Dunluce Castle Tome Tells Lively Tale

Its striking silhouette on a sheer cliff face is greeted by 'oohs' and 'aahs' on the north coast tour buses every day.

And the story of how Dunluce Castle's kitchen fell into the sea one day is worthy of any great saga.

Now a history of the medieval fortification tells other great stories about it - there's Sorley Boy McDonnell, whose double agents helped take the castle back from English forces in 1585, for example, and the settlement in Plantation years, brainchild of Randal McDonnell.

The Department of the Environment owns the castle and surrounding lands, and its minister Alex Attwood launched the new book today.

He said: "The book and Dunluce form part of the narrative of the Causeway Coast - they demonstrate why we need to protect and develop the assets and to do so now, sustainably and create jobs. The archaeological excavations which inspired this book added greatly to our knowledge of Dunluce Castle, and for the public to have the opportunity to see those excavations, and even take part in them, was hugely exciting."

And Mr Attwood indicated that further excavations are being planned to uncover the 17th-century town around the castle - he called it "our own little Pompei".

'Dunluce Castle: History and Archaeology' by Dr Colin Breen from the University of Ulster provides a comprehensive study of the evolution of the castle, the buried archaeological remains at Dunluce and the historical background to the site and its surrounding area.

(NE)