Doon Hill (Irish: Cnoc an Dúin, meaning 'hill of the fort')[1] is a volcanic plug in the townland of Bunowen More, in the barony of Ballynahinch, near Ballyconneely in County Galway, Ireland.[2] The hill, which is 67 m high, is a prominent landscape feature on the Errismore peninsula.[2] Fishermen use Doon Hill as a landmark to guide them into Bunowen Pier at Aillebrack.[citation needed] The Irish name for the hill, dún, means "fortress", possibly indicating an earlier fort on top of the hill.

Bunowen Castle and Doon Hill, near Ballyconneely in Connemara

At the top of Doon Hill are the ruins of a Napoleonic era signal tower (dating to c. 1806) and a concrete watch post dating from the period of The Emergency (WWII).[3]

Nearby Bunowen Castle was built in the mid 1700s.[4] Built on lands originally associated the O'Flaherty family,[5] following the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland, the lands at Bunowen were "transplanted" to Art Geoghegan, a landowner from County Westmeath.[6][7] The Geoghegan family rebuilt and extended the original O'Flaherty castle, and remained in the castle until the mid-19th century.[citation needed] The castle was purchased by the Blake family in 1852, for use as a summer home.[5] The castle, now in ruin, is owned by the McDonagh family.[citation needed] Near the castle are the ruins of a medieval church, a cemetery and a garden.[citation needed]

References

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  1. ^ "Cnoc an Dúin / Doon Hill". logainm.ie. Placenames Database of Ireland. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Galway - County Geological Site Report - Doon Hill" (PDF). gsi.geodata.gov.ie. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Bunowen Hill Signal Station, County Galway". Irish Signal Stations. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  4. ^ "Bunowen Castle, Bunowen More, Galway". buildingsofireland.ie. National Inventory of Architectural Heritage. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  5. ^ a b "Bunowen Castle". landedestates.ie. Retrieved 19 February 2024.
  6. ^ Lynam, E. W. (June 1914). "The O'Flaherty Country". An Irish Quarterly Review. 3 (10): 13–40. JSTOR 30092464. In 1656, the Castle of Bunowen and 900 acres were granted to Art Geoghegan, a transplanter from Westmeath, and his family held it for 200 years
  7. ^ "The Ferocious O'Flahertys". theirishaesthete.com. 2016.

53°24′54″N 10°06′55″W / 53.4149°N 10.1152°W / 53.4149; -10.1152