Love Heritage NI

Love Heritage NI The official Facebook channel of the Historic Environment Division (HED), part of Department for Communities ().

Protecting and promoting NIโ€™s historic monuments. We reserve the right to remove comments, without notification which:
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๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฅ๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ž ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ ๐ž ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐ž๐œ๐ญCommunities Minister Gordon Lyons visited Coleraine Town Hall to see the impac...
18/06/2026

๐Œ๐ข๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐ฌ ๐‚๐จ๐ฅ๐ž๐ซ๐š๐ข๐ง๐ž ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ ๐ž ๐ฉ๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐ž๐œ๐ญ

Communities Minister Gordon Lyons visited Coleraine Town Hall to see the impact of the Historic Environment Fund, which supported the new Coleraine Town Heritage Guide project.

Part of nearly 90 projects funded in 2025โ€“26, the initiative brings the townโ€™s history to life through an illustrated guide, a 3D model, and accessible โ€œMuseum in a Boxโ€ technologyโ€”ensuring more people can explore and enjoy local heritage.

The project highlights how heritage investment is supporting tourism, regeneration, and community pride across Northern Ireland.

Photo: Communities Minister Gordon Lyons pictured at Coleraine Town Hall with the Coleraine 3D heritage model along with Richard Stewart, Deputy Lord Mayor, Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council; and Joanne Honeyford, Community Engagement Officer โ€“ Museum Services, Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council.

Find out more about Historic Environment funding & grants at: https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/topics/historic-environment-funding-grants

๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ, ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž, ๐’๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž๐ฌ

๐Ÿฐ๐‚๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ง๐š๐ซ๐ฒ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ž - ๐€๐ง๐œ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐Œ๐จ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ง ๐ˆ๐ซ๐ž๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐๐ŸฐThis year we celebrate a century of protecting Northern Irela...
18/06/2026

๐Ÿฐ๐‚๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ž๐ง๐š๐ซ๐ฒ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ž - ๐€๐ง๐œ๐ข๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐Œ๐จ๐ง๐ฎ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง๐ญ๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ง ๐ˆ๐ซ๐ž๐ฅ๐š๐ง๐๐Ÿฐ

This year we celebrate a century of protecting Northern Irelandโ€™s past. The Ancient Monuments Act (Northern Ireland), 1926 was a turning point, the first legislation for Northern Ireland safeguarding our archaeological monuments.

Today, Northern Irelandโ€™s Historic Environment Division (HED) manages 187 State Care Monuments and more than 2,000 Scheduled Historic Monuments.

๐Ÿ“๐Œ๐จ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐š ๐€๐›๐›๐ž๐ฒ, ๐‚๐จ. ๐ƒ๐จ๐ฐ๐ง -๐๐ˆ๐’๐Œ๐‘ ๐ƒ๐Ž๐– ๐ŸŽ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ”:๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ‘
๐Ÿ“๐‹๐จ๐œ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง: 1.6km east of Newtownards, on the B172 to Millisle, approached from the south through the large cemetery.

This hilltop site, associated with the sixth century St Finnian, was once a major early Christian church and centre for scholarly learning in Ulster. Excavations revealed evidence of extensive industrial activity, including the production of metalwork and glass.

The monastery was plundered by Vikings in AD 824 and entered a period of decline before being refounded in the twelfth century as an Augustinian abbey, dedicated to St Malachy, surviving until the 1540โ€™s suppression of religious houses. Excavations there in 1981 revealed considerable evidence of Early and Late Medieval ecclesiastical activity including stone buildings, paved floors, industrial areas, wells and large numbers of Early Medieval finds including cooking pottery, glass, copper and iron working waste.

The church ruin, dating partly to the thirteenth and fifteenth centuries, is a long building featuring a narrow nave and chancel. Built into the inside of the north wall is an imposing collection of thirteenth century coffin lids.

