Donegal Castle

After lunch we headed back over to tour the castle.  On the tour we learned that the name Donegal comes from the Irish Dun na nGall, meaning "fort of the foreigners".  Gall  was usually applied to Norse invaders who may have founded Donegal.  The Castle was the main residence of  the royal O'Donnell family who ruled the Kingdom of Tir Chonaill from 1200 until 1601.  It sits at a bend along the River Eske.

Below is the guardhouse - part of the wall surrounding the castle.  It is also where you enter the  grounds for the self-guided tour.

The Tower House is the tall part of the castle and was the first to be built.  It was Red Hugh O'Donnell who started building the castle around 1474.  The O'Donnell Kings trace lineage  back to Niall of the Nine Hostages (379-405) and one-time High King of Ireland.  The succession of O'Donnell chieftains and Kings of the area known as Tirconnell was unbroken until the Nine Years War with England. The war began in 1595 and was fought by the Gaelic lords of Ulster - the O'Neills of Tyrone, the O'Donnells of Tirconnell, and the Maguires of Fermanagh.   Hugh O'Donnell (Not Red Hugh...) was forced to abandon Donegal in 1600.  He eventually fled to Spain and died there in 1602

In 1610 the castle was given to Captain Basil Brooke, an English soldier who had fought for the English Crown in the Nine Years War.  The Brooke family added the turrets and enlarged the windows in the early 17th Century.

The attached Manor House was added in 1623.

Below is the Gardrobe or Toilet...

These pictures of the ceiling are Amy's.  Apparently it is put together completely with wooden dowels - no nails!

This dining hall was absolutely glorious!

It was fun to look at the lovely furniture, the beautiful tapestries and the  other interesting things in the dining hall!

Then to the stairs and up to the third floor.

This floor had the exhibit cases and all the info about the history of the O'Donnells and such.

This was The Cathach of St Colm Cille.  This manuscript is a version of the Old Testament Psalms, and is known as the greatest relic of the O'Donnells of Donegal.

It is believed it was written by St. Colm Cille who died in 597, making it Ireland's oldest ecclesiastical manuscript.  Apparently the O'Donnells of Donegal were related to Colm Cille and claimed his protection by bringing the book into battle with them to ensure victory.  The term Cathach means "battler."
 

Clearly, any shots with me standing in them are also courtesy of Amy P!