Enniskillen Castle is beautifully placed near a small Erne River crossing site. They have been strategically vital throughout their history, guarding one of the few passages into Ulster.
Hugh ‘The Hospitable Maguire,’ a member of the ruling Gaelic Maguires, is said to have founded Enniskillen Castle in the 1420s, some 600 years ago. The Castle is first mentioned in the Annals of Ulster in 1439. It was besieged in 1593/4 and became a focal point of Irish resistance to the English.
Until the end of the 16th century, Enniskillen Castle was a Maguire stronghold. Captain (later Sir) William Cole was named Constable of the Castle in the early 17th century, and the site was reconstructed to incorporate the distinctive Watergate.
Enniskillen Castle became a military barracks in the late eighteenth century, with additional structures added on the site. The Castle became the home of two museums in the latter half of the twentieth century: Fermanagh County Museum and The Inniskillings Museum.
