KING JOHN’S CASTLE, CARLINGFORD
This is one of the few names in Ireland which clearly show a Danish influence. The Irish designation was Cairlinn, and the present name simply means the “fiord of Cairlinn,” or Carlingford.
It is situated in the County of Louth, on the southern shore of the bay at the foot of the Mourne Mountains, about eleven miles east-north-east of Dundalk.
It was a most important town of the Pale, and at one time nearly every building of any size was of a fortified type. There are still to be seen the remains of three strongholds called at the present time King John’s Castle, Taffe’s Castle, and Lee’s Castle.
King John’s Castle is traditionally supposed to have been erected by that monarch’s orders in 1210 to protect the mountain pass of Goulin. We know that King John was at “Kerlingford,” but Grose considers that it is more likely the fortress was built by De Lacy or De Courcy.
It is situated on a rocky promontory which projects into the sea, and having been built in accordance with the natural formation of the rock is triangular in shape. It is divided in the centre by a “cross wall” nearly 12 feet thick. On the southern side the divisions of apartments are still to be seen, and there are also the remains of galleries with recesses for archers. The walls are about 11 feet in thickness, and on the sea side there is a small underground passage some 20 feet in length.
The chief entrance from the water was protected by a
KING JOHN’S CASTLE, CARLINGFORD.