Dunluce Castle, Northern Ireland

Aerial view of Dunluce Castle

Thought by many to be the most romantic and picturesque of Irish castles, the ruins of medieval Dunluce Castle sit atop a rocky outcrop overlooking the Irish Sea on the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland.  It is joined to the mainland by an arched walkway, or bridge, over a 20-foot chasm.

The 17th century mainland courtyard, containing domestic buildings, leads downhill to a narrow crossing to the rock, formerly protected by a drawbridge to the gatehouse. The buildings on the rock are from the16th and 17th century.

The earliest mention of Dunluce Castle is in the fourteenth century, and it is believed to have been built by Richard de Burgh on the site of an old fortress.  It was later occupied by the McQuillans around 1513.

Dunluce Castle

Forty years later, Sorley Boy McDonnell, a Scottish chieftain who controlled the northeastern coast of Ireland, claimed the castle for the McDonnell clan.  But in 1584 Queen Elizabeth I ordered Sir John Perrott to take the castle for England.  Sorley Boy fled but was able to retake the castle with help from inside. 

It is he who mounted the four cannons on the gatehouses obtained from the Spanish galleass Girona which foundered on Lacada Point near the Giant’s Causeway in 1588.  Funds obtained from selling the recovered cargo from the ship was used by Sorley Boy’s son to modernize the castle.

McDonnell’s son, Randal, is credited with restoring the castle and building a lavish manor inside the castle walls.  Randal married the widow Lady Katherine Manners and the Earl and Countess of Antrim set about appointing the castle with the finest of decorations.  An inventory of the period shows fine tapestries and curtains, including one set that had belonged to Cardinal Wolsey of Hampton Court.

The inventory lists over sixty elaborately upholstered chairs, a library of books, saddles worked with gold and silver, fine cabinets, and priests’ vestments.  The Countess is also credited with establishing St. Cuthbert’s Church near the castle.

Dunluce Castle 

The village which grew up around the castle around 1608 was a thriving merchant town as evidenced by the headstones in St. Cuthbert’s graveyard.  Currently there is an archaeological project being conducted to unearth the village ruins destroyed in the 1641 rebellion when it was besieged by the Irish army. 

Most of the Scottish residents escaped to Scotland before the village was burned to the ground.  The village was revolutionary for its age as it boasted indoor toilets and cobblestone streets laid out in a grid. These 21 videos, Discovery of a Lost Town: Dunluce, (1 hour, 8 minutes total) chronicle that dig.

During the 1641 rebellion, the Earl was captured by Scottish General Robert Monro. After his release he lived in Dunluce Castle until his death in 1683.  After the Battle of the Boyne in 1690, Dunluce was abandoned and Ballymagarry became the principal residence of the McDonnell clan until 1745.

Diagram of Dunluce at its peak

The castle was given to the Northern Ireland government in 1928 to be preserved as a National Monument.

Many legends surround Dunluce Castle…some true, some just myth.  Below the castle is Mermaid’s Cave where legend says a lost soldier was dragged to the depths by a beautiful mermaid.  Other stories tell of smugglers and Spanish treasure hidden in the depths of the cave.

One of the most famous stories is purported to have occurred during a storm in 1639 when the kitchen, along with seven servants, fell into the sea. 

And just for fun…here are 50 things you probably never knew about Dunluce Castle. (Note: I guess #1 is still up for debate!)

The Castle in Popular Culture

The castle is thought to be the inspiration for Cair Paravel in C.S. Lewis’ Chronicles of Narnia.  In 1973 the castle appeared on the inner gatefold of the multi-million selling Led Zeppelin album Houses of the Holy.  The castle appeared as Snakehead’s hideout, called Ravens Keep, in the 2003 Jackie Chan movie The Medallion.  Dunluce Castle also represents the House of Greyjoy, ruler of the Iron Islands, in the TV series Game of Thrones.

Visiting Dunluce Castle

Audio/visual guides are available on site that allow visitors to view animations of the castle’s structures rebuilt before their eyes to create an engaging and immersive visitor experience.   However there are lots of information boards throughout the ruins to keep visitors informed. A video is also available in the discovery room. 

An app for iphone and android devices has been developed for Dunluce Castle. This is now available, free of charge, from the App Store and Google Play.

To reach the castle, there is a short, casual walk from the carpark across a wooden bridge to the castle.  The bridge spans the chasm which separates the castle from the mainland.  There is also a walk down steps to the cave underneath the castle.

