Rathlin Castle was probably built by 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.[1]
In July 1575, English forces led by Francis Drake and John Norreys 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, from where the Rathlin Island raid had left.
rathlin, castle, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, january, 2. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Rathlin Castle news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2019 Learn how and when to remove this template message Rathlin Castle also known as Bruce s Castle was a castle on Rathlin Island off the coast of County Antrim in Northern Ireland Rathlin CastleRathlin Island Northern IrelandRathlin CastleCoordinates55 17 50 N 6 10 09 W 55 297222 N 6 169167 W 55 297222 6 169167Site informationConditionRuinHistory editRathlin Castle was probably built by 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 1 In 1306 after being defeated by Sir Aymer de Valence at the Battle of Methven and then by the Lord of Lorne at the Battle of Strathfillan King Robert I of Scotland retired to Rathlin Castle for the winter with a small following of his most faithful men including James Douglas Lord of Douglas Bruce s brothers Thomas Alexander and Edward as well as Sir Neil Campbell and Malcolm II the Earl of Lennox 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 and John Norreys 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 from where the Rathlin Island raid had left Citations edit Williams 1990 p 50 References editScott Robert the Bruce pp 84 85 John Barbours the Bruce trans G Eyre Todd Penman Michael Robert the Bruce King of Scots p 103 Williams B 1990 The Archaeology of Rathlin Island Archaeology Ireland 4 2 47 51 ISSN 0790 892X JSTOR 20562046 via JSTOR 55 17 50 N 6 10 09 W 55 29722 N 6 16917 W 55 29722 6 16917 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rathlin Castle amp oldid 1096333018, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
