As part of the Donegal Town 550 programme, historian Helen Meehan and Dr Matthew Potter are organising a one-day history conference on Saturday 24th August 2024 in the Central Hotel, Donegal Town. The theme will be the history of the county with an emphasis on Donegal Town.

In 1474, Lady Nuala O'Donnell established a Franciscan Abbey on the shores of Donegal Bay while at the same time, her husband Red Hugh O'Donnell the First, Lord of Tir Chonaill founded Donegal Castle. From 1474 onwards, the town of Donegal grew up around these two great buildings and became the capital of Tir Chonaill. Under the O’Donnell lords, Donegal town was virtually the capital of an independent country between 1474 and1603.

During this Golden Age, the O’Donnells were treated as sovereign princes by the Kings of France, Spain, and Scotland. Sadly, it was not to last and the Battle of Kinsale of 1601 resulted in the overthrow of the O'Donnell's and for the first time, the county of Donegal came under direct English rule. However, that was not the end of the story. Donegal Town was reputedly the place where the Annals of the Four Master were written and in subsequent centuries, it became a flourishing port and place of business; the leading centre of Donegal tweed; a bastion of Donegal GAA.

Address
Central Hotel, Co. Donegal