by 
July 1, 2018,
Today was finally a stereotypical Irish day, overcast with occasional sprinkles of rain. For us, the cooler weather was very welcome. Typically 17° would be a warm day here, but not lately! Today all of us slept in and enjoyed the great mattresses at Seaview House. Unfortunately we did have a slight refrigerator/freezer malfunction, but it was remedied by the time we were ready to leave just after 11 AM.
Our destination today was Castle Doe. The children have loved visiting here in 2014 and 2016, but didn’t remember it so we are returning again! Since our last visit the castle has added guided tours and my reconnaissance indicated that they only run Friday-Sunday, so off we went (today was Sunday) so we wouldn’t miss the tours (it turns out this information was out of date).
On the way we stopped at the Cope Foodstore in An Fal Carragh to pick up picnic supplies, but they had such a great selection of fruit and vegetables that Sarah picked up some extra supplies for the house too. Shortly after our pit-stop we were at our old friend Castle Doe.
Castle Doe
We availed of the picnic tables for our lunch and used the immaculate port-a-johns (it was cleaner than an inside toilet!) and then purchased our guided tour tickets for €3 each (children under 12 are free). Our guide was named Michael and he had just finished his first year at university. When I entered the hut to buy the tickets he was in the middle of a game of chess with the other tour guide and had an Irish language novel at his elbow on the desk. One really nice thing about these tours is that you do not have to wait. You buy your tickets and then you immediately enter with your group. The other great thing is that it is the only way to see the keep (the tower).
The ticket office for Castle Doe
Ticket office and toilet at Castle Doe
Tour schedule for Castle Doe
The inside of the keep has been restored and looks great. The floors were recreated using medieval building methods. Our guide was fantastic and made the visit much more interesting than our previous visits.
The ground floor of the keep does not require a tour. When in use the ground floor would have been used for storage, but now there is this impressive headstone that I had looked for every time I was here before. You can imagine my surprise when I saw that it was actually inside the tower! This Mac Sweeney grave slab dates to 1544 and there is a similar grave stone in the churchyard in Killybegs!
Mac Sweeney Graveslab
The tour begins on the first floor The first was used as the Hall (where guests would visit) when inhabited:
The first floor toilet.
The ceiling of the first floor
The Hall of Doe Castle
Arrow slit on the first floor of Castle Doe
Secret staircase to the Lord’s Bedroom
The second floor would have been a bedroom:
The second floor bedroom
The third floor would have been the Lord’s bedroom:
The third floor bedroom
There was no access to the top floor on our tour, but hopefully one day we can see that too! After our tour was over we wandered around the rest of the castle for a while and then went for some drinks in the Coffee Stand.
Running around the castle
It is interesting that the children always return to the same places each time we visit this castle.
Fionnuala has walked over and sat in this on each visit (2014, 2016 & 2018)!
This head above the gate to the castle was removed from the nearby monastery that once stood where the graveyard is today
We bought two hot chocolates, a tea, a cappuccino and three magnets and sat at the tables in front of the coffee stand (the drinks cost €9 total and the magnets cost €9 total).
Castle Doe Coffee
The inside of Castle Doe Coffee
Castle Doe as seen from the coffee stand
Castle Doe, County Donegal
After we finished our drinks we headed to the graveyard (that I had looked for previously but never found). There are some really old grave stones, but they are the only clue that a monastery was once here. Still, it was a nice cemetery and in a beautiful place. Combined with all of the other additions it made this visit better than our previous visits.
The entrance to the graveyard is just off the car park for the castle
The graveyard by Castle Doe was once the site of a monastery
By this time it was mid-afternoon so we headed back to An Bun Beag. On the way our tire pressure was low so we stopped at the Maxol in Dunfanaghy and used the air there (it cost €1). After we unloaded the car at the house and regrouped we headed to the beach for the first time and stayed there until dinner time walking and playing in the sand.
Our house is right behind me in this picture!
Investigating Bád Eddie
Bád Eddie with the Ostán Gaoth Dobhair behind it.
Irish road sign on the walk to Machaire Chlochair
The walk from the middle of the beach to the house is only 10 minutes for Fionnuala (6)! As we began cooking, the sun broke through for a beautiful evening and sunset and we ate dinner gazing at the sea.
Liam’s Highlight of the Day: Castle Doe
Fionnuala’s Highlight of the Day: Castle Doe and the beach
Gaeilge Experience: None today, but we spent most of the day outside of the Gaeltacht.
by
