Overview of how Northburgh Castle was built in 1305 in Greencastle, County Donegal. Built by the Red Earl of Ulster, the castle was modelled on Welsh castles at Harlech and Caernarfon.

1. Conas a Thóg na
Normánaigh Caisleán
Northburgh
How the Normans Built
Northburgh Castle
12 Aug 2022

2. Caisleán Northburgh –
Northburgh Castle - Location
Northburgh Castle is located in
Greencastle, on the Inishowen
Peninsula in Donegal, overlooking the
mouth of Lough Foyle.
Lough
Foyle
Inishowen
North
Atlantic
North
Atlantic

3. • Inis Eoghain (Inishowen), meaning 'island of
Eoghan’, is a peninsula in the north of
County Donegal.
• Predating the formation of County Donegal
by centuries, the area was named Inis
Eoghain after Eógan mac Néill, son of Niall
Naoigeallach (Niall of the Nine Hostages), a
legendary High King of Ireland.
• Eógan’s name is also the source of Tír
Eoghain (Tyrone).
• Eógan is reputed to have died in 465 and is
buried in Uisce Chaoin (Iskaheen) in
Inishowen.
• He was the ancestor of the Cenél nEógain
(‘kindred of Eoghain’) branch of the Northern
Uí Néill
• The Cenél nEógain founded the Kingdom of
Aileach, which at one point incorporated
Inishowen, Derry, all of present day Tyrone,
and parts of Antrim, Fermanagh and Armagh.
A brief history of Inishowen

4. • Inis Eoghain is also the ancient homeland of the
Meic Lochlainn, a clan descended from the Cenél
nEógain and part of the Northern Uí Neill, whose
dynasty controlled the Kingdom of Aileach for
centuries.
• The Cenel nEógain grew in prominence after the
battle of Leth Cam in 827 and eventually expanded
across most of central Ulster.
• The Cenel nEógain kings were also instrumental in
defeating attempts by Viking invaders to establish a
permanent foothold in Ulster, most notably under
Áed Finnliath who fought a large force in Lough
Foyle in 866.
• They also supplied a number of High Kings of
Ireland, including Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn (d.
1166), who died just prior to the Norman invasion of
Ireland.
• The decline of the Meic Lochlainn is one of the
factors that enabled the Normans to invade Ulster
and expand into Inishowen, founding Northburgh
Castle in the process.
A brief history of Inishowen

5. • The Normans were a mixture of Viking descendants
who intermarried with indigenous West Franks and
Gallo-Romans in the part of France now called
Normandy
• They established a secure foothold in France by
about the year 900
• A Viking called Rollo emerged as their leader
• In 911 the French king Charles III ceded land to
Rollo at the mouth of the river Seine
• For the next 200 years a line of tough leaders
established control of the area and called
themselves the Dukes of Normandy
• They converted to Christianity and adopted the
French language, but retained many traits of their
Viking ancestors
• They were ruthless, militarily well organized and
able to move rapidly on land and sea
• They invaded England in 1066, moving on to Wales
and then, in 1169, Ireland
• They also spread to southern Italy and Sicily, and
eventually Palestine
Who were the Normans?

6. • The Norman invasion of Ireland started in 1169 with a landing in
Leinster of Welsh Norman knights at the request of Diarmaid Mac
Murchadha, exiled King of Leinster
• The Normans soon started to displace native Gaelic kings and
lords and gained control of the key towns and cities on the East
and South coasts
• In 1176 the Cenél Eogain repulsed a first Norman attack on
Armagh
• In 1177 John de Courcy set out to invade Ulster and succeeded in
defeating the Kingdom of Ulaidh (in modern County Down)
• He then extended his reach across east Ulster, building
Carrickfergus castle that year
• Hugh de Lacy displaced de Courcy and was created Earl of Ulster
by the English King in 1204
• He extended his reach to Antrim and part of Derry but failed to
defeat the Ua Néill (O’Neill) of Tyrone, who controlled a huge
swathe of central and southern Ulster.
• De Lacy’s daughter married Walter de Burgo who thus gained the
Earldom of Ulster for his family
The Norman Invasion of Ulster

7. • Northburgh Castle was built in 1305 by
Walter de Burgo’s son Richard Óg de Burgo,
2nd Earl of Ulster, also known as The Red
Earl.
• Richard Óg De Burgo controlled parts of
Ulster and most of Connacht.
• At the time he had much of eastern and
northern Ulster under his control except for
the Inishowen Peninsula and Tír Chonnail.
• These remained the territory of the Ó
Domhnaill (O’Donnells) and the Ó
Dochartaigh (O’Dohertys) partly because of
help they received from Scotland.
• The Earl built Northburgh at the mouth of
Lough Foyle for two main reasons.
• To guard the entrance to the Lough from
potential invasion from Scotland and
• To subdue the O’Donnells and reduce their
influence in the north-west.
The Construction of Northburgh