Only one pre-Norman grave slab survives. It is a carved slab with a ringed cross and is inscribed with the Irish โ€˜or do dertrendโ€™ which translates as โ€˜a prayer for Dertrendโ€™, who is believed to be a tenth century abbot associated with the abbey.

๐…๐จ๐ซ ๐ฆ๐จ๐ซ๐ž ๐ข๐ง๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ฆ๐š๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง: https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/centenary-care-state-care-monuments

๐Ÿ“ทPhotographs by Tony Corey

๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ, ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž, ๐’๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž๐ฌ

๐Ÿ› ๐‡๐จ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐Œ๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐ž ๐Ÿ›๐‡๐จ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐Œ๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐ž is an Anglo-Norman castle mound, likely constructed in the early 13th century, measurin...
17/06/2026

๐Ÿ› ๐‡๐จ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐Œ๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐ž ๐Ÿ›

๐‡๐จ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐จ๐จ๐ ๐Œ๐จ๐ญ๐ญ๐ž is an Anglo-Norman castle mound, likely constructed in the early 13th century, measuring approximately 30m by 25m and rising between 3.5m and 5m in height. The flat-topped summit is approximately 12m diameter and would have originally supported a timber structure, enclosed by a defensive ditch and palisade.

It occupies a strategic position overlooking the coastal strip along Belfast Lough and King John is said to have stayed in the area in 1210, though it is uncertain if these references relate directly to the motte.

The site was landscaped in the 19th century, creating the present spiral path and tree cover.

๐Ÿ“Brooke Street, Holywood. Co. Down BT18 9BB

For more information on this and other historic places to visit, go to: https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/historic-places-visit

๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ, ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž, ๐’๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž๐ฌ

โ›ช ๐ƒ๐ž๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ๐š๐ง ๐‚๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐œ๐กโ›ชDid you know this quiet ruin holds over 1,000 years of history?Set beside the Ballinderry River, ๐ƒ๐ž...
16/06/2026

โ›ช ๐ƒ๐ž๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ๐š๐ง ๐‚๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐œ๐กโ›ช

Did you know this quiet ruin holds over 1,000 years of history?

Set beside the Ballinderry River, ๐ƒ๐ž๐ซ๐ซ๐ฒ๐ฅ๐จ๐ซ๐š๐ง ๐‚๐ก๐ฎ๐ซ๐œ๐ก dates mainly to the 16th centuryโ€”but its story goes much further back. The site is linked to an early Christian figure, Lurรกn, recorded in a saintsโ€™ calendar around 800 AD, and its name Daire Lurรกin means โ€œoak wood of Luran.โ€

Built using sandstone (and even reusing stone from an earlier 13th-century church), the building we see today reflects centuries of change. It continued in use after the Plantation period and was improved in the 18th century, before being abandoned in 1822 when a new church was built in Cookstown.

Archaeology has revealed evidence of early settlement and metalworking nearby and prehistoric activity in the surrounding landscape, along with 43 unmarked burials which were discovered during bridge works in 2012.

Derryloran is more than a ruinโ€”itโ€™s a place full of layers of history.

๐Ÿ“Corner of Sandholes Road and Drum Road, Cookstown, Co Tyrone BT80 8TL

Map viewer: https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/services/historic-environment-map-viewer Reference TYR038:019

For more information on this and other historic places to visit, go to: https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/historic-places-visit

๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ, ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž, ๐’๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž๐ฌ

๐Ÿ“š ๐‡๐„๐‘๐จ๐๐ˆ ๐‹๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž ๐’๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ โ€“ ๐”๐ฉ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐“๐š๐ฅ๐ค๐ฌJoin us at Lecture Theatre, 2 Titanic Boulevard, Titanic Quarter for fascinating...
15/06/2026

๐Ÿ“š ๐‡๐„๐‘๐จ๐๐ˆ ๐‹๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž ๐’๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ โ€“ ๐”๐ฉ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐“๐š๐ฅ๐ค๐ฌ

Join us at Lecture Theatre, 2 Titanic Boulevard, Titanic Quarter for fascinating insights into Northern Irelandโ€™s heritage. All talks start at 1pm.

