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The modern day castle, which replaced the Norman tower, was built by a vicar from Scotland. Down the years there are tales of bitter family quarrels, of poisonings, of a drunken mistress whose nightly caterwauling from the battlements kept Killyleagh awake.
The Castle, inhabited by the Rowan-Hamilton family for the last 400 years is now the oldest occupied stately house in all of Ireland.
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| Through the centuries, as castle and village grew and changed, Killyleagh played its part in Ireland's often turbulent history. One ancestor, Archibald, joined forces with Wolfe Tone, the Protestant Belfast lawyer, and encouraged the French to launch an invasion of Ireland. Another ancestor, the Marquess of Dufferin, became Viceroy of India. At one stage in the mid-19th century, the family had estates all over Ireland. |
| The Plantation of Ulster would see the arrival of Scots and English migrants. The Industrial revolution would turn the sleepy fishing village, briefly - into a booming mill town. In 1846 the Potato famine would decimate the population. |
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next page: Killyleagh - Things to do
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