Killydonnell

19 registered freehold parcels lie mostly in Killydonnell, from 448 m² to 1,000,662 m² (100.07 ha, 247.27 acres). The dashed line is the townland's boundary; 22 neighbouring parcels touch it.

Download the townland: DXF, in Irish Transverse Mercator metres, with its boundary, parcels and buildings; GeoJSON or KML.

No zone of a development plan covers Killydonnell in the national zoning. Outside zoned towns and villages, the county development plan's rural policies apply to each application.

Source: Tailte Éireann and the Department of Housing (MyPlan), national zoning, CC BY 4.0.

• 28 Jun 2023Conditional

  ERECTION OF TWO NO. AGRICULTURAL SHED EXTENSIONS WITHIN EXISTING FARMYARD, INCLUDING ALL OTHER ASSOCIATED SITE DEVELOPMENT WORKS

  Permission · Donegal County Council, 2350928

Source: National Planning Applications, Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Applicants are not shown.

Designated sites

• Special Area of Conservation: Lough Swilly SAC 002287
• Special Protection Area: Lough Swilly SPA 004075
• Proposed Natural Heritage Area: Lough Swilly Including Big Isle, Blanket Nook & Inch Lake 000166

Recorded monuments

• DG046-014 Ringfort - rath
  Description

  The 'fort' marked on the OS 6-inch maps is now almost levelled. It can be traced on the W as a curving field boundary and on the E by a short stretch of a sloping edged drop .5m to 1m high. It is shown on the maps as an oval area c. 40m E-W and c. 30m N-S. It was situated on gently sloping good land. The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated. Date of upload: 22 September 2008

• DG046-017 Religious house - Franciscan Third Order Regular
  Description

  Killydonnell Friary: Founded in 1471 by Calvagh O'Donnell for the Franciscan Third Order Regular the friary survived intact until suppressed c. 1603 when it was granted to Capt. Basil Brooke (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 272). The ivy-covered ruins consist of a church, comprising chancel, nave and S transept and the domestic buildings ranged around the N and E sides of an open court. Subsequent to the friary falling into ruins many of the walls were squared off and the faces repointed. The building may have been maintained by the Stewart family who converted the chamber to the N of the church (the sacristy) into a family burial vault. In consequence of this reparation, the building is difficult to interpret in all its details. The surviving evidence indicates that the domestic ranges are probably coeval with the main body of the church; the transept is probably a later addition. The church, 24m by 6.25m internally, is built of roughly-coursed rubble blocks with ashlar quoins and consists of nave and chancel without structural division. The E and S walls of the chancel have battered lower courses. The E window has lost most of its tracery and the lower jamb-stones and sill are missing. A cusped quatrefoil at the apex and other projecting members indicate that the window probably had four lights. 'The exterior is crowned with a deep hollow-chamfered hood-mould which rises from two head-stops to a weathered, moulded band and cocketed finial. The interior, double hollow-chamfered rear-arch has a similar hood-mould, the tapering terminals of which are broken but retain the stylised vine leaf enrichment. The ogee-headed window at the E end of the S wall is represented by the upper section of the E jamb, a cusped spandrel and exterior horizontal hood-mould with weathered head-stop; another head is centrally set above the hood-mould. The E half of a double hollow-chamfered rear-arch survives. There is a sedilia recess below the window and there is a wall-press beside it on the E. At the W end of the S wall of the chancel are a splayed ingoing and broken jamb fragment of another window. The moulded jambs of the blocked-up sacristy door and a broken stoup are visible at ground level in the N wall of the chancel; one of the pieces which formed its pointed head is lying in the chancel. Above the door, at second storey level, is a squint. There is a wall-press at the E end of the N wall. The transept, 10.4m by 5.9m internally, has two barrel-vaulted altar recesses in the E wall; the upper section of the E wall of the S recess has fallen. Between the recesses is a blocked-up opening, possibly a piscina or wall-press. The transept was lit by a pointed window in the S gable; no dressed stonework survives. The gable rises from battered lower courses and some of the SE quoin stones are missing. All the ground floor chambers in the domestic ranges were vaulted and, with the exception of the W chamber in the N range, the vaults ran E-W. The E range has three chambers. The S chamber, the, sacristy, was converted as a burial vault and the E door is probably an insertion; the segment-head is composed of re-used chamfered fragments. The N and W walls of the burial vault were undoubtedly rebuilt or refaced. There must originally have been a door at the SW corner to provide access from the night stairs to the church. There is a door in the W wall of the central chamber; only the N skewbacks of the vault remain. The N chamber is vaulted and has its entrance in the E wall. No visible traces of windows or other openings survive; it may have been used for storage purposes. Some 3m of the vault of the E chamber of the N range survive. It had two single-light, rectangular windows with splayed ingoings in the N wall; the W window is blocked-up. There was a similar window in the chamber to the W; the dressings are missing. One vault of this chamber ran N-S. The skewbacks in the W gable remain and its outline is preserved in the interior face of the N wall. Very little structural evidence survives to indicate the extent of the upper floors. The W gable of the N range is entire and there is a small ivy-covered section of wall at its E end, immediately N of the top of the stairs. The gabled S limit of the E range is incorporated with the N wall of the church and preserves two segment-headed embrasures at second storey level. These are partly blocked up by the Stewart vault; the soffits retain traces of wicker-centering, and a squint in the W embrasure overlooks the high altar. Above them at third storey level, a splayed window looks out on the roof of the church. A broken water-spout projects from the E face at the junction of the N wall of the church and S gable. The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated. Date of upload: 22 September 2008

