Dunyvaig Castle
| Dunyvaig Castle | ||
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 The ruin of Dunyvaig Castle |
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| Creation time : | 13-16 century | |
| Conservation status: | ruin | |
| Place: | Lagavulin | |
| Geographical location | 55 ° 38 ′ 1 ″ N , 6 ° 7 ′ 22 ″ W | |
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Dunyvaig Castle , also Dunivaig or Dunyveg Castle or Gaelic Dun Naomhaig, is a ruined castle on the Scottish Hebridean island of Islay . The complex has been protected as a Scheduled Monument since 1989 .
location
The ruin is located at the entrance to the sheltered Lagavulin Bay near Lagavulin on the south coast of the island. It is located there on a raised ledge directly by the sea opposite the Lagavulin whiskey distillery . This strategic position allows monitoring of the stretch of sea between the Kintyre peninsula and the Northern Irish county of Antrim .
description
It is not known when the earliest structure was erected at this location. The oldest parts of today's ruins are dated to the 13th century. During this time, an enclosed, irregularly shaped courtyard was probably built. There are ruins of a castle that are estimated to be in the 15th century, while most of the ruins that exist today are dated to the 16th century.
history
Dunyvaig Castle was once the ancestral seat and seaport of the MacDonald clan when they ruled Islay and the surrounding Hebridean Islands as Lords of the Isles . In 1493 the MacDonalds lost their rule to Jacob IV and Dunyvaig Castle passed to the MacIans of Ardnamurchan . In 1519, the MacDonalds leased the buildings before they passed to the Campbell clan in 1543 . Two years later, the MacDonalds leased Dunyvaig Castle again. In the 17th century the castle came into the possession of the MacDonald clan. Later, the Covenanters under David Leslie besieged Dunyvaig Castle and eventually captured it. The Cawdor Campbell clan eventually occupied and inhabited the castle until Hugh Campbell had the walls torn down in 1677 and moved into Islay House .
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c Entry in the Gazetteer for Scotland
- ↑ Scheduled Monument - Entry . In: Historic Scotland .
- ↑ a b Entry on Dunyvaig Castle in Canmore, the database of Historic Environment Scotland (English)
- ^ Information from the Highland Council
