![]() ![]() ![]() The Castle is open to the public daily all year round but the hours do vary a little. Today it is maintained by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency as a state historic monumentĦ0 Best Northern Ireland tourist attractions When is Carrickfergus Castle open? The Castle also hosts civil weddings and you can hire the castle for private parties in the dungeons and other events.Ĭarrickfergus Castle comes from the Irish Carraig Ḟergus or “cairn of Fergus”, the name “Fergus” meaning “strong man”. On the grounds, there are displays of canons dating from the 17 th to 19 th centuries and exhibits throughout the grounds of the castle. Historians believe that the east Tower was the location of the Chapel and it has a chamber on the first floor with crossbow loops found on the basement levels and a Romanesque double window. It has the remains of its original curtain wall with a tower on the east side and a postern gate on the seaward side. The Castle is extremely well-preserved and considered one of the finest examples of medieval castles in Ireland. Interesting facts about Carrickfergus castle The Castle is now home to a newly refurbished Visitors Centre, ancient cannons and fascinating historical displays.īesieged in turn by the Scots, Irish, English and French, the Carrickfergus castle played an important military role until 1928 and remains one of the best-preserved medieval structures in Ireland. James’s however fled the battle and returned to exile in France to the disapproval of his follows who derisively nicknamed him “James the Shit”.Carrickfergus Castle a tale of ghosts, pirates, & NormansĬarrickfergus Castle is an 800-year-old Norman Castle that sits on the north shore of the great sheltered harbour Belfast Lough in Carrickfergus County Antrim Northern Ireland. The battle was fought on the River Boyne near Drogheda on July 1, 1690, and William III’s 36,000-strong army was victorious in battle and the Williamite army marched triumphantly into Dublin two days after the battle. James and around 24,000 troops including 6,000 French troops didn’t want King William III’s Army to reach Dublin and marched out to meet his army. On June 14, 1690, William sailed from Hoylake in Merseyside, landing in the port town of Carrickfergus with the intention of taking Dublin and seizing control of Ireland from King James II of Ireland and Scotland (James VII of Scotland) and preventing him from establishing a rebellion to his Crown. On January 2, 1689, William ascended the throne as William III of England-but James was not finished with William. James II was removed as Crown of England during what was called the “Glorious Revolution,” but William allowed James to flee the country as he did not want his death to be used as a martyr for any Catholic Rebellion. On November 5, 1688, William landed in England at Brixham with a fleet of ships that was said to be considerably larger than the fleet of the Spanish Armada. On June 30, 1688, a group of those politicians wrote an open letter to William, expressing their support for him in an invasion of England. This displeased the Protestant majority across England, and friendship with their old enemy France was the last straw for many English politicians. James II had not been the most popular choice to succeed his brother, as he had switched his faith to Catholicism after marrying an Italian princess and he had reached out a hand of friendship to the French. But after King Charles died, James took his place as the King of England, and things started to change in Scotland and Ireland. As a result of this marriage, his Protestant background, and his leadership in battle, William was seen as the likely successor to the English throne. In 1677, William married the eldest daughter of James, Duke of York, and the younger brother of King Charles. Young William was born in the Protestant Dutch Republic to Mary, the eldest daughter of King Charles of England, Scotland, and Ireland at the time. William III, born William Henry and commonly known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from the time he was born, as his father William II died a week before the prince’s birth in 1650. It was commissioned to mark the 300th anniversary of the king’s 1690 landing in Carrickfergus. A life-size bronze statue of King William III stands outside of Carrickfergus Castle in Northern Ireland, overlooking the harbor. ![]()
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