Drumboe Castle

Drumboe, Ireland, Ireland

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Drumboe Castle was a historic estate near Stranorlar and Ballybofey in County Donegal, Ireland. The site originated as a fortified castle built in the early 17th century to guard an important crossing of the River Finn and later became the seat of the Hayes family. Over time, the original stronghold was replaced or incorporated into a large Georgian country house that stood as a prominent local landmark. The castle is best known for its role in the Irish Civil War, when it served as a headquarters for Free State forces. In March 1923, four anti-Treaty IRA prisoners were executed at the site, an event remembered as the Drumboe executions and commemorated in Irish history. The main house was demolished in 1945, and only ruins and associated estate features remain today. Although little of the original structure survives, Drumboe Castle remains an important historical site because of both its long connection to Donegal’s landed estates and its association with a significant episode of the Irish Civil War.