In this chapter of the Tour of Ireland Project, Torsten Pamp moves further up the coast in Ulster on a visit that takes us to Templepatrick.
Just north of Belfast our Tour of Ireland leads us straight into Ireland’s violent history.
What today is known as Hilton Templepatrick Hotel & Country Club was in the 1100s a military academy. It was here that the future crusaders learned to wield swords in the name of God.
After the crusaders, Castle Upton was filled with other warriors. The castle became intermittently a centre of the fighting between Catholics and Protestants. Which lead to a completely unexpected result for the village. In the mid 1600s a Scottish regiment used the castle as their base. The village’s gratitude towards the Scots for protection was great as long as the regiment remained. But the women got more to look at than just the men in the village. When the soldiers marched out of the castle in 1646, the scandal was a fact. Several of the village women left their homes and went along with the soldiers.
The 18-hole championship course, playable all year, is set in glorious wooded parkland at the Hilton Templepatrick Hotel & Country Club.
One who did not hold with any soldier was the daughter of lord Upton of the manor. Instead, she was marrying the Catholic Dunn, who was the owner of Knockcairn castle. That the new lady of the castle was a Protestant was a minor problem. Being a woman, Dunn reckoned she would soon be converted to the church of the lord of the castle. But it was no good, and she had three kids without Dunn succeeding in converting her.
Dunn finally lured the wife and kids into a tower at the castle, locked the doors and set a fire. He then sat down on an adjacent hill and listened to the screams while the family was burning inside.
Meanwhile, horse riders reached Upton with the disturbing news, which gathered his troops and marched to Knockcairn. Arriving there, Upton urged his son in law to the courtyard, went against him holding his sword and drove it straight through the son in law’s body. Dunn fell dead to the ground. He was buried at the site, where there now is a Dunn’s stone. The portrait at The Burned Lady was hung in the hall of the Castle Upton. Where she today allegedly live on as a ghost. Maybe it is she who blows the ball into the rough on the golf course…
Next stop : Royal Portrush – a jewel for the The Open
Do you like this post? Please sign up to be notified when new posts are out. And please share this article with your friends by using the share buttons underneath.
[nsu-form]
Kärleksskandal och morddrama
Strax norr om Belfast leder golftouren rakt in i Irlands våldsamma historia.
Strax norr om Belfast leder golftouren rakt in i Irlands våldsamma historia.
Det som i dag är Hilton Templepatrick Hotel & Country Club var på 1100-talet en krigsskola. Det var här de blivande korsriddarna lärde sig svinga svärden i guds namn.
Efter korsriddarna fylldes Castle Upton av andra krigare. Slottet blev periodvis centrum för striderna mellan katoliker och protestanter. Med ett fullständigt oväntat resultat för byn. Ett skotskt regemente hade i mitten på 1600-talet haft slottet som bas. Byns tacksamhet mot skottarna för skyddet var stor så länge regementet fanns kvar. Men kvinnorna hade fått mer att titta på än bara männen i byn. Så när soldaterna 1646 tågade ut ur slottet var skandalen ett faktum. En hel del av byns kvinnor lämnade sina hem och följde med soldaterna.
En som inte rymde med någon soldat var slottsherre Uptons dotter. Hon blev i stället bortgift med katoliken Dunn, ägare av slottet Knockcairn. Att den nyblivna slottsfrun var protestant var väl inget större problem. Hon var ju kvinna så Dunn räknade med att hon snart skulle omvändas till slottsherrens kyrka. Men det gick inte så bra. De hann få tre barn utan att Dunn hade lyckats.
Då lockade han in frun och barnen i ett torn på slottet, låste dörrarna och tände på. Sen satte han sig på en kulle intill och lyssnade på skriken medan familjen brann inne.
Under tiden hade larmet gått och via ryttare nått Upton, som samlade ihop sina soldater och tågade till Knockcairn. När de kom fram ropade Upton ut svärsonen till borggården, gick emot honom med draget svärd och körde det rakt genom kroppen. Dunn föll direkt ner död. Han begravdes på platsen och där finns i dag Dunn´s stone. Porträttet på The Burned Lady hängdes upp i hallen på Castle Upton – där hon i dag påstås leva vidare som ett spöke. Möjligen är det hon som blåser ut bollen i ruffen på golfbanan…
Next stop: Royal Portrush — en juvel för The Open
