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O’Doherty’s Keep Development GroupIMAGE INFORMATION

A piece of morter from Sir Cahir O Dougherty's Castle at Buncrana, county of Donegal Ireland

Object Status:

Unlocated

Accession Date:

November 14, 1821

Primary Source Reference:

Peale Museum Accessions Book, Historical Society of Pennsylvania, p. 117

Notes:

On the northern bank of the River Crana as it enters Lough Swilly sits the three-story O'Doherty's Keep, which is the only surviving part of an original 14th-century Norman castle. The keep was burned by Crown forces in 1608 in reprisal for the rebellion of Sir Cahir O'Doherty (1587-1608), who had sacked and razed the city of Derry. In 1718, Buncrana Castle was built using stone taken from the bawn, or defensive wall, surrounding O'Doherty's Keep.