TACK. 
 
 NNEX 
 
 
 W. H. LYNN 
 F. J. BIGGER 
 
 1905
 
 DUNLUCE CASTLE
 
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 Notes 
 
 ON THE RUINS OF 
 
 DUNLUCE CASTLE 
 
 COUNTY OF ANTRIM, 
 
 With Explanation of a Reconstructed Plan of the 
 Earlier Fortress, 
 
 <By W. H. LYNN, Architect. 
 
 ..ALSO.. 
 
 Some Historical Notes of its Builders, 
 
 THE MacUILLINS AND MacDONNELLS. 
 
 <By FRANCIS JOSEPH BIGGER, M.R.I.A. 
 
 BELFAST: 
 
 M'CAW, STEVENSON & ORR, LIMITED, 
 
 THE LINENHALL PRESS. 
 
 1905.
 
 TO THE MANY MEMBERS 
 OF 
 
 THE CLANS MACUILLIN AND MAcDONNELL 
 
 IN THE 
 
 ROUTE AND THE GLYNNS OF ANTRIM 
 AND THE WORLD OVER 
 
 THESE PAGES 
 
 RECORDING SOME OF THE ACTIONS 
 
 OF THEIR CHIEFTAINS 
 
 ARE DEDICATED
 
 Notes on the Ruins of Dunluce Castle, 
 County of Antrim, 
 
 With Explanation of a Reconstructed Plan of the 
 Earlier Fortress. 
 
 BY W. H. LYNN, ARCHITECT. 
 
 N contemplating the ruins of Dunluce Castle, even a casual 
 visitor may observe a marked contrast between the rude 
 character of some of the protecting works of the fortress 
 such as flanking towers or bastions of rough masonry of an early and 
 altogether military type and the remains of a more elaborate style 
 of building within the enclosure, which suggest a rather striking 
 example of domestic architecture of the Elizabethan period. The 
 latter, known as " The Banqueting Hall," was embellished by cut 
 stone dressings, and possessed a range of three two-storied bay 
 windows on its western side, overlooking the castle yard and an 
 extensive coast view, and had other mullioned windows in its gables. 
 There was also on the west side an entrance doorway, which, judging 
 from a few fragments that are left, was of an ornamental character, 
 consisting probably of a semi-circular-headed opening, with moulded 
 jambs and archivolt, within a frame formed of side pilasters or attached 
 columns, and on top a moulded entablature, surmounted by a panel 
 containing the armorial bearings of the MacDonnells, surrounded with 
 heraldic or other carving (it is fragments of the latter that remain). 
 The quoins of this building are also of cut stone. In the square 
 barbican tower, apparently of equal date with the hall, cut stone was 
 used more sparingly. The entrance gateway and the windows in the 
 upper portion of the tower most probably had cut stone dressings, but 
 B 
 
 2061072
 
 6 NOTES ON THE RUINS OF DUNLUCE CASTLE. 
 
 these have long since disappeared, and the only details of the kind 
 now visible are the corballing courses, under the bartizans or tourelles 
 at the outer angles. 
 
 How far back the origin of the earlier buildings should be placed 
 is uncertain, in the absence of historical record, or even, as it would 
 seem, of reliable mention of the castle at all prior to the sixteenth 
 century ; and yet, circumstances seem to point to the certainty of a 
 considerable period of time having elapsed between the erection of the 
 original structure and the rebuilding of certain portions of it in later 
 years. No architectural detail, either, can be found in connection with 
 what remains of the early work to afford a clue to its age ; therefore, 
 it is only by comparing such remains as there are, and the plan of the 
 whole that may with reasonable certainty be reconstructed from them, 
 with buildings similar in plan and character that exist elsewhere and 
 have a history, that the date of its erection may be approximately 
 arrived at. 
 
 A resemblance has been thought by some to exist between Dun- 
 luce and Dunstaffhage; the latter being one of the Scotch strongholds 
 of the MacDonnells, as " Lords of the Isles." A description, with plans 
 and sketches, of this castle, may be found in a work by MacGibbon 
 and Ross, on the " Castellated Architecture of Scotland." In this 
 work the very numerous examples illustrated are grouped according 
 to their dates, and Dunstaffnage is placed by these authorities amongst 
 the castles erected during the thirteenth century. In a book dedicated 
 to the Countess of Antrim, in 1829, by Archibald MacSparran, a 
 tradition is mentioned that attributes the building of Dunluce Castle 
 to " an Irish chieftain, by name MacKeown, to awe the Danes and 
 Cruthneans or ancient Caledonians, as well as his tumultuous neigh- 
 bours " ; that it was taken from the MacKeowns by the English, and 
 subsequently from the latter by Daniel MacUillin. 
 
 A careful investigation of the structure of the later buildings, 
 and of walls adjoining them, will show that they were preceded by 
 others differing from them in form and arrangement ; and the evidence 
 of this is so unmistakable and definite as to have rendered possible 
 a reconstruction of the plan of the earlier castle, without drawing 
 unduly on one's imagination. The points of evidence that have been 
 relied on were noted many years ago, when making a measured plan 
 of the ruins as a holiday amusement. The drawing, however, was 
 mislaid ; and owing to that and other causes, the matter remained 
 in abeyance until recently. The points referred to are indicated
 
 NOTES ON THE RUINS OF DUNLUCE CASTLE. / 
 
 on the accompanying plan i, by letters corresponding to those 
 following : 
 
 (a) A portion of curved wall, about six or seven feet in length, that 
 formed the outer ring of a third circular tower, of a diameter equal to 
 those of the existing towers. The inner face of the curve is exposed 
 to view, and the concentric line of the outer face, against which the 
 later curtain wall was built, can be readily traced by using an iron 
 pin. At one side the thickness of the wall presents the appearance of 
 having been cut through obliquely to the line of the passage-way open- 
 ing into the later barbican ; on the other side there is a built face, that 
 may have formed the side of an embrasure or loophole. 
 
 (<) A portion of an earlier curtain wall that connected the third 
 tower with the existing bastion (No. 2) at the S.E. angle of the rock. 
 This, which is a fragment of the outer wall of the old covered way, 
 stands some feet in height above the ground at the S.W. angle of the 
 " Banqueting Hall," the quoin of which is built into, and on, the older 
 work. A portion of the foundation of the same wall, in line with this, 
 is to be seen eastwards, near to where it joined the bastion. A small 
 loophole may be noticed close to this, in the tower, that formerly 
 commanded the outer face of the wall. Evidently the older wall was 
 retained to serve as the inner wall of the later covered way. 
 
 (c] A fragment of a circular inner wall face at the N.W. angle of 
 the barbican, probably of a spiral stair well in the earlier building. 
 This is shown on Du Noyer's plan of the ruins (1839) as a solid square 
 buttress pier, with a portion of the back wall of the barbican beside it. 
 Since then the latter and the filling of the pier have disappeared, 
 leaving a portion of the curved wall face exposed to view. 
 
 (d] Indication of a window opening, now built up, in the west wall 
 of the kitchen, suggests that this was formerly an outside wall in 
 continuation of the front of the earlier residential buildings. 
 
 (e] A peculiar arrangement of walls terminating the western range 
 of the barrack buildings a divided gable, one half built about nine 
 feet in advance of the other, and connected by a wall at right angles 
 rising to the gable points. The walls forming the re-entering angle 
 served to stop the roofing of the barrack building that formerly would 
 have abutted against a circular tower in that position. 
 
