Ireland · Partial ruin
Greencastle
Greencastle is a medieval stone castle on a low headland at the entrance to Carlingford Lough in County Down, Northern Ireland. It dates mainly from the 13th century with substantial 15th–16th-century alterations, and stands beside an earlier motte and a late-medieval stone church. The site is a state-care historic monument and was built to guard the narrow channel and ferry crossing to Carlingford.
Its prime
1590
Today
Partial ruin
As it stood in 1590
What Greencastle looked like in its prime.
A compact rectangular stone tower/keep with a crenellated parapet stands on a grassy headland beside Carlingford Lough, built of grey local stone. At prime the tower is complemented by an enclosing rectangular curtain wall with four corner towers and low domestic ranges against the inner wall; some corner towers are lower or ruined. The castle sits above a surviving earthen motte on the seaward side, with distant hills across the lough in the background.
Its story
The story of Greencastle.
De Lacy's Lock on Carlingford Lough
Greencastle stands on the County Down side of Carlingford Lough. It was likely built by Hugh de Lacy, along with Carlingford Castle on the opposite side of the lough, to guard the narrow entry channel to the water and the ferry crossing that ran between the two. The stone castle dates mainly from the thirteenth century and was originally enclosed by rectangular outer walls with a tower at each corner, some of which survive as ruins.
The motte of an earlier wooden motte-and-bailey castle, possibly raised by John de Courcy, still stands on the seaward side nearer the point, and one legend has de Courcy married at Greencastle, though that may have been at the motte and bailey rather than the stone castle. Excavations carried out between 1966 and 1970 found occupation layers on the site that pre-date the castle altogether.
Richard de Burgh and the Bruce Attack of 1316
The castle is recorded as having been held for the English Crown by Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster, from 1264 to 1333. In 1316 Edward Bruce, brother of Robert, attacked it and took it. He did so in spite of a marriage between the two houses, one of Richard de Burgh's daughters having married Robert the Bruce himself.
Irish Attacks and the English Garrison of the 1590s
The Irish attacked Greencastle at least twice in the later fourteenth century. The castle had substantial alterations in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. In the sixteenth century it was held by the Earl of Kildare and then by Nicholas Bagenal of Newry. It was still being maintained as an English garrison in the 1590s.
From the Cromwellian Bombardment to State Care
Greencastle fell into disuse after Cromwellian soldiers bombarded it, the object being to stop rebel forces making use of it. The castle stands among other medieval remains: the older motte, a late-medieval stone church, and two burial pits excavated in 2003. One pit held a woman of twenty-five to thirty-five, the other a child of under four; the calibrated dates ran from 1270 to 1380, taken as near contemporary with the building of the castle in the mid-thirteenth century. The ruins are a state-care historic monument in the townland of Greencastle, in the Newry and Mourne district.
Step inside
7 places to explore in 1590.
The record describes 7 distinct spots at Greencastle, including the full exterior approach. Create your own photoreal reconstruction and explore every one, more scenes means more rooms, more angles, and more of the place to stand in.
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Clans who held Greencastle.
The families that held Greencastle for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
de Lacy
Likely built by Hugh de Lacy, with Carlingford Castle opposite, to guard the entry to Carlingford Lough.
Held for the English Crown by Richard de Burgh, Earl of Ulster, 1264–1333.
Bagenal
Held in the 16th century by Nicholas Bagenal of Newry.
