Overview
On 3 October 1938 the Union Jack came down over Fort Dunree and the tricolour went up: the last of the Treaty ports handed back, and with it the last British military foothold in the twenty-six counties. The two soldiers who swapped the flags, Sergeant O’Flynn of the Royal Artillery and Sergeant McLaughlin of the Irish Coastal Artillery, were brothers-in-law.
Fort Dunree – Dún Fhraoigh, ‘fort of the heather’ – sits on a rocky promontory on the west side of the Inishowen Peninsula in County Donegal, reached across a natural fissure above Lough Swilly. It was built in 1812–13 to guard the lough against a French landing during the Napoleonic Wars, re-armed in 1874 and remodelled again in 1895 for heavier 4.7-inch and 6-inch guns, both of which saw service in the First World War. The Irish Army kept the guns manned through the Second World War and trained here until 1990; the fort opened to the public as a museum in 1986.
The museum
The fort’s guns are still in their emplacements – a BL 6-inch Mk VII naval gun, restored 24-pounders and a 12-pounder QF gun – and you can go down into the original command and magazine bunkers, now hung with uniforms, medals and personal effects belonging to the men who served here. The Saldanha Suite, a converted magazine, holds the Rockhill Collection of Defence Forces memorabilia along with a Wildlife Discovery Room, and hosts exhibitions and events through the year. An audio-visual theatre and hands-on displays fill in the operational history for all ages.
The walks
Three signposted trails climb out from the fort. Walk 1 is an easy 2 km loop of about 45 minutes, good for birdlife; Walk 2 circles the Top Fort and its guns; Walk 3 is the longest, opening out views over Crummie’s Bay and, inland, the ancient ringfort of Grianan of Aileach. There are shelters, benches and picnic tables along the way. This is a Wild Atlantic Way Discovery Point, and the cliffs earn the climb: fulmars and choughs riding the updraughts, grey seals in the bay below, and dolphins offshore if you’re lucky. If the weather is against the walking, the museum alone is worth the trip.
Café and the water
Fort Dunree bills its waterfront café as the most scenic coffee shop in Ireland, and on a clear day, with the lough laid out below, it is hard to argue too hard. It keeps the same hours as the fort, 10.30am to 4.30pm daily. Down in the sheltered bay, Inish Adventures runs kayaking, snorkelling and coasteering.
A €12.5 million redevelopment announced in 2021 proposed a glass walkway along the cliff face and a funicular railway up to the batteries. Check the website for what has actually opened before you count on either.
Getting there
Fort Dunree is about a 10-minute drive from Buncrana and half an hour from Derry. Public transport is thin on the ground, so you will really want a car. Parking on site is free but limited, and it fills on fine summer days. The café and museum both open 10.30am to 4.30pm; admission is €10 for adults, €7 for seniors and students, €5 for children and €25 for a family, with group rates on request.
Nearby
Buncrana is the closest town, with a shore path along the lough and a good scatter of pubs. Beyond it the Inishowen coast runs north toward Malin Head, Ireland’s northernmost point – a full day’s outing rather than a quick detour.
Come mid-morning: the parking is easier, the light on the lough is at its best, and you will have time for both the bunkers and a cliff walk before the café closes at half four.