This book is a guide to Dunluce Castle in Ulster, a site of regional historical and tourist interest. The book is designed to appeal to tourists as well as to general readers with an interest in castles or the history and archeology of the region. The author, Colin Breen (School of Enviornmental Sciences, University of Ulster, Ireland), is particularly interested in the maritime lords who used the castle to control north Ulster and the Western Isles of Scotland. He has also written on the archeology of southwest Ireland in the era, and the book gives attention to archeological findings. It is organized chronologically, beginning in the Twelfth century with the Anglo-Normans. Breen tells the story of the MacQuillan maritime lords, then the MacDonnells, the town that grew up around the castle, the revolution and abandonment of the site, and the story of how it was rediscovered in the 1800s as a tourist and historical destination, and has been excavated, explored, and visited from then until now. An appendix includes the 1928 DOE conservation report on the site. The book is designed for general readers with a serious interest in history or archeology, but it is lavishly illustrated with color and black and white photographs and drawings, and will be enjoyable for any visitor to Dunluce or castle fan. Distributed in the US by ISBS. Annotation ©2012 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
Dunluce Castle, positioned dramatically on Northern Ireland's Antrim coast, was for centuries at the center of a maritime lordship encompassing north Ulster and the Western Isles of Scotland. While there is evidence of settlement at this location since the early medieval period, the castle itself was only built at the end of the 15th century by the MacQuillands, and later occupied by the MacDonnells who engaged in an extensive program of rebuilding. This book, the first full study of Dunluce Castle, details its historical context and summarizes the architectural development of the site from the close of the 15th century through to its abandonment in the final decades of the 17th century. It also outlines the findings of a major program of archaeological excavation and survey that has uncovered previously unidentified medieval buildings and large sections of a town built around the site from 1608, but destroyed three decades later. The book also provides a history of tourism and conservation at the castle, Northern Ireland's most visited historic monument.
