Mullaghderg Signal Tower

Freestanding two-bay two-storey signal tower, built 1806. Now ruinous and missing roof. Rubble stone walls with slight base batter and large squared quoins. Segmental-headed openings to first floor with red sandstone voussoirs. Stepped square-headed opening with keystones to ground floor. Openings recessed internally. Set on exposed headland overlooking Bá Inish Fraoigh [Inishfree Bay].

This ruined structure is a remnant of the early nineteenth-century military architecture of Dún na nGall [north County Donegal]. Constructed by the British colonial authority, in anticipation of a possible invasion by the French during the Napoleonic War, the signal tower formed part of a substantial network of defensive structures erected along the south, west and north coasts of Ireland. The structure makes a significant contribution to the defensive and architectural heritage of the coastline and forms a distinctive feature in the landscape.