Once the stronghold of the O’Donnells

Donegal Castle was built by the O’Donnell Clan around 1470. It stayed in their hands until 1607 when many Irish chieftains including Red Hugh O’Donnell fled Ireland to Europe in what is known as ‘The Flight of the Earls’. Red Hugh, aware of his imminent fate, destroyed the castle before leaving “to prevent this fortress of the Gael becoming a fortress of the Gall”. It was granted to an English captain called Basil Brooke in 1611 who redesigned the castle as a Fortified Jacobean Manor House. The Brooke Family lived here for many generations until it finally fell into a ruinous state. In 1898 the then-owner, The Earl of Arran, donated the castle to the Office of Public Works but it was not until the late 1990s that it was restored back to its former glory. It is now open to the public and often hosts events such as Gaelic cultural evenings.

Thanks to Naked Ireland for informative video

Rory Gallagher was born in Ballyshannon in 1948