What is recorded here

One field holds a ghost castle, its walls erased but its shadow still marked in soil and memory. Davies and Swan saw foundations in growing corn, yet later surveyors found only scattered stones and bricks turned up by ploughs. The true castle may stand elsewhere near Castletown House, leaving this place as a false chamber in the story of Fahan.

In 1939 Davies and Swan suggested that the site of Fahan Castle may have been located in a field close to Castletown Cottage. During the course of their survey they identified the site of a levelled structure, which they described as, 'the foundations are visible in growing corn' (Davies and Swan 1939, 204). The Donegal Survey recorded that there was no visible trace of any features which would indicate the former presence of a castle though some stones and bricks were unearthed by the landowner when cultivating a corner of the N field adjacent to the farmyard. Castletown House which is 400m S of Castletown Cottage is the more liklely location for the siting of the medieval castle (DG038-023----) and bawn (DG028-023001-). 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 been revised and updated. Compiled by Caimin O'Brien Date of upload/revision: 18 November 2011

This remains an important historical record, but the official description says the monument is no longer visible or has been destroyed. The monument record does not grant public access. Check the route and ask the landowner before entering private land.