Greencastle is a

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

County Down County Down () is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of the traditional thirty-two counties of Ireland. It covers an area of and has a population of 531,665. It borders County Antrim to the ...

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 ...

. While it dates mainly from the 13th century, it had substantial 15th- and 16th-century alterations. It was originally surrounded by outer rectangular walls with four corner towers (ruins of some remain). It is likely to have been built by Hugh de Lacy, along with Carlingford Castle on the opposite side of Carlingford Lough, to guard the narrow entry channel to the Lough, and the ferry crossing between the two. The motte from the earlier Norman, wooden, Motte and Bailey Castle (possibly built by John de Courcey) is still on the seaward side nearer the point. According to one legend John de Courcy was married at Greencastle Castle, but this may have been at the original motte & bailey castle. According to the information boards at the site it was held for the English Crown by Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster, from 1264 to 1333. It was attacked and taken by Edward Bruce, the brother of Robert, in 1316. This was in spite of one of Richard de Burgh's daughters having married Robert the Bruce himself. It was attacked at least twice by the Irish in the later 14th century but still maintained as an English garrison in the 1590s. In the 16th century it was held by the Earl of Kildare and then Nicholas Bagenal of

Newry Newry (; ) is a city in Northern Ireland, divided by the Clanrye river in counties Armagh and Down, from Belfast and from Dublin. It had a population of 26,967 in 2011. Newry was founded in 1144 alongside a Cistercian monastery, althoug ...

. It fell into disuse after a bombardment by Cromwellian soldiers, to stop it being used by rebel forces. The site is also surrounded in close proximity by other medieval sites/monuments: e.g., the motte fortification predating the stone castle (Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments No. DOW 057:001), late-Medieval stone church (DOW 057:002) and two burial pits (DOW 057:017) that were excavated in 2003; one contained a female aged 25–35 and the second a child (one presumes related) of less than four years old at death (1 and a half to 3 and a half years old). A calibrated date range of AD1270-1380 was indicated; likely contemporary with the construction of Greencastle in the mid-13th century. The castle underwent archaeological excavations from 1966 - 1970 which also identified layers of occupation deposits that pre-dated the castle on the site. The castle is a state-care historic monument in the

townland A townland ( ga, baile fearainn; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a small geographical division of land, historically and currently used in Ireland and in the Western Isles in Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of Gaelic origi ...

of Greencastle, in the

Newry and Mourne District Council Newry and Mourne District Council ( ga, Comhairle an Iúir agus Mhúrn) was a local council in Northern Ireland. It merged with Down District Council in May 2015 under local government reorganisation in Northern Ireland to become Newry, Mourne a ...

area, at grid ref: J2473 1184.

References

Links

Greencastle
cloghmore.bravepages.com
Greencastle
carlingfordandmourne.com *https://discovernorthernireland.com/things-to-do/greencastle-royal-castle-p675311

Images

File:Looking_North_West_over_Carlingford_Lough.JPG, Looking North West over Carlingford Lough File:Looking_South_East.JPG, Looking South East File:Looking_North_to_the_Mournes.JPG, Looking North to the Mournes File:Looking_West_towards_Greencastle_Point._The_Old_Norman_Motte_is_in_the_mid-centre..JPG, Looking West towards Greencastle Point {{County Down Castles in County Down Ruined castles in Northern Ireland Townlands of County Down Northern Ireland Environment Agency properties