8. • Richard de Burgo was closely linked to the court
of English Kind Edward I, where he was brought
up
• It is not surprising he would emulate Edward’s
castles when building his own in Ireland
• Northburgh was the third of Richard de Burgo’s
three castles in Connacht and Ulster
• Its design specifically reflects Edward I’s two
castles in Wales, Caernarvon and Harlech.
• Caernarvon provided the model for the overall
plan - an oval with a gate house at one end and
a great polygonal tower at the other, with two
colours of stone used in the polygonal tower
• The detailed plan of the 1st and 2nd floors of the
gate house reflect they layout of Harlech closely,
not just in general arrangement but also in
details like the position of the fireplace in the hall
of the main chamber
How the Norman’s Built Northburgh
Source: “Medieval Castles of Ireland” by David Sweetman

9. • Situated on the West shore of Lough Foyle, the site
encompasses a massive platform of cropping rock
whose outcrops and slopes on the South East and
South gave protection on these sides.
• It is situated on a geological area known as the
Greencastle Green Beds, a source of the stone ‘green
schist’
• This is the stone the Normans quarried and used to
build Northbrugh castle
• It is from this green stone that Northburgh acquired
the more common name of ‘Greencastle’ in English.
• However, it was called An Caisleán Nua – the new
castle - in Gaelic.
How the Norman’s Built Northburgh

10. • The east tower provided rooms on two floors.
• The gate house provided two suites, on the first
and second floors.
• Each suite had a lobby or entrance room, a long
great chamber and two private chambers in the
projecting gate towers
• The gate house may well have provided
accommodation for the Earls and his Countess on
the 2nd floor
• The east tower accommodated the Constable
How the Norman’s Built Northburgh
Caernarfon Castle
Source: “Castles in Ireland” by Tom McNeill

11. How the Norman’s Built Northburgh
Source: “Castles in Ireland” by Tom McNeill
• Plans showing a comparison of
the plan for the gate houses of
Harlech and Greencastle
Harlech Castle

12. • The castle was built next to a rocky outcrop
overlooking Lough Foyle. This outcrop
minimised the need for a wall along the
south of the castle.
• The South Gate Tower, which is the most
complete, is five sided (polygonal) to the
front but is otherwise a rectangular block
• The towers had wooden floors
• The chambers at the back of of the
gatehouse were barrel-valued and had wicker
“centring” – plaster put in place using wicker
• The south gate tower is constructed of grey
coloured rubble in regular courses.
• There is cut-and-dressed sandstone ‘quoins’
at the corner edges of the polygon.
• There is a
The Construction of Northburgh

13. • There is a vaulted passage located between
the two gate towers
• This gave access to vaulted chambers and
a courtyard to the East of the gatehouse
The Construction of Northburgh
• There is a vaulted cellar area accessible via
a lintelled doorway

14. • Control of Inishowen passed to the Ó Domhnaill (O’Donnells),
chief clan of the Cenel Conaill.
• The Ó Dochartaigh (O’Dohertys), a dependent clan of the Ó
Domhnaill, gradually conquered Inishowen as they lost their own
homeland in the Laggan valley area of Tír Conaill and they soon
occupied Northburgh.
• In 1541 the castle was in the hands of Sean Mór Ó Dochartaigh.
• He submitted to King Henry VIII of England and was given the
English title Sir John More O’Doherty.
• He married Rose, daughter of Manus O’Domhnaill, Lord of Tír
Chonaill.
• In 1555 Rose’s brother, Calvach Ó Domhnall, had a bitter
disagreement with his father Manus over the Lordship of Tír
Chonaill and left to seek help from Archibald, Earl of Argyle in
Scotland.
• On his return he attacked Northburgh with the help of Scottish
forces and the famous Gunna Cam (The Crooked Gun).
• Northburgh Castle was left badly damaged but was later repaired
• After the “9 Years War” when the Gaelic chiefs under the O’Neill
fought and lost against English control, Northburgh became the
property of Arthur Chichester, the English ‘Lord Deputy of
Ireland’ from 1605 to1615.
• He made a small number of repairs and garrisoned English troops
here for a time, but by 1700 it was completely ruined
Destruction of the Castle

15. Conserving the Castle
• In 2021 Grúpa Caomhnaithe Caisleán Northburgh
(Northburgh Castle Conservation Group) was created.
• We applied for a grant from Community Heritage
Fund from the Heritage Council to develop a
Conservation Plan for the castle
• The Irish Heritage Council is a public body charged
with promoting a wider understanding of our
country’s heritage.
• The Conservation Plan involved a review of the castle
by a specially qualified Conservation Architect, a
Structural Engineer, an Ecologist and an
Archaeologist.
• The plan was completed in 2021 and highlighted a
number of areas requiring urgent conservation.
• In 2022 we obtained Community Monuments
Funding to prepare tedner documentation for urgent
repairs. This tender will be ready for issue in October
2022

16. Thank You
For more information please visit www.northburghcastle.com