Talk:Donegal Castle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[edit] Cofusion With Castler Builder/Dates...

As per one version of this article, "The castle was built in 1474 by Hugh Roe O'Donnell"... how can this be when he was not born until at least 1572? He only lived until his early 30s. One castle website indicates the castle was built in 1505 by the O'Donnell family. However according to most references, it appears the castle was built by Hugh Roe O'Donnell's father, Sir Hugh O'Donnell. I would like to see some additions made my researcher of the O'Donnell Clan, especially since this is important to people such as me whose family originated from Co. Donegal. 15:27, 11 February 2007 (UTC)

Ok, this comes from local history lessons at school so the details may not be precise. There were at least 2 historically important figures called Aodh Rua Ó Domhnaill (Hugh Roe/Red Hugh O'Donnell). One was a leader of the Nine Years War in the 16th century and the other was the 15th century builder of the castle. The senior Aodh Rua was married to Nuala O'Brien (who founded the Franciscan Friary in 1474) and was an ancestor of the junior Aodh Rua. I don't have any reliable references at hand but googling says that the keep was built in 1505 but that the castle was from the 15th century! These 2 dates don't match up so what probably happened was that a fortification was built sometime in the late 15th century and then improved in the early 16th century. Will have a look out for some conclusive info. Afn 11:13, 12 February 2007 (UTC)