 Having established the position of a third circular tower, through 
 finding a fragment of its outer wall still in situ, it was a simple matter, 
 from the relation of the tower to the line of approach from the draw- 
 bridge, to work out the plan of an earlier barbican, flanked by this
 
 Genxral Plan. o{ th Tuitt* 
 
 from. m<Lju.runti$ bJu, airou> 1870
 
 NOTES ON THE RUINS OF DUNLUCE CASTLE. 9 
 
 tower on one side, and by a fourth tower westward near the cliff edge 
 on the other. This fourth tower, and northward of it a fifth one, with 
 a curtain wall and rampart between the two, as on the south side, are, 
 indeed, necessary to complete a consistent plan of defensive works 
 applicable to the site, and in keeping with the character of the older 
 work remaining. The former existence of a fifth tower at this point 
 is corroborated by the peculiar termination of the barrack building 
 already noticed. 
 
 A drawbridge, alluded to in seventeenth-century documents, was, 
 no doubt, a survival from earlier times ; but, as no vestige of it remains, 
 the plan, where indicating the connection of this with the walls of the 
 fore-court, is purely conjectural. The bridge may have been hung from 
 an altogether timber construction, which was not unusual, or from 
 the face of a square tower. 
 
 The earlier residential buildings most likely followed the usual 
 arrangement of the period, and occupied a side of the castle yard (the 
 eastern in this case) between the first, and second towers, close to the 
 rock edge, the back wall forming the curtain wall on that side. The 
 area of the castle yard was thus left as large as possible. In this case, 
 unfortunately, proximity to an unreliable cliff edge led to their 
 destruction, and to the necessity for placing the later ones much farther 
 inwards. The minor buildings or barracks on the northern half of the 
 rock present no points of special interest beyond indications of the 
 kitchen and bakehouse ovens that served the garrison, and the peculiar 
 termination of the western range already referred to. This half of 
 the rock has proved to be of a more durable nature than the other 
 on the eastern and western sides, for it is only on the northern face, 
 next the sea, that wastage has taken with it the outer side wall of one 
 range of the buildings. Only the southern half of the Dunluce Rock 
 can be said to have been fortified ; the natural protection afforded to 
 the northern portion by the'more precipitous nature of its face, and by 
 the sea that washes the greater part of its base, may have been relied 
 on as sufficient. 
 
 From the evidence already mentioned, it would appear that of the 
 buildings originally erected on the southern half of the rock, the only 
 portions now standing, in a ruined entirety, are two circular bastion 
 towers (numbered i and 2 on the plans), and the^walls of the kitchen 
 adjoining the more northern of these. The disappearance of the 
 remainder, and the necessity that arose for replacing them by buildings 
 of a later date, may be attributed chiefly to the wasting of the rock
 
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 NOTES ON THE RUINS OF DUNLUCE CASTLE. I J^ 
 
 face on the eastern and western sides, at points about opposite to 
 one another, where the formation is more perishable than elsewhere. 
 Owing to this, the foundation support of walls near the cliff edge was 
 weakened, and the stability of the buildings became gradually 
 endangered, and, in course of time, destroyed : a process that unfortun- 
 ately continued, and is still in active operation. The rock failure does 
 not seem to have occurred simultaneously, or even equally, on both 
 sides. The fact that the present gable on the east side, adjoining the 
 second tower, is built on much the same line as the early curtain wall 
 and that a portion of this older wall is indicated on Du Noyer's 
 plan of 1839, as then connected with the northern tower, is sufficient 
 to suggest that the first failure occurred on the western side ; and 
 there, most probably, at the fourth tower, where it is evident a much 
 larger proportion of the rock has fallen away than at the other side. 
 
 When the outer portion of one or both of the western towers 
 disappeared, the wall and rampart between them, owing to being 
 further removed from the edge, most likely remained intact, and, when 
 the tower ruins were removed, would naturally be extended to join 
 the angle of a reduced, or of a new barbican, at one end, and the 
 barrack buildings at the other. Had it been otherwise, a new curtain 
 wall, set farther back, would have been necessary. This, however, 
 would have so far narrowed the castle yard, that was subsequently to 
 be encroached on from the other side by the new residential building, 
 it is hardly conceivable that the latter would have been advanced so 
 far as it was if only a very limited space was to remain in front of it 
 a consideration that rather strengthens the probability of this curtain 
 wall having survived until after the erection of the new hall. Subse- 
 quently it may have been necessary to build one farther back, on an 
 intermediate line, prior to a still later setting back to the present mere 
 wall, which, in its turn, is now falling away. The castle yard originally 
 was a spacious one, of a nearly uniform width of about 60 feet, and 
 100 feet long. The building of the new hall reduced the width to 
 about 36 feet, and since then wastage of the rock has further reduced 
 it, until now little more than 18 feet is left at the narrowest point. 
 
 When the fourth tower disappeared, the older barbican would lose 
 much of its imposing appearance, but would not have been so seriously 
 injured as to necessitate the immediate erection of an altogether new 
 one ; for, when the broken face on the west side of the gateway portion, 
 and the continuation of the western curtain wall, were made good, and 
 the west wall of the fore-court was joined to it near the spiral stairs,
 
 NOTES ON THE RUINS OF DUNLUCE CASTLE. 13 
 
 it would, practically, form as defensible a work as before. It is more 
 than probable, therefore, that after traces of the ruined towers were 
 removed, it remained, and did duty in that reduced condition until 
 other considerations combined to render its removal and the erection 
 of the later barbican and south curtain wall desirable. Such considera- 
 tions arose most likely after rock failure on the eastern side had 
 threatened or destroyed the outer wall of the early residential buildings, 
 when, owing to a desire for more ample and up-to-date accommodation 
 in this department, advantage was taken of the circumstances, and a 
 general scheme was projected and carried out, under which a new 
 curtain wall and barbican were built on an advanced line southwards, 
 to make way for enlarged residential buildings, the erection of which, 
 however, would not be proceeded with until the completion of the 
 advanced wall would admit of the removal of the early covered way 
 and rampart, across which the S.W. angle of the " Banqueting Hall " 
 was to extend. Thus, the whole of the later buildings may be said to 
 have been carried out together, as they would probably have been 
 under the alternative circumstances of a simultaneous failure on both 
 sides of the rock. 
 
 The possibility of an interval occurring during the progress of the 
 work, in which the fortress might be left unprotected, was carefully 
 guarded against. The new curtain wall was first built outside, but just 
 touching, the third tower ; and from where its western end met the 
 eastern wall of the fore-court, it followed the latter, thickening it to 
 form the projecting eastern side of the new barbican, as far as its 
 south or entrance front. From the western quoin of the front, the 
 west side wall was returned backwards to join the front wall of the old 
 barbican now to serve as the back wall of the later one at the spiral 
 stair, while the west wall of the fore-court was shortened and curved 
 inwards to join the S.W. angle of the new tower all carried on outside 
 and independent of the older work, which could then be safely removed. 
 Above the rampart level, from the back of the south curtain wall para- 
 pet, the half thickness of the east wall was carried inwards to join the 
 old front wall, to form a quoin on its inside face, which then became 
 an outer face on the new tower. The upper portion of the third tower 
 was probably taken down by degrees, to provide material for the new 
 work. 
 
 The demolition of the third tower would necessarily enter into 
 the scheme of rebuilding ; for, under the new conditions, it would not 
 only be out of place inside an advanced line of defence, but would 
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 NOTES ON THE RUINS OF DUNLUCE CASTLE. 15 
 
 prove an obstruction in the castle yard, standing so close to the front 
 of the new hall ; and as the barbican had already lost its western 
 tower (No. 4), the sacrifice of the remainder may have been regarded 
 as more than compensated for by the advantages of finer residential 
 buildings. 
 
