Known also as Cloughnalarty and Cloughlougherty, the castle is a fragment
of a late medieval tower-house on a small height overlooking Belfast Lough. Only the north wall and traces of the north-east corner survive, and though a square plan has been suggested a small excavation in 1980 showed that no traces remained of the other walls. The masonry is mainly local basalt and the main feature of the north wall is a break rising through almost its whole height, possibly the remains of a window or fireplace. A mid-16th-century date is likely, but it was reported as ruined in the early 17th century.
A link with the Lug (Lugg) family, prominent in Carrickfergus in the 16th and 17th centuries, is possible but cannot be proved. This sad fragment of a tower-house now stands among modern houses, but its situation, just east of the Silver Stream, points to its importance in the 16th century, protecting the coastal route into the old borough or ‘county’ of Carrickfergus from the south-east.
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