Faugher House

Overview

Most ruins in Donegal are either castles or cottages. Faugher House is the awkward, interesting thing in between: a tall gun-looped house that started as a Plantation-era defended enclosure and ended, a century later, as an ordinary gentleman’s residence. That transition is exactly what makes it worth stopping for – it’s a rare, largely unaltered record of the moment Ulster’s fortified houses stopped needing to be fortified.

It sits on a rise between Ards Forest Park and Portnablagh, a few kilometres east of Dunfanaghy in the barony of Kilmacrennan. The land is privately owned and there’s no public right of way onto it, so this is a look-from-the-road ruin – which, given the silhouette of the chimney stacks against the sky, is enough.

Names and Alternative Titles

You may see this site referred to as O’Boyle’s Castle or Wray’s Castle. These names reflect the two principal families associated with the estate: the O’Boyles, who built the original bawn and house in the early 1600s, and the Wray family, who likely rebuilt the main house in the later seventeenth century.

A History of Fortification and Change

The story of Faugher begins in 1611, when Tirlagh Roe O’Boyle received a 2,000-acre grant in the Kilmacrennan barony as part of the Plantation of Ulster. O’Boyle’s family originally hailed from Kiltooris Castle near Portnoo and Narin.

By 1619, O’Boyle had erected what contemporary records described as a “good bawn and a house of lime and stone.” This earliest phase was a defensive enclosure built of rubble stone, featuring rounded battlements and gun-loops along the north-west wall. The house itself was a clay-and-stone structure, 48 feet long by 25 feet wide, surrounded by three stone outbuildings and a timber-thatched dwelling.

The region’s turbulence soon impacted the estate. Following O’Boyle’s involvement in the 1641 rebellion, the lands were forfeited and passed through several hands, including John Stanton and Sir John Stephens.

In 1700, the property was sold to the Wray family, who had already been residing there for roughly three decades. It is highly probable the Wrays rebuilt the house between 1670 and 1700, creating the five-bay, three-storey structure visible today. Architectural details such as the cross-wall plan, angled corner fireplaces, and the four-centred arched entrance are characteristic of late-seventeenth-century Irish domestic architecture.

The house was probably abandoned by the middle of the eighteenth century. By the time the Taylor & Skinner road maps appeared (1777–83), the site was already marked as ‘Castle Ruins’. What survives is that rare, largely unaltered thing: a building caught mid-transition, still fortified in its bones but domestic in its plan.

What to look for

There are no tours, panels or facilities, and you’re viewing from the perimeter rather than wandering the interior – but even from the roadside the stonework repays a few minutes of attention.

• The bawn walls: the rectangular enclosure measures roughly 34m × 29m inside. The western and southern walls still stand near their original height, crowned with rounded crenellations and pierced by gun-loops – the clearest sign of what this place was built to withstand.
• The entrance: on the south-west side, the four-centred arch keeps its stop-chamfered jamb, stone reveals and a socket for the draw-bar that once secured it.
• Chimney stacks: the massive stacks at the north-west and south-east gables are the feature you’ll see first, and the reason the ruin reads so well against the sky.
• The defensive porch: the broken remains on the south-west elevation are another hint at the fortified origins.
• Details: the irregularly spaced square-headed windows with their stone voussoirs, and the patches of lime roughcast still clinging to the walls.

The silhouette is at its best at sunrise and sunset, when low light rakes across the rough-cast and the stacks. Winter’s flat light works too.

Visiting Tips & Practical Information

• Access: The ruin lies on the “Middle Road,” a side-road off the N56 that runs between Dunfanaghy and Breaghy Head. Follow signs for the farm at Faugher.
• Parking: A small lay-by beside the modern farm buildings provides limited parking. It can fill quickly in summer, so arrive early.
• Viewing Point: There is no official public right of way onto the bawn. A short unpaved path from the lay-by brings you to the visible perimeter of the ruins. Stay on the path and respect the privately-owned land.
• Opening Hours: The site is not officially open to the public and has no set opening times. It can be viewed from the lay-by at any time, weather permitting.
• Footwear: The ground is uneven and includes sections of loose stone; sturdy footwear is advisable.
• Accessibility: The terrain is uneven and not wheelchair-friendly.
• Facilities: No toilets, café, or visitor centre are available on-site.
• Pets: Dogs are permitted provided they remain on the path and under control.
• Families: The site is safe for children to explore, but supervise them on the uneven ground.

Nearby

Everything worth pairing with Faugher is within a few minutes on the Sheephaven side of the N56.

• Ards Forest Park: the ruin sits right on its edge, so this is the obvious combination – coastal woodland, waymarked trails, and beaches on Sheephaven Bay for a half-day out.
• Portnablagh and Dunfanaghy: the harbour and the town between them cover cafés, a stroll and somewhere to eat, a couple of kilometres either side.
• Breaghy Head: a low coastal headland with rugged walks and Atlantic views, reached off the same stretch of the N56.
• Horn Head: the big one in the area – a cliff-loop drive north of Dunfanaghy with some of the finest sea views in Donegal.

For the full architectural record – measurements, construction phases, the lot – the National Inventory entry is the source:

View the official heritage record