This medieval fortress was built in the 1500s by Scottish mercenaries, the MacSweeny's. A powerful stone curtain wall surrounds the central tower and this castle is surrounded by the sea on three sides. Doe Castle is entwined in Irish history in that Sir Cahir O'Doherty set up headquarters here before his attack on Derry in 1608. It was at this site that Owen Roe O'Neill landed to lead the 1642 uprising. The English used it to garrison soldiers until the MacSweeny's took the castle once again during the Williamite wars of the 1690s. Doe Castle was restored early in the 1800s and occupied until the turn of the century. This castle is open to the public year-round.