 The survival of such a small portion of this tower, after the whole 
 of the remainder had been so completely demolished, and, probably, 
 used up in the new work, would appear unaccountable but for the fact, 
 recorded by Du Noyer on the plan made by him in 1839, that evidence 
 then existed of a flight of steps at this spot leading from the castle 
 yard to the later rampart. As these steps would pass over the later 
 covered way, it may reasonably be assumed that the fragment of the 
 old tower wall at that point was left standing to support an arch under 
 the steps a service that was more than repaid by the steps in their 
 preservation of the wall, through the protection they afforded it for so 
 many years. No vestige of arch or steps is now visible ; but if the 
 mound of debris in front of the curved wall was excavated for about 
 four feet in width, the inner ring of the same circular wall would most 
 likely be met with at a lower level, and possibly some evidence of the 
 steps, for the flight must have extended somewhat into the yard. 
 
 The ruined openings in the south curtain wall are of interest, as 
 being most probably where large embrasures had been formed to 
 receive two of the guns Sir James MacDonnell recovered from the 
 wreck of an Armada ship, and that were mounted here in 1 597, when 
 Chichester demanded their surrender a third and smaller one may 
 have been placed on the rampart above. Sir James, however, refused 
 to give up the guns, and what became of them eventually appears 
 to be unknown. Possibly they were shipped to Scotland to be out 
 of the way of the Irish Deputy ; for MacGibbon and Ross, in their 
 work already referred to, mention that " three beautiful Spanish pieces, 
 relics of the Armada," were to be seen on the ruined walls at Dunstaff- 
 nage as recently as twenty years ago, and that there also " openings 
 in the walls had been altered for guns."
 
 MACDONNELL. 
 
 MACUlLLIN. 
 
 Some Historical Notes about Dunluce 
 and its Builders* 
 
 BY FRANCIS JOSEPH BIGGER, M.R.I.A. 
 
 UDGING by the ruins of Dunluce as they at present exist, there 
 can be no doubt that the main buildings are the work of two 
 epochs the earlier dating from about the thirteenth century, 
 and the later from the sixteenth with different portions, doubtless, 
 connecting the two ages. To the MacDonnells popular credit is 
 given for the creation of this stronghold doubtless due to the fact 
 that they were its last occupants ; but the real builders were the 
 MacUillins (anglicized MacQuillin) ; and this is fully borne out by 
 all the reliable records, and now thoroughly confirmed by the present 
 exhaustive architectural examination. The large eastern tower is 
 still called MacUillin's Tower, and the one to seaward 1TlAo'bh'r > 
 Tower probably after a female member of the same family. These 
 are right designations as far as they go, seeing that all the towers 
 and there were five of them were originally erected by the Mac- 
 Uillins. The one to the west has crumbled away, and the two at 
 the barbican have also fallen or been removed to make place for a 
 newer structure in the sixteenth century. These different erections 
 are clearly indicated in the ground plan to this article. The name 
 "Dun LIOT* (the strong fort) denotes a stronghold anterior to stone and 
 lime ; so we may readily believe that Dunluce had its occupants long 
 before the time when the towers of the present picturesque castle 
 were reared by the MacUillins, just as Dunseveric, a neighbouring 
 stronghold, was noted a thousand years before the erection of the 
 present crumbling walls which adorn its summit.
 
 18 
 
 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 
 
 The MacUillins state that they are descended from Fiacha Mac- 
 Uillin, youngest son of Niall of the Nine Hostages, and that they 
 were chieftains in Uladh from the fifth century. Later settlers from 
 Scotland and England, to lessen the wrong of the dispossession of 
 the MacUillins, persistently represented this family as an alien race, 
 some stating that they were descended from a son of Llewellyn, 
 Prince of Wales, a settler in the twelfth century, while others main- 
 tained that they were descendants of a William Burke, or De Burgo. 
 There is nothing whatever in The Four Masters to prove these con- 
 tentions ; whilst it is admitted that the chieftains of Uladh, from the 
 time of Fiacha till the eruption of the Normans, were elected from 
 
 DUNLUCE IN THE TIME OF THE MACUILLINS. 
 From a drawing by Joseph Carey. 
 
 the MacUillin race. The descendants of Fiacha occupied the great 
 earthwork known as Rath-Mor of Magh-line, near the town of Antrim, 
 and we find it also given as Rath-Mor Magh Uillin. Another branch of 
 the MacUillins resided at Dunsliabh, the mountain fortress on one 
 of the Mournes. 
 
 The name Uillin is said to signify "the darling son," and was 
 conferred by Niall on Fiacha, his youngest son by his second and 
 favourite wife. Rathmor, after an existence of eleven hundred years,
 
 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 19 
 
 was burned in 1513 by Art MacAodh O'Neill, who was pursued and 
 slain by MacUillin for so doing. Dunluce was in existence at this 
 time ; but after the destruction of Rathmor it became the chief resi- 
 dence of the MacUillins, who found its stout towers and stone walls 
 more reliable than the booths and wooden houses of the older habita- 
 tion. In 1513 the Four Masters record the concentration of the clan 
 at Dunluce, which was then in occupation of Gerald MacUillin, and 
 the abandonment of Rathmor. Mention is made at the same time of 
 a settlement of a dispute at Dunluce between Garrett and Walter 
 MacUillin by O'Donnell, who favoured the latter. 
 
 Dunseveric was also in their possession, and the old friary of 
 Bun-na-Margie at Ballycastle was founded by them, and restored by 
 Rorie MacUillin in the early years of the sixteenth century ; so it is 
 clear they were then the ruling family on the north coast of Antrim. 
 The last occupant of Bun-na-Margie was Sheelah dubh ("the black 
 nun "), one of the same clan. 
 
 MacUillin's country was known as HUCA TTlic t1it>rtititi, and the 
 district is still known as the Route. The word Route may, however, 
 have arisen from the district having contained the " rout," or road, 
 through which the early migrations were carried on between Ireland and 
 Scotland. In a State paper dated 1 586 the following description occurs : 
 
 " The Route, a pleasaunte and fertile countrey lyinge betwene the 
 Glynnes and the ryver of the Band and from Clandeboye to the sea. 
 It was some tymes enhabited with Englishe (for there remayneth 
 yet certaine defaced castles and monastaries of ther buildings). The 
 nowe Capten that makethe clayme is called McGwillim, but the 
 Scott hath well nere expulsed him from the whole, and- dryven him 
 to a small corner nere the Bann, which he defendeth rather by the 
 mayntenaunce of Turloch O'Neil than his own forces, and the Scots 
 did inhabit the rest, which is the best parte." 
 
 In 1541 the Deputy writes to King Henry VIII. of meeting 
 " O'Neill and divers other Irisshe capteyns of the North, and amongst 
 them one Maguyllen, who having long strayed from the nature of 
 his alleigeance (his ancestors being your subjectes and came out of 
 Wales), was grown to be as Irisshe as the worst." 
 
 These repeated references to the English, or rather Welsh, origin 
 of the MacUillins have been explained by the statement that one 
 branch of the family migrated to Wales at an early date, rejoining the 
 parent stock in Dalriada at the beginning of the thirteenth century : 
 a position maintained by the Irish genealogist Duald MacFirbis.
 
 20 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 
 
 The last MacUillin to occupy Dunluce was Edward, and he was 
 expelled from it about 1555, when the MacDonnells assumed the 
 sovereignty of the castle. In 1565, Somhairle buidhe (Sorley boye) 
 was in possession, and he was the most famous of its many captains. 
 The Scots were disastrously defeated at Glentaise, in the May of that 
 year, by Shane O'Neill, and Somhairle and his brother James made 
 prisoners with many others of the clan Donnell. 
 