For some beautiful scenery, try this 360 tour from the bridge to the castle.

These videos provide a good background for visiting Dunluce Castle:

Rick Steves’ Dunluce Castle, Northern Ireland: Romantic Ruins (1:54)

Dunluce Castle, County Antrim, Northern Ireland (1:05) shows the stairs to the cave.

Here you can print off your own Guide Card to Dunluce Castle for the most complete information on the ruins.

Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland

Anything with a name like the Giant’s Causeway is bound to have a legend attached that explains the origins of this unique geological formation found on the northern Antrim Coast of Northern Ireland where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Irish Sea.  And it goes something like this…

The Legend of Finn McCool

The Irish giant Finn McCool builds a giant raised road, or causeway, across the sea to the coast of Scotland to meet the Scottish giant Benandonner in battle.  Once he arrives in Scotland, he quickly discovers that Benandonner is a much bigger giant than himself, and Finn runs back across the causeway to home.

Finn’s wife disguises him as a “baby” by putting him in a bathtub-turned-cradle, and when Benandonner sees Finn as a giant “baby,” he quickly decides that if the “baby” is this big, then his father must really be huge.  In fear, Benandonner runs back to Scotland, tearing up the causeway along the way…hence it is called – the Giant’s Causeway.

Listen to the story (read with an Irish accent!) with illustrations here to get a more complete and entertaining telling of the legend. Make sure the sound and auto are turned on (and it worked better in Google Chrome, than Internet Explorer).

Now watch the short 2.5-minute animated version The Myth of Finn McCool that plays in the Giant’s Causeway Visitor Center.

But was it really giants that created this geometric wonder that has been named a UNESCO World Heritage Site?  Even though there is more to the Finn McCool story, scientists say that the mostly hexagonal shaped columns are the result of volcanic activity over 60 million years ago.

Giant's Causeway basalt columns 

Basically, fluid basalt flowed up through chalk beds to form a lava plateau.  And much the same way as mud dries leaving cracks, so did the basalt creating nearly 40,000 columns.  Years of weathering created many of the mythical sites along the coast.

Some of these must see sites include: the Grand Causeway, the largest of three rock outcrops; the Giant’s Boot, a large formation resembling Finn’s boot lost in his flight…a size 93.5 by scale; the Camel’s Hump, known as Finn’s camel turned to stone it is a basaltic dyke of cooled lava; the Wishing Chair, a natural formation worn smooth over time and once reserved only for ladies; and the Shepherd’s Steps on the far end of the coastline walk, 167 very steep steps connecting the coast trail and the cliff trail and best experienced going down!

Other notable sites along the coastline trail include the Organ, the Chimney Stacks, Giant’s Eyes, the Honeycomb, the Giant’s Harp, and the Giant’s Gate.  The modern visitor center opened in 2012 and operated by the National Trust offers interactive exhibits, a restaurant, and a gift shop. Audio guides are also available through the center.

For a complete map of all paths and sites to see, go here.  For individual trail maps for coastline and cliff top walks to download, go here.  And to enjoy 360-degree virtual online tours, go here.

Giant's Causeway hexagonal columns

From the parking lot and visitor center, there is a half-mile downhill walk to the coastline trail along the causeway columns.  Fortunately, there is also a shuttle bus that runs to and from the coastline trail and it shares the same route as the walking path. Walking down would be fine for most but walking back to the main building could be tough.

Appropriate dress also enhances a visit to the Giant’s Causeway.  It can windy and cool and/or rainy, so dress appropriately for coastal winds which make the area cool regardless of the season.  Good walking shoes are necessary as the basalt columns can be wet either from rain or splashing waves. 

Giant’s Causeway, N. Ireland (5:36) is a good narrated video to see the site and understand the basis of the legend of Finn McCool.

Although this video Giant’s Causeway (11:25) is a bit long, it gives you a complete picture of visiting the site as a tourist.  At the beginning notice the shuttle bus on the road down to the coast and the tourists walking down.  At the end, this tourist walks up the Shepherd’s Steps and you can hear him huffing and puffing in the background!  (Just a little video to see the importance of the shuttle bus at the Giant’s Causeway!)

From an historical perspective, the Spanish Armada’s flagship Girona sank near the Giant’s Causeway in 1588…a secret that only locals knew about for over 400 years.  It was 1967 before the wreck and its many treasures were discovered off the Antrim Coast.