The Old Abbey, Donegal Town 19 April 2026 - v1

The ruins of this historic 15th century Franciscan friary, known as the Old Abbey of Donegal, are located in Donegal town where the River Eske flows into the wide but shallow estuary of Donegal Bay. Just a short distance away is the O’Donnell Castle (located on Tír Chonaill Street) which was also built in the 15th century and was the home of the illustrious O’Donnell chieftains for over 150 years. Up to the mid-1600s many historical and political events centred on the Abbey and the Abbey itself is inextricably linked with that of the history of the O’Donnell’s and indeed the history of Tír Chonaill. During its prime from 1474 to 1600, the Franciscan Donegal Abbey became the recognized principal burial place of the ruling O’Donnell dynasty of Kings and Princes of Tyrconnell. The Abbey was founded in 1474 at the request of by Finola O’ Donnell, née O'Connor, also known as Nuala O'Donnell (d.1474) alternative dates quoted online), and her husband Hugh Roe 19th O’Donnell 1st (b1572 d.1602) chief of Tír Chonaill. Tír Chonaill was the original name for much of what is now known as County Donegal but it also included parts of Counties Derry, Tyrone, Fermanagh, Leitrim and Sligo. The O’Donnell chieftains had ruled Tír Chonaill for over two hundred years. Nuala after travelling approx. 100 miles, sought permission to have an Abbey established in Donegal and made the request to the Franciscan Provincial Chapter meeting being held at Ross Friary, near Headford, Co. Galway in that year. They were reluctant to grant permission due to commitments they had already made. However, it is said that Nuala pleaded with them. Her persistence was rewarded and permission was eventually given. What is surprising is that Donegal already had a Franciscan Tertiary (Third Order) friary in Magherabeg, about three miles distant from the proposed abbey, which administered its duties in the district between St. Ernan’s and Barnes. However, as this housed the Third Order Regular it would have been made up of lay men and women who had adapted the three vows of simplicity, chastity and obedience and although they would have administered to the people of the locality they were not necessarily consecrated as religious brothers or ordained as priests. The new Abbey was built for the First Order, which was the Observant Franciscan Friars, or the Order of Friars Minor. This was a mendicant order (from the Latin mendicare ‘to beg’) The Gaelic Irish and Old English families in Ireland at that time became generous patrons to the mendicant or travelling orders as they brought great prestige to the areas that they settled in and the families came to regard the friaries as places of education, retreat, retirement and ultimately a final resting place. By 1200 it is estimated that there were 200 religious houses for men and 40 nunneries in Ireland. There are presumably many O’Donnell’s buried in Donegal Abbey, but the following are some of those on record. Their burials attest to the tradition of Donegal Abbey being the primary burial place of the O’Donnell dynasty with a great number of Red Hugh’s immediate birth-family being buried there. The site's turbulent history reads like a military chronicle of late medieval Ireland. After surviving intact for over a century, English forces pillaged the friary in 1588 and subsequently garrisoned the buildings. Red Hugh O'Donnell 2nd (b.1572 d.1602) drove them out in 1592, allowing the Franciscans to return and begin repairs, but the respite was brief. On 31 July 1601, Niall Garbh O'Donnell (b.1569 d.1626) captured Donegal which enabled the loyalists to attack nearby Ballyshannon. In particular he captured the Franciscan priory, Donegal Abbey, which housed a confederate munition store consisting of "a great chamber full of calivers and muskets, a loft full of pikes, and an estimated two hundred barrels of gun powder. His hold over Donegal virtually prevented Red Hugh from entering Tyrconnell, and a month-long siege ensued. It came to a head on 19 September 1601 when a gunpowder explosion in the store caused a raging fire in the abbey. Red Hugh hurriedly ordered his men to attack, leading to a chaotic engagement amidst the burning abbey. It appeared that Niall would be defeated, but the loyalist forces held out until reinforcements from Henry Docwra (b.1564 d.1631) arrived, forcing Red Hugh to retreat. Many of Niall's troops were killed during the battle; his younger brother Conn Oge O’Donnell (d.1601) was fatally injured after being crushed by falling masonry. Niall later retreated to Magherabeg Friary. Red Hugh's brother, Rory (b.1575 d.1608) attempted repairs before his departure for Spain in 1607 (The Flight of the Earls), the friary along with the remains of the castle. Were granted to the undertaker, Sir Basil Brooke (b.1567 d.1633) of Magherabeg, that same year, and the church was converted for Protestant worship and many of its stones were used to repair Donegal Castle.