 THE ENTRANCE TO DUNLUCE IN THE TIME OF THE MACUILLINS. 
 From a drawing by Joseph Carey. 
 
 Shane O'Neill besieged Dunluce, capturing it after three days, 
 when " at laste part lye through feare of Sanhirly Boye his dethe, who 
 was kepte without meat or drinke to this ende the castell might be 
 sooner yielded and partly for saulfgarde of their own lififys seeinge the 
 manifold and cruell skirmishes and assaults on every side, the warde 
 were fain to yelde the castell into his handes, which also he co;nitted 
 to the saulfe kepynge of such of his men as were most able to defende
 
 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 21 
 
 the same and mooste true to hym, and haveinge thus warnn the said 
 castell kyllid and banyshed all the Skottes out of the North." Alex- 
 ander, brother of Somhairle, was present at the slaying of Shane 
 O'Neill at Cushendun a few years later, Gillaspic MacDonnell being 
 one of the most prominent actors at that tragedy. 
 
 Rory oge MacUillin was the last of the old stock of Dunluce who 
 appears prominently in history. He allied himself with Somhairle 
 buidhe and the O'Neills, and was defeated, being treacherously seized 
 by Essex at Belfast in 15/4, with his kinsman, Sir Brian MacPhelim 
 O'Neill, and executed at Carrickfergus. The MacDonnells had made 
 settlements in the Glynns for generations before they ousted the 
 MacUillins from the Route, and captured Dunluce. They had castles at 
 Glenarm, Uamhderg (oov derrig Red Bay), Dunananie, and Caenban. 
 
 In Connellan's Four Masters it is said : " Some of the ancestors of 
 the tribe ' Clan Colla ' having gone from Ulster in remote times, 
 settled in Scotland, chiefly in Argyle and the Hebrides. In the reign 
 of Malcolm the Fourth, King of Scotland, in the twelfth century, 
 Samhairle (Somerled, or Sorley) MacDonnell was Thane of Argyle, 
 and his descendants were styled lords of the Isles or Hebrides, and 
 lords of Cantyre ; and were allied by inter-marriages with the Nor- 
 wegian earls of the Orkneys, Hebrides, and Isle of Man. The Mac- 
 Donnells continued for many centuries to make a conspicuous figure 
 in the history of Scotland, as one of the most valiant and powerful 
 clans in that country. Some chiefs of these MacDonnells came to 
 Ireland in the beginning of the thirteenth century ; the first of them 
 mentioned in the Annals of the Four Masters being the sons of Randal, 
 son of Sorley MacDonnell, the Thane or Baron of Argyle above 
 mentioned ; and they, accompanied by Thomas MacUchtry (Mac- 
 Guthrie, or MacGuttry), a chief from Galloway, came, A.D. 1211, with 
 seventy-six ships and powerful forces to Derry. They plundered 
 several parts of Derry and Donegal, and fresh forces of these Scots 
 having arrived at various periods, they made some settlements in 
 Antrim, and continued their piratical expeditions along the coasts of 
 Ulster. The MacDonnells settled chiefly in those districts called the 
 Routes and Glynnes, in the territory of ancient Dalriada, in Antrim, 
 and they had their chief fortress at Dunluce. They became very power- 
 ful, and formed alliances by marriage with the Irish princes and chiefs 
 of Ulster, as the O'Neills of Tirowen and Clannaboy, the O'Donells of 
 Donegal, the O'Cahans of Derry, the MacMahons of Monaghan, etc. 
 The MacDonnells carried on long and fierce contests with the Mac-
 
 22 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 
 
 Uillins, powerful chiefs in Antrim, whom they at length totally 
 vanquished in the sixteenth century, and seized on their lands and 
 their chief fortress of Dunseveric, near the Giant's Causeway. The 
 MacDonnells were celebrated commanders of galloglasses in Ulster 
 and Connacht, and make a remarkable figure in Irish history, in the 
 various wars and battles, from the thirteenth to the seventeenth 
 century, and particularly in the reign of Elizabeth. They were some- 
 times called ' Clan Donnells,' and by some of the English writers 
 1 MacConnells.' " More particulars of the acquisition of Dunluce by 
 the MacDonnells are given in Hamilton's Letters on the Coast of 
 Antrim, which are here extracted : 
 
 " There are three or four old castles along the coast, situated in 
 places extremely difficult of access, but their early histories are for 
 the greater part lost. The most remarkable of these is the castle 
 of Dunluce, which is at present in the possession of the Antrim 
 family. It is situated in a singular manner on an isolated abrupt 
 rock, which projects into the sea, and seems as it were split off from 
 the mainland. Over the intermediate chasm lies the only approach 
 to the castle, along a narrow wall, which has been built somewhat 
 like a bridge, from the rock to the adjoining land ; and this circum- 
 stance must have rendered it almost impregnable before the invention 
 of artillery. It appears, however, that there was originally another 
 narrow wall which ran across the chasm parallel to the former, and 
 that by laying boards over these an easy passage might be made for 
 the benefit of the garrison. 
 
 " The walls of this castle are built of columnar basalts, many 
 joints of which are placed in such a manner as to show their polygon 
 sections ; and in one of the windows of the north side the architect 
 has contrived to splay off the wall neatly enough, by making use of 
 the joints of a pillar whose angle was sufficiently obtuse to suit his 
 purpose. 
 
 " The original lord of this castle and its territories was an Irish 
 chief called MacUillin, of whom little is known, except that, like 
 most of his countrymen, he was hospitable, brave, and improvident ; 
 unwarily allowing the Scots to grow in strength until they contrived 
 to beat him out of all his possessions. 
 
 " In the course of my expeditions through this country, I met with 
 an old manuscript account of the settlement of the Scotch here, of 
 which I shall give you a short extract It will serve in a good 
 measure to show the state of the inhabitants in the sixteenth century
 
 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 23 
 
 and the manner in which property was transferred from one master 
 to another. The manuscript is in the hands of the MacDonnells, and 
 therefore most likely speaks rather in their favour. 
 
 "About the year 1580, Coll MacDonnell came with a parcel of 
 men from Cantire to Ireland, to assist Tirconnell against the great 
 O'Neal, with whom he was then at war. In passing through the Root 
 of the county of Antrim, he was civilly received and hospitably 
 entertained by MacUillin, who was then lord and master of the Root. 
 At that time there was a war between MacUillin and the men beyond 
 the river Bann. 
 
 " On the day after Coll MacDonnell was taking his departure to 
 proceed on his journey to Tirconnell, MacUillin, who was not equal 
 in war to his savage neighbours, called together his galloglaghs to 
 revenge his affronts over the Bann ; and MacDonnell, thinking it 
 uncivil not to offer his service that day to MacUillin, after having 
 been so kindly treated, sent one of his gentlemen with an offer of his 
 service in the field. 
 
 " MacUillin was right well pleased with the offer, and declared it 
 to be a perpetual obligation to him and his posterity. So MacUillin 
 and the highlanders went against the enemy, and, where there was a 
 cow taken from MacUillin's people before, there were two restored 
 back ; after which MacUillin and Coll MacDonnell returned back 
 with a great prey, and without the loss of a man. 
 
 " Winter then drawing nigh, MacUillin gave Coll MacDonnell an 
 invitation to stay with him at his castle, advising him to settle himself 
 until the spring, and to quarter his men up and down the Root. This 
 Coll MacDonnell gladly accepted ; and, in the meantime, seduced 
 MacUillin's daughter, and privately married her ; on which grounds 
 the Scots afterwards founded their claim to MacUillin's territories. 
 
