Author: Conary O’Cleirigh

A Victorian Travellers Guide to Ireland, 1843

Termon MacGrath Castle near Pettigo, Co.Donegal

In 1843, just two years before the outbreak of the Irish Famine, “An Gorta Mór”, Mr and Mrs Samuel Carter Hall published a book about their experiences travelling around Ireland called “Ireland: Its Scenery, Characters &c” in three volumes, filled with factual history, their own observations and anecdotal stories from the people that they met on their journeys around the country. County Donegal featured large in Volume III of their book and in the southern part of the county they visited Donegal Castle, Lough Derg and the ruins of Termon McGrath castle near Pettigo.

In addition they visited the ruins of Kilbarron Castle and gave the following brief description.

“Our own route lay through the southern extremity of the county to Ballyshannon; but we diverged a few miles in order to examine the picturesque and venerable ruin of Kilbarron –an ancient fortalice of the O’Clerys, chiefs of the district”.

Interestingly they also include a lithograph of the ruins of Kilbarron Castle in their book along with many other sketches of places of interest around Ireland. The Kilbarron drawing is the work of J. H. Burgess and engraving by “Jackson”. The engraving shows the ruins to have been more extensive in 1843 with upstanding walls of all three buildings easily identified. This image has been very useful in determining what the castle originally looked like. The original drawing by J.H. Burgess is in the National Library of Ireland in Dublin.

Lithograph of Kilbarron Castle from the original sketch by J. H. Burgess in the travel book called Ireland Its Scenery and Characters by Mr. & Mrs. J.C. Hall 1843.

Samuel Carter Hall was born in Geneva Barracks, Co Waterford. The son of a London born British army officer. In 1821 he went to London to study law but became a newspaper reporter instead, He married Anna Maria Fielding in 1824 who was born in Dublin in 1800 but went to live in England when she was fifteen years old. She published extensively under her married name Mrs S. C. Hall including “Sketches of an Irish character” in 1829. She also contributed articles to the Irish Penny Journal under her name Anne Marie Hall.

Samuel Carter Hall and Anne Maria Hall


As a footnote it is interesting to note that Kilbarron Castle, Termon McGrath Castle and Donegal Castle were recommended as places of great antiquity and interest for the intrepid tourist of the 1840s! In the years since then, the first two of these although nominally protected by the state have been allowed to fall further into ruin whilst the latter has been partially restored by the Board of Works in more recent years.

A view of Donegal Castle in 1920.
The present view of Donegal Castle which has been extensively restored in the last thirty years. It is now a major tourist destination due to the work undertaken.

Tours of Ulster 1855

George Petrie (1790-1866), editor Irish Penny Journal

In an extensive piece written about Kilbarron Castle in a book called “Tours in Ulster– A handbook to the Antiquities and Scenery of the North of Ireland” the author begins by remarking that “The castle of Kilbarron memorable as the ancient residence of the hereditary annalists of the kingdom (Tír Connaill) is situated on the sea coast, about three miles from Ballyshannon. It was in this castle the justly celebrated Annals of the Four Masters were composed. The accompanying sketch from the pencil of George Petrie, Esq, will convey an accurate idea of its present extent. Some idea of the liberal patronage bestowed by the native princes upon the literati may be formed from the extent of the estates granted for the support of these annalists”.

Kilbarron Castle, Tours of Ulster, 1855

The book written by John Borbridge Doyle and published in 1855, promotes a series of tour routes across the nine counties of Ulster (as well as the Cooley Peninsular) He extols the scenic virtues of the province but additionally delves into the historic background of the many places of antiquity as well as remarking on the modern buildings of the period. He bases many of his tour routes on the growing extent of the new railways that were being built at the time. Some lines were still under construction such as the Dundalk Clones and Enniskillen line which by this time had only reached Castleblaney and one had to get a coach to Fintona in County Tyrone to link up with the Omagh to Derry line.

John Borbridge Doyle

John Borbridge Doyle was one of nine children born to John Doyle and Sarah Borbridge who came from Dunganstown in County Wexford. He married Anne Smith and spent the latter years of his life living in Clougharevan, Bessbrook in County Armagh where he died on the 19th April 1882. He published an earlier book in 1852 called “Lesser Lights of Scripture. Dorcas and Ruth” which is currently out of print.

John Borbridge Doyle was obviously a man of artistic ability as many of the sketches in the book Tours of Ulster are by his own hand. As noted earlier the lithograph of Kilbarron Castle was sketched by George Petrie whom he further quotes his remarks on Kilbarron Castle “From the singularity of its position, situated on a lofty precipitous nearly insulated cliff exposed to the storms and billows of the western ocean, the reader will naturally conclude that this sad dilapidated and time worn ruin must have owed its origins to some rude and daring chief of old, whose occupation was war and rapine, and whose thoughts were as wild and turbulent as the waves that washed his sea girt eagle dwelling; and as such in their ignorance of its unpublished history, has been the conclusion by modern topographers that it must have been the habitation of freebooters. But not so. This lonely insulated fortress was erected as an abode for peaceful men -a safe and quiet retreat, in troubled times for the laborious investigators and preservers of the history, poetry and antiquities of their country”.