Letterkenny woman Megan McAuley is set to release a new book on her research into Vikings in Donegal.
Megan is a PhD student in the Department of History at Maynooth University who has spent the past number of years assessing the evidence for Viking activity in County Donegal.
Her book explores the Irish name for ‘Donegal’, which is ‘Fort of the Foreigners’ and asks who were the foreigners in question?
This book considers that they were Vikings and reviews the archaeological and documentary evidence for Vikings in Donegal and addresses the nature of Viking activity and possible settlement in the county.
From Viking silver hoards found throughout Inishowen to a potential Viking-type dwelling at Portnablagh, the evidence for Vikings is strongest in the north and east of the county.
Megan is the daughter of Pauline and Joe McAuley of Letterkenny. She has held a strong interest and love of history since her school days at Loreto Secondary School.
Her current research interests include the history of childhood, gender history and the local history of County Donegal from the medieval to the modern period.
Dún na nGall, ‘Fort of the Foreigners’?: The Vikings and their legacy in Donegal by Megan McAuley is available in Paperback from Four Courts Press: https://www.fourcourtspress.ie/books/2024/dun-na-ngall-fort-of-the-foreigners/
