Ireland · Partial ruin
Carrickabraghy Castle
Carraig Bhrachaí
Carrickabraghy Castle is a small stone tower‑house site on a rocky promontory at the north‑west extremity of the Isle of Doagh, County Donegal, Ireland. The surviving masonry dates to around 1600; the tower was abandoned in the 17th century and today stands as a conserved ruin overlooking Pollan Bay.
Its prime
1600
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1600
What Carrickabraghy Castle looked like in its prime.
Perched on a bare rocky promontory at the edge of Pollan Bay, the castle is a compact rectangular masonry tower built of coarse grey local stone, rising in clear stacked stages with squared corners. No continuous curtain walls are visible; the building stands alone above grass‑covered slopes and outcrops dotted with purple heather. The promontory falls to sheer rock and sea. In its prime the tower was complete, roofed and occupied, visible from the tidal approach.
Its story
The story of Carrickabraghy Castle.
The Lords of Carraig Bhrachaí were the Ó Maolfabhail sept, anglicised McFall, MacFall, MacPaul and Paul, descended from Cineal Fhearghasa, a branch of Cineal Eoghain. The Annals of the Four Masters track them across two centuries: Fearghas, lord of Carraig Bhrachaí, killed by Munstermen in 834; Maolfabhail dying in 878, Ruarc in 907, Tiarnach in 965 and Flaitheartach Ó Maolfabhail in 1053, after which all reference to the lords ceases.
Power in Inishowen then passed to the Ó Dochartaigh clan. With the English invasion of Ireland well underway, Sean Óg Ó Dochartaigh, chief of the clan and Lord of Inishowen, decided the best place to protect his livestock and supplies from English raids was the Isle of Doagh, storing them with his kinsman Feilimí Brasleach Ó Dochartaigh, the Lord of Carraig Bhrachaí.
The surviving masonry on the rocky outcrop at the head of Pollan Bay dates to around 1600; the tower was abandoned in the 17th century and stands today as a conserved ruin overlooking the bay, known locally as "The Castles".
Step inside
5 places to explore in 1600.
The record describes 5 distinct spots at Carrickabraghy Castle, including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Recreate Carrickabraghy Castle with AI to explore it.
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Clans who held Carrickabraghy Castle.
The families that held Carrickabraghy Castle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Ó Maolfabhail
The Ó Maolfabhail sept (anglicised McFall, MacFall, MacPaul, Paul) were Lords of Carraig Bhrachaí, recorded in the Annals of the Four Masters from 834 to 1053.
Held by the Ó Dochartaigh; Feilimí Brasleach Ó Dochartaigh was Lord of Carraig Bhrachaí at the time of the English invasion of Ireland.
