Things to do in County Donegal
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Narosa Life
Offers surf lessons, yoga and fitness classes, as well as guided walks of Muckish Mountain and Horn Head.
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La Sabbia
This colourful cottage decorated with striking contemporary art has tables spilling out onto the front porch and attracts a lively, upbeat crowd. It's run by a Milanese chef, whose hometown specials include delicious risottos as well as crispy pizzas, and pasta dishes like porcini-filled ravioli.
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Voodoo
This vast club is the centre of Letterkenny's nightlife. Check the website for events.
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Diamond Obelisk
In 1474 Red Hugh O'Donnell and his wife, Nuala O'Brien, founded Donegal's Franciscan friary by the shore south of town. It was accidentally blown up in 1601 by Rory O'Donnell while laying siege to an English garrison, and little remains. Four of its friars, fearing that the arrival of the English meant the end of Celtic culture, chronicled the whole of known Celtic history and mythology from 40 years before the Flood to AD 1618 in The Annals of the Four Masters – still one of the most important sources of early Irish history. The obelisk(1937), in the Diamond, commemorates the work, copies of which are displayed in the National Library in Dublin.
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Ards Forest Park
Anyone looking to stretch their legs will love this forested park, which is criss-crossed by marked nature trails varying in length from 2km to 13km. It covers the northern shore of the Ards Peninsula and some of the best walks lead to its clean beaches. The woodlands are home to several native species, including ash, birch and sessile oak. Introduced species, both broadleaf and conifer, also proliferate, and you may even encounter foxes, hedgehogs and otters. In 1930 the southern part of the peninsula was taken over by Capuchin monks; the grounds of their friary are open to the public. It's 5km southeast of Dunfanaghy off the N56; daily closing times are posted at the en…
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Old Courthouse
The 18th-century Old Courthouse is home to an excellent heritage centre with creepily lifelike recreations that use actors’ faces projected onto waxworks. In this manner, Manus O’Donnell tells the story of Donegal’s Gaelic chieftains and several bona-fide trials are re-enacted in the austere courtroom (including that of Napper Tandy, John ‘half-hanged’ McNaughten and the Lord Leitrim murder). A guard will take you down to the prison cells, accompanied by sounds of banging doors and ominous footsteps, to be locked up for sheep-stealing or the like.
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Donegal Castle
Guarding a picturesque bend of the River Eske, Donegal Castle remains an imperious monument to both Irish and English might. Built by the O'Donnells in 1474, it served as the seat of their formidable power until 1607, when the English decided to be rid of pesky Irish chieftains once and for all. Rory O'Donnell was no pushover, though, torching his own castle before fleeing to France in the infamous Flight of the Earls. Their defeat paved the way for the Plantation of Ulster by thousands of newly arrived Scots and English Protestants, creating the divisions that still afflict the island to this day.
The castle was rebuilt in 1623 by Sir Basil Brooke, along with the adjacen…
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Doe Castle
The interior of the early 16th-century DoeCastle isn’t open to the public, but locals open the gates each day, allowing you to wander through the grounds. The castle was the stronghold of the Scottish MacSweeney family until it fell into English hands in the 17th century. The castle is picturesquely sited on a low promontory with water on three sides and a moat hewn out of the rock on the landward side. The best view is from the Carrigart–Creeslough road. It’s signposted 16km from Dunfanaghy on the Carrigart road.
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Father McDyer's Folk Village
A museum with a mission, this folk centre was established by the forward-thinking Father James McDyer in 1967 to freeze-frame traditional folk life for posterity. It's housed in a huddle of replicated thatched cottages of the 18th and 19th centuries, with genuine period fittings. The shebeen (illicit drinking place) sells unusual local wines (made from ingredients such as seaweed and fuchsias) alongside marmalade and whiskey truffles. Admission includes a tour. It's 3km west of the village, by the beach.
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Donegal Bay Waterbus
The most enjoyable way to explore the highlights of Donegal Bay is to take a 1¼-hour boat tour taking in everything from historic sites to seal-inhabited coves, admiring an island manor and a ruined castle along the way. The tour runs up to three times daily.
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Olde Glen Bar & Restaurant
Authentic down to its original 1700s uneven stone floor, this treasure of a traditional pub in the tiny hamlet of Glen serves a sensational pint. Out the back, its small farmhouse-style restaurant serves outstanding blackboard specials. It doesn’t take reservations and is popular with locals – turn up by 5.30pm to get a table for the 6pm seating, or by 6.30pm for a table at the 7.30pm seating. By the time you leave, you’ll feel like a local yourself.
