Ballyshannon Castle was a castle at

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 road (Ireland), N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 road (Ireland), N15 crosses the River Erne. The town was inc ...

County Donegal County Donegal ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county of the Republic of Ireland. It is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster and is the northernmost county of Ireland. The county mostly borders Northern Ireland, sharing only a small b ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. The castle was a stronghold of the O’Donnell's. No visual remains of the castle exist above ground.

History

Niall Garbh Ó Domhnaill built Ballyshannon Castle in 1423 to command the ford over the

River Erne The River Erne ( , or ''An Éirne'') in the northwest of the island of Ireland, is the second-longest river in Ulster, flowing through Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, and forming part of their border. Course The Erne rises on ...

. The castle was captured and sacked by Conn Bacach O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone in 1522. Sir Conyers Clifford’s army was repelled by

Hugh Roe O'Donnell Hugh Roe O'Donnell II (; 20 October 1572 – 30 August 1602), also known as Red Hugh O'Donnell, was an Irish Chief of the Name, clan chief and senior leader of the Irish confederacy during the Nine Years' War (Ireland), Nine Years' War. He was ...

after the castle was besieged for three days during the battle of Ballyshannon in 1597. The castle was transferred to Henry Folliot after the decline of the O’Donnell’s fortunes in 1606. The castle was demolished in 1720 and a cavalry barracks built in its place. By the early 20th century, its site had been converted into a market yard to sell farm produce.

References

Buildings and structures completed in 1423

Castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Castles in County Donegal {{Ireland-castle-stub