Dunluce Castle - Romanticism, Legend, History and ghost stories.

The ruins of Dunluce Castle in the direction of Portrush at Sunset
Credit to David Getty & Causeway Coast Community

 On the Ulster coastline in the County of Antrim between the popular seaside town of Portrush and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of the Giants Causeway, sits another one of Northern Ireland's iconic land marks. It is not iconic because of its history although it is historic, but rather because of its dramatic and romantic appeal. I am of course talking about Dunluce Castle, or perhaps more accurately what is left of it because the castle is a ruin. An 1840 travel guide depicts a romantic and dramatic picture describing "The picturesque ruins of Dunluce Castle lay scattered over the surface of a rocky promontory projecting boldly into the wild and turbulent waters of the North Atlantic. These were once the feudal halls of powerful chieftains long ages ago shattered, unroofed and despoiled by war; and now but the naked wreck left by the slow mining hand of time." More recently it appeared in the Game of Thrones series as Pyke Castle (although it is almost unrecognisable due to the large amounts of CGI)

I visited Dunluce in August and took some pictures while I was there and thought I'd share them while telling the story of one of Northern Ireland's most iconic landmarks. Since the place is in ruins it has not surprisingly gained a reputation for being haunted so since its October and Halloween is approaching I'll throw in a couple of ghost stories too. Starting off with a brief history

The MacQuillans and the MacDonnells

A little bit like Game of Thrones much of the castle's story revolves around the rivalry of two great clans, with a little bit of conflict with the Crown thrown in for good measure. 

A hiding place dated to the early Christian period
cut into the rock in the castle inner ward

There has been human settlements on and around Dunluce since pre history (the 'Dun' in the name suggests the presence of a ringfort) and there was a castle at or near Dunluce in the 13th Century however the history of the current castle begins in the early 16th Century. According to the guide leaflet I got when I visited the earliest standing remains of the castle date to around 1500 and accordioning to DiscoverNorthernIreland it was first documented in 1513.

The MacQuillans were of Scottish descent and came to Ireland in the 13th Century as gallowglasses, They became lords of a territory known as the Route the 15th Century which basically extended between the Rivers Bann and Bush (its a little more complex but thats perhaps a subject for a different time). The MacQuillans were powerful in fact the name of their territory is thought o derive from the word "rout" which was the common term for a private army. 

A view of the Inner Ward from the Outer Ward

The MacQuillans built the castle however in 1554 another Scottish family fought with the MacQuillans for possession of the castle. This was the MacDonnells who were a sept or branch of the Clan MacDonald. As a result the castle changed hands between the two clans various times before the MacQuillans were finally beaten in 1565 at the Battle of Aura. The battle took place in a bog Oral tradition tells us that the MacDonnells lead by the fantastically named Sorley Boy MacDonnell stood on firm ground but by covering the bog with reeds and rushes were able to trick the MacQuillans to enter the bog where they were easily cut down. 

The inner ward sits on an outcrop the outer ward is to the left
The outer ward was used to greet guests, house visitors and staff, and featured
lodgings, a stable, and possibly a brewery (arguably the most important building)

A view from the lodgings

remains of a fireplace in the outer ward lodgings

inside the lodgings in the outer ward, another fire place is to the right

Path down to the cave beneath the castle known as the Mermaid's cave
Due to Covid19 restrictions it was closed on the day of my visit so I have no pics of the cave

The Castle under the MacDonnells

After taking possession of the castle permanently Sorley Boy made it his seat of power, and as such made it more comfortable. He rebuilt much of it in the Scottish style of the period and much what survives of the castle can be traced to this period. However that was not the end of conflict at Dunluce Castle. For after taking his land from the MacQuillans the MacDonnells spent much of the remainder of the century trying to keep it from the forces of Elizabeth I. In 1584 the Lord Deputy of Ireland, Sir John Perrot laid siege to and took Dunluce Castle for the Crown. Local legend goes that Sorely Boy was able to retake the castle by being hauled up the cliff in a basket (presumably with some of his men at arms) by one of the servants in the castle. Sorely Boy and Perrot reluctantly entered into negotiations which culminated with Sorley Boy pledging loyalty to the Queen and she regranted him his lands and the castle.  