โœ… ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ• ๐‰๐ฎ๐ง โ€“ An Archaeology of the Coarse Earthenware Industry
Dr Naomi Carver uncovers Ulsterโ€™s pottery traditions in the 17thโ€“18th centuries.

๐ŸŽŸ ๐๐จ๐จ๐ค ๐ฒ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ค๐ž๐ญ๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ฐ:
๐Ÿ‘‰ https://tinyurl.com/2s3pk8vj

๐Ÿ› ๐๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ค๐Ÿ๐ข๐ž๐ฅ๐ ๐๐š๐ฐ๐ง ๐จ๐ซ ๐‚๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐š๐ฅ๐ญ ๐Ÿ›Situated on a hillside overlooking the historic eastโ€“west route to Londonderry, ๐๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ค๐Ÿ...
13/06/2026

๐Ÿ› ๐๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ค๐Ÿ๐ข๐ž๐ฅ๐ ๐๐š๐ฐ๐ง ๐จ๐ซ ๐‚๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฌ๐š๐ฅ๐ญ ๐Ÿ›

Situated on a hillside overlooking the historic eastโ€“west route to Londonderry, ๐๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ค๐Ÿ๐ข๐ž๐ฅ๐ ๐๐š๐ฐ๐ง dates back to around 1611 and was constructed by Sir Edward Doddington on lands granted to the Skinnersโ€™ Company during the early years of the Ulster Plantation.

The square walled enclosure is defined by distinctive egg-shaped flanker towers positioned at opposite corners, incorporating defensive features such as gun-loops.

A residence once occupied the southern side of the bawn, its footprint confirmed through excavation in 1983, with traces of fireplaces still visible today.

The site, recorded in the 1622 survey illustrated by Thomas Raven, provides a valuable insight into the architectural form and defensive character of early 17th-century plantation bawns.

๐Ÿ“Glenshane Road, (near) Claudy, Derry/Londonderry BT47 3EY

For more information on this and other historic places to visit, go to: https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/historic-places-visit

๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ, ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž, ๐’๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž๐ฌ

๐Ÿฐ ๐„๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ง ๐‚๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ž ๐Ÿฐ ๐„๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ง ๐‚๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ž was built almost 600 years ago by Hugh Maguire, it stands on the banks of the ...
12/06/2026

๐Ÿฐ ๐„๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ง ๐‚๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ž ๐Ÿฐ

๐„๐ง๐ง๐ข๐ฌ๐ค๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ž๐ง ๐‚๐š๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ž was built almost 600 years ago by Hugh Maguire, it stands on the banks of the River Erne, guarding what was once a key strategic route into Ulster. It was besieged in 1595 and later became an English garrison and military barracks in the 17th century.

Today, the castle houses the Fermanagh County Museum and the Regimental Museum of the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, preserving centuries of local and military history.

With ๐‚๐š๐ซ๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ ๐–๐ž๐ž๐ค ๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ž๐ง๐ข๐ง๐  ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐Ÿ–๐ญ๐กโ€“๐Ÿ๐Ÿ’๐ญ๐ก ๐‰๐ฎ๐ง๐ž and help with a complimentary ticket through the Personal Assistance Support Scheme (PASS), for people who have a disability, that require the assistance of a companion, to visit the Castle, there's no better time to visit. See the link below for more information: https://www.enniskillencastle.co.uk/visit/access/personal-assistance-support-scheme-pass/

๐Ÿ“Enniskillen Castle, Enniskillen Co. Fermanagh BT74 7HL
Map Finder: ttps://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/services/historic-environment-map-viewer Reference: FER211:039

