Doonmore Castle & pier

Doonmore means “Great Fort”.

The MacMahons were chiefs of ‘Dunmugyda Inver’ in the 13th century, but the castle is first listed in 1574 when it was owned by Sir Donal O’Brien. It may have been occupied up until 1698 when it is mentioned in letters but by the early 19th century it was a ruin.

In 1814 it was recorded that “The sea has worked its passage into the deep vaults under it, and with the wind whistling through it, has often produced strange and frightful noises, to the terror of those who believe the place to be haunted by the ghosts of some prisoners said to have been murdered there many centuries ago. Not one of these castles is without a deep vault, “A Donjon keep,” which the peasants call the “murdering hole,” and peopled with hobgoblins and apparitions.”

The slipway, beside the pier, was built in 1973 and pier was further developed in 2000 and 2005 with EU funding with Doonbeg Fishermen’s Association. Prior to this fisherman used to pull their currachs up on the banks.