The Funnel and the Bridge. Originally this was a draw bridge 
but it was later replaced my a stone arch and wooden walkway

The Gatehouse to the left was originally built by the MacQuillans but was rebuilt
in its present Scottish style by the MacDonnels as was the curtain wall to the right
note the openings added to house cannon from a wrecked ship of the Spanish Armada

An impression of how the funnel, gatehouse and curtain wall looked in the 17th Century

Detail of the First Trust £10 note featuring the Girona

Sorley Boy appears to have mostly remained loyal to the Queen although there is one event where that loyalty can be questioned. On the night of 26th October 1588 the Spanish Galleass 'Girona' was making her way around the Antrim coast to Scotland. Girona was one of the ships of the Spanish Armada. Following the Armada being scattered by the wind and by English fire ships it made its way around Scotland and Ireland in order to return to Spain and lost many ships in the process. The Girona was one of the many stragglers, she was designed for the calm waters of the Mediterranean and was unsuited to  

19th Century engraving of the wreck of the Girona
Lacada Point and the Spanish Rocks are in the background

the British coastline. After making repairs in Donegal it was decided to sail for neutral Scotland rather than attempt to make the perilous trip to Spain . After passing Lough Foyle she was caught in a storm and was driven onto rocks not to far from Dunluce Castle at Lacada Point (the rocks in question would from henceforth be known as the Spanish Rocks) and sank with the estimated loss of 1300 souls. There were nine survivors who despite his allegiance to the Queen Sorley Boy helped escape to his kin in Scotland. However Sorely Boy also salvaged riches from the wreck with which he was able to improve the castle including two ship's guns which were installed in the curtain wall beside the gatehouse. 

The Girona has become another part of the local folklore and is even depicted on the reverse of the £10 Northern Ireland banknotes that were issued by First Trust Bank prior to 2019 (although no longer being printed they are still legal currency until June 2022)

The Earls of Antrim

Armorial bearings of the Earl
of Antrim at Dunluce

Sorely Boy was a winner and was successful in walking the tightrope between rebellion and loyalty to the crown to secure his family's future as the rulers of Dunluce Castle and the lands around it. Sorely Boy's 4th son Randal succeeded him as head of the clan, and with the support of the new King James I founded a town outside the castle in 1608. This town was inhabited not just by Scottish settlers but also many local Irish tenants. In 1618 while much of the rest of Ulster was undergoing the plantation, the King made Randal the 1st Earl of Antrim increasing the lands, power and wealth of the MacDonnells further. Randal set about making the castle more comfortable and built the manner house in the centre of the castle as well as remodelling some of the other buildings in the castle. 

This was heyday of the castle however for the town of Dunluce was burned to the ground in the 1641 rebellion and following the Cromwellian reconquest of Ireland the lands of Dunluce were granted to Cromwell's soldiers and the castle was abandoned. However it was reoccupied with the restoration of Charles II in 1660 and the town rebuilt. However unlike most of the other plantation towns, Dunluce was not a success. It's economy suffered from the lack of a natural harbour making trade difficult and it was abandoned again by the 1680s never to be reoccupied or rebuilt. 

The ornate frontage of what remains of the Manor House

In 1635 the second Earl married the widow of the Duke of Buckingham and she lived here
It is said she was always uneasy being so close to the sea, and left after part of the savants' quarters collapsed

The interior of the manner house with its big fire places and large windows

Plaque at Dunluce depicting the Manor House

The Kitchen Collapse and the ruin of the Castle

The Kitchen next to the Manor House

Local legend has it that sometime towards the end of the castle being occupied there was a great feast being held on a dark and stormy night. However the feast was cut short when the Earl and his guests heard a mighty crash and screams; as the storm caused the cliff supporting the kitchen to collapse into the sea taking the kitchen with it, as well as all those that were in it at the time. Only a single member of the kitchen staff survived and this was a young serving boy who happened to be standing in the one small corner of the kitchen to remain as the rest plummeted into the sea. The wife of the Earl refused to live in the castle after that and the MacDonnells abandoned the castle leaving it to fall to ruins. 

