Dunluce Castle

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Dunluce Castle.

Dunluce Castle is one of the most extensive ruins of a medieval castle on the island of Ireland. It is located on the edge of a basalt outcropping in County Antrim, Northern Ireland and is accessible via a bridge connecting it to the mainland. It is between Portballintrae and Portrush.

It is first documented in the hands of the McQuillan family in 1513. It was besieged on numerous occasions, and in 1584 Sorley Boy MacDonnell took the castle from the English, keeping it for himself and improving it in the Scottish style. Four years later, the Girona, a galleass from the Spanish Armada was wrecked in a storm on the rocks nearby. The cannon from the ship were installed in the gatehouses and the rest of the cargo sold, the funds used to restore the castle. MacDonnell's granddaughter Rose was born in the castle in 1613.

At one point, part of the kitchen next to the cliff face collapsed into the sea, after which the wife of the owner refused to live in the castle any longer (apparently she hated the place anyway). According to a legend, when the kitchen fell into the sea only a kitchen boy survived as he was sitting in the corner of the kitchen which did not collapse.

Dunluce Castle served as the seat for the Earl of Antrim until the impoverishment of the MacDonnells in 1690, following the Battle of the Boyne. Since that time, the castle has deteriorated and parts were scavenged to serve as materials for nearby buildings. It is now in the care of the Environment and Heritage Service.