Hurricane-force winds battered the north and west throughout Saturday causing serious structural damage, blocking roads and leaving 60,000 households without electricity.
Fanad lighthouse's main power supply and its standby generator failed, creating a major shipping hazard on the north-west coast. Malin Head recorded wind speeds of 109 m.p.h. with average speeds of 78 m.p.h.
Belmullet weather station's highest recorded gust was 107 m.p.h., according to Met Eireann. Crews were brought in from Cork and Kerry to help restore power to homes in the county.
In Ballyshannon, Main Street was closed off around 2 p.m. when the roof was blown off a recently completed extension of Dorrian's Imperial Hotel.
Bundoran suffered structural damage as a number of homes lost parts of their roofs, and many minor roads were blocked by fallen trees. In Buncrana Mr John McLaughlin, whose son, Shaun, died in the Omagh bombing, had a narrow escape when a tree fell on his taxi outside the town.
Two units of the local fire brigade worked to free him and his female passenger. He was taken to Letterkenny General Hospital but was released later in the evening. His passenger was detained, her condition described as "ill but stable". A pedestrian in the town's Marion Park area was hospitalised after being hit by a slate.
Gardai in south Donegal were recalled to their stations at the peak of the storm around 4 p.m. for their own safety, Sgt O'Reilly in Bundoran reported.
"It is a miracle no one was injured considering the wind strengths. There was excellent co-ordination between the services. County council personnel and fire crews all worked closely together to clear blocked roads and ensure traffic could be kept moving. In the interests of safety the Main Street in Ballyshannon was closed off because of the danger from flying debris when Dorrian's roof was blown off," he said. Carrick-on-Shannon, Ballina and Sligo suffered considerable structural damage, but no injuries were reported.
In Donegal town the Diamond area was closed to traffic as slates flew from the roof of Magee's shop.