Châteaux et ruines en Ulster

Castles and Ruins of Ireland

This collection spans thousands of years of Irish history across the northern counties of Donegal, Cavan, and Monaghan. It features Iron Age hillforts like Grianan of Aileach, medieval strongholds such as the 15th-century Donegal Castle and Doe Castle, and Neolithic megaliths including the Beltany Stone Circle and Kilclooney More portal tombs. These sites offer a direct look at the architectural evolution of the region, from prehistoric ritual landscapes to the defensive fortifications of the Gaelic clans and Anglo-Norman settlers.

Castles and Ruins of Ireland — Carte

Becky McReynolds / CC BY-SA 4.0

A

Donegal Castle

Donegal Castle is a castle situated in the centre of Donegal Town in County Donegal in Ulster, the northern province in Ireland.

Takeshi316 / Public domain

B

Grianan of Aileach

The Grianan of Aileach, sometimes anglicised as Greenan Ely or Greenan Fort, is a hillfort atop the 244 metres high Greenan Mountain at…

Alistair Cunningham / CC BY 3.0

C

Doe Castle

Doe Castle, or Caisleán na dTuath, near Creeslough, County Donegal, was the historical stronghold of Clan tSuibhne, with architectural…

D

Carrickabraghy Castle

Carrickabraghy Castle stands in the townland of Carrickabraghy on a rocky outcrop at the north-western extremity of the Isle of Doagh, at…

E

Old Castle

Ruins of a medieval tower house associated with the O'Reilly clan, situated near the town of Cavan.

Sygic Travel User / CC-BY-SA

F

Rossmore Castle

Foundations and surviving structural elements of a 19th-century Neo-Gothic mansion. Located in Rossmore Forest Park, it was once the seat of the Barons Rossmore before its demolition in the 20th century.

G

Green Castle

Ruins of a 14th-century fortress built by Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster. The site overlooks Lough Foyle and was a critical defensive point for the Inishowen Peninsula.

//www.flickr.com/photos/dingbat2005/ / CC BY 2.0

H

Fort Dunree Military Museum

Fort Dunree is a coastal defence fortification located on the west side of the Inishowen peninsula, County Donegal, Ireland.

Mark Doherty / CC BY-SA 4.0

I

Beltany Stone Circle

Beltany is a Bronze Age stone circle just south of Raphoe town in County Donegal, Ireland. It dates from circa 2100-700 BC.

Egardiner0 / CC BY-SA 3.0

J

Drumlane Abbey

Drumlane is a townland situated near the village of Milltown, area 85.76 hectares, in County Cavan, Ireland.

K

Kilclooney More II

A Neolithic portal tomb, or dolmen, located near Ardara. It features a large granite capstone and sits in close proximity to another, larger megalithic tomb.

L

Ardara Fort

An early medieval ringfort, or cashel, providing an example of a traditional Irish defensive farmstead overlooking the surrounding landscape near Ardara.

M

Chambered Grave

A prehistoric megalithic burial structure consisting of a stone-lined chamber, part of the ancient ritual landscape of the Inishowen Peninsula.

N

Termon Stone Circle

A Bronze Age megalithic site consisting of upright stones arranged in a circular pattern, typical of prehistoric ritual sites found in County Donegal.

O

Bocan Stone Circle

A Bronze Age stone circle located near Culdaff. The site originally contained around 30 stones, with several significant uprights still standing today.