We know this is the kitchen due to the large ovens

Ask anyone in Northern Ireland what happened to Dunluce castle and they will tell you some form of that story. While it is a great story it is I am afraid just a story. The kitchen did not fall into the sea, in fact if you visit the castle you can clearly see the remains of the kitchen complete with its great stone ovens. However like most legends it does have a basis in fact, the MacDonnells did indeed leave the castle for the more comfortable Glenarm castle and this remains the seat of the Earls of Antrim to this day. Alexander MacDonnell the 3rd Earl of Antrim was the last of the MacDonnells we know was born at Dunluce Castle. During the Glorious Revolution of 1688 he raised a regiment for James II, and with that regiment went to take over the garrison of Londonderry but had the gates closed upon his men (starting a stand off that would end in the Siege of Derry), thus setting into action a chain of events the would cumulate in the vanquishing of James II to be replaced as King of Ireland, England and Scotland by William III & Mary II. 

Antrim finding himself on the losing side was no longer able to support the expense of maintaining the cast and thus abandoned it to ruin. At some point  a portion of the in the inner ward fell into the sea, giving rise to the legend of the kitchen. Although despite that fact it is said that on dark stormy nights you can still hear rock shattering and the ghostly cries of the servants as they once more plunge to their deaths in the icy sea below.

The Courtyard of the Inner Ward housed servants' quarters and workshops

Inside the remains of one of the buildings in the Inner Ward Courtyard

The chimney of the above building

Looking out at the coast

The  rear most building of the court yard fell into the sea 
long ago. This corner is all that is left

A view of the white rocks with Portrush in the distance

The ghosts of Dunluce

Like all good castles Dunluce has its fair share of alleged hauntings. As well as the souls of the kitchen staff reliving the night of their death (even though the kitchen never actually collapsed and is largely still intact today) there are other apparitions and panorama activity that have been reported over the centuries. 

We will star with the south east tower. This is the one beside the curtain wall closest to the gatehouse. For it is said to haunted by the spirit of Peter Carey. Carey was the Constable of the castle after it fell to the Queen's Lord Deputy, however when Sorley Boy MacDonnell retook the castle he took his revenge on Carey by hanging him from the southeast tower. It is said his spirit never left that tower and is allegedly seen on dark nights roaming the ramparts. Carey's ghost is identifiable as he is in a dark purple cloak and is wearing a ponytail which might actually be the rope that killed him. Visitors to the castle also report feeling someone push past them inside the southeast tower despite the fact they are the only ones there.

Originally built by the MacQuillans to protect the Curtain Wall
It was improved by the MacDonnells and features gun loops
The castle's constable was hanged from this tower in 1584

View of the outer ward from one of the cannon ports

A view of the lodgings from the gun port

These columns were part of a loggia which overlooked
a garden before the manor house was built 

Next is the north east tower which is said to be haunted by a white lady. There are slightly different variants of the story, however they all agree that the white lady is the spirit Mave McQuillans who was imprisoned in that tower by father to prevent her from seeing the man she loved (a match her father evidently did not approve). However here the stories differ for one read that she pined away in the tower and died of a broken heart. She is said to have met her lover at the castle when he was either a prisoner or one of the soldiers tasked with guarding it, stories differ. Another version of the story states that Mave fled with her lover to the Mermaid's Cave to escape to Portrush in a boat hidden in the cave. However the sea proved to rough and they pair drowned. While her lover's body was washed ashore the next morning the Sea refused to give up Mave's body and as such she was denied a Christian burial. Where the stories agree again is that Mave's spirit haunts the tower she was imprisoned in. After the tragedy servants refused to enter the tower however on the rare occasion a living soul entered the tower it is said that it was spotless, without even a speck of dust. The ghost of Mave apparently keeping it clean. Because the tower Mave is still said to reside in the tower it became known as the MacQuillan Tower even after the MacDonnells took over.

The north east tower was built at the same time
as the south east. Both were closed off as Covid19 percussions 

It retains its Irish style with an upper room and separate
ground floor vault. 

Likewise the MacQuillan Banshee still haunts the castle and lands surrounding it. It is said that screams of the Banshee echo around the castle whenever a member of the Clan MacQuillan is on their death bed. Some have even said the screams originate from the north east tower leading some to speculate that the spirit of Mave and the Banshee are one in the same. 

