Must-see attractions in County Donegal

  • Malin Head is located on the Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal, Ireland and is the most northerly point of the island of Ireland. A military watchtower was built at Banba's Crown in 1805, during the Napoleonic Wars. Around 1902, a signal station was also built at Banba's Crown, quite close to the old Napoleonic watchtower. Both of these buildings still stand.

    Banba's Crown

    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…

  • Donegal Castle in County Donegal.

    Donegal Castle

    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…

  • Sheep in a field by the coast at Horn Head near Dunfanaghy.

    Horn Head

    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…

  • Ballymastocker Beach on the western shroes of Lough Swilly in Ireland.

    Ballymastocker Beach

    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…

  • Culdaff beach, Inishowen Peninsula, County Donegal

    Culdaff Beach

    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…

  • Glebe House & Gallery

    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…

  • Glenveagh Castle

    Glenveagh Castle

    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…

  • A bridge in Poisoned Glen.

    Poisoned Glen

    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…

  • Grianan Of Aileach

    Grianán of Aileách

    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…

  • Landscape with Mount Errigal, Co. Donegal, Ireland.

    Errigal Mountain

    County Donegal

    The pinkish-grey quartzite peak of Errigal Mountain (752m) dominates the landscape of northwestern Donegal, appearing conical from some angles, but from…

  • Pine trees on the rocky shores of Ards Forest Park in Donegal.

    Ards Forest Park

    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…

  • Two people on a boat sailing in the Glenveagh National Park.

    Glenveagh National Park

    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…

  • Tullan Strand Bundoran, Donegal, on a summer day

    Tullan Strand

    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,…

  • A view across Lough Eske

    Lough Eske

    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…

  • Rossnowlagh beach

    Rossnowlagh Beach

    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…

  • Fort Dunree

    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 …

  • Dunfanaghy Workhouse

    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…

  • Doagh Famine Village

    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…

  • Colmcille Heritage Centre

    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…

  • Donagh Cross

    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…

  • Dunlewey Centre

    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…

  • Clonca Church & Cross

    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…

  • Doe Castle

    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…

  • Diamond Obelisk

    County Donegal

    In the early 17th century, four Franciscan friars, fearing that the arrival of the English meant the end of Celtic culture, chronicled the whole of known…

  • Dunlewey Church

    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…

  • Carrickfinn Beach

    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…

  • Old Tullyaughnish Church

    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…

  • Franciscan Friary

    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…

  • Northburgh Castle

    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…

  • Main Street

    County Donegal

    Letterkenny's long, sloping main street is graced by a cute little market square halfway down. This is the most attractive part of the town, with a…

  • Newmills Corn & Flax Mills

    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…

  • Muckish Mountain

    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…

  • Buncrana Castle

    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…

  • O'Doherty's Keep

    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…

  • Carrickabraghey Castle

    Inishowen Peninsula

    Sitting on Friar's Rock, this 16th-century tower is just north of long Pollan Strand and Ballyliffin Golf Club. The ruins are in bad shape so take care…

  • Trá na Rossan

    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…

  • R. L. Rodgers Gallery

    County Donegal

    Artist Ruairí Rodgers has a small gallery of his work at his home. Look for his house next to the An Cloígtheach Bell Tower. It's painted white, green and…

  • Donegal County Museum

    County Donegal

    Letterkenny's 19th-century workhouse, built to provide Famine relief, now houses the local museum. The permanent collection offers 8000-plus artefacts…

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