How many castles in Northern Ireland?
A country with as rich a history as Northern Ireland not surprisingly has many castles. Depending on what you include there are as many as fifty or more.
The earliest date from Norman times like Dundrum Castle near Newcastle in County Down. Such will give you an idea of how medieval Europe castles looked like.
Others were built in relatively modern times like, for example, the delightful Hillsborough Castle.
Some were built for defensive purposes and have seen their share of wars and battles. An good example is Carrickfegrus Castle.
In fact, Carrickfergus castle is in such a good condition, it is frequently used for Castle Weddings and Birthday parties or Wedding photography shots.
Others functioned as stately homes and are more elegant than fearsome, like the famous Belfast Castle.
Some are in excellent state of preserve, like Enniskillen Castle.
Others are in complete ruins, like Dunluce, Dunseverick or Kinbane Castles in the Antrim Coast, or Dromore Mound in Dromore.
Depending on how much history fascinates you, you can decide how many to visit. But a tour of Northern Ireland would not be complete without at least a casual viewing of some of them.
History often developed around them and though no longer in the mainstream of political developments, the stout architecture and often dramatic locations of older ones as well as the refined elegance of some of the newer ones will give you a good overview of the rich history of this glorious land.
In my-secret-northern-ireland.com you can read descriptions and see photos of some of the better known Northern Irish castles. Our list is by no means complete. But we plan to build and expand it. So take your time, read through the relevant pages, plan to visit them and come again to our website to learn more as new pages on the castles of Northern Ireland are added.
’till then, happy exploring!
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