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10 Facts About Carrickfergus

Castle

A View of Carrickfergus Castle from the dock. Photo by Ficofloyd33.

Carrickfergus Castle is one of the best-preserved medieval structures in Northern Ireland located at Belfast Lough.

It was built by John de Courcy in 1177, it was used by other several rulers as a strategic safety fort of operation during   it wars since it is surrounded by water.

The original curtain walls with a tower on the east side and a postern gate on the seaward side are still intact.

1 It is Located in the Modern Day Belfast County, Northern Ireland

Carrickfergus Town Hall Photo By Ardfern. Wikimedia.

It is located in the town of  County Antrim, on the northern shore of Belfast  Lough which was also known as Carrick Fergus bay in the old days. It is one of the well-preserved  Norman Castle in Northern Ireland.

It was built in 1177 by a Norman adventurer named  John de Courcy as his headquarters who conquered  eastern Ulster, he ruled it as a Petty King until 1204 when he was ousted by another Norman adventurer, Hugh de Lacy.

2 It’s Built on a Solid Rock

The castle was built on a promontory rock and formed a walled town that thrived for many centuries.

The castle is built on a rock that was originally named after a legendary King  Carrick Fergus whose ship crashed on this rock where he was coming to seek healing waters but wrecked and drowned before reaching it.

3 It was Besieged Three Times by the Great European Powers

It was first besieged by Scottish , native Irish, England, and French.

King john undertook a successful siege of Carrickfergus castle In 1210 and began alterations on what was then Ulster’s premier strategic garrison, In around1250 Henry III  finished what king John has started and the castle become the Crown’s principal residence and administrative center in the north of Ireland.

The castle was besieged again by Marshal Schomberg in 1689 and was the site where his leader William of Orange (William III) and his soldiers settled on their way his way to meet King James at the battle of the Bayonne.

In1760 it was taken by French forces during the Battle of Carrickfergus in seven years of war under the command of Francois Thurot.  They were caught by the Royal Navy while they were fleeing after looting the Carrickfergus castle and town.

4 It was Once a Crown’s Principal Residence and Administrative Center 

In around1250 Henry III finished what King John has started and the castle become the Crown’s principal residence and administrative center in the north of Ireland.

Carrickfergus Castle was the first site chosen by King William III when he first arrived in Ireland in1690 following the Glorious Revolution.

5 It was used as a Prison

In1797, the castle on various occasions had been used to house the prisoners of the war and became a prison that was heavily defended during the Napoleonic wars six canon guns on the east battery remain of the twenty-two that was used in 1811.

6 First and Second World Wars Took Place in the Castle

A Canon Used in the Second World War. Photo by Alfo23 from Svizzera.

It was used as a garrison and ordinance store during the First World War while it was used as an air-raid shelter during the Second World War. 

It remained as a magazine and armory for many centuries and it was continuously used as a garrison for 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 has retained 6 out of 22 cannons that lined the sea viewing walls.

7 The Castle is Still Open to the Public

Carrickfergus Castle Reflections at Sunset. Photo By Stewart.

Even after several captures by the Scottish, England, and France the stone structure of the castle remained unchanged. The castle has been rebuilt three times, retaining 6 out of 22 cannons that lined the sea view.  

Today Carrickfergus castle is a historical site that is run by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and is open to the public.

8 It Is the Best-Preserved Medieval Castle In Ireland

Carrickfergus is the only castle in Ireland that has been in continuous use since it is first built by John de Courcy in 1177.

John de Courcy built the inner core, a small bailey at the end of the promontory with a high polygonal curtain wall and east gate. It had several buildings, including the great hall. 

The ground floor has no window and it was used as a store for water supply for the castle, the entrance was reached by the wooden stairs on the next floor and leads to the earliest guard room.

The rock in the sea has a freshwater spring well and John de Courcy has kept the well at the center.

9 Its named After  a Great King Fergus of Dal Riata

Its is a tear-Shaped Crag that Rises Above the Flat Shore ,according to legend Carrick Fergus was named after King Fergus of Dal Riata who ruled northeast of Ulster and parts of western Scotland.

Fergus contracted a rare disease and he had heard of a holy well on a rock in the sea where the water heal him.

His ship set out from Bally castle, but by the time got south of Antrim there was a great storm and the ship was dashed against the very rock he was seeking hand all occupants on board drowned.

10 It is Haunted by Tragedy, Love, and Betrayal

In1760, Robert Rainey a soldier stationed at the castle, fell in love with a lady know as Betsy Baird.

Betsy agreed to marry him on the condition that he should stop drinking and gambling, he agreed and was very happy.

However Betsy has another admirer, the brother of the constable of the castle and she was playing a double game.

When Robert found out about the rival he went wild and they came face to face on the road to town and he stabbed him with his word.

Robert went back to the castle and got rid of the evidence but the dying man told another soldier that Timothy Lavery is the one who had done the deed because Timothy looked like Rainey.

Lavery was charged with murder and found guilty and later sentenced to death.

At the moment of execution, he swore he will haunt the castle and his images have been appearing in his favorite places, near the deep, dark places in the basement.