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Maritime & Heritage Centre
This heritage centre provides a good overview of the town's history, and is set in the factory of Donegal Carpets, whose carpets adorn the White House and Buckingham Palace. You can sometimes see its hand-knotting loom (the world's longest of its kind) at work. The fun wheelhouse simulator lets you 'steer' a fishing trawler into the harbour. There's a good cafe/craft shop on-site.
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Leo’s Tavern
You never know who’ll drop by for one of the legendary singalongs at Leo’s Tavern. It’s owned by Leo and Baba Brennan, parents of Enya and her siblings Máire, Ciaran and Pól (the core of the group Clannad). The pub glitters with gold, silver and platinum discs and various other mementos of the successful kids. At Crolly, take the R259 1km towards the airport, and look for the signs for Leo’s.
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Yellow Pepper
Set in a 19th-century former shirt factory with stone walls, copper light fittings and original hardwood floors, this cosy restaurant is a local favourite. The menu is heavy on fish but also offers plenty for meat lovers and vegetarians. Dishes are exquisitely prepared and beautifully presented. Book ahead.
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Glenveagh National Park
Lakes shimmer like dew in the mountainous valley of Glenveagh National Park. Alternating between great knuckles of rock, green-gold swaths of bog and scatterings of oak and birch forest, the 16,500 sq km protected area is magnificent walking country. Its wealth of wildlife includes the golden eagle, which was hunted to extinction here in the 19th century but was reintroduced in 2000.
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Waterworld
Bundoran's Blue Flag beach isn't safe for swimming, so the place to do it is Waterworld on the waterfront, with wave pools and water slides.
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Harvey's Point Country Hotel
At the water's edge, this elegant retreat is privately owned and run, and it's evident in the pride taken by staff – from the kindly concierge through to the chefs at the excellent French restaurant. Rooms range from large to enormous and are decked out in autumnal colours.
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Cove
Owners Siobhan Sweeney and Peter Byrne are perfectionists who tend to every detail in Cove's art-filled dining room and on your plate. The seafood-skewed cuisine is inventive and deceptively simple with subtle Asian influences. After dinner, retire to the elegant lounge upstairs. It's on the main road in Port-na-Blagh. Book ahead.
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Beetroot
Beetroot's bright wallpaper, bare wood tables and sleek banquettes are a chic backdrop for its slightly dated menu. The food is good but not creative, with dishes such as breaded brie, chicken escalope and Thai curry.
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Kitty Kelly's
Dining at this restaurant in a 200-year-old, plum-coloured farmhouse feels more like attending an intimate dinner party. The menu is a gourmet take on traditional Irish favourites like rich stew and creamy trifle. It's on the coast road, 5km west of Killybegs. Opening hours vary annually; bookings are essential.
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Mill Restaurant & Guesthouse
An exquisite country setting and perfectly composed meals make dining here a treat. Set in an old flax mill that was for many years the home of renowned watercolour artist Frank Eggington, it also has six high-class guestrooms. The mill is just south of the town on the Falcarragh road. Book in advance.
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Glenveagh Castle
This delightfully showy castle was modelled in miniature on Scotland's Balmoral Castle. Henry McIlhenny made it a characterful home with liberal reminders of his passion for hunting deer. In fact you'll be hard pressed to find a single room without a representation – or taxidermied remains – of a stag.
Access is by guided tour only. Tours last 30 minutes and take in a series of flamboyantly decorated rooms that remain as if McIlhenny has just stepped out. The most eye-catching, including the tartan-and-antler- covered music room and the pink candy-striped room demanded by Greta Garbo whenever she stayed here, are in the round tower.
The exotic gardens are similarly sp…
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Beach House
With plate-glass windows facing the lough, this aptly named cafe/restaurant projects an elegant simplicity. Although the menu is also intrinsically simple, the quality and preparation are a cut above: ‘surf and turf’, for example, comes with fillet steak, crab claws, langoustines and creamy bisque.
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22 Main Street
Recently revamped, this Mediterranean-style bistro offers excellent seafood fresh off the trawlers. It's the town's top restaurant and serves a tempting menu with some nonfish dishes but little for vegetarians.
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Adventure Centre
Courses including rock climbing, sea kayaking, sailing, surfing, windsurfing, hill climbing and more are offered for both adults and children at this adventure centre. It’s located on a 35-hectare estate 18km northwest of Letterkenny on the shores of Lough Gartan.
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