 " The men were quartered two and two through the Root, that is to 
 say, one of MacUillin's galloglaghs and a highlander in every tenant's 
 house. 
 
 " It so happened that the galloglagh, according to custom, besides 
 his ordinary, was entitled to a mether of milk as a privilege. This 
 the highlanders esteemed to be a great affront ; and at last one of 
 them asked his landlord, ' Why do you not give me milk as you give 
 to the other?' The galloglagh immediately made answer, 'Would 
 you, a highland beggar as you are, compare yourself to me, or any of 
 MacUillin's galloglaghs ? ' 
 
 " The poor honest tenant (who was heartily weary of them both)
 
 24 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 
 
 said, ' Pray, gentlemen, I'll open the two doors, and you may go and 
 fight it out in the fair fields, and he that has the victory let him take 
 milk and all to himself.' 
 
 " The combat ended in the death of the galloglagh ; after which (as 
 my manuscript says) the highlander came in again and dined heartily. 
 
 "MacUillin's galloglaghs immediately assembled to demand satis- 
 faction ; and in a council which was held, where the conduct of the 
 Scots was debated, their great and dangerous power, and the disgrace 
 arising from the seduction of MacUillin's daughter, it was agreed that 
 each galloglagh should kill his comrade highlander by night, and their 
 
 THE ENTRANCE TO DUNLUCE IN THE TIME OF THE MACDONNELLS. 
 From a drawing by Joseph Carey. 
 
 lord and master with them ; but Coll MacDonnell's wife discovered 
 the plot, and told it to her husband. So the highlanders fled in the 
 night time, and escaped to the island of Raghery. 
 
 "From this beginning, the MacDonnells and MacUillins entered 
 on a war, and continued to worry each other for half a century, till 
 the English power became so superior in Ireland, that both parties 
 made an appeal to James the First, who had just then ascended the 
 throne of England.
 
 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 25 
 
 "James had a predilection for his Scotch countryman, the 
 MacDonnell, to whom he made over by patent four great baronies, 
 including, along with other lands, all poor MacUillin's possessions. 
 However, to save some appearance of justice, he gave to MacUillin a 
 grant of the great barony of Inisowen, the old territory of O'Dogherty, 
 and sent to him an account of the whole decision by Sir John Chichester. 
 
 " MacUillin was extremely mortified at his ill success, and very 
 disconsolate at the difficulties which attended the transporting his 
 poor people over the River Bann and the Lough Foyle, which lay 
 between him and his new territory. The crafty Englishman, taking 
 advantage of his situation, by an offer of some lands which lay nearer 
 his old dominions, persuaded him to cede his title to the barony of 
 Inisowen. And thus the Chichesters, who afterwards obtained the 
 title of Earls of Donegal!, became possessed of that great estate, and 
 honest MacUillin settled himself in one far inferior to Inisowen. 
 
 " One story more of MacUillin. The estate he got in exchange 
 for the barony of Inisowen was called Clanreaghurcie, which was far 
 inadequate to support the old hospitality of the MacUillins. Rory 
 Oge MacUillin sold this land to one of Chichester's relations, and 
 having got his new granted estate into one bag, was very generous 
 and hospitable as long as the bag lasted. And so was the worthy 
 MacUillin soon extinguished." 
 
 After the Desmond war had ended, Sir John Perrot set out for the 
 North in 1 584 to repel the Scottish invasion which was then threatened. 
 Somhairle buidhe had by this time settled himself in Dunluce, strength- 
 ening his walls and marshalling his forces in view of the coming storm. 
 The Scots were always coming and going ; the beacon fires on Ben- 
 more and Tor were reflected on Cantire. If trouble were brewing in 
 the Glynns or the Route, redshanks poured in from the Isles in abun- 
 dance. If Clan Donnell was pressed in the Isles, Dalriada sent forth 
 dozens of ships laden with sturdy warriors. On this occasion the 
 Deputy had been misinformed ; the threatened invasion had not taken 
 place. Perrot, with the Earls of Ormonde, Thomond, and Clanricard, 
 and many other gallant captains, with an immense force, marched on 
 Dunluce, attacking the stronghold with a "culverin and two shakers 
 of brass." The defenders were few in number, contrary to the Deputy's 
 expectations, which much chagrined him. Nevertheless, he wrote the 
 following epistle to carry off his expensive foray into Ulster : " They 
 were in number little fewer, their training and furniture no worse, and 
 their purpose no better than I wrote, Myself, and the rest of my
 
 26 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 
 
 company," he continues, "are incamped before Dunluce, the strongest 
 piece of this realme, situate upon a Rocke hanging over the sea, 
 divided from the main with a brod, deepe, rocky ditch, natural and 
 not artificial, and having no way to it but a small necke of the same 
 rocke, which is also cutt off very deep. It hath in it a strong ward, 
 whereof the capten is a natural Scot, who when I set to summon them 
 to yielde, refused talke, and proudly answered, speaking very good 
 English, that they were appointed and would keep it to the last man 
 for the king of Scots use, which made me to draw thither." 
 
 Amongst the plunder taken away from Dunluce by Perrot was the 
 Cross of Saint Columbcille, which he sent to Burghley with the follow- 
 ing note : " And for a token," says Perrot, " I have sent you Holy 
 Columcill's Cross, a god of great veneration with Surley Boy and all 
 Ulster, for so great was his (Columcill's) grace, as happy he thought 
 himself that could get a kiss of the said cross I send him unto you, 
 that when you have made some sacrifice to him, according to the 
 disposition you bear to idolatry, you may, if you please, bestow him 
 upon my good Lady Walshyngham, or my Lady Sydney, to wear as 
 a Jewell of weight and bigness, and not of price or goodness, upon 
 some solemn feast or triumph day at Court." 
 
 The Deputy admitted that there was a garrison of only forty men in 
 charge of Dunluce, and that Somhairle buidhe had crossed the Bann. 
 Queen Elizabeth's policy was to break the power of the Scots, as she 
 considered they were getting too powerful, and by dividing their lands, 
 or raising the MacUillins or other chieftains against them, to make 
 her rule easier and less expensive. The English did not long retain 
 their easily acquired conquest, for very shortly afterwards we find a 
 " plain unvarnished " statement from Wallop, telling of the fall of 
 Dunluce, and the slaying of Peter Carie, its constable, together with 
 many of the English garrison. In truth, this hapless constable was 
 hanged over one of the walls of Dunluce, and in sight of an English 
 force, which quickly decamped without any attempt either to save him 
 or avenge his death. In April 1586, the Queen wrote to the Irish 
 Deputy and Council, directing a pension of one shilling a day, to be 
 paid to Catherine Carie, in consideration of the loss of her husband, 
 who, when "appointed Constable of the Castle of Dunluce, was 
 betrayed by some of his own, and miserably slain by the Scots." 
 His widow had "five small children without any means for their 
 maintenance or bringing up." 
 
