Dunseverick Castle is the site of an ancient stronghold on the Causeway Coast, with archaeological evidence of an Iron Age promontory fort and a long tradition identifying it as the northern endpoint of one of Ireland’s five great roads. Saint Patrick is said to have visited the site in the 5th century, baptizing Olcán, who later became a bishop. The fort was attacked by Viking raiders in 870 AD, and in the 6th century it served as the seat of Fergus Mór MacEirc, King of Dál Riata, a figure linked to the departure of the Lia Fáil to Scotland. The castle later passed to the Earls of Ulster, the O’Cahans and the McDonnells before being destroyed in the 1640s. Today, only the gate lodge ruins remain.
Dunseverick Castle
