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| Rathlin Castle | |
|---|---|
| Rathlin Island, Northern Ireland | |
  Rathlin Castle | |
| Coordinates | 55°17′50″N6°10′09″W / 55.297222°N 6.169167°W |
| Site information | |
| Condition | Ruin |
Rathlin Castle, also known as Bruce's Castle, was a castle on Rathlin Island off the coast of County Antrim in Northern Ireland.
Rathlin Castle was probably built by John de Courcy in the early thirteenth century. In 1213, it was granted to Donnchad mac Gilla Brigte, and passed into the possession of the de Lacys two years later. Later in the century, it passed into the possession of the Bissets. [1]
In 1306, after being defeated by Sir Aymer de Valence at the Battle of Methven, and then by the Lord of Lorne at the Battle of Strathfillan, King Robert I of Scotland retired to Rathlin Castle for the winter with a small following of his most faithful men, including James Douglas, Lord of Douglas, Bruce's brothers Thomas, Alexander and Edward, as well as Sir Neil Campbell and Malcolm II, the Earl of Lennox. Angus Og Macdonald, friend to Robert Bruce, had brought them there in his galleys from Dunaverty on Kintyre with three hundred of his men. They were welcomed by the owners of the island and castle, the Scoto-Irish Bissett family, Lords of the Glens of Antrim, who were kin to the Macdonalds. Later, the Bissetts were dispossessed of the castle by the English for this reason.
In July 1575, English forces led by Francis Drake and John Norreys attacked the castle with cannons and upon the surrender of the garrison of some MacDonnells of Antrim, the defenders, except for some prisoners, and the island's residents were put to the sword; the event is known as the Rathlin Island Massacre. The main army of MacDonnells of Antrim, led by Sorley Boy MacDonnell and stationed at Ballycastle, had witnessed the event taking place on Rathlin Island, where their families and valuables had been lodged for safety. Sorley Boy led his army in a successful retaliatory raid on Carrickfergus, from where the Rathlin Island raid had left.
Ballycastle is a small seaside town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It is on the northeasternmost coastal tip of Ireland, in the Antrim Coast and Glens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. The harbour hosts the ferry to Rathlin Island and a smaller passenger and charter service to Campbeltown and Port Ellen in Scotland, with both Rathlin Island and Scotland's Kintyre peninsula able to be seen from the coast. The Ould Lammas Fair is held each year in Ballycastle on the last Monday and Tuesday of August. Ballycastle is the home of the Corrymeela Community.
Rathlin Island is an island and civil parish off the coast of County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's northernmost point. As of the 2021 Census there are 141 people living on the island.
Walter Devereux, 1st Earl of Essex, KG, was an English nobleman and general. From 1573 until his death he fought in Ireland in connection with the Plantations of Ireland, most notably the Rathlin Island massacre. He was the father of Robert, 2nd Earl of Essex, who was Elizabeth I's favourite during her later years.
Somhairle Buíodh MacDonnell, also spelt as MacDonald, was a Gaelic chief, the son of Alexander Carragh MacDonnell, 5th of Dunnyveg, of Dunyvaig Castle, lord of Islay and Cantire, and Catherine, daughter of the Lord of Ardnamurchan, both in Scotland. MacDonnell is best known for establishing the MacDonnell clan in Antrim, Ireland, and resisting the campaign of Shane O'Neill and the English crown to expel the clan from Ireland. Sorley Boy's connection to other Irish Roman Catholic lords was complicated, but also culturally and familiarly strong: for example, he married Mary O'Neill, the daughter of Conn O'Neill. He is also known in English as Somerled and Somerled of the yellow hair.
Earl of Antrim is a title that has been created twice, both times in the Peerage of Ireland and both times for members of the MacDonnell family, originally of Scottish origins.
Clan Donald, also known as Clan MacDonald, is a Highland Scottish clan and one of the largest Scottish clans. The Lord Lyon King of Arms, the Scottish official with responsibility for regulating heraldry in that country, issuing new grants of coats of arms, and serving as the judge of the Court of the Lord Lyon, recognises under Scottish law the High Chief of Clan Donald. Historically the chiefs of the Clan Donald held the title of Lord of the Isles until 1493 and two of those chiefs also held the title of Earl of Ross until 1476. Queen Mary of Denmark is member of Clan Donald.
Randall MacSorley MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim, PC (Ire), rebelled together with Tyrone and Tyrconnell in the Nine Years' War but having succeeded his brother, Sir James mac Sorley MacDonnell, as Lord of the Route and the Glynns in 1601, he submitted to Mountjoy, the Lord Deputy of Ireland, in 1602.
