Part of a tower is all that remains of Dunseverick Castle  which was destroyed  by a Scottish army sent here in 1642 under the command of General Munro to combat the rebellion by Rory O'More, Lord Maquire and Sir Pheilim O' Neill which started in  1641. The ruin you see today dates to the mid 1500's and was probably built by the  MacDonell clan who had establish a power base along the north coast. Surrounded by the ocean on three sides,  Dunseverick was a key ancient site in Ireland, one of the royal roads from Tara, seat of the Kings of Ireland ended here. It was originally founded by Sobairce, one of the Kings of Ireland who built a fortress  here in 1525BC to rule the ancient Kingdom of Dariada, the location is named after him - Dunsobairce (Fortress of Sobairce) now Dunseverick. Many  heroes of Irish legends such as Cuchulain, Queen Maeve and Turlough are associated with the area. Another fact for anyone walking up to the castle and taking in the breathtaking view to Portmoon - if you do, then you can rest safe in the knowledge that you have walked in the footsteps of Saint Patrick. It is known he visited Dunseverick on several occasions and on one of these occasions  he baptized  a local man called Olcan, who  became Bishop of Armoy and later a Bishop of Ireland, Olcan died in 480AD.  A well which existed a few feet from the cliff edge is named after St. Patrick  and  reputed to be be one of the 'holy' wells of Ireland, though sadly, the christening stone and the seat he used still lie unfound in the waters below, having been tumbled there during a time of upheaval.