Carrickfergus Castle

in Places by Simon — September 7, 2010 at 11:26 am | 0 comments

John de Courcy is a very important figure in the history of Ulster, a knight from Somerset, he set out from Dublin in 1177 with 22 mailed horsemen and around 300 foot soldiers.  His conquest of Ulster and the influence which he wielded can in particular be seen all around the coast where he built many of the castles that dot the coastline. Carrickfergus Castle, built on a rock jutting out in to Belfast Lough, was the most important of these. He did not, however, hold onto the castle for long when Hugh de Lacy, a fellow Norman, waged war on the de facto King of Ulster. The history of the castle has, like all good castles, been a long and bloody one. During the 14th century siege of the castle by the Scots under Edward Bruce, a number of Scots were taken captive during a parley. Starving and already reduced to chewing hide, the besieged inhabitants to the castle killed and ate a number of their Scots captives. People being people, this sort of behaviour didn’t end there are the castle was attacked, besieged and captured by various armies over the centuries, although it is perhaps best known for its surrender to Schomberg.

Tags: County Antrim