Carrickabraghy Castle (Caisleán Charraig Bhrachaí) on a rocky outcrop at the north-western extremity of the Isle of Doagh in the north of Inishowen, a peninsula on the north coast of County Donegal, Ireland.
From the 9th to the 13th century Inishowen was politically divided into three 'tuatha' or districts. These were known as Aileach in the south, Bredach to the east and Carraig Bhrachai to the west. The Lords of Carraig Bhrachai ruled from the town-land of Carrickabraghy, the area where the Castle now stands. They were one of the most important families in Inishowen.
Carraig Bhrachai is not mentioned again in the history books until 1600. The present remains of the castle are thought to have been built around this time. The O Dochartaigh Clan had risen into power in Inishowen and the Chief of the clan and Lord of Inishowen was Sean Og O Dochartaigh. The English invasion of Ireland was well underway, and to protect his livestock and supplies from English raids, Sean Og decided the best place to store them was on The Isle of Doagh.
Around 1665 Carrickabraghy Castle was abandoned, and began to decline for several centuries.
Doune Castle was originally built in the thirteenth century, then probably damaged in the Scottish Wars of Independence, before being rebuilt in its present form in the late 14th century by Robert Stewart, Duke of Albany (c. 1340–1420), the son of King Robert II of Scots, and Regent of Scotland from 1388 until his death. Duke Robert"s stronghold has survived relatively unchanged and complete, and the whole castle was traditionally thought of as the result of a single period of construction at this time. The castle passed to the crown in 1425, when Albany"s son was executed, and was used as a royal hunting lodge and dower house.
In the later 16th century, Doune became the property of the Earls of Moray. The castle saw military action during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and Glencairn"s rising in the mid-17th century, and during the Jacobite risings of the late 17th century and 18th century.