The Annals of the Four Masters, that great medieval chronicle of Ireland, refer to the lords of Carraig Bhrachai for nearly four hundred years. Every reference is to a death. In 834, Fearghas son of Badhbhchadh, lord of Carraig Bhrachai, was killed by Munstermen. In 857, Sechonnan son of Conaing died. In 878, Maolfabhail. In 907, Ruarc. In 915, the chief was slain in a battle with Danes or Norse. In 965, Tiarnach. In 1014, Cu Dubh. In 1053, Flaitheartach. In 1065, Muireartach, killed by the Ui Meith of Menna Tire. In 1082, Giolla Chriost, slain. In 1102, Sitric, killed in a night raid. In 1166, Aodh, treacherously killed. In 1199, Cathalan, killed in revenge. In 1215, Trad and his brothers, slain in Dumbartonshire by the chief steward of Lennox. Then the Annals fall silent. The lords of Carrickabraghy disappear from history.
The castle stands on a rocky outcrop at the north-western extremity of the Isle of Doagh, at the head of Pollan Bay in north Inishowen. The Irish name, Carraig Bhrachai, has been translated variously. Machtochair, in his 1867 history of Inishowen, said it meant the Friars Rock. Others suggest Brachai was a personal name, possibly an ancestor of the Cineal Fhearghasa, from whom the Ó Maolfabhail sept (in English: McFall, MacFael, MacPaul, Paul) descended. The McFalls ruled here from at least the ninth century until the early thirteenth. From the ninth to the thirteenth century, Inishowen was politically divided into three tuatha: Aileach in the south, Bredach to the east, and Carraig Bhrachai to the west. The McFalls were one of the most important families in Inishowen. The Annals make clear they fought, and died, often.
In his book Ancient Monuments of Inishowen, Sean Beattie recounts a tale of a Viking raid on Donegal in the tenth century. Three princesses were taken hostage during the raid. One escaped, carrying with her plundered treasure, and came ashore at Carrickabraghy. She married a local chief. Whether this is folk history, real history, or some braid of both is impossible to say at this remove. What is clear is that throughout the long Viking period in northwest Ireland, the McFalls retained control of Carrickabraghy. The walls of the present castle were not yet built. The earlier fortification on the rock has not survived, though its memory persists in the place-names and in the chronicles of dead lords.
Carraig Bhrachai is silent in the records from 1215 until 1600. By then the political map had changed entirely. The O'Doherty clan now held Inishowen, and the Chief of the Name was Sean Og O Dochartaigh, Lord of Inishowen. The English were closing in. Sean Og decided to store his livestock and supplies on Doagh, which was accessible only at low tide and unfamiliar to English forces. The present castle remains date to about this time. Sean Og died suddenly in 1601. His first-born son Cathaoir Rua was too young to succeed. Aodh Rua O Donaill of Tir Chonaill pushed for an experienced half-brother, Feilim Og, who was inaugurated in February 1601. Three months later, through cunning negotiations, Cathaoir Rua was installed instead. He was fourteen years old. He would be the last of the great Irish Lords of Inishowen.
Cathaoir Rua, known in English as Cahir Roe, took full control in 1605 when he turned eighteen. His rule was peaceful until 1607, the year of the Flight of the Earls, when the leaders of Gaelic Ulster sailed for the continent and effectively surrendered their land to the English Crown. The English suspected Cahir Roe of plotting their return. In autumn 1607, when he went to Kilmacrennan to chop wood, English spies reported he was mobilising for rebellion. Cahir Roe heard of the suspicion, sensed danger, and withdrew to Carrickabraghy Castle. From here he planned the rebellion that did finally break out in April 1608: he burned Derry, killed its governor Sir George Paulet, and rose against the Crown. He was killed in July 1608 at Kilmacrennan. He was twenty-one. His lands were forfeit. The castle was abandoned around 1665.
For three and a half centuries, Carrickabraghy stood empty. The wind off Pollan Bay worked at the mortar. The Atlantic, only metres away, did its slow work too. By the late twentieth century the ruin was perilous, parts of the curtain walls collapsing. A grant from the National Rural Development LEADER Programme, combined with over thirty thousand euros raised through local fundraising, allowed the first phase of conservation work to be completed in December 2013. The bawn, the seven circular towers, the central keep, and the gun-loops are now stabilised. You can walk around the ruin at any time, free of charge, with the Atlantic on three sides and the long curve of Pollan Strand stretching toward Ballyliffin. The Annals of the Four Masters listed every lord who died here for four centuries. The wall they stood behind is still standing.
Located at 55.32N, 7.37W, at the north-western tip of the Isle of Doagh peninsula (now joined to the mainland), in north Inishowen. Nearest airports are Donegal (EIDL) 33 nm south-southwest and City of Derry (EGAE) 22 nm south-east. From altitude, look for the long sandy crescent of Pollan Bay, with Glashedy Island offshore and the castle ruin at the bay's northwestern headland. Malin Head lies 10 nm north-northeast. The site is exposed to Atlantic weather; visibility variable, dramatic light at low sun angles.