For more information on this and other historic places to visit, go to: https://www.communities-ni.gov.uk/articles/historic-places-visit

๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‚๐จ๐ฆ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ, ๐’๐ฎ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ž๐จ๐ฉ๐ฅ๐ž, ๐’๐ก๐š๐ฉ๐ข๐ง๐  ๐๐ฅ๐š๐œ๐ž๐ฌ

๐Ÿฐ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ ๐“๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ž๐ฉ๐ž๐ง ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ”๐ŸฐWeโ€™re delighted to announce that Martello Tower will be open to the public on selected we...
12/06/2026

๐Ÿฐ๐Œ๐š๐ซ๐ญ๐ž๐ฅ๐ฅ๐จ ๐“๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐Ž๐ฉ๐ž๐ง ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ”๐Ÿฐ

Weโ€™re delighted to announce that Martello Tower will be open to the public on selected weekends this year!

Why not take the opportunity to explore this unique piece of coastal heritage and enjoy the surrounding views?

๐Ÿ“…๐Ž๐ฉ๐ž๐ง ๐๐š๐ญ๐ž๐ฌ (๐’๐š๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ & ๐’๐ฎ๐ง๐๐š๐ฒ๐ฌ):
โ€ข 13โ€“14 June
โ€ข 11โ€“12 July
โ€ข 8โ€“9 August
โ€ข 12โ€“13 September
โ€ข 10โ€“11 October

โš ๏ธ ๐ˆ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ญ ๐•๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ž โ€“ ๐’๐ž๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐œ๐ž ๐”๐ฉ๐๐š๐ญ๐ž โš ๏ธPlease note Carrickfergus Castle and Dunluce Castle will close early toda...
11/06/2026

โš ๏ธ ๐ˆ๐ฆ๐ฉ๐จ๐ซ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐ญ ๐•๐ข๐ฌ๐ข๐ญ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐จ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ž โ€“ ๐’๐ž๐ซ๐ฏ๐ข๐œ๐ž ๐”๐ฉ๐๐š๐ญ๐ž โš ๏ธ

Please note Carrickfergus Castle and Dunluce Castle will close early today (11 June).

๐‹๐š๐ฌ๐ญ ๐š๐๐ฆ๐ข๐ฌ๐ฌ๐ข๐จ๐ง๐ฌ: 3:30pm
๐’๐ข๐ญ๐ž ๐œ๐ฅ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž: 4:00pm

We apologise for any inconvenience caused and appreciate your understanding. Please check our channels for further updates before travelling.

๐Ÿ“ฌ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ฒ ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ง๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐‹๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ ๐ž๐๐ˆ!๐Ÿ“ฌWant to be the first to hear about upcoming events, heritage news, and special behi...
11/06/2026

๐Ÿ“ฌ๐’๐ญ๐š๐ฒ ๐‚๐จ๐ง๐ง๐ž๐œ๐ญ๐ž๐ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ญ๐ก ๐‹๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ ๐ž๐๐ˆ!๐Ÿ“ฌ

Want to be the first to hear about upcoming events, heritage news, and special behind-the-scenes stories from Northern Ireland's historic sites?

Subscribe to the ๐‹๐จ๐ฏ๐ž๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐š๐ ๐ž๐๐ˆ ๐ง๐ž๐ฐ๐ฌ๐ฅ๐ž๐ญ๐ญ๐ž๐ซ and get updates straight to your inbox.

๐Ÿ‘‰๐’๐ข๐ ๐ง ๐ฎ๐ฉ ๐ก๐ž๐ซ๐ž: https://tinyurl.com/bdfv3t45

Don't miss out on the latest opportunities to explore, experience, and celebrate our shared heritage.

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Causeway Exchange, 1-7 Bedford Street
Belfast
BT27EG

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Monday 9am - 4pm
Tuesday 9am - 4pm
Wednesday 9am - 4pm
Thursday 9am - 4pm
Friday 9am - 4pm

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