Donegal Town is over 2000 years old, making it one of the oldest towns in Ireland. Strolling around its streets in the present day, with it's hotels, restaurants, craft, souvenir and book shops, it is hard to imagine you're actually walking through millenniums of history and culture. You could almost compare it to modern-day Rome or Athens (less sunshine of course!) in that, like those two great ancient cities, Donegal Town was also destroyed by barbarians from the east - the NEAR east.

In 1608, the British ransacked the town, and burned its priceless library of manuscripts. Luckily however, some of the monks escaped, brought their notes with them, and from these notes compiled the world-famous Annals of the Four Masters. These monks of ingenuity were Michael and Peregrine Ó Cleary, Peregrine Ó Duignean and Fearfeasa Ó Maolconry. Today, they are commemorated by the Church of the Four Masters (built in 1935) and by an imposing obelisk in the Diamond (the local name for Donegal Town Centre).

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The Diamond	Church of the Four Masters	View behind the Castle	Obelisk