Town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland
Carrickfergus
Where William of Orange first landed in Ireland, the first US Army Rangers formed, and Andrew Jackson's parents set off for America.
Key information
- County
- County Antrim
- Nation
- Northern Ireland
- Known for
- Norman castle on Belfast Lough, King William's 1690 landing, salt mines
- What locals are called
- Carrickfergus folk; the town is often shortened to 'Carrick'
- Famous people
- John de Courcy, William III, Andrew Jackson's parents, Jonathan Swift (briefly)
- Football clubs
- Carrick Rangers
About Carrickfergus
The castle that wouldn't fall quietly
Carrickfergus Castle sits on a rocky outcrop pushing into Belfast Lough, and it has been in the thick of things for over 800 years. The Norman knight John de Courcy began it after he swept into Ulster in 1177, and the great keep still dominates the harbour. It has been besieged more often than most castles manage. King John's forces took it in 1210. Edward Bruce's Scots starved out the garrison in 1315–16. Schomberg's army besieged it in 1689 before the garrison surrendered. Then, in February 1760, a French force under François Thurot captured the town for about five days before sailing off again. The castle remained an army garrison until 1928, which makes it one of the longest continuously used fortresses in Ireland. The name fits the rock. Carraig Fhearghais means 'Fergus's rock', after the legendary king Fergus Mór mac Eirc, who is said to have drowned off this coast.
The landing that changed Ireland
On 14 June 1690, William III stepped ashore at Carrickfergus with his army. He was heading south to meet James II at the Boyne, and this quayside was where his Irish campaign began. The spot is still marked at the harbour by a stone known as King Billy's Stone, and a plaque commemorates the landing. William is said to have spent time in the town before marching on. It is a neat piece of symmetry that the town's most famous royal arrival came by sea, since almost everything that has ever happened here has had to do with the lough.
Andrew Jackson's family left from here
The seventh president of the United States had his roots in Carrickfergus. His parents, Andrew and Elizabeth Jackson, emigrated from the Boneybefore area around 1765, two years before their son was born in the Carolinas. The Andrew Jackson Centre, a restored thatched cottage in Boneybefore, tells the story. The president was never born here, but the town is proud of the link. Another American connection came in 1942. The first US Army Ranger battalion was formed in Carrickfergus that June under Major William Darby, training around the town and its surroundings before heading into the war.
A salt mine under the town
Carrickfergus has a hidden underside. Beneath the ground near Kilroot lie thick layers of rock salt laid down about 250 million years ago, and mining has gone on there since the 1870s. The salt is still dug out and used to grit roads across Ireland and Britain in winter, so a surprising number of icy journeys have been made safer by what comes out of the ground here. Kilroot is also where Jonathan Swift, later author of Gulliver's Travels, held his first church post in 1695. He did not enjoy it much and left within a year or so.
A song that made the town famous
Many people who have never visited know Carrickfergus from the song. 'I wish I was in Carrickfergus' is one of the best-loved Irish folk laments, sung by the Clancy Brothers, the Dubliners, Van Morrison, Bryan Ferry and plenty more. The lyrics are about longing for home across the water, which suits a town that has sent so many people overseas. Back on land, the local football club is Carrick Rangers, founded in 1939 and playing at Taylors Avenue. The seafront, marina and the walk along the Marine Highway make the lough front the place to be on a sunny afternoon.
Walls, churches and old streets
Carrickfergus was once one of the most important towns in Ulster, and parts of its 17th-century town walls still survive around the centre. The Joymount area and the old street plan show how the planned town grew around the castle. St Nicholas' Church, with parts dating back to the Norman period, still stands in the heart of town. Carrickfergus Museum, in the old town, takes visitors through the story from the Normans to the modern day. For a town of its size, Carrickfergus has packed in an unusual amount of history, and most of it can be seen on a short stroll from the harbour.