By the early 17th century, this stronghold was held by Manus O'Donnell, brother to the Earl of Donegal, who joined the rebellion against English rule during the reign of James I. When English forces were dispatched to quell the uprising, they quickly dispersed Manus and his followers. During this campaign,...
House – indeterminate date, Reachlainn Uí Bhirn, Co. Donegal
Measuring 6.2 metres by 3.1 metres internally, this modest structure sits just 8 metres north of another archaeological feature known as structure 8. Today, its walls lie flush with the ground, and the interior is cluttered with collapsed stonework, making it difficult to determine its original purpose or exact age....
House – 16th/17th century, Lifford, Co. Donegal
In those early days, a ferry operated where the bridge stands today, connecting the town to the wider region. By 1611, Sir Richard Hansard had overseen the construction of twenty-one houses in this central area, whilst another twenty-seven cottages likely occupied the street running northwest past Ballyduff House, where the...
Building, Reachlainn Uí Bhirn, Co. Donegal
This diminutive structure, with its distinctive trapezoidal footprint, measures just 3.4 metres at its longest side and contains an interior space of only 2.2 by 1.7 metres. The walls, built from roughly coursed oblong blocks of local granite, survive to a height of 85 centimetres, with one particularly impressive stone...
Building, Kilmacrenan (Kilmacrenan Ed), Co. Donegal
This small vaulted masonry building, tucked against the northeastern corner of a ruined church, was first identified as a possible dolmen by antiquarian William Copeland Borlase in 1897. Dolmens, those distinctive prehistoric monuments consisting of large flat stones balanced on upright supports, are typically found as standalone structures across the...