 In a memoir of Sir John Perrot, written several years afterwards,
 
 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 2? 
 
 the author exonerates the Deputy, and lays the blame of this disaster 
 on the hapless Carie, or rather on his northern extraction : " Withal, 
 there happening an accident of the loss of Dunluce (which the deputy 
 had now, and placed a ward therein), he advertised the same unto 
 the Privie Council in this manner. When he first took that pile, he 
 placed a pensioner called Peter Carie to be constable of it, with a 
 ward of fourteen soldiers, thinking him to be of the English pale 
 or race ; but afterwards found that he was of the North. This 
 constable reposing trust in those of his county and kindred, had 
 gotten some of them unto him, and discharged the English soldiers, 
 unknown to the Deputy ; two of these having confederated with the 
 enemy, drew up fifty of them by night, with ropes made of withies. 
 Having surprised the castle, they assaulted a little tower wherein the 
 constable was, and a few with him. They at first offered them life, 
 and to put them in any place they would desire (for so had the traitors 
 conditioned with them before) ; but the constable, willing to pay the 
 price of his folly, chose rather to forego his life in manly sort, than to 
 yield unto any such conditions, and was slain." 
 
 This statement, doubtless, minimizes what occurred, for Wallop 
 speaks of " many of the English garrison having been slain." There 
 was, we cannot doubt, a bloody and determined struggle before the 
 brave Scots recovered Dunluce from the English garrison. 
 
 The elation of Somhairle buidhe at the recovery of Dunluce was 
 saddened by the treacherous slaughter of his favourite son Alexander, 
 whose head was spiked on the gates of Dublin. He sued for peace, 
 which the Deputy was only too glad to entertain on practically his 
 own terms. He made his peace in Dublin castle, and received a grant 
 of his lands. A pathetic incident is recorded of the proud old 
 chieftain during his visit to the capital. His son's head was pointed 
 out to him as a sort of menace to enforce future obedience. The old 
 warrior replied, with the fire of youth still coursing in his veins : 
 " My son hath many heads." This same Alexander met his death 
 outside the walls of Dunluce. In The MacDonnells of Antrim we 
 read : " If the walls of the vault in Bunnamairge could speak, they 
 would tell how that gallant young soldier had been brought hither 
 to be buried. When the English host under Perrot approached Dun- 
 luce, Alexander MacDonnell was foremost in the field to meet them, 
 and with only a handful of men contrived to keep the struggle going 
 on until the arrival of reinforcements, which his father had collected 
 in Argyleshire and the Isles. In 1585 he headed a skirmishing party
 
 28 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 
 
 against Captain Merriman, and sought an opportunity of challenging 
 that English desperado to single combat. The stratagem by which 
 the latter effected young MacDonnell's destruction was base and 
 dastardly in no common degree. The following is Cox's account of 
 this affair : ' Alexander MacSorlie, who commanded the Scotts, chal- 
 lenged Merriman to a combate ; and a lusty galloglasse being by, 
 said he was the captaine, and so to the duell they go ; the galloglasse 
 stund the Scotte at the first blow, but he, recovering himselfe, killed 
 the galloglasse ; and thereupon Merriman stept out and fought Alex- 
 ander a good while with sword and target, and so wounded him in 
 the leg that he was forced to retreat. Thereupon his army being 
 discouraged, was totally routed ; and Alexander, being hid under turf 
 in the cabin, was discovered, and his head cut off, and set on a pole in 
 Dublin.' " 
 
 The great Somhairle died in 1590 at Dunananie, and was buried 
 in Bun-na-margie, and was succeeded by his son James, who was not 
 long in possession until he too fell to opposing the English power. 
 Sir James was no favourite with the authorities in Dublin Castle, on 
 account of his alliance with Hugh O'Neill and his friendship with the 
 Scottish Court; and so we find, in 1597, Sir John Chichester, then 
 Governor of Carrickfergus, writing to Burghley, forwarding a complaint 
 to the Government against Sir James MacDonnell and his brother 
 Randal. " I must not forget," he says, " to aquaint your lordship 
 with the doubt that is held by us of James MacDonnell and Randoll 
 his brother ; who albeit they have not yet absolutely declared them- 
 selves in disobedience, yet they have so behaved themselves of late 
 towards her Ma ties service, as it promiseth little better fruit at their 
 hands. For, firste they have obstinately refused to do anie service 
 without maintenance from her Ma tie ' detaining her rents, notwith- 
 standing I have often demanded the same of them. They have 
 likewise broken down two of their castells, the one called Glinarme, 
 and the other Red Bawne, forteffeinge themselves only in Dunluse, 
 where they have planted three peeces of ordnaunce, demi-cannon, 
 and culvering, which were had out of one of the Spanish ships coming 
 upon that coast after our fight with them at sea in '88. I have 
 demanded the said peeces of them, to have placed them in Kerog- 
 fargus for the better strengtheninge of the towne, but they have 
 utterly denied the delivery of them." 
 
 The ill-fated Spanish vessel wrecked in the vicinity of Dunluce 
 Castle was not one of the large ships of the Armada, but a " galleass "
 
 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 29 
 
 (a gigantic galley), a description of vessel carrying generally 50 guns, and 
 impelled by oars. This vessel was the " Gerona," and the commander 
 then in charge of her was the famous Alonzo da Leyva. The com- 
 mander had sailed at first in a magnificent ship named the " Rata," 
 and such was the precious quality of his volunteer band, that after 
 any fight or storm encountered by the Armada, the first inquiry that 
 ran among the fleet was : "Is the 'Rata' safe?" The "Rata" was 
 wrecked, but her precious cargo was safely transferred to another 
 vessel ; that other was doomed to the same fate, but yet again Alonzo 
 
 THE WRECK OF THE SPANISH ARMADA SHIP "GERONA" AT PORT-NA-SPANI AGH, 
 NEAR DUNLUCE, IN A.D. 1588. 
 
 was able to rescue his company of gentle and noble Castilian youths 
 from the fury of the sea. After a few weeks' woeful experience on 
 the western coast of Ireland, they made their way to Killybegs in 
 Donegal, where they got on board the " Gerona," Alonzo believing 
 that she could carry them safely to the Scottish coast, where they 
 would have received protection. It was found, however, that only 
 about half the large party in Alonzo's charge could get accommodation 
 in the " Gerona," the other half being disposed of among Irish friends 
 in Ulster, who engaged to keep them safely during the winter months. 
 The larger and more distinguished portion of the company, number-
 
 30 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 
 
 ing more than three hundred, sailed away with Alonzo along the 
 northern coast from Killybegs towards the Scottish shore, passing 
 safely Tory Island, Lough Swilly, Lough Foyle, and the Magilligan 
 strand. But the wind began once more to rise, and the sea to roll in 
 with its accustomed fury, as the " Gerona" passed Dunluce and neared 
 the Causeway headlands. The rowers were utterly unable to keep 
 the immense and unwieldy galleass sufficiently out at sea ; she soon 
 became the sport of the waves, and was at length dashed against a 
 low splintered rock running out from one side of a little creek between 
 the Giant's Causeway and the castle of Dunluce. The galleass had 
 no sooner struck than she went to pieces, and out of the large number 
 on board, only five are said to have been rescued from the wreck. 
 Two hundred and sixty bodies, including those of Alonzo and all the 
 young Castilian nobles on board, were washed into the little creek, 
 since known as " Port-na-Spagnia," and were buried, no doubt, in the 
 old cemetery near Dunluce Castle. 
 
 The MacDonnells had not only recovered guns and Spanish trea- 
 sure chests from the Armada wreck, but had rescued a few of the 
 half-famished Spaniards, resolutely refusing to hand them over to be 
 hanged by the Deputy. He procured for them a friendly ship to 
 Scotland, from where they were sent to their own land. Spanish 
 guns were on the walls of Dunluce, and MacDonnell was proudly 
 defiant. 
 
