Carra Castle, Antrim

Carra Castle or Castle Carra (Irish: Caisleán Carrach) is a ruined castle, just north of Cushendun, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It dates to around the early 14th century.[1] The castle lies in a field near the coast and the harbour of Cushendun, known as Murlough Bay.[2] The site had once been used during medieval times as a children's cemetery.[1]

Castle Carra
General information
TypeRuined castle
LocationNear Cushendun, County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Coordinates55°7′57.5″N 6°2′29.4″W

Etymology

Carra may be a corruption of "Carey".[2] It may have been known as Goban Saer's Castle.[3]

History

The castle was once occupied by Irish king Shane O'Neill, and Sorley Boy McDonnell was held as a prisoner here in 1565.[1] In 1567, two years after being defeated by O'Neill, the McDonnells entertained him in Castle Carra during two days of hunting and feasting. However, on the third day, 2 June, during a quarrel, they stabbed O'Neill to death to avenge their earlier defeat and sent his head to the English representatives of Queen Elizabeth in Dublin Castle.[1]

In 1585, Donnell Gorm MacDonnell was besieged by the English,; his father, Sorley Boy landed near the castle and drove off the besiegers.[4] Around 1730, it was known to have been occupied by the Lynch family.[5] Today the castle is in ruins and overgrown with ivy.[6]

Architecture and fittings

The house has the characteristics of a hall house, but its outside dimensions are that of a tower house.[7] What remains are the ruins of a 16th-century square tower house built over a Mesolithic flint working site.

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References
  1. "Castle Carra". Castles.nl. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  2. Wright, George Newenham (1823). A guide to the Giant's Causeway and the north-east coast of ... Antrim. p. 58. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  3. The Gentleman's magazine. F. Jefferies. 1853. p. 503. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  4. "Castle Carra". The Glens of Antrim Historical Society. Archived from the original on 23 July 2011. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  5. Burke, John Bernard (1852). A genealogical and heraldic dictionary of the peerage and baronetage of the British Empire. Colburn. p. 99. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  6. Gallagher, Lyn; Rogers, Dick (1992). Castle, coast, and cottage: the National Trust in Northern Ireland. Blackstaff Press. p. 43. ISBN 978-0-85640-497-9. Retrieved 29 May 2011.
  7. McNeill, T. E. (1997). Castles in Ireland: feudal power in a Gaelic world. Psychology Press. pp. 204–. ISBN 978-0-415-16537-2. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
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