Old Narrow Water Castle

Old Narrow Water Castle
Photo © David Crozier, 13 Apr. 09

Narrow WaterCastle, County Down
Photo © Henry Clark, 14 July 2007

Narrow Water Castle is a famous tower house near Warrenpoint in Northern Ireland, located on the County Down bank of the Clanrye River, which enters Carlingford Lough a mile to the south. Narrow Water Castle was given into state care in 1956 and is one of the finest 16th-century buildings in Ireland. Narrow Water Castle tower house and bawn is a state care historic monument in the townland of Narrow Water, in Newry and Mourne District Council district, at grid ref: J1256 1939.

History

There has been a keep on this site since 1212. It was originally built to prevent attacks on Newry via the river by Hugh de Lacy, first Earl of Ulster, as part of the Norman fortifications built in the area. The original was destroyed in the 1641 Rebellion.

Built for military purposes during the 1560s, Narrow Water Castle is a typical example of the tower houses erected throughout Ireland from the 14th until the early 17th century. This form of building, normally rectangular in plan and three or more storeys high, comprised a series of superimposed chambers, with stairs, closets and latrines skillfully contrived within the walls (which are 1.5metres or five feet thick in places) or sometimes contained in projecting angle turrets.

Nowadays, cruises past the castle are a regular feature throughout the summer months.

Warrenpoint ambush

On 27 August 1979, 18 British Army soldiers were killed by a Provisional IRA ambush at Narrow Water Castle. It was the greatest single loss of life for the British Army during The Troubles.