 Sir James's next encounter with Sir John Chichester was in 1797, 
 when he outwitted the Governor of Carrickfergus at Altfracen, near 
 that town, defeating him and hunting his captains. He cut off the 
 head of Sir John, and sent it as a trophy to the camp of Hugh 
 O'Neill, whose soldiers made a football of it, and then he coolly wrote 
 to Dublin : " If her Ma tie desire me to be her subject, I will not have 
 Sir Arthur Chichester to be Governor of Carrickfergus." Sir Arthur 
 had been appointed to the post so suddenly vacated by his brother 
 John. MacDonnell knew the character of Sir Arthur Chichester even 
 at this early stage of that adventurer's career, and subsequent events 
 more than justified his opinion. Chichester failed in open combat ; 
 so we shall see how secret villainy prevailed. The story has been 
 well told. 
 
 The Lord Deputy Mountjoy wrote to MacDonnell, assuring him 
 that he might put all confidence in Chichester's honour ; and Sir 
 Arthur himself, on the 5th of April, 1601, also wrote to MacDonnell, 
 stating that he had seen his letter to Sir F. Stafford, and that he was
 
 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 31 
 
 willing to meet and treat with him on friendly terms for the good of 
 the State. He says : 
 
 " You neede not doute me unlesse your conscience doe accuse you 
 of guyltines, in which I never suspected you, for I ever thought my 
 brother was slaine by the accidente of warre, and not by your treason ; 
 and so beleeve I beare you no private malice ; yf I did, I must lay it 
 aside for the publicke good. But I must let you know, hade he 
 (Sir F. Stafford) power, as you seeme to imagine, to remove me from 
 my place, I would soner be a horsekeepcr to an honest subject than 
 governor for the Queene in this place." 
 
 CHEST IN GLENARM CASTLE, BELIEVED TO HAVE BEEN RECOVERED FROM 
 THE WRECK AT DUNLUCE. 
 From a photo by John Wilson. 
 
 MacDonnell replied from Dunluce on the 8th of the same month, 
 professing his loyalty to the Queen, and his anxiety to serve her ; but 
 the negotiations went no farther, for he died a very few days after- 
 wards. In the Annals of the Four Masters for that year, we read : 
 "James, the son of Sorley Boy, son of Alexander, son of John Cahanagh, 
 the most distinguished of the Clann-Donnell, either in peace or war, 
 died on Easter Monday."
 
 32 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 
 
 Any means of getting rid of a person, dangerous or even trouble- 
 some to the State, was in those days considered justifiable. That 
 MacDonnell died by foul means can scarce be doubted. Not two 
 months before MacDonnell died, the following letter of recom- 
 mendation, in favour of one Douglas, the bearer, was sent to 
 MacDonnell by the Duke of Lennox : 
 
 " Ryte assured frend, this gentilman called Thomas Douglas, 
 brother to my Lord of Whittingham, one of his Ma : counsell here, 
 having travelled the six or seven yeiers bypast in France, Italic, 
 Spaine, and Germaine, is now desyrous to see Ireland also. In con- 
 sideration qhuairof, and that his brother is our frende, our duetie 
 moves us to recomend him in sic sorte to you as he may desyre your 
 favors, soe lang as he remaines with you. And that therefurther it 
 may please you to cause convaye him sicurly to the Erie of Tyrone, 
 wythe yor owene l tre of recomendation, barnge that he may have the 
 lyke favors of his Lo ; so lang as he remains in his cumpanie, and in 
 the end have his Lo' s pasporte and letres of recomdation to some 
 other nobil men in that contree. And in thus doing ye sail have us 
 ay the mair reddie to please you occasion serving. So we end for the 
 psent w jth vcrie hartie salutations. From Hollyrud-house the XVIII. 
 day of Februar, 1601. 
 
 Yo r Lovingc and assured frende 
 
 LENOX. 
 
 To our verye ryte assured frend Sr. James McSorle of the Rowtc, 
 Knyghte." 
 
 Now this Douglas was a paid spy, and if his own words can be 
 trusted a vile assassin, in the service of the English Government. 
 How he happened to procure credentials from the Scottish Court 
 credentials which, though signed by Lennox, purport, by the use of 
 the plural pronoun, to be from the King himself can easily be 
 explained. James, with the low cunning which ever predominated in 
 his character, feigned to keep on good terms with the insurgent Irish 
 chiefs, though he was secretly receiving a pension from Queen 
 Elizabeth. Indeed, at the very time the above letter was written, the 
 Scottish king was memorializing Cecil, through James Hamilton, for 
 an increase of pension ; and in the following month it was raised 
 .2,000. 
 
 MacDonnell, it will be recollected, wrote from Dunluce to Chi- 
 chester on the 8th of April. Chichester, in a postscript of a letter
 
 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 33 
 
 to Cecil, dated the 6th, which had been " stayinge for a wynde," 
 says : " Even now a messenger is come unto me with assured reporte 
 of Sir James M c Sorlye his death and burial. This is the roth of 
 April." The Annals of the Four Masters, than which there could be 
 no better authority on a question of this kind, state that MacDonnell 
 died on Easter Monday, which in that year fell on the I3th of April ; 
 so his death and burial on the loth was a " foregone conclusion." 
 On the next day, however, the iith as we learn from the following 
 letter to Cecil Douglas, the spy, came into Carrickfergus and told 
 Sir Arthur that his business was at an end in this country. 
 
 " This bearer Mr. Thomas Douglase, who brought me your plea- 
 sure concerninge him, came unto me the I ith of this Instante ; I have 
 performed what you have commanded, and sent him on this passage 
 to Chester, for that he tolde me his business was att an ende in this 
 countrie. He complaynes of some wante of monie, he shal be furni- 
 shed with as much as wyll defraye his charge to London, which I 
 thinke is your pleasure. I have kepte the letter with me, and rest, 
 Your honor's in all faythfulness to doe you service, 
 
 ARTHUR CHICHESTER. 
 Knockfergus, this I2th of April, 1601." 
 
 The preceding is the public official letter given to Douglas, as 
 bearer ; but, on the very same day, Chichester wrote the following 
 private letter to Cecil, from which we can glean a little more about 
 Douglas and his "business." 
 
 "This last occasion was offred me by the coming of one Mr. 
 Thomas Douglas with your honor's letters touchinge his saftie and 
 speedie sendinge unto you, the contents of which I have performed, 
 sendinge hym by this passadge. He hath lefte a discourse of some 
 of his observations with me, desiringe to have them sent to my Lord 
 Deputie and State, w ch shall be performed, albeyt I thinke moste of 
 them matters of small moment, and some of them wylle hardlie be 
 creadited. The materiall pointes have byne longe knowen to this 
 State ; but, havinge manie businesses in hande neare home, can not 
 as yet secure all plaices. He will bring yo r honor the draught of that 
 he lefte with me, of which I knowe yo r ho r can give a just censure ; 
 but I thinke Tyrone will never see the half of those forceis togeather, 
 which he reportes of. He hath declarde some thynges unto me 
 (w ch I thinke he wyll delyver and more to your honor). I shall know 
 the certayntie before the next passage, whereof I wyll advertise you, 
 and with the speeches he delyvered me, yf yt please you to under-
 
 34 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 
 
 stande them, parte of which weare that he caused a lough m to be sett 
 on fire, and Tyrone's horse to be slaine under him, and other thynges 
 w ch I wylled him to keep secret, leste he were an hinderance to others 
 endevors." 
 
 Chichester was as able a diplomatist as a soldier ; as efficient in 
 the closet as in the field. The " yf yt please you to understande 
 them," in allusion to Douglas's villainies, when addressing Douglas's 
 employer, is a nice stroke of art. Moreover, there is not one word of 
 
 DUNLUCE CASTLE IN ITS PRIME. 
 Front a drawing by Joseph Carey. 
 
