The Normans are coming to Carrickfergus
Date published:
Communities Minister Gordon Lyons has welcomed a delegation from Normandy, France to Carrickfergus ahead of the European Year of the Normans in 2027.
The Minister met Hervé Morin, President of the Normandy Region and other representatives from Normandy Council in the Keep of Carrickfergus Castle and presented him with a plaque crafted by apprentices from the Conservation Works Team featuring the Year of the Normans 2027 emblem in wrought iron, mounted on a plaque of Scrabo sandstone.
The Minister said:
“I am pleased to welcome the Normandy Delegation to Carrickfergus Castle which is one of the best examples of a Norman Castle in Europe. Our shared heritage across Northern Ireland and, indeed, Europe provides a powerful platform for understanding our collective past while creating meaningful opportunities for those who live, work, and visit these shores.
“Recent investment in my Department’s State Care Conservation Works Team and the Northern Ireland Heritage Skills Centre is helping to strengthen the skills base needed to sustain all of our State Care Monuments found within communities across Northern Ireland. Heritage skills sharing will bring benefits to all of our historic places and people.”
The Department has produced a programme featuring our State Care Monuments in the European Year of the Normans 2027. Highlights include a family fun day at Dundrum Castle; walks and talks led by archaeologists at Norman State Care sites such as Inch Abbey, Carrickfergus Castle and Dromore motte and bailey; as well as a planned exhibition, Castles, Mottes and Monasteries, drawing on the HERoNI archive.
Notes to editors:
- The Normandy Delegation was led by Hervé Morin, President of the Normandy Region, and Catherine Morin-Desailly, Senator for Seine-Maritime and Chair of the Culture, Tourism and Heritage Commission of the Normandy Region.
- Carrickfergus Castle is a Norman castle in Northern Ireland, situated in the town of Carrickfergus in County Antrim, on the northern shore of Belfast Lough. Begun by John de Courcy soon after his 1177 invasion of Ulster. Besieged in turn by the Scots, Irish, English and French, the castle played an important military role until 1928 and remains one of the best-preserved medieval structures in Ireland. It is also a State Care Monument.
- In line with the collaborative nature of the European Year of the Normans 2027, speakers at the wider Northern Ireland Stakeholder Event included representatives from the Historic Environment Division, Mid and East Antrim Borough Council, British Council, and the National Monuments Service (ROI), who outlined plans and the opportunities available for Northern Ireland stakeholders.
- More details on events will be available in the summer. Inclusive BSL sign language tours of several State Care Monuments are also being planned to ensure the programme is accessible to the deaf community.
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