Dundrum Castle is a castle, situated above the town of Dundrum, County Down

Dundrum, County Down

Dundrum is a village and townland in County Down, Northern Ireland. It is beside Dundrum Bay, about 4 miles outside Newcastle on the A2 road. The town is best known for its ruined Norman castle. It had a population of 1,065 people in the 2001 Census....

, Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

. It was constructed by John de Courcy

John de Courcy

John de Courcy was a Anglo-Norman knight who arrived in Ireland in 1176. From then until his expulsion in 1204, he conquered a considerable territory, endowed religious establishments, built abbeys for both the Benedictines and the Cistercians and built strongholds at Dundrum Castle in County...

, sometime near the beginning of the 13th century, following his invasion of Ulster

Ulster

Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...

. The castle, built to control access into Lecale

Lecale

Lecale is the name of two different historical territorial divisions both located in the east of modern-day County Down, Northern Ireland. Anciently it was the name of the ancient Irish district of Leath Cathail...

 from the west and south, stands on the top of a rocky hill commanding fine views south over Dundrum Bay and the Mourne Mountains, the lands west towards Slieve Croob

Slieve Croob

Slieve Croob is the tallest of a group of peaks in the middle of County Down, Northern Ireland. These peaks lie north of the Mourne Mountains, between the village of Dromara and the town of Castlewellan. Slieve Croob has been designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...

 and the plains of Lecale to the east. The Castle is a State Care Historic Monument in the townland

Townland

A townland or bally is a small geographical division of land used in Ireland. The townland system is of Gaelic origin—most townlands are believed to pre-date the Norman invasion and most have names derived from the Irish language...

 of Dundrum, in Down District Council

Down District Council

Down District Council is a Local Council in County Down in Northern Ireland. The Council is headquartered in Downpatrick. Other towns in the Council area are Ardglass, Ballynahinch, Castlewellan, Clough, Crossgar, Dundrum, Killough, Killyleagh, Newcastle, Saintfield, Seaforde and Strangford...

 area, at grid ref: J4047 3700.

Origins and ownership

De Courcy's original castle may have had defences of earth and timber, but it is probable that the stone curtain wall of the upper ward was built at the beginning of the 13th century. As with other early enclosure walls, there were no towers, but defence was assisted by covered walks along the outside wall-head. An early timber

Timber

Timber may refer to:* Timber, a term common in the United Kingdom and Australia for wood materials * Timber, Oregon, an unincorporated community in the U.S...

 hall may have been sited near the keep

Keep

A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word keep, but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residences, used as a refuge of last resort should the rest of the...

, where there is a double-latrine in the curtain wall.

In 1203 de Courcy was expelled from Ulster

Ulster

Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...

 by Hugh de Lacy. The earliest reference to the castle occurs in the mid 13th century Chronicle of Mann

Chronicle of Mann

The Chronicles of the Kings of Mann and the Isles or Manx Chronicle is a medieval Latin manuscript relating the early history of the Isle of Man....

, which records of de Courcy's unsuccessful attempt to siege "the castle of Rath" in 1205, with the aid of one hundred ships of his brother-in-law, Ragnvald Godredsson, King of the Isles.

The castle was then captured by King John

John of England

John , also known as John Lackland , was King of England from 6 April 1199 until his death...

 in 1210. Hugh de Lacy strengthened the castle with a massive round keep, probably employing master masons from the Welsh Marches

Welsh Marches

The Welsh Marches is a term which, in modern usage, denotes an imprecisely defined area along and around the border between England and Wales in the United Kingdom. The precise meaning of the term has varied at different periods...

, where such keeps were then popular. Although much of the second floor of this keep was rebuilt in the 15th century, it is clear from the survival of the old fireplace flue and spiral stair that it originally stood at least three storeys high. The basement was used for storage and had a cistern

Cistern

A cistern is a waterproof receptacle for holding liquids, usually water. Cisterns are often built to catch and store rainwater. Cisterns are distinguished from wells by their waterproof linings...

 below the first floor, which appears to have been the great chamber for the lord's day-to-day living, while the floor above would have housed his private chamber. The castle remained Crown property until de Lacy was allowed to return to his Earldom in 1226. It was probably after de Lacy's second tenure as Earl of Ulster

Earl of Ulster

The title of Earl of Ulster has been created several times in the Peerage of Ireland and Peerage of the United Kingdom. Currently, the title is a subsidiary title of the Duke of Gloucester, and is used as a courtesy title by the Duke's son, Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster...

 (1227–43) that the twin-towered gatehouse, similar to the one at Pembroke Castle

Pembroke Castle

Pembroke Castle is a medieval castle in Pembroke, West Wales. Standing beside the River Cleddau, it underwent major restoration work in the early 20th century. The castle was the original seat of the Earldom of Pembroke....