• DG046-017001 Graveyard
  Description

  Killydonnell Friary (DG046-0170: Founded in 1471 by Calvagh O'Donnell for the Franciscan Third Order Regular the friary survived intact until suppressed c. 1603 when it was granted to Capt. Basil Brooke (Gwynn and Hadcock 1970, 272). The ivy-covered ruins consist of a church, comprising chancel, nave and S transept and the domestic buildings ranged around the N and E sides of an open court. Subsequent to the friary falling into ruins many of the walls were squared off and the faces repointed. The building may have been maintained by the Stewart family who converted the chamber to the N of the church (the sacristy) into a family burial vault. In consequence of this reparation, the building is difficult to interpret in all its details. The surviving evidence indicates that the domestic ranges are probably coeval with the main body of the church; the transept is probably a later addition. The above description was derived from the 'Archaeological Survey of County Donegal. A description of the field antiquities of the County from the Mesolithic Period to the 17th century.' Compiled by: Brian Lacey with Eamon Cody, Claire Cotter, Judy Cuppage, Noel Dunne, Vincent Hurley, Celie O'Rahilly, Paul Walsh and Seán Ó Nualláin (Lifford: Donegal County Council, 1983). In certain instances the entries have been revised and updated. Date of upload: 22 September 2008

Architectural heritage

• Fort Stewart, country house, 1720–1740 · Regional interest
  Description

  Detached seven-bay three-storey two-pile former country house, built c.1730, having projecting Ionic porch to front, two-bay single-storey addition to northeast end with attic, two-bay single-storey addition to southwest, and two-bay single-storey gabled addition to rear. Renovated or remodelled, with internal decoration, c.1825. Pitched purple slate roof with rendered copings, cast-iron rainwater goods and rendered chimneystacks with stepped copings and clay pots. Pitched slate roof to northeast addition, having dormer to southeast end with terracotta finial and decorative bargeboards, lean-to roof to rear part of southwest addition, front part of same addition being roofless, pitched slate roof to rear addition, and flat leaded roof to porch. Roughcast rendered walls. Porch front and sides framed by engaged Ionic columns on moulded plinth, supporting entablature with dentils and moulded cornice. Square-headed window openings to house with stone sills, timber panelled shutters and timber sliding sash windows, one-over-one pane to ground floor, six-over-six pane to first floor and three-over-three pane to top floor. Timber panelled door to porch within lugged moulded surround with floating cornice, moulded archivolt with keystone, and plain fanlight. Interior has Tuscan column doorcase with sidelights and decorative fanlight, and timber panelled shutters to windows. Rear elevation has three-over-three pane windows to top floor and six-over-six pane elsewhere, with two round-headed stairs windows and nine-over-six pane window to middle of elevation. Rear addition has six-over-three pane windows, southwest addition has two-over-two pane to first floor and eight-over-eight pane to ground floor, and northwest addition has triple four-pane timber casement window to first floor and six-over-six pane to ground floor. House overlooks Lough Swilly to east with lawn to shore, yard to rear with two-storey outbuildings to northwest, and rubble stone boundary wall to road having vehicular entrance flanked by flat-arch pedestrian opening with square-plan rubble stone piers having slate and stone copings and wrought-iron gates. Disused gateway to northeast comprising square-plan ashlar stone piers with moulded cornices and pedimented caps, and replacement double-leaf metal gate.

