Dundrum Castle
Coordinates: 54°15′24″N 5°52′26″W / 54.2566°N 5.874°W
Dundrum Castle is a castle, situated above the town of Dundrum, County Down, Northern Ireland, not to be confused with Dundrum Castle in Dundrum, County Dublin. It was constructed by John de Courcy, sometime near the beginning of the 13th century, following his invasion of Ulster. The castle, built to control access into Lecale from the west and south, stands on the top of a rocky hill commanding fine views south over Dundrum Bay and the Mourne Mountains, the lands west towards Slieve Croob and the plains of Lecale to the east. The Castle is a State Care Historic Monument in the townland of Dundrum, in Down District Council area, at grid ref: J4047 3700.
De Courcy's original castle may have had defences of earth and timber, but it is probable that the stone curtain wall of the upper ward was built at the beginning of the 13th century. As with other early enclosure walls, there were no towers, but defence was assisted by covered walks along the outside wall-head. An early timber hall may have been sited near the keep, where there is a double-latrine in the curtain wall.
In 1203 de Courcy was expelled from Ulster by Hugh de Lacy. The earliest reference to the castle occurs in the mid 13th century Chronicle of Mann, which records of de Courcy's unsuccessful attempt to siege "the castle of Rath" in 1205, with the aid of one hundred ships of his brother-in-law, Rǫgnvaldr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles.
...
Wikipedia