In the 16th Century a woman in white was said to appear on the cliffs beside the castle every day at sunset. She was said to always gaze out to sea and some accounts state she wailed like a fury, but all agreed she soon disappeared. No one knows exactly who this was, some say it is the spirt of Mave MacQuillan, some that it was the Banshee and some that it is both. A story says that in 1534 one of the MacQuillan children saw the Lady in white on the shore, where she disappeared into thin air in front of him. He returned the next night with his siblings but the lady didn't appear. There continued to be reports from locals of the Lady walking along the shore before sunset throughout the following decades. When the child now a man in his 30s returned to the spot he originally seen the apparition the lady materialised to him. He attempted to speak with her but once again she vanished and has not been seen since.

Poltergeist activity has also been reported in the castle reception and gift shop. Staff report that they will come to work in the morning to find that someone has rearranged the shelves during the night, despite the fact the shop is locked and there is no sign of a break in. Sometimes they will also find the radio has been turned on despite the fact it was switched off at the end of the day before!

The Castle today 

The castle ruins have inspired music, art and literature and are today still the property of the

MacDonnells although the seat of the Earldom is Glenarm castle. However Dunluce is a monument in state care being cared for by the Northern Ireland Department for Communities (Previously the NI Environment Agency). The Government of Northern Ireland have had guardianship of the ruins since 1928 and seek to preserve them as much as possible for the benefit of future generations. Although undoubtedly one day nature will take her course and the ruins will fall to the sea. However until that day comes (hopefully in the far future) the castle will no doubt continue to awe and inspire. 

Dunluce Town however has been likened as an Irish equivalent of Atlantis. The town was considered lost to history until archaeological discovery in 2011. It was found that it may have been built on a grid system with complex houses with indoor toilets (new in Europe at the time). Its estimated 95% of the town is yet to be rediscovered. 

The above feature digital reconstructions of the ruins of six British castles first of which is Dunluce. In the meantime if you are ever on the North Antrim coast I would recommend spending some time to explore these majestic ruins and soak up the history and the legends.  

Lillibullero

 one of the oldest if not the oldest tune you might hear on the twelfth. It dates directly to the Glorious Revolution.

The melody was first published by English composer Henry Purcell in 1687, as a quick step on the basis of a traditional song.

In either case it became popular in 1687 when the MP for Buckinghamshire Thomas, Lord Walton composed a satirical poem about the appointment of the Earl of Tyrconnell as Lord Deputy of Ireland. The poem quickly took on musical form being set to Purcell’s quickstep and gained popularity as James II brought regiments of the Irish Army to England. Wharton would later boast that his song had sung James out of the Three Kingdoms. It sometimes being said that James made the final decision to flee the crown when he heard the sentry outside his personal quarters whistling the tune!

The tune was carried back to Ireland by troops in the Williamite Army. The tune continues to be used as a military march to this day. Over the time other songs and lyrics have been set to it, most notable ‘The Protestant Boys’ but also the tavern song ‘Nottingham Ale,’ and the American Civil War song ‘Overtures of Richmond’ which keeping in the theme of the original song is a satire of Jefferson Davis the president of the southern Confederacy.

The song was adopted in World War II by the BBC as the opening for the program ‘Into Battle.’ Later being used as the interval signal, its use continuing long after the war until the 1990s when the World Service finally dropped the practice.

It continues as a march today being the formal march of the Corps of Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers and the Corps of Royal Australian Electrical & Mechanical Engineers. Both of whom were formed in WW2 and given rise with some debate with the BBC as who adopted the tune first.

Lyrics

The 1688 lyrics feature two satirical Irish Jacobites looking forward to the completion of James’ perceived policies in Ireland under Tyrconnell:

Ho, brother Teague, dost hear the decree?