• Ferry House, house, 1770–1790 · Regional interest
  Description

  Detached seven-bay two-storey former ferry house, built c.1780, having later projecting gabled porch to front, lean-to addition to rear, and single-storey extension to rear. Now in use as private dwelling. Pitched purple slate roof with exposed rafter ends, cast-iron rainwater goods and three rendered chimneystacks with octagonal clay pots. Pitched slate roof to porch and rear addition. Roughcast-rendered walls on projecting plinth course with raised rendered quoins. Raised pediment to front of porch, and rubble stone walls to rear addition. Square-headed openings with stone sills, raised render surrounds and timber sliding sash windows, six-over-six pane to ground floor and six-over-three pane to first floor, with timber panelled shutters, and timber battened door. Tiled floor to porch. Building overlooks Lough Swilly, with causeway extending to southeast. Single-storey rubble stone outbuilding to northeast, enclosed within rubble stone boundary wall with square-plan piers and replacement metal gate.

• Fort Stewart, farmyard complex, 1770–1790 · Regional interest
  Description

  Courtyard of farm buildings, built c.1780, to rear of Fort Stewart, comprising multiple-bay two-storey block to southwest of house, seven-bay two-storey block to northeast of house having five-bay addition to front and multiple-bay single-storey block attached to southeast and two-bay two-storey former house attached to northwest. Second yard to west, having multiple-bay single-storey block and three-bay single-storey former house with attic, flanking gate at northwest side of yard. Southwest block has pitched corrugated-iron roof with rendered copings and replacement rainwater goods, rubble stone walls with dressed quoins and with two stone buttresses to front wall and stone-built projection to rear wall, and square-headed openings with replacement concrete and some stone voussoirs with replacement doors and windows. Former house to northeast block has pitched corrugated-asbestos roof with rendered chimneystacks, rendered walls and square-headed openings with boarded windows and timber battened door with paned overlight; rest of block has slate roof, catslide to five-bay addition, with rendered chimneystack, rubble stone walls and square-headed openings with brick reveals and voussoirs. Block to second yard has four-bay open part to larger building, lean-to corrugated-iron roofs and rubble stone walls with square-headed openings having brick reveals and voussoirs. Smaller block to this yard has pitched slate roof, partly rendered rubble stone walls and square-headed openings, one with timber battened door.

• Fort Stewart, walled garden, 1770–1790 · Regional interest
  Description

  Former walled garden, built c.1780, on rectilinear plan. Now disused. Rubble stone boundary walls enclosing overgrown garden with series of segmental-arch openings in southwest stretch to rear of Fort Stewart House. Section of road elevation missing.

Designated sites: National Parks and Wildlife Service. Recorded monuments: Sites and Monuments Record, National Monuments Service. Buildings: National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, CC BY 4.0. Works at or in relation to a recorded monument need two months' written notice to the National Monuments Service (National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994, section 12).

Radon

About 1 in 10 homes in this area is likely to have high radon levels. Testing a home

Landslides

Susceptibility moderately high, moderately low, low, low (inferred), on the 1:50,000 map.

Terrain model

No LiDAR survey of the Office of Public Works covers the centre of the townland of Killydonnell.

Flooding

The flood maps of the Office of Public Works: floodinfo.ie.

Radon Risk Map of Ireland, Environmental Protection Agency; Landslide Susceptibility Classification, Geological Survey Ireland; both CC BY 4.0. LiDAR: contains Irish Public Sector Data (Geological Survey Ireland & the Office of Public Works) licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) licence.

No address of the register names Killydonnell with five sales or more. The sales of the area are on the page of Co. Donegal.

Name

Killydonnell

Area

2,175,776 m² (217.58 ha, 537.65 acres)

Civil parish

Aughnish, and its townlands

Barony

Kilmacrenan

Electoral division

Rathmelton, the unit of the census

Census 2022

Rathmelton electoral division: 2,494 people in 938 households; 71% of households own their home; 42% of homes were built since 2001; 11% of dwellings stood vacant on census night, and 5% were holiday homes.

Neighbouring townlands

Carnhill, Carrowcashel, Carrygalt, Kilcreen, Shellfield

Placenames

Killydonnell on logainm.ie, the Placenames Database of Ireland

Townlands, civil parishes, baronies and electoral divisions, National Statutory Boundaries, Tailte Éireann, CC BY 4.0. Census 2022, Small Area Population Statistics by electoral division, Central Statistics Office, CC BY 4.0. A townland is the smallest land division of Ireland, and the unit of a rural address; old registers such as the 1901 and 1911 censuses file it under its civil parish and barony.