The town is said to take its name fromFergus Mór (Fergus the Great), the legendary king ofDál Riata. According to one tale, his ship ran aground on a rock by the shore, which became known as "Carraig Fhearghais" – the rock of Fergus.[7]
As an urban settlement, Carrickfergus far pre-dates the capital cityBelfast and was for a lengthy period both larger and more prominent than the nearbycity.Belfast Lough itself was known as 'Carrickfergus Bay' well into the 17th century. Carrickfergus and the surrounding area was, for a time, treated as a separate county. The historical walled town originally occupied an area of around 97,000 square metres, which now comprises the town centre, bordered by Albert Road to the west, the Marine Highway to the south, Shaftesbury Park to the north and Joymount Presbyterian Church grounds to the east. Segments of the town wall are still visible in various parts of the town and in various states of preservation. Archaeological excavations close to the walls' foundations have yielded many artefacts that have helped historians piece together a picture of the lives of the 12th and 13th century inhabitants.[5][7]
Carrickfergus became an inhabited town shortly after 1170, whenAnglo-Norman knightJohn de Courcy invadedUlster, established his headquarters in the area and builtCarrickfergus Castle on the "rock of Fergus" in 1177.[8] The castle, which is the most prominent landmark of Carrickfergus, is widely known as one of the best-preservedNorman castles inIreland.[9]
Sometime between 1203 and 1205, De Courcy was expelled from Ulster byHugh de Lacy, as authorised byKing John. De Lacy oversaw the final construction of the castle, which included the gatehouse, drum towers and outer ward. It was at this time that he established the nearby St Nicholas' Church. De Lacy was relieved of his command of the town in 1210, when King John himself arrived and placed the castle under royal authority. De Lacy eventually regained his title of Earl of Ulster in 1227, however the castle and its walled town were captured several more times following his death (in 1242). The forces of Edward de Bruce captured the town in 1315 and the castle in 1316 before his death in battle in 1318.[10] The town was largely destroyed by the Scots in 1402.[7][8]
TheBattle of Carrickfergus, part of theNine Years War, took place in and around the town in November 1597. It was fought between the crown forces of QueenElizabeth I and the Scots clan ofMacDonnell, and resulted in a defeat for the English. A contemporary Elizabethan illustration of Carrickfergus shows ten tower-houses, as well as terraces of single-storey houses, some detached cottages and 70 or more Irish beehive-type huts in the town.[11]
Sir Arthur Chichester was appointed by the Earl of Essex to govern the castle and town in 1599 and was responsible for theplantation of English and Scottish peoples in the town, as well as the building of the town wall.[12]
A plaque at the harbour commemorates the landing ofWilliam of Orange in the town in 1690.
Nevertheless, the decaying castle withstoodseveral days of siege by the forces ofWilliam of Orange in 1689, before surrendering on 28 August. William himself subsequently landed at Carrickfergus on 14 June 1690.[14]
St Nicholas' Church in the town of Carrickfergus
During theSeven Years' War, in February 1760, the whole townwas briefly captured and held to ransom by French troops landed fromFrancois Thurot's naval squadron, after the defenders ran out of ammunition. In 1711 Carrickfergus was the scene of the lastwitchcraft trial in Ireland. Eight women were charged with bewitching a young girl, and were convicted, despite a strong indication from one of the judges that the jury should acquit. They were sentenced to a year in prison and four sessions in thepillory.[15]
During the 1790s there was considerable support in the Carrickfergus area for theUnited Irishmen.[18] On 14 October 1797William Orr was hanged in the town following what was widely regarded as a show trial held inCarrickfergus Courthouse[19] (now the Town Hall[20]) and in 1798 United Irish founderHenry Joy McCracken was captured on the outskirts of the town while trying to escape to America.[21]
In 1912 the people of Carrickfergus turned out in their thousands to watch as theRMS Titanic made its first ever journey up thelough from its construction dock inBelfast. The famous passenger liner was anchored overnight just off the coast of Carrickfergus, before continuing on its journey.[22]
View of Carrickfergus Castle from the dock, June 2020.