, was inserted in the curtain wall. It has a lopsided design with only one projecting tower to protect the approach along a narrow ramp from the south-west.

The stone curtain wall of the outer bailey

Motte-and-bailey

A motte-and-bailey is a form of castle, with a wooden or stone keep situated on a raised earthwork called a motte, accompanied by an enclosed courtyard, or bailey, surrounded by a protective ditch and palisade...

 is likely to have been built by the Magennis

Magennis

Magennis is an Irish surname, derived from or the Sons of Angus, sometimes also spelt as Maginnis. The most famous branch controlled west County Down, particularly the Iveagh baronies, and occasionally Dundrum Castle to the east. The Magennis, Lords of Iveagh, are descendants of the Uí Echach Cobo...

 family of Mourne, who seized Dundrum in the late 15th century. The Earl of Kildare briefly captured the castle in 1517 as did Lord Deputy Grey in 1538. During this period it was referred to as Magennis Castle. Phelim Magennis later surrendered the castle to Lord Mountjoy in 1601. It was made over to Lord Cromwell in 1605 and sold to Sir Francis Blundell in 1636. The Magennis family recaptured Dundrum in 1642, but later lost it to the Parliamentarians

Parliament of England

The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England. In 1066, William of Normandy introduced a feudal system, by which he sought the advice of a council of tenants-in-chief and ecclesiastics before making laws...

, who dismantled the castle in 1652 after they withdrew their garrison.

After 1660 the Blundell

Viscount Blundell

Viscount Blundell was a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1720 for Sir Montague Blundell, 4th Baronet, Member of Parliament for Haslemere between 1715 and 1722. He was made Baron Blundell, of Edenberry in the King's County, at the same time, also in the Peerage of Ireland. He had...

s returned and built a gabled L-shaped mansion in the south-west corner of the outer bailey. This dwelling was ruined by the time the property passed to the second Marquess of Downshire

Marquess of Downshire

Marquess of Downshire is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1789 for Wills Hill, 1st Earl of Hillsborough, a former Secretary of State....

 in the early 19th century, though the trees on the hill were probably planted at this time. The castle and grounds were placed in State Care by the seventh Marquess in 1954.

The castle is an important example of Norman architecture, and is a regular destination for tourists and school children.

Dundrum Castle, Co. Tipperary

An unrelated structure called Dundrum Castle existed near Dundrum, County Tipperary

Dundrum, County Tipperary

Dundrum , is a village in the barony of Kilnamanagh Lower, South Tipperary, Ireland ....

 and was the family seat of the O'Dwyer's of Kilnamanagh

Kilnamanagh

Kilnamanagh is a suburban residential area in Tallaght, South Dublin, Ireland.-History:The name in Irish is Cill Na Manach, or 'church of the monks'. This refers to the church, well and castle established to house Saint Kevin and his followers...

, members of the Gaelic

Gaels

The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....

 aristocracy

Aristocracy

Aristocracy , is a form of government in which a few elite citizens rule. The term derives from the Greek aristokratia, meaning "rule of the best". In origin in Ancient Greece, it was conceived of as rule by the best qualified citizens, and contrasted with monarchy...

. Following the invasion of Ireland by Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was an English military and political leader who overthrew the English monarchy and temporarily turned England into a republican Commonwealth, and served as Lord Protector of England, Scotland, and Ireland....

 and the ill-fated retributive capture of the Rock of Cashel

Rock of Cashel

The Rock of Cashel , also known as Cashel of the Kings and St. Patrick's Rock, is a historic site in Ireland's province of Munster, located at Cashel, South Tipperary.-History:...

 by the last clan chief Philip O'Dwyer, the O'Dwyers lost their properties per the Act of Settlement 1662

Act of Settlement 1662

The Act of Settlement 1662 passed by the Irish Parliament in Dublin. It was a partial reversal of the Cromwellian Act of Settlement 1652, which punished Irish Catholics and Royalists for fighting against the English Parliament in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms by the wholesale confiscation of their...

. Dundrum Castle was destroyed sometime afterwards. In 1730 a mansion known as Dundrum House was built on the site. Dundrum House served as the home of Cornelius Maude, Viscount Hawarden

Viscount Hawarden

Viscount Hawarden is a title in the Peerage of Ireland. It was created in 1793 for Cornwallis Maude, 3rd Baronet, who had earlier represented Roscommon in the Irish House of Commons. He had succeeded his younger brother as third Baronet of Dundrum. He married Mary, a niece of Ralph Allen, through...

 and his descendants until the early 20th century when the structure was sold to an order of Roman Catholic nuns. Transferred to private owners in 1978, Dundrum House now serves as a luxury hotel

Hotel

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

 and golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

club.