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Burt Castle

History of Burt Castle

Burt Castle, with its commanding view of Lough Swilly, was built during the mid-1500s as a stronghold to protect the southern portion of Ó Dochartaigh land. It was inhabited alternatively by the Ó Dochartaighs and by the English when the Ó Dochartaigh were allied to them. The holes in the castle are from practice shots fired by a British warship during World War I.

Click the thumbnails below to open the photos in a larger viewer!

Burt Castle. Photo taken by Joanne Coyle‎. Used with permission.

Burt Castle. Copyright Adam Rory Porter. Used with Permission.

Burt Castle. Photo taken by Joanne Coyle‎. Used with permission.

Burt Castle. Photo taken by Joanne Coyle‎. Used with permission.

Burt Castle. Photo taken by Joanne Coyle‎. Used with permission.

Burt Castle. Photo taken by Joanne Coyle‎. Used with permission.

Burt Castle. Photo taken by Joanne Coyle‎. Used with permission.

Drawing of Burt Castle reproduced from the Illustrated Dublin Journal, Volume 1, Number 19, January 11, 1862.

Drawing of Burt Castle and its defenses dated from the 1590s from the State Papers. Courtesy of the National Archives of Ireland.

Drawing of Burt Castle and its defenses dated from the 1590s from the State Papers. Courtesy of the National Archives of Ireland.

Floorplan of Burt Castle in a book on Irish Castles.

View of both O'Doherty's Inch Island Castle as well as Burt Castle. The view of Burt begins 54 seconds in.

Other Resources to Check out

Library Ireland | Wikipedia | Curious Ireland | Paul Docherty 3D imaging of Burt Castle | Irish Antiquities | O'Doherty Castles

Guarding Grianán Aileach blog which includes photos of Burt Castle

Monument Information

The archaeological site at Burt (Ireland National Monument Service RMP# DG046-015---) consisted of Burt Castle (RMP# DG046-015001), a hilltop enclosure (RMP# DG046-015002-), as well as a large stone house (RMP# DG046-015004-) within a bawn (RMP# DG046-015003-) and two timber houses (RMP# DG046-015005-) outside the bawn. View more at Historic Environment Viewer and County Donegal.

Visit Burt Castle!

The castle sits in the middle of a busy farm, privately owned by some friendly folk, so it's easy to miss visiting while taking a trip around the Irish countryside, unless you purpose to go there.

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The O'Doherty Heritage website is designed to be your place for all things Ó Dochartaigh. Whether your name or ancestry is from a Doherty, Dougherty, Daugherty, Docherty, Dogherty, if your family used another spelling of our name, or if you're from one of our related County Donegal families, such as the McDevitt/McDaid, McBride, McConlogue, or others–we welcome you to the O'Doherty Heritage website!

Visit our other O'Dochartaigh websites, Association of O'Dochartaighs and Dan Doherty's odochartaigh.org for more.

This site is curated by Will Dougherty III in coordination with the Association of Ó Dochartaighs. ©2024 O'Doherty Heritage. Site Policies. Email hello[at]odohertyheritage[dot]org.

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