Inishowen Peninsula
On the northernmost tip of Malin Head, called Banba's Crown, stands a cumbersome 1805 clifftop tower that was built by the British admiralty and later…
Must-see attractions in County Donegal
County Donegal
Guarding a picturesque bend of the River Eske, well-preserved 15th-century Donegal Castle is an imperious monument to Irish and English might. The castle…
County Donegal
The towering headland of Horn Head has some of the Wild Atlantic Way's most spectacular scenery, with dramatic quartzite cliffs, topped with bog and…
County Donegal
Once named the second-most beautiful beach in the world by British newspaper the Observer, this tawny-coloured Blue Flag beach is a supremely fine place…
Inishowen Peninsula
This Blue Flag beach is great for swimming and windsurfing. You can wander its gorgeous length and get lost in the grassy sand dunes, and there's a fun…
-
County Donegal
The English painter Derrick Hill bought this 1828 mansion in 1953, providing him with a mainland base close to his beloved Tory Island. Sumptuously…
County Donegal
This castle was modelled on Scotland's Balmoral Castle. Henry McIlhenny made it a characterful home with liberal reminders of his passion for deer…
County Donegal
With a name like this – misnomer that it is – how can you resist its allure? Follow a rough walking path into the rocky fastness of the glen (4km round…
County Donegal
This amphitheatre-like stone fort encircles the top of Grianán Hill like a halo with eye-popping views of surrounding loughs. On clear days you can see as…
County Donegal
The pinkish-grey quartzite peak of Errigal Mountain (752m) dominates the landscape of northwestern Donegal, appearing conical from some angles, but from…
County Donegal
Anyone looking to stretch their legs will love this forested park, criss-crossed by marked nature trails varying in length from 2km to 13km. Covering 480…
County Donegal
Lakes shimmer like dew in the mountainous valley of Glenveagh National Park. Alternating between great knuckles of rock, green-gold swaths of bog and…
County Donegal
The long strand of surfing beach has a bountiful supply of that gorgeous trademark fine white sand that much of Ireland is famed for. There are rip tides,…
County Donegal
Almost surrounded by the Blue Stack Mountains, tranquil Lough Eske ('Lake of the Fish') is a scenic spot perfect for walking, cycling or fishing. It's a…
County Donegal
This stunner of a Blue Flag beach is the main draw in town, with the Atlantic surf rolling onto its broad expanse of sand. You can drive your car straight…
-
Inishowen Peninsula
Set in a reconstructed village of thatched cottages, this open-air museum is packed with interesting tidbits about the tragic Famine of the mid-19th…
-
Inishowen Peninsula
The intricate 7th-century Donagh Cross (also called St Patrick's Cross) stands under a shelter by an Anglican church at the west end of town. It's carved…
-
County Donegal
Reaching Dunfanaghy's loveliest beach, Tramore, requires hiking through the grassy dunes to the west of the village for about 2km. It's not safe to swim…
-
Inishowen Peninsula
Fort Dunree is the best preserved and most dramatic of six forts built by the British on Lough Swilly following the 1798 uprising of the United Irishmen …
-
County Donegal
This prominent stone building on the western edge of town was once the local workhouse, built to keep and employ the destitute. Conditions were horrible…
-
St Colmcille's Abbey & Birthplace
County Donegal
The 10th-century ruins of Colmcille's abbey lie on a hillside to the north of Lough Gartan and northwest of Lough Nacally, beside a 16th-century chapel…
-
Inishowen Maritime Museum & Planetarium
Inishowen Peninsula
An eccentric collection of artefacts awaits at this museum in a former coastguard station on a grassy verge right by the waterfront. The most fascinating…
-
County Donegal
Colmcille's Hall of Fame is this comprehensive heritage centre on the shore of Lough Gartan in a wooded grove, with a lavish display on the production of…
-
County Donegal
This great hotchpotch of craft shop, museum, restaurant (mains €7.50 to €10), activity centre and concert venue has something for everyone. Kids will love…
-
Inishowen Peninsula
The gable ends and huge windows of the roofless shell of 17th-century Clonca Church frame views of the Donegal mountains. Inside there is an intricately…
-
County Donegal
The best way to appreciate the charm of early-16th-century Doe Castle is to wander the peaceful grounds, admiring its slender tower and crenellated…
-
County Donegal
This roofless white-marble, blue-quartzite and brick church, overlooking Dunlewey Lough, was consecrated in 1853 and makes for sublime photos with the…
-
County Donegal
Head north of Burtonport on the coast road to reach the picturesque village of Kincasslagh (Cionn Caslach), with ancient cottages perched on top of rocky…
-
County Donegal
The roofless ruins of 17th-century Old Tullyaugnish Church are special because of the Romanesque carvings in the eastern wall, taken from a far older…
-
County Donegal
Hidden in a forest at the southern end of the beach, this modern friary was built in the early 1950s and is set in beautiful, tranquil gardens that are…
-
Inishowen Peninsula
Once known as Northburg Castle and then known as Greencastle, apparently from the stone it was constructed from (but today it very well describes the…
-
County Donegal
Parts of this complex date back four centuries to a time when water was the main source of power for multiple tasks, such as grinding grain. One of…
-
County Donegal
The grey bulk of Muckish Mountain (670m) dominates the view between Gortahork and Dunfanaghy. The easiest route to the top begins southeast of Falcarragh…
-
Inishowen Peninsula
At the side of O'Doherty's Keep is the manor-like Buncrana Castle, built in 1718 by John Vaughan, who also constructed the bridge. Wolfe Tone was…
-
Inishowen Peninsula
At the northern end of the seafront, the picture-perfect early-18th-century, six-arched Castle Bridge leads to these tower-house ruins originally built by…
-
County Donegal
This splendid beach on the Rosguill Peninsula is a joy, full in the face of the mighty Atlantic. It's generally OK for swimming, but don't enter the water…
-
County Donegal
The 12th-century Tau Cross, an odd, T-shaped cruciform that suggests the possibility of seafaring exchanges with early Coptic Christians from Egypt,…
-
Inishowen Peninsula
Tullagh Strand, 2km northwest of Clonmany, is a little better for swimming than Pollan Strand, although it isn't recommended when the tide's going out.
-
County Donegal
Dating from 1508 and facing the water, this ivy-cloaked priory was plundered in 1595 and then used as a barracks; in the early 17th century it was…
-
Inishowen Peninsula
Walk 500m from O'Doherty's Keep (turn left and stick to the shoreline) to find squat Ned's Point Fort (1812), built by the British.