 MacDonnell's death : a subject which must certainly have at that time 
 occupied the mind of the writer. Fortunately, the " draught " of 
 Douglas's observations and actions is in existence ; and though it is 
 imperfect, having neither address nor signature, it was undoubtedly 
 written by him and addressed to Cecil. It is a lengthy document, 
 and the handwriting is as villainously bad as the heart of the writer. 
 We shall merely extract the commencement, and the part relating to 
 the death of MacDonnell.
 
 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 35 
 
 " The progres of my services sense my arrival yn Irland, which 
 was upon Thorsday xvij of Martsch an. 1601. 
 
 " I wrot yo r honor from Glasgow, w ch verie nyght I tuk hot, and 
 within foure and twentie houres landit at Boneorgi ; whair in the 
 landing being taken for some of James Og his servantis, sum that did 
 garde that place let flie ane volli of x or xii shot amongis hus, wher 
 with won of the hot men was dedlie hurt and won of my men killit ; 
 
 DUNLUCE CASTLE AT THE PRESENT TIME. 
 From a drawing hy Joseph Carey. 
 
 but efter I had halluit to theim, showing that war freiendis and sent 
 from Scotland to Sir James Mak Sorl, thay cam nei hus and semit to 
 sore for that was done. I seing no mein to mend my self, efter sum 
 hard speichis, willit thaym to cari me saif without ani furder harme to 
 thair maister, which willinglie thay did. I fund him sumquhat siklie 
 of ane byl, and ane Scottish surgin of my ould aquentance with him. 
 I delyverit him such letters as I had for him from Scotland, as also
 
 36 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 
 
 ane rapier and dager with girdil and hangers, as sent from the Duk, 
 which he most gladlie recevit, offering me all kyndness." 
 
 The spy then relates a long conversation he had with MacDonnell, 
 representing the latter as hostile to the English, and then proceeds as 
 follows : 
 
 " I thot how to serve yo r honor, then I callit the surgin with him, 
 who is callit William Lin, indweller of Irvine ; then, after manie 
 recalling of ould friendship, I tould him : ' Thair is non heir saif hus 
 tou, and, if he wil swer to kep counsal, I will revel ane secret to you, 
 which may benefit you more than you are awar of.' He answerit, 
 using sum speichis of assente, that I had knoine him lang, and that 
 he wold forsak nathink for my sak, if it wer death. Then said I : ' If 
 ever this be revellit, non knois saif hus tou, and if it be knoin it is both 
 our deathis, and if you revel it, howbeit I dy, yit think never to lief 
 long in Scotland.' ' Alake,' said he, ' what meinis al theis, ye kno 
 I am yours,' with an oth. Then said I : ' You, halving this man in 
 your handis, may bothe inrich your self and doe me credit. If you 
 will find some meins to dispatch him, I will geyf you my bond with 
 seissing for fyve pound sterling mony, efter his death to be payit, and 
 sunquhat in your hand.' He being silent for a quhyl : ' But how,' 
 said he, ' shal I aschap?' Said I: ' If ye ondertake it, I will geyf 
 you fyf pound in hand, sense I haif bot smal stor of mony heir, and 
 ane letter to the Governour of Knockfargus (sense nothing can be 
 prolvin against you) to see you saif sent horn.' ' No,' said he, ' I wil 
 haif eyght pound, and your bil, and if he dy not be fore Eyster, I shal 
 crave no more, and you shal half your mony bak again at meeting.' 
 So then I tuk his oth upon a buk, no ownlie for secresie, as alsoe to 
 dou that he had taken in hand. Al this in won day and ane half I did. 
 Then Sir James gaif me ane convey to Occen, willinge me to cum his 
 way bak again, and he wold haif ane cupil of hak magis readi for me 
 my self and sum for my maister." 
 
 The spy then as circumstantially details his visits to O'Cahan and 
 Tyrone, and tells how he burned a house, built of wood and thatched 
 with rushes, belonging to the latter at Dungannon. This last feat 
 completely identifies him as Thomas Douglas. The interview 
 between him and the surgeon, in some dark corner of the gloomy old 
 castle of Dunluce, where their half-whispered words would be scarcely 
 audible amid the howl of the March winds and fretful dashing of the 
 wild sea waves, would make no bad subject for a picture. But it is 
 just probable that it neve* took place. MacDonnell may have died
 
 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 37 
 
 a natural death ; Tyrone's house may have been burned by accident ; 
 yet an accomplished scoundrel like Douglas would naturally take 
 " credit " for those fortuitous events, to enhance his services, in hopes 
 of a more liberal reward. The bare fact, however, of his taking credit 
 for them plainly discloses the nature of his instructions and the 
 objects he was employed to effect. 
 
 If Sir Arthur nourished a vindictive feeling towards the Clann- 
 Donnell, more than to any other of the " Queen's enemies," he had an 
 opportunity in the same year of giving it full scope. When Randall 
 marched with Tyrone, to relieve the Spaniards in Kinsale, Chichester 
 took a "jorneye" into the Route, which he thus describes in a letter 
 to Cecil, dated 22nd November, 1601 : 
 
 " On the seventeenth, in remimbrance of the daye, I undertooke 
 my jorneye into the Roote, marchinge by neight untyll I came 
 thither, to avoyde discoverie ; I founde Randall gone with Tyrone 
 towardes Munster with 120 foote and 24 horse, leavinge his nephewe 
 with the rest of his force for the garde of that countrie. But I, 
 cominge unlocked for among them, made my entrance, almost as far 
 as Dunluce, where I sparde nether house, corne, nor creature ; and 
 I brought from thence as much pree, of all sortes, as wee could well 
 drive, beinge greatly hindered by the extreme snowe fallen in time of 
 my beinge abroade. Upon my returne they keept passages and 
 straytes upon which they fought two dayes with us ; wee lost some 
 few men horse and foote, but they a farr greater number, for I brake 
 them severall tymes, and made them often rune, in which consyste 
 all their saftie. I have often sayde and writen yt is famine that must 
 consume them ; our swordes and other indevours worke not that 
 speedie effect which is expected, for theire overthrowes are safties to 
 the speedie runners, upon which wee kyll no multetudes." 
 
 This is one of the blackest spots on the sombre character of the 
 Lord Deputy Chichester. 
 
 Dunluce was besieged by the Irish in 1641 ; but Digby, an officer 
 for the Earl of Antrim, held out, giving shelter to some refugees, and 
 the besiegers departed after burning the town of Dunluce. The 
 inhabitants of the town, who were mostly Scotch settlers, were 
 supplied with boats and safely shipped to their own land. The buildings 
 on the mainland were probably erected at this time to afford accom- 
 modation to the large retinue of the Earl of Antrim, who had married 
 the Duchess of Buckingham. Shortly after this, Dunluce fell into 
 bad repair and ceased to be occupied, the family of MacDonnell
 
 38 HISTORICAL NOTES ABOUT DUNLUCE AND ITS BUILDERS. 
 
 removing to Ballymagarry, a short distance away. There is a tradition 
 that during some festivities portion of the castle fell into the sea, so 
 alarming the occupants that they immediately deserted the historic 
 walls of Dunluce. 
 
 The present Earl of Antrim resides at Glenarm Castle, but he is 
 of the Kerr family. 
 
 The writer has not hesitated to make use of The MacDonnells of 
 Antrim fully and freely : most of all the information given is from 
 that source. 
 
 Printed by M l Caiu, Stevenson & Orr, Ltd., The Linenhali Press, Bel/ast.
 
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