Old Castle — Lougheask Demesne

This ruined structure is situated near the edge of the wood in Lougheask Demesne and is almost totally obscured by ivy and vegetation. Built with large rubble blocks and small pinnings, the W wall and a section of the N wall with attached remains of a cross-wall, survive. The quoins are of rough ashlar construction and the exterior face was harled. The SW corner has an estimated height of over 7m. There is no visible trace of the E or S walls. The ground floor was divided by a cross-wall into two barrel-vaulted chambers; the vaults are aligned N-S. A short stretch survives at the N end of the W chamber. At the S end of the W wall, this vault meets, another vault aligned E-W; the junction is supported on corbels. The outline of the latter is visible in the interior face and had a small span, c. 1.2m. There was probably a small chamber or passage here; one is sometimes found in this position beside the tower-house entrance. Each chamber was lit by a single rectangular window in the N wall. The E jamb of the W window is missing, the head, jamb and sill (now weathered) are simple dressed blocks. The sill is chamfered for a small, single light c. 0.11m wide and the ope is 0.68m high. Only the W splayed ingoing of the window in the E chamber survives. The W face of the cross-wall has modern repointing; it was probably intended to prevent the wall and the section of vault which it supports from collapsing. The interior wall faces are fire-damaged, so the tower house was possibly burned at some period. The upper apartments are inaccessible and the detail is obscured by vegetation. The remains have changed little since the early 19th century (OS Memoirs sketch). On the 1834 edition of the OS 6-inch map the castle is shown located in the NW quadrant of a large ploygonal shaped enclosure which may be the remains of a possible bawn (DG094-006001-). This possible bawn is not indicated on subsequent editions of the OS 6-inch maps. Although this may represent the last vestiges of an O'Donnell stronghold, the narrow thickness of the walls would be atypical for a tower house and the possibility that it could be remains of an early 17th century house cannot be entirely excluded (pers. comm. C. Manning). The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In this instance the entry has been revised and updated. Compiled by: Caimin O'Brien, Paul Walsh Date of upload: 26 February 2013