Olderfleet Castle is a four-storey

towerhouse A tower house is a particular type of stone structure, built for defensive purposes as well as habitation. Tower houses began to appear in the Middle Ages, especially in mountainous or limited access areas, to command and defend strategic points ...

, the remains of which stand on Curran Point to the south of Larne Harbour in

Larne Larne (, , the name of a Gaelic Ireland, Gaelic territory)Larne/Latharna
Placenames Database of Ireland. is a to ...

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, County Antrim, Antrim, ) is one of the six counties of Northern Ireland, located within the historic Provinces of Ireland, province of Ulster. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the c ...

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 ...

. The place name of Olderfleet may be a corruption of ''Ulfrecksfiord'' (or Ulfried's Fjord), the

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

name for

Larne Lough Larne Lough, historically Lough Larne (), is a sea loch or inlet in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies between the Islandmagee peninsula and the mainland. At its mouth is the town of Larne. It is designated as an area of special scientifi ...

. Olderfleet Castle is a State Care Historic Monument in the

townland A townland (; Ulster-Scots: ''toonlann'') is a traditional small land division used in Ireland and in the Western Isles of Scotland, typically covering . The townland system is of medieval Gaelic origin, predating the Norman invasion, and mo ...

Curran and Drumaliss Curran may refer to: People * Curran (surname) * Curran Oi (born 1990), an American figure skater * Curran Phillips (born 2000), an American artistic gymnast Material * Curran (material) Places *Curran, community in Alfred and Plantagenet, Ont ...

, in the former

Larne Borough Council Larne Borough Council was a Local Council in County Antrim in Northern Ireland. It merged with Ballymena Borough Council and Carrickfergus Borough Council in May 2015 under the reorganisation of local government in Northern Ireland to become Mid a ...

area, at grid ref: D4133 0166.

History

The original

was possibly built by the Scoto-Irish Bissett family of

Glenarm Glenarm () is a village in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It lies on the North Channel coast north of the town of Larne and the village of Ballygalley, and south of the village of Carnlough. It is situated in the civil parish of Tickmac ...

around 1250, although these remains are actually thought to be those of Curran Castle, a towerhouse built in the sixteenth century. On a 1610 map it was called Coraine Castle. In 1315

Edward Bruce Edward Bruce, Earl of Carrick (Norman French: ; ; Modern Scottish Gaelic: or ; 1280 – 14 October 1318), was a younger brother of Robert the Bruce, King of Scots. He supported his brother in the 1306–1314 struggle for the Scottish cro ...

landed here with his 6000 strong army en route to conquer Ireland, with a welcome from the Bissetts.

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor. Her eventful reign, and its effect on history ...

considered the castle of such strategic importance that it was seized for the crown and Sir Moyses Hill appointed its governor in 1569. In 1597 the castle was claimed by the

MacDonnells The MacDonnells of Antrim (Gaelic: ''Mac Domhnaill''), also known as the MacDonnells of the Glens, are a branch in Ireland of the Scottish-based Clan Donald. Initially part of Clan MacDonald of Dunnyveg (Clan Donald South), the MacDonnells of Ant ...

and in 1598 it was dismantled. The present castle was probably built about 1612. In 1621 it was granted to

Sir Arthur Chichester Arthur Chichester, 1st Baron Chichester (May 1563 – 19 February 1625), known between 1596 and 1613 as Sir Arthur Chichester, of Carrickfergus in Ireland, was an English administrator and soldier who served as Lord Deputy of Ireland from 1605 ...

and remained in that family until leased to William Agnew in 1823. James Chaine purchased the lease in 1865. In 1938 it was taken into State Care.

Features

What remains of the four-storey towerhouse is part of the tower with pairs of gun loops in the basement. The square remains show that it only had 1 metre thick walls and it is without visible domestic features, which means that it could have been built as a fortified warehouse and watchtower.

References

{{Commons category, Olderfleet Castle Castles in County Antrim Ruined castles in Northern Ireland Larne Clan Bissett Buildings and structures in Larne State Care Monuments of Northern Ireland Tower houses in Northern Ireland

History

Features

See also

References