Dunluce Castle

Summary

A ruined medieval castle on a basalt outcrop on the Antrim coast of Northern Ireland, between Portballintrae and Portrush; the earliest stone elements, two large drum towers on the eastern side, date from the McQuillan period in the late 13th century; substantially rebuilt and improved in the 16th century by the MacDonnell clan in the Scottish style; seat of the 1st Earl of Antrim and abandoned after 1690; in the care of the Department for Communities; used as a filming location for Flight of the Doves (1971) and Game of Thrones (HBO, 2011 to 2019) as the castle of House Greyjoy on Pyke Island.

About this location

Dunluce Castle stands on the edge of a basalt rock outcrop on the north Antrim coast, with extremely steep drops to the sea on either side and accessible from the mainland only via a narrow bridge. The site’s near-impregnable defensive position attracted settlement long before the medieval castle was built, with early Christian and Viking presence documented on the rock.

The first castle at the site was built in the 13th century by Richard Óg de Burgh, 2nd Earl of Ulster, following the Norman consolidation of Ulster. By 1513 the castle was in the possession of the McQuillan family, who were the Lords of the Route, the territory between the rivers Bann and Bush. The oldest surviving stone elements of the castle — two large circular drum towers of approximately 9 metres diameter on the eastern side — date from the McQuillan period. The McQuillans were displaced by the MacDonnell clan following two major battles in the mid and late 16th century.

Under the MacDonnells, and particularly Sorley Boy MacDonnell, the castle was substantially rebuilt and improved in a Scottish style, reflecting the family’s origins as a branch of Clan Donald from the west of Scotland. In 1588, the Spanish Armada galleass Girona was wrecked on the rocks at nearby Port na Spaniagh; cannons salvaged from the ship were installed in the gatehouses and the proceeds from sold cargo used to restore the castle. Randal MacDonnell, made 1st Earl of Antrim by James I in 1620, established a planned town adjacent to the castle around 1608 — archaeological excavations from 2011 have revealed significant remains of this lost town, which may have been one of the most advanced planned settlements in early 17th-century Europe.

The castle was abandoned following the Battle of the Boyne in 1690 and the impoverishment of the MacDonnell family. From that date, the structure has gradually deteriorated into its present ruinous state; materials were removed for use in nearby buildings in the 18th and 19th centuries. The castle is now in state care, managed by the Northern Ireland Department for Communities.

Productions filmed at Dunluce Castle include: Flight of the Doves (Columbia/Rastar, 1971, directed by Ralph Nelson, starring Ron Moody, Jack Wild, and Dorothy McGuire — the castle featured in the film as a menacing location with Moody’s character pursuing Wild and Helen Raye); and Game of Thrones (HBO, 2011 to 2019, created by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss — exterior shots of Dunluce were used to represent the castle of House Greyjoy on the fictional island of Pyke in the Iron Islands, with the dramatic coastal setting and ruined profile making it well suited to the grimly atmospheric stronghold).