1889-90.] 179 



upon its rocky knoll. Greencastle, with its huge square or 

 oblong keep and its massive outworks, was, next to Dundrum, 

 the most important Anglo-Norman structure in Down. It 

 dates from the reign of King Henry II., or of John at the latest, 

 though much altered and no doubt strengthened in later reigns, 

 for it is recorded that in 1343 (three years before Crecy) the 

 " felons of Ulster" stormed and dilapidated its walls. It was 

 speedily restored, and in 1403 the joint governor of it and Car- 

 lingford had his salary raised from ^25 to ^40 a year on con- 

 dition of spending a certain amount yearly in strengthening 

 and keeping it in order. Again in 1495 it was enacted that 

 none but Englishmen should be governors. It stands on the 

 summit of a knoll of rock. Below are gloomy vaults, above a 

 great hall forty feet by twenty, and the stone gutter of the roof 

 formed a broad ledge where the warders walked behind the 

 parapets. Abutting on the main keep can be traced the kitchen, 

 guardrooms, and other structures, all now much dilapidated. 

 Little, doubtless, cared the members of the old Anglo-Norman 

 garrison for scenery, but the view before them was a noble one. 

 Northward, and beyond the rich alluvial plain, stand all the 

 finest peaks of the Mourne Mountains, southward stretches the 

 sea, while westward rise the rocky serrated edges of Carlingford 

 Mountains, the quaint old town with its reminiscences of Dane 

 and Norman at its foot, and beyond the beautiful lough winding 

 past the wooded Killowen Point to Warren point and Ros- 

 trevor. As we look a storm cloud comes driving from the 

 westward, and from underneath it burst the last rays of the 

 setting sun, and the whole lough is presently filled with a 

 golden haze of sunlit rain, producing an effect such as only a 

 Turner could paint or a Ruskin describe. The shower passes 

 as quickly as it came, and on our way back we visit the noble 

 earthen fort of Dunnaval. This has been cut out of the top 

 of a great esker or gravel mound, in a commanding position 

 midway between Greencastle and Kilkeel, the massive walls of 

 the castle being modern in comparison with these time-worn 

 earthworks. A stroll in the twilight to the beach and little 

 harbour ot Kilkeel finished the day's work. 



