Middle Ages The town is said to take its name from
Fergus Mór (Fergus the Great), the legendary king of
Dál 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. Carrickfergus became an inhabited town shortly after 1170, when
Anglo-Norman knight
John de Courcy invaded
Ulster, established his headquarters in the area and built
Carrickfergus Castle on the "rock of Fergus" in 1177. The castle, which is the most prominent landmark of Carrickfergus, is widely known as one of the best-preserved
Norman castles in
Ireland. Sometime between 1203 and 1205, De Courcy was expelled from Ulster by
Hugh de Lacy, as authorised by
King 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. The town was largely destroyed by the Scots in 1402. circa 1840.
Sir Arthur Chichester was appointed by the Earl of Essex to govern the castle and town in 1599 and was responsible for the
plantation of English and Scottish peoples in the town, as well as the building of the town wall. In 1642, during the
Irish Confederate Wars the
Presbytery of Carrickfergus, the first in Ireland, was set up by chaplains with the
Covenanter Army in Ireland. in the town in 1690. Nevertheless, the decaying castle withstood
several days of siege by the forces of
William of Orange in 1689, before surrendering on 28 August. William himself subsequently landed at Carrickfergus on 14 June 1690. During the
Seven Years' War, in February 1760, the whole town
was briefly captured and held to ransom by French troops landed from
Francois Thurot's naval squadron, after the defenders ran out of ammunition. In 1711 Carrickfergus was the scene of the last
witchcraft 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 the
pillory. In April 1778, during the
American War of Independence,
John Paul Jones, in command of the American ship
Ranger, attempted to capture a
British Royal Navy sloop of war, , moored at Carrickfergus. Having failed, he returned a few days later and challenged
Drake to a fight out in the
North Channel which the
Americans won decisively. During the 1790s there was considerable support in the Carrickfergus area for the
United Irishmen. On 14 October 1797
William Orr was hanged in the town following what was widely regarded as a show trial held in
Carrickfergus Courthouse (now the Town Hall) and in 1798 United Irish founder
Henry Joy McCracken was captured on the outskirts of the town while trying to escape to America.
Modern era '' In 1912 the people of Carrickfergus turned out in their thousands to watch as the made its first ever journey up the
lough from its construction dock in
Belfast. The famous passenger liner was anchored overnight just off the coast of Carrickfergus, before continuing on its journey. During
World War II, Northern Ireland was an important military base for
United States Naval and Air Operations and a training ground for American G.I.s. The First Battalions of the elite
US Rangers were activated and based in Sunnylands Camp for their initial training. The
US Rangers Centre in nearby
Boneybefore pays homage to this period in history. In the 1970s, the town became an important centre for the
textile industry. An
ICI man-made fibres factory was opened at
Kilroot and was followed by the Rothman's cigarette factory.
Courtaulds operated a large rayon works there until the 1980s. In 1981,
Kilroot power station opened and is the largest power station in
Northern Ireland. On 8 September 2007, Carrickfergus was the Northern Irish host for the
Last Night at the Proms, featuring
Alison Balsom,
Alfie Boe, and Ulster conductor
Kenneth Montgomery. The British peerage title of
Baron Carrickfergus, which had become extinct in 1883, was bestowed upon
Prince William on his
wedding day in 2011. He visited the town with
Catherine, Princess of Wales in October 2022.
The Troubles Throughout the course of
The Troubles, there was a
paramilitary presence in the town, namely the
Ulster Volunteer Force and
Ulster Defence Association. Census figures show that the Catholic population of Carrickfergus declined from 16.2% in 1971 to 9.56% in 2011. ==Carrickfergus in song and poetry==