Enniskillen Castle is situated in

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from ga, Inis Ceithleann , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 13,823 a ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of 1,691 km2 (653 sq mi) and has a population of 61,805 a ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

. It was originally built in the 16th century and now contains the Fermanagh County Museum and a museum for the

5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards The 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards was a cavalry regiment of the British Army formed in 1922 by the amalgamation of the 5th Dragoon Guards (Princess Charlotte of Wales's) and the 6th (Inniskilling) Dragoons. It served in the Second World W ...

and

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th Regiment o ...

History

Hugh Maguire built a castle at Enniskillen in 1428. It was besieged by Captain John Dowdall's troops at the start of 1594 and fell on 2 February after a short siege, when the occupants were massacred after they surrendered. The castle was again under siege later that year but was relieved. The fortress finally fell to the Irish in 1595. The castle remained in Irish hands until it fell to the crown's Irish ally, Niall Garve O'Donnell in the summer of 1602. Captain William Cole remodelled and refurbished the castle adding the riverside tower at the south, known as the Watergate, in 1609. The castle was remodelled as "Castle Barracks" as part of the response to a threat of a French invasion in 1796. Castle Barracks became the home of the

27th Regiment of Foot The 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot was an Irish infantry regiment of the British Army, formed in 1689. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 108th (Madras Infantry) Regiment of Foot to form the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers in 18 ...

in 1853. The regiment moved to purpose-built facilities at

St Lucia Barracks, Omagh St Lucia Barracks, Omagh is a former military base in Omagh, Northern Ireland. History The War Office leased the site from the Archdale family on 10 April 1875 for sixty pounds per annum. The lease was made for 999 years or until the War Offic ...

in 1875 and evolved, after amalgamation, to become the

in 1881. The barracks continued to be used by other regiments and, from November 1939, they became to home of the

North Irish Horse The North Irish Horse was a yeomanry unit of the United Kingdom, British Army Reserve (United Kingdom), Territorial Army raised in the northern counties of Ireland in the aftermath of the Second Boer War. Raised and patronised by the nobility fr ...

, a Territorial Army unit. The barracks were decommissioned in 1950 and were converted for use as council depot. The castle was subsequently opened to the public as a heritage centre.

Features and collections

The Castle consists of two sections, a central tower keep and a curtain wall which was strengthened with small turrets called

Bartizan A bartizan (an alteration of ''bratticing''), also called a guerite, ''garita'', or ''échauguette'', or spelled bartisan, is an overhanging, wall-mounted turret projecting from the walls of late medieval and early-modern fortifications from th ...

s. The design of the castle has strong Scottish influences. This can be particularly seen in the Watergate, which features two corbelled circular tourelles which were built about 1609. It is a State Care Historic Monument. The castle is now home to the Fermanagh County Museum, which focuses on the county's history, culture and natural history. Exhibits include the area's prehistory, natural history, traditional rural life, local crafts and

Belleek Pottery Belleek Pottery Ltd is a porcelain company that began trading in 1884 as the ''Belleek Pottery Works Company Ltd'' in Belleek, County Fermanagh, in what was to become Northern Ireland. The factory produces porcelain that is characterised by its ...

, and history of the castle. It also contains information on the Maguire family. The castle also contains the Inniskillings Museum for the

and the

. Image:Enniskillen Castle2 by Paride.JPG, The courtyard of the Castle Image:Enniskillen Castle3 by Paride.jpg, Reconstruction of the Castle Image:Enniskillen Castle4 by Paride.JPG, The barracks was built inside the walls

References

Sources

* * James O'Neill, 'Threes sieges and two massacres: Enniskillen at the outbreak of the Nine Years War, 1593-5, ''The Irish Sword'', xxx, no. 121 (2016), pp 241-9

External links

Fermanagh County Museum
- official site
The Inniskillings Museum
- official site * {{Authority control Castles in County Fermanagh Enniskillen Museums in County Fermanagh Regimental museums in Northern Ireland Local museums in Northern Ireland Biographical museums in Northern Ireland

History

Features and collections

See also

References

Sources

External links