 1547 was found nearby. In 1587 the lands are in the possession of Sir John O'Doherty. In 1588 two brothers, Richard and Henry Hovenden were in command here and they were ordered to resist the Spanish Armada. When the O'Dohertys lost Elagh Castle, they took refuge here. Sir Cahir O'Doherty was in charge here in 1601 and it was later garrisoned by Hugh Boy O'Doherty. When Sir Cahir began his rebellion against the Crown, the English attacked it but they were beaten back. After the defeat of Sir Cahir, it fell into the hands of the Chichester family.

It is recorded that it was in ruins in 1833, and has suffered further damage since. The walls are built of rough rubble and the keep is three storeys. There are two circular watch towers which offer superb views of the surrounding countryside. Both have openings for muskets. A stair within one of the towers is in good condition and can be used to climb to the top storey, where there is a small vaulted chamber. The original walls and outside defenses, as shown in a drawing of 1601 have been removed.

O'Doherty's Keep

The keep is built on the site of a Norman foundation that was demolished. It was captured from the O'Dohertys after the Rebellion of Sir Cahir O'Doherty, and it was granted to Sir Arthur Chichester. He leased it to Henry Vaughan and the Vaughan family whose name is linked with the development of the modern town of Buncrana, lived here until 1718 when a new house was built close by. The keep is really a medieval tower-house with fortifications and gun-loops. The bawn or enclosure that surrounded the Keep was demolished and used to construct a town-house opposite for the Vaughan family. Within the building, a fireplace and mural stairs can be seen.

There are records of castles on other sites but some have been demolished and little trace remains. There were four stone houses with a court in Carndonagh. There was also a fortified stone house in Clonmany beside the Protestant churchyard. A strategic castle once stood at Elagh close to the Border at Bridgend but little evidence of the structure remains. There was also a strategically-located castle at Culmore but only the keep remains today. The abbey at Fahan also had a castle in its grounds but no trace can now be seen. There are also references in some historical documents to castles at Glenagivney and Malin but these may be more accurately descried as promontory forts.

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