DUNSEVERICK CASTLE

Map Reference: C988445 (2988, 4445)

This tiny fragment of a castle stands near the S edge of a pear-shaped rock. It is probably part of the gatehouse of a late 16th century castle built by the O'Cahans, who held it under the MacQuillans and later the MacDonnells, Earls of Antrim. The castle was probably destroyed by the Parliamentarians, led by Captain Venables, in the middle of the 17th century.



The site is named after Sobhairce, who lived in the middle of the 2nd millennium BC. Dunseverick was at the northern end of one of the five great roads which radiated from Tara.