Outbuilding in Owenboy

Detached multi-bay single-storey outbuilding, built c. 1820, having single-bay single-storey addition to the north-east gable end. Pitched corrugated-metal roof to the main building having raised rendered gable copings. Thatched roof to single-bay addition to the north-east having ropes secured over on metal ties. Whitewashed roughcast rendered rubble stone walls. Square-headed openings with battened timber doors and timber windows. Set within site shared with former vernacular house, on east side of main Carndonagh to Buncrana road.

This unassuming vernacular outbuilding is one of the better surviving examples of its type in this part of Donegal. It is robustly constructed using local rubble stone masonry, and the irregular spacing of the openings helps to the create an appealing vernacular composition of some aesthetic charm. The survival of the rope-and-peg thatched roof to the section to the north-east is particularly interesting; the corrugated-metal roof to the main section suggests that this too was formerly or originally thatched. Modest in architectural ambition it exhibits the simple and functional form of vernacular building in Ireland. This building represents a fine surviving example of a once ubiquitous building type in the rural Irish countryside, and is a valuable addition to the vernacular heritage of County Donegal.