10th C. – Antrim Round Tower, Co. Antrim
Described as one of the most perfect of the round towers of Ireland,
Described as one of the most perfect of the round towers of Ireland,
One of the finest Norman castles in Ireland, Carrickfergus Castle is sited along the harbour front,
Grey Abbey was founded in 1193, by John de Courcy’s wife,
The remains of a 13th century church and round tower. St Mary’s Priory was established here on the northern banks of Garfiney Lough in the 12th century for Augustinian Canons.
There are extensive low earthworks on the hillside, but the earliest buildings are St Molaise’s House and this fine round tower close by,
The castle consists of a 15th century rectangular keep with a later Jacobean style wing.
Described in ‘Tours in Ulster a hand-book to the antiquities and scenery of the north of Ireland’,
The area of Muckno and Ballynalurgan was granted to Sir Edward Blayney under the Plantation of Ulster in 1607 and 1611.
John de Courcy built a castle on what is now Castle Street in the city centre in the 12th century.
Lord Deputy Sir Arthur Chichester enclosed Carrickfergus with stone walls from 1611 onwards and more than half the circuit is still visible,