Dean Castle, in the middle of the Ayrshire town of Kilmarnock, is superb; we visited it on Saturday (on a day trip over the water to Glasgow to see Rangers playing Chelsea). This is where Sir Hugh Montgomery's close ally, Colonel David Boyd, was born (see previous biographical post here). The Boyds had been granted the land here by King Robert the Bruce in 1316 for their loyalty to him in his victory at Bannockburn. In the early 1500s, the Boyds and Montgomeries were rivals and enemies - the 4th Lord Boyd murdered two Montgomeries in 1523. It was the next Lord, Colonel David Boyd's father, who made peace with the Montgomeries and therefore laid the foundations for the two families' Ulster co-operation which began in 1606. Dean Castle is in a country park, with picnic areas, adventure playground, and entry is FREE! Definitely worth a stop-off for any Ulster folk who are getting the ferry, and are driving northwards through Ayrshire. Visit the website here.
Monday, August 08, 2011
Dean Castle, Kilmarnock
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1 comments:
A great discovery, Mark. In the 1620s, Col. David Boyd was living in Ballycastle, near Mountstewart, and in the 1630s he was away in the European Wars. I have several mentions of him in 17th century letters and I think dome of these Boyds of the Ards later 'gaelicised their name to McQuoid (Macbhoid).
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