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Carrickfergus Castle
| Carrickfergus Co. Antrim | ||
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Visitor's rating: 97 vote(s) | ||
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The mighty stronghold of Carrickfergus is strategically located on the shores of Belfast Lough as a monument of Anglo-Norman and British power.
The construction of Carrickfergus Castle started in 1177 by John de Courcy. John de Courcy was a very ambitious man who decided to invade Ulster with a small army of 22 knights and 300 foot soldiers. He took Dun de Lethglas, later Downpatrick by surprise and pushed to the north. De Courcy defeated the chieftain of Down, Mac Duinn Sleibe, or Rory MacDunleavy and Cu Mide Ua Floinn, a powerful king in county Antrim. Once he had reached Coleraine on the north coast he was satisfied. He divided the conquered land among his knights and started to built strongholds in the Earldom of Ulster he had established.
He built Dundrum Castle in County Down and Carrickfergus Castle.
Conquest of Ulster
The conquest of Ulster was primarily a private enterprise of De Courcy. King Henry II did not obstruct him in any way. John de Courcy built the inner ward with a small bailey and a curtain wall with a gate on the east side. By building a four storeys high keep in the 1180's De Courcy had created the first real modern Irish castle.
De Courcy's reign as petty king ended when King John succeeded King Henry II. King John authorised Hugh de Lacy in 1199 to wage war on John de Courcy. The campaign lasted for five years, but eventually De Courcy fled from Ulster and Hugh de Lacy became the new Earl of Ulster in 1204.
By protecting his kinsman, William de Braose, who had fallen behind in his payments to King John, Hugh de Lacey fell in disgrace with King John. De Lacey's wife, Mathilda, made things even worse when she spoke out against the king's ousting of Arthur of Brittany from the succession. When King John captured Carrickfergus Castle in 1210 it passed to the Crown. The curtain walls were modernised and extended in 1217 under constable De Serlane.
After being restored as Earl of Ulster by King Henry III in 1227, Hugh de Lacy returned to Carrickfergus. In the years until his death in 1242 he doubled the area of the castle by enclosing the promontory with an outer wall. He also built the gatehouse with its to twin towers. Those towers, originally circular and higher, are modernised in the sixteenth century to accommodate artillery.
Carrickfergus Castle remained the administrative centre in Ulster after the collapse of the Earldom Ulster in 1333. Despite the improvements and modernisation's it was attacked and captured on many occasions. It was seized by King William in 1689 and under command of Thurot by the French in 1760.
In the 1790's the castle was used as prison and accommodated many members of the United Irishmen.
In the nineteenth century the castle was used as arsenal, but due to its strategic location it also has been used to defend Belfast in the Napoleonic Wars and in First World War.
In 1928 Carrickfergus Castle was handed over by the War Department to the Government for preservation.
You can visit the castle on every day of the year, but the opening hours, especially on Sundays, are very limited. Check with the tourist office to avoid disappointments. While walking around in the castle you will encounter several live size models of its former inhabitants. You can book a guided tour, but this is not really necessary because the information boards telling the story of the castle are quite clear and informative.
Throughout the year, but mainly in the high season, special demonstrations and exhibitions can take place.