#Doe

#Doe Castle #travel #thingstodo #ireland #donegal
Doe Castle, also known as Caisleán na dTuath, is located near Shiphaven
Bay on the Wild Atlantic Way along the R245 road between Carrigart and
Creeslough in County Donegal. Its coordinates are 55.135° N, 7.864° W.
The castle has been a historic citadel of Clan tSuibhne (Clan McSweeney),
with architectural parallels to Scottish tower houses. Constructed in
the early 15th century, it stands as one of the finest fortresses in
the northwest of Ireland. The castle is situated on a small peninsula,
surrounded by water on three sides, with a rock-cut ditch on the landward
side. The structure primarily consists of tall outer walls surrounding
an inner courtyard with a four-story tower house or citadel.
Doe Castle is believed to have been built around 1420 by the Quinn family.
However, by the 1440s, it came into the possession of the McSweeney clan.
It remained in the hands of the Mac Suibhne na d'Tuath branch of
the McSweeney clan for nearly two centuries, until it was captured by
King James VI due to the uprising of the McSweeneys against him.
On March 7,1613, during the Ulster Plantation, the castle, along with
other lands, was granted to the Attorney General of Ireland,
Sir John Davies, a poet born in 1569. On December 31, 1614, Sir John sold
the castle to English settler Captain John Sandford from Shropshire,
England.
The castle changed hands numerous times during the 17th-century struggle
for control over Ireland between the English and the Irish. It is known
that in 1650, it was taken by Sir Charles Coote, the Governor of
Londonderry. Ultimately, the castle was purchased by Sir George Vaughan
Hart, and his family resided there until 1843. The last occupant was an
Irish Church clergyman who left in 1909.
In 1932, the castle came under the ownership of the Land Commission,
and in 1934, it was declared a national monument and acquired by the
Office of Public Works. In the 1990s, a significant restoration effort
was undertaken on the tower house element of the castle. The castle
grounds are open to the public daily, and guided tours of the tower are
conducted during the summer months.
Much of the castle's history description is sourced from the Wikipedia
page: en.wikipedia.o... (Reference number 319).