Killybegs Coastguard Station was built in 1875 to a design by Board of Works architect, E Trevor Owen, and served as district headquarters for the extensive area west of Donegal Town and south of the Gweebarra.

The building features a square, slate-roofed tower on its southern end and has separate storage sheds to the back. The Killybegs station was the administrative centre for stations at Doorin (Mountcharles), Trabane (Dunkineely), Teelin East, Teelin West, Mallinbeg, Dawros (Portnoo), and Neptune Tower with a total force of four officers and 56 men, under the control of a resident inspecting commander.

Among the duties and responsibilities of the Coastguard were the organisation of sea rescue missions, as well as the prevention of smuggling and the maintenance of a coast watch against possible invasion.

When the British Coastguards left the Irish Free State in 1922, their 109 stations passed to the Provisional Government together with the lifesaving and rocket apparatus. Some of the stations were destroyed or badly damaged during the Civil War and others were sold for conversion to residences, including the one at Killybegs.