9 Iconic Buildings to Explore in County Donegal

One of Donegal's best known castles due to its prominent location along the Derry-Letterkenny road. It was built around 1560 and was one in a network of castles around Inishowen owned by the O’Dohertys. The structure had three stories, two circular watchtowers, a small vaulted chamber, and openings for muskets. It is now one of the iconic attraction in this area.

A majestic castle built in the 16th century on a rocky promontory with spectacular views of the Donegal hills and headlands, this O’Doherty stronghold stands on the site of a pre-Viking settlement recorded in the Annals. It was strategically positioned atop a rocky outcrop defending the Ó Dochartaighs' remote Isle of Doagh in the far north of Inishowen.

Donegal Castle was once one of the most important strongholds for one of Ireland’s most powerful clans. The castle consists of a 15th-century rectangular keep with a later Jacobean style wing. The complex is sited on a bend in the River Eske, near the mouth of Donegal Bay, and is surrounded by a 17th-century boundary wall. There is a small gatehouse at its entrance mirroring the design of the keep.

Glenveagh Castle is a 19th century castellated mansion and was built between 1867 and 1873. Its construction in a remote mountain setting was inspired by the Victorian idyll of a romantic highland retreat. It is built in the Scottish baronial architectural style and consists of a four-story rectangular keep, surrounded by a garden, and a backdrop of some 165.4 km2 of mountains, lakes, glens and woods complete with a herd of red deer.

The Glenveagh Castle Gardens are part of Glenveagh National Park in the north west of County Donegal. The site occupied by the castle and gardens was formerly wild mountain moorland, with construction of the castle beginning in 1869 and the gardens in the mid 1880s. Tree rhododendrons and magnolias grace the woods with under-plantings of azaleas, hostas, astilbes and rodgersias.

A beautiful castle situated at the extreme seaward end of Inch Island. It was built in the middle of the fifteenth century but, by 1609, when granted to Sir Arthur Chichester, he stated that it was in a state of disrepair. It came to form part of the defensive network of O'Doherty fortifications designed to protect them from rival clans and to overawe those who accepted their overlordship.

A privately owned house set in 100 acres of magnificent parkland, woodlands and gardens near the town of Raphoe in the heart of County Donegal. Sitting in a lush landscape of parklands, lakes, mature woodlands, overlooking the distant Croaghan Mountain, the grounds include a hedge maze, sculpture and miles of walking paths. There is also a narrow gauge railway that winds its way over 4km of track within the estate.

The beautiful Glebe House and Gallery is located near Churchill, which is about 15 kilometres from Dunfanaghy. This 1828 Regency style house has the most wonderful setting on the shore of Lough Gartan. The English portrait and landscape painter Derek Hill lived and worked there from 1954 until he presented the house and his art collection to the Irish state in 1981.