#13 Carrickfergus Castle

 

Carrickfergus Castle 

County Antrim

While in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, we took in a tour of Carrickfergus Castle. It was founded in 1177 by John de Courcy, an Anglo-Norman knight who led military expeditions into Ulster, in northern Ireland. It is reported to be one of the most complete examples of Norman architecture in Northern Ireland. Besieged in turn by the Scottish, native Irish, English, and French, the castle played an important military role.

            During  WW1 the castle was an army garrison.  Great Britain took over the castle in 1928 and began restoring it. With the outbreak of WW II, it functioned as an air-raid shelter.

          It was amazing to tour the castle as it was completely restored. The inner rooms, the Keep, and Chapel along with towers and battery was amazing. They had life-size mannequins dressed in period clothes depicting the work they performed in each area/room. We were amazed by the Great Hall, where, historically, the Baron and Baroness received guests.

     

This tour gave us a real sense of what daily life was like for the owners of the castle.

As an added note:

 Over the weekend of January 13 and 14, 2018, the castle was transformed into Hogwarts and was the Mecca for those two days for all those who followed Harry Potter.