Ireland · Demolished
Drumboe Castle
Drumboe Castle was an early 17th-century fortified residence erected during the Plantation of Ulster on the outskirts of Stranorlar, County Donegal. The original building was noted for having four large towers and occupied a riverside position guarding a ford on the River Finn; the site later contained a Georgian house and was demolished in 1945.
Its prime
1622
Today
Demolished
As it stood in 1622
The shape it held in its prime.
Sited at the ford of the River Finn on the edge of Stranorlar, the castle's prime silhouette is defined by four large towers rising directly from the riverside. The four tower masses are the primary vertical elements against a low river plain, their full heights visible from both banks; the building presents as a complete fortified residence at the water's edge and is intact in this phase.
Its story
The story of Drumboe Castle.
Drumboe Castle stood on the outskirts of Stranorlar in County Donegal, an early 17th-century fortified residence of the Plantation of Ulster, noted for its four large towers and a riverside position guarding a ford on the River Finn. In 1622 Robert Redington sold the estate at Ballybofey to Sir Ralph Bingley; after Bingley's death his widow Lady Jane and Robert Harrington took charge until 1641, when it was granted to Sir William Bazil, Attorney-General for Ireland.
Bazil's daughter Mary married Sir Samuel Hayes, 1st Baronet, and through that marriage Drumboe became the home of the Hayes baronets of Drumboe Castle from 1789 to 1912.
On 14 March 1923 four anti-Treaty IRA fighters — Charles Daly, Sean Larkin, Daniel Enwright and Timothy O'Sullivan, captured and held in the castle since January — were summarily shot there in retaliation for the death of a National Army soldier in an ambush. The Georgian house that had come to occupy the site was demolished in 1945.
Step inside
3 places to explore in 1622.
The record describes 3 distinct spots at Drumboe Castle — including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and walk through every one — more scenes means more photos, more angles and more rooms of the immersive experience.
Create History
Recreate Drumboe Castle with AI to explore it.
The artist rebuilds it as it stood in 1622 — a photoreal walk that belongs to you alone. Pay with coins, no subscription needed.
Recreate Castle to Explore →Whose castle
Clans who held Drumboe Castle.
The families that held Drumboe Castle for a decade or more across its history — follow a name to its clan.
Bingley
Sir Ralph Bingley bought the estate in 1622; his widow Lady Jane held charge until 1641.
Bazil
Granted to Sir William Bazil, Attorney-General for Ireland, in 1641; his daughter Mary carried it to the Hayes by marriage.
Home of the Hayes baronets of Drumboe Castle, 1789–1912.
