Scenic Black Castle Co Wicklow Walk Round

This is the Black Castle that stands on a high promontory looking over and protecting Wicklow bay, port and town.
Located on the eastern outskirts of Wicklow Town on a rock above the sea lies the ruin of Black Castle. Only a few fragments of the wall remain of the castle built by the Normans at the end of the 12th century. The lords of the castle were probably never able to relax, because during the course of their history they were repeatedly exposed to attacks, changes of possessions and pillaging. There was probably a defensive position on this site for hundreds of years previous. Think Viking raiders! St Patrick is supposed to have landed on the secluded beach below.
The location of the castle is as impressive today as it was when it was founded. The view along the coast – north across the port of Wicklow to the Wicklow Mountains and south across the adjacent pebble beach and rugged coast – is still impressive over 800 years later.
‘During excavations to build the Wicklow road bypass in 2010, a Bronze Age cooking pit (known in Irish as a fulach fiadh) and hut site was uncovered in the Ballynerrn Lower area of the town. A radio carbon-dating exercise on the site puts the timeline of the discovery at 900 BC. It has been argued that an identifiable Celtic culture had emerged in Ireland by 600 BC or even earlier. According to the Greek cartographer and historian, Ptolemy, the area around Wicklow was settled by a Celtic tribe called the Cauci/Canci. This tribe is believed to have originated in the region containing today’s Belgium/German border. The area around Wicklow was referred to as Menapia in Ptolemy’s map which itself dates back to 130 AD.
Vikings landed in Ireland around 795 AD and began plundering monasteries and settlements for riches and to capture slaves. In the mid-9th century, Vikings established a base which took advantage of the natural harbour at Wicklow.

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