Dunluce Castle

«The pillar towers of Ireland, how wondrously they stand
By the lakes and rushing rivers through the valleys of our land;
In mystic file, through the isle, they lift their heads sublime,
These gray old pillar temples, these conquerors of time…»
From any angle, Dunluce Castle is magnificent to behold visually, but after you have absorbed this historic monument to Northern Ireland’s past, you must immerse yourself in the stories told by your guide. With any luck, you’ll have a good one.
«…Beside these gray old pillars, how perishing and weak
The Roman’s arch of triumph, and the temple of the Greek,
And the gold domes of Byzantium, and the pointed Gothic spires,
All are gone, one by one, but the temples of our sires!
The column, with its capital, is level with the dust,
And the proud halls of the mighty and the calm homes of the just;
For the proudest works of man, as certainly, but slower,
Pass like the grass at the sharp scythe of the mower!
But the grass grows again when in majesty and mirth,
On the wing of the spring, comes the Goddess of the Earth;
But for man in this world no springtide e’er returns
To the labours of his hands or the ashes of his urns!
Two favourites hath Time – the pyramids of Nile,
And the old mystic temples of our own dear isle;
As the breeze o’er the seas, where the halcyon has its nest,
Thus Time o’er Egypt’s tombs and the temples of the West…»
You’ll learn of an English noblewoman, whisked away from the trappings of English wealth & finery to live atop this cliff & how, when a portion of it, including the kitchen fell to the sea below one stormy night, taking some of the servants with her, she was more concerned about what was in the castle’s ovens than the fate of the people.
«…The names of their founders have vanished in the gloom,
Like the dry branch in the fire or the body in the tomb;
But to-​day, in the ray, their shadows still they cast–
These temples of forgotten gods – these relics of the past!
Around these walls have wandered the Briton and the Dane–
The captives of Armorica, the cavaliers of Spain–
Phoenician and Milesian, and the plundering Norman Peers–
And the swordsmen of brave Brian, and the chiefs of later years!
How many different rites have these gray old temples known!
To the mind what dreams are written in these chronicles of stone!
What terror and what error, what gleams of love and truth,
Have flashed from these walls since the world was in its youth?
Here blazed the sacred fire, and, when the sun was gone,
As a star from afar to the traveller it shone;
And the warm blood of the victim have these gray old temples drunk,
And the death-​song of the druid and the matin of the monk.
Here was placed the holy chalice that held the sacred wine,
And the gold cross from the altar, and the relics from the shrine,
And the mitre shining brighter with its diamonds than the East,
And the crosier of the pontiff and the vestments of the priest…»
Or perhaps the tale of two young lovers, who escape into the night, never to be heard from again, save for the ghostly cries in the tower of the girl, who fled from her overprotective father into the care of her young suitor & was taken from this world before her time.
«…Where blazed the sacred fire, rung out the vesper bell,
Where the fugitive found shelter, became the hermit’s cell;
And hope hung out its symbol to the innocent and good,
For the cross o’er the moss of the pointed summit stood.
There may it stand for ever, while that symbol doth impart
To the mind one glorious vision, or one proud throb to the heart;
While the breast needeth rest may these gray old temples last,
Bright prophets of the future, as preachers of the past!»
Ireland is indeed a country rich with lore & history, myth & legend, & you will find no shortage of it on the grounds of Dunluce Castle. Coupled with the extraordinary views, you can quite easily spend a couple of hours here.

Unfortunately we were late getting there so didn’t get to go in but just wandering about the outskirts was well worth the drive… I stood there and closed my eyes imagining what it was like hundreds of years ago…

Although in ruins, Dunluce Castle provides a spectacular view looking out along the North Atlantic Ocean. Richard de Burgh, the 2^nd earl of Ulster, built the first castle on the property in the 13^th century.
The 1973 Led Zeppelin album Houses of the Holy featured the castle on the inner gatefold.

Dunluce is a 13^th century castle in Antrim, Northern Ireland .It is 10 minutes drive From the sea side town Porthrush. You could spend hours there, viewing and soaking up the atmosphere and exploring the castle grounds .
Note: There is a really cool cavern within the grounds of the castle which leads out to the sea .It is at the bottom of the long stairwell.
A simply Astonishing place with Astonishing views

There are several castles in Ireland I like to visit. Bunratty and Cashel to name a few, but none other has the natural beauty like that of Dunluce. Perched on the northern cliffs of Ireland, Dunluce takes your breath away.
Enjoy learning about the history of this area of Ireland with their well done visitor’s center, listen to the waves crash, and of course, stare and wonder at the Irish Sea.
This is a «must see» and should be on everyone’s bucket list if they visit Ireland!

The sheer beauty of the ruins and the surrounding area is enough to knock you on your keister. We spent hours walking thru every bit of the castle and admiring it from different view points. I was surprised how cheap the admission was considering that it all goes to the preservation of the ruins. Read the various templates set around the castle and they’ll tell you exactly how and what happened when the kitchen went crashing into the sea. We were there in the off-​season and we pretty much had the place to ourselves. We loved it.
As Andy P. makes mention… it IS Northern Ireland. A totally different country from the Republic of Ireland. Many of the residents are extremely proud to be Northern Irish, so it’s very rude to try to insist the country be «just like Ireland». They only accept Sterling because they are part of the United Kingdom. I know many people already know this, but I saw it happen on my trip and I could see they don’t take kindly to that kind of treatment.

Katy — it’s not in it’s original state — it’s a ruin. LOL and just kidding. I had seen lots of photos and Katy is right — there was a large portion that fell into the sea during a festival or party long ago. It was nice and the views were impressive but really most of the «castle» is gone. Now you pay to walk through a large section of partial walls on the cliffs overlooking the sea. Also — the lady at the reception counter refused to take our euros. We stayed in the Republic of Ireland (free Ireland) so we had euros and dollars. She impolitely informed us that this was NORTHERN IRELAND and they used sterling not euros. We laughed about it but it irked me to have to use a credit card instead of paying the euros that are accepted everywhere else in Europe (or maybe just in the EU).

Agree with Adam M, that is incredible and that the area itself is just as much an attraction.
I think when we were there we heard something about how part of what would have been the kitchen was swept away during a big storm. For some reason, that image has stuck in my mind and I can’t imagine being perched on this little cliff on the edge of the sea during the winter in Antrim.
One of the best castles in Ireland in its original state.

Absolutely stunning.
The original castle was built in the 13^th century by the Earl of Ulster and was updated by each subsequent owner in line with technological advances but the existing remains have stood for over 300 years.
If you are into castles then not many will top this for setting and surrounding beauty, definitely worth seeing. There is also the added novelty of driving to/​from Bushmills which involves following the road as it splits to go around a hill which is pretty cool in itself!