STORM TRACKER: Follow 'Storm Amy' as it bears down on Ireland amid brutal forecast
Search
06 Sept 2025
Search
06 Sept 2025
Please allow ads as they help fund our trusted local news content.
Kindly add us to your ad blocker whitelist.
If you want further access to Ireland's best local journalism, consider contributing and/or subscribing to our free daily Newsletter .
Support our mission and join our community now.
To continue reading this article, you can subscribe for as little as €0.50 per week which will also give you access to all of our premium content and archived articles!
Alternatively, you can pay €0.50 per article, capped at €1 per day.
Thank you for supporting Ireland's best local journalism!
USE THE ARROWS OR 'NEXT' TO BROWSE THROUGH THE FULL GALLERY
Heritage Week in Laois brought a rare opportunity for a guided tour of the Rock of Dunamase by the previous Director of Excavations at the site - Brian Hodkinson. CONTINUE READING BELOW PHOTO
-1724430336837.JPG)
There was a good attendance at the tour on August 22 when Brian shared some fascinating facts.
There have been fortifications at Dunamase since the ninth century. Plundered by Viking raiders in 843AD, it became the dowry of Aoife, the bartered daughter of Diarmait Mac Murchada, when she married Richard De Clare, Strongbow, as the price for the Anglo-Norman invader restoring Diarmait as king of Leinster. The fortress continued to play a significant role in subsequent power struggles between Gaelic Irish and invading forces - it was fought over, occupied, fortified, reinforced, seized, abandoned, and blown up! However the ruins remain to tell the story of this site, which can still captivate the imagination.
Subscribe or register today to discover more from DonegalLive.ie
Buy the e-paper of the Donegal Democrat, Donegal People's Press, Donegal Post and Inish Times here for instant access to Donegal's premier news titles.
Keep up with the latest news from Donegal with our daily newsletter featuring the most important stories of the day delivered to your inbox every evening at 5pm.
This publication supports the work of the Press Council of Ireland and Office of the Press Ombudsman, and our staff operate within the Code of Practice of the Press Council. You can obtain a copy of the Code, or contact the Council, at www.presscouncil.ie, Lo-call 1800 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie.
