Rathlin Castle, also known as Bruce's Castle, was a

castle A castle is a type of fortification, fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by Military order (monastic society), military orders. Scholars usually consider a ''castle'' to be the private ...

Rathlin Island Rathlin Island (, ; Local Irish dialect: ''Reachraidh'', ; Scots: ''Racherie'') is an island and civil parish off the coast of County Antrim (of which it is part) in Northern Ireland. It is Northern Ireland's northernmost point. As of the 2021 ...

off the coast of

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 ...

History

Rathlin Castle was probably built for Sir John de Courcy in the early thirteenth century. In 1213, it was granted to Donnchad mac Gilla Brigte, and passed into the possession of the de Lacys two years later. Later in the century, it passed into the possession of the Bissets. Williams (1990) p. 50. In 1306, after being defeated by Sir Aymer de Valence at the

Battle of Methven The Battle of Methven took place at Methven, Scotland on 19 June 1306, during the Wars of Scottish Independence. The battlefield was researched to be included in the Inventory of Historic Battlefields in Scotland and protected by Historic Sco ...

, and then by the Lord of Lorne at the Battle of Strathfillan, King

Robert I of Scotland Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (), was King of Scots from 1306 until his death in 1329. Robert led Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland during the First War of Scottish Independence against Kingdom of Eng ...

retired to Rathlin Castle for the winter with a small following of his most faithful men, including

James Douglas, Lord of Douglas Sir James Douglas (also known as Good Sir James and The Black Douglas; – 25 August 1330) was a Scottish knight and feudal lord. He was one of the chief commanders during the Wars of Scottish Independence. Early life He was the eldest son ...

, Bruce's brothers

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

Alexander Alexander () is a male name of Greek origin. The most prominent bearer of the name is Alexander the Great, the king of the Ancient Greek kingdom of Macedonia who created one of the largest empires in ancient history. Variants listed here ar ...

and

Edward Edward is an English male name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements '' ēad'' "wealth, fortunate; prosperous" and '' weard'' "guardian, protector”. History The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-S ...

, as well as Sir Neil Campbell and

Malcolm II Máel Coluim mac Cinaeda (; anglicised Malcolm II; c. 954 – 25 November 1034) was List of Scottish monarchs, King of Alba (Scotland) from 1005 until his death in 1034. He was one of the longest-reigning Scottish Kings of that period. He was ...

, the

Earl of Lennox The Earl or Mormaer of Lennox was the ruler of the region of the Lennox in western Scotland. It was first created in the 12th century for David of Scotland, Earl of Huntingdon and later held by the Stewart dynasty. Ancient earls The first e ...

. Angus Og Macdonald, friend to Robert Bruce, had brought them there in his galleys from Dunaverty on Kintyre with three hundred of his men. They were welcomed by the owners of the island and castle, the Scoto-Irish Bissett family, Lords of the Glens of Antrim, who were kin to the Macdonalds. Later, the Bissetts were dispossessed of the castle by the English for this reason. In July 1575, English forces led by

Francis Drake Sir Francis Drake ( 1540 – 28 January 1596) was an English Exploration, explorer and privateer best known for making the Francis Drake's circumnavigation, second circumnavigation of the world in a single expedition between 1577 and 1580 (bein ...

and

John Norreys John Norreys may refer to: *Sir John Norris (soldier) or Norreys (c. 1547–1597), the son of Henry Norris, 1st Baron Norreys, a lifelong friend of Queen Elizabeth *Sir John Norreys (Keeper of the Wardrobe) for Henry VI of England (c. 1400–1466) * ...

attacked the castle with cannons and upon the surrender of the garrison of some MacDonnells of Antrim, the defenders, except for some prisoners, and the island's residents were put to the sword; the event is known as the Rathlin Island Massacre. The main army of MacDonnells of Antrim, led by Sorley Boy MacDonnell and stationed at Ballycastle, had witnessed the event taking place on Rathlin Island, where their families and valuables had been lodged for safety. Sorley Boy led his army in a successful retaliatory raid on

Carrickfergus Carrickfergus ( , meaning " Fergus' rock") is a large town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It sits on the north shore of Belfast Lough, from Belfast. The town had a population of 28,141 at the 2021 census. It is County Antrim's oldest t ...

, from where the Rathlin Island raid had left.

Citations

References

*Scott, ''Robert the Bruce'', pp. 84–85. *John, ''Barbours the Bruce'', trans G. Eyre-Todd. *Penman, Michael, ''Robert the Bruce, King of Scot's'', p. 103 * {{coord, 55, 17, 50, N, 6, 10, 09, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Castles in County Antrim Ruined castles in Northern Ireland