Lillibullero bullen a la

We are to have a new deputy

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain:

Lero Lero Lillibullero

Lillibullero bullen a la

Lero Lero Lero Lero

Lillibullero bullen a la

Oh by my soul it is a Talbot

Lillibullero bullen a la

And he will cut every Englishman's throat

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain

Though, by my soul, the English do prate

Lillibullero bullen a la

The law's on their side and the devil knows what

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain

But if dispense do come from the Pope

Lillibullero bullen a la

We'll hang Magna Carta and themselves on a rope

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain

Who all in France have taken a swear,

Lillibullero bullen a la

That they will have no Protestant heir

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain

Now Tyrconnell is come ashore

Lillibullero bullen a la

And we shall have commissions galore

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain

And everyone that won't go to Mass

Lillibullero bullen a la

He will be turned out to look like an ass

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain

Now the heretics all go down

Lillibullero bullen a la

By Christ and St Patrick's the nation's our own

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain

There was an old prophecy found in a bog

Lillibullero bullen a la

The country'd be ruled by an ass and a dog

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain

Now this prophecy is all come to pass

Lillibullero bullen a la

For Talbot's the dog and Tyrconnell's the ass

Lillibullero bullen a la

Refrain

The Lyrics explained

Teague derived from the Gaelic masculine name Tadgh identifying who is speaking. The Deputy referred to is the new Lord Deputy of Ireland Richard Talbot, Earl of Tyrconnell. The two conversaionists then talk with one saying that Tyrconnell will cast out the English slitting their throats, while the other one points out that the law is on the side of the English to which his fellow states that the law of the Catholic Church overrules that and would allow them to do away with English law and hang its liberties first laid down in Magn Carta.  The Commissions galore refers to the cashiering of Protestant officers from the Irish Army and replacing them with officers from the Catholic gentry as well as Catholic middle classes. Following that the subjects of the song talk about persecuting non Catholics. Followed by the widespread believe at the time in prophecies and ancient writings among people in Ireland. The Refrain ‘Lillibullero’ is apparently based on the watchword of insurgents in Ulster during the rising of 1641.Although it has also been interpreted as a garbled version of the Irish words Lile ba léir é, ba linn an lá, "Lilly was clear and ours was the day" referencing the heraldic symbol of the Kingdom of France.

We know that the tune was played at the Battle of the Boyne. Accounts of who witnessed the advance of the Dutch Blue Guards across the river recall that their corps of drums were playing “the popular lillberlero.” This means Lillibullero is probably the only tune you might hear on the twelfth that was actually played at the Boyne. 

the Formal Surrender of Hitler's U-boats

U-Boats moored at Lisahally, Londonderry.
 IWM Public Domain

The Battle of the Atlantic was the longest battle of the Second World War beginning with the sinking of the liner SS Athenia by German submarine U-30 a matter of hours after the British declaration of war on 3^rd September 1939. German submarine or U-Boat activity continued until the VE Day on 7^th May 1945. During this battle the German Navy the Kriegsmarine attempted to cut off the United Kingdom’s overseas supply lines most notably the transatlantic routes. The U-Boat was the Kriegsmarine’s workhorse in this regard. So critical was this battle to the survival of the United Kingdom that Britain’s wartime leader Winston Churchill described it as his greatest fear.

Though the command of Western Approaches was in Liverpool many of the escort vessels that protected Allied convoys were based in Northern Ireland ports most notably the port of Londonderry. Derry as the city is also commonly called is the UK’s most western port and a stone frigate (naval shore base) HMS Ferret was established there in 1940. Londonderry is Northern Ireland’s second city and is situated on a tidal section of the River Foyle just before it flows into Lough Foyle and into the North Atlantic. The importance of Derry to the battle is shown that by 1943 more ships were stationed there than Liverpool, the Clyde and Belfast. At its peak the city and its outlying port facilities at Lisahally just beyond the city limits catered to 139 ocean going vessels. Following the entry of the United States into the war the city hosted a strong American presence although the bulk of Allied naval personnel were British and Canadian.

On 4^th May 1945 as Berlin fell Grand Admiral Karl Donitz who had following Hitler’s suicide three days earlier inherited the leadership of Nazi Germany ordered his U-Boats to ceasefire. The message he sent them read “Undefeated and Spotless, you lay down your arms after a heroic battle without equal.” From that date U-Boats began surrendering whenever they met an Allied ship although some commanders scuttled their submarine before it fell into Allied hands.

