Ireland · Ruin
Shane's Castle ruins
Shane's Castle is a medieval-origin castle near Antrim on the north-east shore of Lough Neagh. The site includes a surviving medieval keep and low curtain walls and was the location of a later Victorian-Gothic mansion built in the 1860s; the later house was destroyed in the 20th century and the complex now stands as ruins.
First raised
1345
Its prime
1870
Today
Ruin
As it stood in 1870
What Shane's Castle ruins looked like in its prime.
A cluster of grey rubble-stone structures set in parkland on the shore of Lough Neagh: a cylindrical medieval keep several storeys high with crenellated parapet, a taller rectangular multi-storey range with large vertical window openings, and low curtain walls and foundations forming an inner ward. To one side a long arcaded service range runs along the forecourt. In the castle's prime a Victorian-Gothic mansion occupied the site with pitched roofs and multiple chimneys, the whole ensemble roofed and complete.
Its story
The story of Shane's Castle ruins.
Edenduffcarrick and the Clandeboy O'Neills, 1345
A member of the Clandeboy O'Neill dynasty built the castle in 1345 on the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, some 2.7 miles from Randalstown. It was known then as Edenduffcarrick, from the Irish éadán dúcharraige, "brow of black rock". The present name comes from Shane McBrian McPhelim O'Neill, who ruled Lower Clandeboy between 1595 and 1617.
John Nash's Design and the Fire of 1816
In 1809 the decision was taken to rebuild the Plantation castle to a design by John Nash. A fire in 1816 left it in ruins instead, though the family papers were saved. The burning was written up the same year in John Neal's poem "Castle Shane", published in The Portico.
The Victorian House Burnt in 1922
A large Victorian-Gothic castle was raised in the 1860s. It stood until 1922, when it too was burnt down, by the Irish Republican Army. The ruins were listed Grade A in December 1974.
Bomb Dump and Tourist Line, 1940-1995
The grounds carried railways long after the house had gone. A 2 ft gauge line ran through the estate between 1940 and 1956, used by the British Army for transport to and from a bomb dump. Raymond O'Neill, 4th Baron O'Neill, ran a 3 ft gauge tourist line laid by Northern Ireland Railways staff in their spare time, a mile and a half from Antrim by way of Millburn to Shane's Castle. It opened on 30 April 1971 and closed on 31 October 1995 as visitor numbers fell away.
Step inside
8 places to explore in 1870.
The record describes 8 distinct spots at Shane's Castle ruins, including 1 interior: interior of the round keep. 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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Recreate Shane's Castle ruins with AI to explore it.
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Clans who held Shane's Castle ruins.
The families that held Shane's Castle ruins for a decade or more across its history, follow a name to its clan.
Built in 1345 by the Clandeboy O'Neill dynasty and named for Shane McBrian McPhelim O'Neill, ruler of Lower Clandeboy 1595–1617; the O'Neills, latterly Barons O'Neill, have held the estate into the modern era.
Nearby
