Donegal Town
Donegal Town derives its name from the anglication of the Irish 'Dún na nGall', or 'Fort of the Foreigners.The town is set in a valley girdled by Barnesmore Mountains and Donegal Bay and overlooking the town can be seen the remains of several earthen forts.
There is a record of an early Danish fortress being destroyed in the town by Murtagh Mac Lochlainn, High King of Ireland in 1159. The O'Donnell Castle in the town was built by the first Red Hugh and his wife Lady Nuala. They also brought the Franciscan Monks to Donegal. The Abbey was built in the same year, 1474. There were two Red Hughs, the last one was the most colourful. He was captured by the English and thrown into Dublin Castle but he eventually escaped and managed to make his way back to Donegal. It was said that he suffered frostbite during his escape and as a result lost a big toe and had to ride into battle from then on.
The O'Donnells were noted for their patronage of the church and learning. The Chieftains were always inaugurated head of the clan at a simple ceremony held on Doon Rock at Kilmacrennan. The Chief, or King, was inaugurated by one of the nobles of the clan presenting him with a straight white wand saying, "Receive the sovereignty of this county and preserve equal and impartial justice in every part of its dominions". The white wand was to remind him that he should be unbiased in his judgments and upright in his actions. His cousin Niall Garbh O"Donnell did not subscribe to these high sentiments for he betrayed the family by throwing in his lot with the English. However, he became reconciled with his clan and was in fact the last Chieftain of Tirconaill. He was inaugurated at Doon in 1603. Ironically he was imprisoned by his one time friends the English and died in the tower of London in 1621.
The last great battle in which the O"Donnells were involved was the Battle of Kinsale in 1601 where they were badly defeated. Red Hugh went to Spain to seek help to resume the fight but he died there. Other Chieftains including the O"Donnells and O"Neills were forced into exile. This became known as the Flight of the Earls and it took place from Rathmullan in 1607. Before going they partially destroyed the castle to prevent the English using it.
In 1608, the British ransacked the town, and burned its priceless library of manuscripts. Luckily however, some of the monks escaped, brought their notes with them, and from these notes compiled the world-famous Annals of the Four Masters. These monks of ingenuity were Michael and Peregrine Ó Cleary, Peregrine Ó Duignean and Fearfeasa Ó Maolconry. Today, they are commemorated by the Church of the Four Masters (built in 1935), by an imposing memorial in the Diamond (Donegal Town Centre). What followed the burning of the town, was the Plantation of Ulster, and the town was rebuilt to its present day appearance with the Diamond at its heart. O'Donnell Castle and their lands were given to an English Captain, Basil Brooke, who carried out major reconstruction work and added a wing to it known as the manor house. Basil Brooke eventually moved to Lough Eske where he built a house.
The Franciscans were brought to Donegal by Hugh O"Donnell and his wife Lady Nuala and it was at her request that they set up a community here. They contributed greatly to the spiritual needs of the area. It was here that Brother Michael O"Cleary with Peregrine O"Cleary, Peregrine O"Duignean and Fearfasa O"Maolconry worked on their famous Annals of The Four Masters which is a full account of Gaelic Ireland since what they took to be its birth until the Flight of the Earls. It took several years to compile but was actually written up from 1632 to 1636.
The maintanance of Dongal Town and area is charged to Donegal County Council who are based in the county town of Lifford, but have offices in Donegal Town, however there is also a Chamber of Commerce who work to further the needs of the community. Because of is deep histoical significance it attracts droves of foreign visitors from Britain and North America every year. The town, because of its size and resources serves a large hinter-area of some nine smaller towns and villages: Killybegs, Bruckless, Inver, Mountcharles, Frosses, Dunkineely, Laghey, Ballintra and Pettigo. The town has its own fortnightly community paper: 'The Donegal Times', a waterbus that tours the bay, Donegal has three national schools (including a Gaelscoil), several churches, a library, five large hotels, numerous restaurants, a secondary school, two large factories, branches of all the major banks, a craft village, a radio studio: Ocean FM, branches of large cahins of shops such as Super Valu and Lidl with both Tesco and Dunnes anouncing plans to move to the area in the next two to three years and a wide variety of other shops and services. Donegal is one hour from Derry and Sligo Cities, two and a half hours from Befast and three and a half from Dublin.