The ruins of this stronghold are picturesquely situated upon a rocky promontory about three miles east of Portrush, in the County Antrim, which is divided from the mainland by a chasm 20 feet wide and 100 feet deep.
The name Dunluce, or lis, signifies “strong fort,” and in all probability the castle is built on the site of an ancient lis.
The walls of the fortress are constructed of local basalt, and as the columnar structure has been taken advantage of in the dressings of windows and doors, it makes it a difficult matter to compare the date of its erection with other castles by the style of architecture.
It seems likely that the fortress was built in the sixteenth century by the M’Quillans (formerly M’Willies), who derived their title from De Burgo, one of De Courcy’s followers. Experts think that no part of the building is of fifteenth-century workmanship.
The castle was originally confined to the isolated rock, which was connected with the mainland by a drawbridge. Now this part is reached by a footway about 18 inches wide and 20 feet long, supported by an arch.
The strongest walls are on the south and east sides. The drawbridge formerly led into a small enclosed courtyard, at the lower end of which stands the barbican, containing the main entrance, and with an embrasure at one side commanding the bridge. This has corbelled bartizans at the angles of the south gable, which are a Scotch type of architecture.
A strong wall, following the cliff, connects the barbican with a circular tower at the south-east angle called M’Quillan’s Tower. The walls of this building are 8 feet thick, and a small staircase in them leads to the top of both tower and wall.
Formerly another curtain extended from M’Quillan’s Tower along the edge of the rock northward to Queen Maud’s Tower, which is also circular but of smaller dimensions.
On the west and north the castle walls are not so thick as elsewhere, and here the principal domestic offices are situated.
On the north side, over the mouth of the cave which penetrates below, are the remains of the kitchen, where a terrible accident happened during a storm. The date is placed at 1639. The young Duchess of Buckingham, who had married the 2nd Earl of Antrim, was giving a great entertainment, when suddenly the kitchen gave way, and eight servants, including the cook, sank into the waters of the cave below, and were drowned. It is said a tinker, who was sitting in a window mending pots and pans, was the only survivor of those present, and “the tinker’s window” is still pointed out.