Dunluce Castle is a now-ruined medieval castle in Northern Ireland, the seat of Clan MacDonnell. It is located on the edge of a basalt outcropping in County Antrim, and is accessible via a bridge connecting it to the mainland. The castle is surrounded by extremely steep drops on either side, which may have been an important factor to the early Christians and Vikings who were drawn to this place where an early Irish fort once stood.
The Battle of Carrickfergus took place in November 1597, in the province of Ulster in what is now County Antrim, Northern Ireland, during the Nine Years War. It was fought between the crown forces of Queen Elizabeth I and the Gaelic clan of MacDonnell, with military support from Hugh O'Neill, earl of Tyrone, and resulted in a defeat for the English.
Kinbane Castle is located in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on a headland between Ballycastle and Ballintoy. The name comes from the Irish for "white head", referring to the limestone of the promontory. Nowadays, the castle is largely destroyed. Kinbane Castle is a State Care Historic Monument sited in the townland of Cregganboy, in Moyle District Council area, at grid ref: D0876 4383. The area surrounding Kinbane Castle is a Scheduled Historic Monument, grid ref: D0879 4381. The site also has views of Rathlin Island and Dunagregor Iron Age fort.
The Battle of Glentaisie, was an Irish battle fought in the north of Ulster on 2 May 1565. The result was a victory for Shane O'Neill over the Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg. The conflict was a part of the political and military struggle, involving the English and occasionally the Scots, for control of northern Ireland. Although the MacDonalds were a Scottish family, based principally on the island of Islay in the Hebrides, they had long been associated with the Gaelic polity rather than the Kingdom of Scotland.
Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, also known as Clan Donald South, Clan Iain Mor, Clan MacDonald of Islay and Kintyre, MacDonalds of the Glens (Antrim) and sometimes referred to as MacDonnells, is a Scottish clan and a branch of Clan Donald. The founder of the MacDonalds of Dunnyveg is Eòin Mòr Tànaiste Mac Dhòmhnaill, a son of Iain Mic Dhòmhnaill and Margaret Stewart of Scotland, daughter of King Robert II. Members of the clan actually pronounced and spelled their name M'Connall due to the Gaelic pronunciation of the name Mac Domhnuill thus giving rise to the surname McConnell and its variants. While historically recognised as a clan by the Court of the Lord Lyon, it is now an armigerous clan as it no longer has a chief. The last chief was Sir James MacDonald, 9th of the Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg or Clan Donald South, who died in London in 1626.
The MacDonnells of Antrim, also known as the MacDonnells of the Glens, are a branch in Ireland of the Scottish-based Clan Donald. Initially part of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, the MacDonnells of Antrim became their own branch in 1558 when Somhairle Buidhe MacDonnell obtained the lordship of the territory in Ireland from James MacDonald, 6th chief of the Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg.
The Battle of Aura, was fought in the middle of the sixteenth century between the MacDonnells, led by Sorley Boy MacDonnell, against the McQuillans and O'Neills, in which the MacQuillans and O'Neills were defeated. Translated, Slieve-an-Aura means Hill of Battle – the modern spelling is Slieveanorra.
The Rathlin Island massacre took place on Rathlin Island, off the coast of Ireland on 26 July 1575, when more than 600 Scots and Irish were killed.
Dunaneeny Castle is a ruined castle on the outskirts of Ballycastle in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. The castle was home to the chiefs of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg and later the MacDonnells of Antrim. The castle is purported to be the birthplace of Scottish-Irish chief Sorley Boy MacDonnell.
The Route was a medieval territory in Gaelic Ireland, located on the north-east coast of Ulster. It stretched between Coleraine and Ballycastle and as far south as the Clogh River. Originally part of Twescard, a county of the Earldom of Ulster, it was later ruled by the MacQuillans and then the MacDonnells.
Red Bay Castle is situated in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on a headland projecting into the sea north of Glenariff situated on the road to Cushendall.
James MacDonald, alias McDonnell, 6th Chief of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg, Scottish-Gaelic lord, died 1565.
The history of the Bissett family in Ireland can be studied independently from that of the originally identical family in Scotland, because of their unique experience following their arrival in Ulster in the early or mid-13th century. Here, while still remaining involved in Scottish affairs, the Bissetts would establish themselves as the Lords of the Glens of Antrim and quickly become equally, then eventually more involved in the politics of the Irish province, becoming among the most Gaelicised of all the so-called Anglo-Norman families in Ireland. The heads of the leading branch of the family soon adopted the Gaelic lineage style Mac Eoin Bissett, by which they are known in the Irish annals, and which translates as "Son/Descendant of John Byset", after a prominent ancestor born in Scotland. In a number of English and Anglo-Norman sources the same head of the family is referred to as the Baron Bissett, also with variants.