| Castle Carra | |
| Map Type: | UK Northern Ireland |
| Map Size: | 300px |
| Building Type: | Ruined castle |
| Location: | Near Cushendun, County Antrim, Northern Ireland |
| Coordinates: | 55.1326°N -6.0415°W |
Carra Castle or Castle Carra (Irish: Caisleán Carrach) is a ruined castle, just north of Cushendun, County Antrim, Northern Ireland. It dates to around the early 14th century. The castle lies in a field near the coast and the harbour of Cushendun. The site had once been used during medieval times as a children's cemetery.
Carra may be a corruption of "Carey".[1] It may have been known as Goban Saer's Castle.[2]
The castle was once occupied by Irish king Shane O'Neill, and Sorley Boy McDonnell was held as a prisoner here in 1565.[3] In 1567, two years after being defeated by O'Neill, the McDonnells entertained him in Castle Carra during two days of hunting and feasting. However, on the third day, 2 June, during a quarrel, they stabbed O'Neill to death to avenge their earlier defeat and sent his head to the English representatives of Queen Elizabeth in Dublin Castle.[3]
In 1585, Donnell Gorm MacDonnell was besieged by the English,; his father, Sorley Boy landed near the castle and drove off the besiegers.[4] Around 1730, it was known to have been occupied by the Lynch family.[5] Today the castle is in ruins and overgrown with ivy.[6]
The house has the characteristics of a hall house, but its outside dimensions are that of a tower house.[7] What remains are the ruins of a 16th-century square tower house built over a Mesolithic flint working site.