Donegal County Council urged to buy O’Doherty’s Keep when it goes to auction

Donegal County Council has been encouraged to buy O’Doherty’s Keep when it is auctioned in September.

Also known as O’Doherty’s Castle, the property - which sits by the Crana river in Swan Park -  has been put on the market by its owner.

The three-storey rectangular keep dates back to the 14th century when it was built by the O'Dohertys. It is seen as the ancestral home of the  clan.

Local councillor Jack Murray said the sale would be an opportunity for Donegal County Council to take the building into public ownership.

He told the July meeting of Donegal County Council that the preservation of the property, which was bought by local Buncrana resident Ronald HCO Doherty, in 1969, would complete the tourist offering of Buncrana, he said.

“It’s a community amenity that people are very proud of," Cllr Murray told Monday's meeting of the council.

In 2017 a local group announced  plans to restore the keep and build a visitor and heritage centre at the site. The sale of the keep is to be accompanied by the findings, reports, and plans submitted by the group to various agencies .

The property goes to a public online auction on  September 7 by Dara Furey Auctioneers in Sean Furey Auctioneers. The minimum value has been set at €175,000.

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The listing by the auctioneers says the current owner has decided to pass the property, the founding site of Buncrana town, “on to a new generation of guardians”.

The history of the keep includes it The keep was burned in 1608 by Crown forces in reprisal for the rebellion of Sir Cahir O' Doherty who sacked and raised the city of Derry. In October 1798 Wolfe Tone, one of the founders of the united Irishmen, was arrested and held in the vicinity of the keep before being tried and convicted of treason in Dublin.

“The keep is unique and has authentic and tangible links to an historic story spanning hundreds of years and many countries,” the listing says. 

“It is a monument of identity for many who were forced to leave Ulster over several hundred years. It is a symbol of identity for the diaspora who left Ulster, for those who returned home and for those who live and work in Buncrana and Inishowen.”