DuringWorld War II, Northern Ireland was an important military base forUnited States Naval and Air Operations and a training ground for American G.I.s. The First Battalions of the eliteUS Rangers were activated and based in Sunnylands Camp for their initial training. TheUS Rangers Centre in nearbyBoneybefore pays homage to this period in history.[22] It is rumoured that Italian and German POWs were held in the town, the Italians in a camp at Sullatober mill, and Germans at Sunnylands.[23]
In the 1970s, the town became an important centre for thetextile industry. AnICI man-made fibres factory was opened atKilroot and was followed by the Rothman's cigarette factory.Courtaulds operated a large rayon works there until the 1980s.[24]
The town is the subject of the classicIrish folk song "Carrickfergus", a 19th-century translation of an Irish-language song (Do Bhí Bean Uasal)[31] fromMunster, which begins with the words, "I wish I was in Carrickfergus".[32]
West StreetTheCarrickfergus marina complexThe war memorial at Joymount, in Carrick's town centre.The wall mural and replicapillory in the town centre are popular attractions for visiting tourists.
As of the2021 census, in March 2021, there were 28,141 people living in Carrickfergus.[4] Of these:
73.49% were from the Protestant or other Christian community backgrounds and 8.55% were from a Roman Catholic Christian community background.[35]
73.94% indicated that they had a British national identity,[36] 5.53% had an Irish national identity[37] and 37.32% had a Northern Irish national identity[38] (respondents could choose more than one national identity).
On census day 2011, 27 March 2011, there were 27,998 people living in Carrickfergus.[39] Of these:
20.23% were aged under 16 years and 14.73% were aged 65 and over.
51.95% of the usually resident population were female and 48.05% were male.
80.70% were from the Protestant or other Christian community backgrounds and 8.35% were from a Roman Catholic Christian community background.
78.26% indicated that they had a British national identity, 4.73% had an Irish national identity and 29.36% had a Northern Irish national identity (respondents could choose more than one national identity)
39 years was the average (median) age of the population.
8.49% had some knowledge of Ulster-Scots and 1.99% had some knowledge of Irish.
Bob Gilmore (1961–2015), musicologist and player of piano and keyboards, was born in nearbyLarne; lived in Carrickfergus during his childhood.[57]
Seán Lester (1888–1959) was born in Carrickfergus. He was the last Secretary General of theLeague of Nations, from 1940 to 1946.[58]
Billy McMillan, former Belfast Celtic and dual IFA andFAI Irish international footballer who lived his entire life in Carrickfergus.[59]
Louis MacNeice, poet, moved to the town when he was two years old (his father was appointed Rector of St Nicholas'Church of Ireland Church), and he left at the age of ten to attend boarding school in England; one of his poems,Carrickfergus (1937), relates his ambiguous feelings about the town where he spent his early boyhood.[60]
Adrian McKinty, novelist, author of the Sean Duffy novels set in Carrickfergus, was raised in the town.[69]
Seán Neeson, politician and activist; former leader of theAlliance Party NI sat on Carrickfergus Council (1977–2013), and represented East Antrim in the NI Assembly (1998–2011).[70]
^Garnsey, R. (1965). "The Experience of Courtaulds Ltd. In Northern Ireland".The Journal of Industrial Economics.13. The Journal of Industrial Economics 13:54–61.doi:10.2307/2098648.JSTOR2098648.
^Phoenix, Eamon (29 April 2011)."Carrickfergus a 'Royal stronghold' for 1,000 years". BBC News. Retrieved28 September 2023.The designation of Prince William as Baron Carrickfergus links the heir to the British throne to Northern Ireland's oldest town and one identified with the English crown for almost a thousand years.
^"Daniel Cambridge". Victoria Cross Online. 26 January 2022. Retrieved12 November 2022.
^Harper, Glyn; Richardson, Colin (2007).In the Face of the Enemy: The Complete History of the Victoria Cross and New Zealand. Auckland, New Zealand: HarperCollins. p. 173.ISBN978-1-86950-650-6.
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