Olderfleet Castle
Olderfleet Castle at Larne in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, is a ruined sixteenth-century tower house on the shore of Larne Lough, associated with the MacDonnell family who controlled the sea routes between northeast Ulster and the Hebrides and Kintyre in Scotland throughout the sixteenth century. The castle controlled the important harbour of Larne, one of the main landing points for the movement of Scottish troops and settlers into Ulster. The ruins stand on the harbour front and are visible from the ferry terminal that operates the modern Larne to Cairnryan sea crossing, one of the shortest routes between Northern Ireland and Scotland, providing a vivid illustration of the continuing strategic importance of this sea crossing across many centuries of Ulster and Scottish history.