History

Saint Patrick is recorded as having visited Dunseverick castle in the 5th century AD, where he baptized Olcan, a local man who later became a Bishop of Ireland.The original stone fort that occupied the position was attacked by Viking raiders in 870 AD.

In the later part of the 6th century AD, this was the seat of Fergus Mor MacErc (Fergus the Great). Fergus was King of Dalriada and brother of the High King of Ireland, Murtagh MacErc. It is the AD 500 departure point from Ireland of the Lia Fail or coronation stone. Murtagh loaned it to Fergus for the latter's coronation in western Scotland part of which Fergus had settled as his sea-kingdom expanded.

The castle was occupied by various Irish chiefs and lords until its capture and destruction by General Robert Munro[3] and his Cromwellian troops in the 1650s, and today only the ruins of the gatelodge remain. A small residential tower survived until 1978 when it eventually surrendered to the sea below.

It was a 'key' ancient site in Ireland. One of the royal roads from Tara, seat of the Kings of Ireland ended at Dunseverick castle.

The O'Cahan family held it from circa 1000 AD to circa 1320 AD, then regained it in the mid 16th century. Last one to have the castle was Giolla Dubh Ó Catháin, who left it in 1657 to settle in the Craig/Lisbellanagroagh area. Post 1660 they use the anglicised name McCain/O'Kane.

Carrickfergus Castle

Carrickfergus Castle is a Norman castle in Northern Ireland, situated in the town of Carrickfergus in County Antrim, on the northern shore of Belfast Lough. Besieged in turn by the Scots, Irish, English and French, the castle played an important military role until 1928 and remains one of the best preserved medieval structures in Ireland as a whole. It was strategically useful, with 3/4 of the castle perimeter surrounded by water (although in modern times only 1/3 is surrounded by water due to land reclamation). Today it is maintained by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency as a state care historic monument.

Origins

Carrickfergus was built by John de Courcy in 1177 as his headquarters, after he conquered eastern Ulster in 1177 and ruled as a petty king until 1204, when he was ousted by another Norman adventurer, Hugh de Lacy. Initially de Courcy built the inner ward, a small bailey at the end of the promontory with a high polygonal curtain wall and east gate. It had a number of buildings, including the great hall. From its strategic position on a rocky promontory, originally almost surrounded by sea, the castle commanded Carrickfergus Bay (later known as Belfast Lough), and the land approaches into the walled town that developed beneath its shadows.

English control

It appears first in the official English records in 1210 when King John laid siege to it and took control of what was then Ulster’s premier strategic garrison. Following its capture, constables were appointed to command the castle and the surrounding area. In 1217 the new constable, De Serlane, was assigned one hundred pounds to build a new curtain wall so that the approach along the rock could be protected, as well as the eastern approaches over the sand exposed at low tide. The middle-ward curtain wall was later reduced to ground level in the eighteenth century, save along the seaward side, where it survives with a postern gate and the east tower, notable for a fine array of cross-bow loops at basement level.

A chamber on the first floor of the east tower is believed to have been the castle's chapel on account of its fine Romanesque-style double window surround, though the original chapel must have been in the inner ward. The ribbed vault over the entrance passage, the murder hole and the massive portcullis at either end of the gatehouse are later insertions started by Hugh de Lacey who died in 1248 and did not live to see its completion in around 1250 A.D. It was finished by King Henry III.

After the collapse of the Earldom of Ulster in 1333, the castle remained the Crown's principal residential and administrative centre in the north of Ireland. During the early stages of the Nine Years War (1595-1603), when English influence in the north became tenuous, crown forces were supplied and maintained through the town's port. And in 1597, the surrounding country was the scene for the Battle of Carrickfergus.

During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries a number of improvements were made to accommodate artillery, notably externally splayed gunports and embrasures for cannon, though these improvements did not prevent the castle from being attacked and captured on many occasions during this time. General Schomberg besieged and took the castle in 1690. This is also the place where Schomberg's leader, King William III first set foot in Ireland on 14 June 1690.

In 1760, after fierce fighting in the town, it was surrendered to French invaders under the command of Francois Thurot. They looted the castle and town and then left, only to be caught by the Royal Navy.

Later use

In 1778, a small but significant event in the American War of Independence began at Carrickfergus, when John Paul Jones, in the face of reluctance by his crew to approach too close to the Castle, lured a Royal Navy vessel from its moorings into the North Channel, and won an hour-long battle. In 1797 the Castle, which had on various occasions been used to house prisoners of war, became a prison and it was heavily defended during the Napoleonic Wars; six guns on the east battery remain of the twenty-two that were used in 1811.

For a century it remained a magazine and armory. During the First World War it was used as a garrison and ordnance store and during the Second World War as an air raid shelter.

It was garrisoned continuously for about 750 years until 1928, when its ownership was transferred from the British Army to the new Government of Northern Ireland for preservation as an ancient monument. It remains open to the public. The banqueting hall has been fully restored and there are many exhibits to show what life was like in medieval times. It was built and re-built three times, and still stands today.

Gosford Castle

Gosford Castle is situated in Gosford, a townland of Markethill, County Armagh, Northern Ireland, close to the border with County Down. Construction of the castle began in 1819 and finished in the 1850s. It was commissioned by Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford and the architect was Thomas Hopper, one of the leading London architects of the first half of the 19th century. It is the largest Grade A listed building in Northern Ireland.

The Ministry of Agriculture bought the estate in 1958, establishing Gosford Forest Park. In January 2006 the decaying castle was bought by a development company, the Boyd Partnership, which planned to turn it into private homes. In January 2008 the first residents of the new apartments moved in. The estimated repair bill was in the region of £4m, the nature of the development was selected by a government-appointed panel.

Architecture

The style of Gosford is that of Norman revival, it being one of the few examples of this in the world. It was regarded by Robin Fredden, Secretary of the National Trust in 1952 as "one of the most original buildings of the first half of the nineteenth century", he further noted that it was "reputed to be the largest pile in Ireland", having some 150 rooms.Thomas Hopper, the architect, also designed Penrhyn Castle in Wales, which is in a similar style.

History

The 4th Earl of Gosford was forced to sell the castle's contents in 1921 and, during the Second World War, it was commandeered and used as prisoner-of-war camp. Following the war the Gosfords sold the estate and, eventually, it was acquired by the Forestry Commission. It was, for periods, occupied as a hotel, barracks and restaurant.

Creevekeeran Castle

Creevekeeran Castle is a castle in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It stands on a rocky outcrop but only the west wall, three stories high, remains. The castle is a Scheduled Historic Monument sited in the townland of Creevekeeran, in Armagh City and District Council area.

Moyry Castle

Moyry Castle is situated in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. It was built in 1601 by Lord Mountjoy to help secure Moyry Pass and the Gap of the North. It is set in the corner of a small bawn and is a small rectangular tower three storeys high.

Moyry Castle is a State Care Historic Monument sited in the townland of Carrickbroad, in Newry and Mourne District Council area.

Bright Castle

Bright Castle is a castle near Downpatrick, County Down, Northern Ireland. It is a three-storey Tower house which was probably built in the late 15th century or early 16th century. Less than half of the original structure survives. The east wall, about 6m long externally, and adjoining fragments of the north and south walls stand to roof level but the western portion of the castle has completely disappeared. There are some indications that there may have been a vault above the ground floor.

The tower house is a Scheduled Historic Monument sited in the townland of Bright, in Down District Council area.