View of Londonderry with warships along the quay

While many of the crews did fight a heroic battle, Winston Churchill himself paying tribute to the ‘fortitude of the U-Boat Service’ they had quite decisively been beaten in the Battle of the Atlantic. The Commander in Chief of Western Approaches Admiral Sir Max Horton took issue with this statement. He was a veteran of the 1^st World War (ironically as a submarine commander) and was aware that the Germany had blamed its defeat in that conflict on the stab in the back myth. This was the myth that the German armed forces in the field were undefeated and that Germany had lost the war because the civilians and politicians at home gave in and betrayed them. This was a myth but Horton was aware that the Nazis had used this belief to their advantage during their rise to power and it played into their rearmament and expansionist policies. Fearing that a similar myth regarding the German armed forces in the Second World War might lead to history repeating itself. Horton sought to dispel it before it could take hold so he planned a formal surrender ceremony.

Londonderry was chosen to be the place where this ceremony would take place due to the role it played but also probably for practical reasons regarding the range and seaworthiness of some of the U-boats. The first eight U-Boats sailed into Lough Foyle on Monday 14^th May 1945 with a skeleton Kriegsmarine crew and under the Royal Navy command. The U-Boats flew the British white ensign and were escorted by the British, Canadian and American destroyers HMS Hesperus, HMCS Theford Mines and USS Robert I Paine. The U-Boats docked at Lisahally and their crews led by Oberleutnant Klaus Hilgendorf commander of U-1009 formally surrendered to Admiral Sir Max Horton, who had flown into nearby Royal Naval Air Station Eglington (HMS Gannet) that morning specifically for the occasion. Horton was joined by the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland Sir Basil Brook and Colonel Dan Bryan the Irish Free State’s Director of Military Intelligence. The event was also witnessed by many of the locally based Allied soldiers, sailors and airmen, most notably the WRNS from HMS Ferret and Fleet Air Arm personnel from HMS Gannet and HMS Shrike (RNAS Maydown).

Free Polish destroyer ORP Krakowaiak toes U-2337 out of Lough Foyle
for scuttling as part of Operation Deadlight 28th November 1945

Following the surrender more U-Boats found themselves moored on the Foyle from where they were towed of the coasts of Counties Londonderry and Donegal and systematically sank in what was known as Operation Deadlight. 116 boats were destroyed this way, being towed to three main zones where they were sunk either by scuttling, naval gunfire or aerial target practice depending on which zone they were towed to. This operation commenced on 17^th November 1945 and completed on 11^th February 1946.

Thus the end of Hitler’s U-Boat fleet happened in Northern Ireland. Winston Churchill said of Northern Ireland’s role

“By the grace of God Ulster stood a faithful sentinel”

“That was a dark and dangerous hour. We were alone, and had to face single-handed the full fury of the German attack raining down death and destruction on our cities and, still more deadly, seeking to strangle our life by cutting off the entry to our ports of the ships which brought us our food and the weapons we so sorely needed.

Only one great channel remained open. It remained open because loyal Ulster gave us the full use of Northern Irish ports and waters, and thus ensured the free working of the Clyde and the Mersey.

But for the loyalty of Northern Ireland we should have been confronted with slavery and death and the light which now shines so strongly throughout the world would have been quenched.

The bonds of affection between Great Britain and the people of Northern Ireland have been tempered by fire and are now, I believe, unbreakable.”

“We have traveled a hard and darksome road to victory in Europe, and at every turn in this memorable journey the loyalty and courage of Ulster have gleamed before the eyes of men.

The stand of the Government and People of Northern Ireland for the unity of the British Empire and Commonwealth and for the great cause of freedom, for which we all risked our survival will never be forgotten by Great Britain. A strong loyal Ulster will always be vital to the security and well-being of our whole Empire and Commonwealth”

The Defining Battle in Ulster history?

What is the defining battle in the history of Ulster and the Ulster Protestant identity?
probably the first candidate is the Battle of the Boyne, and it is understandable why many could come to conclusion. It is after all the battle emortablised in myth, legend, artwork and song, not to mention the parades of the Orange Institution across the province and beyond.

the image of William III crossing the Boyne one of the most well
known in Ulster folk lore

