One of Ireland’s most important ancient locations

Two thousand years ago Dunseverick was recognized as the endpoint where one of the royal roads from Tara ended. It is reputed that St Patrick baptized a local man called Olcan who went on to become Bishop of Ireland, in the holy well nearby. It was also here that ‘Fergus the Great’ took the ‘Lia Fail’ – Ireland’s most famous coronation stone, from here on a boat to Scotland to be crowned King of Dalriada. Over its turbulent history, Dunseverick was raided by Vikings in the late 800’s, captured by the O’Cahans in 1000, MacDonnells during the 1300s, and later by the McQuillans in the 1400s. It was destroyed by General Robert Munro in 1642 and then again by Cromwellian troops in the 1650s. A small residential tower survived until 1978 when it eventually fell into the sea below. Today only the ruins of the gate lodge remain.