Castle hotel
Donegal Town
Lough Eske Castle
A five-star restored ruin on the shores of Lough Eske, the only Irish hotel to have won a World Luxury Hotel Award.
Worth the detour
Notable castles to visit
1420s
Notable castle
Doe castle
Built in the 1420s on a small peninsula jutting into Sheephaven Bay, Doe Castle was the seat of the MacSweeney clan (gallowglass mercenaries of Scottish origin) for almost two centuries.
1474
Notable castle
Donegal Castle
A 15th-century rectangular keep built around 1474 by Red Hugh O'Donnell I, chieftain of the powerful O'Donnell clan, on the banks of the River Eske in the heart of Donegal town.
1867
Notable castle
Glenveagh Castle
Built between 1867 and 1873 by land speculator Captain John George Adair — notorious for the brutal Derryveagh Evictions of 1861 — and designed by John Townsend Trench in the style of an early Irish tower house.