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| Heritage -> Inch Isla |
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Address :
Inishowen Tourism Society Chapel Street, Carndonagh Inch Isla Co. Donegal
Surrounding Area :
None Given
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Description :
Inch CastleThe Castle was built in the middle of the fifteenth century and although it was mentioned in the grant of Inishowen to Chichester in 1609, it was in a state of disrepair.
The walls are built on the edge of a cliff of rubble and split stone. The building originally had three stories and the holes in the walls indicate the position of the joists. The ground floor has two chambers, none of which are vaulted. Access to the second is via a staircase is built into the wall and is in very good repair. There is a garderobe built into the wall and there are two recesses. The murder hole shaft can also be seen. Many details in the construction of the castle are similar to those at Greencastle. There is a similarity in the way the vaults were built and wicker-centring was used for the loophole recesses in both cases. The Castle was at the center of a famous dispute between two O'Donnell cousins over the lordship of Tir Connaill, Donal and Rory.
The latter was killed when Donal threw a stone down from the battlements during an attack on the Castle. Donal became Lord of Tir Connaill but he remained in power for only two years when he was killed by Rory's brother. The castle belonged to the O'Dohertys and it was O'Doherty who imprisoned Donal in the castle in the first instance. O'Doherty was Lord of Inishowen. When the Castle was built, Inch was an island and was considered very secure. It guarded the waters of the Swilly and protected the heatlands of the O'Dohertys.
They resided at the castle at Elagh, about four kilometers from Derry and very close to the border until the year 1600. The lands between the Swilly and the Foyle were rich in cattle and corn and access by land and sea was easy for potential invaders.
Inch Castle was part of a network of O'Dohertys castles stretching from Carrigans to Derry all of which were designed to ward off anyone who threatened the lordship of the O'Doherty family. The island of Inch had over four hundred houses in the 1600s and it was the wealthiest district in Donegal. It was the loss on Inch Island that was the first step in driving Sir Cahir O'Doherty into rebellion against the state.
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Contact Details :
: T - +353 (0)74 9374933 - 4 : F - +353 (0)74 9374935 :
: E - info@visitinishowen.com : W - http://www.inishowen.com :
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