Frequently Asked Questions
Through the bay, threading between sandbanks and islets to the estuary anchorage where the River Eske meets the sea. Only smaller ships can manage it. Tenders then run up to the town quay, about 500 metres from the centre.
Yes. The centre is about 500 metres away, a few minutes' walk. The Diamond, the castle and the Eske quays are all reachable on foot, with no vehicle needed.
The triangular market square at the heart of the town, inherited from the plantation era. An obelisk there honours the Four Masters, the Franciscan friars who compiled the Annals of the Kingdom of Ireland in the seventeenth century — their monastery stood on this very spot.
Yes. The restored tower is open: thick-walled chambers, great carved fireplaces, a reconstructed roof. Built in 1474 by the O'Donnell clan, lords of Tyrconnell, it was reworked in the early seventeenth century by an English captain who added a gabled Jacobean manor.
Romantic ruins at the edge of the bay, wind-battered and watched over by gravestones. The abbey was also founded in the fifteenth century. It is a short walk from the centre and one of the most atmospheric spots of the call.
The exile in 1607 of the defeated Gaelic chieftains, departing from this very land and marking the end of the old lordly Ireland. The county keeps the memory alive in songs and place names: here, history is heard in conversation rather than read in display cases.
A flecked cloth known to tailors worldwide, made for fine rain and wind, in the colours of heather and turf. The town's shops turn it into caps, jackets and blankets, and some workshops let you watch the weavers at work.
Two hours cover the Diamond, the castle and the Eske quays. Three to four hours let you add the ruined abbey and the tweed shops. Half a day opens the door to a bay cruise or the landscapes of the south of the county.
Yes. A tour boat circles the bay with commentary on the history of the shores, the seals and the oyster beds. It is a good way to see Donegal from the water once you have covered the town.
The sea decides: the anchorage depends on the tides, and the return aboard follows their timetable rather than the visitors'. Watch for the ship's instructions and plan nothing tight late in the day.