The Boyne is certainly an important battle and one that is forever enshrined in Ulster Protestant culture and identity. However I don't think it is the defining battle.
Next candidate you could say is the Siege of Londonderry, it is according to the traditional view the moment the Protestants of Ulster had their backs to the wall so to speak. The moment when they knew nothing but defeat and retreat, seemingly abandoned by their fellow countrymen on the island of Great Britain had to fall back to their plantation citadel with its crumbling walls. Yet despite this the right people were in the right places at the right times and sustained by religious and national pride endured throughout the horrors and hardships to their victory. There is no doubt the symbolism of the siege of Derry is powerful and a worthy candidate.
There is no shortage of battles in Ulster history but today I am of course going to speak of the Somme.
The Somme is to Northern Ireland and Northern Irish identity (or atleast unionist Northern Irish identity) what Gallipoli is the Australia or Vimy Ridge is to Canada.  It is when the young nation finds it feet and secures it future through the blood sacrifice which honored by a grateful empire sees them take their place as equals in a great imperial family.
There are of course some distinct differences between the two dominions and Northern Ireland of course. One is the legal entities and jurisdictions of both Australia and Canada were defined before the Great War. Where as that of Northern Ireland was defined after. Whereas the two battles in regard to the Canada and Australia helped forge a common national identity for Ulster Unionists it defined the right to continue to exist.

Signing of the Covenant 1912

The road to the Sommes role as its defining battle really begins in the late 19th Century with Ulster's opposition to Home Rule, that being self governance for Ireland within the United Kingdom. However it really takes place when the Third Home Rule Bill passes the House of Commons in 1912 due to a Liberal and Irish Parliamentary Party (the moderate Irish nationalist party of the day) coalition. This in turn leads to the events of the Ulster Solemn League and Covenant in which Ulstermen sign in their thousands pledging to resist "the current conspiracy" by "all means necessary." Thousands of women also sign a mirroring covenant pledging to support the men in their struggle. These documents are one of the defining moments in the creation of the modern Ulster Protestant identity. The Covenant is to Ulster what the declaration of Independence is to the United States of America, in that its a founding document, a justification for the country to exist.
The founding of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF) and subsequent arming of that force (ironically with guns provided by Germany) in the months that followed seen Ulster folk preparing to make good on their pledge. Whether or not the UVF would have went to war over their own government is a matter of debate and merely academic. For events in Europe overtook the events in Ireland with the outbreak of the First World War in 1914.

The charge of the Ulster Division 1st July 1916

This seen the call to arms the opportunity for Ulster to show its loyalty to the Britain and likewise for Britain to reward that loyalty. A special division was formed from the ranks of the old UVF. The 36th (Ulster) Division. It was the conduct of the 36th Division on that first day of the Somme the 1st of July (which is also the date of the battle of the Boyne in the old calendar) 1916 in that it was the only British unit to reach any of its objectives despite possibly being given the most difficult of tasks in taking the Schwaben Redoubt. This is despite the horrendous slaughter and appalling casualties. Indeed the Division suffered so many casualties that it was withdrawn the next day. Its experience at the somme was one from which it never fully recovered but despite this struggled on through the rest of the war and again proving its metal on other occasions.

Drums from Hamilton Flute Band whose members served in
36th Ulster Division are still emblazoned with the old regiment badge
over 100 years on

It was (at least in the folk memory of Ulster) that in 1921 saw the creation of Northern Ireland as a separate jurisdiction to the Home Rule parliament being set up in Dublin, and the next year when home rule turned to independence following the Anglo-Irish conflict saw Northern Ireland given the ability to determine its own future when under the terms of the Anglo-Irish peace treaty Northern Ireland was given the ability to opt out of the Irish Free State and continue as part of the United Kingdom. An opt out it chose to exercise.
Like other battles the story of the Somme is told in song and ballad, possibly the best being the song "bloody road to the somme" which is relatively accurate in the general detail of the battle in the the 36th Division became a victim of their success and got "cut off with no one to support them" and Mown down by fire from three sides" As John Buchan, 1st Baron Tweedsmuir wrote in History of War:
"North of Theipval the Ulster Division broke through the enemy trenches, passed the crest of the ridge, and reached the point called the Crucifix, in rear of the first German position. For a little while they held the strong Schwaben Redoubt (where), enfiladed on three sides, they went on through successive German lines, and only a remnant came back to tell the tale. Nothing finer was done in the war. The splendid troops drawn from those Volunteers who had banded themselves together for another cause, now shed their blood like water for the liberty of the world."

