Enniskillen Castle is situated in

Enniskillen Enniskillen ( , from , ' Ceithlenn's island') is the largest town in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. It is in the middle of the county, between the Upper and Lower sections of Lough Erne. It had a population of 14,086 at the 2011 censu ...

County Fermanagh County Fermanagh ( ; ) is one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland, one of the nine counties of Ulster and one of six counties of Northern Ireland. The county covers an area of and had a population of 63,585 as of 2021. Enniskillen is the ...

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. It was originally built in the 16th century and now contains the Fermanagh County Museum and a museum for the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards and

Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers was an Ireland, Irish line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence from 1881 until 1968. The regiment was formed in 1881 by the amalgamation of the 27th (Inniskilling) Regiment of Foot and the 108th (Ma ...

History

Hugh Maguire built a castle at Enniskillen in 1428. It was besieged by Captain John Dowdall's troops at the start of 1594 and fell on 2 February after a short siege, when the occupants were massacred after they surrendered. The castle was again under siege later that year but was relieved. The fortress finally fell to the Irish in 1595. The castle remained in Irish hands until it fell to the crown's Irish ally, Niall Garve O'Donnell in the summer of 1602. In 1607 Captain William Cole was given command of the castle. Cole remodelled and refurbished the castle adding the riverside tower at the south, known as the Watergate, in 1609. He purchased the castle outright in 1623. It was unsuccessfully besieged by Rory Maguire during the

Irish Rebellion of 1641 The Irish Rebellion of 1641 was an uprising in Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, initiated on 23 October 1641 by Catholic gentry and military officers. Their demands included an end to anti-Catholic discrimination, greater Irish self-governance, and ...

, during which it sheltered Protestant settlers. The castle was remodelled as "Castle Barracks" as part of the response to a threat of a French invasion in 1796. Castle Barracks became the home of the 27th Regiment of Foot in 1853. The regiment moved to purpose-built facilities at St Lucia Barracks, Omagh in 1875 and evolved, after amalgamation, to become the

in 1881. The barracks continued to be used by other regiments and, from November 1939, they became to home of the North Irish Horse, a Territorial Army unit. The barracks were decommissioned in 1950 and were converted for use as council depot. The castle was subsequently opened to the public as a heritage centre.

Features and collections

The Castle consists of two sections, a central tower keep and a curtain wall which was strengthened with small

turret Turret may refer to: * Turret (architecture), a small tower that projects above the wall of a building * Gun turret, a mechanism of a projectile-firing weapon * Optical microscope#Objective turret (revolver or revolving nose piece), Objective turre ...

s called

Bartizan A bartizan (an alteration of ''bratticing''), also called a guerite, ''garita'', or ''échauguette'', or spelled bartisan, is an overhanging turret projecting from the walls of late-medieval and early-modern fortifications from the early 14th c ...

s. The design of the castle has strong Scottish influences. This can be particularly seen in the Watergate, which features two corbelled circular tourelles which were built about 1609. It is a State Care Historic Monument. The castle is now home to the Fermanagh County Museum, which focuses on the county's history, culture and natural history. Exhibits include the area's prehistory, natural history, traditional rural life, local crafts and Belleek Pottery, and history of the castle. It also contains information on the Maguire family. The castle also contains the Inniskillings Museum for the

and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards. Image:Enniskillen Castle2 by Paride.JPG, The courtyard of the Castle Image:Enniskillen Castle3 by Paride.jpg, Reconstruction of the Castle Image:Enniskillen Castle4 by Paride.JPG, The barracks was built inside the walls

References

Sources

* * James O'Neill, 'Threes sieges and two massacres: Enniskillen at the outbreak of the Nine Years War, 1593-5, ''The Irish Sword'', xxx, no. 121 (2016), pp 241-9

External links

Fermanagh County Museum
- official site
The Inniskillings Museum
- official site * {{Authority control Castles in County Fermanagh Enniskillen Museums in County Fermanagh Regimental museums in Northern Ireland Local museums in Northern Ireland Biographical museums in Northern Ireland State Care Monuments of Northern Ireland

History

Features and collections

See also

References

Sources

External links