One of the beauties of Carrickfergus Castle is that it’s a short spin away from many of the best things to do in Belfast.īelow, you’ll find a handful of things to see and do a stone’s throw from Carrickfergus (plus places to eat and where to grab a post-adventure pint!). Walk along a wooden pier that’s no longer there as you see the transformation of the castle through the centuries. The final attraction is outside the castle. In the Keep, you can point the app, and the bricks crumble away, revealing life during various periods of the castle’s history. Using an App, visitors can point it at a cannon and watch as it fires on a vessel out at sea. The best bit about the tour is the immersive D3 experience. Once they’re crowned, they can climb to the top of the castle to oversee their Kingdom. If you’re visiting during school holidays, there may be craft workshops in the Keep where the children can make a crown or a keyring. The children can climb the cannon scattered around the castle and see what a medieval dining room looked like – the banqueting hall. Inhabitants and soldiers would pour boiling oil or scalding water, fire arrows, throw rocks or hot sand down on intruders. The fun begins at the gateway, where you see the ‘murder hole’ in the ceiling. Information booklets and maps are available at the Visitor Centre. Guided tours conducted by knowledgeable local guides are available to pre-book, or you can take your time and use the information boards to explore the castle at your leisure.
Carrickfergus ireland windows#
The scene is set from the outside with models looking out the windows or keeping guard. The castle is laid out to captivate children’s imagination. It’s said his ghost is often to be seen in the basement, his favourite place. Unfortunately, he gave the wrong name, and another soldier, Timothy Lavery, was charged with murder and hanged.īefore he was executed, he swore he would haunt the castle forever. Robert Rainey attacked his rival and left him for dead, but the man was able to tell who attacked him. A love triangle between a solder called Robert Rainey, a girl, called Betsy Baird and the castle constable’s brother. Of course, no Irish castle would be complete without a ghost, and Carrickfergus Castle has a tragic miscarriage of justice behind its haunting. Notably, King William of Orange landed there on his way to the Battle of the Boyne in 1690.ĭuring the Napoleonic wars, it was used as a prison, and WW1 saw it used as an armory and garrison, while it was an air-raid shelter during the Second World War. In the intervening centuries, it was attacked at various times by the French, locals and Scots. The castle was held by the English until 1928, when it passed to the Local Government to be used as a historical site. Battles, battles and more battlesĪ portcullis (a forbidding gate usually spiked and dropped to block a gateway) was also added in 1250. The castle was protected from the sea by a polygonal curtain wall built to a great height, but since King John’s soldiers could scale the castle at low tide from the eastern side, another higher wall was built in 1217. John de Courcy built Carrickfergus Castle in the late 12th Century and held it until 1204 when he lost it in battle with Hugh de Lacy, who in turn lost it to King John in 1210. We get messages constantly asking ‘Is Carrickfergus Castle in Game of Thrones?’ Nope, it wasn’t, however, it’s a short drive from some of the most popular Game of Thrones filming locations in Ireland. Starting at £5.50 for adults, children and seniors pay £3.50, as do students and benefit claimants. Ticket pricesĪ range of admission prices makes visiting affordable for everyone. It opens at 10 am with last entry at 3.30 pm and closes at 4 pm from October to Easter. From Easter to September, it opens at 10 am and closes at 6pm. The castle is open to the public daily for half-hour tours. The castle is located, unsurprisingly enough, in Carrickfergus, a 15-minute drive from The Gobbins and 25 minutes from both Belfast Castle and Cavehill Country Park. I wish I was in Carrickfergus – the opening line to one of the more popular Irish songs. Although a visit to Carrickfergus Castle is fairly straightforward, there are a few need-to-knows that’ll make your visit that bit more enjoyable.
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