Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [398]
The City of Derry Airport ( 028-7181 0784; www.cityofderryairport.com) is just beyond the county’s eastern border, in Northern Ireland.
Getting Around
Donegal is not served by train. The bus is your main transport option if you don’t have your own car.
In addition to Bus Éireann (www.buseireann.ie), private bus company Lough Swilly ( in Letterkenny 074-912 2863, in Derry 028-7126 2017; http://home.clara.net/sjp/nibus/lswilly.htm) traverses the county. Coaches operated by Feda O’Donnell ( 074-954 8114; www.fedaodonnell.com) serve the western half of the county from Bundoran to Crolly.
This is superb walking and cycling country. Recommended walking guides include New Irish Walks: West and North by Tony Whilde and Patrick Simms, Hill Walkers’ Donegal by David Herman, and Lonely Planet’s Hiking in Ireland.
When driving, road signs in the Gaeltacht communities are in Irish only – although we use English transliterations, their Irish names are included in brackets. Be prepared too for signs hidden behind vegetation, signs pointing the wrong way, signs with misleading mileage or no signs at all. Many minor roads are single-vehicle width: stay alert for oncoming vehicles around blind corners. Most of all, prepare yourself for reckless young drivers who put the lives of their fellow motorists at risk.
Return to beginning of chapter
DONEGAL TOWN
pop 2339
Pretty Donegal town occupies a strategic spot at the mouth of Donegal Bay, on the River Eske in the shadow of the Blue Stack Mountains. It was once a stamping ground of the O’Donnells, the great chieftains who ruled the northwest from the 15th to 17th centuries, who left behind an atmospheric old castle. Today, despite being the county’s namesake, it’s neither its largest (Letterkenny), nor the county town (the even smaller town of Lifford), but its compact town centre makes a lively base for exploring the wild coastline nearby.
Return to beginning of chapter
INFORMATION
Bank of Ireland (The Diamond) One of several banks with ATM and bureau de change.
Blueberry Cybercafe ( 074-972 2933; Castle St; per hr €4; 9am-7pm Mon-Sat) Internet cafe above the Blueberry Tearoom. Check in at the counter downstairs.
Four Masters Bookshop ( 074-972 1526; The Diamond) Glass and china ornaments clearly take precedence over the out-of-date travel guidebooks, but there’s a good range of maps.
Post office (Tirchonaill St) North of the Diamond.
Tourist office ( 074-972 1148; donegal@failteireland.ie; Quay St; 9am-6pm Mon-Sat, noon-4pm Sun Jul-Aug, 9.30am-5.30pm Mon-Sat Sep-Jun) In the new ‘Discover Ireland’ building.
Return to beginning of chapter
SIGHTS
Donegal Castle
Guarding a picturesque bend of the River Eske, Donegal Castle ( 074-972 2405; Castle St; adult/child €4/2; 10am-6pm mid-Mar–Oct, 9.30am-4.30pm Thu-Mon Nov-Dec) remains an imperious monument to both Irish and English might. Built by the O’Donnells in 1474, it served as the seat of their formidable power until 1607, when the English decided to be rid of pesky Irish chieftains once and for all. Rory O’Donnell was no pushover, though, torching his own castle before fleeing to France in the infamous Flight of the Earls. Their defeat paved the way for the Plantation of Ulster by thousands of newly arrived Scots and English Protestants, creating the divisions that still afflict the island to this day.
The castle was rebuilt in 1623 by Sir Basil Brooke, along with the adjacent three-storey Jacobean house. Much of the castle is gutted today, but enough has been preserved that it’s worth a look-see.
Diamond Obelisk
In 1474 Red Hugh O’Donnell and his wife, Nuala O’Brien, founded Donegal’s Franciscan friary by the shore south of town. It was accidentally blown up in 1601 by Rory O’Donnell while laying siege to an English garrison, and little remains. Four of its friars, fearing that the arrival of the English meant the end of Celtic culture, chronicled the whole of known