This song is an excellent as lays out the struggle of the Home Rule debate and evokes characters from the Ulster cycle such as the warrior Cuchulainn the Hound of Ulster and Connal Clean the ancient King of Ulster both figure who defended Ulster from hostile southern Irish forces. It even evokes the flag of Northern Ireland (the red hand and crown).

memorial to the VC's of Ulster's division in the grounds of the
Ulster Tower, Thiepval, France

The valour of Ulster's division is shown in that it received no fewer than nine Victoria Crosses many of which are still celebrated today, including the first to be won in the battle. Pte William McFadzean was posthumously awarded the VC when he threw himself on a grenade that fallen into a trench full of his fellow soldiers, thus symbolising the sacrifice of the thousands of Ulstermen who fell that day.
There were many quotes from Britain's grates regarding Ulster's Division, which perhaps fueled the idea that it was the province's loyalty and sacrifice that ultimately seen it spared the political death sentence of Irish independence.
The King at the time George V said on the day of the armistice
  "I recall the deeds of the 36th (Ulster) Division, which have more than fulfilled the high opinion formed by me on inspecting that force on the eve of its departure for the front. Throughout the long years of struggle, which now so gloriously ended, the men of Ulster have proved how nobly they fight and die"
Winston Churchill often regarded as the greatest Briton of the 20th Century said of their conduct:
"The record of the Thirty-Sixth Division will ever be the pride of Ulster. At Thiepval in the battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916; at Wytschaete on 17 June 1917, in the storming of the Messines Ridge; on the Canal du Nord, in the attack on the Hindenburg Line of 20 November the same year; on 21 March 1918, near Fontaine-les-Clercs, defending their positions long after they were isolated and surrounded by the enemy; and later in the month at Andechy in the days of 'backs to the wall', they acquired a reputation for conduct and devotion deathless in military history of the United Kingdom, and repeatedly signalised in the despatches of the Commander-in-Chief."

dedication tablet in the Ulster Tower with the King's quote

More recently the Ulster historian Richard Doherty recorded: "Whether town dweller or country lad, volunteer or regular, officer or other rank, Catholic or Protestant, the Sons of Ulster knew a comradeship and a trust in adversity that should be a lesson to us all."
But perhaps the greatest and most memorable quote is from someone who apart from this quote is largely forgotten. Wilfred Spender was a staff officer attached to the 36th Division and would go on to help establish the Northern Ireland Civil Service as well as reform the returning members of the former UVF into the Ulster Special Constabulary. He wrote of the battle:
"I am not an Ulsterman but yesterday, the 1st. July, as I followed their amazing attack, I felt that I would rather be an Ulsterman than anything else in the world. My pen cannot describe adequately the hundreds of heroic acts that I witnessed... The Ulster Volunteer Force, from which the division was made, has won a name which equals any in history. Their devotion deserves the gratitude of the British Empire."
It is often said there is no greater honour than to elevated to by others and its certainly true in this case which is perhaps why this quote in particular is remembered and celebrated today. However he goes on to write "The Ulster Division has lost more than half the men who attacked and, in doing so, has sacrificed itself for the Empire which has treated them none too well. Their devotion, which no doubt has helped the advance elsewhere, deserved the gratitude of the British Empire. It is due to the memory of these brave fellows that their beloved Province shall be fairly treated."

Again this feeds into the folk memory that it was through sacrifice that Northern Ireland was allowed to remain in the United Kingdom while the rest of the island broke away. 

Ulster Tower, Thiepval France

Likewise the people of Northern Ireland were quick to ensure their sacrifice would never be forgotten funding the erection of a permanent monument on the battlefield itself. In Fact of the many monuments and memorials on the old battlefields of the Great War the Ulster Tower was the first to be erected.  It was modeled on Helen's Tower on Clandyboyle estate in County Down where Ulster's Division was encamped before deployment and was thus the last Ulster landmark many had seen. Although not the grandest of these noble monuments it set a precedent which all of Britain followed. Hence the battle not only helped shape the British identity of Ulster but helped Ulster shape in part the identity of Britain. 
It is for these why the Somme is possibly the defining moment in Ulster Protestant identity to this day. Furthermore unlike the Glorious Revolution the First World War is still very much a part of British national memonry with the various events and traditions introduced to remember the war such as Remembrance Sunday and the wearing of poppies still a very much a part of British life and identity not just that of Ulster.