One cannot go to Doon Well and fail to note the lofty Carraig an Duin (The Rock of Doon), standing, sentinel-like, nearby. Most visitors make a point of climbing to its uneven summit, and are rewarded by a breathtaking, panoramic view of the of surrounding countryside.

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Here, in truth, one can rub shoulders with history; make physical contact with this most historic of places that bridges the centuries, linking up with the days of Donegal's glory and greatness...the era of the celebrated Clann O'Donnell.

It was on this spot that those great chieftains of Tir Chonaill were inaugurated. Sadly, those days of splendour and spectacle are no more, but standing on the summit of the Carraig, it is easy to picture in the mind's eye, the colourful ritualistic panoply of long ago, as hundreds of deliriously happy and proud clansmen surged around in ecstatic jubilation at the base of the mound, as the glad news of the installation of yet another O'Donnell prince was proclaimed. Those days of excitement and glittering pageantry are gone forever, with nothing left but this cold, grey Rock, to serve as an imperishable reminder and symbol of the stirring days of Red Hugh and his forebears.

The last O'Donnell to be elected at Doon Rock was Niall Garbh in 1603. He was the last Celtic Lord of the Finn Valley, and a cousin of Red Hugh. It was here too that Sir Cahir O'Doherty, just out of his teens - and the last Chieftain of Inishowen - was slain in battle in 1608.

Which brings to mind an old Irish proverb:

The sheep has a well-earned place in Irish proverbs, because for centuries, rural Irish people depended on sheep for their clothing. What the English translation tells us simply is that the younger person has no guarantee of outliving the older.