Reg No
40905603
Rating
Regional
Categories of Special Interest
Architectural, Historical
Original Use
Signal tower
Date
1800 - 1810
Coordinates
170943, 408358
Date Recorded
09/09/2021
Date Updated
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Freestanding two-bay two-storey Napoleonic-era signal tower, built c.1805, overlooking Ceann an Cruaiche [Crohy Head] and An Aigéan Atlantach [Atlantic Ocean]. Square plan, having faceting to east elevation. Ashlar machicolations to southeast and northeast corners and to west elevation, with remains of red brick chimneystack. Exposed rubble stone walls with dressed quoins. Square-headed openings with remains of cut-stone lintels with keystone to first floor and having segmental relieving arches with dressed stone voussoirs; windows to ground floor have voussoirs, but lintels are missing. Square-headed recessed openings to interior with flat stone arches, and segmental-arch fireplace.
This signal tower is an important component of the early nineteenth-century military architectural legacy of Dún na nGall [County Donegal]. It was constructed by the British administration in anticipation of a potential invasion by the French during the Napoleonic War and formed part of a substantial network of defensive structures erected along the Irish coastline. Of notable architectural interest are the machicolations and the small openings on the ground floor, typical of defensive and fortified buildings. The structure makes a distinctive landmark.