Editing Carrickfergus (section)

===Middle Ages===
The town is said to take its name from [[Fergus Mór mac Eirc|Fergus Mór]] (Fergus the Great), the legendary king of [[Dál Riata]]. According to one tale, his ship ran aground on a rock by the shore, which became known as "Carraig Fhearghais" – the rock of Fergus.<ref name="CarrickfergusHistory-MediævalTimes"/>

As an urban settlement, Carrickfergus far pre-dates the capital city [[Belfast]] and was for a lengthy period both larger and more prominent than the nearby [[city]]. [[Belfast Lough]] itself was known as 'Carrickfergus Bay' well into the 17th century. Carrickfergus and the surrounding area was, for a time, treated as a separate county. The historical walled town originally occupied an area of around 97,000 square metres, which now comprises the town centre, bordered by Albert Road to the west, the Marine Highway to the south, Shaftesbury Park to the north and Joymount Presbyterian Church grounds to the east. Segments of the town wall are still visible in various parts of the town and in various states of preservation. Archaeological excavations close to the walls' foundations have yielded many artefacts that have helped historians piece together a picture of the lives of the 12th and 13th century inhabitants.<ref name="CarrickfergusHistory"/><ref name="CarrickfergusHistory-MediævalTimes">[http://www.carrickfergus.org/tourism/museum/medieval-times/ Mediæval Times in Carrickfergus' History] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305053225/http://www.carrickfergus.org/tourism/museum/medieval-times/ |date=5 March 2011 }}, carrickfergus.org; accessed 2 May 2016.</ref>

Carrickfergus became an inhabited town shortly after 1170, when [[Anglo-Normans|Anglo-Norman]] knight [[John de Courcy]] invaded [[Ulster]], established his headquarters in the area and built [[Carrickfergus Castle]] on the "rock of Fergus" in 1177.<ref name="AHistoryOfCarrickfergus">{{Cite web|url=https://www.culturenorthernireland.org/features/heritage/history-carrickfergus|title=A History of Carrickfergus|first=Culture Northern|last=Ireland|date=31 August 2005|website=Culture Northern Ireland|access-date=30 April 2021|archive-date=3 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210503125727/https://www.culturenorthernireland.org/features/heritage/history-carrickfergus|url-status=dead}}</ref> The castle, which is the most prominent landmark of Carrickfergus, is widely known as one of the best-preserved [[Normans|Norman]] castles in [[Ireland]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-26540165|title=History unearthed at medieval castle|last=Maxwell|first=David|date=12 March 2014|publisher=BBC News|access-date=19 February 2018}}</ref>

Sometime between 1203 and 1205, De Courcy was expelled from Ulster by [[Hugh de Lacy, 1st Earl of Ulster|Hugh de Lacy]], as authorised by [[John, King of England|King John]]. De Lacy oversaw the final construction of the castle, which included the gatehouse, drum towers and outer ward. It was at this time that he established the nearby St Nicholas' Church. De Lacy was relieved of his command of the town in 1210, when King John himself arrived and placed the castle under royal authority. De Lacy eventually regained his title of Earl of Ulster in 1227, however the castle and its walled town were captured several more times following his death (in 1242). The forces of Edward de Bruce captured the town in 1315 and the castle in 1316 before his death in battle in 1318.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Duffy |first1=Sean |title=Robert the Bruce's Irish Wars |date=2002 |publisher=Tempus Publishing |pages=23, 39}}</ref> The town was largely destroyed by the Scots in 1402.<ref name="CarrickfergusHistory-MediævalTimes" /><ref name="AHistoryOfCarrickfergus"/>