Stamps And Letters: 2009 Castles of Northern Ireland #1

2009 Castles of Northern Ireland #1

Take a closer look here at the ten selected castles depicted on the Northern Ireland Smilers sheet.

Monea Castle

Monea Castle is in Monea, County Fermanagh with three stories, rectangular in shape and two semi-cylindrical towers. It was built in 1618 by Malcolm Hamilton who became the Archbishop of Cashel in 1623. Gustavus Hamilton, the Governor of Enniskillen lived there until he died in 1691 with his wife and children who stayed after his death. They had to subsequently sell the estate and after a fire the castle was abandoned.

Belfast Castle

Belfast Castle overlooks the city having been completed in 1870 by the Donegall family (formerly Chichester). The third Marquis of Donegall wanted to build a new castle on the slopes of Cave Hill so the architect firm Lanyon, Lynn and Lanyon together with John Lanyon planned and constructed it in the Scottish Baronial style. In 1884 the third Marquis died and the seventh Earl of Shaftesbury died the year after. Lord Ashley and his wife Harriet Augusta inherited the Shaftesbury title and the castle. As philanthropists the Shaftesbury family supported many charities and in 1934 they donated the castle and estate to the City of Belfast.

Carrickfergus Castle

Carrickfergus is a Norman castle which was besieged by the Scots, Irish, English and French and which is one of the best preserved medieval structures in Ireland. It was built by John de Courcy in 1177 and he used it as his headquarters until 1204 when he was ousted by Hugh de Lacy. At that time the castle had several buildings including the great hall and strategically placed on a rocky promontory and almost surrounded by sea it stood high above the land of the town which developed underneath.

In 1210 it first appeared in English records when it was taken over by King John and then in 1217 De Serlane, a new constable appointed to command the castle built a new curtain wall so the approach along the rock could be protected. Once the Earldom of Ulster collapsed in 1333 the castle remained the Crown's principal residential and administrative centre in the north.

A number of improvements were carried out in the 16th and 17th centuries to make space for artillery though the castle was attacked several times in spite of this. In 1690 General Schomberg attacked and captured the castle and his leader, King William III first set foot there in Ireland in June 1690.

The castle was garrisoned for about 750 years until 1928 when it was transferred to the government for preservation as an ancient monument and it is now open to the public.

Dunluce Castle

Dunluce Castle is located on the edge of a basalt outcropping in County Antrim and is one of the most extensive ruins of a medieval castle in Northern Ireland. Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster built the first castle at Dunluce. In 1513 it is first documented in the hands of the MacQuillin family who built two large drum towers on the eastern side. It later became the home of the chief of the Clan MacDonnell of Antrim and the Clan MacDonald Dunnyveg from Scotland. In 1584 after the death of James MacDonald, the 6th chief of the Clan MacDonald of Antrim and Dunnyveg, the Antrim Glens were seized by one of his younger brothers called Sorley Buy. He took the castle and improved it in the Scottish style. His son Ranald was then made Randal MacDonnell, 1st Earl of Antrim by Queen Elizabeth. Dunluce Castle continued to be the seat for the Earl of Antrim until the MacDonnells became poor after the Battle of the Boyne. Since then the castle fell into ruins with parts being scavenged to serve as materials for other buildings and it is now under the care of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency.

Enniskillen Castle

Enniskillen Castle is situated in Enniskillen in County Fermanagh. Hugh Maguire built the first castle on this site in the 16th century. It is made up of two sections, a central keep and a curtain wall and it was the main defence for the west end of the town. Captain William Cole remodelled and refurbished it back in 1607 when the riverside tower at the south, known as the Watergate, was added. In the 18th century the castle was remodelled as the Castle Barracks and it now houses the Regimental Museum of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers.

2009 Castles of Northern Ireland #2